The Sword of the Taoist Priest

Zhenyu Division, Front Hall.

Liu Shanhe continued to examine the chicken head.

He noticed another detail, which made him immediately push aside the foul atmosphere of Zhenyu Division.

There was a notch on the chicken's beak.

Liu Shanhe extended his finger and lightly tapped it, murmuring to himself, "The strike that severed the chicken's head was sharp and decisive. The beak is certainly strong, but under such an attack, there shouldn't be this kind of notch."

With a flip of his hand, he grasped a yellow-grade magic weapon longsword.

He lightly tapped the beak with the sword.

"Not right. The weapon used to slay this chicken wasn't a yellow-grade weapon."

With another flip, he replaced it with a fine-quality longsword.

"Clink! Clink!" The crisp sound confirmed his suspicion.

Liu Shanhe gently caressed the notch on the beak and looked at the clean break on the neck.

"The strike happened at the same time; it must have been the same person. First, they struck the beak, gauging the strength of the chicken, then immediately exploded with power to deliver a killing blow."

"His cultivation should be at the Qi Refining stage, using only fine-quality weapons. The ability to unleash such combat strength shows he is an extraordinary talent."

Liu Shanhe thought about Sun Ju's behavior and his request for martial arts skills.

He put away the chicken head and stretched his back.

"This kind of talent shouldn't be wasted, nor should he be stuck in this filthy Zhenyu Division."

"If he could join the army and guard the frontier..."

Liu Shanhe thought with affection for the young talent. After all, this was the border of Qingyun Kingdom!

The Border Mountain Range wasn't far away. With the Hundred Demon Mountain Forest seizing spiritual energy, cultivating to the Qi Refining stage there was possible. The power displayed by this young man was enough to catch his attention.

Liu Shanhe never imagined that the decay of Zhenyu Division had allowed him to pick up such a bargain.

This person must have wanted to join Zhenyu Division but couldn't get in due to lack of connections.

Cultivation methods and martial arts?

Had he just started practicing the path of cultivation?

This was a rare gem!

Suddenly, Liu Shanhe's expression changed.

The cultivation methods and martial arts he had provided were chosen according to Sun Ju's requests. If this young man really practiced them, his future might be ruined!

At that moment, a hearty laugh came from the front hall door.

"Haha! Manager Liu, I really must thank you this time!"

Wu Youwei, the prison officer of Zhenyu Division in Pingchuan City, entered with a beaming face.

"According to the map you drew, I really found a demonic sect hideout! I didn't expect there to be such a low-level demonic faction in the Border Mountain Range!"

"If this credit gets reported, I'm sure they'll transfer me from Pingchuan City to fill a vacancy in a major inland city."

"Rest assured, once I'm transferred, the position of prison officer here in Pingchuan City will be yours!"

Wu Youwei kept smiling as he entered.

Having worked his way up in Pingchuan City, he was now in his middle age, yet he was still getting such an opportunity.

"Too bad, I wasn't able to completely wipe them out. The second-in-command of the Black Sand Gang managed to escape."

Wu Youwei sighed, lamenting the slight flaw in this operation.

Liu Shanhe smiled coldly, secretly cursing Wu Youwei as useless.

A year ago, he wouldn't have bothered sending people to wipe out such a low-level demonic faction like the Black Sand Gang. Even mentioning it casually would have gotten him mocked by powerful figures.

A lion wouldn't waste time on ants.

"My injuries are hard to heal, and I'm not interested in promotions. The position of miscellaneous affairs manager is just fine."

Liu Shanhe asked, "Did your informants find any leads?"

Liu Shanhe didn't hold out much hope; he was just trying his luck.

To his surprise, Wu Youwei replied, "I found him, a handsome young man with a black sword. His cultivation is now at the Sixth Layer of the Awakening Spirit Realm."

Liu Shanhe was stunned. "You really found him?"

"Not only did I find him," Wu Youwei chuckled, "but I even saw him in person!"

Liu Shanhe gave him a deep look and silently lowered his evaluation of Wu Youwei as "useless."

