The sea of fire within the cavern vanished completely as Mr. Lv perished.

Only a deathly silence remained, suffocating and oppressive.

When Qin An calmly inquired why everyone was in a daze, Zheng Long and Duan Feng exchanged bitter smiles.

Why are you stunned? Do you not have any clue?

We are all officers of Silver Prefecture, all with Jade Bone Realm Perfection cultivation, but how do you display your Jade Bone Realm Perfection?

Your knife technique is as domineering as lightning splitting a mountain, and your punches as powerful as a giant mountain crushing down.

Even Mr. Lv, with one foot in Returning to Storage Realm, turned to ash under your hand.

With such strength, there's no need to take part in any trial; you could be directly promoted to a patrolling officer with ease.

Zheng Long sighed deeply, "Mr. Qin's divine might, I feel ashamed of my inferiority."

Duan Feng said with a bitter smile, "I was already prepared, but seeing it for myself still leaves me in awe."

The remaining Silver Prefecture officers didn't speak, but their silence expressed their inner shock.

Seeing this, Qin An did not speak. Instead, he bent down to search the corpses of Liu Qingzhou and Nie Ruhai.

Searching bodies after killing, as ancient as time itself.

Unfortunately, apart from some silver coins, these two had nothing of value on their bodies.

Qin An then approached Mr. Lv's remains.

After Mr. Lv's death, his body transformed into an enormous Fire Crow.

With skilled hands, Qin An cut open the chest cavity, extracted a blood marrow, and absorbed it into his body.

On the ground lay a demon fetus, now without any sign of life, but still emanating a chilling evil aura.

Zheng Long's eye twitched slightly, "So fierce in killing demons, so decisive in searching bodies, such a disposition... truly remarkable."

Duan Feng nodded in agreement, "Mr. Zheng, we need to learn from Mr. Qin."

Zheng Long asked in puzzlement, "Learn what?"

Duan Feng gripped his rings tightly, his eyes blazing, "Learn his fierceness in killing, and his calm demeanor."

Zheng Long had an expression of partial understanding.

At this moment, Duan Feng saw Qin An probing the demon fetus with a black knife, immediately hooked his rings back to his waist, and rushed forward.

"Mr. Qin, this is a good thing."

Qin An looked up and said, "Explain."

Duan Feng pondered for a moment, "The demon fetus is the essence of the Fire Crow's entire life, its vitality comparable to a demon yuan, it must contain a core within, dissect and you can obtain it."

Core?

Qin An rubbed his chin, the black knife unsheathed.

With a flash of the blade, the demon fetus split open.

Inside the demon fetus was empty, with only a brilliant demon yuan rolling onto the ground.

Duan Feng gasped, "If this creature had absorbed all its essence and broken through to Gui Cang, we would all die here."

Qin An secured the demon yuan, secretly calculating his gains and losses.

The previous half demon yuan was nearly exhausted, now he had obtained a new complete demon yuan.

Coupled with his existing reserves, this journey was sure to be profitable.

Thinking of this, Qin An turned and said, "The task is complete."

This trip was about investigating the Fire Crow Race's matters, now that Mr. Lv is dead, the task is considered thoroughly finished.

Zheng Long, bringing the remaining Silver Prefecture officers, drew near, ready to thank Qin An once again.

But at that moment, Duan Feng's gaze fell not far away.

"Not necessarily."

As these words fell, Qin An raised his eyes to sweep over, only then discovering something unusual.

In front lay heaps of corpses, all of Luozhe County's people.

And amidst the pile of corpses, there was unexpectedly a wooden box placed inside.

The box was red, with heat swirling atop it.

Duan Feng said, "Mr. Qin, crows like to collect treasures, the Fire Crow Race, though demonic, can't conceal their treasure-hoarding nature."

"There must be treasure inside this box."

This cavern had no other exit, the wooden box placed inside, it was obvious there was something.

Qin An walked up, using the black knife to pry open the wooden box.

Inside the box were many silver coins, besides the silver coins, there was also a small white jade bottle.

Seeing this, Qin An wrapped in Gang Qi, took the white jade bottle in hand, then opened its lid.

As the bottle was unsealed, blazing Yang energy erupted.

