Liang City, late at night.
Lin Ji was originally cultivating peacefully in his room, but before long, the steward, Old Li, knocked on the door.
"Master, officials from the yamen have arrived."
"Officials from the yamen?" Lin Ji woke up, feeling puzzled.
It was late at night, could something have happened?
He quickly made his way to the front hall, where a young man dressed as a constable was waiting.
With just a glance, Lin Ji could tell that this person was likely a demon hunter from Liang City.
"I am Zhu Yu, a demon hunter from Liang City, here to see the Chief Constable," the young man stood up and saluted.
"What brings you here?" Lin Ji nodded in greeting.
"Chief Constable, you may not be aware, but every night in Liang City, there are ghostly creatures attacking the city from outside. Although their numbers are not large, they are relentless. Therefore, every night, the brothers must guard the city gates," Zhu Yu explained.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ji slapped his forehead. He had been deceived by the calm daytime scenes. He had entered the city from the south gate, where the ghostly creatures had recently been cleared by Master Xingchi.
Therefore, Lin Ji had forgotten about the troubles in Liang City.
"I will go with you. Lead the way," Lin Ji immediately got up, took his long sword, and left his home.
Following Zhu Yu, they quickly arrived at the north gate of Liang City.
This was the direction Lin Ji had taken when he left the city for the capital. When he had left last time, there was no curfew in Liang City, and the city gates were never closed at night.
But at this moment, there was not a soul in sight along the way.
Upon reaching the city gate, they saw heavy guards and occasional shouts and roars coming from outside the city.
Lin Ji's divine sense extended outside the city.
At this moment, within Lin Ji's divine sense range, just a few hundred meters from the city gate, he discovered three ghost generals. Two of them were entangled by several third-stage demon hunters, while the other one was lurking in the shadows.
In addition, there were countless fierce ghosts continuously charging towards Liang City.
"If it weren't for many cultivators resisting, perhaps Liang City would have turned into a night of a hundred ghosts," Lin Ji was slightly surprised.
The two of them climbed onto the city wall, and the scene outside the city was now clear.
Looking out, the endless ghostly creatures surged towards Liang City like a tide. The soldiers on the city wall were trembling with fear at this sight.
Lin Ji was also shocked by this scene. The ghostly procession he had experienced in the past was nothing compared to what was happening now.
"Is Liang City like this every night?" Lin Ji looked at Zhu Yu in astonishment.
"It wasn't like this at the beginning, but recently, many ghost generals have broken free from the control of the Ghost King, causing chaos," Zhu Yu explained in a low voice. "It is said in the city that the Ghost King of Liang City is on the verge of collapse. Even his subordinates can't restrain themselves. With the nature of ghostly creatures, perhaps one day he will be killed by his own subordinates."
"Let's not put our hopes on such elusive matters," Lin Ji said.
"You are right," Zhu Yu nodded, looking like he was learning a lesson.
This attitude made Lin Ji somewhat uncomfortable. He had gotten along well with his subordinates in Qingyang County, without any airs or barriers.
But in Liang City, just from Zhu Yu's demeanor, Lin Ji could sense a strict hierarchy.
One's rank could crush a person, let alone being the Chief Constable, which was more than just a rank.
In the meantime, not far from Lin Ji and Zhu Yu, a ghost general suddenly devoured several fierce ghosts around him, causing a surge of ghostly energy.
This change caught the cultivator off guard, and he was overwhelmed by the ghostly energy, falling to the ground.
"Oh no, that's Chief Constable Sun's side!" Zhu Yu's face turned pale, wanting to jump down to rescue him.
But Lin Ji stopped him.
"Are you at the Second Stage?" Lin Ji asked casually.
"Your insight is as sharp as a torch," Zhu Yu replied, his gaze fixed on the ghost general heading towards Liang City.
"That ghost general has absorbed a lot of ghostly energy, at least at the Fourth Stage. Are you seeking death?" Lin Ji shook his head and asked, "By the way, is the injured person also a constable from Liang City?"
"It's Deputy Chief Constable Sun Hai from Liang City, and I am under his command," Zhu Yu replied.
At the same time, after the ghost general's energy surged, it defeated Sun Hai but did not attack him, instead heading straight for Liang City.
Sun Hai's face turned pale.
The situation was the same on the east and west sides as it was here.
The cultivators in the city had all left to defend against the ghostly creatures, leaving only Master Zhan in the city.
If the ghost general entered the city, it could harm many civilians in a moment. Even if it was eventually killed, it would still be his dereliction of duty.
"The ghost general is fierce, be careful and avoid it!" Sun Hai shouted.
The soldiers on the city wall had already retreated, having experienced similar situations before and gained experience.
"Chief Constable, shall we..." Zhu Yu looked at Lin Ji, but before he could finish his sentence, he saw Lin Ji unsheathing his sword.
"With internal thunder, hidden name of the Thunder God, profound insight, and surging qi," Lin Ji muttered softly.
In the next moment, Lin Ji leaped out of the city wall.
The ghost general also noticed Lin Ji and immediately changed direction, attacking Lin Ji with overwhelming ghostly energy.
Then, thunder roared, illuminating the darkness for a moment.
The ghost general was directly obliterated by the heavenly thunder, and the surrounding ghostly energy was completely dissipated by the extreme heat.
"Who is that?!" Sun Hai widened his eyes, looking at the unfamiliar young cultivator who had slain the ghost general that had severely injured him with just one sword.
At the same time, Zhu Yu came to Sun Hai's side, helping him up.
"That's the new Chief Constable who just arrived," Zhu Yu explained.
"Is he the former constable from Qingyang County? A constable from the county is so powerful? I've never heard of it!" Sun Hai was incredulous.
While the two were talking, Lin Ji's figure kept shuttling around the ghostly creatures.
Wherever he went, whether it was fierce ghosts or ghost soldiers, they were all slain with a single sword.
In a few breaths, he had already arrived in front of the second ghost general.
The ghost general had seen the fate of its companion and knew that the person in front of him was formidable, so it tried to escape.
But under the heavenly thunder, where could the ghost general escape?
Lin Ji sent out another sword, bringing down the thunder, completely annihilating the ghost general.
Farther away, the last hidden ghost general was seen. Lin Ji looked up at the sky, where only the last thunder remained unused.
The last ghost general was hiding quite far away.
Lin Ji's divine sense covered the surroundings, locking onto the hiding place of the ghost general.
"Thunder strike!"
With a loud shout, Lin Ji threw his sword fiercely, the blade wrapped in a green light, nailing it next to a rock in a dark corner a hundred meters away.
Before the ghostly energy could fully form, the heavenly thunder struck down.
In a matter of moments, all three ghost generals were completely defeated.
"The Fourth Stage and the Third Stage are indeed worlds apart," Lin Ji pondered. After reaching the Fourth Stage, the Thunder Strike Sword Technique was incomparable to what it was before, its power multiplied.
Returning to Zhu Yu's side, Lin Ji glanced at the complex expression on Sun Hai's face.
Lin Ji patted Zhu Yu's shoulder.
"Go back and retrieve my sword and bring it to my residence."
"Where are you going?" Zhu Yu asked subconsciously.
Lin Ji waved his hand without responding and left on his own.
He couldn't say he was going back to rest, could he?
(End of this chapter)