Although the profession of cultivator had only risen this year, the culture of cultivators in the Mysterious Country was inherited from the martial arts and immortal hero cultures of street novels, and cultivators naturally saw themselves as the contemporary martial heroes, or reincarnations of immortal heroes. An important characteristic of this culture is: no nonsense.

After a brief rest, the two sides immediately began to spar and compete.

Ren Suo saw that the Tactical Bureau had also brought a medical team, and with a glance, he recognized one or two people—he didn't know their names, but knew they were doctors from the Third Affiliated Hospital, proficient in both modern medicine and Spirit Energy Healing.

This medical team might not be as good as Ren Suo in physical healing, but in terms of professionalism and versatility, they could easily outperform him. However, with such a team present, Ren Suo would most likely not need to take the field—why would they need him, a half-baked barefoot Healing Cultivator.

There were four Third-turn Cultivators from the Tactical Bureau: Yu Kuangtu, Li Dan, Qiao Muyi, and Yao Fei.

These past few days, Ren Suo had been sleeping soundly to cultivate, and he had no idea that Li Dan had advanced to third turn. He would have to find time to sleep and get the Key from him.

There were nine visitors in total from the Sky Capital Strategic Bureau. Due to the distance, Ren Suo couldn't sense them with his Qi Cyclone, but logically, all nine of them should be Third-turn Cultivators.

While the number of Third-turn Cultivators in Lianjiang was not small, they didn't quite add up to nine. Among them, Ren Suo was not interested in participating in the ranking matches, considering himself an unfettered individual. Nevertheless, those nine should be sufficient to fulfill the examination requirements for Third-turn Cultivators from each city.

The fact that the Sky Capital Countermeasure General Bureau could casually send out nine Third-turn Cultivators just goes to show how many hidden dragons and crouching tigers there are in the Mysterious Country, all carefully cultivated by the nation.

Among them, the one who caught the most attention was the Ancient Martial Grandmaster known to Zhao Huo, Gu Wenyi.

Cultivators over thirty were quite rare—because that is not the age group that the nation focuses on cultivating. Whether an Awakener or not, most middle-aged people over thirty have already settled down, possibly married, and started a family. Their worldviews and careers are solidly established, and few would be willing to give up their careers and join the ranks of cultivators.

Ren Suo's mother called him only to see if she could get a relative's daughter into the Heavenly Lotus Academy. She herself never had the slightest interest in cultivation—for her, it would be better to spend the time playing mahjong.

Ren Suo and Zhao Huo discussed in low voices, and aside from Dong Chengling who was next to Ren Suo, no one else heard their conversation. Dong Chengling turned her head to glance towards Gu Yueyan sitting in the back, stood up, walked to the second row, and sat next to Gu Yueyan. In her surprised gaze, Dong Chengling took her hand and covered it, laughing, "Your hands are so cold."

Gu Yueyan felt somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not cold though..."

Despite saying that, Gu Yueyan took the initiative to wrap her arms around Dong Chengling's hand, snuggling against her warm and gentle body like a child seeking affection.

The fact that Dong Chengling and Gu Yueyan had privately agreed to consider each other sisters was known throughout the Academy, and the other students were accustomed to their intimacy. They only pondered whether rubbing against Dong Chengling might garner a bit of Spiritual Energy from a Fourth-Stage Cultivator, which could account for Gu Yueyan's faster cultivation rate compared to themselves...

Soon, the first pairing for the competition was decided: the Tactical Bureau's Yu Kuangtu would face a square-faced Cultivator from Sky Capital.

While this was just proclaimed a friendly spar, to everyone watching it seemed like a match between the Lianjiang Tactical Bureau and the Sky Capital Countermeasure General Bureau. Since the competitors were of the same cultivation level, defeating a guest from the General Bureau would definitely boost the Lianjiang Tactical Bureau's morale, not to mention the benefits of making it onto the rankings.

Accordingly, Yu Kuangtu, who was known as the first among Lianjiang's third-turn, naturally had to draw first blood, securing the first victory of the spar to uplift the spirits.

As the students saw the competition about to begin, they all craned their necks and focused intently—sparring between transcendent Third-turn Cultivators was too rare an opportunity. The Tactical Bureau needed to use the Academy's combat training field for their sparring; otherwise, these students would've hardly had a chance to be spectators.

On another note, this showed the importance the nation placed on the student cultivators since even the Tactical Bureau didn't have such specialized combat training fields, which were only found in academies and the military.

