Chapter 79: If You Don’t Show Your True Skills, I Won’t Let You Leave

Shi Xin had a rather fiery temperament and settled all matters within a day, planning to lead the team back to the prefectural capital the very next day.

Yang Ling had Chen Xu and the others return to the Vermilion Gold Mine to manage it together with Wu Xiaochen.

He kept Chen Guoqing in Green Mountain City to cooperate with Old Zhao.

Afterwards, he and Lin Yan mounted their horses together, following Shi Xin's team towards Changhe Prefectural Capital.

Shi Xin, Yang Ling, and Lin Yan, all three wearing the Ironclad Department's ironclad uniforms, walked at the very front.

Several dozen elite constables followed behind.

Such a formation on the official road was enough to intimidate all sorts of petty troublemakers.

Even groups encountered along the way, whether travelers or escort teams from security bureaus, had to carefully steer clear upon seeing them.

They whipped their horses and galloped, dust flying in their wake.

In a daze, Yang Ling truly felt as if he was immersed in the world of the martial rivers and lakes.

This time, Yang Ling planned to go to Changhe Prefectural Capital and find a way to purchase those Spirit Nurturing Pills of normal quality.

Or see if he could get his hands on Foundation Consolidation Pills there.

With twenty thousand taels in silver notes on him now, he felt quite high-spirited and full of desire to spend.

Changhe Prefectural Capital was roughly four hundred li away from Green Mountain City.

The team traveled with stops and starts, arriving at Changhe Prefectural Capital by noon.

As soon as they entered the city, a wave of clamor and liveliness hit them.

"Pretty lively here, huh? Green Mountain City only has a few hundred thousand people, but Changhe Prefectural Capital has a full seven to eight million."

Shi Xin said with a faint smile, "It's a shame you were thinking of retiring in that little place. People with real ability all head to places like this.

In Green Mountain City, you might not encounter a Martial Artist registered at Ranked Level for days.

But in Changhe Prefectural Capital, Ninth-Rank Martial Artists aren't exactly plentiful, but they're not rare either."

As he spoke, he had already led Yang Ling and the others to the Ironclad Department's government office.

Yang Ling stayed by Shi Xin's side the whole time, watching him hand over the corpses of Tie Xinghu and Qi Dalong, and also submitting the confiscated property from the raid.

As for Lin Yan, he went off by himself to the Inspection Department to take up his new post.

During this process, the constables of the Ironclad Department, upon seeing Shi Xin, all showed respectful expressions, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.

Yang Ling, who was following Shi Xin, naturally became the object of their covert scrutiny.

"Finally done. Now we just wait for the higher-ups to assess the merits and grant rewards."

Shi Xin, having finished the last task, also let out a sigh of relief, then turned to Yang Ling with a smile.

"Kid, come with me to get registered at Ranked Level. This matter happens to fall under our Ironclad Department's jurisdiction as well."

A trace of inexplicable anticipation arose in Yang Ling's heart.

He also wanted to see exactly what rank his current strength placed him at.

However... to avoid exposing the Vajra Bright King Technique, he would definitely have to hold back a bit this time.

Soon, Shi Xin took Yang Ling to another part of the Ironclad Department.

The courtyard here was currently bustling and lively. With a sweep of his gaze, Yang Ling saw nothing but Martial Artists.

There were easily over a hundred of them, all looking excited and conversing in low voices.

Yang Ling glanced at their Status Panels and found their basic attribute points were mostly not high.

Some were about the same as someone like Wu Que, some were even worse than Wu Que.

Only a very small portion had attribute points breaking 20, similar to Xu Qing and his ilk.

Among them, he also spotted some players, but their levels were very low, not even having achieved Class Change, stuck at level 10.

Their attribute points naturally weren't high either.

"These Martial Artists all want to get registered at Ranked Level. Do you know why?"

Shi Xin glanced at Yang Ling.

Yang Ling said, "For reputation?"

"Hmm, getting registered at Ranked Level is the simplest way to spread your fame."

