Zhuge Tao

Chen Hao chatted with Jiang Nian along the way and soon arrived before a three-story villa. The villa covered a vast area. An elderly man with graying hair stood on the second-floor balcony. Upon seeing them approach, he immediately called out, "Jiang Nian, hurry up. Everyone's waiting for you."

"We're here, Uncle Bai. Come on, Chen Hao, let's go in." Jiang Nian quickly led Chen Hao inside.

The second floor of the villa was extremely spacious, not the least bit smaller than the Training Hall at the Yi'an District Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

"Greetings, Chief!" Jiang Nian respectfully greeted a lean middle-aged man dressed in a traditional Chinese suit.

Chen Hao's heart tightened as he stared at the smiling, effeminate middle-aged man. Seeing the goodwill in the man's gaze, he immediately followed suit. "Greetings, Chief."

"Mhm." The man nodded slightly. "Old Bai, begin. Verify everything carefully. Don't make any mistakes."

Chen Hao looked at the hawk-nosed middle-aged man before him and silently muttered, So this is Zhuge Tao, Swallowed Star's first angel investor. His greatest investment was in Luo Feng. That was the most successful investment in Devouring—he directly invested in a future Origin Lord.

The test results were soon presented before Zhuge Tao. "Not bad. Punching strength: 4,788 kg. Speed: 71 m/s. Neural response test: full marks for Advanced Warrior, excellent for Junior Warlord, qualified for Intermediate Warlord."

Zhuge Tao looked at the results before him, deeply astonished. His punching strength increased by over 3,000 kg after his very first cultivation session. I haven't seen anything like that in many years. Unless something unexpected happens, he will definitely reach War God Rank in the future. And once he becomes a God of War, he may very well become an invincible powerhouse among Gods of War.

"Yi'an District has produced such a genius, Jiang Nian. You deserve much of the credit." Jiang Nian could not help revealing a trace of delight. "Hahaha, Chief, I was indeed lucky. I never expected a genius of Chen Hao's caliber to be hiding in Yi'an District, only for me to discover him. Good thing I acted quickly."

"Mhm." Zhuge Tao then looked at Chen Hao. "Jiang Nian should have already told you the terms of the Genius Contract. Are you willing to join our Extreme Martial Arts Hall now?"

"If you join our Extreme Martial Arts Hall, you may choose a villa to live in, either in Yangzhou City or here at the headquarters in the main urban district. Of course, you will not have the right to sell it. These villas belong to our Extreme Martial Arts Hall's residential district and are provided for Martial Artists within the hall."

"Besides that, you will receive twenty million in startup funds, as well as three secret manuals—movement techniques, a Guidance Technique, and an Attack Method—each priced at no more than fifty million."

"But you are a Spiritual Thought Master, so I can make the decision to give you one hundred million in startup funds. As for manuals for movement techniques, Guidance Techniques, and Attack Methods, anything priced under five hundred million will be free. I'll pay for it!" After saying that, he stared fixedly at Chen Hao.

Chen Hao was startled upon hearing this. Luo Feng's treatment in the original story had been far worse than his. His startup funds and spending limit were five times Luo Feng's.

But on second thought, it made perfect sense. Luo Feng had concealed his identity as a Spiritual Thought Master at the time, and his punching strength was only at the Intermediate Warrior level. He was far inferior to Chen Hao. The only advantage Luo Feng had over him was that he was a year younger.

"Chief, I can join the Martial Hall, but I have one request." Chen Hao did not immediately agree.

Zhuge Tao raised his brows, somewhat surprised. "What request? Let's hear it."

"I want to obtain Martial Artist status immediately." Chen Hao directly voiced his intention.

"Martial Artist qualifications are uniformly granted by the state only after a Martial Artist has completed practical combat." Zhuge Tao frowned upon hearing this. "Are you desperately short of money?"

Jiang Nian stood to the side. Seeing Zhuge Tao frown and hearing Chen Hao's request, his heart trembled as he repeatedly signaled Chen Hao with his eyes.

