"Huh? It's already taken care of?"
The official cultivator — a man in his forties — stared in surprise at the demonic beast sprawled on the ground.
Just two minutes earlier, the street patrols had been lured away; they'd expected a major incident. Yet the threat had been neutralized almost as soon as it began.
He glanced involuntarily at the boy a few meters from the corpse, surprise flickering across his face. "Thank you, young brother. I don't think we've met. Did you just become a cultivator?"
"Liang Xiao greets Your Excellency the Enforcer." Liang Xiao hurriedly bowed.
"No need to be so formal — call me Captain Huang."
Captain Huang spoke quickly, then dashed toward the building where the altar phantom had appeared. "Come with me."
"Yes." Liang Xiao followed at once.
Federal law was clear in wartime: cultivators were subject to conscription without exception.
"Shouldn't we ignore monsters elsewhere?" Liang Xiao asked as they moved.
"This was a diversion," Captain Huang replied casually. "There aren't monsters anywhere else. The beast that struck the formation has already retreated."
Soon they arrived at the smashed entrance of the building.
A strong metallic tang of blood filled the air.
Human corpses lay arranged in twisted, ritualistic patterns; strange symbols had been drawn in blood around them.
It really was a blood sacrifice.
The sight sent a chill down Liang Xiao's spine. He had read about such scenes in the news, but seeing it firsthand hit him much harder — the visceral, visual impact was brutal.
"They did this again!" Captain Huang's face darkened.
He glanced at Liang Xiao. "You know something about the cultivation world, I assume?"
"A little," Liang Xiao nodded.
"Although cultivators from the other world can't directly enter ours right now, they've planted many spies on Earth," Captain Huang said in a low voice. "Those spies will do anything. They're scum. This monster siege was most likely caused by them."
He pulled out a tablet and checked some records. "Is your name really Liang Xiao? There's no record of you in the Federation cultivator files. Can you explain?"
"Captain Huang, I only became a cultivator two days ago, and I'm currently taking the college entrance exam," Liang Xiao replied, frowning.
"You're still a student? I apologize." Captain Huang's suspicion eased. "Those cultivation-world spies went to great lengths to lure our patrols away, but they overlooked you. That's why I was suspicious. You accidentally ruined their plan this time, so they might target you going forward. Be careful."
"I just killed an ordinary monster and ruined their scheme?" Liang Xiao asked, puzzled.
"Come with me and you'll see why."
They approached the wolf-crocodile's corpse. Up close, the beast's body — fresh moments ago — now reeked of rot. An unsettling nausea crawled up Liang Xiao's spine.
"Rotten already? How is that possible?" he asked, incredulous.
Captain Huang explained, "Those bastards used blood sacrifices to summon monsters. They aren't simple beasts. Though this appears to be a low-tier early-stage Tier-1 monster, it should have a monster seed implanted."
"A strange seed? What's that?" Liang Xiao asked.
"The seed is a parasite," Captain Huang said. "A 'Weird' is a special kind of evil spirit that even immortals struggle to completely destroy. When a monster is implanted with a 'Weird seed,' it will evolve into a Weird after devouring enough living beings. The birth of a Weird marks the start of a major calamity."
Captain Huang continued to scan Liang Xiao's information, because with matters like this you could never be too careful.
Then he paused.
From the records he'd pulled up, he knew Liang Xiao's background and the demon incident that had pierced Liang Xiao's body six months earlier. The files indicated Liang Xiao had been at the scene of a calamity at birth; his parents had died in the catastrophe in Humeng City twelve years ago, and he and his remaining family had fled to Changlin City.
About six months ago, an evil calamity struck Peaceful Neighborhood; Liang Xiao had been pierced by demonic power, leaving his Dantian perforated. Someone who might have become a cultivator then became unable to cultivate.
Reading those life events, Captain Huang felt this kid was oddly associated with calamity — born into it, scarred by it, then suddenly transformed again. A report from the director of Heping Community the previous day even mentioned Liang Xiao's rare physical mutation and his repaired Dantian.
So it seemed likely Liang Xiao had only become a cultivator in the last few days. Captain Huang was surprised that someone so newly minted could slay a Tier-1 early-stage demonic beast in one blow; it suggested greater natural talent.
From his aura, Liang Xiao seemed just to be entering the first level of Qi Refining — his True Qi had only recently formed a vortex. Under normal circumstances, only third-level Qi Refining cultivators could one-shot such Tier-1 monsters, and only if they were fully armed. For a first-level cultivator to achieve this was rare indeed — the likes hadn't been seen in Changlin City for a decade. Captain Huang felt a pang of regret for such talent wasted earlier.
"So that's how it is. The calamity was caused by something abnormal," Liang Xiao mused, realization dawning.
"Captain Huang, shouldn't the merit I just earned grant me legal authority?" Liang Xiao asked.
"Of course. More than enough." Captain Huang pocketed the tablet. "Becoming an Honorary Citizen doesn't require such extraordinary deeds alone. With what you've done today, I can offer you two choices."
"What sort of choices? And what is an Honorary Citizen?" Liang Xiao asked.
"Honorary Citizens are cultivators who performed meritorious service — quasi-nobles, privileged in the eyes of ordinary people," Captain Huang explained. "Only cultivators can obtain this status. They get a ten percent discount on all cultivation resources purchased through the Federal system. If they show potential to reach Foundation Establishment, they might eventually gain a true title and become nobles."
"Honorary citizen… noble… I see." Liang Xiao absorbed the meaning.
At that moment, several high-ranking official cultivators hurried over.
"Captain, the situation here is under control, but a few of those scum managed to escape," they reported, bowing respectfully.
"Good. Handle it," Captain Huang said. "Temporarily block the surveillance cameras on nearby streets. No one is to access them." Then he turned back to Liang Xiao. "Come with me for a moment."
They walked several hundred meters away. Captain Huang's tone lowered as he spoke.
"I'll give you two options. First: you take all the credit. I will report the facts truthfully. You'll become a shining name in Changlin City — an honored citizen with Federation cultivation-resource rewards that won't be small. The price? You will be targeted by those beasts one hundred percent. Your family could be targeted as well."
He looked intently at Liang Xiao. "Don't think I exaggerate. Those beasts will do anything. They are beyond human morality."
Liang Xiao frowned. "And the second option?"