High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: The Enemy in the Shadows

Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo

Although it was the Spring Festival, the staff were already bustling with activity—perhaps because of yesterday’s incident with the Space Gate.

”Manager Sunx, Mr. Lin!”

Seeing Lin Qi come in, the receptionist greeted him with a respectful nod.

Lin Qi nodded in acknowledgment and walked ahead of Manager Sunx. They took the elevator to the top floor, and as they stepped out, a burly figure approached them.

Lin Qi recognized him at a glance. It was Master Lu. His brawny, fleshy face was hard to miss.

”Good morning, Lin Qi! You should stop by my place sometime!” Master Lu greeted him with surprising warmth.

Lin Qi was taken aback for a moment before replying, ”I will!”

After Master Lu was out of earshot, Lin Qi asked in confusion:

”What’s with Master Lu?”

Instead of answering, Manager Sunx just smiled. ”You’ll find out in a moment.”

BEEP!

The office door opened, and Lin Qi stepped into Yue Feng’s office for the third time.

A faint scent of jasmine tea drifted through the air. At a nearby desk sat Yue Feng, dressed in a Combat Suit, looking as if he were ready to head into battle at any moment.

Two cups of freshly brewed tea were already sitting on the desk in front of him.

”Lin Qi, try this special jasmine tea!”

The pleasant fragrance of jasmine filled his senses, bringing with it a sense of calm.

Lin Qi sat down and took a sip. The flavor of jasmine tea filled his mouth, settling his nerves completely.

”Master Yue, you wanted to see me about something?” Lin Qi asked, breaking the silence.

”That’s too formal. Call me Uncle Yue,” Yue Feng said, shaking his head.

”Alright, Uncle Yue,” Lin Qi nodded.

Yue Feng smiled in satisfaction, then stood up and said:

”Lin Qi, we all saw your performance at Wanda Plaza.”

As if on cue, Manager Sunx, who was standing to the side, projected a video. It showed footage of Lin Qi’s battle in the plaza.

”For your first time fighting Calamity Beasts, your performance was beyond anything we could have imagined.”

”You killed 15 Calamity Beasts and saved 20 people. The Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo has decided to reward you for your actions.”

”Next, you, Jiangtao, Li Zhou, and the others involved will be interviewed by the television station.”

”An interview?” Lin Qi frowned.

”If you accept the interview, you’ll be awarded the title of ’Outstanding Young Martial Artist’ and also receive a one-million-Xia-Country-Coin reward,” Yue Feng continued.

Lin Qi’s frown vanished. ”No problem!” he agreed instantly.

Yue Feng smiled and continued.

”According to the rules established by the Three Great Martial Arts Dojos, the government, and the military...”

”During a Disaster Beast Tide, anyone who helps kill Calamity Beasts is compensated by the government, which then collects the carcasses.”

”You hunted down 15 Calamity Beasts. Based on the current market price in Xia Country, we will give you 500,000 Xia Country Coins!”

Lin Qi nodded. ’That’s not a small sum. They call it market price, but it’s actually on the high side.’

’All told, that’s an income of 1.5 million Xia Country Coins. I’ve made a killing.’

Yue Feng took a few more steps before speaking again:

”Lin Qi, you’ve broken through to the Second Realm, haven’t you?”

”Yes,” Lin Qi nodded.

”Excellent!” Yue Feng smiled.

”Lin Qi, in my opinion, you have the makings of an S-class talent!”

”I’ll tell you what,” Yue Feng said, sitting down and making a solemn promise. ”If you can place in the top ten of Cang Province on your monthly exams during the second semester of your senior year, I will personally give you a massive reward.”

Lin Qi’s expression remained calm, but he could feel his heart begin to pound uncontrollably in his chest.

’Who was Yue Feng? He was the Vice Hall Master of the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, a grandmaster at the Seventh Realm.’

’Even the smallest resource he offered would be a massive boon for me.’

”Done,” Lin Qi nodded solemnly.

’Top ten in Cang Province. For me, right now, that’s not difficult.’

Master Sunx and Yue Feng exchanged a glance and nodded.

They continued to drink their tea for a moment.

”Lin Qi, you’ve proven you have the potential of an S-class talent. That means it’s time you knew a few things,” Yue Feng said suddenly.

Manager Sunx, standing beside them, once again projected a screen. It was a map of the entire Cang Province.

Many locations on it were marked with either red or blue dots.

Lin Qi saw that in Celestial Sea City, Wanda, 21st Alley, and Coastal Park were marked with blue dots, but three other locations were marked with red dots.

He found it rather puzzling.

”Yesterday at 10 AM, at the exact same time, Space Gates appeared in all nine cities of our Cang Province.”

Lin Qi was startled.

’Space Gates appeared across the entire Cang Province? All at the same time?’

Yue Feng pointed to the red dots on the projection and said:

”This was a premeditated operation. Someone opened the Space Gates, causing a Disaster Beast Tide to draw the attention of our Martial Arts Dojos.”

”But their real targets were the several S-class talents within Cang Province.”

”At that exact same time yesterday, three S-class talents here in Celestial Sea City were targeted for assassination,” Yue Feng said, dropping a bombshell.

”Assassinating S-class talents?” Lin Qi’s heart skipped a beat.

’So having a high-level Talent really gets you targeted for assassination?’

”That’s right. But without exception, they all failed,” Yue Feng continued.

Lin Qi breathed a sigh of relief. ’If the assassins had succeeded, then no one would be safe.’

”Who was behind it?”

Lin Qi asked.

Manager Sunx switched the image on the large screen and began to speak:

”Allow me to explain.”

Two figures appeared on the large screen. They were different from normal people.

Their appearances began to morph. The skin on the first person’s arm turned a deep brown, and their eyes bulged to several times their normal size, making for a terrifying sight.

The second person’s skin grew as smooth and hard as armor, their facial features contracted, and their head sharpened to a point.

”In our society, besides the Calamity Beasts, we have another enemy. They are powerful, hide in the shadows, and are extremely difficult to find.”

Lin Qi was secretly shocked. ’Another enemy besides the Calamity Beasts?’

”Who are they? And what’s their connection to the people in the images?”

Yue Feng slowly spoke, ”We call them the Insect Race.”

”The Insect Race. A species even more powerful than the Calamity Beasts. They possess physical characteristics similar to insects.”

”Yet they possess intelligence on par with ours, and in some areas, a level of technology that surpasses our own.”

”Individually, they possess formidable combat strength, and some of them even have Special Abilities.”

”They are a direct match for our S-class and higher talents.”

’The Insect Race?!’

Lin Qi frowned as he processed what Yue Feng was telling him about this new enemy.

’The Insect Race... intelligence on par with humans, superior technology, and powerful individual combatants...’

”If they’re so powerful, why haven’t I ever heard of them?” Lin Qi asked after his initial surprise.

”Exactly. Good question.”

Manager Sunx spoke up. ”Because they are extremely rare—just as rare as our S-class talents.”

”They also hide in the shadows and have used special methods to form an organization called the Insect God Association.”

”They use their technology to genetically modify their members, granting them strength, speed, or defenses that far surpass those of an Ordinary Martial Artist.”

”The two individuals in the images are members of the Insect God Association.”

Understanding dawned on Lin Qi. ’So that’s what this is all about.’

”They’ve been hostile to humanity since their first appearance, and they were the ones who planned the first assassination of a talent who had a Special Ability.”

”Every year, the Insect God Association makes its presence felt, and every year, Top Level talents die.”

”Lin Qi, if you ever Awaken a Special Ability in the future, you will become one of their targets too.”

Manager Sunx continued.

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