0096 Internship

Jiang Feng did not teach the newly revised martial techniques to Ping Luanshan and the others right away. Instead, he first brought them to Hua Su for review.

After reading for a while, Hua Su could not help standing up and personally practicing the set. He knew the demons so well that he saw at once that these martial techniques had been designed entirely with demons in mind. They could still be highly effective against ordinary people, but when used on demons, they struck straight at their vital points, and their power would instantly double.

“How do you know the demons so well?”

Jiang Feng thought about it, then said frankly, “On my Night Snack Rabbit, there is a strand of a human soul. She only has a few scattered memories left, incomplete and broken. She seems to have been a veteran of the Demon-Subduing Army, and she passed some information directly to me.”

The mysteries of the human soul were things few people in the present world could truly understand. How a remnant soul existed, how long it could survive, how strong it could be—each case was different.

Hua Su nodded. “I see! No wonder someone so young could understand the demons with such hard-earned skill. So that’s why you’ve always carried that rabbit around—there was something strange about it after all.”

Hua Su paused, a trace of sorrow on his face. “To be left with only a wisp of a remnant soul and still remember so much of the demons’ weak points… he must have been a good soldier once. You must treat him well.”

Jiang Feng nodded solemnly. “Yes, I will.”

Hua Su studied the martial techniques for quite a while longer and discovered that there was no further room for modification. He let out a long breath, patted Jiang Feng’s shoulder, and walked away without a word.

One feat of genius after another had appeared in rapid succession, and Hua Su was almost growing numb to it.

That morning, Hua Su taught the three techniques separately to the three men. He only said that a friend had helped improve them and did not mention Jiang Feng’s name. This was not to claim credit, only to keep Jiang Feng from standing out too much.

At noon, word came that matters had worsened further: two more demon rifts had opened, and demons were swarming out!

Now five of the twelve demon rifts had already opened, and the city defense forces were beginning to strain. If a few more opened...

Without hesitation, Hua Su gathered them and said, “The situation is critical. As martial practitioners, we should do our part! Although you’ve only just begun learning these techniques, we’ll do the rest of your practice and tempering on the battlefield!”

The four of them raised their heads at once, and not one of them looked away. They answered in unison, “Yes!”

Hua Su swept his gaze over them, his expression grave. “Before you go into battle, I have two things to tell you. You must remember them well.”

“First: once you step onto the battlefield, you are soldiers. As soldiers, you obey orders! I’ll have you assigned to the city defense forces. When the time comes, you will listen to whoever you’re told to listen to. If you have a problem, speak afterward; once you’re on the field, you obey the command! Do you understand?”

Jiang Feng, Teng Zhi, and Hong Cheng answered loudly at once. Ping Luanshan looked at them and reluctantly followed with a response.

Hua Su gave him a cold look. “Unless the other side tells you to die, you listen to every order honestly! If I hear from your superiors that any of you have disobeyed orders, you will leave our Distant Mountain Martial Hall from that day forward. Do you hear me?”

As he said this, he stared straight at Ping Luanshan, clearly directing the words at him. Ping Luanshan’s face flushed red, and he shouted, “Yes, I understand!”

Hua Su went on, “Second: before you go into battle, you must be prepared in your hearts. The battlefield is completely different from the hunting grounds, and the demons are completely different from the beasts you usually fight. They are smarter, more vicious, and more fearless. Against demons, you must never let your guard down, and you must not allow even a trace of mercy. Until you have taken out their demon cores and killed them completely, you cannot let up!”

He looked directly at the four of them, his gaze sharp and bright. “The battlefield is full of killing intent everywhere. Once you go onto it, you must be prepared to die! Our Distant Mountain Martial Hall will absolutely not take in cowards who flee from battle!”

By then, the four of them were all standing tall, chests lifted high, and they answered firmly, “Yes!”

Hua Su nodded. “Good. Take your weapons and follow me.”

Jiang Feng hurriedly said, “Wait a moment.”

He walked to the tree, picked up several items, and brought them before them. “These are a few pieces of leather armor I made a few days ago. They’re not treasure weapons, but they still offer some protection. I tested them myself; they won’t hinder your movements. Put them on and let’s go.”

Hua Su nodded, and the other three stepped forward to take the pieces one by one and put them on.

The material of the leather armor all came from beasts of light, so it naturally contained a light-power structure. Jiang Feng had simply made a few adjustments to the connection points, and once they put the armor on, they all felt something peculiar. It was as though they had become calm, yet at the same time blood was surging hotly to their heads.

Those two utterly opposite sensations mixed together and formed a powerful surge of courage.

Ping Luanshan looked down at his own body, clenched his fist, and said, “I can’t wait to get on the field right now and kill ten or eight demons!”

Hua Su smiled faintly, gave Jiang Feng an approving nod, and then said solemnly, “The demons appearing now are still weak. Ten or eight of them is nothing. A hundred, eighty, a thousand, eight hundred—that is the real target for you!”

“Yes!”

Their united shout sent the birds in the trees fluttering into the sky. The four students of Distant Mountain Martial Hall were fully ready.

...

