The Bureau of Demon Extermination in Tianyun County was located in the eastern part of the Tianyun County, separated by four or five streets from the County Governor's Mansion.
Under the guidance of Tian He, Su Nan arrived at the Bureau of Demon Extermination.
As soon as they entered the bureau, a middle-aged man immediately approached them, saying, "What wind brought Tian Leader here?"
Tian He introduced Su Nan, saying, "This is Director Zhang, and he's the newly appointed director by the County Governor."
"New director?" The middle-aged man, named Zhu Chen, raised an eyebrow as he looked at Su Nan.
Upon noticing Su Nan's cultivation level, his expression became even more peculiar.
Inside the Bureau of Demon Extermination, other martial artists began to emerge upon hearing their conversation.
When they saw Su Nan, they expressed surprise.
"Am I seeing this right? He's only at the Spirit level?"
"You're not mistaken; he's not only at the Spirit level, but also at the early stage!"
"How long do you think he'll last?"
"A week, at most. Maybe not even five days!"
"I'd say he won't make it past three days."
"Three days? You're giving him too much credit. He's only at the early Spirit level; whether he can survive today is the question."
The martial artists in the bureau began to discuss animatedly, speculating on Su Nan's survival.
Zhu Chen, noticing their discussions, immediately reprimanded, "What are you all talking about? Get back to work!"
Scolded by Zhu Chen, the others quieted down and retreated.
Tian He said to Su Nan, "Director Zhang, I've brought you here. I have other tasks to attend to, so I won't disturb you."
Su Nan nodded.
After bidding farewell to Tian He, Su Nan turned to Zhu Chen and said, "Captain Zhu, now that we're colleagues, please take care of me in the future."
Zhu Chen smiled and replied, "Director Zhang, you're being too polite. It should be us taking care of you."
With that, he made a welcoming gesture and said, "Director Zhang, since you've just arrived, let me show you to your residence."
"Alright." Su Nan nodded.
He knew he would be staying here for some time, so having a place to stay was necessary.
In a few minutes, under Zhu Chen's guidance, Su Nan arrived at a small courtyard.
The courtyard appeared to have been uninhabited for a long time, as weeds had overgrown everywhere.
Zhu Chen said, "This is the residence of the previous directors. Since the position has been vacant for over two years, this place hasn't been lived in. I'll have someone clean it up right away."
"No rush." Su Nan waved his hand and said, "Captain Zhu, first, please tell me about the current situation in the Bureau of Demon Extermination."
As the new director, Su Nan needed to understand the current situation of the bureau.
Zhu Chen pondered for a moment and said, "The Bureau of Demon Extermination in Tianyun County has a total of 120 members, with only ten at the Spirit level, while the rest are ordinary martial artists."
"Out of the ten Spirit level members, apart from me, there are two others at the peak of the Spirit level."
"They are a male named Ma Qiang and a female named Chen Su, both of whom are team captains like me."
"Only ten Spirit level members? That's quite few," Su Nan frowned.
If such a number of Spirit level members were in Jiuting County, it would be a significant force.
However, in Tianyun County, where there were two Demon Kings openly, it was obviously inadequate.
Zhu Chen sighed and said, "Yes, it's too few. We deal with demons all day long, and the mortality rate is always high. Very few martial artists are willing to join us."
"Since the Heavenly Seal Prohibition was broken, the number of demons in the city has been increasing. Our Bureau of Demon Extermination is seriously understaffed."
Saying this, he glanced around and suddenly asked, "Director Zhang, do you have a way to expand our strength?"
Zhu Chen asked with a hint of hope.
In his view, Su Nan had been appointed as director by the County Governor despite his low cultivation level, which meant that Su Nan had something unique about him.
"Expanding our strength? It's not impossible," Su Nan mused.
Perhaps he could start with the players!
Tomorrow marked the beginning of the second phase of the public beta, and a large number of players would flock to Tianyun County. If he could recruit these players to join the Bureau of Demon Extermination, it would be easy to bolster its ranks.
Thinking about this, Su Nan's eyes lit up.
"You don't need to worry about the martial artists; tell me about the situation of the demons in the city."
"Do you really have a way?" Zhu Chen was surprised, not expecting Su Nan to have a plan.
Su Nan didn't elaborate further.
Seeing this, Zhu Chen didn't press the matter and continued, "You should know that there are two major Demon King forces in the city, namely the Blue Wolf Demon King in the South City and the White Water Demon King in the North City."
White Water Demon King!
Su Nan's heart clenched. He had heard this name more than once before.
The Black Cloud Pig Demon he had killed was a subordinate of the White Water Demon King.
Not long ago, the three peak Spirit-level demons he encountered at Turtle King Lake were also under the command of the White Water Demon King.
