So it turns out I'm the demon!

Chapter 17 Huang Silang

Zhang Xiaokui stood there with his mouth agape, unable to come to his senses for a long time.

When that monster lunged at Jiang Mu, his heart sank to the ground.

He had even already figured out how to write a letter of apology.

But when that bright, gleaming blade flashed and the demon was severed in two and fell to the ground, he was completely stunned.

Is this even a realm?!

Even if that yellow demon was careless and underestimated his opponent, he shouldn't have been this fragile.

Furthermore, the sword technique that guy just used was clearly the "Severing Flow" move from the "Eight Styles of Breaking the Heavens".

After all, he had practiced diligently for two and a half years.

But why does it feel like Jiang Mu's move just now was even more ferocious than his?

Not right.

This is very wrong.

Zhang Xiaokui was naturally unaware that, with his father's blessing, Jiang Mu's body tempering foundation was far more solid and robust than that of others in the same realm, and he was only one step away from the threshold of the second realm.

The sword technique "Eight Styles of Breaking the Heavens" has also reached its pinnacle.

When two people are evenly matched, the deciding factor is often the depth of their understanding of the true meaning of martial arts.

After absorbing the demonic energy dissipating from the demonic corpse, Jiang Mu walked up to him and asked, "How's the situation inside?"

"what?"

Zhang Xiaokui was still lost in thought.

"Have all the monsters inside been cleaned up?" Jiang Mu frowned slightly and asked again.

Zhang Xiaokui then snapped out of his daze.

He listened intently, and the sounds of fighting seemed to have ceased deep within the cave. Worried about his brother's safety, he didn't have time to think further and quickly turned and rushed back into the cave.

Jiang Mu followed closely behind.

The two arrived at the depths of the cave.

The weasel leader lay in a pool of blood, its head rolled to the side, its eyes wide open, still showing shock and anger.

Zhang Daxiao stood beside the corpse, wiping the blood from the blade with a rag. Although his breathing was slightly rapid, he was unharmed.

Zhang Xiaokui breathed a sigh of relief.

Indeed, my elder brother is at the peak of the third realm and has rich combat experience. Dealing with a third-order demon that has just broken through and whose realm is not yet stable is naturally no problem for him.

On the contrary, it was myself...

Zhang Xiaokui secretly glanced at Jiang Mu, whose expression was indifferent, and felt a mix of emotions.

"grown ups."

Upon seeing Jiang Mu enter, Zhang Daxiao couldn't hide his joy. He quickly stepped over the corpse, respectfully cupped his hands, and said...

"I have successfully completed my mission; all the demons in the cave have been annihilated. This success is entirely due to your accurate intelligence and skillful command. I admire you greatly."

Zhang Daxiao is a straightforward person. Although his flattery wasn't particularly clever, his tone was sincere enough.

"Just lucky."

Jiang Mu scanned the cave with his eyes.

Zhang Daxiao then took out a palm-sized, smooth, yellowish domino and handed it over:

"My lord, I found this during the search. It's a small magical artifact that can conceal demonic energy. It seems that the beast used this to hide its demonic aura, which is why it escaped the previous search."

Jiang Mu took the dominoes.

It feels smooth and warm to the touch, with demonic patterns engraved on the back and a line of distorted text engraved on the front:

[A gift to my son, Silang].

Shiro?

Huang Silang?

Jiang Mu understood.

It seems that the demon that was slain was the fourth son of Huang Daxian.

He put away the dominoes and first circled around the corpses of the little demons, absorbing the demonic energy from his body.

He then walked to the headless corpse of the weasel leader.

However, no demonic energy appeared.

"Um?"

Jiang Mu was somewhat surprised.

Where is the demonic energy?

He reached out to touch it, but there was no response.

"My lord, are you looking for a demon core?"

Seeing Jiang Mu touching the corpse, Zhang Daxiao tentatively asked a question.

As he spoke, he swung his knife and cut open the monster's swollen belly.

After rummaging through the filth and entrails, he quickly pinched out a bead about the size of a thumb, dark red in color.

He wiped the blood off the beads on the hem of his clothes and respectfully handed them over.

"Although this demon has only recently broken through to the third rank, its demon core has indeed been formed. However, since it has only recently been formed, the core is not yet fully solidified."

A third-tier demon?

Jiang Mu's heart skipped a beat, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If I hadn't brought these two brothers with me, and had rashly ventured out alone, I probably would have been serving up a sumptuous meal to Huang Silang.

Jiang Mu accepted the demon core.

The moment his fingertips touched Dan's body, a surge of pitch-black demonic energy, several times more concentrated than that of the previous little demon, erupted and entered the birthmark on his arm.

In an instant, the groove of the character "魔" within the sea of ​​consciousness flickered with light.

The blood level line in the groove rose sharply.

At the same time, a weasel-like demonic figure appeared beside the demonic trough, its eyes bloodshot and its fangs bared.

"It turns out that demonic energy of monsters of the third rank and above is hidden in their demon cores."

Jiang Mu suddenly realized.

With this demonic energy, not only can the Eight Forms of Breaking the Heavens be further improved, but one will also have a firm grasp on breaking through to the second realm.

Zhang Daxiao explained from the side:

"My lord, demon cores are the essence of demons and are quite valuable. They can usually be handed over to the department in exchange for merits and rewards. Alternatively, alchemists can use them with other spiritual materials to refine them into elixirs."

If one wishes to directly absorb its spiritual energy for cultivation, one must first purify the demonic poison and lingering resentment; otherwise, one is highly susceptible to backlash, and may even have one's mind corrupted by demonic nature.

