Chapter 532

"This team is primarily meant to confront Nightmare Lord-level or higher demonic entities—life and death are uncertain; you must think carefully," Lin Yu said seriously.

"I don't mind the danger, but I'm not from Iron Space—I don't know how they fight here, and I'm afraid I might drag them down," Xiu said anxiously.

"No need to worry—I'll teach you Iron Space's combat methods, and besides, you've already fought the demon race and understand their tactics."

"Just pay attention to the demonic energy users in this space; the rest I'll train you for specially—don't be afraid."

Hearing Lin Yu say that, Huang Linxuan could no longer refuse and agreed.

"I never thought I'd one day become a squad leader in another space," Lin Yu mused to himself.

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and asked Lin Yu in confusion: "Yu-ge, you mean all spaces?"

"Exactly! This is a demon-hunting squad directly commissioned by the Twelve Spaces' Lord. Once Xia Tian is fully restored, we'll launch a counterattack to rescue the other spaces."

Lin Yu turned to Wang Da Dong and said: "Da Dong, right now you must help Xia Tian. Most important is Xia Tian's body—he's our only hope in Iron Space!"

This time, Wang Da Dong didn't impulsively rush to fight; instead, he solemnly nodded to Lin Yu: "Yu-ge! I absolutely can cure Xia Tian."

"A Xiang, Lei Ting, Xia Mei—you stay at the Xia household to protect Grandpa and Xia Tian!"

【366】 The Iron Guard's training methods shocked Wang Da Dong.

Seeing that everyone had no objections to his plan and was willing to risk their lives to defend Iron Space, Lin Yu's tense face finally broke into a faint smile; the heavy burden on his shoulders seemed lighter, and he could finally breathe easier.

"Thankfully, I have these friends who share life and death with me, willing to stand by me and fight across dimensions. Without them, I might not have held on this long," Lin Yu thought silently.

A Xiang and the others looked at the exhausted Lin Yu with pity; she felt his body had been severely drained after the great battle with the demons.

After the great battle, he still had to negotiate with numerous politicians, devise plans, and arrange combat operations.

Thinking of these things, their hearts stirred with waves of sorrow and pity.

The Lord's disappearance had placed nearly the entire burden of Iron Space on his shoulders, and they, 07, could only stand helplessly.

"Everyone, rest now. Tomorrow morning, each to your post and do your own duties," Lin Yu ordered calmly.

Upon hearing this, everyone dispersed, returning to their rooms to gather strength for the coming battle against the hateful demonic entities and the unknown tomorrow.

The next day, dawn broke, dispelling the darkness.

Lin Yu led Xiu and the Xia family through a series of clever methods, quietly arriving at a hidden location.

It was a massive military fortress. As soon as they stepped inside, everyone sensed countless powerful figures locking onto them with gazes like arrows.

He was confident he could defeat most of them, even cause casualties.

But if he were truly a demonic entity, whether he could escape unscathed, he had no firm assurance.

For this fortress was like a steel beast—once invaded, it would mercilessly unleash its power to devour everything.

This was the cradle of the Iron Guard; even its outer perimeter bristled with so many powerful warriors—what the center must look like needed no imagining.

After enduring layers of meticulous inspections, they finally reached the core of the military base.

Before them, dozens of warriors with astonishing combat power were undergoing brutal training, among them several women.

Wang Da Dong and the others noticed that all of them were armed with real bullets.

In a drill testing speed and reflexes, wooden stakes were densely covered with sharp barbs; though they wouldn't cause serious injury, the pain of skin being torn—just imagining it sent chills down the spine.

Lin Yu's mind involuntarily flashed to childhood trauma—a palace drama scene of a maid—and instantly, cold sweat broke out on his back, a strange chill surging through him.

"Is this what the Iron Guard do every day? No wonder each team has so few members!" Wang Da Dong thought inwardly, briefly pitying them.

Witnessing this method, he asked Lin Yu in confusion.

"Yu-ge, does this Iron Guard training method result in casualties?"

"Indeed it does. Their daily drills permit a certain level of injury—sacrifices within a specific numerical limit are understood."

"After all, the Iron Guard undertake the kind of combat where death is most likely—daily training must mirror reality."

"If they don't train for real, how can we trust them to stand up at the brink of life and death? Without the courage to face death, one cannot become an Iron Guard," Lin Yu added beside them.

Hearing this, Wang Da Dong was deeply shaken, silently awed.

"This is what Yu-ge used to do? It's truly terrifying!" Wang Da Dong exclaimed.

Suddenly, Lin Yu stepped to the center and barked: "All assemble!"

In an instant, the scattered personnel rapidly formed ranks; within five seconds, all stood in place.

Perfectly aligned, discipline rigid.

"A disciplined force! Truly impressive!" Wang Da Dong praised.

Yet to the Xia family watching, all this was ordinary—they showed no reaction. In contrast, Wang Da Dong appeared extraordinarily astonished, like a country bumpkin.

After all, he was merely a well-behaved child protected by his parents.

The greatest experience he'd had was meeting Lin Yu; he'd had no exposure to military matters whatsoever. Besides, they'd only fought demonic entities before, never engaged in large-scale army warfare.

