Chapter 1

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A jumble of sharp noises pierced her ears. Su Lanjin abruptly opened her eyes, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath. Her head spun in dizziness—and the next second, the overwhelming demonic aura surrounding her shocked her into springing up.

Demonic aura? Why is there still demonic aura?!

Su Lanjin pressed her fingers to her brow, her stomach churning. The chaotic noise around her slowly filtered into her ears.

She looked up and saw a girl standing in the thickest part of the demonic miasma. The girl casually wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and shouted:

“If you’re in the combat division, get up and fight!”

“You’re not just representing yourselves now—you carry the name of your home planets! Don’t be cowards! Demon Hunters die on their feet, not on their knees!”

Only then did the others seem to snap out of their daze.

Several figures gritted their teeth and forced themselves to stand, struggling to pick up their weapons once more.

“Haaah!”

Clang!

They charged at the demons with the last of their strength.

They might not actually be able to hurt the demons, but at least their fighting spirit hadn’t been completely extinguished.

Su Lanjin blinked at the sight of them. A searing pain stabbed through her skull, forcing her to clutch her head—yet as soon as her gaze landed on the demons, she instinctively took a few steps forward.

At that moment, those wielding swords and blades rushed at the demons, completely ignoring their own safety. Sword qi slashed through the air, spiritual energy burst forth, all targeting the demonic monsters.

Screams echoed out. Although the demons’ faces contorted with fury, the demonic aura cloaking their bodies visibly began to thin.

【Good! That’s it!】

【This is the spirit our Federation citizens should have! Freshmen, be brave—as long as you’re still breathing, no matter what, we’ll get you out alive!】

Unfortunately, they couldn’t see the barrage of support messages on the bullet screen.

Jian Xiangxue was already completely drained—her spiritual energy couldn’t keep up with how fast she was burning through it.

She staggered back a step, blood dripping from her wounds. She was on the verge of collapse.

But still, she clenched her teeth, forced herself to stand tall, and with a low shout, circulated her spiritual energy once more. Golden light flowed from her outstretched hands, shooting straight toward the demons.

A trace of approval flickered in Su Lanjin’s eyes.

But the next second, she realized that the demons struck by the spiritual energy weren’t killed—they were only trapped. Many demons managed to break free and were now charging straight toward them.

Because of the sudden attack from the demonic creatures, the group—who still had some fighting spirit left—instantly fell into chaos.

In just a short time, the battle turned completely one-sided, and people around them collapsed one after another.

The courage that had barely been stirred up was completely crushed by the dire situation.

They fell to the ground in scattered groups, tear-streaked faces full of despair.

A pack of demons bared their fangs and closed in on them, snarling “heh heh” through jagged mouths, raising their claws as if ready to devour them in one bite.

“Sword, come!”

Seeing the swarm of demons charging at them, Su Lanjin raised her hand and summoned. With a sharp whoosh, a sword appeared at her side.

Without hesitation, she dashed forward. As golden light rained down, the sword slashed through the demons in an instant.

Nearby, Song Juncai was stunned. He gasped, the hand gripping his sword trembling uncontrollably.

Gulp. He swallowed hard, rubbed his eyes, and looked again—only to see that the girl with the sword was now walking toward him.

In the next second, the sword in her hand slashed down, cutting through the demon right beside him.

To his surprise, the oppressive demonic aura in the air suddenly thinned out, even seeming a little… fresh?

Song Juncai stood there in a daze, completely unaware that a demon was sneaking up from behind.

“Squelch.”

A sword suddenly appeared above his head. Instinctively, he looked up—and saw the same sword that had stunned him moments ago hanging in midair, stabbing straight into the demon’s snarling mouth.

As the demon was cut down, it sprayed foul, black blood everywhere, which instantly rained down.

Soaked in that black blood, Song Juncai: “……”

His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. Su Lanjin gave him a sideways glance.

“Losing focus in the middle of a battle is the quickest way to die. You trying to get yourself killed?”

Tossing that line at him, Su Lanjin once again rushed into the fray, sword in hand. Everywhere she went, demons were slaughtered—black blood staining her sword, her clothes, even her face.

But she didn’t even blink, continuing to swing her blade as if the demonic creatures were nothing to her. Everyone watching was completely shaken.

“She’s… too strong.”

Several participants sat on the ground clutching their chests, muttering in disbelief.

And Su Lanjin? She had already plunged into the heart of the demonic horde.

“You…”

Sensing a wave of unfamiliar spiritual energy sweeping through, Jian Xiangxue looked up just in time to see a demon fall beneath this girl’s sword. The demonic aura vanished completely, without a trace.

Jian Xiangxue stared, utterly speechless.

“What are you standing there for? Don’t you know you can’t lose focus on the battlefield?”

