Slaying a Second-Tier Demonic Beast

Lu Feng showed no trace of a smile. Instead, his brows knitted tightly as he thought, Something's wrong! This old ape is already a second-tier demonic beast, and its body is incredibly tough. I've tested that myself. Why does it insist on attacking with its hair and refuse to come close?

His gaze remained fixed on the old ape. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Huh? It actually has a tail!

Aside from their heads, the demonic beasts Lu Feng had seen before were much the same as humans.

But this old ape had a gray-gold tail on its backside, no longer than a finger. It was inconspicuous, yet it stood out.

Could it be... that tail is its fatal weak point? Is that also why it doesn't dare come close? Lu Feng instantly formed a guess.

At once, he stopped dodging and used Carefree Steps to its fullest. His figure flashed as he lunged straight for the old ape's tail.

Just as I thought!

When the old ape saw Lu Feng coming straight for its tail, its expression changed drastically. Unable to remain calm any longer, it hurriedly backed away, its eyes full of panic and apprehension.

Seeing this, Lu Feng grew even more certain of his guess. He pressed his advantage, and after several attacks, he finally seized an opportunity. Using the perfected Grasping Hand, he clamped a firm grip on the old ape's tail.

"Come off!"

Lu Feng let out a low shout, and his full strength erupted as he forcibly tore the old ape's tail off!

"Ahhh-!"

A piercing scream like a pig being slaughtered burst from the old ape's mouth, filled with extreme pain and fury.

To everyone's horror, the old ape began to age at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its gray-gold hair turned grizzled, and the Yao Qi around it rapidly weakened.

"I've spent fifty years painstakingly plotting this!"

The old ape's eyes were bloodshot as it stared venomously at Lu Feng, its voice hoarse.

"Success was within my grasp! Then I could have lived another hundred years, perhaps even broken through to the third tier! But now you've ruined it all! I'll make you die with me!"

Before it finished speaking, the old ape's body began to swell wildly. The Yao Qi around it grew violent to the extreme, and even the ground began to tremble slightly.

"This is bad! It's going to self-destruct!"

Lu Feng sensed the danger at once, his expression changing drastically. Without another moment's hesitation, he used Carefree Steps to its fullest and raced for the cave entrance.

Boom-!

With an earth-shaking blast, the old ape's body exploded. A violent shockwave of Yao Qi swept through the entire cave, sending rocks flying and filling the air with dust.

Even though Lu Feng had already run dozens of meters away, the shockwave still sent him flying. He slammed heavily into the ground, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

A second before he passed out, a system notification rang clearly in his mind:

[Ding! Successfully slain a second-tier ape demon. Demon Points obtained: 10000;]

An unknown time later, Lu Feng slowly opened his eyes. The sky had already darkened, and night had fallen.

The first thing he saw was Ergou keeping watch anxiously at his side. An Shi, Chen Hu, and the others were gathered nearby, looking worried.

"I... how long was I unconscious? How did you all get here?"

Lu Feng tried to struggle to his feet, but his whole body ached and felt as if it had fallen apart, leaving him weak. Ergou hurriedly reached out and helped him up.

"Boss, you've been unconscious for three shichen!" Ergou said hurriedly.

"We hadn't gone far before we ran into Lin Shan. We handed the demonic beast corpses over to him, then came looking for you right away!"

An Shi took over, his tone grave. "It's late, and you're badly injured. We'll stay in this cave for the night and return to the city first thing tomorrow morning."

"What happened? How did you get hurt so badly?" An Shi couldn't help asking, his eyes full of puzzlement.

Lu Feng spoke softly, his tone calm but tinged with lingering fear. "A second-tier ape demon was hiding deep in the cave. I was injured by the shockwave when it self-destructed."

"A second-tier ape demon?!"

"It self-destructed?!"

Everyone present went pale at once, their faces full of shock.

They had imagined that Lu Feng might have been surrounded and attacked by several first-tier demonic beasts, but they had never expected a second-tier demonic beast, let alone that it had self-destructed!

"Are you sure it was a second-tier demonic beast?" An Shi's expression darkened, and his tone turned serious.

"Second-tier demonic beasts are extremely rare. How could one appear in Lin'an County?"

"Absolutely certain," Lu Feng said with a nod, then added,

"It was skilled at using the gray-gold hair on its body as hidden weapons."

"I never expected a second-tier demonic beast to be hiding in Lin'an County..." An Shi sighed, then reassured him,

"Don't worry. I'll report this to my superiors immediately. Your injuries won't be for nothing."

Afterward, Lu Feng sat cross-legged in a corner of the cave and meditated to heal his injuries. Ergou tended to him attentively, while Chen Hu and the others took turns keeping watch through the night, alert to any movement around them.

Lu Feng quietly opened his system panel and looked at the numbers on it.

[Host: Lu Feng]

[Cultivation: Ming Jin, perfected;]

[Arts: Gale Saber Art (perfected); Carefree Steps (perfected); Gate-Severing Saber Art (perfected); Grasping Hand (perfected); Iron Cloth Shirt (perfected);]

[Demon Points: 24100;]

He had over twenty-four thousand Demon Points, but unfortunately, he had no higher-tier arts to improve.

Lu Feng had previously asked An Shi about it and learned that to break through to An Jin, he had to cultivate an An Jin art.

There were no An Jin arts in all of Lin'an County. He could only exchange for one in the commandery city or at the Demon-Slaying Bureau.

Whether to increase his strength or to wipe out the demonic beasts completely, he had to join the Demon-Slaying Bureau!

Early the next morning, Lu Feng had recovered from most of his injuries and could just manage to walk on his own.

Once everyone was ready, they took the heads of the demonic beasts they had slain and set off together for Lin'an City.

As soon as they reached the county city gate, they saw a crowd of townspeople gathered outside the government office, a hubbub of voices rising as they talked among themselves.

"Old Wang, you're here early too?" a man in the crowd asked.

"Of course! I heard Head Constable Lin Shan killed countless demonic beasts yesterday, including more than a dozen first-tier ones. I came especially to see the excitement!" another man said, his face full of excitement.

"I also heard that a big shot from the Demon-Slaying Bureau has arrived! Head Constable Lin Shan is about to follow that big shot and become an official at the Demon-Slaying Bureau!"

"My heavens! That's incredible! I heard Head Constable Lin Shan led the men who killed all the wolf demons on North Mountain. From now on, we in Lin'an County won't have to fear demonic beasts anymore!"

The chatter rose and fell, all of it praising Lin Shan.

Just then, the gates of the county government office opened, and a young man in an ink-black robe walked out, followed by Lin Yuan, Lin Shan, and a group of constables.

Lin Yuan and Lin Shan nodded and bowed to the young man, their faces full of ingratiating smiles as they humbled themselves before him.

The onlookers stared in astonishment. None of them had expected the dignified Lin'an County deputy magistrate to have such a humble side.

The young man in the ink-black robe glanced at the demonic beast corpses on the ground and said mildly, "These first-tier demonic beasts will serve as proof for Lin Shan's assessment. I'll take them with me."

With that, he raised a hand and waved it. A cloth bag the size of a palm appeared out of thin air, and all dozen or so first-tier demonic beast corpses on the ground were sucked into it.

The sight once again left the onlookers gaping in astonishment.