Luoshan County, Town Martial Division.
A magnificent statue of a man stood silently in the plaza before the building, his longbow pointing straight at the azure sky.
In the office building behind it, on the top floor.
Luo Puxin, dressed in casual clothes, opened the door and walked straight in.
"Well, look who it is! What brings the busy man here?"
Behind the desk, a middle-aged man in a suit sat with a surprised look as he watched Luo Puxin.
"Old Yin, have the Town Martial Class quotas been decided?"
Yin Yanjun, the Town Martial Division Chief of Luoshan County, gave Luo Puxin a speechless look and tossed him the documents in his hand.
"Shen Yiwei made you the chief instructor for the Town Martial Class, not me. Why are you asking me for its quotas?"
Luo Puxin casually sat down on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and took a slow drag as he looked through the documents.
"Hey, I'm here to help you keep the Chu Family in check, not to instruct some Town Martial Class.
Old Shen is locked in a fierce battle with Gong Hengwen in Yunmeng City right now. If something happens here, Old Shen will have lost an arm."
Yin Yanjun nodded, then continued,
"So why are you asking me for Town Martial Class quotas?"
"I spotted a promising kid from Green Mountain Town. His fundamentals are a bit weak, but he's got a good character and a sharp mind." Luo Puxin tapped the ash from his cigarette.
"Has Green Mountain Town held its Town Martial selection yet?"
"The three high schools in the county have all finalized theirs. Of the twenty-three township high schools, only the five from Green Mountain Town are left. They should be settled in the next few days."
Yin Yanjun explained, not paying much attention to the promising kid Luo Puxin had mentioned.
He knew Luo Puxin had been born in Green Mountain Town and felt a special attachment to it. It was only natural that he wanted to give someone from his hometown a leg up.
Besides, as the Town Martial Division Chief of Luoshan County, Yin Yanjun had seen countless promising youngsters over the years, including some truly extraordinary ones.
Perhaps noticing Yin Yanjun's expression, Luo Puxin immediately said,
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to pull strings for that kid."
"I understand." Yin Yanjun smiled.
"You understand my..." Luo Puxin pressed his lips together and said,
"Let me put it this way: if that kid can't get into the Town Martial Class on his own, I'll..."
"What will you do?" Yin Yanjun asked with a mischievous grin.
Luo Puxin was speechless. Why was Yin Yanjun so determined to make him finish that sentence?
He simply blurted out,
"I'll eat it!"
"Now that's a man of your word!" Yin Yanjun gave him a thumbs-up.
"What's his name? I'll write it down."
"Chen Yan."
As Luo Puxin spoke, he watched Yin Yanjun write the name in his notebook, and his heart suddenly lurched.
What if Chen Yan really couldn't get in?
Would he really have to eat it?
No way. He should be able to get in.
Luo Puxin flipped through the documents, giving them a quick scan, then paused at one name.
"This Chu Xuansheng from the Chu Family... With such great talent, why isn't he going to Yunmeng City?"
Yin Yanjun gave a cold laugh.
"The Chu Family is doing well enough in Yunmeng City. Isn't the point of keeping Chu Xuansheng here in the county to keep the younger generation in line?"
Luo Puxin nodded and closed the file.
"The Chu Family has grown too powerful over the years. I'd say every family of any size in Luoshan County has some connection to them."
Yin Yanjun was taken aback and hurriedly said,
"That's enough. We already yanked their man from the post of Deputy Commander of the County Town Martial Division a while back.
If we keep targeting them, the higher-ups will put pressure on us. Shen Yiwei can't help me right now."
Luo Puxin shook his head.
"It's not enough."
"Not enough?"
"Mm." Luo Puxin said, "Over the past few months, young boys and girls have been disappearing in counties all around us. There have been two hundred cases altogether. Luoshan County has the fewest, but that only makes it more suspicious. I think someone's plotting something."
Luo Puxin thought of the car accident involving Chen Yan's younger sister, Chen Yu.
There was something strange about it at every turn.
Yin Yanjun narrowed his eyes. He had naturally been wondering about that, too.
"What are you planning to do?"
"I'm going to clean house in the Chu Family, starting with the Town Martial Class quotas this time!" Luo Puxin raised the documents in his hand.
"I just looked through them. At least twenty of these kids didn't win Town Martial Bonuses. Most of the ones who got in through the back door have ties to the Chu Family.
Twenty young people have been robbed of a fair chance. Do they really think the Town Martial Division is just for show?"
Luo Puxin grinned.
"With the Chu Family around, there's no such thing as fairness in Luoshan County!"
Luo Puxin's words rang out like a hammer striking stone, but Yin Yanjun sighed and rubbed his brow.
Didn't he know there was something wrong with the Town Martial Class quotas?
But those who'd gotten in through the back door were tied to all the wealthy and influential families in Luoshan County. If he went after them, he'd make enemies of far too many people.
"Think it through. The Chu Family has Gong Hengwen behind them," Yin Yanjun sighed.
"I've got the entire Town Martial Division behind me, and all of Qin Prefecture. What's there to fear?" Luo Puxin drew on his cigarette, flashing a wide grin.
