Chapter 89: An Elder at Home (Fifth Update)

Page 1 of 3

The morning sun was rising, life was awakening anew, and the world seemed to be promising another beautiful day.

Yet, since the early hours, large swathes of P City had suffered sudden blackouts without warning, only now restored. Most primary and secondary schools had suspended classes for ostensibly trivial reasons. Though the streets remained bustling with traffic, a shadow of unease was fermenting in the corners.

Wei Cheng had personally sent Cheng An and Yu Liang to bring his parents over. Though the old man and woman grumbled all the way, they still came.

Wei Cheng had no idea what the future held, but for now, he would simply carry on.

The traces of the authorities and military intervening were already evident, brimming with confidence. After all, in the second wave of the Newcomer Trials, their people made up the main force.

At least, so far, no official had come knocking on Wei Cheng’s door.

Of course, it was possible that his abilities simply weren’t enough to draw their attention.

As he basked in the morning sun, his thoughts drifting, ten kilometers away, inside a towering, grand building, Zhou Wu was also emerging from a period of intense cultivation, having officially advanced to the rank of Nine Cycles Mountain-Mover.

Such speed was indeed remarkable, but it came at a price.

When he cleared his seventh and eighth innate meridians, he had chosen not to improve their quality, but instead to prioritize speed, opting to store extra mountain-moving inner force.

Those two minor adjustments allowed him to store additional Nine Cycles’ worth of mountain-moving force.

It was a fair trade. The benefits of cultivating the second tier of the Mountain-Mover’s Heart Method would also apply to stored power.

In practical terms, his inner force, converted to ordinary mountain-moving force, amounted to 18 plus 18—thirty-six cycles.

Thirty-six cycles of mountain-moving inner force was a truly enviable reserve.

He could unleash seventy-two rounds of the Immovable Golden Bell technique consecutively.

What’s more, he had perfectly mastered the ninth level of the Golden Bell Shield, attaining the ultimate form of the Immovable Golden Bell.

The only downside was that unleashing this ultimate form would instantly drain all of his thirty-six cycles of inner force.

Therefore, after breaking through his ninth innate meridian, he decided that his third adjustment should focus on quality improvement.

Regardless, he now stood firmly at the forefront of all trialists.

Across all of P City, apart from the five trialist legions whose status remained unclear, the number of Nine Cycles mountain-movers in all other districts combined was fewer than twenty.

Page 2 of 3

Even so, among his own subordinates, Qin Douzi, Tang Xiaojun, and Qu Xiong were all on the verge of breaking through to Nine Cycles as well.

With the forty-five core elite trialists he had carefully selected from the most dangerous zone this time, he had enough talent to establish a sixth trialist legion.

“Mr. Zhou, there’s a Mr. Zhao here to see you,” his beautiful secretary gently knocked at the door.

“Zhao Dong?”

A faint smile touched Zhou Wu’s lips. The man was another boss from a non-cleared district. In their circles, there were no secrets. He knew exactly why the man had come.

Suddenly, he remembered something. “Get in touch with Liu Sui. Set up a meeting. Ask him to bring Wei Cheng along. We have much to discuss.”

——

“Boss Wei, Zhou Wu just called. He’s looking for Liu Sui, but he and Xiao Xu are deep in cultivation. His family is asking how to handle it.”

Mei Renli appeared on the rooftop, confirming several times that Wei Cheng wasn’t meditating before quietly reporting.

“Just tell them the truth—they’re cultivating. Right now, there’s nothing more important than that,” Wei Cheng replied offhandedly. On Earth, perhaps Zhou Wu’s status would matter, but in these changing times, only personal strength counted.

Unexpectedly, a dozen minutes later, Mei Renli returned with a phone in hand and a wry smile.

“Boss Wei, Mr. Zhou would like to speak with you personally.”

Mei Renli, in deference to Zhou Wu’s reputation, dared not even mention his name directly.

How interesting—Zhou Wu considered him a peer worth negotiating with?

“This is Wei Cheng.”

“I have a spot available to establish a trialist legion. If you come, you can be vice-commander. You and your friends can all join.”

Zhou Wu’s confident voice came through the phone. Wei Cheng was surprised; the man certainly didn’t beat around the bush.

Securing a spot to form a trialist legion required immense influence.

Though it wasn’t one of the perfect-clearance numbers, it still offered significant advantages—especially with the full support of the authorities. The benefits would be substantial.

The simplest was this: during the real trials, it was easy for one’s body to be destroyed in their sleep. But what if you were inside a military base?

Page 3 of 3

Wei Cheng pondered, then asked, “What are the terms?”

“Come to F City in the southwestern province,” Zhou Wu replied. “There’s a district here that achieved perfect clearance on the fifth stage, but due to certain unspeakable reasons, only a few dozen trialists remain—almost wiped out. However, they still possess their Demon Subjugation Marshal badges from Floating Cloud City, so theoretically, we could take their place.”

“In addition, if we join, they’ll provide us with round-the-clock armed protection and a large group of highly capable new trialists to work closely with us. You understand what I mean.”

“The southwest?” Wei Cheng was speechless. It was a journey of thousands of kilometers over mountains and rivers, just for a clearance spot. As worthwhile as it sounded, it simply wasn’t practical.

“Sorry, it’s too far. I’m not interested.”

“That’s your reason? Wei Cheng, I’m giving you an opportunity. I know you’ve all criticized how I handled the fifth stage, but as you saw in the sixth, you know the consequences of lacking elite talent.”

Wei Cheng fell silent. He didn’t want to discuss this.

“Very well. Each to his own. If you ever change your mind, call me. This is my private number.”

The call ended. Wei Cheng tossed the phone back to Mei Renli. “From now on, even if my old man kicks up a fuss, don’t disturb me. The same goes for you all. And tell those newcomers—if they don’t want to die, they’d better patch up any weaknesses—”

He hadn’t finished when an old man with thick black hair and lively eyes bounded up onto the rooftop—it was his own father.

“Chengzi, have you lost weight?”

“Losing weight is good! I’ve always worried about you—so young, yet high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar. You’re not even old, and your hair’s whiter than mine. What if I have to bury my own son? But now it’s better. Say no more—I understand everything. I’m a proud child of the ’90s, always young at heart, never willing to lose. I’ve played more tricks than you’ve even heard of.”

“So just do what you need to do, don’t worry about me or your mother. But for heaven’s sake, don’t get into reckless trouble. Don’t provoke any of those orphanage unspoken rules, or you’ll die for nothing. I still want to play a few more rounds of Genshin Impact before I go!”

The old man took a turn around the rooftop and left.

No doubt about it—he was indeed his real father.

(End of chapter)