The atmosphere in the room instantly fell silent.
You're booking a plane ticket to Daheshan?
No?
So you're either not going or, if you are, you're booking a ticket right away? That efficient?
"You don’t have to rush. You can rest for a bit first, then—"
"No need, I'm not tired. Sitting around is pointless. The sooner I take care of this, the sooner I can start advanced training."
As Lu Ding spoke, he had already booked his ticket.
He stood up and took the envelope from Lü Ting's hand.
"Thank you, sir," he said.
Seeing Lu Ding take the envelope, the others hesitated for not even a second before declaring they also wanted to claim the advanced training reward.
The advanced training reward was dangerous, yes, but it was always within one's capabilities.
You might not win, but you wouldn’t be unable to run.
The injury rate, however, was nearly 99%. And it ca with the thrill of dancing on the edge of a knife.
If you finally manage to grow a sapling, you wouldn’t just break it before it even has a chance to thrive, right?
So, the advanced training site wouldn’t throw anything deadly at them.
There was definitely a gamble involved, but the consequences were never unbearable. As long as soone led the charge, the reward was never sothing only one person would claim.
But!
Here’s the key point!
It wasn’t unusual for more than one person to choose the advanced training reward, but it was extrely rare for all three districts to pick it at once.
And!
Why are all of you booking tickets!?
Why the rush!?
Can’t you take a break and go tomorrow!?
Stop following Lu Ding’s example for everything!
The original plan was to go through the motions—encouraging these geniuses to work hard, to be diligent, to understand the mission they carried, whether it was for their own pursuit of Dao or the responsibilities that ca with wearing this uniform.
But now...
They skipped all that.
No need for words. They were more determined, more diligent, and more efficient than expected.
No unnecessary rest.
When there's work, you do it. Two strokes make "strength," two horizontal and one vertical make "do."
And there was absolutely no useless chatter or random questions.
In the past, when visiting other districts for this advanced training reward segnt, the atmosphere would start lighthearted, then gradually grow solemn under his influence.
Now, they just skipped the lighthearted phase and went straight to solemn.
This made the three instructors feel incredibly uneasy. But they couldn’t find any fault with it.
They couldn't possibly pull sothing unreasonable just to break the tension, right?
Suddenly, Lü Ting had a thought.
Once Lu Ding dealt with the matters at Daheshan and entered the advanced training site, then...
There would definitely be a good show to watch.
He had heard that this ti, the Eastern District had produced a genius who awakened his spiritual senses after stumbling upon the imperial jade seal of the Jing Dynasty—his arrogance knew no bounds.
Then there was the girl from the Northwest District, blessed by the Eternal Sky.
The Second-in-Command of the Bai family’s outer branch from the Northeast District had also descended the mountain.
Southwest had their Twelve Caves...
Southeast had the hereditary Blade Sellers...
Lingnan had their top-tier spirit-invoking rituals...
The Central Region had their divine procession rituals...
The Hundred Schools of Thought...
These talented investigators were all undeniably strong, and Lü Ting could understand that.
But Lu Ding’s strength?
He couldn’t quite grasp it.
And if he couldn't understand it, the geniuses from other districts likely wouldn’t either.
Once those geniuses and monsters clashed, they’d definitely want to "understand" it firsthand...
"This year’s advanced training will probably be the most brilliant one in a hundred years..."
Lü Ting cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Since you've all made your choices and even booked your tickets, that’s it for today. I’ll be waiting for you all at the advanced training site!"
He had originally thought he could bring a few back with him.
But in the end, not a single one.
They all went for the advanced training reward.
"Thank you, sir."
Lu Ding was the first to rise and express his gratitude before walking out the door. Bai Hen followed. The others exited one by one, each murmuring a soft "Thank you, sir" as they passed.
Outside the room.
Yan Feifan had been waiting for a while.
Seeing Lu Ding and Bai Hen co out, he imdiately approached.
"Brother Lu, Brother Bai, so? Did you guys pick the advanced training reward?"
"Of course, and it’s Daheshan."
Hearing this, a mischievous grin spread across Yan Feifan’s face.
"Then that ans you can completely eliminate the hidden threat, right? Are there any restrictions?"
"There are restrictions, but not for much longer."
Previously, they had ntioned that there were still ordinary people up there.
Lu Ding had killed Ye Feng, and in just a few days, it would be the Ghost Festival.
If the cultivators from the mountain wanted revenge, they’d inevitably put the ordinary people of Daheshan in danger.
But they couldn’t just evacuate all the civilians themselves.
That was why the cultivators hadn’t co down yet.
Now, the problem was Lu Ding’s to solve.
He was heading to Daheshan, and he couldn’t possibly wipe out both the cultivators and the innocent civilians, right?
But unlike the cultivators on the mountain, Lu Ding had room to maneuver.
"Brother Lu, what’s your plan?"
Hearing Bai Hen’s question, Lu Ding took out the envelope.
Aside from the information Lü Ting had ntioned, everything else boiled down to just four words—act at your discretion.
Those four words carried imnse weight.
Lü Ting had initially phrased it as "in light of."
That ant the higher-ups were aware of the conflict between Lu Ding and Daheshan.
Under such circumstances, Lu Ding going there ant only one thing—there was bound to be a fight to the death.
The higher-ups weren’t fools. They knew his personality well.
So, "act at your discretion" was a clear ssage—Daheshan had made so shady moves.
Now that he was going, how many he killed, how many he spared, whether he could even kill them at all—that was up to him.
But there was one condition.
Ordinary people were off-limits.
And when you thought about it, it made perfect sense.
If they hadn’t been up to sothing, why had they been sending people down one after another?
Clearly, they couldn’t stay on the mountain anymore. They were getting restless.
Before, when they were asked to co down, they refused.
Now, they wanted to co down on their own terms—and stir up trouble?
"Feifan, after I killed Ye Feng last ti, what did the higher-ups say in their report?"
Lu Ding asked.
Yan Feifan answered honestly.
"They didn’t give any concrete response, but from what I gathered, they wanted to delay dealing with it. Settle the score later."
Hearing this, Lu Ding confird his guess.
Yan Feifan saw the look on his face and his eyes lit up.
"Brother Lu, is it ti for autumn executions?"
Lu Ding shook the envelope in his hand.
"What autumn executions? This is the Daheshan Rural Revitalization Migration Plan.
Draft the request, designate a resettlent area, transfer the household registrations to the town at the foot of Daheshan—we’re relocating Heishan Village!"
"Understood, Brother Lu! I'll handle it right away!!"
As soon as Yan Feifan submitted the request, it was imdiately approved.
The report from above ca down in less than an hour—including the ti spent drafting it.
It was obvious they had already prepared for this.
And not just one plan—they had multiple contingency plans.
No matter which angle Lu Ding approached it from, the higher-ups had an imdiate response ready.
User Comments
0 comments from readers