Making a Friend

"Oh?" Wei Jinlin turned around in confusion. He hadn't expected so much to happen today.

He sized Lu Ming up and asked, "What's your name?"

Lu Ming replied, "This disciple is Lu Ming."

Wei Jinlin nodded slightly. "You try walking it too."

"Yes." Lu Ming went to the most basic Nine Palaces Stakes, the Red Dot Nine Palace Stakes, and stepped into it without hesitation.

"Tok, tok, tok..."

Wei Jinlin watched Lu Ming's movements with a piercing gaze.

"Straight ahead with Mud-Wading Steps, turn with Swing-Buckle Step, twist and wrap the body, and the force comes naturally..."

"Three Breaths Nine Echoes!

"He's indeed cultivated Integrated Force."

Wei Jinlin said at once:

"After lunch, go to the Utility Room and collect a white practice uniform and a wooden practice token."

"Yes." Lu Ming answered respectfully.

He didn't have a penny to his name, and medicinal salves were beyond his means. But to the Military Service Bureau, they were a mere drop in the bucket.

Based on his experience as a student in his previous life, teachers favored students with good grades, followed by those who were average but eager to learn. If you went to a teacher after class and asked for practice questions, you might even get some extra worksheets!

So, given his talent for cultivating Integrated Force, asking for a few bottles of medicinal salve shouldn't be unreasonable, right?

This was the most direct way to get the salves.

Nearby, Shen Jue saw Lu Ming cultivate Integrated Force and was taken aback.

"That kid actually broke through!"

Standing beside him was a young man in white: Chen Jinyang of the Chen Family. There was also a fair-skinned, beautiful woman named Li Youning, whose family had considerable influence as well.

Each of them wore a brass key at their waist.

Zhu Ming, who had just drawn so much attention, was now standing behind Chen Jinyang, looking rather deferential. The rumors were evidently true: he had advanced so quickly because Chen Jinyang was backing him.

"Well done! We'll hold a banquet in your courtyard tonight," Chen Jinyang said with satisfaction.

Zhu Ming replied, "Yes."

Shen Jue suddenly said, "How about I invite Lu Ming along? He's got potential too."

Chen Jinyang glanced at Lu Ming in the distance and frowned.

"He only just cultivated Integrated Force. He's ranked below two hundred, several levels behind Zhu Ming. There's no need, is there?"

Shen Jue shook his head. "His circumstances are poor. Maybe he hasn't been able to show his full potential before. He seems like a decent fellow to me. If we give him a little help, we could at least have an extra lackey down the road."

Chen Jinyang didn't think much of it, but seeing Shen Jue stand firm, he said, "If that's the case..."

"No. Don't invite him," Li Youning suddenly cut in, having kept quiet until then.

Shen Jue was puzzled. "Miss Li, did he offend you somehow? He came up with the idea for several of those rare antiques you liked."

Li Youning lifted her chin, revealing her pale neck. "No means no. Otherwise, I won't go."

"Fine, fine. I give up," Shen Jue said, shaking his head helplessly.

Chen Jinyang chuckled at the sight. "That's fine too. With talent like his, he doesn't qualify for our banquet anyway."

Li Youning glanced at Lu Ming, her eyes flickering. "Let's practice first."

Then, together with everyone in the Martial Arts Arena, they began their training.

Two hours later, several clacks rang out. The clappers were signaling that the Public Kitchen was serving lunch!

Lu Ming finished training and hurried to the Public Kitchen. Along the way, he saw gray wind blowing past, and Black Leak Points in many places: on trees by the roadside, on the stone slabs underfoot, and beneath distant eaves.

He couldn't reach the ones elsewhere, and he was afraid of drawing too much attention. But he stepped on a Black Leak Point in a paving stone as he passed, and it felt as if wind filled his feet. Even walking became much easier.

This divine ability was kind of fun!

Lu Ming was secretly thrilled, but when he arrived at the Public Kitchen and looked around, he felt something was odd. Every time he came here, no one was around.

Other than the disciples who came to eat, there wasn't even anyone serving the food. The four hundred meals were already portioned out, one for each person, so they could just grab a serving and eat.

What was more, it seemed everyone in the Military Service Bureau, apart from Director and martial instructor Wei Jinlin, was avoiding them. Lu Ming had never seen anyone else at all.

But he was in a hurry to collect his things from the Utility Room, so he didn't dwell on it.

He wolfed down his meal, hurried out of the Public Kitchen, and headed for the Utility Room.

"Wait."

Just as he was nearing the Utility Room, someone stepped out from behind a roadside tree and blocked his way.

Lu Ming was taken aback. It was a woman, dressed in neat white clothes, her hair tied back with a silver hairpin that left her pale neck exposed.

