The atmosphere, which had been slightly relaxed, suddenly froze upon those words.

It felt as if an invisible giant hand clasped the entire room, a suffocating sense of oppression spread through the air.

Ding De and Jiang Siyi stared at Qin An in astonishment, their eyes full of confusion.

Kong Zhi was initially startled, then quickly stood up, took two steps closer to Qin An, and said sternly, "You little wretch, what did you just say?"

Qin An's expression remained calm: "So it turns out that after being promoted to Mountain Patrol Silver General, even your ears have become ineffective."

Kong Zhi's fingertips turned white from clenching, he sneered: "Challenging authority! Just for this arrogant statement, I can punish you right now."

"Challenging authority?" Qin An chuckled: "If Lord Kong wants to make a move, I would certainly accompany you."

Xunyang Prefecture is a place intertwined with power struggles, even for such a remote mission, Qin An did not expect to encounter someone related to Hu Long.

However, even so, Qin An had no intention of retreating.

He even wanted to test Kong Zhi and see if after raising himself to Inner God Realm with supreme foundations, there was still a gap between him and these Mountain Patrol Silver Generals.

Kong Zhi, provoked repeatedly, turned his anger into laughter, with a folded fan gripped in his hand.

Suddenly, a large hand pressed on his shoulder.

Kong Zhi turned to stare at Ding De, his eyes flickering with cold light: "I know you are under Mr. Jin's command, do you now intend to protect him?"

Ding De's tone was calm: "Yes, I just remembered that there is such a person, and it seems Mr. Jin values him greatly."

Kong Zhi's eyes turned colder: "Protecting him means offending me. It's not typical for you to offend a Mountain Patrol Silver General over a Mountain Patrol Copper General."

Ding De shook his head and said: "Serving under Mr. Jin, we naturally advance and retreat together, even if he is only a Mountain Patrol Copper General, it's not for outsiders to punish."

Upon these words, Kong Zhi's expression became more sinister.

Qin An slightly raised his eyebrows, having a sense of clarity in his mind.

He never expected the world to be so small, still encountering a Mountain Patrol Silver General under Jin Fengyu's command.

With this, the small province of Shuiyun seemed even more intricate and complex.

Kong Zhi and Ding De faced each other, neither retreating an inch.

Jiang Siyi gracefully stepped forward: "You both are Inner God Realm experts; if a personal duel delays the mission, the Bureau might not be able to account for it."

Upon these words, Kong Zhi snorted coldly, shook his shoulders, and removed Ding De's hand.

He sat back in the chair, saying no more, as if Jiang Siyi's words had directly struck his vital point.

Ding De saw Kong Zhi withdrawing his anger, no longer aggressive.

The originally tense situation instantly calmed down.

Qin An showed a hint of regret in his eyes.

He thought perhaps today he might verify what he had gained.

Now it seems there won't be such a chance.

Jiang Siyi caught the regret in Qin An's eyes and thought, "What a strange person."

Logically, as a Mountain Patrol Copper General and only having the Outer Elixir Realm cultivation, he should never dare to offend a Mountain Patrol Silver General.

Even if a Mountain Patrol Golden General stands behind him, the same applies.

Yet Qin An is not only unafraid, but he is also somewhat excited, as if eager to duel with the Mountain Patrol Silver General.

Jiang Siyi couldn't understand, but she knew there was no need to rekindle the conflict.

After the atmosphere eased slightly, Ding De slowly began: "Everyone, you already know the specific requirements of the mission, now let me discuss how we should proceed."

Upon discussing the mission, whether Mountain Patrol Silver Generals or Mountain Patrol Copper Generals, they all put the previous matter behind.

Ding De took out a map from his chest and unfolded it on the table.

Mountain Patrol Copper Generals stood up and gathered around the table, examining it closely.

The map was extremely complex, marked with various mountains and rivers.

At the top of the map were the words Water Cloud Province Map.

Jiang Siyi pondered: "Are the annotations on this map... personally marked by Lord Ding?"

