47: The significance of spiritual practice

Another Black Armored Demon Mantis’s corpse fell at his feet.

Lin Xiao sheathed his sword, the entire process smooth and without any hesitation.

He took out his phone and snapped a photo of the monster’s body, neatly split in half and oozing dark green blood.

Then, he opened a WeChat group named [Kunlun Cultivation Academy - First Freshmen Exchange Group] and sent the photo.

[Lin Xiao]: @All Members, Gusu University Town, second one.

As soon as the photo was sent, the group instantly exploded.

[Han Li]: Holy crap! Senior Lin Xiao is awesome! He’s already started killing? And it’s this big mantis! So cool!

[Liu Lian]: Hmph, isn’t it just a bigger bug? It just looks scary. If I were there, it’d be a one-sword job! @Lin Xiao, does this thing drop equipment? Any contribution points?

[Fang Yuan]: Everyone, be careful. The Dean’s order is to slay demons and eradicate evil, but also pay attention to safety.

[Li Qingyuan]: Lin Xiao, are you alone? Do you need help?

[Xie Wangsheng]: Zoom in on the photo, pay attention to the subtle energy patterns at the monster’s carapace joints. This thing isn’t a pure beast; it has a certain level of sentience and knows how to use spiritual power to strengthen itself. @Lin Xiao, how does this one you encountered compare in strength to the previous one?

[Han Li]: Exactly, exactly! Senior, please livestream! Isn’t this much more exciting than my haunted house? I’ve already thought of the title, “Immortal Cultivation Senior Descends the Mountain, One Sword for Each Kid!” It’ll definitely go viral!

[Liu Lian]: @Han Li, you’re just thinking about traffic! How vulgar! Can an Cultivator’s business be called a livestream? That’s promoting the righteous Dao! @Lin Xiao, give me the address, I’ll fly over on my sword right now to be your cameraman!

Two hundred people in the group, talking over each other, the screen refreshed at lightning speed.

Just then.

An avatar that everyone had set for special notifications suddenly spoke in the group.

[Dean - Li Heng]: @Lin Xiao, well done.

[Dean - Li Heng]: Your mission isn’t just to kill them all.

[Dean - Li Heng]: Find the official organization here, figure out their background, their strength, and how much information they have on the resurgence of demons. I want a complete report.

[Dean - Li Heng]: Remember, unless absolutely necessary, do not expose the existence of the Academy.

The Dean’s messages instantly silenced the noisy group chat.

All the students realized that this was not just a simple mountain descent for experience.

Lin Xiao saw the message and replied extremely quickly.

[Lin Xiao]: Understood.

He put away his phone, his Divine Sense spreading out like mercury.

Soon, in another abandoned factory several hundred meters away, he detected the third evil and chaotic aura.

With a flash, Lin Xiao vanished from his spot.

Less than five minutes later.

Another photo popped up in the group, showing the corpse of the third Black Armored Demon Mantis.

[Lin Xiao]: Third one. Heading to the official outpost now... Kunlun, Jade Void Peak summit, Dean’s office.

Li Heng looked at the students’ discussions on his phone screen and Lin Xiao’s efficient, almost cold, reports, tapping his finger lightly on the desk.

He had originally thought that sending the students home to deal with family issues was just a mundane way to solve a reputation crisis.

Now, it seemed he had underestimated the speed of the Spiritual Qi resurgence.

He had also underestimated the yearning for battle among these passionate young people.

“Theory in the classroom is, after all, just talk on paper.”

“A true sword must be sharpened in blood and fire.”

Li Heng muttered to himself, beginning to re-plan the Academy’s curriculum and assessment standards.

[Task Module - Edit Mode]

[New Compulsory Course: Demon Slaying Records]

[Course Description: Descend the mountain into the mortal world, actively seek out and clear out demons that pose a threat to humanity. Based on the Rank and number of demons slain, earn corresponding credits and contribution points.]

[Assessment Standard: A minimum amount of demon-slaying tasks must be completed each semester, otherwise all credits will be reset to zero.]

After doing all this, Li Heng closed the panel.

The comfortable Academy life should end… Gusu University Town temporary command post.

This was originally an abandoned warehouse, but at this moment, it was brightly lit, and the atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

The square-faced man, Zhang He, was facing a huge map of Gusu, with more than a dozen dangerous areas marked in red felt-tip pen.

