"Senior Brother Luo Feng..."
Luo Feng suddenly walked over. "Hello! I'm Luo Feng. Nice to meet you, Senior Brother Wang Ji!"
Wang Ji smiled and held out his hand. "Don't be so formal. I'm a year younger than you. Just call me by my name."
"Oh, right, right. Luo Feng, you're getting too caught up in formalities," the boy beside them said with a laugh.
Wang Ji smiled too. "You must be Wei Wen. Hello!"
"You know me?" Wei Wen asked excitedly.
Wang Ji nodded, then turned to Luo Feng. "I heard Instructor Jiang Nian from the martial hall often trains you, too. He taught me everything as well. That makes us brothers in the same line of disciples! No need to be so formal—just call me by my name."
"Okay!"
Wang Ji and Luo Feng chatted as they slowly walked out of the school gate. Wang Ji told them about the Quasi-Warrior Assessment and some of the interesting things that happened during battles in the Wilderness Zone. These were things students who had always lived in a Base City rarely got to experience. They were novel, exciting, and thrilling. Luo Feng and Wei Wen listened with shining eyes. In just ten minutes, the three of them had quickly become close.
When Wang Ji told them how he had helped Military Base No. 8 hold off the monsters and then received more than nineteen million in spoils, Luo Feng and Wei Wen looked envious beyond words. Both came from ordinary families, where even having meat for dinner could make them happy for days. More than nineteen million was almost unimaginably appealing to them. Wang Ji had successfully planted the seed of becoming a warrior in their hearts. City Lord Luo's resolve was already firm, but wouldn't it be even better to make it firmer still?
The three of them said their goodbyes at the school gate.
"Let's talk again sometime! We've exchanged phone numbers, so keep in touch, whether anything comes up or not!" Wang Ji said.
After they parted, Wei Wen said, "Wang Ji's a really nice guy! He's already a big shot who's become a warrior, but he's still so friendly."
Luo Feng clenched his fist. "I'll become a warrior too. Then I'll sit down and chat with Wang Ji again."
"Little brother, you got along pretty well with Luo Feng?" Wang Yan asked.
Wang Ji said, "Luo Feng's no ordinary person. I have high hopes for him. He'll definitely achieve great things in the future. He's a good person, too."
"Oh, okay!" Wang Yan didn't really understand. Luo Feng looked like an ordinary boy. Back in their second year of high school, they'd even sat in front of and behind each other. What was so special about him? Could he become a district chief or mayor? Wang Yan shook her head, amused by her own thought.
After taking in the atmosphere at school, Wang Ji went back to the martial hall and resumed training.
Although the trial-ground instance space was gone, Wang Ji had Iron Will, and his training was much more effective than before. Whether he was practicing Five Hearts Toward Heaven, his footwork, or his blade techniques, Iron Will made his concentration several times stronger.
A week passed. Through his own training, Wang Ji increased his punching force from 7,610 kilograms to 7,740. He could gain nearly twenty kilograms a day. That was no small amount; it put him at least at the level of an elite, if not a genius.
That day, at Military Base No. 8.
"Lao Bao! I brought you some Jade Melon Liquor!" Wang Ji called cheerfully from the north gate.
Lao Bao jumped down from a height of more than twenty meters. He took the jar from Wang Ji and sniffed it, his voice trembling as he asked, "Is this really Jade Melon Liquor? Where did you get it?"
Wang Ji smiled. "I just happened to find it. There's a Jade Melon Liquor shop by the entrance to North Bank Residential District in Yangzhou City. It's been there since I was a kid. They only brew this one kind, and it's not expensive. Plenty of the old drinkers who live nearby like it. Since it's cheap and they don't make much, it sells well in the surrounding area. A few nearby residential districts buy up the whole supply, so it never became famous elsewhere."
Lao Bao carefully took a sip. "Mmm... That's the taste!" His lips trembled slightly as he continued, "Drinking this takes me back to the Dianyuan Defense from decades ago. Back then..."
