6.9 - Like

Chapter 118: Like

The comment immediately below read:

"Upstairs is obviously not a die-hard fan of Lord Junlin. Judging by his fighting style, he is clearly Lord Junlin."

The two comments were equally popular, each with its own supporters, locked in an all-out, no-holds-barred brawl that practically spilled offscreen!

Further down, the tone of the third comment was completely different.

"I noticed that Lord Junlin isn't wearing martial arts attire but everyday clothes, so it's clear he just happened to run into a mutated creature by accident. Could it be that Lord Junlin was on a date?"

Surprisingly, there was unanimous agreement under this comment, and most were "warm" and "friendly" greetings to the original poster. Many of the people who were fiercely arguing under the first two comments had become comrades in the same trench under this comment.

Junlin… Gu Lingjun? As soon as he saw the video, Lu Heng immediately understood. He'd guessed Gu Lingjun was a skilled Martial Artist but hadn't expected him to be an expert at the Heaven-tier. Lu Heng opened Junlin's Weibo, which netizens had stamped as "bot-posted" by now, since every post afterward consisted solely of either "Happy" or "Unhappy."

Lu Heng compared the timestamps of these Weibo posts with recent events. The first "Happy" post came after Lu Heng had been locked out and went to Gu Lingjun for help. The second "Unhappy" post seemed to have come after Lu Heng missed Gu Lingjun's friend request because he was asleep. The third "Happy" post came after they had arranged to go out for dinner together.

After that, pretty much every "Happy" post was made after he'd had a meal with Gu Lingjun, and every "Unhappy" post came when Lu Heng was stuck at school and couldn't make it back.

The answer was now obvious: Gu Lingjun was Junlin.

Lu Heng only realized Gu Lingjun's true identity now, not because he was slow or because Gu Lingjun was deliberately hiding it. It was simply that, on their way back before, they'd both been completely focused on something else.

Here's how it went down:

"You must have known I'm a Martial Artist for a while now, right?" Since Gu Lingjun had been directly coaching him in combat techniques, Lu Heng figured it wasn't a topic to tiptoe around.

"I sensed it the day you condensed your psychic weapon," Gu Lingjun replied, his eyes staying firmly fixed on the road ahead.

Lu Heng knew this was just the man's personality—quiet, but always straightforward with answers when asked. "Why do you follow me every night when I go hunting?"

"You started too late and haven't had any formal training. I'm worried that your lack of experience might lead to an accident."

Gu Lingjun's tone was as calm as ever, but the observant Lu Heng spotted his slightly blushing auricle.

Lu Heng snickered inwardly, though he kept a perfectly straight face: "Thank you so much, and I really appreciate you teaching me combat techniques just now. From what I know, between Martial Artists, only master and disciple pass down battle skills with such care. Mr. Gu, are you trying to take me on as a disciple?"

"No." Gu Lingjun's rebuttal was very fast and firm. Feeling his tone was a bit stiff, he seemed to gloss over: "There are other relationships that can also…"

Lu Heng feigned confusion: "Which relationships?"

But Gu Lingjun abruptly changed the subject: "You…are not mad at me for secretly following you?"

"I understand you're doing it out of concern. You're worried that I'll develop a dependent mentality if I know someone is protecting me, right?" Lu Heng smiled, always quick to see things from others' perspectives.

"Yes." Gu Lingjun's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"But," Lu Heng added mischievously, "there is a problem."

He noticed Gu Lingjun's grip on the steering wheel tighten, and—knowing the strength of a Martial Artist—worried he might actually snap it off. He didn't dare tease Gu Lingjun anymore: "I don't know if you've noticed, but my thought energy reserve isn't what a low-level Martial Artist would have, and I think you know why. My worry is that I'll get used to fighting this way and miscalculate the use of thought power if one day you're no longer around."

"That won't happen."

Gu Lingjun didn't say anything else, but Lu Heng knew that what he meant was that he would not leave. In truth, Lu Heng had worried that his hunting skills during this period were not his true level. But today, something clicked.

