Martial Saint!
Chapter 154 - 0133 Discuss merits and reward (3.4k)

Chapter 154: 0133 Discuss merits and reward (3.4k)

"What a pity, wasting a Blood Bodhisattva without obtaining the Divine Gifted Seed... Surely we shouldn’t mobilize an Incense Master just to deal with a group of brats who haven’t even broken their shackles?"

An Incense Master must possess extremely high Divine Wisdom to succeed, not everyone can merge with Divine Power and successfully mutate; otherwise, the various sects would have long dominated the world.

Leaving the room where he had been hiding, Doctor Chen got into the car.

Inside the car was already an elderly man with black hair whose eyes were somewhat cloudy, but one could faintly sense the powerful aura emanating from him.

This was an elder Martial Artist.

The elder asked with a frown,

"Did your action fail? Did you leave any traces behind?"

Doctor Chen sneered,

"If you had provided me with more useful information, this action would never have failed! Now, my Blood Bodhisattva is missing, and not dead, likely controlled by a Martial Arts expert. The police might have already guessed it was our sect’s doing."

The elder’s face changed dramatically,

"Weren’t you certain of success? Now, Dragon City and our police force will definitely suspect that someone leaked the information about the real combat training exercise. There are so few people who know about this on Stone Lake’s side; will they eventually trace it back to me? What should I do?"

Doctor Chen shrugged and laughed,

"How would I know? I’m not the traitor. Besides, who said the leak had to come from the police side? It could just as well be Martial Arts University in Dragon City..."

The elder, emanating a terrifying aura, exploded within him like fireworks.

Martial Arts Strong Sound!

Doctor Chen remained calm, touching his gold-rimmed glasses, and taunted,

"You want to make a move against the Squad Leader? Don’t let anger cloud your judgment."

He truly didn’t take any mere Martial Artist seriously.

The elder retracted his aura and said resignedly,

"Your failure is your business. I’ve had enough of these years. Now, we shall end our cooperation. Give me the life-extending Treasure you promised, and we’ll go our separate ways."

Doctor Chen laughed,

"Old man, have you lost your mind out of fear of death? Even if you cut ties with us, you have already betrayed those who trusted you. Besides, the life-extending Treasure is extremely precious within our sect. Judging by your achievements over the years, you still fall short for such a Treasure..."

The elder’s face turned ashen,

"What do you mean?"

Doctor Chen placed his hands on the steering wheel.

"All secrets reveal themselves in time; there’s always a flaw somewhere. Your exposure is inevitable, and the consequences are clear. I can show you a way out—turn from darkness to light and join the Heart Happiness Sect. You can go to the Silver Eagle; we have a branch there. With your Martial Artist ability, you would easily fit in. As for the life-extending Treasure, once you have earned enough merit within the sect, naturally, it can be exchanged."

The elder’s face showed a fluctuating expression,

"Chen, have you calculated all along? Whether the action succeeded or not, there’s no loss for the Heart Happiness Sect, only the gain of a Martial Artist in your ranks!"

Doctor Chen said,

"Being absorbed by our sect is also a blessing for you. You’ve also witnessed our master’s strength. It’s not just about extending your life by a mere couple of decades; as long as you are devout enough to please the Forget Sorrow Mother, extending your life by six decades wouldn’t be difficult... Humans are too fragile. Even if you break through the seven shackles, how do you compare to gods who live as long as the heavens and earth, the sun and the moon? You are still just a fleeting meteor in the night sky."

The elder was filled with immense regret.

In the face of death, consumed by momentary greed, he had set upon a path of no return. Chen Yongjing made sense; he and the Heart Happiness Sect were now tied to the same fate. Chief Qin asking an aged martial police instructor to interrogate a prisoner in the middle of the night probably meant they had noticed something amiss with him. Perhaps a trap was already set at the police station.

Family, colleagues, beloved comrades of Martial Arts...

Everything he owned, from today on, he would lose it all.

Doctor Chen looked at the struggling old man and knew that his persuasion had worked. To strengthen the sect, there were only two ways: weaken the enemies and enhance oneself. With the life-extending Treasure as a lure, this elder was only the beginning.

The fear of aging and death is etched in human bones; whether emperors or commoners, all beings in this tumultuous mortal world can’t escape it.

One day, the gods will descend upon the earth!

And turn the Nine Provinces into a paradise!

