Setting Out

Lu Feng changed into clean clothes and walked towards the council hall of the military command.

There were only two figures inside the hall.

Su Ying wore a long purple dress, her long hair loosely tied up with a silver hairpin, exuding a lazy yet playful charm.

Qin Shuang stood beside her, still dressed in white.

Lu Feng's gaze lingered on Su Ying for a moment longer before he sensed a change in her aura—it became deeper, more stable, and more unfathomable.

Mid-Stage Grandmaster.

"Your subordinate, Lu Feng, greets the two lords." He walked to the front of the hall and bowed.

Su Ying stood up as soon as she saw him, her eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.

"Lu Feng, you've come at the right time. Sister Shuang told me that your strength has improved by leaps and bounds recently. Come, spar with me for a few moves."

"My lord! You are now at the Mid-Stage Grandmaster, how could I possibly be your match?" Lu Feng's lips twitched slightly.

"Besides, the Five-City Grand Competition is just around the corner. If you happen to injure me, who will fight in your place in the Hua Jin Realm competition?"

"Alright."

Qin Shuang spoke at the opportune moment, her tone neither too light nor too heavy, effectively dampening Su Ying's interest.

"Miss, business is more important."

Su Ying pouted, somewhat dissatisfied, and sat back down, but didn't insist any further.

Qin Shuang looked at Lu Feng and said seriously, "I called you here today for three things. First, Miss has emerged from seclusion and her cultivation has broken through to the Mid-Stage Grandmaster."

"Secondly, tomorrow morning, you and Miss will accompany the Deputy Si Zheng to Central Province."

"Leaving first thing tomorrow morning?"

Lu Feng was somewhat surprised. He remembered that the Five-City Grand Competition was still more than half a month away.

"The Headquarters Demon-Slaying Bureau is in Central Province, tens of thousands of miles from here. At your pace, it will take at least half a month to get there," Qin Shuang explained.

Lu Feng nodded. Tens of thousands of miles. That was indeed a long journey.

"Oh, right."

Su Ying seemed to remember something, took out a storage bag from her sleeve, and casually tossed it to Lu Feng.

"This is a gift from me. If you need anything, take care of it on your journey."

Lu Feng caught it with both hands; inside were actually a thousand Origin Crystal.

With the three thousand yuan reward Qin Shuang had given him earlier, he now had more than five thousand Origin Crystal in his possession.

"My lord, this..."

"What? You think it's not enough?" Su Ying raised an eyebrow.

"Not a little bit!"

Lu Feng quickly stuffed the storage bag into his clothes, suppressing the ever-growing smile on his face.

"Your Excellency is so generous! I will certainly do my utmost and fulfill my mission!"

"Alright."

Qin Shuang coughed lightly, bringing the topic back on track.

"Now, let's talk about the third thing. In the Five-City Grand Competition, there are three people at the Hua Jin level. You must find out about them beforehand."

Which three?

Lu Feng's smile faded, and his expression turned serious.

"South City Demon-Slaying Bureau, Jiang Han. East City Demon-Slaying Bureau, Lin Jingfeng. Central Province Demon-Slaying Bureau, Lu Shuang."

Su Ying picked up the conversation, her tone much more serious than before.

"I had originally planned to participate in the Hua Jin Realm competition myself, so I conducted a detailed investigation into these three individuals."

"Jiang Han of the South City Demon-Slaying Bureau possesses mastery of three Nei Jin Perfection cultivation techniques, one of which is movement technique. Her movement technique is extremely advanced, following a light and unpredictable style. If you encounter her, remember not to use the Ink-Sunken Saber."

Su Ying emphasized this point.

"The Ink-Sunken Saber is too heavy; its attack speed can't keep up with her movement rhythm."

Lu Feng nodded and silently made a note of it.

"Lin Jingfeng of the East City Demon-Slaying Bureau a body cultivator. He once killed a third-tier demon beast with his bare physical strength. Your physical body is not weak either, but it's not worth it to fight him head-on. Against body cultivators, you should use speed and movement techniques to suppress them, and avoid close combat," Su Ying continued.

"Lu Shuang, a sword cultivator from the Headquarters Demon-Slaying Bureau."

When Su Ying mentioned this name, her expression became unusually serious.

"Her strength is terrifying. I had always considered her my strongest opponent. She once killed a fourth-tier demonic beast, even though she was of a higher level."

Lu Feng's gaze darkened slightly.

The fact that Hua Jin at the Transformation Realm level could kill a fourth-tier demonic beast means that the opponent must have gained control of the situation.

Moreover, it is highly likely that he, like him, comprehended Sword Force at the Hua Jin stage.

Such an opponent truly deserves the word "terrifying".

Qin Shuang then added some more specific information.

Jiang Han's maximum speed and agility, Lin Jingfeng's defensive weaknesses and power exertion habits, and Lu Shuang's fighting style and preferred sword techniques.

Lu Feng memorized everything, some detailed and some brief, occasionally asking about one or two specific details.

By the time he came out of the council chamber, it was already dark.

Back in his cave, Lu Feng lay on his bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

He simply opened the system panel and read through the Hundred Beasts Body-Tempering Art again from beginning to end.

Besides tempering the physical body, this technique has another characteristic that he hadn't paid much attention to before: it allows one to sense the aura of demonic beasts.

It was precisely because of this characteristic that he was able to repeatedly see through the Half-Demon's disguise.

But today he subtly inquired with Qin Shuang and Su Ying, Demon-Slaying Bureau currently only relies on specialized demon-detecting artifacts to identify Half-Demon; no one can make a judgment based on their own perception.

what does that mean?

This means that Lu Feng is now the only person in the entire Demon-Slaying Bureau who can identify Half-Demon with his naked eyes and senses.

If this news gets out, countless people will want to kill him to silence him.

Lu Feng turned off the panel and put his hands behind his head.

Central Province, Headquarters Demon-Slaying Bureau.

It is a gathering place for the most outstanding geniuses, resources and intelligence networks of the Five Cities Demon-Slaying Bureau.

Perhaps clues to the whereabouts of the Bone-Tempering Sand can be found there.

The next day, before dawn, Lu Feng arrived at the square.

Not long after, Su Ying and Qin Shuang walked over side by side.

Su Ying changed into a smart purple outfit, her long hair tied in a ponytail, looking less lazy than usual.

Qin Shuang changed into a plain white robe, no longer dressed as the head of the military command.

"Lu Feng, you're here quite early," Su Ying said.

"This is of great importance to the competition, so we dare not be negligent." Lu Feng cupped his hands in greeting.

The three waited a while longer, and then a figure slowly approached from a distance.

The man walked slowly, but each step was very steady. He wore a dark robe, had gray hair, a thin face, and his eyes were half-open, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

But Lu Feng only sensed his aura from afar, which was unfathomable.

This person should be Xiao Tianqi, the Deputy Si Zheng of the Demon-Slaying Bureau.

"Greetings, Deputy Si Zheng." The three bowed simultaneously.

Xiao Tianqi raised his eyelids, his gaze lingered on Su Ying for a moment, then swept over Lu Feng, and then he hummed in agreement.

"It's getting late. Let's go."

As soon as he finished speaking, he lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his whole body floated up and soared southward.

Lu Feng and Su Ying exchanged a glance, then simultaneously used their movement techniques to follow.