The way he saw it, the thought energy Gu Lingjun provided was like a power bank. Using a power bank doesn't mean the phone's performance is awful. At most, it means that the phone's battery life is a little poor, right? If there is really any emergency, I'll just be mindful to conserve my energy.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Lu Heng glanced back at his phone, only to find that the Weibo battlefield had undergone an earth-shattering change again. The original poster of the third popular comment, who had been thoroughly smashed into the ground and dragged through the dirt, the underdog had finally turned the tables and was now singing his victory song!

Why? Because Junlin had liked the post about him being on a date. Watching the sea of anguished wailing on Weibo, Lu Heng finally couldn't help himself. He collapsed on his bed, quietly pounding the mattress in laughter. How can this man be so mensao^[1] and childish!

Just as Lu Heng was wiping away tears from laughing so hard, the doorbell rang. He opened the door, and there stood none other than Gu Lingjun, the very person who'd stirred up a bloody storm on Weibo with a simple "like."

They settled down on the sofa, and Lu Heng poured him a glass of water in passing. By now, he knew Gu Lingjun's preferences very well—no beverages, only hot tea or water. But tea leaves were simply not something you'd find in the home of an en vogue streamer who relied on takeout for meals.

"What's up?" Lu Heng asked, a bit puzzled by Gu Lingjun's unexpected visit—they'd only just parted, and it wasn't even mealtime yet.

"For you," Gu Lingjun said, handing over a box.

Lu Heng opened it to find an exquisitely crafted silver-black mask, identical to the one worn by Lord Junlin, who was revered by thousands of people on the Exorcist Martial Artists livestream platform.

"Didn't you say before that you don't want your family to know you're competing?" Gu Lingjun added.

On their way back just now, Lu Heng had confided to Gu Lingjun about his recent hard work in hunting mutated creatures and also explained that he didn't want his family to find out about his participation in the competition. To keep his identity a secret, he'd decided to register with his face hidden, which the tournament rules allowed since identification of a Martial Artist was tied to their psychic weapon anyway, and appearance was secondary.

Lu Heng, subject to the rules, naturally couldn't share too much of the inside story. Besides, Gu Lingjun was a man of few words, and as long as Lu Heng was within his sight, he didn't ask too many questions about what Lu Heng wanted to do.

"So you really are Junlin." Lu Heng looked at the mask in his hand.

"You've watched my live streams?" Gu Lingjun replied.

That's not the point here. Lu Heng was sure he heard a hint of delight in Gu Lingjun's usually calm voice: "I watched the livestream with the mutant mantis. Swift moves and momentum as sharp as a blade—you're indeed a Heaven-tier Martial Artist."

Seeing Gu Lingjun's eyes getting brighter and brighter as he spoke, Lu Heng chuckled, "But I can't accept this mask."

The light dimmed instantly.

"Why?"

"Don't underestimate your fans. If I wear a mask that looks just like Junlin's, my contestant's homepage will probably get flooded with comments scolding me for freeloading on Junlin's popularity," Lu Heng explained.

"I can say the mask was a gift from me."

Gu Lingjun really doesn't understand the ways of the world. Lu Heng replied, "Then they'll just scold me for hugging your thigh to get to the top."

"So we have to secretly carry on^[2] like this forever?"

"..." What strange stuff has he been watching, Lu Heng ridiculed inwardly, but kept a soothing smile on his face: "When the day comes that I'm strong enough to stand side by side with you, no matter what our relationship is, others will have no room to interfere."

Seeing the lingering disappointment in Gu Lingjun's eyes, Lu Heng continued, "I need to submit a hunting video to register for the exchange conference, but I'm worried mine is too rough. I don't trust anyone else. Could you please help me…"

"Yes."

A City. The Gu family.

The eldest of the Gu family was entertaining guests. The young man sitting on the sofa across from him was the son of a pal and also the exclusive livestream cameraman for his younger brother, Gu Lingjun.

"Uncle Gu, does Little Uncle Gu have any dissatisfaction with me? Is he going to fire me?" The young man wore a face full of worry.

"What happened?"