He had heard of her: Li Youning, part of the same circle as Shen Jue and Chen Jinyang. He rarely saw her smile; she seemed rather aloof.

"Senior Sister Li, did you need something?" Lu Ming was puzzled. He was pretty sure he'd never even spoken to her.

Li Youning took a delicate wooden box from behind her and opened it for him. Inside were ten portions of medicinal salve.

"I know you cultivated Three Breaths Nine Echoes despite lacking medicinal salve. You have good martial talent, and you must work hard too."

Li Youning smiled at him and held out the box. "I admire people who have talent and are willing to work hard. Here, take these ten portions of medicinal salve as a gift for our first meeting. Let's be friends. What do you say?"

Lu Ming looked at her long, smooth hands, which didn't look as though they'd ever practiced martial arts, and privately marveled at how much effort it must have taken to care for them so well.

At the same time, he grew suspicious. A glamorous rich young woman like her suddenly being friendly toward him seemed unusual.

Shen Jue was one of the few rich kids who had a decent relationship with him, yet even after his breakthrough, Shen Jue hadn't tried to recruit him.

That was because he hadn't used the Heaven Leak Divine Ability when walking the Nine Palace Living Stakes.

Although he had reached the level of Integrated Force through the Heaven Leak Divine Ability, now that he'd reached it, he wouldn't easily regress. What was more, he had consolidated it ten times already and stabilized his Integrated Force.

The divine ability was one of his trump cards. Of course he wouldn't reveal it lightly.

So in the Martial Arts Arena, he'd shown only the most ordinary level of Integrated Force, the kind that ranked below two hundred.

There were plenty of people at that level in the Military Service Bureau.

Shen Jue hadn't come to him, yet Li Youning, a haughty woman he barely knew, had. Why?

Lu Ming pondered before saying:

"Thank you for the gift, Senior Sister Li.

"I really am short on medicinal salve right now, but as the saying goes, one should not accept a gift without earning it.

"If there's anything you need me to do, just say so. If it's within my ability, I'll accept the salve then."

Li Youning was stunned. She hadn't expected Lu Ming to stay so clearheaded in the face of ten portions of medicinal salve. It was like someone famished, skin and bones, seeing a bowl of hot porridge and managing to resist eating it.

A trace of admiration surfaced in her eyes. Then she said earnestly:

"To be honest, I think you have a talent for lightness skills!

"Do you know why the Military Service Bureau exists? It's to seek out talented people and make sure no one slips through the cracks.

"Those who complain that Director is unfair definitely lack talent. Otherwise, Master Wei would have noticed.

"And you—I glanced at you earlier and noticed that you seemed to walk with remarkable ease, as if moving with the wind.

"You've surely never practiced lightness skills, yet you give people that impression. You must have a gift for it.

"So I wasn't lying to you. I really do want to be friends with someone like you, who has martial talent and is willing to work hard.

"These ten portions of medicinal salve are just a small gift for our first meeting. You don't have to do anything for them."

Lu Ming suddenly understood. She must have seen him secretly stepping on Black Leak Points along the road.

Li Youning couldn't see the Black Leak Points, but she could see how effortlessly he moved after stepping on them.

Having figured it out, he didn't regret it. Instead, an idea stirred in his mind.

His current goal was to stay in the top two hundred and avoid being eliminated in the Grand Examination, which would cost him the chance to practice martial arts.

But naturally, he also wanted to make the top hundred, become a martial arts prospect, and enter a true martial sect!

If so, he had to become someone with "talent." Since she now mistook him for having a gift for lightness skills, he might as well go along with it. It could even help conceal his Heaven Leak Divine Ability.

After all, if he didn't leak anything at all, wouldn't that make people even more suspicious?

"Then I'll accept your kind offer."

Lu Ming took the box. Seeing the ten portions of medicinal salve, he was delighted.

He needed the salve right now. With it, he could train more times each day and develop his divine ability faster. Of course he had to accept it.

Wei Jinlin hadn't promised him anything, after all, and there was no guarantee he'd get any salve from him. Better to secure these ten portions first.

He then said goodbye to Li Youning and entered the nearby Utility Room.

Watching him go, Li Youning sighed inwardly. Her family was in a very bad situation, so she was doing her best to recruit talented disciples, hoping they could be of help.

If Shen Jue recruited Lu Ming, she wouldn't get the chance, so she'd had no choice but to use a little trickery.

Still, her belief that Lu Ming had a talent for lightness skills was only a guess. Even if he had some talent, whether he could develop it was another matter.

At least it gave her some peace of mind!

Li Youning let out a long breath, regained her usual aloof expression, and turned to leave.