"As long as you're registered, you have sufficient status in the martial world."

"Besides, after getting registered at Ranked Level, if you don't have a sect, it's also easier to get recruited by one."

"Our Ironclad Department occasionally selects a batch from here to serve as constables. Maybe we'll get another talent like you."

Shi Xin laughed.

Yang Ling smiled but didn't say anything.

Both of them were wearing ironclad uniforms, and Shi Xin's uniform was Eighth-Rank, so as they walked through, the Martial Artists in the courtyard all made way, their gazes towards the two carrying a trace of awe.

At this moment, a Martial Artist was already undergoing the registration process deeper within the courtyard.

"You only need to withstand ten moves from me to be considered Ninth-Rank."

The Martial Artist's opponent was a gaunt, thin old man.

In contrast, the Martial Artist was a giant of a man, over two meters tall.

Standing together, the two formed a stark visual contrast.

The giant, however, wasn't taking it lightly at this moment. Once the registration began, he launched a full-force attack at the old man.

Yang Ling's expression shifted slightly. He had only glanced at the giant's Status Panel; his Strength had broken 20 points, and he had two Martial Arts Techniques.

His main surprise was at the gaunt old man's attributes.

The other's strength seemed to be about the same as Shi Xin's!

The giant's offensive had already arrived. The gaunt old man, however, agilely dodged his punch, then lightly and gracefully struck a palm against his belly.

Thump!

The giant man flew backwards, landing and immediately spitting out a mouthful of blood.

He quickly scrambled to his feet and launched another attack.

By the eighth move, he finally couldn't hold on anymore, collapsing to the ground and not getting up again; he had to be carried away.

"Registration failed. Not at Ranked Level."

The gaunt old man said indifferently.

The courtyard fell silent. Watching this scene, many Martial Artists felt the urge to retreat.

But thinking of the registration fee they had already paid, they were very reluctant.

"It seems my previous guess was correct. You need at least a single attribute breaking 30 points to pass the Ninth-Rank assessment."

"That strongman had 20 points in Strength, but his Martial Arts Techniques weren't good enough; the amplification was limited, not breaking 30, so he failed on the eighth move."

"If his Strength attribute had broken 30, he probably would have succeeded. The Ironclad Department's registration standards must have their criteria. This gaunt old man is likely strictly enforcing that set of standards."

"As long as he doesn't intentionally go easy or deliberately use heavy force, he can select Martial Artists who meet the Ninth-Rank criteria."

Yang Ling roughly made a judgment in his heart. Today, in this courtyard, only he alone could successfully register.

The rest were not at Ranked Level.

At this moment, the intensity of competition among Martial Artists had become concrete.

And this was the prefectural capital. Out of over a hundred Martial Artists, not a single one met the standard for registration...

"However, over time, players' general strength growth rate will be much faster than that of Natives."

"By then, the number of Ninth-Rank Martial Artists registered at Ranked Level will skyrocket."

As he was thinking this, Shi Xin had already stepped forward to greet the gaunt old man.

"Shi Xin, what brings you here? Huh? Is this kid the Yang Ling you mentioned? Wu Man and Tie Xinghu both died by his hand?"

The gaunt old man's gaze fell on Yang Ling, somewhat surprised.

His voice wasn't loud, but the Martial Artists present heard it clearly.

Including the constables and bailiffs maintaining order, they now all cast looks of astonishment at Yang Ling.

Yang Ling instinctively looked at Shi Xin. Didn't we agree to find another pretext for Tie Xinghu's death?

But from the looks of it now, it seemed the Ironclad Department in the prefectural capital already knew he had killed Tie Xinghu?

"Kid, did you think I could just casually claim any merit? Too naive. I'm also afraid of being punished by the higher-ups. Our Department Head hates this kind of thing the most."

Shi Xin looked at Yang Ling with a half-smile.

"Today, for your registration, if you don't show your true capabilities, I won't let you leave."

Yang Ling: "..."