"He actually called me today and asked me to send him the latest portable high-speed camera," the young man said, clearly anxious about losing this job. It was hard to find a gig with little work and high pay, and Gu Lingjun had almost never been picky about the filming quality.

"Oh, and Little Uncle Gu also asked me for a bunch of camera manuals for beginners and my study notes. Does it mean he's unhappy with my work and planning to film himself? Uncle Gu, please put in a good word for me…"

Based on what the eldest Gu knew about his baby brother, the situation was definitely not that simple. Hmm, it looks like we need to hold a family meeting pronto to figure this out.

Gu Lingjun's unusual behavior stirred up a little commotion in the Gu family. Meanwhile, the Zhou family wasn't willing to be left out; they also popped out to make their presence felt in front of Lu Heng.

Once again, they invited Lu Heng over for dinner.

"Xiao Heng, as you know, Xiao Shu is going to sign up for the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference. The competition requires a hunting video to be submitted," Father Zhou said with a beaming smile.

"Do you want me to film it for Xiao Shu? No problem! Although I'm just getting started in the directing program of the department, it should be fine if I work hard. I'll do my best!" Lu Heng beamed back.

Father Zhou was choked by his answer, and after a moment of hesitation, he clarified, "That's not it. I've arranged for a Earth-tier Martial Artist livestream team to film it for Xiao Shu. They're all top-notch professionals in this field, so I thought it would be a great opportunity for you to go and learn from them and gain some experience."

Lu Heng glanced at the "I care for you so much" expression on Father Zhou's face and plastered on a "I'm so touched" expression to match: "Thank you, Dad."

His gratitude was genuine; he sincerely thanked Father Zhou for presenting him with the chance to understand Zhou Yishu's capabilities. After all, in this upcoming conference, Zhou Yishu would be Lu Heng's biggest competitor.

---

Footnotes:

[1] 闷骚: outwardly cold or retiring but deep and passionate inside; secretly sultry; low-key spicy.

[2] 見不得人: shameful and cannot be revealed.

---

Translator:

Gu Lingjun: Does Ah Heng want to play secret lovers? 

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6.8 - Continue dropping the vest

Chapter 117: Continue dropping the vest

Lu Heng's life has been quite fulfilling recently.

During the day, he skipped required classes when he felt like it and bunked elective classes like it was a mission—he never planned on being any kind of behind-the-scenes staff member for Zhou Yishu, anyway. Attending some classes was just to avoid drawing the counselor's attention and having them notify the Zhou family. In his free time, he either stayed at home practicing some knife skills or planning the lineup for his evening livestreams.

In the evening, he livestreamed on the platform without fail, absorbing thought energy to prepare for his hunts after eleven.

Today, Lu Heng was sitting in the living room, waiting to go out to eat with Gu Lingjun. He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but the two of them had become dining partners, going out to eat together every day. Having someone to eat with makes the appetite better anyway.

Just as they were about to leave, Gu Lingjun received a phone call. He apologized, told Lu Heng to wait a moment and disappeared into his study to take care of something.

The doorbell rang.

Lu Heng glanced towards the study, noticed there was no movement, so he went to open the door.

"It's Gu Lingjun's, right? Please sign for it."

Lu Heng took the package, intending to place it on the coffee table. But just as he took a step, the poor, battered box finally gave up and split open at the bottom. A velvet-covered square box tumbled out, hitting the floor so tragically that it spat out its insides.

This thing on the floor looks kinda familiar? Lu Heng picked it up doubtfully, and sure enough—it was his own watch, with his initials engraved on the back of the dial. During a previous hunt, he'd been attacked by a mutated crow that grabbed his wrist, and the watch had luckily taken the hit. His wrist was fine, but the dial was completely shattered, and the strap had also snapped.

At the time, Lu Heng had remembered that this watch was a gift from Mother Zhou on a certain birthday, a matching pair she'd gotten for him and Zhou Yishu. Just thinking about it had killed any motivation to get it fixed, so he'd simply tossed it into the trash can.

