First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!

Ying Gou felt a little surprised. ”Lu Ding is here?”

By logic, he should still be handling the consolidation of Asura Street right now.

This urgent?

Just after taking Asura Street, and now coming for Mouth of the Evil Prison?

Zhuge Xing saw through his thoughts. ”He has a solid base. Behind him, White Ridge, the Path of Dry Bones, and the Lady’s Temple can absorb what he consumes and help him expend forces.”

”Originally two and a half territories, plus the several hundred Fifth Restriction cultivators brought back from Hanjing, plus gifted strongmen, can completely consume the threats. What would remain is half of the Lady’s Temple, Asura Street, and Mouth of the Evil Prison — those two and a half territories.”

Ying Gou dressed as he listened.

Alright then.

Since he’s come.Give it to him.

It will save him time.

The western region is still too extreme.

Taking only one or two areas has little meaning and instead becomes a burden.

But if he took all five, development prospects would be boundless.

Too bad this place belongs to Lu Ding.

Pleased with their decision, Ying Gou and Zhuge Xing walked side by side.

They reached the reception room and pushed the door open.

Inside, Lu Ding and masked Zhan Tingzhou had already been waiting for some time.

The instant Ying Gou saw Lu Ding, he inexplicably felt a surge of familiarity.

But how that familiarity manifested, he couldn’t put into words.

Still, at a glance he judged life and death; looking at Lu Ding that first moment, Ying Gou knew this person was no slouch!!!

The two could get along very well.

Ultimately, it was because Ying Gou’s realm wasn’t high enough; he couldn’t perceive the constant Heaven-Man Unity aura on Lu Ding.

He could only barely sense the allure that a person, achieved through altar-based ascension and watched by heaven and earth, would exert.

He appraised Lu Ding.

Lu Ding appraised him back.

Also at first glance.

Although Lu Ding lacked any scanning skill data, he instinctively felt this person seemed good, and could also feel Ying Gou’s great strength.

A man who emitted strong-warrior waves from the inside out.

Solid, the kind who could raise a skyscraper.

Ying Gou stepped forward, extending his hand. ”Long have I heard your great name!”

Lu Ding rose and took the hand. ”Your renown precedes you!”

Who doesn’t trade a few compliments?

It’s polite talk, don’t dwell on sincerity; everyone knows the dance and says it for pleasure.

Ying Gou sat beside them. He wasn’t very pretentious, and got straight to the point: ”Didn’t expect you’d come so soon. All the better, I can hand over Mouth of the Evil Prison to you earlier.”

”When do we do the handover?”

Zhan Tingzhou: .......

Wait, aren’t you Ren Yi Yang Tian Ying Gou?

Why are you rushing to hand it over?

I even reminded Lu Ding to be careful of you.

Aren’t you slapping my face?

Lu Ding hadn’t expected Ying Gou to proactively offer Mouth of the Evil Prison.

But he couldn’t accept it right now.

He was about to meet with the Yellow Heaven Sect people and enter the Mad God’s treasure. Under such circumstances, the Mouth of the Evil Prison’s situation could not change.

Although he didn’t know why Ying Gou treated him so well, he said, ”Not for the moment. Give me a few days’ buffer.”

Before Ying Gou could reply, Zhuge Xing, unable to hide his eagerness, chimed in: ”Grand Duke Lu, since you’re already here, just take it now. From then on, this place will be under your control.”

”The bureau chief and deputy bureau chief at Mouth of the Evil Prison like you a lot.”

”They promise to be obedient.”

”The situation won’t change, so you won’t need to wait.”

”Basically, we’ve already helped you consolidate what’s to be consolidated. What more concerns do you have?”

This put Lu Ding in a bind.

If they pressed harder, at worst they’d fight and he wouldn’t be so conflicted.

It’s not that the Mad God information couldn’t be told to them.

The main problem was that the advance intelligence about where to position things, provided by Yuwen Longyuan, came from Zhan Tingzhou; Lu Ding was responsible for execution and striking.

If he told Ying Gou as well, what then?

He had no plan to cut ties with Yuwen Longyuan.

Actions done secretly becoming public would be hard to explain and could damage Yuwen Longyuan’s standing within Wuwang.

Secrecy breeds success; loose lips cause defeat — ancestral wisdom wasn’t without reason.

Lu Ding thought for a moment. ”Really not possible. I still have some moves to make that require operations within Mouth of the Evil Prison, so I’m just here to inform you.”

”I can’t accept Mouth of the Evil Prison right now.”

As those words came out, a tug-of-war began.

On one side they wanted to hand over Mouth of the Evil Prison, on the other they didn’t want to take it now.

This left the bureau chief and deputy bureau chief of Mouth of the Evil Prison outside feeling quite uncomfortable.

Tied up.

Who had Mouth of the Evil Prison offended, that everyone didn’t want it?

In the past, Mouth of the Evil Prison had suffered the worst damage.

It still couldn’t catch its breath.

Compared to other places, this barren Mouth of the Evil Prison’s chief and deputy were truly incorruptible and clean.

Although they couldn’t accomplish much practical work, they also hadn’t done any evil.

Even if you add them together, they wouldn’t amount to half the mistakes Qian Jin made before.

But the result?

Everyone had been absorbed by Lu Ding.

In the western five districts, Lu Ding took four — and didn’t take their Mouth of the Evil Prison.

It stung.

As the pushing and verbal jostling continued inside, Ying Gou finally said, ”Alright! Here’s what we’ll do.”

”Let’s have a trial, just one trial, no hard feelings. My old man used to be Elder Shui’s soldier, we’re all family. If I win later, you take Mouth of the Evil Prison and I’ll withdraw; I still need to go snatch another territory elsewhere.”

”If I lose, I’ll keep helping watch it for you, but don’t let it be for too long. What do you think?”

Lu Ding hadn’t expected there to be this family connection.

Since things had gone this far, he wanted to see what Ying Gou was actually made of. After all, he seemed extraordinary; this was the first time a peer’s demeanor had made Lu Ding take him seriously.

”Fine, come on!”

The two agreed immediately.

Reality is like this: when great strength is owed to oneself, disagreements are settled by combat — the loser listens to the winner.

Simple as that.

They rose at once, squared off, and raised their hands.

They didn’t stretch the atmosphere.

They merely exchanged single pushing palms.

Not fast.

Seemingly not very forceful.

But when they actually collided,

Bang — an explosive crack.

It stunned the onlookers, dizziness and ringing in the ears.

Lu Ding stepped back, his foot carving a deep pit in the floor before he rooted himself; Ying Gou stepped back one and a half steps, the final half-step not touching down.

After that single palm,

both men’s faces flickered with shock.

There is always someone stronger among the strong.

Lu Ding was dumbstruck. With so many spells at his disposal and the terrifying physical enhancements he had, that he could only edge out Ying Gou by a little from a palm strike?

Though he had many high-power skills unused, this exchange still proved Ying Gou’s worth.

From Ying Gou’s perspective, his thoughts were similar.

At twenty-one, freshly into God Ascension Ninth Restriction today, after breaking through the Heavenly Perception barrier at eighteen, he had awakened that altar to worship heaven. Although delayed by some matters in between, his progress had been nothing but a headlong push.

To hone his skill, hunting demons had become his everyday habit.