Chapter 10 - The Demon Extermination Department.

After a simple cleanup, collecting and cremating the bodies in the village, dusk had already fallen.

"Honestly, just how strong are you?" Thinking of how Mo Li, relying solely on an automaton, instantly tore that monster into pieces, Xu Xuan finally asked the question that had been nagging him. He knew she also possessed powerful sword skills, but she never seemed to use them seriously.

"Hmm, I'm not quite sure. After all, this world doesn't have any clear system for evaluating strength. There's no way to assess it," Mo Li replied after a moment's thought, hearing Xu Xuan's words. At this moment, the two of them were sitting by a campfire they had lit on the outskirts of the village. The reason they weren't staying inside the village was that it was simply uninhabitable.

"That's true, without fighting, no one knows how many tricks the other side has up their sleeve. But is there really no way to assess or compare strength? I'd also like to know what level I'm at in this world."

"Well, if you really want a comparison, you could go to the Demon Extermination Departments in various places and apply for a Demon Extermination Token. You could become a demon exterminator."

"Demon Extermination Department?"

"Among the Nine Streams, Ten Schools, there are the Upper Nine Streams, and the Yinyang School ranks first among them. This Demon Extermination Department is the work of the Yinyang School. After all, in this world, only the Yinyang School can command the respect and cooperation of all the various states."

"Is the Yinyang School that strong?"

"No matter which country Zou Yan, the current head of the Yinyang School, visits, that country's ruler must personally go out of the city to welcome him and seek his guidance as a disciple."

"That powerful? It seems the Yinyang School's abilities are formidable. To be able to earn the unanimous respect of all the state rulers."

"Hmph, they merely consult ghosts and spirits instead of the heavens. Those rulers can't govern their own countries well, yet they always attribute their failures to so-called 'heaven's will.' Furthermore, some rulers spend their days dreaming of so-called 'immortality.' They don't strive to strengthen their nations themselves, but instead entrust the rise and fall of their countries to the supposed interplay of fate and destiny." Hearing Xu Xuan's words, Mo Li merely said coldly, "Ultimately, the Yinyang School's current power is all due to those idle rulers who are superstitious about fate and the occult."

"Huh? You seem to really dislike the Yinyang School." Hearing Mo Li's tone, Xu Xuan couldn't help but be a little surprised.

"It's just that I disdain their ability to delude rulers. Leaders who make no effort to improve daily, entrusting the fate of their nations to occult matters like astrology, heaven's will, the Five Elements, and the Five Virtues. Some rulers even oppress their people and commit inhumane acts for the sake of immortality. And the Yinyang School are accomplices to these people."

"I see... immortality..."

"However, the Demon Extermination Department is one of the few good things the Yinyang School has done. They established the Demon Extermination Department using their connections and reputation in various countries, calling upon Qi Practitioners across the land to exterminate demons."

"Are you saying the Demon Extermination Department has classifications?"

"Yes, the Demon Department divides evil spirits and demons into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, and each grade is further divided into upper, middle, and lower. After becoming a demon exterminator, your rank will be assessed based on the grade of the evil spirits and demons you've vanquished. But don't blindly trust these assessments. For example, a Profound-grade demon exterminator only means they have hunted a Profound-grade demon; it means their minimum is Profound-grade."

"Oh, I see! Do all the states have Demon Extermination Departments?"

"Yes, basically, in any country across this Yanhuang Jiuzhou, there's a Demon Extermination Department in the cities of the various states. Also, some transactions involving evil artifacts take place there," Mo Li said after a moment's thought. "However, for us Qi Practitioners, our own abilities are the most authentic. Relying on evil artifacts is ultimately not a good thing; it often ends up harming oneself and others."

"Evil artifacts?"

"They are items possessing special powers. For instance, the Chiyou Sword on your back is a top-tier evil artifact." At this point, Mo Li inexplicably recalled the first time she saw Xu Xuan. Back then, Xu Xuan, holding the Chiyou Sword, stood atop a small mountain piled with fragmented corpses. He turned his head and smiled when he sensed her arrival.

"You're saying this sword is also an evil artifact?" Hearing Mo Li's words, Xu Xuan inexplicably remembered his master's tragic appearance, impaled on that metal mountain.

"Although I don't know the cost of the Chiyou Sword, don't forget that all evil artifacts come with a price when used. And most importantly, every evil artifact is essentially a sealed or perished bizarre demon. The way people use evil artifacts is equivalent to making sacrifices to this bizarre entity. Once the sacrifices reach a certain number, that entity will revive." Mo Li looked at the Chiyou Sword and said, "While I don't know how many more times this sword can be used before it revives, I can confirm that once this evil artifact revives, it will undoubtedly be an unprecedented disaster."

"A disaster? Chiyou! If it's related to Chiyou, the disaster definitely won't be small!" Hearing her words, Xu Xuan couldn't help but exclaim.