How did Gu Lingjun manage to find it, get it repaired, and even send it back? Lu Heng placed the watch back in the square box and stuffed it back into the package.

Actually, Lu Heng had been feeling something was off for a while now—his thought energy seemed a little too abundant. Throughout recent hunts, he'd never once faced the problem of his thought power running low, which was not normal for a Yellow-tier Martial Artist who wasn't live streaming hunts. Initially, Lu Heng had thought it was just due to his own strong spirit, but now it seemed there was more to it.

Thinking about it again, he realized that nearly eighty percent of the thought energy in his body came from the same source—pure and potent. And now, seeing this watch that was supposed to be discarded in the trash, the answer was suddenly clear: Gu Lingjun was a Martial Artist, and a much higher-ranked one at that. This powerful Martial Artist harbored intense positive feelings toward him, supplying him with such a terrific source of thought energy.

At that moment, the study door opened, and Gu Lingjun walked out.

"Your courier," Lu Heng said, all the while studying his expression closely.

"Mm."

"Oh, by the way, the package seems to be torn, and the stuff inside fell out," Lu Heng added. As expected, Gu Lingjun's eyes flickered in a quick blink—a telltale sign of guilt.

"What's inside?" Gu Lingjun's tone was calm.

"It's just a velvet square box. I didn't open it; I just stuffed it back in." Lu Heng saw Gu Lingjun's shoulders relax slightly again, and he laughed to himself. This time, this guy's personality is unexpectedly entertaining.

[How can you be sure that Gu Lingjun is Shi Kong? You didn't even ask me to confirm.] Little Assistant made an appearance.

[Aren't you proactively confirming it now?]

[Do you plan to settle down with him as a pair of husbands?]

[Nope.]

[Okay, I get it, it's a bit of fun between husbands.] Little Assistant replied, and then tactfully disappeared.

Originally, Lu Heng really planned to see just how long Gu Lingjun intended to quietly follow him at night. Then the two of them would play the game of "You don't know that I know you're a Martial Artist" and "You don't know that I know you know I'm a Martial Artist" during the day.

However, Heaven does not abide by the wishes of people.

After discovering Gu Lingjun's secret, Lu Heng was in a particularly good mood and decided to take him to a restaurant famous for their delicious pickled fish. But after skipping classes for so long, Lu Heng forgot it was the weekend, and the line for that especially delicious pickled fish was ridiculously long!

Lu Heng was a bit eccentric in this regard. After receiving a number that indicated there were still 50 tables ahead of them, he thought he would wait for half an hour to see if the calling speed was fast. But after waiting half an hour, he didn't want to waste the time he'd already spent waiting and ended up feeling that he absolutely had to eat this pickled fish.

Then the speed of calling numbers became faster and faster, and many of them were empty. Lu Heng was secretly pleased but forgot about the peculiarities of this world: 11 p.m. was the Hour of the Demons. Diners living farther away naturally gave up on the delicious food to head home for their own safety, leaving only a few locals and the two of them behind.

On their way back after dinner, Lu Heng looked at the empty roads, and his brain, still stuffed with thoughts of pickled fish, finally came back online.

The Hour of the Demons was approaching.

Gu Lingjun, focused on driving, didn't notice it either. Because for him, the concept of not being able to go out after 11 p.m. like ordinary people simply didn't exist.

Surely, they wouldn't be unlucky enough to run into a mutated creature, right? During regular hunts, he had to concentrate hard and use his thought power to locate prey; it was unlikely he'd just stumble upon something out of the blue. That's what Lu Heng thought to himself.

The ear-splitting sound of tires screeching against the paved road filled the air. A black shadow fell from the sky, landing just two or three meters away from the car. If Gu Lingjun hadn't reacted so quickly, the vehicle would have been crushed flat by the huge force.

At this moment, the figure in the driver's seat had already vanished.

Given the situation, Lu Heng couldn't care less about whether to drop his vest himself or wait for Gu Lingjun to drop his own vest. The black shadow that suddenly appeared was a mutated cat, standing about half a person high. Mutated cats were practically the top predators among the urban mutated creatures. Cats are born hunters, but their attack power was limited due to their small size, which kept them from being too dangerous.

