First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!
Chapter 93: Again? I’m Messaging Lu Ding, Just You Wait

……

After the late-night event ended, Lu Ding didn’t rush back.

Since he was already here, he might as well take care of everything at once.

He had completed enough missions to be promoted to a formal investigator. Not just him—Yan Feifan had also met the requirements.

Yan Feifan had joined earlier than Lu Ding, and their mission counts weren’t too far apart. Recently, though, he had been carried through missions by Lu Ding.

The only reason he hadn’t been promoted yet was because he didn’t want to get ahead of Lu Ding. Wouldn’t it be awkward if he advanced while Lu Ge was still stuck?

So he had been deliberately holding off on the paperwork.

Lu Ding wouldn’t care about something so trivial, but Yan Feifan understood social etiquette. Even if the other party didn’t mind, he still had to be considerate.

Now was the perfect time for them to go through the promotion process together.

They filled out their forms, exchanged their old and new credentials, and upgraded their mobile accounts.

Finally, the staff handed over their official badges, sweetly announcing,

"Congratulations, Investigator Lu, on your promotion to formal investigator."

"As a formal investigator, you have the opportunity to select one free cultivation technique. Would you like to choose a better one for yourself?"

"If you’d like, I can process it now, and you can go claim it immediately. If not, you’ll receive 200 contribution points as compensation."

So formal investigators got perks like this?

Lu Ding thought to himself.

As for picking a new technique, he felt his current one was good enough for now.

He hadn’t yet broken through to the Divine Palace Realm. His original plan was to upgrade after reaching that level so he could choose a technique with a higher ceiling.

Right now, Flying Bear Slaughtering Art suited him perfectly.

Besides, he was about to start advanced training soon, which meant he’d have even better options available.

It was smarter to exchange the points for Heavenly Treasures and combine them with the Taishui Honey he earned from the Head Contribution Reward—a full-power push to Linghai Realm Ninth Layer.

That way, he could enter the Year-One Combat Trials at his absolute peak.

Lu Ding wasn’t interested in playing childish games.

Through his constant battles with cultivators of the same level—and even those stronger—he had a clear understanding of his place in the Cultivator of Qi hierarchy.

Fighters in his age group were no challenge. He crushed them effortlessly. It didn’t matter who they were—same result every time.

One sentence summed it up: he was playing with cheat codes.

Would people say he was arrogant?

So what?

Was arrogance illegal?

If you pretend to be weak for too long, you might just become weak for real.

If you have an advantage, maximize it. Cultivation was the only reliable path forward!

"Convert it to 200 contribution points."

Lu Ding said as he pulled out his phone.

Time to spend!

In no time, his account balance hit zero again.

Yan Feifan returned from claiming his new technique, carrying a big box.

Lu Ding headed back to the 749 Bureau dorm, while Yan Feifan returned to Bao Fan District.

Before leaving, he said, "Lu Ge, just focus on cultivating. I’ll handle everything in Bao Fan. If I can’t, I’ll message you."

As a certified carried teammate, Yan Feifan understood his role.

Right now, his job was to make sure Lu Ding could train without distractions and prepare for the Year-One Combat Trials—that was the priority.

——

Back in his single-person dorm, Lu Ding took off his clothes and filled the bathtub with water.

He added the Taishui Honey from his Head Contribution Reward, along with various Heavenly Treasures he had purchased with contribution points.

…Did he add too much?

Watching the bubbling bathwater, Lu Ding hesitated.

"The last time I mixed them and ate everything together, I was fine. Bathing in them should be okay too, right?"

The Taishui Honey was meant for external use—it absorbed from the outside in. And since he bought all external-use treasures, why not just mix them all and boil himself in a spiritual stew?

Stepping into the tub, an overwhelming medicinal force surged through him instantly.

It wasn’t gentle at all—it blasted open his acupoints and pulled in spiritual energy from the surroundings.

For others, this might be too intense.

But for Lu Ding?

This was exactly what he wanted!

Flying Bear Slaughtering Art—activate!!

At that moment, it was raining inside his Linghai Realm—an endless downpour of liquefied spiritual energy flooded in.

The rumbling tremors? That was his Linghai expanding, sending up towering waves like an apocalyptic storm.

Then—

From the sky of his Linghai, a massive stone tablet slammed down.

Three bold words were inscribed on it:

SHI GANDANG!

The tablet anchored firmly into his Linghai, instantly calming the raging storm.

Thanks to this, Lu Ding saved a ton of unnecessary effort.

His cultivation level skyrocketed—

Linghai Sixth Layer… Seventh Layer… Eighth Layer…

——

While Lu Ding trained, Bao Fan District remained peaceful, but a major announcement from the 749 Bureau caused an uproar.

The Year-One Combat Trials had been expanded—it was no longer just Yunhai's competition.

Now, it was a joint event between three major regions:

Southern District, Yunhai, Yaodu, and Qingsheng.

Originally, the leaders of Yunhai 749 had planned to compete against Yaodu, but Qingsheng protested.

"Why aren’t we included? We’ve got top-tier rookies too!"

The back-and-forth led to a three-way competition.

Thirty available spots.

Top nine earn advanced training.

As a result, new investigators from all three regions were fired up.

