The Extreme Dao Ancient Hall, originally named the "Extreme Dao Ancient Martial Arts Hall," is distinct from the ancient martial arts halls organized by the government. It is entirely owned by the world's number one powerhouse, "Luo."
Luo's feats are well-known to Wang Xu. He is a great man who changed the fate of humanity; it was his emergence that halted the terrifying invasion of the insect race, even compelling them to relinquish a portion of land to humans.
One could say that without Luo's contributions, humanity would not be where it is today, accounting for half of their current status.
Since childhood, Wang Xu has held immense respect and admiration for this true savior of the world!
"Of course, as a member of the Extreme Dao Ancient Hall, we will provide you with corresponding training resources. However, you won't have military authority or the freedom to find warrior brothers everywhere like in the Free Alliance. But if you're interested in ancient martial arts, we can offer you plenty of powerful ancient martial arts resources... What do you think?" the dean said.
"I... want to join the Extreme Dao Ancient Hall!" Wang Xu replied without hesitation.
Of course, he had thought about it.
He didn't lack for training resources provided by the military or the Free Alliance. With that mysterious flame, he believed that by collecting enough insect beast corpses, his strength would grow faster than those merely consuming training resources.
Military ranks and authority, along with the omnipresent support from the Free Alliance, both relied on associations with power rather than true personal strength. Only the Extreme Dao Ancient Hall, though lacking in authority and support, offered the powerful ancient martial arts Wang Xu desired!
The Extreme Dao Ancient Hall was vastly different from the government-made ancient martial arts halls, as the former had a more systematic management and point exchange system, while the latter could only rely on cash purchases.
Moreover, the key point was that the Extreme Dao Ancient Hall possessed the most powerful ancient martial arts in the world, including many practices that were previously unseen and unheard of—richly varied and all-encompassing—sourced from various "forbidden zones" around the globe, collected by Luo. Compared to the government, they were like a petty sorcerer before a grand sorcerer.
What Wang Xu needed now was strength. He could rely on the mysterious flame to enhance his realm, but ancient martial arts required personal practice step by step. Dedicating all his energy to ancient martial arts would certainly lead to a leap in Wang Xu's strength!
Thus, he unhesitatingly chose to join the Extreme Dao Ancient Hall.
A smile immediately spread across the dean's face as he produced a holographic chip from a spatial ring and handed it to Wang Xu: "Great! From now on, you are officially a member of the Extreme Dao Ancient Hall. Take this to report at our safety zone."
Wang Xu accepted the holographic chip with great excitement, imagining how delightful it would be to meet the world's top powerhouse, Luo, face to face one day.
"Additionally, here's this." The dean pulled out a golden card. "It contains thirty thousand points, a small token of my goodwill, enough for you to purchase a few things you might want."
Taking the golden card, Wang Xu understood that the dean was doing him a personal favor, investing in him. Still, he was very grateful. The dean had acknowledged him and offered an invitation; he could consider him an unofficial mentor.
"But, dean, I just…" Wang Xu still felt uneasy about the incident involving Xu Yuan, like a knot in his heart that left him uncomfortable until it was resolved.
"Don't worry," the dean interrupted, understanding his concern, "Although the Xu family is a big family, they are nothing compared to me. Besides, now that you are a member of the Extreme Dao Ancient Hall, if he dares to lay a hand on you, it would mean declaring war on us. I don't think he would be willing to do that."
With this reassurance, Wang Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling fortunate that he had chosen the right side. If he were part of another faction that neglected him, things could get troublesome.
...…
Xu Group
Chairman's Office
"Chairman Xu! B… big trouble!" A man in a suit rushed into the office with a distressed expression, panting heavily.
Inside the office, a middle-aged man exuding the aura of authority was reviewing documents. Seeing the man burst in frantically, he frowned and said, "Calm down; if it's a big deal, maintain your composure. What kind of manner is this?"
The suited man swallowed hard, his face strained as he replied, "Young Master... the Young Master is... dead."
Boom!
It felt like a thunderclap, and the middle-aged man immediately shot up, his face flushed and veins bulging on his forehead. "Y-you're saying what?!"
"The Young Master participated in an assessment yesterday, and today, while being transmitted back, he was killed by a student," the suited man said, looking mournful.
"Who?! Who dares to be so ruthless toward Yuan? I'll have to kill him!" The middle-aged man's fury was uncontrollable, his eyes burning with rage!
"It's... a student named 'Wang Xu'..." The suited man was taken aback by the middle-aged man's fury and struggled to articulate, "I also heard that he has already reached the fourth tier!"
Fourth tier?!
Suddenly, the middle-aged man's expression darkened.
"There are no students at the Gene Academy who have reached the fourth tier; where did you hear that?" Finally regaining his calm, the middle-aged man knew that a fourth-tier elite warrior enjoyed certain privileges. Regardless of his reasons, taking action against a fourth-tier warrior entailed tremendous risks!
"It's from the other students present at the time; they all said Wang Xu has reached the fourth tier," the suited man wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Oh?" The middle-aged man's demeanor brightened. "You mean he doesn't have official certification? It's just what others believe?"
