Chapter 112 Heavenly Demon Test (Please Subscribe)
Seven nights later, the streets of Silver Moon County were deserted.
The tens of thousands of citizens had mostly gathered seven miles east of the city at the foot of Thousand Tomb Ridge, to attend the funeral of the three fallen arrest officers and four black-belt constables.
The citizens, each holding a torch, crowded together in layers, standing solemnly and heavily in the open field at the foot of Thousand Tomb Ridge, with eyes filled with mourning and sorrow.
They had personally experienced the excruciating pain of spontaneous combustion from the purple crystal dust and had heard the cause of the disaster that day. Knowing the deeds of these fallen government officials, they felt a deep respect and gratitude.
At this moment, Lin Rui stood at the mid-slope of Thousand Tomb Ridge, with a tall platform built of pine in front of him, neatly arranged with seven wooden coffins.
Surrounding the platform, a large amount of dry wood had been stacked, and it was doused with quite a bit of fire oil.
When the County Magistrate Zhuang Mingyue stepped forward with a torch to light the woodpile, the flames spread rapidly, shooting up into the sky and illuminating the entire night sky.
Lin Rui and Wang Sen watched the roaring blaze, their expressions extremely complex.
Lin Rui was somewhat better off. When he emerged from the underground hall, arrest officer Cao and the others were already dead.
Wang Sen, however, had witnessed the three men taking their own lives, which deeply moved him, leaving him with emotions he couldn't let go of to this day.
By the time the entire cremation ceremony ended, and the relatives of the deceased gathered the ashes of arrest officer Cao and others to be interred once more, it was already the wee hours of the night.
Before, Silver Moon County was the territory of the Chi-li tribe, whose custom was to cremate their people.
However, after being influenced by the royal culture of the imperial court, the people of Silver Moon County had mostly adopted burial, except for the Chi-li who lived deep in the mountains and still held to their traditions.
The reason the County Magistrate revived the practice of cremation was to conceal the evidence of demonic transformation in the three arrest officers.
The County Magistrate was equally keen on pinning everything on Prince Han and was said to have called on the judicial departments of the imperial court, the Ministry of Punishments, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate in Shazhou to send special agents to re-examine the case.
To avoid being criticized and questioned by the Prince Han's mansion during the trial, which could result in the case being overturned, they had to destroy the bodies of the three fallen arrest officers.
This also made it easier for the County Magistrate to seek compensation and rewards for the families of the fallen officers.
Otherwise, if the officials responsible for the review came down and saw that the three fallen arrest officers had actually undergone demonic transformation, who would be willing to give money?
So Lin Rui's view of the County Magistrate had been getting better; this was a superior who was clear about right and wrong and had a humane touch.
Regrettably, he still did not know what this seventh-rank patrol inspector looked like, only that this County Magistrate was probably a woman named Zhuang Mingyue and was incredibly young.
At a distance, County Magistrate Zhuang Mingyue was watching Lin Rui.
Her gaze was a mix of admiration, satisfaction, respect, and envy.
Zhuang Mingyue still remembered the shock she felt seven days ago when she pursued 'Blood Rain' Miao Shi to the surface and communicated with Lin Tianda.
This fellow not only had managed to avert the crisis on the day of the incident but had also turned the tables and slain Zhu Tianmao and his nephew Zhu Lingshi!
Lin Tianda, relying on his wisdom and exceptional talent for array talismans, had pulled thirty thousand citizens back from the brink of spontaneous combustion.
Of course, what was even more stunning was his potential in the martial path.
After the incident, Zhuang Mingyue had inquired in detail about that day's events. If Lin Tianda couldn't have cut off Zhu Lingshi's hand, or if he hadn't lasted over ten breaths under Zhu Tianmao's sword, then they would have been defeated.
Zhuang Mingyue recognized that this fellow's future achievements in martial arts could leave her far behind.
"This child's talent is truly immeasurable," she thought.
Next to her, the Imperial Censor let out a sigh, "You have no idea. Six days ago, I took the opportunity to teach him the 'Divine Sense' spell, a new super king-tier magic created by the Imperial Garrison.
After listening to my explanation, he understood the basics on the spot, mastered all the essentials of the spell in a moment, and even improved upon it, although he is still a bit awkward in its use. This shows that the child really has extraordinary talent, not like those Heavenly Demons from beyond who have deep accumulations before their descent."
The Imperial Censor had been inclined to teach Lin Tianda this spell partly out of guilt, wishing to make amends, and also to test Lin Tianda's innate talent and to see just how high it could be.
What he witnessed was a miracle. Lin Tianda had grasped the 'Divine Sense' spell just by hearing it explained once, and soon after was able to master all the critical truths of the technique.
The Imperial Censor had no idea that Lin Tianda was deducing on the spot using 'Soul Power Points' and merely assumed that the young man's comprehension was deep and immeasurable.
No wonder Lin Tianda had been able to self-learn to a very high level of basic array paths after just a few days of study.
On hearing this, Zhuang Mingyue let out a cold snort, remaining silent.
Seeing this, the Imperial Censor couldn't help but smile wryly, aware that Zhuang Mingyue was still dissatisfied with his own actions on the day of the incident.
The Imperial Censor felt guilty as well, thankful that he had given Lin Tianda the Capital Commandant's badge that day, otherwise, he would not be able to forgive himself.
That day, he had acted out of a desire to protect his superior's personal interests.
The appointment document for the vacant 'Martial Commander' position and its corresponding waist token were greatly related to Zhuang Mingyue's uncle, who had prepared them to recruit a hero from the jianghu.