For the elite ones, even if they couldn’t claim an advanced training slot, they could at least fight their way into the top 30, right?

Outstanding new investigators thought:

Originally, competing against fellow rookies in their own district was nerve-wracking. With so few spots available, securing one wasn’t guaranteed.

But now, with nine slots up for grabs, claiming one didn’t seem unreasonable, right?

No one thought of themselves as weak. The issue was that their own district’s rookies weren’t pushovers either—so nothing was certain.

But now, with the three-district competition, the number of slots had increased. Sure, the number of competitors had also risen, but deep down, they all felt the same:

The rookies from the other two districts were just a bunch of nobodies.

Taking a spot would be easy.

And so, the three-region joint event was scheduled to be held in Yunhai 749.

After all, Yunhai was the first to propose it, and geographically, it was in the middle.

Everyone knew Yunhai had deep pockets—even if things got destroyed in the battles, they could afford to replace them.

So, Yunhai it was.

——

A few days later, investigators from Yaodu 749 and Qingsheng 749 gathered in Yunhai.

Bao Fan District’s Caojia Alley was especially lively.

Ever since Cao Ying took over Caojia Alley, he had shifted the underground treasure trade there.

His years of experience navigating the mountains weren’t for nothing.

With just one command, Caojia Alley became the hottest marketplace in Yunhai.

And that was exactly why Cao Ying had insisted on returning.

Because it was profitable.

Now, he was making a fortune every day, no longer needing to trek through mountains.

Today was the perfect day for trading, with the three-district competition creating a surge in demand.

——

At one of the mountain treasure stalls, Xie Shunan was sweeping through the inventory.

She had spent a lot of time searching lately but hadn’t found any particularly valuable Heavenly Treasures.

But today, with Caojia Alley flooding the market, she figured she’d check it out.

Her first reason for buying? A peace offering for Lu Ding.

Her second? Using her connection to Lu Ding to solidify her position as Sihai Group’s heir.

To win over her subordinates, she also needed to buy benefits for Sihai’s Cultivators of Qi.

So today, Xie Shunan had to buy a lot and buy well.

By the time she was nearly finished emptying out a stall, the vendor, impressed by her generosity, said,

"Boss, you’re really something. I’ll just throw in the rest of these for free."

Looking at the remaining ordinary trinkets, Xie Shunan wasn’t particularly interested.

But free stuff? No reason to say no.

"Pack them up."

Just as she spoke—

"Wait a second."

A voice cut in.

Chen Xian strode over, placing his hand on one of the freebies—a gnarled tree knot.

"If it's just a giveaway, how about selling it to me instead?"

Something felt off.

Xie Shunan immediately sensed that something wasn’t right.

She hadn’t even glanced at this thing, but now someone was trying to buy it?

Could it be something valuable she had overlooked?

She had already bought so much—one more item wouldn’t make a difference.

Rather than gamble on an unknown, it was better to keep it and analyze it later.

If it turned out to be something good, she could gift it to Investigator Lu—as both an apology and a token of appreciation.

"Not selling."

She rejected him outright.

The bodyguards behind her stepped forward, reaching for the tree knot.

Chen Xian raised his hand to block them.

"Name your price. I genuinely want to buy it. I won’t hide anything from you—this thing is called Yimu Knot. It’s rare, sure, but it has no benefit to cultivation."

"It has only one function—suppressing corpse energy. You won’t have any use for it, so why not sell it to me? I need it to save someone."

Rare?

That word caught Xie Shunan’s attention.

Rare was perfect.

As far as she knew, after the Year-One Combat Trials, Lu Ding would definitely go for advanced training.

That meant he wouldn’t be back for a while.

She needed to give him her gift before he left.

She hadn’t found anything particularly amazing, but adding a rare item as an extra touch wouldn’t hurt.

She wasn’t in the mood to argue.

"Caojia Alley security—someone’s trying to steal!"

At her words, several Caojia Alley Cultivators of Qi immediately surrounded them.

High-value items going to the highest bidder was normal, but calling it theft?

That changed things—this was picking a fight.

"I’m not stealing anything!" Chen Xian protested. "I just need it to save someone! You don’t need it, so why not let me buy it? I’m willing to pay!"

"There’s a girl suffering from corpse energy poisoning—she’s in agony! She needs this!"

"Or do you want more? Name your price. Five million? Ten million? I’ll pay."

Xie Shunan stared at him.

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"Did I cause her corpse energy poisoning? No."

"This thing belongs to me now, so I decide what happens to it."

"Don’t try to guilt-trip me. That girl’s suffering isn’t my problem, and honestly? I don’t even care about your so-called millions."

Millions?

What a joke.

The bags her bodyguards carried—filled with rare mountain treasures—were worth several times that amount.

"Alright, you heard her. She’s not selling."

A Caojia Alley Cultivator of Qi stepped forward.

"So how about you give it back?"

"You’re a guest here—we don’t want any trouble. But if you force our hand, we’ll have to get rough."

Chen Xian raised his hand, flashing his Yaodu 749 investigator credentials.

"So you’re saying—you’re going to attack a 749 Bureau investigator?"

Xie Shunan frowned.

Again?

Fine.

"I’m messaging Lu Ding. Just you wait."