However, a mutated cat, having broken through the size limitations, became extremely dangerous. It had no shortcomings, be it speed, skill, or strength. To reduce the chances of such terrifying predators appearing, a special law had long been passed requiring that all pet cats undergo institution testing to make sure they carried no mutant genes.

Only it's not that easy to control stray cats in the city. After several large-scale captures and subsequent gene testing and neutering at relevant institutions, the population of stray cats had significantly decreased. But cats are elusive creatures, often appearing and disappearing without a trace, so there were always a few that slipped through the net. Among those that slipped through the net, there would inevitably be some mutant cats.

Just like the black cat in front of him, with its muscular body and bright red eyes instead of the usual emerald green, it moved with a speed that was like the wind, making it difficult for Lu Heng to catch a clear glimpse of its form. This was not a mutated creature he could handle; if it were up to him, he would probably have his heart ripped out by the mutated cat's first strike. Lu Heng was very self-aware.

Nevertheless, he still got out of the car, clenching his psychic weapon in his hands, just in case other small mutated creatures tried to take advantage of the crisis.

Gu Lingjun wielded his Tang sword as he dealt with the mutated cat. Seeing Lu Heng get out of the car, he said, "Follow me."

"Okay." Lu Heng understood that he should be leading the mutated cat to the small park.

He had been worried about losing track of the pair of one man and one cat, but he soon realized that Gu Lingjun was intentionally controlling the speed of both the mutated cat and himself, even deliberately slowing down his own strikes a bit.

"Pay attention."

Lu Heng immediately understood when he heard Gu Lingjun's voice ringing out. The other man was imparting some hunting techniques, which was simply a blessing from the heavens to Lu Heng, who had never undergone formal training.

During the chase and fight, Gu Lingjun successfully led the mutant cat to a nearby small park. Lu Heng obediently stayed at the edge, within the designated safety zone equipped with protective measures for the livestreaming team.

This was a kind of on-site teaching that countless Martial Artists would pay a fortune for but couldn't obtain, starting right then.

Gu Lingjun kicked the mutant cat hard in the waist, sending it flying several meters away. Seizing the opportunity, he gripped the hilt of his Tang sword with both hands, trying to split it into two pieces. The Tang sword condensed by thought power effortlessly split into two.

This high-level Martial Artist can actually change the number of his psychic weapon! Although it can be seen from the condensed form that the two Tang swords were weaker than the original one, this scene violated the theory of Martial Arts textbooks that Lu Heng had read before, and made him gape.

With the left blade held horizontally in front and the right blade poised to attack, Gu Lingjun charged forward.

Lu Heng realized that Gu Lingjun was instructing him on the techniques of using dual-wielded weapons. After a moment of thought, he pulled out his phone to start recording, preparing to save the footage for further study.

"With dual-wielded weapons, one hand can focus on defense while the other focuses on offense."

Gu Lingjun's left blade blocked any gaps in his defense, as the mutated cat's sharp claws struck against the blade, producing a deafening sound. As the mutated cat's claws were exhausted, Gu Lingjun swung his right blade, striking fiercely and piercing through the mutated cat's right paw.

The mutated cat let out a shrill cry and leaped back several meters by pressing on its hind legs.

Although Gu Lingjun was clearly overpowering the mutated cat, he didn't go too hard on it to ensure Lu Heng could learn. The two were so absorbed in their roles as teacher and student that they didn't notice the passage of time.

Just as Gu Lingjun felt it was time to end the fight, his decisive strike fell short as the mutated cat vanished into thin air. Looking down, he saw the black cat arching its back and hissing at him.

The Hour of the Demons was over.

The black cat flicked its tail and attempted to escape, but Gu Lingjun swiftly grabbed it by the scruff of its neck.

"What should we do with this cat?" Lu Heng asked as he walked over.

Although this cat would turn into a man-eating monster at midnight, and he didn't know if it had killed anyone before, Lu Heng asked himself if he could bear to kill a stray cat that had no power to resist.

