Chapter 121

Woo~

The pitch-black mysterious iron long saber slashed horizontally, the air torn apart by the sharp edge, emitting a whimpering sound.

Clang!

The refined iron broadsword in He Mingjing's hand snapped in response, cleanly severed into two pieces.

"Good blade!"

In the small courtyard, Qin Shuo gently stroked the mysterious iron long saber that had just been delivered from the weapon casting workshop, unable to help but praise it loudly.

This mysterious iron saber was about 1.2 meters long, with a slender body and a sharp edge. It was pitch-black all over, save for the blade's edge, which looked like a cold gleam cutting through the night, radiating a chilling aura.

"It can sever hair blown against it and slice through iron like mud; from now on, I shall call you the Iron-Severing Saber!"

Qin Shuo played with the long saber in his hand, unable to put it down, a look of satisfaction appearing in his eyes.

"Such a heavy blade, only you could use it!"

He Mingjing threw away the refined iron long saber he had used to test the power of the mysterious iron saber, walked over, and shook his head silently.

This Iron-Severing Saber weighed about forty catties; for an ordinary person, let alone using it, even swinging it would be difficult.

It was only because Qin Shuo had astonishing arm strength that such a heavy blade could be used at all.

A weapon must first be handy and flexible; it is not the case that the heavier it is, the better.

Otherwise, it would be like a child wielding a giant hammer—before hurting anyone else, one's own stamina would be exhausted first; wouldn't that be a disaster?

However, this bit of weight was naturally nothing to Qin Shuo, whose Diamond Body had reached small success.

It could have been even heavier, but he later thought it unnecessary; as long as it was handy, that was enough.

This was because the mysterious iron great halberd he had re-forged weighed over three hundred and sixty catties, and that was only because the blacksmith's strength was truly limited, unable to forge it any heavier.

Otherwise, according to Qin Shuo's original intention, he had wanted to forge a thousand-catty great halberd to use in conjunction with the Great Longxiang Force.

Under the blessing of the Four Symbols Power, a thousand-catty halberd would be no different from an ordinary weapon and would not cause him any hindrance in use.

Alas, the blacksmith's skills were limited, so he had to make do for now.

In addition to forging the mysterious iron saber and mysterious iron halberd, Qin Shuo also had the blacksmith help forge thirty-six mysterious iron heavy arrows.

Then he had handy weapons forged for Qin Lan, his master, and his senior brother, only then putting away the remaining mysterious iron.

Of course, the weapons for Qin Lan and the others only had a small amount of mysterious iron added; it was impossible to cast them entirely from mysterious iron.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to use them at all—they would be too heavy!

After testing the mysterious iron saber and arrows, Qin Shuo and He Mingjing sat down at the stone table under the jujube tree.

Qin Lan obediently brought steaming tea and pastries from the inner room for the two of them, then went to prepare dinner.

Ever since learning that Qin Shuo was going to Yunzhou and would not be taking her, the little girl had followed Qin Shuo around all day for the past few days; wherever Qin Shuo went, she went, not even going to the martial arts hall anymore.

However, with the little girl's current strength, going to the martial arts hall no longer held much significance.

Qin Shuo had looted many precious medicinal herbs and pills from the Sky Wolf Gang and the City Lord's Mansion, among which there was no lack of those that nourished Qi and blood, many of which he had forcibly stuffed into the little girl's hands.

He was about to leave Heishui City, and the journey ahead was very dangerous; it was impossible to take her along.

Therefore, before leaving, he naturally had to improve the little girl's cultivation as much as possible, giving her a certain degree of self-preservation.

Under the pile of massive amounts of medicinal herbs, the little girl was now at the Great Perfection of Inner Strength and had already begun the process of Refining Strength into Qi.

Under normal circumstances, after reaching the Great Perfection of Inner Strength, one needs to continue accumulating Qi and blood, then polish it through pile gong, slowly refining Inner Strength into Qi.

But Qin Shuo, who possessed massive amounts of medicinal herbs, pills, and the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl, directly helped Qin Lan skip this step.

After she reached the Great Perfection of Inner Strength, he directly used the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl to help Qin Lan refine her Inner Strength into Qi.

There was no other way; time was pressing.

Every extra day he stayed in Heishui City, Qin Lan and the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall were in one more point of danger.

No one knew when those who coveted his Longxiang Relic would come knocking.

