First Mission

The next day.

After waking up, Su Yi hurriedly washed up. The reek of alcohol on him made his stomach churn.

He had graduated.

There were more than two months of vacation ahead.

Su Yi planned to take on a few small missions first and get a taste of blood.

After patiently cultivating for two days, Su Yi received word that Qin Nansheng had returned and went to find him.

Qin Nansheng brought Su Yi to the district Investigation Bureau branch and began explaining. "Once you enter Martial University, there'll be a dedicated mission system. Military Department missions, Investigation Bureau missions, and police missions can all be accepted there. Some Martial University instructors and students will also post missions on it, and you can take those too."

After arriving at the Investigation Bureau, the two registered their Martial Arts Certificates and entered the bureau's public mission hall.

There were many computers in the mission hall, all black-and-white desktop machines.

They found two seats and sat down. Su Yi logged in with his martial artist ID, and before long, a great many missions were recommended to him.

Most were Second-Rank missions, with some First Grade missions mixed in.

Most of the Second-Rank missions were for those at the Early or Mid Stage of Second Rank.

"It's your first time taking on missions, so I'd recommend finding one for a First Grade Peak or an Early Second Rank martial artist. Once you reach Third-Rank High Stage, the mission system will add a type of conscription mission. Mid-rank martial artists are forcibly required to complete a certain number of missions every year, and conscription missions have to make up a set proportion of them."

Qin Nansheng logged into his own mission system as well.

Su Yi nodded in understanding. The Underground Cave. Only Third-Rank High Stage martial artists in society would learn about the Underground Cave, while Fourth Grade martial artists would begin to be forcibly conscripted.

It also gave ordinary people a choice. If they were afraid of death, then they simply should not break through.

As he browsed through the entries, Su Yi quickly chose a mission.

"Name: Chen Dong Gender: Male Age: 37 Strength: Early Second Rank. Lower Limb Bones fully tempered, Bone Tempering between 65 and 70. No firearms; may be carrying cold weapons. Practices basic fist-and-kick Battle Arts, with no special combat techniques. Case: On June 3, 1996, engaged in a fight due to a conflict with others. His attack resulted in the deaths of two people, after which he fled. The deceased were a Second-Rank Mid Stage and a First Grade Peak martial artist. He initially fled to the western suburbs. This case is under the jurisdiction of the North District Investigation Bureau of Modu. Those accepting the mission may contact the North District branch for more detailed information. Reward: 450,000 cash or 15 Credit Points. Danger Level: Medium."

Recommendation: A Second-Rank Mid Stage martial artist, or two Early Second-Rank martial artists.

This target's Bone Tempering was about the same as his own. He had no special Battle Arts, so the gap in strength would definitely be considerable.

After selecting the mission, the two went to an Office.

A staff member in a work uniform came over to receive them.

"What mission did you take? What's the number?"

"199606030777. Chen Dong."

The staff member turned on the computer and checked it. "An Early Second-Rank martial artist, newly entered into Second Rank. His strength is average. He's currently in the western suburbs. According to the latest intelligence, he's in Xiting Village. You can contact the personnel there later."

After obtaining the intelligence and the phone number of the Investigation Bureau personnel in Xiting Village, Qin Nansheng drove Su Yi there.

Su Yi contacted the Investigation Bureau personnel to confirm the location.

An hour later, Chen Dong's position was confirmed: a private house at the very edge of Xiting Village.

To avoid alerting the enemy, Su Yi had put away his sword.

Dressed in casual clothes suited for movement and carrying a guitar case on his back, he looked just like an ordinary student.

Xiting Village was only called a village, but it was located in Modu, so it had all the facilities it should have.

The house where Chen Dong was hiding was somewhat remote. Su Yi took his sword from the guitar case and slowly approached.

The moment he reached the front gate, his powerful Spiritual Power sensed the Blood Qi within.

His footsteps were light, slow.

Just then!

Inside the room, Chen Dong's face carried both fear and ferocity. He sensed a dense surge of Blood Qi. There was a strong opponent!

Very strong!

"Run."

Without another thought, Chen Dong snatched up his bag and burst through the door. Just as he opened it, Su Yi's sword came crashing down at him.

Feeling the force of surging Blood Qi, Chen Dong reacted with great speed, twisting aside and instinctively raising his left hand to block the strike.

No good, I can't block it.

His left hand was severed outright, and the bundle in his hand fell to the floor. Enduring the searing pain, Chen Dong kicked at once, striking the door and using the recoil to stagger backward.

His gaze locked onto the window. He wanted to break through it and escape.

Su Yi saw through his intentions. Without even bothering to retrieve his sword, he kicked toward Chen Dong's chest.

"Bang!"

Chen Dong was kicked flying and slammed into the wall. He twitched once, then lay motionless.

Chen Dong's mind spun frantically. Enduring the agony, he had to play dead.

That powerful expert who had alerted him earlier had done so deliberately. He had to be here to protect this little brat.

Whether he was here to temper him or for some other reason, this brat definitely had little experience in real combat—or perhaps had never even seen blood.

With an expert guarding the way behind him, he was practically doomed. But even if he died, he would drag someone down with him.

Am I some object for your training? You'll regret this.

"Is he dead?" Su Yi let out a breath. Before he had even reached the front door, he had heard the commotion inside. His plan had been disrupted, so he could only take things one step at a time and hurriedly gathered his strength for a slash.

That's right, I'm dead. Come closer. Listening to Su Yi's approaching footsteps, Chen Dong calculated the distance.

