https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-381-Su-Chen-s-Personal-Investigation-of-Demon-Tracks/12991154/
Chapter 380: Canyon Demon Slaying
Chapter 380: Canyon Demon Slaying
August 17, 2024
Ren Yanfei had his ways of doing things.
Happiness and contentment are often a matter of comparison.
He was well aware of this principle.
Therefore, during the initial exploration, Ren Yanfei's words were particularly harsh to those who joined first.
And for the ones at the very front, Ren Yanfei gave them no chance at all and directly sent them away.
They were supposed to be his lackeys, but in comparison, they seemed quite impressive.
As Su Chen listened to Ren Yanfei's harsh words, he couldn't help but chuckle softly and turned to leave the courtyard.
He already had a good idea of Ren Yanfei's capabilities.
Scents could indeed be used to identify the traces left by demons, but it was not an easy task.
Scents were originally an important factor in identifying demons.
However, Ren Yanfei soaked the cloth strips in the scent and then asked others to make judgments based on that.
That changed everything.
Their method involved placing certain items from demons into water and then dipping the cloth strips into the water.
This method would inevitably dilute the scent.
It was common knowledge that the concentration of a scent had a significant impact on how it was perceived.
After dilution, even the foul odor of feces could transform into the delicate fragrance of jasmine.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible to identify the demons based solely on the scent on the cloth strips.
Su Chen had previously advised Liu Xingwan not to rely on a single factor for judgment.
Traces, scents, and remnants, when combined, provided the key to making accurate judgments.
It was even more unnecessary to dilute the scent again.
Su Chen believed that even he couldn't make an accurate judgment, so others could only guess randomly.
Ren Yanfei's skills were lacking.
Su Chen couldn't help but question how someone like him was qualified to lead the investigation team.
Was it a case of amateurs managing professionals?
He was certain that he wouldn't be chosen for the exploration tasks within the battle squad.
After returning to the courtyard, Su Chen waited for Tan Kun to come back to the bamboo building.
Then, together with Tan Kun, they went to re-register and collect items.
After that, just like Tan Kun, he would be an ordinary demon-slaying disciple.
By slaying demons and completing assigned tasks, he could still earn a considerable amount of contribution points.
Tan Kun found Su Chen's decision to give up completely understandable.
During a casual chat with others at night, Su Chen learned a lot from them.
Every month, thirty to forty people participated in the exploration, and usually, only about a dozen of them were chosen to stay.
Among those chosen, only one or two could pass the assessment after three months.
Most people were there just to make up the numbers.
When the others heard that Su Chen had directly refused Ren Yanfei and left, they were momentarily stunned.
"You can learn something from Master Ren, and you still refuse?"
"Our concepts don't align, and he's not that great anyway."
Su Chen's quiet evaluation caught the interest of those around him.
The one named Pang Ding was especially curious.
"Master Ren's judgments are correct nine out of ten times.
The rare mistakes might be due to external interference.
We in the third battle team worked hard to keep him.
The first and second battle teams have repeatedly tried to poach him.
In all these years, I think only you, Brother Su, would speak ill of Master Ren."
Hearing Pang Ding's words, Su Chen was even more surprised than the others.
"He's that capable?
With his abilities, it shouldn't be possible.
Perhaps there's some trick to it."
Su Chen furrowed his brows slightly, genuinely intrigued.
Based on his previous performance, his ability to deal with demons was far from remarkable.
It was unclear what method he used to achieve such results.
After some casual conversation, everyone rested for the night, preparing for the next day's tasks.
Su Chen had planned to go alone to slay demons and earn some contribution points.
But Tan Kun insisted on taking Su Chen along, teaching him some effective methods for dealing with demons.
This young man was quite enthusiastic.
It seemed that he still remembered that Su Chen had saved his life.
Since that was the case, Su Chen decided to go with him.
The Hongfeng Canyon stretched from the northeast of Jin Kingdom deep into the wilderness.
Due to the terrain, heavy rainfall in some years would cause mountain floods in the canyon.
Its name likely originated from this phenomenon.
Demons were generally similar, possessing superior night vision, which was why many of them chose to attack at night.
However, night guard duty was assigned to others.
People like Su Chen and Tan Kun had more freedom in slaying demons.
They were not allowed to enter the canyon at night.
Otherwise, any injuries caused by the guarding disciples were not their responsibility.
"Brother Su, look at the bushes and grass here; there are no signs of trampling.
This area is most likely demon-free."
Hearing Tan Kun's words, Su Chen smiled.
He pointed to the left side above their heads.
On the tree trunk, if one looked carefully, they could see the claw marks left by a demon.
"These beasts even know how to conceal their tracks!"
Tan Kun seemed to have gained a deeper understanding of the demons' cunning.
Following Su Chen, they slashed through the dry grass and eliminated a cat demon.
