Chapter 103: The Audit

Prince Xuan Wang and Bai Dushan were both newly promoted warriors. In their eyes, only Bai Yushuang and Yuan Qiansheng from Anjing No. 1 High School were the strongest opponents. They racked their brains hunting down exotic beasts, all in hopes of defeating No. 1 High School in the preliminaries. Several team members were even injured, enduring great risks for this purpose.

Yet, the result was that an obscure middle school unexpectedly took first place in the preliminary round.

Both young prodigies found this hard to accept and turned their attention to Gao Wu. They had no memory of Dongjiang No. 1 High School but clearly remembered Gao Wu. After all, he was the only middle school student carrying two golden Thunder Eagles. By his side always stood a cool, sunglasses-wearing beauty, and the two were nearly inseparable.

What was most remarkable was that the sunglasses-clad beauty was actually event staff, accompanying Gao Wu so unabashedly.

These young geniuses weren’t lacking in boyfriends or girlfriends, but martial arts training was incredibly draining and demanded a vast amount of time. Anyone truly devoted to the martial path wouldn’t waste time on frivolities. Without such self-discipline, no one could achieve much in martial arts or stand out among peers.

Close male-female companions like Gao Wu and Song Mingyue were extremely rare, and the pair made no effort to hide their intimacy. More importantly, Song Mingyue was exquisitely beautiful, with a clear and radiant presence, possessing an icy purity in her aura. Her appearance and temperament surpassed even the equally stunning Bai Yushuang, who always seemed slightly overshadowed by Song Mingyue.

Such a beauty naturally became the center of attention, yet she coldly rebuffed all attempts at conversation, unwilling to speak even a single word. In contrast, Gao Wu was warm and flamboyant, creating a striking juxtaposition between the two.

Together, they drew considerable notice.

Another key point was that Gao Wu had publicly defeated Bai Yushuang when she was still a warrior on the Snowwave Cup stage. Now that Bai Yushuang had advanced to the rank of warrior, this darker chapter of her past was still online, and anyone interested in her would likely have seen the video.

With Song Mingyue and Bai Yushuang, two highly popular beauties by his side, Gao Wu naturally enjoyed immense popularity.

People only remembered Gao Wu’s urgent distress signal broadcast on the public channel, assuming he was in serious trouble. No one expected that he would lead his team to first place in the preliminaries.

Prince Xuan Wang and Yuan Qiansheng, who had previously regarded Gao Wu with a hint of condescending mockery, were now unable to smile. Bai Dushan, a shrewd young warrior, furrowed his brows in confusion and suspicion about Gao Wu’s first-place finish. It wasn’t that he favored conspiracy theories, but Gao Wu’s flamboyance suggested he might have a powerful patron behind him. It was only natural that the judges might have shown him some favoritism.

The most shocked and hardest to accept was, of course, Bai Yushuang. After being defeated and mocked by Gao Wu on the Snowwave Cup stage, the setback had only fueled her competitiveness. Upon returning to Anjing, she trained diligently and soon broke through her bottleneck to crystallize the Source Power Acupoint, successfully advancing to warrior rank. She was overjoyed to learn Gao Wu was participating in the Qilin Cup.

Bai Yushuang never thought that before she could teach Gao Wu a lesson, she and Yuan Qiansheng, both warriors, would lose to him in the preliminaries.

Seeing Bai Yushuang’s blank expression, Yuan Qiansheng whispered, "It’s normal for country folk to be good hunters. Add a bit of luck, and taking first place isn’t surprising."

"True." Bai Yushuang accepted this reasoning. Being from Dongjiang Linshan, it was natural that Gao Wu and his group were skilled at hunting.

She quickly regained her composure, hoping Gao Wu would advance to the semifinals. Ideally, they would meet again on the arena stage and she could reclaim her lost honor in front of millions of spectators across Northern Province.

Prince Xuan Wang, Bai Dushan, and other prodigies soon calmed down as well. After all, it was only the preliminaries, and luck played a significant role in hunting exotic beasts. Gao Wu’s first-place finish didn’t mean much yet.

Martial masters An Ziru, Shen An, Song Yunzhen, and others clearly observed the expressions and gazes of the youths and nodded quietly to themselves.

These were truly elite youths of Northern Province. Though their feelings were not yet concealed, they could calm down quickly, which was commendable.

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If youths showed no emotion and completely controlled their feelings, that would be excessive. Youths should be immature in many ways; that is what allows for growth.

Of course, they must have good foundational aptitude and temperament to achieve a high ceiling. Without that, no amount of effort would yield significant success.

Martial arts were somewhat like mathematics: without talent, no amount of practice would lead to great achievements.

For these martial masters, becoming a warrior was not significant, nor was becoming a martial expert. After all, a handful of warriors or experts could not change much.

They hoped to cultivate peerless prodigies who could defy fate. Even if the odds were infinitesimal, a one-in-a-billion chance was worth pursuing.

Bai Dushan, Bai Yushuang, Prince Xuan Wang, and Yuan Qiansheng were impressive, with Bai Yushuang having the best talent and Yuan Qiansheng being quite special. Yet none surpassed Song Mingyue.

As for Gao Wu, he was very unusual. Even the martial masters found him hard to read.

An Ziru announced the top sixteen teams, who qualified for the semifinals. All other eliminated teams were granted spectator privileges, with all expenses covered by the organizing committee.

These were all young talents from Northern Province, and allowing them to watch their peers compete at the highest level greatly benefited their growth.

All teams gladly stayed to watch. For most young warriors, such opportunities were rare—perhaps once every three years—and extremely precious.

