Chapter 93: Before the Martial Arena

“Who are you, and why have you come here?”
In the kitchen behind the cafeteria, just as Lu Sheng was about to enter, a guard stopped him at the door.
Maintaining a calm expression, Lu Sheng presented his token and said,
“I’m from the Supervisory Council, here for an inspection.”
According to the study notes from Lu Chun Yuan’s study, within the Martial Academy there was a Supervisory Council responsible for oversight and law enforcement inside the academy.
The token in his hand was issued by this very council.
“From the Supervisory Council? You must be one of the student inspectors, right?”
The guard, eyeing Lu Sheng’s handsome features with some doubt, said cautiously.
Such a striking young man—he had never heard of him in the academy. So even seeing the token was genuine, the guard was still uneasy.
Just as he was about to send someone to verify, he heard Lu Sheng say,
“Do you have any beasts awaiting slaughter here? I want to see them!”
“Oh...” The guard seemed to realize something and pointed in a direction. “The slaughterhouse isn’t in the kitchen but by the arena.”
“If you want to kill beasts, just go straight there next time. No need to carry a token.”
The Martial Academy was a place for training warriors, naturally equipped with an arena. Besides allowing warriors to duel, the arena was also home to various beasts bred for combat.
Adjacent to the arena was a slaughterhouse where beasts that had lost the will to fight or had died in battle were butchered and processed.
After extracting various materials, their meat and bones were sent to the kitchen to be made into food.
Often, students came to the slaughterhouse to kill beasts as a way to build their courage.
The guard evidently mistook Lu Sheng for a student looking to train his bravery and directed him to the slaughterhouse.
“I see.”
Lu Sheng pondered the guard’s explanation for a moment.
Although he guessed the kitchen must also house various livestock awaiting slaughter, after some thought, he still decided to go to the slaughterhouse next to the arena.
After all, the non-beast livestock could only provide limited merit. Killing too many would also raise suspicion.
For him, the best way to gain a large amount of merit was to slay beasts.
The slaughterhouse was clearly the ideal place.

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“Brother Yun Fei, I heard your cultivation has advanced once again during your seclusion.”
“I’m sure you will shine brilliantly at the Central Continent Martial Expo in the second half of the year!”
As Lu Sheng arrived at the slaughterhouse, a group of young men appeared outside the arena. At the center of the crowd was the top young talent of the Lu family from Dajing—the eighth-ranked on the Talents List, Lu Yun Fei.
“Lu Yun Fei? Has Lu Wanshan released him?”
Hearing that name, Lu Sheng slowed his pace and looked toward the source of the voice.
In front of the arena, a dashing and elegant young man nodded politely to those around him and said,
“Gentlemen, your praise is too generous. Though I’ve made progress during this seclusion, others will not stand still either.”
“Who will come out on top, we shall see at the Central Continent Martial Expo in the second half of the year.”
“I hope both Li Mo and Lv Fangqi will attend then!”
Though modest in words, he could not hide his pride.
Now at the peak of the Great Warrior stage, every advancement was arduous.
His recent seclusion was initially just a whim, without expectations of much gain.
Unexpectedly, upon entering the Jade Tower, he felt as if he had entered a profound, mysterious state, his body and energy refined.
Just moments ago, upon fully awakening from seclusion, he discovered his energy was purer and still had room for growth—
His cultivation was bound to improve greatly over the next six months!
This gave Lu Yun Fei the confidence to challenge for the top spot on the Talents List.
“I’m currently ranked eighth on the Talents List. Ahead of me are Feng Congyun, Qiu Tianjun, Li Mo, Lv Fangqi, Fu Wenxin, Lei Xuan’er, and Ma Bulun.”
“Among these seven, Feng Congyun, Qiu Tianjun, and Ma Bulun are already twenty-nine and will soon leave the Talents List.”
“So my real competitors are Li Mo, Lv Fangqi, Fu Wenxin, and Lei Xuan’er—”
“As long as I defeat them, I will become the number one on the Talents List!”
Though four stood ahead of him, Lu Yun Fei valued Li Mo and Lv Fangqi the most.
After all, Fu Wenxin was once defeated by Li Mo, and Lei Xuan’er’s ranking was earned by defeating a top-ranked expert from Lei Men Island—
Though these two women ranked above Lu Yun Fei, he did not regard them seriously.
His focus was squarely on Li Mo and Lv Fangqi.

Especially Li Mo, nicknamed the “Little Death God,” though three years younger than Lu Yun Fei, was already widely seen as the future number one on the Talents List due to his achievements and potential.
To become the top, Lu Yun Fei must defeat him!

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“This Lu Yun Fei is quite confident, daring to challenge Li Mo and Lv Fangqi—”
“If he beats those two, won’t he become the next number one on the Talents List!”
Beside him, Lu Sheng heard Lu Yun Fei’s words and thought about the information on Li Mo and Lv Fangqi, quietly reflecting.
Though the top ten on the Talents List were all Great Warriors, most had simultaneously cultivated both the middle and lower dantian during the Warrior stage, reaching their peak upon entering the Great Warrior level, so their cultivation levels were not vastly different.
However, there were still significant differences among Great Warriors at the peak, especially those who had made it onto the Earth Ranking were far stronger than ordinary Great Warriors.
On the Earth Ranking, a difference of ten places usually meant a clear victory or defeat in combat.
Comparing their rankings on the Earth Ranking revealed substantial differences in power among the top ten on the Talents List.
Currently, the number one on the Talents List, Feng Congyun of the Void Sect, and number two, Qiu Tianjun of the Sword Sect, were ranked tenth and fourteenth respectively on the Earth Ranking, quite close in strength.
But the third-ranked on the Talents List, the “Little Death God” Li Mo, was only fiftieth on the Earth Ranking—
Given a ten-place difference usually indicates a clear outcome, Li Mo would almost certainly lose to Feng Congyun or Qiu Tianjun.
Similarly, Li Mo, ranked fiftieth, would easily defeat Lu Yun Fei, whose Earth Ranking was even lower.
If Lu Yun Fei dared to challenge him, it meant his cultivation had improved.
“Perhaps Lu Wanshan has helped him progress as compensation or to cover for his seclusion—”
“Otherwise, he wouldn’t be this confident!”
Thinking this, Lu Sheng did not suppress his emotions and stepped forward to Lu Yun Fei, saying,
“Brother Lu, I am Lu Sheng from Bingzhou, humbly ranked ninth on the Talents List.”
“As a fellow Lu family member, I hope you will kindly offer your guidance!”
Dragged to Central Continent by Lu Wanshan like a puppet, Lu Sheng’s face showed no expression, but his heart was already filled with resentment.
Now, meeting someone with even a slight connection like Lu Yun Fei, his anger found a vent and burst forth at last.