Chapter 191: Letter of Challenge

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Letter of Challenge

Morning at the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Chang Xiu, Jianng Hongjie, Golden Deer, Cao Zongfan, and Wu Hecheng arrived for work right on time.

"We’ve executed two missions flawlessly over the past couple of days," Jianng Hongjie said smugly. "This should definitely win the Third Young Master some significant glory in the Demon Suppression Bureau, shouldn’t it?"

Working together made completing missions a walk in the park. It was truly an effortless victory.

"That’s for sure. They seemed easy for us, but they were far from simple in reality. We earned over a hundred Contribution Points in total..." Cao Zongfan nodded in agreement. Each mission involved over a dozen Eighth Grade and either one or two Seventh Grade Martial Artists. Yet, they had disposed of all the targets with ease.

"Lingche’s goal has always been to surpass and defeat Lu Yuan," Chang Xiu corrected.

"Heh, they’ve been on night patrol for the past two days. The night before last, they helped the Demon-slaying Bureau catch a Rat Demon and arrested two people from a brothel. What could they possibly achieve with that? How many Contribution Points could they have earned?" Cao Zongfan sneered. After all, it was his uncle who had assigned them to night patrol.

Chang Xiu’s expression shifted. The Mistaken Workshop that Lu Yuan had targeted belonged to the Longli Trading Company, which was secretly controlled by the Chang Family. Her father and brother had been furious about the incident and wanted to send someone to teach Lu Yuan a lesson. However, she had managed to talk them out of it because Lu Yuan was an admirer of hers, not to mention a promising talent.

"The brothels and pleasure quarters are full of trouble. Earning a dozen or so Contribution Points a night is still doable," Wu Hecheng said with a smile. They could catch a few troublemakers thrown out in the middle of the night, or perhaps a thief or two. There was plenty of busywork, but very few tasks actually rewarded Contribution Points.

"Hahaha! A few points here and a dozen there? They might as well go home and sleep!" Jianng Hongjie burst into hearty laughter.

"Exactly, they’re better off going home to sleep," Cao Zongfan agreed with a nod.

"In truth, Young Master Mu wants to defeat Lu Yuan in a head-on clash," Wu Hecheng pointed out.

"You think we don’t know that?" Jianng Hongjie shot Wu Hecheng a sideways glance. "It’s only a matter of time before the Third Young Master beats Lu Yuan. It’ll take two or three months at most. It won’t be long."

"Two or three months..." Golden Deer’s expression flickered, though he didn’t dare speak his mind. Three months probably wouldn’t be enough; it would take at least half a year, perhaps even one or two years. While the Mu Family had no shortage of resources to rapidly boost the Third Young Master’s Cultivation and power, reaching Great Success in the Spear Technique was no easy feat. Moreover, would Great Success even be enough? Lu Yuan’s Thunder Blade Triple Annihilation had already achieved Great Success, and he would only continue to improve at a rapid pace.

"Regardless, Lu Yuan will definitely fall to Young Master Mu’s spear in the end!" Cao Zongfan insisted.

That much was certain. Almost no one doubted it. After all, Mu Lingche had the backing of the Mu Family and access to all kinds of top-tier resources. He would maintain his rapid progress, and very few bottlenecks would stand in his way. On the other hand, Lu Yuan would likely hit a plateau soon, exposing his disadvantages as Young Master Mu gradually overtook him.

"Are you seriously comparing Lu Yuan to Lingche? Heh!" Chang Xiu snorted disdainfully. Even a peerless genius couldn’t compare to the legitimate son of the Marquis Mansion!

"The captain is here!" Jianng Hongjie’s eyes lit up as he alerted the group.

Mu Lingche had actually arrived much earlier and had gone to the Squadron Commander to receive their mission.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

"Lingche!"

The group eagerly greeted him.

"Captain, what’s our mission today?" Cao Zongfan asked impatiently.

Mu Lingche’s face darkened; he clearly wasn’t in the mood to talk.

"What’s wrong? Do we not have a mission today?" Chang Xiu guessed.

"It’s fine. If there’s no mission, we can just spend the day cultivating or resting," Jianng Hongjie said, quickly catching on. "After two consecutive days of missions, we really ought to take a break and readjust."

"Right, a routine break. We can accept that," the others echoed.

"The higher-ups are probably just looking out for us," Golden Deer added cautiously.

"Taking a breather is perfectly normal," Wu Hecheng nodded. With hundreds of Squads in a single Government Office, the distribution of missions naturally had to be rotated among them.

"Lu Yuan and his team destroyed a Yanyue Sect branch altar last night," Mu Lingche finally spoke.

