Monsters Die When Killed

The Hongcheng Security Bureau wasn’t luxurious, but it wasn’t low-key either. It was housed in a perfectly ordinary, square office building, distinguished only by the enormous Security Bureau insignia hanging on its face.

A stone tablet stood at the building’s entrance, inscribed with four powerful, sharp-looking phrases.

[EFFICIENT · INCORRUPTIBLE · FOR THE PEOPLE · DEDICATED]

Very Zhengguo-style.

After getting out of the car and entering the office area, Su Zhou watched the Security Bureau members bustling about. Some were staring intently at their screens, fingers flying across keyboards, while others issued commands into walkie-talkies. He couldn’t help but feel a little confused.

"Did the transmigration incident increase the workload?"

Trying not to disturb the staff, he whispered to the Daoist Saint, "I’ve never seen the Security Bureau this busy before."

Ordinary civilian cases involving Spiritual Qi were usually handed over to the local police. The Security Bureau’s work focused on the opening of ruins, the unexpected appearance of powerful Spiritual Qi beasts, and high-risk Cultivator criminals. This meant they were usually quite idle, only getting swamped when something major occurred.

"Yes and no."

Having long since shaken off his earlier mood of self-doubt, the Daoist Saint’s tone was now quite serious. He led Su Zhou toward the Security Bureau’s conference hall, explaining as they walked, "Ever since the Spirit Summoning Association started conducting their rituals globally, the number of abnormalized creatures and humans has been on the rise... Of course, we aren’t sure if this is a natural phenomenon caused by the Spiritual Energy Revival, or an aftereffect of the recent large-scale openings of Secret Realms."

Shao Qiming chimed in with his own explanation, "It’s mainly because everyone has cultivation methods now. With the power gained from cultivation and the general improvement in magical aptitude, the destruction caused when someone awakens a special ability is far greater than it was in the beginning... It’s unavoidable."

"I see." Hearing this, Su Zhou immediately understood the reason.

The term "abnormalized creatures" was a neutral way of saying Demonization.

After all, not all Evil Demons were harmful to humans, and not all humans touched by the power of a Great Being would lose their sense of self.

Ultimately, Evil Demons were simply the Clans of other Great Beings. With few exceptions, their Clans possessed normal intelligence. Take the Silent Lord’s Clan, for example; they were basically allowed to develop freely. The Silent Lord couldn’t care less and placed no restrictions on them.

Individuals who unexpectedly gained a Superpower, had their bloodline stimulated by Spiritual Qi, awakened Divine Techniques, or were converted into a Clan by the power of a Great Being were now collectively referred to as ’Abnormal Awakened.’ Someone like Agent Tang Yuan, one of Su Zhou’s subordinates who had awakened a Divine Technique as a Cultivator, also fell into this category.

Now, the number of Abnormal Awakened was increasing with the progress of the Spiritual Energy Revival. While the vast majority were normal people who simply registered their abilities and went on with their lives, if even one percent of them wanted to cause trouble with their powers, the Security Bureau would be run off its feet. After all, it had been two years since the Spiritual Energy Revival began, and the Citizen Points System had been in effect for nearly six months. Any criminal who truly wanted to do evil would have naturally figured out their abilities inside and out by now.

Once in the conference room, Su Zhou sat down with the Daoist Saint and several relevant Security Bureau staff to give a rough report of his time in the Otherworld. Su Zhou had nothing to lie about, so he recounted some selected fragments of his battles with the Water God and the Wind God, describing the Blade of Annihilation as an ’unexpected gain.’

Of course, he wasn’t lying—he just wasn’t telling the whole truth. And neither the Daoist Saint nor the staff had any reason to doubt him on that front.

Su Zhou was now the poster boy for Zhengguo’s Era of Spiritual Qi Revival. Judging by his past actions, there was no reason to doubt his loyalty. Because of this, whatever he said, the government believed.

It was worth noting that when Su Zhou briefly revealed his aura to prove he had indeed reached the ’Half-step Commander Peak Great Perfection’ tier, every hidden cockroach, flying insect, and all sorts of other small creatures inside the Security Bureau—including the Slimes—fled for their lives, triggering a massive commotion. A follow-up investigation even discovered that all lower lifeforms within a large circle with a three-kilometer radius had fled the area.

