Chu Nan's Golden Finger: Elder Meng

"How have those twelve been lately?"

Chu He asked again.

"My lord, aside from Chou Ox and Yin Tiger, who haven't sent word in a long time, the others are all doing very well. Do you need to deploy them?"

"It's not time yet. You may leave!"

Chu He shook his head.

"Yes!"

The black-robed man answered.

Then he retreated toward a corner, slowly vanishing in an uncanny fashion, like a ghost. There was no telling what sort of cultivation art it was.

"System, were they your doing?"

"In a sense. Ten years ago, I found twelve supreme prodigies in this world and bound them to you, for fear you would die prematurely."

So that was it!

Chu He nodded. Several years ago, while gathering orphans, he had come across twelve extraordinarily gifted individuals, with talent so great that even he felt a little envious.

At first, he had worried about what was going on, wondering whether someone had discovered his secret and sent them to investigate.

Later, after a series of tests, he discovered that these twelve were not spies, and that they greatly admired and respected him.

Now it seemed that the system had been behind it!

"Before the mighty tide, only strength matters!"

Chu He raised his head and murmured.

After joining the Demon Suppression Bureau, he understood deeply how important an organization was to one's development. No matter how strong one was, one needed an organization's support.

As for protagonists in some books who personally handled everything, leaving aside whether they had any swagger, just consider how much time that wasted. It completely hindered their own cultivation.

However.

The Demon Suppression Bureau belonged to the imperial court. He was merely a squad leader in the bureau, and even if he rose in rank later, he could still be kicked out at any time.

So!

He decided to bargain with a tiger for its skin: send the people he had trained into the Demon Suppression Bureau to develop, using the bureau's resources to help them grow.

Then he would seize the opportunity to bring them under his own command. That way, his foundation would become incomparably solid. Even if the bureau's higher-ups, or even the imperial court, wanted to move against him one day, they would have to think twice.

"Still, all of this requires personal strength. Only by constantly growing stronger can I accomplish it all."

A domineering gleam flashed through Chu He's eyes as he said:

"System, add points!"

"Ding! Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Art successfully upgraded. Consumed 24 demon points. Current level: first layer, peak."

Boom...

Chu He's presence suddenly surged, and his status panel refreshed again:

Name: Chu He

Position: Demon Suppression Bureau squad leader

Cultivation: first grade, peak

Martial arts: Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Art, first layer, peak (upgradeable), Nine Netherworld Controls, great perfection (not upgradeable), Thunder Saber, great perfection (not upgradeable)

Weapons: one copper coin, Demon Suppression Saber

Demon points: 4

"A pity I don't have enough demon suppression points. Otherwise, I could break through to the second grade today and contend for a company leader's position."

Chu He spoke with some regret.

But those words!

If anyone outside heard them, they would probably be furious enough to beat him to death. So many people spent years, even more than a decade, reaching the peak of the first grade, while he had taken less than a month and still wasn't satisfied.

Inside the study!

Chu Nan sat in a chair, his brows tightly furrowed. He held a book without reading it, seemingly struggling over something.

Ten days earlier!

He had gone out to worship at a temple, only to accidentally obtain a jade pendant. Hidden inside it was the soul of a powerful expert named Elder Meng.

He had told Chu Nan:

He could make him stronger, even strong enough to pluck stars and seize the moon, to shatter the river of stars with a punch. Chu Nan had no interest in any of that.

Until the other party asked him, "Don't you have anyone you want to protect? The world is complicated. Only strength can protect your loved ones."

At that moment.

He had hesitated!

Because he remembered some of the instructions Chu He had given him before leaving to join the Demon Suppression Bureau this time. He had vaguely sensed something was wrong.

Because!

Much of what he said sounded like final instructions before death.

Yet he did not know:

At the time, Chu He had not yet awakened the system, and his body had reached its limit. He could explode and die at any moment, which was why he had spoken to him as though leaving his last wishes.

"A-Nan, there's no need to agonize over it. Your brother hasn't asked, after all!" An aged voice echoed in Chu Nan's mind.

