"Wait, let me look it up." Chen Luo snapped back to his senses and immediately took out the Demon Identification Manual to leaf through it.
He scoured the pages for half a Two-hour until his eyes ached. Finally, forced to put the Demon Identification Manual away, he rubbed his sore eyes and let out a long sigh. "The Demon Identification Manual doesn't have any records regarding the true body of the Painted Skin Demon, either. It only mentions that since ancient times, it seems no one has ever seen its true form. Every single appearance has merely been a clone of the Painted Skin Demon.
"The Painted Skin Demon has been involved in many historical events. It is a highly terrifying Demon Monster..."
Ji Qing didn't seem too disappointed by this revelation. He had clearly expected as much. The Painted Skin Demon was notoriously difficult to kill!
"No matter where it hides at the ends of the earth, no matter how long it takes—a year, a decade, a century... I will definitely root out the Painted Skin Demon's true body!"
SWISH.
With a flick of his wrist, Ji Qing drove a Bone-Piercing Nail into a "corpse" on the ground.
"Hehehe, Ji Qing, I will be waiting for you..."
The "corpse" on the ground had actually been playing dead. It wasn't a Skin Puppet, but a clone of the Painted Skin Demon. It was also the very clone controlling the Skin Puppet army.
"Killed a Painted Skin Demon clone. Gained one Source Point."
Another Source Point appeared in Ji Qing's Demon Monster Record. He had killed two Painted Skin Demon clones this time, reaping two Source Points in total. He then shifted his gaze toward where Chen Luo had placed the Blood Demon. If he could kill the Blood Demon, he would undoubtedly gain even more Source Points.
"If you aren't going to kill this Blood Demon, why are you keeping it?" Ji Qing asked.
Seeing the murderous intent in Ji Qing's eyes, Chen Luo felt a chill run down his spine. He hurriedly shielded the Blood Demon in his arms and said, "Brother Ji, this Blood Demon cannot be killed. It has always been sealed by my Demon Exterminator family. It provides an endless stream of Spiritual Power to us, so it is of great use to the Demon Exterminator family!"
Ji Qing understood. So this Blood Demon was just another tool for the Demon Exterminator family? No wonder they had only sealed the Blood Demon instead of killing it completely.
"Miss Lei, Brother Chen, since the Demon Monster has been eliminated, let us part ways here. We shall meet again in the Martial World!" Ji Qing turned on his heel to leave.
"Wait," Chen Luo called out.
Ji Qing frowned. "What else is there?"
Chen Luo's face flushed bright red. He glanced at Ji Qing, then at Lei Yu. Taking a deep breath, he asked with brimming anticipation, "Brother Ji, Miss Lei, it wasn't easy for us to join forces and slay Demon Monsters here at the Lei's fort. Since fate has brought us together, why don't we become sworn siblings right here and now?"
"Sworn siblings?" Ji Qing looked at Chen Luo with a strange expression. Just what was going on in this guy's head? Did he think this was a Martial World from a storybook? He immediately wanted to refuse.
However, Lei Yu was winking and gesturing wildly at him. Although she didn't speak, Ji Qing seemed to grasp her meaning. Lei Yu wanted to agree to the proposal? The reason was simple enough. Chen Luo was a Demon Exterminator—a highly unique status. If they encountered more Demon Monsters in the Martial World in the future, or needed to hunt down the Painted Skin Demon, they might very well need a Demon Exterminator like Chen Luo.
This was Chen Luo's first venture into the Martial World; he was a completely wet-behind-the-ears rookie. Running into a Blood Demon, a Painted Skin Demon, and all the chaotic events at the Lei's fort all at once was an unforgettable experience for him. With his blood pumping hot, he wanted to swear a bond of brotherhood just like in the storybooks. But for Ji Qing and Lei Yu, this wasn't exactly a bad thing.
Thinking of this, Ji Qing swallowed the refusal that had been on the tip of his tongue.
"Alright," Ji Qing agreed.
"Haha, I'm fine with it too!" Lei Yu agreed just as heartily.
"Can... can I join the vow as well?" The one speaking was Chen Lin.
"Sure, we'll all become sworn siblings." Lei Yu was extremely magnanimous. Chen Lin was also a Demon Exterminator, so adding one more to the mix didn't matter.
Consequently, Lei Yu found some incense and candles within the Lei's fort, and the four knelt on the ground to take their vows. They ranked themselves according to age. Lei Yu, at twenty-eight years old, was the oldest of the four and thus became the Eldest Sister. Chen Luo, at twenty, became the Second Brother. Ji Qing, eighteen, ranked as the Third Brother. Chen Lin, sixteen, became the Fourth Sister.
