Just then, Chu Bai moved.
"Captain Feng, it’s my turn now."
Chu Bai’s hands suddenly formed an extremely complex Hand Seal.
"Mystic Curse!"
In that instant, Feng Qin felt the air around him suddenly thicken as if it were glue. The Earth Element Spiritual Power he once controlled now inexplicably repelled him.
This was the result of Chu Bai’s arduous training for over half a month. The Skilled Level Mystic Curse, combined with the terrifying boost from the Perfection Level Guiyuan Technique, more than doubled in power when unleashed at close range.
Feng Qin felt as if he had been plunged into a swamp, his movements becoming as slow as a snail’s.
"What?!"
Feng Qin cried out in alarm, trying to forcibly break free from the constraints.
But Chu Bai gave him no such chance. His Fire Step Ascension flared again, and he instantly appeared behind Feng Qin. He held the index and middle fingers of his right hand together like a sword, an infinitesimally sharp point of golden light pulsing at their tips.
It was not a Magic Technique, just a simple trick formed from Metal Qi.
The sharp Sword Qi came to a steady halt right over the crack in the Rock Armor on Feng Qin’s back.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Feng Qin’s temple.
He could feel that if that fingertip moved forward even an inch, the Geng Metal Qi would instantly shred his heart’s meridians.
The Martial Arts Arena fell silent.
The two had exchanged over a hundred moves, and in the eyes of the crowd, it had been a spectacular, evenly matched duel.
But only Feng Qin, the one involved, knew the truth: his opponent had been controlling the fight from the very beginning, even using him to hone this new Magic Technique.
"I... I concede."
Feng Qin let out a long sigh, and the Rock Armor covering his body shattered inch by inch.
He turned, cupped his fists solemnly at Chu Bai, and spoke with a complex expression, "Banner Inspector Chu—no, Captain Chu. Your mastery of Magic Techniques is far beyond my reach. To cultivate several Magic Techniques to the Transformation Realm at only the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, and even overcome a higher Realm to reverse my Gravity Field... You are more than worthy of leading this Demon-slaying Team!"
With that, Feng Qin retreated into the crowd. Although defeated, the resentment in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a reverence for the strong.
At the edge of the arena, the once-noisy discussions died down completely.
The way everyone looked at Chu Bai had changed. They had originally thought he was just lucky and had performed some extraordinary feat, but now they saw a true monster in combat.
Even Feng Qin, a team captain, had lost. The others knew their cultivation and experience were no match for Feng Qin’s, so who would dare step up and ask for a beating?
As for the remnants of the original Second Team, although they hadn’t participated in the Sanmu River conspiracy, their reputations were already in tatters from being implicated. Seeing Chu Bai’s might, they shrank back and dared not utter a single word.
"Does anyone else object?"
Zhang Cheng stood up, his voice calm yet filled with an undeniable authority.
His gaze swept over He Yan, over Li Gou, and over every member in the arena.
He Yan’s face was ashen. His lips moved, but in the end, he slumped back into his seat. The tide had turned. With his own two fists, Chu Bai had cemented his claim to the title of Regular Ninth Grade Demon Slaying Officer.
"Since there are no objections."
Zhang Cheng beckoned with his hand, and two official seals—one red, one blue, both inscribed with complex array patterns—flew forward.
"Pang Song, receive your Seal! You are appointed Captain of the Demon Extermination Team!"
"Chu Bai, receive your Seal! You are appointed Captain of the Demon-slaying Team!"
Chu Bai raised his hand and accepted the cold, heavy, dark blue official seal. His fingertips traced the two words "Demon Slaying" carved into it in an ancient style.
Chu Bai faced the crowd, his official robe fluttering in the wind.
"From this day forward, within the borders of Anping, all Demons will be slain, and all abnormalities will be eliminated."
"The Demon-slaying Team is hereby established!"
The two hundred-plus Evil Suppression Guards fell silent for a moment, then a thunderous roar echoed to the heavens.
"Demon Slaying! Demon Slaying! Demon Slaying!"
Amidst the earth-shaking roars, the old three-team structure of Anping County officially became history. A new era of slaughter, one belonging to the Demon-slaying Team and initiated by Chu Bai himself, had just begun.
But Chu Bai also understood that this official rank of Regular Ninth Grade was not just about power, but also the heavy weight of Cause and Effect tied to this land.
