Chapter 234
Chapter 234: Taking From Me and Not Even Saying Thanks
“Oh my, who do we have here?”
“Is this not our Military Merit Bureau’s Honorary Adviser?”
Luo Dongyun walked over with a smile and patted Li Mu’s arm warmly.
It was a joke.
The last time Li Mu had come to Bloodpool City, Luo Dongyun had led the entire Military Merit Bureau in receiving him with an extremely grand formal welcome.
During the banquet, they had even mentioned the first military post Li Mu had ever taken in the Abyss-Suppressing Army.
It had been as an adviser in the Cultivation Arts Faculty.
That was why Luo Dongyun jokingly called Li Mu the Military Merit Bureau’s Honorary Adviser.
After all, the cultivation arts he had revised were more than enough to qualify him for that title.
Even a higher title would fit him just fine.
However, ever since the Hong Liangpeng incident, Li Mu had thought things through.
He could accept some nominal titles, but he would absolutely no longer casually take on any fixed position.
Otherwise, he might end up leashed like Hong Liangpeng.
“Commissioner Luo!”
Li Mu smiled and shook hands firmly with Luo Dongyun and Zhang Baihe.
Luo Dongyun smiled and said, “Come on. Sit at the Military Merit Bureau for a while.”
Zu Yuanji looked at Luo Dongyun with a hint of disdain and said, “Wait a moment!”
“I have barely managed to say two sentences to him, and now you are trying to drag him away again!”
Luo Dongyun immediately said with righteous conviction, “Oh? That is where you are wrong! I am looking for Li Mu on proper business.”
Zu Yuanji was so angry that he laughed.
“What, then? Am I looking for him to play cards?”
Luo Dongyun turned to Zhang Baihe and said, “Military Overseer Zu wants someone to play cards with him. Baihe, your card skills are not bad. Stay behind and play with him!”
“Come on. Let us go.”
After saying that, he grabbed Li Mu and headed outside.
Li Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry. What kind of master of distraction was this?
Luo Dongyun looked refined and elegant.
He had not expected the man to be such a clown in private.
Zhong Xinghai and the others burst into laughter.
Zu Yuanji angrily tried to chase after them, but Zhang Baihe blocked him with a smile.
After comforting Zu Yuanji with a few words, Zhang Baihe also followed Luo Dongyun out.
Zu Yuanji truly had nothing important to discuss with Li Mu.
At most, he wanted to learn more about the recent situation in the Linyuan City Military District and persuade Li Mu to stay in Bloodpool City for a few more days.
Those matters were indeed less important than the affairs of the Military Merit Bureau.
The Military Merit Bureau had finally managed to catch Li Mu once.
Zu Yuanji naturally knew what took priority and would not hold the Military Merit Bureau back.
After they left the Military Oversight Headquarters, the Military Merit Bureau’s cluster of buildings was not far away.
This place had previously looked like a school.
After Stage Three, the Military Merit Bureau had moved above ground, but it had not rebuilt its headquarters.
Instead, it had directly transformed a school into the Military Merit Bureau Headquarters.
As soon as they entered the Military Merit Bureau complex, they were greeted by a huge, flat training arena.
On both sides were supporting buildings such as indoor venues and a dining hall.
Directly ahead was a six-story former teaching building.
It seemed to have only been a small school.
However, the sign on the building read “Northern Frontier Abyss-Suppressing Army Cultivation Art Research Bureau.”
That made this unremarkable school look extremely imposing.
Along the way, Luo Dongyun kept asking Li Mu about his recent situation.
After chatting for a while, Li Mu took the initiative and said, “Actually, I really did come here for the Military Merit Bureau this time.”
Luo Dongyun’s eyes lit up.
“Oh? What do you mean?”
Li Mu glanced at the time and said, “Allow me to keep you in suspense for now. I brought a few disciples with me. They are outside picking up corpses with my wife.”
“When they arrive later, I will explain the details to you.”
Li Mu planned to hand the cultivation arts over to Luo Dongyun.
The Mute Women could conveniently demonstrate their power on the spot.
He could also perform them himself.
However, he was too strong.
A gap-like level of strength had no reference value.
Moreover, Li Mu planned to get Luo Dongyun’s Heaven-Shaking Compass from him, so he had to raise his conditions the moment Luo Dongyun saw the results.
“You...”
Luo Dongyun pointed at him with a helpless expression.
By now, the two had already entered the Military Merit Bureau complex.
Zhang Baihe followed behind, accompanying Zhang Zhiwei, Lu Chenfeng, and Song Chuhe.
At this moment, waves of weapon clashes and air-shattering explosions from martial combat rang out.
On the huge training arena in front of the building, a group of bare-chested martial artists holding long sabers were sparring with one another.
Their True Qi circulation was kept to a minimal degree, and they were all using the standard Falling Leaf Saber Art.
