First Come, First Served—The Strong Come First

For the next four days, Chen Jue stayed cooped up at home, practicing stance work, drilling with his saber, and popping pills.

At his daily breakneck rate of 5.5% Blood Qi accumulation, his Blood Qi should have reached completion on the second day, fulfilling the conditions for "Martial Foundation Establishment."

But Chen Jue had once heard his martial academy teacher mention that Blood Qi completion was not the limit for prospective martial artists.

Throughout history, many renowned martial arts titans had pushed another 10% beyond Blood Qi completion.

The benefit was that the Blood Qi furnace forged during Martial Foundation Establishment would be more perfect, and the body's physical strength would be significantly enhanced as well.

Chen Jue's ambition was to raise his Blood Qi to 120% of the completed realm, reaching territory no predecessor had ever set foot in.

Yet reality taught every arrogant man his place.

On the sixth day of his injury leave.

Chen Jue's Blood Qi had only reached a surplus of 111% when his body began showing signs that it could no longer hold together. It seemed that if he did not find a way to vent it soon, the overloaded Blood Qi would turn into threads and shoot out through his pores.

Seeing that his grand ambition was unlikely to succeed and that he might even hemorrhage to death, Chen Jue could only meekly admit defeat. He returned to the Guard Station early to apply to the general office for his Foundation Establishment Pill quota.

This was one of the benefits of joining the City Patrol Office, as well as one of its methods for recruiting True Qi realm martial artists.

"Young man, your injuries healed that quickly?"

Old Xiao, the gate guard, was a warm-hearted man who could strike up an awkward improvised chat with anyone.

Kaiyang Guard Station occupied more than thirty mu of land and stood right in the center of Kaiyang District.

A seven-story office building stood at the front, its overall color scheme a cool blue and white. Two stone Suanni statues had been placed before its entrance, signifying harsh laws and severe punishments, suppressing evil spirits.

"Chen Jue, has your brain gone haywire?"

"Instead of resting at home, you came to the Guard Station to be a grind king?"

The moment Chen Jue entered the large office of Group Three, his uncle He Yuanshan gave him a scathing reprimand.

The other team members who had been drinking tea and chatting could not help smiling at the sight.

Thinking back to when they had first started working, they had been just like Chen Jue, afraid that taking one extra day off would displease their superiors.

Today, Chen Jue wore a brand-new black Patrol Inspectorate uniform. His brows and eyes shone like stars and the bright moon, his features were as refined as pear blossoms and crabapple flowers. With a saber at his waist, he stood tall and straight, carrying himself with lofty bearing—the very picture of youthful spirit and heroic vigor.

"Uncle, I've reached Blood Qi completion. I came to the Guard Station specifically to apply for a Martial Foundation Establishment Pill."

Chen Jue's words immediately drew every eye in the office.

"Ho! Good lad! You're establishing your martial foundation at such a young age—your future is boundless!"

"He Yuanshan, you really did raise a fine nephew. If Little Jue makes it big someday, he can't forget us old brothers!"

The office erupted into chatter as everyone surrounded He Yuanshan and showered him with praise.

He Yuanshan's astonishment quickly turned to smug pride. He repeatedly waved his colleagues off, saying that his nephew's martial talent was only so-so, that Martial Foundation Establishment at twenty was as common as hairs on an ox...

Only after his uncle had enjoyed enough of his colleagues' flattery did Chen Jue step closer. "Uncle, the Guard Station only has one Foundation Establishment Pill quota each month."

"If you don't hurry up and write me a recommendation letter, I'll have to give that quota to someone else first."

"Nonsense! A martial artist must strive to be first in all things! How can an opportunity be yielded to another?!"

He Yuanshan snapped awake from his complacency at those words. While scolding Chen Jue, he bent over his desk and began writing furiously, his handwriting so rushed and messy that he seemed even more anxious than when he had established his own martial foundation.

A "Martial Foundation Establishment Pill" could weaken the barrier of the dantian's rejection of Blood Qi, increasing a prospective martial artist's chance of successful Foundation Establishment by thirty percent.

In remote regions of the Divine Dynasty, it might be an exceedingly scarce martial resource.

But in a super-provincial capital like Linjiang, whose influence extended across the three provinces of Jiangnan, Jiangbei, and Jiangdong, it was hardly anything rare.

Prospective martial artists who joined the Guard Station as interns could, after reaching Blood Qi completion, obtain a guarantor's recommendation and apply to the Guard Station for this pill to make their breakthrough.

However, after breaking through, they had to serve the Guard Station for three years. Should they leave the Guard Station early for any reason, they would have to return martial resources worth double the value.

With his uncle's recommendation letter in hand, Chen Jue headed straight for the general office on the fifth floor.

None of the young women in the general office recognized Chen Jue, the newcomer. That instead let him pass without obstruction all the way to Tang Shuo's door.

Chen Jue knocked lightly on the door three times and received a "Come in."

Inside the orderly office lined with documents, there was someone besides Tang Shuo.

The man was in his thirties, with prominent cheekbones and hollow cheeks. His upturned, sinister eyes slanted toward Chen Jue.

That gaze was far from friendly, and he did not look like a good man either.

"A newcomer? What do you need?"

As director of the general office, Tang Shuo controlled personnel, logistics, and confidential affairs. He was not one for idle smiles and recognized Chen Jue at once.

"Director Tang, I recently reached Blood Qi completion, so I've come to apply for a Martial Foundation Establishment Pill."

