Zhuge Qing

Jiang Nian had been in a great mood lately. The residential area overseen by his martial arts hall had produced two excellent young talents in succession, allowing him to save face and hold his head high at the Yangzhou City main hall. He might even be up for a promotion soon.

On this day, Jiang Nian, an instructor at the Yi'an District Extreme Martial Arts Hall, returned from outside. As he walked up to the fourth floor of the advanced student training building, he heard the sound of heavy breathing and shouting from both a man and a woman as he passed a training room.

"Ah!"

"Ha!"

"Take this spear!"

"Ugh! Damn it, how are you so long!"

Slap, slap...

"..." If Jiang Nian didn't know this was an Extreme Martial Arts Hall training ground rather than some kind of club, he definitely would have let his imagination run wild.

The voices were familiar. After a brief search through his memory, Jiang Nian realized these were the voices of Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan. What were they doing in there?

Jiang Nian's curiosity rose uncontrollably. He carefully pushed open the training room door and poked his head in like a thief. Upon seeing the scene, he was immediately disappointed...

Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan were fully clothed. One was wielding a long spear, and the other was holding a battle saber, locked in an intense sparring match.

They had clearly been fighting for a while; their bodies and faces were covered in sweat. Chen Daolin's spear was moving so fast it left shadows, the streaks of the spearhead piercing the air and whistling. Ji Xuan's battle saber was also extremely proficient, dancing in a way that left no openings. Her offense and defense were perfectly integrated, and her footwork was incredibly agile—even better than Chen Daolin's. She was just barely suppressing him, but Chen Daolin was using the reach of his spear to keep her at bay outside the range of her blade.

Jiang Nian watched for a few moments, his expression turning serious. A trace of shock appeared in his eyes. Their close-quarters combat and footwork were one thing—in Jiang Nian's eyes, they were only slightly better than entry-level, showing a solid foundation—but their strength, speed, and reaction times left him stunned.

"Stop!" Jiang Nian couldn't help but call out.

Hearing the voice, Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan, who were in the middle of their sparring, stopped simultaneously.

Seeing Instructor Jiang Nian standing outside the door, they were slightly startled.

"Instructor!"

"Mm." Jiang Nian walked over with his hands behind his back, circling the two of them. "What are you two doing here?"

Ji Xuan said sheepishly, "Chen Daolin and I were thinking about the Martial Artist Practical Examination on the first of next month, so we wanted to get some extra practice in."

Jiang Nian pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up. "Have you both successfully cultivated the Genetic Origin Energy Cultivation Method?"

"Yes," Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan replied in unison.

Jiang Nian smiled slightly. It seemed his guess was correct; Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan had indeed cultivated the Genetic Origin Energy Cultivation Method, which explained their rapid progress.

"Have you tested your punch strength? What are the numbers?"

Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan exchanged a glance. Chen Daolin said, "We tested on the third. Mine was 2,900 kilograms, and Ji Xuan's was 3,100 kilograms."

"What?!" Jiang Nian's body trembled. He spun around to look at them, his eyes burning with excitement and disbelief. "Are you telling the truth?"

Chen Daolin said, "Instructor, if you don't believe us, we can go test it right now."

"Good, let's go right now." Jiang Nian did not hesitate; he was feeling impatient. If what Chen Daolin said was true, this was of vital importance to the current Extreme Martial Arts Hall in the Yi'an District.

There was a Punch Strength Testing Machine on the fourth floor as well. Jiang Nian had them test it, and he found that, just as Chen Daolin had said, their punch strength exceeded 3,000 kilograms. While it had increased slightly, it was due to their progress during this period.

"Good, good, very good!" Jiang Nian looked at the numbers on the screen of the Punch Strength Testing Machine, his face beaming with excitement.

Ji Xuan's punch strength had increased from 1,100 kilograms to 3,100 kilograms, an improvement of 2,000 kilograms.

