CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: REPORTING FOR DUTY

"Then why didn’t you say from the start that joining the Tianjian Bureau wouldn’t affect my studies? If you had said that initially, there wouldn’t have been a need for all this talk, and I might have agreed already."

"Do you think the Tianjian Bureau is just any organization, like a company where you’re applying for a job? The Tianjian Bureau, although not under the direct management of the military, still consists of professional soldiers. You’ve had contact with the Martial Arts Corps. Surely He Jinze told you that it is the elite of the elites within the Star Martial Army? But we, the Tianjian Bureau, are the true elite that even the Martial Arts Corps aspires to join. Joining the Tianjian Bureau should be an honor for you. It’s not about me begging you to join, let alone letting you set any terms you like. I, Wang Qianfeng, will not coerce anyone."

"Oh—"

Wang Qianfeng’s imposing aura, like that of a wolf ready to pounce, made Wang Lan feel like a little lamb cornered against the wall.

"Sign!" Wang Qianfeng thrust the application form in front of Wang Lan and ordered in a deep voice.

This is what you call not coercing someone? You look as if you’re going to tear me to pieces if I don’t agree. The form is already filled out, huh? Just waiting for the final signature? I really do feel very ’honored’ right now...

Muttering endless complaints inside, I quickly signed the document. Wang Qianfeng snatched it from me and then pulled another piece of paper out of his bag.

"This is the admission notice. Tomorrow morning at 8:30, head to the Tianjian Bureau’s Suzhou City branch to report. The address is on it. Any more questions?"

"No..."

"Then I’m leaving." Wang Qianfeng picked up his backpack, stood up, and turned to leave. The moment his back was turned, a sly smile flickered across his face like that of a fox.

"Safe travels, Director, be careful on your way..."

Having closed the elevator, the ingratiating smile on my face instantly disappeared as I excitedly dashed into the bedroom and dove onto the bed.

"Hahaha... I’m rich!"

In the elevator, Wang Qianfeng was smiling like a Shiba Inu. "He the Big Bad Wolf, competing with me for recruits? When have you ever succeeded, huh? Even if it’s in your bowl, I can still scoop it out... That’s what I say, folks... what’s the point of face?"

Lying quietly on the bed, I looked at the system where I still had fifteen hundred skill points left and felt utterly satisfied. Before, I had only six hundred points left and wanted to buy a few powerful Star Martial Skills, so I hesitated to put points into the Phoenix Form.

But now... let’s put five hundred into the Phoenix Form... Yeah, every time after I use it, I almost wish I could uninstall the skill, but when the time comes, it’s really sweet!

The rest is to study the Star Cloud Sword Dance. Although the Star Cloud Sword Dance is only at silver LV1, the same level as my basic skills, its power is definitely not comparable to that of any ordinary skill. Because this is a Star Martial Skill, the true lethal strength of a Star Martial Warrior.

Having a thousand skill points, I could splurge carelessly, but I still needed to maximize benefits. I took the elevator down to the training room on the third underground level.

I turned on the power. The lights flashed on, connecting to the PS armor. The entire training room, like the laboratory of a high-tech company, brimmed with a sense of technology.

I took a Han sword with eight gates from the weapon rack and tried it out. By the feel of the grip, it seemed about right. I closed my eyes; since it was my first time performing the Star Cloud Sword Dance, I needed to visualize it in my mind.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes as my sword began to move. With my movements, the long sword created shadows that looked like a fan unfolding, casting true afterimages in its wake.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to create this effect. As expected of a Star Martial Skill, regardless of its power, the light and shadow effects alone are full of style. But does the silver LV1 Star Cloud Sword Dance only serve to cast afterimages to confuse the enemy? Is that all it can do? For a skill that starts at the silver level, it would be a letdown if that was all there was to it.

Without hesitation, I spent a hundred points to upgrade the Star Cloud Sword Dance to silver LV2. Instantly, my understanding of the Star Cloud Sword Dance soared to a new level, and I realized that casting afterimages was just the beginner’s phase. How to use these afterimages as sharp weapons and how to effectively conceal the real attacks within them was the true essence.

In an instant, I initiated the sword dance again. The light from the sword burst around me, creating a silver-white Sword Qi like brilliant stage lights, and my body danced amidst it, resembling a peacock in a swirl of Sword Qi.

After practicing the Star Cloud Sword Dance, I couldn’t help but let out an appreciative exclamation, "Awesome!"

This time, I not only effectively utilized the illusions of the sword dance but also perfectly concealed the lethal moves within the afterimages. Except for myself, no one else could discern which was the actual sword amongst them.

Thinking back on Jiang Xinyu’s sword technique, it seems my Star Martial Skill could completely outclass Jiang Xinyu’s swordplay... But since Jiang Xinyu’s sword technique isn’t a Star Martial Skill, I shouldn’t be proud of defeating her.

Well, one should be humble.

Smiling with satisfaction, I continued to allocate points until I had raised the Star Cloud Sword Dance to silver LV5 before stopping. By reaching silver LV5, I had basically mastered the application of the Star Cloud Sword Dance, and what remained was likely just a matter of fine-tuning. If I brought the Star Cloud Sword Dance up to silver LV9, I would have completely mastered this set of Star Martial Skills.

With five hundred remaining skill points, I could easily bring the Star Cloud Sword Dance to its peak. But for the sake of maximizing benefits, I still refrained from doing so. There are so many basic skills at silver LV1; I can’t ignore my power’s lower limit.

「The next morning,」

I slipped on a short-sleeved trench coat and stepped out of the house. The Tianjian Bureau was located in Lake East District, an area concentrated with administrative and financial institutions, frequented by high-end individuals.

