After assigning the tasks, He Fenghua delivered a few more motivational words before wrapping up.
"Rest for three days. All Yellow-level Demon Suppression Officers must reach their assigned villages and towns within three days. That's all for today, you may leave."
"Yes, Lord He Fenghua."
The crowd responded and departed.
He Fenghua watched Gu Qingfeng's retreating figure, a cold smile creeping onto his lips.
Assigning Gu Qingfeng to the most dangerous area was no accident; He Fenghua had never been a magnanimous person.
Ever since Gu Qingfeng refused to sell the Wood King Sword, He Fenghua harbored resentment towards him. Today, being publicly humiliated by Gu Qingfeng only intensified his desire for revenge.
Bound by the rules of the Demon Suppression Bureau, he couldn't personally crush Gu Qingfeng like an ant, so he resorted to using a knife to kill him.
And that knife was the demonic creatures of Blackwater Village.
...
On the way back, Wang Fatty was in a state of panic, trying to persuade Gu Qingfeng, "Lord Gu! Lord Gu! Since things have come to this, please listen to me!"
Gu Qingfeng glanced at him, "What do you want to say?"
"Lord Gu, could you possibly plead with Lord He Fenghua to assign us to a different village? If it requires money, I do have some savings..."
Gu Qingfeng cut him off, "To be honest with you, He Fenghua and I have a grudge. No amount of money would change his mind."
Wang Fatty's chubby face turned pale.
He thought, "I'm done for, I've been tricked. I've boarded a pirate ship."
He had chosen Gu Qingfeng for safety, only to find out that Gu Qingfeng had offended his superior. Just appointed and already being given the cold shoulder, how would he survive under Gu Qingfeng?
Wang Fatty's small eyes darted around, "Lord Gu, since we have no choice but to go to Blackwater Village, how about this: we pretend to patrol the outskirts of the village in three days, without actually entering it. That should suffice for our duty."
Gu Qingfeng, seeing Wang Fatty's anxious and hopeful expression, suppressed a chuckle but maintained a righteous demeanor, "How could that be! We, as Demon Suppression Officers, are duty-bound to eliminate demons and protect the people. Knowing that Blackwater Village is suffering from demonic infestation and doing nothing about it is a disgrace to our duty and the people we serve."
Wang Fatty was dumbfounded by this speech. He couldn't believe this was the same person who had talked about fleeing from demons earlier.
Wang Fatty was desperate and turned to Xu Fan, who stood like a wooden statue, not saying a word.
"Xu Fan, don't just stand there like a fool, say something! Persuade Lord Gu!"
"Ah? Oh." Xu Fan snapped out of his daze, "Lord Gu is right."
Gu Qingfeng felt amused and patted Xu Fan's shoulder in encouragement.
Wang Fatty, seeing the two in cahoots, was dumbfounded, his fat jiggling with anger.
He pointed at Xu Fan, "Xu... Xu Fan! I asked you to persuade Lord Gu, what are you saying?"
"But I think Lord Gu is right. As Demon Suppression Officers of the Bureau, it's our duty to eliminate demons. We can't shirk our responsibilities." Xu Fan said matter-of-factly.
Wang Fatty was furious.
"Xu Fan, if you're so brave, why did you join Lord Gu's team after hearing his speech?"
Xu Fan scratched his head, "The book says, 'A gentleman does not stand under a leaning wall.' Lord Gu's team was the safest, so I naturally joined it."
"If a gentleman doesn't stand under a leaning wall, then why are you insisting on going to Blackwater Village?"
"The book says, 'A gentleman does not stand by and watch others in peril.'"
"You... you you you..." Wang Fatty was so angry he started to roll his eyes, unable to utter a single word.
Gu Qingfeng watched the two clowns with amusement. It seemed he had made the right choice in recruiting them; at least it wouldn't be boring.
To reassure them, Gu Qingfeng also added, "You two, rest assured. With me here, those mere demons are nothing to worry about."
This only made Wang Fatty even more distraught. What kind of team had he joined?
The leader was only at the fourth level of Qi condensation and already so arrogant.
The only teammate was a book-smart fool!
How could he, a normal person, survive?
...
After parting ways with Wang Shan and Xu Fan, Gu Qingfeng found a training room to practice. There were still three days before they had to go to Blackwater Village, and there was nothing else to do, so he might as well practice the One-Word Blazing Sun Sword.
This time, he planned to use ordinary fire, which wouldn't be too powerful, suitable for training in the room.
The training rooms were protected by arrays, very sturdy.
Before starting, Gu Qingfeng took out a prepared fire starter, lit it with flint, and began to control the fire.
While lighting the fire, Gu Qingfeng realized the inconvenience.
If he were to use ordinary fire with the One-Word Blazing Sun Sword in combat, he would have to light the fire first each time.
After all, the fire control talent was just a fire transporter, not a fire producer.
In a real battle, who would give you the chance to light a fire?
If he used the Bone Demon Fire, the power would be too great and too conspicuous. It couldn't be a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut every time.
He had to find a way to solve the problem with ordinary fire.
Ordinary fire was just common flame, which needed combustible material and air. Even if he used his fire control talent to store it in his body, it would naturally extinguish soon. So he had to change his approach.
Since it couldn't be stored, he had to simplify the process of lighting the fire, ideally making it so that drawing the sword would ignite the fire.
Drawing the sword and having fire?
Huh! There it is!
Gu Qingfeng suddenly had an epiphany, and an idea immediately came to mind.
Why not design the sword to act like a lighter?
The blade could be made of special flint material, the scabbard filled with special oil, and a latch could be added inside the scabbard. When the sword was drawn, it would rub against the latch, igniting the oil, resulting in a flaming sword!
The remaining special oil in the scabbard wouldn't need to worry about burning, as it could be extinguished by the fire control talent.
Perfect!
Gu Qingfeng clapped his hands, becoming more and more convinced of the idea's feasibility.
"Hahaha, as a modern person, my thinking is just so unique!"
With that thought, Gu Qingfeng couldn't wait to stop practicing and rushed out of the training room to the Weapons Bureau.
The Demon Suppression Bureau was an important department of the Great Yan Dynasty, and even its branches were fully equipped.
The Weapons Bureau, Talisman Bureau, Alchemy Bureau, and more were all present.
At the Weapons Bureau, Gu Qingfeng presented his Yellow-level Demon Suppression Officer badge and was allowed to pass without obstruction, quickly finding a well-regarded old blacksmith.
He described his idea to the old blacksmith.
The blacksmith was dumbfounded, having forged weapons all his life, this was the first time he had heard such a request.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
