The chief was done with venting his frustration.

He glanced at Lu Ming with a look of worry. "Will you be leaving?"

"Of course not."

Lu Ming was between laughter and tears.

He was just making progress in Tian Du City and he had just gained popularity. Why would he start from scratch in Sen Ling City? Heaven knew if the promises were real or not?

"Are you serious about staying?"

The chief refused to let go of Lu Ming's hands.

"Yes!"

Lu Ming was speechless.

"That's good."

The chief heaved a sigh of relief. "Just state any conditions that you want! Everything can be discussed! The organization has great trust in you!"

Lu Ming rolled his eyes. "Aren't you from the operations department?!"

"Yes."

The chief nodded, "The operations department is not limited to the battlefield. Competing with Sen Ling City is considered a battle as well. This includes cultural compet.i.tion, talent compet.i.tion, trade compet.i.tion…

"Take for example what happened this time.

"This is a policy compet.i.tion.

"Some people prefer being environmentally friendly and some people love forests, hence they choose Sen Ling City! Over at Tian Du City, we are just plains and flatlands… Although we don't have any shortcomings and there are no forests or all kinds of geographical disasters and beasts, we don't have any advantages either. Therefore, we were always swindled under false pretenses.

"This time…

"Hehe."

"We are a big natural city that has many spirit bodies and we treat them with care. This will be able to attract many people.

"As long as the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation can stabilize them, it is advantageous for Tian Du City!

"College entrance examination enrollment will begin right away. This policy will affect a lot of college entrance examination students. Oh, this will affect the cultivators who have just graduated from universities and are getting ready to decide the city they will be working in as well!"

The chief confided in Lu Ming.

So, that was what happened.

Lu Ming suddenly saw the light.

It was no wonder Sen Ling City made him such a good offer!

To put it bluntly, these policies were in place to compete for talents! Essentially, it was no different from the compet.i.tion between the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation and other a.s.sociations!

Of course.

At this point in time…

The big shots of other a.s.sociations were not being very friendly.

It was true.

They were there to fight!

They were there to fight for Tian Du City!

But, look at the outcome!

At the request of the chief, they helped the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation escort the spirit bodies… They knew that all the spirit bodies would become card spirits in the future…

They felt aggrieved!

"I am afraid that the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation will soar to great heights soon."

"That's right!"

"With the policy and its effects, they might be able to go to new heights! Coupled with the thousands of spirit bodies, it is enough for the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation to undergo rapid development within a short time!"

"Elder Zhang, aren't you envious?"

"No."

"Why?"

"We have 3.21 million members in my a.s.sociation while the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation only has a few members. He won't go far even if he is allowed to develop freely…"

"They will surpa.s.s you one day."

"I will retire at most in ten years."

All the presidents pondered for a while.

It seemed…

Reasonable!

However, not everyone was so cool about it.

Some of the big shots fixed their gaze on Lu Ming and the spirit bodies. Well, it would be good if they could learn to control the spirit bodies…

Hehe.

Right then…

The spirit bodies had settled down, but that left them with one problem.

"How do we explain today's battle?!"

The chief was solemn.

Today.

Almost everyone knew that there was going to be a huge battle!

At this moment…

Everyone held their breath, some were even prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect their families!

Everyone knew that the beast tide was there and all the citizens were prepared for a battle. If they were told that this was a misunderstanding, it would be a huge problem!

If this was a false alarm, no one would believe them next time!

This was a serious trust issue!

Furthermore…

The compet.i.tion with Sen Ling City had just started and the spirit bodies had just been given better treatment. If the people were told that the beasts tide battle was in fact these spirit bodies…

Was this a joke?!

The people of Tian Du City might have a mental breakdown!

Shus.h.!.+

The chief instinctively looked toward the presidents of the various a.s.sociations.

"This has nothing to do with me," the president of the Elementalists a.s.sociation said indifferently.

They had fulfilled their duties by escorting the spirit bodies all the way to the a.s.sociation. Yet they were asked to help the spirit bodies and the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation, dream on!

Since there was no longer any danger in Tian Du City, there was no need for them to stay here.

"I have some matters to handle, I have to go," the president said lightly.

"Sigh, Elder Zhang."

The chief was helpless.

"What happened today will not be spread. But you can decide how you want to resolve this."

The president waved his hands. "Just take it that I was not here today."

Upon finis.h.i.+ng its words…

Shus.h.!.+

Lights and shadows flashed.

His figure disappeared.

"Bye."

"Our a.s.sociation was not here as well."

"Me too."

Seeing what had happened, other a.s.sociations made their stand known and left.

What was the use in staying?

They would not stay behind to watch the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation flouris.h.!.+ Since the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation had the most to gain, they should resolve the issue by themselves.

