The adult Immortal Descendants sullenly sat back down.
The four Ruan siblings were a little surprised, but they didn’t change their minds.
The people they had worked so hard to train were meant to protect the peace in Yongzhou, not to help the Immortal Descendants compete for glory.
The Demons that had managed to escape and lie low in the mountains of the Border Region were a minimal threat compared to the Great Demons in Yongzhou—so minimal, in fact, that they could be ignored.
If these Demons were truly pushed into a corner, they might not flee toward the Great Shun Dynasty. Instead, they could invade Yongzhou.
And if that happened, a single Demon General could wreak considerable havoc in a Prefecture City.
To put it bluntly, this was a feud between Demons and Immortal Descendants. It was best if ordinary people weren’t dragged into it.
’They’ve already gone outside the borders to hide. Forcing them out now... what is that, if not complete insanity?’
"Congratulations, Mountain God Duchuan."
Hong Wei and the others beamed, cupping their fists and declaring loudly, "We will spare no effort. With the heads of the Demon Generals in these mountains, we will lend you our strength once more."
Yu Duchuan was already showing signs of becoming the leader of the Yu Family’s younger generation.
With him just half a step away from fully securing that position, this was a rare opportunity to give him that final push.
It was a shame some people lacked patience and had to miss out on this chance.
Never mind the Vice Generals; even the Captains standing behind them shot the Ruan siblings odd looks, scoffing internally.
’They wear the Profound Armor, after all. How can they be so impatient?’
’Serves them right. If they shamelessly try to suck up to Mountain God Duchuan now, they’ll just make themselves a laughingstock.’
"My thanks to all of you."
A faint smile touched Yu Duchuan’s lips. He cupped his fists to the crowd in return, then shot the Ruan siblings a cold glare.
’Not only did they make me lose face by protecting those worthless constables... they even dared to lead the charge in ruining my plans.’
’If they want to leave, they should just get lost. Stop making a nuisance of themselves and undermining morale.’
"That Moon-Devouring... is indeed a bit troublesome."
He paused, his cheeks burning. He had so casually called it a "Little Demon" before, and many disciples had heard him.
Now he was being forced to change his tune, which only stoked his anger.
"More than troublesome."
Hong Wei took out the Golden Volume. His finger skimmed past the names at the bottom of the list, gradually sliding up to the middle section before stopping. "If what those cowardly constables said is true—that they didn’t find a Demon Mountain and only saw a pillar of light..."
"...and that Demon was able to single-handedly slaughter Vice General Xu and his many Captains, even with the Mountain God’s esteemed disciple, True Master Feng, providing support..."
"...then it would only be reasonable for it to be ranked at least here."
Hong Wei hesitated for a moment, then his finger suddenly jumped a long way up the list, climbing another seven or eight spots to rest on the twentieth position.
"..."
Ruan Xiangling rolled her eyes.
’It was as if hyping up how ferocious Moon-Devouring was could somehow save face for the Demon-slaying Bureau and Yu Duchuan.’
’Based on the accomplishments of the Demons in the volume, the Moon-Devouring Demon General would barely squeeze in around twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth place. This exaggeration was clearly meant to build up Feng Yinglong.’
’But every Vice General knew full well how inflated the supposed strength of these Core Formation Cultivators living comfortably in the Border Region really was.’
’How could Feng possibly be stronger than Xu Zhonglin?’
’Even if Yu Duchuan had meticulously and personally trained him, the man’s Cultivation was only at the early-stage Core Formation realm. It was only logical that he should be a step weaker.’
"Demons are cunning. Our previous misjudgment was understandable. But now we know its capabilities and have a lock on its aura. As long as we plan carefully and take the time to prepare, we can surely hunt it down!"
SNAP. Hong Wei snapped the Golden Volume shut.
Compared to the dangers of cleansing the Demon Mountain, he much preferred using this Moon-Devouring Demon General as an offering to help Yu Duchuan take that final half-step.
"My thanks, General Hong!"
Yu Duchuan’s eyes narrowed as he swept his gaze over the many descendants. "All of you will do your part. Remember, I mean every single one of you."
"Pah!"
Before the adult Immortal Descendants could even speak, Yu Sheng had already spat toward the head seat. "Like hell I will!"
The Mountain God’s Token had already been presented. Even if many in the Yu Family were displeased, none of them would have dared such a provocation.
They exchanged glances, suddenly realizing that Yu Duchuan had no real way of dealing with Yu Sheng.
Suppress her merits?
But the girl didn’t earn merits by managing a territory; she relied on Lin Shu.
Hinder Yu Sheng’s future?
She had already accumulated enough merits and had no need to build her own retinue. She could leave whenever she wanted.
If she chose to stay, the girl from Shihu City would be vying for Yu Duchuan’s own territory anyway, so it hardly mattered if she angered him.
CRACK.
Yu Duchuan slowly clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking loudly.
Malice surfaced in his eyes. He gave Yu Sheng a long look, then suddenly chuckled. "Of course, you can do nothing. After all, you weren’t raised in the Yu Family. The deaths of Yu Qing and Yu Kui don’t seem to bother you in the slightest."
"The incident happened yesterday, and today you’ve already requested permission from the Steward to leave."
"You want to leave, don’t you?"
"You can go right now. Absolutely no one will stop you."
Yu Duchuan casually raised an arm in a dismissive gesture, as if showing a guest the door.
That’s right—a "guest."
With just a few words, he was trying to exile the girl from the Yu Family—a truly venomous attack.
"Hmph."
Yu Sheng turned around, unconcerned.
Just then, a voice echoed in her mind.
The girl froze for a moment. Then, she planted her hands on her hips and spun back around. "Hey! Who the hell do you think you are? Why should I listen to you? I’m not leaving today!"
A few quiet chuckles rippled through the crowd.
Yu Duchuan’s arm froze in mid-air, his pale face gradually flushing crimson.

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