By watching the battles between Third-turn Cultivators, students were expected to witness firsthand the confrontation and destructive power and to determine their future paths in Spell study.

Did they fancy playing with fire?

Or were they inclined toward close combat?

Or did they want to learn from a certain Third-turn Cultivator sitting in the front row with her legs crossed, studying Healing Magic to be a Healer?

The two combatants took their positions at opposite ends of the building area, while the rest of the people ascended to the spectator stands.

Qiao Muyi moved the fastest; she walked through the aisle between the first and second rows, greeting Dong Chengling and Gu Yueyan. As she passed by Ren Suo, her right hand naturally slid into the back of his collar.

It was bitterly cold but exhilarating at the same time!

Qiao Muyi had just come in from outside!

Her cold and soft hand slipped down Ren Suo's back, causing him to shiver. Then, Qiao Muyi settled down next to him, her hands clasped on her thighs, watching the training field below with perfect decorum.

After all, Qiao Muyi was still on duty, so she couldn't be seen bantering with Ren Suo in front of her subordinates. Resigned, Ren Suo could only quietly take the loss.

Bai Ji, who walked a bit slower, clicked his tongue, but several female teachers immediately pulled him to sit. His hands were held down by at least four others; escaping was not an option.

Most of the Tactical Cultivators took seats in the back, around the fifth or sixth rows. After all, the front rows were reserved for the instructors and students, and they weren't familiar with the teaching staff and students of the Heavenly Lotus Academy, so it would be inappropriate to sit there.

When Gu Yuexuan stepped up, he saw that there were no seats left next to Gu Yueyan, so he naturally couldn't sit there either. As he noticed that his father, Gu Wenyi, intended to just walk by, Gu Yuexuan spoke in a low voice, "Dad, sister is over there."

Gu Wenyi turned his head, glanced at Gu Yueyan who was leaning against Dong Chengling, and noticing that she was covertly observing him, his chiseled face remained expressionless. His eyes were like cold stars, his eyebrows like painted strokes. He simply turned his head and walked on, as cold and unresponsive as a rock.

Gu Yuexuan tsked and waved at his sister before hurrying to catch up.

"Wow, that handsome guy is flirting with me!"

"Should we go over and ask for his WeChat later?"

"Hmph, you bunch of trashy girls, scram! Teacher Bai is mine."

"Dream on!"

The girls around Gu Yueyan thought Gu Yuexuan had waved at them, but once they started talking about the good-looking guy, the conversation inevitably turned to the matter of who Teacher Bai belonged to.

Dong Chengling noticed Gu Wenyi and Gu Yuexuan's actions, looked down at Gu Yueyan who was silent, gently touched her little head, and softly chuckled, "Our Yueyan is really adorable. I wonder who will be so lucky to be liked by Yueyan..."

Gu Yueyan blushed and whispered, "I just like Sister Ling..."

"Hee hee, then I'm very fortunate." While Dong Chengling was soothing Gu Yueyan, she glanced at the first row. When Qiao Muyi takes the stage, I'll call Ren Suo over... The Heavenly Lotus Academy is, after all, my turf.

Before everyone had even settled down, the two in the training field couldn't wait to begin.

BOOM!

Yu Kuangtu's Fire Fist Lotus Bloom instantly blew apart several nearby buildings, carrying an apocalyptic momentum as if he were a Flame Demon that had incinerated his clothes down to just the Tactical Bureau's vest, and lunged at the square-faced Cultivator!

The square-faced Cultivator slightly smiled, took out a bottle of Farmer Spring water, then punched and burst it!

The mineral water splashed recklessly from the broken bottle, expanding in mid-air, and in an instant, it turned into a turbid white giant wave, crashing towards Yu Kuangtu!

Ren Suo immediately recognized the Spell—it was a Second-Tier Spell, one of the foundations of the Water System Spells, "Water Splashing Leap"!

This move didn't do much harm and was merely meant to create a water environment with existing water to facilitate the casting of other Water System Spells. It didn't matter if one didn't carry any water; one could even cast Water Splashing Leap by peeing or spitting, although the effect wouldn't be as good.

However, for Yu Kuangtu, "Water Splashing Leap" was a huge restraint—the Ice System Spells of Bai Ji could only weaken the destructive power of Yu Kuangtu's flames at most, but a water environment could directly affect the strength of Yu Kuangtu's flames!

