Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Li Xingduan

Just as Wang Xi was feeling completely out of sorts.

His phone rang.

He pulled it from his pocket and saw it was an unknown number.

Next to the number was a blue shield with a hexagram, the symbol of the Hero Association.

This piqued Wang Xi’s curiosity.

’A call from the Hero Association?’

CLICK.

The call connected.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Wang."

A gentle, cultured young man’s voice came from the other end.

"I apologize for taking up your time. I’m one of the heads of the Hero Association, Li Xingduan."

’Li Xingduan...’

Wang Xi’s eyes narrowed in thought.

He racked his brain, and finally recalled seeing the name on the Hero Association’s official website while studying for his exam.

First place in the 11th Professional Warrior assessment in Valley City.

A perfect score.

Holder of three combat exam records...

Well, strictly speaking, only one of those records still stood. Wang Xi had broken the other two.

The former prodigy of Valley City, now the Vice President of the Hero Association, was hailed as the strongest Hero of the younger generation.

’Why would a big shot like that be calling me?’

Wang Xi wondered.

It couldn’t be because I broke his records. He wouldn’t come looking for trouble over something like that. Nobody’s that petty.

"Vice President Li, I’ve heard a great deal about you,"

he replied politely.

"What can I do for you?"

"Oh, it’s nothing too serious. I just happened to be away in Disaster Area 9 during this year’s Professional Warrior assessment... When I came back and watched the replay, I learned what an exceptionally talented group you have. It’s a shame I missed it live."

The man’s voice on the other end chuckled.

"I heard about what happened from Teacher Wei. He had high praise for you, in particular... It made me want to get to know you. I was wondering if you, Mr. Wang, have time to come by the Association for a chat?"

’Teacher Wei?’

’So Li Xingduan is a student of the Hero Association’s president, Mr. Wei, and he wants to be my friend?’

Wang Xi raised an eyebrow.

His mind raced, and he quickly realized this wasn’t the real reason for the meeting...

’It’s most likely about my trip to the Boot Cat Maze. I figured out the trigger conditions for the "Maze Rampage" and how to resolve it in the "Circus" area.’

This was an important new discovery.

The Association clearly needed this information and wanted to get a detailed account from him as the person involved.

"Of course, I have time."

Wang Xi held the phone to his ear and smiled.

He had guessed the man’s true intentions, but he didn’t call him out on it.

"It would be my honor to get to know you, Vice President Li. I’ll head over to the Association right now."

"Good." Li Xingduan chuckled. "You’re too modest, Mr. Wang. There’s no need to be so formal, we’re peers... I saw your file. You’re a few years younger than me, so feel free to call me Brother Li."

"Alright, Brother Li. I’ll see you soon."

Wang Xi replied.

He politely declined Li Xingduan’s offer to send a car, then hung up and walked to the train platform.

...

...

When Wang Xi arrived at the Hero Association Building, it was already a little past one in the afternoon.

The moment he stepped into the lobby, he drew a lot of attention. While his handsome face was certainly recognizable, his fame was the primary reason.

The recent news about the Boot Cat Maze rampage, in particular, had spread so widely that practically everyone in the Hero community knew about it.

"Mr. Wang, Vice President Li is in the reception room on the second floor. Please follow me."

A young woman in a uniform who appeared to be a staff member stepped forward and spoke with a respectful smile.

She had clearly been waiting for him.

"Alright, thank you."

Wang Xi responded politely and followed the woman.

As he walked through the lobby, he noticed many Heroes turning to look at him. Some gazes were curious, others scrutinizing, but most seemed friendly.

They went up a staircase on one side of the lobby to the second floor. The woman led Wang Xi to the door of the reception room, then stopped and gestured for him to enter with a slight bow.

Wang Xi pushed the door open and froze.

The reception room wasn’t large, but there were seven or eight people inside.

At the head of the round table sat an old man with a smile, his salt-and-pepper hair combed immaculately. He wore a black traditional jacket. It was none other than the president, Mr. Wei Sr.

Standing ramrod straight behind him was a young man in a water-blue traditional robe.

[Wei Xuan (Friendly/Skull/Hero)]

[Li Xingduan (Friendly/Five Stars/Legend)]

The old president was on the same level as Chu Nai, a silver-framed Skull. Li Xingduan, on the other hand, was a Golden Five Stars.

Wang Xi sighed to himself. ’As expected of the Hero Association’s top experts.’ This master and disciple duo had to be the pinnacle of Valley City’s Professional Warriors.

His gaze swept the room. There were five or six other men and women, all with extraordinary auras. Their tags ranged from Three Stars to Five Stars; none were unranked. The lowest among them had an Elite Bronze frame.

Among them, Wang Xi spotted a familiar name.

[Jiang Tianhao (Friendly/Five Stars/Elite)]

He was the older brother of the buzz-cut young man, Jiang Tianjie, and the current captain of Unit 4 of the Valley City Defense Team. Wang Xi had heard rumors about him from Yu Zihan back when he first became a Cleaner.

He had once single-handedly taken down the blue Disaster Core, the Golden-Nosed Snowman, and was a renowned expert in Valley City.

Jiang Tianhao was a burly man with short hair and dark skin. He wore a black tank top and camouflage pants and had a stern, unsmiling face.

He merely glanced at Wang Xi at the door before looking away.

"Mr. Wang."

The young man in the blue robe, the only one standing, strode up to Wang Xi and extended his hand with a smile.

"This is our first time meeting. It’s a pleasure."

"Brother Li, you can just call me by my name."

Wang Xi also extended his hand to shake it and smiled.

Up close, he saw that Li Xingduan looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with very striking features.