Clearly, the White Water Demon King held significant influence in Tianyun County.
"Our County Governor reached an agreement with the two Demon Kings on the surface. As long as their demons don't harm people, we won't take action against them."
"Only those demons that harm or even kill people can be captured and eliminated by us."
Su Nan nodded, finally understanding how there could be so many demons in the city while humans continued to live here.
"Since there are two Demon Kings openly, there must be even more in secret," Zhu Chen said with a serious expression. "I've heard that, apart from the Blue Wolf Demon King and the White Water Demon King, there are three other Demon Kings in the city. However, these three Demon Kings keep a low profile, and their reputations are not well known."
"Eighty percent of the demons in the city are under the command of the Blue Wolf Demon King and the White Water Demon King. Among them, there are over a hundred Spirit-level demons."
"Over a hundred?" Su Nan was surprised. "With so many demons, what can the Bureau of Demon Extermination achieve with its current manpower?"
Zhu Chen sighed and replied, "You're right; it's too few. We can only handle low-level cases. Once it goes beyond the Spirit level, it's no longer within our jurisdiction."
"When the previous director was still in office, even ordinary Profound-level demons could be handled. But now, even Spirit-level late-stage demons are challenging for us."
"Now there are more than forty Spirit-level cases that we can't handle. Originally, we were waiting for a new director to take office, but now..."
Zhu Chen didn't continue, but his meaning was clear.
Su Nan's expression remained unchanged as he
said, "Since I'm the director now, leave those cases to me."
"Captain Zhu, bring me the case files."
These were all sources of demon power; he couldn't let them slip away.
"Is that... alright?" Zhu Chen hesitated slightly, surprised that Su Nan had taken the initiative.
Su Nan could tell what Zhu Chen was thinking and said, "Don't worry, I just want to take a look. Please bring me the case files."
"Well... alright!" After a moment of hesitation, Zhu Chen turned and left.
As he left the courtyard, he sighed and muttered to himself, "He's in such a hurry to die. I've never seen anything like it before."
Soon, a case file was delivered to Su Nan.
"On March 7th, the Xu family of Guyang Street, consisting of six members, went missing. After investigation, it was determined to be the work of the White Water Demon King's subordinate, the Flamebird Demon."
"On April 28th, three young girls from the Clear Wind Pavilion went missing. After investigation, it was determined to be the work of the White Water Demon King's subordinate, the Longtail Rat Demon."
"On June 13th..."
Su Nan quickly skimmed through the files. From March of last year until now, there had been a total of forty-two cases. Many of them were committed by the same demon repeatedly. In total, there were twenty-three demons that had not been eliminated by the Bureau of Demon Extermination.
Su Nan silently noted these cases.
Since he was now the director of the bureau, he couldn't kill demons indiscriminately in public. These cases, involving demons that violated the agreement between the County Governor and the Demon Kings, would be his primary targets.
Of course, he had no intention of acting publicly.
Su Nan returned the case files to Zhu Chen just as a man and a woman walked into the courtyard.
The man appeared to be in his mid-twenties, handsome in appearance, while the woman was in her forties but still had a charming demeanor.
"I heard that we have a new director in the Bureau of Demon Extermination?"
Chapter 134: Consolidating the Bureau Seal
Zhu Chen immediately introduced Su Nan, saying, "Director Zhang, these two are Ma Qiang and Chen Su, as I mentioned."
"Is it really him?"
When they saw Su Nan, Chen Su and Ma Qiang exchanged a glance, their faces filled with surprise.
Previously, they had received news that a new director with an early Spirit level had arrived at the Bureau of Demon Extermination, and they thought it was a false rumor.
To their astonishment, it turned out to be true, and when they looked at Su Nan, there was a hint of pity in their eyes.
Su Nan could easily discern their thoughts, and he remained calm.
Afterwards, he exchanged pleasantries with the three of them.
Finally, Su Nan found a casual reason and left the Bureau of Demon Extermination.
He had gathered enough information for now, and it was time to get down to business.
As he left, Ma Qiang looked at the files in Zhu Chen's hand and said disdainfully, "We can't solve these cases, and he, an early Spirit level, wants to get involved? He doesn't even know how to write the word 'death.'"
Chen Su added, "He's asking for trouble. Let him try, I want to see how long he can last."
Zhu Chen sternly said, "Don't speak recklessly. This new director was appointed by the County Governor himself, and it's not for us to discuss."
"Moreover, I have a feeling that this new director may not be as simple as he appears on the surface!"
...
Compared to the Heavenly Palace Pavilion in Jiuting County, the Heavenly Palace Pavilion in Tianyun County was more than three times larger.
