The instant his voice fell, the entire scene fell deathly silent.
Especially Foreman Wang. His face had already turned the color of pig liver.
The first floor of the Armory! Foundation Elixir! Hundred Refinements Saber!
Every one of these rewards was something that people like them, low-ranking personnel, could only dream of.
"Th-thank you, Captain!" Lu Chen trembled with excitement, nearly dropping to his knees.
From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Foreman Wang's iron-blue face.
He saw the man staring fixedly at Lu Chen. In those triangular eyes churned resentment and killing intent so dense they seemed almost tangible.
Foreman Wang slowly lowered his head, using the most humble posture to conceal the billowing hatred in his eyes.
"Congratulations... Lu Chen." He squeezed the words out one by one through clenched teeth.
Having said that, Foreman Wang could no longer bear to remain there another second. He turned and forced his way out of the crowd.
Captain Li acted as though he had seen nothing. He merely waved at Leader Liu. "Take him to collect his reward, then make sure he gets proper rest."
"Yes, sir!" Leader Liu bowed and accepted the order. He then walked to Lu Chen's side and personally helped him up. His attitude was utterly different from when he had arrived.
Lu Chen's body was still as weak as a guttering candle in the wind. He leaned most of his weight against Leader Liu and another strongman, allowing them to support him as they headed for the Logistics Office inside the Division.
The old clerk at the Logistics Office still wore that half-dead expression. When he saw Leader Liu and the others, he merely raised his eyelids lazily.
"Imperial Guard Liu... oh, no, you should be called Deputy Commander Liu now. What brings you here?"
Leader Liu did not waste words. He slapped Captain Li's written order onto the counter. "An order from Captain Li. Issue Lu Chen his reward."
The old clerk picked up the order, still looking unconcerned at first. But when he saw its contents and the bright-red captain's seal, his drowsy eyes abruptly flew wide open.
He set down the order and raised his head, carefully examining once more the pale young man being supported beside him. The laziness and disdain on his face vanished without a trace.
The old clerk hurried around from behind the counter and went personally to the storeroom to fetch the items. "Please wait. I'll go get them right away!"
A moment later, the old clerk carried three items over and respectfully presented them to Lu Chen.
A heavy Brocade Box. When opened, it held a White Jade Porcelain Bottle lying quietly inside—the very bottle of Foundation Elixirs.
A long saber in its sheath. The scabbard was wrapped in Black Shark Skin, and the weapon felt heavy in his hand, radiating a solid, substantial weight.
And a Darksteel Token engraved with the words "Armory Access."
"Sir, please check them," the old clerk said with a deep bow and a deferential nod.
Lu Chen accepted the items and, at Leader Liu's gesture, slowly drew the Hundred Refinements Saber.
Clang—!
A clear metallic ring echoed through the Logistics Office.
The saber was three chi and three cun long, its entire body a deep, dusky silver.
Under the lamplight, one could clearly see the fine, flowing folds covering the blade. They were the traces left behind by a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements.
Along the edge ran a straight, icy gleam, piercingly bright. Merely looking at it made one's skin ache faintly.
What a fine saber!
Lu Chen praised it inwardly.
The instant he gripped the hilt, the muscle memory brought by his mastery of the Demon Suppressing Saber Technique created a wondrous sense of bloodline connection between him and the weapon.
The feeling was like that of a peerless calligrapher finally obtaining a divine brush that fit his hand perfectly.
"Thank you." Lu Chen slowly returned the saber to its sheath. His voice remained weak, but a trace of satisfaction he could hardly conceal had appeared in his eyes.
After collecting the reward, Leader Liu personally escorted Lu Chen back to the entrance of the Corpse Handling Room.
"Brother Lu Chen," Leader Liu said with a complicated expression as he looked at him, "thank you this time. Rest and recover properly. As for Foreman Wang... be extra careful. If you run into trouble, come find me at the Imperial Guard Camp to the west."
He was now a Deputy Commander, his position utterly different from before. Naturally, his words carried weight.
"Thank you, Deputy Commander Liu." Lu Chen nodded in acknowledgment.
After seeing Leader Liu off, Lu Chen dragged his "weary" body back to that cold, damp Corpse Handling Room and barred the stone door tightly.
All the noise and prying from outside were shut out.
The weakness and fear on his face instantly faded, replaced by a blazing heat without bottom or depth.
Lu Chen placed the Foundation Elixir, the Hundred Refinements Saber, and the Armory Token one by one on the cold stone bed.
This was the capital he had fought for with his life!
Lu Chen did not immediately take the elixir, nor did he lose himself in the sharpness of his new saber. Instead, he gripped the cold Darksteel Token in his hand.
The Armory!
That was the greatest harvest this time!
The Turtle Breath Meditation Method was mainly used for turtle-breathing. It was more than enough for handling corpses.
But using it in battle had already severely dragged down the upper limit of turtle-breathing's power.
He urgently needed a stronger internal cultivation method to serve as the foundation on which he could establish himself and stake his life!
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Chen tucked away the token, pushed open the stone door, and headed straight for the structure deep within the Demon Suppression Division that remained under strict guard all year round.
The Armory of the Demon Suppression Division was a three-story stone tower built entirely of enormous stones. Two Imperial Guards stood at the entrance with halberds in hand, their auras grave and still, their gazes sharp as lightning.
When Lu Chen approached, the two Imperial Guards instantly locked their eyes onto him. An invisible pressure rushed toward him.
"Stop right there!"
"By Captain Li's order, I've come to the Armory to select a cultivation method."
Lu Chen handed over the Darksteel Token neither servilely nor arrogantly.
One Imperial Guard took the token and inspected it carefully. He then compared it against the register hanging at his waist. Only after confirming that everything was in order did he step aside and clear a path.
"The token only permits entry to the first floor, for a limit of one hour. Once inside, no shouting and no damaging the manuals. Violators... will be executed!"
"Understood."
Lu Chen pushed open the stone door, which was so heavy it seemed to weigh a thousand catties, and walked inside.
A dry scent mixed with old books, ink, and some kind of special medicinal herb rushed toward him.
The first floor of the Armory was extraordinarily spacious. Row upon row of enormous bookshelves reached from floor to ceiling, packed tightly with all kinds of cultivation manuals.
Every manual was wrapped in specially prepared beast hide to prevent decay.
This was the century-old foundation accumulated by the Demon Suppression Division of Nanling Prefecture!
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Lu Chen began slowly moving between the rows of bookshelves.
His goal was very clear—internal cultivation methods.
Blazing Sun Technique, Ice Art, Brute Ox Strength...
A dazzling array of Yellow Rank Low-Grade and Mid-Grade cultivation methods filled the shelves. Any one of them would be enough to cause a small stir in the martial world if taken outside.
But Lu Chen was in no hurry to choose.
He knew very well that cultivation methods were not better simply because they were more overbearing. The one suited to him was the best.
His gaze eventually came to rest on a manual placed in the very corner of a bookshelf, its cover already somewhat coated in dust.
Bedrock Art.
Yellow Rank High-Grade.