Deng Qing was unhappy because once the other person finished drawing and the project was over, it meant that his job was over too.
If you do the math, he's been working at the Martial Dao Institute for twenty-three days now, and he's been on this mission for twenty days. He's been consistently getting two Merit Points a day, and the settlements are always on time, with no extra trouble.
This meant stable income expectations, which have now been disrupted.
Zhao Chuanqi gestured for Deng Qing to show his bracelet, then rolled up his sleeves and touched his bracelet to Deng Qing's.
As the jade piece lit up, Deng Qing focused his mind and immediately saw a newly generated task settlement record.
Zhao Chuanqi paid seven Merit Points.
Deng Qing was taken aback. He looked closely at the settlement record and saw two normal Merit Points and five bonus Merit Points.
He cupped his hands in thanks to Zhao Chuanqi and said, "Thank you for your generous gift, Master Zhao."
Zhao Chuanqi waved his hand, "I should be thanking you."
As he spoke, he pointed to the Star-Fixing Disc, "Of my five students, three have already reached the Furnace First Layer. It's easy for them to lift this thing, but to carry it for one or two hours straight without swaying it would be too much for them."
Your exceptional skills are truly remarkable. Without you, we don't know how long this project would have been delayed.
If a suitable job comes along in the future, I'll contact you again.
Deng Qing was hearing this, and hurriedly replied, "Then I'll trouble you, Master Zhao, to keep this in mind."
He then bowed to several students, who returned the bow, saying, "Thank you, Deng Congshi."
In the afternoon, Deng Qing crossed a rocky slope and arrived at a wide valley.
The wind here is strong, bending the grass and trees. Several dark clouds hang overhead, and occasionally, rumbles of thunder can be heard from deep within the clouds.
In mid-air, a giant kite swayed in the wind.
Several ropes hung down from above, one of which gleamed with a metallic sheen, leading all the way to the stone platform in the valley.
This research group is studying the power of thunder.
They created this giant kite in the hopes of attracting lightning from the sky for further experiments.
Deng Qing's job was to control the kites. Because of the terrifying power of thunder, no one was willing to take on this task, even though it was posted on the notice board.
Deng Qing knew the story of Franklin using a kite to generate electricity, and he had a plan in mind.
Moreover, the research team also set up a special lightning rod array, and the protection was actually quite thorough. It's just that many people have an innate awe of lightning.
Deng Qing had no reason to let this task slip by.
Before accepting this task, he made careful preparations, the key of which was to make a pair of insulated gloves.
These gloves are quite thick, lined with dry silk, with thin mica sheets sewn into the inner layer, and covered with a layer of leather on the outside.
These are all insulating materials that can be found in this world.
Fearing an accident, he made the gloves too thick; wearing them made his fingers almost unable to move freely.
A gust of wind swept across the valley entrance, and the large kite suddenly soared upwards, its string immediately tightening.
At the instruction of Master Sun, Deng Qing's feet sank, and his two gloved hands alternately pulled and released, guiding the kite little by little to the designated location.
Finally, the dark clouds overhead slowly rolled in, and the thunder grew closer...
By the time the experiment here was over, it was already getting dark.
Deng Qing put away the gloves, quickly finished his Merit Points for the day, and headed towards White Cloud Residence.
White Cloud Residence is situated next to a body of water, with several small buildings connected by winding corridors. After nightfall, gauze lanterns are lit in the corridors, and their reflections in the water create a charming scene.
This is the practice room that several female students rent at a high price to share.
These female students were all in their early twenties, each with outstanding looks, and their research topic was the art of seduction.
As Deng Qing stepped into the courtyard, a woman peeked out from under the eaves. "Deng, we've been waiting for you."
"I'm late; the previous errands took some time out of my schedule."
Deng Qing entered the house familiarly and sat down on a futon.
A woman moved the incense burner next to him, lifted the lid, and added some more incense.
Another person sat to the side with a pen, ready to take notes.
This job wasn't easy for Deng Qing to take on.