He was tall, nearly six feet, with a ramrod-straight posture. His features were clean-cut, yet held a hint of gentleness.

He gave off the impression of being both righteous and approachable.

More importantly, he was well-spoken and cultured.

He put others at ease.

"Alright then, I won’t stand on ceremony. After all, we’re both members of the Association, comrades who fight side-by-side."

Li Xingduan said, gesturing to a seat.

"Wang Xi, let’s sit and talk."

Wang Xi nodded. He walked to the round table and greeted the old president at the head of the table, then the other Professional Warriors. Wei Xuan gave a soft acknowledgment, and the others all smiled and nodded in response.

Once he was seated.

Mr. Wei Sr. seemed to be a straightforward man who didn’t like beating around the bush, so he got right to the point.

"Wang Xi, you are one of the most outstanding Professional Warriors from this year’s group in Valley City. I’ve had my eye on you since the assessment... A couple of days ago, I also watched the recording of you in the Boot Cat Maze. It was excellent."

"Thank you for the praise, President."

"I didn’t call you here just so Xingduan could befriend a member of the new generation. I had my own reasons as well."

Wei Xuan’s expression turned solemn.

"The Hero Association is the primary organization for coordinating civilian Extraordinaries, and we are charged with the duty of defending our home... We have always assisted the Overlook Bureau in dealing with Mazes and disasters, and in that, intelligence is our top priority."

"Regarding the Fairy Tales-series Black Spade A Maze, ’Boot Cat,’ we currently have information on twenty different scenarios. However, our intelligence on File 014, the ’Circus,’ is especially lacking."

"Your recent exploration led to a significant new discovery. I hope we can get a more detailed report from you, as the one who was there. Would that be alright?"

Hearing this, Wang Xi understood completely.

It was just as he’d suspected.

Having so many high-ranking members of the Association present was, of course, for the sake of gathering intelligence, but it also showed how much importance they placed on him.

"Of course," Wang Xi nodded. "As a Professional Warrior, it’s my duty."

Wei Xuan nodded, pleased. He turned his head and whispered a few words to his student, Li Xingduan. The young man in the blue robe assented, strode out of the reception room, and returned a moment later with two Association staff members.

The two of them carried laptops and recording equipment, ready to document the information.

A moment later.

After Wang Xi finished recounting everything he knew and the two recorders confirmed they had it all, Li Xingduan shook his hand again and said gravely:

"The Boot Cat Maze has only existed for a short time—less than two years—so official knowledge of it is still limited... Wang Xi, thank you for this intelligence. It’s crucial for Valley City and even for the entire Mountain and Sea Federation."

"It was my duty," Wang Xi said, shaking his head with a smile.

Li Xingduan patted his shoulder with an appreciative look and said,

"According to Association regulations, anyone who provides vital intelligence receives a corresponding reward. After discussing it with my teacher and the department, we’ve decided to award you 200 Contribution Points."

Wang Xi was surprised to hear that.

Contribution Points was no small sum.

It was roughly equivalent to the reward from thirty or forty Association commissions, a dozen Maze explorations, or several emergency deployments combined.

To put it more directly, it was worth 2,000,000 Credit Points.

It was an incredibly generous reward.

"Now that the official business is done, let’s talk about something else,"

Li Xingduan said with a smile.

"Wang Xi, I watched the recordings of your assessment and your Maze exploration, and I noticed a rather large gap in your performance... You wouldn’t happen to be hiding some of your strength, would you?"

Facing the deep, smiling eyes of the young man in the blue robe, Wang Xi knew he couldn’t fool him and gave an ambiguous reply.

"You have sharp eyes, Brother Li. Well, I might be hiding a little bit."

"That’s understandable." Li Xingduan smiled. "After all, everyone has a few trump cards they don’t want to show."

"However, would you be interested in a little sparring match? It’s been a long time since I’ve met a new-generation Hero as exceptional as you."

Wang Xi froze.

’Spar with me?’

Before Wang Xi could answer, he heard Mr. Wei’s somewhat deep voice:

"Xingduan, that’s a bit rude of you. You can’t just ask someone you’ve just met to a sparring match..."

"Haha, you’re right to scold me, Teacher."

Li Xingduan turned toward the head of the table and bowed his head apologetically.

Then he turned his head back and muttered,

"Section Chief Chu from the Overlook Bureau just arrived in Valley City, so how did Teacher get injured? Hmm, how strange."

"Ahem!"

Mr. Wei Sr. covered his mouth with a fist and coughed loudly.

The Elite Professional Warriors in the room exchanged glances, then tacitly lowered their eyes, the corners of their mouths twitching in amusement.

In truth, they all knew that this master-disciple pair, Mr. Wei and Vice President Li, were both martial arts fanatics. Their love for seeking out sparring partners was no secret within the Association.

The words were spoken casually, but they struck a chord with the listener.

Li Xingduan’s quiet muttering reached Wang Xi’s ears, and he was inwardly stunned.

’The old president sparred with Chu Nai!’

’And he got injured...’

Wang Xi already had a high estimation of Chu Nai’s strength, but he never expected it to be this far beyond his predictions.

He couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

’Just how strong is Chu Nai?’

’The Skull icon in his tag symbolizes a rating that surpasses Five Stars. But "surpass" can mean a little or a lot. Just how much does he surpass it?’

’They say the old president was already an Upper Three Stars several years ago. In that case, Chu Nai’s strength must be at least Upper Four Stars.’

Wang Xi speculated to himself.

But he had no concept of what the strength of an "Upper Rank" truly meant.

’This might be a chance to find out.’

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