"What?"

"A Yanyue Sect branch altar?"

The color drained from all five of their faces, leaving them in utter shock. Destroying a branch altar of an Evil Cult was a massive achievement worth at least two to three hundred Contribution Points.

"How is that possible?"

"Such a coincidence?"

"We didn’t hear a peep about this beforehand. How could it happen so suddenly?"

Jianng Hongjie and the others were dumbfounded, completely unable to believe it.

"Yeah, how did they move so fast?" Cao Zongfan was equally baffled. They had struck with lightning speed. If they had been even a little slower, his uncle could have intervened...

"They must have received intel in advance, and then being reassigned there put them in the perfect position," Golden Deer analyzed.

"If they knew about it days ago, then..." Wu Hecheng’s expression shifted. If that were true, it meant Lu Yuan wasn’t just physically strong, but also highly intelligent—a man of both brawn and brains.

"Who reassigned them there? Wasn’t it Cao Cong?" Chang Xiu asked.

"Uh." Cao Zongfan looked thoroughly embarrassed. "My uncle exerted some influence, but he probably wasn’t the only one making the decision."

For normal Squad missions, the Squadron Commander’s arrangement was enough. However, shift changes and reassignments required the involvement of a Hundred-Man Commander. The Demon Suppression Bureau had a massive array of responsibilities to manage, with each level having its own specific duties.

"Your uncle..." Chang Xiu trailed off, clearly dissatisfied.

"Enough!" Mu Lingche waved a hand, cutting off their discussion. "Do not bring up these other matters anymore! We have a mission today. Go get prepared."

"Yes, sir!"

Dawn had broken by the time Lu Yuan returned home.

He first rested for an hour or two before waking up to digest the 2,600 experience points he had recently acquired. He opened up another twenty-one acupoints, bringing his total to 171, inching ever closer to Great Success. As soon as Lu Yuan circulated his Profound Skill, he could easily manipulate and control all the Primordial Qi within the entire courtyard. His strength had grown immensely.

"Lu Yuan!"

"I heard Lu Yuan lives around here."

"He lives here?"

"The character for ’Lu’ is right here on the door. This is definitely it."

A sudden commotion erupted outside as a large crowd approached. Without even stepping out, Lu Yuan already knew exactly what was going on. He walked over to open the door.

CREAK.

Lu Yuan stood in the doorway, entirely expressionless, and didn’t utter a single word.

"Lu Yuan!"

The people who had come looking for him couldn’t help but take a subconscious step back. Stricken with a hint of fear, they found themselves temporarily at a loss for words. Clearly, Lu Yuan’s intimidating reputation preceded him.

"What is it?" Lu Yuan finally asked.

"Yun Zhaoyue of our Jade Peak Sect has issued a formal challenge against you. You can pick the time and place, or you can just come to our headquarters," a young woman said as she stepped forward, brandishing a letter of challenge in her hand.

"Jade Peak Sect, Yun Zhaoyue..." Lu Yuan took the challenge letter and glanced it over. The handwriting wasn’t bad.

"Li Lingchuan of our Overlord Blade Sect has also issued a challenge. Same rules apply: pick the time and place, or head over to our headquarters." Another burly man stepped up. It was an acquaintance, Qil Chongguang.

"Li Lingchuan is a master who ranks in the top three among the Seventh Grade Martial Artists of our Overlord Blade Sect’s Inner Sect," someone added.

"Li Lingchuan really is formidable!"

"Situ Yao challenged him before and was completely defeated," another knowledgeable bystander chimed in to explain.

"Yun Zhaoyue and Li Lingchuan are both powerful, but they hardly qualify as peerless geniuses!" a young boy declared loudly as he stepped forward.

"What did you just say? You..."

"Utter nonsense! Why wouldn’t my sect brother be considered a peerless genius?" the young woman and Qil Chongguang furiously barked at him.

"Yun Zhaoyue might be strong, but she has no real combat record to prove it. And Li Lingchuan is simply too old," the young boy critiqued bluntly.

A good number of people silently agreed. While rumors painted Yun Zhaoyue as exceptionally powerful, she had very few actual battle records, and certainly none that were particularly eye-catching. As for Li Lingchuan, he was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and still hadn’t broken through to the Sixth Grade. Did he really have the nerve to fight a sixteen-year-old?

"And which sect do you belong to? Who are you representing with a challenge letter?" the young woman demanded through gritted teeth.

This kid hadn’t made a peep earlier, but suddenly he came out biting! He was dressed in plain casual clothes, making everyone assume he was just here to watch the spectacle, yet it turned out...