Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Gu Changjin's fingertip stopped on the table.

The question I just asked isn't actually that difficult to answer.

Why must Heaven ensure that humanity loses?

Because the human race is no longer suitable to be the protagonist of this world.

"I see."

Gu Changjin leaned back in his chair, a growing sense of understanding appearing in his eyes.

A world cannot remain in one place forever.

Humans have occupied this world for countless millennia, and martial arts have developed from nothing to the True Martial Realm.

But once you get here, it's like hitting an invisible wall.

Whether it's the Nine Provinces True Man or the Imperial Preceptor of the Capital, they are all constantly moving forward within the True Martial Realm, and none of them have truly stepped into a higher level.

The world itself, too, has come to a standstill here.

Since the old protagonists of the world can no longer drive the world forward, let's change them.

This was somewhat similar to the ancient legends he had heard in his previous life.

An era ends, and a new race ascends to the stage of heaven and earth.

The only difference is that this world chose demons instead of humans.

The earliest demons were not strong; in fact, when they were first born, they had to hide from human warriors to survive.

However, they possess the ability to devour the blood and spiritual energy of humans to strengthen themselves.

What humans had accumulated over tens of thousands of years became the fastest source of resources for the growth of demons.

First rank, second rank, all the way up to the ninth rank, and above that are the demonic great saints who are truly powerful enough to overwhelm human cultivators.

Gu Changjin had already seen things very clearly from the long river of fate.

With each additional demonic sage that appears, the power of demons in the world intensifies.

At the same time, large swathes of human territory fell to the enemy.

He used to think of this as a simple change in strength.

Now it seems that's not the case at all.

The breakthrough of the Great Sage of Demons is itself helping this world break through its original limits.

The highest level of life forms is getting higher and higher.

The world's capacity to withstand forces is also constantly increasing.

This is a slow promotion.

"So the demons don't simply want to devour all of humanity."

"It is not that it is about completing a transition from the old to the new for this world."

Gu Changjin suddenly smiled.

That's actually more interesting.

The origin of ordinary small worlds is no longer as precious to the current Dao Fruit as it was initially.

But a world that is undergoing transformation is different.

If we can pry off that major trend driving world change before it completes its upgrade...

What you gain will be substantial.

As for whether the human race was the protagonist of the old world.

Are demons the protagonists of the new era?

Gu Changjin didn't really care.

Anyone can be the main character.

As long as something ends up in his hands.

For the next two weeks, Qinghe County remained calm.

Gu Changjin spent his days reading and cultivating, occasionally sensing the locations of those demon warriors.

At first, there were only a dozen or so, but by the time he was about to leave Qinghe County, the aura of the "General Outline of Demon Warriors" had spread throughout the entire Yunzhou region and had begun to expand wildly to areas outside the state.

The speed was so fast that even he was a little surprised.

Shen Zhao finally offered to take him to Yunzhou Prefecture.

The reason is simple.

Shen Zhao's term of office has expired.

Since Gu Changjin is now under his command, he will naturally be taken along as well.

Gu Changjin did not refuse.

Just right.

We've seen pretty much everything that's worth seeing in Qinghe County.

The state government is where you truly connect with the highest levels of this society.

As for what Shen Zhao was planning...

Gu Changjin could probably guess a little bit about it.

But it didn't matter; since someone was willing to show him the way, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

A few days later, a convoy of demon-suppressing vehicles drove out of Qinghe County.

Shen Zhao rode at the front, while Gu Changjin followed in the middle of the group.

On the city wall, the middle-aged eighth-rank martial artist who had once warned Shen Zhao stood with his hands behind his back.

Several of his longtime confidants were standing beside him.

He watched the departing procession and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Those powerful families in the prefecture..."

"Nothing has changed at all after all these years."

"When I see a young person with good physique and pure bloodline, I wish I could swallow them whole, skin and bones."

A trusted confidant standing nearby kept his head down and remained silent.

He turned around as he said this.

"never mind."

"It's none of our business."

"As long as I don't die in Qinghe..."

puff!

He hadn't finished speaking.

Suddenly, a demon-suppressing blade pierced through his abdomen from behind.

The knife tip, dripping with blood, pierced through his chest.

The middle-aged man's body suddenly stiffened.

He glanced down at the blade.

He turned his head with difficulty again.

The man holding the knife was his trusted confidant who had followed him for over ten years.

"you……"

Why?

There was no remorse in his confidant's eyes, but rather a deep anger.

"How dare they allow others to plot against their lord!"

"His crime deserves death!"

The middle-aged man's pupils suddenly contracted.

Lord?

Who?

Before he could react...

The blade was suddenly drawn out.

Several other trusted men rushed forward at the same time.

Some blocked their escape route, while others slashed at their necks.

Even more strangely, none of the nearby Demon Guards who witnessed this scene showed any shock.

It was as if it had been expected all along.

A moment later.

The city walls were quiet again.

The eighth-rank Demon Suppressor lay in a pool of blood.

Several trusted confidants glanced down at the corpse.

They then casually began cleaning up the scene.

Qinghe County remains peaceful.

……

Yunzhou Prefecture, as the true center of Yunzhou, is a city far larger than Qinghe County.

The black city walls, reaching heights of tens of meters, stretched for dozens of miles, and the city had a permanent population of over one million.

Martial artists are everywhere. In an ordinary town, you might not see more than a few martial artists of the third rank or above in a year. But here, the customers sitting in the restaurants on the street might be experts of the fourth or fifth rank.

The reason is simple: the real person from Yunzhou is stationed in this city.

The most outstanding martial arts traditions, resources of the Demon Suppression Division, and major families in the entire Yunzhou region are almost all gathered here.

When Gu Changjin entered the city, he could even feel an extremely powerful aura deep within the city, far exceeding the ninth rank.

"True Martial Arts".

He sensed it for a moment, then looked away.

After returning to the prefecture, Shen Zhao did not immediately do anything to Gu Changjin.

He was simply assigned to a government office under the jurisdiction of the State Demon Suppression Division.

They gave him an identity, arranged accommodation, and then told him to wait for orders.

Gu Changjin wasn't in a hurry; the one thing he had plenty of right now was time.

On the other side, Shen Zhao had just returned to the courtyard where he used to work, and had barely sat down without even having a sip of tea.

A demon-suppressing guard strode in with an urgent report in his hand.

"Sir, an urgent report from Qinghe County."

Shen Zhao paused.

"Qinghe County?"

I've only been gone for a few days.

What urgent news could there be?

He took the document and unfolded it casually.

After reading only the first two lines, I frowned.

The demon slayer of Qinghe County was attacked and killed by demons last night. He was seriously injured and died.

Shen Zhao's expression changed slightly.

That guy is an eighth-level martial artist.

They are among the top performers in the entire Qinghe County.

What kind of demon could sneak into the city and kill him without anyone noticing?

He continued reading.

Soon, his expression turned somewhat strange.

The official document is written in great detail.

The demon slayer was besieged by several clawed demons skilled in stealth.

He was ultimately struck by eighteen claws and died on the spot.

Shen Zhao stared at those few lines of text for a long time, and then read them again.

"Struck by eighteen claws?"

He frowned.

The demon-suppressing guards responsible for delivering the message kept their heads down and dared not speak.

Shen Zhao continued flipping through the pages.

The autopsy results were also clearly written down.

There were eighteen wounds, fourteen of which were on his back.

Shen Zhao remained silent for a long while before slowly raising his head.

"No? What kind of demon is so rule-abiding?"

"Eighteen claws, fourteen claws all stabbing from behind?"