"Are you referring to your Cold-Air Dou Qi? Why is it ineffective against me?" Gan Jin looked at the other party with a slight smile. "If the temperature were a hundred times lower, it might have some effect on me."

Cold-Air type Dou Qi? Gan Jin couldn't help but laugh just thinking about it. How could this level of temperature compare to the Four Seasons Valley? How could it compare to Teacher Oulala’s Ice-Fire Potion?

"General Qi Ling, it’s him! He’s the one who killed Captain John…"

"That’s right! General Qi Ling, you must avenge Captain John…"

"Young man, state your name. Do you know the crime of assaulting a city guard?" Qi Ling straightened his imposing physique, resembling the Yeti monster rumored to haunt the snow mountains—strong, tall, radiating waves of chill from every part of him.

"Gan Jin of the Torrent Fortress Warriors, currently studying at the Conquest Academy." Gan Jin planted his long spear into the ground beside him, speaking calmly. "I had no intention of killing him, nor did I. Just now, John demanded to inspect me. I didn't know what was happening, so I complied with the rules for the inspection. The moment my companion revealed his identity and presented his credentials, this captain tried to harass my companion! When I intervened to stop his harassment, he drew his saber, intending to sever my arm. When I tried to disengage him, he ordered two crossbowmen to shoot me. I merely threw him out to use as a shield…"

"Who! Where are the demons?" Mu Gu Wuxin’s roar sounded not far down the long street. "Make way, everyone! Let me cleave the demon scouts!"

Qi Ling's expression flickered upon hearing Mu Gu Wuxin's roar. The Guild Master of Torrent Fortress had arrived swiftly! This was truly troublesome now! If that barbarian found out that the person before him named Gan Jin... Wait! Gan Jin!

Every muscle in Qi Ling's body tensed. He vigorously slapped his forehead. This fellow was Gan Jin? The City Lord had mentioned his name to him, even discussing the matter of Gan Jin specifically last night. As long as it wasn't an act of outright rebellion—something that could be swept under the rug—he was to turn a blind eye.

Understood! Qi Ling looked at the deceased John on the ground, a mocking sneer entering his eyes. He had heard that Gan Jin had slighted the City Lord's Second Madam yesterday and even struck her. It seemed this retainer of the Second Madam was trying to use his status to pressure Gan Jin.

"Idiot!" Qi Ling spat a cold glob of phlegm onto John's face. Who was it you decided to provoke? You went after Gan Jin? That man dared to defy the Second Madam herself when he was clearly in the right. And today, when you weren't even justified, you thought you could use status to oppress him?

"I am Qi Ling, the Third City Defense General of this city. From what I’ve heard, you are likely not lying." Qi Ling surveyed the surrounding commoners. "If you were to lie in front of so many people, I doubt you’d commit such a foolish act. Thus, John's death appears not to be your fault."

The dozen or so surrounding soldiers stared blankly at Qi Ling, doubting their ears. This Bloodline Warrior General was usually known for his volatile temper; why was his attitude toward this Gan Jin so mild today?

Qi Ling shot a cold glance at the soldiers beside him, cursing inwardly, You fools! That idiot John was just trying to gain favor with the Second Madam, why are you all egging him on?

"However," Qi Ling took a deep breath, "killing someone in the street, especially a captain among the city guards, is no small matter." He looked at Gan Jin. "I still request, Gan Jin, that you visit our guard barracks when you have time to provide a detailed account. It will help us report back properly above. A death is not trivial, and the death of an officer is even less so. I trust you understand."

Gan Jin looked at Qi Ling in surprise. How could this general, who moments ago looked fierce and clearly ready to kill, suddenly become so polite toward him? It seemed his demeanor shifted completely the moment he heard his name.

"That is certainly my duty, General Qi. Rest assured, after my classes today, I will come to your barracks to explain the situation."

Gan Jin nodded lightly.

"That's good then," Qi Ling said after a brief pause. "Regarding the incident just now, I hope you don't take it to heart. The City Guard is not a group that casually oppresses civilians; our duty is to ensure the safety of Eternal Flow City. Last night, several people in the Lei family died in succession. We suspect demon spies have infiltrated, which is why our investigation is so thorough."

The Lei family? Several people died last night? Gan Jin's jaw dropped slightly, and a faint surprise crossed his face. Uncle Mu Gui’s efficiency was high indeed, finding the assassins and reporting back about the Lei family that very same night.