"Hmph hmph hmph, I am not a disaster! How can you accept this bad woman saying such things about me? You're such a heartless man! We were having so much fun just now!" It was at this moment that the Chiyou Sword Spirit's figure actually appeared beside the campfire, making a wronged expression at Xu Xuan: "Don't forget, we are connected. This bad woman is trying to sow discord between us, what do you say? How about I kill her?"

"Um, I wanted to ask, do evil artifacts create illusions that speak to you in reality? The kind of illusion only the user can see?" Completely ignoring the Chiyou Sword Spirit's words, Xu Xuan, enduring her resentful gaze, asked Mo Li,

"If such a situation truly exists..." Mo Li said, falling into brief thought. It was clear she hadn't seen the suddenly appearing Chiyou Sword Spirit. Then, with a solemn expression, she said, "That can only mean the entity is about to revive."

"Hmm?" Hearing her words, Xu Xuan looked at the Chiyou Sword Spirit in horror. Mo Li also suddenly noticed Xu Xuan's gaze.

"This is also why I taught you Mohist Swordplay and Mountain-Moving Qi. I hope you won't rely on the power of this sword anymore. True strength comes from within oneself," Mo Li said with a serious expression, looking at Xu Xuan.

"I really feel a bit embarrassed by all this help." Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"This is also helping all the people under heaven," Mo Li said earnestly. "If that sword truly revives, who knows how many people will die."

"Um, so that breathing technique is called Mountain-Moving Qi? Is it a breathing technique passed down by your Mohist School?"

"No, this breathing technique can actually be learned by anyone," Mo Li said with a smile. "After all, it's a method created by Yu the Great, the idol of our Mohist School."

"Yu the Great is the idol of your Mohist School?" Hearing Mo Li's words, Xu Xuan was somewhat surprised. "I thought your Mohist School would worship your founding patriarch."

"Hmph hmph, isn't your Sword Hall the same? Worshipping Chiyou? Because Chiyou was the first to smelt metal weapons." Mo Li said, stars seemingly appearing in her eyes: "Our Mohist School also has our own idol, and that is Yu the Great. He was chosen by the people through abdication, and when he managed floods and built dams, he led by example, laboring alongside the common folk. This is precisely the ideal ruler that Mohists aspire to see in the world. This Mountain-Moving Qi was also taught by Yu the Great to the people for their practice, to make their work easier. Isn't this a hundred times better than the Confucian idol who divides people into different social classes?"

"Um... if I may ask, who is the idol of the Confucian School?"

"Huh? You don't know? Of course, it's the Duke of Zhou! Don't those Confucian scholars talk about the Duke of Zhou every day?"

"Oh, I see! The Duke of Zhou who established the rites. Speaking of which, you don't seem to like the Confucian School much."

"It's not that I dislike them..." Hearing his words, Mo Li's eyes unexpectedly fell into a rare moment of reminiscence: "Actually, my initial tutelage was with the Confucian School."

"Huh? You were actually a Confucian disciple?"

"Yes, my initial apprenticeship was indeed under the Confucian School, but later I left them. I simply didn't like many of the Confucian ideas."

"Ah! I understand! This world should have equality for all, but Confucian people are unequal. Especially the idea that royalty is born to be emperors. I don't like that either!" Hearing Mo Li's words, Xu Xuan suddenly understood why Mo Li disliked the Confucian School: "So, your opposition to the Confucian School is purely ideological."

"Hey, sometimes, don't try to guess a girl's thoughts randomly, okay?" Mo Li suddenly interrupted Xu Xuan's words: "Are you really not considering joining the Mohist School? Actually, I think your ideas are very suitable for becoming a Mohist."

"Uh, sorry, but I don't entirely agree with the Mohist philosophy either. Especially 'non-aggression,'" Xu Xuan suddenly said with a smile, hearing Mo Li's words. Perhaps because he had just had some wine, Xu Xuan was inexplicably more talkative today.

"Isn't non-aggression good? Only when the various states stop attacking each other will there be peace under heaven," Mo Li said with a huffy tone, hearing Xu Xuan's negation.

"I think it's impossible to make the world abandon warfare. For example, why do the Xiongnu in the north always think about attacking the Central Plains? It's not because they are inherently bloodthirsty, but because their living environment is too harsh. The winters are too cold, making it difficult for them to survive. For this reason, they will want to find a comfortable land to live in, or find ways to plunder more food for winter."

"So they must attack the Central Plains, but they could completely do so through trade, or by directly joining the various states. Becoming citizens of our Huaxia."

"Why? For them, that would mean abandoning their beliefs and their own race, wouldn't it?"

"We are all humans, is it really necessary to care so much? Wouldn't living in harmony be better? This world is full of bizarre and unpredictable dangers; must there still be such sectarian prejudice among humans?" At this moment, Mo Li was sitting upright, her expression no longer casual chat, but more like two scholars engaged in a debate. Xu Xuan, on the other hand, had entered the state he usually gets into after drinking and chatting with friends. There was no helping it; after all, he had seen some disgusting things today, so he decided to have some wine to calm himself while sitting by the fire that night.