Ding De did not conceal: "The places I have marked are those forces that have already been eradicated, I connected them into a line, perhaps we can deduce the next move of the Fox Girl from Carefree Mountain."

Qin An examined carefully, discovering indeed as Ding De said.

The eliminated sect forces, when connected into a line, pointed to the next force.

"In your opinion, should we immediately go to guard it?" Kong Zhi frowned.

Ding De shook his head: "If so many Mountain Patrol Generals go, the enemy will instead not show up; our aim is to complete the mission as soon as possible, so we must not rush."

Kong Zhi asked: "What rush is there? We can use masks to alter our breath and appearance, and then change into ordinary clothes to disguise as commoners or Jianghu people."

Ding De traced the map with a finger: "I have thought of that too, but the Fox Girl from Carefree Mountain is notoriously cunning, we can't act rashly just for a moment's satisfaction."

Kong Zhi frowned: "Then what is your plan?"

Although these people had previous conflicts, now with the task at hand, they prioritized completing it first.

Jiang Siyi was also furrowing her brows but did not speak, patiently waiting for Ding De's response.

Ding De paused, his eyes flashed coldly: "Before coming, I already notified people from that force to evacuate; at the moment, that force seems normal on the surface, but it has long been empty."

"There are also spies from the Evil Extermination Bureau ambushed around; any anomalies will be reported to me."

"By then, when these Fox Girls find nothing, we can seize the opportunity to rush over."

Jiang Siyi's eyes brightened: "If it is like this, then it is quite a good strategy."

If there are people within the force, this scheme would not work.

Because it might cause significant damage to that force.

If the force is vacant, even if the Fox Girl visits, she will find nothing.

When the Fox Girl realizes and tries to retreat, they can already rush there with their team.

This is less likely to expose themselves than pretending to be ordinary Jianghu people in advance.

Ding De nodded slightly, turning his gaze to Kong Zhi: "Lord Kong, what do you think of this strategy?"

Kong Zhi remained silent, but the meaning was self-evident, implying agreement with Ding De's statement.

Ding De then tapped the table: "Gentlemen, do you have any opinions?"

Having said so much, this remark was just casually mentioned.

After all, as Mountain Patrol Silver Generals, they naturally have the authority to make decisions.

If any Mountain Patrol Copper General disagrees, they can leave and proceed according to their own ways.

In this aspect, Mountain Patrol Generals do not interfere with each other.

Even though they normally take tasks with allied cooperation, there are also those who operate solo.

The scene fell into silence, no one spoke.

With three Mountain Patrol Silver Generals leading, this mission would be more stable, so no one objected.

Qin An rubbed his chin and, after a moment, placed his hand at his waist without saying a word.

This time, besides dealing with the Fox Girl of Carefree Mountain, he also came to gain merit.

Going solo is not as good as collaborating together.

He was no fool and naturally had no intention of forcing his way forward.

"Alright, since that's the case, let's patiently wait for a few days."

"The Evil Extermination Bureau here has already arranged accommodations. If anyone wants to rest, they can leave on their own," Ding De said blandly.

Several Mountain Patrol Copper Generals were the first to rise and left the room.

Ding De didn't linger either and left together with Kong Zhi and others.

After pondering for a moment, Qin An lifted his foot and walked out the door.

As soon as he stepped outside, a state official respectfully approached and led him to the nearest lodging.

...

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was late at night.

The moon hung high, and as silver radiance was cast, it seemed to lay layers of silver frost on the ground.

The oil lamp in Qin An's room was lit, the windows tightly closed, and no breeze stirred.

At this moment, Qin An suspended a long knife over his knees, sitting on the bed circulating the True Essence within his body, checking the various circumstances following his breakthrough into the Inner God Realm.

Although he had already examined it in detail before, it was worth checking again.

Before his eyes, smoke appeared, transforming into various texts, twisting like snakes.

After a moment, Qin An stood up, hung Cold Star at his waist, and waved to disperse the smoke.

