At the start of the game, you have one equipment slot; the effects of unequipping the equipment rema

The group collected the scattered remains of the drowned corpses and put them into Qin Yuan's sleeve pocket.

Although the quality of these drowned corpses varied, they could be brought back to the Demon Slayer Bureau as evidence for record-keeping.

When they returned to Linhe Village, the fire at the east end of the village had already been extinguished.

Several houses with collapsed roofs were still emitting wisps of black smoke, and the air was filled with the smell of burning.

The old village chief was relieved to see that Qin Yuan and the others had brought the girl back safely.

After settling the girl in, the group followed the village chief to a courtyard to rest.

"What?! Mu Yang killed a fifth-tier fish demon?!"

When Ma Xuan heard that Mu Yangqian had killed a fifth-tier fish demon, he was completely stunned.

A fifth-tier fish demon is a monster comparable to a martial artist at the Meridian Opening Realm!

He didn't even know if he would ever be able to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm in his lifetime...

Everyone joined the team at the same time, but he broke through earlier, so why is the gap between them getting wider and wider...?

Mom, the outside world is a bit tough!

"Brother Mu, how did you do that?" Ma Xuan couldn't help but ask the same question as Lei Sai.

Mu Yang simply waved his hand casually: "Just practice more."

Lei Sai: I knew it! Brother Mu was indeed training like crazy in private. I'm going to train hard when I get back too!

"Alright, it's getting late. Go back and get some rest. We'll head back to the city tomorrow morning," Qin Yuan said finally.

Upon hearing this, the group got up and returned to their respective rooms to rest.

Silent all night.

..................

The next day, early in the morning.

Mu Yang and his companions packed their belongings, led their horses, and prepared to return home.

The village chief and the villagers escorted them to the village entrance.

The rescued girl also stood in the crowd, wearing a clean little cloth shirt, and timidly waved to them.

The girl became an orphan, with no one to rely on. Fortunately, the village chief was kind-hearted and took her in.

Amidst the villagers' repeated expressions of gratitude, Mu Yang and his companions mounted their horses and left the village.

"what?"

After walking a few miles, Lei Sai seemed to suddenly notice something and asked in surprise, "Brother Mu, has Xiao Hei grown taller?"

Lei Sai compared Xiao Hei with the Tier 1 steed he was riding and found that there was a significant height difference.

Even the force with which its four hooves landed seemed to be a bit greater than before.

Qin Yuan and the other two also subconsciously looked over to compare.

Xiao Hei's size has indeed increased, and it's even stronger than the Tier 2 BMW that Qin Yuan is riding.

It was too dark last night, and their attention was drawn to Mu Yang and Nian Chang, so they didn't notice anything.

"I fed myself some demon flesh and blood, and that's how I broke through," Mu Yang said.

Upon hearing this, everyone understood.

Only Zhou Yao frowned slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Seeing this, Mu Yang looked at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Zhou Yao shook her head and said, "I just remembered a book about livestock that I read when I was studying medicine."

"It is said that although a BMW can be upgraded by feeding it precious medicine or the flesh and blood of demons, once its rank is upgraded, it may become irritable, unruly, or even turn into a demon and turn against its master."

Blackie: Shut up, woman! Are you trying to sow discord between me and my master?!

"Is that so?"

Mu Yang remained noncommittal, but simply reached out and gently stroked Xiao Hei's mane: "Actually, Xiao Hei is quite well-behaved."

Mu Yang didn't know what the other BMWs were like after their promotions, but Xiao Hei became even more clingy.

Not to mention being short-tempered and easily angered, he even has the air of a shameless sycophant, lacking any of the pride of a second-tier BMW.

Xiao Hei: What is pride? All we know is to be absolutely loyal to our master!

"The 'demon horse' is usually a horse that has been abused or a semi-wild horse that has just been tamed."

"Generally speaking, as long as they live together for a long time, even if their rank is promoted, their personality will not change much."

Qin Yuan added from the side, "Horses are actually quite loyal creatures."

As he spoke, he chuckled and patted the large horse between his legs.

Xiao Hei: Finally, someone has spoken a fair word!

And so, the group chatted as they rode their horses along the official road toward Qinghe County.

As the sun rose high in the sky, the group was preparing to find an open space to stop and rest.

Several sharp, piercing sounds came from the forest.

"There's a hidden attack!!"

Lei Sai, who was playing with arrows, twitched his ears and immediately sensed the problem, and shouted.

Qin Yuan, Zhou Yao, and Ma Xuan immediately drew their weapons to parry the arrows.

Mu Yang didn't make many moves.

He simply tilted his head slightly, raised his hand, and caught the three arrows that had been shot into his palm.

Then, with a flick of the wrist and a swing of the arm, he achieved his goal.

Driven by immense force, the three arrows shot into the forest at an even faster speed than before.

A series of sounds, including a soft splatter and a scream, rang out.

"dismount!"

Qin Yuan gripped his horse-slaying saber, cleaved the incoming arrow in two, then shouted and immediately dismounted.

Although all of them were skilled in martial arts and could ride horses, they were not experts in horsemanship. They were good at riding horses for travel, but fighting on horseback would actually hinder their performance.

After all, the agility of a first or second-tier BMW is nowhere near that of a fourth-tier martial artist.

"Little Black, hide."

After giving the order, Mu Yang also leaped off his horse.

Little Black obediently took off running into the forest.

As the horses hid, everyone immediately assumed a fighting stance, looking towards the forest from which the arrows were coming.

Qin Yuan stood at the very front, with Ma Xuan beside him, Lei Sai holding a longbow at the rear of the treetop, Zhou Yao standing to his side, and Mu Yang providing support from the center.

As the group got into position, the sound of rustling branches suddenly echoed through the forest.

A moment later, a figure emerged from the woods.

He was tall and imposing, with a curved sword at his waist. Although his hair was gray and he looked old, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, fixed on the group of people in the open space.

More than ten figures emerged from behind him.

Each of them wore the same style of tight-fitting clothes, with a bright yellow "威" (Wei) character embroidered on the chest.

Some held swords, while others held longbows.

Several of them even emanated fluctuations of true energy, clearly indicating they were fourth-tier Qi Condensation Realm martial artists.

"Pingwei Escort Agency? Bao Tian?"

After recognizing the old man's face, Qin Yuan's expression remained unchanged, but his heart sank.

Bao Tian is a veteran martial artist at the Meridian Opening Realm. Why would he be here?

Could it be...?

Qin Yuan suddenly thought of the Su Family Village case.

Although he sensed something was wrong, he didn't show any fear on his face: "Chief Escort Bao, what do you mean by this?"

Bao Tian ignored Qin Yuan, his eyes fixed on Mu Yang and Lei Sai ever since he came out.

He was like a hyena eyeing its prey, his eyes cold and menacing.

"What do you mean? Captain Qin, why ask a question you already know the answer to!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Yuan gripped his broadsword tightly, and earth-attribute true energy slowly enveloped the tip of the blade: "Chief镖宝 (Bao Biao), killing a captain of the Demon Slayer Division is a crime punishable by the extermination of an entire clan!"

"Once this is discovered, you, your Pingwei Escort Agency, and the families of everyone present will face annihilation!"

Qin Yuan attempted to disrupt the enemy's morale with words.

"Extermination of the entire clan?"

Bao Tian scoffed.

"My son is dead; what difference is there between this and the extermination of our entire clan!"

"Today, I will avenge my son!"

Having said that, Bao Tian seemed too lazy to waste any more words, directly drawing his curved sword from his waist and shouting:

"Make your move! Leave that brat surnamed Mu to me!!"