The Chu Family had naturally investigated Luo Puxin in private, but they had come up empty. All they knew was that he had come down from the Frontline.
So at first, the Chu Family hadn't been particularly wary of Luo Puxin.
After Chu Lan altered the Town Martial Class Quota, he'd also sent someone to deliver three million to Luo Puxin.
Luo Puxin had accepted it.
Who would've thought that accepting the money was just a disguise, and that Luo Puxin was plotting something so big? If Zhang Mancang hadn't tipped them off, the Chu Family would've been caught completely off guard.
Thinking of this, Chu Lan looked at Zhang Mancang with clear approval in his eyes:
"You've done well. Though you won't be able to enter the Town Martial Class this time, my Chu Family will send you to Second High in Yunmeng City. We won't let you down."
Zhang Mancang nodded. The last trace of struggle in his eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by resolve.
His guilt toward Luo Puxin slowly faded.
At first, when Zhang Mancang had been stripped of his Town Martial Class Quota, he'd naturally been furious, but there was nothing he could do. The Chu Family was a behemoth in Luoshan County. How could he possibly contend with them?
Then Luo Puxin had appeared, promising to give him a fair shot. Zhang Mancang had been grateful, but Luo Puxin had told him to challenge the school, to slap the Chu Family in the face in front of everyone.
He might have gotten the fairness he deserved, but he would've become the Chu Family's enemy for good.
Zhang Mancang didn't have that kind of nerve.
As for Luo Puxin's claim that he'd have support from within the Town Martial Division, Zhang Mancang had no idea how much influence Luo Puxin wielded. But he knew that the Chu Family was the emperor of Luoshan County.
He knew how to read the situation.
At the village entrance, Luo Puxin got into a black sedan, and the driver pulled away.
"Director Luo, the Town Martial Bonus selections for all twenty-three townships have wrapped up."
The driver turned the steering wheel and spoke, handing Luo Puxin a file.
"Green Mountain Town's finished, too."
Luo Puxin took the file and opened it. He scanned it, his eyes flickering.
"Looks like I don't have to eat there after all."
"Eat what?" the driver asked curiously.
"Noodles. The minced-meat noodles downstairs at the Town Martial Division are pretty good." Luo Puxin smiled. But after looking over the file, his smile faded.
Among the three students from Qingshan High who'd made it into the Town Martial Class, Chen Yan wasn't one of them.
"Um... Director Luo, when I came to pick you up, I ran into Minister Chu Lan. He asked me to invite you to dinner tonight."
"Mm. Then let's buy some good liquor in the county and bring it along." Luo Puxin nodded and gazed out the window, but in his mind, he was seeing the day he'd met Chen Yan.
He'd already met in private with all the students whose places had been taken. Without a doubt, Zhang Mancang was the best of them.
The Town Martial Bonus selection at Zhang Mancang's school had ended five days ago, which was why Luo Puxin had been able to give him several days of private training.
Don't underestimate those few days. Luo Puxin was extremely powerful; it was easy for him to double a high schooler's strength with five days of private training.
Chen Yan had suffered the same treatment as Zhang Mancang, but he wasn't as strong.
And it was too late now.
Zhang Mancang alone would be enough.
He didn't want much. All he needed was for Zhang Mancang to crush the student who'd taken his place on the day the Town Martial Class began, right in front of the Military Martial Department's minister from the Yunmeng City Town Martial Division.
The bigger the gap, the better. The more shocking it was, the more furious people would be—and the easier it would be to pull Chu Lan out of the Luoshan County Town Martial Division.
As for Chen Yan and the others whose places had been taken, they would naturally enter the Town Martial Class. It had belonged to them all along.
"Ah, when you get down to it, the resources are just too far apart. In the big cities, even ordinary high schoolers have usually Awakened Blood Qi, and those who follow the Body Tempering Path have generally condensed Extreme Stripes."
Luo Puxin sighed.
