Fallen Genius?

Even if Li Jing had been absorbed in studying cultivation manuals, another day had passed. Surely he should have turned on his communicator by now?

That was what Zhang Jian thought as the ringing sounded on the other end of the call.

But the result was not what he had expected. The phone rang for a long time, and no one answered.

Realizing something was amiss, Zhang Jian called Wu Tong to tell him about it as he hurried to Wu Tong's house.

Before long, the two met at Wu Tong's home.

"Zhang Jian, you're just in time. I'll take you straight to Li Jing's house so we can see what that kid is up to.

"He's left his communicator off for so long. No matter how absorbed he is in cultivation, he shouldn't be like this."

Wu Tong led the way to Li Jing's villa, No. 231, but no one answered when they rang the doorbell.

The two realized then that something was seriously wrong.

Li Jing was neither at home nor reachable by communicator. He couldn't really have run off to the Wilderness Zone, could he?

He was just a mere Intermediate Warrior. Even if the Limits Dojo headquarters recognized him as a genius, how could he dare go to the Wilderness Zone?

"If Li Jing went to the Wilderness Zone, he would have had to stop at a Warrior Supply Base first.

"I'll call an acquaintance in the Military and ask him to check the entry and exit lists for the Warrior Supply Bases around Jiangnan Base City."

Wu Tong spoke with a grim expression.

He wanted news of Li Jing's whereabouts, yet he also dreaded finding his name on the entry and exit lists at a Warrior Supply Base.

After all, Li Jing had the makings of a Planetary Level warrior.

If he grew up without a hitch, he would surely become one of Earth's strongest experts!

If he fell in the Wilderness Zone so easily, while he was still so insignificant...

It would be a loss not only to the Limits Dojo, but to all of humanity.

Leaving the greater good aside, Wu Tong also hoped, for purely personal reasons, that Li Jing had not gone to the Wilderness Zone.

Though he had only recently met Li Jing, the young man had called him Uncle Wu.

Zhang Jian looked at Wu Tong with some apprehension as well.

With Wu Tong acting as an intermediary, Li Jing joining his Bloodthirsty Squad had practically been a nail in the board.

Just yesterday, he had even planned to make the martial arts genius the core around which he would build the squad for the next decade or more.

Naturally, he did not want anything to happen to Li Jing now.

I hope he just went out to take care of something and didn't go to the Wilderness Zone! Zhang Jian thought.

But he saw that Wu Tong's expression had not eased in the slightest as he made the call. Instead, it grew darker and darker.

Zhang Jian's heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling about this.

After Wu Tong hung up, Zhang Jian asked cautiously, "Well? Captain, Li Jing isn't on the list, is he?"

Wu Tong shook his head. "Li Jing left Warrior Supply Base No. 004 in Jiangnan Base City's Northern Military Region this morning."

"Then did he go with another warrior squad?" Zhang Jian pressed.

Since he had not contacted Li Jing right away yesterday, Li Jing had not known that Wu Tong would introduce him to the Bloodthirsty Squad.

If Li Jing had been eager to see the Wilderness Zone for himself, it would have been reasonable enough for him to meet another warrior squad through some other channel and go with them.

Hearing Zhang Jian's question, Wu Tong shook his head again, a trace of frustration in his voice at seeing iron fail to become steel. "I wish that were the case, but Li Jing left Warrior Supply Base No. 004 alone. No one knows where he went!"

He had never expected the talented young man on whom he had pinned such high hopes, whom he believed had a chance of breaking through to Planetary Level and whom he had strongly recommended to the dojo's upper ranks, to be so irrational.

At the mere level of an Intermediate Warrior, Li Jing had ventured into the Wilderness Zone alone, without a shred of experience.

Reckless was no longer enough to describe it. Stupid seemed more appropriate.

"Then what should we do now, Captain?"

Zhang Jian was numb after learning the truth. He, too, had never imagined that Li Jing would go to the Wilderness Zone alone.

How did he dare?!!

Did he really think being a super genius meant he could do as he pleased and undertake what ordinary people dared not?

The monsters in the Wilderness Zone did not care whether he was a genius. No matter how dazzling his talent, he was still only an ordinary Intermediate Warrior.

A few Advanced Beast Soldiers could tear him to shreds.

Zhang Jian did not know whether to count himself lucky or unlucky.

He was unlucky to have missed the chance to recruit a genius like Li Jing.

But he was lucky that, for all his talent, Li Jing was so reckless.

If Li Jing joined the Bloodthirsty Squad, there was no telling what trouble he might cause. He might even doom the entire squad in one stroke.

"Now? All we can do is wait for fresh news from Warrior Supply Base No. 004.

"After all, the Communication Watches sold by our Limits Dojo's marketplace don't have a backdoor installed."

"Unless Li Jing calls back or shows himself, no one can find him."

"I'll also report the situation to my superiors and see if we can use a satellite to check where Li Jing went after leaving Warrior Supply Base No. 004."

"If we know his destination and send a warrior squad there in time, there might still be a sliver of hope."

Though that was what Wu Tong said, he knew perfectly well that the chances of successfully tracking Li Jing by satellite were slim.

The problem was not the technology, but the wishes of the dojo's upper ranks.

Whether a warrior achieved greatness was closely tied to talent, but character was another factor that could never be overlooked.

It could be said that neither character nor talent could be dispensed with.

Though Li Jing was extraordinarily gifted and had hope of glimpsing the threshold of Planetary Level, his character left much to be desired.

With a nature so reckless and ignorant, his chances of safely reaching the end of a warrior's peril-filled path were slim.

The dojo's upper ranks would likely take a dim view of him, and the importance they had attached to him because of his talent would vanish completely.

Under such circumstances, they were very likely to stop investing resources and effort in him.

Besides, an entire day had passed since Li Jing left Warrior Supply Base No. 004. Perhaps he had already...

Based on past statistics, the probability was extremely high!

"Captain, I'll head back first, then. Let me know as soon as you hear anything." With that, Zhang Jian quietly left.

He had already made up his mind that even if Li Jing somehow made it back alive from the Wilderness Zone,

he would never recruit this reckless fool, who had talent but no character, into his Bloodthirsty Squad.

The Bloodthirsty Squad's temple was too small to withstand the havoc such a great Buddha might wreak!

Wu Tong could see what Zhang Jian was thinking. He opened his mouth, but in the end could say nothing.

Given Li Jing's behavior, it was only natural for Zhang Jian to have second thoughts.

The only reason he had not said so outright was out of consideration for Wu Tong, his former captain.

So be it. Whether Li Jing lived or died, Wu Tong would simply notify Zhang Jian when there was news. That would settle the matter.

Watching Zhang Jian leave, Wu Tong shook his head dejectedly.

Talent was not necessarily a blessing. Living a long life was!

Over the years, he had seen countless martial arts geniuses break their halberds and sink into the sand, while people like him, with ordinary talent, remained active on the front lines and just behind them to this day.