"After this mission is over, I still need to prioritize increasing the proficiency of the Blacksmith and Butcher, to get the Cultivation Technique upgraded to the Inner God Realm as soon as possible."

"The more Cultivation Techniques I improve, the more invincible I will become in the Inner God Realm."

"At present, demonic knowledge is lacking. If no benefits are gained from this mission, then I'll take on a few more missions."

Qin An paced back and forth, causing the lamp on the table to flicker uncertainly.

A moment later, Qin An stopped, his thoughts interrupted by a faint sound of wind.

There was no wind in the room, but outside the door, a shadow flickered past.

Qin An gripped Cold Star tightly, a cold gleam flashed, already in his hand.

With True Essence circulating within, Qin An raised his hand and delivered a palm strike.

The terrifying force blew the windows open, revealing an empty corridor.

Qin An executed the Dragon Roar Shadow Step, landing silently in the middle of the corridor.

The corridor was extraordinarily spacious in both directions, with nothing unusual.

"I clearly saw a figure flash past just now…" Qin An frowned and thought to himself, "But why did it disappear so quickly?"

He was certain he hadn't seen it wrong, but the opponent's Body Technique seemed exceptionally brilliant, even surpassing the Dragon Roar Shadow Step.

By the time he reacted, the traces were already gone.

After pondering for a moment, Qin An pushed off the ground with both feet, leaped back to his room, and closed the window behind him.

"Clang!"

A clear sound echoed as Cold Star was sheathed.

Qin An sat back on the bed, reflecting, "The situation is complicated, being a task that attracted three Mountain Patrol Silver Generals is definitely not simple, I mustn't act rashly."

He didn't pursue alone.

In the art of war, it is advised not to enter the forest, Qin An would never put himself in danger.

Bravery can be possessed, but it should be done with strategy.

He planned to wait for the mission, first traveling to the destination with Ding De and others.

At this point, Qin An was not slack, instead, he circulated the True Essence to its optimal state, sitting in the room, patiently waiting.

...

As time slowly elapsed, three days passed in a flash.

In these three days, nothing unusual happened.

The informant from the force Ding De mentioned also did not give any response.

This indicated the Fox Girl had no movements.

At that moment, in the room.

Numerous Mountain Patrol Generals were seated on chairs, each with a serious expression on their face.

A murderous atmosphere permeated the room.

Kong Zhi tapped the table and sneered, "Lord Ding's ingenious plan doesn't seem to work."

"Three whole days, and the Fox Demon shows no signs of movement at all."

"Why not follow my strategy instead?"

Ding De frowned deeply, "Something's wrong. Given the Fox Demon's frequency of crimes, three days is enough time for another case to occur, yet there's no movement at all."

"I think we should try another method," Kong Zhi shook his head, "If one path doesn't work, take another. Why don't we spread out, guard various forces, so if the Fox Demon commits a crime, someone will know and can rush to support promptly."

Jiang Siyu toyed with her gloves and softly said, "The main issue is the lack of time. If we follow Lord Kong's divide and conquer strategy, we might be defeated one by one by the Fox Girl."

"Lack of time? No, no, no, there's plenty of time," Kong Zhi sneered, "The fact is, the other side might have already seen through our strategy. Acting separately reduces our target, makes it easier to act, and with well-planned deployments during the division, support will be faster, minimizing casualties."

The three Mountain Patrol Silver Generals had differences at this moment, and the numerous Mountain Patrol Copper Generals exchanged looks in silence.

Qin An stroked the hilt of his sword, closed his eyes, and pondered.

This kind of situation didn't come as a surprise to him.

Not long ago, when he saw that fleeting shadow in the room, he felt there was a problem with the mission.

However, the exact issue had no clues yet.

Ding De remained silent, frequently tapping the chair's armrest with his fingertips, indicating his inner turmoil.

Everyone was lost in thought.

Until a stick of incense had burned away, sudden footsteps were heard outside the door.

After the footsteps slightly paused, a rapid knocking echoed in the room.

The voice of the state official carried a hint of urgency.

"Report! Hengyang Gate... the whole door is extinct!"

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