Chapter 93: Promotion to Regional Guardian

Gongyang Yan’s expression was grim. The Demon Suppression Bureau had been humiliated at their own doorstep—how could they keep their dignity? If word of Dongbin City’s weakness spread, more and more martial experts from various sects would descend upon this place.

“Jiang Dongliu lingering here will eventually become a calamity,” she muttered. “The Eastern Marquis’s commander has his eyes on Bai Li Feihong. I can’t protect him forever.”

She patrolled Gongping Town once more. The yin energy had dissipated, and even the ancient profound ice left by Lady Han Su of the Primordial Frost showed signs of melting.

“It will eventually become a calamity,” she sighed, turning back toward Dongbin City.

Bai Li Feihong awoke from his slumber, gazing up at the sky. “Escaping death this time was no easy feat,” he murmured, feeling the surging blood energy within him.

He had finally entered the tenth stage of Blood Refinement, breaking the barrier of nine. Yet, the skill points he had spent were considerable. The Free Wanderer technique, a supreme martial art, had cost him over twenty thousand skill points, but at last, he glimpsed its true nature.

A supreme divine ability: Kunpeng Escape.

“Huh?” Bai Li Feihong’s face was filled with surprise. By his calculations, he should have about 41,000 skill points left. Yet now, the Skill Book displayed an increase.

Host: Bai Li Feihong
Martial Realm: Origin Embryo [Embryo Stirring]
Skill Points: 86,300 (skills can be upgraded, synthesized, or deduced)
Skill 1: Culinary Arts, Masterful (Experience: 3,620/8,000)
Skill 2: All-Things Return Cauldron Technique, Stage Ten (16,300/2,000,000) [Peak] (skill points can upgrade, deduce, or synthesize)
Skill 3: Demon Suppression Six Paths Scripture, First Path (Peak Refining Spirit), Second Path, Origin Embryo. Embryo Stirring (195,300/2,000,000)
Skill 4: Kunpeng Escape: Supreme Divine Ability, Stage One: Soaring Nine Heavens Mastery (999,000/1,000,000)
Skill 5: Demon Suppression Hand, Martial Will (upgrade conditions not met)
Skill 6: Blood Town Rivers and Mountains (Divine Ability Stage Three, 320/800)
Skill 7: White Dragon in the Waves, Martial Will (ten skill points to upgrade)
Skill 8: Thirteenfold Golden Light Body Cultivation (can be upgraded to fourteenfold with skill points)
Skill 9: Dragon Claw Hand, Martial Will (4/30, can upgrade trait with skill points)
Skill 10: Sweeping Thousands, Mastery (1/10)

Studying the attributes in the Skill Book, Bai Li Feihong confirmed that experience and skill points were not linked. Experience was gained based on his cultivation state—the deeper his understanding, the greater the experience gained. Peak martial arts could be enhanced by resources, converting them into experience.

“I suspect that in the end, upgrading a level will require more skill points than experience,” he mused. Based on the Skill Book’s quirks, he was ninety-nine percent certain this was true.

This time, unleashing the accumulated vital energy in his acupoints made Bai Li Feihong pay much more attention to them. Inspecting his body, the acupoints sparkled like stars—once the size of fireflies, but now, after entering the tenth stage of Blood Refinement, their capacity for vital energy had greatly increased.

Most dazzling of all was the Origin Embryo seed, shining like a stellar sun. Subtle currents of wind transformed into runic order, swirling around the seed and drawing the surrounding vital energy into himself. The sound of his blood flowing now carried a hint of thunderstorm.

Though his realm remained at Embryo Stirring, his strength had increased tenfold and more.

“All-Things Return Cauldron Technique—does the Skill Book deduce methods based on my state?” Bai Li Feihong recalled clearly: when Blood Returning Skill reached its peak, upgrading it required 500 skill points. But now, the All-Things Return Cauldron Technique, deduced at Blood Refinement Stage Nine, cost ten times that amount.

A graceful figure streaked across the sky. Before Bai Li Feihong could react, Gongyang Yan was already standing beside him.

“Thank you, madam, for your intervention. Otherwise, I would have lost my life here,” Bai Li Feihong said, bowing respectfully.

Gongyang Yan did not reply, but scrutinized Bai Li Feihong. His clothes were tattered and stained with blood. The remnants exuded a terrifying blood energy that drew attention.

At this moment, she finally understood why the Eastern Marquis’s army commander from the Netherworld would personally deal with such a minor figure as Bai Li Feihong. How did he manage it?

“The Imperial Court bans martial arts, fearing the people will break the taboo through martial prowess,” Gongyang Yan began. “This rule didn’t start with the Great Yuan Empire—it dates back several dynasties.”

“In the Great Yuan, ordinary cultivators only reach so-called Nine Blood Martial Master. Some prodigies break through the secret of blood refinement, giving rise to Blood Refiners.”