Upon sensing the Yang energy, all the Silver Prefecture officers' faces changed, exclaiming, "Yang Elixir!"

Duan Feng said in realization, "So, this monster intended to use the demon fetus to create a flawless Gui Cang, prepared an advance Yang Elixir, quite the ambition."

The Yang Elixir is a treasure of the Gui Cang Realm, both humans and demons regard it as a treasure.

Just one is needed, after stepping into the Gui Cang Realm, strength will be much stronger than the ordinary Gui Cang Realm.

Although all Silver Prefecture officers were envious, not one objected, they only looked at Qin An with admiration.

This battle was all thanks to Qin An, otherwise, they would have perished long ago in the sea of fire.

Though they all risk their lives daily, they also held principles in their hearts.

The owner of this Yang Elixir could only be Qin An.

A hint of bright light crossed Qin An's eyes as he tucked the Yang Elixir into his bosom.

Though he had the refining method for Yang Elixirs, each one required ten demon yuans to refine.

Even with Pill Master talent, nine are needed.

Now he had unexpectedly acquired one, it was indeed the greatest gain of this journey.

Now, he is only three Yang Elixirs away from safely stepping into the perfect Gui Cang Realm.

With the matter resolved, no more words were exchanged, and they left the cavern together.

...

Luozhe County, County Office.

The County Magistrate tremblingly offered hot tea, placing it into Guo Jinfa's hands, speaking with utmost respect, "Thanks to the patrolling officer's intervention this time, otherwise Luozhe County would have suffered a great disaster."

Guo Jinfa sipped the tea, "No need to be formal, County Magistrate. I have some words to say to these youngsters, if possible?"

The County Magistrate quickly wiped the sweat off his forehead, repeatedly saluting, and withdrew from the hall.

The main seat of the hall, originally for the County Magistrate, but now Guo Jinfa sat in it crookedly.

Below, Qin An and the Silver Prefecture officers stood together.

Guo Jinfa set down the teacup, swept his gaze over the ten people below the hall, and sighed, "I didn't expect this mission to be so dangerous, but fortunately the casualties were not significant."

Zheng Long cupped his fists and said, "It's all thanks to Mr. Qin turning the tide. If it weren't for him, I'm afraid no one would have survived this mission."

Guo Jinfa nodded, his gaze falling on Qin An, with a complex expression flashing by momentarily.

Back then, when Wan Ziqing recommended him, he only thought of it as returning a favor, and didn't pay much attention to Qin An.

No matter how gifted one is, there are countless exceptionally gifted people among the patrol officers, and Qin An wouldn't make a difference.

But unexpectedly, in this mission, Qin An actually turned the tide, not only killing two insiders but also killing a Fire Crow at the half-step Returning to Storage Realm.

This alone was enough for Guo Jinfa to see him in a different light, realizing Wan Ziqing was not acting casually back then.

Thinking of this, Guo Jinfa stopped dwelling on it, his eyes becoming sharp, his voice metallic, "The trial results—."

With these words, all the Lingzhou officers present tensed up.

The result naturally referred to whether they could successfully join the Mountain Patrol Officers.

Guo Jinfa slowly said, "Everyone passes! From this day on, you are all Mountain Patrol Copper Officers!"

Joy appeared in Zheng Long and the others' eyes.

However, the iron rules of the Evil Extermination Bureau were strict, and they still stood straight as javelins, showing no outward emotion.

Guo Jinfa directed his gaze to Qin An, saying, "You don't seem surprised at all."

Qin An looked up and said, "After joining the Mountain Patrol Officers, it's just a matter of slaying a few more great demons; what is there to be happy about?"

Guo Jinfa was slightly taken aback, then shook his head and laughed, "You're truly a wild one, but this wildness fits the taste of the Evil Extermination Bureau, I quite like it."

He no longer spoke much with Qin An and then took a silver badge from his pocket.

"The copper badge you held previously represents your identity as a Mountain Patrol Copper Officer."

"The Mountain Patrol Officer rank is traditionally one level above the Lingzhou Officer, both in strength and status."

"Next, I will explain to you the deeper usage of the copper badge."

Qin An raised an eyebrow and took off the copper badge from his waist.

