Martial City

The man strode over while the helicopter continued toward the source of the distress signal.

"Hello, Uncle!" Xue Chengsong hurriedly greeted him.

The man merely nodded without a word. He walked up to Feng Wenhao, who was closest, and patted him with his right hand.

Feng Wenhao's eyes widened. The white frost and chill around his wound dissipated at a visible rate.

The man patted each of them once, and the cold energy within every body vanished completely—except Zhou Leng's.

He looked Zhou Leng up and down, then nodded. "A fine seedling."

With that, he ran toward the helicopter, accelerating faster and faster. Fierce winds swirled around him, scattering the wild grass beneath his feet.

Then he vanished into the night.

"That guy was either at the Body-Refining Stage or the Force-Generating Stage. Damn, he was fierce," Feng Wenhao said enviously.

"With that pat, my whole body cleared up. It was like finally taking a dump after being constipated for three days—so comfortable," Cui Mingcong said, using the crudest metaphor possible.

"Retreat?" Zhou Leng looked at Captain Xue Chengsong.

Xue Chengsong asked, "You haven't used your Merit Badge before, right?"

Zhou Leng nodded.

"You do the positioning."

Zhou Leng walked to the Ice Crystal Demon Lion's corpse, used the Merit Badge to pinpoint the location, then took out his phone.

Zhou Leng looked at his phone.

It was like a cookie dropped on the ground, cracked everywhere.

Zhou Leng put it away. "No pictures this time."

"No, this time we need to leave evidence even more." Xue Chengsong dug a portable computer out of his pocket and recorded a video.

"Let's go. Nobody knows whether there's still danger around."

The six of them slung their backpacks over their shoulders and hurried onward. Once they entered the Red-Spotted Leaf Forest, they finally let out a breath.

Not long after the six left, a troop carrier passed by. Soldiers got out, carried away the Ice Crystal Demon Lion's corpse, and departed.

Half an hour later, an oval blue portal appeared where the Ice Crystal Demon Lion had died.

A blue-faced man stepped out of the portal. Flesh tendrils around ten centimeters long grew from either side of his forehead, and he wore a white mage robe embroidered with snowflakes.

He swept his gaze around, bent down, picked up a shard of ice crystal, and put it in his mouth.

"Pfft..." He spat it out.

"This aura..."

He looked in the direction of the Pioneer Base, his brows tightly furrowed, then turned and walked back into the portal.

Zhou Leng and the other five hurried through the night and ran back to the Pioneer Base.

After entering the base gates, Xue Chengsong activated his Enchanted Mini Computer and contacted Xue Tongming.

"Dad, we were attacked by a Demonic Beast. That bastard Ding Yan ran away and nearly got us killed. Luckily, Zhou Leng erupted at the end. Otherwise, I'd never see you again."

"Mm, I'll handle it. Tell me exactly what happened."

Xue Chengsong described everything in detail, including Tong Tianxia and the Rust Priest.

Finally, Xue Chengsong asked, "Dad, who is that Tong Tianxia? He seems to be from the Demon-Worshiping Cult."

"You can barely find that name online. In any case, try not to mention it in front of outsiders."

"I roughly understand."

The others also held up their phones and replied to messages.

Only Zhou Leng stood empty-handed, gazing toward the mall in the base's service area.

Xue Chengsong looked at Zhou Leng, then at the service area mall. After pondering for a moment, he called his mother.

"Mom, my friends and I joined forces and successfully killed a demon wolf. Not bad, right?"

"Good boy. When you come back, Mom will arrange a celebration feast for you."

"Unfortunately, my enchanted computer broke during the battle. It only has the conversation function left. Can you send me some money so I can buy another one at the Pioneer Base? This concerns whether I can get into West Sea Martial University."

"You little brat, all you know is how to ask for money."

Ding...

Xue Chengsong looked down. One hundred thousand had arrived.

"Mom, you're the best! Mwah!" Xue Chengsong kissed his Enchanted Mini Computer.

"Wait for me here. I'll be right back." After saying that, Xue Chengsong headed briskly toward the service area.

The others stood where they were.