The shouts on the Martial Arts Arena came in wave after wave like the tide, shaking the surrounding banners until they snapped in the wind.
Standing in the center of the arena, Chu Bai felt a stir in his heart.
At that exact moment, deep within Chu Bai’s consciousness, the long-dormant panel began to vibrate with unprecedented intensity.
[Fate Chart: Seal and Ribbon Mutual Generation, Merit and Demerit Shape Destiny]
From the void, a stream of purple-gold qi, invisible to others, seemed to cross space from the direction of the Sanmu River. At the same time, a torrent of dark red Slaughter Qi poured in from the direction of the Execution Grounds.
The two streams of qi swirled and intertwined above Chu Bai’s head before transforming into a single streak of light that shot into the space between his eyebrows.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, official position is a symbol of power, while "Merit" is the recognition of the Celestial Dao.
Chu Bai’s slaying of the pseudo-god Sanmu Fairy was an act of Godslaying that forged his destiny; his purge of the Luu Family and the corrupt members of the Second Team, thereby saving countless children from future harm, was an act of eliminating a threat to gain Merit.
This monumental merit, gained by righting a wrong at its very source, was finally being tallied in full.
’Godslaying to forge destiny, eliminating a threat to gain Merit.’
With another merit gained, his Fate Chart changed once more.
The feeling was incredibly subtle, something Chu Bai couldn’t quite put into words, but he imagined he would feel the difference when he cultivated.
However, the thing that underwent a truly earth-shattering transformation was the Fate Chart that had always radiated a cold, lonely killing intent—[Seven Kills Fate].
On the panel, its description had already changed:
[Acquired Fate Chart: General Star Enters Life, Slaughter at Hand!]
Deep within Chu Bai’s eyes, the phantoms of two stars flashed and vanished.
The original [Seven Kills] pursued ultimate single-target damage and combat instinct; it was the fate of a "lone wolf."
But now, after slaying a pseudo-god and taking command of a team, this killing nature had merged with the authority of his official rank, evolving into the might of a "General Star" that commanded the entire battlefield.
[Effect: Slaughter at Hand. Every time you slay an enemy or Demon bearing Cause and Effect, the overflowing Spiritual Mechanism will be absorbed by the Fate Chart, permanently increasing the power of your Magic Techniques! Slay to protect life; use slaughter to end slaughter.]
’Permanently increase the power of my Magic Techniques...’
As Chu Bai felt the surging Slaughter Qi rise within him, his heart was thrown into turmoil.
’This means my combat power will no longer be limited by my Realm!’
’As long as I continue to slay demons and eliminate evil, even the most common Spirit Water Needle, empowered by the accumulated karma of countless kills, could unleash world-destroying power!’
This was a terrifyingly powerful growth curve.
At that moment, Zhang Cheng descended from the high platform. His steps were steady, each one landing perfectly in time with the rhythmic shouts from the arena.
He came to stand before Chu Bai, looking at the eighteen-year-old youth who already possessed a nascent authority, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"Chu Bai, sealed within this Seal is a sliver of ’Soldier’s Qi,’ passed down through generations. Since you have accepted the Seal, you must also accept the cause that comes with it."
Zhang Cheng spoke in a low voice that only the two of them could hear. "I was originally worried that you were too young to suppress the fierce aura of this Soldier’s Qi. But now, it seems you were born for this position."
Zhang Cheng could feel that the moment Chu Bai accepted the Seal, his aura had become incredibly sharp.
If the Chu Bai from before was a famous sword hidden in its sheath, then the Chu Bai of now was a Divine Weapon, unsheathed and steeped in the blood of the battlefield.
Chu Bai gripped the Official Seal and bowed to Zhang Cheng. "This subordinate will not fail to live up to the Director’s high hopes."
"Good!"
Zhang Cheng turned and swung his sleeve dramatically toward the more than two hundred people in the arena.
"Everyone! The old establishment has been washed away with the bloody waters of the Sanmu River! The new Anping Evil Suppression Department is reborn today!
Pang Song, Chu Bai, take your men! Today... I shall host a banquet in the department to consecrate the banners and bless the new Demon-slaying and Demon Extermination Teams!"
"Consecrate the banners! Bless the teams!"
The crowd’s shouts once again shook the heavens.

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