Luo Feng Was Not a Mental Master

Ning Ze and the others left the HR Shopping Mall Building. After exchanging contact numbers with Xu Gang, he tossed out a single sentence: "I live in Bright Moon Residential Area."

The group drove away.

Through the car window, Ning Ze gazed darkly at the building. Today, he had been the fish on the chopping block, at another's mercy. He had nearly been driven into a dead end—perhaps even forced to fight within the Base City before fleeing into the Wilderness Area.

He never wanted to be like this again: framed, manipulated, coerced, with his life and death—even his fate—in someone else's hands.

One day, I will wield the Heavenly Sword. If men are wicked, I will slay men! If gods are unjust, I will slay gods! If the law is unfair, I will cleave the law!

Ning Ze silently set this goal in his heart. He felt his body and mind become utterly clear, as though even his soul had turned transparent. Turning back, he slowly closed his eyes. A Silver White Divine Sword that could cut through all things appeared in his mind. The next second, countless Sword Marks surfaced in his consciousness, and he entered cultivation.

Xu Gang stood at the entrance of the building and let out a long breath. He reached up to wipe his forehead, though there was not a single drop of sweat there. Still, his heart remained tense.

As the eldest young master of the Xu Family, this was the first time he had been made to feel so lowly beneath the aura of a Warlord-level martial artist!

"Damn, the Elite Training Camp? Fifty billion! Incredible!"

Xu Gang's voice was full of amazement. Then a sharp light flashed in his eyes as he muttered, "The Wang Family has run into trouble. That's an opportunity for the Xu Family! If we can befriend a genius martial artist like him, the Xu Family will surely benefit enormously in the future."

He flagged down a car and hurried home.

He needed to find out everything about the Ning Family in advance and tailor his approach accordingly. He was determined to be the first to curry favor with Ning Ze. Once Ning Ze truly grew stronger, there would be countless people trying to get close to him. How would the Xu Family still have a chance?

While Ning Ze had yet to enter the Elite Training Camp and his talent had not been fully exposed, Xu Gang needed to settle all matters of building connections. Once more people came trying to ingratiate themselves, Ning Ze would not remember them. He would only remember the Xu Family!

The next day.

Ning Ze woke as soon as dawn broke.

He had wanted to sleep well with his wife, but at his current strength, two or three hours were enough for him to rest. Any longer, and he simply could not sleep.

Ning Ze stroked the adorable little plum blossom with its three black dots, his gaze thoughtful. Kill him or not?

After returning yesterday, he had clarified the situation. Neither his family nor his father-in-law's family had gone out. The only member of the Shu Family who had been outside was that second uncle. He was the one who had previously wanted Shu Yi to marry Zhai Yanko, and he was also the one who had leaked the secret to Wang Xing'an this time.

He really did want to kill him.

"Mm..." The sleeping woman stirred slightly. "Don't mess around." Shu Yi reflexively reached out and patted his chest.

A mischievous smile curled Ning Ze's lips. He had not intended to fool around until she said that. Now, he wanted to tease her instead.

As for that second uncle, Ning Ze had already tossed him to the back of his mind. People had to take responsibility for what they did. He had been living a perfectly good life, yet he insisted on going out to beg on the streets. Who could he blame but himself?

This punishment was perfect.

Old Master Shu had handled it in a way that was deeply satisfying!

Killing him would only have let him off too easily.

"Ugh, I'm awake! But it's not even light out yet!" Shu Yi opened her eyes and looked over at him with a faintly aggrieved expression.

Ning Ze wore the satisfied smile of someone whose scheme had succeeded and comforted her gently. "Then... how about you sleep a little longer?"

Shu Yi rolled over twice, a trace of discomfort on her face, and said coyly, "I can't sleep anymore! You're so annoying!"

"Since you can't sleep, how about we take a walk around the residential area?" Ning Ze turned to look out the window. Ever since growing up, he rarely wandered around the neighborhood. After getting married, he had never strolled around with Shu Yi either. Now that he was about to leave, he wanted to walk around it a little.

"Ah..." Shu Yi yawned and reluctantly agreed. "All right." They had stayed up a little late having fun last night, and now that she had risen so early, she was not very energetic.

Ning Ze secretly chuckled. Before getting married, he had never known that Xiao Guai liked sleeping in.

After washing up, they got dressed and came down from the third floor.

