Seeing Through

Hearing the middle-aged man say that, Xu Gang felt a surge of excitement. He knew perfectly well that Xu Qing was a genius, but Xu Xin wouldn't let Xu Qing out of her sight.

If Xu Qing could join the Limit Martial Arts Hall and receive its full support, that would definitely be much better than joining the Underground Alliance.

After all, the Limit Martial Arts Hall was the strongest force in the world, with all kinds of cultivation resources at its disposal.

"How about it? If you agree, I can make the decision now and invite you to join the Limit Martial Arts Hall. Even if you don't pass this practical assessment, it won't matter. You can just try again next time."

"Once you join the Limit Martial Arts Hall and receive proper training, becoming a Warrior will be a piece of cake," the middle-aged man said, looking at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing blinked and replied, "I don't know."

He didn't know much about the martial arts halls, so he wasn't sure what he should do.

In a situation like this, of course he didn't know.

"Ahem..." The middle-aged man nearly choked. I said all that, and all you can say is that you don't know?

Then he turned to Xu Gang. "You decide."

Xu Gang met the middle-aged man's gaze, then glanced at Xu Qing, who looked a little bewildered. He was torn. He really wanted to agree, but he was afraid Xu Xin would get angry.

After thinking it over, Xu Gang ultimately gave up. He still didn't want to upset his younger sister.

"Sorry, I can't make this decision either. Only my younger sister can," Xu Gang said with an awkward smile.

The middle-aged man shook his head helplessly. "Forget it. I won't push you."

With that, he finished entering the information on the computer. Xu Qing's status as a Quasi-Martial Artist had been registered.

"This is the agreement for the practical assessment. Once you take part, the Limit Martial Arts Hall won't be responsible if you're killed by a monster during the assessment. Of course, the death rate in the practical assessment is very low, but injuries and disabilities are common. After all, you'll be fighting real monsters."

"If you've made up your mind, sign this agreement," the middle-aged man said.

Xu Qing signed his name without hesitation.

"The practical assessment is in early August, so you have a month to prepare. Do your best to pass on your first try," the middle-aged man said, nodding to Xu Qing.

"Also, according to procedure, every Quasi-Martial Artist receives a method for cultivating genetic energy. You're from the Xu Family, so you may already know about it, but we still have to go through the proper steps," the middle-aged man added.

"The genetic energy cultivation method? Is that the Guidance Technique?" Xu Qing asked.

"No. The Guidance Technique is a more advanced method..." The middle-aged man looked at him. "You already have the Guidance Technique?"

"Mm, I do," Xu Qing replied with a nod.

"Then all right. We can skip that step," the middle-aged man said with a shrug.

Since he already had the Guidance Technique, there was no point in giving him the Five Hearts Toward Heaven Cultivation Method. The Guidance Technique was an upgraded version.

After that, Xu Gang and Xu Qing left.

Watching them go, the middle-aged man grew more and more uneasy. In particular, something about Xu Qing's performance during the assessment had felt off, and it bothered him.

He was an Intermediate War General, not far from reaching the advanced level. He had killed many monsters and developed a powerful instinct.

If his instincts told him something was wrong, it was unlikely to be a false alarm.

"Something's definitely off." The middle-aged man pulled up the recording of Xu Qing's test and started watching it again.

After one viewing, he furrowed his brow. He hadn't noticed anything.

So he watched a second time, but still couldn't see anything unusual.

The third time, the fourth time... Even after watching it eight times, he still couldn't figure out what was wrong.

From his perspective, Xu Qing's performance was perfectly normal. Many people performed about the same way when taking the Quasi-Martial Artist Assessment.

"This is driving me crazy. Could it really have just been my imagination?" The middle-aged man furrowed his brows.

Just then, his phone rang. He took it out and quickly answered, speaking respectfully. "Sir."

"Mm, Wu Jiang, is the task complete?" a man asked.

"The task is complete," Wu Jiang replied.

"How did it go?" the supervisor asked.

"He passed the Quasi-Martial Artist Assessment," the middle-aged man said.

After a pause, he added, "Sir, that young man from the Xu Family is only seventeen. I think he may be a genius."

"A young man? You mean he's only seventeen?" The supervisor sounded surprised. When the Xu Family's eldest young master had contacted him earlier, he hadn't mentioned that the person taking the assessment was so young.

Seventeen was very young, but calling him a genius was a different matter...

"That's right. He's seventeen. Didn't you know, sir?" Wu Jiang asked in surprise.

The supervisor was the one who had assigned him this task.

"I didn't ask. The Xu Family isn't a family of Warriors, so I didn't expect anyone there to take that path," the supervisor said casually.

Wu Jiang nodded. To the supervisor, the Xu Family was nothing special, so it made sense that he hadn't paid much attention.

"All right. As long as the task is complete." With that, the supervisor hung up.

Wu Jiang had still wanted to say something, but the supervisor had already ended the call, so he let it go.

"Maybe it really was just my imagination. Never mind. The task the supervisor gave me is complete, anyway." Wu Jiang shook his head and put the matter out of his mind.

Meanwhile, Xu Gang drove Xu Qing out of the downtown Limit Dojo building.

"As expected of a Warrior. Just one look from him put that much pressure on me." Xu Gang let out a long breath.

He was certain that the Warrior they had just met was powerful. The pressure he exerted was far greater than that of the Intermediate War Generals the Xu Family had hired.

"He was probably an Intermediate War General, and a strong one at that," Xu Gang guessed.

Even among Intermediate War Generals, there were differences in strength. It all depended on the individual.

On the drive back to the Xu Family home, Xu Gang asked, "Xiao Qing, were you holding back during the test?"

"Mm. Sister Xin told me to," Xu Qing replied with a nod.

"So you really were." Xu Gang was astonished. He could actually do that? Most Warriors probably couldn't. Was this what made him a genius?

"Honestly, with your talent, joining the Limit Martial Arts Hall would be the best choice. As long as you show them what you're really capable of, the higher-ups will treasure you," Xu Gang said with a sigh.

Xu Qing didn't respond.

When Xu Qing stayed silent, Xu Gang didn't say anything more. Only Xu Xin could make decisions for him.

Before long, Xu Gang dropped Xu Qing off at the Xu Family's front gate.

"Xiao Qing, I've got something to take care of, so I won't go in with you. Tell her about the assessment yourself." After saying goodbye, Xu Gang sped off in his car.

As soon as Xu Qing got home, Xu Xin heard about it.

"Xiao Qing, how did it go?" Xu Xin asked with a smile.

"Sister Xin, I did what you told me. I passed the assessment, so now I just have to wait for the practical assessment." Xu Qing smiled happily.

Once he passed the practical assessment, he'd be a true Warrior.

Xu Xin nodded with satisfaction. "When is the practical assessment?"

"Early August," Xu Qing replied.

"That's still a month away, so there's no rush. Summer vacation is long, too. I should think of something to do with all that time," Xu Xin mused.

The new school year began in early September, so Xu Qing, Xu Xin, and the others still had more than two months.

"Got it," Xu Xin said, quickly coming up with an idea.

To fill those two months, Xu Xin decided to find something to do at the Alliance Mall, something like a summer job.

In the end, with Xu Gang's arrangements, Xu Xin became the manager of the reception hall on the first floor of the Alliance Mall, while also working part-time as a bartender.

Xu Qing went along to help out, working as a server or doing whatever else was needed.