Spirit Soldiers

Gu Qingfeng was ecstatic, but before he could even express his feelings, a surge of immense power erupted from deep within his body. The power filled his entire being, making him want to roar to the heavens.

"Ah!"

Gu Qingfeng let out a wild roar.

With all his strength, he activated the power of nine bulls and two tigers.

Instantly, the vines and branches binding him snapped and flew apart, leaving the prison cell littered with debris.

The Locust Tree Demon watched in horror, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Awesome!"

Gu Qingfeng exclaimed, eager to vent the surging power within him. But the only other being in the cell was the Locust Tree Demon.

So, he turned his fiery gaze and sinister smile towards the demon.

"You... you stay back!" the Locust Tree Demon cried out, sensing impending doom.

"Scream all you want; no one will come to save you," Gu Qingfeng sneered.

...

An hour later.

An elderly man with a bruised and swollen face extended countless vines, carefully giving a young man a full-body massage.

It was the Locust Tree Demon and Gu Qingfeng.

After an hour of "criticism and education," the Locust Tree Demon had completely reformed.

While massaging, he continued the story he had started earlier.

"So, you became a demon from an ordinary locust tree because of that spiritual weapon?" Gu Qingfeng casually asked.

The bruised Locust Tree Demon answered cautiously, "Yes, Master. When I was planted, there was a wooden spiritual weapon buried beneath me. I absorbed its essence day and night, which allowed me to take form."

"What kind of spiritual weapon is it? It must be at least a Xuan-grade weapon, right?" Gu Qingfeng exclaimed in surprise.

Spiritual weapons referred to powerful weapons with spiritual attributes, divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Huang.

"Master, you are indeed sharp-eyed. That weapon is called the Wood King Sword. A century ago, it was an Earth-grade upper-level spiritual weapon. However, it seems to have been damaged, and its spiritual essence has been gradually dissipating over the years, now reduced to a Xuan-grade lower-level weapon."

"Heh, it's more than just damaged. Over the past century, you've absorbed a lot of its spiritual essence for your transformation, haven't you? No wonder the Wood King Sword's grade has dropped so much."

"Master, you are indeed sharp-eyed."

"Enough with the flattery. Where is the Wood King Sword hidden?"

"When the Demon Suppression Bureau's exorcists came to capture me, I knew I couldn't resist, so I hid the Wood King Sword in a very secret place. Only I know where it is..."

Slap!

Gu Qingfeng slapped him across the face.

"I hate it when people beat around the bush. Get to the point."

"Yes, yes, Master. The Wood King Sword is hidden under the earth god temple in the back mountain of Zhang Family Village in Ji County." The Locust Tree Demon stammered.

"Why didn't you just say that from the start? You had to get hit to feel good, you're really a masochist. Alright, stop massaging. I'm off to the next place. I'll come back tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, Master, take your time. Welcome back next time."

The Locust Tree Demon quickly ran to open the cell door and bowed deeply, watching Gu Qingfeng leave.

Gu Qingfeng left, glancing at the time and cursing under his breath, "Damn it, this Locust Tree Demon talked too much, telling a story so slowly, and he's so tough, wasting so much time. It's almost dawn, and it's too late to go to the next cell now. I'd probably be halfway through when it's time to change shifts."

Gu Qingfeng had no choice but to give up.

He didn't want to be in the middle of a friendly chat with a demon when Zhang Zheng came in.

So, he returned to the Corpse Demon's cell to rest and wait for the shift change.

"Corpse Demon, give me a massage. Don't be a loli, change into an office lady outfit for me. Yes, that's it."

After a short while, Gu Qingfeng suddenly stood up.

Seeing this, the Corpse Demon quickly crouched down with her hands over her head, thinking she had massaged too hard and angered Gu Qingfeng.

But Gu Qingfeng said, "No, something's still missing."

He looked around the environment and realized what was missing.

The prison cell was too grim and oppressive.

"Wait here, I'll be right back."

With that, Gu Qingfeng left.

After about a stick of incense, Gu Qingfeng returned, dragging a despondent Eye Demon with a bleeding big eyeball.

The Corpse Demon was puzzled, not knowing why Gu Qingfeng had brought another demon.

Gu Qingfeng slapped the Eye Demon hard.

"Quick, set up the illusion as I instructed."

The Eye Demon reluctantly complied.

The blood-red big eyeball shot out a beam of blood light, and when the light dissipated, the Corpse Demon's cell had transformed dramatically!

It now had a modern look, with a hot spring, bath, tea table, sauna room, marble floor, bright chandeliers, and a luxurious bed.

