Starting as a prodigy wanting milk? A world-destroying deception in the opposite direction.

"Han Yan, I challenge you."

A man's voice came from inside.

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhen looked over and saw a young man of about twenty years old standing not far away, holding a folding fan, his posture as upright as a pine tree, and his green robe fluttering slightly in the wind.

He seemed to have mustered up his courage to say those words, his face showing a mixture of nervousness and determination.

Those around him turned to look at him upon hearing the challenge, and some whispered among themselves.

"Look, Ye Zhi Qiu is here again."

"How many times has this happened? Why won't he give up? Isn't the Qitian Palace enough of a problem for him?"

"Sigh, after all, he is a top disciple of the Lord of Qitian Palace. Maybe he thinks that coming to our Jingxie Division for training a few more times will improve his mental power more than hard training."

Hearing these teasing comments, Ye Zhi Qiu's face flushed slightly, but the determination in his eyes remained undiminished.

The woman opposite the young man was Han Yan.

As his name suggests, he is as cold as frost.

He was dressed in a tight-fitting blue outfit from the Jingxie Division, which accentuated his nimble and agile figure. His long, black hair was neatly tied up high, revealing his smooth forehead and a pair of eyes as cold as stars.

Her gaze swept over the young man, her lips parted slightly, and her tone was cold and impatient:

"Ye Zhi Qiu, does your Qi Tian Palace have nothing better to do?"

"We, the Cleansing and Evil Division, have plenty of things to do; we don't have time to play games with you."

Just as she was about to pass Ye Zhi Qiu,

Out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to glance in the direction of Lei Lie and the others not far away, and his cold gaze swept over Lei Lie for a moment.

When Shen Zhen saw Han Yan, the captain of the first team, he couldn't help but admire her in his heart.

She possessed a sharp edge honed by countless battles, setting her apart from the ethereal and otherworldly spirit protectors of Qitian Palace.

Although he has a cold and aloof appearance, he possesses an extraordinary aura that makes people hesitant to approach him, yet they can't help but take a second look.

"Captain Lei, didn't you just say that Captain Hanyan spoke highly of you?" Shen Zhen teased in a low voice.

"The current situation"

Isn't this the perfect time for you to demonstrate your influence?

Upon hearing this, Lei Lie grinned and made a "shush" gesture, then patted Shen Zhen on the shoulder:

"Xiao Shen, you see through it but don't say anything!"

"It's fine for our own brothers to have fun, but if that person hears this..."

He secretly pointed at Han Yan's retreating figure and whispered:

"If we encounter a joint extermination operation next time, they might just wipe out the Joint Aberrations themselves."

Shen Zhen, Ren Fei, Miao Erhu, and Fu Gang exchanged a knowing glance, and the corners of their mouths turned up slightly.

"Captain Hanyan!" Seeing that she was about to leave again, Ye Zhiqiu quickly stepped to the side, blocking her way, and said urgently:

"I...I'm not making a futile entanglement!"

Master often said that one must know how to maintain stillness, but also how to move.

The Purification Division confronts evil spirits directly; this is the essence of practical combat, and cannot be comprehended through secluded meditation.

I only ask for a chance to exchange skills and verify what I have learned; I have no other intentions!

"Xiao Ye," Lei Lie finally swayed over, looking like a peacemaker, his voice booming.

Having ambition is a good thing!

However, shouldn't the timing be right for such a challenge?

Look at Captain Hanyan, she just returned from a mission.

The murderous aura... well, the righteous aura around him hasn't completely dissipated yet, so he has no intention of fighting you.

"You...should focus on improving your mental power first. There's no rush for sparring."

His words were tactful, giving Ye Zhi Qiu a way out while also highlighting Han Yan's busy schedule and post-combat state, and subtly praising her.

Ye Zhi Qiu was somewhat embarrassed by Lei Lie's words, but he still lingered there, refusing to back down:

"Captain Lei, I know I'm not strong enough right now."

But I believe that as long as we keep working hard, we will always make progress.

Captain Hanyan is my target!

Han Yan stopped and gave Ye Zhi Qiu a cold look:

"Come find me again when you have enough strength." After saying that, she ignored Ye Zhi Qiu and walked straight ahead.

Ye Zhi Qiu was left standing there, his face showing contemplation, disappointment, and resentment.

Shen Zhen stepped forward, his face gentle:

"Brother Ye, you have great perseverance, which I personally admire."

Captain Hanyan's words, though blunt, were all to the point.

Ren Fei then interjected:

"Hey kid, did you hear that?"

"The road ahead is long, but with your current strength, catching up to Captain Hanyan will probably take you into your next life."

After he finished speaking, the others deliberately let out an exaggerated burst of laughter.

