Leng Shuang couldn't find the Snake Spirit wreaking havoc, leaving her with all this power and no way to use it. And by a stroke of coincidence, Tu Xiao'an, this "kindly" Snake Spirit, had just arrived in Wencheng.

So, she set her sights on him, hoping to get him to do her dirty work for free.

'What a beautiful thought.'

Too bad Tu Xiao'an saw right through her.

Otherwise, if he'd let her intimidate him, he would have ended up obediently working for her. What would become of the Snake King's dignity then?

However, the matter did sound a little interesting.

If the Spirit Monster wreaking havoc was truly a Snake Spirit, Tu Xiao'an's interest was piqued. His third stage of evolution required a Snake Species with a high-grade bloodline.

For an unidentified Snake Spirit to render the Demon Management Bureau completely helpless, it had to be an Awakened Snake Species of an exceptionally high grade.

"In Bai Town, the people worship you as the Snake King. You are a True Snake. I hope I can get your help with this."

Leng Shuang was much more sincere this time.

Tu Xiao'an grew thoughtful. After a moment, he said, "I can help you, but I have one condition."

'There's no such thing as a free lunch.' How could Tu Xiao'an possibly help for nothing?

"Name it."

"If I solve this for you, I want the Crow from the small hall."

Leng Shuang was stunned. "You want that Demon Bird?"

"That's right. We hit it off immediately," Tu Xiao'an lied smoothly.

He just thought the big Blackbird was twisted, yet interesting, and wanted to tame it as a pet.

He already had a Peacock at home, so adding a Crow wouldn't be a bad idea.

One represented good fortune, the other ill omens. 'Quite the interesting pair.'

"No. Ask for something else," Leng Shuang refused flatly. "That Demon Bird is wild and untamable, with a bizarre temperament and the ability to use Curse Power. It's a menace. We went to great lengths just to apprehend it."

Tu Xiao'an frowned. "Then how do you plan to deal with it?"

"It would be best if it submitted to us humans. If not, we'll lock it away in an iron prison."

If a twisted Crow like that were to unleash its Curse Power everywhere, the entire human race could go extinct.

It's far too dangerous.

"If you don't agree, you can deal with the rogue Snake Spirit yourselves. This is a transaction: I do a job for you, and you give me the Crow."

Leng Shuang arched an eyebrow. "You're a Snake. What would you want with a Demon Bird?"

"I want to reform it. Turn it into a good bird that can benefit humanity."

Leng Shuang rolled her eyes. 'Only a fool would believe that nonsense.'

"You'll never make that big Blackbird submit to humans. Give it to me, and I guarantee it won't cause any more trouble. I can even make it lift the curses it placed on those people," Tu Xiao'an said.

Leng Shuang fell silent, weighing the pros and cons.

After a long moment, her deep blue eyes glinted. "I can hand the Demon Bird over to you. But if it ever causes trouble again, I'll hold you responsible. And you have to deal with that rogue Snake Spirit first."

"Fine. Deal," Tu Xiao'an agreed readily.

He was very curious to see just what kind of Snake Spirit this was.

"I'll give you one week. Once you get to Wen Mountain Ridge, you must ensure that no one else in that village dies."

Tu Xiao'an said coolly, "Three days will be enough."

He had to enter the Ancient Academy in three days.

Naturally, Leng Shuang was happy to resolve the trouble as quickly as possible, since it was tied to her work performance.

This venture—pitting one Snake Spirit against another—was a wild idea.

But Leng Shuang had run out of options, which was why she'd designed a test for Tu Xiao'an by deliberately faking a car accident as a little girl.

She had wanted to see how this Snake Spirit, who could take human form, would react.

The result was excellent. A True Snake, worshipped by hundreds of thousands in Bai Town, still had a sense of justice after all.

Only then did Leng Shuang feel confident enough to entrust this mission to Tu Xiao'an.

With business concluded, Leng Shuang suddenly remarked, "That body of yours is a facade. It looks very weak. You haven't Crossed the Tribulation, yet you can take human form. You must have received a massive amount of Power of Faith from your followers in Bai Town, allowing you to barely manage the Transformation."