Su Lanjin looked sternly at Jian Xiangxue—after all, a demon wouldn’t spare her just because she was distracted.

With a rip, another demon lunging toward Jian Xiangxue was instantly shredded by Su Lanjin’s sword. The burst of black, putrid blood splattered directly across Jian Xiangxue’s face.

Jian Xiangxue wiped the blood off her face, moved her lips slightly, but said nothing. She simply gripped her broadsword and followed behind Su Lanjin, silently slashing again and again until her spiritual energy was completely drained.

The number of demons around them grew fewer and fewer. The oppressive aura began to lift, and the chaotic air gradually became clearer.

The people lying on the ground rubbed their eyes and stared at the cold-faced girl cutting down demons one after another, their eyes filled with awe.

Meanwhile, Song Juncai just stood there in a daze.

【!! Wait, look at that contestant!】

【???】

【Holy crap, that contestant—did I see that right?! She actually killed a demon?!】

【My AI brain must be glitching—this isn’t suppression, this is elimination!】

【I… I didn’t see it wrong, right?】

The live stream audience was in complete shock. Many people jumped to their feet, rubbing their eyes hard, afraid they had seen wrong.

Others clenched their fists, their eyes shining with excitement.

But Su Lanjin didn’t stop.

Everyone—whether seated or standing—watched the girl at the center of the battlefield, still wielding her sword. Their awe turned to reverence.

Su Lanjin gripped her spiritual sword and cut down demons.

Blood surged like waves. The putrid black blood exploded in the air, but she didn’t even blink. With a powerful step, she flashed behind another demon.

“Whoosh!”

Another flash of golden light fell. Her sword came down, and the demon was cleaved clean in two.

“That’s not a suppression technique! She’s not a traditional demon controller!”

“Could she be an outsider? Have outsiders already developed a way to kill demons outright?”

Song Juncai shouted in disbelief, voicing his suspicions with excitement, but his eyes stayed locked on Su Lanjin as she fought ahead.

Unfortunately, no one answered him.

The battlefield that had been barely holding on was completely turned around with Su Lanjin’s arrival. The demons were struck down one after another. The once-packed battlefield was now littered with black blood. A place that should have been overwhelmed with suppressive techniques was now clear of demons—and the demonic aura had almost entirely faded.

What the audience saw was so exhilarating, they couldn’t contain their emotions. They rushed to hammer on their holographic keyboards.

【Holy crap, this contestant… she really wiped out the demons?!】

【!!! Brothers, this contestant really did wipe out the demons—ahhhh!! Wherever she passed, not a single demon reappeared!】

【???】

【She actually killed them?? But haven’t we always only been able to suppress, not eliminate them? How did she manage to destroy them?】

【LOL, it’s just a military academy selection match. Killing demons? Even Marshal Wen wouldn’t dare claim he could wipe them out, and now this newly-adult rookie can? Don’t go spreading that around or the whole Empire will laugh!】

【Exactly, probably just a different kind of suppression. Might even be a trick of the eye. What, are we supposed to believe she invented something new? Ridiculous.】

【Still, gotta admit, her combat method is effective. She’s already ranked number one on the leaderboard.】

【Wild guess—maybe she’s from some hidden clan? Capital Star?】

【Stop, stop, the real thing we should be talking about is that the demons were wiped out! Not suppressed—eliminated! Didn’t you see it?! They’re gone!】

Red bullet comments shot across the screen, yet many still couldn’t believe it—had this just-come-of-age contestant really invented a technique to annihilate demons?

And had she really turned a battlefield on the brink of collapse into her own solo stage in just a few minutes?

Everyone was stunned—but some people quietly started to take this girl very seriously.

At this moment, anyone watching the selection live stream was more or less dialing the organizer’s network, all wanting one thing: to find out who this contestant was.

“Huh? Where… where did the demons go? All gone?”

Inside the barren zone, a contestant stood dumbly in place, trembling as he sat down, gripping his broadsword with a shaky hand. His face was smeared with dirt, but his eyes were filled with disbelief.

Jian Xiangxue also wiped her face, staring in astonishment at Su Lanjin in the distance.

The morning sun spilled down, gilding Su Lanjin in golden light. Her spiritual energy danced around her as she swung her sword, cutting down one demon after another like a divine being.

Under her blade, the demons fell like diced radishes—one slash per demon, effortlessly wiping out every last one around her.

Jian Xiangxue, who had been exhausted just moments ago while facing a single demon—and almost got knocked over—looked at how easily the other girl was handling them, and…

Her mind went completely blank.

Unbelievable!!!

The other nearby contestants looked from Su Lanjin to the stunned Jian Xiangxue in confusion.

“Wait, what just happened?”

“Holy crap, is this an illusion?”

“Could this be… demon-vanishing magic??”