"Did you capture him alive?"

Wu Youwei shook his head. "No, I didn't."

"Did you kill him?"

Liu Shanhe furrowed his brows. That young man was someone he had encountered at Yunhai Stone Tablet Mountain, escorted to the lower realm by a demonic cultivator.

From ancient times, only cultivators from the mainland wanted to ascend, but never had there been a case of cultivators from the heavenly realm descending.

Liu Shanhe himself had been injured by that demonic cultivator, leaving him with an illness that could never be cured.

If this young man died at the hands of someone like Wu Youwei, Liu Shanhe would feel it was a huge loss.

"No, I didn't kill him either," Wu Youwei shook his head again and continued, "The second-in-command who escaped from the Black Sand Gang—he's that young man, his name is Li Qianfan."

Liu Shanhe stood stunned.

His mind was in turmoil.

On one hand, it seemed like it should be this way. On the other hand...

To call Wu Youwei useless would be an insult to the very concept of uselessness.

"You're at the Eighth Layer of the Dan Sea Realm, and he's only at the Sixth Layer of the Awakening Spirit Realm. You're a whole major realm stronger than him, yet you let him escape?"

Liu Shanhe's face twitched.

"This kid is just a small Awakening Spirit cultivator, nothing to worry about. His escape methods are quite good, but due to the urgency of the situation and being in the Border Mountain Range, I didn't pursue him too closely."

Liu Shanhe could tell from the redness on Wu Youwei's face that the "urgent situation" was likely related to collecting demonic cultivator heads and looting the Black Sand Gang's wealth.

Seeing Liu Shanhe's displeased expression, Wu Youwei tried to comfort him, "In this area, to cultivate normally and progress, one must either enter the Qingyun Kingdom's inland areas, stay in the Border Mountain Range, or cross over to the other side of the mountain range into the Xuan Yue Kingdom."

"As for the first option, the journey is too far. A cultivator of the Awakening Spirit Realm like him has no chance of survival. Zhenyu Division is no weakling!"

"As for the other two options, they are all ten-to-one chances of death."

Liu Shanhe agreed with the latter half of Wu Youwei's statement, but that young man had come down from the heavenly realm.

Being able to escape from a cultivator who was one major realm stronger than him proved he was no ordinary person.

As for the first half—entering Qingyun Kingdom? Relying on Zhenyu Division?

In Liu Shanhe's eyes, Zhenyu Division was not only ineffective but also utterly useless.

Liu Shanhe pondered. Wu Youwei's direct destruction of the Black Sand Gang had a clear goal: once Li Qianfan, the young man, became suspicious, he could easily enter Qingyun Kingdom.

Once that happened, finding him and investigating why he descended would be extremely difficult.

"The spiritual energy tides have begun to recede. Now, the Border Mountain Range is actually a good place for training. As long as we don't go too deep, survival isn't an issue."

Liu Shanhe said slowly, "At the mountain's edge, there must be many evolved common creatures. Zhenyu Division can release more missions to hunt those creatures."

"First, it can stop them from growing stronger and posing a threat to the Hundred Demon Mountain Forest. Second, it provides an opportunity for Zhenyu Division's cultivators and warriors, who rely on pills for progress, to advance and improve their skills."

Wu Youwei frowned slightly, reluctant.

He had already achieved great merit by going alone to the Border Mountain Range and destroying a demonic faction. That was enough to earn him a promotion.

Why bother with this troublesome matter?

Liu Shanhe saw through Wu Youwei's thoughts and said calmly, "Being promoted is one thing, but what position you get after promotion is another."

Wu Youwei's eyes lit up, and he started calculating in his mind.

If this plan succeeded, the prison officers and warriors of Zhenyu Division in Pingchuan City would also gain rewards. This would show off his leadership abilities!

If he could become the prison officer...

With that thought, Wu Youwei eagerly said, "I will give orders to have them keep an eye on that Li Qianfan. You can rest assured and enjoy your retirement."