It wasn't that someone was competing with him, but rather that he almost couldn't get over that mental hurdle.
A grown man, standing seven feet tall, coming here to teach a group of women seductive arts—if word gets out, it will surely damage his reputation.
But the other party kept raising prices.
It turned out that these female students had hired seven or eight Military Selection Aide. Several of them were beautiful and dressed scantily. Often, before they even began to use their magic, the practitioners would become distracted and unable to detect the true effect of the magic.
Their research group had no choice but to keep raising the price, hoping to find someone who could resist the temptation.
When the pay for a single instance rose to five Merit Points, Deng Qing's integrity finally crumbled.
He felt he should adopt a higher level of thinking and not view this matter in a vulgar way. After all, he was a member of the Martial Dao Institute, and he should contribute to the academic research of the female students.
So he came with a heart full of sincerity.
This is how the female students realized what a tough nut to crack really is.
Deng Qing's ability to control his Qi-Blood is now considered to be at the master level.
When the female students used their magic together, he felt his Qi-Blood being stirred, so he slightly circulated his Violet Palace Method, and his Qi-Blood stabilized again.
As they half-shed their veils, changed their dance moves, and added aphrodisiac spices, he remained seated, his breathing steady.
The younger brothers under his command remained as calm as old dogs.
At first, the female students suspected that he had taken some kind of blood-cooling drug, but after testing him using Secret Method, they had no choice but to believe it.
The more this was the case, the more resentful the girls became.
The research course, which was originally held once every ten days, was later changed to once every three days.
Deng Qing naturally had no objections.
He wished he could do this kind of beneficial and harmless job every day.
"How?"
After the dance ended, a beautiful young woman in a half-embroidered robe stopped and looked at Deng Qing.
Deng Qing thought for a moment, "It was a bit worse than last time. There was indeed a momentary fluctuation in my Qi-Blood, but it was quickly suppressed."
The woman holding the pen quickly wrote it down and then asked which section it was in.
Deng Qing explained everything.
The group huddled together and discussed in hushed tones. After a while, they came up with another idea.
Deng Qing sat firmly and continued to cooperate.
The research did not end until late at night.
When he came out of White Cloud Residence, his clothes and sleeves were soaked with a seductive fragrance.
He didn't like this terrible experience of being allowed to watch porn but not being allowed to use his hands, but at least the Merit Points, it was worth it.
He passed by a bathhouse, went in for a bath, and then returned to his cave.
Despite feeling exhausted after a long day, Deng Qing did not rest immediately. Instead, he went into the Cultivation Room, bent Crouching Body, and began practicing the Tiger-Subduing Fist.
After completing more than a dozen rounds of punches, Deng Qing exhaled all the stale air from his chest and abdomen, and his body felt much lighter.
Deng Qing finished his stance and stood up. With a thought, the panel appeared:
[Realm: Bone Tempering Fourth Layer (8%)]
[ Tiger-Subduing Fist: Perfected Mastery (94%)]
[ The Devour Heaven Scripture: Grand Mastery (73%)]
[ Elephant-Throwing Method: Perfected Mastery (85%)]
[ Collapse Step: Grand Mastery (70%)]
[ Mystic Wasteland Baleful Blood: Baleful Intent Condensation Realm (27%)]
Deng Qing reviewed each item and was quite satisfied.
Although I've been incredibly busy these days, I haven't neglected my spiritual practice.
Especially with the Tiger-Subduing Fist, once it Perfected Mastery, every percentage point of progress is very slow, but it is always in motion.
He really wanted to know what would happen if he mastered the Tiger-Subduing Fist to 100%? So, he practiced intensely whenever he had time.
However, another important matter awaits him tonight.
Deng Qing dismissed the panel and focused his mind on the bracelet to check the Merit Points record: 137.
He really couldn't say whether this number was good or bad.
But I imagine it won't be too bad.
After all, he's been working almost at full capacity these past few days.
Moreover, he has used up almost all his skills, so there's no reason why he wouldn't have a good outcome.
At that moment, Deng Qing walked to the door and opened the cave.
