29: Hidden Dragon

Day Eighty-Two.

At midnight, a new Death Warrior arrived as scheduled—[Eighty-Two]. This second Muscle Realm Death Warrior brought the [Basic Reconnaissance] skill.

At the moment the summoning was completed, a flow of noticeably denser physical quality surged into Lin Mo's body; it was the physical essence belonging to a Muscle Realm Martial Artist, perfectly fused after being strengthened 1.5 times by the System.

Lin Mo lightly clenched his fist, and the air let out a slight explosive pop.

He could clearly feel that his strength, endurance, and especially the toughness of his Meridians and the speed of his internal qi circulation had all seen a considerable improvement.

This was no longer just an accumulation of quantitative changes, but a qualitative leap brought about by the increase in the base Realm of the summoned Death Warriors.

"Currently available Death Warriors: eighty-one." Lin Mo mentally calculated a combat loss of one.

A Death Warrior ([32]) responsible for monitoring the back street of the City Lord's Manor was discovered and eliminated by an unknown expert while scouting the manor.

The body was taken away by the opponent, but it did not alert other monitoring points. Upon learning this, Lin Mo ordered the outer monitoring points to retreat and marked the area as high-risk.

That fallen companion was a necessary price, and also a reminder of his opponent's danger.

He summoned 4: "How is the investigation into the Hidden Dragon Academy?"

4 replied: "The Hidden Dragon Pavilion is located in the Forbidden Ground of the Martial Academy's back mountain; ordinary Disciples are not allowed to enter."

Known intelligence: There are currently about thirty Hidden Dragon Disciples, with the lowest cultivation being Minor Achievement in Tendon Transformation, and the highest potentially reaching the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Resource allocation is ten times that of Grade A; they can consult the Martial Academy's secret archives, and an Elder gives fixed lectures every month. Competition is fierce, with a bottom-tier elimination System in place.

Lin Mo nodded, his gaze falling on the purple token on the table. Today was the day to report to the Hidden Dragon Academy.

"2, 3."

He continued his orders, "It's time to uncover the Black Wolf Gang's background. I'll give you ten days. I want to know the daily routine of the gang leader, the Lone Wolf Di Xiong, the number and strength of the experts around him, as well as their three most important industries and two secret warehouses."

"At the same time, spread news that Northern Horse Bandits might be drifting into the Qinglan region, so those small trade caravans and the Black Wolf Gang's clients should be cautious lately."

"Yes!" 2 and 3 took their orders.

"Additionally, the second batch of fifteen youths from Qingyuan Town will arrive this afternoon."

6 will be in charge of screening their Heart-Nature and beginning to teach them the most basic Bedrock Fist forms and breathing techniques.

Tell them that if they work hard, they will have the chance to be taught true techniques in the future and escape their misery.

"Yes."

With arrangements made, Lin Mo changed into a clean Qinglan robe, hung the purple token at his waist, and headed toward the back mountain with only 4.

Passing through the bamboo forest path behind the Martial Academy, a natural stone gorge appeared before him. Two middle-aged deacons with steady auras and sharp eyes guarded the entrance.

After verifying the token, one of them said, "Junior Brother Lin, please."

Entering the Hidden Dragon Academy, you must keep three iron rules in mind:

First, lethal private duels are forbidden.

Second, spreading secret techniques to outsiders is forbidden.

Third, betraying the Martial Academy is forbidden.

Violators will have their cultivation crippled and be expelled, or even have what they learned retrieved.

"I will keep them in mind." Lin Mo cupped his hands.

Passing through the stone gorge, the view suddenly opened up.

A cluster of buildings built against the mountain came into view, with elegant pavilions, training grounds, quiet rooms, Alchemy Rooms, and a Library all available.

The martial aura in the air seemed a bit denser than in the front courtyard, or perhaps it was Spiritual Qi... At this moment, there were already over a dozen young men and women in the central square, each with an extraordinary aura, the lowest being Minor Achievement in Tendon Transformation.

Their gazes swept over, filled with scrutiny and curiosity.

"A newcomer?"

A Young Master dressed in a brocade robe and holding a folding fan strolled over, sizing Lin Mo up.

"Just entered Muscle? That's rare. How should I address you? From which family?"

