Chapter 103: Official Rank and Destiny

“Senior Brother Lu served in the military?”
“No wonder!”
Some realization dawned on Lu Sheng.

In the army, one not only had to personally kill but, as a commander leading troops against enemies, would also attract the resentment and hatred of nearly all foes, accumulating a vast amount of karmic retribution.

Although Lu Hongjin, as a commander, could also gain merit from killing enemies, the number of people who hated him far exceeded those he killed. Naturally, the karmic retribution he bore far outweighed the merit.

If it weren’t for the additional 31,030 points of fortuitous energy suppressing 3,103,000 points of karmic retribution, with his currently immense karmic retribution of 2,236,512 points, he would have long since faced calamity.

Yet even so, this karmic retribution subtly influenced his mind, making it difficult for him to see his true self.

“Perhaps I can help him offset his karmic retribution!”

With this thought, Lu Sheng focused his mind on Lu Hongjin’s attribute data but found he could not manipulate it in the slightest.

He could only use his own attribute data.

“It’s not surprising that I can’t control another’s merit or karmic retribution,” he thought.

“But since my merit and karmic retribution can influence others’ fortuitous energy, logically, I should be able to affect others’ merit and karmic retribution as well.”

“However, my merit is quite limited. Even if I use all of it on Lu Hongjin, it would be far from enough to counteract his karmic retribution.”

“Still, I’ll try consuming one point of merit to see if it has any effect!”

With that resolve, Lu Sheng quickly expended one point of merit, applying it to Lu Hongjin’s karmic retribution.

Instantly, the karmic retribution value on Lu Hongjin’s data changed to “2,236,511.”

“Good!”
“It really works!”

Excited, Lu Sheng shouted inwardly, delighted to have discovered a means to influence others.

He believed that as he deepened his mastery of these attributes, he would uncover even more applications.

Therefore, although reducing one point of karmic retribution did not bring any immediate change in Lu Hongjin, Lu Sheng, seeing Lu Hongjin’s expectant gaze, said:

“The bloodthirsty aura on you seems to have vanished, but it actually still lies hidden within your body!”

“It is this aura that clouds your true mind!”

Without mentioning karmic retribution explicitly, Lu Sheng used the term “bloodthirsty aura” to describe its effect on the mind.

This did not arouse suspicion from either Lu Chun Yuan or Lu Hongjin—

Because a few years ago, the reason Lu Hongjin entered the Martial Academy was precisely that his father, Lu Chun Qian, and the academy’s headmaster, Lu Chun Yuan, had discovered this major problem affecting him.

“The bloodthirsty aura, or the killing aura, that clouds the heart is a common issue, not only among soldiers but also among those who have fought for years in the martial world,” Lu Chun Yuan explained.

“One way to see through this clouding is to find one’s own path and forcibly break through with a powerful martial will.”

“The other way is to cultivate the heart and nurture the spirit, gradually dispelling this clouding.”

He continued, sharing his understanding:

“Hongjin has not endured enough hardships since youth; his will is not strong enough. So after discussing with Chun Qian, we chose the second path for him.”

“Yet it seems he has not yet dispelled the clouding.”

Neither method is simple. Otherwise, the world would not have so many peak martial artists but only a few hundred Martial Ancestors.

To truly understand one’s heart and illuminate one’s spirit is not easy!

Therefore, though Lu Chun Yuan now understood that Lu Hongjin still struggled with this issue thanks to Lu Sheng’s discovery, he did not expect Lu Sheng to solve it.

After instructing Lu Hongjin to continue cultivating his heart and cleansing his inner self, Lu Chun Yuan turned to Lu Sheng and said:

“You have already understood your true heart and begun spirit refinement.”
“This means your martial cultivation has reached the level of a Martial Ancestor!”
“From now on, all knowledge below the level of Great Grandmaster in the Martial Academy will be open to you—”
“No matter what you want to learn, you may pursue it yourself!”

As he spoke, he handed Lu Sheng the token he had taken earlier, saying:

“You are still a student in the Martial Academy and can only serve as a supervisor.”
“According to the rank system—Martial Artist corresponds to the ninth rank, Great Martial Artist to the seventh rank—you have the strength of a Great Martial Artist and may serve as a seventh-rank supervisor.”
“This way, you can receive a salary to support yourself and move freely within the academy.”
“As for your residence, have Hongjin arrange it for you.”

Then, Lu Hongjin left his mark on the token and formally handed it to Lu Sheng—

From that moment on, Lu Sheng officially became a seventh-rank supervisor of the Martial Academy!

“Seventh-rank supervisor?”

Taking the token and about to ask about his new permissions, Lu Sheng suddenly noticed that his attribute data had quietly changed as he accepted it—

“Essence 12.01, Qi 12.01, Spirit 12.01; Fortuitous Energy 597 (122), Merit 90, Karmic Retribution 53,512.”

Seeing the “Fortuitous Energy 597 (122)” data, Lu Sheng’s heart leapt with joy:

“Fortuitous energy—I actually gained additional fortuitous energy!”
“It’s because I acquired the seventh-rank supervisor position that I received this extra fortuitous energy—”
“In other words, this additional fortuitous energy comes from holding an official rank!”

Checking the records to confirm his suspicion, Lu Sheng suppressed his excitement and thought of the over thirty thousand points of additional fortuitous energy on Lu Hongjin, asking:

“Senior Brother Lu is the deputy head of the Martial Academy. What rank position is that?”

“What rank position? Why do you ask?” Lu Chun Yuan responded with some puzzlement but answered: “That is a third rank position.”

“He started in the academy at the seventh rank supervisor, just like you, and it took him decades to reach that position.”

Lu Hongjin began working at the Martial Academy in his twenties, traveled widely in his thirties, then served in the military commanding troops, and finally returned to the academy.

Despite the Lu family background, it still took him decades to rise from seventh rank to third rank.

Lu Chun Yuan made this point to caution Lu Sheng against setting his ambitions too high and looking down on his own rank.

“Third rank already grants over thirty thousand points of additional fortuitous energy—”
“If the rank were higher, wouldn’t the fortuitous energy be even greater?”
“All of this can be converted into merit!”

Just now, Lu Sheng tried to activate the new fortuitous energy he gained. Though this rank-derived energy could not be added to his original fortuitous energy, it could be transformed into merit—

Moreover, during conversion, although the token warned that using this energy would affect official luck for a while, it did not signal any triggering of unpredictable events.

For Lu Sheng, who cared little for officialdom, this was undoubtedly a new source of merit.

Therefore, although he understood the meaning behind Lu Chun Yuan’s words, Lu Sheng still wished to attain a higher rank:

“I am the leading young talent of the Great Jing Lu family; remaining only a seventh-rank supervisor is far too low!”
“When I attend the Central Plains Martial Conference, if anyone learns that I have such strength but am still only a lowly seventh-rank supervisor—”
“How could they be persuaded to support the Great Jing Lu family?”

It seemed that Lu Chun Yuan’s appointment of him as a seventh-rank supervisor was truly an underselling of his talent!