Moreover, it was a golden demon.
Demons capable of concealing their tracks were usually at the golden demon level or higher.
Following this, Su Chen continued to lead him forward.
The Hongfeng Canyon wasn't particularly wide, but it was extremely long.
The entire canyon posed a significant threat to the surrounding civilians.
The Jin Kingdom's sects undoubtedly played a role in maintaining regional stability.
Although the Jin Kingdom's martial artists were powerful, many tasks still required ordinary people to handle.
For instance, serving tea, watering plants, and harvesting crops.
Martial artists were indeed more capable, but would they be willing to do these tasks? If the civilians were living in miserable conditions, the martial artists might have to step in and take on these responsibilities themselves.
Ensuring the stability and tranquility of the surrounding area was indeed a crucial task.
After slaying a golden demon, less than half an hour later, another golden demon met its end.
One after another, Tan Kun had never encountered such a situation before.
It was as if those golden demons were willingly walking into their deaths.
In all these years, this was the first time Tan Kun had experienced something like this.
He had just been marveling at the cunning of the demons.
But how long had it been since they displayed such cunning?
From morning until around 3 PM, six golden demons were slain.
Additionally, there were twenty greater demons and several lesser demons.
Tan Kun was so overwhelmed by the number of lesser demons that he didn't bother collecting their bodies, as they were only worth a small amount of contribution points.
Today's observations gave Tan Kun a new perspective on these demons.
Some golden demons preferred solitude, hiding as much as possible to avoid detection.
Others had a group of greater and lesser demons under their command.
They would station the greater and lesser demons to maintain vigilance and watch for danger.
Tan Kun felt that today's harvest exceeded what he had gained in the past two months.
The way the Hongfeng Canyon handled the canyon was very different from the Yunyang Sect and Heavencradle City.
Here, martial artists had to venture into the canyon to search for demon traces.
Unlike the defensive approach of the Yunyang Sect and Heavencradle City against demon invasions, this was more like an offensive strategy.
On the Hongfeng Canyon side, even some fifth-rank and Transcendent Realm martial artists could go and slay demons.
After all, the area was quite limited.
However, in recent years, the Tahe Sect hadn't been sending many fifth-rank martial artists.
The terrain inside the canyon was quite complex.
And after they dispatched their powerful martial artists, these demons seemed to become smarter.
Now, many demons would infiltrate the depths of the canyon and the first thing they would do was start digging holes.
It seemed like dealing with them had become more challenging than before.
After returning, Tan Kun's perception of Su Chen completely changed.
Facing Su Chen, he no longer saw him as a benefactor but more like a master.
He felt like Su Chen's dog, at his beck and call.
Serving tea, fetching water, and even running over ten miles to buy Su Chen food and drinks.
The next few days were similar, with consistent harvests.
Su Chen hadn't expected there to be so many demons hiding in this canyon.
In such complex terrain, who knew how many demons had already settled there.
The members of the First and Second Battle Teams thought they had occupied the best areas.
But their overnight harvests might not have been as substantial.
In the First and Second Battle Teams, slaying an earth demon was equivalent to slaying seventy to eighty golden demons.
After exchanging contributions a few times, Su Chen learned that the Third Battle Team had other rules.
Below the team leader, all the contribution points obtained by the team members had to be divided, with two-tenths going to Ren Yanfei.
This was the reward for using the information they provided.
"Now I understand why the first two battle teams couldn't get rid of this Ren Yanfei.
This method of taking a cut is much more profitable than going to the other two battle teams."
Tan Kun sensed Su Chen's displeasure and quickly spoke to comfort him.
"Regardless, we're already earning quite a lot now."
For Tan Kun, the daily harvests were astonishing.
Recently, when walking, he held his head high with a hint of arrogance.
Everyone knew that Su Chen and Tan Kun had earned quite a lot of contribution points recently.
After all, the Third Battle Team would announce the previous day's contribution points every day.
Su Xing and Tan Kun's names were directly ranked in the top ten.
Such achievements were naturally eye-catching.
But they also attracted jealousy.
After 3 PM, Su Chen and Tan Kun dragged a bunch of demon heads to exchange for contribution points.
As soon as they arrived at the battle unit camp, Su Chen spotted Ren Yanfei in the distance, with his potbelly.
When speaking of him, it felt like there was a lot to say, not just one thing.
"
"
Su Chen narrowed his eyes, feeling Ren Yanfei's gaze upon him.
Upon reaching the camp, they put down the demon heads.
"From now on, we'll take fifty percent of the contributions earned by this man and the person next to him.
Oh, and include that person next to him too.
The others remain unchanged; only these two will have fifty percent taken."
Ren Yanfei finished speaking, and he immediately added,
"Oh, do you want to know the reason? It's simple; it's because you two are useless.
Useless people using the information we obtained from our investigations should contribute more."
(End of Chapter)
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