Mandatory Quota, A New Chapter on the Road to Expedition About to Begin

The soldier dodged while explaining, "Lu Feng, stop! I'm not the killer!"

But Lu Feng had completely lost himself in frenzy, the dagger whistling through the air as he stabbed relentlessly.

The soldier was shocked to discover that this fresh high school graduate's displayed strength had actually reached the Peak Second Realm.

If not for his own Early Third Realm cultivation, he would almost have been wounded by the other's strikes.

In desperation, he grabbed Lu Feng's arm and struck him unconscious with a palm infused with True Qi.

He immediately reported the scene to the military region.

Several days later, under a drizzling rain.

He Qing's funeral was held at the cemetery west of Jinzhou City.

Hong Tiejun, Shen Yu, Lin Qiuyue... almost all the students from Senior Year Class 9 had come, except for the Zheng family's young master, Zheng Tong.

"Who was it? Who killed Teacher He?" Hong Tiejun's clenched fists cracked audibly.

Shen Yu and Lin Qiuyue were already drenched in tears.

They couldn't accept that just over two months after graduation, their teacher had left them forever.

As He Qing's students, everyone knew something of his background.

He had lost both parents as a child and grew up in an orphanage.

Later, he met an elderly warrior who was a university teacher, using his own savings to put He Qing through Martial High School and Martial University.

To repay that kindness, after graduating from Martial University, He Qing chose not to enter the military but instead became a Martial High School teacher himself, continuing that chain of goodwill.

Lu Feng stood at the very front of the crowd, rainwater sliding down his hair and mingling with his tears.

Staring at the black-and-white photo forever frozen in a gentle smile, he still felt a sense of unreality.

He Qing had already bought an Interstellar Ticket and was set to embark on a new journey of his life in three days, but he had stopped forever before departure.

He remembered how, just a few days ago, the other had patiently explained the Martial Realm to him.

They had agreed to meet again after the Interstellar Travel.

"When I'm old, I'll definitely come back."

The words still echoed in his ears, but the man was long gone.

Every time he thought of the night his teacher was murdered, Lu Feng's heart felt like a poisonous thorn had been driven into it.

The funeral ended amidst stifled sobs.

People left one by one, only Lu Feng remained standing there, like a stone statue soaked through by the rain.

The grief of losing his teacher was mixed with irretrievable regret and gnawing anger.

Although the military had pursued the killer through various means after He Qing's death, they had found no clues.

But he was certain that Teacher He's death was absolutely connected to the Zheng family.

One day, he would make that lofty family pay a heavy price.

In the days that followed, Lu Feng threw himself entirely into cultivation.

The conviction to avenge his teacher was branded into his heart like a scar, driving him to grow stronger.

However, ever since the Skyfire Club underwent military review, it had temporarily stopped taking on new beast-taming business, cutting off his stable source of energy.

Relying only on hard training in the Cultivation Room each day, his progress was extremely slow.

Forced by necessity, he could only sneak off to the Beast Fighting Arena every day after work.

But this time, he wasn't manipulating match results for money—he absorbed the Exotic Beast's energy and left quickly.

By the end of August, his cultivation had broken through to the Ninth Layer Iron Bone Realm.

On August 26, Skyfire Club owner Hong Kun came to the Jinzhou Military Region base again.

He found Minister Xie An of the Military Merit Statistics Department to inquire about the approval progress of the club's expedition qualification.

More than half a month had passed since he submitted the application, and other clubs that applied at the same time had long been approved.

Xie An had been preoccupied with how to recruit Lu Feng these days, unconsciously delaying the Skyfire Club's approval.

But he also knew he couldn't keep stalling forever—after all, the other party had accumulated over a decade of Military Merit Points and fully met the expedition conditions.

Just then, a subordinate leaned close to Xie An's ear and whispered, "Minister! We could..."

After hearing the subordinate's suggestion, Xie An's eyes lit up, and he turned to Hong Kun:

"President Hong, your club's expedition qualification can be approved, but I have a condition."

Hong Kun couldn't help rolling his eyes inwardly.

His club clearly met the qualifications, and this Old Thing was still tacking on conditions—wasn't that a bit shameless?

But the approval power was in the other's hands, so he could only listen patiently.

"Minister Xie, please speak."

"According to regulations, civilian clubs that obtain expedition qualifications must send five warriors above the Third Realm to accompany the military on expeditions to other planets to harvest resources. After I approve your application, among those five names, one spot must be given to Lu Feng."

"What?" Hong Kun's facial expression shifted drastically. "Minister Xie, you're not joking, are you? Lu Feng is only a second-realm warrior. You should be well aware of the risks of joining an expedition."

The second realm, the Iron Bone Realm, was still the foundational stage of martial arts. Although one's physical body far exceeded that of an ordinary person, there was not a single strand of True Qi within the body.

If they encountered a powerful Exotic Beast, his chances of survival would drop drastically.

"President Hong, there's no need to get worked up."

Xie An raised his hand to signal him to calm down.

"Since we've made this arrangement, we will naturally ensure Lu Feng's safety. He has the ability to tame Exotic Beasts, and participating in the expedition will also serve as a form of training for him."

The reason Xie An accepted his subordinate's suggestion was naturally due to his own considerations.

Since Lu Feng was unwilling to join the military, he would let him set out with the Skyfire Club.

All civilian clubs participating in the expedition would have to follow military command during this period, which was equivalent to indirectly becoming subordinates of the military.

An expedition often lasted for years or even longer. During that time, resources obtained on other planets could be used for cultivation at any moment, greatly accelerating a warrior's training speed.

This was precisely why major civilian clubs competed fiercely for expedition qualifications.

Xie An believed that once Lu Feng personally experienced the benefits of joining the expedition, he might change his mind and ultimately choose to enlist in the military.

Hong Kun was silent for a long time, finally letting out a long sigh. "Alright, I can give him this spot. But whether he himself is willing to go, I can't guarantee."

On the way back to the club, Hong Kun sat in the front passenger seat and turned his head to look at his friend Yang Qian, who was driving.

"Tell me, why does Minister Xie insist on us bringing Lu Feng? Warriors below the third realm who step onto the Alien Star Battlefield without mecha protection would die instantly."

Yang Qian was Hong Kun's brother since childhood and the strongest warrior in the club besides him. Naturally, he was indispensable on this expedition roster.

"He still hasn't given up on that kid. His ability to tame Exotic Beasts is far too tempting for the military."

"Sigh, why does This Kid refuse to join the military and insist on staying with me?"

Hong Kun sighed and continued asking, "Do you think he'll agree to go on the expedition with us?"

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