Chen Jue explained his purpose and handed over his application form and recommendation letter.

The sinister-looking man behind him changed expression drastically at the sight and burst into curses. "You brat! Do you know what first come, first served means?! I applied for that Foundation Establishment Pill first!"

"If you want a quota, come back next month!"

The man advanced aggressively, fists clenched, as though he would make Chen Jue suffer if he did not back down.

"Zhang San! This is the general office. Watch your language!" Tang Shuo's gaze was sharp as a blade, making the man named Zhang San repeatedly say that he would not dare.

"When applying for a quota, we have always looked first at growth potential. There has never been any rule of first come, first served!"

Tang Shuo dismissed Zhang San's argument and picked up the two applications to compare them. The difference in merit was obvious at a glance.

"Zhang San, your application will be delayed until next month."

Director Tang acted impartially, and Zhang San's face darkened.

"That's not appropriate, is it, Director?" Zhang San was unwilling to accept it.

Tang Shuo ignored him and placed the two applications conspicuously on the desk.

He had circled the age column in red.

Twenty versus thirty-two—any normal person knew who should receive priority for the quota.

The application forms had slapped Zhang San across the face. His chest heaved with rage as he turned and glared viciously at Chen Jue, naked hostility filling his eyes.

"Just you wait!"

Zhang San snatched up his application and recommendation letter before storming off in anger, leaving Chen Jue alone in the office in awkward silence.

This was fair competition. A willing gambler had to accept defeat. How could he blame Chen Jue?

Besides, one month was far too long. Chen Jue had a reason he absolutely had to fight for it.

And buying a Martial Foundation Establishment Pill with his own money was even more impossible.

Chen Jue sat in the general office for a while. Before long, someone delivered an exquisite box.

The box was palm-sized and beautifully crafted, with a relief of the Patrol Inspectorate's "Suanni Subdues the World" carved into its lid.

Chen Jue opened it for inspection and saw a thumb-sized snow-white pill resting quietly in the center.

A strange fragrance rushed into his nose. At the scent, the Blood Qi throughout Chen Jue's body stirred restlessly, as though longing to flow into his dantian's sea of qi and establish his martial foundation at once.

As expected of a Patrol Brand Martial Foundation Establishment Pill with a market price of over fifty thousand. Its quality was far superior to the mixed and inferior pills sold on the black market.

After confirming that the pill was genuine, Chen Jue thanked Tang Shuo. The other man merely waved a hand and told him to leave on his own.

Chen Jue tucked the pill safely against his body.

The moment he went downstairs, a burly figure suddenly shot out from the corridor on the other side of the stairwell and crashed straight into him.

Chen Jue's stance work was solid, his feet rooted to the ground. After the collision, he stood firm as a pine, utterly unmoved.

The burly man whose shoulder had struck him, however, staggered forward and nearly fell.

"Are you fucking blind? Didn't you see your Uncle Hu standing here?!"

The burly man turned back and, like a villain lodging the first complaint, reached for Chen Jue without another word, his five fingers clawed.

Several people standing nearby in the corridor turned their heads at the sound.

It was Zhang Hu!

After graduating from martial high school, he had not taken the martial vocational college route. Instead, he had entered a commercial martial arts school.

No one knew how many underground black-fist matches he had fought. With his extensive combat experience, he had reached the ninth level of Blood Qi at only nineteen. Zhang Wei, foreman of Group Four, had taken him in as his adopted son, and the Guard Station had exceptionally recruited him as an intern.

Looking at Chen Jue on the other side, they had some impression of him as a top student from the martial academy.

"Chen Jue is in for it!"

One was a combat-oriented talent tempered by countless fights; the other was a bookworm fresh out of the ivory tower.

Anyone with eyes could see how this conflict would end.

And just as everyone expected, the instant Zhang Hu's left hand clamped down on Chen Jue's shoulder, his right hand tightened into a fist. That casserole-sized fist was like an official seal, smashing straight toward Chen Jue's face.

If that punch landed, Chen Jue's handsome face—the kind that made men jealous—would surely be black and blue.

"That's it?"

Chen Jue gave a cold snort, twisted his shoulder and turned his hips, gathering the force of the outer three harmonies before violently shaking free the five fingers gripping his shoulder.

At the same time, he pivoted and drove out a kick faster than Zhang Hu's punch.

"So fast!!"

Zhang Hu's pupils contracted violently as his grappling hand was broken free. A powerful sense of danger made every hair on his body stand on end.

He hurriedly retreated, trying to evade Chen Jue's kick.

But it was too late.

"Ah!"

The kick struck Zhang Hu squarely in the abdomen, folding him over like a shrimp and sending him flying backward with a scream.

Thud!

That kick sent bricks flying with sheer force.

After Zhang Hu landed on his backside, he still maintained that bent-over posture as he slid backward a long distance.

"Bleurgh!"

Zhang Hu collapsed sideways to the ground, his stomach spasming nonstop. Tears and snot mixed together as he vomited up all the sour liquid from the night before, filling the corridor with a foul stench.

At the sight, everyone in the corridor erupted in uproar.

Everyone had thought Chen Jue was a soft persimmon, only to find that he was a grenade that exploded at the slightest touch!

Poor Zhang Hu had made his name in fighting rings at a young age, undefeated against all Blood Qi realm opponents outside.

Yet the moment he entered the Guard Station, another formally trained youth had kicked him flat with a single blow.