A Hidden Hand, the Skin Tempering Demon Appears!

The next day.

Luo Chen, dressed in a Cloud Pattern Black Robe with Golden Scale slanted at his waist, strode out of Liu Manor in high spirits.

Behind him, Uncle Liu, Aunt, and Yaoyao watched his departing figure.

The confidence in Luo Chen's smile put his family at ease.

He arrived at the Demon Suppression Bureau.

The vast open ground was already packed with Demon Suppressing Guards.

Nearly five hundred Demon Suppressing Guards stood there. Every one of them was a martial artist, with even the weakest at the peak of Skin Tempering.

This showed just how powerful the Demon Suppression Bureau was.

In this world, martial strength represented power.

At the very front of the five hundred Demon Suppressing Guards, four Demon Suppression Captains in Gold Pattern Black Robes stood silently.

As time passed.

A cool, aloof female figure slowly approached from the front of the assembly square.

The four Demon Suppression Captains bowed respectfully and stepped aside to clear the way.

"Chief Director!"

"Greetings, Chief Director!"

Led by the four Demon Suppression Captains, the several hundred martial artists behind them shouted in unison, their eyes filled with respect and admiration.

Standing at the rear of the crowd, Luo Chen cautiously studied the Chief Director of the Demon Suppression Bureau ahead after bowing.

The Chief Director of Qingyuan City's Demon Suppression Bureau, Shangguan Changyue, was the third-ranked prodigy on the Latent Dragon Ranking.

At only twenty-nine, she had already become a Divine Intent Realm martial artist, gaining three hundred years of life!

On the martial path, breakthroughs in the first two realms brought no increase in lifespan.

Not only did they not extend one's life, but ordinary martial artists trained all year round and fought others, allowing hidden injuries to pile up within their bodies and shortening their lives instead!

After the voices fell silent.

Shangguan Changyue's calm yet icy voice rang out. It was not loud, yet it reached everyone present.

"This operation is to encircle and destroy a Demon Lair in the deepest part of Heavenly Severance Mountain. Its leader is a Divine Intent-level Demonic Beast known as the White Bone Great Sage!"

"Li Captain is already holding the line."

"Set out now!"

"I will lead the team personally!"

After Shangguan Changyue finished speaking, she glanced at the four Demon Suppression Captains beside her and vanished.

The four Demon Suppression Captains nodded in unison and turned to face their subordinates.

"There are too many of us. Leave the city separately. Do not disturb the common folk along the way."

"Yes!"

At the back of the crowd, Luo Chen followed behind the group and looked up at the dark mass of people.

They left the gates of the Demon Suppression Bureau and dispersed under the lead of their respective Demon Suppression Envoys.

After leaving the city,

Under Demon Suppression Envoy Wang Yue's lead, they joined up with the main force.

Yue Wuchang glanced at Luo Chen at the back of the crowd.

Only after everyone had gathered did he speak in a deep voice.

"Our destination is Heavenly Severance Mountain. Move out!"

All the Demon Suppressing Guards mounted their horses and galloped down the Official Road.

Passing martial artists, merchant caravans, and common folk all moved aside.

"What an imposing sight!"

"No kidding. Judging by this, another Demonic Beast force must have appeared nearby."

"If my brat can become a Demon Suppressing Guard someday, that'll count as bringing glory to our ancestors."

"Keep dreaming. Dreams have everything..."

Heavenly Severance Mountain!

Located west of Qingyuan City, it was a branch of the Northern Border's largest mountain range. It stretched five hundred li from end to end, with Demonic Beasts roaming throughout—a forbidden zone for ordinary people.

Within the mountain range, quite a few houses and courtyards had been built atop a hill.

This was a Demon Suppression Bureau garrison outpost.

At this moment, only one person sat quietly in meditation within the massive council hall.

Li Tiankui sat cross-legged on a tigerhide cushion. His half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open, flashing with a chilling gleam.

A sinister voice sounded beside his ear.

"Master, that skeleton has agreed..."

Li Tiankui's aura tightened. A flash of blood-red light passed through his eyes, while the savage muscles on his back writhed as though forming a ghostly face.

After a brief silence, he continued.

"Has that little genius who may possess a Martial Bone arrived?"

