63: Chapter 63 Exploration Again

Command Center.

Li Zhengyang pushed the door open, stepped inside, and tossed the Demonman core in front of Lei Qianjue.

"Venerable Lei, what exactly is this?"

Lei Qianjue, who was standing by the window, turned around.

His eyes fell upon the core, and his originally calm expression instantly froze.

"Did you kill this in Sector C7?" Lei Qianjue asked.

"Yes. Half-human, half-beast, and intelligent."

Li Zhengyang pulled out a chair and sat down. "The creature called itself part of the Blood Demon Clan. What on earth is it?"

Lei Qianjue placed the core onto a testing device.

The screen lit up as rows of data rapidly scrolled by.

"A Demonman."

The two words slipped from his mouth.

He pressed a button on the desk, and a holographic projection expanded in midair.

The projection showed a field of ruins. In the center, a large number of Demonmen were constructing an altar built from white bones.

"The low-grade magic beasts outside the wall kill on instinct, and the high-grade ones claim territory as kings, but none of that is the most troublesome part."

Lei Qianjue pointed at the projection. "The most troublesome ones are the Demonmen."

"They have a complete tribal structure and possess extremely high intelligence."

"They don't kill just to fill their bellies. They hunt human martial artists, strip them of their vitality, occupy our defensive lines, and slowly encroach upon Great Xia's territory."

Lei Qianjue looked at Li Zhengyang. "No one knows where they came from. Some say they are aliens, while others say they are mutants mutated from high-grade martial artists who were corrupted by demonic energy a century ago."

After listening, Li Zhengyang stared at the core on the desk.

"How much is this thing worth?" he asked.

Lei Qianjue froze for a moment.

He had thought the kid would ask about the Demonmen's weaknesses or lament the hardships of human survival.

"A normal 6th Grade magic beast core is worth five hundred thousand," Lei Qianjue said, withdrawing his gaze. "A Demonman's core is double that. One million each."

"One million."

Li Zhengyang's eyes lit up.

"Double the price."

"This wasn't a danger anymore; this was a walking ATM."

An alarm suddenly blared inside the office.

A notification for a maximum-level meeting popped up on the terminal on Lei Qianjue's wrist.

"The Secondary Reconnaissance Protocol has been activated."

"Let's go to the conference room. Since you're the killer, you can't avoid this."

"..."

At the bottom floor of the Command Center, in the war room.

All twelve squad captains of the Pojun Division were present, making the air feel a bit heavier.

The door to the conference room opened.

Lei Qianjue strode inside.

Li Zhengyang followed behind him and casually sat down in an empty chair against the wall.

Zhao Yi sat in the fifth position. He glanced at Li Zhengyang, his expression tense.

"Everyone is here."

Lei Qianjue tossed the core onto the center of the table. "Rookie 1001 from Zhao Yi's squad killed a peak 6th Grade Demonman in Sector C7 this afternoon. Sector C7 was just cleared by the Sixth Squad last month. Sixth Squad, explain this."

Zhou Han, captain of the Sixth Squad, stood up.

Zhou Han was thirty-five years old and a 5th Grade Martial Emperor.

Instead of looking at Lei Qianjue, he turned his gaze to stare at Li Zhengyang, who was sitting by the wall.

"Venerable Lei, our Sixth Squad combed through Sector C7 inch by inch. There was absolutely no trace of a Demonman tribe."

Zhou Han's voice was loud and clear. "I don't doubt the authenticity of this core, but I do doubt this kid's battle report."

All eyes in the conference room converged on Li Zhengyang.

"A rookie who just registered today, going outside the wall for the first time, soloed a peak 6th Grade Demonman in Sector C7?"

Zhou Han sneered. "A Demonman's bone armor is twice as hard as a Dark Rock Beast of the same level, and their recovery ability is extremely strong. Even I would need cooperation to kill one. Him, alone? Did he kill it with his head?"

Zhou Han looked at Zhao Yi. "Zhao Yi, even if you want to build up hype for your rookie, don't make up such an absurd battle report. Did you make a blunder after snatching our Sixth Squad's defense sector and now you're trying to claim credit?"

Zhao Yi slammed the table and stood up. "Zhou Han, what absolute bullshit are you spewing! Do I even need to fake this?"

"Then have him recount the killing process in person!"

Zhou Han pointed at Li Zhengyang. "What weapon did he use, how did he break through its defense, and how long did the fight last!"

Li Zhengyang leaned back against his chair.

He looked at Zhou Han and stood up.

He didn't recount anything.

He strode over to the round table.

Seeing him approach, Zhou Han's vitality instantly tensed up.

The aura of a Martial Emperor radiated from him, forming a thick layer of astral qi on his body's surface.

"What? A greenhorn rookie wants to make a move?"

Zhou Han looked at him coldly, his right hand resting on the hilt of the saber at his waist.

Li Zhengyang didn't stop.

