78: Letter from Shiraishi

The Artifact Refining Hall of the Demon Suppression Division.

"Elder, I would like to upgrade this saber!" Chu Jiang drew the Blood Sun Saber from its sheath and handed it to the Elder of the Artifact Refining Hall.

"Hmm, a fine saber!"

A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Elder Shi of the Artifact Refining Hall. Having studied the Dao of Artifact Refining for over a hundred years, he could tell at a glance that this saber was extraordinary.

"This saber has a fire-leaning attribute. If you add a high-grade water-attribute material to neutralize the two and create a state of Primordial Unity, its strength and power will increase by more than just a notch!"

Chu Jiang's face lit up with joy, and he smiled, "Does the Artifact Refining Hall have such high-grade water-attribute Materials?"

"A piece of Sea Wave Crystal arrived half a month ago, but unfortunately, Commander Liu exchanged for it."

"The Artifact Refining Hall still has some water-attribute Materials of slightly lower quality, such as Water Cloud Sand, but they would likely fall short of your expectations."

While these Materials are considered top-tier for forging low-grade weapons, Chu Jiang is already a Grandmaster, so the enhancement provided by adding these Materials would be very negligible.

Chu Jiang sighed slightly, "It seems my luck is truly not very good."

"What is Commander Liu exchanging for the Sea Wave Crystal for? He isn't an Artifact Refiner."

Elder Shi shook his head with a smile and said, "In the past six months, Commander Liu has already exchanged for three rare water-attribute Materials from me. Whenever the Artifact Refining Hall receives such high-grade Materials, he exchanges for them immediately."

"If you want to get this piece of Sea Wave Crystal from him, it will be quite difficult."

He had asked about it once before, but the other party said it was for a mission, so he didn't ask any further.

"I'll tell you a piece of news in secret: there is another rare water-attribute material in Annan Prefecture, and its quality is only higher, not lower, than the Sea Wave Crystal."

Chu Jiang became interested, and his eyes, which had lost hope, instantly brightened.

"Annan Prefecture?"

"Which faction?"

It is highly unlikely that such a rare treasure is held by an individual.

"The Hundred Flowers Sect!"

"They have a piece of Ice Soul Cold Iron, which is one of the Hundred Flowers Sect's Sect-protecting treasures."

Chu Jiang was taken aback and said, "I remember the Hundred Flowers Sect does not have any Vajra Realm Martial Artists. The Sect Leader is Sikong Miaoyin, who is fourth on the Human Ranking and has a cultivation at the Innate Peak."

"With that level of strength, how do they manage to hold onto that piece of Ice Soul Cold Iron?"

Elder Shi smiled and continued, "The Hundred Flowers Sect has connected with a major faction, so ordinary people dare not touch it."

"Among the Yunzhou Thirteen Prefectures, there are three major prefectures where the martial arts are prosperous."

"Yunze County is one of them."

"And Yunze County has two major factions: the Poison Sect and the Myriad Sound Valley. The two are locked in open and covert struggles, as incompatible as fire and water. All the factions in Yunze County are divided into these two camps."

"Behind the Hundred Flowers Sect stands none other than the Myriad Sound Valley."

"So that's how it is." Chu Jiang said with realization.

No wonder they could possess such a precious treasure and remain safe and sound; they actually have a major faction backing them.

"These major Jianghu Sects are truly energetic!"

"They all avoid dealing with demons as if they were a plague, yet when it comes to internal strife, they fight to the death."

Even with the demons as their number one enemy, internal disputes continue endlessly.

"Their mindset is simple enough."

"It's nothing more than the fact that the Demon Suppression Division is holding the line above them, so what does it matter to them if demons cause chaos?"

"When the day comes that the Demon Suppression Division can no longer maintain the situation, they will just scrape by and submit to the demons."

Elder Shi said with disdain.

He had never had a favorable impression of these Jianghu Sects.

But you cannot force them by brute strength.

The current Demon Suppression Division is no longer the behemoth that dominated the world thousands of years ago, where no faction dared to disobey its orders.