It was only five in the morning. Everyone else in the house was still asleep, and the living room was dim and quiet.

When they walked outside, the sky was gray-blue, and the sun had not yet appeared.

Ning Ze took a deep breath. The air was fresh and faintly moist. The courtyard was still bursting with color, and a crystal-clear drop of morning dew hung from the tip of a luxuriant flower leaf.

Once outside, Shu Yi looped her arm through Ning Ze's and rested her head on his shoulder. The two of them walked slowly like that.

Step by step, their matching pace measured out the colorful cobblestone path. They looked at the quiet little houses around them and the flowerbeds competing in splendor.

At this time, the flowers, grass, and trees ignored the seasons. The villa district was still beautiful. The cool morning weather made it feel secluded, yet a little warm.

As they walked, a radiant smile appeared on Shu Yi's face. Her eyes lingered dreamily on the beautiful scenery in the residential area. Facing the golden sunlight spilling over from the horizon, she murmured, "This is exactly like the life I used to imagine."

"It will be like this in the future too," Ning Ze said calmly.

A blissful smile spread across Shu Yi's face. She rubbed her little head against Ning Ze's shoulder, feeling even more secure.

Just then, a young man in a black Combat Suit walked toward them from ahead. He held an alloy shield in one hand and a dark red saber in the other. He looked as though he was heading to the Wilderness Area.

"Luo Feng."

"Brother Ning, when did you get back? I heard you went to City No. 003? What was it like there?" Luo Feng asked curiously.

After a brief thought, Ning Ze summarized, "There are a lot of monsters. Beast Warlord-level monsters barely have any underlings—it's like picking up money. But it's dangerous there. Powerful monsters are always roaming around."

Luo Feng nodded deeply. Put another way, that meant F-class monsters were everywhere, and Beast Warlords roamed freely. He did not know exactly what level of monster Ning Ze considered powerful, but with so many Warlord-level monsters around, the place was certainly dangerous.

"Is your squad heading to the Wilderness Area?" Ning Ze asked.

Luo Feng shook his head. "No. My squad is still recuperating. I'm just going to the county town beside the military district to train by myself."

Ning Ze thought for a moment and understood. There were three reasons for a squad to be recuperating: casualties, someone making a breakthrough, or family matters. Since they were not that close, it was generally inappropriate to ask further.

"You're still as hardworking as ever. I heard you've even earned yourself the nickname 'Madman' lately?" Ning Ze said with a smile. Their relationship was fairly good. Luo Feng had happened to be home when Ning Ze got married, and he had given a wedding gift of one million Huaxia Coin and attended the ceremony.

Luo Feng modestly replied, "I can't compare to you, Brother Ning. You've been a Warlord for nearly two months already. You must be even stronger now."

Ning Ze truly put immense pressure on him.

Even though he had awakened as a Mental Master, he vaguely felt that he still could not catch up, because he had heard rumors that Ning Ze already possessed the strength of an Advanced Warlord.

Living in the same residential area, their families often chatted about martial artists. They were especially enthusiastic when it came to discussing geniuses. Just as Ning Ze had heard of him, he had also heard of Ning Ze.

He knew Ning Ze trained extremely hard and had done so ever since childhood. Luo Feng felt both admiration and kinship toward him because he worked just as hard.

The difference was that Luo Feng did it to improve his living conditions, while Ning Ze did not have such great pressure to survive, yet he could still remain true to himself and cultivate diligently.

Ning Ze smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly sensed something strange about Luo Feng and began looking at him carefully.

Luo Feng did not understand why. He glanced down at himself but found nothing wrong.

When he looked up again, he saw a flash of silver-white sword light pass through Ning Ze's eyes. A vague pressure arose within his mind, and his Mental Power instinctively resisted it.

"Huh!"

Ning Ze let out a surprised sound and stated with certainty, "You're a Mental Master!" When he saw Luo Feng's somewhat unpleasant expression, he quickly apologized. "Sorry. I had a strange feeling just now and unconsciously used my mental power. I only started using mental power this way yesterday, so I'm not very skilled at it."

The corner of Luo Feng's mouth twitched. Ning Ze's words sounded sincere enough, but was he upset because the other man had tested him? What bothered him was that his talent for Mental Power had been exposed!

