Chapter 217: Demon-Slaying Star

Spring wind carries joy, hooves gallop fast. At only ten years old, you have become a sixth-rank official—the Empire's first child prodigy, breaking the record for the youngest official. Rapid promotion is essential to a perfect life; keep striving!

Task completed, promotion granted. Reward calculation in progress.

Task rating: B.

Obtained 30 achievement points!

Achievement points reached 100. Reward acquisition in progress.

As a general, you must protect your homeland. When the world faces invasion by demonic races, you have gained a special talent: to rescue the world from collapse.

Obtained talent: Demon-Slaying Triumph!

Young hero, begin your perfect journey through the martial world!

Name: Li Rui

Age: 10

Talents: Martial Bone, Extraordinary Comprehension, Insightful Eyes, Great Dream Wanderer, Demon-Slaying Triumph

Techniques: Long Chun Technique, Dragon Soaring Through Nine Heavens Diagram

Achievements: 10/100

"Demon-Slaying Triumph?"

As Li Rui pondered the nature of this new talent, several lines of small text appeared before him.

Demon-Slaying Triumph: Utilize dragon bloodline to suppress all demonic beasts. Your techniques gain a 50% power boost when used against demonic beasts.

Reward enhancement detected.

Enhancing.

Enhanced Demon-Slaying Triumph: When facing demonic beasts, your power increases by 100%!

Li Rui stared at the "100%" on the panel and drew a sharp breath.

Life-or-death combat.

One extra percent could decide life or death.

One hundred percent

Almost equivalent to invincibility at the same realm.

Every strike a critical hit? Demon-Slaying Star?

This thought rose in Li Rui's mind.

It is well known that demonic beasts possess extraordinarily strong bodies; in equal-rank combat, human martial artists usually suffer the upper hand.

Humans suppress demonic beasts through sheer numbers; killing them is even harder.

But this situation changes entirely for him.

From now on, demonic beasts of the same realm encountering Li Rui are almost always instantly slain.

This talent is endlessly useful.

"Rumors say there exists a group of people who call themselves Demon Hunters, living by chasing demonic beasts and trading their bodies."

Demonic beasts are treasures from head to toe.

Their meat can be made into nourishing spirit meat, their blood into medicine or direct consumption, not to mention their hides for armor and sinews for bowstrings.

In short.

Loose demonic beast parts are little mountains of gold.

Thus, Yu Kingdom has a dedicated group that hunts and sells demonic beast flesh.

Yet few take up this profession.

On one hand, the strength requirement is extreme; on the other, the risk is immense, with mortality rates shockingly high.

But if Li Rui became a Demon Hunter, he would surely rise to the top of this trade.

Yet he had other uses in mind.

To use this talent merely for solo combat would be to waste it; think strategically.

Among the Peace Guard's duties, besides monitoring the martial world, is suppressing demonic beasts.

Previously, Li Rui was a Night Scout, primarily handling human affairs.

Thus he rarely participated in demonic beast matters—but now, with this talent, he could earn military merit, exchange it for benefits, and accumulate achievements to advance his position.

With an army surrounding him, isn't that far safer than solo combat?

Li Rui's lips curled slightly.

"This talent will prove immensely useful in the future."

"Brother Li, we should depart."

Ning Zhongtian knocked on Li Rui's courtyard gate.

Li Rui opened the door.

At his waist, a sword; unusually, he wore official robes.

A blue robe, with a badge depicting a biao.

Ning Zhongtian wore the same, identical to Li Rui.

Good.

The reason for such formal attire was that today was the day the Peace Guard met with the Weiheshimao Office for consultations—a matter of great importance.

The Weiheshimao Office had been in Qinghe for some time, but had only met privately with Cao Wei and Jiang Lin; this was their first official gathering.

Naturally, it must be taken seriously.

Besides the Assistant Regional Commander and the Assistant Military Advisor, all five Garrison Commanders must attend—and Li Rui, as the Trade Captain, could not possibly be absent.

"Let's go."

Li Rui smiled lightly.

He and Ning Zhongtian mounted their horses and rode toward the General's Mansion.

When they arrived at the General's Mansion,

they saw Jiang Lin, Cao Wei, and several Garrison Commanders just mounting their horses.

Cao Wei spotted Li Rui and Ning Zhongtian and said, "Let's depart."

As his words ended,

the group rode out of the Peace Guard compound.

Moments later,

the Peace Guard contingent arrived before a large expanse of grayish-brick buildings on the eastern side of Qinghe.

Li Rui gazed at the familiar yet slightly alien structure.

This place had once been Qinghe's black market.

Now it had been converted into the Weiheshimao Office's headquarters.

The Weiheshimao Office, responsible for managing trade between the two nations, had designated an official trading zone; thus, its Director negotiated with County Magistrate Zhuang Renhe to turn this site into an official office.

Though the Heaven and Earth Alliance received little money, it gained many advantages.

The Weiheshimao Office granted the Heaven and Earth Alliance seven or eight special privileges, which would prove immensely valuable during future cross-border trade.

These were far more enduring than mere gold and silver—and the Weiheshimao Office had given the Heaven and Earth Alliance no real choice.

With matters of national importance at stake, they had shown sufficient sincerity; had the Heaven and Earth Alliance refused, even with Ning Zhongtian's backing, they would have been forcibly seized.

