Joining the Demon Suppression Guard, First Night Patrol!

An hour later, Lu Ze slowly finished his practice and checked his attribute panel. His skin refining skill had increased by 7%, and his proficiency had increased by 6%.

Not bad!

Immediately afterwards, Lin Feihu came out and took Lu Ze out to the Hundred-Household Office of the Demon-Suppressing Guard in Qinghe Town.

The position of centurion was originally a sixth-rank official position, and its number was very small.

But since the change of the heavens, the land of the county was merged into one city, and the population swelled to more than 600,000. As a result, the number of official positions also expanded. The outer city had 24 towns, each with a 100-household unit, totaling 24 100-household units. The inner city even had a 1,000-household unit.

Not long after, inside the Hundred Household Office.

Lin Feihu led Lu Ze to find Zhao Beichen, the head of the regiment.

Zhao Beichen glanced at Lin Feihu and smiled, "What brings you here, Master Lin?"

Lin Feihu said, "This is my youngest and last disciple. His talent far surpasses that of my other disciples, which has aroused suspicion. So I'm preparing to have him join your Demon Suppression Guard for protection!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Beichen smiled and said, "I naturally welcome Master Lin's disciple to join the Demon Suppression Guard! However, there are two points to clarify. First, the entry requirement for the Demon Suppression Guard is the second level of Body Tempering and the Great Perfection of Bone Refinement. Second, the Demon Suppression Guard has to patrol at night and fight against ghosts and monsters, which is quite dangerous, and casualties are common."

The Demon Suppression Guards offer good benefits, but not many martial artists are willing to join because of their high mortality rate.

After all, even with a low-quality talisman for protection, you'd be doomed if you encountered a high-level wandering ghost comparable to a Blood Transformation Grandmaster, or even a fierce ghost at the Qi Refining Realm level!

Lin Feihu said, "Of course, my disciple has already reached the peak of Bone Refinement, which meets the entry requirements!"

Zhao Beichen said, "In that case, I have a vacancy under my command, and the onboarding process can be completed in a moment!"

Lu Ze clasped his hands in a respectful greeting and said, "Thank you very much, Commander!"

Not long after, Lin Feihu left, leaving only Lu Ze and Zhao Beichen.

Immediately afterward, Zhao Beichen tested Lu Ze's strength and then arranged for a Demon Suppression Guard to take him to the warehouse to collect the Demon Suppression Guard's token, the Demon-Slaying Blade, and two sets of black Pixiu robes.

The Demon-Slaying Blade is a superior weapon, but when inscribed with evil-repelling runes, it can attack and even slay ghosts.

Pixiu has the power to ward off evil spirits, and Pixiu clothing also has a certain power to ward off evil spirits and can defend against attacks from ghosts.

Of course, it might not work against powerful, high-level wandering ghosts.

Lu Ze also learned about the working hours of the Embroidered Uniform Guard through inquiries. It was roughly from 6 PM to 6 PM, divided into two shifts. Each Demon Suppression Guard only had to work for 18 hours, or 3 shichen.

It's not bad; it won't interfere with my cultivation.

In addition, the Demon Suppression Guards receive a monthly salary of 5 taels of silver and can also earn a certain amount of merit points. Merit points can be earned by slaying ghosts and monsters, and can be exchanged for cultivation techniques, elixirs, spells, talismans, and so on.

Not long after, Lu Ze returned home, took a Spirit Essence Pill, and continued to practice the Nine Forms of Skin Refining in the Black Tiger Body Forging Fist.

Meanwhile, at the Black Tiger Martial Arts School, Song Linfeng also learned that Lu Ze had joined the Demon Suppression Guard, and his face darkened.

The Demon Suppression Guard is a government department, and killing a Demon Suppression Guard is a serious crime. It would be more troublesome for him to deal with Lu Ze again.

……

As evening fell, Lu Ze, dressed in a black Pixiu robe with a Demon-Slaying Blade at his waist, slowly withdrew his fist and checked his attribute panel: (Skin Refinement 32%, Initial Success).

I refined four low-grade essence pills, increasing my proficiency by 24%—a rapid improvement!

At this moment, the skin refining process was initially completed, and his skin membrane became as tough as cowhide, greatly increasing his defensive capabilities.

Of course, this level of defense is not enough to withstand high-grade weapons, unless one has mastered a superior external martial arts technique.

He was to patrol the night, and after thinking about it, he decided to strengthen the talisman against evil spirits.

