Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

The next morning, after Qin Lie woke up, he still checked his panel.

Seeing the words "Early Stage of Rank 8" made me feel much more at ease.

Although I only have less than five free attribute points left, my cultivation level has increased to the eighth rank, which is definitely much stronger than yesterday.

Besides, he wasn't going alone today; Lu Chen and Li Hu were with him, so there shouldn't be too much danger.

The biggest variable is Xu Qinghe in her red state; her strength is truly undeniable.

However, it's always better to be careful if possible.

Qin Lie didn't want to become someone else's unlucky guy just a few days after joining the Demon Suppression Division.

After washing his face, he put on the black outfit of the Demon Suppression Division.

The outfit I wore yesterday was torn to shreds by the wolf demon and I can't wear it anymore.

Fortunately, the Demon Suppression Division gave him two sets of clothes at the beginning, otherwise he would have had to spend money to buy them today.

I wonder if I can get two more sets for free when I go back to the Demon Suppression Bureau.

"Qin Lie, wake up, we're leaving!"

Just as I finished tidying up, Li Hu's voice came from the doorway.

Qin Lie pushed open the door and went out, only to find that everyone was already standing in the courtyard.

Lu Chen was dressed in a black outfit with a long sword hanging at his waist, and his expression remained the same as usual.

Li Hu leaned against the gate of the courtyard, holding a knife in his arms and a blade of grass he had picked from who-knows-where dangling from his mouth.

He does look quite like the free-spirited and unrestrained masters in those martial arts novels.

Xu Qinghe, as always, stood to the side holding her little booklet.

Qin Lie glanced at her, then quickly looked away, otherwise he was afraid Xu Qinghe would put the sword to his neck again.

"How's your injury? If it's not healed, you can rest at home."

"Those small fry are nothing, your Uncle Li Hu can handle them."

When Li Hu saw Qin Lie come out, he asked him a question.

"It's almost fully recovered and won't affect your mobility."

Hearing Qin Lie say this, Li Hu couldn't help but glance at him.

"Are you made of iron? You were surrounded and scratched by five wolf demons yesterday, and you're almost fully recovered today?"

Qin Lie smiled.

"It's probably because I'm in good physical condition that I recovered relatively quickly."

Just as Li Hu was about to say something more, Lu Chen spoke up.

"Are you already at the eighth rank?"

"Eighth rank!"

Before Qin Lie could answer, Li Hu was surprised.

"Yes, I practiced the basic body-refining technique for the past two days, and that's how I broke through."

Qin Lie had no intention of hiding anything and answered truthfully.

Two days ago I was still a nobody, but today I'm at the eighth rank. The change in my Qi and blood values ​​must be huge.

This kind of thing definitely can't be hidden from an old hand like Lu Chen.

Upon hearing this, Li Hu immediately spat out the grass root in his mouth and then began circling around Qin Lie.

"You'll break through as you practice? Are you even talking?!"

"Back then, it took me more than half a year to grind my way up from the ninth rank to the eighth rank, and you, kid, you reached the eighth rank in just two days?"

Qin Lie reached out to stop Li Hu, who was still spinning around. He was getting dizzy from all the spinning.

"Perhaps Brother Li didn't work hard enough back then."

Li Hu's eyes widened immediately.

"You've gotten stronger, and you've gotten bolder too. Now you even dare to make fun of me."

Qin Lie smiled but didn't reply.

Lu Chen looked at Qin Lie, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

Two days ago, when I looked at Qin Lie, he hadn't even entered the rank yet, but two days later he broke through to the eighth rank.

This cultivation speed is abnormally fast.

However, some exceptionally talented individuals can indeed reach this level; he has even seen someone reach the seventh rank in a single day.

Everyone has their own secrets, that's normal.

Once you're in the Demon Suppression Division, you only need to do two things.

First, it can swiftly and decisively annihilate the demon race.

Secondly, they will never betray their companions.

As for what opportunities you might encounter, that's your own business.

"Now that you've broken through, you have a bit more confidence to protect yourself today."

"However, there's one thing you still need to remember: don't think that just because you're at the eighth rank, you can go and fight demons at the demon soldier level."

"A demon soldier at the Demon Soldier Realm already possesses stable demonic energy within their body; you cannot deal with them head-on at this stage."

Lu Chen was afraid that Qin Lie's breakthrough was too fast and that he would become arrogant, so he patiently gave him some advice.

"Don't worry, boss. I have a clear understanding of my own abilities and will never act rashly!"

Qin Lie did indeed want to kill more demons and gain more attribute points.

But he wasn't so foolish as to think he was invincible just because he was at the eighth rank.

Li Hu walked over and patted Qin Lie on the shoulder.

"That's the right idea."

"Although the demons in the Lesser Demon Realm have gained intelligence, most of them still rely on their claws and teeth to hurt people."

"Demon soldiers are different. Those things have already formed demonic energy within their bodies and can use some rudimentary demonic arts."

"Some demon soldiers can corrode human flesh with a single breath of demonic energy."

Li Hu was talking non-stop, and Qin Lie was listening very attentively.

This definitely touched on a blind spot in his knowledge.

"What realm of the human race do the demon soldiers correspond to?"

Upon hearing Qin Lie's question, Li Hu stopped his introduction.

"This can't be completely compared; there are differences between people."