Li Rui followed Jiang Lin and Cao Wei into the newly built front courtyard of the Weiheshimao Office.

Though his title was Trade Captain, he always maintained a clear sense of his role. First,

the Weiheshimao Office was the true authority over cross-border trade.

Second,

he was merely the fixed liaison between the Peace Guard and the Weiheshimao Office; every action he took must be grounded in the interests of the Annan Army—or, more precisely, approved by Jiang Lin or Cao Wei.

Li Rui always saw himself as a Captain of the Peace Guard; "Trade" was merely a secondary designation.

Thus, he had no desire to draw attention.

Soon,

the group entered the main hall of the Weiheshimao Office.

Inside, five or six people were already seated.

The central figure was, of course, the newly appointed Director of the Weiheshimao Office, Yan Zhongxing, a refined middle-aged man.

"New Director Yan Zhongxing, native of Jiangnan, formerly County Magistrate of Kunyu in Jiangzhou, later served as Vice Minister of Revenue in the capital, now appointed Director of Qinghe's Weiheshimao Office."

=9+book_bar

"This Director Yan excels in commerce, not martial arts."

Li Rui's mind filled with information about Director Yan.

Civil officials were often like this.

Even if their cultivation was low, sufficient knowledge could still elevate them to high office.

Of course, if their martial strength was too weak, they would suffer when facing powerful martial artists.

Ultimately,

in this world, martial masters could shatter mountains and split seas; no amount of intellect could stand against absolute power.

Thus, though Director Yan's martial strength was low, he was still a sixth-rank expert.

Cao Wei bowed and said:

"Director Yan, we meet again."

When he was still a Clerk in the Ministry of War in Jingcheng, Yan Zhongxing was already a Director in the Ministry of Revenue.

By that measure, his official rank was higher than his.

Yan Zhongxing's departure from the capital seemed like a demotion; though the Director of the Trade Office and the Director of the Ministry of Revenue held equal rank—both fifth grade—the capital official still held half a rank advantage, let alone a powerful Director of the Six Ministries.

But according to Cao Wei's friend in the Ministry of Revenue,

Yan Zhongxing had voluntarily requested an external posting.

So Cao Wei believed this Minister Yan was using retreat as advance, leveraging the grand matter of cross-border trade to secure a higher position.

"Minister Cao."

Yan Zhongxing laughed heartily.

He showed none of the airs of having once been Cao Wei's superior, clasping his fists and saying:

"Today's gathering is merely to bring everyone together—nothing more."

A gathering?

Cao Wei certainly didn't believe it.

Yan Zhongxing called himself an official, but he was really a merchant.

Start with pleasant words to lower guard, then negotiate business—that was the standard tactic.

If this were truly just a gathering, why go to such great lengths?

Unlike Yan Zhongxing, Cao Wei had always been an official.

As an official, he despised this whole routine.

Yan Zhongxing turned to Jiang Linxian: "Minister Jiang, a great honor to meet you."

Jiang Linxian also clasped his fists: "I've long heard of Minister Yan's distinguished reputation."

The three exchanged flattery for some time.

Everyone in the hall was unfazed.

Just the usual formalities when high officials meet; seasoned hands had already closed their eyes and pretended to nap.

Li Rui stood in the center, scanning the hall.

Soon,

his gaze met that of a young man.

"Qi Ze."

Qi Ze sat upright in his chair, staring at Li Rui with an unnatural expression—whether hatred, fear, or resentment, even Qi Ze himself couldn't say.

Ever since losing the bid for Trade Captain, he had remained in Qinghe County.

Until the Duke of Wei, shamelessly pleading with the Emperor, secured him a position as Trade Supervisor in the Trade Office—sixth grade.

Equal in rank to Trade Captain.

But this arrangement carried deeper meaning.

The Emperor had secretly ordered Jiang Linxian to block Qi Ze from becoming Trade Captain, yet readily granted him the Supervisor post.

It showed that in the Emperor's eyes, the Trade Captain position was more critical—too important to entrust to a remnant of the former dynasty like Qi Ze.

Li Rui quickly averted his gaze.

He gave not a thought to Qi Ze's posting in the Trade Office.

Though both were officials overseeing cross-border trade, their departments differed, and neither had authority over the other.

No need for close attention.

Finally,

the three chief officials completed their necessary pleasantries.

They took their seats first.

Then Li Rui and the others found their own places.

This meeting between the two sides was merely to understand each other's positions before launching cross-border trade.

Both aimed to better manage the market—their goals aligned, so everything would naturally fall into place.

Soon, both sides reached consensus.

Anning Guard would still be responsible for maintaining order within its jurisdiction, without interfering in trade affairs.

But given the cross-border nature, cases of spies or unrest might arise; Anning Guard must send personnel to monitor and, if necessary, use force to suppress.

The Trade Office would retain full authority over all trade matters.

Yan Zhongxing had no strong objections to Anning Guard's monitoring role.

It was standard practice.

Moreover, the Trade Office consisted of civil officials, not a violent institution; to manage the unruly Wu people, they would inevitably need Anning Guard's aid.

Half an hour later,

the two sides had largely settled their discussions.

At this point,

Jiang Linxian pointed to Li Rui and said:

"This is Li Rui, Trade Captain of Anning Guard. All future communication between the two sides will be handled by Li Rui."

"His stance represents Anning Guard's stance."

(End of Chapter)