“My surname is Gong, and my given name is Shuo Hong,” Gong Shuo Hong said gently, “I am a Silver Rank Commandant stationed at the Demon Slayer Division outpost on Great Snow Peak of Dragon Mountain.”
“Great Snow Peak? Is that the tallest peak of Dragon Mountain, standing at 8,848 zhang?” Li Hai exclaimed, “It’s truly amazing that such a perilous and extraordinary place would have a Demon Slayer Division outpost… Wait a moment.”
He said with a strange expression, “Great Snow Peak stands on the border of Great Jing, more than six thousand li away from the Zhou Family Fortress. Commandant Gong, why have you come all this way?”
“Because this is the headquarters’ order.” Gong Shuo Hong smiled, “Haha, from your words, it seems you don’t quite understand the distribution of the Demon Slayer Division’s outposts throughout the Dragon Mountain area.
In fact, Great Snow Peak is the headquarters for all Demon Slayer Division outposts in the entire Dragon Mountain region.”
“Oh, I see, I really didn’t know that.” Li Hai grinned, then said, “Then, Commandant Gong…”
“Brother Li, no need to be so formal.” Gong Shuo Hong said with a smile, “All of us Demon Slayer Commandants are one family, brothers and sisters. I’m quite a bit older than you, so just call me Big Sister Gong.”
“Big Sister Gong?” Li Hai said politely, “But you only look about twenty years old.”
“No.” Gong Shuo Hong shook her head, “I am forty-two years old this year, exactly two cycles older than you. It wouldn’t be wrong to call me ‘Auntie’.”
“Let’s skip ‘Auntie’.” Li Hai shook his head, “I’ll stick with Big Sister.”
Then he smiled and said, “Big Sister Gong is a Silver Rank Commandant, while I am merely a Wood Rank. May I ask… does promotion require certain merits or achievements, like slaying ghosts?”
“Don’t worry, I think you’ll be promoted very quickly.” Gong Shuo Hong said with a gentle smile, “The Demon Slayer Division never buries any talent. Ordinary individuals certainly need corresponding merits, such as slaying ghosts, evil spirits, and so on, but for a Thousand Army Grade Martial Artist as young as you, these rules probably don’t apply.”
At this point, she looked at the tall and imposing Li Hai and said with some emotion:
“Ah~ An eighteen-year-old Thousand Army Grade Martial Artist, this has never happened in Great Jing before. Brother Li… your future is bound to be boundless!”
Regarding Gong Shuo Hong’s praise and her mistake in assuming he was only of the Thousand Army Grade, Li Hai remained noncommittal and did not offer much explanation, simply asking again:
“Big Sister Gong, have you come to this Yellow Springs Domain to investigate the situation here?”
“Not exactly.” Gong Shuo Hong explained, “Everything that needed to be investigated these past few days has been thoroughly checked. Now it’s just routine patrol. I need to record the daily changes in this ghost region and report them.”
After speaking, she added, “But because you appeared, I don’t need to patrol today. I… need to take you to see someone.”
“Who?” Li Hai asked.
“Gai Fu, Commander Gai.” Gong Shuo Hong explained, “All the Demon Slayer Commandants in the entire Dragon Mountain area, as well as the Great Snow Peak headquarters, and all Demon Slayer Division affairs, are under his sole jurisdiction. He really wants to meet you.”
“Alright, I can.” Li Hai did not refuse, “I also want to meet this Commander Gai.”
“Then… let’s go.” Gong Shuo Hong smiled, then turned and led the way, “Follow me, I’ll show you the way.”
“Hmm?” Li Hai asked doubtfully, “So urgent? Are we going to Great Snow Peak now? Big Sister Gong, why don’t you go on your patrol first? We can meet up later. I need to find a few people in this Yellow Springs Domain, and once I find them, I’ll go with you.”
“Hahaha, Brother Li, you misunderstood.” Gong Shuo Hong laughed and turned back to explain, “We’re not going to Great Snow Peak. Commander Gai isn’t there right now either. He’s already heading this way and should be arriving soon.”
After finishing, she added again:
“After Old Tea sent the message to headquarters earlier, we had already decided to dispatch personnel to investigate and deal with that suddenly appearing Evil Ground here.
It just so happened that as soon as the dispatched personnel arrived, the Yellow Springs Domain erupted here, so headquarters increased the number and intensity of personnel dispatched, and even Commander Gai himself came.”
“Oh, I understand.” Li Hai realized, “That Commander Gai and the other Demon Slayer Commandants must be somewhere within this Yellow Springs Domain now.”
“No, they are outside this ghost area, but not far.” Gong Shuo Hong explained, “We’ve established a temporary outpost there.”
…
Twenty li from the edge of the Zhou Family Fortress’s Yellow Springs Domain, stood a low mountain about a hundred zhang tall.
Though called a mountain, its extremely flat and broad summit made it look more like a perfectly square stone platform from a distance.
And because this stone mountain was mostly rock with little soil and no vegetation, the Demon Slayer Division’s temporary outpost was set up on its peak.
Being temporary, the outpost naturally had no grand buildings, only large tents.
Thus, after Li Hai followed Gong Shuo Hong out of the Yellow Springs Domain and swiftly arrived at this Demon Slayer Division outpost, he was led into a vast, high, hall-like giant tent.
However, despite the tent’s size, there weren’t many people inside. Including Li Hai and Gong Shuo Hong, there were only five individuals.
But through Gong Shuo Hong’s explanation, Li Hai learned.
It turned out that these few people, plus Gong, totaling four, were considered the high-level officials of this Demon Slayer Division outpost.
And like Gong, the three of them were also Martial Artists of the Steel Tendons Iron Bones Grade.
Their names were Zeng Ying, Pi Shangzhi, and Quan Xiangxun.
It’s worth mentioning that among these three, the Demon Slayer Commandant named Zeng Ying actually possessed a pair of… purely mechanical arms.
The overall structure of those metal arms was magnificent and heavy, their entire bodies golden-red and covered with fine scales, and their palms and fingers were sharp and pointed.
So, at first glance, they looked like a pair of Dragon Claws embedded on Zeng Ying’s left and right shoulders.
When he first saw this person, Li Hai naturally assumed that the other party was merely wearing two fully enclosed arm-guard type divine weapons.
But when Zeng Ying’s personal interface was fully displayed before his eyes, he realized he had been completely wrong.
His personal interface was—
Character Name: Zeng Ying
Rank: Zhengchuan Martial Arts → Steel Tendons Iron Bones, Qimen Arts → Soul Gathering and Spirit Condensing
Skills: 《Iron Body Refinement》 《Thirty-Six Forms of Stone Tablet Slam》 《Qi Nurturing and Calming Technique》 Seeking Ghosts and Tracking Monsters Yuan Breath Refining Yang Method Heavenly Blaze Drawing Yang Technique Crimson Dragon Claw
Trait Attributes: 【Strong Soul Level 2】 【Physical Strength Level 2】 【Inspiration Level 1】 【Yang Absorption Level 1】 【Spiritual Focus Level 2】 【Magic Power Level 1】 【Mechanical Level 2】
Strong Fragment: None
Aside from these Cultivation Techniques, which were commonplace in Li Hai’s eyes, what most attracted his attention was Zeng Ying’s last skill—Crimson Dragon Claw.