Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

At the top floor of the attic, there was a great hall where a young man with a handsome face and scholarly temperament, dressed in a light blue robe, sat at the head of the room.

Gu Chen ascended to the attic and, upon seeing the young man, greeted him with cupped hands, "Gu Chen pays his respects to Commander Chen."

This young man, whose features were as striking as the morning stars, was none other than the Commander of the Jing Tian Department responsible for supervising the city's outskirts, known as Chen Yu.

This Commander Chen was also a legendary figure within the Jing Tian Department, with astonishing talent. At just twenty-seven years of age, he had reached the seventh realm of martial arts, the Gang Qi Stage, and was promoted to become the youngest Commander in the entire Jing Tian Department of Da Xia, creating history and possessing boundless prospects for the future.

Now, two years had passed, and no one knew the extent of his martial cultivation because since reaching the rank of Commander, Chen Yu had always been stationed at the Jing Tian Department's outer city.

For a prodigious talent like Chen Yu, his level of cultivation was advancing daily and monthly. You should know, the more one progresses in martial arts, the harder it becomes to improve, not to mention a breakthrough in a minor realm – even incremental progress required a great accumulation of effort.

Indeed, for many people, even some talented ones, breaking through a minor realm within the Gang Qi Stage could take years or even decades. Yet for him, after two years, even if he had not broken through the Gang Qi Stage, there was a high possibility that he had reached the peak of this stage.

It could be said that he was a figure in no way inferior to Zhou Qing, and what was more, Chen Yu was much younger than Zhou Qing, ensuring his future achievements would undoubtedly surpass those of Zhou Qing.

Moreover, this Commander Chen came from an ordinary background. Having reached his current position without relying on anyone, he climbed up step by step on his own merits.

Within the Jing Tian Department, who knows how many patrolling officers and Metropolitan Procurators of humble birth took Chen Yu as their role model.

Youthful in appearance, Chen Yu looked to be about the same age as Gu Chen just from the outside, and he did not carry the imposing aura of Zhou Qing. At first glance, he seemed to be a very approachable person.

"Not bad."

Chen Yu cast his gaze down and looked at Gu Chen with a smile in his eyes and nodded.

Gu Chen remained silent, not knowing whether Chen Yu had seen through his true abilities. After all, apart from Zhou Qing, he had only seen Chen Yu among figures of this level and had no idea about the prowess granted by the Gang Qi Stage.

Of course, Gu Chen had never intended to hide his abilities. After all, in the Jing Tian Department, strength was what spoke loudest. The stronger Gu Chen's talents and the higher his strength, the easier it would be for him to be entrusted with important tasks.

However, there was a limit to this; if one's talent was excessive, surpassing common sense, it would draw the suspicion of those with ulterior motives.

The subtlety of handling this was something Gu Chen had to contemplate and decide for himself.

"Thank you for the praise, my lord," Gu Chen said.

Chen Yu nodded slightly, "In two years, to have broken through from the Embryonic Breath realm to the Meridian Opening realm, your talent can indeed be considered good. I notice your vitality is abundant and your breath is long; you must have a rather profound accumulation in the Meridian Opening realm."

"You flatter me too much, my lord. My achievements are nothing compared to yours," Gu Chen responded.

Hearing this, Chen Yu smiled lightly, "There's no need to be so formal. We're about the same age, and I'm not as set in my ways as those old-timers. It's good to relax a bit in conversation."

After a pause, he continued, "The Jing Tian Department is a place where strength comes first, or to put it another way, in the Jing Tian Department, things like seniority and age are worthless. No one can rest on their laurels here. We only look at strength. With your talent and strength, there's no need to hide or be timid. When it's time to be bold, you should be bold.

If a young man isn't spirited, what kind of young man is he? Don't you agree?"

At those words, a hint of a smile appeared on Gu Chen's face, "What my lord says is absolutely right."

This Commander Chen's character was indeed just as rumored, unfettered and easygoing. It was said that when his temper flared, he even dared to stand up to the garrison commanders of the Jing Tian Department.

And who were the garrison commanders? Within the entire Jing Tian Department of Da Xia, there were only twelve such commanders. Each of them was a colossus in the martial arts world, having established immense merits for Da Xia. Otherwise, they could not hold the rank of garrison commander.

The garrison commanders were among the highest echelons of Da Xia, and even royalty and nobles were their peers.

Even against such figures, Chen Yu was unafraid, which spoke volumes about his character.

At that moment, Chen Yu casually pointed, and Gu Chen saw that not far from him on a table lay a scroll, as Chen Yu said, "Your assignment for the Metropolitan Procurator examination is on there. Take a look."

Gu Chen nodded, picked up the scroll and quickly skimmed through it.

Chen Yu explained, "There are two tasks for your Metropolitan Procurator assessment. First, in Li Mountain County of Qiongtian Mansion, there have been reports of demons afoot, the number unknown, but after investigation, their strength should be at the Panic Level. One of your tasks is to purge the demons from the local area of Li Mountain County."

Gu Chen nodded, which was within his expectations, as the duty of the Jing Tian Department was to slay demons. Naturally, the assessment for the Metropolitan Procurator could not bypass this aspect.

Panic Level Demons, with a strength equivalent to martial artists from the Embryonic Breath to the Meridian Opening realms. This assessment was difficult yet not difficult, completely reliant on individual combat capability.

"Your second task is to investigate Zheng Jinan of Huaiyang City in Li Mountain County. There is intelligence suggesting that he is a remnant of the Evil Heart Sect. After you have thoroughly investigated the matter, report back. If the intelligence is confirmed, someone will handle it."

Gu Chen examined the scroll, which noted that Zheng Jinan was an External Qi Stage martial artist, fifty-three years old and quite renowned locally in Huaiyang City. He was seen as a great benefactor by the common people, often contributing to the local community. His relationship with the local magistrates was also well managed; he was friends with the county magistrate.

The scroll provided detailed information about Zheng Jinan, and at a glance, it appeared there was no fault to be found with him.

He also had a son, who was admitted into one of the prominent local martial sects in Li Mountain County and became a core disciple, further boosting Zheng Jinan's reputation and making him the talk of the town for a time in the local rivers and lakes.

Even if an External Qi Stage expert was aged and in decline, generally, they were not something that a Meridian Opening Stage martial artist could contend with. And exactly for that reason, the second task was just for Gu Chen to investigate and did not require him to confront Zheng Jinan directly.

After all, this was only an examination, not a suicide mission for Gu Chen.

After going through the scroll, Gu Chen closed it and put it back.

"Have you memorized it all?" Chen Yu asked with a smile.

"Yes," Gu Chen nodded.

"Good, then you shall depart tomorrow," Chen Yu said.

Gu Chen bowed and turned to leave, but at that moment, Chen Yu said, "I heard that you have some acquaintance with Zhou Qing from the Mingjing Department?"

Gu Chen replied with a bow, "To answer my lord, my acquaintance with Lord Zhou was purely coincidental. With Lord Zhou's esteemed position, I do not have the status to be acquainted with someone of his caliber."

The Jing Tian Department and the Mingjing Department were two of the most important organizations in Da Xia, with different responsibilities; one was outward-facing while the other looked inward. Though there were occasional frictions, there was no real animosity between them.

Chen Yu nodded slightly and did not say more, waving his hand to dismiss Gu Chen.