"With such a huge payout, the authorities are really about to empty out the county treasury..."
Zhou Yun couldn't help clicking his tongue. It seemed like just five patrols would earn him a Human-Rank Merit Medal, with even higher Earth-Rank and Heaven-Rank medals above it.
Of course, there were more dangerous assignments too, including searches for Snake-Men in wild areas outside the city, and even in places very close to the Black Profound Mountain Range.
Keep in mind, the vast Black Profound Mountain Range was home to more than just the Snake-Person Race. Other Demon-Human races lived there as well, and their strength was no weaker than the Snake-Person Race's.
They were still rather unfriendly toward humanity. In other words, even if he didn't run into Snake-Men in those places near the edge of the Black Profound Mountain Range, he might still clash with other Demon-Humans.
Still, the more dangerous the assignment, the greater its pay and merit rank.
"The next patrol is today, as it happens..."
Zhou Yun had come across a patrol assignment that afternoon. A street in Black Stone County needed a Dark Force martial artist to oversee the patrol.
These assignments generally involved martial artists from various forces, such as other martial arts schools.
The team was made up of three Bright Force martial artists, six martial artists who had opened at least one aperture, and one Dark Force martial artist.
"I'll take this one."
Zhou Yun took down the assignment. After patrolling Old Fisher Street for two hours after noon, he would earn one tael of silver. Such generous pay was rare.
Besides, he could almost predict that he wouldn't encounter a large group of Snake-Men on the way. The only exception would be if they happened to run into a few Snake-Men scouts who had infiltrated the area, but the odds of that were extremely low.
"I've still got time to grab a meal first."
Zhou Yun returned to the Inner Courtyard dining hall and ordered a generous helping of meat.
He ran into quite a few familiar faces in the dining hall, but most people were rushing in and out. The Snake-Man assignments seemed to have kept everyone busier than ever.
After eating his fill, he went back to the courtyard, picked up the Black Iron Great Spear and Green Scale Soft Armor, then hired a carriage to take him to the Assembly Point on Old Fisher Street.
Most of those present were young, but most of the Bright Force martial artists were middle-aged, at least thirty years old, and looked seasoned.
When they saw Zhou Yun arrive, they assumed he was another ordinary martial artist who hadn't yet knocked on the gate. They paid him little attention.
Among them, a young martial artist who had opened six apertures froze when he got a clear look at Zhou Yun.
"Zhou Yun? What are you doing here?"
Hearing someone call out, Zhou Yun looked over, his brow creasing slightly.
The man was Zhou Chuan, the martial artist his grandfather had gone to great lengths to promote. Zhou Yun remembered that he was an Outer Courtyard disciple at the Sky Sea Martial Arts Hall.
But judging by his qi and blood, he still hadn't knocked on the gate of Bright Force. There was no particular reason to pay him any mind.
Zhou Yun lowered his eyes. He had no desire to have anything to do with him, so he turned and walked to the other side of the crowd.
"Hmph. So what if he knocked on the gate of Bright Force? What's there to show off about?"
Zhou Chuan snorted. He had no idea that his cousin had knocked on the gate of Dark Force, and his face remained full of disdain.
"Chuan, your cousin is a Bright Force expert? Then we should try to get on good terms with him."
A somewhat scrawny young martial artist spoke up.
"What's there to get on good terms about? He's already cut ties with our family!"
Zhou Chuan sneered. "My grandfather told me that as soon as he knocked on the gate of Bright Force, he couldn't wait to disown us. He didn't spare a thought for how our Lineage raised him. The very picture of a man who'd forgotten his roots!"
"Is that really what happened?"
The scrawny young martial artist looked surprised, but still seemed doubtful. "Could there be some misunderstanding? He's a Bright Force martial artist, after all. Plenty of people would love to curry favor with him... Besides, doesn't your family rely on his status to get its taxes reduced?"
"There's no need. In ten days or half a month, I'll be ready to try knocking on the gate of Bright Force myself. Someone like him has no right to carry the Zhou family name."
Zhou Chuan looked proud. Though he was only a martial artist with six apertures for now, he was far from being at the bottom of the Outer Courtyard.
He had been born with a Second Form Bone. Unless something went seriously wrong, he had a good chance of knocking on the gate of Bright Force. That was why he had plenty of followers in the Outer Courtyard, who treated him as a senior brother certain to make it into the Inner Courtyard.
Many people fawned over him, hoping he would give them a leg up once he entered the Inner Courtyard. One of them was Li Futian, a martial artist who had opened six apertures.
Though he was on the same level as Zhou Chuan, he had only a First Form Bone and had to spend at least six hours a day practicing martial arts.
That was several times as much as Zhou Chuan practiced. On top of that, to curry favor with Zhou Chuan, he had volunteered to wash his clothes, which took up even more of his time.
Still, that had made Li Futian the person closest to Zhou Chuan. He always remembered what his mother had taught him: once he entered a martial arts school, he needed to attach himself to a more talented senior brother. Otherwise, a poor family like theirs would never get ahead.
The senior brothers in the Inner Courtyard looked down on him. Zhou Chuan was the best candidate he could find in the Outer Courtyard.
"Understood. I hope you knock on the gate of Bright Force soon, Senior Brother Zhou..."
Li Futian nodded woodenly and said no more.
Zhou Yun was a Bright Force martial artist, someone he could only envy. But Li Futian knew perfectly well which man he could actually cling to.
"Right, we'll still split the money from this mission seventy-thirty... Don't worry. Once I knock on the gate of Bright Force, I'll pay you back every last coin."
Zhou Chuan made the same familiar promise as always, as if he had said it countless times before.
Li Futian said nothing. He knew this was exactly why he had been able to stay by Zhou Chuan's side all this time.
"Why hasn't that Dark Force martial artist shown up yet? The authorities' Bright Force martial artists are already here..."
Zhou Chuan couldn't help muttering. The midday sun was scorching, and sweat soaked his back.
Then he suddenly sensed that something was off. The one who had just arrived was a Bright Force martial artist from the authorities. So who was the extra Bright Force martial artist?
There were only supposed to be three Bright Force martial artists on this team, including the authorities' representative. But now there were four?
"What's going on? Did they suddenly add another person to the assignment?"
Zhou Chuan frowned. He worried that adding another Bright Force martial artist halfway through would mean a smaller share of the rewards from the patrol...
"Well, even if I ask Li Futian for an eighty-twenty split, it doesn't matter. He thinks I'll pay him back once I knock on the gate of Bright Force anyway..."
Just as Zhou Chuan was about to speak to Li Futian again,
the bearded, middle-aged martial artist from the authorities walked into the crowd and addressed Zhou Yun. "Sir, I'm the martial artist representing the authorities on this assignment. We'll be counting on you to look after us during the patrol..."
Zhou Yun? Sir?
Zhou Chuan froze. There was no need to ask what level of strength someone had reached if a Bright Force martial artist from the authorities addressed him as "sir."
Dark Force!
Zhou Yun—the very Zhou Yun he'd looked down on, the very Zhou Yun he'd thought he would one day trample beneath his feet—was actually a Dark Force martial artist!
"Impossible!"
Zhou Chuan's face twisted. He couldn't believe it.
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