77: Promoted to deputy captain

[Year 1, you begin to Cultivate the Star Soul Attraction]

[Year 130, after a century of comprehending the Dao and observing the stars at night, your resonance with the astral stars has further improved, and the probability of success has increased to one-tenth.]

[Year 390, the difficulty of the Breakthrough to the third layer of Star lead Soul is beyond your imagination, making you doubt whether it is necessary to persevere.]

Chu Jiang looked at the panel; Cultivating Soul Power was indeed the most difficult task.

The last Breakthrough to the second layer had cost him seven hundred years of Lifespan.

The third layer would only be more difficult.

But once the Soul Power broke through, the benefits it brought were obvious.

The power of martial arts increased, control over the Physical Body strengthened, and the difficulty of comprehending martial arts decreased.

Continue.

[Year 990, after nearly a thousand years of accumulation, you finally sense the barrier of the third layer. You continue your bitter Cultivation, preparing to break through the Bottleneck.]

[Year 1008, after a full three hundred and sixty thousand nights, you finally reach the critical threshold, successfully making a Breakthrough and entering the third layer of Star lead Soul.]

[Soul Secret Art: Star lead Soul (Third Layer)]

[demon life essence: 895 years]

...

After stepping into the third layer of Star lead Soul, Chu Jiang felt as if his spiritual terrace had broken through some sort of shackle, and a massive Soul Power swept out from his body.

"This is..."

Great Grandmaster Soul!

This vast Soul Power spread rapidly like a spiderweb, covering the back garden, the main hall, the warehouse, the stable, the front yard...

The entire Cultivation residence was fully within his view.

His affinity with heaven and earth had deepened by another level.

Chu Jiang revealed a look of joy; spending this Lifespan was well worth it.

Now.

Start to Cultivate other martial arts.

As Lifespan was infused, the panel began to scroll, and a series of text emerged.

[Year 1, you begin to Cultivate Imperial Thunder Void Realm. Your Great Grandmaster Soul allows you to Cultivate as if aided by gods; parts you normally couldn't understand at all are instantly comprehended.]

[Year 89, Imperial Thunder Void Realm reaches Minor Achievement.]

[Year 203, Imperial Thunder Void Realm reaches Major Achievement.]

[Year 490, Imperial Thunder Void Realm is promoted to Perfection.]

[Unlocked: Void Realm Displacement]

[Peak Martial Art (Pseudo): Imperial Thunder Void Realm (Perfection)]

[demon life essence: 405 years]

Chu Jiang stopped the demon infusion. The Lifespan required to promote a martial art to Transcendent was massive, so the remaining Lifespan would be used to upgrade another martial art.

[Year 1, you begin to Cultivate the Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual.]

[Year 3, you comprehend the true meaning of the Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual word by word. Under the enhancement of your Great Grandmaster Soul, your understanding of this martial art gradually deepens.]

[Year 98, your Great Grandmaster Soul allows you to comprehend Saber Intent in adversity, and your Cultivation of the Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual gets better and better.]

[Year 156, Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual reaches Minor Achievement, and you comprehend one of the four ultimate moves, Blood Sun Soaring in the Sky.]

[Whenever the blazing sun hangs high in the sky, the power of this move doubles.]

[Year 386, Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual reaches Major Achievement, and you comprehend one of the four ultimate moves, God Elephant Suppresses Hell.]

[The saber resonates with your Physical Body, manifesting divine elephants to suppress all evil.]

[Peak Martial Art (Pseudo): Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual (Major Achievement)]

[demon life essence: 21 years]

...

Only to see.

The Aura on Chu Jiang's body underwent earth-shattering changes, and his entire being seemed to transform into a demon god suppressing Avici Hell.

A flash of crimson flickered in his eyes.

Due to the existence of the Black Ice Platform, this crimson was quickly suppressed and disappeared from sight.

"This Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual actually affected my sanity."

Chu Jiang frowned slightly.

Had it not been for the Black Ice Platform, he would have risked Qi Deviation at that very moment.

Although this Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual was powerful, it was easy to fall into demonic ways.

Who knows if he might turn into a peerless blood demon one day.

