High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

The Municipal Bureau is located in a secluded and auspicious location in Beijiang City. Surrounded by lush ancient forests, the overall architectural style leans towards a classic Eastern garden design, with upturned eaves, blue bricks and gray tiles, exuding a mysterious and solemn atmosphere.

After passing through layers of heavily armed checkpoints, the convoy finally came to a smooth stop in the spacious square inside the city bureau.

"All passengers, please take your belongings and disembark in an orderly manner!"

Xie He stood at the car door, maintaining order.

The municipal bureau had had specially assigned personnel waiting for some time. Dressed in uniform black uniforms, they solemnly guided the group of teenagers from Qingzhou District through the corridor to the designated testing venue.

Beijiang City has six counties and districts under its jurisdiction. This year, for some unknown reason, there has been a surge in eligible individuals sending people for testing from each county and district, totaling nearly six hundred people.

In addition, with the addition of more than 100 family members and children of internal staff directly under the jurisdiction of Beijiang City, the total number of people tested today reached a record-breaking 724.

Soon, the team from Qingzhou District was led by guides to a designated area inside the venue.

The interior of the enormous venue is arranged in a circular, stepped pattern, with a spacious testing platform in the center, where various sophisticated instruments and spirit-testing stones that emit a faint glow are placed.

Shen Chang'an glanced down at the time on his phone; it was 9:30 in the morning.

"In previous years, there were only two or three hundred people, which could be tested in half a day, and they could go home in the afternoon. This year, there are more than seven hundred people..."

Looking at the sea of ​​people in the stadium, Shen Chang'an rubbed his temples and muttered to himself.

"I estimate we won't be able to finish work until late at night."

He turned to Li Xiwan and instructed her, "Xiwan, you and Xie He stay here and keep an eye on them, make sure they don't run around causing trouble. I'll take the list to the control room to hand over the formalities."

"Okay, go ahead."

Li Xiwan nodded obediently.

Shen Chang'an, holding the file bag, turned and walked towards the office area deep inside the venue.

After Shen Chang'an left, the young masters and ladies of Qingzhou District all found their seats on the tiered stands.

Xie Yiming happened to be sitting less than two rows away from Li Xiwan.

Xie Yiming had been paying attention to the girl in the No. 1 Middle School uniform ever since he was on the bus.

Li Xiwan's clean, gentle, and scholarly demeanor made her stand out among the heavily made-up young ladies dressed in luxury brands, firmly attracting his attention.

More importantly, he had just witnessed his cold and aloof older sister being extremely polite to this girl. He was eager to find out more about Li Xiwan.

Xie Yiming straightened his clothes, stood up, and walked to the empty seat in front of Li Xiwan. He turned to the side, flashed what he thought was a very charming smile, and took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "Hi, classmate. I recognized you on the bus. My name is Xie Yiming, from Qingzhou No. 1 High School. You're from Qingzhou too, right? May I ask which family you're from?"

Li Xiwan was looking down at her phone, waiting for Shen Chang'an's message. Hearing someone speak to her, she looked up, somewhat bewildered, at the overly familiar boy.

Which company is it?

Li Xiwan didn't quite understand what he meant. She just assumed it was a typical high school student trying to chat her up, so she gently shook her head, didn't reply, and turned her gaze back to her phone screen.

Seeing that Li Xiwan was ignoring him, Xie Yiming was not discouraged at all. Instead, he felt that this girl was a bit arrogant and more challenging.

He turned around, leaned back in his chair, and began to launch into a long speech: "Don't be so cold. We're all here for testing, and we might even be colleagues in the future. My dad is District Chief Xie of Qingzhou District, and Xie He, whom I just called out, is my older sister. In this small corner of Beijiang City, I still have some influence. If you need any help in the future, feel free to contact me anytime."

He deliberately emphasized the words of District Chief Xie and Xie He.

However, Li Xiwan didn't even lift her eyelids. For someone who had witnessed the extraordinary power of the Zhenye Division, this kind of worldly background as a second-generation official held no appeal whatsoever. She merely nodded politely, then continued looking at her phone, showing absolutely no intention of engaging in further conversation.

Seeing that Li Xiwan was unmoved by his words, Xie Yiming was rebuffed and felt somewhat annoyed.

To save face, he simply turned away, ignoring Li Xiwan, and started loudly boasting to his cronies.