At the edge of the arena, a beautiful and capable-looking girl was pacing back and forth.
The girl held a clipboard in her left hand and a pen in her right. She put the pen into her mouth and lightly bit the end of it with her pearly teeth, focusing completely on the sparring in the arena.
The sparring on the field was roughly divided into ten groups.
There were twenty people in total, paired up two by two.
After walking for a few steps, the girl suddenly shouted, “Stop!”
Everyone looked at her, and the girl said in dissatisfaction, “Groups Three, Six, and Ten. I will emphasize this again!”
“Do not keep making your own decisions and trying to change moves!”
“You do not possess that ability at all!”
“Follow the method I told you properly!”
“Continue!”
After the girl finished speaking, the crowd once again began clashing with clanks and clangs.
Li Mu looked toward Luo Dongyun in some confusion.
Luo Dongyun explained, “Her name is Meng Peipei. She is from the Military Merit Bureau of Lingyun Wanxiang City.”
“She can be considered a cultivation art prodigy.”
“She has a special method of improvement.”
“She finds ten control groups and observes them carefully during constant sparring.”
“From that, she discovers places where a cultivation art can be improved.”
“The paper-format Falling Leaf Saber Art you revised was optimized by her by around five percent.”
“It is just that her method is somewhat torturous for the soldiers who accompany her in training.”
“She is indeed talented, but her personality is a little...”
Luo Dongyun gave Li Mu an indescribable expression.
“If she is talented, it is normal for her to have a bit of personality,” Li Mu said with a smile.
Luo Dongyun brought Li Mu closer. Meng Peipei seemed to notice that someone had come over as well.
She turned and glanced at Luo Dongyun and Li Mu.
Only then did she call out “Stop” once more.
Then she slowly came before Luo Dongyun and gave a slight bow as a greeting.
“Commissioner Luo.”
Luo Dongyun introduced them.
“Peipei, let me introduce you. This is Li Mu, Dragon General Li.”
“Li Mu, this is a cultivation art prodigy from Lingyun Wanxiang City, Meng Peipei.”
Meng Peipei looked at Li Mu with slight surprise.
“You are Li Mu? You are this young?”
The matter of Li Mu revising cultivation arts was neither a major nor minor secret.
At Meng Peipei’s level, she just happened to know that a Dragon General named Li Mu had revised the Falling Leaf Saber Art.
But she did not know Li Mu’s specific information.
Because she herself could be considered a minor classified figure as well.
Now that she saw Li Mu was actually much younger than her, appearing to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, she was naturally surprised.
Li Mu smiled without speaking.
Then Meng Peipei continued, “I was just worrying about not being able to find the person himself to exchange pointers with. I improved the Falling Leaf Saber Art by around five percent.”
“I have always felt that there is still quite a bit of room for improvement.”
“But I have never had any clues. It is perfect that you came.”
“Tell me in detail about your mental process when you improved the cultivation art.”
“Perhaps I can discover more flaws from it and raise its quality a little further.”
Meng Peipei spoke as though it were only natural, placing the pen and clipboard behind her back.
She seemed to be waiting for Li Mu to explain his mental process.
The Military Merit Bureau was different from other places.
In other places, perhaps a sufficiently high military rank was enough to inspire respect.
But in a place like the Military Merit Bureau or the Research Institute, skill truly dominated the trade.
If one wanted others to submit, military merit alone might not necessarily work in the Military Merit Bureau.
Meng Peipei herself was also a Mid Tiger Marquis.
She had also come from a “big place” like Lingyun Wanxiang City, so she could indeed be considered someone who had seen the world.
That was why she did not feel intimidated when she saw Li Mu, a Junior Dragon General.
Most importantly, in her heart, she was wholly devoted to cultivation art research. No matter what she did, she believed she could not be wrong.
As long as her professional ability was strong enough, there was no need to fear anyone.
Li Mu, however, said calmly, “It is right that you feel there is room for improvement.”
“Because learning is endless.”
“No matter when it is, you must maintain a humble attitude. If you are too overbearing, it will be very difficult for you to make any progress.”
Hearing the barb in Li Mu’s words, Meng Peipei immediately frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Li Mu was speechless.
“You do not understand that?”
“Let me give you an example. Someone took a paper-format cultivation art and raised its quality from fifteen percent to eighty percent.”
“Then another person gained some insight from that sixty-five percent improvement and raised it by another five percent.”
“The latter person then became smug. When she met the former person, not only did she not thank him for his effort, but she even shamelessly asked him to talk about his mental process so she could find flaws in it.”
“She acted as though the Falling Leaf Saber Art could reach its current state entirely because of her.”
“A person like that is an ungrateful fool who eats from my table, drinks from my cup, and never even says thanks. It is very difficult for someone like that to have any great future.”
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