Martial City

Martial City

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

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

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

Feng Wenhao's eyes widened. The frosty chill on his wounds dispersed at a visible rate.

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

He gave Zhou Leng a once-over, nodded, and said, "A good seedling."

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

He vanished into the night.

"This guy is either in the Body Tempering Stage or the Vitality Stage. He's insanely strong," Feng Wenhao said enviously.

"With that one pat, my whole body opened up. It was like finally being able to go after being constipated for three days—so comfortable," Cui Mingcong said, using the crudest metaphor possible.

"Retreat?" Zhou Leng looked at their captain, Xue Chengsong.

Xue Chengsong asked, "You haven't used a Battle Merit Token before, right?"

Zhou Leng nodded.

Xue Chengsong said, "Come over and mark the location."

Zhou Leng walked to the Ice Crystal Demonic Lion's corpse, used the Battle Merit Token to mark its location, then took out his phone.

Zhou Leng looked at his phone.

The phone looked like a cookie that had fallen onto the ground, cracked all over.

Zhou Leng put away his phone and said, "No pictures this time."

"No, we need to leave evidence even more this time." Xue Chengsong pulled out a Portable Computer from his pocket and recorded a video.

Xue Chengsong said, "Let's go. No one knows whether there might still be danger."

The six of them slung on their backpacks and hurried forward. Once they entered the Red Spot Leaf Forest, they Breathed a Sigh of Relief.

Not long after the six left, a Troop Transport Vehicle passed by. Soldiers got out, carried away the Ice Crystal Demonic Lion's corpse, and departed.

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

A blue-faced man stepped out of the portal. Fleshy tendrils roughly ten centimeters long grew from both sides of his forehead, and he wore a white robe embroidered with snowflakes.

He swept his gaze around, bent down, picked up a piece 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 opened his Demonic Microcomputer and contacted Xue Tongming.

"Dad, we ran into a Demonic Beast attack. 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 the events in detail, including Tong Tianxia and the Corrosion Priest.

Finally, Xue Chengsong asked, "Dad, who is that Tong Tianxia? He seems to belong to the Demon Worshipping 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 their phones and replied to messages.

Only Zhou Leng stood empty-handed, looking 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 hands and successfully killed a Demon Wolf. Not bad, right?"

"My good son, when you come back, Mom will arrange a celebration feast for you."

"Unfortunately, my Demonic Computer broke during the battle. Only the chat function is left. Can you send me some money so I can buy a new one at the Pioneer Base? This concerns whether I can get into West Sea Martial University."

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

Ding...

Xue Chengsong looked and saw that one hundred thousand had arrived.

"Mom, you're the best! Mwah!" Xue Chengsong kissed the Demonic Computer.

"Wait for me a moment. I'll be right back." After saying that, Xue Chengsong hurried toward the service area.

Everyone remained where they were.

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

"If we hadn't had Demonic Weapons, we would definitely have died. Still, it really tempers a person. I feel that 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 with one hand tied behind my back. Come on, let's spar slowly, then talk about what we've realized these past few days," Feng Wenhao said.

"Alright."

Feng Wenhao lowered himself slightly and slowly threw a straight punch at Zhou Leng. As he punched, he said, "I've now developed the habit of crouching slightly when I attack to stabilize my center of gravity. Otherwise, my punches aren't steady. Teachers mentioned it before, but I only discovered how useful it was in real combat."

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

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

The two sparred slowly while exchanging insights.

People came and went within the base, but no one paid attention to this common sort of slow sparring.

Before long, Xue Chengsong returned.

"Zhou Leng!" he shouted as he approached.

Zhou Leng withdrew his palm and looked toward Xue Chengsong.

A black plastic-sealed box flew over.

Zhou Leng caught it.

A Demonic Microcomputer, wristwatch model.

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 thank-you. On behalf of all the team members, I'm giving you this gift to thank you for that series of Heaven Island Falls to Sea attacks. Honestly, it was especially 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 tossed it back.

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

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

"Young Master Xue also said this doesn't only represent him—it represents us too. Without you, we really would have been left there," Cui Mingcong said.

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

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

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

"The contract clearly states that if someone saves me, our Xue Family will pay additional compensation. There is such a clause, right?"

"There is."

