Quota

Chen Yiming skimmed the sword technique descriptions on the shelves.

There were techniques of nearly every kind.

Power, assassination, defense, speed...

None were particularly advanced, and they were only suitable for the Apprentice Realm, but they were enough for him.

Chen Yiming went into the next room.

Mu Yuerong had just finished reading a senior's notes and was feeling a little tired.

She was alone in the room, so she stretched, revealing her graceful figure.

Chen Yiming walked in just in time to see it.

"Hello, Senior Sister. I didn't mean to intrude," Chen Yiming said awkwardly.

"You're the new junior brother. I remember now. I'm your fifth senior sister," Mu Yuerong said calmly, without a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

"Senior Sister, I'll go read the materials," Chen Yiming said quietly.

Before Mu Yuerong could reply, he turned his back to her, pulled a random notebook from the shelf, and opened it.

"..." Mu Yuerong glared at Chen Yiming's back.

He pretended to read the notebook for several minutes.

The notebook he had picked at random contained a senior academy member's advice on diet and nutrition during training. It was not something that interested him.

When Chen Yiming saw that his senior sister had picked up another notebook to read, he put his down and searched for the book on martial arts basics that Senior Brother Wang had mentioned.

The library was organized with readers in mind.

Many notebooks did not even have covers, but bookmarks attached to their first pages briefly described their contents.

Chen Yiming soon found what he wanted.

It was a book about East Lake City, covering the distribution of martial arts powers, the state of various industries, and the activity zones of nearby Mutated Beasts and human forces.

An hour passed quickly.

Chen Yiming had been so absorbed in taking in the information that he only remembered Senior Brother Wang might still be waiting for him after he turned the last page.

There would be plenty of chances to return, so he resisted the urge to keep reading and left.

He went down from the third floor to the lobby.

Chen Yiming saw Senior Brother Wang sitting on a sofa, chatting with someone.

"Junior Brother Chen, over here," Wang Bowen called, waving.

Chen Yiming walked over and got a clear look at the man talking to Senior Brother Wang.

The man was over 1.9 meters tall and wore fitted training clothes. His balanced build suited the style of the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy perfectly.

"I'm your third senior brother, Teng Zhihui," the man introduced himself.

"I'm Chen Yiming. I hope I can count on your guidance," Chen Yiming replied.

The three sat down on the sofas.

"Junior Brother Chen, your third senior brother isn't a rough fellow like me. You should have plenty to talk about, so ask him for advice whenever you can," Wang Bowen said.

"Not at all, Junior Brother Chen. Don't listen to your second senior brother's nonsense. We can learn from each other and improve together," Teng Zhihui said modestly.

"Third Junior Brother, I'm not joking. Junior Brother Chen has an unusual talent for Swordsmanship. I'm sure the two of you will hit it off," Wang Bowen said with a smile.

"Is that so?" Teng Zhihui gave Chen Yiming another, more careful look.

Wang Bowen and Teng Zhihui chatted a little longer, then Wang Bowen left with Chen Yiming.

On the way to the supply office, Wang Bowen spoke again.

"Junior Brother Chen, Teng Zhihui is one of us among the Core Disciples. You can ask him for advice without worrying," Wang Bowen emphasized.

"Understood. Is there anything else I should watch out for?" Chen Yiming asked.

"It's not that serious. On the surface, we're all fellow disciples. Competition for resources within the academy is what divides us into factions," Wang Bowen explained.

Chen Yiming nodded.

A short walk later, Wang Bowen brought Chen Yiming to the supply office.

Unlike the place where new members collected their training uniforms, the place to collect dried Mutated Beast meat was at the back of the academy lobby.

"This is Elder Yin. He's in charge of distributing the monthly Gold-Eating Insect Eggs quota," Wang Bowen said.

Gold-Eating Insect Eggs were a fixed monthly benefit for Core Disciples of the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy. Eating them over time could improve one's physique and increase the speed of sudden bursts of movement.

"A new Core Disciple?" Elder Yin asked.

"Elder Yin, I still have a long way to go. I'm only a Provisional Core Disciple," Chen Yiming quickly explained.

"Close enough. Remember to come collect your share every month. You can also buy whatever dried Mutated Beast meat you need here," Elder Yin said.

With that, Elder Yin turned and went into the room, then came back out shortly afterward.

Chen Yiming took the plastic box of Gold-Eating Insect Eggs from Elder Yin.

"These are insect eggs?" Chen Yiming opened the box and took a look.

The eggs were the size of rice grains, translucent, and flecked with gold. There were fewer than a hundred in all.

"Remember, take one before training in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening," Elder Yin instructed.

Chen Yiming nodded and thanked him.

After collecting that month's share, the two did not linger.

They left the academy headquarters and sped toward the East City Branch.

A light drizzle suddenly began to fall.

Chen Yiming fell silent, deep in thought.

His plan to improve his Swordsmanship across the board.

Now that he was a Provisional Core Disciple, he was qualified to enter the headquarters library and purchase access to other martial arts techniques.

But Senior Brother Wang had said that people generally chose only one or two more techniques to supplement their training.

Even if Chen Yiming earned enough money, learning two or three more Swordsmanship techniques from the academy would be the limit. Any more would make him stand out too much.

Besides, as far as anyone knew, he had yet to undergo his Third Body Metamorphosis and was still building his foundation.

If he neglected his Mantis Snake Swordsmanship to learn other Swordsmanship techniques instead, people would find it strange.

To complete his plan, he would have to find most of what he needed on his own.

To avoid overlap, it would be best to find several different types of Swordsmanship outside the academy first, then buy any types he could not find from the academy.

As he was thinking, a convoy suddenly approached from the opposite direction and roared past them.

It consisted of more than a dozen off-road vehicles, each with a mountain emblem painted on its side. It was the mark of the Yue Family, one of East Lake City's seven great martial arts families.

Chen Yiming stopped without thinking and watched the convoy speed into the distance.

Noticing that Chen Yiming was no longer beside him, Wang Bowen soon doubled back.

"Those are members of a Martial Arts Family who've been conscripted to the front line," Wang Bowen explained.

"Conscripted?"

"That's right. The fighting at the front is fierce, and the military has been putting pressure on the city's martial arts families to send people there," Wang Bowen continued.

"What about the academy?" Chen Yiming asked.

"Same thing. The academy master is away, so Lin Yixuan will probably represent the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy. They might choose one or two more Core Disciples at most."

Chen Yiming looked away from the convoy, his expression grave.

"What are you worried about? They'd only pick people who've undergone at least three Body Metamorphoses," Wang Bowen said with a laugh.

"Nothing. I was just imagining what the battlefield is like," Chen Yiming replied.

"It's not that complicated. The military issues missions for the various powers to take on. Each one just has to meet its monthly mission quota," Wang Bowen explained.