Chen Daolin's punch strength had increased from 1,200 kilograms to 2,900 kilograms, an improvement of 1,700 kilograms.

The magnitude of their first improvement was massive; they were absolutely at the genius level.

Furthermore, they were both very young. Ji Xuan had just turned eighteen, and Chen Daolin was not yet eighteen. It could be said that they were both young with limitless futures.

Afterward, the two tested their speed and neural reaction time, both reaching or nearing the standards of an intermediate Warrior. Instructor Jiang Nian looked at the dazzling numbers, his face flushed with excitement.

How many years had it been? Their Yi'an District Extreme Martial Arts Hall had finally produced monster-level geniuses, and two at once!

This pie falling from the sky was so large that Jiang Nian felt a bit dizzy; he was overjoyed.

In the entire Jiangnan Base City with its population of 200 million, perhaps only one or two such monster talents appeared in a year.

The Yi'an District Extreme Martial Arts Hall had managed to produce two at once. Jiang Nian felt as if he could see a massive amount of contribution points flying toward him.

The prestige of the Yi'an District this year would be unrivaled, not just in Yangzhou City, but likely in the entire Jiangnan Base City.

Jiang Nian chuckled, looking at the two as if they were precious treasures, his attitude incredibly warm. "Xiao Chen, Xiao Ji, with talent as high as yours, you don't need to go through the Martial Artist Practical Examination to join our Extreme Martial Arts Hall." With only one or two super geniuses appearing in a population of 200 million per year, they were definitely targets for every faction. Since they had appeared at their Extreme Martial Arts Hall, he had to strike first and sign them.

Jiang Nian enthusiastically introduced the various generous benefits the Extreme Martial Arts Hall offered to such geniuses—a detached villa, 20 million in startup capital, and a 50 million credit allowance for purchasing secret manuals (covering attack, footwork, and Guidance Technique categories) and other items. Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan, children from ordinary, poor families, were left dumbfounded.

One had to know that, normally, when an ordinary martial artist joined a super-faction like the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, the startup capital was only 1 million. Chen Daolin's offer was 70 times higher than that!

This was the difference in treatment between a genius and an ordinary martial artist.

And these were just the most basic and common benefits. As geniuses joining the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, the world's number one martial arts hall, there were many other perks that ordinary martial artists couldn't even imagine.

Under Jiang Nian's active persuasion, Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan discussed it and finally decided to join the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

Jiang Nian didn't have the authority to decide on such a major matter, so he made a phone call to his superiors. Then, he took Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan on a train to the headquarters of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in the main urban area of the Jiangnan Base City—the Extreme Main Hall.

Along the way, Jiang Nian explained the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and much of the knowledge regarding the world of martial artists to the two of them.

For example, martial artists were divided by strength into Warrior Level, Warlord Level, God of War Level, and existences that surpassed the God of War!

Each level of Warrior, Warlord, and God of War was further divided into junior, intermediate, and senior ranks.

Existences that surpassed the God of War belonged to the pinnacle of human martial power. The world's strongest, the founder of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, Hong, and the world's second-strongest, the Thunder God of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, both belonged to this tier. Each of them possessed the power to destroy the world, comparable to human-shaped nuclear bombs, and even the major nations had to treat them with the utmost respect.

Even among God of War, their numbers are extremely scarce, and they are already the peak pursuit in the minds of most martial artists. However, the difficulty of becoming a God of War is immense. A God of War possesses strength that exceeds imagination; they can weave through barrages of gunfire and artillery, crush a building with a single stomp, possess infinite strength, move as fast as lightning, and have astonishing reflexes. They can even contend with conventional thermal weapons, which is why they are named God of War.

Warriors, on the other hand, are quite common, and most martial artists stop at this level.

Fighters are the most numerous among martial artists and possess the lowest strength.

Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan followed Jiang Nian to the Jiangnan General Hall. Along the way, they listened to Jiang Nian's explanations with great interest, and their knowledge grew significantly.