Martial artists and even demons occasionally came to purchase items in the Heavenly Palace Pavilion.
"This Heavenly Palace Pavilion is really something, they even do business with demons!"
Su Nan found a secluded spot, changed his appearance, and entered the Heavenly Palace Pavilion.
As soon as he entered, a young girl came up and said, "Sir, what do you need to purchase?"
Su Nan asked directly, "I heard that you have Divine Passage Artifacts here. Can you tell me the price in spirit blood?"
"I'm sorry, sir, Divine Passage Artifacts are auction items. If you want to purchase them, you need to participate in our auction, which happens to be in three days."
"Auction items?"
Su Nan furrowed his brows. He knew that once something was put up for auction, the price would be higher.
His interest in purchasing Divine Passage Artifacts diminished.
"Do you have any Bloodline Servitude Seals of the Yao Clan?"
"We do have Bloodline Servitude Seals, but those can only be used by Yao Clan members. Even if you buy one, you won't be able to use it."
"We also have another type of Servitude Seal here. Although it's not as powerful as the Bloodline Servitude Seal, it can be used by humans."
"How much spirit blood for that?"
"One thousand drops of ordinary spirit blood."
"What about the Bloodline Servitude Seal?"
"One hundred drops of ordinary spirit blood."
"I'll take the Bloodline Servitude Seal." Su Nan decided without hesitation.
Although it was not as effective as the Bloodline Servitude Seal, it was still expensive, especially since it could be used by humans.
After a while, the girl brought a jade plaque that resembled the Yao Clan's Bloodline Scripture.
Su Nan didn't rush to pay; instead, he continued, "I also need a Yao Clan Bloodline Manual and Bloodline."
"Two drops of Yao Clan Bloodline and ten drops of Yao Clan Bloodline Manual will cost you ten drops of spirit blood."
"Yao Clan Bloodline needs two drops of spirit blood?"
Su Nan was surprised and couldn't help but curse Heavenly Palace Pavilion for its high prices.
He had no choice but to reluctantly make the purchase.
When he was still at the Mortal level, his Bloodline mainly came from mainline missions, so he had no choice.
Now that he had choices, he decided to focus on one path: a physique-based Bloodline.
As for the Secret Power Bloodline, he would focus on Bloodlines that primarily controlled the power of Qi.
For the Elemental Power Bloodline, he would temporarily focus on Bloodlines that controlled the power of fire because he had the Essence of Fire.
He had not yet refined it, but it was just a matter of time.
He purchased one copy of the Bloodline Manual for each of the three Bloodline systems, totaling 36 drops of spirit blood.
Added to the Bloodline Servitude Seal, he paid a total of 46 drops of spirit blood.
Finally, he paid with 12 corpses of peak Spirit-level Yao Clan creatures and two corpses of early Spirit-level Yao Clan creatures.
"Now I only have ten corpses of peak Spirit-level Yao Clan creatures left!" Su Nan sighed as he looked at the remaining Yao Clan creature corpses in his storage ring.
The last time in the mysterious cave in the Heavenly Wolf Valley, he obtained a total of 26 Yao Clan creature corpses, and then he consumed seven of them in the Heavenly Palace Pavilion in Jiuting County.
At Turtle King Lake, he harvested three more corpses. All of them were peak Spirit-level Yao Clan creatures.
Fortunately, besides the peak Spirit-level Yao Clan creature corpses, he also had one corpse of a late Profound-level Yao Clan creature and one corpse of an unknown-grade King-level creature.
"These should be enough to buy the Divine Passage Artifact, right?" Su Nan couldn't help but wonder.
"If it's not enough, I'll have to see if I can hunt down a few more in the next two days."
Instead of returning to the Bureau of Demon Extermination, Su Nan chose to stay in an inn and find a room.
He planned to use the Bloodline Servitude Seal to control two Yao Clan creatures in his Qiankun Ring and then find a way to infiltrate the ranks of the Yao Clan creatures in Tianyun County.
He received a wealth of information on how to use the Bloodline Servitude Seal, and it entered his mind.
After a moment, he opened his eyes, a gleam of excitement in them.
The use of the Bloodline Servitude Seal was not complicated. It only required him to condense an imprint inside his body and then imprint it into the Yao Clan creatures he wanted to control.
However, there was one crucial point in this process.
The Yao Clan creature to be imprinted with the seal must be willing to cooperate voluntarily, or the process would fail.
This point was not difficult for Su Nan.
He could easily change his appearance and even his aura, switching to the character Lang Shisan.
After ten minutes or so, two blood-red, peculiar patterns appeared in his palm.
"Is this the Bloodline Servitude Seal?" Su Nan's eyes lit up.
Now he could try to control the Yao Clan creatures.