Awakening

A minute later, Lu Hao heard shouting outside. He looked up and saw his mother rushing in. It hadn't even been five minutes since he'd called for help.

It seemed his mother had hurried over the moment she got the news.

As soon as Lu Hao saw her come in, he knew he was finally safe. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. He'd used up far too much mental energy, and if he hadn't been afraid something else might go wrong, he would have collapsed long ago.

Now that his mother had arrived, the tension that had kept him going finally eased, and he naturally drifted off.

Bai Qiuyao came in and first saw the severed limbs scattered across the ground. Then she spotted Lu Hao unconscious. She quickly killed the remaining third-rank Evil Cult martial artists.

Bai Qiuyao went to Lu Hao's side and sent out a thread of vital blood to examine him. His vital blood and mental energy were badly depleted, and he had a few broken ribs, but it wasn't serious.

Bai Qiuyao took out a Third-Grade Healing Pill and gave it to Lu Hao. With that, his injuries would heal quickly.

"What happened here?"

In response to Bai Qiuyao's question, the Square-Faced Man told her everything that had just happened. When she learned her son had actually killed a fourth-rank martial artist, she was stunned. He'd done it with a combat technique, but that technique was still one of a martial artist's own strengths.

Lu Hao slowly opened his eyes, his lashes fluttering as confusion showed in his gaze.

Where was he? What had he been about to do?

After shaking his head, Lu Hao remembered the last thing he'd seen: his mother rushing in. After that, he'd passed out.

It must have been because he'd exhausted his mental energy. He looked around and realized he was in his bedroom.

Lu Hao picked up his phone from beside the pillow. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but he felt refreshed all over.

He turned on his phone. It was already August 31, three in the afternoon. Nearly three days had passed since he'd killed the fourth-rank Evil Cult martial artist.

With a thought, the panel opened.

[Slaughter Point System]

[Host: Lu Hao]

[Vital Blood: 496/496 cal]

[Spirit: 339/339 Hz]

[Storage Space: 1,000 cubic meters]

[Slaughter Points: 2,161]

His vital blood and mental energy had both fully recovered over the past three days.

Lu Hao got out of bed and moved around. He didn't feel uncomfortable at all; even the injuries to his ribs had completely healed.

After washing up, he reviewed the battle. Now he was even more eager to master a true finishing move. Blood Battle Mad Blade consumed too much vital blood. If he could master it completely, he'd be able to kill even the two fourth-rank martial artists he'd encountered last time.

He'd used at least a thousand calories' worth of vital blood in that battle, even though he only had five hundred calories to begin with. But that wasn't too big a problem. He had the Blood Vitality Pills to cover it up, and his mother would surely help keep things under wraps.

Tomorrow was the first day of classes at Magic Martial University. He'd finally get to see this center of upheaval for himself: Fang Ping, the protagonist of the world; Qin Fengqing, who refused to settle for an ordinary life; the warm-hearted Grandmasters of Magic Martial University; and the Long-Life Swordsman, Duan Changsheng.

Lu Hao could hardly wait. He went to the practice room and continued training with his saber. He was absolutely itching to learn a finishing move.

His mother came home that evening. Seeing that Lu Hao had woken up, she prepared a whole table of dishes to reward him.

"Mom, what was going on with that mission? How did a fourth-rank martial artist suddenly show up?"

Lu Hao asked. He'd been puzzled during the fight. Fourth-rank martial artists weren't exactly common, and the investigators couldn't have overlooked someone whose identity was unknown. They had to have looked into it.

"The problem was with the Detective Bureau. The investigators hadn't made a mistake; there really was only one fourth-rank martial artist originally. But before the mission began, someone leaked information to the Evil Cult.

"That led them to send another fourth-rank martial artist to ambush your team. And if they could kill a fourth-rank martial artist from the Detective Bureau, it would be a huge accomplishment for them.

"We have you to thank this time. If you hadn't unleashed Blood Battle Mad Blade and killed one of the fourth-rank martial artists, I might have arrived too late.

"The Detective Bureau began an internal investigation as soon as I got back. They finally uncovered the mole last night. He's probably being interrogated right now."

"Hao'er, this was an unexpected situation. If you go to the Earth Cave in the future, don't use Blood Battle Mad Blade unless you're in a life-or-death situation. Otherwise, you'll end up like you did this time, collapsing from exhaustion as soon as you use it.

"If the fourth-rank martial artist on the other side hadn't died, you'd have been at their mercy."

Lu Hao nodded. Nobody else knew his true situation. At the time, if he'd used Slaughter Points to restore both his vital blood and mental energy, he would've been able to use Blood Battle Mad Blade again right away.

Naturally, he couldn't tell Bai Qiuyao any of that, so all he could do was nod in agreement.

"By the way, since you're awake, you can go to school as planned tomorrow. I'd already contacted Magic Martial University. When they heard what had happened, they said you could wait until you'd recovered before reporting in."

"Sure, no problem. I've completely recovered. Tomorrow I'll go take a look at Magic Martial University, my big brother's old school."

Lu Hao nodded.

Meanwhile, at Magic City Martial Arts University.

Zhang Yu was arranging various matters for the new students' enrollment the next day.

"Qin Fengqing, go welcome the new students at the school gate tomorrow, especially a freshman named Lu Hao."

Qin Fengqing, seated nearby, raised his head.

"You want me to welcome freshmen? No way. I still have to temper my torso bones. Besides, since when do they send a third-rank martial artist to welcome new students? Zhang Yu, did you temper your brain by mistake while cultivating?"

"Qin Fengqing, are you going to defy the club president's orders?" Zhou Yan asked from the side.

"Defy them? Of course not. But Zhang Yu still has to give me a reason. I've never heard of Magic Martial sending a third-rank martial artist to welcome freshmen."

"You—"

Zhou Yan was about to say something when Zhang Yu interrupted him.

"Take a look at this kid's file first, then decide whether you want to go."

Zhang Yu tossed a sheet of paper over to Qin Fengqing.

"Holy crap, is this kid even human? He broke through to the first rank after three rounds of bone tempering, then took on multiple Detective Bureau missions. He reached the third rank the day before yesterday and even killed a fourth-rank martial artist.

"Zhang Yu, you're not joking, are you?"

Qin Fengqing exclaimed in surprise as he looked at Lu Hao's file. He'd fought hard to get where he was, and now, as a third-year student, he was only in the middle stage of the third rank. Lu Hao was entering the school already at the third rank, and had even killed a fourth-rank martial artist. His combat strength might not be any weaker than Qin Fengqing's.

This was a freshman? If this was a freshman, what did that make Qin Fengqing? Just unlucky?

"It's true. This junior is terrifying. If I hadn't already broken through to the fourth rank, I'd be feeling pretty anxious myself. So, are you going or not? Give me a straight answer."

"I'm going, of course I'm going. When did I ever say I wouldn't?"

When Qin Fengqing heard there was such a tough guy, he naturally wanted to meet him. He could get to know him, too; maybe they could go to the Earth Cave together sometime. After all, Qin Fengqing knew several good places, but he wasn't strong enough to explore them on his own.