Soon, they arrived at a spacious martial arts practice hall on the second floor of a three-story villa inside the hall, where they met a middle-aged man in a black Tang suit with a feminine appearance and a gentle smile, accompanied by several subordinates in suits.

"Director." Jiang Nian bowed respectfully.

"Jiang Nian, are these two young people the Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan you mentioned?" the Director asked.

"Yes, Director." Jiang Nian signaled to Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan, who quickly stepped forward and said respectfully, "Greetings, Director."

"Hmm." The middle-aged man in the Tang suit nodded slightly and said, "Uncle Bai, you may begin. Test the strength of these two young people."

The test concluded quickly.

The middle-aged Director smiled slightly, "Not bad. Jiang Nian, your Yangzhou City has produced two talents this time; you have done a very good job."

The contracts were drawn up quickly. When Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan picked them up to read, they were both shocked. Their starting capital remained the same, but the 50 million free credit limit had been increased to 100 million. Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan exchanged a look and raised their heads simultaneously. "Director, this..."

The Director smiled slightly, "The extra 50 million is a gift from me; I am very optimistic about your potential."

"Thank you, Director." There was no reason to refuse a benefit delivered to their doorstep. Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan certainly wouldn't decline, though they were amazed by the Director's generosity. Fifty million per person meant 100 million for the two of them; this Director was truly generous.

"However, I do have a favor to ask of you." The Director looked at them.

Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan were startled. "We don't know what you need our help with, Director, but as long as it is within our power, we will naturally do our best."

"Actually, this matter is very simple, and it shouldn't be much of a problem for you, nor is it dangerous." The Director sighed softly, "I have a daughter who just passed the quasi-martial artist examination, but she is determined to participate in the Martial Artist Practical Examination to prove herself. I couldn't dissuade her, so I would like you to stay with her during the Martial Artist Practical Examination on August 1st and protect her. What do you think?" The Director looked at the two, his gaze exerting an invisible, immense pressure on them.

Jiang Nian spoke up from the side: "The Martial Artist Practical Examination only involves the lowest-level, weakest monsters, so there is no real danger to you." He genuinely felt that this task was not difficult for Chen Daolin and the others, and besides, it was a chance to curry favor with a big shot like the Director, so why not?

The Director also smiled.

Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan exchanged glances. In the end, they agreed.

Seeing that the two had agreed, a satisfied smile appeared on the Director's face. He said to the white-haired old man beside him, "Uncle Bai, go and call the young miss over."

Soon, a girl of similar age to Chen Daolin and the others, or perhaps even slightly younger, walked over with an unhappy expression. The Director took her hand and said dotingly, "Qingqing, Dad has found two friends for you to participate in the Martial Artist Practical Examination with this time. They are talented martial artists just recruited by our Jiangnan City Martial Arts Hall. Get to know each other and get along well in the future."

The girl gave an unwilling "oh" and came before Chen Daolin and the others, a look of pride appearing on her face. "My name is Zhuge Qing. Hello."

"Hello, Miss Zhuge. My name is Chen Daolin."

"I am Ji Xuan."

Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan maintained polite smiles.

Zhuge Qing curled her lips and walked back to her father's side.

Director Zhuge patted his daughter's hand helplessly and said to Chen Daolin and the other with a hint of apology, "Qingqing has been spoiled by me and has a bit of a temper. Please take care of her during the examination." The final tone of Director Zhuge carried a hint of a command.

Leaving the Jiangnan Extreme Main Hall, Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan felt both excited about the massive benefits they had received from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in this contract, and worried about next month. After all, that young miss Zhuge seemed a bit willful and spoiled, and it was hard to say if she would cause any trouble during the Martial Artist Practical Examination.

However, given the circumstances, having accepted the favor, Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan could not refuse the Director's request. They would just have to play it by ear and try their best to ensure they passed the Martial Artist Practical Examination safely.