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

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On the battlefield, the Dinghai Pearls weaved back and forth, controlling the field to prevent deaths.

But Lu Ding didn't care about injuries.

He wasn't a babysitter.

As long as they didn't die, that was fine.

The battle amidst the green mountains and clear waters was brutal and prolonged.

Constantly, severely injured investigators were pulled off the battlefield.

They glared with hatred and unwillingness as their colleagues charged ahead, accumulating contribution points—envy, jealousy, hate!!!

Too bad they weren't skilled enough, unlucky enough, or cautious enough, forced off the field early, missing out on a huge payday.

By the time Serpent Coil Mountain was completely cleansed,

a full day had passed.

The vast demon horde, linked together in chains and wearing restraints, was escorted away, back to the Black Phoenix Gathering headquarters.

The commotion they caused here

had already spread far and wide.

The news that Lu Ding was personally stationed on Overcast Mountain traveled on the wind, instantly throwing the entire Overcast Mountain into a state of panic among the demons.

Nearby Raise Phoenix Mountain, however, showed no activity at all.

One reason was their closer ties to the Baoji Kingdom, and Lu Ding had previously backed off at the Baoji Kingdom border because of their one-ranked king.

Second, Lu Ding hadn't yet set foot on Raise Phoenix Mountain.

When it doesn't concern you, just let it be.

Just then, the border army called.

Yan Feifan walked over to Lu Ding.

"Brother Lu, the border army called, asking what our situation is and if we need support."

"That fast, huh."

Lu Ding thought for a moment: "Just make up some excuse to stall them, don't let them get involved. Once we've eaten our fill, we'll talk about the rest."

"Got it, Brother Lu."

Yan Feifan turned and went to start stalling the border army.

Inside the camp,

the spirits and demons were being packed up for the first inventory.

Each one looked pitiful, dejected, and downcast.

When Lu Ding arrived,

and wherever his gaze fell upon the scholar-warrior sleeves,

the demons from Serpent Coil Mountain perked up again, as if they'd seen their mortal enemy.

They cursed loudly: "Lu Ding, you motherf—"

Before the words could land, the Way of the Jinche swept down, hacking and slashing, splattering blood all over the nearby demons.

Lu Ding's eyes swept over them as he said, "I'm keeping your worthless lives so you can contribute to the Great Han. Every extra day you live is profit. Why do you have to run your mouths and rush to die?"

He waved his hand: "A few of you with quick hands, cut out all the tongues of these talkers. Cut them off at the root, don't leave a single stub. They're too damn noisy!"

Immediately, investigators rushed forward to take on this unpaid task.

Full of enthusiasm.

Screams rang out in the camp.

At that moment,

Zhan Tingzhou, who had been waiting for a while, stepped forward: "When is it our turn?"

He was from the second team.

Also currently the only God Ascension Qi Refiner under Lu Ding's command.

Serpent Coil Mountain had set a good start.

Lu Ding certainly wasn't going to stop.

Resting? That was for his subordinates. Lu Ding didn't need it.

He had plenty of energy.

Raise Phoenix and Overcast—these two places were his treasure troves.

Demons gathered, blood flowed like rivers, killing until he was satisfied, rewards coming in until his hands were full.

No one was going to get in the way of his development time!

"Get ready. Next up, we chew through the hard bone that is White Sun Palace!"

White Sun Palace.

One of the four top demon forces in the Overcast Mountain range.

The other three were the Zhutai, the Celestial Armor Beetle clan, and the Great Wilderness Realm.

These four forces practically ruled the entire Overcast Mountain.

The rest were just small fry, nothing compared to a place like Serpent Coil Ridge. They could be left for other investigators to earn some pocket change. Lu Ding's main targets were these four.

Among them, White Sun Palace, Zhutai, and the Great Wilderness Realm all had significant ties to the Baoji Kingdom's human experiments at Black Phoenix Gathering.

Only the Celestial Armor Beetle clan didn't.

The reason was that the current young master of the Celestial Armor Beetle clan had a grudge with Ling Tian, another Celestial Armor Beetle who stayed close to Su Yun.

Since Ling Tian was close to Su Yun, the young master of the Celestial Armor Beetle clan naturally kept his distance from Su Yun.

But this also meant the Celestial Armor Beetle clan wasn't on Lu Ding's cleanup list.

Even though the Celestial Armor Beetles were fierce and cruel within Overcast Mountain, they were exceptionally well-behaved toward the outside world.

Since they behaved, Lu Ding had no reason to mess with them.

Whether they existed or not didn't make much difference.

Anyway, the Celestial Armor Beetle clan wasn't large.

Earlier, they had intended to dominate this region, because at that time, the other three demon forces, even if they banded together, would have struggled to take on the Celestial Armor Beetles.

But later, with Su Yun's arrival, his extensive network of demon friends, and his connection to the Baoji Kingdom,

when these three forces suffered persecution from the Celestial Armor Beetles, Su Yun certainly wouldn't sit idly by. If he wanted to intervene, the Baoji Kingdom, eager to please him, would naturally send Raise Phoenix Mountain into the fray. And Raise Phoenix Mountain was on a whole different level compared to Overcast Mountain.

This shattered the Celestial Armor Beetles' dream of dominating Overcast Mountain.

They were almost wiped out.

