Late at night, the Patrol Bureau finished thoroughly clearing out the house.
At the Patrol Bureau office.
Zhang Wei listened to Yan Runan's report and nodded.
"So the contamination came from the leftover flesh and blood of a King Realm Abyss creature. No wonder so many violent incidents happened in a single day."
Yan Runan ate some cake and said, "There should be more leftover flesh and blood than just that. Quite a bit of it is probably still somewhere in the city."
"This is no small matter. If we don't handle it properly, it'll cause serious trouble. I'll discuss with Commander Lu how we should deal with it," Zhang Wei said. "By the way, you said the contaminated martial artist had already been taken care of before you arrived. Who did it?"
"I don't know him. He said his name was Jiang Yuan."
"Jiang Yuan?" Zhang Wei shook his head. "Never heard of him. Is he a registered martial artist with the Martial Artist Association? Either way, he did us a huge favor. We can give him some sort of commendation in the Patrol Bureau's name."
"He probably isn't registered."
"He isn't?" Zhang Wei asked, puzzled.
Yan Runan raised her head, cream on the corner of her mouth, and smiled at Zhang Wei. "He seems to be a student at a martial arts middle school."
"A student? Then we should commend him all the more," Zhang Wei said approvingly.
But as soon as he said it,
he realized what she meant.
"Wait."
"You're saying he's a student?!"
With Zhang Wei's help, Yan Runan quickly found Jiang Yuan's information.
The results left her stunned.
"You're saying he's in the regular class, his latest blood-energy reading was 3.332, and he awakened an E-rank talent? And his class is just the ordinary Assassin profession?!"
"Are you sure you've got the right person?"
Zhang Wei shook his head. "There's no way I got the wrong person. There's only one boy named Jiang Yuan at Nanjiang City Martial Arts Middle School who matches your description."
"His talent is poor, but he seems to have a real knack for martial techniques. Not long ago, he defeated a classmate who'd awakened a B-rank talent."
"Even so, there's no way he could kill a contaminated martial artist at LV7. The other person with him, a girl named Guan Xiaoxiao, awakened an A-rank talent and a rare class, but even she couldn't possibly stand a chance against an LV7 martial artist."
"If no other martial artist stepped in, the two of them would've been killed. So you must've gotten something wrong."
Yan Runan fell silent for a few seconds, then the corners of her mouth lifted.
"Interesting."
After seeing Guan Xiaoxiao home, Jiang Yuan returned to his house.
His aunt's family had already gone to bed.
He went into his room, closed the door, and checked his upgraded status panel.
[Character: Jiang Yuan] [Race: Human] [Age: 17] [Level—Tier-One Martial Artist (LV2)] [Class: Martial God (Mythical)] [Talents: Infinite Amplification (Primordial), Supreme Analysis (Divine), Wood-Burning Fire (E-rank)] [Stamina: 1020] [Strength: 1010] [Speed: 990] [Spirit: 1060] [Luck: 5] [Passive Specialization: Limit of Strength (All attributes are multiplied by ten in the normal state)] [Active Skills: God Avoidance, Star Explosion, God Speed] [Cultivation Techniques: Ripple Force Technique, Immortal Body Tempering Technique (SSS), Kindling Breath Technique (SSS)] [Equipment: Crimson Bracers (Rare)] [Free Attribute Points: 20]
"Whoa..."
Even Jiang Yuan himself was almost scared by the stats on his panel.
Forget LV2—even someone at LV20 might not have stats like these.
Terrifying!
This was truly terrifying!
After his shock came delight.
"I didn't expect to stumble into such a windfall on tonight's outing."
"Now I can go to the Abyss."
Jiang Yuan thought excitedly, unable to wait.
"But before I head to the Abyss, I need to register with the Martial Artist Association and get a Martial Artist Badge."
"And I still need to finish the ferocious-beast meat in the fridge."
"I'll use the time to prepare a guide for my trip into the Abyss."
Three days passed quickly.
That day,
a torrential downpour raged outside, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Inside Chongming Martial Arts Hall.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Xu Yihan finished a round of spear training, drenched in sweat.
"I'm so close. Just a little more, and I'll break through the bottleneck and reach Tier Three."
Xu Yihan looked at the alloy spear in her hand. Her family's three-star martial technique, Sky-Splitting Spear Technique, always seemed to be missing one key insight before she could master it.
She had a feeling that once she mastered the technique, she'd be able to break through to Tier Three.
There was no point rushing. Insight into martial techniques depended entirely on one's own comprehension and a bit of luck.
"I'll take a shower first."
Xu Yihan came out of the bathroom, steam still rising from her body.
She went to the window and dried her hair while looking out at the torrential rain beyond the martial arts hall. She couldn't help sighing.
"Looks like no one's coming today either."
She glanced at the communicator on the chair and thought of that high schooler named Jiang Yuan.
He hadn't come back since that day.
And the president still hadn't done a thing. Wasn't he worried that someone else would poach Jiang Yuan?
Thinking of that,
Xu Yihan sighed again and leaned back, her ample chest rising high like a pair of peaks.
"Could another martial arts hall have poached him?"
[Beep. The president is requesting a call.]
Xu Yihan froze, then hurriedly answered.
"Hello, it's me."
"Okay, I understand. I'll message him right away."
Meanwhile, at Jiang Yuan's aunt's house.
"Have I gotten taller? My hair's grown a lot longer too. Could it be from all the training?"
Jiang Yuan looked at himself in the mirror.
The boy in the mirror was bare-chested and stood at 1.78 meters tall. His build was well-proportioned and lean, and his eight-pack abs were sharply defined. Long black hair fell over his shoulders, and his skin was so fair and crystalline it seemed almost transparent. His handsome, delicate face was calm and unruffled, while a faint golden hue glimmered deep in his pupils, giving him an intangible air of authority.
And that was only what showed on the surface. If he were tested with instruments, they would reveal that his bodily density was shockingly high, and that his bones all shimmered with a glazed, golden light.
Over the past few days, he had finished all the ferocious-beast meat at home.
The Gene Potion he'd bought and the medicinal liquid Guan Xiaoxiao had given him were all used up, too.
In return, he'd practiced the Immortal Body Tempering Technique up to the fourth form. All the impurities in his body had been purged, and his physique was gradually evolving into a Glazed Golden Body. Even the hardness of his skin was approaching that of a D-rank alloy weapon.
"I'm about ready to register as a martial artist," Jiang Yuan thought.
Suddenly, his message window vibrated. Someone had sent him a message. He opened it and saw that it was from the beautiful hall master of Chongming Martial Arts Hall.
Xu Yihan: Hey, Jiang! Do you remember me? Are you free to come by the hall today? Our president wants to meet you.
Does she still want me to join the guild...?
Jiang Yuan thought it over.
He might as well go and see what she wanted.
Before you continue