Gan Jin's surprise regarding Mu Gu Wuxin’s efficiency gave Qi Ling a different impression. He had initially suspected that Gan Jin had returned to the city intending to settle unfinished scores with the Lei family by attacking them. But now, it seemed unlikely; otherwise, why would he be so shocked by the news of the Lei family deaths?

"Where are the demons? Where are the demons?"

Mu Gu Wuxin pushed aside the bystanders blocking his path and strode into the center of the crowd. His large eyes looked at Gan Jin with surprise. "Eh? Kid, what are you doing here? Eh? And there’s a dead guard here? Did the demons do it?"

"A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding," Qi Ling said, forcing a smile while eyeing the two axes in Mu Gu Wuxin's hands with some apprehension. "Guild Master Wuxin, it truly is a misunderstanding."

Mu Gu Wuxin’s large eyes swept across the scene. The soldiers’ swords and crossbows were still aimed at Gan Jin, making it immediately clear what might have happened moments ago, and that the dead man on the ground was likely killed by Gan Jin.

"A misunderstanding? Misunderstanding your mother!" Mu Gu Wuxin's face abruptly changed, rage consuming his features, his expression even more ferocious than when he first heard the word 'demon.' He roared loudly, "Damn it! I was in the critical moment of breaking through to the Saint realm, and you bastards use a whistle to falsely report an emergency, saying demons have arrived! You ruined my breakthrough! I would have succeeded!"

All the soldiers present stared blankly at Mu Gu Wuxin, while Qi Ling forced a smile and cursed inwardly: Breaking through to the Saint realm? Break through your own foot! Who do you think you are? Fabredis? Do you think ordinary people can easily reach the Saint realm? Even if you are a Dou Soul level master, isn't that too much bragging?

"What? Looking at your expression, you don't believe me?" Mu Gu Wuxin clapped Qi Ling on the shoulder. "Come on, come on! Let's go find your City Lord! We’ll go dispute this with York."

Qi Ling repeatedly backed away. Are you kidding me? Go see the City Lord? The City Lord explicitly instructed us last night not to offend you or Gan Jin! You want me to go with you now? Wouldn't the City Lord naturally side with you? I’d be inviting a beating for nothing! Do I have a death wish?

"You won't go? Then you still don't believe me? Fine! How will you compensate me for ruining my breakthrough just now?" Mu Gu Wuxin, looking thoroughly indignant, walked up to Gan Jin. "Kid, I'm in a terrible mood today! Let's go! Accompany me out of the city for a drive to clear my head!"

Mu Gu Wuxin boarded Gan Jin's carriage. The axle groaned in protest, and under the stunned gaze of the crowd, it slowly began to move toward the city gates.

"You all remember this!" Mu Gu Wuxin roared back at the dumbfounded city guards. "When you've figured out how to compensate me, report to me at the Torrent Fortress!"

"Uncle... my saber... my saber..." Gan Jin pointed toward the ruined chimney of a nearby building. "My saber..."

"Saber?" Mu Gu Wuxin grabbed the whistle hanging on his chest and blew a series of rapid, sharp sounds. Gan Jin was finally reassured. Whistle language was a comprehensive code; that sequence of blows was enough to instruct the Torrent Fortress warriors in the city to retrieve his war saber.

For now, within Eternal Flow City, no one was willing to engage Mu Gu Wuxin in a supposed direct confrontation over a mere saber. Of course, if anyone knew the true value of that Zhanmadao... that would be another matter entirely.

"Kid, how was my performance just now?" Mu Gu Wuxin asked, seeing the puzzled look on Gan Jin's face. "I mean the part where I was throwing a fit! You didn't see through it, did you? The person on the ground—you killed him, right? I knew it the moment I saw it! Killing a city guard captain is a matter that can be big or small. Luckily, with my tirade and pulling out the excuse of breaking through to the Saint realm, I blasted them all. This way, even if the City Lord finds out you killed someone, he has a pretext to dismiss anyone who comes seeking accountability."

"Saint realm!" Mu Gu Wuxin's ugly face was plastered with a smug grin. "When the time comes, if anyone dares to complain to the City Lord, the Lord only needs to say, 'Someone dared to delay Mu Gu Wuxin's path to sainthood!' If I disciplined Gan Jin, it means I disrespected him. If he comes looking for me because his breakthrough was interrupted, who among you will risk their life to stop him? In the eyes of warriors, a hundred lives are worth less than one breakthrough to the Saint realm."

By erupting first, he had suppressed the city guards until they all hung their heads in silence, completely extinguishing their aggressive demeanor. Then, the carriage immediately sped away, leaving all the consequences behind them.

