The proof of Emperor Wu began with daily rewards for diligence.

He saw the ghostly figure rushing straight towards him.

Chen Jue was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously stepped aside from the middle door, giving the ghost the best position to possess him.

And the shadowy creature lived up to expectations, heading straight for Chen Jue's energy core, the furnace in his lower abdomen dantian.

Once the body has established itself here, the soul and consciousness of the possessed person become like a tree without roots or water without a source, left to be worn down by the possessor until they are assimilated, devoured, and vanish without a trace.

Then, the shadowy figure saw the sun.

"Aaaaaah! I'm burning up!"

"This is a pure Yang body!!! How could it be the pure Yang body that is most detrimental to soul-type creatures!!!"

The shadowy creature let out a desperate roar within Chen Jue's dantian, then curled up into a black dot, like a turtle hiding inside Chen Jue's dantian.

"Brother Wu! Is something the matter?"

Meng Liang rushed to Chen Jue's side, but just as he was about to reach out to grab Chen Jue, his vision blurred, he missed, and fell to the ground.

His soul was injured twice by soul-type creatures, and he was now dizzy and lightheaded, even his steps were unsteady.

"I'm fine. Didn't I just say that my furnace has a high temperature and pressure? These evil spirits that want to possess me will only be burned to ashes by me."

Chen Jue reached out to help Meng Liang up, then looked at the masked old man in the factory ruins and asked, "Your team leader isn't dead, is he?"

"It's not a big problem, I'll go over and treat him."

As Meng Liang spoke, he glanced around and said, "The commotion here tonight is too great; it may soon attract reinforcements from the Fire Sect. Let's disperse and talk again another day!"

"Alright!"

Chen Jue cupped his hands to Meng Liang, then his figure flashed and disappeared from the shore of Emerald Lake.

"Team leader..."

Meng Liang approached the withered old man sitting cross-legged, tending to his injuries while recommending him, "That Brother Wu from earlier is incredibly strong and righteous. If he could join our group, he would be a tremendous asset!"

The withered old man looked up at Meng Liang, and said with a slight upturn of his lips, "Are you sure his surname is Wu? Only you are so honest as to tell someone you've just met their name."

"..." Meng Liang.

"Don't worry, this person has already been included in the organization's watchlist."

"However, this boy is involved with too many forces, so it's not advisable for us to make contact with him for the time being..."

After the gaunt old man finished speaking, half of his injuries had been restored by the life force transferred from Meng Liang.

He reached out and grabbed Meng Liang, whistled a "let's break up" with his fingers, and then stepped into the air and left.

……

Chen Jue left the Cuihu factory and quickly disappeared into the densely packed tenement buildings on Cuihu Street.

When he reappeared, he had changed into patrol clothes, holding a long sword, and exuding an air of grandeur.

He turned on his comms and contacted Wu Nanyuan, whom he had sent to patrol the other side of Cuihu Street.

"Any movement on your end?"

"No, but it seems like there's a lot of noise coming from your end?"

"Just now, a group of martial arts practitioners were attacking the 'Fire Sect' in the sniper room; it was quite a chaotic battle..."

"However, it's all over now, everyone has left, and we can go and inspect the scene..."

"I'll be right there."

Wu Nanyuan hung up the phone and rushed towards Cuihu West Street.

She wasn't unaware that Chen Jue had deliberately sent her away.

But because of the lunch they had, she was willing to cooperate with his performance.

At one o'clock in the morning, the night breeze carried the pungent smell of blood and burning from the lakeside throughout the entire Cuihu neighborhood.

The terrifying bombardment by the Divine Fire Crows and the soul-piercing screams that swept across the fields by the Shadow Demons were so great that they could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of all parties.

Less than a quarter of an hour after Chen Jue withdrew from the battlefield, a series of footsteps broke the deathly silence of Cuihu Street.

The Kaiyang Guard Station deployed almost all of its 120 patrol officers, with the headlights of the patrol cars and the high beams of the searchlights shattering the darkness of Cuihu Street and illuminating it brightly.

The homeless people on the road were like walking corpses. Some huddled back into the darkness, while others were in a daze and were thrown to the roadside by passing patrol cars. They groaned a few times and then died.

Even the city defense troops, who were used to playing dead, came in large troop transport vehicles.

The rear trough was lowered, and soldiers in full armor jumped down from the vehicle, sealing off the entire block.

Several martial artists from powerful families entered the sealed-off area with solemn expressions.

Finally, a group of garrison officers from the Jiangnan Wanhu Prefecture arrived late.

Chen Jue stood quietly outside the cordon.

His standard inspection uniform accentuated his upright posture.

His long sword was sheathed, and his expression was calm, showing no trace of the bloody battle he had just fought to slay the demon and trap the shadow demon within his dantian.

"Hmm? This young man looks familiar?"

The soldier who came up to ask questions was a young man who looked to be in his thirties. He was dressed in a brocade robe with dragon patterns, tall and imposing.

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

Chen Jue cupped his hands in greeting, but before he could speak, one of the soldiers beside him exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, this kid looks just like Chen Zhou!"

"That's right! I knew this kid looked familiar."

"My name is Lu Zhan. Kid, do you know someone named Chen Zhou?" the town soldier asked with interest.

"Lord Lu, if you are referring to Chen Zhou, who died in battle at Hongyu Mountain ten years ago while fighting alongside the army to destroy the mountain temple, then he should be my father," Chen Jue replied truthfully.

"Hey! It really is!" Lu Zhan's eyes lit up, and he reached out and grabbed Chen Jue's wrist.

"Oh my, how come you're only at the first level of the True Qi Realm? Your martial arts talent is far inferior to your father's."

Lu Zhan released Chen Jue's hand and signaled his soldiers to escort Wu Nanyuan ten paces away.

He looked at Chen Jue with disappointment and said, "I was originally thinking of marrying my lawless demon king to you, but your martial arts level is too poor. You are not good enough for her."

"..." Chen Jue.

Listen to this! Is this even human language?

I didn't force the other party to marry off their daughter, so why the hell are they complaining...?

"Haha! Old Lu, didn't you shamelessly ask Chen Zhou to be your son's in-law back then? Are you trying to make us laugh to death with your current state?" The soldiers behind Lu Zhan started to jeer.

"Get out! How was I supposed to know Old Chen's son was so useless?"

Lu Zhan chased away the soldiers behind him, wrote down his contact information on a piece of paper, and handed it to Chen Jue, saying, "This is my contact information. You can contact me anytime if you encounter any difficulties."

"Back in the Battle of Hongyu Mountain, if it weren't for your father covering the rear, our Zhenyu Group would probably have been wiped out."

"Your uncles all owe you a favor, but your mother was so heartbroken over the loss of her husband that she refused to send you to the Wanhu Mansion for upbringing. After that, she forbade us from getting close to you, saying she wanted you to live as an ordinary person."

"However, your mother's methods of raising children are truly remarkable. I remember you were clearly of above-average talent, yet you actually grew up to be an ordinary person... Amazing!"