"You don't understand. With my brother's intelligence, he must have noticed something. Besides, he already asked. I just didn't tell him."

Chu Nan immediately retorted.

Clearly, he admired Chu He greatly and understood him well. He knew his brother had noticed some issues, but simply hadn't pressed him.

"Uh!"

The old man's voice faltered for several breaths before he spoke again:

"Taking the path of cultivation will also help ease your brother's burdens. Growing your right arm back in the future will ease one of his heartaches, too."

However!

At that moment!

Chu Nan showed no response at all, constantly muttering:

"Should I tell my brother..."

"It's wrong not to!"

"But telling him would let you down, Elder Meng..."

"No, although Elder Meng promised to help me cultivate, I'm cultivating for my brother. Right, I can't hide it from him."

With that!

Chu Nan stood up and walked outside.

He was clearly planning to tell Chu He that he intended to cultivate, as well as how he had obtained a miraculous jade pendant.

"Master, someone is asking for you in the front hall. He says he's from the Heavenly Martial Guard." A household guard's voice came from outside the door.

The Heavenly Martial Guard!

Having just finished cultivating, Chu He frowned. Although he hadn't concealed his identity on his way back.

Still, the Heavenly Martial Guard had no habit of paying courtesy calls. Besides, Green Mountain Commandery had a battalion of the Demon Suppression Guard. Even if they were making courtesy calls, this place wouldn't be their turn.

Bang!

Chu He opened the door and followed the guard toward the front hall.

"Big Brother!"

He had only made it halfway when he heard Chu Nan calling from behind. Looking back, he saw him running over.

Chu Nan ran up to Chu He. Ignoring Elder Meng's frantic attempts to stop him in his mind, he directly raised the jade pendant and said:

"Big Brother, this is a jade pendant I got a couple of days ago. Inside it..."

"That's enough!"

Chu He waved a hand, stopping him from continuing.

Patting Chu Nan's shoulder, he said, "A-Nan, everyone has their own opportunities. There's no need to tell others."

"But remember, whatever you do, hold fast to your true heart. However powerful external things may be, they can never compare to your own strength."

"If he dares show you any insolence, come to me. I'll turn him to ash and scatter his soul, never to be reborn."

As he spoke.

Chu He deliberately glanced at the jade pendant, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Yes, Big Brother!"

Chu Nan nodded happily.

At that moment.

The knot in his heart had completely unraveled. He had originally been agonizing over whether telling Chu He would be unfair to Elder Meng.

Now!

His brother had laid it all out, leaving him utterly at ease!

However!

While he was reassured, Elder Meng inside the jade pendant was utterly dumbfounded. What was going on? Had he been discovered and even threatened?

"Impossible. But what he just said was clearly aimed at me. No, I have to take a look."

After pondering for a long while, Elder Meng finally decided to probe Chu He.

He released a wisp of intent to probe Chu He. Yet the instant it came within an inch of him.

The view shifted:

Within a vast, boundless world, the heavens were torn apart, and blood flowed in rivers across the earth. Countless corpses of demons and other races lay on the ground, each so powerful it was suffocating.

At the center of the world, a domineering figure stood in the air, mountains of demon and other-race corpses beneath his feet. His eyes gazed skyward, his hands clasped behind his back. Even viewed from behind, he resembled an unrivaled titan.

Hum...

As though sensing something, the domineering figure looked back. What sort of gaze was that: cold, domineering, nostalgic, indifferent.

Bang!

The scene vanished!

"Ah..."

An aged scream rang out in Chu Nan's mind.

"Holy shit, Elder Meng, what happened? Are you dying?" The shriek in his mind startled Chu Nan.

"Impossible! How could he become such an existence in the future? A single glance across space and time nearly obliterated me."

"The killing intent in that space was too fierce. Even the fallen demons' corpses could endure for all eternity. Truly unimaginable."

Elder Meng roared incessantly inside the jade pendant, having completely lost the composure a golden finger ought to possess.

A long while later.

Only then did he recover and say slowly:

"Chu Nan, your brother, hmm, is no ordinary person."