First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!

As the saying goes—speed is the soul of war. The key points had been covered, the cautions made clear.

Time to move out.

Crates of combat gear specially for Cultivators of Qi were hauled out from the 749 Bureau’s armory in Kaoshan City—everything from talismans to disposable items, healing medicines, and more. Every single 749 investigator was kitted out to the teeth.

Worried about waste?

Who cares?

It’ll get reimbursed.

Stuff like this is pocket change. As long as they wiped out Heishan Village, that ticking time bomb on Daheshan, it was worth every penny.

Soon, everyone was assembled.

Lu Ding gave the command:“Move out!!!”

Shi Lei reached into the small pouch at his waist, pulled out a few paper birds, and tossed them into the air while forming hand seals. The paper birds expanded in the wind, turning into massive creatures with wingspans over ten meters.

As the head of a local substation, with so many investigators under him—how did he qualify?

Obviously, the man had some special skills.

Everyone leapt onto the birds.

Lu Ding followed with a soaring leap, flipping mid-air. Sheets of black-scaled armor surged out of nowhere, flowing over his body. Dark mist churned, and savage beasts lunged from it, biting down into the armor and transforming into beastly faces to reinforce it.

Landing on the bird’s back—

Lu Ding stood there clad in his Four-Beast Savage Armor, bloodlust rolling off him, murderous intent radiating.

Everyone glanced over, thinking: It’s starting. He’s building up power. This is phase one—General’s Armor Technique.

Then they saw spiritual energy surge in Lu Ding’s hand. The pressure made their skin sting.

Phase two—compressing energy into that bizarre Slash Attack.

The paper birds soared through the clouds.

On Daheshan—

No insects chirped. No birds sang. Everything was dead silent.

Outside Heishan Village—

Trees waved, grass turned, ghosts covered the ground.

This was Daheshan. After nightfall, it became a no-man’s land. No living being dared enter.

From atop the bird, Lu Ding took it all in carefully.

The rumors about Daheshan flashed through his mind. He’d thought it was something special.

But looking now? Just a bunch of low-tier ghosts and petty demons. Not even worth killing—maybe they’d drop a few Colorless Crystal Shards at best.

Which also explained why Daheshan was only dangerous at night. These creatures weren’t strong enough, their foundations too weak. During the day, they wouldn’t dare show themselves.

At night, Yang energy faded. A living person wandering in? Like ants devouring an elephant—nibble by nibble, they’d drain you of your Yang energy.

Before you knew it, you weren’t alive anymore.

One goes in, never comes out. Two go in, same thing. The village earned its fearsome reputation.

And among the small fish, there were always some big ones. Just your luck, you might run into one.

But at least Lu Ding hadn’t—yet.

The 749 Bureau feared nothing. Years ago, during the bandit purge on Daheshan, those with shoulder badges had marched up from the base of the mountain. No matter what kind of spirit you were—even wild dogs got smacked and inspected to see if they’d become sentient.

Their 749 shoulder badges were the best entry pass. The little ones didn’t dare provoke them. The big ones didn’t want to.

So far, everything had gone smoothly—until a towering poplar tree blocked the path.

Its leaves rustled without wind, producing a crisp clapping sound. Looking closer, the leaves had turned into human hands, clapping over and over again.

Poplar trees.

In folklore, they’re called Ghost Beckoners. You’d know why the moment you heard their leaves clap.

After a hundred years, some places even called them Aunt Poplar or Poplar Mama...

Legend says, when children die young and become ignorant little ghosts, the clapping of poplar leaves draws in their playful curiosity.

Over time, more and more little ghosts gather. That’s how “Poplar Mama” got its name.

The one in front of them, planted just outside Heishan Village, was the legendary Poplar Mama.

According to 749’s archived records, this “Poplar Mama” was the village’s guardian spirit beast. A real bird of a feather with the rest.

“Investigators of the 749 Bureau, working late into the night—what brings you to Heishan Village?”

Director Shi spoke sternly, “You think you—”

He didn’t even get three words out—

A slash and a voice landed at the same time:

“Here to send you straight to hell!”

While stabilizing the energy in his hand, Lu Ding split his spiritual energy into two streams—multitasking. His gaze locked on, spiritual energy coursed into his eyes, forming transparent curves that rippled across his vision.

Where his eyes landed, the spell followed.

The Slash Attack struck before the spirit could react.

Caught off guard, the Poplar Tree Spirit—though powerful enough to be a high-tier Linghai Realm creature—was still sliced clean in half.

In an instant, Yin energy billowed, black mist spread—

Contained Creature: Hundred-Year-Old Poplar Tree Spirit

Containment Reward: Poplar Blossom Burial

Poplar Blossom Burial: Victim’s body transforms into a tree

While not particularly deadly on its own, this spell could complement the Dark Death Black Coffin Art.

Poplar Blossom Burial, locked in. Dark Death Black Coffin Art, locked in.

As the two spell names faded, they fused.

A brand-new hybrid spell appeared.

Technique: Floral Coffin Death Burial

Enemy becomes the seed, spell is the trigger—when the flowers bloom and fall, the soul perishes completely.

This new spell was an unexpected bonus.

So this is what natural synergy between spells looks like?

The Dark Death Black Coffin Art, gained from the Ghost Corpse Spirit of Poplar Blossoms, actually combined with the Poplar Spirit’s Poplar Blossom Burial to create Floral Coffin Death Burial.

Compared to the individual effects of the two, this new spell was several times stronger.

Kind of like how last time, Wind-Fixing Art and Blood Rain Technique merged—

That one had ridiculous AoE. Even Lu Ding found it hard to control.

This new one? Less limited. Could be used freely.

If Blood Rain was area damage, Floral Coffin Death Burial was targeted assassination.

And...

It was flashy as hell.

Kills triggered flowers blooming. Petals danced in the air. And the caster stood alone amid it all.

Flowers fall, lives end, souls perish—Lu Ding could barely imagine how extra that must look.

Next to him, Shi Lei watched the battle start and end in a blink.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit weird.

He’d originally planned to say, “You think you’re worthy of asking about our mission?” and then attack.

He usually wasn’t this dramatic, but he’d been trying to match Lu Ding’s style—simplify things.

After all, word was this Special Investigator liked to cut out all the unnecessary steps.

Shi Lei hadn’t expected...

This much simplification.

In the end, his thinking just couldn’t keep up.

With the Poplar Tree Spirit dead at the village gate, the towering tree snapped in half and crashed to the ground, causing a huge commotion that instantly caught the attention of the Cultivators of Qi inside Heishan Village.

Just as Lu Ding had said earlier—storming the front was step one, drawing attention was step two.

Meanwhile, the other investigators were already moving. Some setting traps. Some charging in.

Several figures leapt and darted through the village.

Lu Ding scanned their faces, comparing them to the file photo of Ye Chengfeng.

Not present.

Lu Ding stepped back, levitating into the air.

“Director Shi,” he said, “Your turn.”