Chapter 190: Chapter 189: Oh, Never Mind Then

"Young Master Wu, although this Linwei Garrison is technically part of the Demon Suppression Bureau, it’s a gathering place for people from the martial world."

"These people act quite arrogantly. Don’t lower yourself to their level."

"There’s no benefit to winning, and if you lose... never mind, how could you possibly lose..."

"..."

On the way to the Linwei Garrison, Li Qi was constantly briefing Wu Chen on matters concerning the guards there.

Wu Chen flipped through the two Demon Suppression Bureau Martial Arts manuals he had just acquired, nodding faintly in response to Li Qi’s words.

He wasn’t just humoring him, of course. He had many things to take care of and no time to get into squabbles with a bunch of martial artists.

Comparatively, he was more concerned with the work situation at the Linwei Garrison. ’If there are no missions, am I supposed to just wait around?’

Besides, having just killed that band of villains who’d holed up in the mountains at Qingfeng Manor, he figured the eight-hundred-li region around Cangwu City would be quiet for some time.

So he planned to use this time to take care of his own business.

With that, he closed the martial arts manual he had finished reading and looked at Li Qi to ask:

"Brother Li, what should I do if I don’t want to report for duty at the Linwei Garrison?"

Being called "brother" by a Blood Coagulation Realm expert, Li Qi, who was only at the Jade Bone Realm, felt his legs go weak for a moment.

He knew the other man wasn’t one for formalities, and now wasn’t the time to correct his form of address, so he quickly answered Wu Chen’s question:

"That’s simple. The Demon Suppression Bureau has long considered that you people from the martial world can’t stand boredom."

"With your Blood Coagulation Realm strength, your daily pay at the Linwei Garrison is twenty silver coins. If you don’t want to come in, you just don’t have to. The Captain in the garrison will mark you as absent for the day."

"In any case, you only get paid for the days you show up."

Wu Chen understood now. ’So it’s a daily-pay arrangement. That’s quite convenient.’

As for the daily wage of twenty silver coins—and getting twenty silver coins even on days with no missions—it was indeed tempting.

’If this had been my situation from the start, I would have hunkered down in this garrison until the end of time. I wouldn’t have budged an inch unless the Demon Suppression Bureau fired me.’

But that wasn’t an option now.

’They’re paying me twenty silver a day because I’m at the Blood Coagulation Realm. It’s not like everyone gets that much.’

He couldn’t get complacent over twenty silver coins and forget that his real priority was to improve his realm.

’Besides, am I really hurting for twenty silver coins right now?’

’Still, the Demon Suppression Bureau is quite calculating. Spend eight or ten thousand silver coins a year to leash a pack of warriors, keeping them from running wild and making them serve the Bureau.’

’A good bargain, really.’

Just as Wu Chen was grumbling to himself, he heard Li Qi speak:

"We’re here."

He looked up.

A hundred feet away stood a sprawling courtyard compound.

Before they even entered the main gate, they could hear the whistle of fists cutting through the air from within the Linwei Garrison, and the ground trembled with the thud of stamping feet.

It was punctuated by periodic roars of cheering.

"Someone must be bored and sparring," Li Qi explained with a smile, clearly used to the noise.

Wu Chen nodded.

He knew, of course, that no one would dare cause trouble at the Demon Suppression Bureau.

’The reason was obvious.’

The Demon Suppression Bureau didn’t have missions every single day, and a group of martial artists brimming with energy had to hang around the garrison every day for their pay.

With so much pent-up energy to release, it was inevitable that they would end up sparring to blow off steam.

The two of them stepped inside and, just as expected, saw two vigorous, powerful figures locked in combat within the courtyard.

The two men were bare-chested, their muscles bulging. Their skin was coated in a sheen of sweat, gleaming like bronze under the sun.

It was quite a spectacle as they traded blows.

Around the courtyard, there were about a hundred men in assorted attire; they were all Linwei Guards.

These men milled about, watching the thrilling brawl. Whenever a spectacular move was made, they would erupt in cheers.

Moreover, people were constantly shouting advice, and some were even placing bets on the outcome. The atmosphere was electric.

"Let’s wait for them to finish before we go in."

Li Qi nodded, agreeing with Wu Chen’s suggestion.

The garrison was packed with people in every corner. Going in now would inevitably block someone’s view and might cause unnecessary conflict.

Li Qi wasn’t worried about anyone being able to beat Wu Chen; he was worried that Wu Chen might kill a Linwei Guard on his very first day.

’That would be truly bad luck.’

A short while later, the fight in the center finally ended. The others, their interest waning, sat back down and started to doze off.

Only then did Li Qi and Wu Chen move, walking towards a well-kept building within the garrison.

