"Do you think Gang Condensation Realm cultivation methods are cabbages growing by the roadside?"
Yu Qianqian said irritably, "I only remember the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber."
She spread both hands as she spoke, utterly self-assured.
Her expression plainly said: if you're so capable, go find one yourself. This is all I have, and I've already given you everything I can.
Lu Guan was disappointed.
Yu Qianqian was not a walking scripture repository. As for the Four Symbols Heaven's Will Saber, according to her, she had only committed it to memory for a certain reason.
She did not say what that reason was, and Lu Guan did not press her.
"Phew."
Lu Guan softly exhaled a breath of stale air, the disappointment in his eyes fading.
Sure enough, living off a woman was a road that led nowhere.
A man still had to rely on himself.
He squeezed his knuckles, considering his next steps.
"I wonder whether clearing out the two remaining demon forces, along with that unidentified demon, will earn me enough to exchange for a Gang Condensation Realm cultivation method at the Langya Commandery Demon Suppression Bureau?"
At this thought, eagerness flashed in Lu Guan's eyes.
When that Azure Dragon Form saber strike had resounded through the night sky, he had keenly sensed a demon with a powerful presence about to enter the county town.
Yet that saber strike had scared it away.
"Very strong-even somewhat stronger than the perfected True Qi Realm, but it hasn't touched the Gang Condensation Realm yet."
A demon like that would be a challenge.
Of course, beyond that, there was also a generous amount of cultivation as a reward.
Lu Guan licked his lips, suddenly regretting that his saber strike had caused such a commotion.
Had he kept a lower profile, that demon would probably have entered town already. He might even have been chasing it with his saber right now.
A good night's sleep.
Day had barely broken when Lu Guan hurried eagerly toward the Demon Suppression Bureau offices.
A fish-belly white spread across the horizon. The shops along the streets had just taken down their door boards, breakfast stalls were just being set up, and white steam rose from the wonton pots.
Lu Guan bought two meat buns along the way, eating as he hurried.
By his reckoning, this was his first day in his new post.
Since that was the case, naturally he ought to light the three fires of a newly appointed official!
Roll call, then taking office.
Every officer stood in the drill ground with dark circles beneath his eyes, receiving Lu Guan's inspection.
They had endured a sleepless night. Last night's dragon roar had given these martial men quite a fright.
Precisely because they had embarked on cultivation, they understood all the better what level that dragon roar represented.
It should never have appeared in Qianqiu County!
Some thought an important figure had arrived from the commandery city, while others thought some thousand-year-old demon had passed by.
In short, no one had slept well.
There were fewer men-roughly a dozen fewer than the total Lu Guan remembered.
They had all been Zhou Kaishan's lackeys, and had killed themselves out of fear of punishment after the incident.
As his gaze swept over them, Lu Guan gave an almost imperceptible sigh.
One of those men had also come from a family that had served as officers for generations. The old patriarch of his family had even accompanied Uncle Zhao to the offices not long ago.
But before serving as a tiger's accomplice, he should have thought through the consequences.
He had chosen his own road and could blame no one else.
"This subordinate pays his respects, sir."
Wu Yong limped forward and cupped his hands.
His left foot was badly swollen. The blow from the saber last night had been no light one.
"Sir... a demon seems to have passed through last night. It may have been a flood dragon. Should we report it to the commandery city?"
After all, an existence like that might wipe out the whole of Qianqiu County's town with a mere thought.
Wu Yong looked grave as he spoke, lingering terror still visible in his eyes.
As a son of the commandery city, he had seen the world and knew what a flood dragon meant.
It was a great demon at least at the Gang Condensation Realm, and possibly even higher!
Lu Guan paused slightly, only then understanding the haggard faces around him.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he said mildly, "No need. It's already been dealt with."
Everyone froze at his words.
Dealt... dealt with?
Wu Yong's mouth hung open for a long time.
Dealt with what? How? When?
They had spent all night awake in terror, and now he was telling them it had already been dealt with?
His expression unchanged, Lu Guan skipped past the subject. "Surround Wild Boar Ridge. Don't let a single demon inside escape."
Wu Yong blinked. Before he could recover from hearing that the "passing demon" had been dealt with, he abruptly learned that the young man intended to slay demons again.
"Mother of mercy..."
He considered himself the most diligent demon slayer, always charging on the front line, but wasn't this pace a little too fast?
