Chapter 211: Chapter 210: I’ll Soften You Up, No Matter How Tough

"Then I’ll have to trouble Captain Sun to quickly tally my merits and help me exchange them for rewards."

Wu Chen said politely, his face expressionless. He had no intention of getting tangled up here.

Even though the soft feeling of her fingertips lingered and his impression of her from their few encounters was decent, he knew this young woman was just as warm on the inside as she was on the outside.

But so what?

’Girls are nowhere near as interesting as practicing Martial Arts!’

"If I may ask, what is your Martial Arts realm, sir?"

Sun Yuting’s eyes were filled with curiosity, but in her heart, she already had an answer and a good idea of what he would want to exchange for.

"The Leakless Realm."

In response to her question, Wu Chen was vague, not specifying his exact stage.

This way, even if he broke through to the next major realm while at the Demon Suppression Bureau, everyone would just assume he was already at the Perfection stage of the Leakless Realm and wouldn’t suspect anything else.

As for the time at the Linwei Garrison when he had clearly told everyone he was at the Perfection stage of the Blood Coagulation Realm...

Wu Chen wasn’t the least bit nervous.

’Never mind that a group of temporary guards couldn’t see through my realm; I didn’t even retreat half a step when facing Li Youtao’s palm strike.’

’When the time comes, they’ll naturally assume I was deliberately hiding my realm, pretending to be weak when I’m actually strong.’

’They won’t suspect anything else.’

Looking at Captain Sun, whose expression had become much more serious, he said faintly:

"If the merits can be exchanged for a Leakless Realm Martial Arts manual, then get me one. Just exchange the remaining merits for medicinal pills."

Sun Yuting nodded, knowing it wasn’t appropriate to keep pressing him about his specific stage.

She turned and entered the storeroom behind her, retrieving a transcribed copy of a Leakless Realm Martial Arts manual and one hundred Nourishing Essence Pills. She placed them on the counter, laying them out for Wu Chen to inspect.

"Besides these, the merit from this mission for capturing the barbarian spy alive also qualifies anyone below the rank of Silver Wolf Captain for a promotion."

"From now on, your temporary guard’s waist token can be exchanged for..."

"No need. Being a temporary guard is just fine."

Wu Chen swept his hand across the counter, gathering the manual and pills into his storage pouch and bluntly cutting Sun Yuting off.

He gestured with his chin to the figure beside him and said, "Give the promotion merit to this man next to me."

Sun Yuting’s gaze followed his gesture and landed on Zhou Hu, a look of confusion on her face.

’How could someone not want the merit for a promotion?’

Zhou Hu was also staring blankly, his face a mask of disbelief.

"Who? Me?"

"Lord Wu, that’s not appropriate!"

"I didn’t even do anything to help!"

He looked completely panicked, and his words came out in a stutter.

He had thought this trip out of the city to find the barbarian spy would be a life-or-death affair. Instead, his understanding of the world had been turned upside down, and he was completely won over by the incredible power Wu Chen displayed.

And now, he had just learned Wu Chen’s true realm.

The Leakless Realm!

’And now, I’m about to get a massive windfall from this top-tier expert?’

"That’s right, this man... he didn’t do anything, did he?"

Sun Yuting’s delicate, oval face showed her confusion as she nodded in agreement.

She remembered Wu Chen doing all the fighting from start to finish. It wasn’t that this temporary guard was just watching...

It was that he never even had a chance to act!

"No."

Wu Chen clapped Zhou Hu on the shoulder, turned to walk out of the storeroom, and left a faint parting remark:

"You provided an assist, at least... with your eyes."

"’An assist... with your eyes...?’ What’s that..."

Sun Yuting found the phrase quite novel. Watching his tall, slender figure walk outside, she could tell he genuinely didn’t want the promotion; he wasn’t just being polite.

Wu Chen’s actions naturally made Sun Yuting even more curious. Her gaze lingered on him as she started to speculate about his identity:

’He clearly has extraordinary strength, yet he came to the Demon Suppression Bureau to be a temporary guard.’

’He must be a wandering Ranger with no powerful backing, then?’

’But even so, he managed to reach his current realm.’

’His innate talent and constitution must be of the highest caliber.’

’It must be tough not being able to advance your realm because you lack the proper Martial Arts techniques, right?’

’But he comes to the Demon Suppression Bureau wanting only Martial Arts, yet he’s too stubborn to actually join?’

Sun Yuting blinked her large eyes, her red lips curving into a beautiful arc. She felt she had already figured Wu Chen out for the most part.

The mischievous smile on her lips grew wider.