“The emergence of Blood Refiners is a boon for the court. Their power poses no threat to the state, but is deadly to demons.”

“But later, many Blood Refiners were recruited as sect disciples. With the bearing of ancient cultivators, once exposed to sect martial arts, they soared skyward. Not a few who achieved the level of Martial Saint did so at the Blood Refinement stage, tempering their blood to the limit.”

“Bone Refinement is similar. Countless martial predecessors concluded that whether one can become a Martial Saint depends closely on the foundation laid during body refining.”

Gongyang Yan’s words were secrets within the sects, known only to those with proper lineage. From the start of training, disciples were deliberately tempered. The stronger the physique, the smoother their martial path.

“Madam, what are you trying to say?” Bai Li Feihong frowned, recalling the old monster from the Netherworld, who also coveted his blood and flesh.

“At present, you are a walking supreme pill. If you die, your blood and flesh devoured by demons, filling their deficiencies, will surely give birth to a supreme demon.”

“For evil cultivators, it’s the same. The Netherworld has its eyes on you. If they get the chance, they’ll strike.”

“If they can’t have you, they’ll kill you. For them, killing a genius is the best protection for their future,” Gongyang Yan revealed secrets unknown to Bai Li Feihong. He had thought his blood energy would drive even demons away, but there were countless secret methods in the world to avoid the harm of blood energy, absorb yang blood, and fill one’s own deficiencies.

Evil cultivators, too. He thought of the female ghost Ji Xiaoqian, whose initial intent was to absorb his yang energy.

“The Netherworld is truly detestable,” Bai Li Feihong sighed.

“They’re not the only ones. For us in the Demon Suppression Bureau, religions and aristocratic clans are threats as well. You haven’t yet touched the sect world, so you don’t know its dangers,” Gongyang Yan’s eyes flashed with a hint of murderous intent. Clearly, she detested that world.

“However, with your abilities now, you’ll soon encounter them,” Gongyang Yan’s feelings were complicated. Bai Li Feihong was her protégé, whom she had promoted herself. When she saw his high blood refinement, she reached out. He was young, and the Netherworld placed great expectations on him.

“Gongyang Yan wields the token of the Blade Saint Gongyang, a Martial Saint relic. One strike, even a Martial Saint must avoid her edge,” the Eastern Marquis’s commander said warily. Moreover, with Jiang Dongliu of the Yin-Yang Heavenly Sect nearby—ranked second on the Hidden Dragon List, three years into Divine Ability Realm—he wasn’t afraid of Jiang Dongliu, but if a fight broke out with Gongyang Yan, Jiang would certainly intervene.

“Bai Li Feihong’s escape technique must be a divine ability. He’s not yet in Divine Ability Realm, yet he forced its use. Can he withstand the backlash?” Black Impermanence finished, turning to leave. Beneath the mask, no one knew his true face.

“Where are you going, Black Impermanence?” someone asked.

“Back to Dongbin City. I’ll seize the chance to capture Bai Li Feihong and bring him to headquarters,” Black Impermanence made no secret of his intentions. Capturing Bai Li Feihong would be a great feat. He knew too much: the Gates of the Underworld, the method of immortality.

The Eastern Marquis’s commander did not stop him. Within the Netherworld, at their level, freedom was considerable. Black and White Impermanence would not listen to him.

White Impermanence left as well.

Deep underground in Dali Town, only the Eastern Marquis’s commander and some Netherworld personnel remained. The massive base needed maintenance.

“The Gates of the Underworld, the method of immortality, the will of the demon god,” the Eastern Marquis’s commander pondered whether Bai Li Feihong’s words were true. One thing was certain—he hadn’t lied about Lady Han Su of the Primordial Frost hiding within the Gates of the Underworld. Otherwise, with Netherworld’s methods, they would have long since unearthed this ancestral matron. Every matter involved earth-shattering secrets.

Lady Han Su had been buried for ten millennia, yet could still revive. This news was too important for Netherworld. Perhaps immortality truly existed.

The Eastern Marquis’s commander’s breath grew heavy, his eyes burning, his lonely heart ignited by sky-reaching ambition. His body was old. The only path forward was for his soul to reside within his Netherworld, eking out survival. The flesh was the vessel of the soul; without its protection, Netherworld was fragile.

“Bai Li Feihong isn’t the key. His words are half-true, half-false. But they give me great clues. Lady Han Su of the Primordial Frost, our ancestral matron, is so weak that she must flee before the threat of a Martial Saint relic,” he thought.

He understood Lady Han Su’s terror well. Back then, those who died at her hand included not only Martial Saints, but even Human Immortals and greater demon gods. Now, she fled before someone like Gongyang Yan, a second-generation scion shielded by her clan.

She was no longer the Han Su who once intimidated a hundred sects.

“Find her,” he ordered, his heart ablaze. Netherworld was searching for Han Su, but now he changed his plan. Within Netherworld, he was an upper-middle figure. If he found Lady Han Su, whether for cooperation or other schemes, it would break the shackles of fate, giving him a chance to ascend to the highest realm.

