Chapter 226: Chapter 154: First in the Monthly Report, Shocking All Parties

The envoy who came to conduct the verification was named Du Mingjie, a cultivator at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.

Staring at the six corpses before him, he began to doubt his own sanity.

"You’re telling me that this group of Demon Cultivators attacked the Qingyang Spirit Ore in quick succession?"

Four words were written all over Du Mingjie’s face—’How is this possible?’

’Is the Qingyang Spirit Ore really worth three late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators making a move?’

’Even if the Divine Fire Sect had designs on the Qingyang Spirit Ore, they should have attacked all at once.’

’Why would they send themselves to their deaths one by one over just a few days?’

This completely defied his understanding of the situation, and it didn’t align with the Demon Cultivators’ known strategies over the past year.

Xiao Chen frowned as well. "Yes, I can’t figure it out either."

"I was just minding my own business here at the Spirit Ore, and they suddenly showed up to attack me."

"Chang even came to help fend off the Demon Cultivators before. He can vouch for me."

Chang Shunping quickly hurried over.

He was completely stunned when he saw the bodies of the two cultivators from the White Bone Sect, both at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

But fortunately, he didn’t drop the ball. "That’s right. These Demon Cultivators appeared out of nowhere. We have no idea why."

Du Mingjie scratched his head but didn’t press the issue.

After all, his task was only to register the points. The rest was none of his business.

He used a special Magical Artifact to verify the Cultivation Realms of the Demon Cultivators.

Du Mingjie handed the corresponding Points Token to Xiao Chen and took the six Demon Cultivator corpses with him.

A first-level Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator was worth ten points, with each subsequent level of cultivation granting an additional ten points.

Two at the third level of Foundation Establishment, one at the sixth, one at the eighth, and two at the ninth, for a total of three hundred and eighty points.

Xiao Chen also asked Du Mingjie about the specific requirements for becoming a Demon-slaying Guard.

The Lingyuan Sect’s current rule was that a cultivator could apply to become a Demon-slaying Guard after accumulating a total of five late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator kills, or over thirty Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator kills in total.

Additionally, one had to complete their current assignment and could only be promoted during the next rotation.

The good news was that this accumulation had no time limit.

The problem, however, was that Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators weren’t so easy to kill.

For most cultivators, this requirement was still a bit too steep.

The Lingyuan Sect had been fighting the Divine Fire Sect for over a year, yet there were still fewer than ten Demon-slaying Guards.

The fastest among them to be promoted to Demon-slaying Guard was Ye Fei, who had managed it in only two mission cycles—a total of six months.

This was proof enough that the condition was not easily met.

However, Xiao Chen had now already met half the requirement.

’If the White Bone Sect comes bearing gifts within the next month or so, I could break the record and become the fastest legend.’

’But that isn’t up to me. It all depends on whether the enemy cooperates.’

After seeing Du Mingjie off, Xiao Chen went back into seclusion to cultivate the Immortal-Binding Technique.

Meanwhile, when the battle report reached the Lingyuan Sect, Grand Elder Yao Dehai was taken aback.

"Xiao Chen was attacked? By three consecutive waves, including three late-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators?"

He then fell into the same state of confusion. ’Hmm? Is the Qingyang Spirit Ore some kind of important strategic point?’

He studied a map, trying to analyze the situation, but couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

’This shouldn’t be happening. Why would it?’

Yao Dehai simply couldn’t understand what kind of trick the Divine Fire Sect was playing.

At the same time, he was also baffled by the Chen Family’s actions. ’Xiao Chen is strong enough to protect himself. Did they really need to pull strings for him?’

「Half a month later.」

With the New Year festival approaching, the monthly report for the twelfth lunar month was delivered to each cultivator, along with festive dumplings.

Everyone had to make do with a simple celebration, as they had to remain vigilant against attacks from the Divine Fire Sect.

Steward Chen was busy writing a letter home when he saw the monthly report. The very first line, in large print, bore the two words: Xiao Chen.

For the entire twelfth lunar month, Xiao Chen had indisputably claimed first place with a high score of 380 points.

’Three hundred and eighty points?’

Steward Chen read it once, rubbed his eyes, and read it again. ’This battle report can’t be wrong, can it?’

He, of course, had also been assigned to another Spirit Ore.

After the garrison assignments were distributed, Steward Chen had made some inquiries and learned that such posts were extremely safe.

They were the kind of places where you might go three months straight without seeing a single Demon Cultivator.

Steward Chen didn’t know the inside story either, and at the time, he had felt a little regretful.

He had been especially resentful when he saw the previous month’s report, feeling that if he’d been sent to the front lines, he might have been able to compete for a spot in the top ten.

Now, seeing Xiao Chen take first place, he was overjoyed and added the good news to his letter home before sending it off.

When Chen Tianyuan received the letter, Elder Chen was by his side.

They were both Alchemists and had to stay behind to organize Alchemy efforts, so neither had been able to go to Hezhou.

The two read the news together.

Elder Chen was both happy for Xiao Chen and worried. "Didn’t we pull some strings for him? How did he still get assigned to such a dangerous place?"

Chen Tianyuan was also puzzled. "It’s a connection that goes back several generations. This shouldn’t have happened!"

They exchanged a look, both of them baffled.

Ye Fei also received the latest monthly report.

He stared at Xiao Chen’s name with a grave expression, a sense of urgency washing over him.

Ever since they had joined the Second Division together, throughout the entire journey from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, Xiao Chen had always been one step ahead.

Despite having a low-grade Spiritual Root, he was always the first to achieve a breakthrough.

This was true even when Ye Fei himself had a breakthrough mid-battle.

It was true even after he had consumed numerous Spiritual Objects.

It was true even after he had stumbled upon several fortuitous opportunities.