Biochemical Martial Arts: Supreme Heavenly Venerate

Lin Rui felt incredibly surprised and utterly confused.

Wasn't this County Magistrate being overly generous with him?

He speculated that his appointment must be related to Zhuang Mingyue.

Without the power of this deep and unmeasurable County Magistrate, how could that high-ranking protector of the region even think of letting him, a newly appointed 'Martial Cultivist Capital Commandant' with no background, take over Wang City?

Since his arrival just over twenty days ago, Zhuang Mingyue had promoted him several ranks in quick succession, not only appointing him as a seventh-grade Martial Cultivist Capital Commandant but also temporarily placing him as the deputy defender of Wang City, and even the acting defender.

The question was, why did Zhuang Mingyue favor him so much? On what basis?

If it weren't for the fact that Zhuang Mingyue's gaze had shown no signs of strangeness, Lin Rui might even suspect that the County Magistrate had taken a liking to him.

However, he showed a face of shocked gratitude, his voice full of emotional vigor, "Your subordinate obeys the command! I am deeply grateful for your mentorship, heavier than a mountain, and as deep as the sea, beyond words. I am profoundly grateful and shall engrave this in my heart every single day!"

This County Magistrate could be considered his patron, the old leader who promoted him, and he must make her feel the emotional value.

After receiving the official document from Zhuang Mingyue, Lin Rui quickly scanned it.

The content was as Zhuang Mingyue had stated, the regional protector instructed him to promptly go to the county city to suppress the local demons and martial forces to prevent the law and order in Wang City county from further deterioration, and also to monitor whether the officials in Wang City had engaged in any unlawful activities during its destruction.

The regional protector, a fourth-rank official under the Imperial City Division, was the head of all 'Imperial Dragon Guards' in the region, and also Lin Rui's future immediate superior.

This official also authorized him to recruit a hundred Imperial Dragon Guards after taking office, to rebuild the structure of Wang City.

Lin Rui felt very conflicted, musing that he had initially come to slack off and steal a salary, yet in less than a month, he ended up as a high official of the great Song Dynasty.

If Manager Yu and others asked him how he was doing here, Lin Rui really didn't know what to answer.

Zhuang Mingyue was very satisfied with Lin Rui's reaction. She smiled and swept her sleeve gently, "Why thank me? It's all because of your own efforts, impressively managing the case of Zhu cousins, earning the regional protector's favor. If you really want to thank me, just do your duties well and don't disgrace me."

Zhuang Mingyue then turned to the Imperial Censor, Lin Tianda, "Lord Lin, our county office also has a young hero, who stepped into the third realm only after a few months of cultivation, nearly reaching two-tenths proficiency in blood control, and is both intelligent and brave; Zhuang also intends to recruit him into the Imperial City Division for key training.

Today just happens to be a good opportunity; why not test him as well?"

Upon hearing Zhuang Mingyue's words, Wang Sen almost lost his composure.

Wasn't Zhuang Mingyue talking about him, Wang Twenty-Seven? He had entered the third realm after nine months of cultivation, with his blood refining progress at 16%.

Wang Sen cursed frantically in his heart, musing that Zhuang Mingyue must have suspected him for a long time.

This woman treated him normally on most days, letting him enjoy a breeze of spring, yet today she suddenly stabbed him with a knife, catching him totally off-guard.

While Wang Sen was panicking and somewhat at a loss, the Imperial Censor, Lin Tianda, merely looked back at him with a detached expression.

Lin Tianda then, showing a face full of fatigue and lack of interest, bowed slightly, "My apologies, Lady Zhuang, I just summoned the Divine Sense of the National War Dragon, and both my Divine Sense and True Yuan are greatly depleted, my vitality diminished. I no longer have the strength to perform the 'Heavenly Demon Test'. I must ask you to seek someone more capable for this task."

Never mind that he was currently in a state of depleted spiritual energy and significant vitality loss—even if fully energized, Lin Tianda was not interested in doing favors for the Imperial City Division for free.

This time his taking the 'Heavenly Demon Test' for Lin Twelve was because he had received a considerable amount of Silver Coins from someone and subsidies from the official Imperial Censors Bureau.

"If Lord Lin is unwilling, then let it be," Zhuang Mingyue carefully observed Lin Tianda's complexion, finding indeed he looked very feeble—his appearance suggesting excessive indulgence in wine and pleasures—and then she reluctantly gave up.