"Current enhancement requires 10 Source Points. Enhancement options: 1. Defense: Enhancement yields a low-grade Exorcising Talisman. 2. Attack: Enhancement yields a low-grade Exorcising Spirit Talisman."

The source points required to enhance a low-grade spirit talisman were lower than he had anticipated. This was most likely because spirit talismans, compared to magical artifacts, were only disposable items.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ze chose a low-grade talisman to ward off evil, prioritizing his life.

The inferior talisman in his hand transformed into a low-grade one, its power increasing several times over.

Lu Ze glanced at the cost of continuing to enhance the power, which was 50 Source Points, and decided not to continue enhancing it.

He then put away the talisman, told his parents, and went straight to the centurion's office to meet with the commander Zhao Beichen.

Zhao Beichen then led him to a squad of Demon-Suppressing Guards, looked at a burly man, and said, "Xiang Xiaoqi, he's in your care. Take good care of him!"

The junior officer smiled and said to Chen, "Rest assured, Commander, I always take good care of newcomers!"

Immediately after, Zhao Beichen left, while Xiang Chen said with a serious expression, "Lu Ze, right? You'll be following us on night patrol later. Talk less and observe more!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ze realized that Xiang Chen was a treacherous fellow.

Anyone who has seen horror movies knows that the person walking at the back of a group is most likely to go missing and is in the most danger.

Xiang Chen told Zhao Beichen on the surface that he would take care of him, but then turned around and made him walk in the most dangerous place at the back. He was treating him like a expendable resource.

Soon after, Zhao Beichen led ten Demon-Suppressing Guards, including Lu Ze, on a patrol.

Qinghe Town has a population of about 2.5 and is divided into ten wards. Each squad leader patrols two wards, and the task is relatively simple.

However, halfway there, Xiang Chen said he had something to do and left alone, leaving Feng Yue, a veteran demon-suppressing guard, to lead the team.

Feng Yue is at the fourth level of Body Tempering and has just completed the initial stage of Flesh Refining. His strength is second only to Xiang Chen, the Dirty Refining Martial Master.

The other demon-suppressing guards were used to this.

Lu Ze asked, "Brother Feng, isn't Xiao Qi afraid of being punished by his superiors for doing this?"

Feng Yue said, "Brother Lu, our Commander has powerful connections. It's said that he's related to another Commander Yin Xun. Naturally, our Commander will give him some face."

Lu Ze suddenly realized that there was a connection, which explained why he hadn't taken Zhao Beichen's words to heart.

The following night patrol was uneventful, with no encounters with ghosts.

However, the group stopped in front of a tavern and began to rest.

Wait 30 minutes, then continue the patrol.

This tavern was the stronghold of the Demon Suppression Guard, and it was open at night. Their junior officer, Xiang Chen, was drinking in the tavern, with a beautiful woman serving him.

This job is so enviable!

Feng Yue and the others seemed not to see or disturb them, but instead found a table to sit down and drink and eat.

Lu Ze did not drink alcohol; instead, he closed his eyes to cultivate the Nine Yang Golden Body Technique, purifying his internal energy and tempering his body.

In fact, once the Nine Yang Divine Skill is mastered, the internal energy is inexhaustible, and can be circulated even while walking, sitting, or lying down. The Nine Yang Golden Body Technique is the same; the technique is constantly operating autonomously, purifying internal energy and tempering the body, but the cultivation efficiency is even higher when focusing the mind on the practice.

Half an hour later, Lu Ze and the others set off on patrol again.

……

As night deepened, Lu Ze, Feng Yue, and others set off on their night patrol as usual.

Lu Ze was at the back. As he walked, he suddenly felt an extreme chill coming from behind him. Even though he was already at the third level of the Body Tempering Realm and had a strong body and blood, he almost shivered.

Fortunately, his Nine Yang Internal Force automatically protected his body, dispelling the chill.

Lu Ze's expression changed instantly. He turned around abruptly and swung his knife, but missed. Looking again, he saw a woman with disheveled hair standing about ten feet away. She was soaking wet, her face was deathly pale, and her appearance was unrecognizable due to being soaked in water.

Even more frightening was that her belly was swollen, as if she were eight or nine months pregnant.

At the same time, Feng Yue and the others, who heard the sound of swords being drawn, turned around and saw the pregnant female ghost. Their expressions changed drastically.

The more miserable a person's life was, the more terrifying the ghost they become after death tends to be!