63: Chapter 63 A Show of Force

The news that Lin Feng had been appointed as the Leader for the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Tournament, promoted by one rank, and was about to lead the team to the Qingzhou Provincial Capital swept through the entire Demon Suppression Division overnight like a Category 12 hurricane.

A newcomer who had joined the Demon Suppression Division less than two months ago had jumped straight from an Iron Medal to the seat of a 'Leader,' a position equivalent to a Silver Rank. This made everyone deeply realize the sheer disparity in the world.

The old-timers who used to pride themselves on their 'seniority' and 'experience' had now completely lost their temper.

The most common topic of conversation when they gathered had shifted from 'Back in my day, I...' to 'Back in the day, Lord Lin...'

“I've finally figured it out. We simply aren't on the same level as Lord Lin!”

“Isn't that the truth! Two months ago, he was an Iron Medal newcomer living in the dorms just like us. Now, he's about to lead five Copper Medal Envoys to the provincial capital to 'smash the competition'! Even storybooks wouldn't dare write a level-up speed like this!”

“The most miserable one has to be Wei Tiancheng, right? He just got back and hasn't even had a chance to catch his breath before discovering that the jinx who scared him away has suddenly become his direct superior. Guess what kind of expression he has right now?”

“Despair?”

...

Inside Wei Tiancheng's residence in the Bronze Courtyard.

Crash!

A blue and white porcelain teacup was slammed onto the ground, shattering into pieces.

Wei Tiancheng's face, which already looked somewhat haggard from eating dust at the border, was now as dark as the bottom of a pot. His handsome features were twisted with extreme rage.

“This is too much! This is simply going too far!”

He paced back and forth in the room like a trapped beast. The fire of anger and humiliation in his chest was nearly burning away his reason.

To avoid Lin Feng, he had proactively applied for a border guard mission. In that godforsaken place, he had endured sandstorms and hardships for a month before finally finding an excuse to be transferred back.

He thought that by swallowing his pride and avoiding the limelight until the hype died down, everything would return to normal.

But in his wildest dreams, he never expected that the hype wouldn't just stay—it would blow up even harder!

That jinx hadn't been killed by the Li family, nor by the Moon-Worshipping Cult.

Instead, he had stepped over a mountain of corpses to reach the heavens in a single bound, becoming his direct superior!

And now, he had to serve as a team member and follow him to the provincial capital?

What was the difference between this and sticking his face out and begging to be slapped?

...

The next morning, at dawn.

On the Martial Arts Field of the Demon Suppression Division, five figures were already waiting.

Chu Mengxi was dressed in black, her posture straight and her cold face showing no emotion.

Meng Kuo still had his burly appearance, arms crossed as he rested with his eyes closed, but his slightly twitching eyelids betrayed his inner turmoil.

Wu Yong held a feather fan, gently waving it with a profound smile on his face as if he had already seen through everything.

Liu Qing was like a ghost, hidden in the shadows to the side; without looking closely, one couldn't even detect her presence.

Only Wei Tiancheng had a face so gloomy it looked like it could drip water, radiating a low-pressure Aura that screamed, 'I'm pissed off, don't mess with me.'

“Is everyone here?”

Lin Feng's figure appeared before the five of them silently, as if he had teleported.

He was still dressed in ordinary black clothes with empty hands; even his signature Life-Slaying Blade wasn't at his waist.

Yet, this seemingly harmless young man caused the five Copper Medal Envoys present to instinctively feel a chill in their hearts.

“Lord... Lord Lin.”

Meng Kuo was the first to cup his fists in greeting. Though he still felt a bit awkward, the principle of 'the strong are respected' was an immutable truth in the world of martial arts.

Wu Yong and Liu Qing followed suit.

Chu Mengxi gave Lin Feng a deep, complex look before finally nodding slightly as a greeting.

Only Wei Tiancheng stood his ground, neck stiff and silent, using his silence to express his protest.

Lin Feng's gaze calmly swept over everyone before finally landing on Wei Tiancheng.

“Do you have an objection?”

“I wouldn't dare.”

Wei Tiancheng squeezed the words through his teeth, his tone stiff.

“So you do.”

Lin Feng nodded and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “If you have an objection, let's fight. Beat me, and you can have this Leader position.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire field went silent.

Chu Mengxi and the others were stunned. They hadn't expected Lin Feng to be so direct, immediately using force to establish his authority.

Wei Tiancheng was even more shocked and furious. Although he was conceited, he knew he was absolutely no match for Lin Feng.

But since Lin Feng had put it that way, if he backed down now, he would truly have no face left to stay in the Demon Suppression Division.

“Fine! You said it!”

Wei Tiancheng suddenly drew the longsword at his waist, his ninth-level True Qi Realm Aura erupting. “I want to see what you, the 'Yama,' actually have...”

Before he could finish his sentence.

Lin Feng moved.

There was no warning, and no redundant words.

He simply took a casual step forward.

Slap!

A crisp slap echoed across the entire Martial Arts Field.

Wei Tiancheng's handsome face swelled at a visible rate. He spun like a top seven or eight times before landing on his butt with a thud, seeing stars and completely dazed.

Once again... he hadn't even seen how Lin Feng had attacked.

Lin Feng retracted his hand and looked at the bewildered Wei Tiancheng on the ground, saying indifferently:

“Now, any more objections?”

Wei Tiancheng clutched his stinging face and looked into Lin Feng's eyes, which were as calm as an ancient well. A bone-chilling cold rushed from the soles of his feet to his crown.

He had finally managed to touch the threshold of the Half-step Core Origin Realm.

Yet he never expected.

The gap between him and the other man was far, far larger than he had imagined.

“No... no more objections...”

“Very good.”

Lin Feng nodded with satisfaction and looked around at everyone. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

“We set out tomorrow morning sharp. Anyone who is late doesn't need to go.”

After saying that, he turned to leave.

“Lord Lin, please wait!”

Wu Yong suddenly spoke up. He pointed at the map on the wall and asked in confusion, “The tournament doesn't start for another three months. If we ride hard from Nanyan Prefecture to the Qingzhou Provincial Capital, we can arrive in seven days at most. Why leave so early?”

Upon hearing this, everyone else showed puzzled expressions.

Lin Feng's finger traced a bizarre, winding route on the map that could be described as a 'serpentine path.'

“This is our route.”

This route perfectly avoided all official roads and prosperous towns, instead passing through several areas marked as 'High Risk' in the Demon Suppression Division's archives.

Black Wind Mountains, Ten Thousand Snake Valley, Wicked Man's Marsh...

Just from the names, one could tell these were not pleasant places.

Furthermore.

Some locations so secret that even the Demon Suppression Division hadn't fully scouted them were marked.

It even specified what kind of demons were there, how many, and their strength levels—everything was included.

This shocked the Copper Medal Demon Slayers even more.

How could they know?

Huang Fugui had received Lin Feng's orders several days before departure and had been working on this day and night.

For a Yellow Weasel Demon about to break through to a Fourth-Grade Great Demon, its intelligence-gathering capabilities had undergone a qualitative leap.

“This...”

Wu Yong was completely baffled. He had painstakingly studied military strategy his whole life, yet this was the first time he had seen someone ignore the broad open roads to crawl straight into the mouths of demons and ghosts.

“Lord Lin, if I may speak frankly, this route is not only long, but... extremely dangerous.”

“I know.”

Lin Feng nodded, a smile curling on his lips that made everyone shiver.

“Also, I have one more requirement.”

“Along the way, no matter what demons, ghosts, mountain bandits, or villains we encounter...”

“You must leave them alive.”