Both his parents were busy tidying up. Lu Lin gave Lu Qi a look, telling him to put away the several sabers, and was promptly driven out of the house by their parents.
Lu Lin could only laugh ruefully. Now he was the odd one out at home.
He called Liu Weiran and told her to wait at the entrance to Qingyun Garden. He was treating the young miss of Liu's Martial Arts School like a personal errand girl.
Ten minutes later, Liu Weiran's car pulled up at the neighborhood gate.
"Here. My dad asked me to give you this Monster Core."
"Lu Lin, I feel like I'm not just your driver now—I've become your delivery girl too. I'm telling you, if you don't win the Twelve City Martial Arts Hall League, just see what I do to you."
"Haha, thanks. Whether we can win the championship depends on how you perform over the next while. First, take me to the Martial Arts Association, then to West City Martial Arts School."
"Got it—"
Liu Weiran drew out her reply, then started the car.
Registering as a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Association went smoothly. They tested his blood vitality and Punch Force. Lu Lin didn't show off; he kept his strength below 4,000 kilograms, so he didn't attract much attention.
With help from a staff member, Lu Lin submitted his bank account number. From then on, he could receive a monthly Martial Artist subsidy of 5,000 yuan.
Once Lu Lin advanced to Warrior level, the subsidy would increase to 10,000 yuan.
That wasn't much money to Martial Artists and Martial Masters, but it represented Huaguo's recognition and support of Martial Artists.
Lu Lin planned to give the card for receiving the subsidy to his parents to cover their daily expenses. Once he went out to hunt Monster Beasts and earned money, he would transfer some to them regularly, too.
Liu Weiran leaned over to look at the newly issued Martial Artist license in Lu Lin's hand. She couldn't hide the envy in her eyes.
"Lu Lin, let me see it."
"Sure."
Lu Lin didn't refuse. Seeing how delighted Liu Weiran looked, he asked curiously, "Miss, isn't your dad a Martial Master? Haven't you seen his Martial Artist license enough times already?"
"No."
Liu Weiran ran her fingers over it for a long while before reluctantly returning it to Lu Lin.
By the time they reached West City Martial Arts School, Ren Tian still hadn't arrived. Lu Lin changed into his training clothes, took a wooden saber, and practiced Blade Technique on his own.
Although there was no wooden dummy, every earnest practice session still gave Lu Lin 2 points of proficiency.
They waited for a long time. It was almost noon before Ren Tian finally entered the training room. This time, though, he wasn't alone. A stern-looking man was with him.
"Lu Lin, sorry. Something came up, so I'm late today. This is our squad leader, Zhou Shenming. Call him Brother Zhou."
"Hello, Brother Zhou."
Lu Lin greeted him, unsure what Ren Tian was up to. Why had he suddenly brought their squad leader along?
"Hello, Lu Lin."
Zhou Shenming got straight to the point. "You've already become a Martial Artist. I was wondering if you'd be interested in joining our squad."
"Huh?"
Lu Lin hadn't expected Zhou Shenming to be so direct. He glanced at Ren Tian, who hurriedly stepped in. "Captain, you're being way too direct. At least give Lu brother a chance to get used to the idea."
"Come on, Lu Lin. Let me explain everything."
Zhou Shenming nodded and said nothing, watching as Ren Tian led Lu Lin off to the side.
"Lu Lin, we got the news out of the blue last night. One of our squad members had an accident. He didn't die, but he definitely won't be able to keep going out of the city to fight. That leaves an opening in our six-man squad. I think you're strong, and your defense is impressive, so you should be able to survive and fight out in the wild. That's why I recommended you to the captain."
"If you're interested, you can get proof of identity from the Free Martial Artist Association, then sign a contract with the squad."
"Brother Ren, this is all so sudden. I've only just become a Martial Artist. I haven't even thought about fighting outside the city yet."
Lu Lin was a little stunned.
He did plan to go outside the city and hunt Monster Beasts, but only after he'd grown stronger. Right now, his martial skills and blood vitality were both at the bottom among Martial Artists. Going outside the city wouldn't mean hunting Monster Beasts—it would mean serving himself up as their dinner.
"That's fine. You can think about it now."
"I'm telling you, this is a rare opportunity. The Dragon Saber Squad is famous among the Freelance Martial Artists in Dongshan. As soon as people heard there was an opening, plenty of them asked the captain to consider them. A chance like this won't come again, so you've got to seize it while it's in front of you."
"Well..."
Lu Lin felt a little nervous. They were only talking about joining a squad, so why did Ren Tian make it sound like a supermarket clearance sale?
"Brother Ren, I wanted to ask—how strong is the Dragon Saber Squad?"
"Pretty decent. The captain is a Mid-level Martial Master. We've also got two Blade Technique users who are Low-level Martial Masters. The other two and I are all High-level Martial Artists. We're at the peak of that level, too, so we might reach Martial Master in a year or so."
"How about it, Lu Lin? If you join our squad, you'll be able to take on high-level missions. It'll give your combat skills the best possible training. And the key thing is, aren't you short on money right now?"
"Last month, we went on a mission. I got the smallest share when we came back, and even I got nearly two million."
"Two million?"
"And that was the smallest share?"
Lu Lin was stunned. He knew Martial Artists made money fast, but he hadn't expected them to make it this quickly. Two million from one mission—if the six-man squad split it, wouldn't one mission bring in at least twelve million?
"Exactly. So, want to give it a try?"
"But be prepared. I only suggested you join. Whether the captain approves you depends on your ability."
"Sure, Brother Ren. I'm willing to join."
"That's more like it!" Ren Tian put an arm around Lu Lin's shoulders and led him over to Zhou Shenming.
"Captain, I've explained everything to Lu Lin. He's agreed to join the squad, so you can test his abilities now."
Zhou Shenming nodded and motioned for Lu Lin to step onto the Arena Platform.
But as soon as Lu Lin had found his footing, Zhou Shenming threw a punch without a word.
"Block!"
The punch was too fast. Lu Lin didn't have time to react.
All he could do was cross his arms and put them in the way of Zhou Shenming's attack.
Thud!
Lu Lin's body flew backward.
A Martial Master had to have a Punch Force of at least 30,000 kilograms. Zhou Shenming was a Mid-level Martial Master, so his Punch Force was at least 60,000 kilograms.
"Hmm!"
Seeing Lu Lin get back up at once and charge toward him, Zhou Shenming couldn't help but murmur in surprise.
Before they came, Ren Tian had repeatedly told him how astonishing Lu Lin's defense was, saying he often had to fight Lu Lin for more than ten minutes before he could wear him out.
Even when Lu Lin was exhausted and collapsed on the Arena Platform, he was only tired, not injured.
Zhou Shenming knew how strong Ren Tian was, but Ren Tian liked to brag, so there was always a chance he'd exaggerated.
But Zhou Shenming had just attacked with nearly 20,000 kilograms of force. Lu Lin had been sent flying, yet he'd gotten back up quickly. His defense really was astonishing.
Before you continue