Hua Su took them out of the small courtyard and all the way to the east side of the city.

There was a small grove of trees here, not too far from the courtyard. Though it was still within the boundaries of Tancang City, it was already quite remote, with a rather sparse population.

As soon as they neared the grove, the sound of fighting drifted faintly from afar. Ping Luanshan muttered, “It stinks!”

Teng Zhi also lowered his voice unconsciously. “Is that the smell of demonic qi?”

Jiang Feng nodded and narrowed his eyes to look ahead. From such a distance, he could already tell that there was a demon rift in the grove.

The small grove formed a natural defensive line, and the city defense troops had surrounded it tightly, refusing to let even one demon rush out.

The nearer they drew, the louder the sounds of slaughter became. It seemed that the city defense troops were not having too difficult a time yet, but the prolonged grind of battle had already left them visibly worn.

Ping Luanshan suddenly shouted, “Watch out!”

Not far ahead, a city defense soldier was fighting the enemy. His blade was already slick with blood. At that moment, a demon charged at him. He slashed down, but the demon twisted its body and brutally jammed the blade with its shoulder blade. The soldier immediately tried to pull his sword back, but he had been fighting too long and his arm had grown somewhat weak; he actually could not pull it free.

At the same time, another demon beat its wings and darted behind him, its pair of jet-black claws reaching for the crown of his head.

Ping Luanshan moved extremely fast. The instant he cried out, he was already behind the demon. His onion-leaf long saber crossed twice in a flash of gold, and the demon’s claws were severed on the spot, crashing to the ground.

The city defense soldier turned back with a grin and shouted, “Thanks, brother!”

Ping Luanshan rubbed his nose awkwardly and said politely, “No need to thank me...”

Before he could finish, another voice shouted, “Who are you people?”

Hua Su waved at Ping Luanshan and called out, “Come back here first!”

Ping Luanshan answered and returned to Hua Su’s side, only to see a man in general’s armor striding toward them, barking sharply, “Who are you? This is a critical battlefield. How can you enter at will?”

The surrounding civilians who needed to be evacuated had already been moved away, and most of the city defense troops had already been thrown into the fighting. There simply were not enough men to keep watch on the surroundings. He had not expected civilians to run up here at a time like this.

Hua Su stepped forward and flipped his hand, revealing a token no bigger than his palm before the general’s eyes.

The general immediately straightened and saluted. “So it is Commander Hua! This subordinate is Hao Xing. I am armored and cannot properly salute. My lord has already retired from the Demon-Subduing Army; may I ask what brings you here?”

Hua Su replied tersely, “I spent half my life killing demons. How could I let demons bully my own family? These few are my disciples. They’re not old, but they’re not useless decorative ornaments either. Just put them to work, Lord Hao!”

Hao Xing was already short on manpower. Hearing this, he immediately looked delighted. “Demons are ruthless...”

Hua Su said, “If Lord Hao is not at ease, we can sign a life-and-death pledge first.”

Hao Xing swept his gaze over Jiang Feng and the others, gritted his teeth, and said, “There’s no need for a pledge. If there are casualties, I, Hao Xing, will take responsibility for them! You’re still young, so you must put your own lives first!”

He said this while looking at Hong Cheng. Of the four, Hong Cheng appeared to be the oldest, so he naturally assumed he was the leader. Unexpectedly, the youngest, Jiang Feng, answered for them: “Rest assured, Lord Hao. Just treat us as ordinary soldiers and give us your orders however you please. We will obey and act accordingly!”

Hao Xing looked at Jiang Feng with a somewhat strange expression. Hua Su smiled proudly and said, “This disciple of mine is no ordinary person. Lord Hao, if you need anything, just call on him directly!”

What teacher would think his own disciple was incapable? Hao Xing did not take the words to heart. He said, “Very well. Since that is the case, I’ll assign you to the fighting. Since the four of you are fellow disciples, you can stay in the same squad.”

He pointed ahead. “The demon rift at ten o’clock is currently rather dangerous. Go there and fill the gap. The squad leader there is surnamed Wei. Report to him and follow his arrangements.”

He was still going to explain what he meant by ten o’clock, but Jiang Feng shook his head. “I know. Let’s go!”

With that, the four of them saluted Hua Su. Hua Su nodded and said, “Take care of your own lives. The longer you live, the more enemies you can kill!”

The four answered in unison, “Yes!”

Then the four youths, led by Jiang Feng, ran together toward the grove. The demonic aura ahead grew ever thicker, yet there was no fear at all on their faces.

Hao Xing watched them go for a moment, then sighed in admiration. “No wonder they were taught by Commander Hua! Lord Hua, you...”

Hua Su flexed his limbs and smiled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen battle. Lord Hao, don’t be polite—assign me something to do as well.”

Hao Xing was instantly overjoyed. Compared with Jiang Feng and the others, he valued Hua Su’s experience and ability far more. After a brief thought, he said, “The situation ahead is not too urgent. For now, please, Lord Hua, remain here and keep watch over the rift’s movements. If anything changes, we can arrange our response in time!”

Hua Su thought about it, then nodded. “Very well!”

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