Chapter 107: The Eccentric Old Man in the Logistics Department
Zhang Ze couldn’t help but laugh out loud as he watched Li Ziyang and another person flee in a sorry state. Only then did he realize that he wasn’t much better off himself—his nose was still bleeding.
...
“Are you alright?” Zhang Ze and Li Sanqing had just entered the café when Li Sanqing, his face cold but concerned, stepped forward and asked.
“What could be wrong with me? Didn’t you see how I beat up Li Zixing?” Zhang Ze wanted to keep up the act, but Li Sanqing immediately called him out, mocking, “If it weren’t for me, you’d probably be flat on the ground after Li Ziyang’s beating.”
“No way~” Zhang Ze stubbornly replied.
Seeing his persistence, Li Sanqing just chuckled and shook his head. Cold Bingbing didn’t say a word but somehow produced a few ice cubes and handed them to Zhang Ze, signaling him to reduce the swelling.
Hearing Li Sanqing’s teasing, Zhang Ze grew curious about his stats.
799S?
Through the system, Zhang Ze could clearly see Li Sanqing’s strength data. Although Li Sanqing’s stats weren’t much better than his own, Zhang Ze knew deep down there was a big difference between his own third-grade level and a Martial Bureau student like Li Sanqing.
The key lay in martial skills.
...
“Let’s put Li Ziyang aside for now,” Li Sanqing sipped his tea and looked seriously at Zhang Ze and Cold Bingbing. “Still, welcome to the Anqing Martial Bureau.”
Before they could respond, he continued, “Have you considered which department you want to join? And which mentor you want to train under?”
Zhang Ze and Cold Bingbing exchanged glances and shook their heads slightly.
Zhang Ze asked in return, “Who is your mentor? What’s his current cultivation level?”
“Heh,” Li Sanqing replied, “My mentor is Wang Feng, a sixth-grade instructor in the Martial Arts Department. But he’s not currently at the bureau, so he won’t be taking on any new students this year.”
Zhang Ze had initially hoped to become his junior brother but had to abandon that idea.
Cold Bingbing then asked, “Senior Li, do you know which mentors are recruiting new students this year?”
Li Sanqing answered, “The fact that you two entered the Martial Bureau through the Martial Hall exchange conference already proves your abilities.”
“My advice is for both of you to train in the Martial Arts Department. I’m also more familiar with their mentors.”
Both nodded silently.
Then Li Sanqing began listing the mentors in the department who were recruiting new students: four sixth-grade instructors and seven fifth-grade ones.
The difference in cultivation levels among departments became clear.
The Martial Arts Department alone had four sixth-grade mentors, while the Logistics and Tactical Departments had only two sixth-grade mentors combined.
...
After a brief pause, Li Sanqing said, “The four sixth-grade mentors are Instructor Xie Xun, Instructor Zhou Yunyun, Instructor Qin Fei, and Instructor Sun Qiang.”
Seeing Zhang Ze scratching his head, Li Sanqing asked, “What’s on your mind about these mentors?”
Cold Bingbing replied, “I met Instructor Xie Xun once, and he turned me down with righteous words.”
She couldn’t help but smirk at the memory.
Li Sanqing’s face darkened.
After a moment, he spoke again, “Instructor Xie Xun is one of the strongest in the Martial Arts Department. He also has several senior students under him.”
“I was going to introduce him to you properly, but… well,” Li Sanqing chuckled.
Zhang Ze could only shrug helplessly.
Li Sanqing had thoroughly explained the mentors and all the bureaucratic details of the Martial Bureau to Zhang Ze and Cold Bingbing. Thanks to him, Zhang Ze gained a comprehensive understanding of the bureau.
...
At the end, Li Sanqing’s expression grew serious as he scrutinized the two, hesitating before saying, “I must remind you: during your years at the Martial Bureau, your main focus must be on training.”
“Hm?” Zhang Ze looked puzzled.
Cold Bingbing blushed slightly beside him.