"Give it to the association; they will handle it," Gu Lingjun replied.

After dealing with the black cat, Lu Heng returned home and lay down to rest, only to discover another big news breaking on Weibo. It was the number one trending search.

#Look at what I caught on camera: Lord Junlin is in S City#

The video was blurry, and one could barely see the contents, but it showed a car parked on the street. A man was tangled in a fight with a mutated creature in front of the vehicle. After moments, another man got out of the car, and then the two led the mutated creature out of view down the street.

The top comment read: The poster needs to get their eyes checked. Don't pass off just anyone with a Tang sword as Lord Junlin. Everyone knows Lord Junlin never collabs with others when hunting!

---

Translator:

Ngl, I totally thought those claw marks from the last chapter were left by Lord Junlin! Lol

Gu Lingjun: Since when does hunting with my Ah Heng count as collabing with others?

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6.7 - Still the familiar formula

Chapter 116: Still the familiar formula

After the excitement of successfully condensing a psychic weapon passed, Lu Heng felt a wave of fatigue rise from deep within him. A night without sleep, combined with the effort of condensing a psychic weapon for the first time, was honestly quite a burden for an ordinary person.

Since he only had an unimportant elective class today, Lu Heng decided to skip school. He set his phone to silent and promptly fell asleep.

He woke up hungry, reaching for his phone to see that it was already 4 p.m. Waking up from daytime sleep often left him feeling weak, so Lu Heng simply lay in bed, playing on his phone and waiting for the weakness to pass.

As soon as he opened WeChat, he noticed a friend request. The requester? Gu Lingjun.

His still-groggy mind finally remembered that he'd agreed to treat the kind Mr. Gu to a meal today, but had forgotten to send a heads-up after sleeping until four in the afternoon.

Feeling guilty, Lu Heng accepted the request and immediately sent a message.

"Sorry, I stayed up all night and just woke up. Let me treat you to dinner."

The other person must have been on his phone, as he replied almost instantly.

"Alright. What time?"

"Six. I'll come by your place when I'm ready."

After arranging the dinner with Gu Lingjun, Lu Heng casually opened his Weibo to check how many followers he'd gained from last night's meticulously prepared livestream. As soon as he opened it, he saw today's top trending topic:

#InMyLifetimeSeries^[1], I can't believe I saw Lord Junlin post on Weibo#

Lu Heng was a bit curious—back during the livestream, Junlin's swift moves and fierce momentum had indeed left a strong impression on him. He conveniently tapped on Junlin's Weibo profile, only to find the default page with just two solitary posts.

Unhappy. Posted on November 3rd at 11:00 a.m.

Happy. Posted on November 2nd at 8:00 p.m.

Both Weibo posts had been reposted millions of times by Junlin's fanatical fans. Comparing his own follower count, Lu Heng couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for the living legend before he closed the app and got out of bed to start getting ready.

As Lu Heng was washing up, Junlin's Weibo account hit the trending topics again, this time with the hashtag: #Is Lord Junlin's Weibo a Bot Post?#

Apparently, Junlin had just posted another one-word message. Now his barren profile displayed a perfectly orderly set of three posts:

Happy

Unhappy

Happy

Without even an emoji, fans were starting to suspect his Weibo posts were published by a bot.

Meanwhile, the "bot" himself, Gu Lingjun, was on a call.

"Lingjun, I heard from your dage that you finally posted two messages today on the Weibo account he set up for you! Does this mean you've finally come round and are willing to connect with your fans?" Mr. Gu, the family patriarch, had heard about it from his eldest son and immediately called, elated. His excitement wasn't so much about fan engagement or something, but more about a long-awaited sign that his youngest son, Gu Lingjun, might finally be open to interacting with the outside world.

"Mm. I posted three."

"Can you tell me what made you suddenly change your mind?" Patriarch Gu pressed on.

"Dage said that I can share my mood on Weibo, whether I'm happy or unhappy," Gu Lingjun explained in detail, knowing his father was concerned about him. "Before, I didn't feel like I had any reason to post anything, so I didn't."

