110: Chapter 110: Do I not have to pay for the broken item?

Lei Qianjue hurried forward and bowed slightly.

"Great Elder."

The Great Elder of the War God Hall, Great Elder Lu Anguo. One of the ceilings of power within the Pojun Division.

Great Elder Lu Anguo ignored Lei Qianjue.

His gaze passed directly over the crowd, locking onto Li Zhengyang.

The blood energy of this young man before him was simply not at the magnitude that an ordinary Seventh-Rank Martial Venerable should possess.

Hidden within that body was a potential that would make one's heart race.

Once unleashed, it would surely turn the world upside down.

Great Elder Lu Anguo stroked his white beard and nodded repeatedly, "A twenty-year-old Martial Venerable. The younger generation is formidable indeed."

Lei Qianjue quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Great Elder, this kid Li Zhengyang happened to break through his realm just now, and he couldn't control his blood energy for a moment, which is why he shattered the plaza tiles. I'll arrange for the Northern Territory Branch to wire the repair funds right away."

This was clearly shielding his own man.

Shattered tiles were a minor matter, but if they were to be charged with "causing trouble at headquarters," it would lead to endless trouble.

Before Great Elder Lu Anguo could respond, several veteran generals following behind exploded with indignation.

These old stubborn men were the most particular about seniority and rules on a daily basis.

"Happened to break through?"

A veteran general stepped forward with a long stride.

"Lei Qianjue, are you trying to fool us old guys like three-year-old children?"

The veteran general pointed at Li Zhengyang's nose and reprimanded him, "The battle report says he soloed the Mad Demon Fortress and led a team to repel a beast tide! That Chi Hong at the Mad Demon Fortress is a peak Martial Venerable!"

Several other veteran generals nearby chimed in.

"The Northern Territory Branch has always been lawless, and now they even dare to fake battle reports."

"In my opinion, the Mad Demon Fortress incident was definitely internal infighting among the exotic beasts, and this kid just picked up the scraps!"

"Trying to scam the headquarters' core resources with such fake battle achievements? Dream on!"

The group of veteran generals spat as they ranted.

Letting a twenty-year-old newcomer serve as the head of the Northern Territory Branch had already encroached on their interests.

Now, wanting to take a share of the core resources from the major defense lines was practically cutting into their own flesh.

Li Zhengyang straightened his posture, walked up to the veteran general, and lifted a hand to pick his ear.

"Are you teaching me how to do things?"

The veteran general was so angry at his casual attitude that he trembled: "Arrogant! Who do you think you are, daring to talk to me like that!"

"Cut the useless talk."

Li Zhengyang tapped his tactical watch on his wrist, "You're not convinced, right? If you're not convinced, let's have a death match."

"Right here in this plaza, let's draw a line and fight it out on the spot."

"Whoever loses pays. One billion per round, no delays. Do you dare to accept?"

The whole place went deathly silent.

The surrounding internal guards looked at each other in dismay.

Gathering to fight in the headquarters' core plaza? And with a one-billion-dollar wager?

Was he treating the Pojun Division like an underground black-market boxing ring?

Lei Qianjue's face twitched.

He knew this kid was obsessed with money, but who could have imagined he would be bold enough to attempt extortion on a veteran general from headquarters?

"Presumptuous!"

The veteran general's hands trembled, and his beard quivered, "This is the important territory of the Pojun Division headquarters; how can you allow private fights and gambling here! What kind of conduct is this!"

"If you don't dare to fight, shut up. What are you barking about?" Li Zhengyang looked at him with utter disdain and took a half-step back.

"How dare you insult me, you brat!"

The veteran general turned abruptly and cupped his hands toward Great Elder Lu Anguo.

"Great Elder! This kid is unruly and unbearable; the battle report is absolutely fake! I propose we directly use the formless mystic stele to test his true combat power!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the complexions of the internal guards in the plaza changed.

The formless mystic stele.

This was an ancient artifact excavated from a secret realm deep in the Western Regions.

