I Have Been Searching

Upon hearing Jia Feng's words, Du Yan's gaze turned toward the distance.

He noticed Xu Mu emerging from behind a building over there.

A smirk tugged at Jia Feng's lips. Since he was already caught, he had given up any pretense.

He turned his head toward Du Yan. "That kid, he's also from our Eternal Life Research Institute."

Du Yan, however, looked at the two sanitation workers behind him. "Take them away immediately!"

"Yes!"

The intermediate sanitation worker on site nodded. He picked up Jia Feng, slung him over his shoulder, and ran toward the exit of the ruins.

"Little Brother Ye Chen! I'll be waiting for you!"

Before being taken away, Jia Feng didn't forget to shout.

As for the primary sanitation workers here, they each grabbed one of the Grandmaster-level individuals under their arms and followed behind.

Du Yan walked toward Xu Mu. Just then, Chen Xuan suddenly flashed out from behind Xu Mu, blocking his path.

"He's one of us."

Xu Mu smiled and patted Chen Xuan's shoulder.

Hearing this, Chen Xuan finally understood. "Brother Mu, was it you who called the sanitation workers?"

"Correct. But holding them off for half an hour wasn't easy."

As Xu Mu said this, he turned to look at the exchange building and at Dan Tai Quan, who was walking out. "Luckily, Sister Quan's beauty is potent enough. We succeeded in the end."

"I've noted down your insult about me in my little book."

Dan Tai Quan took a puff from her long pipe, yet characters appeared above her head.

[Favorability +6]

Fang Kui also realized she had misjudged Xu Mu. She hadn't expected that his earlier actions were just to stall the people from the Eternal Life Research Institute.

[Favorability +5]

"Brother, I didn't expect you to be the one coming this time."

Xu Mu walked up to Du Yan and said with a smile.

"Just happened to be nearby."

Du Yan offered a faint smile. "I already know about your earlier martial arts competition for marriage. I always said my judgment was right."

"Heh, just luck."

Xu Mu waved his hand dismissively. "Still far from matching up to you, brother."

He had known for a long time that among intermediate sanitation workers, the waters ran deepest.

There were those like Jiang Huihui, who became intermediate sanitation workers at the late Gang Qi stage.

And then there were those like Du Yan, whom three Grandmasters couldn't last a single round against.

According to the plot, some intermediate sanitation workers possessed strength almost on par with advanced sanitation workers.

The only difference likely lay in seniority.

"Interested in joining us now? For someone like you, I feel you could directly take on the role of Tenth Captain."

Du Yan extended the invitation again.

"Only Tenth?"

Xu Mu asked with a smile.

"The sanitation workers aren't short on geniuses. There are two ranges with the most people. The first range is the newly joined, whose strength isn't much to speak of."

Du Yan paused. "The second range is the competition for the position of Tenth Sequence Captain. There are dozens, even over a hundred people vying for it."

Hearing this, Xu Mu was inwardly shocked. As expected of the national team.

In other words, within the sanitation workers, geniuses like Jiang Huihui numbered in the dozens or even over a hundred.

Of course, now Jiang Huihui, with the help of his Qi Sea Pills, had smoothly advanced to the Divine Ability realm.

Coupled with the Jiang family's Heaven-grade cultivation method, she had surpassed at least half of them.

"If you can break through this curve and enter the ninth or eighth rank, you'll find your competitors number less than ten."

Du Yan patiently explained.

Xu Mu thought it made sense. Truly absolute geniuses were, in the end, a minority.

When one became the second or third in the sequence, among all the sanitation workers in the entire Sanitation Department, the competitors would only be that one or two people.

"I'll think about it some more."

Xu Mu said with a smile.

"Fine. You're young anyway. I'm going back to fish."

After saying this, Du Yan turned and left.

By now, the exchange building's formation had dissipated. Dan Tai Quan gave a look to the elderly man in a suit in the distance.

The old man understood and turned to walk deeper inside.

Dan Tai Quan now walked over with graceful steps, her slender fingers forming an orchid shape as she held her long, thin pipe.

"Xu Mu, should I thank you?"

Dan Tai Quan's expression was placid.

"Of course you should. Everything I did this time was for your Reckless Mountain. With my help, you didn't lose a single person."

Xu Mu, hands in his pockets, looked at Dan Tai Quan as he spoke.

But his eyes were drawn to the... thunder.

To prevent this situation, Xu Mu directly turned his head to look at Chen Xuan.

He found that Chen Xuan was also captivated by the thunder.

"Ahem!"

Xu Mu coughed.

Only then did Chen Xuan snap out of it. He immediately turned to look elsewhere, muttering under his breath, "Senior Sister, I'm sorry, I've been searching all along for the world where you exist."

"But since you insulted me, and so harshly at that, let's consider this matter settled."

Dan Tai Quan said indifferently.

"You always have the last word. I can't argue with you."

Xu Mu waved his hand at Dan Tai Quan.

If Dan Tai Quan were someone like Ye Tong or even Xu Ningbing, Xu Mu definitely wouldn't speak this way.

But Dan Tai Quan managed the Reckless Mountain; she certainly wasn't some benevolent person either. He felt no psychological pressure saying these things to her.

"You..."

Dan Tai Quan pointed at Xu Mu. She was just about to speak when Fang Kui walked over from the distance.

"The condition you mentioned earlier, I agree."

Fang Kui's face, which should have been somewhat cute with a hint of baby fat, now held an indescribable maturity and coldness.

"Fang Kui, what do you want to do?"

Chen Xuan came to Fang Kui's side and asked.

"What I do is none of your business."

Fang Kui replied with a detached expression.

"She wants two Qi Sea Pills. However, she can't offer anything of equivalent value. I can only give them to her if she completes missions for me."

Dan Tai Quan spoke up proactively. "Our Reckless Mountain is not a charity."

"Old Chen! Don't you have Qi Sea Pills?"

Xu Mu suddenly patted Chen Xuan's shoulder. "Just lend them to Fang Kui, problem solved."

"Brother Mu, one must be honest. I don't have Qi Sea Pills."

Chen Xuan naturally understood Xu Mu's meaning—he wanted him to lend them to Fang Kui in his own name.

But he didn't want to get too entangled with Fang Kui.

Xu Mu felt somewhat helpless. This Chen Xuan was quite principled.

"Old Chen, since you've put it that way, I'll be frank too."

Xu Mu said with a calm expression. "I have two extra Qi Sea Pills on me. But I'm not familiar with Fang Kui. I definitely wouldn't lend them to her."

Hearing this, Fang Kui's eyes first brightened, but then immediately dimmed.

What Xu Mu said was right. They had only met once. He definitely wouldn't lend such valuable Qi Sea Pills to her.

"Brother Mu, you're forcing my hand."

Chen Xuan let out a deep sigh and turned to look at Fang Kui. "The Qi Sea Pills you want, I'll borrow them for you. But you have to tell me, what do you want to do?"

"In the Kunlun Mountains, I have no family left. There's no point in staying. But I must retrieve my grandfather's belongings."

As Fang Kui said this, her eyes grew slightly red.

"What do you mean? If they're your grandfather's things, why wouldn't they give them to you?"

Chen Xuan's expression turned somewhat grim.

My grandfather fought against the alien races his whole life. He possessed at least two Earth-grade cultivation methods. After he passed, I wasn't at the sect. When I returned, the methods had already been taken by several elders.

Fang Kui wiped her tears with her sleeve. "They said grandfather dedicated the methods to the Kunlun Mountain on his deathbed. But grandfather had clearly stated long ago that these methods were meant for me."

By this point, Fang Kui was choked with sobs, unable to go on.