Reporting for School

The downpour showed no signs of stopping.

Several cars were parked at the entrance of the residential complex, one of them a large black van, much like a celebrity's transport.

Li Ye, led by Huang Qingyi, approached the van, and its rear door was pulled open.

As Huang Qingyi gestured for Li Ye to get in, his gaze towards Li Ye was filled with surprise.

And a hint of fear.

Wu Yongnian's cause of death was a gunshot to the head, with two shots to the legs disabling his ability to escape. However, his left ribs bore several gashes, as if scraped by iron hooks.

His "senior brother," a legitimate member of the Seven Dragon Gate, possessed superior swordsmanship and cultivation than Huang Qingyi, yet his death was comically executed.

Above the Six Dragon Gate level, anyone with martial arts skills could dodge bullets. But there were no signs of a struggle around, and the death was too swift.

All of this was done by the person in front of him, who, just over a month ago, was an ordinary student.

Li Ye took off his raincoat, smiled at Huang Qingyi, handed him the raincoat, and got into the van.

The back of the van was like a small private room, with a table in the middle. As soon as Li Ye sat down, Pan Zhengyang, who was sitting in the center seat, offered him a cigarette.

Li Ye took it and lit it naturally, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

Pan Zhengyang stared at him and chuckled, "How does it feel?"

"What feeling can I have towards an enemy? It was a bit sickening at first, but I got used to it," Li Ye replied.

"That's good, no delicate illnesses like dizziness or nausea."

Pan Zhengyang nodded and said, "This matter really has nothing to do with the Ren family. Their... who was it? Old Sun."

"His name is Ren Xu. He completed his procedures and went abroad last week."

The person in the driver's seat turned around and said, "Wu Yongnian probably acted on his own."

"Section Chief."

Li Ye saw that the person in the driver's seat was Sun Shun and called out to him before frowning, "Director Pan, this is the second time."

"Yeah, the second time..."

Pan Zhengyang clicked his tongue. "But they're smart and leave no loose ends, so they wouldn't be so foolish. That old geezer from the Ren family wouldn't do something so idiotic. You, a student, aren't worth him doing that."

This was the main reason.

Even though Li Ye was working part-time at the Pest Control Bureau, he was just a Data Clerk, still a student, and had only recently joined the Dragon Gate. How could the Ren family, so cunning that Pan Zhengyang couldn't find any leads even now, possibly deal with a student who had nothing?

Sun Shun also added, "Wu Yongnian was just fired by us. He might have held a grudge. He was the one who provided the intelligence about your Magic Treasure, which led to Ren Xu's departure abroad."

Li Ye had heard from Sun Shun before about Ren Xu being punished. He heard he was spun around like a top. He thought that matter was over, but unexpectedly, he directly went abroad.

Li Ye asked in surprise, "Isn't that being too cautious?"

"It's precisely this caution that makes me certain they're up to something!"

Pan Zhengyang exhaled a thick puff of smoke. "Noble Families, capital, powerful individuals... In this world, anyone with some influence is high and mighty. No matter how big the trouble, they think they can handle it. If they can beat you, they'll bully you even harder. If they can't, they'll offer gifts and apologies."

"But these are nothing, because the truly arrogant ones mostly died out thirty years ago. The Ren family has no reason to be so cautious over this matter. Damn it, they're being overly cautious!"

He cursed and waved his hand. "Alright, the matter has been cleaned up for you. You're starting school soon, don't overthink it."

Li Ye nodded, bid farewell to the two, and opened the car door to get out.

Regardless of whether this matter was related to the Ren family or not, this was all he could do for now.

As a member of the Three Dragon Gate, he couldn't do much, and the Ren family's affairs were not something he could get involved in at this stage.

Watching Li Ye leave, Sun Shun said, "Director, Li Ye was a bit ruthless..."

Pan Zhengyang took a drag from his cigarette. "Ruthless is good. They wanted his life, and he's not allowed to fight back? That doesn't make sense."

"What about Wu Yongnian's family..."

"Are they ordinary people?"

"They were, but now they're running a small business."

"Let's just treat it as a casualty in the line of duty. Give them some money as a token of our apology. After all, it has nothing to do with his family. It's our Pest Control Bureau's failure to handle things properly."