"Uh—"

Lu Ming scratched his head. "Shall we say that the operations department resolved it?"

Shus.h.!.+

The chief looked at the last alert on the holographic screen—peak eight-star!

How could the operations department resolve it by themselves?

With their heads?

It was still alright to say that everyone joined hands to win the battle. However, now that all the a.s.sociations refused to cooperate, there was nothing he could do. He could not force them to help!

Therefore…

"It's a little troublesome."

The chief pondered for a moment.

Suddenly…

His eyes were fixed on Lu Ming and he was thinking hard.

…

It was very late at night.

Just when Tian Du City was feeling tense and uptight, getting prepared for the impending battle, the alarm on the holographic screen suddenly disappeared. Everyone also received a message from the operations department—

"The mysterious Swordsman [Flash] came to Tian Du City, and killed the eight-star leader of the beasts in one move and the rest of the thousands and thousands of beasts fled in a panic."

"The beasts tide was resolved."

…

Wow—

Tian Du City had a big shock.

Obviously…

n.o.body would have expected that the dangerous beasts tide would be quickly resolved, and the terrifying eight-star beast was killed instantly in one single move!

The mysterious Swordsman…

[Flash]?

Who was that?

Hence…

Someone quickly did research on the ident.i.ty of[Flash]. Back then, Qing Ming City was attacked by a beasts tide, and the enemy's strength was unknown. But the mysterious Swordsman [Flash] killed it in one move as well!

Besides this…

Someone witnessed the mysterious Swordsman [Flash] slas.h.i.+ng a six-star randomly!!!

"He is very powerful!"

"Could this veteran be a nine-star?"

"That is possible!"

"He is a legendary presence."

People were filled with emotions.

At night.

Many people were grateful toward the mysterious Swordsman.

…

At this very moment…

A certain a.s.sociation.

The disciples of the a.s.sociation were full of grat.i.tude as they read the information regarding the mysterious Swordsman. However, their president was expressionless, looking sullen.

He could not believe that it was resolved!

Would it be alright to say that a mysterious Swordsman defeated the enemies!?

Unfortunately.

There were indeed files and information regarding the mysterious Swordsman. There was also the historical record of him stopping the beasts tide in one move. Therefore, the people of Tian Du City also believed it!!!

"President!

"Do you think the mysterious Swordsman is a nine-star?"

The disciples were full of expectations. "It is a pity you were not there. Otherwise, you might have seen the veteran."

The president was expressionless.

He stifled the urge to respond.

d.a.m.n the veteran. It was Lu Ming! He had seen him and was conned… Would they believe that the beasts tide was a lie as well?!

It was a pity.

He could not say that.

It was alright that he did not help the operations department. However, if he created trouble after the other party had come up with a solution, it would be doing himself in…

Besides…

He had already said that he had just come out from his cultivation retreat and was not in time to go there…

If he argued with them now…

It would be slapping his own face.

Therefore, he had to contain his anger. However, for unknown reasons, he felt very angry…

…

Tonight…

It was destined to be a night of celebration in Tian Du City.

Everyone in Tian Du City felt insecure that eight-star enemies would be attacking the city. Now that the crisis was over, the entire city was celebrating and they stayed up all night!

The next day.

Early morning.

Tian Du City took the opportunity to announce the new policy, as well as the era of the spirit bodies!

The Sword Card Master a.s.sociation released a series of videos advertising the spirit bodies. The Original Card, Xiao-Xiaojian was able to show its charm and charisma once again!

Hence…

Cultivate automatically!

a.s.sist automatically!

Earn money automatically!

Soul mates!

Through life and death!

And so, a variety of keywords swept through the network.

Furthermore—

There were thousands of spirit bodies in the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation!

People finally found out that this was the origin of the spirit bodies of the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation!

The mysterious technique was purely an auxiliary skill!

The a.s.sociation had thousands of card spirits!

Hence…

The Sword Card Master a.s.sociation became famous.

Many people signed up to join the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation.

At this time, along with the release of the college entrance examination results and the new batch of graduates, as the affiliated college of the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation, the college at the crossroads ruled the internet once again!

"I want to be admitted to the college at the crossroads!"

"What a terrible name…"

"Hehe, do you think it will be better if it was called fifth level crossing?"

→_→

The students were discussing amongst themselves.

Of course.

Tian Du City was just as popular.

A huge natural city!

The sacred place for spirit bodies!

With the sensation caused by the 'beasts tide', 'attack of eight-stars' and 'mysterious Swordsman', Tian Du City became more popular than Sen Ling City!

At this moment.

The beast tide was over.

…

At this very moment…

Sword Card Master a.s.sociation.

Lu Ming had always dreamed for the day where the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation expanded and became popular, however when that day came…

All of them were spirit bodies!