Zhou Han drew his saber.

The moment the saber left its scabbard, astral qi flooded the blade, creating a piercing sonic boom as it slashed directly toward Li Zhengyang's shoulder.

This was a common show of authority in the military, meant to intimidate rather than kill.

Li Zhengyang raised his left hand.

He opened his fingers and met the blade head-on.

Clang.

The blade stopped in Li Zhengyang's palm.

The saber couldn't even cut through the layer of golden light flowing over the surface of his palm.

Zhou Han's pupils dilated instantly.

Li Zhengyang reached out with his right hand and grabbed Zhou Han by the throat.

Boom!

The vitality of a 1st Grade Martial Emperor erupted without reservation.

The air in the conference room was instantly sucked dry.

The immense pressure, like a physical mountain, crashed heavily onto the shoulders of everyone present.

Several captains sitting nearby groaned as they and their chairs were pushed back half a meter by the pressure.

Exerting force with a single arm, Li Zhengyang lifted Zhou Han's Martial Emperor body completely off the ground.

The astral qi on Zhou Han's body instantly shattered.

His hands desperately clawed at Li Zhengyang's wrist while his legs flailed in midair. His face turned purplish-red, and his eyeballs bulged.

It was absolute suppression, leaving him with no room to fight back.

"I killed it, and I brought back the core."

Li Zhengyang looked into Zhou Han's bloodshot eyes. "Do you have any objections?"

The entire room fell into dead silence.

Not one of the twelve squad captains dared to make a sound.

A Martial Emperor.

This young man in his early twenties was actually a genuine Martial Emperor.

Lei Qianjue tapped the table lightly, making no move to stop him.

The Pojun Division only respected strength. The way Li Zhengyang established his dominance was perfectly in line with their rules.

Li Zhengyang released his grip.

Zhou Han crashed onto the floor, coughing violently and gasping for air.

When he looked at Li Zhengyang, his eyes held nothing but sheer terror.

Li Zhengyang turned around and looked at Lei Qianjue.

"What are the specific tasks of the Secondary Reconnaissance Protocol?"

Lei Qianjue pulled up a holographic map.

"The appearance of a lone Demonman in Sector C7 means there is a high probability that a Demonman tribe is lurking nearby."

"The mission objectives are to locate the tribe's coordinates, eliminate the tribal leader, and destroy the tribe."

"As for the demon cores, the old rules apply: whoever kills them keeps them."

"A total of two hundred million. Coupled with the spoils of war, there is no ceiling on the earnings."

Li Zhengyang nodded in satisfaction. "I'll take this mission."

"The Secondary Reconnaissance Protocol usually requires a joint operation of three squads."

"The Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth squads will set out together!"

Li Zhengyang walked out of the Command Center and headed straight back to his villa.

He locked the door.

He pulled up the tactical watch on his wrist.

Today's harvest was all in his miniature spatial pocket, with a total value of about eighteen million five hundred thousand.

Added to his previous savings, he still had some spare cash in his account.

But what he needed to solve now was his weapon issue.

He took the worn-out dragon tooth spear off his back and laid it flat on the table.

The system interface expanded.

"[ Damaged weapon detected： Dragon Fang Spear（ semi-finished products）]"

"[ Complete quality：SS class]"

"[ Required consumption：5000000 Daxia Coin]"

"Confirm restoration," Li Zhengyang commanded.

"[ deduct5000000 Daxia Coin.]"

A beam of white light projected from the system interface, enveloping the entire dragon tooth spear.

The spiritual energy in the room was frantically sucked away, forming a visible vortex.

Within the white light, the layers of impurities on the spear's shaft began to peel away.

The flat, leaf-shaped blade of the spearhead began to reshape, its edge becoming as thin as a cicada's wing.

The spear's shaft lengthened by two inches, and dragon scale patterns surfaced on its body.

Two minutes later, the white light dissipated.

A brand-new spear lay on the table.

The spear was 2.6 meters long, completely dark black, with dark gold patterns flowing over it.

The moment he held it in his hand, Li Zhengyang felt as if the spear had a life of its own, greedily absorbing the Martial Emperor vitality he funneled into it.

"[SS class渊陨龙枪]"

"[ Characteristic 1， Dragon Soul Corrosion： The wound caused by the spear tip has a very slow recovery rate..]"

"[ Characteristics 2， Dragon Fang Piercing Armor： Armor penetration effect of weapons80%]"

"[ Feature 3， Deadly Dragonjaw：100% Critical Hit， Instantly cause devastating damage]"

"[ Characteristic 4， Ancient Dragon Force： Increased weapon power100%]"

Li Zhengyang gave it a casual swing.

The air was sliced clean open by the sharp blade, before even a sound of wind could be made.

"What a great spear."

He deposited all his remaining money into the system.

"[ Top-up successful.]"

"[ realm： First-Rank Martial Emperor-＞ Third-Rank Martial Emperor]"