First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!
Chapter 8: Maxed Buffs—A Year’s Progress in a Day

…

As time ticked down toward the end of the assessment, the word "exam" had completely lost its meaning for Lu Ding.

At this point, he wasn’t being tested—he was training.

Using these Wooden Dummies as sparring partners, he refined his combat skills.

His ability Oneness with Formlessness had long since been activated.

With the power of Oneness with Heaven and Man enhancing his body, his Slash Attacks became a relentless storm—faster, sharper, and more precise. His attack angles grew trickier, his movements more fluid.

His combat experience was skyrocketing.

This extraordinary display had caught the attention of the 749 Bureau’s management team, who were monitoring the exam from the observation room.

"Oneness with Heaven and Man—this kid actually entered that state during the exam!!!"

"He just unlocked his apertures yesterday, just joined 749 yesterday, didn’t even pick a cultivation technique, and still came to take the assessment. Having such absurd combat power was already unbelievable, and now he’s even entered Oneness with Heaven and Man?!"

"If he scores perfectly, he’ll get an Aperture-Unlocking Pill, instantly breaking through to the second realm—Zhaoxuan Realm—and then he can pick his cultivation technique afterward!"

"Damn! This kid’s stacking buffs like crazy!!!"

"If the other examinees’ combat power is a 1, this kid is at 30. And once he finishes comprehending Oneness with Heaven and Man, his Slash Attacks will get even stronger—his combat power will shoot up to 100. Then tonight, he’ll take an Aperture-Unlocking Pill and instantly step into a higher realm—combat power 1000! And he still has a second talent that hasn’t even surfaced yet."

"How’s anyone supposed to catch up to that?"

"He’s leveling up so fast, by tomorrow nobody will even be able to see his shadow."

"This guy just did in one day what would take most people ten years."

"And he’s still just a trainee investigator."

"Hahahahahaha!!!"

The management team burst into laughter.

A kid stronger than most full investigators was running around as a trainee—this was like a high schooler enrolling in elementary school.

Pure overkill.

And yet, there was nothing they could do about it.

The ten-mission requirement to become a formal investigator was a rule set by the founder himself. No one could change it.

So now?

This was just a predator getting dropped into a flock of sheep.

Massacre inevitable.

Just imagining the chaos had them laughing even harder.

As the assessment ended, Lu Ding deactivated Oneness with Formlessness.

On the big screen, his score stood in overwhelming first place—miles ahead of the rest.

Seeing him exit Oneness with Heaven and Man, the observers felt a twinge of regret.

If only he’d stayed in that state longer…

Of course, they had no idea that the state they dreamed of achieving was something Lu Ding could enter and exit whenever he wanted.

The Wooden Dummies vanished.

The results flashed onto the screen.

Lu Ding was the only one with a Perfect Score.

Ten others, including Liu Yun, ranked as Excellent.

Chu Hao, on the other hand, landed in the Average category.

Before today, he would’ve easily been ranked Excellent.

But with his Vine Armor destroyed, his defense had dropped drastically. And since he had never trained in evasive techniques, his movements had been stiff and restricted.

At this moment, Chu Hao found himself unable to lift his head.

The humiliation burned inside him—but there was nothing he could do.

He had felt Lu Ding’s power firsthand.

Even from a distance, he had felt like his body was being cut apart.

It was so terrifying that he couldn’t even bring himself to feel hatred.

He only stole a few glances from the corner of his eye—

Only to realize that Lu Ding hadn’t even looked at him once.

With a long exhale, a deep sense of defeat settled over him.

So this is what I am to him. Just a worthless clown.

After everyone exited the exam grounds, Lu Ding received his reward—a Aperture-Unlocking Pill.

The pill was a deep shade of green, sealed in a small wax-coated box.

As he looked at it, information from the 749 App surfaced in his mind.

Aperture-Unlocking Pill

A rare and precious pill exclusively for those in the Aperture-Unlocking Realm. Packed with pure and gentle medicinal energy, it allows a Cultivator of Qi to fully open all their apertures and step directly into the Zhaoxuan Realm.

The Aperture-Unlocking Realm was the first stage of cultivation.

It was said that the human body contained 365 apertures, mirroring the cycle of the heavens. Unlocking them aligned one with the Dao and laid the foundation for future cultivation.

After Aperture-Unlocking came the Zhaoxuan Realm, where the 365 apertures condensed into Qi vortexes, allowing one to absorb and store the Heaven and Earth’s Qi to nourish the body.

After Zhaoxuan came the Linghai Realm, where the apertures fused together to form an ocean of Qi. Those with resources could expand this ocean using precious treasures; those without could only cultivate patiently, grinding toward their limit before breaking through to the Divine Palace Realm.

These were the Three Foundational Realms.

To build a towering palace, one needed a solid foundation.

To cultivate these realms properly, both talent and resources were indispensable.

Back when Lu Ding first read about this, he had immediately felt grateful for joining 749.

If he had been on his own, where the hell would he have found the necessary resources?

No wonder people said "Martial arts for the rich, literature for the poor." Without financial backing, even the most talented cultivator would hit a dead end.

If he had been forced to cultivate alone, he would’ve been completely screwed.

But now?

He had just waltzed into 749 and casually received an Aperture-Unlocking Pill—just like that.

And in the future, he could use contribution points to exchange for even more cultivation treasures.

Even mission rewards weren’t just money—they included monster collection bounties and more contribution points.

Joining 749 had been the best decision he’d ever made!

Noticing that Lu Ding had gone quiet, Deng Guofu—the logistics head responsible for distributing the rewards—couldn’t help but like him even more.

From the moment he saw Lu Ding’s terrifying talent and fearless personality, he had already taken a liking to him.

Now, seeing the kid standing there in a daze, he found him even more endearing.

He even mentally assigned Lu Ding a new label: Pure-Hearted Youth.

With a warm smile, Deng Guofu asked, "Lu Ding, what’s on your mind?"

"Nothing much. Just—thank you, sir." Lu Ding snapped back to reality and bowed in gratitude.

The nearby staff chuckled.

"This is Deng Guofu, the head of logistics at 749 Bureau’s Yunhai branch."

Hearing the words "logistics department," one might assume he was just in charge of daily necessities.

But in the world of cultivation, the logistics department was basically the sect’s treasury.

Every technique, resource, and pill that trainees exchanged all went through him.

The guy was practically a hidden big shot.

Lu Ding quickly caught on and corrected himself:

"Thank you, Director Deng."

"Hahaha! You learn fast, kid!" Deng Guofu laughed heartily.

Lu Ding smiled back.

Something about Deng Guofu’s warmth reminded him of the orphanage director who had raised him.

Or the kind old man from the community center who always looked out for the neighborhood kids.

People who had left deep marks on his past.

"Still haven’t picked a technique, have you?" Deng Guofu asked.

"Not yet—I was actually planning to do that right after this."

"Perfect! I was just about to head back to logistics. Come with me—I’ll give you some personal recommendations."

Having a veteran guide him? Now that was a privilege.

Lu Ding grinned.

He had definitely made the right call joining 749.