He and Xiao-Xiaojian specially did research on whether the Art of Equalization was useful for spirit bodies. However, it was obvious that there was no effect.

Therefore, they could only give up!

Right now…

The top priority was to settle the issue with the spirit bodies.

There were too many of them!!!

There were only a few dozens of people in the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation, but there were several thousands of spirit bodies in one go!

Who could take it?

According to sources…

Those past two nights, some of the spirit bodies silently crept into the beds of the disciples, hoping they would give up their current spirit body to choose them…

That was being too desperate!

They were spirit bodies!

Could they be more reserved like the rabbit spirit?!

Besides…

How could they be certain that the spirit body would disappear after re-cultivation? Lu Ming clearly remembered that whenever his sister self-destructed, Xiao-Xiaolan would appear once again.

They would go through life and death together. This was not merely a slogan!

Anyway.

This was a bad culture…

He had to correct it!!

And the only solution was to recruit more members!

Due to the rising popularity, there was a long list of people waiting to be a.s.sessed to see if they were qualified to join the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation. There were thousands upon thousands of people on the list. There should be some of them who met the criteria.

"Haoran, are there any recent eligible candidates?"

Lu Ming was full of antic.i.p.ation.

"They are under review."

Li Haoran was overwhelmed with work. Recently, there were too many cultivators who applied to join the a.s.sociation. There was a lot of work even if it was only to verify their applications. He and Xiao-Xiaoshé had been working on them for many nights!

Although…

Xiao-Xiaoshé was mainly in charge of the calculation.

"Currently, only two cultivators meet the requirements for second generation disciples."

Li Haoran looked at the verified data. "I have sent them a notice to come for an interview. They will probably come for an interview this afternoon."

"Very good."

Lu Ming was very satisfied.

Two candidates…

It could help the spirit bodies to quench their thirsts.

Hence…

In the afternoon.

The two cultivators were here.

According to Li Haoran's data, these two people were ordinary social cultivators. They were young and talented, but as they had little interest in cultivation, therefore they were still five-stars. They rekindled their interest in cultivation after seeing the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation.

Of course.

According to Li Ergou's conjecture, these two talented but lazy people might be interested in the self-cultivation function…

Today.

Ye Liangfei was responsible for attending to them.

"How do you do, Senior?"

Both of them were full of respect for the six-star cultivator who received them.

"h.e.l.lo."

Ye Liangfei smiled.

He showed them around the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation, introducing them to Li Ergou and the rest. "These people are first generation disciples. They are our seniors."

Ah?

Both of them had a blank look on their faces.

Why was it that their seniors were five-star?!

After a long time…

They were dumbstruck upon seeing Lu Ming. Why was the president a four-star?!

Yes.

The president of this a.s.sociation who was the most senior among them was four-star! First generation disciples who were highly ranked were five-stars! Instead, the six-stars were second generation disciples!

"You will get used to it."

Ye Liangfei patted them on the shoulder. "We don't rank them according to one's realm. Instead, we looked at one's contribution to the a.s.sociation. You will understand in the future."

"Oh."

The two of them did not fully understand what he was saying.

…

The interview of the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation was very simple. Li Haoran asked them about their foundation, while Xiao-Xiaojian used its intuitive observation to have a grasp of their abilities, and Xiao-Xiaobai checked whether they were to its liking.

That was all.

It was simple and crude.

In the end…

The two of them pa.s.sed the review and joined the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation!

At night.

Lu Ming personally led the two disciples to the love affinity department to choose their card spirit. This was the biggest department in the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation right now.

"Can we really pick freely?!"

The two disciples were very excited.

"Go ahead."

Lu Ming smiled faintly.

"Yes!"

The two of them entered the love affinity department in excitement.

After a long time.

It took them a long while.

The two of them came out looking muddleheaded, few of the b.u.t.tons from their clothes were missing.

"Have you chosen a spirit body?"

Lu Ming asked indifferently.

"Yes."

"Which did you choose?"

"I chose the fairest…"

One disciple said foolishly.

"I chose the biggest…"

Another disciple said with a silly look on his face.

Lu Ming turned sullen.

d.a.m.n!

What the h.e.l.l did they go through in there!

"Speak clearer!"

Lu Ming was harsh.

"Yes!"

The two disciples were shocked.

They suddenly realized that the person in front of them who was all smiles was Lu Ming. He might be a four-star, but he was their president! He also had the strongest combat capabilities!

Hence…

They called their chosen spirit bodies to come out.

Well…

Two rabbit spirits.

"Are you certain they are suitable and can match your characteristics?"

Lu Ming sighed.

"Yes!"

The two disciples nodded.

"Alright."

Lu Ming shrugged.

This was their choice. Since both were willing parties, he had no reason to refuse. Therefore, he told Li Haoran to make arrangements for them to re-cultivate.