"Hahaha, from now on, I'm the Eldest Sister!" Lei Yu seemed quite satisfied.
"I'm the Second Brother!" Chen Luo held his head high, extremely thrilled.
"I'm the third," Ji Qing said, feeling no emotional ripples in his heart whatsoever.
"I'm the youngest, so Eldest Sister, Second Brother, and Third Brother will all have to take care of me from now on," Chen Lin said, equally excited.
"Deal. Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Sister, your problems are my problems from now on," Lei Yu declared. "Third Brother, you are wanted by the Government and have been made the scapegoat for the Painted Skin Demon, landing you in eighth place on the Evil People List. You became a Great Demon for no reason. Do you want your Eldest Sister to accompany you to Lingxiao Pavilion to clear your name?"
"Clear my name? As for the Martial World List ranked by Lingxiao Pavilion, unless one is a Grandmaster, who has the qualifications to make them change the rankings?" Ji Qing was aware of some common knowledge regarding Lingxiao Pavilion's Martial World List. Lingxiao Pavilion possessed Grandmasters! And they were not just ordinary Grandmasters, either. If anyone could simply clear their name and alter the list, the Martial World List would lose all its authority.
"I could persuade my master and have my Sect step forward. Perhaps..." Lei Yu mused after a moment of contemplation.
Ji Qing was actually a bit surprised. Did Lei Yu's words imply that there was a Grandmaster Expert in the Sect behind her?
"Eldest Sister, are you serious?" Ji Qing asked softly. He had thought Lei Yu was merely treating the sworn sibling ceremony as a casual affair, not taking it seriously at all. After all, Lei Yu was an experienced veteran of the Martial World. Why would she care about this joke of a vow?
However, Lei Yu's expression turned stern. "Third Brother, I know your concerns. But regarding this vow, my thoughts are identical to those of our Second Brother and Fourth Sister. Since we've sworn the oath, we are siblings!"
Ji Qing understood. Lei Yu was a very open and upright woman of the Martial World. Even if she had wanted to reap some benefits from Chen Luo's connections, her commitment to their sworn bond was entirely genuine.
"Eldest Sister, I stand corrected! However, whether I am on or off the Evil People List, I don't really care." Ji Qing truly didn't pay much mind to the Evil People List. In fact, bearing an Evil Name wasn't entirely a bad thing. Many people would come seeking him out, essentially delivering gold, silver, and Martial Arts right to his doorstep. Why wouldn't he welcome that?
"Eldest Sister, Third Brother, after parting ways this time, there's no telling how long it will be before we meet again. As you travel through the Martial World, you might encounter some Demon Monsters. Ordinary Demon Monsters are one thing; with your Martial Arts, you can naturally handle them. But if you encounter something like the Blood Demon, ordinary Martial Arts will be completely useless. You can only injure those Demon Monsters with the blood of a Demon Exterminator.
"Chen Lin and I will gift you each a vial of Demon Exterminator blood before you go. We will also infuse some Demon Extermination Techniques into the blood, making it even more effective against Demon Monsters."
Having said that, Chen Luo immediately used his blade to slice his palm open, bringing out a porcelain vial to collect the blood.
"Second Brother, do I have to bleed too?" Chen Lin's face pinched with distress.
"Nonsense! If you don't bleed, are you just going to stand there and watch me fill two vials? Do you want me to die?"
Left with no choice, Chen Lin also cut her palm with her blade and filled a vial with Demon Exterminator blood. Ji Qing and Lei Yu both received a full vial of Demon Exterminator blood. Looking at the wounds on the hands of Chen Luo and his sister, Ji Qing felt slightly moved.
"Then I must thank you, Second Brother and Fourth Sister." Armed with a vial of Demon Exterminator blood, Ji Qing would feel far more confident if he ever encountered a Demon Monster.
"By the way, what should we do about the Lei's fort?" Chen Luo asked. So many people had died; if it ended up attracting other Demon Monsters, it would be a huge disaster. Many Demon Monsters had an immense craving for human flesh and corpses.
"Burn it all down. There's no one left at the Lei's fort anyway..." Lei Yu said faintly. This was her hometown, the place she had grown up in since childhood. But with everyone gone, what use was there in keeping it?
Thus, Lei Yu personally set the fires, burning the entire Lei's fort to the ground.
"The road of the Martial World is long; we shall meet again!"
The four bade their farewells, departing from the Lei's fort in three different directions.
Three days later.
A group of constables arrived at the Lei's fort. They stared at the stronghold, now burned entirely to ashes.
"We're too late!" The constables' hearts sank.
The leader among them was none other than the number one constable of Qingzhou, Wind Chasing Saber Du Chen!