Grand Martial Arts Arena Scramble for Red Token, Three Block the Way!

Lu Ming was about to step out when he noticed the sky had darkened, the last sliver of sunset fading—it was already nightfall.

"It's too late today. I'll go find Master Wei tomorrow!"

A thought flickered through Lu Ming's mind, then he grew puzzled—why hadn't dinner been served yet?

He hadn't heard the clang of the meal bell from the Public Kitchen.

Public Kitchen.

"Hurry it up! Three of you are Organ-Tempering Realm experts—how can you be so slow and clumsy?"

Inside the kitchen, Xu Shou and the other two Directors from the Military Service Bureau were scrambling to cook.

One was stir-frying, another cleaning ingredients, and the third hauling things back and forth as an assistant.

Wei Jinlin stood to the side, frowning as he barked orders.

Xu Shou and the other two exchanged glances, all wearing bitter smiles.

Once, they had been lofty figures, Directors in their respective bureaus, waited on hand and foot.

Now, they had been reduced to cooks—even bodyguards!

"Who asked us to need his help? Cooking is one thing, but Senior Brother Wei demanding our entire budgets? That's too ruthless."

Their eyes met, expressions varied.

Xu Shook his head.

"Senior Brother Wei's strength is formidable, his methods surpassing even demons. Without him, the martial arts prodigies of the nearby counties would all be Earth Dragon Beast feed.

"We'll just have to endure for now!"

The three sighed, only to hear Wei Jinlin shout from behind:

"Dinner time is already over. Do you want the disciples to come admire your cooking skills? Move faster!"

Xu Shou jolted, quickening his pace, frustration and helplessness churning inside.

"I'm an old man with injuries!"

The next day, Lu Ming stepped out brimming with energy and vitality.

He planned to enter the Grand Martial Arts Arena and immediately tell Wei Jinlin that he had reached minor mastery of the Cloud-Piercing Finger.

But when he arrived at the arena, he saw many people standing on the high platform.

Leading them was naturally Wei Jinlin, with Xu Shou and the other two county Directors behind him.

And behind those four stood several more people.

Three of them were none other than the big shots who had once come to apologize to Wei Jinlin—the heads of the city's three great families: the Zhao Family, the Chen Family, and the Shen Family.

Not only that, he also spotted Zhu Lie, the master of the Blazing Flame Martial Hall, and even Qin Zhonghai, the deputy pavilion master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

Among them was one man who commanded the respect of Zhu Lie and the others, his status rivaling Qin Zhonghai's.

This man was a middle-aged figure, exuding a scholarly air, with sharp light flickering in his eyes and an extraordinary bearing.

"That man is Zhou Zhen, the outcast of the Lingyun Sect!"

"Shh! Quiet! He calls himself an outcast of the Lingyun Sect—how dare you say that? Haven't you heard he still has the authority to recruit Lingyun Sect disciples? Clearly, he's still deeply connected to the sect."

"Why are all the city's big shots gathered here today? I feel nervous, like something major is about to happen."

"Probably still about the demon trouble! After yesterday's demon rampage through the county, no one can sit still."

Seeing Qin Zhonghai, Lu Ming stepped forward to pay his respects:

"Greetings, Pavilion Master Qin."

Qin Zhonghai nodded slightly: "Go on. Today, you'll compete for the Red Token. Give it your all. If you perform well, even if you don't win the Red Token, you might still have a chance."

A chance?

Lu Ming's heart stirred. So something big was indeed happening today.

Lu Ming acknowledged with a "Yes, sir," turned, and withdrew.

Among the crowd, many unfamiliar faces had appeared—disciples from Black Mountain County, Black Water County, and Cloud Peak County had all gathered here.

Lu Ming spotted Chen Ping, the one who had caused Zhao Zhiqiu's death, standing at the very front of the Black Mountain County disciples, keeping a low profile and standing quietly, unlike the others who were whispering among themselves.

"Silence!"

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wei Jinlin shouted from the high platform, and the clamor of the Grand Martial Arts Arena instantly died down. Everyone looked over in silence.

"Today is the day to compete for the Red Token."

As soon as Wei Jinlin said this, many disciples who hadn't known about it changed expressions.

"Competing for the Red Token today? Then I have no chance!"

"I feel like I'm about to break through to Flesh Refining Grand Completion! Just a few more days!"

"Unfair... I've only trained for less than a month..."

Many who had thought they stood a chance at the Red Token now heard there was no time left, their faces twisting with reluctance as they clenched their fists.

On the high platform, Xu Shou and the other two Military Service Bureau Directors wore faint, bitter smiles.