They had only returned to town yesterday, and today they were heading out to slay demons again.
Lord Lu was really far too diligent.
At this thought, he actually felt some sympathy for the demons outside the county town. Meeting a commandant like Lu Guan meant they were in for a world of suffering.
This was no commandant. This was plainly a butcher going door to door with a saber in hand.
Still, that did not stop him from eagerly sharpening his blade.
And not just him-the entire First Squad was the same.
Young men certainly had drive.
The dragon roar had scared them out of their wits last night. Today was the perfect chance to vent on a few boar demons.
The other two chief standard-bearers, Lin Xuancheng and Qian Kang, also accepted their orders.
Lin Xuancheng was a dark-faced man of few words. He nodded and went to assemble his men.
Qian Kang, on the other hand, was a chatterbox. As he walked out, he muttered to the officer beside him:
"I've been sick of those boar demons on Wild Boar Ridge for ages. That stench-you can smell it from three li away..."
Beneath a bright, clear sky.
Orders passed down one after another.
Apart from those guarding the town, the remaining dozens of officers filed out.
"Encircle and wipe out Wild Boar Ridge!"
Flying-fish robes surged through the streets.
Many shopkeepers opened their doors and windows to watch. Some vendors even came forward to offer fruit, vegetables, and eggs, only to be politely refused by the officers.
An old man selling baked flatbreads chased them halfway down the street and insisted on stuffing two sesame flatbreads into Tang Jun's arms, repeating, "For you to eat on the road, sir."
Unable to refuse, Tang Jun could only accept them and tuck them against his chest, grimacing from the heat.
"Off to slay demons! Lord Lu of the Demon Suppression Bureau is off to slay demons!"
Yesterday, quite a few townspeople had overheard Wang Quan's words, and the news had soon spread throughout the county.
In teahouses and taverns, on street corners and in alleys, everyone was discussing the eighteen-year-old commandant.
But talk was one thing, and action another.
After all, it had been the same during Zhou Kaishan's tenure. It was not that he refused to kill demons; he killed them gradually, slowly, according to a plan.
Until disappointment had piled up in the hearts of everyone in the county.
But today, this newly appointed young commandant had gone to slay demons!
Desolate hills outside town, seldom visited by anyone.
A foul stench hit them head-on. Forest vines hung in layers like curtains of rain, and lofty branches massed like banks of clouds, where sunlight could not reach.
This was Wild Boar Ridge.
The next second.
Blood Qi joined into a single line, like a long rainbow stretching beneath the sky.
[Gather Blood into a Blade]!
Three enormous long sabers of Qi and Blood sealed off three sides, cutting off retreat.
Their blades were as crimson as molten iron, spanning the air with their tips pointing inward, enclosing the entire stretch of desolate hills.
The remaining side seemed to offer a way out, but a slender figure slowly walked in from there, one hand resting on the long saber at his waist.
Lu Guan's face was cold and stern. True Qi surged around him, dispersing the stench.
"These boar demons really have no standards."
Before him stood several immensely burly figures.
The first thing that caught his eye was the pair of three-foot-long boar tusks jutting from either side of a split, upturned snout.
The tusks gleamed yellow, coated in sticky drool.
On the boar head, bristles stood erect like steel needles.
Below the neck was unmistakably a human body, potbellied, its ten fingers clenched into fists, black mud packed beneath the nails.
The leading boar demon stepped forward, opened its mouth, and let a porcine grunt roll from its throat.
It was a size larger than the others, with denser bristles, longer tusks, and a vicious gleam in its eyes.
"Where's Zhou Kaishan?"
It spoke in a muffled, rumbling voice. "What, does the promise he made us back then no longer count?"
At this, the boar demon's eyes turned scarlet. It grinned, the tusks on either side of its snout shifting up and down as its mouth spread.
"I'll twist his head off and chew it to pieces."
Lu Guan shook his head. "Don't rush. I'll send you to see him right now."
The boar demon froze.
It studied the young man in flying-fish robes before it and sniffed the air.
True Qi. He was brimming with True Qi, and it was frighteningly dense.
Its eyes narrowed, and its tusks unconsciously thrust forward a little.
"Who are you?"
"The newly appointed commandant of Qianqiu."
As Lu Guan answered, he drew the Primordial Saber.
"Zhou Kaishan is dead. I killed him."
He paused, watching the expression suddenly freeze on the boar demon's face. "Guess who's next."