Ren Suo glanced at the Tactical Headquarters Cultivator sitting at the back. Yu Kuangtu's favorite Spells are not a secret to the headquarters; have they deliberately sent a water-affine square-faced Cultivator to spar with Yu Kuangtu?

The subsequent battle played out exactly as Ren Suo predicted: the square-faced Cultivator kept expanding the water environment and used Water System Spells like "Water Escape Wall," "High-Pressure Water Slash," and "Poison Dragon Water Drill" to put Yu Kuangtu in quite a predicament. Even his most prideful Fiery Flame was completely suppressed by the overwhelming water.

Seeing that he, the Deputy Director of the Tactical Bureau, was being suppressed by someone from the headquarters, Yu Kuangtu couldn't bear it after less than two minutes. Suddenly, he crouched down on all fours like an animal, with pale-blue flames igniting on both hands and feet!

The square-faced Cultivator knew trouble was coming and hid behind a building, trying to evade Yu Kuangtu's line of sight.

However, as Yu Kuangtu let out a Furious Roar, he turned into a white blur in everyone's eyes. The square-faced Cultivator immediately erected a Water Escape Wall as hard as a steel wall to block Yu Kuangtu's Charge.

"The outcome has been decided!"

As Gu Wenyi declared in a resonant voice from the back row, the square-faced Cultivator's Water Escape Wall was shattered in an instant, and splashes drenched the entire training field, making the audience feel as though a light rain had fallen.

Yu Kuangtu, who usually put on airs with his neat attire, was left with just a vest from the Tactical Bureau on his upper body. The pants below his knees were burned away, and his shoes and socks turned to ash, exposing his bare feet on the ground.

He grabbed the neck of the unharmed square-faced Cultivator, who was not terrified but had both hands on Yu Kuangtu's wrist.

It seemed that even if Yu Kuangtu didn't stop, he likely had a way to escape the predicament.

"Worthy of being the 'Southern Divine Fire' Yu Kuangtu," said the square-faced Cultivator with a smile.

"Southern Divine Fire?" Yu Kuangtu's eyes lit up. "That name suits me."

"When you make it onto the list, 'Southern Divine Fire' will probably be your nickname."

Watching the two leave the field with a laugh, everyone let out a sigh of relief, afraid they might actually get serious.

Li Dan pondered for a moment on the spectator stand, called Qin Lian from the front row and handed her a jacket, nodding towards Yu Kuangtu on the field. "Go give him this spare jacket. I'm about to go down."

"Huh?" Qin Lian was somewhat surprised. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate..."

"The Tactical Bureau doesn't have so many tedious rules. Besides, he's the Deputy Director. As long as he's not pretending to be sick to go on a date with you or breaking any hard and fast rules, these little things don't matter to anyone."

Li Dan glanced at Qin Lian. "Or is it that you're not too keen on revealing this relationship?"

Qin Lian was momentarily startled, then quickly laughed. "He's come to the academy to find me so many times, there's no one among my classmates who doesn't know."

Saying that, she picked up her coat and headed down to the rest area, running joyfully towards the surprised Yu Kuangtu.

As Li Dan walked down the steps into the forest area, she thought to herself, Although Yu Kuangtu is in many ways not ideal, his EQ is just good enough to get by in social interactions and his IQ is just sufficient for handling work. Plus, he occasionally indulges in dalliances, but it seems his eye for picking a girlfriend isn't too bad. Having worked with Yu Kuangtu for so long, I sometimes worry that this pure-hearted young man might be swindled by a bad girl into losing his entire fortune and facing an unending calamity. At this thought, I'll take a glance at Ren Suo in the first row. Between Yu Kuangtu and Ren Suo, I unexpectedly have more confidence in Ren Suo—it appears as if Ren Suo comes with a layer of protection, making him impervious to being deceived by women. Of course, that also means he probably couldn't deceive women either.

The second battle began.

Ren Suo didn't know how to describe Li Dan's opponent, so he just referred to him as an ordinary-looking Ugly Monk. One had to be seriously ugly in the past to grow up and still not look normal even after reaching the third turn.

There wasn't much to see in Li Dan's fight; he only had sufficient Cultivation, with his Spells lagging behind. Plus, he'd always been a Scout Cultivator more suited to administrative tasks, not adept at combat. Faced with the ordinary-looking Ugly Monk's Earth Spell, he quickly lost the battle.

So, ugliness indeed equates to exceptional strength.