Major universities in Anjing sent observers to watch, hoping to spot promising students and offer direct invitations. There were many opportunities in this event.

In summary, the Qilin Cup was far from a simple middle school competition. It was a comprehensive selection process by Anjing’s universities for Northern Province’s youth elite.

Contestants took buses back to Qilin Tower, while Gao Wu, Shen An, Song Yunzhen, and others went straight to the Inspection Department headquarters in Minggang District.

Given the magnitude of the incident, the organizing committee and all security personnel involved had to undergo inquiry by the Inspection Department.

Standing in the top-floor corridor of the headquarters building, Gao Wu looked out the window at the bustling water transport docks several miles away, where gantry cranes continuously loaded and unloaded cargo.

Minggang was Anjing’s largest inland river cargo terminal, lending its name to the district.

The Inspection Department building was located in Minggang District, though Gao Wu wondered if there was any particular reason. He had clearly seen upon entering that next door was the Guard Regiment’s camp.

The entire Inspection Department was a self-contained, large, enclosed community.

It was said that the Inspection Department’s Special Operations Team mostly worked here. This team, led by martial masters, consisted of members who were at least advanced warriors, forming a key force maintaining order in Anjing.

Along with the Public Security Bureau and the military forces guarding Anjing, plus the Hunter Association as a semi-official entity, they effectively managed the large martial population and maintained local order.

Gao Wu wasn’t here for any wrongdoing but was considering moving his elderly grandfather to Anjing. The situation was becoming increasingly chaotic, and Anjing should provide basic security. Though he might not afford a house yet, renting a comfortable place was certainly possible with his funds.

Seeing Gao Wu lost in thought by the window, Shen An comforted him, "It’s nothing, just going through the motions."

"With you here, I’m at ease. Ha..." Gao Wu smiled and casually patted Shen An on the back.

He wasn’t flattering without reason; Shen An genuinely cared for him and clearly admired this martial master.

As Shen An was about to speak, a pale, clean-cut middle-aged man emerged from a room. Shen An stepped forward politely, "Minister Zhang, you’re personally handling this matter?"

The pale man was Zhang Yunyi, a bespectacled, refined-looking martial master and deputy minister of the Inspection Department—a man of considerable power.

Shen An had met Zhang Yunyi twice and knew this courteous, smiling man was deeply shrewd and formidable.

He had always disliked dealing with the Inspection Department’s personnel. These people scrutinized everyone as if trying to peer into their minds.

Perhaps their work had corrupted them into this state.

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Zhang Yunyi was also polite to Shen An. After brief pleasantries, Shen An introduced Gao Wu: "This is Gao Wu, the one who thwarted the Demon God Cultists’ conspiracy and performed a great service."

He added solemnly, "Gao Wu is still a child; please take good care of him, Minister Zhang."

"Just following procedure. You can rest assured, Chairman Shen," Zhang Yunyi replied with a smile.

He then turned to Gao Wu, "Young man, come with me. We’ll take a statement inside; it won’t take long."

The office was simply furnished, with only a desk and chair, cameras and microphones on either side, and one wall embedded with a large one-way mirror.

The setup was clearly an interrogation room, but Zhang Yunyi’s demeanor was polite, with no coercion—far better than the Public Security Bureau’s previous treatment.

Adjusting a camera on the desk, Zhang Yunyi smiled at Gao Wu, "Don’t be nervous. Just remember, no lying. Everything here is recorded, including lie detector tests.

"If the lie detector alarms, things will get complicated."

Gao Wu nodded, "I understand."

"Please recount the events in detail," Zhang Yunyi requested.

Following instructions, Gao Wu retold the story of that night. Zhang Yunyi interrupted occasionally to ask for details.

"You sensed something was off?" Zhang Yunyi asked. "How did you notice?"

"Spiritual perception," Gao Wu answered earnestly.

Zhang Yunyi didn’t press further and nodded. "How did you slay those two Demon God cultists?"

"Spiritual power," Gao Wu replied, feeling it was too vague and added, "I can establish spiritual resonance with my sword weapon, enabling me to control the sword midair."

From the battle traces, anyone could tell there were no footprints. Gao Wu saw no reason to hide this.

Of course, calling the Demon God a form of spiritual power wasn’t a lie.

His divine ability originated from the Infinite Merit Scripture, with the Vermilion Bird Divine Light and Azure Dragon Divine Qi spells manifesting as Demon God sword control.

This was complex; without Gao Wu’s explanation, no one could guess the true source.

Zhang Yunyi asked a few more questions, then stood and extended his hand to Gao Wu, "Thanks to you for stepping up and stopping the Demon God Cultists’ plot.

"This is a serious matter; we have to follow procedures. I hope you understand."

"We citizens have the duty to cooperate with the authorities. This is what I should do," Gao Wu replied earnestly.

Zhang Yunyi smiled; this kid was quite interesting.

As a martial master, he could easily read Gao Wu’s subtle bodily cues. Combined with the lie detector, Gao Wu’s honesty was unmistakable, though his tone was somewhat exaggerated.

For the great contributor to the case, Zhang Yunyi was courteous, personally escorting him out and chatting briefly with Shen An before watching them leave by elevator.

Inside the elevator, Shen An said to Gao Wu, "The association has approved your reward; your Level B2 points will soon be credited to your account. You’ll see it when you log into the intranet tomorrow..."

"Thank you, Uncle Shen."

Gao Wu’s joy was evident, his tone more familiar now. Shen An treated him well; calling him Chairman Shen felt too formal, so “Uncle Shen” was just right.