It is like a giant ship sailing on the sea; the deck is rotting, there are no Materials to repair it, it is leaking everywhere, and it is at risk of capsizing at any moment.

Yunzhou is considered better among the various states of Great Chu, because with the existence of Ye Lingkong, these Jianghu Sects dare not be too presumptuous.

In some states, the Demon Suppression Division even has to compromise with local Sects and give up huge benefits just to barely maintain the situation.

"In my opinion, these Jianghu Sects are just too well-fed and have nothing to do. If you throw a few demons at them, they'll immediately learn to behave."

The corners of Chu Jiang's mouth lifted into a wicked smile.

"You kid, your ideas are certainly novel, but don't you go and actually do that."

"It would damage the reputation of our Demon Suppression Division!"

Elder Shi was amused by Chu Jiang's words and couldn't stop laughing.

A strange smile appeared on Chu Jiang's face.

If he has the chance in the future, he must teach these unruly Jianghu Sects a lesson.

Chu Jiang did not stay any longer and bade farewell to Elder Shi.

A quarter of an hour later.

A vast training ground appeared before Chu Jiang.

As far as the eye could see.

There stood two hundred Demon Suppression Guards, and on the high platform, Shen Commander stood with a solemn expression.

"Chu Jiang, Commander Zuo has left on business, so I will perform your promotion ceremony in his stead."

"After deliberation among the Commanders of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division, Chu Jiang is promoted from Chief Flag to Deputy Commander!"

As soon as his voice fell.

Shen Commander took a Deputy Commander's token from his robe and handed it to Chu Jiang.

Then, he brought out the Deputy Commander's Qilin uniform and had Chu Jiang put it on.

The rank on the Qilin uniform is distinguished by cloud patterns.

Ordinary Demon Suppression Guards have one pattern.

Small Flags have two patterns.

Chief Flags have three patterns.

Centurions have five patterns.

Commanders have seven patterns.

In a moment, Chu Jiang had donned the Deputy Commander's Qilin uniform.

He stood majestically on the platform.

"Greetings, Commander Chu!"

The two hundred Demon Suppression Guards on the training ground shouted in unison, their eyes filled with admiration.

"The Demon Suppression Division is currently short-handed. A full complement for a Deputy Commander is five hundred men, but for now, you are equipped with these two hundred."

"These two hundred men are elites I selected from various battalions; every one of them is at the Late Stage Innate Realm or above, and one person can do the work of two or three."

Shen Commander looked at the Demon Suppression Guards on the training ground.

Among these people, a considerable portion were Small Flag officers who were commanders in name only.

Now that Chu Jiang has been promoted to Deputy Commander.

It could be considered finding them a good place to be.

"This is Wang Chao, Centurion Wang, who has a Vajra Peak cultivation. He is one of the top three Centurions in our Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division, and his strength is extremely formidable." Shen Commander said, pointing to a middle-aged man standing to his left.

Wang Chao was handsome, tall, and had bronze skin that radiated masculine energy. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes, a firm and steady gaze, and a powerful aura.

"This subordinate greets Commander Chu!" Wang Chao clasped his hands and bowed.

Chu Jiang nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Then, Shen Commander looked at another person on the right and introduced with a strange smile, "You don't need me to introduce this one, do you? You have worked together before."

"Centurion Fu Yunxuan is the Genius in our Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division second only to you. She has a Late Stage Vajra cultivation, and her combat power is comparable to a Half-Step Grandmaster."

"Commander Zuo and I spent a lot of breath to gather these people for you."

Shen Commander laughed heartily.

"Shen Commander has gone to great lengths; please thank Commander Zuo on my behalf!"

Chu Jiang clasped his hands.

Whether it was the Innate Realm or the Vajra Realm, the personnel configured for him were top-tier.

This shows how much importance is placed on him.

He had heard that some full Commanders only had two hundred Demon Suppression Guards under their command.

And they might not even have such a luxurious configuration as he did.

Just at this moment.

A Demon Suppression Guard came jogging from outside the training ground and bowed to Chu Jiang, saying:

"Commander Chu, a letter from White Stone County!"