As he looked out over the vast, deserted region.
Teng Qingshan could only fall silent and continue his patrol.
He did his best to clear out any threatening monsters.
Meanwhile, as Teng Qingshan made a spectacle of clearing out monsters,
the Chinese government also detected his movements.
In fact, some time earlier,
Yangzhou City's official radar had detected a humanoid object moving at the terrifying speed of over a thousand meters per second more than once.
However, since it was nighttime, the satellites hadn't captured any images of Teng Qingshan.
But later,
Teng Qingshan also began riding the Samsara Spear during the day, heading to nearby areas to clear out threatening monsters.
As a result,
not only was Teng Qingshan captured by satellite,
but he was also seen by the many people he rescued.
These people had nearly been killed by monsters. At the last possible moment, they saw dozens of Flying Daggers whistling through the air, effortlessly killing monsters they couldn't fight back against.
Then they saw a dashing figure walking away.
Though they didn't know who had saved them,
a life-saving favor was worth more than anything.
These lucky survivors who had been relocated to Yangzhou City made inquiries and eventually learned that their rescuer was none other than the master of the Xingyi Sect: Teng Qingshan!
So they, too, hurried to the Xingyi Sect to sign up for martial arts lessons!
Teng Qingshan no longer made any effort to hide himself.
Naturally, the Yangzhou City authorities had noticed him too.
Once again, the Yangzhou City Martial Arts Promotion Bureau acted with impressive efficiency.
After Teng Qingshan had killed a large group of monsters that morning,
when he returned in the afternoon,
the head of the Martial Arts Promotion Bureau, Yangzhou City's top and second-ranking officials, and the military district's commanding officer were all waiting at the Xingyi Sect headquarters.
Teng Qingshan wasn't surprised by the reception.
"Welcome back, Sect Master Teng!"
When Teng Qingshan walked into the first floor of the Xingyi Sect,
the senior officials of Yangzhou, who had been waiting for some time, immediately stood to greet him.
"Master, they've been waiting here for over an hour," Hong said as he walked over.
Although these people held high positions, in Teng Qingshan and Hong's eyes, they were no different from ordinary people.
They had merely been entrusted with a little authority by the people of China.
"Who are you?" Teng Qingshan asked in puzzlement after sitting down.
"Haha, allow me to introduce everyone," said Deputy Director Liu of the Martial Arts Promotion Bureau, who had dealt with Teng Qingshan before. He immediately stepped forward with a smile.
"This is Secretary Zhang, Yangzhou's top official. This is Mayor Li. This is Chief Wang Hai. This is Director Wu of the Martial Arts Promotion Bureau. And this is..."
Deputy Director Liu introduced more than ten people in one breath before finally stopping.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Teng Qingshan said with a smile and a nod. "Let's go up to the third floor. The first floor should be left for the students to practice their forms. Meng Lan, please brew some tea and bring it up."
"Of course, Master." Lin Menglan, a tall, beautiful disciple with a respectable level of strength, called over a few students to brew tea.
They went to the reception room on the third floor.
Once everyone was seated,
Secretary Zhang spoke. "Sect Master Teng, please forgive us for coming uninvited. The situation is truly critical."
Secretary Zhang, a middle-aged man with a slightly balding head, looked extremely anxious. "Just now, we received word that another team had been attacked by monsters while evacuating civilians. More than ten thousand people—all of them perished!"
"The situation in the surrounding areas is no better. Civilian and military casualties during evacuations have been severe. So, when we saw that Sect Master Teng could actually fly by manipulating objects and possessed such astonishing strength, we took the liberty of paying you a visit."
"Secretary Zhang, you're too kind." Teng Qingshan raised a hand. Looking at their anxious faces, he felt somewhat reassured. At least they were doing something. "In times of crisis, we martial artists should step forward."
"What noble spirit, Sect Master Teng!" A resonant voice rang out. Teng Qingshan looked over and saw Wang Hai. "It's thanks to your intervention that our soldiers and several thousand civilians were able to escape danger. On behalf of Yangzhou's millions of people, I thank you!"
Chief Wang, his rugged face and military bearing unmistakable, stood up and gave Teng Qingshan a crisp military salute.
"Please sit, Chief Wang," Teng Qingshan said. "This is what I should do as a Chinese citizen. I'm just wondering what brings you all here."
"Haha, Sect Master Teng certainly gets straight to the point. Then I'll be direct, too. We're here because of your ability to manipulate objects. We'd like to know whether others could gain this ability through cultivation."
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. This ability is innate. Without the talent for it, it can't be gained through cultivation," Teng Qingshan said plainly, unsurprised by the question. "I call this ability 'Telekinesis.' Once awakened, it allows you to control objects for ranged attacks and even fly while manipulating them."
"I see..."
Chief Wang and the others couldn't hide their disappointment.
"If this ability could be cultivated, I would have compiled a manual and made it public long ago," Teng Qingshan said with a smile. "I wouldn't have waited for you to come in person."
"Sect Master Teng, your generosity is admirable!" Secretary Zhang and the others already knew that Teng Qingshan had contributed the first volume of the Xingyi Fist manual free of charge.
"What a pity. If this 'Telekinesis' ability could be cultivated, that would be wonderful. What a shame," Chief Wang said with regret. "Still, it makes sense. An ability this powerful wouldn't be normal if it were easy to obtain. There's one other matter we've come to discuss."
"Please, Chief Wang."
"We saw footage of you in action via satellite, Sect Master Teng, and we know your strength has reached an unfathomable level. So, we hope you'll step in when the time comes and help us defend Yangzhou City, as well as millions—perhaps even tens of millions—of our fellow Chinese citizens." Commander Wang rose solemnly.
"We ask that Sect Master Teng agree!" x7.
Secretary Zhang, Mayor Li, and the others all stood in unison and spoke together, their words earnest and expressions sincere.
Seeing that nearly every key department in Yangzhou had sent its senior officials, all of them so solemn, Teng Qingshan also stood. "Don't worry. Even if you hadn't asked, Yangzhou is my home. I would still do everything in my power to protect it."
"Excellent!" Everyone was overjoyed. "With a powerhouse like Sect Master Teng stationed here, along with the army, holding back those beasts shouldn't be difficult!"
Chief Wang laughed happily.
"But we can't afford to be careless. During my patrols, I've discovered that monsters are evolving extremely quickly—far faster than humans. So even with heavy weapons at our disposal, we mustn't let our guard down. Perhaps human evolution will also become an important path forward."
Teng Qingshan spoke gravely.
"Sect Master Teng is right. It seems we'll need to step up our efforts to promote martial arts from now on."
Secretary Zhang and the others agreed wholeheartedly.
After witnessing Teng Qingshan's peerless strength,
some of their long-held beliefs had begun to change.
Who would have believed, before, that a person could fly by manipulating objects faster than a fighter jet?
But now they had a living example right in front of them. They had no choice but to believe it.
Having seen the ferocious strength of the mutated animals, these officials understood, too.
The times had truly changed!
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