As a team leader in the Demon Management Bureau, Leng Shuang was well-informed. She had seen many Awakened Spirit Monsters who helped the weak, fought the strong, protected the peace of their regions, and performed good deeds for humanity.

But it wasn't that these Spirit Monsters were particularly benevolent; rather, they wanted to obtain the Power of Faith from human believers.

The benefits of the Power of Faith were simply too great.

Even Divine Spirits rely on the Power of Faith to sustain themselves, to say nothing of these Rank Two Spirit Monsters who have yet to reach a higher state of existence.

One of the greatest benefits of the Power of Faith is that it allows a Rank Two Spirit Monster to manage a temporary Transformation, but this requires a truly massive amount of it.

Few Spirit Monsters could gather such an enormous amount of Power of Faith before reaching Rank 3.

But Leng Shuang had seen the Snake King Festival, where hundreds of thousands of people had prostrated themselves in worship before this very Snake Spirit.

That's why she'd made such a guess about his Transformation.

There was no other possibility.

Tu Xiao'an remained expressionless, but inwardly he was stunned. 'So the Power of Faith has this benefit, too?'

'No wonder that big Blackbird was so obsessed with being worshipped by humans. So that's the key.'

A moment later, Tu Xiao'an strolled out of Leng Shuang's office as if he owned the place. Leng Shuang didn't follow. He headed toward the corner where he'd been before.

The Blackbird Crow was still squatting there with a miserable expression.

"Snake Spirit, you actually made it out in one piece?" The Blackbird said, surprised to see Tu Xiao'an looking so composed.

Tu Xiao'an grinned. "Not only did I make it out in one piece, I'm about to leave for good. I just came to say goodbye."

The Blackbird's eyes bulged. "What do you mean? The humans are letting you go?"

Tu Xiao'an nodded.

The Blackbird looked scornful. "You're full of it. You're a Snake Spirit they caught. No way they'd let you go."

"I wasn't caught. I was invited for tea. Now that we're done, of course I'm leaving."

The Blackbird was dumbfounded. It glanced at Tu Xiao'an's hands and saw the Demon-locking Shackles were gone. Believing him a little more now, it said excitedly, "How did you do it? Teach Uncle Hei!"

"You want to leave too?" A glint of cunning flashed in Tu Xiao'an's eyes.

"Duh! Uncle Hei has no desire to be locked in an iron cage."

Tu Xiao'an smiled. "Then stick with me from now on, and I'll get you out."

The jet-black Crow immediately grew wary. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means you accept me as your boss and do what I say from now on."

Tu Xiao'an wanted the Crow to submit and accept him as its master, but given its temperament, that was basically impossible.

He couldn't forcibly subdue the Crow and add it to his system, so he had to be more tactful.

"Haha! A mere Snake Spirit, you don't know your own limits! You want Uncle Hei to listen to you? What makes you think you're worthy..."

The Crow rambled on excitedly, as if it had just heard the biggest joke in the world.

Tu Xiao'an cut him off. "Then you can enjoy rotting in your cell. I'm off to enjoy my freedom."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Seeing Tu Xiao'an leave, the Crow hastily called out, "You can really get me out of here?"

"Why else would I be wasting my breath on you? I can get you out, but once we're clear of the Monster Management Bureau, you have to do as I say."

The Crow hesitated. For a Divine Bird as awesome as itself, peerless in heaven and on earth, to obey a Snake... it was truly a bit hard to swallow.

"I'm in a hurry. Decide quickly," Tu Xiao'an said with a nonchalant air.

The Blackbird gritted its teeth and said ruthlessly, "Fine! Get me out of this dump, and Uncle Hei will listen to you on the outside."

"It's a deal. I'll come for you in two days."

His scheme having succeeded, Tu Xiao'an grinned and walked away openly, with no one to bar his path.

"Hey, Snake Spirit! Why wait two days? Take Uncle Hei with you now!"