Under the awestruck gazes of everyone present, this served as indirect proof of Su Zhou’s realm—he himself had gone so long without using it that he’d almost forgotten he had an ability that repelled pests.

"That’s about it. Sorry to trouble you, but these are all necessary procedures."

The reason the Daoist Saint had been staying in Hongcheng all this time was to search for the missing Su Zhou, and Shao Qiming, as the last person to have seen him, had often coordinated with him to find clues. Now that Su Zhou had returned, it was about time for the Daoist Saint to attend to his own affairs. "There’s a meeting on the channel later. You should probably attend; the Artifice Sage will remind you... As for now, just take some time to rest. However, you must pay close attention to the exploration of the Beast God Realm. This concerns the future of humanity, so there’s no room for carelessness!"

The Daoist Saint rattled off a few more reminders before taking his leave.

As for whether Su Zhou truly had the strength of the Commander Tier, he decided it was better not to test it. ’I’m not testing him. Whoever wants to can go right ahead. Why should I always be the one taking a blow to my confidence!’

"By the way, Qiming, what was that you said before? That someone actually wanted to challenge me while I was missing—what’s that all about?"

As soon as the Daoist Saint left, Su Zhou had eagerly grabbed Shao Qiming, pressing him for details about the foreign challengers.

"Well, how should I put it? You were missing for almost three months, right?"

Shao Qiming waved his phone, showing Su Zhou some news on social media as he explained helplessly, "You flaked on all those programs you were scheduled to appear on. Everyone was saying you’d gone into seclusion, had a cultivation mishap, were on some secret mission, or were just plain dead. Right around that time, a few Cultivators from the European Union advanced to Extraordinary High-tier. They appeared on those same programs, and it looked like they were gaining the momentum to replace you."

"As for actually fighting you, no one has made an open challenge yet. But with everyone’s strength on the rise, there are bound to be people who will want to challenge you later."

The progress of global cultivation was no longer at a stage where only figures like the Saints of the Righteous Country or the leaders of major factions could reach the Extraordinary tier.

Some exceptionally talented new-generation Cultivators were now also stepping into this realm. As for those from major factions with abundant resources and complete inheritances, it wasn’t impossible for them to cultivate to the Extraordinary High-tier with all that support.

Even top-tier Cultivators like the Daoist Saint were leveraging their years of accumulated power to try and break through the threshold to the Commander Tier. Su Zhou, after all, had only been cultivating for a little over two years. If not for the rapid boost he got from the Water God’s Flesh and Blood, he might have been a step behind the Daoist Saint and the others, or at best, would have advanced at the same pace.

But even so, to be honest, that was already terrifyingly impressive.

"What? So no one dared to openly challenge me?"

When Su Zhou heard that no one had explicitly called him out by name for a match, he immediately lost interest. "As for replacing me, I can just find an opportunity to put on a show and turn public opinion around... Wait, Qiming, do you think I might have a chance to pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger?!"

Although he was a little disappointed at first, the thought of a good opportunity to show off immediately reignited his interest.

But Shao Qiming answered cautiously, "I’m afraid not... Those guys probably haven’t even caught up to your level from before you went to the Otherworld. No matter how you pretend, in their eyes, you’re at least a lion."

This immediately made Su Zhou sigh with lament. Being too strong was also a mistake; he couldn’t even find a decent stepping stone.

Su Zhou and Shao Qiming didn’t stay at the Security Bureau for long.

May 20th, 2016, 6:34 PM.

Shao Qiming said goodbye to Su Zhou and went home to continue his cultivation.

His talent and aptitude were considered among the best in Zhengguo. With the academic points he usually earned, plus the points he received for missions in the Kunlun Secret Realm, it wouldn’t be long before he had enough to exchange for an Immortal God Inheritance. The Shao Family’s resources were also abundant enough to support his normal cultivation and advancement.

As for Su Zhou, after sending a message to his parents that said, ’I’m back!’, he didn’t go home right away. Instead, he returned to the Shao Family’s Old Mansion, where the Wisdom Tree was located. The Su Family parents still thought Su Zhou was in closed-door cultivation in the Kunlun Secret Realm, completely unaware of the fact that he had been missing.

After all, Su Zhou had now cultivated a Personal Space. To avoid any unexpected complications, it was best to move the tree into his space as soon as possible.

It was also a good chance for him to use this quiet place to take stock of his gains from the Reincarnation World.

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