Chapter 39 : Chapter 39
Chapter 39: The Diligent Commandant Zhao
The bespectacled youth stared at Zhao Jun, who was enthusiastically following Lu Zhan around and guiding him in choosing a martial art.
He was so shocked he could hardly believe it.
No, Commandant Zhao, that was not how you treated me just now. Is such blatant favoritism really appropriate?
And who exactly was it that spread the rumor that Commandant Zhao of the Scripture Pavilion was the most impartial and iron-faced of them all?
What a joke. I actually believed it.
Naturally, Zhao Jun did not care what others thought. In his view, a heaven-defying talent like Lu Zhan ought to be treasured.
Not only because of his talent, but because he had a sense of responsibility.
When the Five Poisons Sect went to make trouble in his jurisdiction, he had chased them all the way from Peach Blossom Alley to Jade Bottle Bay. Others said he held grudges.
But was that not also a kind of responsibility?
If all the jurisdiction heads of the Demon Extermination Bureau were like him, what other factions would dare harbor crooked thoughts?
They would have no choice but to behave obediently.
“Lu Zhan, what kind of martial art are you looking to choose this time?”
Lu Zhan considered for a moment.
He remembered that when he killed Black Snake yesterday, he had obtained a Martial Art Copy Card, but had not had the chance to use it yet.
So he decided to ask about the situation first.
“Commandant Zhao, among those below the Yuan Gang Realm, which senior has cultivated the highest-grade martial art?”
Lu Zhan had asked exactly the right person. The Scripture Pavilion managed the exchange records for every martial art in the Demon Extermination Bureau.
Of course, none of that was supposed to be shared with outsiders. Showing people such records would be exposing everyone’s foundations.
If they ever got into a fight later, they would already be three parts weaker.
As the manager of the Scripture Pavilion, he naturally had to lead by example. How could he possibly do such a thing?
Would that not just offend people for no reason?
After a brief hesitation, he tossed over a green-covered notebook.
Inside, every person’s realm and cultivated martial arts were recorded in dense detail.
It was astonishingly thorough.
“Oh, right. A while ago, Wang Kaiyang from Tianhe District in Linhai City came here to exchange for an Upper Spirit Rank martial art—Heaven-Cleaving Three Blades.”
As though afraid Lu Zhan might miss it, Zhao Jun even explained it in detail.
He was laying everyone’s secrets bare without reserve.
It was not that Zhao Jun was muddleheaded. That brief hesitation just now had been the last bit of face he had left those colleagues of his.
As for which mattered more, that entire group of them or Lu Zhan, he could still tell the difference.
Besides, Lu Zhan was one of their own as a member of the Demon Extermination Bureau. Surely they would not mind this small amount of information being leaked.
That was what Zhao Jun told himself.
Following Zhao Jun’s words, Lu Zhan quickly found Wang Kaiyang’s name. It was just a pity that the man had already cultivated to the ninth layer of the Divine Sea Realm.
He could not copy it!
“Then what about someone below the fifth layer of the Divine Sea Realm?”
Lu Zhan flipped through the notebook.
Before long, he fixed on a name—Chen Xiaoguang.
“Commandant Zhao, do you know where he is right now?”
The man cultivated a saber art called [Nine Heavens Breaking Fiend Art].
It was an Upper Spirit Rank martial art.
Lu Zhan was quite satisfied with that saber art. If possible, he wanted to copy it.
“You mean Little Chen? I heard he recently took on a duty guarding the Demon-Suppressing Tower. He should still be there now.”
Zhao Jun had watched over the Scripture Pavilion for decades, so naturally he knew the people of the Demon Extermination Bureau well.
Lu Zhan nodded and committed that to memory. It just so happened that he was about to visit the Demon-Suppressing Tower to exchange for some Demon Beast flesh and blood.
The two of them then went up to the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.
Compared with the first floor, there were far fewer martial arts and cultivation methods here.
In total, there were only a bit more than two hundred volumes, ranging from Lower Spirit Rank to Upper Spirit Rank.
Most of them were Lower Spirit Rank, however. There were only a little over fifty Middle Spirit Rank manuals, and even fewer Upper Spirit Rank ones, only a dozen or so.
As for Peak Grade martial arts, they were all kept on the third floor.
It was said that there might even be Earth Rank manuals there, though that was only a rumor.
“Commandant Zhao, I want a movement-type martial art. Do you have any recommendations?”
Lu Zhan flipped through a few Lower Spirit Rank martial arts.
All of them were quite good.
At the very least, they were far superior to the Upper Mortal Rank Glimmering Light Shadow Escape.
The Demon Extermination Bureau was truly wealthy and powerful. If placed outside, even a Lower Spirit Rank martial art would be enough to spark a frenzy.
