154: Breaking 1,000 for the first time

Returning to the house, despite having just experienced a battle, Lu Ming did not stop. He took out paper and pen and directly wrote down his experiences in Xianshui Town these past few days, also marking his conjectures.

With their current manpower, resolving the demon menace in Xianshui Town was sufficient, but trying to get involved in Tianshi City's affairs was clearly beyond their strength.

After all, no one knew the true scale of the Golden Lotus Sect's development in Tianshi City. Moreover, logically, the Demon Suppression Division in Tianshi City should have been aware, but until Lu Ming departed, he had not heard any news from Tianshi City.

The Golden Lotus Sect had already developed tens of thousands of followers in a place like Xianshui Town; the situation in Tianshi City could only be worse. This inevitably led Lu Ming to consider the worst-case scenario.

After meticulously writing down everything, Lu Ming called a Centurion who was on duty outside the door. He handed the letter to him and solemnly instructed, "You must personally deliver this letter to Lord Wu. He will surely take action after reading its contents."

Lu Ming's mission for this trip was to eradicate the demon menace in Xianshui Town, and he had now completed it. If not for the Golden Lotus Sect, there would be no issue even if he returned to the Demon Suppression Division now to deliver the mission.

But upon learning that Tianshi City was the Golden Lotus Sect's true Foundation, he realized the gravity of the situation. He then decided to inform the Demon Suppression Division first and then see if the Division had any plans.

After receiving the envelope, the Centurion nodded in affirmation and then hurriedly left.

According to the distance between Silver Feather City and Xianshui Town, with one person and two horses traveling non-stop, the Demon Suppression Division should receive the news within a day.

Just after Lu Ming had made these arrangements, a moment later, Li Yunliang knocked and entered. He respectfully said, "Sir, those detained officials from the government wish to see you. What do you think..."

Lu Ming looked up, naturally understanding what those people were thinking.

They had probably learned that Wu Shude and his son had been killed by him, and thus were frantically trying to ascertain his attitude.

"Let them come see me," Lu Ming pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice.

Upon receiving the instruction, Li Yunliang immediately went to the detention area to relay the order.

In less than a quarter of an hour, more than twenty officials managing various affairs in the Xianshui Town government gathered in the small house.

As soon as they entered, everyone knelt down in unison.

"Sir, the evil deeds committed by Wu Shude were not intentionally concealed by us. Rather, he threatened us with words, and those who resisted were directly arrested on fabricated charges. We beg for your forgiveness, Sir!" an old man with a white beard, who had served in Xianshui Town for decades, pleaded mournfully.

"Is that so? So you people feared Wu Shude more than my Demon Suppression Division?" Lu Ming raised an eyebrow, slammed his hand on the table, and stood up abruptly, his gaze chillingly directed at them.

These officials, to varying degrees, knew that Wu Shude was involved with the demon chaos, yet not a single one had informed them, even deliberately concealing it. If he hadn't cleverly broken the deadlock, perhaps after the Golden Lotus Sect's grand scheme succeeded today, even if he realized it, he might not be able to punish them all.

Seeing Lu Ming's anger, everyone present was startled, especially the white-bearded old man, whose face turned pale.

Lu Ming had not changed his clothes. Having fought his way through the Golden Lotus Temple, his black robes were stained with a lot of demon blood, even appearing somewhat blackish-red.

Knowing that this person truly dared to kill, for a time, everyone present knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy, their last shred of hope fading away.

"Enough. Considering your limited involvement, I will be lenient. However, if I find out any of you are not honest during this period, do not blame Lu for being ruthless."

Lu Ming's original intention was to admonish these officials with their hidden agendas. After all, no matter how angry he was, he couldn't possibly kill everyone in the government. The various affairs of Xianshui Town still needed people to manage them.

Although their Demon Suppression Division temporarily took over the Xianshui Town government, they were skilled at demon slaying but had no experience in managing town affairs. So, seeing that his objective had been achieved, Lu Ming feigned a softening attitude and then waved his hand.

"Thank you, Sir, thank you, Sir." The officials repeatedly nodded, like chickens pecking at rice... After the officials left, Lu Ming finally had some free time.

Summoning his panel, Lu Ming's gaze fell on one of the entries.

Congratulations on killing a Perfected Extreme Realm Snake Demon.

Snake Demon's lifespan: 1317 years. Obtained lifespan: 439 years.

Consumable demon lifespan: 1123 years.

After a massacre in the Golden Lotus Temple, coupled with the reward for finally killing the Perfected Extreme Realm Snake Demon, Lu Ming's stored demon lifespan finally exceeded a thousand for the first time on this trip.

This couldn't help but excite him, as having so much demon lifespan to squander meant he could once again push an Earth Rank Cultivation Technique to its extreme, with plenty left over.

Although with Lu Ming's current martial arts Realm, he had few rivals at the Limit Realm level, after witnessing Luo Chengxiong's actions on Qingfeng Mountain, he truly realized how terrifying the power of experts in this world could be.

A casual strike severely wounded a Dao Realm expert. While Lu Ming ultimately used his methods to eliminate Sect Leader Zhao Jiuzhou of the Hundred Weapons Sect, that was under circumstances where the opponent was severely injured and underestimated him. Moreover, if Zhao Jiuzhou had been prepared at the time, even a powerful offensive technique like the Fire Spiritual Qi Evil Art might not have been able to eliminate him.

The higher one's position, the clearer one can see the true face of this world. Furthermore, the threats he faced were not just those on the surface; if he were swept up by the general trend, he might find it difficult to escape.

Thinking of this, Lu Ming couldn't help but recall the letter he accidentally saw in the secret chamber on Qingfeng Mountain.

The war in Chong Province had reached a very dire state. Once the defense line was breached, Yun Province would be the first to be affected. At that time, if he didn't have enough strength, it was not impossible to be buried within it.

"I wonder how Luo Hongzhuang's father will respond," Lu Ming thought. It seemed no news had been received since that day, and there were no rumors in the city about the Hundred Weapons Sect colluding with Qi Country, suggesting that this information had been sealed off.

He didn't dwell on these thoughts. After all, decisions concerning the fate of an entire province were not something he could meddle in. Instead of thinking about those, it was better to think more about how to kill more demons and improve his own strength.

His attention returned to the panel. Lu Ming then noticed that below the 'Consumable demon lifespan,' with the number exceeding a thousand, another line of text had appeared.