"This is the additional compensation. When you killed the Demon Wolf and Demonic Lion, you were clean and decisive. Why are you hemming and hawing over something like this? I, Xue Chengsong, am not some gullible fool. Whether you're worth it, the other team members and I know perfectly well in our hearts. If you refuse again, the bond between us will grow thin."

"Exactly. Take it. With a Demonic Computer, you'll be even more useful to the team in the future."

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

Feng Wenhao knew well that Zhou Leng did not like taking advantage of others, but this was no longer as simple as a Demonic Computer.

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

Xue Chengsong smiled happily and said, "Let's first register our Battle Merit Tokens, then wait here for a few days. If the battle ends, we'll go look around other Wolf Valleys. If it drags on endlessly, we'll return to Ru City. Let's go."

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

Xue Chengsong said, "Activate your Demonic Computer first. When you activate your battle merit, you'll need to download the Martial City app. From now on, everything related to martial artists is gathered in Martial City, bound to you for life."

Zhou Leng activated his Demonic Computer as he walked.

Xue Chengsong handed him another box and said, "This is a Demonic Connector. Stick it near your temple, and you can use your thoughts to control the Demonic Computer. It's Just That there's a slight delay, and it isn't especially precise. Usually, I still prefer using my voice and fingers."

Zhou Leng knew that this sort of connector cost at least five thousand.

Xue Chengsong added, "By the Way, if someone investigates us, just tell the truth. Zhou Leng truly did strike the Ice Crystal Demonic Lion himself. Don't Help Me claim credit. I, Xue Chengsong, am not exactly a good person, but I still have shame."

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

"What a joke. Ask our Third Middle School classmates—when have I, Xue Chengsong, ever screwed over my brothers? I'm the one who often gets screwed over by my brothers."

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

Xue Chengsong looked embarrassed and said, "Jiajia just likes relying on how strong she is to bully me."

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

Zhou Leng did not use the Demonic Connector. He only activated the Virtual Phone Screen Function.

The Demonic Computer Wristwatch projected a light screen, simulating a phone display.

Zhou Leng synchronized his old phone to the cloud while opening Martial City.

The Martial City interface was extremely simple. Currently, only a few options were lit up, such as "Battle Merit," "Martial Path Diary," "Friends," and "Settings."

Many categories remained gray and unclickable, including "Martial Arts Mall," "Martial Arts Forum," "Local Qi and Blood Ranking," "Local Newcomer Ranking," and more.

Zhou Leng opened "Battle Merit," where it showed that calculations were in progress.

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

"Some can also be unlocked by entering a Martial University or an Affiliated Martial Arts Hall, advancing to the Blood Circulation Stage, clearing the first level of the Bronze Man Formation, earning enough battle merit, and so on."

"I'm getting a little impatient." Feng Wenhao smiled.

"Now that we have time, add something to your Martial Path Diary. In the future, you won't need to write on paper every day. When you improve, just record it there. If you don't want to share it, no one can see it. Martial City's confidentiality permissions are extremely high. Only the nine highest elders of the Martial Mansion have the authority to investigate."

Zhou Leng first circulated his qi, simply performed a set of External Techniques, sensed his realm, then filled in the contents.

I. Realm.

Qi and Blood Realm.

Qi Nourishing Stage.

II. Divine Abilities.

1. Tribal Divine Ability: Seed of True Qi.

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

III. Martial Arts:

1. Internal art: Mysterious Tide Art—Greater Mastery Third Heaven.

2. Fist technique: Mountain Charge Fist—Mastery Sixth Heaven.

3. Palm technique: Wave Palm—Greater Mastery Fourth Heaven.

4. Leg technique: Flying Cloud Leg—Mastery Eighth Heaven.

5. Footwork: Eight Trigrams Steps—Greater Mastery Second Heaven.

6. Movement technique: Flowing Cloud Movement Technique—Mastery Nine Heavens.

IV. Four Wonders Body.

Qi: Mortal Qi.

Blood: Mortal Blood.

Physique: Mortal Physique.

Strength: Mortal Strength.

V. Martial Will.

No perception.

VI. Combat Awareness.

No perception.

After first taking an Essence Replenishing Pill, then undergoing these past few days of tempering, all of his internal and external techniques had increased by one Heaven.

Finally, Zhou Leng stared at Martial Will.