Chapter 367: Chapter 329: Geniuses are Forged in Adversity

"Why are you eating so little?"

As Lin Yi got his food and walked over to Wei Shang’s table, Wei Shang stared in surprise at the food on his tray before he could even sit down.

From what they knew of Lin Yi, he wouldn’t leave the service window until his tray was piled high with Demon Beast Meat.

What was wrong with him today? Just a small scoop of rice and a bit of meat and vegetables.

His appetite was less than half of what it used to be.

Lin Yi just smiled. In truth, he didn’t understand why either.

Ever since he broke through to the Star Tempering Realm, his appetite had rapidly decreased.

Now, the amount he ate in a single meal was the same as any ordinary person.

He couldn’t eat a single bite more.

Perhaps it was because his Qi and Blood had transformed into Origin Qi.

His body no longer needed Qi and Blood for sustenance, so his appetite had changed.

He smiled. "I just don’t have much of an appetite!"

"Old Wei, Old Feng, and this is?"

Lin Yi’s gaze fell upon Meng Die.

Meng Die had an alluring appearance.

She didn’t have Shen Mengyi’s innocent naivety; instead, she looked very mature.

She was even more captivating than his own older sister, Tang Qinru.

She looked to be over thirty years old...

Wei Shang quickly piped up with a smile, "Um, well, let me introduce you. This is Meng Die, she’s from our Town Martial Department... a..."

"Colleague!"

Before Wei Shang could reveal Meng Die’s identity, she cut him off.

Wei Shang nodded and swallowed the rest of his words.

However, it was clear that Meng Die’s status in the Town Martial Department was higher than both Wei Shang’s and Feng Lei’s.

She was, at the very least, their superior.

Lin Yi nodded, greeted her with a smile, and then lowered his head to continue eating.

Meng Die’s rank had nothing to do with him.

He didn’t work for the Town Martial Department, so no matter how high her rank, she had no authority over him.

Just as Lin Yi lowered his head to eat, Meng Die’s brow furrowed slightly.

She shot a look at Wei Shang.

Wei Shang, who was in the middle of his meal, quickly nodded and said with a smile, "Lin Yi, we came back this time with a mission from the department!"

"Things have been chaotic in the cities lately, you know that, right?"

Lin Yi glanced up at him and nodded. "I know."

"Exactly. The department also feels it’s too chaotic out there right now, so the leadership was thinking... they wanted to ask if you’d be willing to lay low for a while!"

"Basically, we’ve found a safe place for you. You can cultivate there without any interruptions!"

"Three meals a day and all that will be provided!"

"And someone will be responsible for your safety every day..."

Before Wei Shang could even finish his sentence,

Lin Yi looked up and couldn’t help but laugh.

"Old Wei, why does everything you’re saying sound a lot like house arrest?"

"Or are you saying you guys actually want to put me under house arrest?"

A hint of ice flashed in Lin Yi’s eyes.

That single glance made Wei Shang’s heart shudder violently.

The inexplicable pressure shocked him to his core.

Even if Lin Yi’s talent was far greater than theirs, a single glance shouldn’t be enough to give him such inexplicable palpitations.

’What level has his realm reached?’

And it wasn’t just Wei Shang who noticed this; Meng Die had as well.

That careless glance from Lin Yi gave her a strange sense of familiarity.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, she realized with a shock.

’Lin Yi’s realm... he’s already reached the Star Tempering Realm?’

’That trace of an aura he had just unconsciously revealed...’

’...was clearly the Origin Qi that only existed in the Star Tempering Realm...’

"No, no, that’s not what I meant! It’s just that it’s not safe out there right now, we’re worried you might... Agh, why don’t you explain it!"

Wei Shang stammered for a few sentences.

In the end, he turned to look back at Meng Die.

However, the moment Lin Yi’s gaze also fell upon her,

Meng Die smiled faintly. "It’s nothing. I don’t think you need special protection anymore!"

Lin Yi: "..."

From their stammering and hemming and hawing, Lin Yi had already figured something out.

He also understood that Wei Shang had been trying to phrase things nicely.

But what he didn’t understand was why the Town Martial Department, which was in charge of disputes between Martial Artists in the New District and primarily handled criminal cases, would suddenly send people to protect him specifically.

What Lin Yi couldn’t figure out was that ever since he arrived in the New District, he’d had these two bodyguards, Wei Shang and Feng Lei, following him around 24 hours a day.

What was the Town Martial Department’s real intention? Even if they meant him no harm, having them constantly watching him from the shadows felt strange.

After he finished all the food on his tray, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked with a smile at Meng Die and Wei Shang sitting in front of him.

He then glanced at Feng Lei, who was sitting beside him.

He said in a low voice, "Old Wei, Sister Meng, since you’re all here today, I won’t beat around the bush."

"There’s a question I’ve been wanting to ask."

Hearing this, Wei Shang and Meng Die exchanged a glance.

Meng Die smiled and nodded. "Fine. Go ahead and ask."

"Alright. I just want to know, does your Town Martial Department treat every student this way, or is it just me? Since I arrived here, Old Wei and Feng Lei were the first people to show up at my side."

"You might not have malicious intentions, but you’re watching me at all times!"

"And now you want to give me individual protection?"

"I just want to know... what is the purpose of all this?"

"Those men in black... they aren’t coming after me, are they?"

Lin Yi voiced his suspicions with a faint smile.

If it had just been Wei Shang and Feng Lei here, they might have been able to brush off Lin Yi’s question with a few vague answers.

They wouldn’t have dared to answer him directly.

But Meng Die was different.