Well…

Recasting of vocation core - materialization of the Original Card - a minimally invasive hole -the spirit body entered the card - healing of the hole, the above operations when combined was known as entering the bridal chamber.

→_→

Hence…

From now on, there were two more disciples in the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation!

…

That day.

It was very late at night.

Lu Ming came out of his shower and saw Xiaobai sitting on the side of his bed.

"Xiaobai?"

Lu Ming was surprised.

"Master~"

Xiaobai ran over happily. She glanced at him quietly. "Is Xiao-Xiaojian not around?"

"Yes."

"It is in the spirit body department. What's wrong?"

Lu Ming asked.

"There is some problem."

Xiaobai's small face turned serious. "Recently, some spirit bodies reported to Xiao-Xiaobai that Xiao-Xiaojian would go to the spirit body department late at night, gathering a large number of spirit bodies. It was suspected of plotting a conspiracy… these were the exact words."

"Huh?"

Lu Ming was dumbstruck for a long time.

Plotting a conspiracy…

Spirit bodies…

Xiao-Xiaojian…

Why did this sound like palace dramas?!

There were only very few people in the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation. What conspiracy could one come up with?!

Besides…

Xiao-Xiaojian?

It was not suitable to be a villain.

"I don't know either."

Xiaobai was very distressed as well. "Xiao-Xiaobai reported this to me."

"Let's go and see."

Lu Ming could not be bothered.

He felt that…

Given Xiao-Xiaojian's IQ, it was only able to help him with some simple work. He did not believe that he would lead the spirit bodies to plot a conspiracy… The card was not smart enough. But then again…

There were all kinds of spirit bodies.

Perhaps…

There were charmer spirit bodies among them?

At the thought of this…

Lu Ming felt that it was better to take a look.

Hence…

One adult and one kid quietly went to the spirit body department. They were surprised to find that there were indeed countless spirit bodies who gathered there.

Yes.

In the middle of the night!

These spirit bodies did not cultivate but walked in groups toward a certain place.

This scene…

It was indeed unsettling!

Lu Ming and Xiaobai looked at each other, they could feel the seriousness of the problem. What were the spirit bodies doing in the middle of the night? They should be sleeping!?

Hence…

The two of them followed them quietly.

At the deepest part of the love affinity department, near a certain square, they finally saw the spirit bodies who were gathered there. They were showing respect to one spirit body…

Xiao-Xiaojian!

"It is indeed Xiao-Xiaojian?"

Lu Ming's heart jumped a beat.

What was this card doing in the middle of the night?!

Could it be that…

Lu Ming's heart sank.

Right then…

The spirit bodies were in place. Thousands of spirit bodies looked up toward Xiao-Xiaojian.

Xiao-Xiaojian swept its indifferent gaze over them before it said, "Since it has happened, it cannot be undone. What we cam do is to change ourselves as much as possible!"

"No!

"We have to change!

"Are you going to be resigned to your fate!?

"Why them!

"I know you don't think it's fair, but this is reality!

"Someone likes those who are strong!

"Someone prefers looks!

"Someone prefers having a good figure!

"All of us know that female spirit bodies are more popular. Some of you must be doubtful, why does being a female matter more than being powerful?!

"I'm puzzled!

"Why do these two have to be separated!?

"Why can't you be a strong and beautiful female spirit body?

"Were the two rabbit spirits who were chosen very weak? Obviously not. They are very powerful as well. This is their advantage!

"Of course.

"This time, some spirit body must be wondering, should they suffer in silence, forcing themselves to become a female spirit body?!

"To that…

"I want to say…

"A spirit body has no gender. It is merely a shape. Why should one be bothered about it? Even if you become a female spirit body, you won't be able to tell, am I right?!

"Besides…

"Success always comes at a price.

"There is no big deal with a little suffering.

"Today.

"I shall let you know the biggest secret of the Sword Card Master a.s.sociation! I shall let you know that being feminine is not tantamount to a loss of one's dignity nor is it a disgrace!"

Shus.h.!.+

Speaking of this, Xiao-Xiaojian created a screen.

On the screen…

There was a lady who had unrivaled beauty!

All of the spirit bodies were mesmerized right away. They were shocked that there was such a beautiful lady in this world!

"Are you telling us to become such a beautiful lady?"

The spirit bodies pondered deeply.

If they could transform to become such a lady, it was alright to be a female!

"No!

"There is no way that you can be so beautiful!"

Xiao-Xiaojian reb.u.t.ted. "I want all of you to know that this lady is Lu Min, our great Sword Card Master a.s.sociation president!"

Shus.h.!.+

Thousands of spirit bodies were silent. This turned out to be their president?!

Lu Ming was speechless.

Xiaobai was silent.