You Wouldn't Want...

"Headmaster, you wouldn't want your wife to find out about the relationship between us, would you?"

Chu Ge had just reached the headmaster's office when he stopped in his tracks.

He lowered the hand he had raised to knock.

Something wasn't right.

He'd listen a little longer.

He pressed his ear to the crack in the door, making sure he could hear every word clearly.

He pulled out his phone, started a recording, and held it against the crack as well.

Since he was already eavesdropping, he might as well be rude all the way.

It never hurt to be cautious.

If he recorded some juicy gossip, he'd hit the jackpot.

Inside the office.

Headmaster Wang Jianguo frowned at Vice Headmaster Yang Kun.

"Wait, we're both men. What kind of relationship could we have that we'd need to hide?"

"Uh..."

Yang Kun's weathered face reddened, and he coughed.

"I didn't make myself clear."

"What I meant was, you wouldn't want your wife to know you lied about working overtime at the martial arts school every day and coming home in the early hours, when you were actually out getting foot massages with me, would you?"

"..." Wang Jianguo.

His mouth twitched, and he stared at Yang Kun.

"Quit beating around the bush. We've known each other for years. If you need a favor, just say it."

"It's nothing major, really." Yang Kun got to the point. "Isn't East Sea holding a martial arts school competition in half a month?"

"You want your son to enter?"

"That's right." Yang Kun nodded. "Old Wang, you know that although this martial arts competition is only a city-level event, the champion gets a Silver Weapon."

"I've been in the Silver Realm for years, and I don't own a single Silver Weapon. It's embarrassing to admit."

The weapons martial artists used were called Yuan Weapons.

Their grades corresponded to cultivation realms.

They started with Qi and Blood Weapons, followed by Black Iron Weapons, Bronze Weapons, Silver Weapons... Each grade was further divided into low, middle, high, and supreme quality.

Even a Silver Weapon of the lowest quality had a market price of over five million.

A supreme-quality one could sell for ten million.

As vice headmaster and a mid-stage Silver Realm martial artist, Yang Kun received an annual salary of two million from the Chu Family.

After tax.

With that income, as long as he worked hard at the school and took on some side jobs in his spare time, he could save up enough in about two years.

But that wasn't how the math worked.

Besides their daily expenses, martial artists also had to buy cultivation resources.

Demon beast meat, demon beast crystal cores, martial skills-none of them came cheap.

A two-million annual salary looked impressive, but behind the scenes, he might already be drowning in debt.

That was why he had set his sights on the East Sea Martial Arts School Competition.

Even if he couldn't get the championship, the runner-up's Bronze Weapon or the third-place finisher's Black Iron Weapon could also fetch a good sum.

"Old Yang, you're putting me in a difficult position."

Wang Jianguo looked at Yang Kun and smacked his lips.

"You know the rules. Only martial arts schools can register, and each school brand gets just two slots."

"At present, there are exactly fifty martial arts school brands of all sizes in East Sea, making a total of one hundred slots."

"The Chu Martial Arts School's two slots haven't been decided yet, but you can't get one just by flapping your lips. Too many people have their eyes on them."

With that, he yawned and waved a hand.

"Old Yang, why don't you head out first? I'm going to take a nap. We can talk later if there's anything else."

Yang Kun heard the dismissal and didn't press the matter. He left with a parting "Get some rest, then."

Outside the door, Chu Ge heard the movement and hurriedly found a place to hide.

From the shadows, he watched Yang Kun open the door and leave, until he disappeared from sight.

He waited a few more minutes.

Only then did he knock on the door. After hearing a "Come in" from inside, he pushed it open and entered.

Inside the office, Wang Jianguo wasn't surprised to see Chu Ge at all, as though he had expected him to show up.

He spoke earnestly.

"Little Chu, I hate to say it, but if you're here, just come in. What's with hiding by the door and eavesdropping?"

"And even after Headmaster Yang left, you insisted on waiting a few minutes before coming in."

"I was just preparing myself." Chu Ge coughed. "If you two really did have some unspeakable secret, how awkward would it have been if I'd barged in on you?"

After entering the Black Iron Realm, martial artists developed spiritual power.

Spiritual power had many uses, the best known being perception.

In the Black Iron Realm, spiritual power covered a radius of ten meters.

With each breakthrough to a major realm, the range of perception increased tenfold.

Both headmasters were Silver Realm experts, and they weren't weak even by the standards of the martial arts world as a whole.

When they activated their spiritual perception, it could cover a radius of one thousand meters.

Chu Ge knew full well that, given their strength, even without activating their spiritual perception, their five senses would have long since picked up the fellow eavesdropping at the door.

They simply couldn't be bothered to expose him.

Sure enough, the martial arts world wasn't all about fighting and killing. It was about relationships and social graces.

Chu Ge found a seat and got straight to the point.

"Uncle Wang, I'm here for the same reason as Headmaster Yang. I'd like to apply for a slot in the martial arts school competition."

Then he added:

"Of course, I mean through the normal application process. There's no need to give me the green light."

He wasn't saying the opposite of what he meant.

This wasn't one of those ploys where he told Wang Jianguo not to give him special treatment while actually hinting that he should make an exception because of his status.

He knew the competition rules well.

Aside from having to register through a martial arts school, there was no age limit, but only those in the Qi and Blood Realm could participate.

Now that he was at the hundredth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm, he was confident he could win a slot on strength alone.

Wang Jianguo looked at Chu Ge, helplessness written all over his face.

"Little Chu, you're a little full of yourself. I wasn't planning to give you the green light in the first place."

Then he turned serious.

"As headmaster of the East Sea Chu Martial Arts School, I must uphold the principles of fairness and impartiality."

"Even if you're a member of the Chu Family, I can't just open my mouth and hand you a slot."

"I've already decided how to allocate the two slots. We'll let fists decide the truth. Only the two strongest people deserve to represent the Chu Martial Arts School."

"Don't blame me. Only by establishing the rules can we open up a wider road ahead."

"That's for the best." Chu Ge nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with Wang Jianguo's approach.

Fairness and impartiality, what fine words. Establishing the rules, what fine words.

Uncle Wang, it's a shame you don't open a boxed-lunch shop.

For the same dishes, even if you charged fifty while everyone else charged ten, I'd still eat at your place.

Why?

Because eating there wouldn't give me heartburn.

Chu Ge left the Chu Martial Arts School.

He wasn't looking to enter the competition for the champion's prize.

With the Chu Family's resources, they could produce a Gold Weapon, let alone a Silver Weapon.

He was getting involved purely to test where his strength stood among those in the same realm.

The competition had no age limit, and with so few slots, those selected by the various martial arts schools to compete were basically all at the hundredth layer of the Qi and Blood Realm.

What was more, they had all spent a long time consolidating their strength at that level.

Fighting them would be the best way to test his true combat power.

He could take the championship while he was at it and bring glory to his family's martial arts school.

Perhaps it would attract more people to sign up the following year.

It would be a form of advertising, too.

Just after midnight, a new day arrived.

Chu Ge sat cross-legged on his bed.

"Tatakai!"

"Sign in!"