"I am short of money, but more than that, I want to go into the wilderness and fight monsters. Only then can I become a true Martial Artist. There are still two months until the Warrior Combat Assessment, and I don't want to waste that time." Although he saw Jiang Nian signaling to him, Chen Hao had no intention of changing his mind.

"The Warrior Combat Assessment is indeed held only twice a year, but this is not entirely impossible to arrange. However, if I do this, you can only join our Extreme Martial Arts Hall in the future. You cannot join any other faction, no matter how favorable their terms may be. And your benefits will revert to those of an ordinary genius. Are you sure?" Zhuge Tao wanted to use the contract terms to force Chen Hao to reconsider.

But Chen Hao had long since made up his mind. How could he change it so easily? "I'm sure. I won't change my mind!"

Zhuge Tao stared hard at Chen Hao. When he saw that Chen Hao remained unwavering, he suddenly laughed. "Hahaha! It has been a long time since I met such an interesting young man. Not bad. Only a Martial Artist who fights monsters can be called a true Martial Artist! Since you have such ambition, I'll grant your wish. The contract terms will remain unchanged as well. I look forward to the day you become a God of War."

"Thank you, Chief." Seeing Zhuge Tao agree to help, Chen Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Chief, the contract has been drafted." At that moment, a young woman approached Zhuge Tao and respectfully presented a contract with both hands.

"Let Chen Hao have a look. If there are no problems, sign it."

"I have no objections." Chen Hao took the contract from the beautiful woman without even reading it and directly signed his name at the end, making the woman cast him several curious glances.

Seeing how cleanly and decisively Chen Hao acted, Zhuge Tao was quite satisfied. He activated his communication watch and began making calls.

"Zhuge Tao, I never expected you to call me. This is truly rare. Go ahead, what is it?"

"Wang Heng, tomorrow our Extreme Martial Arts Hall will conduct a separate Practical Assessment. I hope your Thunderclap Martial Arts Hall can send someone over."

"A separate assessment?" The voice on the other end seemed surprised and paused for a moment. "Fine. Remember that you owe me a favor. I'll send someone over. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"Mhm. I'll treat you to a drink sometime." Seeing how readily the other party agreed, Zhuge Tao was briefly stunned before an amused smile appeared on his face.

"Director Liu, our Martial Hall will conduct a Warrior Combat Assessment tomorrow. I'm using my special authority, so I hope your Security Bureau can make arrangements."

"Understood, Zhuge Supervisor. Our Security Bureau will arrange everything at the Northern Military Region. Just come over tomorrow morning."

"Thank you. I'll treat you to a meal another day!" Zhuge Tao smiled and hung up.

"Alright, everything has been arranged." After ending the call, Zhuge Tao smiled at Chen Hao.

He then instructed Jiang Nian, "Take Chen Hao downstairs to rest. Get a good night's sleep tonight. The Warrior Combat Assessment will be held tomorrow."

"Yes, Chief. I'll make proper arrangements for Chen Hao." Jiang Nian hurriedly agreed.

"Thank you, Chief, for granting my request!" Hearing Zhuge Tao's arrangements, Chen Hao was extremely grateful. After all, he had not held much hope himself.

Chen Hao then left the villa with Jiang Nian, whose forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"You kid really have some nerve!" After leaving the villa, Jiang Nian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken. Then he clicked his tongue several times. "It seems the Chief thinks highly of you. He even agreed to something this outrageous and used his special authority. Special authority isn't something that can be used casually. Even the Chief can only use it once a year!"

"The Chief is a good man." Chen Hao merely smiled faintly, committing Zhuge Tao's support to memory.

"Tomorrow's Practical Assessment will probably leave the Security Bureau and Thunderclap Martial Arts Hall with some thoughts of their own. You should prepare yourself mentally." Seeing how calm Chen Hao was, Jiang Nian could not help offering a few words of warning.

Thanks to Wuqing for pointing out the many mistakes in this work. An excellent work cannot do without readers' help. Once again, thank you, Wuqing, for correcting every single error. May all your wishes come true and may everything go smoothly for you. (^o^)