Feng Wenhao walked over and sighed. "I knew Demon City was dangerous before, but I never imagined it would be this bad. It's terrifying."

"If we hadn't had Enchanted Weapons, we would definitely have died. Still, it really tempers people. I feel like my understanding of every martial art has deepened," Zhou Leng said.

"Of course. When you fight with your life on the line, how could your understanding not deepen? I could beat the me from a few days ago hanging from a tree. Come on, let's spar slowly, then talk about what we've learned these past few days," Feng Wenhao said.

"Alright."

Feng Wenhao lowered his stance slightly and slowly threw a straight punch at Zhou Leng. As he punched, he said, "I've developed the habit of squatting slightly whenever I strike, stabilizing my center of gravity. Otherwise, my punches aren't steady. The teacher said it before, but only in real combat did I realize how useful it was."

Zhou Leng blocked with his left arm, stepped forward with his right foot, and brought the fingers of his right hand together. His palm was like a blade as he slowly chopped toward Feng Wenhao's carotid artery.

"Your punch has plenty of force, but the move is too straightforward. During this battle, I realized that trading injuries properly is better than dodging around blindly. So I use my left arm to knock aside your right fist, disrupt your center of gravity and stance, then use the longer reach of a palm blade to target..."

The two sparred slowly as they exchanged insights.

People came and went inside the base, but no one paid attention to such a common slow spar.

Before long, Xue Chengsong returned.

"Zhou Leng!" he shouted as he approached.

Zhou Leng withdrew his palm and looked at Xue Chengsong.

A black plastic-sealed box flew toward him.

Zhou Leng caught it.

An Enchanted Mini Computer, watch-shaped.

It was exactly the same as Xue Chengsong's.

"You..." Zhou Leng looked at Xue Chengsong in confusion.

"We're all students, so we can't offer much of a proper reward. On behalf of every team member, I'm giving you this gift to thank you for that whole string of heaven falling into the sea. Honestly, it was incredibly shocking at the time," Xue Chengsong said with a smile.

The other five looked over.

"At least a hundred thousand, right? I only did what I should have done." Zhou Leng threw it back.

Xue Chengsong caught it. "At that time, the Ice Crystal Demon Lion was injured and couldn't catch you at all. You could have run away like Ding Yan, but you chose to risk your life and fight head-on. Just for that alone, plus the fact that your phone shattered, if I didn't show some appreciation, people would poke me in the spine behind my back."

"That's right, Zhou Leng, take it. His Lunar New Year red-envelope money is more than this," Cao Jiajia said.

"Young Master Xue also said he wasn't only representing himself, but all of us. Without you, we really would have been left there," Cui Mingcong said.

"Zhou Leng, take it," Feng Wenhao urged as well.

"Let's compromise. If you really want to thank me, help me buy a new phone."

"This is one!" Xue Chengsong threw it over again. Zhou Leng had no choice but to catch it. Just as he was about to return it, Xue Chengsong raised a hand to stop him.

"The contract clearly states that if someone saves me, the Xue family will pay additional compensation. There's such a clause, right?"

"Yes."

"This is the additional compensation. You were clean and decisive when you killed the demon wolf and demon lion, so why are you hemming and hawing over this? I, Xue Chengsong, am not some fool with money to burn. Whether you're worth it is something the other team members and I know perfectly well. If you keep refusing, our friendship will grow thin."

"Yeah, take it. With an Enchanted Mini Computer, you'll be even more useful to the team in the future."

"Take it." Feng Wenhao pressed down Zhou Leng's wrist and gave him a meaningful look.

Feng Wenhao knew full well that Zhou Leng did not like taking advantage of others, but this was no longer something as simple as an Enchanted Mini Computer.

Zhou Leng fell silent for a moment. Then he slowly raised his head, looked at Xue Chengsong, and said, "Alright. Thank you."

Xue Chengsong smiled happily. "Let's register our Merit Badges first, then wait here for a few days. If the battle ends, we'll visit some other wolf valleys. If it drags on without end, we'll return to Ru City. Let's go."

Led by Xue Chengsong, the team headed toward the Merit Hall.