Therefore, he had to leave as soon as possible.

As long as he left, those eyeing the Longxiang Relic would also follow him far away from Heishui City.

If he were alone, without any attachments, even if he encountered danger, his chances of escaping on his own would be greater.

Originally, he had thought about helping Qin Lan reach the Pulse Opening Realm before leaving.

Alas, the little girl had been practicing martial arts for too short a time; her entire cultivation was almost entirely piled up by pills, and her physique was too weak.

Therefore, even with the assistance of the Meta-Magnetic Earth Pearl, she simply could not withstand too strong a pressure, and the refining of Inner Strength into Qi was naturally extremely slow.

But compared to the other senior brothers in the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall, her cultivation speed could already be considered extremely astonishing.

After all, currently, apart from himself, among the many True Disciples of the martial arts hall, only the little girl and Third Senior Brother Zhan Bai had reached the realm of Refining Strength into Qi.

The remaining senior brothers, although they had the help of Qin Shuo's pills, had all stopped at the Great Perfection of Inner Strength.

If they wanted to go any further, they would have to rely on their own efforts and slowly polish it with pile gong.

"Old He, is that bird-message delivery of yours reliable? It's been almost ten days, why is there still no news at all?"

Qin Shuo picked up the hot tea on the table and took a big gulp, immediately feeling his whole body warm up.

In the late autumn season, with heavy frost and dew, drinking a cup of hot tea at this time was naturally extremely comforting.

"Reliable! It must be reliable!"

He Mingjing spoke with absolute certainty, almost patting his chest to guarantee it.

But when he saw Qin Shuo's half-smiling expression, he felt a bit guilty and muttered in a low voice:

"Perhaps the Division Master has been out and hasn't returned, and since this matter involves the Wind Thunder Valley, the several generals in the division couldn't make up their minds, which is why it's delayed..."

"Heh!"

Qin Shuo smiled and said nothing, just drank his tea.

During this period, this guy He Mingjing had also been busy running off his feet.

On one hand, he was helping the County Yamen reorganize order and appease the people's hearts to prevent the several families in the city from causing trouble; on the other, he was making preparations for escorting the prisoners to Yunzhou.

The matter of Xue Chengkong colluding with the Xiaoyue Yaowang could be big or small.

How it would be specifically defined would require escorting Du Wenzhong and the other accomplices to the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division for interrogation before a conclusion could be reached.

However, as the number one Alchemy Sect in Yunzhou, how could the Wind Thunder Valley sit by and watch the Demon Suppression Division splash the dirty water of colluding with demons onto them?

Whether it was to maintain the reputation of the Wind Thunder Valley or to avenge Xue Chengkong, the Wind Thunder Valley would inevitably take action.

Coupled with Qin Shuo, this hot commodity who possessed Buddhist supernatural powers, their trip to Yunzhou would inevitably not be smooth.

Therefore, before setting off, he had to make preparations to deal with all kinds of possibilities.

The most important point among them was to report the current situation in Heishui City to the Demon Suppression Division and wait for the Division Master's instructions.

Only once the Division Master's instructions arrived could they set off for Yunzhou.

"Wait a little longer, it should be within these two days," He Mingjing said with some guilt.

In fact, after so many days, he was now a bit unsure whether the letter had even been delivered to the Demon Suppression Division.

Theoretically, it shouldn't go wrong, but what if?

"I can wait, but I'm afraid those who want to capture me and obtain the Buddhist supernatural powers through me cannot wait," Qin Shuo said in a flat tone.

"That won't happen, that won't happen; information in Heishui City is blocked, news won't get out for a while," He Mingjing waved his hand.

"Heh, you have a means to send messages to Yunzhou, do you think others don't?" Qin Shuo rolled his eyes.

Previously, he had thought this Greedy Wolf Captain was quite reliable and shrewd; now it seemed he was just so-so.

"Chirp, chirp..."

Just as the two were talking, a faint bird call suddenly came from above the already dim courtyard.

Qin Shuo's heart stirred, and he looked up.

With his current hearing, as long as he focused his perception, he could hear the flapping of mosquito wings a thousand meters away clearly, let alone a bird call dozens of meters above.

Seeing Qin Shuo look up, He Mingjing also raised his head to look, immediately seeing a black dot circling in the darkening mid-air.

"It's finally here..."