The night breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees. He walked to the stone platform and looked down the mountain. He saw that the city lights were sparse, and the Clearwater River in the distance was shimmering with the faint moonlight.
He moved a chair to sit by the door, poured himself a cup of tea, looked at the moon in the sky, and then glanced down at the time display on his bracelet; it wasn't Rat Hour yet.
Today is the day that Military Selection Aide updates his monthly Merit Points performance.
He sipped his tea, waiting patiently, but his mind was far from calm.
Finally, Rat Hour arrived. Deng Qing immediately focused his mind on the bracelet and found the Military Selection Aide Ranking.
The original text faded away, and a new list of names emerged.
He didn't look at the beginning, but flipped directly to the end: Deng Qing, 137 Merit Points.
Sure enough, last place.
This was to be expected; after all, I've only been here a short time, while they've been building up their strength for so long.
Deng Qing looked up and saw that he was second to last, still more than seventy Merit Points away from this guy.
He continued scrolling up, finding the eleventh position from the bottom: two hundred and seventy-two.
Deng Qing calculated that he was still short by one hundred and thirty-five.
The gap isn't so large as to cause despair.
Of course, even if you keep chasing them, they won't stand still, so you still need to hurry.
After looking at the overall rankings, he turned to the second ranking, the Increase Ranking.
Deng Qing unfolded the list, starting from the middle section. Not finding her name, she continued scrolling down.
As he flipped through the pages, his expression finally changed. It turned out that he had dragged it all the way to the very end before his own name finally appeared.
Deng Qing, 137 Merit Points, ranked tenth.
The ninth person ahead of him has 172 new Merit Points.
Although still ranked last, Deng Qing smiled.
Because the Increase Ranking only includes ten people, being on the list is a win.
Those who make it onto the list will be granted the right to exchange for a True Condensation Pill.
Deng Qing exited the list, flipped through the Merit Reward Hall's redemption register, and found the section for True Condensation Pill.
Sure enough, the previously grayed-out True Condensation Pill had lit up.
Deng Qing's spirits lifted.
Then, his gaze fell on the price on the back, and he couldn't help but gasp: three thousand Merit Voucher for one.
That's fucking black!
It's a seller's market now, so all he can do is complain.
Ultimately, he was in a good mood at the moment because his hard work over the past few days had yielded an excellent result.
He was calculating that if he could find another one, his breakthrough to the Furnace Realm would be practically guaranteed.
As Xiao Jinglin had said, for some special Martial Artist, one True Condensation Pill might not be enough. Deng Qing felt that he was almost certainly one of those "special" ones.
After all, he had too many buffs stacked on him.
As Deng Qing was making plans, footsteps sounded on the stone steps to the west.
He gazed intently, and Huang Yu approached, bowing respectfully from afar, saying, "Brother Deng, you're truly remarkable!"
Deng Qing got up and invited him into the house.
Huang Yu waved his hand, stopping Deng Qing from pouring him water, and clicked his tongue, "I really didn't expect you to be so amazing, making it onto the Increase Ranking in just one month. You're incredible!"
It's important to know that none of those on the list are at the Bone-Forging Realm.
Many high- Merit Points tasks can only be completed by those at the Furnace Realm.
You, on the other hand, managed to climb to the top of the Increase Ranking just by frantically completing tasks, leaving countless people astonished.
"The list has just been released, and many people are already asking about you."
Deng Qing raised an eyebrow. "Isn't there a potential problem?"
Deng Qing asked the question, but he knew perfectly well what was going on in his mind.
Wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue, especially with two notices displayed here.
One decision determines whether you stay or leave; the other determines resources.
There are only ten spots on the Increase Ranking. If someone manages to get on top, someone else has to fall off.
Let's talk about the overall rankings.
I'm still ranked last, but I've already accumulated 137 Merit Points in just a few days.
Those who are ranked eleventh or twelfth from the bottom, looking at this increase, can they still sleep soundly?
Deng Qing didn't believe it; these people didn't even have this sensitivity.