"However, generally speaking, it takes at least a fifth-rank martial artist to deal with a demon soldier in the early stages, and about a fourth-rank martial artist in the middle stages."

"If it's a late-stage or peak-stage demon weapon, then it will be even more troublesome."

"We don't know which level Wolf King is at yet, but the fact that he can gather dozens of demons in Wolf Fang Mountain means he's probably not in the early stages of a demon soldier."

Hearing this, Qin Lie understood the situation.

I am currently at the eighth rank, while Wolf King is at least at the fifth rank, with several realms in between.

This kind of gap cannot be bridged by courage alone.

Lu Chen waved his hand, and several people gathered around.

"This mission is primarily a raid, with three targets."

"First, eradicate all the demons in Wolf Fang Mountain."

"Second, find out why the Wolf King is entrenched in Wolf Fang Mountain."

"Third, everyone must return safely."

After speaking, Lu Chen looked at the others and began assigning tasks.

"Li Hu, you're in charge of clearing the way from the front."

"Qinghe, you're in charge of recording messages and sealing off the demon soul."

Finally, Lu Chen looked at Qin Lie.

"Just follow Li Hu. If you encounter any minor demons that you can kill, then kill them. If you encounter any that you can't kill, then retreat."

"Remember not to stray too far from the group, and don't chase too closely."

"If you discover anything amiss, send a message using the Demon-Suppressing Token immediately."

"What if the communication is interfered with by demonic energy?"

"Then leave a mark—the Demon Suppression Division's tracking symbol. It's all in yesterday's booklet, didn't you see it?"

"I've seen it."

"Then you must remember this well: Langya Mountain is not the back mountain of Shiqiao Village. There are more monsters there, and the terrain is more complicated."

"If something unexpected happens, I might not be able to save you."

Qin Lie could tell that the words conveyed more concern than warning.

However, what Lu Chen said was true.

In a place like Langya Mountain, if something unexpected happens, no one can guarantee that they can save the person.

After explaining these things, the group didn't linger. They left the small courtyard in the south of the city and rode their horses out of the city.

After leaving the city, the four headed northwest.

Langya Mountain is not close to Dongxuan City; if you were to walk, it would probably take a whole day.

However, they were traveling on horseback, so they arrived at the outer perimeter of Langya Mountain in half a day.

Throughout the journey, Li Hu couldn't help but glance at Qin Lie from time to time, until finally he couldn't hold back any longer.

"Qin Lie, tell me honestly, have you been taking some kind of powerful tonic?"

"Come on, there's no such thing as a powerful tonic. I developed all of this through hard work and self-cultivation!"

"Get lost! You only have two days. How hard can you possibly work? If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it. Don't try to lie to me with excuses."

The two were bickering, while Xu Qinghe rode alongside on her horse, her gaze fixed on Qin Lie.

She couldn't quite understand Qin Lie anymore.

However, Xu Qinghe didn't say anything, but instead lowered her head and wrote two strokes on the booklet.

"Clerk Xu, what are you writing?"

After seeing his actions, Qin Lie couldn't help but ask a question.

"Task Log"

"The task hasn't even started yet, and you're already writing task logs?"

"The mission began the moment we stepped out of the city gates."

Qin Lie was momentarily at a loss for words to refute.

And so, the group hurried toward Langya Mountain.

The closer you get to Langya Mountain, the fewer pedestrians there are on the road.

Later, the official road was replaced by a mountain road.

The surrounding trees grew increasingly dense, and the wind blowing through the woods carried an indescribable chill.

As Qin Lie rode on his horse, his hand unconsciously rested on the Demon-Suppressing Blade.

He could sense that the atmosphere around him was not quite right.

It's too quiet.

Even if there are no people in this kind of mountain forest, there should be some birds chirping and insects buzzing, but now there is no sound at all.

Li Hu also dropped his previous carefree attitude.

Something's not right!

Lu Chen nodded in agreement.

"Something's definitely not right. It's so quiet, which means there aren't any common wild animals around Langya Mountain anymore."

"These wild beasts were either eaten or scared away by the demonic aura."

After hearing their words, Qin Lie also secretly used his Qi Observation Technique to look around.

At first, he only saw a few wisps of faint blackish-gray demonic energy, which should be traces left by ordinary demonic beasts.

But he soon discovered a more obvious demonic aura on a crooked tree to his left.

All the other demonic energies were moving, but that one remained motionless in that spot.

Qin Lie guessed that there might be a demon watching them from behind the tree canopy.

"Lord Lu, there seems to be something watching us from the tree to our left."

Upon hearing this, Li Hu immediately looked in that direction, while Lu Chen didn't even lift his eyelids.

"I noticed it a while ago; it's probably here to gather information. Don't kill it; let it go back and report!"

Qin Lie didn't quite understand when he first heard this. Sending it back to report would only alert the enemy, wouldn't it?

But he quickly realized that Lu Chen was doing this on purpose.

Their main purpose in coming to Langya Mountain this time was to surround and exterminate the monsters on Langya Mountain.

If the little demons who were watching were killed at the beginning, they wouldn't be able to find the monsters on the mountain if they were hiding.

However, if it is sent back to report, Wolf King will definitely take action.

Whether it's sending monsters down to probe or preparing for defense, traces will always be left behind.