The third battle was between Yao Fei and a Curly-haired Monk. As for Yao Fei, Ren Suo had only seen her a few times and just remembered that she reached the second turn quite early, back when Ren Suo was still a member of the Tactical Cultivators.

But Yao Fei had been stuck at the second turn for a long time, overtaken by Muyi in the end. Unexpectedly, just a few days after she became Muyi's secretary, she advanced to the third turn.

Yao Fei was inherently a Combat Cultivator and, after having been stuck at the second turn for so long, her combat prowess had become incredibly refined. Moreover, her awakened spells were of the combat type, making her battle with the Curly-haired Monk particularly intense.

Ren Suo also confirmed that the nine people from the Tactical Headquarters had indeed been deliberately sent as Cultivators with considerable targeting abilities to exchange pointers with Lianjiang Cultivators.

Yao Fei's awakened spells were similar to time acceleration; her attack speed was extremely fast and her offensive variations were swift and unpredictable. Wielding two short blades, she danced a Dance of Death on the battlefield.

However, the Curly-haired Monk's spell type was Air System spells. He used Spells like the Air Weighting Spell for defense, effectively slowing down Yao Fei's offensive. Nevertheless, he was being beaten without the ability to fight back.

This reality of close combat with Cold Weapons captivated everyone's attention, everyone afraid to even blink, lest they miss the Curly-haired Monk getting his throat cut or the moment he turned the tables.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Muyi suddenly asked.

"Beautiful," Ren Suo replied without a second thought.

Muyi humphed a couple of times, propping her chin and said, "But Yao Fei's awakened spell is of the acceleration type. Maybe she'll age particularly quickly..."

Muyi's scornful retort echoed from the Listening Headphones: 'You men just like young and beautiful girls, but people do age.'

Ren Suo tapped on his Listening Headphones, smacked his lips, pondered the echo's meaning for a moment, and replied softly, "You'll still be beautiful when you're old."

Muyi was momentarily taken aback, then poked Ren Suo's waist and said fiercely, "I'm not going to get old!"

Huh? Wrong answer? Ren Suo scratched his head and continued to watch the battle.

Muyi turned her head to the side, her mouth curling up ever so slightly, revealing a hint of a smile. One should have complimented that a girl will stay young forever; only a fool like him would say 'you'll still be beautiful when you're old'... Tsk, starting to like this fool more and more.

"Gu Wenyi is the Combat Instructor at the Tactical Headquarters."

Muyi suddenly stated, "The functions at the Tactical Headquarters are much more complex than those at city bureaus, and there are many positions that aren't found in local bureaus, such as various types of instructors. However, instructors at the Tactical Headquarters must also participate in frontline combat, command battles, gain experience, and observe the combat abilities of the team members. Afterward, they provide relevant guidance. They are essentially an enhanced version of team leaders but with considerable authority. They can directly affect the deployment and subsequent training direction of Tactical Cultivators, and their administrative levels are equivalent to a Director."

Ren Suo looked at Muyi with some surprise. Why did she suddenly start talking about Gu Wenyi?

"Of all the transcendent combat instructors across the country, I don't know about the military, but within the Tactical system, there are only two, both in the Sky Capital Countermeasure General Bureau, and one of them is Gu Wenyi," Qiao Muyi continued. "To hold this position, one not only needs to be capable but also deeply trusted by the state."

"Before Gu Wenyi, he was probably a department-level official in a vice-provincial city of Lian Province. He was willing to give up a position that he had worked over twenty years to attain, cultivated to a third-turn at the age of over forty, and joined the transcendent Tactical system. Barring any accidents, he will definitely become an important figure in the transcendent administrative system in the future."

"His son, Gu Yuexuan, is now the captain of the Scouting team at the Sky Capital Countermeasure General Bureau, also with limitless future prospects."

Qiao Muyi turned her head and glanced at Gu Yueyan, who was holding Dong Chengling's hand. Sighing inwardly, she said, "It seems that Gu Yueyan doesn't have a very good relationship with them."

Ren Suo was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but glance at Gu Yueyan from the corner of his eye.

Gu Wenyi, Gu Yuexuan, Gu Yueyan... When I heard Zhao Huo mention it just now, I felt that something was off... So, they are really a family!

"Xiao Suo, find a chance to ask Yueyan later why their relationship isn't very good," Qiao Muyi suddenly said. "After asking, tell me. If it's her dad's fault, I will challenge her dad, but if it's the son's fault, I will give her brother a good thrashing."