Xu Shou couldn't help but sigh, "Senior Brother is too cunning. Our disciples only arrived yesterday—they haven't even had a chance to train in the Iron Stake Area, and now they have to compete for the Red Token."

Wei Jinlin's expression remained unchanged. Inwardly, he thought, Of course I'm looking after my own county's disciples. Would I favor disciples from other counties?

If no one had been strong enough to claim the Red Token earlier, he wouldn't have held a small test—he'd have held a large one from the start.

Leaving it until now, giving the other counties' disciples a chance to compete, was already the height of benevolence.

He continued, "The top three from the small test: Chen Feng, Feng Qingzhu, and Lu Ming.

"Also fourth place Liu Yiyi, and fifth place Zhao Zhiqiu... Zhao Zhiqiu is dead, so we'll skip him.

"You four will each take one column. The rest will form groups of four, starting from one column of stakes. Begin arranging now... Good, start!"

At Wei Jinlin's command, over two hundred disciples from the four Military Service Bureaus surged from all directions, charging toward the Iron-Scaled Python Demon's corpse at the center of the Iron Stake Area.

Among them, Chen Feng, Feng Qingzhu, Lu Ming, and Liu Yiyi each occupied a column without interference, instantly taking the lead and securing the top four positions for now.

Xu Shou's mouth twitched. "Senior Brother, I understand you want to favor your own county's disciples. A column to themselves, no interference—an early advantage.

"But the top three from the small test—Chen Feng, Feng Qingzhu, Lu Ming—that's one thing. Why is Liu Yiyi, a Flesh Refining cultivator, mixed in?

"And speaking of which, this person is clearly male but named Liu Yiyi—rather strange."

Wei Jinlin gave him a flat look. "The one at Flesh Refining is Lu Ming. Liu Yiyi is female, and she recently broke through to Flesh Refining Mastery."

Xu Shou raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Lu Ming at Flesh Refining... and he got top three in the small test? Hah, hah!"

He laughed a few times and fell silent, but his expression relaxed considerably.

The other two Directors exchanged glances and couldn't help but smile as well.

It seemed this year's disciples from Red Cloud County's Military Service Bureau weren't much. The third place in the small test a few days ago—they couldn't even scrape together three Flesh Refining Mastery cultivators, letting that mere Flesh Refining Lu Ming take a top-three spot.

If that was the case, let Wei Jinlin favor his own if he wished.

With Lu Ming's Flesh Refining cultivation, he definitely couldn't snatch the Red Token. At worst, they'd lose three Red Tokens. They still had four to compete for—not a total loss.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the Iron Stake Area, over two hundred disciples charged through simultaneously, the sounds of striking stakes overlapping and merging into a single roar.

Many Skin Refining Mastery disciples barely made it a few stakes before the noise rattled them nearly to the point of vomiting blood, unable to perform at their usual level, and retreated in defeat.

Gradually, several tiers formed within the Iron Stake Area.

At the very front, the first echelon consisted of Chen Feng, Feng Qingzhu, Liu Yiyi, and the others.

Eliminated disciples watched the situation and murmured among themselves.

"Chen Feng and Lu Ming each have their own column, and they're still being caught up. The disciples from other counties' bureaus—there are so many geniuses!"

"Not really. It's just that three bureaus combined make it look like a lot."

"Yeah. Black Mountain County only has Chen Ping and Wu Yong in the first echelon. Black Water County has Ma Sandao and Niu Dali. Cloud Peak County... all together, less than ten."

At this moment, under the gaze of all, Lu Ming in the first echelon passed the twenty-fifth stake. The accumulated Godly Movement inertia on him made him feel as if he were riding the wind, moving with extreme ease.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. Almost there. At this point, others found it harder and harder to advance, while he was only getting easier.

With just a little extra effort, he could immediately overtake Chen Feng and claim first place.

His gaze fell on the Iron-Scaled Python Demon's corpse not far away. The demon stood three or four zhang tall, with seven Red Tokens stuck in various parts of its body.

Wei Jinlin never said each person could only take one Red Token. As long as he could withstand the pressure, he could take as many as he wanted!

Just as he was about to push forward, Chen Feng, on the adjacent stake column to his left, suddenly turned and shot him a glance, then gave him a vicious look.

The next moment, the disciple occupying the stake column to Lu Ming's right, along with the disciple on the adjacent column, suddenly cut in front of him, blocking his path!

Lu Ming swept his eyes over the two. "The Shen Family's silent genius, and Black Mountain County's genius, Wu Yong!"

In that instant, Lu Ming's path forward was blocked. On his left, Chen Feng lurked, ready to coordinate with the two, determined to stop Lu Ming from seizing the Red Token.

Three geniuses, blocking Lu Ming's way forward!