After Situ Bai left, the courtyard fell silent again.
Wan Ze pulled out his phone and sent a message to Zhai Jia.
Almost the instant he sent the message, an urgent call from Zhai Jia came through.
As soon as the call connected, he lowered his voice and cautiously asked, "Ah Ze, is Master still with you?"
"He just left." Wan Ze walked over to the covered walkway and explained, "Brother Jia, this really isn’t my fault. Someone from the Royal City contacted Master directly and blew the whole thing open."
"Fuck, I forgot about that." On the other end of the line, Zhai Jia slapped his forehead in frustration. "Damn it, those bastards have no decency, ratting us out at a time like this. Anyway, what did Master say? He didn’t say he was going to punish me, did he?"
"Not for now. He said Brother Liu submitted a report about reorganizing the team and wanted to pull me in, but Master refused on my behalf. He wants me to wait until I reach the Refining Viscera Realm before I consider things like that."
When Wan Ze finished, Zhai Jia fell silent. After a full three seconds, Wan Ze heard him sigh. His senior brother seemed to be remarking with some emotion, "The old man is getting more and more conservative... But for you, that’s not necessarily a bad thing."
He was reminded of something from a long time ago.
Back when Eldest Senior Brother was leading him and Brother Yu through hell and back, he was only sixteen or seventeen.
He’d only just reached the Blood Tempering First Transformation, yet Eldest Senior Brother had dragged him, naive as he was, to spend a night in a pile of corpses. He’d even holed up in a random coffin for the better part of a month. Weren’t they always risking their necks back then?
But...
Zhai Jia could understand.
For one, his little junior brother was exceptionally talented, the real deal. If anything happened to him, the price would be too high. Master wouldn’t be able to bear the loss, and they couldn’t shoulder that responsibility.
For another... he wasn’t a powerhouse like Eldest Senior Brother. The most he could do was take Wan Ze on minor skirmishes like these.
Back then, Eldest Senior Brother was bold enough to take him to stake out a Refining Viscera Martial Artist when they were only in the Blood Tempering Realm. He’d naively thought everyone was that fearless.
"Then listen to Master and wait until you reach the Refining Viscera Realm." Zhai Jia quickly composed himself, only to laugh in anger as something occurred to him. "Liu Zhengming, that bastard! No wonder he was so eager—the son of a bitch was trying to poach you behind my back! Goddammit, I’m definitely going to settle the score with him for this!"
Wan Ze chuckled. "Haha, that sounds about right for Brother Liu."
"That’s just the kind of guy he is... But to be fair, he’s a stand-up guy in his own way. He took the fall for that whole mess with Li Xun. The higher-ups sent a special investigator, so it couldn’t be covered up... Luckily, his backer is powerful enough and managed to fix the paperwork in time. That’s how they managed to squash the issue before it got out of hand.
"The price, though... was that he had to be reassigned for a while. I don’t know where exactly they sent him for ’labor reform,’ probably some remote corner to cool his heels."
Zhai Jia couldn’t help but sigh at the thought. "Alright then," he said. "You just focus on your Cultivation. I’ve got a pile of my own shit to deal with. I’ll probably be swamped for the next couple of days."
"Alright. Talk to you later."
After hanging up, Wan Ze let out a soft breath and slipped his phone back into his pocket, his mind calming. He walked over to a stone bench in the courtyard, sat down, and focused his consciousness, calling up his status panel.
...
[Illustrated Guide: Taming the Tiger Vajra Skill](Special Level Mastered)
[Skill Ultimate Form Requirement: Qi and Blood Convergence 100,000 times](1,100/100,000)
...
’Thankfully, my Breathing Technique has already reached the Ultimate level, so it runs very efficiently... At this rate, I should be able to finish in about two or three months.’
Wan Ze felt a little more at ease. The progress wasn’t slow.
His gaze shifted down to the Tiger Cannon Fist.
...
[Illustrated Guide: Tiger Cannon Fist](High Level Mastered)
[Skill Special Level Requirement: Tiger Stance 1,000 hours](120/1,000)
...
’Stance training is just a matter of putting in the time. It can’t be rushed... There are no shortcuts here.’
He read on.
[Illustrated Guide: Horizontal Training Technique](Special Level Mastered)
[Skill Ultimate Form Requirements: Scour body with sandpaper 10,000 times (220/10,000), and withstand 50 strikes (50/50)]
...
When Wan Ze saw the completed progress for "withstand strikes," he couldn’t help but laugh.
’If it weren’t for that trip to Yu Yang, I never would have finished this task so quickly... even if I was just taking the hits passively.’
He looked further down.
...
[Illustrated Guide: Mysterious Shadow Step](Special Level Mastered)
[Skill Ultimate Form Requirement: Travel 1,000,000 meters](880,000/1,000,000)
...
On the verge of obtaining another Ultimate Skill, Wan Ze was in high spirits. All that running he’d done day and night for the past few days hadn’t been for nothing.
’120,000 meters... so, 120 kilometers... If I start sprinting now... and really push myself, two or three hours should be enough!’
A jolt of energy shot through Wan Ze.
An Ultimate Skill was within his grasp.
The thought spurred him into action. Without another moment’s delay, he stood up, did a quick stretch, and bolted out the side door of the martial arts hall.
The night was now deep.
The network of intersecting alleys was brightly lit.
Wan Ze sprinted down the long street, which was bustling with people out for a post-dinner stroll.
The streetlights shone brightly. Bicycles zipped past with the DING-DING of their bells, and some passersby couldn’t help but stare at the astonishingly fast night runner who appeared before them.
Soon, he came across a few other night runners. They were clearly experienced, maintaining a steady pace. They exchanged glances and continued on in silence.
When they saw Wan Ze catching up from behind at a near sprint, they exchanged knowing glances, smirks playing on their lips.
’A youngster, all fired up. Starts out way too fast. He’ll burn out in a minute.’
However, their smiles soon froze on their faces.
His speed never dropped. He shot past them like a gust of wind, heading straight for the massive bridge that spanned the great river up ahead—a bridge that was over five kilometers long.
Once on the bridge’s pedestrian path, Wan Ze’s figure receded into the distance, eventually turning onto a winding road built into the side of the mountain.