"Hey, what do you guys think? After this test, how about we take a trip to Europe?"

Xie Yiming's voice was loud, clearly intended for Li Xiwan to hear.

"My mom just got me a few insider invitations to Fashion Week and a few private dinners a few days ago. We'll charter a private jet and I'll show you what real high society is like."

The young men nearby immediately joined in with gasps and flattery. Xie Yiming was smug, his eyes occasionally glancing back, trying to catch a glimpse of surprise or envy on Li Xiwan's face.

......

The office building inside the municipal bureau.

Shen Chang'an, carrying a file folder, skillfully pushed open the door to a large conference room. The several municipal bureau officers in charge of coordination inside were all familiar faces.

"Old Li, Brother Wang, long time no see."

Shen Chang'an stepped forward, greeted a few acquaintances briefly, and then handed over the file bag in his hand.

"This is our personnel list and handover documents for Qingzhou District this year. There are a total of 121 people, and they have all been brought here intact."

"Chang'an, you're really efficient."

Old Li chuckled as he took the list, stamped it with his confirmation seal, and entered it into the system.

"Alright, the formalities are complete. You can go back and rest now."

Shen Chang'an nodded, preparing to turn around and return the way he came.

"Whoosh—!"

Just then, accompanied by a whooshing sound, a figure suddenly emerged from the corner of the corridor outside the conference room, spreading his arms and blocking Shen Chang'an's path.

The newcomer was an eighteen-year-old boy who looked about the same age as Shen Chang'an. However, his attire was quite eye-catching.

He was wearing an exquisitely crafted moon-white ancient-style robe, and a three-foot-long sword with a sheath was slung over his back in a flamboyant manner.

Shen Chang'an looked at the person in front of him, his lips twitching slightly. He retorted mercilessly, "Where did this cosplay come from? Dude, this is the Zhenye Division City Bureau, not a comic convention. If you want to go to the comic convention, turn left after exiting and take the subway for two stops."

After saying that, Shen Chang'an waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, not even bothering to look at him again, and turned to continue walking out.

"Shen Chang'an! Stop pretending with me!"

The young man in ancient attire gripped the hilt of his sword, took another step to block his path, and shouted with fanatical eyes, "Now that I've caught you, you're not getting away! Draw your sword, I want to fight you one-on-one!"

The immature, ancient-style-clad young man blocking the way was named Ji Lin, also an 18-year-old high school senior. However, unlike Shen Chang'an, he belonged to the provincial government.

Two years ago, when Shen Chang'an came to the Municipal Bureau on business, he happened to run into people from the Provincial Department who were visiting. At that time, Ji Lin, relying on his extraordinary talent of breaking through to the second realm at the age of sixteen, was arrogant and unruly, practically dominating his peers. As a result, he provoked Shen Chang'an, who dragged him into the training ground and beat him three times with one hand, leaving him so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.

From then on, the kid was not only not subdued, but instead became obsessed with Shen Chang'an.

Whenever there's a major event in the city that Shen Chang'an might attend, he'll come and stake it out like a leech, just to challenge Shen Chang'an to a duel and get revenge.

Moreover, Ji Lin is not just some ordinary chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) sufferer; he is the young master of the Ji family, a top-tier family in Cangjiang City, the capital of Cangjiang Province.

In the local area, the Ji family was a veritable "weapon family," the kind of ruthless characters who could shove a person's head into the ground without a second thought, and then point to the sole of their foot and insist that it was a kind of ginseng.

"Brother, I'm here to work, and I have a ton of work to do."

Shen Chang'an sighed helplessly and continued to take the detour.

"Who's like you, a spoiled young master, coming down from the provincial department to inspect, doing nothing but fighting all day long?"

"Enough with the talk, this time I'm different!"

Ji Lin followed closely beside him, proudly raising his chin.

"Shen Chang'an, I successfully broke through to the third realm last month! Today, we must have a fair and square spar!"

Shen Chang'an stopped and looked at him as if he were an idiot, then suddenly laughed: "Did you lose your mind from practicing swordsmanship? You should know that when I beat you two years ago, I was already at the third realm, right?"

Ji Lin's face stiffened, but he quickly retorted, stubbornly sticking out his neck: "So what! True geniuses are capable of fighting beyond their level!"

Shen Chang'an covered his forehead speechlessly. It seemed this kid hadn't been beaten enough lately, and his skin was starting to itch again.