"Activate your Enchanted Mini Computer first. When you activate your merit record, you'll need to download the 'Martial City' app. From now on, everything related to martial artists will be centralized in Martial City, bound to you for life."

As they walked, Zhou Leng activated his Enchanted Mini Computer.

Xue Chengsong handed him another box. "This is an 'Enchanted Connector.' Stick it near your temple, and you can control the Enchanted Mini Computer with your thoughts. There's a slight delay, though, and it isn't especially precise. I still prefer voice and finger controls most of the time."

Zhou Leng knew that such a connector cost at least five thousand.

Xue Chengsong added, "Oh, right. If anyone above investigates, tell the truth. Zhou Leng truly did make the decisive move against the Ice Crystal Demon Lion, so don't help me claim the credit. I, Xue Chengsong, am not exactly a good person, but I still have some shame."

"You're sure?" Feng Wenhao asked in surprise.

"What a joke. Ask our classmates from No. 3 High School—when have I, Xue Chengsong, ever screwed over my brothers? I'm the one who gets screwed over by my brothers all the time."

"Sometimes he's an idiot," Cao Jiajia blurted out a profanity that somehow was not a profanity.

Xue Chengsong looked embarrassed. "Jiajia just likes bullying me because she's strong."

The six entered the Merit Hall, downloaded the Martial City app, completed facial-recognition identity verification and real-name binding, submitted their Merit Badges for inspection and merit calculation, then left with their badges after the instruments finished reading them.

Zhou Leng did not use the Enchanted Connector. He only activated the "virtual phone screen function."

The Enchanted Mini Computer watch projected a light screen that simulated a phone display.

As Zhou Leng synced his old phone to the cloud, he opened Martial City.

The Martial City interface was extremely simple. The only options currently lit up were "Merit," "Martial Dao Diary," "Friends," "Settings," and a few others.

The grayed-out categories that could not be selected included "Martial Dao Mall," "Martial Dao Forum," "Local Blood Qi Rankings," "Local Freshman Rankings," and many more.

Zhou Leng tapped "Merit," and it displayed that the statistics were still being calculated.

Feng Wenhao asked, "Those categories we can't open—will we be able to access them after enrollment?"

"Besides entering a martial university or Affiliated Martial Academy, advancing to the Blood-Circulating Stage, clearing the first level of the Bronze Man Formation, earning enough merit, and so on can all unlock certain parts."

"I'm getting a little impatient already," Feng Wenhao said with a smile.

"Since we have time now, add something to your Martial Dao Diary. Later, you won't need to write on paper every day. Whenever you improve, just record it there. If you don't want to share it, nobody can see it. Martial City's confidentiality permissions are extremely high. Only the nine highest elders of the Martial Government have the authority to investigate."

Zhou Leng first circulated his qi, simply practiced a set of external martial arts, sensed his realm, and then filled in the information.

I. Realm.

Blood Qi Realm.

Qi-Nourishing Stage.

II. Divine Abilities.

1. Racial Divine Ability: Seed of True Qi.

2. National Divine Abilities: Everlasting Legacy. Martial Path Perception. United Will Forms a Fortress. Medicinal Supplementation.

III. Martial Arts:

1. Internal Art: Mystic Tide Art—Major Mastery, Third Heaven.

2. Fist Art: Mountain-Punching Fist—Mastery, Sixth Heaven.

3. Palm Art: Wave-Stacking Palm—Major Mastery, Fourth Heaven.

4. Leg Art: Cloud-Flying Leg—Mastery, Eighth Heaven.

5. Footwork: Eight Trigrams Step—Major Mastery, Second Heaven.

6. Movement Art: Wandering Cloud Movement—Mastery, Ninth Heaven.

IV. Four Extraordinary Bodies.

Qi: Mortal Qi.

Blood: Mortal Blood.

Body: Mortal Body.

Strength: Mortal Strength.

V. Martial Dao Will.

No perception.

VI. Combat Awareness.

No perception.

After first taking an Origin-Replenishing Pill and then undergoing several days of tempering, all his internal and external martial arts had increased by one Heaven.

Finally, Zhou Leng stared at Martial Dao Will.