Trial of Strength

It was late at night, and the house was quiet.

Only one kerosene lamp, shaded with red gauze, remained lit in the bedroom of the main house.

Its light was dim and golden, filling the room with warmth.

Shen Yun was already fast asleep in bed.

The satin quilt had slipped halfway down, leaving her ripe, curvaceous figure half covered and half exposed.

Lu Zhen pinched the edge of the quilt and gently pulled it up, carefully covering the springtime beauty filling the room.

He closed his eyes and sank into his thoughts.

[Daily Settlement Panel activated]

[Today's settlement: Practiced Iron Wire Fist for three hours, threw ten thousand punches.]

[Base rewards: Silver dollars +0, Career Experience +0, Martial Skill Experience +60, Physique Experience +10, General Experience +20]

[Level bonus triggered: Daily Settlement Level Lv.3 (daily rewards multiplied by an additional X3)]

[Final rewards: Silver dollars +0, Career Experience +0, Martial Skill Experience +180, Physique Experience +30, General Experience +60!]

Without the nourishment of high-year medicinal treasures and mutated flesh, the settlement rewards from an ordinary day were indeed a drop in the bucket for Lu Zhen, who had now entered the Bright Force realm.

[Lu Zhen (30 years old)]

[Realm: Early Bright Force]

[Money: 1996 silver dollars (including the estimated value of anonymous bank drafts, gold bars, and the like)]

[Current profession: Ship Guard]

[Level: Daily Settlement Lv.3 (215/800)]

[Skills:]

[Carriage Driving Lv.3 (50/800)]

[Ship Handling Lv.2 (15/20)]

[Coiling Dragon Stake Lv.4 (1210/3000)]

[Iron Wire Fist Lv.4 (640/3000)]

[Physique: Blood-Qi Like a Furnace Lv.5 (590/10000)]

[General Experience: 845 points]

"The Coiling Dragon Stake has reached its limit."

This stake-training method, used to temper strength, could no longer squeeze out even a trace of blood and qi from him, no matter how hard he practiced, now that he had entered Bright Force.

From now on, he only needed to make time to stand in the stance for half an hour or so each morning, just to loosen up and maintain his strength.

Practicing more would only waste his time.

As for Iron Wire Fist...

With his current immense cultivation at Early Bright Force and his freakish Blood-Qi Like a Furnace physique, a casual punch from him could make his tendons snap and spring, unleashing the full power of six resounding beats.

If he had enough experience to push his Lv.4 Iron Wire Fist up another level, to Level 5...

That would be Seven-Sound Limit Break.

In other words, what his master Yan Tieqiao called "Force Extreme Second Layer"!

"With the Panel, I can keep adding points to this ordinary martial skill and pushing it further without hitting any bottlenecks."

Even the one-in-ten-thousand Force Extreme Seventh Layer absolutely wasn't the end.

That was his greatest source of confidence.

But Lu Zhen knew full well that while breaking through with Iron Wire Fist was tempting, he absolutely couldn't spend the 845 General Experience he had on martial skills at a whim.

"I have to prioritize increasing the Daily Settlement Level."

That was the true core of the Panel.

The further one went in martial arts, the more experience one's techniques and physique demanded, like a bottomless pit that devoured gold.

Only by raising the base multiplier of Daily Settlement could he conjure hundreds or even thousands of extra experience points each day.

It was like sharpening your axe before chopping wood.

He was currently at Lv.3 (215/800). He was still 585 points short of leveling up.

"Add points."

The 845 General Experience on the Panel instantly plummeted, turning into a barely perceptible stream of light that surged into the Daily Settlement Level progress bar.

The bar filled with a roar.

The text blurred for an instant, then came back into focus.

[Level: Daily Settlement Lv.4 (0/3000)]

[Level Perk: Daily rewards multiplied by an additional X4!]

The next day.

Beep... beep-beep.

Two muffled car horns sounded at the mouth of the alley.

Lu Zhen had gotten up early.

A black Ford sat at the entrance to the alley.

The window rolled down, revealing Gu Yanzhi's face, which wore a warm smile. He had changed out of his long gown too, now wearing a dark gray jacket that was easier to move around in.

"Brother Lu, hop in," Gu Yanzhi called, waving.

"Right on time, Brother Gu," Lu Zhen said, striding over.

He opened the car door and climbed into the front passenger seat.

The car smelled faintly of leather and tobacco.

The driver pressed the accelerator. The car gave a low rumble and slowly pulled out of Anping Street, heading toward the Inner City District.

More and more people appeared on the streets.

Steam from breakfast stalls and laborers pushing handcarts mingled together, creating the particular crush and chaos of a world in turmoil.

The car passed through several blocks. The farther they went, the taller and more imposing the buildings became.

Half an hour later.

The car came to a slow stop outside a towering gray-brick compound.

Two lines of guards stood at the gate, armed to the teeth, while Western searchlights were mounted atop the high walls.

Above the main gate hung a heavy plaque with three large white characters on a black background.

It read: Garrison Bureau, Third Station.

"The East City Garrison Bureau here in Ocean City has ten stations. This one in front of us is the Third Station."

Gu Yanzhi lowered his voice beside Lu Zhen, letting him in on the details.

"There are strict rules in the bureau. At the bottom are the ordinary squads, ten men to a squad. Their squad leaders are usually capable fighters who've just entered Bright Force.

