Red Token in Hand! Wei Jinlin's Surprise!

"Sorry."

Lu Ming shook his head, thinking to himself, who didn't need Demon Meat? This Liu Yiyi, expecting him to give it up on a single word?

How could that be?

They weren't related by blood or friendship; the only connection was that her father, Liu Feilong, had given him thirty Qi-Enhancing Pills. That was mostly a favor owed to the Li Family, and Lu Ming certainly wouldn't abandon Demon Meat for it.

Without hesitation, he pressed forward, directly overtaking Liu Yiyi and arriving at the twenty-fifth stake.

Ahead of him now were only Chen Feng and Feng Qingzhu, both at the Flesh Refining Grand Completion stage.

Chen Feng had reached the twenty-sixth stake, struck the iron post, then took a step forward and paused in place.

Feng Qingzhu struck the twenty-fifth stake, glanced back, and seemed to think the top three were secure. She stopped moving, adjusted her breathing, and held her ground.

She watched as Lu Ming steadily surpassed Liu Yiyi, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. She hadn't expected that Lu Ming, with his unfocused efforts, could still reach this level.

It was somewhat unexpected to her.

Lu Ming arrived at the twenty-fifth stake, reached out lightly, and struck the iron post. The post didn't budge, and no sound rang out.

Because this time, he hadn't used the Mountain-Pushing Divine Ability, nor had he exerted much force. He wanted it to not ring. That way, he would be slightly inferior to Feng Qingzhu and take third place!

At this moment, only the four of them remained in the entire Iron Stake Area.

Lu Ming and Feng Qingzhu stood still, while only Chen Feng and Liu Yiyi continued trying.

Ahead, Chen Feng took another step forward, but his blood energy suddenly became slightly disordered, his face flushed red, and his stance wavered. His gaze sharpened, he stumbled, planted his feet, and steadied his breathing without moving.

It was a long while before he stabilized, sighing inwardly that this was his limit.

"The mini-test is over. The top three—Chen Feng, Feng Qingzhu, and Lu Ming—each receive one Red Token. Does anyone else have objections?"

Wei Jinlin's voice came from the high platform.

Behind them, Liu Yiyi, still slowly shuffling forward, saw that she was only one step away from the twenty-fifth stake, yet that step was impossible to take.

Resentment filled Liu Yiyi's eyes as she glared at Lu Ming. This guy had eaten thirty Qi-Enhancing Pills from the Flying Dragon Martial Hall and still wouldn't give her any face.

The one-tenth share of Demon Meat that had been practically within her grasp had been snatched away by him. Infuriating!

Liu Yiyi fumed inwardly, but reality was cruel. Seeing she could advance no further, she had to console herself that only three Red Tokens had been taken today.

Lu Ming came from a commoner background and lacked staying power. In the future, she still had a chance to claim the remaining seven.

She promptly withdrew from the Iron Stake Area, biting her lip slightly, and said:

"No objections."

She knew Wei Jinlin's words were mainly directed at her.

Wei Jinlin nodded slightly, then suddenly leaped from the high platform, tapping a few times across the Iron Stake Area as if walking on flat ground, passing Lu Ming and the other two to land in front of the Iron-Scaled Python Demon's corpse.

He pulled out the three Red Tokens from the lowest part of the demon corpse's tail, then flicked his wrist, sending the three Red Tokens flying toward the three men.

Lu Ming raised his hand and caught the Red Token, feeling its weightlessness. Instead of relief, his heart tightened—this showed Wei Jinlin's control over his strength was extremely precise.

"Master Wei, you reached the demon corpse with such ease. Your disciple admires you!" Chen Feng caught his Red Token and spoke with sincere admiration.

"All of you, leave. Keep the Red Tokens safe. Once all the Red Tokens from the demon corpse are taken, you can claim the Demon Meat together. The token is recognized, not the person." Wei Jinlin said calmly.

Chen Feng acknowledged with a "yes," then turned and swiftly left the Iron Stake Area, feeling a wave of relief.

As he passed Lu Ming, he glanced at him from the corner of his eye, a hint of surprise rising within him. He hadn't expected that this man would surpass Liu Yiyi and claim the third Red Token.

But he quickly regained his composure. There was only a month left until the Grand Examination. At most, Lu Ming could break through to Flesh Refining Grand Completion before then.

With Demon Meat, however, he himself had a chance to break through to Tendon Refining!

If he could manage that, it would be a whole new world.

Tendon Refining cultivation was considered mid-to-high level among martial artists in the county town. In the past, almost all Military Service Bureau disciples who reached this realm became disciples of Third-Rate Sects.