After hanging up the call with his youngest son, Patriarch Gu finally pieced it together—Gu Lingjun was essentially saying he had never felt happy or unhappy. This realization left the old man even more worried; it seemed his son might not only have social difficulties but also emotional impairment.

At 5:55 p.m., Lu Heng was ready to head out for his dinner appointment, only to open the door and find Gu Lingjun standing there.

The familiarity of this behavior pattern moved Lu Heng's heart, though he kept his smile in place: "Mr. Gu, what a coincidence. I was just about to come to find you."

November's weather had already turned a bit chilly, yet Gu Lingjun was dressed simply in a shirt, knit sweater, and casual pants. But with the impeccable tailoring and high-quality fabric, it was clear his outfit wasn't from an ordinary brand.

"Mm." Gu Lingjun nodded slightly and turned toward the elevator.

"..." Lu Heng spotted the tag peeking out from under Gu Lingjun's sweater and quickly stopped him, "Wait a second."

As Lu Heng snipped off the tag from Gu Lingjun's sweater with a pair of scissors, he couldn't help but admire his new neighbor's composure. Clearly, this new neighbor was a man of extraordinary background who had seen the world—unfazed and calm even in such an awkward situation.

Gu Lingjun said that he was new to S City and wasn't familiar with the area, leaving all decisions up to Lu Heng. So Lu Heng took him to a well-known local private restaurant specializing in traditional S City flavors. Throughout the dinner, both the guest and the host thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Gu Lingjun didn't speak much, but he had an uncanny ability to pick up on Lu Heng's shifts in mood, and the two of them got along swimmingly.

However, as they were saying their goodbyes, something happened that confounded Lu Heng a little. Here's how it went.

Lu Heng said out of courtesy, "I didn't know you were from A City before. The flavors here in S City might not be to your liking. If so, I'll take you to a restaurant that's known for A City cuisine some other time."

Unexpectedly, Gu Lingjun acted in an unconventional way. He responded bluntly, "Not to my liking. Sure."

"…" Such a straightforward and somewhat familiar formula made Lu Heng fall into deep thought.

S City was huge, and the private restaurant they visited was in a far-off part of the city. By the time Lu Heng got home, it was nearly ten, yet he didn't feel the slightest bit tired.

Last night, Lu Heng had used up most of his thought energy unblocking his heart apertures, and with no livestream planned today, he intended to rest up. Yet, during his usual meditation, he found that his thought energy had not only fully recovered but was even slightly stronger than yesterday.

He couldn't shake a sense of suspicion around Gu Lingjun. But if Gu Lingjun truly was Shi Kong, Lu Heng figured he'd eventually discover it through their interactions. No need to overthink it now; with his thought energy restored, he could implement the next step of his plan tonight itself.

Lu Heng checked the time—it was already nearing eleven. He decided to head out and hunt mutant creatures.

There were two ways to qualify for the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference. One way was to hunt a mutant creature that best showcased one's abilities. If the mutant creature handed in was of a high enough level, its hunter could directly enter the finals as a seeded contestant. This approach ruled out cheating, as each Martial Artist's psychic weapon left a unique thought energy wavelength in the fatal wound on the prey. Additionally, to prevent newcomers with connections from having experienced family members subdue a creature so they could deliver the killing blow, each submission also had to include a full video of the hunt.

The second method to qualify for the conference was the preliminary round, designed for newcomers who had just broken through but hadn't had time to hunt, or for Martial Artists whose submitted mutant creatures did not meet the required level. In this case, the system would randomly match Martial Artists of the same level, using a points system to determine who would advance to the finals.

Lu Heng had originally planned to take this second route, as circumstances at the time only allowed him to advance through the preliminary rounds. However, now that he had cleared his heart apertures in advance, he decided to change his strategy. The preliminary rounds schedule was too long; it would not only waste time but would also consume too much energy. Generally speaking, even if one barely made it through the preliminaries, one would find themselves eliminated in the first round of the finals because one is too tired and has no strength to continue.