So his reaction was perfectly understandable.

Under Wang Da Dong's observation, among these people, even the weakest had a combat power 1,000 points higher than his own.

"Good heavens! This is Iron Space? It hides so many powerful energy users!"

"In Gold Space, the elders stronger than him—like Black Dragon, my father, my mother—all in their forties—still have combat power inferior to Iron Space's younger generation."

"There must be many hidden elders among Iron Space's White Path clans," Wang Da Dong mused.

"So Iron Space isn't weak at all—the White Path energy users aren't easy to bully. Perhaps it's because other spaces' combat power is too low, and they've already been crushed by the demon race."

But the question still lingered in his mind: if their strength was so great, why were they still being crushed by the demon race? Why not unite all forces to defeat the demons in Iron Space and then help other dimensions?

Ultimately, uniting all White Path energy users for a counterattack—even if they couldn't utterly defeat the Demon Realm—should at least achieve parity, and certainly couldn't allow other spaces to continue suffering under the demon race's ravages.

【367】 Forming the Demon-Hunting Squad: Team Combat Power 30,000!

But now was not the time to ask—he buried his confusion deep within, waiting for the right moment to seek answers from Lin Yu.

His thoughts returned, and he heard Xiu's instruction.

"I assume you've understood my purpose this time, so I need say no more. We will select ten of your strongest, most outstanding warriors to fill the vacancies in the Iron Guard. Selection begins now!"

The Lin Yu before them now radiated the aura of a leader, compelling unquestioning trust.

Wang Da Dong had never seen Lin Yu like this. Normally, Lin Yu gave him the impression of being gentle, approachable, confident, and responsible—but the Lin Yu before him now made him look anew, realizing Lin Yu could also be so spirited and vigorous.

"Is this really the Yu-ge I know? Did I mistake someone else for Yu-ge?" he thought in astonishment.

After a fierce battle, ten individuals were selected—the ones with the highest scores and combat prowess among the dozens.

Once the selections were made, grouping began!

These ten demonstrated their psychic indices in the competition; the lowest was thirty thousand, while the highest reached a full forty thousand points.

"The talent of this generation has surpassed my own—reaching forty thousand points before thirty, and Lin Yu is only twenty-six, yet his combat power has already hit one hundred eleven thousand."

"No, he suddenly realized—increasing combat power is no easy feat. I reached over a hundred thousand only because of the system."

It seemed the methods of cultivating Wu Gong in Iron Space differed from those in Gold Space; in Gold Space, surpassing five thousand was a major hurdle.

But in Iron Space, one thousand points was merely a threshold—cross it, and progress followed; fail to cross it, and you might be stuck there for years. So one couldn't casually claim someone had greater talent than Lin Yu.

The Xia family had already decided: the newly formed Imperial Guard would face only the most formidable foes—not only to defend Iron Space, but also to aid other dimensions. Thus, the strongest few would come under Lin Yu's command and join his "Demon-Exterminating Squad."

Indeed, Lin Yu's goal was to fully Contact the Demon Realm, which was why he named this squad the "Demon-Exterminating Squad."

The first to join the "Demon-Exterminating Squad" was from the Wu La family—Wu La-Yuntian, with a combat power of thirty-six thousand points.

The second was Wu La-Yuntian, with a combat power of thirty-eight thousand points.

The most shocking was the third—a woman, with combat power no lower than the others; she was the third strongest among the dozens. Her name was Ouyang Lan, combat power thirty-five thousand points—truly, women could hold up half the sky!

The fourth was from the Huyan Jue Luo family—named Huyan Jue Luo-Ai, combat power thirty-four thousand points. She earned her place through her own strength, not connections.

"He himself seems like someone who got in through connections—and became squad leader straightaway," Lin Yu thought inwardly.

Ouyang Lan's face was flushed, as if holding back a laugh, while Huyan Jue Luo Ai remained aloof and cold, always wearing an icy expression.

"Why are all the Huyan Jue Luo people like this?" Lin Yu grumbled silently.

Finally, the team members were decided, and they proceeded to the training base to begin drills.

They had to coordinate within days and move swiftly to the front lines for missions.

The immediate task was to expand the safe operational zone for psychic practitioners in Iron Space before Xia Tian fully recovered, establishing an absolute zone as a base for counteroffensives.

The first mission of the "Demon-Exterminating Squad" was to infiltrate enemy rear areas for assassinations and purge demonic creatures within Iron Space.

Their first mission would test life and death—survive it, and they would grow stronger; fail it, and they would simply "ascend to heaven."

Suddenly, Lin Yu called Xiu outside and said to the team with a blank expression: "You all keep training slowly."

Then he followed Lin Yu closely—he had questions he needed answered by Lin Yu. These thoughts festered inside him; until resolved, he could not rest.

The two reached a quiet spot, and Xiu asked Lin Yu.

"Yu-ge, today you saw those people—Iron Space has many, and within those families, surely more powerful figures remain. Why not unite those forces and confront them directly?"

"Why didn't you gather strength before Xia Tian was injured? Xia Tian's power isn't low either—though he might not win outright, he certainly wouldn't have left us in such a passive position as now!"