SLAP! Song Juncai smacked himself across the face. Feeling the pain, he immediately stood up and ran toward Su Lanjin.

“My savior! I’m Song Juncai, Double-A rank, from Capital Star! Thank you for saving us just now. May I ask your name?”

Su Lanjin looked at Song Juncai, who had staggered to her side. He was covered in blood and grime, yet his eyes sparkled as he stared at her, his face lit with the excitement of surviving a disaster.

She looked away and gave a calm nod. “Su Lanjin.”

That cold, quiet voice snapped the dazed crowd out of their trance. Some clutched their heads and sobbed, “We survived…”

Jian Xiangxue approached, gazing at Su Lanjin with admiration, then turned to the others and called out, “Let’s hurry and leave while we can. Otherwise, the demons will show up again soon.”

But Su Lanjin remained where she was.

She frowned slightly, touched the lingering demonic aura on her hand, and a hint of displeasure flickered in her eyes.

She had clearly self-destructed along with the Demon King. There shouldn’t be any demons left in the world—so why was this place crawling with them, and why was the demonic aura so dense?

Not only that, but the people in front of her, from their clothing to their use of spiritual energy, were completely different from what she knew.

“Are you coming with us?”

Jian Xiangxue’s voice came from a distance.

Su Lanjin looked up and saw the girl watching her with worry and hesitation in her eyes:

“We need to find a quiet place to recover as soon as possible. Even though the demonic aura here is slowly fading, new demons could still appear at any time. We need to leave—will you come with us?”

Su Lanjin replied simply, “Lead the way.”

—A short while later—

“Huff… huff… Jian Xiangxue, this should be far enough, right?”

Jian Xiangxue carefully scanned their surroundings and, only after confirming it was safe, signaled everyone to stop.

“Okay, let’s rest here for a bit.”

The moment the words left her mouth, everyone dropped like puppets with their strings cut, slumping to the ground.

They immediately retrieved emergency kits from their scoring wristbands, which were neatly packed with sprays for various effects. After picking the appropriate one, they sprayed it all over themselves.

In no time, minor injuries had completely healed. Those with more serious wounds were hesitating about whether to withdraw from the match—after all, they couldn’t guarantee their safety going forward.

Meanwhile, Jian Xiangxue walked straight over to Su Lanjin.

“Hi, I’m Jian Xiangxue from Capital Star. I don’t think I saw you before the competition began. You don’t seem like someone from Capital Star. Which planet are you from?”

Su Lanjin hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth. “I…”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Deafening explosions erupted, followed by a surge of demonic energy. The two of them turned to look in unison, only to see thick smoke rising in the east, spiritual energy pulsing upward, and clouds of dust swirling wildly, blurring the view.

The other contestants also instinctively turned toward the explosions. In the eastern sky, heavy smoke billowed upward, and above it, a massive formation flickered. A golden distress signal floated in the air for a moment—then vanished in the blink of an eye.

【Sigh, there are too many demonic creatures over there. Several demonic lairs have appeared, with thousands of demons. Even if they go, it’ll be pointless.】

【But Ni Shushu and Gong Jiaxin are barely holding on—they’re waiting for help.】

【That’s true, but even if Su Lanjin and the others go over, it won’t make a difference.】

【We can’t just stand by and watch them die at the hands of the demons, can we?】

The audience in front of their screens was praying—praying that the two highly capable fighters on this side would see the distress signal and go to help.

“It’s a distress signal. Something dangerous is happening over there.”

Jian Xiangxue immediately gripped her broadsword, a flicker of worry flashing through her heart.

“Sorry, Su Lanjin—I need to go check it out.”

With that, she dashed off in a flash, quickly putting distance between them.

Su Lanjin stared at her retreating figure. After a moment of thought, she followed closely behind. Song Juncai scratched his head, then gritted his teeth and ran after them too. The other contestants, however, averted their gazes and quietly backed away a few steps, each finding a place to rest.

As Su Lanjin’s group of three approached the site of the explosion in the east, they were stunned by the battlefield revealed beneath the thick dust in the air.

Ruins, broken limbs, a strong stench of blood. Spiritual energy was scattered everywhere under the flying debris, while demonic aura still raged wildly.

Su Lanjin’s hands, hanging at her sides, clenched tightly into fists, her eyes glowing red.

In the cultivation world, she had seen far too many places ravaged by demonic creatures—too many families torn apart, and too many people who, unable to wait for rescue, were either devoured or turned into vessels for demonic possession.

In front of the demons, humans were so insignificant—so small that they could vanish from the world in just a few heartbeats.

The spiritual energy sword at her side trembled—it was furious, eager, roaring to charge forward and tear the demons to pieces.

Jian Xiangxue’s face was already twisted with fury, her eyes dyed red by the sight of all the blood. With a flick of her hand, she hurled spiritual energy straight toward the center of the explosion.