Ye Zhi Qiu's face flushed red and then turned pale. He could only clasp his hands in a fist and slink away.

"Tsk, a promising talent from Qitian Palace, certainly ambitious." Lei Lie clicked his tongue as he watched Ye Zhi Qiu walk away.

"But the flowers of the Pure Evil Division..."

He stopped mid-sentence, catching a glimpse of Shen Zhen's ambiguous smile, and coughed twice.

"Alright, alright, that's enough of the excitement. Go do what you were doing!"

The crowd dispersed, laughing and joking.

Shen Zhen's smile gradually faded. Remembering that he had important business to attend to, he straightened his clothes and strode towards the Ceremonial Hall.

Before long, Shen Zhen arrived at the Ceremonial Office.

As one of the five branches of the Temple of Funian, this place is not as bustling as the Department of Cleansing Evil, nor does it have the aloofness of the Temple of Qitian. The entire complex is filled with the fragrance of ancient books and the lingering aroma of various incense.

The five branches of the Temple of Compassion each have clearly defined responsibilities, upholding the order of compassion and peace in the world:

The Purification Bureau is responsible for external duties to eliminate evil spirits and eradicate low- and mid-level deformed and heretical individuals;

The Qitian Temple is mainly responsible for daily observation and prayer rituals, and uses basic talismans to suppress small-scale disturbances of spiritual power among the people.

The Ritual Office is responsible for researching, formulating, and passing on the standards for the "Fu Shen" ritual, as well as archiving various clues to mysterious cases and ancient textual research;

The Divine Grace Library is responsible for the scheduling and allocation of core resources;

There is also the most mysterious Zhennian Hall, which specializes in eliminating high-level aberrations and dealing with sudden, large-scale "God's Wrath" and high-level heretical forces. It is the temple's last line of defense.

Entering the town's ancestral hall was also Shen Zhen's goal.

This is because his mother was once a member of the Zhenniantang.

As Shen Zhen walked through the long corridor, she turned right at the screen wall at the end, and two familiar voices, one high and one low, came from the side corridor, chatting animatedly.

There were two rattan chairs under the eaves, and a stone table in the middle with several ancient books spread out on it.

The two people sitting there, one dressed in white with a few smile lines at the corners of his eyes, was none other than Liu Xubai, Shen Zhen's mentor.

The other one, slightly hunched over, wearing a gray long robe, was holding an ancient book; he was Shen Moyan, a well-known old scholar from the Ceremonial Academy.

According to the family genealogy, Shen Zhen should call him Uncle.

"Instructor Liu, Uncle Shen." Shen Zhen walked over quickly, his voice carrying a hint of intimacy.

Liu Xubai looked up and saw it was him, and immediately put down his teacup:

"Little Shen is here. You've really made something of yourself now, much better than I was back then." He reached out and patted Shen Zhen's arm, the force neither too light nor too heavy, full of satisfaction.

Shen Moyan also raised his head, his voice deep and clear:

"We've heard about the steamed bun shop case too. Did you bring this lead?"

"Hmm," Shen Zhen took out a cloth bag and retrieved the shard of the pottery jar with the mark.

"Director Ling asked me to send this over."

They said it was the mark of a new variant and wanted Lord Wang Juan of the Ceremonial Office to check if there was any record of it.

"Or would you two like to take a look first?" he said, handing over the fragments.

Shen Moyan took the fragment, examined the patterns on it, and his brows slowly furrowed:

"This seal... it looks familiar." He turned to look at Liu Xubai.

"Old Lin, do you remember what was recorded in that book called 'The Record of Distorted Traces' when we were investigating old cases in the neighboring county four years ago?"

Liu Xubai took a closer look, and his expression also darkened:

"It's similar... but not entirely similar." He looked at Shen Zhen, his tone serious.

"Is this mutant specifically designed to manipulate people's appetite?"

"Yes," Shen Zhen nodded, briefly explaining the situation at the steamed bun shop.

"It can turn a shop into a domain, and it can use old appetites to create new ones. In the end, it was devoured by our disgust, but it left behind only a wisp of mist."

Shen Moyan put down the broken pieces, picked up the brush on the table, and drew a simple seal on the paper:

"Back then, that mutant could only control a few people to fight over food; it didn't have that much power."

Has this thing evolved? Or... is someone helping it become stronger?

Liu Xubai nodded and reminded him:

"You'd better be careful when you encounter it in future cases; its appearance might be man-made."

Human intervention?!

These words startled Shen Zhen. Just as he was about to ask further, a servant from the Ceremonial Office hurried over:

"Lord Shen, Lord Wang is waiting for you in his duty room. Please go there immediately."