A Talk

"Are you in the Gravity Room right now?" Feng Mu asked anxiously. Even with his usually calm temperament, he could barely keep his composure after receiving the news.

"Yeah." Guan Ning nodded.

"The Patrol Envoy wants to see you. Stop training for now, hurry back and take a shower, and change your clothes. I'll wait for you at Jiangnan Pavilion."

A Patrol Envoy was a Beyond War God, someone Feng Mu had yearned to become but never could. He had been seriously injured during a Beast Tide. Though he had recovered, he could only remain a high-level War God, with no hope of becoming a Patrol Envoy. It was undeniably a torment.

"Okay, I'll be right back." Guan Ning hung up, grabbed a towel and wiped away his sweat, buckled the Coiling Dragon Sword to his waist, then headed out with the Qingming Sword in hand.

Guan Ning soon returned to Jiangnan Pavilion. Feng Mu was already waiting inside, dressed in a blue training outfit just as he had been when they first met a month ago, though his expression was somewhat dejected.

"Guan Ning!" Feng Mu called as soon as he saw him.

"Teacher, give me a moment. I'll be right out."

Seeing Feng Mu's expression, Guan Ning spoke up.

In the building where Luo Feng lived, a figure darted into the first floor, then quickly rushed upstairs. "Teacher, I'll be right down."

"Hm? Teacher Feng, you're here too?" Zhao Ruo heard the voice and looked puzzled. "Did you come to see Guan Ning?"

Feng Mu said nothing, only nodding slightly.

"What's going on today? Teacher Jiang Fang came to see Luo Feng, and now you're here to see Guan Ning. Is something big about to happen?"

Zhao Ruo asked Feng Mu, but it was clearly a waste of effort. Feng Mu had no reason to explain himself to her.

Feng Mu ignored her, and Zhao Ruo wasn't surprised. His reclusive nature was famous at the Training Camp. Even his own students could hardly find him outside of lessons.

Just then, Guan Ning came rushing downstairs in casual clothes, holding an umbrella. "Teacher."

"Let's go," Feng Mu said.

"Xiao Ning, what's going on?" Zhao Ruo asked with concern.

"I don't know yet. I'll tell you when I get back," Guan Ning explained.

"Okay, off you go!" Zhao Ruo waved in satisfaction, signaling that he could leave.

Feng Mu glanced at Guan Ning and said, "Inspector Wang is a Beyond War God. Why don't you look nervous at all?"

"How could I not be excited? It's just that the initial rush has passed, and now I'm only looking forward to the Training Camp's rewards."

Guan Ning wasn't particularly excited, but he still lied.

Feng Mu didn't know what to say. He had meant to remind Guan Ning to be respectful and stay calm, but it seemed there was no need now.

He gave a wry smile and let it go.

Under Feng Mu's lead, the two soon arrived at a quiet villa that looked ordinary. Its style was reminiscent of villas from China's Tang Dynasty. Compared with the villas of the other War God instructors, its only unusual feature was its slightly larger grounds.

"Teacher Feng Mu, the Patrol Envoy is waiting inside for you and student Guan Ning," a smiling, elderly butler said at the villa entrance.

They entered the villa courtyard.

Guan Ning immediately spotted four people playing mahjong in the first-floor hall: three women and Jiang Fang, Luo Feng's teacher.

"Looks like Luo Feng's already here."

"Old Feng, it's been ages since you last visited," said one of the women, who looked well-preserved and rather like a society matron. "Old Wang is upstairs in the reception room. He just said that the young man called Guan Ning should go up by himself. Old Feng, let's have a chat. We haven't seen each other in so long."

"Exactly, Old Feng. You shouldn't always be so gloomy," another woman added.

Guan Ning thought to himself, Teacher Feng and these women go way back.

"Go on up," Feng Mu told him.

"Mm."

Guan Ning went up to the second floor and followed the aroma of tea to the reception room. The door was open.

Inside, a lean man in his forties sat facing a young man. It was Luo Feng, who had his back to Guan Ning and was signing something.

Looks like they're finished.

"Come in," a slightly hoarse voice called.

"Inspector Wang." Guan Ning bowed slightly.

"Sit." The lean man pointed to the other side of the table.

Guan Ning sat cross-legged beside Luo Feng, just as he had.

"Junior Brother Guan Ning, you're here."

There was no surprise in Luo Feng's eyes. After all, he had come himself, so it was only natural for Guan Ning to be there too.

"Senior Brother Luo Feng," Guan Ning replied.

"Enough. You can catch up later. For now, read this contract carefully, and sign it if you have no objections," Inspector Wang said mildly.

There were two copies of the contract on the table. Luo Feng had already signed one. Guan Ning picked up the remaining copy and read it carefully.

It was a formal recruitment contract with the Limit Martial Hall, covering not only benefits and rights, but also responsibilities.

Annual operating funds: 5 billion!

Though it was only 5 billion, a far cry from what other organizations had offered him, Guan Ning didn't care about that. What mattered to him was the reward system the Limit Martial Hall had set up.

Still, to be cautious, he read every line carefully.

