Chapter 259

Seeing that Zhang Jie seemed moved, Li Wengang continued to play the emotional card:

"Mr. Zhang Jie, we are also very sorry to learn that your parents perished in the mouths of ferocious beasts.

And our military has always been fighting on the front lines against the ferocious beasts;

if you join us, you can hunt the most ferocious beasts to avenge your parents!"

"I am very grateful for the military's high regard for me, but I am sorry,

I have other ideas regarding the faction I will join."

Zhang Jie thought about it carefully and still rejected the military's invitation.

For one thing, the military emphasizes absolute obedience above all else,

and even though he is a high-end talent as a Spiritual Reader,

he feared that his freedom would still be subject to certain restrictions.

In the military, orders are like mountains; even if a superior wants you to go to your death, you have no choice but to go.

Although, judging by the reputation and actions of the Jiangnan Base City military over the years, such things rarely happen,

he was still accustomed to keeping his fate in his own hands.

Moreover, unlike ordinary martial artists, as a transmigrator, he had too many secrets,

making him unsuitable for a faction like the military that had little personal privacy.

Secondly, unlike worlds without magic or with low magic, where the military is the greatest machine of violence

that can sweep through martial arts circles and destroy sects,

in a world like the Devouring world, which is super-magical and super-Xuanhuan, only top-tier powerhouses are the masters of the greatest violence.

"Fighting alone for three thousand miles, one sword against a million troops" is no longer a fantasy;

it is an adjective describing a fact that could not be more realistic.

It is common for a top-tier powerhouse to be worth more than a hundred thousand or a million-strong army.

The reason why Earth's humans in the Devouring world achieved victory in the war against ferocious beasts

was not because the various national militaries exerted much effort, but because a supreme powerhouse named Luo Feng emerged among the human race!

If not for the rise of Luo Feng, Earth's humans would likely have been wiped out in the belly of the Golden Horned Beast.

For Zhang Jie, rather than climbing the ranks within the military system,

gaining power, and then controlling the army to hunt ferocious beasts for revenge,

it would be more satisfying to work hard on his cultivation, become a Councilor-level powerhouse, and hunt a few more King-level monsters.

Overall, joining the military is a choice with an extremely low cost-performance ratio.

Facing Zhang Jie's crisp and clean refusal, Li Wengang was not angry but remained polite:

"Everyone has their own aspirations, and our military will not force you.

However, if you ever change your mind, Mr. Zhang,

the doors of our military will always be open to you."

He had been mentally prepared for Zhang Jie's refusal:

For these geniuses aiming for the pinnacle of the martial path, a dojo like the Limit Dojo, which could receive guidance from Earth's first and

second strongest powerhouses, Hong and the Lei Shen, was their first choice.

Besides, he was just a Spiritual Reader; although he could be considered rare and a high-end talent,

the military was not without them, so there was no need to pester him.

After seeing Li Wengang off, a man from the Thunder Dojo, eight feet tall with a face full of flesh,

who looked more like a dojo coach than a recruitment clerk, came before Zhang Jie.

However, what left a deep impression on Zhang Jie was his massive bald head, which could rival Jiang Nian's, was so smooth that a fly would slip on it,

and shone brightly under the bright incandescent lights of the settlement area.

That dazzling light made Zhang Jie feel like he could barely open his eyes.

Touching his own thick, black hair, Zhang Jie was speechless for a moment:

Could it be that the Devouring world, like the One Punch Man world,

inexplicably circulated the law of "I'm bald, I'm stronger," where bald = stronger?

But the future Luo Feng and the current Hong weren't bald!

Well, Zhang Jie felt that this was mostly the fault of their Thunder Dojo's boss,

the world's second strongest powerhouse, the Lei Shen, who was second only to the world's first strongest.

Because the Lei Shen was a monk before the Great Nirvana,

he maintained his bald image even after becoming one of Earth's top powerhouses.

And this also influenced the people under him:

Most people in the Thunder Dojo also took baldness as their aesthetic standard.

It can be said that, apart from the few surviving temples where everyone was bald,

the Thunder Dojo was the faction with the highest concentration of bald people in the world—a gospel for middle-aged men losing their hair.

Zhang Jie had more than once maliciously speculated that the reason there were so many bald people in the Thunder Dojo

was because most of them went bald early in life, so they simply shaved their heads,

to avoid the trouble of having to number every single strand of hair...

"Mr. Zhang Jie..."

Unlike his rugged appearance, the person from the Thunder Dojo spoke with unexpected gentleness and affinity.

"Sorry, I have already promised to join the Limit Dojo."

Although he was also curious about the various benefits and treatments of the Thunder Dojo,

Zhang Jie, having already promised Jiang Nian to join the Limit Dojo, could only give a negative answer again.

Well, in fact, the worry about hair loss was also part of it,

accounting for a small, insignificant reason.

Although joining the Thunder Dojo didn't necessarily mean hair loss,

but as the saying goes, "near vermilion, one gets stained red; near ink, one gets stained black," so just in case,

Zhang Jie decided to stay away from the Thunder Dojo, which had a very high concentration of bald people.

He didn't want to be the first Zhang Jie in the shared space to become a "Mediterranean" (balding).

He would be laughed at by the other Zhang Jies until the end of time.

The person from the Thunder Dojo didn't pester him either and accepted Zhang Jie's refusal with great magnanimity:

"Our Thunder Dojo is very sorry to miss out on a genius like you, Mr. Zhang.

However, the doors of our Thunder Dojo will always be open to you."

Seeing that Zhang Jie had rejected the two major factions, the military and the Thunder Dojo, in succession,

and had said he promised to join the Limit Dojo, the recruiters from other factions knew he had already made his choice,

so they dispersed one after another and didn't bother him anymore.

And when the second prospective martial artist to arrive at the assessment certification area came out of the changing room,

they swarmed over just like they had treated Zhang Jie,

shouting out the recruitment conditions of their respective factions.

The second person had an honest face and looked like the kind of hardworking, honest kid who practiced martial arts diligently,

and having never seen such a scene, his face turned bright red for a moment.

Zhang Jie was happy to be idle, found an empty seat in the rest area, and watched his performance leisurely.

In the end, the second person rejected the generous conditions of the other factions and was recruited by the people from the Thunder Dojo.

It seems he was also a martial artist aiming for the pinnacle of the martial path.

It makes sense; which prospective martial artist participating in the martial arts practical assessment doesn't dream of

becoming a Warrior in one year, a War God in two years, and a Councilor-level powerhouse in three years,

becoming a top-tier powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of Earth's combat power?

It's just that the cruel reality tells them that most martial artists find it difficult to even reach the Warrior level,

and War God or Councilor-level powerhouses are completely unreachable dreams...