"But here, ordinary students have no chance of Awakening Blood Qi unless they work their tails off, never mind condensing Extreme Stripes."
Three days later.
"Is this... an Extreme Stripe?"
At dawn, the rising sun blazed in all its glory, and a streak of brilliant orange slipped through the window and into the room.
Chen Yan sat shirtless on a straw mat, his body beaded with sweat. He wasn't particularly muscular, but the contours of his muscles were clearly defined, raised in subtle ridges.
At the very center of his chest, a pitch-black ring-shaped Pattern Line, about the length of his little finger, had appeared. At a glance, it seemed almost alive, coiled like a Coiled Dragon. A deep, boundless aura, as if it had existed since time immemorial, radiated from it.
Chen Yan's eyes gleamed as he stared at the Pattern Line on his chest, his heart surging with excitement.
Generally speaking, a martial artist meant a Blood Qi Martial Artist. Awakening Blood Qi meant you'd already embarked on the path of a Blood Qi Martial Artist.
But beyond Blood Qi Martial Artists, there was also the Body Tempering Path. Its initial realm was the Seventy-two Patterns Extreme Forging Realm.
Condensing an Extreme Stripe meant you'd set foot on the path of Body Tempering Martial Arts.
Skin, tendons, bones, and strength—twelve Patterns each, for a total of Seventy-two Patterns!
Just now, after Chen Yan ate a [Strength] Character Saint Breaking Fruit, this black Pattern Line had appeared.
After constantly practicing the [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon], Chen Yan had also gained a clearer understanding of the Seventy-two Patterns Extreme Forging Realm.
The first Extreme Stripe in his life—
was a Strength Stripe!
Chen Yan took a deep breath and activated the [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon]. His body gradually settled, and the black Pattern Line on his chest slowly disappeared.
[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 2 (11/15)]
[Saint Breaking Fruit:
Strength: (3/100)
Blood: (97/100)
Skill: (83/100)]
Over the past three days, Chen Yan had eaten two more [Strength] Character Saint Breaking Fruits and two [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruits.
The Saint Breaking Tree's progress had finally reached halfway.
That was precisely why he'd formed a Strength Stripe. His understanding of the [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon] had grown clearer and clearer, too.
Although the Saint Breaking Tree still couldn't absorb physique energy, wasting a large amount of Green Light, Chen Yan had practiced the [Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon] constantly over the past few days. On top of that, Chen Yuxu had been using Qingju Snakes to cook for him and had bought more kinds of beast meat from the county for his meals.
Chen Yan could clearly feel his body getting sturdier by the day.
His last remaining hope was the [Blood] Character Saint Breaking Fruit. Although the Medicinal Bath was becoming less and less effective each day, the [Blood] Character Saint Breaking Fruit's progress had still reached ninety-six. It was on the verge of ripening.
When it came to Qi and Blood, his physique simply couldn't condense any. Each time he broke his limits, he managed to refine only a trace. Even the essence of the Medicinal Bath had all been absorbed by the Saint Breaking Tree.
Limit Breaking Awakening was indeed difficult. Chen Yan wanted to see whether eating a Saint Breaking Fruit could change anything.
"Dad, I'm heading to school."
After finishing his meal, Chen Yan ran toward school. Today was the day Wang Yang had promised to meet him.
Director Luo had said before that winning the Town Martial Bonus would give him a chance to go to the county and enter the Town Martial Class.
Chen Yuxu waved to Chen Yan, smiling. His shop had already been assigned to Zhang Ge, so he hadn't had anything to do for the past few days.
Fortunately, Chen Yan had brought the family a fortune not once but twice. Otherwise, Chen Yuxu would've already gone into the county to find work.
His son had shown talent in Martial Dao, and the family now had some money. Chen Yuxu decided to take care of him until he got through the College Entrance Exam.
He himself was too ordinary, but at least he had two exceptionally outstanding children.
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