Jiang Mu had already absorbed all the demonic energy and wasn't very interested in the demon core, so he casually tossed it to Zhang Daxiao:

"Here you go. Whether you use it to earn merit or keep it for yourself is up to you."

Zhang Daxiao caught it in a flurry of activity and stood there stunned.

For demon slayers of their caliber, there are many missions to participate in, but the opportunity to personally obtain, especially a complete demon core, is extremely rare.

Its value is enough to make many colleagues envious.

Moreover, Jiang Mu's own cultivation level is still shallow. This item should be a much-needed cultivation resource for him, yet he just casually bestowed it upon him.

"My lord, this is too precious, your subordinate..."

Zhang Daxiao snapped out of his daze and hurriedly tried to decline.

Jiang Mu waved his hand:

"Alright, I'm tired too. You guys clean up the mess. When you go to report to the department, remember to stop by my signing room and pick up the case closure document I prepared in advance."

Having said that, he turned and left.

The two brothers were left staring at each other in bewilderment.

"elder brother……"

Zhang Xiaokui scratched his head, his expression strange. "This Lord Jiang... is quite strange, strangely generous."

Zhang Daxiao carefully put away the demon core and sighed:

"It's more than just generous. When we were in the Third Hall, Wenhe deliberately ostracized us, making us do the hardest work for the least reward. We never got such benefits all year round. I never expected that being demoted here would turn out to be a blessing in disguise."

He gazed towards the cave entrance, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "This Lord Jiang is indeed extraordinary."

"yes."

Zhang Xiaokui deeply agreed.

Thinking of that stunning sword strike at the cave entrance, he couldn't help but ask, "Brother, do you think Lord Jiang is really only at the first realm?"

"What? Is there a problem?" Zhang Daxiao raised an eyebrow.

Zhang Xiaokui gave a detailed account of how Jiang Mu had just severed the demon with a single strike.

After listening, Zhang Daxiao was stunned for a long time, and hesitated before saying:

"Perhaps... the monster was severely injured and too eager to escape to be on guard?"

Zhang Xiaokui moved his lips, but ultimately remained silent.

Having also practiced the "Eight Styles of Breaking the Heavens," he understood the power and intent contained in that strike better than anyone else.

Anyway, if it were him, he definitely couldn't have delivered that impressive strike.

As his gaze swept over the scattered demon corpses on the ground, Zhang Xiaokui suddenly felt a surge of exhilarating satisfaction.

He clenched his fist and sneered:

"Damn it, didn't that bastard Wenhe look down on us? Didn't he treat us like trash?"

Brother, this time I'm not sending these corpses directly to the yamen. I'm going to find a special vehicle and take them for a good spin around the street near the Third Hall!

……

One hour later.

Zhang Xiaokui pushed a flatbed cart, making a creaking sound as it moved along the street.

The truck was piled high with the carcasses of weasels.

The largest third-tier rat demon head at the very top was hung high on a bamboo pole, swaying back and forth as the wheel rolled, looking quite ferocious.

Zhang Xiaokui kept his word.

Instead of taking the shortest route to the Demon Slayer Headquarters, he deliberately took a long detour and headed straight for the street where the Third Hall was located.

This ostentatious procession naturally attracted countless onlookers.

The Demon Slayer Division has always tacitly approved of such displays.

One purpose was to appease the people and demonstrate the court's determination and ability to guard the four directions and eliminate evil forces.

Secondly, it also serves as a deterrent to demons and villains lurking in the shadows.

"What a huge weasel!"

"I'm afraid all of these can't be cooked in one pot."

"What a terrible thing! This is a Yellow Immortal! How could these people from the Demon Slayer Division kill even immortals?"

"Which gang's formidable figure is this? He actually slew so many demons! Amazing!"

Hearing the surrounding chatter, Zhang Xiao Kui pushed the cart with even more energy.

Her chest was also held very high.

When he arrived at the entrance of the third government office, he deliberately slowed down and even stopped to pretend to wipe his sweat.

Soon, the guards from the third court arrived after hearing the news.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw.

Some familiar former colleagues couldn't help but step forward to ask questions.

Zhang Xiaokui said modestly:

"It's nothing to mention. It was just that our Hall Master Jiang took the two of us brothers out for a casual stroll and eliminated the demon on the side."

Before the other party could press for further questions, Zhang Xiaokui exclaimed in surprise:

"Huh? How did you know that the one we eliminated was the same scourge you hadn't been able to catch at Dragon Head Mountain?"

"Oh dear, how did you know I single-handedly slew seven or eight lesser demons?"

"How do you know that my master killed a powerful demon with a single strike?"

The faces of everyone in the third hall were grim.

Did we ask you?

You talk too much!

Seeing his former colleagues, who used to ostracize him and his brothers, now looking as if they had swallowed flies, Zhang Xiaokui felt a surge of satisfaction.

Since joining the Demon Slayer Division, I've never felt so exhilarated as I did today.

Following a leader like that...

Really fragrant!

-

[Author's Note: I've already signed a contract and changed the status. Do you guys have any remaining monthly tickets? Please help me vote! Thank you! Please try not to let the book sit idle; keep reading. I'll definitely be updating a lot after it's officially released; for now, I'm aiming for a good ranking.]

Also, to clarify for some readers, the previous book wasn't abandoned; it was simply taken down.

The reason is that it's suspected of being insulting or objectifying, which I can't elaborate on here; you understand. The book can't be brought back to life, so don't expect it. Also, please refrain from making any inappropriate comments here, lest they be deleted.

I will be careful to write this book well; there won't be any problems, and no one will be able to find fault with it. Don't worry.