Especially that calm look on Ning Ze's face—no matter how Luo Feng looked at it, he felt there was no real sincerity there. Ning Ze even seemed a little pleased with himself. Clearly, after testing out Luo Feng's Mental Power, Ning Ze had become more familiar with his new ability, while Luo Feng had exposed his secret for nothing.

Still, this also proved that Ning Ze had not done it deliberately. Luo Feng could not really blame him and could only reply gloomily, "It's fine."

Ning Ze felt a little awkward. Turning to see his wife staring with wide, curious eyes, he instructed her, "Luo Feng isn't a Mental Master. We were joking just now."

Shu Yi blinked her big eyes and repeated, "Luo Feng isn't a Mental Master. I didn't hear anything just now."

What perfect harmony between husband and wife!

Luo Feng felt even more depressed. Ning Ze had won the beauty's heart, while things between him and Xu Xin were progressing poorly. That girl was the eldest daughter of the Xu Family, one of the Nine Great Families!

He had walked out the door, been glanced at once, and ended up exposing his secret. Today was truly an unlucky day.

Fortunately, the two of them would keep it secret. That was some consolation.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going." Luo Feng did not want to stay any longer.

"Wait a moment," Ning Ze called out.

"What is it?"

Luo Feng asked with slight wariness, "Brother Ning, is there something else?" Having just exposed his secret, he did not feel very good about this.

Ning Ze paused briefly before offering a well-intentioned reminder. "Talent isn't a bad thing. Revealing it can reduce some trouble. I'll be going to the Global Martial Arts Headquarters later. Once I'm there, I'll be able to train in peace."

Envy appeared in Luo Feng's eyes. If I reveal my talent as a Mental Master, I should be able to go too, right? He still did not know that Ning Ze was one of his kind.

In truth, Luo Feng's talent had also been reported by the Director, but there had not yet been a response. The progress he showed on the surface was indeed not as rapid as Ning Ze's.

Luo Feng was just about to say something when a shout came from the distance.

"Young Master Ning, what a coincidence. I was just about to come find you."

Xu Gang ran over from afar. His gaze paused briefly on Luo Feng, and his brows furrowed slightly. He had not expected to run into the martial artist who had been pestering his sister here.

Ning Ze raised a brow, somewhat surprised by Xu Gang's reaction. "You know each other?"

Luo Feng nodded, his gaze slightly cold as he greeted him. "Young Master Xu."

Naturally, Xu Gang could not act too blatantly in front of Ning Ze. "So it's Luo Feng."

Ning Ze found it interesting. Judging by their reactions, it seemed something unpleasant had happened between them?

"Brother Ning, I'm off to train."

"All right. We'll talk again when we have time."

Watching Luo Feng's departing figure, Ning Ze said with an amused smile, "Luo Feng is a talented martial artist. If there's any conflict between you, I advise you to reconcile—or at least observe the situation further. It's best not to do anything too extreme."

A fake ghost had met the real one. He, an acquired Mental Master, had encountered a born Mental Master.

From what he sensed, Luo Feng should have the strength of an Advanced Warrior. Yet his mental power seemed faintly stronger than Ning Ze's own. That meant it was at the Intermediate Warlord level! Possibly even at the peak of Intermediate Warlord.

Mental Masters were typically two levels above martial artists. This showed that Luo Feng's Mental Power had not been exhausted at all; he even had plenty left in reserve!

And Luo Feng wanted to hide it. The reason could only be the same as Ning Ze's—he was too strong! That further demonstrated Luo Feng's talent. At the very least, his dormant mental power was in a solid state!

Mental Masters had a great ability to earn money. Luo Feng would not leave money sitting there unearned, and he did not have any enemies.

A Mental Master with such talent would become a War God at the very least. If Xu Gang made any more foolish moves, Ning Ze had no doubt that Xu Gang would follow in Wang Xing'an's footsteps—first bloodletting, then death!

Ning Ze had a favorable impression of the head of the Xu Family. He also wanted to befriend a family from the Underground Alliance, both for convenience and to better deal with the Wang Family later. That was why he reminded Xu Gang.

Xu Gang's expression went blank. A peerless genius like Ning Ze was calling Luo Feng a talented martial artist? He had been planning all along to drive away this martial artist who kept bothering his sister!

"I'll remember your words, Young Master Ning." Xu Gang appeared somewhat humble before Ning Ze, utterly different from how he treated other Warlords.

