The Mountain-Moving Lizard's corpse lay tossed to one side. Su Bei stirred around with his spear and soon picked a crystal core out of its brain.
This was the energy core condensed by a Level One Exotic Beast during its evolution. Whether for making potions or simply extracting energy, it was highly useful.
It was worth quite a bit.
One this size, no bigger than a fingernail, was worth around a hundred thousand.
The Mountain-Moving Lizard's flesh and blood were not cheap either. Its outer rock armor was keratin and could also be used in medicine.
It was valuable from head to toe.
Su Bei looked it over but ultimately resisted the urge. He just wondered whether he could cash this thing in after the assessment ended.
He was still rather short on money.
Things had been fine while he was a Quasi-Martial Artist, but after opening the Secret Treasury Gate, cultivation was essentially burning money.
Without some way to make money, improvements in cultivation would become incredibly slow.
He needed to prepare in advance as well, lest his cultivation become financially strained again after opening the Secret Treasury Gate.
He quickly returned to the cave.
Fortunately, the receiver showed that the Number One tag was still inside. If he had fought to the death only for someone to steal the place afterward, Su Bei would really have cursed his head off.
The cave was quite spacious, and the stone walls bore marks of biting and gnawing. Clearly, the Mountain-Moving Lizard had carved it out itself. Walking deeper into the cave, Su Bei soon found the Number One sensor.
It was hidden in a crack between the mountain walls. It would have been difficult to spot without a careful search.
He tucked it straight into his pocket.
First place was his!
Even though Su Bei had mentally prepared himself, he still felt his heart surge when he got hold of it.
Obtaining this meant there were no longer any obstacles on his path to becoming a Martial Artist!
Registered Martial Artists of the Alliance enjoyed the best benefits the nation had to offer!
No matter what he did in the future, he would receive certain privileges within the rules. Even if he did not wish to take risks, he could still find respectable work in any of the base cities.
He just did not know what that so-called opportunity was. Hopefully, it would not disappoint him.
Su Bei searched the cave again and indeed found nothing of value. It seemed the Mountain-Moving Lizard had no habit of hoarding treasures, so he gave up.
He left the cave and headed straight for the entrance to the mountain.
Meanwhile.
Before the Mountain-Moving Lizard's corpse, several Martial Assessment support staff stood silently to one side.
"He really killed it?"
"No, someone really killed the Mountain-Moving Lizard?"
A First-order Martial Artist standing nearby found it hard to accept. He was confident that he could kill the Mountain-Moving Lizard too, but even he would have to use every trump card he had!
The fact that a Quasi-Martial Artist had truly killed it left him feeling conflicted, as if all his years of cultivation had gone to waste.
He was responsible for outer perimeter rescue, so being somewhat weaker was not a problem.
A slightly older Second-order Martial Artist looked at the Mountain-Moving Lizard's corpse and said, "Judging from this, it was probably a Quasi-Martial Artist with exceptionally strong archery who wore it to death."
"The penetrating wound on its head was fatal. It killed it outright."
As he spoke, the Second-order Martial Artist's expression turned strange. "But... perhaps I'm seeing things wrong."
"...Isn't this archery a little odd?"
"He fired nearly a hundred arrows in total. The arrowheads alone must have weighed several hundred pounds... But judging from the wounds, they were all tears caused by brute force. Why wasn't there even the most basic spiraling force?"
Hearing this, the others stepped closer to inspect it.
"It really does seem that way?"
"This... no technique, just brute strength?"
No one could make sense of it.
But since it had already been killed, the method did not matter. A Quasi-Martial Artist killing a Level One Exotic Beast across ranks was abnormal enough in itself.
"Report it first."
"Tsk... This Martial Assessment has produced quite an extraordinary figure. Those big shots up there are probably about to fight over him."
Elsewhere.
Inside the monitoring room, several Martial Artist representatives from the various departments could no longer sit still as they watched the light representing Su Bei carry Number One back toward the mountain entrance.
At the same time.
The report reached everyone.
Li Xiongshan took the call. After listening to the news on the other end, he froze for a moment. "What? He killed it? How did he kill it?"
"With a gun?!"
"Damn it, how did someone bring a firearm into the assessment?"
"Oh, a spear..."
He hung up and slammed the table, looking utterly furious.