Joy appeared in He Mingjing's eyes, and then he curled his index finger into his mouth, emitting a loud whistle.

"Whew!"

As the whistle sounded rhythmically, the gray bird circling in the air immediately followed the sound and landed.

The gray sparrow was only the size of a fist, with a bamboo tube tied to its leg.

He Mingjing opened the bamboo tube and took out the letter.

Qin Shuo leaned in, only to see the letter filled with dense, small characters; he recognized every single one, but he had no idea what was written.

Because this letter was written in code, at first glance it looked like a mess; only by reading it in a special order could one understand the information within.

"I will arrive in a few days!"

Knowing that Qin Shuo couldn't understand it, He Mingjing read the letter out directly.

But this opening sentence stunned him.

"What? The Division Master is coming in person?" He Mingjing's expression changed.

He knew that since it involved the Wind Thunder Valley, the number one Alchemy Sect in Yunzhou, and was tainted with the Longxiang Relic of Dalong Temple, the division would inevitably attach great importance to it.

Yet he hadn't expected it to alarm the Division Master, who guarded an entire province, to come in person.

"Who is the Demon Suppression Division Master?" Qin Shuo asked curiously.

These days, he had heard He Mingjing mutter about the Division Master until his ears were almost calloused, yet he still didn't know their name.

However, from the respect and admiration revealed in his words, this Demon Suppression Division Master must be a very remarkable person.

"Fu Lingyuan."

He Mingjing straightened his back unconsciously, giving people a sense of pride as if saying, "My father is Li Gang."

"Uh... a woman?" Qin Shuo was a bit surprised.

It wasn't that he had any patriarchal thoughts, but this world was somewhat similar to the ancient times of his previous life, and it was relatively rare for women to be officials.

Let alone a high-ranking official who monitored demons across an entire province.

The Great Li Dynasty had five Dao and nineteen provinces; the weight of this provincial Division Master was not a bit inferior to a provincial governor of his previous life.

"What's wrong with being a woman?"

Hearing the surprise in Qin Shuo's tone, He Mingjing said with a serious face:

"Brother Qin, I warn you, you must never look down on the women in our Demon Suppression Division; every one of them is an elite soldier and a fierce general."

"Especially our Division Master, who is a heroine among women, a genius among the geniuses of Yunzhou."

"Even those True Disciples of the great sects have to take a detour when they see our Division Master."

"In Yunzhou, there is a saying: 'Who says women lack heroic spirit? With a red-tasseled spear, they bind the azure dragon.'"

"Do you know who this saying refers to?"

"It refers to our Division Master!"

"I'm telling you, when you see the Division Master, don't go courting death; if she finds out you look down on women, she'll definitely hack you to death."

"Alright, alright, I know, hurry up and read the rest."

Qin Shuo rolled his eyes at this guy.

I didn't even say I looked down on women!

I was just curious, why did you have to start lecturing me?

However, thinking of this guy's respect and admiration for the Demon Suppression Division Master, he couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

"I have approved Qin Shuo's joining of the Demon Suppression Division! Appoint him as a Cloud Dragon Captain; all rewards will be issued together once the General Headquarters approves!"

"Cloud Dragon Captain?"

He Mingjing's eyes widened suddenly, his face full of disbelief.

He continued reading:

"He Mingjing has rendered meritorious service in tracking the Demon King; promoted to Golden Eagle Captain! I order the two of you to set off today, escort the accomplices of Xue Chengkong to Yunzhou, and do not make any mistakes!"

"What? Why did I only get promoted one level, while you jumped three levels in a row, directly promoted to Cloud Dragon Captain?"

He Mingjing's face, which was still quite handsome, immediately drooped, like an eggplant beaten by frost.

Originally, he had thought that since he had rendered such great service, he should have been promoted to Cloud Dragon Captain, but he hadn't expected to only be promoted one level.

On the contrary, Qin Shuo, a newcomer to the Demon Suppression Division, was a Cloud Dragon Captain as soon as he joined.

This promotion speed...

Even those who go through the back door aren't this fast!

The gap between people is truly outrageously large.

"What, not happy?"

Qin Shuo sneered: "You should be content; you just picked up a Golden Eagle Captaincy while sitting in jail, and I'm only one level higher than you after fighting for my life, what do you have to be unbalanced about?"

"That seems right too!"

He Mingjing scratched his head and immediately beamed, "It seems the Division Master is still favoring me."