The chance of other Warlords becoming War Gods was less than one percent. This man had a one hundred percent chance of becoming a War God and at least a fifty percent chance of surpassing one!

As long as Ning Ze did not die, he was destined to become powerful. Xu Gang had no choice but to seek good relations with him. By setting the right attitude now, he could at least spend less money in the future. At best, even begging might not earn him this opportunity.

"Don't call me Young Master Ning. Just call me by my name."

Ning Ze found it awkward. The closest thing he had to relying on his father was joining the Warfire Squad, where everyone called him kid. There were few ordinary people in his social circle, so no one called him Young Master Ning.

The title reminded him of Wang Xing'an and made him feel a little sick.

"All right, Ning Ze," Xu Gang said.

"You came this time because the compensation has been finalized?" Ning Ze asked amicably. He was very satisfied with Xu Gang's attitude. Coming over so early meant Xu Gang intended to visit as soon as he found Ning Ze awake and deal with the matter immediately.

"The Alliance's proposal is a set of SS-class Combat Suit and an SS-class Light Swan Sword. What do you think?" Xu Gang asked tentatively.

Ning Ze considered it. A set of SS-class Combat Suit would cost sixty billion at half price, while an SS-class Light Swan Sword cost fifteen billion. If he bought them himself, it would cost seventy-five billion, already more than the value of his materials.

"I'll ask the martial arts hall first. If Uncle Dongfang thinks it's fine, I can accept that compensation."

"Of course you should. I came over now just to tell you first. If you aren't satisfied, my Xu Family can continue negotiating." Xu Gang spoke with righteous conviction.

A faint smile appeared on Ning Ze's lips. "Then thank you. I'll contact you after I ask Uncle Dongfang."

"All right, I'll wait for your news."

"We were just heading home. You probably haven't eaten breakfast, right? Why not come to my house and have breakfast with us?"

Xu Gang shook his head and declined. "Not this time. I still need to go back and handle matters at the mall. I'll deliver the compensation later. If you're free, we can find a place for a drink."

"All right. I'll come by when I have time."

Watching Xu Gang leave, Ning Ze smiled happily. "Though there was a bit of trouble, we got seventy-five billion for free. Wife, let's go home for breakfast."

"Luo Feng seems like an upright person. Xu Gang speaks and handles matters pleasantly enough, but he still feels rather calculating," Shu Yi said. She did not have a very favorable impression of Xu Gang. She felt his personality was very similar to Shu Heng's.

"Everyone gets what they need. Money is unavoidable wherever you go. Having them handle some matters also makes things easier and more worry-free." Ning Ze did not mind. The Xu Family handled things fairly openly and honestly, and that was enough. Without benefits, who would come crowding around?

Ning Ze contacted Director Dongfang once and finalized the compensation. Besides the SS-class Combat Suit and SS-class Light Swan Sword Xu Gang had mentioned, there was also an additional twenty billion Huaxia Coin.

Altogether, it came to nearly one hundred billion. Even if the manufacturing cost was low, it would still be at least sixty billion Huaxia Coin. Ning Ze was very satisfied.

Another matter settled at the same time was his place in the Elite Training Camp. To secure one more spot, the Huaxia Military Department called Ning Ze. Their meaning was that he should enter the Elite Training Camp this year rather than delay it until next year.

After all, it was already November. In a little over a month, it would be the year 57. Based on the level Ning Ze had displayed, he could completely take the test and join the Elite Training Camp.

Director Dongfang agreed with this as well. The Elite Training Camp recruited globally, and getting one more person from Huaxia in was a good thing.

Ning Ze did not want to delay any longer either, so he agreed. He was not afraid of tests.

As for Wang Xing'an, Ning Ze did not know what punishment he had received. But since no news had reached him and the matter had been concealed, it could not have been a particularly severe punishment.

Ning Ze did not care either. The evidence they held was simply insufficient to convict Wang Xing'an. Even Hong Quan, who lived in Bright Moon Residential Area, did not dare come forward to testify.

When Ning Hua had gone to Director Dongfang for help, he had not mentioned this matter at all. Someone who could run rampant and act recklessly in the Base City was not someone a Director could punish. They also did not want to make things difficult for Director Dongfang.

Ning Ze simply did not ask about it. He would have to rely on himself for revenge.

Today's updates are complete.