The matter with Wang Twenty-Seven was not urgent anyway. Although he was also highly talented, if he wanted to gain a position like Lin Twelve's, it would still take some time. It wouldn't be too late to test him later.

Subsequently, she hosted a grand banquet to welcome and refresh her colleagues.

Imperial Censor Lin Tianda originally felt dizzy and just wanted to return to the post station to rest, having no interest in the welcome banquet. Nevertheless, he did not want to offend two colleagues from the officialdom, nor did he desire any undisclosed liaisons among the three of them. Thus, he forced himself to participate despite his condition.

However, during the banquet, neither the judge advocate nor Wang Sen paid much attention to him. They were either flattering Zhuang Mingyue, currying favor with Lin Tianda, or following the leads of Zhuang and Lin discussing the case details of the Zhu family nephew case. This left Lin Tianda feeling helpless and furiously irritated.

No matter how annoyed he was, he had to endure it. Lin Tianda's mission was to monitor Zhuang Mingyue, the judge advocate, and others to prevent any collusion or private agreements detrimental to Prince Han's stance in the reconsideration of the Zhu family nephew case.

After the welcome banquet ended, Zhuang Mingyue took Lin Rui aside and invited him into the study.

She held a cup of tea with a serious expression and said, "Twelve, do you know why the Governor appointed you to take over as the Capital Commandant of Wang City?"

Lin Rui, his eyes flashing with keenness, bowed respectfully, "If my lord has any instructions, please just instruct this subordinate!"

He knew whose rice he ate and whose bowl he held. Stay connected via empire

Having received such great favor from Zhuang Mingyue, he naturally needed to reciprocate.

Lin Rui was not a true native of the Sky Extreme Islands and held no lofty ideals of suffering for his country or undying loyalty to the royal court.

As long as Zhuang Mingyue's requests did not contradict his conscience, Lin Rui would do his best to fulfill them.

A smile flickered across Zhuang Mingyue's eyes, thinking to herself that he indeed was the person she had valued, "To be honest, the Governor of Shazhou is my senior brother. This time he appointed you to take over Wang City because he had no other choice. My sect operates some businesses in the Wang City County, which require supervision. Moreover, it relates to a matter that occurred recently.

My senior brother must have a person strong in martial arts and reliable in character to help him manage Wang City."

Upon hearing this, Lin Rui's spirit was stirred.

The County Magistrate's senior brother was the Governor of Shazhou?

His guess was correct, Zhuang Mingyue indeed came from a powerful faction within the imperial department.

Lin Rui then listened to Zhuang Mingyue saying, "Twelve, have you ever heard of the Mad Saber Gentleman Qin Yan?"

"Mad Saber Gentleman Qin Yan?" Lin Rui looked puzzled.

He only had a vague understanding of the martial folklore of the Sky Extreme Islands, though he found the name very familiar; where had he heard it before?

Before Lin Rui could even start to search online, Zhuang Mingyue laughed softly, thinking it was normal for Twelve of his age and experience to not have heard of him.

She continued, "This person was a seventh realm Martial Cultivator from three thousand years ago, once listed within the top thirty on our Great Song's imperial wanted list. That's not too impressive itself, but what's crucial is his other identity; he was the direct disciple of Du Zunlong."

"Du Zunlong? The Limitless Saber Venerable Du Zunlong?" Lin Rui finally remembered, his pupils dilating as he thought, isn't that the project that Professor Han and his team are working on?

"Exactly, the Limitless Saber Venerable! You've actually heard of his title!" Zhuang Mingyue felt a bit surprised, then nodded, "Du Zunlong was the undisputed number one master known beneath 'The Abyss' at the time, in his later years he was infinitely close to The Abyss, and was the most likely entity to break through The Abyss in the last ten thousand years.

He ultimately failed and perished in the Sky Extreme Islands overseas. Afterward, the fragments of his war dragon were divided among the ten disciples he had taken during his lifetime. Mad Saber Gentleman Qin Yan was one of them.

Half a year ago, there were rumors suddenly on the rivers and lakes that Qin Yan might have lived in Wang City County for the last 100 years of his life, and his hideout was near Wang City County.

This news created an uproar at the time, drawing many masters to Wang City, turning the county upside down until it calmed down two months ago. However, recently Wang City stirred up again, as new clues about the hideout of Mad Saber Gentleman Qin Yan were discovered—"

Hearing this, Lin Rui squinted his eyes.

He remembered the message Fei Yunlai had them relay to Professor Han.

—The situation is not right; pause the plan; it's a trap!