Chapter Twenty: Visitors from the Sect

The battle raged on. No one left.

The cage match lasted for several hours. In the end, only thirty-two new recruits were selected for the Demon Suppression Division. Half chose to slay the demonic beasts, while seven lost their lives. Many martial artists subsequently chose to forfeit, preserving their lives. In this vast world, nothing is more precious than life itself.

“At eight o’clock tomorrow morning, gather at the Demon Suppression Tower. There, a Demon Suppressor will instruct you in the rules of the division for half a month,” Zheng Yishan announced, signaling the end of the selection.

Only after leaving the Demon Suppression Tower did Bai Li Feihong realize that his sixth elder brother, Zhang Qianshan, had not participated in the selection. The rest of his fellow disciples at the Four Seas Martial Hall were already too old to qualify.

“Sir, here are the dossiers of the selected apprentices,” Zheng Yishan said respectfully, presenting the volume to Gongyang Yan.

“Thirty-two apprentices—a far cry from the hundred I require. Demon Suppressor Zheng, continue recruiting new members. Don’t limit yourself to Dongbin City. Any of our Great Yuan people may be warmly invited to participate in the selection,” Gongyang Yan replied, accepting the dossier and turning away.

Within that volume was the most detailed information on the thirty-two apprentices—details even Zheng Yishan had not seen. The special abilities and talents of these apprentices, assessed by the Demon Suppressors during testing, were kept under strict orders not to be disclosed. Even the apprentices themselves were unaware. This roster, held by the Warden, allowed her to allocate resources and training based on each apprentice’s potential.

In time, as these individuals matured, they would become the core force directly under Gongyang Yan’s command. Moreover, with demons suspected of infiltrating the division, the fewer who knew, the safer she would be. She understood her task in Dongbin City perfectly. Should she fail, the Gongyang family would pay dearly, suffering imperial retribution. Never underestimate the power of the imperial family of Great Yuan.

Bai Li Feihong returned home brimming with excitement.

Essence Blood Pills.

This small bottle was enough to raise nine streams of blood energy, making him an elite among martial artists.

“I’ll save my skill points, let them accumulate. Only when I obtain true martial arts secrets will I use them. With these pills, my cultivation will advance rapidly. I can avoid devouring vast quantities of prime meat just to gain the energy life requires.”

He glanced at the Blood River Blade Technique.

Blood River Blade Technique: Proficient (198/8000).

“Eight thousand experience points!”

Currently, each session of practice yielded only ten points on average.

Ordinarily, he would need to practice eight hundred times—and replenish his energy throughout. If not for the money left by Ji Xiaoqian, the white-robed female ghost, Bai Li Feihong would not have had the resources to match his skill tome. Practicing martial arts alone would have starved him.

He swallowed an Essence Blood Pill.

A surge of potent blood energy radiated from his abdomen to every limb, filling his body with explosive strength.

“With these pills, even practicing the Four Seas Fist can condense blood energy, though its conversion rate is lower than the Blood River Blade Technique.”

He drew the Blood Sea Sabre and began practicing.

“Experience +1000!”

In one session, the sixth stream of blood energy within him advanced from its initial to its middle stage.

He continued practicing, again and again—ten full times.

“Experience +1000.”
“Experience +1000.”
...

After ten cycles, the sixth stream of blood energy was perfected.

“Upgrade,” he commanded without hesitation.

Blood River Blade Technique: Mastery (2198/32000).

He sensed the seventh stream of blood energy within him, purer than the sixth.

“So this is the benefit of martial resources? Pills accelerate cultivation far faster than experience points alone. Yet experience has one advantage—it breaks bottlenecks. Other martial artists, to comprehend seven streams of blood energy, must grasp the profound mysteries of their art. But with the skill tome, I bypass that trial. The insights of eight thousand Blood River Blade practices surfaced in my mind, granting me unparalleled understanding. My manipulation of blood energy became subtle and precise. If I entered the cage match again, I could fell the white tiger demon in a single blow.”

“Yet with such power, I am still nothing before true masters of martial secrets. It seems the world’s true martial ceiling is higher than I imagined.”

It made sense. The Warden, who could suppress an entire city, rival a trained army, and remain unfazed by firearms, was a terrifying figure—her martial prowess alone a strategic asset for Dongbin City.

Night had fallen.

Bai Li Feihong ceased training, carefully hiding the Essence Blood Pills before surrendering to sleep.

“Why has Gongyang Yan come to Dongbin City to serve as Warden?”

A figure strode through the air.

He wore a feather fan and a scholar’s scarf, his white robes billowing, bearing an otherworldly grace—less a mortal, more a scion of the immortals from legend. Exceptional hardly described this young man.

“With Gongyang Yan’s talent, she could readily be a squad leader in the central Demon Suppression Command. While Dongbin City is a bustling hub of overseas trade, it’s not suited for the division. Only in frontier lands, plagued by demonic overlords, can one make a name, earn resources from the division or even the court, and one day step onto the path of the Martial Saint.”

Fanning himself, the young noble’s eyes shone with curiosity.

But he knew his mission.

For the Gongyang clan, a Martial Saint family, to willingly become the court’s hound was a grave threat to his sect. He must uncover the truth behind Gongyang Yan’s assignment to Dongbin City. The Demon Suppression Command had granted her the power to recruit a hundred members—unprecedented, even in frontier strongholds beset by demons. Each position represented a significant resource investment.

“Recruiting apprentices—Gongyang Yan has given me an opening.”

The interests of sect and court were at odds. At the height of the court’s power, they had sent countless experts to trample the martial world, reclaiming authority and seizing martial resources and secrets, causing the sects to languish for centuries. Many retreated from the world, fading into legend.

“The Great Yuan’s martial world is in turmoil. My master sent me out to seek opportunities, to weaken the imperial family, and, if possible, to support the Dragon Court and supplant the dynasty that has ruled for eight centuries,” Jiang Dongliu murmured.

He opened his Martial Eye, surveying Dongbin City.

A blade’s gleam split the sky, shaking the clouds and warning all. Any disturbance might draw that blade’s fatal strike.

“Gongyang Yan’s martial progress has reached such a level? A worthy rival indeed.”

Jiang Dongliu’s eyes shone golden and crystalline as he swept his gaze across Dongbin City, frowning.

“Dongbin City—no trace of demons or specters!”

“Impossible!”

“Wherever there are people, desires never cease; thus, demons and spirits can never be fully eradicated.”

“There is something unnatural here!”

Suddenly, he saw something—a fragment of vision flashed in his mind.

An endless abyss yawned, as if to drag his soul into its depths.

The sword at his waist rang sharply, jolting him back to his senses.

Sweat beaded on his forehead.

“There is something profoundly wrong here—something unfathomable!”