But somehow, the place didn’t seem prosperous to me. Forget about commercial plazas; even small convenience stores were scarce. Walking down the street, all I saw were buildings like the Agriculture Bank Headquarter, the Industrial and Commercial Bank Headquarter, the Construction Bank Headquarter, or some Finance Bank Consultation Center.

The Tianjian Bureau was also quite difficult to find; the address wasn’t on the map. After I reached Wangqiao Road, as written on the paper, I found there was no Number One. Buildings on Wangqiao Road started from Number Two. The location marked as Number One on Wangqiao Road turned out to be Zhongling Park!

After milling about for more than ten minutes, I finally steeled myself to go through the garden and eventually found a cluster of buildings hidden behind it.

This... was a bit too well-hidden, wasn’t it? And the straight-line distance between Number One and Number Two was over a thousand meters, wasn’t it?

If Tao Yuanming himself were to be transported here, he’d be moved to tears. I’m just settling in a simple dwelling among crowds, away from the clamor of carriages and horses, yet you are the true hermit.

"Hello, where do I go to register?"

"Are you here for registration? Take this elevator up; it’s in Meeting Room Two on the third floor," the pretty receptionist at the front desk said with a gentle smile.

"Okay, thank you!" Wang Lan couldn’t help but take an extra glance at the young lady. It wasn’t that she was particularly beautiful, but her smile was just too... professional, right? And the shape of her mouth when she spoke... why did it seem a bit odd?

After reaching the third floor in the elevator, Wang Lan walked out with his bag on his back and a registration form in hand. "Meeting Room Two... Number Two..."

"Stop right there!" Suddenly, a young man in a suit appeared in front of Wang Lan, blocking his way. "What are you here for?"

"I’m here to report for duty!"

"Report for duty? You’re late, go back!"

"What?" Wang Lan looked at his watch in surprise. 8:10 AM. I’m not late.

"I..."

"You don’t need to explain! What do you think the Tianjian Bureau is? The Tianjian Bureau only needs the most elite among the Star Martial Warriors. If you can’t even be punctual, even with all your talent, you don’t deserve to be called an elite. Given your young age, you must have always been praised as a prodigy, right?

But if you think wearing the title of a prodigy allows you to join the Tianjian Bureau, then you’re too naive. Everyone here in the Tianjian Bureau is a prodigy! Now, turn around, go back! You’re out."

Without giving Wang Lan a chance to explain, the young man turned to leave.

"Wait a second!" Wang Lan looked at the retreating back of the young man in the suit with a smile. "May I say one thing?"

"You’ve already said that one sentence," the other party turned around and coldly snapped.

"Reporting time is 8:30, and it’s 8:12 now. You’ve been rambling for two minutes, but even so, I’m still early."

"8:30? Hmph, the reporting time we notified was 7:30. Your eyesight must be poor."

"My vision is 1.5 in both eyes; I shouldn’t be mistaken." Wang Lan held the notification in front of the other person.

The man took a step forward, and that single step covered a distance of three meters.

A tremor ran through my heart—indeed, the Tianjian Bureau was a place where hidden talents lay concealed. This same step technique was something I had seen Ren Star Martial employ on the training field. Ren Star Martial had said that it was a Star Martial Skill of the military called Moonstep. Although it was just a set of footwork, the conditions for learning it were stringent, requiring a fine degree of control over Star Power.

And this person in front of me, appearing to be only about twenty years old—could he have already served in the military?

"You’re not here to register!" the man said, looking at the form in Wang Lan’s hand with a flicker of disgust in his eyes. "You’re here to report for duty, and that should be done at the personnel office on the fourth floor."

"Oh, thank you!" Wang Lan put away the invitation, turned, and walked towards the elevator.

"Wait a minute, who recruited you?"

Wang Lan turned around and looked at the young man in front of him with confusion. "He said he was the director of the Intelligence Division, Wang Qianfeng."

"I see," the man acknowledged.

Wang Lan entered the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor. Along the way, besides the reception lady, I had only met this one other person. But this person left a very bad impression on me; cold attitude, abrasive speech. Could it be that everyone in the Tianjian Bureau was like this? That couldn’t be—Miss Zeng Xiaomo was very cute, after all.

Wang Lan had a wry smile on his lips as the elevator doors opened. Stepping out, he finally saw men and women clad in military uniforms coming and going.

He passed by each signpost and made his way to the personnel office.

"Hello, I’m here to report for duty."

"Come in! Oh, a handsome young man, what’s your name?" a round-faced young lady peeked out from behind the computer and flashed a tender smile. Her smile was charming, with two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth.

"Wang Lan!"

The young lady quickly operated the computer. "Yes, you’re indeed registered."

Saying so, she picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Director Wang, he has arrived."

"You can sit over there for now! Someone will come to get you shortly," the round-faced young lady directed Wang Lan to sit on a sofa chair on the side, and even enthusiastically poured him a glass of water.

It seems the one downstairs was the real odd one out.

Not long after, Wang Qianfeng arrived at the entrance of the personnel office with a somewhat rascal-looking young man. "Wang Lan, come with me."

"Oh."

"Aren’t you here to report? Where are we going?"

"We’re going to assess your Star Martial level."

"I’m at the Star Shine Stage; isn’t just opening the Star Palace enough?"

Wang Qianfeng stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Wang Lan. "If opening the Star Palace was enough to evaluate a Star Martial level, would there be any need for a fight? If two people both opened their Star Palaces and one of them was at a lower level, wouldn’t the loser just have to kill themselves and that be the end of it?"