Ren Suo tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Didn't you just give a whole analysis on how Gu Wenyi and Gu Yuexuan have limitless prospects for the future..."

"Yes, and that's why the chance to stand up for Yueyan is now," Qiao Muyi said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "If they become big shots later, we won't have any reason or opportunity to hit them!"

Ren Suo considered asking, 'Aren't you afraid they'll suppress you after they become big shots?' But he thought about it and answered himself—Qiao Muyi simply didn't care about that. In this respect, I feel Qiao Muyi is a bit like myself—if I offended someone at work, I would just go back to my hometown and find an honest person to marry! All the glories and riches of the world aren't as satisfying as a hearty drink.

Seeing Ren Suo agree readily, Qiao Muyi also quietly heaved a sigh of relief in her heart.

Even though Gu Yueyan never mentioned it, I always felt a bit guilty—after all, I was the shared love advisor for Gu Yueyan and Dong Chengling just for the sake of watching the drama unfold. I've already repaid my debt to Dong Chengling, but I've been dragging out my debt to Gu Yueyan. Moreover, I feel that Gu Yueyan has likely given up on Ren Suo by now, so I can't repay the debt with an opportunity from Ren Suo. Seeing a chance to repay the debt now, I naturally have to grasp it without hesitation. As for why I didn't ask myself, it's because I feel that Gu Yueyan might not open up to me anymore. And I didn't let Dong Chengling ask because I think if Dong Chengling found out that Gu Yueyan was being wronged, Dong Chengling might take the initiative to get justice for Gu Yueyan, and wouldn't give me the opportunity. As for letting Ren Suo do it, firstly because Ren Suo unexpectedly has a way of making people feel vulnerable, easily prying open their Heart Chambers. Secondly, Ren Suo is more of a Salted Fish and wouldn't compete with me for the opportunity to repay the debt.

After ten minutes of tug-of-war, Yao Fei and the Curly-haired Monk's fight was stopped by Gu Wenyi, who announced Yao Fei was slightly ahead—after all, the Curly-haired Monk had been maintaining the Air Weighting Spell throughout, which meant his Spiritual Energy expenditure was far greater than Yao Fei's. Continuing the fight would likely result in Yao Fei's victory.

The fourth bout came, and it was Qiao Muyi's turn to go down.

Qiao Muyi's opponent was a lean man with a rather feminine appearance.

Ren Suo was quite curious if there were any Cultivators in the Tactical Headquarters' nine who could counter Qiao Muyi, considering she was a very well-rounded Cultivator—defense, mobility, ice, fire, wind, and earth, she nearly knew it all, a true jack-of-all-trades among Third-turn Cultivators without any weak points.

But Ren Suo still remembered Qiao Muyi's instructions and turned to chat with Gu Yueyan. At that moment, Dong Chengling happened to call Ren Suo over to the second row, "Suo, come sit over here."

Rising eagerly to the call, Ren Suo had barely settled down when he heard a thunderous boom, and the spectators' stand began to shake underneath him.

"Ah, sorry about that."

Qiao Muyi glanced at the feminine-looking Cultivator lying shocked on the ground in front of her. Next to the Cultivator was a fiery path, at the end of which was a giant boulder still burning, having been accurately smashed into the wall below the spectators' stand.

Her combo Spell formed by the negatively emotion-augmented 'Flame Dance' + 'Earth Star', called 'Fire Meteor', had flattened the buildings, trees, and rivers between Qiao Muyi and the spectators' stand.

"The spectators' stand isn't very safe now—you all might as well come down to watch," Qiao Muyi said loudly, signaling a pause to the feminine-looking Cultivator.

The Cultivator on the ground nodded and swallowed hard, then turned with beseeching eyes towards Gu Wenyi in the spectators' stand.

Yes, my Awakening Technique can suppress Spiritual Energy fluctuations and weaken the effects of all Spells; no matter who I face, I have an advantage. Against Qiao Muyi, the All-Powerful Monk, I am indeed the best choice... But being crushed to death by a several-ton fire boulder or by a several-dozen-kilogram fire boulder makes no difference! Instructor Gu, can you see the sincerity in my eyes? Can you let me surrender quickly? I'm so scared!

With her hands on her hips, Qiao Muyi caught sight of Dong Chengling and Ren Suo having to stand up in the spectators' stand and couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth curve up into a smile.

Home field advantage? Heh, I'll just smash your home field to pieces.

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