The Captain in charge of the Linwei Guard roster worked in that small building. He was responsible for tracking attendance—who showed up and who didn’t—and recording who was sent out on missions.

This directly affected every Linwei Guard’s monthly pay.

Li Qi knew Wu Chen didn’t care about this regular pay, but introducing himself to the Linwei Garrison’s Captain was still a necessary formality.

But their sudden appearance still caught the attention of the hundred-odd Linwei Guards.

"Don’t recognize him. New guy?"

"Never seen him before. Must be!"

"I’ll go check it out!"

"Go on, hurry! Don’t bring shame to our Linwei Guards!" someone, eager to stir up trouble, fanned the flames from the sidelines.

"..."

Amidst the chatter, a wiry man got up, walked over, and blocked their path.

The wiry man looked at the cast-iron waist token in Wu Chen’s hand and asked:

"Here to join the Linwei Guards?"

"..."

Listening to the noisy chatter around them and looking at the figure blocking their way, Li Qi and Wu Chen both felt a bit exasperated.

’To think we were being so careful, and someone still stepped up to cause trouble.’

"Get out of the way!"

As a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Li Qi immediately stepped forward and barked the reprimand.

He was wearing a Demon Suppression Guard uniform at that moment, which still carried a certain degree of authority.

"Heh."

But the wiry man wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. He sized up Li Qi and sneered:

"If you were a regular guard, and you told me to get out of the way, I’d get on the ground and roll away just like you said."

"Too bad you’re just an auxiliary guard, with no official rank. Those words don’t work on me!"

"You!" Li Qi hadn’t expected this hardened veteran among the Linwei Guards to be so bold, his words utterly scathing.

He was about to invoke the name of the Demon Suppression Bureau again to put the man in his place.

But then he heard a RRRIP—the wiry man grabbed his shirt with both hands and tore it open, revealing a body covered in scars.

"This scar here, I got it fighting three bandits by myself on a C-minus mission."

"This scar under my ribs, I got it on a C-plus mission, trading blades with a Mid Stage Organ Refining Realm mountain bandit I fought alone..."

"This one was from..."

"..."

He listed the origins of several scars in a row, each one a story of heart-pounding danger and near-death experiences.

Then, the wiry man looked at Li Qi and sneered:

"I may be just a humble Linwei Guard, and my position may be lower than yours, but when it comes to contributions to the Demon Suppression Bureau, I’ve definitely contributed no less than an auxiliary guard like you!"

"You have no right to tell me to get out of the way!"

His voice was resonant as he unleashed the powerful aura of the Organ Refining Realm.

His realm was already higher than Li Qi’s. Combined with his powerful speech and his concrete achievements, it instantly cut the auxiliary guard Li Qi down to size.

Not to mention, Li Qi also had to resist the pressure of the man’s Organ Refining Realm aura.

A flicker of fear welled up in Li Qi’s heart. He subconsciously glanced towards the building ahead, hoping to get help from the Demon Suppression Captain to resolve the situation.

Who would have thought the Captain was just leaning against the doorframe, watching the scene with great interest, showing no intention of intervening.

This left Li Qi stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"..."

Seeing the frightened look on Li Qi’s face as he cowered under the other man’s aura, Wu Chen knew he couldn’t avoid this anymore.

"I’m new here, joining the Linwei Guards."

He looked at the man before him and said calmly, "So what do you propose? A match? What are the rules?"

"Straight to the point! I like it!"

The man pulled his coarse tunic back together, covering his scars, and gave Wu Chen a thumbs-up.

"Since you’ve come to be a Linwei Guard, you naturally have to establish your place in the pecking order."

"I won’t make things difficult for you. The test is simple."

"If you’re at the Jade Bone Realm, we’ll arrange for a Jade Bone Realm fighter to take you on."

"If you’re at the Organ Refining Realm, we’ll arrange for an Organ Refining Realm fighter to take you on."

"We have people at the Early, Mid, and Late stages of every realm here. We won’t take advantage of you!"

Wu Chen nodded, glanced around at the crowd, and then said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear:

"Then what if I’m at the Perfection Stage of the Blood Coagulation Realm? Who among you will step up?"

"If you’re at the Blood Coagulation Realm, then... HISS!"

"Perfection?"

The wiry man was stunned for a moment, suspecting for an instant that he had misheard.

’When did the bar for the Linwei Guards get set so high? Even a Blood Coagulation Realm expert wants a piece of the action!’

’And a goddamn Perfection Stage one at that!’

’Which means he’s only a year or two away from breaking through to the Leakless Realm, the level of a first-rate master!’

’With skills like that, you could be enjoying yourself anywhere. Why come here to be a sorry grunt of a Linwei Guard?’

"The Perfection Stage of the Blood Coagulation Realm, you say..."

He shook his head back and forth like a rattle. "Then we’re good!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.