"Above them are the squad leaders, in other words, the captains, who command three ten-man squads.

"To become a squad leader, you have to be at least one of the top fighters among those newly entered into Bright Force, or be at mid Bright Force.

"As for the head of a station, he not only has to be a tough fighter at mid Bright Force, but also needs connections and influence to back him up."

Lu Zhen listened quietly and nodded.

Gu Yanzhi smiled and continued, "But things are chaotic these days, and mutated ferocious beasts are running rampant outside the city. The bureau is short-handed everywhere.

"If you're at Late Force Refining Realm, you can basically get in as soon as you show up. Still, we'll have to start out as ordinary members this time.

"Once you show that you've reached Bright Force, you'll naturally be promoted straight to squad leader."

As they spoke, the two had already crossed the tall threshold.

The moment they entered the compound, an intense, martial air of slaughter swept over them.

The air carried not only the pungent smell of weapon grease, but also a lingering stench of old blood. It was the murderous aura left by years of fighting ferocious beasts outside the city.

The compound was enormous, and the bluestone paving was pitted and uneven from all the footsteps.

At that moment, scattered groups of wandering martial artists hoping to get recruited had gathered in the courtyard. Their clothes were a riot of colors, all of them strikingly conspicuous.

Some wore the blue, belted uniforms of the Flying Swallow Sect; others had on the Black Tiger Hall's tiger-striped coarse-cloth vests; still others wore the cross-collar gowns of Iron Wire Hall... The outfits of all kinds of martial arts schools and the styles of various martial sects were jumbled together in a noisy mess.

In the middle of the area before this motley crowd, several millstone-sized testing stone locks had been laid out in a row.

Numbers had been painted on them in red: five hundred pounds, eight hundred pounds. The one at the far end was an especially intimidating sight, weighing a full five thousand pounds. It was meant specifically for testing Bright Force Martial Masters.

"Hi-yah!"

A man in a tattered gray short jacket flushed red as he gripped the five-hundred-pound stone lock with both hands. His legs trembled as he barely managed to lift it a few inches off the ground.

The clerk in charge of registration beside him coldly waved him away.

"Too weak. Get lost! Next!"

A dark-faced man then stepped up to the eight-hundred-pound stone lock. He strained with all his might, but could only make it wobble; he couldn't lift it at all.

"You can't even lift eight hundred pounds? You here to get yourself killed at the Garrison Bureau? Get lost!" The clerk drove him off without a shred of courtesy.

Lu Zhen stood outside the crowd, watching calmly.

On the steps leading to the inner hall not far away...

Several men from the Garrison Bureau stood with their arms folded, looking down coldly at the wandering martial artists in their motley clothes.

They were ordinary members of the Garrison Bureau, all dressed in matching gray uniforms with black trim, made of coarse cloth and cut in a cross-collar style. A fist-sized character, "Garrison," was embroidered on their chests in white thread, and sturdy yellow oxhide belts were cinched around their waists.

At the very front of the group, surrounded by these ordinary members, stood their leader. He wore a black, patterned brocade uniform with excellent-quality fabric, its cuffs and collar edged in bright red thread.

Most eye-catching of all was the character "Garrison" on his chest, embroidered with interwoven gold and silver thread.

This man was Zheng Hu. His eyes were sinister, his temples slightly bulging, and his blood and qi were exceptionally condensed.

He was clearly a squad leader who had just entered Bright Force, and a member of the newly risen Zheng Family, a family of heterodox martial artists.

The Zheng Family had always been bitter enemies with the Xiao Family, which stood behind the Gu Family.

"Captain."

A sycophant in the Garrison Bureau's gray uniform with black trim suddenly sidled up to Zheng Hu's ear and jerked his chin.

"Look over there. Isn't that Gu Yanzhi, the eldest young master of the Gu Family from the Tongjiang Chamber of Commerce?

"That dog the Xiao Family raised has actually come sniffing around our Third Station for food. Want to give him a hard time?"

Zheng Hu narrowed his eyes, following the man's gaze. A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The Garrison Bureau was a semi-governmental military office. Though they judged applicants by their strength, they also paid attention to "positions and assignments."

"No rush." Zheng Hu rubbed his chin, smiling without warmth.

"Once he's gone through hell and high water to pass, we'll use the excuse that all our positions are filled to block him.

"Let's make this esteemed young master swallow his grievances in public. We'll be following the rules, so the Xiao Family won't have a leg to stand on."

Over on this side...

The people ahead had finished their tests, and it was Gu Yanzhi's turn.

He took off his jacket and handed it to Lu Zhen. Then he drew a deep breath and strode over to the eight-hundred-pound stone lock.

He had just broken through to Late Force Refining Realm a few days ago, and his blood and qi were at their peak.

"Up!"

Gu Yanzhi planted his feet, brought his waist and legs together, and heaved with both hands.

He lifted the heavy eight-hundred-pound stone lock steadily off the ground, then even raised it to waist level, holding it there for three breaths.

"Strong!"

"He's got a solid foundation."

The wandering martial artists in the colorful uniforms of various schools all around him exclaimed in admiration.

Gu Yanzhi set the stone lock down with a bang. Delighted, he dusted off his hands and walked over to the registration desk.

Just then...

"Hold it."

Zheng Hu gave his black brocade uniform, embroidered with gold and silver characters, a flick. Then he ambled down the steps with several of his men and blocked the way.