Zhao Jun casually pulled a manual from his robes.
“If you want a movement art, I think this one is quite good.”
Lu Zhan had his back turned, and his attention was fully focused on the martial arts, so naturally he did not notice Commandant Zhao’s little movement.
He accepted the manual and looked at it.
On the cover were several large characters—Nine Flash Steps of Thunder Shadow.
“Judging from the general outline, it seems to pursue explosive speed to the utmost. Still as a maiden, swift as a startled hare. Like a sudden bolt of thunder, one can instantly move nine steps away...”
“However, it places extremely high demands on the toughness of the meridians. But now that my body has already surpassed a Lower Spirit Rank Spirit Weapon in strength... isn’t this just perfect?”
The more he read, the more satisfied Lu Zhan became. Only when he reached the final page did he come back to his senses.
“Commandant Zhao, is this really a Lower Spirit Rank martial art? It seems far more profound than the other Lower Spirit Rank martial arts I just looked at. Looks like I really picked up a treasure today.”
Commandant Zhao’s expression did not change. This was not the first time he had done something like this.
Once you had done it once, the second time came naturally.
“Satisfied? If you are, then choose that one.”
In truth, Zhao Jun had originally wanted to pick a martial art from the third floor for Lu Zhan.
Unfortunately, access to the third floor required permission from the Commander.
Whenever he thought of that, he wanted to curse.
Even the Demon Extermination Bureau had to guard against a diligent and impartial commandant like him. It was enough to chill one’s heart.
After Lu Zhan left with the martial art, Commandant Zhao said the same thing Commandant Li had said—go ahead and do it. As long as it was within the rules, the Demon Extermination Bureau would back him.
If juniors fought and died, it just meant their skills were inferior.
If the older generation wanted to bully people, then naturally someone from the older generation would step out to deal with them.
That was the unspoken rule acknowledged by all factions.
The Five Poisons Sect had wanted to break that rule, but unfortunately their strength was not enough. The Demon Extermination Bureau had taught them a proper lesson.
A Yuan Gang Realm Martial Artist would count as a pillar anywhere.
Yet he had been cut down in Linhai without even making a splash, which only showed how deep the waters of Linhai truly ran.
No sooner had Lu Zhan stepped out of the Scripture Pavilion than a voice came from the corner.
“Lu Zhan, you also just became a Demon-Subduing Guard, right? I advise you to take the Marrow Cleansing Pill before leaving the Demon Extermination Bureau.”
Lu Zhan turned to look. It was the bespectacled youth he had just seen in the Scripture Pavilion.
“Oh? How do you know I haven’t taken the Marrow Cleansing Pill yet?”
Lu Zhan’s expression remained calm, though there was no telling what he was thinking.
“You probably don’t know the effect of the Marrow Cleansing Pill. After taking it, the impurities in the body will be expelled.”
“Of course, more importantly, when I collected my Demon-Subduing Guard supplies from Commandant Li just now, I happened to see them preparing someone’s materials. I suppose that person was you.”
“Haha!”
The bespectacled youth rubbed his nose awkwardly and laughed.
Then he introduced himself.
“My name is Zhang Ziliang. I passed the assessment in the fifty-fifth class. Brother, you look really unfamiliar.”
He pushed up his glasses, but the moment his gaze landed on Lu Zhan, he paused.
Mainly because the other party had an outstanding bearing that made one’s eyes brighten immediately. Someone like that should have left a deep impression on him.
Yet when he searched through all the participants of the fifty-fifth class in his memory, he could not find this face at all.
Could he be a senior from the previous class?
Then he was too pitiful.
An entire year had passed before he became a Demon-Subduing Guard.
Lu Zhan gave a slight nod. “Thank you for the reminder.”
Naturally, he understood that principle perfectly well. However... how could one fish without bait?
Lu Zhan headed toward the Demon-Suppressing Tower.
Behind him, Zhang Ziliang let out a helpless sigh. “Ai, this senior is too reckless. No one dares touch the Marrow Cleansing Pill inside the Demon Extermination Bureau, but once he takes it outside, I’m afraid not even his bones will be left unchewed.”
He seemed already to have foreseen Lu Zhan’s miserable fate.
As for Lu Zhan, his mind was now entirely focused on the system. In truth, it had already popped up back in the Storeroom.
He simply had not paid attention to it at the time.
[ Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the main quest — Become an Official Demon Exterminator ]
[ Evaluation: The host swept aside fellow examinees with monstrous talent, becoming an Official Demon Exterminator from an Apprentice Demon Exterminator in less than a week. His extraordinary gifts inspired awe among his colleagues. Overall Rating: A+ ]
[ Reward distribution in progress... ]