"If it comes down to it, I'll have Old Shen arrange for me to run."
Qingshan High School.
Principal's office.
Chen Yan, Yu Zhiwen, and Gao Yuan stood before the desk. On the sofa by the door sat the middle-aged man from the county, the one wearing sunglasses.
"First of all, the Town Martial Bonus includes a cash reward of twenty thousand yuan."
Zhang Yue handed one red packet to each of the three students.
Feeling the thick packets in his hands, Chen Yan kept his expression calm, but inside, he was delighted.
"Besides the cash reward, the Town Martial Bonus also comes with four options for an additional prize. You can choose only one."
Chen Yan listened attentively. Yu Zhiwen and Gao Yuan beside him also wore faint smiles.
"First, a beginner Qi and Blood Potion, worth sixty thousand.
"Second, a beginner weapon, worth fifty thousand. You can choose the weapon's design, but the materials used can't weigh more than fifteen kilograms.
"Third, twelve hours of instruction in a beginner Breathing Technique for Hard Body Martial Arts. It's worth seventy thousand, but note that this is instruction in the Breathing Technique alone, without external tempering.
"The fourth option, which most people choose, is twelve hours of instruction in a beginner Qi and Blood Cultivation Method, worth seventy thousand."
Chen Yan stood quietly as he began weighing his options.
The first thing he ruled out was the weapon.
He didn't know any weapon-based martial arts. Using a weapon would only get in his way.
As for the Qi and Blood Potion and the Qi and Blood Cultivation Method, he had awakened through Limit Breaking, which imposed far too many limitations.
"You should think this through carefully. These are the Town Martial Division's internal prices. In reality, both the Qi and Blood Cultivation Method and the Hard Body Breathing Technique require a high-level martial artist to nourish the Origin Crystal, so they're worth far more than Principal Zhang's quoted prices."
A somewhat languid voice rang out. The man in sunglasses sitting on the sofa spoke casually.
The principal had already introduced him to Chen Yan and the others: Chu Feiyuan, a Second-grade Martial Commander from the Luoshan County Town Martial Division.
The title Second-grade Martial Commander carried an official rank, which meant this man possessed the strength of a Blood Qi Martial Artist at the Five Viscera Realm or higher.
"I want the basic Qi and Blood Cultivation Method," Yu Zhiwen said first, her voice tinged with excitement.
"I want the Qi and Blood Cultivation Method, too." Gao Yuan rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.
Principal Zhang Yue nodded. Most students chose the Qi and Blood Cultivation Method; it was the most natural choice.
"I'd like the basic Body Refinement Breathing Technique," Chen Yan said with a smile.
"Body Refinement Breathing Technique?" Principal Zhang Yue nodded. It seemed Chen Yan had taken her earlier words to heart and decided to give up on the Qi and Blood Path.
"If you practice the Body Refinement Breathing Technique, you'll have to find the corresponding external tempering method later to bring out the full potential of Hard Body Martial Arts."
At that, Chu Feiyuan, Yu Zhiwen, and Gao Yuan all looked at Chen Yan, surprised by his choice.
The Body Tempering Path was grueling, far more so than the Qi and Blood Path.
But Chen Yan had defeated Zhang Qingsi with his own skill and strength. The others could understand why he'd chosen this.
He must have felt he lacked talent on the Qi and Blood Path, so he was devoting himself wholeheartedly to Body Tempering.
"Mm." Chen Yan nodded.
"All right." Zhang Yue smiled. There was nothing wrong with Chen Yan taking the Body Tempering Path. It was tiring, but having a direction to work toward was better than having none.
"Since that's settled, then."
Chu Feiyuan stood up from the sofa and said,
Chu Feiyuan took a metal box about the size of a baseball from a briefcase beside the sofa and looked at Chen Yan.
"Chen Yan, this is the Origin Crystal for the Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon."
Chu Feiyuan took out another metal box, slightly smaller than the first. It contained the Origin Crystal for the Qi and Blood Cultivation Method. He smiled at the three students.
"You have three days. You can study whenever you like during that time, but you only get twelve hours in total. You can choose when to start."
Chen Yan looked at the two metal boxes in Chu Feiyuan's hands, his eyes gleaming.
"I'd like to start now."
Chen Yan spoke up.
"I'd like to start now, too." Gao Yuan grinned sheepishly.
"I'll start tomorrow," Yu Zhiwen said, a little more calmly.
"Fine."
Chu Feiyuan smiled faintly and looked at Zhang Yue.
"I'll make the arrangements," Zhang Yue said with a smile.
The top floor of the Teaching Building, in an empty classroom. Chen Yan walked in, and Zhang Yue placed the metal box in his hands.
"Once I step outside, I'll start the timer. Take your time sensing the Origin Crystal. If you can't absorb it right away, stop and come back tomorrow." Zhang Yue drew all the curtains in the classroom, then turned on the lights.
"Okay."
"Focus on absorbing it." Zhang Yue patted Chen Yan on the shoulder.
"Your Head Teacher, Wang Yang, believes in you. I didn't understand why before, but now I do."
Before you continue