If not for the fact that Ling Tian was also a Celestial Armor Beetle, the outcome might have been different.

But a blessing in disguise, who knows.

Now, Overcast Mountain was about to face Lu Ding's reckoning, yet the Celestial Armor Beetle clan alone found a path to survival within this deadly game.

Hearing that the next target was White Sun Palace,

Zhan Tingzhou's face turned serious.

Compared to the Serpent Coil Ridge they had just taken down, White Sun Palace's strength was on a completely different level.

Let's put it this way.

This would be a bloody battle.

If Zhan Tingzhou were on his own, hearing the name White Sun Palace, he would turn and run.

No way he could win.

Not to mention that the Palace Master of White Sun Palace was a God Ascension great demon; just the demons entrenched within the palace alone couldn't be handled by these less than a thousand investigators.

Seeing Zhan Tingzhou silent,

Lu Ding smiled: "What's wrong, lacking confidence?"

Zhan Tingzhou didn't deny it, nodding: "The gap is too big. The second team has less than a thousand people. Although the overall quality is average... fighting White Sun Palace... if we're lucky, a hundred or two might survive. If we're unlucky, everyone could die."

"Maybe we should refine our tactics a bit?"

As he spoke, Yan Feifan walked over.

"Challenges certainly exist, but Brother Lu will simply ascend to Spirit Refinement, won't he!?"

As he spoke,

Yan Feifan pulled out from his bosom a rare natural treasure, rapidly matured through the herb garden's quick-ripening process and spiritual liquid irrigation, full of ceremony: "Please, Brother Lu, ascend to Spirit Refinement, control the field alone, and let your might shine upon White Sun Palace!!!"

Zhan Tingzhou stared at the treasure in his hand, clearly stunned.

"This... this is... one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Materials, the God-Sealed Earth Mother!!!?"

"Grown!?"

He asked Yan Feifan incredulously.

Yan Feifan nodded proudly. With his inheritance of the Earth God, farming was right up his alley, not to mention the spiritual liquid he had obtained from Su Yun's courtyard.

Although the rapid maturation had somewhat overworked the herb garden,

supplying it in time to show its effectiveness was the key.

In other words, wasn't it just a herb garden? As long as Lu Ding became powerful, Yan Feifan could get anything he wanted.

Even if it meant draining the entire herb garden's lifespan, it wouldn't matter.

Zhan Tingzhou fell silent again. He moved a little closer to Yan Feifan: "How about I give you my half of the herb garden too? You grow for me. I'll provide the resources, the seeds, everything. We split the harvest fifty-fifty, how about it?"

The medicinal seeds he had planted himself weren't even this good. They had just sprouted. Although they weren't far from maturity, compared to Yan Feifan's efficiency, it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Zhan Tingzhou had originally wanted to reduce his presence around Yan Feifan, but he simply couldn't.

Faced with such a tempting offer, Yan Feifan was tempted, but as Lu Ding's assistant investigator, he only worked for Lu Ding. No matter how good the relationship, no matter how great the temptation, Yan Feifan knew where his priorities lay—Lu Ding was always his number one priority.

So: "You'll have to ask Brother Lu about that."

Lu Ding reached out and took the God-Sealed Earth Mother from Yan Feifan's hand: "Mutual benefit. Just work it out between yourselves. Let's go."

Once he ascended to Spirit Refinement, White Sun Palace?

Lu Ding would turn it into White Eat-Your-Fill!!!

Casualties? Nonexistent. He would control the field alone, benefit the Western 749 Bureau, and secure divine powers and spells for himself. Whoever came, he'd kill them!!!

"Go? Where to?"

Zhan Tingzhou was a bit confused.

Lu Ding looked at him: "White Sun Palace, of course."

Zhan Tingzhou: ????????

"Aren't you going into seclusion to break through!?"

Yan Feifan chimed in from the side: "Seclusion is just a procedure, not a necessity. When there's nothing going on, it's nice to have some ceremony. But when things are urgent, Brother Lu can break through on the spot. It's cool, impressive, and catches people off guard."

Lu Ding pointed at Yan Feifan with a smile: "You really get me."

Then he looked at Zhan Tingzhou: "Time is of the essence. Every second counts. If the border army catches on and comes running to weasel their way into a share, we'll end up earning less."

Zhan Tingzhou was stunned speechless.

Breaking through on the spot like this, although it saved time, had too many uncertain factors. It was generally a last resort. How did it become a shortcut in Lu Ding's hands!?

Was this right?

Even for a breakthrough within the Fifth Restriction, Zhan Tingzhou wouldn't dare do something like this.

But suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Excitement rose in his heart—wasn't this another chance to see the lotus flowers when Lu Ding broke through!?

Although Zhan Tingzhou was currently at God Ascension, he wasn't a complete God Ascension. He had cut himself down, wanting to emulate Lu Ding's path to God Ascension and bloom the flower of Essence, Energy, and Spirit, but he could never grasp the key.

If he could witness it this time...

Zhan Tingzhou immediately shouted: "Wait for me!!!"

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No extra chapter today. I pushed hard for two days and couldn't hold out. I'd already written seven hundred words for the third chapter, but I just can't keep going. My throat hurts terribly, even swallowing saliva is difficult. So I merged those seven hundred words into this chapter. I'll continue with extra chapters tomorrow. Just push through! Please leave good reviews, dear readers!