He knew that the copper badge was surely not only for contacting colleagues and assessing merits; there must be deeper uses, now the veil would be lifted.

Guo Jinfa paused slightly, then continued, "By channeling your True Qi into the copper badge, I'll teach you a way to engrave it."

After that, Guo Jinfa slowly recited a passage of text.

Qin An and the others followed Guo Jinfa's method, channeling their True Qi into it.

Then, a wondrous scene appeared.

With a shimmer of light inside the copper badge, Qin An saw a light screen appear before him, displaying various tasks.

Not only were the tasks' contents, sources, and locations marked, but also the distances.

Guo Jinfa waited patiently, only speaking after the last Lingzhou Officer had become familiar, "This is how you will receive tasks. It's very simple, yet complex."

Qin An looked up and said, "Complexity surely exists, but Mr. Guo's words seem to carry deeper meaning."

Everyone knew the complexity of the Mountain Patrol Officers and felt no need to mention it further.

But now that Guo Jinfa brought it up again, there must be more to it.

Guo Jinfa's mouth slightly curled up, meaningfully saying, "Remember, the same task might be received by multiple groups of Mountain Patrol Officers."

With this, the room fell silent.

Those who could reach this position were no fools and fully understood Guo Jinfa's meaning.

This implied one word—competition.

Receiving the same task would certainly lead to competition with other Mountain Patrol Officers.

Competition can spur more people to strive to complete tasks; after all, no one wants their efforts to be taken by others.

Of course, besides competition, there is also cooperation.

But knowing about cooperation doesn't mean others don't.

Cooperation will attract greater competition.

This is clearly a strategy of raising adversaries.

Guo Jinfa waved his hand, "Is everyone clear?"

The crowd nodded, indicating their understanding.

Guo Jinfa adjusted his slouched posture, stood up slowly, and tidied his clothes.

Everyone was puzzled by Guo Jinfa's actions and remained silent.

Guo Jinfa took a deep breath, earnestly cupping his fists, "Congratulations to everyone for joining the Mountain Patrol Officers. Having joined, from now on, you will be alone guarding the mountains and rivers, where danger is bound to abound."

"I, Guo, thank you for having the courage to become a part of the Mountain Patrol Officers. The future is broad; take care of yourselves."

The Mountain Patrol Copper Officers exchanged glances, then cupped their fists in return, "Wishing Mr. Guo well!"

After this, they formally bade farewell to their Lingzhou Officer identities, becoming solitary Mountain Patrol Officers.

Their presence would manifest itself among desolate valleys and treacherous terrains.

They might even stand alone against hordes of demons.

Guo Jinfa took his seat again, "If there's nothing else, disperse. Do what needs to be done."

"Qin An, you stay. I have something to say to you."

The crowd exchanged glances again and then left together.

However, before leaving, each Mountain Patrol Copper Officer expressed their gratitude to Qin An.

Guo Jinfa observed this but did not stop it, even showing a hint of emotion.

The identity of a Mountain Patrol Copper Officer was prestigious, and their gratitude to Qin An demonstrated his strength.

After everyone had left, Guo Jinfa poured a cup of tea for Qin An.

"The feeling of being roasted by fire is unpleasant; have some tea to quench your thirst."

Qin An shook his head, "No need."

"If Mr. Guo has something to say, go ahead."

"If not, I'll be leaving first."

Having gained a Yang Elixir and a large amount of demon essence, he wanted some peace to sort things out before consuming the Yang Elixir.

The situation now appeared safe, but Qin An knew the danger within.

The top three powers were far stronger than Tree Lord and others; just a junior from the Fire Crow Race was close to the Gui Cang Realm, let alone their elders.

Moreover, the Demon Hall was also dissatisfied with him, and if he didn't hurry to enhance his strength, his life might be in jeopardy.

Only by having strength surpassing Lingzhou could he secure his life.

He had no desire to become a ghost beneath someone else's blade.

Guo Jinfa said helplessly, "You're truly a dull person, just as Wan Ziqing said."

Qin An remained silent.

Guo Jinfa's gaze sharpened, "Ge Feng suddenly contacted the governor, claiming he has mastered the method of refining the Yang Elixir. This matter... is it related to you?"

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