There was no movement in the empty hall. After a while.

That sinister voice finally sounded again.

"My Skin Puppet has sent word. He has arrived!"

Li Tiankui rose to his feet. Every muscle on his towering body looked vicious, while the skin on his back writhed as though alive.

"One who possesses a Martial Bone has martial talent rarely seen in this world, a genius found once in a million li."

"He should be close to Blood Circulation by now. Once the Martial Bone is nourished, the chance of transplanting it will be slightly higher."

"Keep a close eye on him!"

"Yes, my master!"

The ghostly face on his back seemed to be smiling mockingly.

If Luo Chen had been present, he would have recognized that the owner of this disembodied voice sounded exactly like the Skin Tempering Demon.

Great Mountain Town.

It lay against the outer reaches of Heavenly Severance Mountain.

Dusk was approaching.

Luo Chen's party arrived there.

With a sweep of his hand, Yue Wuchang booked the largest tavern in town. It was not his money, anyway.

The initial solemnity was gone. Those familiar with one another gathered together to eat and rest.

"We can't drink on a mission. That's the only unpleasant part."

"This mission isn't simple. I never expected even the Chief Director to move personally."

Wang Yue raised a cup of clear tea and gulped it down, rare gravity in his eyes.

Luo Chen glanced outside, seemingly casually, and asked.

"Is there some reason for that?"

Wang Yue glanced at him and explained.

"There are differences even among Divine Intent Realm martial artists. That gap may be greater than the one between ordinary people and Divine Intent Realm martial artists."

"The Chief Director ranks third on the Latent Dragon Ranking. Killing ordinary Divine Intent-level opponents is as easy as turning her hand over. She would not need to act at all."

"Don't try to show off on this mission. Just listen to arrangements honestly. You have a bright future ahead of you, so don't get carried away over merit and throw your life away."

Wang Yue offered the warning out of kindness.

He feared Luo Chen would be young and reckless, sacrificing his life for merit.

"I understand."

Luo Chen nodded, a golden gleam flashing through his eyes.

At his waist hung a palm-sized Carved Hollow Sphere.

Through the hollows in the wooden sphere, a butterfly fluttering its wings could seemingly be seen inside.

Luo Chen had once shown Little Butterfly the fragments of the Skin Puppet he had kept.

He had not expected that only one day after leaving the city, a Skin Tempering Demon's Skin Puppet would already be lurking nearby.

It really was like a lingering ghost that refused to disperse.

This meant the Skin Tempering Demon knew the Demon Suppression Bureau's movements like the back of its hand.

Luo Chen's heart sank, and he felt a trace of unease.

He could only hope everything would proceed smoothly.

One day later.

The hundred-plus Demon Suppressing Guards led by Yue Wuchang finally arrived.

Looking at the small hill ahead.

Yue Wuchang gave an order, then headed alone toward the courtyard at its highest point.

He was going to join the other Demon Suppression Captains and receive the Chief Director's arrangements.

Looking at the large courtyard atop the distant hill, Luo Chen asked in an unreadable tone.

"Are all the important figures who came this time over there?"

Following the direction of Luo Chen's finger, Wang Yue looked toward the hilltop.

"Of course. That is where Captain Li normally guarded the area and handled affairs. These five hundred li of Heavenly Severance Mountain were all this captain's territory."

To be able to guard such an enormous mountain range, Li Captain's strength must rank at least among the top three of all captains."

Wang Yue's tone carried admiration.

This was a bit troublesome!

Luo Chen gently rubbed the Carved Hollow Sphere at his waist, his eyes filled with gravity.

Inside the hollow sphere, Little Butterfly fluttered its wings uneasily, as though giving a warning.

For Little Butterfly to react this way, even if it was not the Skin Tempering Demon's true body, it was at least an exceptionally powerful Skin Puppet.

How could it dare appear so openly before Shangguan Changyue without being discovered?

Was the Chief Director doing this deliberately,

Or was it something else?

Luo Chen could not make sense of it, but his heart gradually grew unsettled.

Just as wild thoughts churned through his mind, a Demon Suppressing Guard descended from the mountaintop, came before them, and looked at Luo Chen, who was deep in thought.

"Demon Suppressing Guard Luo Chen, the Chief Director summons you!"