Wang Ji drank with Lao Bao and listened to his stories all afternoon before finally waving goodbye.
Lao Bao was the sort of man who could keep things to himself, but couldn't let them go or forget them. Perhaps he never wanted to forget. Those memories held his most treasured comrades and family.
The Wilderness Zone. This was a small town.
Wang Ji didn't dare go to a county seat. He valued his life. But there were few beast generals in small towns. Even if there were any, three or so would be the most he'd encounter. So small towns were relatively safe.
Wang Ji went out by day and hid by night. It took him five days to comb through the town. First, he cleared out all the beast soldiers, then slowly wore down and killed the three beast generals.
"Not bad!" Wang Ji looked over the monster materials he'd collected. Beast general materials ranged in price from a few million to over a hundred million. A super beast general like the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf could even sell for several hundred million. Of course, the three beast generals in this town were all ordinary junior beast generals, worth around ten million each. Along with more than two hundred beast soldiers, he estimated he'd make thirty-two million from this haul!
"Bang!"...
"Bullets! A sniper round!" Wang Ji's heart clenched. A tremendous sense of danger made every hair on his body stand on end. "Who's there? Who's sniping me?!"
As soon as the bullet entered the forty-meter radius of Wang Ji's senses, he reacted. He turned with all his might, bringing his War Blade and shield up in front of his chest, while his Spiritual Force—more than 1,200 kilograms of it—swiftly interfered with the bullet's trajectory.
This kind of sniper round could kill a beast general. Its force was terrifying, no weaker than that of an ordinary medium-caliber artillery shell. Wang Ji's Spiritual Force was nowhere near enough to stop it or change its trajectory significantly.
But he could still affect its trajectory just a little. More than a thousand kilograms of force slammed into the armor-piercing round, nudging it a few degrees to the left. Over the forty meters between it and Wang Ji, that small deviation made it miss him by more than a meter!
It missed!
"Damn it! Scorpion, what the hell are you doing?" Four hundred meters away, Liu Zhendong cursed furiously. This was the Night Fire Squad. Aside from the sniper, every member was at Beginner War General Level, and their leader, Gao Qiang, was a Middle War General.
Liu Zhendong had gotten the news and paid a hefty price to convince his teammates to help. He'd thought success was guaranteed. Who knew things would go wrong?
"Are we still doing this, boss?" Monkey asked from beside him. In the Night Fire Squad's eyes, Wang Ji was nothing special. But he was a genius student at Limit Martial Hall who'd become an Advanced Warrior in just two months. There was no telling which big shots had taken notice of him. He wasn't a threat, but he could cause trouble.
Gao Qiang, the squad leader, thought for a moment, then said, "The squad won't get involved as a whole. Old Liu, talk to the others yourself. Anyone who wants to help can go with you."
"Boss!" Liu Zhendong said urgently.
"He's just an Advanced Warrior. It won't take many people to deal with him!" Gao Qiang said, then turned and left. But he was thinking about Liu Zhendong's promise of ten million to each of them. Honestly, it wasn't worth it! For a mere ten million, he would've killed Wang Ji on the spot just now. But getting involved in the open wasn't worth it!
Monkey, Scorpion, and three others offered a few polite words, then turned and left as well.
"Dayang, Kezi, help me keep an eye on him so the kid doesn't get away. I'll pay you fifteen million each!" Liu Zhendong said through clenched teeth.
"No problem. We've been brothers for years. Of course we'll help!" the two teammates said, patting their chests.
The three of them immediately charged toward Wang Ji.
Wang Ji soon saw the three men charging at him. It was Liu Zhendong, Liu Biao's father—the mastermind behind the hired attack. They were the ones who had attacked him.
"Run!" From their speed, Wang Ji knew he couldn't take them on. They were at least War General Level, and not just newly advanced Beginner War Generals!
"Run!"
As he fled, Wang Ji quickly used his mind to open the detailed map on his smart watch. He rapidly took in the surrounding terrain.
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