“Alright, let’s not rush. Let’s play a round first.” Mr. Sullivan swept his wide sleeve, and a chessboard with two pots of pieces, black and white, appeared on the table before him.

“Last time I was lucky enough to win a game against Mr. Sullivan, looks like you’re not convinced.” Liam Carter didn’t hesitate at all, sat down directly and said with a smile.

“Of course. I pondered over it for quite a while after I got back, and I’ve already found a way to break your strategy.” Mr. Sullivan placed the first piece.

“Then let’s stick to the old rules. If you lose, you’ll have to share some inside information with me.” Liam Carter said with a mischievous look.

Half an hour later.

The sunlight had climbed a little higher.

The smiling youth tucked his hands into his sleeves, watching the old man across from him, who was staring at the chessboard deep in thought. “Mr. Sullivan, it really is a dead end.”

“Hiss…” Mr. Sullivan scratched his smooth bald head, glanced a few more times, then finally looked away, shaking his head. “You little rascal… Always smiling and looking harmless, but on the chessboard every move is a killing blow, every piece like a knife—truly ruthless and decisive…”

“Oh, it was just luck. There were a few times I almost lost control.” Liam Carter said.

“Ai, I’m getting old… Can’t compare to you youngsters’ sharpness.” Mr. Sullivan leaned back, patted his belly, and continued, “You’re here not just to report in, but also to get a new assignment, right?”

“That’s right. But there are so many tasks at the Divine Intent stage, hundreds or thousands—I don’t know how to choose.” Liam Carter replied.

“Let me think… You like demon-slaying tasks, the better ones…” Mr. Sullivan pondered for a moment, then raised his hand. From a row of bamboo lots behind him, one shot out and landed in his palm. “Take a look at this one.”

Liam Carter took the lot and saw a line of small characters on it.

“Catch a demon at the residence of Lord Mr. Miller in Xingzhou City.”

Chapter 004: The Lord’s Residence

Among human cultivators, the realms are divided into three gates and nine stages.

The Human Gate focuses on self-cultivation: Body Tempering, Qi Condensation, and Divine Intent;

The Earth Gate focuses on external things: Golden Core, Five Elements, and Dharma Body;

The Heaven Gate focuses on the Dao: Seeking the Dao, Heavenly Origin, and Profound Comprehension.

Three Sects, martial artists, demons, heretics… Though there are many systems, they are more or less the same.

At Mount Shu, disciples must work for resources. It may seem a bit harsh, but it’s for their training. In fact, the sect is still protective of its disciples. For example, disciples in the first and second stages are not allowed to take missions outside the mountain; they can only take on chores within the sect, such as tending spiritual plants, feeding spirit birds, or serving in the halls.

But at the Divine Intent stage, one is already considered an expert when traveling the world, though in the Mount Shu Sect, it’s merely the threshold for going down the mountain to slay demons.

Even among demon-slaying missions, there are big differences. The most popular are the mysterious cases in wealthy households.

First, the city is not like the wilds—there are basically no powerful demons, so the danger is lower. Second, the city is bustling, so you can have some fun while slaying demons. Lastly, wealthy families are generous; besides the fee paid to the sect, the reward after the job is often substantial, and that goes directly to the demon slayer—a nice little profit.

The job Mr. Sullivan picked for Liam Carter was just such a case.

“Greetings, Liam Young Hero!”

“Greetings, Lord Mr. Miller.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Liam Young Hero!”

“Serving the people.”

“……”

Liam Carter rode his sword to the outskirts of Xingzhou City, then walked into the city to Lord Mr. Miller’s residence and explained his identity, immediately receiving a warm welcome.

Mr. Miller was a thin, middle-aged man with a refined air and a short beard under his chin, leaving a good impression. However, his eye sockets were dark, and he looked haggard, as if he’d been tormented.

“With a young hero from Mount Shu here, our family can finally have some peace.” Lord Mr. Miller led Liam Carter to the main hall, had the servants serve tea and water, and then sighed.

“Let’s start with the details, please.” Liam Carter said with a smile.

“Sigh…” Mr. Miller sighed and said, “My family has been virtuous for generations, I don’t know why we’ve encountered such a strange affair…”

“Three days ago, there started to be eerie cat cries outside the residence—mournful and chilling. Two days ago, the cat cries appeared in our front yard, and some of the servants saw the creature with their own eyes, its whole body shrouded in blood! Yesterday, the cat cries reached our backyard! Even my wife was frightened…”

“Young hero…” He looked at Liam Carter earnestly, “If we don’t stop it, I fear it will enter our home and kill someone tonight!”

Lord Mr. Miller acted quickly, going to a temple outside the city for help the very next day.

Usually, these bustling temples either have cultivators stationed there or are connected to a sect, otherwise they wouldn’t thrive. The temple outside Xingzhou City is closely connected to Mount Shu, so the request for help was immediately sent to the Sword Exchange Pavilion.

“Hmm…” Liam Carter pondered for a moment after hearing this.

This thing only appears at night… advancing step by step… It doesn’t seem like a demon, more like a spirit—a so-called “ghost.”

After all, if a demon has cultivated enough, its intelligence is no less than a human’s, and it wouldn’t act so mysteriously. Only ghosts with low cultivation, having lost some intelligence after death, might be driven by resentment to do strange things.

As for this cat demon…

It’s likely the spirit of a dead cat.