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

Upon hearing this, Feifan immediately walked over and lifted the trash can lid.

Lu Ding looked at Xuan Yuan Ci again: “I’ll give you one last chance. Leave now, and I’ll let bygones be bygones.”

When dealing with his own people who had no deep-seated grudges, Lu Ding was still quite polite.

But if kind words couldn’t persuade a ghost destined to die, then he wouldn’t hesitate.

Xuan Yuan Ci glanced at the trash can. Though she already had an inkling of what was coming, she still asked, “What does this mean?”

Lu Ding stared at her: “Simple. If you don’t retreat, in three seconds, I’ll make you lie down in there.”

Without giving her any chance to ramble, Lu Ding started counting: “One!!”

Xuan Yuan Ci’s expression turned ugly. Her aura surged as she weighed the pros and cons, fighting an internal battle with her family pride.

“Two!!!”Suddenly, Xuan Yuan Ci’s gaze hardened again!

Not backing down one bit!

She’d already taken a beating from Xiang Yu. Even if she had to endure another round of Lu Ding’s punishment, so what!? Thinking this, Xuan Yuan Ci chose to strike first.

Her long whip lashed out, conjuring a blazing sun overhead. Rolling waves of golden fire crashed down like a Golden Crow’s breath, sweeping across the world. The heat alone could evaporate mountains and boil seas.

The Great Han’s geniuses still had their weight in gold. In the past, Lu Ding might have had trouble taking her down. But who could blame the fact that Lu Ding in the current version kept getting stronger?

His divine ability [Human King’s Loose Hands] was a version-breaking bug that these people couldn’t even comprehend.

But since he said he’d count to three, he would. The final call dropped: “Three!!!!”

Lu Ding suddenly raised his hand.

[Human King’s Loose Hands] activated, and he reached out—a single hand obscuring the heavens. The surrounding space was instantly engulfed in darkness. The blazing sun that Xuan Yuan Ci had summoned with her whip was crushed to pieces by the terror of that darkness. The cascading golden waves were obliterated by an irresistible force.

Terror flooded Xuan Yuan Ci’s eyes as it grew more intense.

Lu Ding grabbed her, aimed at the trash can, leaped, and slammed her in!!

BANG!!!!!!

Her figure crashed into the can. Trash, not particularly filthy, flew everywhere.

At the bottom, Xuan Yuan Ci lay unconscious—eyes shut, face pale, sleeping peacefully.

The scene sent a collective jolt of shock through everyone watching. Most of those present knew how formidable Xuan Yuan Ci was. Otherwise, seeing her subdued so easily might have made them think, “Hey, even I could do that.”

But those who understood just what kind of person Xuan Yuan Ci was could only silently shift their gaze to Lu Ding, their eyes filled with fear and dread.

It was no exaggeration to say that if defeating Xuan Yuan Ci was this easy for him, then Lu Ding was the most brutal quality-check for any prodigy. Not talking about winning—if you could survive a round under him, you could already be called terrifying.

Kong Wenshu involuntarily sucked in a cold breath, his previous bravado completely shattered.

With Lu Ding backing Ying Gou, today, this Jinhua Tian Temple was his to yield, whether he wanted to or not.

Kong Wenshu was unwilling. “Ying Gou, enough talk. Do you dare to face me in a real fight?”

Ying Gou found this amusing. He turned and walked over to Lu Ding, spreading his arms in sheer arrogance: “I have the advantage now. Why would I give it up to play your little one-on-one? Just because I know you counter me, do you think I’m stupid enough to fight you anyway?”

If Lu Ding hadn’t shown such terrifying dominance, Ying Gou might have gotten hot-headed. But now that Lu Ding was overpowered, what was the point of fighting? Why had he called Lu Ding in the first place? To watch himself get beaten? What a lunatic.

Kong Wenshu was completely out of options. “Fine, Ying Gou. You win this round. I concede, but I don’t concede to you. Remember, I’m only backing down because of Lu Ding’s reputation and strength.”

With that, he turned to Lu Ding and cupped his hands: “Grand Duke Lu, my thanks.”

This thanks might sound strange, but from Kong Wenshu’s peculiar perspective, Lu Ding’s strength made him look like a mere child in comparison. Someone this powerful had come without throwing his weight around or driving them out by force. He could have, but he didn’t. Wasn’t that worth a word of gratitude?

To put it bluntly, at least he didn’t end up like Xuan Yuan Ci—sleeping soundly in front of all his subordinates.

Lu Ding nodded.

He watched as Kong Wenshu flew over and pulled the sleeping Xuan Yuan Ci out of the trash can. Despite everything, Lu Ding was grateful to her. At least she had the guts to test the waters for him.

Kong Wenshu looked back: “Can you give me some time to pack my things?”

Ying Gou cut in: “Take your time.”

Kong Wenshu said no more.

In the end, the situation was resolved solely by Lu Ding’s terrifying performance.

Ying Gou looked at Lu Ding: “You leveled up fast.”

Lu Ding glanced at him: “And you’ve been hiding deep. Why didn’t you fight him? I don’t know how much he counters you, but he doesn’t feel as strong as you.”

Though he didn’t have the secret eye technique like Ying Gou, his sixth sense told him that Ying Gou now was far stronger than when he first met him. He had no idea what this guy had done in just a few days.

Compared to his instinctive reading of Kong Wenshu—if ten was a perfect score, Kong Wenshu felt like a two, same tier as Xuan Yuan Ci, easily crushed—Ying Gou felt like a four-point-five, maybe even a five. Decent! Not bad!

And this rating came from Lu Ding factoring in his own charged [Way of the Jinche], all his spells, and divine abilities. It was just that anything below three was indistinguishable—[Human King’s Loose Hands] took them out in one shot. Above three required a bit more effort.

Ying Gou’s pupils contracted to pinpricks. He lowered his voice, struggling to keep the tremor out: “If I’m playing at half strength, I might take him down with some injuries—not worth it. If I go all out, I’m afraid I can’t control myself and might kill him.”

Lu Ding was curious: “That fierce?”

Ying Gou pursed his lips: “Barely human. Handsome, fierce, and cruel all at once. Later, I’ll open a case in my capacity as the ‘new’ special envoy here, and we’ll go find that Wuliang Temple, Giant Wave Group, and Star-Plucking Tower. I’ll give you a demo.”

Lu Ding grew interested: “Deal.”

He wanted to see Ying Gou’s new tricks. He hadn’t broken through to Spirit Refinement, yet his combat power had jumped that much. Lu Ding was genuinely curious.

There were gaps between geniuses, but he’d never seen someone else pull so far ahead of other top-tier prodigies—whether it was himself, Ying Gou, the unconscious Xuan Yuan Ci, or the unmoved Kong Wenshu. All four of them were at God Ascension, Ninth Restriction.