"Exactly," the suited man affirmed.
"Then this is manageable. You need to contact Ma Wu immediately to intercept him before Wang Xu participates in the elite assessment!" The middle-aged man hastily instructed. "Additionally, gather information about his parents; the quicker, the better!"
The suited man nodded and hurried off to carry out the orders.
Less than ten minutes later…
"Chairman Xu, I found out that Wang Xu's mother works as a worker in a textile factory, and his father is the factory supervisor; neither have significant backgrounds." The suited man retrieved all the details about Wang Xu's parents, including their ages, birthdays, blood types, and various other information.
"Good, good, good! I'll call the factory manager; I refuse to believe that a fourth-tier warrior would bully my Xu family!" The middle-aged man scoffed, his eyes filled with malice.
...…
Inside the textile factory workshop
"Do you see how the pockets on these three garments are sewn? They're a full three centimeters off from their original position! Three centimeters could ruin an entire garment, do you understand?!"
In the office, Wang Zhengguo was sternly lecturing three workers.
The three workers kept their heads down, afraid to meet Wang Zhengguo's gaze. They had been up late playing cards yesterday, resulting in mistakes in sewing several garments' pockets, filling them with anxiety.
In this era, ordinary people's clothing could easily be mass-produced by machines, and very few factories still relied on hand-stitched garments. Those who could afford such clothing were all wealthy, and the garments' value was indicative of that.
The value of the three pieces of clothing alone could wipe out three months' worth of their salaries!
Wang Zhengguo understood their predicament, sighed, and said, "I won't scrutinize this mistake much; each of you will cover one month's salary as compensation and write a guarantee letter for me. Now you may leave."
Upon hearing this, the three workers' expressions changed from bitterness to relief, and they quickly promised to apologize, expressing their gratitude to Wang Zhengguo.
Their gratitude stemmed not merely from Wang Zhengguo only docking a month's wages but from the fact that he didn't fire them.
Understandably, for such mistakes, the factory could have terminated their employment without hesitation, not even paying them for this month, sending them packing! But unexpectedly, Wang Zhengguo not only spared them but also reduced the penalty; how could they not feel moved?
After sending off the three workers, Wang Zhengguo personally began to unpick the mistakes in the garments. Having been a skilled worker for many years himself, although this task was tedious, as long as he did it carefully, it would be hard for discerning eyes to tell the difference.
"Bang!" Suddenly, the door burst open, and a middle-aged man with impeccably slicked-back hair walked into the office.
"Manager? What brings you here?" Wang Zhengguo asked in surprise.
"Director Wang, you've really landed me in deep trouble!" The factory manager clenched his teeth. He had just received a call from the Xu Group; upon realizing it was from the chairman himself, he instantly became agitated.
As a mere factory manager, even if he was a government-appointed civil servant, he was just an ant before the Xu Group—easily squished without a hint of resistance. But now, with a chance to connect with such a figure, his status would change dramatically.
However, before he could speak, the chairman of the Xu Group told him something that made cold sweat immediately bead down the factory manager's forehead.
Without hesitation, he rushed over, barely bothering to knock on the door.
"Zhengguo, what trouble have you brought me? Your son... ugh, you always boast about how talented he is; now look! He's somehow provoked the Xu family—what do you plan to do about this?" The factory manager, who shared some rapport with Wang Zhengguo, didn't immediately kick him out.
"Xu'er? What happened to him? How did he offend the Xu family?" Wang Zhengguo's face darkened at the mention of his son, thoroughly shocked. He had heard of the Xu family's reputation, but Xu'er had always been well-behaved—how could he provoke such a powerful figure?
"Never mind, never mind. For now, you should temporarily resign and look into this; I need to report back too; I..." The factory manager finished and turned to leave, leaving Wang Zhengguo stunned, unable to react.
"Oh right, and your daughter-in-law; you should have her return to investigate as well," the factory manager added, not pausing his steps.
...…
Wang Xu was joyfully walking home, thinking about how he would tell his parents that he had been promoted to the fourth tier and could take them to live in the protected zone. How would they react?
But as he walked, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Come out," Wang Xu said coldly, gazing into an alley.
"Hmph! You're somewhat perceptive," a bald man emerged from the alley, followed by several others.
Wang Xu's heart raced; these men were all fourth-tier gene warriors, and the bald leader even seemed stronger, surely a fifth-tier gene warrior!
"If you don't want to get hurt, you should come with us quietly," the bald man said.
At that moment, Wang Xu felt the urge to run, but the bald man seemed to have anticipated that, as there were already people guarding every exit.
With strong foes blocking the way ahead and similar-tiered fighters intercepting behind him, unless he suddenly sprouted wings, escape was impossible!
"Alright, I will go with you," Wang Xu forcefully composed himself. He could tell the bald man held no malicious intent; it was as if he was merely on some mission. He had no choice but to take a gamble and follow the bald man.
"Take him away." With a wave of his hand, the bald man signaled to several fourth-tier gene warriors who then seized Wang Xu. A hover vehicle sped towards them, and they shoved Wang Xu inside, the hover vehicle speeding off into the distance.