As for Lu Ming, even if he broke through to Flesh Refining Grand Completion, he still carried Shen Changfeng's grudge on his back. He wouldn't last long.

"This kid actually used the Nine Palaces Palm and the Cloud-Stepping Technique with perfect timing, almost seamlessly integrated."

In front of the Iron-Scaled Python Demon's corpse, Wei Jinlin watched Lu Ming's retreating figure, his thoughts flickering.

If not for that, Lu Ming wouldn't have been able to strike the iron post and make it ring with such a light touch.

Doing it so effortlessly meant he had leveraged the power of the Cloud-Stepping lightness skill, channeling the momentum from his leg techniques into his palm strikes with ease.

"It seems Lu Ming does have the potential to cultivate the Formless Divine Art," Wei Jinlin mused inwardly.

But for now, it appeared that all the martial arts Lu Ming practiced had only reached the beginner level.

If he only reached beginner and couldn't master them, then he wouldn't amount to much.

Wei Jinlin's thoughts raced, and he had already made a decision.

On the other side, as Chen Feng, Feng Qingzhu, and Lu Ming exited the Iron Stake Area, they were immediately surrounded by many people.

Lu Ming was no exception. Many eyes burned with desire as they stared at the Red Token in his hand, as if they wanted to snatch it away.

"Brother Lu has made a stunning breakthrough, even surpassing Sister Liu of the Flying Dragon Martial Hall to claim the third Red Token. That means one-tenth of the Demon Meat!"

"Senior Brother Lu, I'd like to buy that Red Token in your hand. Five hundred taels of silver—will you sell?"

"Five hundred? I'll offer a thousand!"

From the crowd, the elegant Zhao family prodigy, Zhao Zhiqiu, also walked over and said to Lu Ming:

"Junior Brother Lu, I'm willing to try mediating the conflict between you and Brother Shen, in exchange for that Red Token in your hand. What do you think?"

Mediating the conflict? And "try"?

Lu Ming shook his head. He didn't believe Zhao Zhiqiu could succeed, and immediately refused:

"Sorry, this Red Token is not for sale."

With that, he turned and left quickly.

Zhao Zhiqiu watched him go, sighed without surprise, and didn't press the matter.

If it were him, he wouldn't sell the Red Token either; he'd only asked on a whim.

Seeing even Zhao Zhiqiu get shut down, the crowd dispersed.

"This Lu Ming, he'd rather die for Demon Meat than live. Eating that meat won't do him any good. After the Grand Examination, won't Shen Changfeng still hunt him down?"

"With his talent, he'll at most reach the peak of Flesh Refining. That strength can't stand against the Shen family."

"Would you give up Demon Meat in his place? Lu Ming just made the choice any ordinary man would."

Not far off, Chen Feng exchanged a few pleasantries with the crowd. Spotting Liu Yiyi standing alone outside the group, his heart stirred. He parted the crowd and walked over, saying:

"Yiyi, sorry. I thought you had third place locked down, but I didn't expect Lu Ming to suddenly pop up."

Liu Yiyi withdrew her gaze from Lu Ming, glanced at Chen Feng with a hint of flattered surprise—she hadn't expected him, in his moment of triumph, to still consider her feelings.

She quickly replied: "How could this be your fault, Senior Brother Chen? It's just that Yiyi's skills aren't up to par."

Chen Feng said: "Lu Ming may come from a poor background, but he does have some talent. If he can keep up this momentum, he might go further."

Liu Yiyi shook her head: "Lu Ming was just lucky. He happened to break through right before the small test and snatched third by chance.

"Senior Brother, you earned your first place step by step, solid and steady. Even if Lu Ming gets the Demon Meat, without your foundation, he can never surpass you.

"Besides, he still faces Shen Changfeng's threat. He won't get far."

Chen Feng smiled: "What you say is true. In that case, I'm sure you'll overtake him in the next Red Token scramble."

Liu Yiyi only then realized that Chen Feng was subtly comforting and encouraging her. A blush crept onto her cheeks, and her heart secretly rejoiced.

Seeing this, Chen Feng smiled faintly and thought to himself: Liu Feilong only has this one daughter. If he could win over Liu Yiyi, winning over the Flying Dragon Martial Hall would be easy.

If he managed that, his standing in the family would rise even further!

Within the Grand Martial Arts Arena, everyone had their own schemes.

Lu Ming, meanwhile, received a signal from Wei Jinlin and quietly slipped away, returning to his own courtyard.

Wei Jinlin stood in the yard, already waiting for him.