The night was deep, dark clouds obscuring the bright moon, plunging the entire courtyard into pitch darkness.
Pale moonlight spilled into the courtyard, draping it in a hazy white veil, yet Gu Yuan's eyes held a flicker of undisguised excitement.
The door of the house began to creak, and the grass in the courtyard rustled without wind. Whispers began to reach Gu Yuan's ears, yet upon careful listening, nothing could be heard.
Gu Yuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This malevolent entity wasn't attacking directly, but instead assailing Gu Yuan's mind with illusions, proving it was merely a nascent, newly formed ghost.
Clutching his saber hilt with one hand, Gu Yuan maintained his composure, his gaze constantly scanning his surroundings, patiently awaiting his chance.
From the shadows, a slightly ethereal ghost watched as Gu Yuan remained unaffected, growing agitated. It could sense the pure blood qi within the human. Its instincts told it that by devouring his blood qi, it could gain immense benefits.
It could not resist the temptation of the blood food. The ghost's instincts continuously told it that this human was delicious.
It let out a sharp shriek, extending its dark claws, and lunged towards Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan felt an icy sensation rapidly approaching him, and a smile curved his lips.
With a scream that seemed capable of piercing eardrums, his eyes saw a phantom ghost rushing towards him. His hand moved, his foot stepped, his blood qi circulated, and he appeared before the ghost. His long saber slashed down with all his might, a single strike diagonally from his left shoulder to his abdomen, nearly cleaving him in two.
Ah!
The ghost wailed in pain.
It wanted to escape.
Gu Yuan's next blade was already arriving, splitting the ghost in two from its abdomen.
With a defiant shriek, the ghost's two halves fell to the ground and slowly dissipated, leaving only a pile of black dust. Gu Yuan bent down, collected the black dust, and sat down on a clean patch of ground.
He let out a long breath. Having successfully slain the ghost, he could now become a formal Demon Suppressor. A smile spread across Gu Yuan's face. This beginning had been without any unexpected twists, good, very good.
"Let me see what the end of this world holds," Gu Yuan's gaze swept towards the distance, his heart surging with excitement that lingered long. To leave one's legend in a world was truly exhilarating.
After resting for a while to regain some strength, he rose and returned to the Demon Suppression Division to submit his mission.
Walking through various streets, he stopped before an exceptionally grand gate. Above it, a large plaque bore three bold, flowing red characters: Demon Suppression Division.
Gu Yuan looked up at the plaque, presented his token to the guards at the entrance. After a check, the guards allowed Gu Yuan to pass.
"Brother Gu!"
"Hm!"
As Gu Yuan walked the paths of the Demon Suppression Division, he encountered familiar faces. They would greet each other with a nod.
But no matter who it was.
There was a lack of expression on their faces, as if they were indifferent to everything.
Regarding this.
Gu Yuan understood from the original body's memories.
This was because this was the Demon Suppression Division, the institution that maintained social order in Da Gan. Its primary duty was to slay demons and monsters, though it also had other secondary functions.
People died every day. When those around you could perish at any moment, having witnessed life and death so frequently would lead to a certain detachment from many things.
The Demon Suppression Division was vast.
Those who remained were Demon Suppressors, or prospective Demon Suppressors like Gu Yuan. It seemed there were higher positions above them, unknown to those at the bottom rung like Gu Yuan.
Without taking much time, Gu Yuan arrived at the mission hall. Compared to other parts of the Demon Suppression Division, this place was visibly more bustling, with people constantly entering and exiting. Gu Yuan straightened himself and walked into the pavilion.
Upon entering, he saw numerous small windows, each with a small placard beside it. Gu Yuan walked directly to one of the windows, where a middle-aged man was dozing.
Gu Yuan tapped lightly on the counter in front of him with his finger. The man startled awake, bewildering Gu Yuan slightly. Seeing Gu Yuan's youthful face, the man let out a sigh of relief, yawned a few times, and listlessly asked, "What do you need?"
"To submit a mission."
"What mission?"
Gu Yuan produced the black dust wrapped in cloth and his token, saying, "To be promoted to a formal Demon Suppressor."
The middle-aged man looked at Gu Yuan with surprise. Gu Yuan smiled.
The middle-aged man took the black dust, opened the cloth, and then rummaged in a cabinet below, taking out a thermometer-like object.
This item was called a Yin Ruler, specifically for measuring the concentration of yin energy. He inserted it into the black dust. A black line rose from the center. When the black line stopped rising, he took it out, examined it for a moment, and then placed it before Gu Yuan, asking him to confirm. Gu Yuan looked at it for a moment and nodded.
The middle-aged man put away the Yin Ruler and picked up a brush to record: "Da Gan, Year 585, Fifth Month, Seventeenth Day. Gu Yuan, from Training Camp No. 1, Yuanshan Town, Tianyang Prefecture, Demon Suppression Division, independently slayed a low-tier Resentful Ghost. Meets promotion requirements. Promoted to Yellow Rank Demon Suppressor."
He then took Gu Yuan's original token and retrieved a black iron token. The two tokens lightly touched, and a flash of light ensued. Gu Yuan's name appeared on the Yellow Rank Demon Suppressor token. He then handed the token to Gu Yuan, saying, "Drip a drop of blood."
Gu Yuan complied. The middle-aged man then produced a set of standard long robes, a jade pendant, a small porcelain bottle, and ten taels of silver. With a slight smile, he said to Gu Yuan, "Congratulations, you are now a Yellow Rank Demon Suppressor."
Gu Yuan took the robes, jade pendant, small bottle, and silver, thanked the man, and after exchanging pleasantries, left the pavilion.
Returning to his dormitory, Gu Yuan began to pack his belongings. As he was now a Yellow Rank Demon Suppressor, the Demon Suppression Division no longer provided dormitories, meaning Gu Yuan would have to find accommodation outside.
This was normal, as the next batch of trainees would need to move in, and the dormitories were fixed. Moreover, Yellow Rank Demon Suppressors received fifty taels of silver per month.
In this era, fifty taels of silver possessed considerable purchasing power.
He packed his luggage, went to the logistics department, returned the dormitory key to them, and then Gu Yuan left the Demon Suppression Division.
He asked someone to find a quiet courtyard in the city. The monthly rent was one tael of silver, which was quite acceptable.
Gu Yuan opened the door and stepped inside. The first thing he saw was a simple courtyard with several wooden stakes and some martial arts training equipment placed on the ground. According to the agent who helped him rent the courtyard, it was previously leased by a martial artist who had left this equipment behind, which was a fortunate bargain for Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan entered the house and lit an oil lamp. The interior was simply furnished, with only a bed, a table, and a few chairs.
It was decent. Primarily, it was quiet here, located near the residences of wealthy merchants and officials in the city, making it relatively safe. One tael of silver was a reasonable price.