Chapter 27: Regarding the Martial Bureau Assessment

Perhaps Zhang Ze had long anticipated this scene.
Despite the overwhelming news coverage outside, the Lin family remained completely unresponsive.
Meanwhile, during this time, the investigation office of Mengyang County released Blindman and the others.
...
Saturday.
Because of his training at the martial arts school, Zhang Ze didn’t immediately go to the countryside to see Erlong, Blindman, and the others.
“Zhang Ze—”
The moment he arrived at the small training ground, he heard Liu Qianqian’s voice nearby.
She wasn’t particularly tall; though not as burly as Fatty, she was still quite round.
“What is it?”
“Will you train with me?”
As she spoke, Zhang Ze stopped his horse stance, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to spar with “Qianqian.”
“No, no, no—”
She hurriedly refused, clearly still traumatized from last time training with Zhang Ze.
Seeing her reaction, Zhang Ze smirked and resumed his horse stance.
But Qianqian didn’t leave right away. She sidled up to Zhang Ze and asked, “Did you hear?”
“Yesterday, in the southern outskirts of Heyue City, there was a large-scale conflict between martial artists.”
“It seems quite a few people died...”
She spoke vividly, piquing Zhang Ze’s interest.
He was just about to reply when Ren Fan’s voice sounded from the center of the training ground.
“Have you been keeping up with your horse stance these days?”
As soon as Zhang Ze approached him, he was caught off guard by the sudden question.
Noticing Zhang Ze’s reaction, Ren Fan frowned slightly.
He pointed to a corner of the training ground. “Go. Today, you’ll hold your horse stance for six hours. You get only half an hour for lunch.”
“Huh?”
...
In the end, Zhang Ze obediently resumed his horse stance by the side.
That evening, after a day’s training, everyone left one after another.
Ren Fan approached Zhang Ze at this point.
“You haven’t been at the first rank for long, but your cellular strength seems to be improving quickly.”
“...”
Receiving no response, Ren Fan didn’t press further.
He advised, “The Martial Bureau will hold a new recruit evaluation in early September. Before then, it’s best for you to master your stance training.”
“And if you can reach second rank, there should be no problem getting into the Martial Bureau.”
At the mention of Anqing Martial Bureau, Zhang Ze’s interest was piqued.

“Coach Ren, how many admission slots does the Anqing Martial Bureau have this year?”
“Around a thousand!”
Hearing this, Zhang Ze could hardly believe it.
Ren Fan smiled and explained, “These thousand aren’t just for you social martial artists. Most are for students.”
“And the Bureau’s requirements for cellular strength are lower for those students than for you.”
“In other words, their evaluation is different from yours.”
Zhang Ze frowned.
Seeing this, Ren Fan remained patient.
He continued, “The Bureau’s admissions are open to all young men and women nationwide who are at least sixteen.”
“And there are two main categories: one is people like you with little academic background but strong talent for cultivation.”
Since Ren Fan was willing to explain, Zhang Ze listened very attentively.
“To be honest, after you enter the Bureau, most of you will end up as core trainees.”
“But the other group consists mainly of students between sixteen and eighteen, still in school.”
“These are high school and college students. Their advantage over you is their academic foundation.”
“Of course, no matter how strong their academics, they also need enough martial talent. In short, though their evaluation differs from yours, they’re not to be underestimated.”
“Most of them come from families that can’t afford to support early martial training.”
“But once in the Bureau and with support, their cultivation also improves rapidly.”
...
Ren Fan patiently explained the Bureau’s admissions process to Zhang Ze.
From him, Zhang Ze understood.
His future competitors were likely all established martial artists, or those with martial backgrounds in their families.
Thinking of this, even with the system on his side, he couldn’t help but feel uncertain.
That night.
After resting the past few days,
Zhang Ze’s mind had mostly recovered. He checked his stats:
Wealth: 820,000
Cellular Strength: 189S
Mental Capacity: 107
Skills: Shield (11%), Probe
Meridians: Two (90%)
Although his mental capacity hadn’t fully recovered, Zhang Ze clearly couldn’t wait any longer.
And with no new income in days, his system’s wealth was gradually dwindling.
He sat cross-legged on his bed, preparing for a night of meridian tempering.
“Hello—”
Just then, Zhang Ze’s phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, he was briefly surprised.

“Did you try to contact me before?”
As soon as the call connected, Li Sanqing’s voice came through.
“In Mengyang County, I noticed someone who looks a lot like the cult martial artist you chased that night...”
Without small talk, Zhang Ze immediately replied.
After a moment of silence, Li Sanqing gave a reminder.
“If you get any cult news next time, contact Captain Mo Qing of Investigation Team One directly. I’ll send you his number.”
“I won’t be able to visit the martial arts school for a while, and my phone will be off. Focus on preparing for the September evaluation.”
“That’s all.”
Before Zhang Ze could say more, with a beep, Li Sanqing ended the call.
After receiving the text, Zhang Ze didn’t respond right away.
“If I temper one more meridian tonight, I’ll have finished half of the six lower limb meridians.”
“By then, my cellular strength should increase further...”
Muttering to himself, Zhang Ze began his meridian tempering.

...

At the same time.
Heyue City’s Investigation Office, Team Three.
“How’s the interrogation going?”
Though it was already late at night, Captain Ma Cheng still came to the office, asking the two on duty.
Seeing his figure, the two were somewhat helpless.
They knew their captain’s work ethic all too well.
They replied hastily, “We’ve been interrogating him for two days, but he keeps saying the same thing. In my opinion, his rank is too low—he probably doesn’t know anything.”
Hearing this, Ma Cheng frowned slightly.
He muttered to himself, “It can’t be that simple.”
“Normally, these people are like rats, impossible to track down.”
“Their gathering in Heyue City must mean something.”
As he spoke, he motioned to the two on duty, “Come with me to the interrogation room. Let’s put the pressure on this guy.”
...
Ma Cheng stared at the middle-aged man, his expression grave.
“Tell me. Why did you all gather in Heyue City?”
When questioned, the man yawned and only spoke after a long pause.
“I’ve already explained it clearly. We were summoned for a routine meeting.”
“If there was anything to be arranged, I’d only know after the meeting.”
“The meeting hadn’t even started before your people killed everyone. How could I, a low-level member, know what the plan was?”