Chapter 45: The Stargate Crisis in Nanhe Province
“Cough, cough—” Jia Justice let out two violent coughs. Yet, this fellow was still unwilling to give up, struggling to get to his feet. He even ignored Zhang Ze’s inquiry, showing no intention of responding.
“That’s enough,” Ren Fan interjected, his expression commanding respect without anger. “Jia Justice, go take a rest to the side. If needed, go to the infirmary for a checkup. Zhang Ze, rejoin the team. The rest of you, continue sparring!”
With Ren Fan’s intervention, the conflict between the two came to a close. To be fair, only Zhang Ze and Jia Justice had such strong cellular strength, and both had gone all out from the start, which was why the match had ended in just a single round. Afterwards, the bouts between Peng Fei and the others became much more drawn out.
...
Fengkai City, Nanhe Province.
As the economic powerhouse of Nanhe Province, Fengkai City always had the highest population flow in the region. Even the provincial capital, Shacheng, could not match Fengkai’s prosperity. It was precisely this robust economic strength that fostered an enormous group of martial artists. Out of the city’s resident population of eight million, nearly a million were martial artists—a testament to just how vast the martial community was in Fengkai.
...
Xiangcheng County, under Fengkai City’s direct administration.
For nearly half a month, residents around Xiangcheng had been busy relocating and evacuating. The reason for this upheaval was the recent abnormal tremors in the county. According to reports from Fengkai City, Xiangcheng would experience the strongest earthquake in centuries in the middle of the month. From that point on, the standing army began organizing the evacuation of the county’s residents.
In reality, at the time the report was released, the entire Langya Mountain, fifty li east of Xiangcheng, was sealed off by the military. As for the real reason, only the martial artists gathered there knew the truth.
A new Star Gate was about to open in Nanhe Province!
...
At a scenic spot atop Langya Mountain.
In recent days, a large number of martial artists had been stationed here. At this moment, nearly ten formidable figures stood on a peak of Langya Mountain. If Zhang Ze were present, he would surely recognize the middle-aged man standing on the right.
“The Star Gate will be fully opened—most likely in the next couple of days,” said Lin Feng—the strongest of Anqing Province’s Investigative Bureau, a seventh-rank martial grandmaster. His face was grave. On closer inspection, one would notice that despite being a seventh-rank powerhouse, Lin Feng stood near the end of the line—a hint at the caliber of the others present.
At the center stood a woman who appeared to be in her forties, clad in casual sportswear that seemed rather informal. Yet strapped to her back was a broadsword nearly three meters long. Just standing there, she radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“This will be the fourth Star Gate to open in Nanhe Province,” she said, her voice low but striking straight to everyone’s heart, making her words crystal clear. “One Martial Bureau guarding four Star Gates—nationwide, that makes us only the third.”
“Minister Yang, the Nanhe Martial Bureau’s budget allocation for next year should be adjusted accordingly, right?” a middle-aged man beside her joked lightly after hearing her words.
“No need for you to prepare the ground, Director Yan. The Education Ministry’s funding will definitely lean in favor of the Nanhe Martial Bureau,” Yang Yunfei replied softly, then added with a smile, “As for the exact amount, that’s not for a mere deputy like me to decide.”
Director Yan was already satisfied with Yang Yunfei’s answer. Fixing her gaze on the sky, she paused before reminding, “Those rats have been restless lately too, Director Lin.”
Though her strength wasn’t the highest among those present, as a martial grandmaster, Lin Feng’s attitude remained respectful—especially since he was there to lend support.
“The maneuvers in Anqing Province are likely just a diversion. The true target of those rats is probably our Star Gate,” Lin Feng said gravely, gripping his spear.
“Perfect. With the Star Gate opening, both provinces have brought plenty of young talents. Let’s leave them to handle it,” someone remarked.
The others nodded slightly, showing little concern about the cultists. After all, before this group—representing the pinnacle of Dragon Nation’s fighting power—those petty, sneaky cultists were hardly worth mentioning.
...
As the day’s training ended, Zhang Ze gained much insight into everyone’s fighting prowess. Of them all, it was Cai Hu who left the deepest impression. During his spar with Peng Fei, the latter thought they were on friendly terms and would just go through the motions. Little did he expect that Cai Hu, having tempered the meridians in both arms, would unleash tremendous brute force with his fists. In Cai Hu’s hands, the “Crushing Fist” technique became truly terrifying.
No sooner had training ended than Peng Fei rushed to Zhang Ze’s side, muttering, “That Cai Hu is way too ruthless. He’s turned Crushing Fist into something downright dirty.” As he grumbled, Peng Fei kept rubbing his chest, clearly suffering from Cai Hu’s blows.
“Heh...” Zhang Ze, watching from the side, couldn’t help but wince, unsure what to say.
“Zeke, have you started tempering your upper limb meridians?” Knowing that Zhang Ze had first tempered the six lower limb meridians at the first rank, Peng Fei couldn’t help but ask. After seeing Zhang Ze’s clash with Jia Justice, he’d realized just how powerful Zhang Ze’s cell strength had become.
“Not yet, but I’m close,” Zhang Ze replied softly, his gaze falling on Qian Qian’s distant, dejected silhouette. “He took quite a beating today. Looks like he’s been rattled,” Zhang Ze mused aloud, noticing Qian Qian’s slumped posture. “He’s almost there too—his cell strength is close to the 100S limit. Who knows, he might break through any day now.” The two chatted idly as they walked back to the dormitory.
...
Qian family tower, Mengyang County.
“Miss, there’s a call from home,” Uncle Wu said softly from the side.
Taking the phone, Qian Xiaoyun heard the familiar voice of the family’s old steward—her grandfather’s close friend, who’d served the Qian household for over thirty years.
“Grandpa, what made you call today?” she asked.
“Do you miss your old granddad, little girl?” In front of him, Qian Xiaoyun rarely acted so spoiled.
“Hehe—of course I do!” she replied.
“That’s good. Come home and visit when you have time. Mengyang County is well looked after by Xiao Wu and the others,” the old man said dotingly, his voice gentle over the line.
They chatted for a while before the old man remembered, “By the way, is it true that a young man named Zhang Ze has taken over the pill market in our two villages?”
Qian Xiaoyun’s heart skipped a beat. “Grandpa, you know about that?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not scolding you,” the old steward assured her. “I just wanted to tell you, let him have those two villages. As for Jia Yao, you don’t need to warn him either—let him handle it however he likes.”
“Oh—alright,” Qian Xiaoyun replied. After hanging up, though, she couldn’t stop thinking about the matter.