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

The night was as dark as ink, and the moon was hidden behind the clouds.

A cool breeze rustled through the branches, carrying the dry chill unique to autumn nights, permeating the Demon Slayer Division's training grounds.

Inside the arena, a dozen or so figures in dark black stood quietly in place, no one spoke, only the occasional rustling of their robes in the wind.

Old Master Liang stood at the very front of the martial arts arena, his gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone present.

Without any pleasantries, he went straight to the point: "Tonight's target is the Grand Canal Gang."

"Based on existing evidence, it is highly likely that Fan Lang, the third leader of the Canal Gang, was possessed by demonic energy before his death, indicating collusion between the Canal Gang and demons!"

"According to the laws of the Great Jing Dynasty, anyone who colludes with demons shall be executed without mercy!"

Old Liang's voice did not cause any disturbance; most of the three teams present were veterans.

A small number of them also underwent a transformation after experiencing several missions.

Elder Liang's voice continued: "This operation will be led by First-Class Demon-Hunting Captain Yuan Yuan, with First-Class Demon-Hunting Captain Mu Yang serving as the deputy captain."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment.

Almost everyone present had heard of Yuan Yuan's name.

The only daughter of the Demon Slayer Division's Chief of Staff, a genius martial artist with astonishing talent, a martial artist at the age of only twenty-four who has reached the Meridian Opening Realm, the youngest First-Class Demon-Seeking Captain in the Demon Slayer Division, the number one young person in Qinghe County... and so on, each title is incredibly impressive.

But the name Mu Yang was unfamiliar to some of them.

Judging from his appearance, he is probably in his early twenties.

Another genius?

The three members of Huang Can's team looked at Mu Yang and thought to themselves.

They didn't know Mu Yang well, so they were only slightly startled and didn't pay much attention to it.

They assumed that this handsome and dashing young man was a prodigy from some powerful family.

Qin Yuan's team and Li Xiulian's team, who knew Mu Yang well, felt as if the sea was churning with turbulent waves.

Li Xiulian felt as if the scene of selecting new recruits in the martial arts arena that day was still vivid in her mind. She never expected that in the blink of an eye, the other party would become her team leader.

Life is truly unpredictable.

Even though Lei Sai and Zhou Yao knew half a day in advance that Mu Yang had advanced, they were still filled with emotion when they saw Mu Yang standing side by side with Yuan Yuan on the high platform.

Ma Xuan's reaction was more direct; his eyes widened, and he even rubbed them vigorously.

They both joined the company on the same day, so how did Mu Yang suddenly become a First-Class Demon-Hunting Captain?

No wonder I didn't see Mu Yang when we gathered in Qin's courtyard.

He thought that Mu Yang had been promoted to second-class demon-hunting captain and was no longer in their team, so they hadn't gathered together.

Unexpectedly, the other party became the team leader of his team in the blink of an eye!

He's even higher level than Team Qin!

Qin Yuan: There's no need to mention the last sentence.

In fact, Qin Yuan was no less shocked than Ma Xuan.

Or rather, it was precisely because his cultivation level was higher than Ma Xuan's that he knew the difficulty of breaking through from the Qi Condensation Realm to the Meridian Opening Realm, which made him even more shocked.

At the same time, he also felt a complex feeling that he couldn't quite explain.

Two days ago they were superior and subordinate, last night they became equals, and now, just one night later, I'm a subordinate...

He even suspected that after a while, the other party might be promoted to the position of Enforcer.

When the thought popped into his head, Qin Yuan was startled, then chuckled and shook his head.

The Executioner is the leader of an entire prefecture; how could it be so easy for him...?

As Qin Yuan was thinking, Liang Lao's voice continued: "In a while, you should go to the outer perimeter of the Cao Gang and meet up with the county police station."

"They will cooperate to blockade the Cao Gang and control the middle and upper management. You are responsible for breaking into the core area and capturing the Cao brothers."

"If the other party insists on resisting..."

"Kill without mercy!"

After saying that, Old Liang looked at Yuan Yuan and Mu Yang: "The rest is up to you. Remember to be careful."

Yuan Yuan and Mu Yang nodded, then turned and walked out of the training ground, with the other three teams following closely behind, and soon disappeared into the night.

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

The headquarters of the Canal Gang was located about thirteen or fourteen miles from the Qingshui River.

As night fell, only rows of gray rooftops and a few lanterns could be seen.

About seven or eight miles from the headquarters of the Canal Gang, dozens of figures dressed in constable uniforms were hidden in the woods.

The leader was a burly man with thick eyebrows and large eyes; his square face was sharply defined in the moonlight.

He had a thick-backed broadsword hanging at his waist. The scabbard was entirely black, without any extra decorations, except for a band of dark red coarse cloth wrapped around the hilt.

He was Shen Chongyuan, the chief constable of Qinghe County, a fifth-level Qi Convergence Realm martial artist known as the "Thunder Blade"!

Beside him were four other people of different appearances and heights.

The second squad leader, Jiang Zhao, was short and stocky; the third squad leader, Peng Zhou, was of medium build; the fourth squad leader, Sun Wenyuan, had a scar on his left eye; and the seventh squad leader, Dai Wang, had broad shoulders and a thick back.

All four were Qi Condensation Realm martial artists.

At this moment, the four people were in pairs, with the short and stocky Jiang Zhao and Sun Wenyuan standing on the left side, a little distance away from Shen Chongyuan.

Peng Zhou, who was of medium build, and Dai Wang stood on the right side, closer to Shen Chongyuan.

Although there were only five people, they were subtly divided into two groups.

On Jiang Zhao and Sun Wenyuan's side, Jiang Zhao, who was most likely to break through to the fifth level, was clearly the leader, and Jiang Zhao was also the first in line.

Peng Zhou and Dai Wang stood side by side, talking quietly, without any distinction between them.

"Old Dai, why is there so much trouble in Qinghe County lately?"

"We were just finished dealing with the Su Family Village incident a couple of days ago, and last night we were asked to urgently handle the Pingwei Escort Agency again."

"After finishing this morning's work, I haven't even had a day to rest, and tonight I have to deal with the canal gang. It's like everything's piling up at once!"

"I wonder which powerful figure the Canal Gang offended, that they even alarmed Prefect Lu, who ordered him to directly summon Chief Constable Shen to cooperate with the Demon Slayer Division!" Peng Zhou muttered under his breath.

Dai Wang replied in a low voice, "Who knows? Maybe they've done something wrong."

For a 'young master' to warrant the joint intervention of Prefect Lu and the Demon Slayer Bureau, he must be incredibly distinguished!

He guessed that the canal gang might have committed some serious crime, such as colluding with demons or having secret dealings with foreign tribes.

"Everyone, quiet!"

Just then, Shen Chongyuan's deep voice suddenly rang out.

He withdrew his gaze from the distance, swept it over the crowd, and lingered on Jiang Zhao's face for a moment before saying in a serious tone, "Everyone, you better be on your toes from now on."

"This time, the Demon Slaying Division is led by two First-Class Demon-Seeking Captains, one of whom is the eldest daughter of the Yuan family. Anyone who slows down the team or lets someone escape will have to explain to Prefect Lu and Lord Yuan themselves."

Upon hearing this, everyone straightened their minds.

Many of them only knew that tonight's mission was to cooperate with the Demon Slayer Division; they never expected that the other party had such a powerful background.

Not only did two first-class demon-hunting captains arrive, but one of them was also the eldest daughter of the Yuan family.

You'd better pull yourself together!

Otherwise, if you offend Prefect Lu and Lord Yuan, you might never be able to stay in Qinghe County again.