Gu Qingfeng was overjoyed, "That's it! Perfect. Now I feel like getting a membership card.

Come on, Corpse Demon, continue."

...

Half an hour later, Gu Qingfeng reluctantly left the Corpse Demon's cell.

Because Zhang Zheng had come to change shifts.

This time, Zhang Zheng was in high spirits.

"Hey, why are you so happy today? Did you step in dog poop?" Gu Qingfeng teased.

Zhang Zheng rolled his eyes at Gu Qingfeng and then said excitedly, "Something big happened at the Demon Suppression Bureau."

"What happened?" Gu Qingfeng was immediately interested.

"I just heard the news. A few days ago, Lord Yang led a team of exorcists to the Bone Forest to slay demons, but they were all wiped out."

"Wiped out?" Gu Qingfeng looked at Zhang Zheng strangely.

"Why are you so excited about everyone being wiped out? Do you have a grudge against someone in there?"

"No, think about it. The Demon Suppression Bureau in Wutong Prefecture has always been fully staffed. This time, four Huang-grade exorcists and one Xuan-grade exorcist died, leaving a lot of vacancies!"

Oh...

Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood why Zhang Zheng was so happy.

In the workplace, many people are waiting for their superiors to retire or die so they can move up!

"Wait, even if there are vacancies for Huang-grade exorcists, what does that have to do with you? If I remember correctly, you're only at the fourth level of Qi Gathering, right? It's not like you're in line for it." Gu Qingfeng asked curiously.

"I know it's not my turn," Zhang Zheng said irritably.

"Huang-grade exorcists are usually only appointed to martial artists at the Internal Qi level. Among our probationary exorcists, there are four who have already reached the Internal Qi level, but there have been no vacancies, so they haven't been able to be promoted.

This time, four Huang-grade exorcists died, and these four were immediately promoted.

Now there's one vacancy left."

"Wait, didn't four Huang-grade exorcists die? That's five vacancies."

Zhang Zheng looked at Gu Qingfeng as if he were an idiot.

"Lord Yang, the Xuan-grade exorcist, also died. A Huang-grade exorcist will fill that position, so there are five Huang-grade vacancies in total."

Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood.

"What about the remaining vacancy? All the Internal Qi level probationary exorcists have been promoted."

"What to do? Of course, it's a martial arts competition! There are four Internal Qi level probationary exorcists, but five vacancies. The remaining one will go to the Qi Gathering level probationary exorcists. But there are dozens of Qi Gathering level nine probationary exorcists. Who gets it? We'll have a martial arts competition, and it's in three days!

When I arrived, the hall was packed with people signing up, and many were just there to watch."

Three days later? Gu Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat.

"Is this competition only open to Qi Gathering level nine probationary exorcists?"

"Of course not. There are no restrictions on registration. Many Qi Gathering level eight exorcists have signed up, but they're mostly delusional, hoping to get lucky. It's not easy to challenge someone at a higher level. The winner will definitely be among the Qi Gathering level nine exorcists.

I'll tell you, the most outrageous thing is that there's even a Qi Gathering level seven exorcist who signed up. How arrogant must you be to challenge two levels above you? It's like daydreaming."

Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng fell into deep thought.

This seemed like an opportunity, a chance to be promoted to a Huang-grade exorcist.

Gu Qingfeng had always been eyeing the second and third floors of the Demon Suppression Prison, but only Huang-grade exorcists could enter them.

If one were to follow the normal procedures to become a Yellow Rank Demon Suppression Officer, it's uncertain when that might happen. However, there's an opportunity to rise to the top in one fell swoop right now.

But once one participates in the martial arts competition, their true strength might be exposed, inviting unnecessary trouble.

Demons can't kill me, but martial artists can. Participating in the competition and aiming to come out on top—such a high-profile act doesn't align with my low-key nature.

Gu Qingfeng found himself in a dilemma. He never once considered the possibility of losing, because losing is indeed very difficult.

With abilities like Copper Skin and Iron Bones, Perfected Iron Shirt, Illusory Vision, and the Strength of Nine Bulls and Two Tigers, possessing just one of these would generally allow one to dominate those at the peak of Qi Gathering Stage Nine. And Gu Qingfeng has four of these abilities.

Not to mention anything else, just in terms of strength, the peak strength of Qi Gathering Stage Nine is only nine bulls, or nine thousand catties. But Gu Qingfeng possesses a staggering twenty-five thousand catties of strength!

The gap is evident to the naked eye.