"This is outrageous!"
"This Su Bei actually dared to bring a firearm into the Martial Assessment!"
Li Xiongshan swept his gaze across the crowd. "Investigate this thoroughly! This Martial Assessment is led by our Military Department, and I cannot shirk responsibility for such an oversight. Later, I'll bring Su Bei back to the Military Department for a proper investigation!"
"I'll definitely give everyone an explanation!"
Everyone: "..."
Seriously?
Did he think they were deaf?
Leaving aside Su Bei's cross-rank kill, geniuses were as numerous as fish crossing a river in this world. Such geniuses were rare, but not unheard of.
Many of them now held high positions and possessed terrifying strength.
It was easy enough for a Martial Assessment to produce a genius, but producing one of this caliber was exceedingly difficult.
This was a battle for talent, especially with the Void Battlefield involved. They could not let someone like this slip away!
"Old Li, I could hear those calculations of yours all the way from downtown."
Wang Ming, the Martial Department's representative, tapped the table. "Our Martial Department oversees the Police Department, and doesn't Su Bei still have a case involving five deaths? How about this? When he gets here, I'll take him to the Police Department for a proper interrogation and make sure he explains himself!"
"Get lost!"
Li Xiongshan snapped, "Five people surrounded him and were all killed in return. What is there to interrogate? I'm taking him to the Military Department!"
"Weren't you the one who said the Police Department should interrogate him first?"
"I never said that!"
"How can you go back on your word?"
"So what if I do? I never said it!"
Seeing the two start arguing, Fu Hongtao from the association stepped forward. "Let me say something fair."
"This year's Ascension Secret Treasure was provided by our association. This person should belong to our association."
"Pah!"
Li Xiongshan spat. "Who cares about your Ascension Secret Treasure? What does our Military Department lack? I'm just taking him back for questioning, not saying I won't return him!"
As if he would return him!
They all cursed inwardly.
"Our Sun Moon Group... could actually also..." The representative of one of the top powers spoke weakly at this moment.
He was completely ignored.
The top powers certainly had strength, but that depended on who they were compared to. Compared to Wuji Martial Hall, they were behemoths. But compared to the Military Department, Martial Department, and Martial Artists Association, the gap was not merely one of scale, but of standing.
"How about this?"
Li Xiongshan said, "Old Fu, I remember your association snatched first place the time before last."
"And last time, Old Wang's side got first place, right? That was a promising criminal investigator."
"No matter what, this time should be our Military Department's turn."
The two fell silent at that.
It sounded reasonable, but everyone knew the Military Department had strict recruitment standards. It welcomed ordinary recruits in great numbers, but when it came to elite internal units, its standards were practically sky-high!
The Pioneer Army and Demon Suppressing Army, its two trump-card forces, as well as the Hidden Dragon incubation base, were all under the Military Department's jurisdiction. The Azure Dragon incubation base, meanwhile, was directly managed by the Martial Department. Their requirements were all absurdly high.
The Military Department did not recruit ordinary talents at all. After all, no small number of people enlisted every year.
So how had the Military Department yielded those previous two times?
But no one could find fault with his reasoning.
"It's settled, then. Matters involving the Void Battlefield have always been led by our Military Department. This person must join us!"
Li Xiongshan began playing dirty. "They've urged me several times these past few days. As for compensation, we can discuss it later."
Wang Ming and Fu Hongtao exchanged looks, both helpless.
Things had already reached this point. He had even brought up "them." No matter how unwilling they were, they had no choice.
They might as well demand more resources and make a trade.
"You Military Department really got lucky this time."
Wang Ming curled his lip and said sourly, "You'd better train him well. Talents like this are rare."
"Hahaha, no problem, no problem."
"If his talent is truly outstanding, Hidden Dragon might even send someone over!"
Li Xiongshan laughed heartily. Although he had failed to get something for nothing, he had still completed the task assigned to him, putting him in an excellent mood.
But while the association and Martial Department looked as though they had suffered a loss, in truth, no one was losing out.
It was just that most people always thought they had a choice, when in reality, the choice had long since been made.
Therefore.
When Su Bei was brought into the monitoring room in utter confusion, he saw Li Xiongshan, built like a giant bear, laughing heartily.
"Su Bei, welcome to our Military Department!"
Before you continue