The back alley of the Demon Suppression Bureau!
Lin Xiao is still at the training grounds. Now is my chance to sneak into the Demon Suppression Bureau and gather intelligence.
The blood wolf disguised as an old farmer said this inwardly.
In another alley, the dog demon had already vanished into a drainage ditch.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the alley entrance, entering the old farmer's sight.
The old farmer narrowed its eyes, glancing at the figure walking out of the Demon Suppression Bureau.
Its muscles twitched beneath its hemp robe, as though it were forcibly suppressing the urge to pounce and kill.
This human actually carried that oppressive presence demons loathed most.
The old farmer slipped its tobacco pipe into its mouth without lighting it.
It needed to wait.
Wait until Nanhe County sank completely into darkness tonight.
By then, Su Yu had returned to his room.
He shut the door and windows and sank his consciousness into his mind. The golden panel instantly appeared.
[Host: Su Yu] [Cultivation: Qi Refinement-Mortal Realm Ninth Layer; Spirit Refinement-Spirit Realm First Level] [Cultivation arts: Suppressing Prison and Subduing Demons (Mortal)-fine mastery; Vajra Demonic Baleful Intent (Spirit), mid-grade-minor accomplishment; Spirit-Seizing Art (Spirit), low-grade-minor accomplishment] [Martial arts: Vajra Fist (Mortal)-fine mastery, ultimate-realm killing move: Vajra Demon-Subduing Fist; Gale Saber Technique (Mortal)-fine mastery, ultimate-realm killing move: Wind Falls Silent, Leaving No Trace; Wandering Dragon Steps (Mortal)-fine mastery, ultimate-realm killing move: Dragon Concealment] [Newly recorded: Spirit Sense Piercing (Spirit Realm, mid-grade-not initiated); Star-Shattering Finger (Spirit Realm, high-grade-not initiated)] [Slaughter Points: 0]
Su Yu's gaze swept over the panel.
His slaughter points had bottomed out again.
He turned and looked at the night outside the window.
Although his body was somewhat fatigued from his cultivation arts breaking through in such a short time, his instinct for danger had become sharper than ever.
He walked to the saber rack and slowly drew his black-gold long saber.
The blade reflected his profile, as well as a gray shadow flashing past outside the rear window.
The shadow moved extremely fast, almost blending into the darkness.
But locked onto by Su Yu's divine sense, its nauseating Yao Qi stood out as clearly as a torch in the night.
Long saber in hand, Su Yu silently pushed open the back door. The puddles in the courtyard reflected the waning moon's cold light.
In a corner by the wall, a hunched figure crouched in the shadows, head lowered as it gnawed on something.
The blood wolf disguised as an old farmer turned its head, scarlet shreds of flesh still dangling from its mouth.
It had never expected its prey to walk out on his own before it even made a move. It rose, its formerly hunched back giving off piercing cracks as its joints shifted out of place.
Its hemp robe stretched open, revealing a pair of sharp claws covered in blood-red fur.
Su Yu's saber hand was steady, his fingers slowly tightening around the patterned hilt.
"You beasts certainly have keen noses."
The blood wolf bared its fangs, a deep growl rumbling in its throat.
"Heh heh, human, I'll dig out your heart and have a taste."
Before its words had faded, it vanished from the spot.
Su Yu remained where he stood as the muddy water beneath his feet suddenly exploded.
Just as the blood wolf's claws came within an inch of his throat, a terrifying blood-colored mist instantly enveloped the three feet around him.
"Prohibition Blood Formation!"
The blood wolf's charge, fast enough to slice through the air, came to an abrupt halt the instant it struck the blood formation.
It felt as though its body had sunk into thick molten iron, every hair forcibly pressed down by gravity.
That sudden resistance created a fatally brief break in its movements.
Su Yu swung his long saber in that opening. The slash raised not a whisper of wind, only a streak of black light blooming in utter stillness.
Wind Falls Silent, Leaving No Trace!
The blood wolf's eyes went wide. It tried to twist its neck to move its vital point out of the way, but under tenfold gravity, its neck cracked under the unbearable burden.
Squelch!
The sound of the keen blade cutting through flesh was exceptionally dull. A massive head covered in red fur soared into the sky.
Blood gushed onto the puddles on the ground, instantly staining them dark red.
Su Yu did not look at the collapsing corpse. His long saber swept to his side, trailing a string of blood droplets.
On the eaves, another gray shadow crouched at the edge of the roof tiles.
The dog demon's enormous black nose twitched incessantly, the savagery in its eyes entirely replaced by terror.
One slash.
He had actually killed the blood wolf, which was at the same realm as him, with just one slash?
"Run!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the dog demon dropped onto all fours and frantically darted into the depths of the darkness.
Standing in the courtyard, Su Yu had no intention of giving chase. He slowly closed his eyes and gathered his spiritual sense.
Whoosh!
A transparent, keen streak shot through the void.
The dog demon sprinting over the roof tiles suddenly let out a shrill scream.
Its body abruptly stiffened in midair, dark blood instantly spurting from its seven orifices. The sensation of its divine sense being forcibly shattered made it lose all control over its body.
It crashed heavily into the distant alley with a dull thud.
Su Yu reversed his grip and slid his long saber into its sheath.
A Spirit Realm First Level dog demon could not possibly withstand his Spirit Realm Second Level divine sense attack.
[Killed a Spirit Realm First Level demon. Gained 100 slaughter points.]
The system notification sounded in his mind.
Su Yu walked over to the headless blood wolf corpse and sliced open its chest with his black-gold long saber.
A dark red demon core appeared before his eyes.
Demon cores were the cores of demons at the Spirit Realm and above, gathering all the power within a demon's body. Even the lowest-grade Spirit Realm First Level demon core was worth hundreds of taels of silver.
After putting away the two demon cores, Su Yu had Tang Shan lead men to carry away the blood wolf's corpse and that of the dog demon.
The corpses of Spirit Realm demons were also quite valuable. Once processed by specialists, their flesh, blood, hides, fur... could all aid martial artists.
"The dog demons and blood wolves are the two dominant clans entrenched on Cloud Wolf Mountain outside Nanhe County. They've been eyeing Nanhe County like tigers watching their prey.
"Now it seems they were behind the Liu Family as well!"
In a side hall of the Demon Suppression Bureau!
After learning that two Spirit Realm demons had infiltrated the bureau, Lin Xiao wore a grave expression.
Although they had now wiped out the Liu Family, the Demon Suppression Bureau had also suffered considerable casualties.
If the blood wolf and dog demon clans launched a large-scale attack now, Nanhe County would most likely fall.
That was clearly an outcome Lin Xiao could not accept.
"Cloud Wolf Mountain!"
"Are there many Spirit Realm demons there?"
Just then, a peculiar gleam flashed through Su Yu's eyes as he asked.
Hearing this, Lin Xiao paused, but did not give it much thought.
"The leaders of both the blood wolf and dog demon clans are at the Spirit Realm Third Level. The number of Spirit Realm demons under them shouldn't exceed what you can count on two hands."
"Is that so? That should be enough, then!"
Su Yu nodded, then turned and left at once.
Lin Xiao did not think much of it, assuming Su Yu was going back to rest. After all, several major battles in succession had left even a Qi Refinement Spirit Realm Second Level expert like himself struggling to endure.
Let alone Su Yu, who had only recently broken through.
"Rest?"
"Not a chance. I'm wiping out Cloud Wolf Mountain tonight!"