’Stubborn? Hmph! I’d like to see just how stubborn you can be!’

’Once I’ve grasped your weakness, even if you’re as hard as a rock, I can make you pliable!’

Before, she had been intimidated by Wu Chen’s martial prowess and couldn’t do anything to him.

Now that she knew Wu Chen had no backing and lacked Martial Arts techniques—and the Demon Suppression Bureau had those in spades...

...the situation was bound to change.

However, Wu Chen, waiting outside for Zhou Hu to receive his reward, didn’t have such convoluted thoughts.

’So what if I get promoted to Silver Wolf Captain? Aren’t there still higher positions dangling above that?’

’Being a temporary guard is just fine.’

’Do a mission, get a reward.’

’Paid daily, and I’m free.’

’Once my realm is high enough, I can leave whenever I want.’

’Even if I run into some useless young master acting as commander, my own strength is sufficient, so there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll still get all the merit I’m due.’

’As for whether that young master would try to steal my credit in the end?’

’Pulse-Severing Dragon-Catching! Activate!’

...

「Demon Suppression Bureau, Linwei Garrison.」

Inside the garrison courtyard, the clamor was deafening.

Besides the usual local gossip—like whose wife was cheating on her husband—the liveliest discussion among the hundred or so temporary guards was about whether Zhou Hu would even come back alive from his mission with that young master surnamed Wu.

And if he did, would he be missing an arm or a leg?

"What’s there to discuss? Of course he’ll come back alive. They’ll just wander around outside the city for ten days to half a month and come back empty-handed. Zhou Hu lucked out with this mission, getting half a month’s pay for free!"

"Exactly. A whole group of Captains couldn’t find the barbarian spy outside the city. You think the spy is just going to run right up to this Wu fellow’s face just because he showed up?"

"Whether they find him or not, it won’t stop these young masters from getting rich and promoted!"

"That’s true!"

"..."

The group discussed animatedly. As temporary guards at the very bottom of the Demon Suppression Bureau’s hierarchy, their access to information was naturally poor.

News often took several days to reach them.

Of course, if there was any dangerous work to be done, they would certainly be the first in line.

This was also why many temporary guards would leave as soon as they saved up a bit of money.

As they spoke, a figure stepped over the garrison’s threshold and entered the courtyard.

Everyone instinctively looked up, their eyes locking onto the figure. They craned their necks, thinking they were seeing things, and stared for a long moment before it registered.

"Zhou Hu is back!"

Someone in a corner shouted, finally confirming the person’s identity. Figures squatting all around the courtyard rose to their feet and immediately swarmed around Zhou Hu.

"How come you’re the only one back?"

Someone glanced outside the gate and saw no one else. Then his gaze fell on the clothes Zhou Hu was holding in his hands, and he instantly understood, crying out in surprise:

"A Silver Wolf Brocade Robe? You caught the barbarian spy? No wonder the other guy isn’t here—he got promoted, so he sent you to report back?"

Hearing this, Zhou Hu didn’t answer.

He didn’t know how to answer or where to even begin describing the mission, so he could only shake his head.

Seeing this reaction, someone immediately pressed him:

"Did that young master use his powerful backing to hunt down and capture the barbarian spy? Is that why you finished the mission in just three days?"

"Brother Hu, am I right or am I right?"

Zhou Hu still just shook his head without a word.

"This..."

After he repeatedly shook his head, the crowd was getting confused about what had happened. Someone else continued, "Don’t tell me that young master’s backing is so powerful he can just take any mission, wander around for a bit, and get promoted whether he succeeds or not?"

"No wonder that guy didn’t have the decency to come back himself!"

"So he was too ashamed! At least he still knows shame!"

"Brother Zhou Hu, I’ve got to be right this time, haven’t I?"

The only answer he received was another grim-faced shake of the head.

Zhou Hu walked step by step toward the building in the courtyard and stopped at the foot of the stone steps. Only then did the crowd halt and stop questioning him.

"Temporary Guard Zhou Hu, reporting to Captain Li!"

Although he now held the rank of Silver Wolf Captain, Zhou Hu didn’t dare act arrogantly. He was in the Organ Refining Realm, while the man inside the room was in the Blood Coagulation Realm.

So he obediently cupped his fist and bowed, not daring to show any disrespect.

Inside, behind a desk.

Li Youtao was applying a red-colored potion to his right arm.

The commotion outside hadn’t escaped his notice, of course.

He hissed in a sharp breath, enduring the stinging pain in his arm as he lowered his sleeve, then put the porcelain bottle away in his storage pouch.

Having done all this, he looked curiously at the figure outside.

"Come in and talk."

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