“Misty, mobilize everyone we have to search for our ancestral matron Han Su,” he said, looking at his disciple Yun Misty, kneeling on the ground.

“If you find her, I’ll remove the Netherworld Talisman from you,” he promised.

Yun Misty looked up, moved: “Master, rest assured, your disciple will find the ancestral matron.”

To be freed from the Netherworld Talisman was to gain absolute freedom.

“I have high hopes for you. You possess a unique talent. It’s precisely because of this talent that you became my disciple. Now is the time to put it to use.”

Jiang Dongliu released a carrier pigeon. “I made the classic mistake of overlooking what’s right beneath the lamp. No wonder Gongyang Yan is so fearless—she doesn’t fear demons. She’s cultivating such a blood guardian!”

Though Bai Li Feihong’s skill was still short of perfection, Jiang Dongliu knew him well. He had watched him since joining the Demon Suppression Bureau. In the end, Jiang chose Luo Jinglin, a disciple with great destiny in swordsmanship. Luo was outstanding, and Jiang was satisfied, even arranging his future path. Yet today, Jiang Dongliu was in poor spirits; his excellent disciple paled before Bai Li Feihong.

When they entered the Demon Suppression Bureau, both were apprentices. In less than a year, Bai Li Feihong had become Dongbin City’s Right Guardian. Comparison breeds resentment.

“With such vast blood energy, there’s only one possibility for rapid cultivation,” he thought. Legendary Kunpeng blood!

At this realization, Jiang Dongliu understood much. Bai Li Feihong’s escape technique had amazed even this Divine Ability master. For a moment, he saw the Kunpeng soaring, wings spread, charging to the heavens.

“The legend is true. The young city guardian came to Dongbin City to establish the Demon Suppression Tower specifically for the Kunpeng demon blood,” he mused.

This demon blood was not polluted by demonic energy, but contained the lineage of Kunpeng, a divine beast.

“This cannot be revealed to the sect yet,” Jiang Dongliu murmured. If he could obtain Kunpeng demon blood, using yin-yang magic to manifest the Kunpeng, it would strengthen his foundation to challenge Martial Saint.

“The Blade Saint’s wooden blade in Gongyang Yan’s hand remains a threat. I’ll need to borrow my master’s Yin-Yang Infinite Shield to guard against it.”

Provincial Demon Suppression Bureau.

Gong Yu of Nanshan County perused the memorial submitted from above, surprised. “Miss, is this your choice? Alas, your fate was determined long ago. Why resist in vain? Lord Yu went to the capital for you, suffering greatly. You need only nod and accept the proposal of the eighteenth prince—why insist on guarding Dongbin City, this volcano?”

The volcano of Dali Mountain would bring her endless hardship.

“Bai Li Feihong has become the Right Guardian?” he mused. “Well, the Bureau won’t transfer you out of Dongbin City. A powerless upstart, being reassigned in the interim is fine.”

Gong Yu did not intercept the memorial. Nor did he dare. Even the Gongyang clan could not protect him if he did. Bai Li Feihong had earned a great merit, and had rich experience dealing with multiple enemies.

The Southern Naval Division’s overseas station lacked a Guardian.

“What? I’ve become a Guardian!” Bai Li Feihong jumped up upon hearing the news. The Lotus Sword handed him the task document.

“This is an appointment from headquarters. You are ordered to join the Dongbin Fleet within three days, head south to Feiyuan Island, and assume the post of Guardian for the local Demon Suppression Bureau,” Lotus Sword said.

Bai Li Feihong took the appointment and immediately went to Gongyang Yan’s office.

“Madam Gongyang, did you manipulate this? I’m to be Guardian of Feiyuan Island?” Bai Li Feihong’s tone was almost accusatory. He had lived in Dongbin City for years and grown attached to it.

“Commander Gong Yu did well,” Gongyang Yan answered, gazing out the window. “For you, this appointment means boundless prospects. Being posted overseas as Guardian, far from Dongbin City, the Netherworld must consider whether the Southern Naval Division will allow them to harm you.”

Bai Li Feihong fell silent.

“Three years—at most three years—you must return to Dongbin City. I can hold out here for three years. After that, it’s hard to say,” she said with a soft laugh. “Of course, you could choose to stay away altogether.”

“I’ll keep my promise. Three years is not short. Madam Gongyang, I hope you stay well,” Bai Li Feihong said, bowing deeply in gratitude. It was under her protection that he had grown so quickly.

“To step beyond the borders, to venture overseas—good. See more of the world, and you’ll discover its true wonders.”

Bai Li Feihong was silent.

He was among the few who knew Gongyang Yan was secretly confined in Dongbin City. The task she bore was tied to the fate of the Great Yuan Empire. A prophecy had made even the Gu Liang imperial family, standing atop the world, tremble with fear.

How terrifying was this prophet, truly?