4: Chapter 4: Martial Arts Assessment Grounds, Mission: Eliminate 100 Ferocious Beasts! (Race Template!)

"Name."

"Lu Qingyun."

"Age."

"Eighteen."

"A Martial Arts Student this year? Comprehending Qi and Blood Power before the Martial Arts Examination is quite impressive. Even if you only get into the worst martial arts university, your future will be boundless once you graduate. However... you must survive to return first."

The middle-aged man, dressed in a special martial arts uniform, kept recording with pen and paper. He looked up and glanced at Lu Qingyun.

Perhaps feeling that Lu Qingyun's appearance was too youthful, he couldn't help but ask another question.

"Why couldn't you wait a little longer?"

"With your status as an established martial artist, you only needed to wait until you entered a martial arts university. You wouldn't even have to do it yourself; just by revealing a slight intention, someone would help you handle these matters. You were too impulsive."

Zhang Guodong's voice was very calm, his eyes, tempered by years and slaughter, were extremely deep.

He did not express condemnation for Lu Qingyun's actions; there was only rational judgment.

As for the deaths of Lu Dacheng and Wu Chunlan, they did not cause him any emotional fluctuation.

The Martial Arts Bureau is different from the Law Enforcement Bureau. The Martial Arts Bureau deals with bloodthirsty ferocious beasts, heinous martial artists, and cultists who would sacrifice the lives of an entire city on a whim.

Everyone who can hold a position in the Martial Arts Bureau is someone who licks blood from the edge of a blade!

Even if one only holds a clerical position, they must have comprehended Qi and Blood Power and become a martial artist!

Lu Qingyun did not answer Zhang Guodong's question. He lowered his head, looking like an ordinary teenager who had made a mistake and was deeply condemned by his own conscience.

Seeing this, Zhang Guodong said nothing more.

His previous advice was only because he saw that Lu Qingyun had already seen blood just after becoming a martial artist, and perhaps he could become his colleague after graduating from a martial arts university in the future.

But this probability was really not high, because... even he didn't think that when he had just become a martial artist, he could have killed ten ferocious beasts!

Those monsters born in the wilderness, surviving through the law of the jungle, were not something an ordinary martial artist could contend with.

"Let's go. I'm taking you to... atone for your sins."

There were no restraints like handcuffs or shackles.

Zhang Guodong walked in front, and Lu Qingyun followed obediently behind him. The scene was completely different from the usual style of escorting a criminal.

Although this had some relation to the crime Lu Qingyun committed, the bigger reason was Zhang Guodong's strong confidence in his own strength!

He did not believe that a mere kid who had just become a martial artist could escape from his hands.

Similarly, Lu Qingyun had never thought of escaping. He kept his head lowered, but the excitement in his eyes could not be suppressed at all!

Ferocious beasts meant massive experience and infinite growth in Life Points! How was this a punishment? This was clearly a reward!

"Why does it feel so strange?"

Through the rearview mirror, Zhang Guodong glanced at Lu Qingyun. He couldn't see clearly, but instinctively felt something was wrong. However, he didn't dwell on it.

It was just an escort mission that couldn't be more ordinary. Moreover, the target this time was not one of those martial artists who committed evil on purpose.

It was just an ordinary Martial Arts Student who had killed in a fit of rage after years of bullying upon becoming a martial artist; he posed no threat at all.

"If only every day's mission was this easy. Heh—I'm truly greedy."

Zhang Guodong seemed to have thought of something, chuckled, and tossed the cigarette butt in his hand out the car window.

There was silence the whole way. The car drove out of the city and stopped at the entrance of an extremely remote small town.

"We're here. Get out." Zhang Guodong said to Lu Qingyun, who was resting with his eyes closed in the back.

He immediately opened the car door and hugged a burly man with a round face and a full beard who came up to greet him, acting exceptionally familiar.

"Old Zhang, you've sent another cleaner over."

"Sigh! There aren't any ferocious beast riots near Jiangcheng, so sending them to you, Brother Yang, allows for waste utilization—clearing out ferocious beasts without worrying about losses. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone!"

Zhang Guodong handed a cigarette to the bearded man, and by the way, pulled up his pants that had been pulled down quite a bit. He pointed at Lu Qingyun behind him and said: "I've brought you a fledgling. He hasn't participated in the martial artist examination yet and has to take the Martial Arts Examination in a few months. You handle the arrangements."

"He has to take the Martial Arts Examination, huh? How many people did he kill?"

"Two." Lu Qingyun answered very honestly.

"Ten ferocious beasts. Perfect, you can start preparing for next year's Martial Arts Examination." Captain Yang Pinru smiled, his gaze resting on Lu Qingyun for only an instant before moving away.

