Demon Suppression Bureau

Biodata

Background and History

A Grade-B Demon Extermination Guard disappeared after a Martial Saint fell beyond the Eastern Sea, taking the Bureau’s Baleful-Breaking Pearl with him. Commander Gong Hao was assigned to trace the defection, eventually following the trail from Qingzhou to Lin County and Taiguang Prefecture 94.

Gong Hao’s investigation uncovered evidence that the Peaceful Heaven Sect had acquired or pursued the stolen pearl while raising Eight-Armed Carrion Centipedes. The Bureau subsequently became involved in the White Deer Cliff underground cavern incident, where Gong Hao identified a Peaceful Heaven Sect site used to raise an Outer Demon 82 87.

After Su Xinghe fought the Half-Demon Eight-Armed Carrion Centipede and opposed Princess Red Lotus, Gong Hao erased records of Su’s former connection to the Peaceful Heaven Sect and activated his identity as Demon Extermination Guard Yi Thirteen. Su was assigned to monitor nearby Outer Demons and report discoveries through Zhang Baichuan 101.

The Qingzhou Branch later protected Su during his breakthrough to the Fifth-Rank Core Embrace Realm. Gong Hao and Shangguan Jing resisted an Inspection Bureau assault on the Guardian Tower, while Director Xu Lie had previously intervened to drive away Provincial Governor Han Zhi 144 148.

Following Su’s rise, the Bureau invested heavily in his cultivation, but headquarters denied Xu Lie’s request for a training slot and the mental secret art Starfire. Su’s expected promotion to Commander was subsequently delayed for months without explanation, leaving him without a commander’s Qi-Gathering Pill allocation 157 166.

Mandate and Operating Boundaries

• Outer Demon surveillance — Demon Extermination Guards are tasked with monitoring nearby Outer Demons and rapidly reporting confirmed threats 101.
• Disaster prevention — The Bureau’s preferred role is to eliminate demon threats while they are still developing, before they can cause mass casualties in human settlements 121.
• Demon-related merit — Official points are primarily awarded for confirmed demon-beast corpses or demon cores rather than intelligence alone 121 122.
• Political noninterference — The Bureau distinguishes demon suppression from human factional disputes and avoids intervening in conflicts treated as political rather than demonic 135.
• Inter-bureau coordination — When a major nest is found, the Bureau may call upon the Martial Dao Bureau and local Inspection Bureau personnel for support 87 102 116.

Organization and Ranks

Ranking System

• Demon Extermination Guards use anonymous numerical codenames such as Yi Thirteen, Yi Fifteen, and Yi Thirty-Eight 101 140.
• Rankings determine status, rewards, and access to better resources, making ranking challenges a major source of competition among guards 130 139.
• A challenger who wins takes the defender’s ranking; an unsuccessful challenger retains their current position 139.
• Commanders supervise ranking battles with Core Qi Domains to contain the fighting and prevent fatal outcomes 138 139.
• Mental Secret Art practitioners are exceptionally rare within the Qingzhou Branch: among more than a thousand martial artists, only seven had awakened Psychic Power, including five of the eight Commanders 138.

Personnel

Facilities and Resources

Qingzhou Branch Headquarters

• The Qingzhou Demon Suppression Bureau stands on Prefecture Front Avenue, near major government and martial institutions 127.
• Its main hall appears almost deserted, with no visible reception desk, but powerful officials monitor the building from sealed rooms on the upper floors 127.
• Entrance guards include a documented Seventh-Rank Grade-C guard and several Eighth-Rank Grade-D guards 127.
• The Bureau operates a Guardian Tower more than thirty zhang high, with over a dozen floors, its own protective barrier, and access to Qingzhou City’s greater defensive formation 146.

Tokens, Merit, and Exchanges

• Each token records the bearer’s branch, anonymous codename, remaining points, and referrer; its spiritual imprint also records completed operations 101 121.
• Tokens provide access to exchange catalogues containing cultivation arts, pills, and secret techniques 101.
• Su Xinghe exchanged points for the Sixth-Rank Iron Body Art, whose transmission to outsiders is punishable by execution 101.
• Grade-B guard Yi Thirteen receives two contribution points monthly; higher rankings and successful missions provide further rewards 128.
• The Qingzhou Branch has no dedicated alchemists and relies heavily on Martial Dao Bureau allocations and headquarters for pills 133.
• Qi-Gathering Pills are particularly scarce: the branch receives only about twenty per month, sometimes fewer 157.

Relationships

• Great Zhou Dynasty — The Bureau serves as a first-rate force beneath the royal house and operates against Outer Demons across the Desolate Region 152 157.
• Peaceful Heaven Sect — Major demon-related adversary; its Red Lotus Branch raised Outer Demons and used the Eight-Armed Carrion Centipede as a blood-fed weapon 82 87 88.
• Martial Dao Bureau — Separate institution with a different mandate, but an important operational partner when demon nests or major threats are discovered 84 102 116.
• Inspection Bureau — A separate intelligence and enforcement body whose Sky-Patrolling Ravens and Secret Records can be manipulated; its Qingzhou forces later attacked the Demon Suppression Bureau during Su Xinghe’s breakthrough 101 148.
• Heavenly One Sword Sect — Intervened through the Heavenly Will Sword Network during the Qingzhou crisis, aiding the Bureau while demonstrating its strength to the Great Zhou Dynasty 150 152.