Waving her hand, Zhang Ze wasn’t sure if he caught the deeper meaning behind Li Sanqing’s words, so he asked, “I heard about points before. Are they really important in the Martial Bureau? How do they work?”
Li Sanqing didn’t hesitate to answer, “Points are like currency within the Martial Bureau. All cultivation resources inside must be obtained using points.”
“For details on how to earn and use them, just visit the Logistics Department sometime.”
With that, he didn’t linger further.
Zhang Ze and Cold Bingbing left together.
...
“Are you going to spar with Li Ziyang in two weeks?” Cold Bingbing asked in surprise as they walked back to the dormitory.
Zhang Ze was unbothered, his face calm. “Two weeks, yes. But I don’t think it’ll take that long.”
Cold Bingbing rolled her eyes at him, clearly doubting his confidence.
“Don’t you believe me?”
“I only needed a bit over two months to reach third-grade!”
Cold Bingbing was speechless.
...
The next day.
Zhang Ze got up early.
He was going to claim his 100 points.
From what Li Sanqing said last night, these points seemed quite valuable.
Besides, free things should never be refused.
“Hello, I’m a new student this year, here to claim my 100 enrollment points,” Zhang Ze said to the staff in the Logistics Department office.
A middle-aged staff member directed him to the front counter.
As the new students had only just arrived two days ago, the entire office was quite busy.
Zhang Ze passed several counters, each with over ten students waiting.
...
Finally, he found an empty counter.
“Hello, I’m here to claim my new student 100 points.”
Zhang Ze soon understood why no one was at this counter.
“Claiming new student 100 points?”
“Yes.”
“Wait!”
Unlike the other staff, the elderly man behind this counter was slumped on the table, looking completely listless.
Only after hearing Zhang Ze’s voice did he slowly lift his head.
But then, with a hint of exasperation, he lay back down.
Zhang Ze even heard faint snoring.
“Cough cough~”
“Cough cough cough~”
Even with his throat feeling hoarse, Zhang Ze couldn’t wake the old man.
“What are you doing?” Zhang Ze grew annoyed.
“Hey~” The old man finally raised his head, alert.
But his tone was harsh, “What’s your problem, kid? Didn’t I tell you to wait?”
Zhang Ze was not the kind to take abuse quietly.
“Not happy with that?” Zhang Ze raised his voice, scolding, “Do you know this is working hours? Are all the staff at Anqing Martial Bureau so careless?”
The old man’s temper flared too.
“You brat! If you want service, line up at another counter and don’t disturb my nap. If you want me to serve you, then you’d better wait quietly!”
Zhang Ze laughed bitterly.
“I’m just claiming 100 points, and this is the attitude from the bureau staff?”
Hearing the commotion, the middle-aged man who had directed Zhang Ze earlier came over.
“Old Fang, just help this young fellow quickly. Then you can go back to your nap however you like.”
His tone was tinged with helplessness.
Zhang Ze raised an eyebrow, quickly realizing the old man might be someone important.
The middle-aged man then looked at Zhang Ze and advised, “Next time, go to another counter. This guy just likes to sleep here. Don’t bother him!”
“Heh,” Zhang Ze smiled but said nothing.
...
“Take this and scram~”
No sooner had the middle-aged man left than the old man behind the counter tossed Zhang Ze a card resembling a bank card.
The card was pitch black, with no writing or explanation.
Knowing the old man’s temper, Zhang Ze didn’t bother asking. He took the card and was about to leave.
“Kid~”
Zhang Ze was surprised when the old man called out softly.
Frowning, he asked, “What else?”
“Hehe~”
The old man’s expression suddenly changed, his previous gruffness replaced by a toothy, mischievous grin.
“This card is worth 100 points, you know that, right?”
“What’s that?”
Zhang Ze was puzzled.
“Do you know roughly how valuable 100 points are?”
“I have something good here. Since you have points now, want to take a look?”
The old man’s face was full of smiles, completely different from before.