He stepped forward, grabbed the hand of Zhang Guodong who was about to slip away, and pleaded eagerly: "Old Zhang, why are you in such a rush? You've finished your mission for today anyway, why not stay here and keep me company? Out here in the wilderness, with a great expert from the Martial Arts Bureau like you, I wouldn't be so anxious."

"It's not that easy. I was born with a life of toil. The bureau just assigned another mission, saying that traces of some cult have been discovered in the city. The situation is urgent. I'll leave him with you; next time for sure!"

Zhang Guodong pulled Captain Yang Pinru's hand off his butt with a forced smile, completely ignoring his resentful gaze, and turned to leave. It was as if something was chasing him from behind.

Lu Qingyun witnessed the whole scene. When Captain Yang Pinru turned to look at him, he immediately clenched his buttocks, terrified of being stabbed from behind.

"Little brat." Captain Yang Pinru glanced at him, his eyes devoid of any interest. He turned his head to look around and shouted loudly: "Man Hu! Where did you go? Get the hell over here, your squad is full!"

"Hey! Over here, Brother Yang." A burly man with a hulking figure, a shiny bald head, and a deep claw mark on his face came jogging over. Upon arriving and seeing Lu Qingyun beside Captain Yang Pinru, he immediately pulled a long face.

"Brother Yang, a fledgling who just entered the martial artist rank—isn't this just pure dead weight!?"

"What? Do you want me to find you someone in the middle stage of the Mortal Shedding Realm to carry you through and finish the ferocious beast count in three days? I want dead weight! Let's see if you dare to kill people indiscriminately in the future!"

Captain Yang Pinru waved his hand, clearly not intending to listen to his complaints. Then, perhaps worried that Lu Qingyun might have concerns, he explained:

"Don't worry, once you form a squad, you are a unit, and the number of ferocious beasts killed will be split equally. Furthermore, this is a Martial Arts Examination ground, and there are video recordings everywhere; there is no need to worry about being backstabbed."

"Brother Yang, I don't like hearing you say that. Am I, Man Hu, the type of person who would turn on his teammates? The reason I came here is to punish evil and promote good, understand? My methods are just a bit cruel, but at heart, I am a great person!" Man Hu protested immediately upon hearing this.

Captain Yang Pinru ignored him and intended to just make the decision. However, Lu Qingyun's voice suddenly rang out.

"Can't I go in alone?"

"If it's a Martial Arts Examination ground, the strength of the ferocious beasts inside shouldn't be too high, right."

"Personally, I'm used to acting alone..."

Hearing this, Man Hu stopped shouting, his eyes full of mockery.

"Alone? If it were a few days ago, it wouldn't be a big problem. After all, we are all here to atone for our sins, and the casualty rate would just be a bit higher. But the slaughter and evolution among the ferocious beasts are faster than you imagine. The danger level inside now might not be lower than the real wilderness!"

"If you want to go in alone, suit yourself. I only look at the results. If you can kill ten ferocious beasts, you leave. If you can't fight them, it's just one more set of dry bones here." Captain Yang Pinru glanced at Lu Qingyun and did not try to persuade him too much.

He had arranged for Lu Qingyun to be in Man Hu's squad without any intention of taking care of him. It was just that Man Hu's squad happened to be missing one person. Since Lu Qingyun requested it himself, he naturally had no objections. Having been here for many years, he had long become accustomed to life and death. It was precisely because of this that he had developed a certain very peculiar hobby.

After hearing the affirmative answer, Lu Qingyun did not linger and strode into the town!

Although going in with others would greatly increase safety, ...whether teaming up to kill ferocious beasts would bring an increase in experience and Life Points was really hard to say!

Moreover, as a BOSS, when would he ever need to rely on the protection of others?

[Detected a large number of low-level magical beasts here. It is time to let these magical beasts see what a real BOSS is like! Mission: Eliminate one hundred magical beasts! Reward: Racial Template upgrade!]

"Racial Template upgrade?" Lu Qingyun felt a slight stir in his heart when he saw the mission reward. Although he wasn't quite sure how much benefit this Racial Template upgrade would bring him, the difficulty of the mission was right there!

One hundred magical beasts, ten times more than the number he needed to complete! I'm afraid he would at least have to completely clear out the remaining magical beasts in this town.

...

Watching Lu Qingyun's figure go in alone, Man Hu scratched his head and couldn't help but say: "Newborn calves really aren't afraid of tigers! To be this bold just after becoming a martial artist, daring to go in alone. If he grows up, he might just turn this world upside down!"

"What's wrong with going in alone? He's not the only one doing it." Captain Yang Pinru glanced at a beautiful woman in the distance who was as motionless as a statue, constantly watching the entrance of the small town, exuding an aura that said she was not to be trifled with. He silently withdrew his gaze and thought no more about it.

However, Man Hu's voice rang out again.

"The problem is, he didn't even take a weapon; he went in empty-handed."

"Hmm!!?"