Its material was unknown, and its hardness completely defied common sense.

A full-power strike from a Martial Venerable would at most leave a white mark on it.

In the entire Great Xia, only one person had ever left an actual crack on this stele.

The number one Great Xia War God, Ruan Long, who was at the half-step Martial Emperor realm.

Using this thing to test a young man who had just advanced to Martial Venerable was clearly intended to make him embarrass himself in public.

Great Elder Lu Anguo leaned on his cane, pondered slightly, and nodded.

"Very well. Hearing is believing, seeing is reality."

He looked at Li Zhengyang.

"Little guy, the battle report says you defeated a peak Martial Venerable while being weaker. As long as you can strike a white mark on this formless mystic stele, you can prove your strength."

The Great Elder paused slightly.

"Of course, I won't make you strike it for nothing. After you're done, I will take responsibility and let you enter the headquarters' core treasure vault to choose one item."

Choose whatever you want.

As soon as those three words came out, Li Zhengyang instantly perked up.

The headquarters' core treasure vault!

It contained the top-tier resources gathered from across all of Great Xia.

SSS-grade techniques, premium pills, top-tier formations.

Just swiping one item would fetch an astronomical price if resold.

He had been drooling over them in the system shop earlier but couldn't afford them, and now an opportunity for a zero-dollar purchase had been delivered to his doorstep.

"Choose whatever I want? For real?" Li Zhengyang's speaking speed quickened.

"The Great Elder's word is final." Lei Qianjue chimed in from the side, though he was feeling anxious inside.

Is the formless mystic stele something an ordinary person can leave a mark on?

"Fine!" Li Zhengyang agreed decisively, "Where is the stele? Bring it out!"

Great Elder Lu Anguo raised his hand.

Several internal guards immediately turned and ran toward the heavy machinery warehouse at the back.

Within five minutes, a heavy sound of tracks crushing the ground approached.

A hovering flatbed truck was pushed out by eight Martial Venerable-level internal guards working together.

Standing on the truck was a stone stele over two meters tall, pitch black all over.

Its surface was plain and ordinary, with absolutely no luster to speak of.

But right in the center of the stele, there was a faint crack.

Ruan Long's masterpiece from back in the day.

Li Zhengyang walked up to the formless mystic stele.

He raised his hand and tapped it twice.

Clang! Clang!

The sound was dull, and the texture was extremely dense.

Li Zhengyang withdrew his hand and turned to confirm with Great Elder Lu Anguo.

"Let's agree on this first: if I break it, I don't have to pay, right?"

The surroundings instantly went quiet.

Immediately afterward, the mole-faced veteran general and the few people behind him burst into a roar of laughter.

"Break it?"

The veteran general laughed until he was leaning back and forth, his finger pointing at Li Zhengyang shaking.

"You've gone insane! Lord Ruan Long, with his heaven-defying cultivation at the half-step Martial Emperor realm back then, only managed to leave a small chip on it!"

"Do you think you are the number one in Great Xia? And you want to break it?"

Another person shook his head repeatedly: "The young people of today don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Before even making a move, he's thinking about breaking the mystic stele. It's the biggest joke in the world!"

"Just tell me, do I pay or not." Li Zhengyang ignored them completely and stared fixedly at Great Elder Lu Anguo.

Great Elder Lu Anguo looked at Li Zhengyang.

There was no trace of a joke in this young man's expression; he was so calm that it made people feel uncertain.

Great Elder Lu Anguo paused.

"I won't make you pay."

Having received the guarantee, Li Zhengyang turned around and faced the formless mystic stele again.

"With that promise from you, I won't hold back."

He retreated half a step and lowered his body.

[Talent Activated: Tyrannosaurus Bone]

[Talent Activated: Prison Dragon Asura Armor]

Boom!

A stream of light condensed crazily on his right fist.

The power of his blood energy displaced the surrounding air, forming a visible shockwave that surged directly toward the stone stele!