Gan Jin looked at the Guild Master Mu Gu Wuxin beside him, whose appearance suggested nothing clever—more like a brute—yet he managed to devise such a strategy so quickly. Indeed, great leaders like the Guild Master could never be underestimated.

"I've learned something today, truly," Gan Jin nodded lightly, though the confusion in his brow hadn't entirely cleared. General Qi Ling's sudden shift in attitude was certainly strange.

"Kid, from now on, when you go out, ride in a carriage bearing the Torrent Fortress mark," Mu Gu Wuxin said, jumping off the carriage and clapping Gan Jin on the shoulder outside the Conquest Academy entrance, speaking with earnest gravity. "What you did in the city today was not wrong! Remember, you must be hard-nosed in life. If you are soft, others will bully you. Which of the leaders of the major powers in Eternal Flow City hasn't had blood on their hands?"

"Remember this! If you can't even intimidate people, if you can't even fight them, how can you possibly intimidate those demon brats? How can you fight them?" Mu Gu Wuxin lightly punched Gan Jin's chest. "Kid, you must be tough! If the stars truly fall, this old body of mine can help you hold them up. If you aren't hard enough, how will you command the Torrent Fortress in the future?"

Gan Jin raised a hand to rub his chest where the punch landed, feeling the surprised and curious gazes of those passing by, while also catching the hushed whispers around them.

"Look! It's Mu Gu Wuxin!"

"The Guild Master of Torrent Fortress!"

"He actually came to send someone off in person; that's truly enviable."

Mu Gu Wuxin heard the murmurs and showed a faint, proud smile, then winked at Gan Jin and whispered quietly, "Kid, being the Guild Master of Torrent Fortress isn't too bad, is it?"

"It's certainly not bad," Gan Jin replied, nodding, just as he heard another voice nearby say, "Is that Mu Gu Wuxin? He's so ugly."

"Yeah, exceptionally ugly. If it weren't for his status, I'd suspect he was a demon."

"I think so too. Shh! Keep it down, he seems to have noticed us. Look, he's looking this way. Lower your heads, don't let him see you." Gan Jin watched Mu Gu Wuxin’s face turn crimson, shaking his head repeatedly with a sigh. This Uncle was truly... "Alright! I'm heading back now."

Mu Gu Wuxin punched Gan Jin’s chest again, pointing toward the main gate of the Conquest Academy behind him. "Now, go inside. Beat up everyone in there, whether they are Bloodline Awakeners or not! Tell them that being a man means being tough! Being low-key doesn't suit a man, doesn't suit a warrior!"

Many passing students, having never seen Gan Jin before, sized him up curiously. Where did this student come from? Why did the Guild Master of Torrent Fortress have such faith in him, telling him to take down all the Bloodline Warriors right away?

Gan Jin nodded lightly, turned to look at the Academy gate that had stood for many years, having produced countless warriors who earned merit on the human-demon battlefield. He took a deep breath, suddenly clenched his fists in mid-air, causing the very air to crackle loudly.

"The Hundred Battles Rankings, I need to take them seriously now." Gan Jin strode toward the Academy gate, Mu Gu Wuxin's words echoing in his mind: A man must be hard-nosed! Low-key does not belong to a man! Does not belong to a warrior!

Before, at the Auckland Academy, reaching the top ten made little real difference; there was no need to fight desperately. Now, the resources tied to the Hundred Battles Rankings were vastly different. Becoming the strongest on the list would increase his fame and make it easier to recruit outstanding retainers.

"Since that's the case, then..." Gan Jin shrugged, sensing the fighting aura permeating the Academy grounds. "Fight!"

"Fight?"

From the roadside trees, Mu Ne Tian Ce, lightly fanning a pure white, blank fan, strolled out with an air of relaxed elegance. His two long strands of hair swayed rhythmically as he moved the paper fan, exuding an indescribable sense of ease.

"Student Gan Jin, whether you want to fight today or not, it seems you won't have a choice," Mu Ne Tian Ce said with a smiling gaze toward Gan Jin. "Everyone on the campus Hundred Battles Rankings already knows about what you did last night."

The students walking normally along the path stopped collectively, casting strange looks at Gan Jin.

"Is that Gan Jin?"

"I heard he beat Wei Buhuan, who was ranked fortieth on the Hundred Battles Rankings, at the ball last night."

"I heard that too! So, is he now ranked fortieth on the Hundred Battles Rankings?"