The elder seemed to age a lot more in an instant.

With a sad look in his eyes, he said weakly,

"Alright, send me overseas."

Doctor Chen’s lips curved upward,

"Do you want to say goodbye to your family before you leave?"

"There’s no need. Three Cannon Hammers·Zhang Fei... is already dead."

...

The next morning.

Stone Lake police outpost.

After working overtime on interrogations, Chief Qin suddenly stood up.

He had called the old master more than a dozen times without response.

Qin You said gravely,

"Chen Zhen, why hasn’t Old Master Zhang arrived yet?"

"I don’t know, he said he would be here soon. Maybe he has overslept again. After all, he is elderly and needs his sleep..." As he spoke, Chen Zhen’s expression changed.

"Chief, what’s wrong with the old master?"

He thought about his previous suspicion of a mole in the station.

Could it be Old Master Zhang?

Zhang Fei, a graduate of the Imperial Capital Martial Arts University, had been in the police for many years and was assigned to Stone Lake to serve as the chief martial police instructor. Many of Stone Lake’s outstanding martial police were trained by him, so everyone respected him deeply, hence the nickname Old Master.

Qin You said word by word with a chilling voice,

"Zhang Fei might have a problem, find this person quickly."

...

Meanwhile.

On the shores of Stone Lake in the early hours of the morning, Lu Chenzhou was practicing Tiger Spirit Divine Strike. The battle last night had a significant impact on him; after all, it was his first time in high-intensity real combat. His understanding of the Tiger Form deepened, and by the second round, the leaves of the Divine Strike shone brightly. Lu Chenzhou was overjoyed in his heart—inspiration had struck!

He did not dare to waste any time, regulating his breathing; Sleeping Tiger Awakening, Leading Tiger Down the Mountain, Inviting Tiger to Possess... Each move was infused with the essence of the Tiger Form, and his proficiency in this difficult First-Class martial art surprisingly soared, until four hours later, when Lu Chenzhou ran out of energy right as the state dissipated.

He looked at the Martial Arts Tree.

"I’ve improved by 13% in one go, so exhilarating!"

First-Class martial arts, to improve so much in just one morning.

If the others in the genius class knew, they would be envious to death.

...

June 15th.

Su City Dragon Martial review committee.

The genius class Fist Technique instructors and some of the police personnel were here discussing the performance of the students in real combat training. One of the teachers said, "Wang Hongdao must receive a Special Evaluation. Not to mention the heroic act of saving his classmates, just the feat of holding back a Cult Incense Master and defeating the First Divine General deserves such an assessment."

Wu Zun said,

"Zhou Xingkong isn’t bad either, he alone killed two mid-danger Floating Level Void Things, joined forces with Yao Cheng to kill The Third Divine General, and subdued twenty cultists."

Li Gui said,

"Everyone must have also seen the video of Lu Chenzhou’s performance, coordinating with Xiaoyun to kill The Thirteenth Divine General, subduing a group of cultists, his Tiger Roar that shook out a group of Void Things, and he even played a major role in killing the nearly Extreme Limit Realm Blood-Feathered Demon.

I trust everyone will give a fair evaluation."

After each year’s practical training, it was time for the teachers of the talent class and the school’s review committee to argue, all wanting to secure higher evaluations for their students.

A high evaluation for a student benefited the teachers as well.

Generally speaking, there are quota indicators for the evaluations of practical training. For instance, for Special Evaluations, like this eight-person small class, it would be adequate to have two. It shouldn’t be too many; otherwise, it cheapens the value of the rankings on the Hidden Dragon List. But with the performances this time, several of the eight students in the talent class were neck and neck, putting the committee members in a difficult position. Such matters were also not suitable to trouble the principal or a Grandmaster over.

"Teachers, please return for now. We will discuss this thoroughly."

That evening.

The eight students of the talent class all arrived at the homeroom teacher’s home, where Li Shoukun had already received the evaluation results. He scanned the group, then fixed his gaze on Wang Hongdao.

"Wang Hongdao, Special Evaluation, plus 1000 points."

Wang Hongdao quickly responded with a salute,

"Thank you, teacher, thank you to the school!"

This wasn’t his first time receiving a Special Evaluation.

With these thousand points, he wouldn’t need to serve as a gatekeeper for 500 more times; he could move forward a bit, but just by a little... the further forward, the greater the point difference became.