Su Yi stopped, looking at the figure on the ground. He grabbed a kettle and smashed it down hard at Chen Dong's head.

"Bang!"

The kettle burst against Chen Dong's head, smashing it open and leaving him drenched in blood.

"Ah!" With a cry of pain, Chen Dong hurriedly tried to roll over and rise.

That shouldn't have happened. How could this be?

Before he could get up, Su Yi drove his sword into his heart.

"Idiot. Did you really think I was that stupid? You think I couldn't tell you were playing dead?"

Looking at Chen Dong across from him, dead with unwillingness still on his face, Su Yi wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve.

His Spiritual Power was that high for a reason.

He dropped onto the bed beside him and let out a long breath. The danger had passed.

This was his first time killing someone. He couldn't really say how it felt.

Disgusted? Not really.

Excited? A little. His heart was beating much faster.

And there was lingering fear.

"Chen Dong, I'll remember you," Su Yi murmured inwardly.

Tap, tap, tap.

Qin Nansheng entered the room and sat beside Su Yi.

He placed a hand on Su Yi's shoulder, his voice somewhat complicated. "Are you all right?"

Watching his friend's child begin to fight for his life left Qin Nansheng with a bitter feeling in his heart.

Su Yi raised his head, his tone equally complicated. "I can't say whether I'm all right or not. At first, I was a little nervous. After killing him, I felt some lingering fear. During the fight, I didn't think much about it. But I'll get used to it. This is what it means to be a martial artist."

The fingers resting on Su Yi's shoulder curled, applying slightly more pressure. Then Qin Nansheng smiled gently. "Right. You'll be fine once you get used to it. This is what it means to be a martial artist."

"All right, the people from the Investigation Bureau are on their way to take over. Let's first talk about your battle just now." Qin Nansheng began to change the subject, but it did not feel abrupt. A post-battle review was the most effective way to clearly grasp one's shortcomings. "Chen Dong hadn't prepared sufficiently before leaving the house, so he acted somewhat hastily."

"Mm." Su Yi nodded.

"I was the one who did it. I erupted my qi and blood to alert him."

"I know. You wanted to see how I would react on the spot?"

"Right. All kinds of situations can arise during missions. Even intelligence may not necessarily be accurate. They're people too, and they have thoughts of their own. It wouldn't be strange if someone made a breakthrough at the last minute."

Qin Nansheng spoke earnestly. "Your preparations were still not thorough enough. Otherwise, that sword strike when he opened the door would have been enough to kill him. But you handled the rest well."

After saying that, he walked to the doorway, picked up the fallen bundle beside Chen Dong's severed left hand, and rummaged out several bottles of pills.

After taking a look, he handed them to Su Yi. "Your spoils are pretty good. Five First Grade Qi-Blood Pills, two First Grade Bone-Tempering Pills, and ten Common Qi-Blood Pills, worth 110 Credit Points, plus seventy-five thousand in cash."

Taking the pills and cash casually, Su Yi carefully reviewed the experience he had gained from the battle.

After completing the handover with the people from the Investigation Bureau, Qin Nansheng sent him home.

Once home, Su Yi hurried upstairs and entered the bathroom.

He washed for a long time. Only after he could no longer smell the blood on himself did he change clothes, lie down on his bed, and feel the lingering glow of the setting sun.

The battle had not consumed much qi and blood, but that brief stretch of time had left Su Yi mentally exhausted.

He had finally taken that step.

Over the next few days, Su Yi successively accepted one Second-Rank Mid Stage mission and one Second-Rank High Stage mission.

During the day, aside from searching for people, he tempered his bones and practiced Battle Arts.

After killing the mission target that night, he continued cultivating.

On June 12, Su Yi's swordsmanship had reached Minor Achievement, allowing him to unleash eighty calories of blood qi.

It was already more than twenty percent of his own blood qi, enough to count as having mastered a trump card.

On June 13, Su Yi accepted a Second-Rank Peak mission. After locating the target, he killed them with a single sword strike.

On June 14, Su Yi set his sights on the Third Grade and accepted a Third Grade Early Stage mission.

By the time he found the target, the target had already advanced to the Third Grade Mid Stage.

Su Yi did not choose to abandon the mission. In the end, he killed the Third Grade Mid Stage target.

Before Third Grade martial artists tempered their spine, the gap between them was not all that great.

A Third-Rank High Stage martial artist could fight ten Third Grade Mid Stage martial artists.

Su Yi was not so arrogant as to go looking for trouble with a Third-Rank High Stage martial artist.

This target had only just finished tempering his ribs, yet the battle had already been extremely difficult for Su Yi. He had circled and maneuvered, using Cloud Step to drag them to death.

Even now, he was only a Second-Rank Early Stage martial artist.

Third Grade Early Stage martial artists were not much of a problem yet, but Third Grade Mid Stage ones were rather difficult.

This was also the first time Su Yi had been injured, though the injury was not serious.

Rather than taking on another mission, Su Yi chose to go home and nurse his wounds.

After five missions, the Investigation Bureau awarded him rewards worth a total of 155 Credit Points.

He had seized resources worth nearly 900 Credit Points.

The Third Grade martial artist alone accounted for nearly 300 Credit Points' worth of resources.

Not every martial artist carried many resources on them. Usually, they only had essential Blood Qi Pills and Bone Tempering Pills.

On June 17, the news announced that the Ministry of Education had set this year's key admission cutoff at 589 points.

It was also on this day that Su Yi completed the tempering of his Upper Limb Bones, one limb bone in total.

Only an endless pile of resources had allowed for such speed—an average of 1.5 bones tempered per day.