Chapter 308: Calculation

Chapter 308: Calculations

The twentieth day of the first month in the twelfth year of Jia Qi, ten days had passed since the "Penguin District Eagle Assault Incident."

The city of Quan Shan, buried beneath layers of heavy snow, had returned to its former state.

In the Jin Yi Wei post located at the western outskirts of the city, the shadows of people were sparse. Only a string of peach charms hung beneath the eaves, swaying in the cold wind, bearing the duty of guarding the door.

Today marked the reopening of Bai Di Huntang after its closure for repairs. The Eastern Master, Tang Po, had specifically reserved the most scenic top-floor hot spring, inviting Fan Wujiu to guide the work, as a token of gratitude for saving his life that day.

Such a fortunate event, naturally, Fan Wujiu would not keep it to himself. With a grand gesture, he brought along nearly the entire Jin Yi Wei contingent, vowing to conduct a thorough inspection of Bai Di Huntang.

Swearing an oath on a gamble, he declared that if no issues were found, he would not return.

At this moment, the western outskirts post had only the top-floor Baihu office still lit by a solitary lamp.

Having consumed a great deal of liver and lung essence through the use of "Shilong Hu," Li Jun's complexion had turned yellow for three days. After this period of recuperation, his skin had finally returned to its normal hue.

He stood by the window, gazing down at the silver-and-white streets outside the post, his eyes vacant, appearing lost in thought, yet in reality, he was scanning the black characters floating across his retina.

[Sequence]: Martial Way Sequence Six—Zhi Ge

[Skill]: Baji Quan (Eightfold Perfection), Fenjin Cuo Gu Shou (Sevenfold Perfection), Shilong Hu (Sixfold Perfection)

[Body Method]: Chu Wu Tanying (Sevenfold Perfection)

[Physical Cultivation]: Fuyuan Jingjia (Sixfold Perfection)

[Internal Energy]: Jumang Shu (Sevenfold Perfection)

[Mastery Points]: 344 points (Remaining 194 points, 150 points from killing Lu Chengjiang)

He drew his sword and looked around in bewilderment.

This was the most immediate feeling Li Jun had upon seeing his accumulated three hundred mastery points.

The situation was akin to a robust man who had practiced abstinence for years, his inner impulses having reached their peak, only to despair upon realizing he could not even use his hands, let alone wield the 'golden mountain' in his possession!

A surge of rage with no outlet, enough to make one lament in anguish!

"Now that I have injected six-grade martial arts into my skills and physical cultivation, I only lack a body method and the crucial internal energy to reach the pinnacle of six-grade and seek the ritual to break the fifth."

The situation was clear and the difficulty equally apparent.

Li Jun currently possessed sufficient mastery points, but lacked the means to obtain a martial arts injector.

Due to the imbalance of supply and demand and some sensitive reasons, martial arts injectors of this level had become extinct in the black market.

Thus, the only known avenues Li Jun had left were two.

One was to exchange martial arts points from the Ministry of War's reward list.

However, this path had already been tested by Fan Wujiu in the Ministry of War's Huangliang prison, but the list provided above contained no martial arts injectors above seven-grade.

Even if he had found a connection through Qian Fengting in the Beizhen Fusi Yamen, it would have been futile.

The answer he received was that someone above had deliberately removed high-grade martial arts injectors from the reward list.

Moreover, the order was issued only after Li Jun was promoted to Baihu.

There was no doubt that this decree was aimed directly at Li Jun.

After all, not long ago, Zhai Mancang, a Jin Yi Wei Baihu from Laizhou Prefecture, had exchanged a six-grade skill "Shilong Hu" from the Ministry of War's stockpile using martial arts points.

However, Li Jun was not surprised by this at all.

Even if he had obtained an injector from the Ministry of War, he might not have dared to inject it into his body.

After all, the Ministry of War's Wu Bei Si was now filled with a large number of military orders. These resilient, hard-won 'younger brothers' would naturally not show him any kindness.

When Li Jun was still obscure, matters like the reward list were not something people would pay attention to.

But now, as he had risen to prominence, becoming a Baihu of Quan Shan City, one of the ten major cities in the Japanese-populated area, he had naturally entered many people's sights.

These military orders would undoubtedly set up barriers and scrutinize Li Jun within his limited authority.

Even though the "Wusheng" had passed decades ago, these newly emerged sequences had no deep-seated grudges, or could even be said to have never met before.

But the instincts engraved in their genes still made them subconsciously hostile toward the martial order.

The Ministry of War's reaction gave Li Jun a growing sense of unease.

He was able to establish himself in the Jin Yi Wei because of Yan Bahuang's martyrdom, which had prompted an uncommon unity of hatred among the "Sanfa Si," leaving him some survival space.

Once Yan Bahuang's influence faded with time, there would surely be many hidden arrows aimed at him from the imperial homeland.

Therefore, for Li Jun, he must seize this 'protection period' and quickly enhance his strength.

At any time, authority and security would only come from fists and guns.

Before the Wusheng had already made it clear to the entire Ming Empire through concrete actions.

"Since the Ministry of War's path is blocked, I can only consider the Huangshi Group."

This was the second route Li Jun currently knew of to obtain a martial arts injector.

Since even Huangshi Qiu He had a six-grade physical cultivation "Fuyuan Jingjia," the Huangshi Group headquarters must still have many high-grade martial arts injectors.

"However, this raid is a technical task; brute force is certainly not feasible. I must plan carefully."

Li Jun stroked his chin, pondering for a long time before suddenly sighing for no reason.

In his original plan, after the Quan Shan branch was eradicated, the Huangshi Group headquarters would surely be displeased and might even launch a counterattack.

After all, among the four major companies in the Japanese-populated area, the Huangshi Group had always been known for its strong-arm tactics and relentless retaliation.

Having suffered such a heavy loss, they would not simply swallow their pride.

As long as the conflict could escalate further, he would have the opportunity to seize what he wanted from these martial order's watchdogs.

But the developments of the past half-month had completely exceeded Li Jun's expectations.

The Huangshi Group acted as if they had changed their nature, not only refraining from any extreme reactions but even abandoning and selling all their businesses, completely withdrawing from Quan Shan City.

Not only that, they also pushed the crime of colluding with the Eagles onto the deceased Huangshi Qiu He, stripping him of his family name. At the same time, they proactively donated thirty million taels of silver to console the common people who had died or been injured in the Eagle Assault, helping them rebuild their homes.

This series of actions both saved face and gave substance, leaving no opportunity for the Jin Yi Wei to continue finding fault with them.

This left Li Jun, who had been sharpening his knives, momentarily at a loss.

After all, he was only a Baihu of Quan Shan City, without the authority to intervene in the defense of other major cities. Could he really lead people to conduct cross-jurisdictional investigations?

Moreover, what puzzled Li Jun even more was the attitude expressed by the Qianhu Office.

After Gong Qinghong and Lu Chengjiang died, the Qianhu Su Ce, far away in the imperial homeland, had no intention of continuing to investigate this matter.

Even a few days ago, Baihu Qian Fengting had implicitly hinted that Li Jun should keep a low profile and act cautiously in the near future.

When Li Jun pressed for answers, he only gave vague responses, saying that the intelligence he currently possessed was not yet certain, so he could not speak openly.

These abnormal signs intertwined into a sense of impending storm.

"What are these Japanese people up to?"

Li Jun furrowed his brow, muttering in doubt.

At that moment, a soft knock sounded from outside the office.

"Come in."