"I need to find a mind-clearing and heart-calming martial art to complement the Prison Suppressing Blood God Manual."

Chu Jiang pondered.

...

Demon Suppression Hall.

The chief seat was empty.

There were four Commanders on each side. The left side was led by Commander Zuo, and the right side was led by Shen Commander.

"Today, there is only one matter. Chu Jiang has already been promoted to Grandmaster. The position of Banner Commander is no longer suitable for his status, and he needs to be promoted."

Commander Zuo spoke first.

"Promote him directly to Vice Commander; his strength is sufficient to hold the position."

Shen Commander nodded, having no objection.

A Vice Commander requires the Early Stage of Grandmaster.

A full Commander requires a strength of at least the Late Stage of Grandmaster.

With Chu Jiang's strength and reputation, serving as a Vice Commander was well-deserved.

"I object!"

A resolute-looking Commander stood up and raised a question.

"Liu, Commander, is there anything inappropriate?" a Commander spoke up.

Liu, Commander ranked third among the thirteen full Commanders of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division, known for his iron face, second only to Commander Zuo and Shen Commander.

His words naturally could not be taken lightly.

"I think there is certainly no problem with Chu Jiang's strength to serve as a Vice Commander."

"But..."

"This person once had connections with demons. Being promoted to Vice Commander less than a month after entering our Demon Suppression Division, is that not somewhat inappropriate?"

"I believe Chu Jiang is definitely clean now, but shouldn't we observe him for another period of time? We can promote him to Centurion first."

"Firstly, it can temper his Heart-Nature. Secondly, we can observe his behavior. If there are no issues after a year or two, it won't be too late to promote him to Commander."

Liu, Commander said slowly.

The Commanders looked at each other. The Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division had long been clear about Chu Jiang's background, and his past connection with demons was no secret.

Because Chu Jiang was now a Grade-A Genius of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division, coupled with his destruction of the Cao Gang, execution of the Prince, and prevention of the Brahma True Demon's descent,

almost no one believed he would still have any association with demons.

Therefore, they all tacitly refrained from mentioning it, not expecting Liu, Commander to bring it up to his face.

However,

upon closer thought, Liu, Commander's words were not without reason.

A Vice Commander was already part of the upper echelon of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division, with access to confidential information. Each one required several years of observation before being promoted.

It was mainly because Chu Jiang's promotion speed was too fast, completely bypassing the so-called observation period.

"What Liu, Commander said makes some sense."

"One or two years is a bit long. I think promoting him after half a year is also a good option."

a Commander spoke up.

He believed that the current Demon Suppression Division was already exhausted from dealing with demons, the Earth Fiend Hall, and some cults causing trouble in the shadows.

In dealing with other Jianghu sects, they should focus on pacification, punishing them when they commit offenses. Carrying out sect-exterminating actions would trigger their panic responses.

This could cause unexpected changes and lead to unnecessary trouble.

Chu Jiang's action of exterminating the Cao Gang, although highly satisfying, had already triggered fierce reactions from all sides.

Undercurrents surged.

He still lacked maturity in handling things, so it would be good to temper his temper.

But after all, Chu Jiang was a Grade-A Genius of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division; they could not dampen his enthusiasm.

The observation period could be greatly shortened, but it could not be nonexistent.

Commander Zuo said, "Chu Jiang's destruction of the Cao Gang, execution of the Prince, slaying of demons, and prevention of the Brahma True Demon's descent are already the best proof. There is no need for a so-called observation period."

"Our Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division has only this one Grade-A Genius. For special people, we must handle things with special measures. My opinion is to directly promote him to Vice Commander."

"If a Genius has their sharp edges ground smooth, are they still a Genius?"

Shen Commander: "I agree with Commander Zuo's opinion. Chu Jiang is a Genius seen once in several hundred years in our Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division. There is no need to follow conventional rules."

The words of Commander Zuo and Shen Commander carried immense weight, quickly turning the tide.

Most of the Commanders agreed to the promotion.

"Good, then we shall promote Chu Jiang to Vice Commander of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division!" Commander Zuo made the final decision.

"Then we shall do as Commander Zuo says."

Liu, Commander's eyes flickered slightly, his expression remaining normal.