"I am Lin Mo, from Qingyuan Town, not from a prominent family," Lin Mo answered calmly.

"From a township?" A flash of disdain crossed the brocade-robed Young Master's eyes.

He then smiled and said, "Being able to get in is a skill in itself. I am Zhou Chen, from the Zhou Family of the prefectural city. If there's anything you don't understand later, you can ask me."

Although his words were polite, the condescension in his tone was obvious. Several people around also showed looks of realization; their curiosity diminished, replaced by a bit of distance.

Lin Mo didn't mind. Just as he was about to ask where to report, a cold female voice came:

"Zhou Chen, are you putting on airs in front of a newcomer again?"

Everyone looked over to see a woman dressed in black martial attire with a long sword on her back walking toward them. She was beautiful, but her brows radiated a sharp, heroic spirit, and her aura was clearly that of Great Accomplishment of Muscle.

"Senior Sister Liu." Zhou Chen's expression stiffened, and he gave a dry laugh, "I'm just showing concern for a new fellow Disciple."

The woman in black ignored him and looked at Lin Mo: "Liu Qingli. The rules of the Hidden Dragon Academy state that newcomers have a one-month adjustment period. You don't need to participate in the end-of-month competition, but your resource quota is halved."

Your residence is C-7 Courtyard. This is your access token and this month's resource list.

The first floor of the Library, the Artifact Refining Room, and the Alchemy Room are open to you, but each entry requires the consumption of contribution points.

contribution points can be obtained by completing academy missions, challenging the Trial Tower, or through your ranking in the monthly competition.

She spoke quickly and clearly, handing Lin Mo a jade token and a scroll of silk.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Liu." Lin Mo took them.

"Cultivate well." Liu Qingli glanced at him, her gaze lingering on his calm face for a moment.

"Here, background doesn't matter; strength and progress speed are everything. Do not waste your talent."

Having said that, she turned and left.

Zhou Chen snorted and also dispersed with his group.

Accompanied by 4, Lin Mo found C-7 Courtyard.

The courtyard was slightly smaller than the Grade A residences but more exquisite. The quiet room had a simple Qi Gathering Formation, making Cultivation more efficient.

He browsed the resource list: five Foundation Consolidation Pills per month, three entries to the first floor of the Library, thirty hours of free use of the Elementary training room, and a hundred basic contribution points.

"The starting point is high, but the consumption is also large," Lin Mo thought to himself.

A single reading in the Library costs twenty points, and a bottle of Qi Condensation powder to assist in internal qi Cultivation costs fifty points.

In the afternoon, Lin Mo went to the Library.

The first floor mostly contained Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills for the Muscle Realm, as well as more in-depth martial theories and miscellaneous studies from various schools.

His goal was clear: he directly looked for records related to ancient scripts, meteoric iron, and strange minerals.

An hour later, he checked out a copy of "Records of Strange Ores in the Nine Provinces" and "A Study of Ancient Rune Fragments."

Returning to the courtyard, he handed the two books to Death Warriors [Twenty] (Rote Memory) and [Eighty-Two] (Reconnaissance).

"Study them with all your effort. Find any records related to the patterns on the rusted sword, the seven stars of the mountain peak design, and metals that can absorb internal qi and heat."

"Yes."

In the evening, 2 and 3 brought the preliminary report on the Black Wolf Gang.

"Gang leader Di Xiong has a cultivation of Great Accomplishment of Muscle. He is skilled in using a spiked club and has a cruel and suspicious personality."

"Every day at the Wei hour (1-3 PM), he handles affairs at the gang's headquarters, the Wolf's Den. At the You hour (5-7 PM), he heads to the residence of his favorite third concubine. He is protected by eight skilled guards along the way, and the route is fixed."

"The Black Wolf Gang's core industries: the Thousand Gold Gambling House in the east of the city, Warehouse Area No. 3 at the docks (smuggling), and four brothels under their secret control."

"One secret warehouse has been confirmed in the basement of the slums in the south of the city, suspected to store valuable smuggled goods. The other has not yet been identified and might be related to the direction of the City Lord's Manor."

"Under his command are three Muscle Realm leaders who manage the gambling house, the docks, and the martial force, respectively, along with about fifty Bone Forging experts."