### Chapter 4: Demon Inspection
==============================
The sunlight in the Small Thousand World wasn’t blinding at all; in fact, it was always in a pleasantly warm state, perfectly suited for blooming flowers. The fragrant breeze should have made people feel delightful, but for some inexplicable reason, the folks in the square felt an overwhelming pressure.
Even though they all believed they were fine, the moment those guys in cold iron masks approached with their inspection tools, everyone couldn’t help but tense up to the point where they barely dared to breathe.
“Everyone stay put until the inspections are complete. I, the old man, will tell you when it’s safe to return to your peaks. If anyone acts out or resists the inspection, we’ll consider you an internal traitor and arrest you. So, please don’t ask for trouble.”
Wang Qianshan’s sharp gaze darted around the crowd like a hawk.
The inspection process wasn’t actually that complicated. Those masked figures first dipped their fingers into a container, stirred up some murky liquid that emitted a disgusting odor, then touched the disciples’ foreheads.
After observing for about three to four seconds, if there were no issues, they moved on to the next person.
“What is this even? Testing for pH levels?”
“Totally pseudoscience!”
“So foolish, it’s like the medieval witch hunt paranoia, as if we’re all monster beasts. Those masked goofballs must be having a field day.”
“Seriously, is that stuff in their hands some mix of dog bl**d and dung?”
“That smell is absolutely terrible.”
“Logging off to wash my face for sure.”
The players whispered among themselves. They weren’t worried about being flagged; after all, they weren’t natives, and even if they wanted to join the monster race, there was no option for that. But witnessing how the Human Race treated the Monster Race with such disdain, it seemed like being a monster would mean getting chased every day—definitely not fun!
So, they were just here for the show.
Some streamers, like Firefly, initially wanted to secretly go live, as the Heavenly Sword Sect’s demon inspection was a first in the gaming world. It should spark plenty of interest, right?
But, under Wang Qianshan’s imposing aura, their livestreams wouldn’t even turn on. Frustrated, they could only secretly curse while feeling powerless.
Looks like they were stuck enduring this boring wait—this was even duller than a school opening ceremony!
An hour passed.
Given the Monster-Catching Tribe’s inspection speed, they’d need a full two hours to finish up.
Yet, without Wang Qianshan’s order, not even the disciples who passed the inspection could leave.
Just then, as the crowd began to stir with an air of restlessness, something happened.
One disciple, after having that unknown liquid touch his forehead, suddenly had his eyes sparkle red. He didn’t even notice it, but several Law Enforcement Hall Disciples accompanying the Monster-Catching Tribe pounced on him, pinning him to the ground.
The poor guy, even with his head pressed firmly against the floor, thrashed and shouted, “I’m not a demon! I’m not a demon! You’ve got the wrong guy!”
His terrified cries echoed through the air, and everyone turned to stare. No one expected those masked goofballs could actually identify monster beasts.
The guy’s friends rushed in, wanting to argue, “Did you guys mess up?”
“Yeah! He’s always been honest and diligent in his cultivation; how can he be a monster? Is this method even reliable?”
“Exactly! What a bunch of nonsense! Clearly, it’s you guys who are faking it!”
The disciples started losing their cool, with some thinking about stepping in to rescue their unfortunate friend.
Just as chaos was about to erupt, Wang Qianshan’s furious bellow thundered in everyone’s ears like a lightning strike:
“Anyone who dares cause trouble will have their cultivation abolished and be punished alongside the demon traitors!”
“Whoosh!”
Dozens of black-clad disciples wielding sharp weapons surrounded them, ready to act at a moment’s notice.
The other disciples from different peaks who had nothing to do with this just watched from the sidelines, and those at a disadvantage quickly fell silent. They could only watch helplessly as their former comrade was dragged away while screaming.
And this was just the beginning.
With increasingly stringent inspection measures, among the eight thousand disciples, thirty-four were found to exhibit anomalies.
Wang Qianshan’s face grew more relaxed; meanwhile, the atmosphere in the square became increasingly somber.
If those thirty-four were indeed spies from the monster race, what did that mean?
Even the leading immortal sect, Heavenly Sword Sect, couldn’t fend off the full infiltration by the monster race. Clearly, the monster race had been plotting this for decades, with plans stretching far and wide.
As players later pointed out in forum discussions:
Given that no players were mistakenly identified in the demon inspection incident, it could be concluded that the Monster-Catching Tribe’s ability truly held some merit, and it wasn’t as absurd as everyone initially thought.
So, that raised a question:
Why did the Cold Moon Witch expose the monsters hiding in the Heavenly Sword Sect and create such a ruckus in the Small Thousand World? What was her ultimate goal?
She sacrificed so many of her hidden kin—she must be getting something significant in return, right? No one would engage in a losing venture otherwise!
Earlier, the “Upgrade Maniac” had posted a detailed analysis about the truth behind the monster beast attacks on Heavenly Sword Sect and Thousand Bird City.
However, Heavenly Sword Sect players insisted they were still in a state of confusion. Other than the main peak undergoing repairs, there didn’t seem to be any aftermath from the attacks; everything was just too calm.
Nobody knew what the Heavenly Sword Sect had lost during that attack. Perhaps only the higher-ups above the elder level had the right to understand the inside story.
And just as players heatedly discussed the Heavenly Sword Sect’s demon inspection incident, two videos suddenly surfaced on the forum, igniting public interest once more.
Some even frantically commented under the demon inspection thread, urging the onlookers to check out the videos.
The first video was from the well-known streamer, Xiao Ai, featuring her series “Traveling the World of ‘The Way of Inquiry.’”
This episode mainly focused on the beloved brothel industry within the game. Since it was just released, the view count was still low.
Immediately, players began commenting:
“What’s going on? Is this person a pawn? While I’m looking forward to this episode, it has nothing to do with the Heavenly Sword Sect’s demon inspection!”
“Right? You don’t need to exploit current events like that! Besides, Xiao Ai’s videos are already popular; even without the recommendation, we’d watch!”
“Let’s get the moderator to ban that guy—so annoying!”
However, as the episode exploring the brothel began to play, many players watching for the first time started to realize that, in light of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s demon inspection, things were apparently not as simple as they had thought.
