Chapter 21: Purchasing Weapons, Preparing for Synthesis

"Sorry, President Xu," Lu Jing shook his head, "I've already agreed with the school to represent it."

Well then......

Xu Xingwu frowned slightly, not expecting to be beaten to it, "It doesn't matter, anyway we're all representing the city; as long as you participate, it's fine."

After saying that, he got up from the sofa and patted Lu Jing's shoulder.

"That's about it, Little Friend Lu, I've said what I needed to say, I won't bother you further."

Before leaving, Xu Xingwu also exchanged a few pleasantries with Lu Haitao and his wife, praising them for raising their child well and nurturing such a talent.

Being praised by such a big shot made Lu Haitao and Feng Qinru feel very gratified.

After seeing Xu Xingwu off, the two were still in a dazed state, walking somewhat absentmindedly.

Seeing Xu Xingwu leave, Lu Jing greeted his parents and returned to his own bedroom.

It seemed like what just happened was a trivial matter.

At this moment, Lu Leyi had lost her usual playfulness and liveliness; she was now in a very confused state.

Since the morning at the Martial Association's gate, she had been in a daze.

At first, she didn't really believe what Senior Leng Yueyue said, thinking it was a coincidence, and that the person who scared off the examiner was someone who shared Lu Jing's name.

In Lu Leyi's impression, Leng Yueyue had always been aloof, keeping strangers at bay, and remained unflappable no matter what happened.

Such an ice-cold, aloof person, whenever she mentioned Lu Jing, her eyes would fill with light—she was practically a little fangirl.

Leng Yueyue had always been her idol and goal; she never expected her idol to be her brother's fangirl.

This left her unable to accept it for a while.

That would have been enough, but she didn't expect even the Martial Association's president to personally come over to congratulate them, all because her brother's talent was too outstanding.

What kind of person is Xu Xingwu? He's a big shot that only exists on television.

She vaguely remembered that on a certain school ceremony, they had been fortunate enough to invite Xu Xingwu.

As soon as Xu Xingwu arrived, he was surrounded by the school leadership, all kinds of flattery and fawning.

Even the principal treated him with utmost respect, as if being able to invite Xu Xingwu was a great honor.

Yet such a person actually acted familiar in front of Lu Jing—could her brother really be that formidable?

When did Lu Jing start becoming so dazzling?

Lu Leyi recalled Lu Jing's recent changes in her mind—his demeanor, height, build, appetite—everything seemed different from before.

"Turns out he's so talented; before, I relied on being his sister to bully him..."

Thinking back to her own childish behavior, she would compete for her parents' affection with Lu Jing in front of them, being unreasonable everywhere, and even claimed her talent was better than Lu Jing's.

Every time Lu Jing just smiled, she thought he knew he was in the wrong and didn't dare argue with her.

Now it seems Lu Jing simply didn't bother to argue with her.

"I was really willful before..."

Lu Leyi's cheeks flushed slightly, not knowing how to face Lu Jing from now on.

"Mom, Dad, I'm heading back to my room first."

Lu Leyi got up from the sofa, preparing to return to her bedroom to calm down.

However, at this moment Lu Haitao and Feng Qinru were still discussing Lu Jing's affairs, completely unaware of what she had said.

This made Lu Leyi feel sour inside; her brother was simply too outstanding, making her feel like a mere filler.

The next day.

Inside Tianyi Martial Hall.

A youth had just entered when he was surrounded by a group of people.

"Are you Lu Jing?"

"You look just like in the video."

"Quick, quick, go report to the hall master!"

Lu Jing's purpose in coming to the martial hall was to buy some weapons for synthesis.

Although he practiced fist techniques, to survive in the Huāngshén Cónglín, weapons are essential.

Once faced with a swarm of demon beast attacks, relying on fists and sharp teeth alone makes injury likely.

But he never expected that upon entering Tianyi Martial Hall, he would be surrounded.

Not long after, Hall Master Zhang Qingyang came running down from upstairs.

"Lu Jing, we've been searching for you high and low; you finally showed up."

Lu Jing blinked slightly at the words, "What do you want from me? Did I not pay for something I bought?"

"No, no, you misunderstood," Zhang Qingyang explained quickly, "There's something I want to discuss with you."

After saying that, he led Lu Jing to a VIP room.

"It's like this, Student Lu Jing, we want to invite you to become an honorary disciple of the martial hall; do you have any interest?"

"Martial hall disciple?"

Lu Jing frowned slightly, "What's in it for me?"

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "First, honorary disciples don't need to do anything; just being registered is enough. After that, all items sold by our martial hall will be 20% off for you, and you'll receive a monthly subsidy of five thousand yuan."

This is a common tactic of the martial hall, leveraging its many branches to gather talented disciples from various places.

As long as we provide these disciples with some minor support, we might unexpectedly reap great rewards in the future.

Those the martial hall notices are top-tier talents; once they grow, they become major powers in their regions.

Although it's said on the surface that they needn't do anything for the martial hall, when manpower is short and the hall truly faces a thorny issue, these people will mostly still choose to intervene.

The martial hall's current scale is closely tied to this practice.

Nowadays, the martial hall has accumulated countless honorary disciples, among whom many outstanding talents have already grown up; for the hall, this is also an invisible form of advertising.

And the reason Zhang Qingyang puts in so much effort is also for his own future.

For every successful recommendation of a talent, a great merit will be recorded.

I disagree, is there anything else?

I didn't expect Lu Jing to refuse without even thinking.

This... how about we consider it further? The subsidy can be discussed again.

Zhang Qingyang was getting anxious; Lu Jing had already firmly established himself as a Talent Endowed in his mind. Absorbing such talent might just get him a Promotion.

Seeing Zhang Qingyang make such concessions, Lu Jing shifted his tone and said: "It's not impossible, but I want a seven-tenths price, and the subsidy must be increased to ten thousand!"

Moreover, when I want to withdraw, I must be able to do so at any time.

As for the honorary disciple of the Martial Hall, Lu Jing still knows a bit about it; joining would have no real impact.

Zhang Qingyang hemmed and hawed: "This... is a bit too much; I need to apply to my superiors."

Alright, if you can accept my terms, come find me again to talk.

After saying that, Lu Jing left the room and headed to the weapons sales area.

As for choosing a weapon, he had already thought it through in advance.

Commonly used weapons are knives, spears, and swords.

Although swords are flashy, they are mainly used in one-on-one combat; for Lu Jing they are not very useful.

Knives are the most domineering, with great lethality, simple and easy-to-learn techniques, and are also very suitable for fighting Demon Beasts.