Pan Zhengyang sighed, "We've done all we can. Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have shown mercy and fired him. It would have been better if he died at the hands of some demon. If he died in the line of duty, it would have had some dignity. What is this now?"

Sun Shun chuckled, "Li Ye was discovered by you, Director. This shows your excellent guidance."

Pan Zhengyang chuckled twice, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and said no more.

After a while, the cars at the entrance of the residential complex drove away. As for the bullet casings and other debris that should have been within the complex, they had completely vanished, as if nothing had ever happened.

Li Ye's life returned to normal. After all, accidents didn't happen every day, and he was starting school soon, so he stayed home and didn't go out much.

In the following days, the only things he encountered were news reports on TV and his phone about major demons appearing somewhere, or top experts annihilating demons, or his father constantly ranting about the influence of capital.

It was as if the Pest Control Bureau and the noble families didn't exist, and life went on as usual.

Of course, he was still getting paid for nothing.

In two months, he had received over thirty thousand.

He gave ten thousand of this money to his parents, claiming it was from his part-time job, which greatly surprised them.

"What part-time job pays five thousand a month?"

Then they praised Li Ye for his success and felt that their decision to insist on Li Ye practicing martial arts back then was the right one.

If you don't break through the Dragon Gate, how can anyone look at you differently?

It wasn't until August 25th that Li Ye went to school to report to his homeroom teacher.

Liberal Arts students don't need to do this, nor do Martial Arts students. Only we Preparatory Students need to report early to complete the procedures for transferring to Liberal Arts or staying in the preparatory course.

Of course, there are also students like them who have broken through the Dragon Gate and need to transfer to the Martial Arts major early.

At the entrance of No. 14 Middle School, as soon as Li Ye arrived, he heard two voices say in unison.

"Brother Ye!"

Deng Hao and Jia Dong were already waiting there.

After two months, Deng Hao had become even more robust, exuding a sense of power with every movement.

Jia Dong's physique had also become much more solid, with a thick layer of calluses on his knuckles.

Li Ye smiled slightly, "Have you broken through?"

The two of them trembled, activating their Blood Essence. The leaping frequency was exactly once.

First Dragon Gate.

Then they looked at Li Ye expectantly. Although Li Ye had said long ago that he had broken through, seeing was believing, and they wouldn't feel at ease until they saw it.

Li Ye also activated his Blood Essence. The leaping frequency of three times made the two of them widen their eyes.

"No way!"

Deng Hao exclaimed, "How is it Three Dragon Gate?!"

They saw it, but it was a bit shocking.

"Ate some good stuff,"

Li Ye said, "Let's go. Don't keep Demon Yan waiting. Let's transfer to the Martial Arts major quickly."

"Ate what? Eating people wouldn't be this fast!"

Deng Hao shouted, "This is too exaggerated. How did you reach Three Dragon Gate? I could accept you reaching Second Dragon Gate, but Three Dragon Gate... What were you doing in the preparatory year?"

It was as if his system hadn't arrived yet.

"Alright, let's report first. We'll find a place to eat at noon and then talk."

Li Ye chuckled and walked into the school gate first.

"Brother Ye, practicing martial arts is too hard,"

Along the way, Deng Hao began to complain, "Waking up before dawn, practicing until late at night, only eating and practicing. I don't even have time to guide pipes."

Jia Dong rolled his eyes, "One drop of essence is ten drops of blood. If you deplete your yang energy, it's all for nothing. And you can't get it up in the morning! It's tiring enough, but the money spent is like flowing water. My family almost had to sell our house after the summer break. Fortunately, I broke through the Dragon Gate."

"How much did it cost?" Li Ye asked curiously.

"Two million. Deng Hao's was a bit more."

"I spent three million,"

Deng Hao said, "Brother Ye, your cost to reach Three Dragon Gate must have been even higher, right?"

Li Ye estimated and nodded:

"About the same. Mainly, a relative of mine used to practice martial arts too and was very experienced. He taught me a lot, and coupled with good food supplies, I broke through quickly."

The ingredients Pan Zhengyang bought daily amounted to over three million.

"Poor scholars, rich martial artists," it's not just an empty saying.

"What relative is so amazing? Do they still teach people? Can we learn?" Deng Hao asked.

"They can't teach anymore. They left last month and went traveling the world."

Li Ye shook his head and, without waiting for the two to ask further questions, approached the office of the preparatory class.