The divine manifestations began at the Gongwei Division.

Zhou Heng returned to the Gongwei Division office.

Before he could even check his harvest, Lü Zi'an rushed over to report.

"Captain Xue and Captain Chen have arrived."

"Who?"

Zhou Heng didn't care about the underground passage; he was thinking about how to maximize the effect of the Heavenly Pill.

It's hard to say whether the Lin family can refine the Heaven-Reaching Pill.

But as long as people believe they can produce it, there is room for manipulation.

The Tongtian Pill is a pill that can directly advance a person to the second rank.

Which martial artist wouldn't want that?

Even the commanders of the Imperial Guard would probably find it hard to resist this temptation.

That's right, Zhou Heng is already plotting against the commander of the Imperial Guard.

"Captains Xue Zhiwei and Chen Zhaowu have arrived."

Lü Zian said.

"them?"

Zhou Heng then came to his senses and asked with some confusion, "What are they here for?"

"Did the Ministry send reinforcements to Shu Prefecture?"

Zhou Heng was jolted awake.

With the establishment of the Demon Court, the Shu region is in grave danger.

Upon receiving news of the Demon Court's establishment, Zhou Heng immediately sent people to request assistance from the Imperial Guard.

Whether the Imperial Guard has enough manpower or not is irrelevant; he has to make a shout first.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

I didn't expect the Imperial Guard to be so helpful; they actually sent someone over.

"How many of them came?"

Zhou Heng said with some excitement.

Seeing Zhou Heng's happy expression, Lü Zian felt a little reluctant to disturb his mood.

However, he still cautiously said, "It's just the two of them."

"How many?"

The smile on Zhou Heng's face disappeared, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Old Zhou, you've gotten quite arrogant since becoming the garrison commander. Do you have to announce our arrival now?"

Just then, a loud, carefree voice rang in Zhou Heng's ears, followed by Chen Zhaowu and a helpless-looking Xue Zhiwei walking in.

"Commander Zhou."

Xue Zhiwei cupped his hands in greeting.

She was rather reserved and polite.

Chen Zhaowu didn't care about any of that and walked up to Zhou Heng with a swagger. "I say, Commander Zhou, you're really something now."

I just saw it all; in front of the whole city, the Blood Ape General was skinned alive.

Well done!

I reckon this scene would scare monsters away from Chengdu for a hundred years!

Chen Zhaowu looked on with envy, as if he wished he could be the one to do all of that.

"What brings you here? Did the department send you to support Shu Prefecture?"

Zhou Heng ignored him and instead asked, "Are you familiar with the situation in Shu Prefecture? What use are the two of you alone?"

He spoke calmly, simply stating a fact.

Chen Zhaowu would not agree to that.

"What use are the two of us? Old Zhou, don't be so narrow-minded."

Chen Zhaowu exclaimed, "As soon as we heard there was danger in Shu Prefecture, we rushed here to help you without stopping. Is this how you treat your friends?"

"War is not child's play."

Zhou Heng said slowly, "The Demon Court may launch a full-scale invasion at any time. I don't have time to play with you."

"Commander Zhou, I know you want to maintain relations with us."

Xue Zhiwei said seriously, "But this time, we really came to help you."

The department is severely understaffed. Originally, the two of us were also supposed to be sent to other places, but we still managed to get assigned to Shu Prefecture.

The reason is simple: back in Qizhou, we all owed you our lives.

We have come to Shu Prefecture with the intention of returning your life to you.

We do not represent the Xue family or the Chen family; we represent Xue Zhiwei and Chen Zhaowu.

"Old Zhou, don't look down on me. My strength may not be as great as yours, but my determination to slay demons and monsters is definitely no less!"

Chen Zhaowu said indignantly.

Zhou Heng remained silent for a moment.

"Sorry, I misunderstood."

Zhou Heng spoke up, "What did the department say? They're just abandoning Shu Prefecture?"

"It's not that we don't care, it's that we're powerless to do anything about it."

Xue Zhiwei shook his head and said, "When the Demon Court established its kingdom, the demons and monsters within the Great Yue territory responded one after another."

Now, demonic chaos is raging everywhere, and the Guardian Bureau is busy putting out fires and running around.

In comparison, the situation in Shuzhou is relatively good.

Si Li felt that since Commander Zhou was able to control the situation, there was no need to send more people to Shu Prefecture.

The department really can't spare any manpower.

Zhou Heng: "..."

What do you mean?

Is it his fault that he did such a good job?

Wherever there is chaos, send more people.

If he had known, he would have thrown Chengdu into chaos first.

But this is just wishful thinking.

If things really get chaotic, it's the ordinary people who will suffer.

He really couldn't bring himself to do something like letting monsters run rampant and raising bandits to enhance his own power.

The killing of a few people by a demon is a minor matter for the Imperial Guard, but for the victims, it is a matter of life and death.

Zhou Heng didn't want to become the one sacrificed one day.

"The officials of the Demon Court don't care, and neither do the officials of Shu Prefecture. What about the Heaven-Reaching Pill? Will they care?"

Zhou Heng said in a deep voice.

"The Heaven-Reaching Pill?"

Xue Zhiwei and Chen Zhaowu exchanged a glance.

They had just entered the city and went straight to the Imperial Guard Office, without even visiting the Lin family.

Therefore, they were unaware of the Heavenly Pill.

"Are you talking about the kind of pill that can instantly elevate someone to the second rank?"

Xue Zhiwei said in a deep voice.

"That's right."

Zhou Heng nodded and said, "Do you know why the Blood Ape General under the command of the Heavenly Demon King appeared in Chengdu?"

It's because it wants to seize the Demon Saint's Bone.

I have commissioned the Lin family, the King of Southern Medicine, to refine the Heaven-Reaching Pill using the Demon Saint Bone.

I imagine the high-ranking officials in the court are quite interested in the Heaven-Reaching Pill.

"Are you crazy?"

Chen Zhaowu's eyes widened. "You actually dare to refine the Heaven-Reaching Pill?"

Even with Chen Zhaowu's audacity, he was now filled with shock and a hint of fear.

The Heavenly Elixir is a wonderful thing, but even the most wonderful things depend on whether you're alive to enjoy them.

If there were a Heaven-Reaching Pill, even those third-rank cultivators would be tempted.

Why should they compete with a third-grade cultivator?

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

Zhou Heng said, "You two can tell your families that if they want the Heavenly Pill, then they should find a way to protect Shu Prefecture."

If Shu Prefecture falls into the hands of the Demon Court, then I'm sorry, the Heaven-Reaching Pill will also fall into their hands.

"You want to use the Heaven-Reaching Pill to force the imperial court to send more troops to Shu Prefecture?"

Xue Zhiwei pondered for a moment and said, "You're playing with fire!"

"So what?"

Zhou Heng said calmly.

Shuzhou was already in a fire pit, what difference would it make if we added fuel to the fire?

"Scholar, tell them about the situation in Shu Prefecture. Since they want to stay, let them know what they will be facing."

Zhou Heng casually said, "Let's also use their connections to spread the word about the Heavenly Pill. The more people who know, the better."

Before Xue Zhiwei and Chen Zhaowu could speak, Zhou Heng had already kicked them out of the room.

After closing the doors and windows, Zhou Heng began to examine his gains from killing the Blood Ape General.

[Slaying a general under the command of the Chaotic Demon King averted a major crisis in Chengdu and earned the reward: A Thousand Years of Cultivation!]

Upon seeing the settlement screen, Zhou Heng couldn't help but show a look of surprise and delight.