80: Chapter 80 Crackdown in Qingzhou: Is There No More Demons Under Heaven?

Lin Feng's earth-shattering "Great Hunt" plan was like a massive boulder dropped into a calm lake. Within a few short days, it had stirred up monstrous waves across the nine prefectures of Qingzhou at a terrifying speed.

For a time, the atmosphere in the entire Qingzhou became exceptionally strange.

Ordinary commoners were initially panicked and uneasy. In their simple understanding, things like demons and ghosts were plague gods to be avoided at all costs.

Instead of thinking about how to drive these pests far away, the Demon Suppression Division wanted to actively capture them and even pack them up to be escorted to the provincial capital for an "exhibition"?

What kind of operation was this?

Did they think the provincial capital's population was too high and wanted to invite demons and ghosts for a buffet?

For a time, all sorts of rumors spread, and people were in a state of panic.

However, as time passed, the people were shocked to find that the development of events was completely different from what they had imagined.

In order to take the top spot at the upcoming "Great Hunt Assembly" and to avoid losing Face in front of other prefectures, the Demon Suppression Divisions of the nine prefectures under Qingzhou's jurisdiction all seemed to have been injected with chicken blood, bursting with unprecedented enthusiasm for their work.

Suddenly, a vigorous "Strike Hard" campaign swept across the entire Qingzhou territory!

Old cases that had accumulated for years and previously required layer-upon-layer of reporting and tedious procedures were now all given the green light.

Demon kings and bandit leaders entrenched in deep mountains and old forests—whom the Demon Suppression Division was previously too lazy to bother with as long as they didn't cause major trouble—now became targets of special attention.

The practitioners of the Evil Path who roamed the gray areas and colluded with various factions now became rats crossing the street, shouted at by everyone.

For a time, across the entirety of Qingzhou, from the high mountains to the remote villages, the heroic figures of the Demon Suppression Division's Demon Slayers could be seen everywhere "boosting their performance."

Today, the "Three Evils of Black Wind" from Dongyang Prefecture were wiped out in their nest.

Tomorrow, the "Thousand-Year Tree Demon" of Xiling Prefecture would have its roots pulled out.

The day after, the "Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon" of Beihe Prefecture was skinned and cramped...

The most direct consequence of this sudden "Strike Hard" campaign was that the public security environment of the entire Qingzhou underwent earth-shaking changes at a visible speed.

The official roads, once infested with demons and bandits, were now safer than one's own back garden.

Merchants found that they didn't even need to hire guards for their travels anymore.

In remote villages where every household used to stay indoors at night for fear of encountering something unclean, people now dared to come out when the moon was high to chat and gossip.

The bounty notices posted on the city walls, which had accumulated years of dust, were now being torn down one after another at an astonishing speed.

Even the petty thieves who hung around the marketplaces seemed to have reformed overnight, each becoming more law-abiding than the most honest citizens, fearing they might accidentally be caught to make up the numbers for someone's "performance quota."

The jails of the Demon Suppression Division were packed like never before.

And the lives of the common people were more peaceful than ever before.

For a time, the entire Qingzhou actually presented a strangely harmonious scene of "a world without demons, peace across the land."

As the instigator of all this, Lin Feng himself was leisurely living the life of a "retired veteran cadre" in his courtyard.

He lived in seclusion every day, turning a deaf ear to the massive public opinion outside that was enough to poke a hole in the sky.

It seemed as if none of this had anything to do with him.

"Master, this move of yours is truly brilliant!"

Huang Fugui squatted on Lin Feng's shoulder, massaging it while praising him sincerely in a tone of utter admiration.

"I finally understand now. You weren't messing around; you were playing a grand game of chess! You've single-handedly forced the entire Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division system to undergo a vigorous reform!"

"After this campaign, Qingzhou's security has improved, the people live and work in peace, those evil demons and ghosts have received their due punishment, and you, without shedding a drop of blood, have gained a massive pile of 'prey' for free!"

"This plan of killing eight birds with one stone is simply unprecedented! My admiration for you is like the surging waters of a great river, never-ending..."

Lin Feng glanced at him and said flatly, "Speak plainly."

"Master, you're awesome!!!" (voice cracking)

Huang Fugui concisely gave a big thumbs up.

"Alright, stop the flattery."

Lin Feng waved his hand. "Is there any news from Honglian's side?"

"Reporting to Master!"

Huang Fugui immediately perked up, pulled out a small notebook from his chest, and began to report.

"The intelligence network of the Honglian Camp truly lives up to its reputation! The list of prey prepared by the other eight prefectures has basically been figured out!"

It cleared its throat and read in a high-pitched voice: "Dongyang Prefecture has prepared a Rank 4 Blazing Mad Lion, over thirty Human-Faced Magic Spiders, and more than seventy small fries that you wouldn't even remember."

"Xiling Prefecture caught a giant of the Evil Path who practices dual cultivation to harvest Yin to supplement Yang, the Old Demon Huanxi. He's at the ninth level of the Danyuan Realm, with dozens of Disciples under him, as well as the flower-thief Yun Zhonghe, and so on..."

"Beihe Prefecture directly dispatched ten Bronze Medal Envoys to jointly suppress a Rank 3 Peak demon said to possess an ancient Bloodline, the One-Horned Great Water Buffalo! That battle was fought until the sky turned dark and the sun and moon lost their light!"

"There's also the Ghost-Faced Rakshasa from Tianfeng Prefecture, the Vajra Corpse King from Pingshan Prefecture..."

After Lin Feng finished listening, his Face remained as calm as a still well.

He just looked quietly at the turbulent sky outside the window, his eyes as deep as a sea of stars.

"Since everything has been figured out, you know what to do..."

Huang Fugui nodded like a chick pecking grain.

"I understand, Master. Just you wait and see!"