So Deng Qing had asked about Zhang Yan's cultivation progress because he wanted a point of comparison.
Now it seemed Senior Brother Zhang had not gotten far with the Pure Jade Method.
Before long, they passed several rows of tents. A large tent stood ahead, with a wooden sign hanging at its entrance. Three characters were written on it: "Merit Office."
After showing their wooden tokens to the armored guards at the entrance, Deng Qing followed Zhang Yan inside.
Two rows of long desks stood within, with stacks of ledgers piled behind them. Several clerks were bent over their writing.
Zhang Yan went to one of the desks, took out his wooden token, and handed it over. "I took the assignment to search for the Wasteland Beast's corpse. I signed up earlier. This is the person I've brought with me."
The stout clerk behind the desk took the token and opened a ledger. After finding Zhang Yan's entry, he tapped the empty column beside it, looked at Deng Qing, and asked for his basic details.
Deng Qing gave them one by one.
The clerk wrote them down, then asked Deng Qing to hand over his token too.
At Zhang Yan's quiet prompting, Deng Qing pricked his fingertip and dripped blood onto the wooden token.
The clerk took it and placed it in a black box on the desk.
Soon, the clerk finished filling out the register and returned the token.
Zhang Yan and Deng Qing left the tent. They had barely taken a few steps when someone called out, "Senior Brother Zhang, Junior Brother Deng! You're here early."
Deng Qing looked toward the voice and saw Chen Kong striding over, with Song Que behind him.
Deng Qing's gaze had only just settled on Song Que's face when the man's eyes