She smiled and pondered for a moment before continuing, "Student Lin Yi, actually, even if you hadn’t asked today, I was planning on finding a chance to explain the situation to you."

"Since you’ve asked first, let’s just be direct."

"Alright."

Lin Yi nodded, waiting for Meng Die to continue.

"Do you know Old He?"

"Who? Old He?"

Lin Yi frowned, searching his memories.

After a long moment, he looked at Meng Die and said, "The Spirit Chef who ran a small private kitchen back in the Old District?"

"Yes, that’s him. But his real identity isn’t a Spirit Chef!"

"He’s the director of our Town Martial Department!"

"The director?"

Lin Yi’s brow tightened. He was shocked by Old He’s true identity.

’Who would have thought I could run into the director of the Town Martial Department just by having a meal in the Old District?’

Just as Lin Yi was reeling from the shock,

Meng Die continued with a smile, "When Director He was in the Old District, he already thought highly of you. He believed you had a limitless future and even considered recruiting you into the Town Martial Department!"

"Unfortunately, during the martial exams, you chose to come to Xingwu University. Director He was a little disappointed!"

"However, Director He is a man who cherishes talent. He greatly admires your Martial Arts talent and couldn’t bear to see you get hurt in the New District, nor did he want you to waste your gift!"

"That’s why he arranged for Wei Shang and Feng Lei to protect you from the shadows!"

"That’s the whole story. As for Director He proposing to put you in isolated protection this time, that really was aimed specifically at you!"

"The reason is simple. Those men in black aren’t coming for you specifically, but their actions are closely related to you. Or rather, they’re related to all students with high talent!"

"Anyone with decent Martial Arts talent has become their target!"

"Their goal is very clear: to destroy our future!"

"To kill all the talented students and sever our Martial Arts lineage!"

"That is their true, insidious nature. After that, they plan to take control of the entire New District..."

After Meng Die finished speaking,

Lin Yi frowned and thought it over carefully.

’The reason Meng Die gave, while a bit far-fetched, was still plausible.’

’Based on the motives displayed by those men in black, there were actually two main thrusts to their plan.’

’One was to infiltrate the various departments of the New District, replace their leaders, and take control.’

’The other was to kill wantonly in the streets.’

And the recent news reports already provided the answer.

Most of the people they killed were students.

It was just that they didn’t have Lin Yi’s ability to see tags.

So they couldn’t precisely assassinate students with high talent and advanced realms.

If they had Lin Yi’s ability, it was likely that no talented student would be able to escape.

Meng Die’s hints finally cleared up Lin Yi’s confusion.

’They aren’t just killing randomly, nor are their attacks indiscriminate.’

’To be precise, the ones dying at their hands are all Martial Arts University students.’

’Even if people from other age groups are killed, it’s purely accidental.’

’The real targets are students like us...’

So, different fields, different specializations.

The people from the Demon Hunting Bureau were mainly responsible for Demon Hunting.

When it came to investigating cases, they couldn’t match the efficiency of the Town Martial Department.

The Town Martial Department was able to figure out the main objective of those men in black in such a short amount of time.

That saved a lot of time and resources.

"Which is all the more reason not to gather all the talented students for centralized protection!"

Lin Yi said with a light laugh.

Hearing this, Meng Die gave him a look, her brow deeply furrowed.

"Why?"

"You already understand that the main targets of those men in black are the talented students!"

"That’s the main focus of their assassinations. If you let them find out that your Town Martial Department has secretly gathered all the students with good Martial Arts talent for protection,"

"wouldn’t that be the same as helping them out, finding all those students for them in one go?"

"If they found the location where you’re hiding those students, no matter the cost,"

"wouldn’t they be able to wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"

After Lin Yi finished speaking,

Meng Die and Wei Shang looked at each other.

Before they could speak, Lin Yi added with another smile, "Of course, even if you plan to protect each of these students separately,"

"giving each one their own safe house, how many people would you have to dispatch to protect them?"

"One? Two? Or maybe ten? Twenty?"

"There are so many students, especially the ones who passed the exams from the Old District. Who dares say their talent is lacking? If their talent was poor, how could they have fought their way through so many other exam candidates?"

"How many safe houses would you need to prepare? How many guards?"

"Have you calculated any of this?"

After Lin Yi finished, Meng Die fell into deep thought.

Wei Shang and Feng Lei also fell silent.

After a long moment, Lin Yi smiled and continued, "Instead of protecting them, you should let them leave the school. Let them fight to survive. It will improve their combat experience, help them break through their own mental barriers, and even raise their cultivation level!"

"So-called geniuses don’t grow up coddled by protection!"

"Facing danger, adapting to it, and overcoming it—this is the most important test for these so-called geniuses!"

"Since they are Martial Arts geniuses, they should be made to face the cruelest realities!"

"Only those who grow up in adversity can truly be called geniuses!"

"Otherwise, what’s the use of a high realm? Can good talent feed you?"

"If you want to survive, you have to rely on yourself!"

Having said this, Lin Yi paused for a moment.

He then continued, "We students from the Old District all understand this principle. It’s the local students whose minds are too fragile!"

"I think you should pay more attention to them. Right now, the ones forming teams for Demon Hunting are mostly exam-takers from the Old District. How many local students do you see out there?"

When Lin Yi finished, he stood up with a smile.

"Old Wei, Old Feng, Sister Meng, I’m done eating. I’m heading back to my dorm. Are you two going back later, or..."

Wei Shang snapped out of his daze and said, "We have to go back to the department later. There’s still a lot to deal with!"

"Alright, then I won’t keep you. I’m heading out!"

With that, Lin Yi picked up his tray and left.

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