In order to obtain this blank appointment document from the capital's division, Zhuang Mingyue's uncle paid a substantial price.
Mentor Du didn't want Zhuang Mingyue to use this precious document here, especially not on a person about to die.
However, in hindsight, that turned out to be the last chance to save Silver Moon County, and Mentor Du nearly missed it.
Moreover, the talent and value displayed by Lin Twelve were in no way inferior to that dark path hero, in fact, they were ten times better and of pure lineage.
Not only was that hero's aptitude and talent far less than Lin Twelve's, but he also didn't have a Blood Blade Concubine of the Super Emperor tier and Four Realms like Lin Twelve did!
Mentor Du then smiled and said, "After that day's events, I already informed Sir Mi, and just this morning, Sir Mi sent back a flying message, guess what he said."
Zhuang Mingyue's lips twitched slightly, her heart sneering secretly; she had long suspected that this Mentor Du, surnamed Du, was arranged by her uncle to monitor her. Now it turned out to be true, these two were even exchanging flying messages.
Nonetheless, she was still very interested and raised her eyebrows, "What did he say?"
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Since she'd been pursuing Blood Rain Miao Shi for the past few days, not returning until yesterday, she hadn't had the chance to contact her uncle yet.
"Sir Mi said that you are indeed his excellent child, with courage and strategy, good at recognizing people, and not inferior to men in any way!"
Mentor Du clasped his hands together in admiration, "Sir Mi also praised Lin Twelve endlessly, saying that this young hero has been appointed appropriately with the document, and he urged you to treat Lin Twelve well and not to chill the heart of a hero."
Zhuang Mingyue's lips curled up slightly; this was indeed the wisest decision she had made since entering the capital's division, one she could boast about for a lifetime.
At that moment, her expression suddenly changed, and with a wave of her hand, she grasped a white paper bird-shaped flying message from the air.
To her surprise, it was a flying message system exclusive to their division, sent from hundreds of miles away, and targeted her waist token known as the 'Heavenly Demon Seal.'
Upon opening the message, Ming Yue's brows lifted, "Interesting! The Capital Commandant from the Sand Province has already sent someone to Silver Moon County, with the purpose of re-examining this case and conducting the 'Heavenly Demon Test' on Lin Twelve to assess his Divine Sense and flesh. This person is already in Wang City prefecture and will arrive in our county tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Mentor Du was momentarily stunned, "They're going to conduct the Heavenly Demon Test on Lin Twelve? So soon?"
Due to the heavy responsibilities of the capital's division, the Great Song court's scrutiny was extremely strict.
The problem was that Lin Twelve currently held an idle position as a Martial Virtue Commander without actual authority, which would not attract much attention from higher-ups.
Ming Yue scoffed, "This person is named Lin Tianda, a sixth-grade Imperial Censor. I happen to know him; he is the mentor of Historian Jiang Hanzhang. Moreover, he has certain connections with Yuan Ji."
Yuan Ji was the previous master of the Blood Blade Concubine, the uncle of Yuan Yi, who controlled all the medicine and tea businesses of the Yuan family in the south.
Ming Yue had already found out that this person was closely associated with Prince Han's mansion, likely leveraging the Yuan family's business channels to amass wealth for the mansion, and at the same time, embezzling the Yuan family's assets.
"I see!" Mentor Du suddenly realized, "It seems this has been instigated by Prince Han's mansion. Do they suspect Lin Twelve is a Heavenly Demon from outside our realm? Your Excellency, do you not plan to intervene?"
Upon hearing this, Ming Yue couldn't help laughing. Why should she intervene?
She crossed her arms, looking confident and composed, "This matter is also somewhat related to me. Recently, I've submitted a memorial, requesting that Lin Twelve be appointed as the acting defense envoy for Wang City."
"The Defense Envoy for Wang City?" Mentor Du took a sharp breath, his eyes widening in shock as he looked at Ming Yue: "Your Excellency, such a move shows extraordinary boldness."
Within the Great Song's various prefectures, the capital's division established a 'Royal Dragon Direct' division, with a sixth-grade Royal Dragon Direct school captain serving as the defense envoy, responsible for suppressing local unrest, monitoring officials, and quelling demonic threats, among other duties.
The position was so high that it could rival that of the local prefectural governor.
Was her Excellency really planning on pushing Lin Twelve to such a prominent position?
"It is only a temporary assignment. Lin Twelve will soon complete his blood cultivation and enter the fourth realm of martial arts. With a Super Emperor tier Fourth Realm guardian beast by his side, he will soon have no match in the entire Wang City region. He has single-handedly resolved the demonic disaster of Silver Moon County, and his achievements are sufficient.
Since the capital's division cannot dispatch anyone for the time being, it's fitting for Lin Twelve to take on the role and stabilize the situation first," said Ming Yue with a slight smile.
"Therefore, it's not bad to conduct the test."
While Ming Yue was bold and decisive in her actions, she could also be extremely cautious when necessary, especially regarding the matter of Heavenly Demons from outside their realm, where Ming Yue wouldn't rely solely on her judgment.
The position of the Defense Envoy for Wang City was now very important not only for her mentor but also for her family.
Ming Yue was willing to use her connections, even seeking help from her uncle and mentor to support Lin Twelve.
However, at the same time, she had to ensure that this candidate was extremely reliable and wouldn't bring trouble to her uncle and mentor because of this matter.
So Lin Tianda's arrival was quite timely; if Lin Twelve passed this test, then he was truly trustworthy.
Ming Yue believed that there wouldn't be a problem; how could Lin Twelve possibly be a Heavenly Demon from another realm?