He soon reached the third page, which contained a series of clauses.

"Should Party B achieve a Combat Power Amplitude of 8 before August 1, 2057, Party B will receive a Series 9 Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons, and a complete set of any chosen manuals."

"Should Party B achieve a Combat Power Amplitude of 12 before January 1, 2060, Party B will receive an SS-Grade Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons, and one drop of Jade Marrow worth 30 billion."

"Should Party B achieve a Combat Power Amplitude of 12 before August 1, 2057, Party B will receive an SS-Grade Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons, one portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, and a complete set of any chosen manuals."

"Should Party B achieve a Combat Power Amplitude of 16 before August 1, 2060, Party B will receive an SS-Grade Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons, one portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, and one Black God suit."

"Should Party B achieve a Combat Power Amplitude of 16 before January 1, 2060, Party B will receive an SS-Grade Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons, one portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, and the position of Inspector with the Limit Martial Hall."

There were five clauses in all, and every reward was enticing.

Guan Ning was determined to claim the first three rewards. If he could master the Hidden Edge Sword Technique within three months, he would meet the requirements for the third clause and get a portion of Dragon Blood. And with an SS-Grade Combat Suit and weapons, he would be safer during his Life and Death Adventure in Australia.

Guan Ning had originally planned to graduate after returning from Australia. But when he saw the last two clauses, that plan went up in smoke. The position of Inspector aside, he couldn't pass up the Black God suit. It was the only Force Battle Suit on Earth. It would greatly improve his ability to stay alive, and with his already strong defense, the Force Battle Suit would make him even more formidable.

"Combat Power Amplitude of 16?"

But the requirement was extremely high. He knew very well what each Combat Power Amplitude range represented in terms of difficulty and significance.

1–2 was beginner, 2–4 intermediate, 4–8 advanced, and 8–16 elite!

No one at the entire Training Camp had reached 16. Even Chu Qiang and Shi Jiang, who were in the top five of the rankings, only had a Combat Power Amplitude of 14 or 15.

Those in the top ten were generally at 13.

Those in the top twenty were generally at 12.

These were only rough benchmarks.

Given Guan Ning's current abilities, he would have to clear the third level of the Trial Tower and master the Hidden Edge Sword Technique to meet the requirements.

He could at least see some hope of mastering the Hidden Edge Sword Technique.

But he couldn't see any hope of clearing the third level of the Trial Tower. Anyone capable of that either had Conception-Level mastery in both combat techniques and movement techniques, or had reached Planetary Level and become a Councilor.

Thinking of this near-insurmountable difficulty gave Guan Ning a headache.

"Have you finished reading?" the hoarse voice asked.

Inspector Wang frowned slightly as he watched Guan Ning sitting there in a daze, then relaxed. He knew just how astonishing the rewards were. No one could read them without being affected.

Clearly, he misunderstood why Guan Ning was dazed.

"I've finished." Guan Ning came back to his senses and answered respectfully.

"Any objections?" Inspector Wang asked mildly.

"None." Guan Ning promptly signed the contract.

Guan Ning sat in his study, eyes fixed on the computer, waiting for a certain moment to arrive.

"Ding-dong!"

Hearing the email notification, Guan Ning's face lit up, and he hurriedly opened it.

"Student Guan Ning, your operating funds have been issued. Please check your account."

Seeing that it wasn't the information he wanted brought a little disappointment, but he was still excited. After all, it was 5 billion! He had never handled such a huge sum of money before.

Then his Communication Watch received a message: "Dear Mr. Guan, 5 billion Huaxia Currency has been deposited into your account. Your balance is 6,523,890,472—over 6.5 billion."

Aside from the newly received 5 billion, the remaining 1.5 billion or so had come from the monsters Guan Ning had hunted during this period. If he hadn't been after more merit points and had chosen only the most valuable parts, he could have made several times as much!

"Ding-dong!" Another email arrived, and Guan Ning hurriedly opened it—

"Elite Training Camp Announcement: The Limit Martial Hall's General Hall Master, Hong, will attend the departure ceremony for the Life and Death Adventure on August 1. All students are encouraged to do their best."

After reading the announcement, Guan Ning thought, There it is!

This was the notice he'd been waiting for. Now, his plan for today might actually work.

After hurriedly finishing his meal, Guan Ning headed out to train, his heart full of excitement. No matter how excited he was, he couldn't slack off!

But because he couldn't focus, his training that afternoon went poorly. There was nothing he could do about it; he just couldn't control himself!

After finally making it through the evening, Guan Ning arrived outside Luo Feng's building and called, "Senior Brother Luo Feng."

"Senior Brother Luo Feng."

"Senior Brother Luo Feng."

Guan Ning called three times, but no one answered. He guessed Luo Feng was probably in the basement.

Then he called him.

"Junior Brother Guan Ning, what's up?" Luo Feng appeared on the screen, drenched in sweat.

"Senior Brother Luo Feng, I need to talk to you." Guan Ning chuckled, thinking, There's a reason Luo Feng succeeded.

"Sure, give me a moment!" Luo Feng thought briefly, unable to guess what Guan Ning wanted, then agreed.