He had just had his arm bandaged; it had been corroded by blood splattered from a demon’s corpse.

“Report! C-zone patrol team has lost contact!”

“Report! Wang Hu… Wang Hu couldn’t be saved, he sacrificed himself!”

“Team Leader Zhang! We don’t have enough manpower at all! These monsters are getting more and more numerous! If this continues, we’ll be wiped out!”

One bad piece of news after another made Zhang He’s face grow increasingly grim.

He slammed his fist on the table, making the water cup jump.

“Damn it!”

He roared, his voice filled with exhaustion and helplessness.

They were the Special Affairs Bureau, a secret national organization specifically created to deal with these supernatural events.

But it had been established for too short a time, and most of its members were half-baked individuals with family Legacies, the strongest of whom were only at the Late Stage of Qi Condensation. Facing these endless monsters, it was completely futile.

Just then, a team member rushed in.

“Team Leader Zhang! Outside… there’s someone who wants to see you!”

“No!” Zhang He was in a fit of anger, waving impatiently, “Can’t you see I’m busy? Tell him to get lost!”

“But… but he said he killed three Black Armored Demon Mantises, and he… he’s here to talk to us.”

The team member’s voice was trembling.

Zhang He suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the team member.

“What did you say?”

He quickly walked out of the warehouse.

He saw a young man in casual clothes standing calmly at the entrance, holding a long, black cloth-wrapped object.

It was Lin Xiao.

Zhang He’s heart pounded.

He would never forget that astonishing and brilliant sword strike in the teaching building.

He immediately tidied his disheveled clothes, stepped forward quickly, and bowed deeply to Lin Xiao.

“Senior! How… how did you come here!”

Lin Xiao ignored his address and went straight to the point.

“Who are you people?”

Zhang He quickly invited Lin Xiao into a private office, closed the door, and then respectfully replied.

“Senior, we are the newly established ‘Special Affairs Bureau’ of Dragon Country, specifically handling these… these incidents caused by demons and ghosts.”

“Why did the demons suddenly appear?” Lin Xiao continued to ask.

Zhang He sighed, his face full of bitterness.

“Our internal explanation is ‘Spiritual Qi Resurgence’. The concentration of Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth is rapidly increasing, which has led to two results. First, our Cultivators with Legacies, our Cultivation speed has accelerated; second, those things hidden in dark corners have also begun to awaken, mutate, and become stronger and stronger.”

He pointed to the red dots on the map.

“Just in Gusu alone, we have detected no less than twenty high-risk demonic auras. And our entire Gusu branch, the combat personnel capable of going out on missions, only number fifteen.”

“What level is the strongest among your Legacies?” Lin Xiao asked the question Li Heng was most concerned about.

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Zhang He’s face.

“I’m not afraid of Senior laughing at us, but in our bureau, including myself, the strongest is only… at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation. And I just broke through.”

He paused, then added.

“Moreover, our Cultivation Technique is crude, and our spiritual power is impure. Let alone comparing to Senior, even dealing with a demon at the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Condensation would come at a heavy price. Today… we lost a good brother.”

Lin Xiao fell silent.

Ninth layer of Qi Condensation.

Was this the peak of the mortal Cultivation world in this world?

At Kunlun Academy, this was a level freshmen could reach in just one month.

Zhang Qiqi, with her Heavenly Spiritual Root, even broke through in a week.

Too weak.

Pathetically weak.

Zhang He looked at the silent Lin Xiao, thinking that the other party looked down on their motley crew.

He gritted his teeth, stood up again, and bowed solemnly to Lin Xiao.

This time, he wasn’t just bowing, but preparing to kneel.

“Senior!”

His voice was choked with sobs, full of desperate pleading.

“I don’t care which reclusive Sect’s Senior Master you are! I, Zhang He, today represent the millions of citizens of Gusu, and I beg you!”

“Please, take action and save this city!”

“Our people are truly on the verge of being wiped out!”

“As long as you are willing to help, our Special Affairs Bureau, no, the entire country, is willing to pay any price!”

In the office, the atmosphere was extremely heavy.

Lin Xiao looked at the square-faced man before him, who was staking everything to protect the city, even willing to abandon his dignity.

He did not answer immediately.

In his mind, the Dean Li Heng’s words echoed.

“Slay demons and eradicate evil, protect the human world.”

This was the meaning of their Immortal Cultivation.