Chapter 76: Chapter 70: Made the News? (Seeking first subscription, seeking monthly ticket!)
Chapter 76: Chapter 70: Made the News? (Seeking first subscription, seeking monthly ticket!)
"..."
The three people in the alley were dumbfounded by the sudden scene, staring at Xue Jing with wide eyes.
"...So cool." Yun Qin muttered softly.
Ning Fengwan widened her cat-like eyes, "Jing… why are you here?"
Xue Jing grunted and pinched his chin.
"Would you believe me if I said I was just passing by accidentally?"
Ning Fengwan gave him a dismissive look, "Stop messing around and go home. What are you wandering around for in the middle of the night?"
Her tone carried a hint of urgency.
Mr. An glanced at her, then at Xue Jing, a hint of a different color flowing in his crimson vertical pupils.
"So, the Sect Hierarch is temporarily staying at this young man's house."
He shook his head and looked at Ning Fengwan.
"Sect Hierarch, come with me to the main sect. There's nothing good left in Qingcheng now. Once we reach the main sect, not even Kangde Corporation will be able to do anything to us."
"Once you successfully receive the infinite divine grace from Ananda Tashasha, given time, it's not impossible to eradicate Kangde Corporation."
"..."
Miao Miao shook her head and said in a childish voice, "No, I don't want to go."
Mr. An paused, withdrew his hand, and asked in confusion, "Why?"
He did not understand — being the Sect Hierarch of the Dragon Cult and a believer in Ananda Tashasha, how could she not want to go upon knowing she could receive such grace?
Hmm?
Mr. An turned his head and looked at the young man who had just descended from the sky.
His gaze lingered on that excessively handsome face for a while before he suddenly realized.
Ning Fengwan sighed, about to say something.
But Mr. An spoke directly,
"Sect Hierarch, you wouldn't want anything to happen to this young man, right?"
Ning Fengwan: "..."
Yun Qin: "..."
Xue Jing: "..."
At these words, the other three were all taken aback.
Yun Qin muttered softly, "...underhanded."
Ning Fengwan's cat face showed a distinctly anthropomorphic chill.
"You're threatening me with him?"
Xue Jing also narrowed his eyes, stepping forward as danger tinged his voice, "I can't pretend I didn't hear that."
Realizing he had said something likely to be misunderstood, Mr. An quickly clarified,
"No… it's not a threat, I mean, Sect Hierarch, if you continue to stay in Qingcheng and live at this young man's house, if Kangde Corporation finds out, it will surely cause trouble for him. It's better to follow me to the main sect quickly."
"..." Ning Fengwan was indeed hit in a sensitive spot by these words.
She cursed irritably, "There would be no issues if you guys hadn't come looking for me. I told you to not find me for now!"
"I never wanted to be the Sect Hierarch of the Dragon Cult; it was that old man's unilateral decision to make me the successor. That's still fine, but he also caused such a huge problem before he died!"
"Now you want me to go to the main sect and receive some divine grace? If you want to receive it, go receive it yourself. Don't involve me!"
Yun Qin inadvertently shrunk her slender body, her small face behind the sunglasses full of innocence.
Xue Jing listened to their conversation; not understanding what had exactly happened with the Dragon Cult and Miao Miao, he found it inappropriate to comment further.
After a long silence, Mr. An finally said, "…Alright, let's leave it here for today. If Sect Leader changes her mind, contact me anytime."
Ning Fengwan remained silent.
Mr. An turned and left the alley. Yun Qin looked at Ning Fengwan, but seeing her say nothing, she felt somewhat disappointed and dejectedly followed Mr. An away.
Only a person and a cat remained in the alley.
"..."
Xue Jing smiled gently, "Let's go home, Teacher Wan. I'll make a late-night snack for you."
Miao Miao blinked her emerald-like vertical pupils, was silent for a while, then gently hummed in agreement.
...
The next morning, as soon as Xue Jing woke up, he first checked the wounds on his body.
The situation was better than he had anticipated; all the wounds had already scabbed over.
Originally, he thought he might have to rest for a day and stop his martial arts practice, but now, it seemed it wouldn't affect his practice.
He threw off the covers, stretched lazily, and looked at Miao Miao sleeping beside him.
He reached out and touched Miao Miao's cheek.
After returning home yesterday, Xue Jing didn't ask much, and Miao Miao didn't say much either; they seemed to interact as usual.
But Xue Jing could vaguely sense that Miao Miao might already be contemplating leaving.
Because she didn't want to drag him into trouble.
Originally, she had maintained the appearance of a cat due to the Divine Relic, which was sufficiently inconspicuous, and it was safe to stay here.
But now that the people from the Dragon Cult had found her, her risk of exposure had increased significantly.
"Kangde Security Company…" Xue Jing pinched his chin.
The security company was a very special entity, even vaguely stepping outside the bounds of typical corporations.
In this world, due to various reasons, the proliferation of highly powerful individuals was rampant—martial artists, transformed people, and even the 'Blessed Ones' that Xue Jing had heard about from Wu Youqing were all destabilizing factors.
People possessing weapons easily develop murderous intentions; everyone with a hammer sees others as nails. With so many high-powered individuals wandering the streets, how could there not be trouble?
Compared to Earth in Xue Jing's previous life, the cost of maintaining public order in this world was far too high.