The others couldn’t help but show disappointment in their expressions.

Now, there was only one spot left to compete for.

But as disappointed as they were, no one had any complaints about Wang Hongdao receiving a Special Evaluation. Even proud individuals like Yao and Zhou supported him with both hands.

Li Shoukun smiled faintly and then turned to Chen Xiaoyun.

"Xiaoyun’s performance was also commendable, particularly strong in team cooperation, especially in trapping that cultist demon twice, earning Great Merit, and thus she also receives a Special Evaluation."

Chen Xiaoyun clenched her fists, relieved internally.

"Thank you, teacher. It’s mainly thanks to the cooperation of my classmates, especially Lu Chenzhou. Our partnership that night was quite enjoyable."

She looked at Lu Chenzhou, feeling some regret within.

She thought that Lu Chenzhou also deserved a Special Evaluation.

Yao and Zhou were disappointed in their hearts.

"If only that Blood-Feathered Demon had come after us."

Yao Cheng thought to himself.

After watching the video, he also had the confidence to defeat that demon.

For Lu Chenzhou, on the other hand, his heart was calm; he was content with a Class A evaluation. Having recently arrived, with the lowest realm and not a Top Class root bone, he didn’t covet much.

After all, he was confident in surpassing them in the future.

Li Shoukun observed everyone’s reactions and finally turned to Lu Chenzhou with a smile,

"Chenzhou, as the main force in killing the Blood-Feathered Demon, also receives a Special Evaluation... Everyone else, all Class A evaluations. Does anyone have any objections?"

Three Special Evaluations this time?

Everyone was slightly startled.

Li Shoukun smiled and explained,

"There’s no need to be puzzled. All of you performed exceptionally well, so the review committee decided to allocate three Special and five Class A slots in recognition of your achievements."

The actual situation was that, in the intelligence communicated between the school and the police, there had been no mention of the variable of the Blood-Feathered Demon, which made the mission far more difficult. In the end, the matter was reported to the principal, who decided to compensate the talent class.

Seeing that none of the three spots were his, Yao Cheng began to feel a bit frustrated,

"Teacher, I believe I too deserve a Special Evaluation."

Li Shoukun knew he would have an opinion and patiently said,

"Your performance was good, but not enough for a Special."

"Is it because I killed two ordinary cultists?"

"No, self-defense leading to the accidental killing of a criminal does not count as a deduction."

Yao Cheng asked no further.

It seemed that he really was technically inferior and hadn’t performed well enough.

Next time, he would certainly astonish the review committee.

Li Shoukun inquired,

"Does anyone else have an objection?"

Everyone spoke in unison,

"None."

"Then this meeting is adjourned."

On the way back, Lu Chenzhou felt a sense of unexpected joy within.

The points were secondary; what was most important was the money. According to this score, he could claim one-fifth of the reward money, which amounted to a hefty 600,000. It was indeed a substantial sum.

Generally, only bounties set by Martial Artists could reach 500,000.

However, the difficulties of the Wind Wave Forest were indeed high. Had it not been for the experts of the talent class, others might have fallen there, so the money was well deserved.

"Congratulations, Lu Chenzhou, on earning a Special Evaluation on your first practical training."

Chen Xiaoyun took the initiative to come over and greet him.

Lu Chenzhou smiled,

"Good luck."

Chen Xiaoyun watched Yao Cheng’s villa door bang shut.

"You’re very strong, I reckon some people are enviously dying."

Lu Chenzhou looked toward villa number 32.

"This is my place, see you in class tomorrow."

"Sure, you can come over to villa number 18 anytime on weekdays for a friendly bout."

Chen Xiaoyun recognized Lu Chenzhou’s strength and was itching for a challenge.

The next day.

Lu Chenzhou turned on his phone, and there were three new notifications:

[Your account number ending in 9527 has received 600,000, your current balance is 840,000.]

[Your Hidden Dragon Points increased by 1000, the total score is 5701, currently ranked 1414.]

[You’ve received 20 points of Great Merit from school affairs, current balance 45 Great Merit.]

(Non-billed ps: I’ll be posting two Chapters at dawn today, mainly because I estimate some readers may stay up late to wait for updates; there will be two more Chapters at noon. Starting from the 3rd, all updates will be released at noon, so everyone won’t need to wait up late for them.)

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