The elevator carrying Lu Heng had just closed its door.

The door next door opened and Gu Lingjun walked out. Just now, he sensed the thought power fluctuations from Lu Heng again and could naturally guess what Lu Heng was planning to do.

How can he be assured when someone who had only just condensed his psychic weapon wanted to go hunting alone? Gu Lingjun also stepped out and pressed the button for the elevator. He wasn't the least bit worried about losing track of Lu Heng; he had memorized the other party's thought power fluctuations, and with a little attention, he could easily follow Lu Heng's trail.

Lu Heng did not make the common rookie mistake of being overly eager; he was well aware of his own abilities. Having just established his thought energy cycle, his physical condition had not yet fully improved, and his thought power wasn't particularly strong. The only advantage he had was the combat awareness he had honed through experiences in previous worlds.

He carefully selected his first prey: a mutant flower. This mutant flower was originally just a city horticultural product that had been left in a garden; it had not mutated enough to move. After several tests, Lu Heng discovered that its most threatening attack was simply spewing out toxic pollen.

Feigning an attack, Lu Heng waited for the mutant flower to spray its pollen. The pollen had not yet fully dispersed in one direction when he quickly dashed behind the flower and slashed it with his scimitar, killing it instantly.

Ah Heng is amazing! I've never seen a rookie stay so calm during their first hunt, probing for weaknesses before making a move. Someone stood at the corner, their gaze fixed intently on the battle ahead.

For his second target, Lu Heng chose a mutant rat. It was fast but had low attack power. After some maneuvers, he successfully captured it as well.

Ah Heng is so smart! He knows to choose his prey based on his own abilities. This mutant rat is quick, but both its attack and defense are weak, which is perfect for a beginner to practice on.

Lu Heng continued to hunt mutant creatures according to his plan, making significant progress in his abilities over the course of several hours. However, a sudden situation arose during his final battle with a mutant bird. It turned out to be a pair of mutant birds, and while Lu Heng was engaged in combat with the male, the female was hiding nearby. When Lu Heng was too focused to pay attention, the female bird suddenly darted out from the bushes, its beak sharp as a steel blade, aimed straight for Lu Heng's back.

On a nearby tree, Gu Lingjun felt a tightening in his chest and instinctively gripped the branch tighter.

He had noticed the female bird long before, but he didn't intervene. This was Lu Heng's training, and if he could handle such a sudden ambush, it would greatly aid his growth. Gu Lingjun had already used his thought power to thoroughly assess the strength of the pair of mutant birds, and he believed that Lu Heng would only sustain a minor injury from this sneak attack at most.

It's just that although his reason told him that it doesn't matter and injuries are inevitable for any Martial Artist, when he saw the female bird launch its sneak attack, Gu Lingjun instinctively shifted his weight, almost rushing forward to intervene.

Fortunately, Lu Heng was alert. With his left hand scimitar, he blocked the male bird's talons, sidestepped, and intercepted the female's razor-sharp beak with his right hand scimitar, narrowly avoiding injury.

After a night of fighting, Lu Heng returned home with a full load, his backpack filled with the bodies of small mutant creatures. Turning these in to the Ancient Martial Arts Association would earn him both money and points.

Early the next morning, a Municipal Urban Greening Maintenance Bureau employee noticed several deep claw marks on the bark of a century-old camphor tree. Alarmed, he quickly called the S City Ancient Martial Arts Association.

"Hello? Hi, I've found several very deep claw marks on the camphor tree at the small park off Huxi Road, and they are definitely not made by a human. I suspect there's a mutant wildcat around. Please send someone over to handle it as soon as possible."

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[1] 有生之年系列 is an ironic phrase used to describe something highly anticipated that seemed unlikely to ever happen, making it feel almost miraculous when it finally does. It's often used humorously or sarcastically to express the surprise and excitement of finally seeing progress or an event fans thought they might never live to see. It's exactly what I'll say if GRRM ever publishes Winds of Winter.

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Translator:

Ah Heng is amazing! Ah Heng is so smart! Not like you're biased or anything, Lord Junlin.

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