With limited official law enforcement resources, what could be done? Naturally, they had to look elsewhere for solutions.
Therefore, during a particularly chaotic period, the government outsourced a portion of 'law enforcement rights' to various security companies.
It allowed security companies to develop and maintain their own armed forces to assist the government in maintaining public order.
Just think about it—it is tremendously potent to legally possess one's own armed forces, not to mention a share of 'law enforcement rights.'
The phrase 'law enforcement rights' is almost synonymous with 'sovereignty rights'!
Even if it was limited rule, it still was rule.
During that period, the major security giants began to grow savagely, gradually becoming enormous entities deeply rooted in the nation.
Now, they had indeed become unshakable.
Thinking about making enemies with such corporations, which even officials found headache-inducing, was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Xue Jing shook his head.
"Forget it, no more thinking about this."
"Martial arts practice, growth, someday I will solve all problems, and even if I can't solve all problems, I will surely deal with all people who cause problems."
Xue Jing resolved in his heart.
"Damn it, what company mother company, all will be blown away with one punch!"
...
In the training room at Hidden Dragon Dojo.
Xue Jing was practicing Armor Shaking Skill.
Today, according to schedule, he was training "Blood Training," the most challenging of the five moves and the one that demanded the highest physical fitness.
Like the other Armor Shaking Skill moves, it ended with a full-body tremble, christened True Dragon Shaking Armor—with blood boiling.
Today, however, the sensation during his practice was completely different from before.
After specializing in Channeling Energy into Hidden Dragon Vigor, it felt as if there was a dragon nourished within his body, this 'dragon' acting like his own doppelgänger, controlled smoothly and seamlessly.
As the power surged, his entire blood was forged and tempered by the 'dragon', becoming cleaner, and thicker, resembling mercury.
With every tremor, Xue Jing could feel the 'dragon' growing larger.
After a long while, having finished all the moves, Xue Jing calmed his boiling blood, his body emitting nearly visible steam, frighteningly hot.
"Hoo—"
He threw a Straight Punch into the air.
Energy surged like a dragon, naturally flowing into his fist, concentrating at one point and then bursting forth explosively.
The air tore apart, emitting a sharp whistling sound, and faintly, amidst it, the sound of a dragon's chant could be heard, near the curtain, which looked as though it had been hit by an air punch, creating a circular indent that only reverted back to original shape seconds later.
"This set of Blood Training movements corresponds to the 'Shaking Star Fire' amongst the Five Major Practices of Hidden Dragon School."
Xue Jing thought to himself.
"From point to plane, activating the energy, penetrating the enemy's body to explode and create a Defense-Breaking Skill, specifically designed to deal with hard-skinned skilled practitioners."
He threw another punch.
"Hoo—"
Energy exploded, creating a gust of wind.
"Using 'Hidden Dragon Vigor' to deliver this hit, Shaking Star Fire, feels like releasing a dragon to bite someone inside—"
Xue Jing had a strange thought.
[You performed one practice session of Armor Shaking Skill, Fitness Experience Points +331]
[You performed one practice session of Armor Shaking Skill, Hidden Dragon Energy Experience Points +367]
After checking his achievements on the panel, Xue Jing picked up the Nebulizer Inhaler next to him, beginning to absorb the medicinal mist.
A few moments later, footsteps came from the doorway of the practice room.
"Little junior brother, little junior brother."
Chen Fuguang called at the door.
Xue Jing opened his eyes, removed his Nebulizer Inhaler, and walked out of the practice room.
In the corridor, Chen Fuguang stepped forward, clasped Xue Jing's shoulder, and with a wink said:
"Little junior brother, you've struck it rich."
Xue Jing asked in confusion, "How so?"
"Didn't you slay a monster at Rui Zhu Hotel yesterday and save that group of second generations?"
Chen Fuguang said, a hint of envy in his eyes.
"Today, we at Hidden Dragon Dojo received a lot of donations, upon checking, it's all from those second generations' parents."
"Master said, this money is your reward, all credited to your account."
Xue Jing's eyes lit up.
That's great, these wealthy and influential folks really know how to handle things.
"How much money?" he asked curiously.
Chen Fuguang pulled out his phone from his pocket, checked it.
"Hmm... basically, each amount is over a million, we've already received several payments now, totaling twenty-two million."
Upon hearing this, Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.
Am I rich now?
Chen Fuguang ruffled his head, laughing:
"Don't slack off just because you've made so much money. Martial arts practice is a great undertaking, mountains of gold and silver can be consumed by it, twenty-two million won't last long."
"You've just started the Five Major Practices, going deeper, you'll need medicine for 'Organ Nourishing', 'Nourish the Essence', and even 'Nourish the Heart', each ridiculously expensive."
"Prepare to say goodbye to your twenty-two million."
Xue Jing's mouth twitched.
Poor literary, rich martial...
"Oh right, little junior brother, there's one more thing."
Chen Fuguang tapped and swiped on his phone, then handed it to Xue Jing.
"Look at this."
Xue Jing took the phone, looked at the screen.
On the screen, there was a news item.
[Qingcheng Morning News]
[Seventeen-year-old high school student beats bizarre monster to death, a martial arts prodigy from Qingcheng University Affiliated Middle School?]
...
(Asking for monthly votes!)