Chapter 402: If you can beat me, I'll tell you.

Gu Weizhou hadn't even opened his mouth before a junior pointed at his nose and cursed him out, leaving him momentarily stunned.

Xu Wenjun and Lu Yunchen were equally shocked, staring at Yang Ling in disbelief.

Hong Ruohai and the other Ironclad Department agents from the Command Division exchanged glances, catching a flicker of bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Yun Buchuan immediately shot Lu Yunchen a look.

Only then did Lu Yunchen tug at Yang Ling's sleeve:

"They haven't even started cursing you yet."

"Oh? They haven't started yet? Whatever, I'll get my cursing in first. This asshole was bound to curse me anyway."

Yang Ling said with a wry smile.

The group of Confucian scholars exchanged looks, fury blazing up in an instant!

In the Capital, they'd rarely seen a military officer dare to trade insults with them!

Before Gu Weizhou could speak, the scholars immediately swung their guns around, aiming their firepower squarely at Yang Ling and letting loose.

"You insolent whelp! How dare you show such disrespect to an instructor of our Star Observation Academy! You brute!"

"You good-for-nothing piece of trash! Stop pointing at me! You want to step outside and settle this one-on-one? Come on!"

"A junior dares to spout such nonsense!"

"You useless sack of shit!"

"You little—"

"You're all useless sacks of shit! If you've got the guts, come fight me one-on-one! Stop yapping like mad dogs over here!"

Both sides seemed to have plenty of fire.

The scholars kept hurling insults, faces flushed red.

Yang Ling remained perfectly calm, gesturing grandly like a commander surveying his domain.

More and more people began gathering.

Quite a few figures were already standing in the distance, silently watching the commotion at the wharf.

"Is that Yang Ling, the newly promoted Sixth-Rank Ironclad agent of the Ironclad Department?"

"He's the one who handled the Xiangfeng Prefectural Capital case not long ago. This soldier must be in the Capital to report on his duties. Quite sharp-tongued, isn't he?"

"Brother Changyuan, I think the Ministry of Personnel should arrange a decent position for him."

Several middle-aged men in ordinary clothes watched the wharf with faint smiles on their faces.

Despite being over a hundred meters away, they could still clearly see everything at the wharf, including hearing all the insults being exchanged.

"Brother Changyuan, as a langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel's Division of Selection and Appointment, you hold the power of appointment and selection in your hands. Arranging a suitable post for this mere Sixth-Rank Ironclad agent would be a trivial matter."

One of them wore a slightly fawning smile on his face.

Han Changyuan said flatly: "All of our appointments must follow proper legal procedures and regulations. How could we act on personal preference?"

The others were momentarily taken aback, their faces turning slightly awkward as they nodded in agreement.

"Sir, those sour-faced Confucian scholars from the Ministry of Personnel's Division of Selection and Appointment seem to be scheming about something."

At another tea stall, an old man bent slightly and whispered to a middle-aged layman who was quietly sipping tea.

"No need to pay them any mind."

The middle-aged layman set down his tea bowl without even glancing toward the wharf, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth:

"Li Zhong, this Yang Ling's Vital Qi has already reached Near Perfection."

"Vital Qi at Near Perfection?"

Li Zhong was startled, a strange glint flashing through his eyes. He looked back toward the wharf, his gaze locking onto Yang Ling.

After a few breaths, he gave a slight nod and murmured:

"Indeed, it has already reached Near Perfection."

"A newly promoted Sixth-Rank with Vital Qi at Near Perfection... that's rare. I'd say this kid isn't really a newly promoted Sixth-Rank anymore."

"Being able to kill Mingxin, an Upper Sixth-Rank, he's probably got Upper Sixth-Rank cultivation himself."

"In such a short time... Upper Sixth-Rank..."

The middle-aged layman seemed lost in thought, then furrowed his brows slightly:

"Li Zhong, do you think this could be a disciple trained by some immortal?"

Li Zhong's expression turned serious, and he immediately replied in a low voice:

"I wouldn't know, sir."

"Of course you wouldn't know. I'm asking you to guess."

"I can't guess, sir."

"Fair enough."

The middle-aged layman poured himself a bowl of tea.

Li Zhong lowered his voice: "They've worked each other up into a real fury now. Should we step in and mediate a bit?"

"Tell me, what exactly is a 'sack of shit'?"

The middle-aged layman looked mildly curious.

Li Zhong was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head:

"I wouldn't know, sir."

"If even you don't know, then those Confucian scholars probably don't know either."

"They don't even know what Yang Ling is calling them, yet they can still trade insults with him. Tell me, isn't that hilarious?"

The middle-aged layman couldn't help but chuckle.

Li Zhong thought about it, then also pulled the corners of his mouth up slightly.

"Stop laughing. If outsiders see, they'll think I've died."

The middle-aged layman said.

Li Zhong softly acknowledged and fell silent.

"Heh, quite a lot of people who love watching a good show."

The middle-aged layman suddenly sneered.

Li Zhong's gaze swept around, spotting quite a few familiar faces.

Meanwhile, the wharf was getting livelier and livelier.

Xu Wenjun, along with Hong Ruohai and the others, had unknowingly retreated to one side.

Yun Buchuan signaled Lu Yunchen several times to hold Yang Ling back, but Lu Yunchen pretended not to see.

The thousands of players at the wharf couldn't help but set down their leveling work to watch the excitement from afar.

In their eyes, this was a bunch of big shots among the Divine Realm Natives having a shouting match.

"You sack of shit! Are you going to control these sour-faced scholars under your command! They've got no real skills, just screeching like fishwives!"

"You're at least a Lower Sixth-Rank expert. Step up and fight me one-on-one, and I'll save my breath!"

Yang Ling pointed at Gu Weizhou.

Gu Weizhou was so enraged he laughed instead. He lightly raised a hand, and the scene instantly fell silent.

All the scholars shut their mouths, waiting for Gu Weizhou's next move.

"Yang Ling, I recall that when you entered the Water Qilin Cave, you were merely Seventh-Rank. And now you dare to make a move against me?"

Gu Weizhou said with a smile: "You think just because Yun Buchuan and Xu Wenjun are here backing you up, I wouldn't dare lay a hand on you?

I hold no official position, so today I truly will, in my capacity as an instructor of the Academy, teach a lesson to this rude, ill-mannered brute, this useless good-for-nothing of the Ironclad Department!"

As he spoke, he began rolling up his scholar's sleeves.

Just then, one of the scholars suddenly remembered something and quickly spoke up to remind him:

"Instructor Gu, you've only just returned to the Capital recently. I heard that Monk Mingxin, that Rong Tribe spy, died at this junior's hands some time ago."

Monk Mingxin? The hall master of the Bitter Awareness Temple's Sutra Lecture Hall? An Upper Sixth-Rank?

Gu Weizhou calmly lowered his sleeves and looked Yang Ling up and down, deep suspicion in his eyes:

"Yang Ling, what is your cultivation level now?"

At that moment, he suddenly noticed the Sixth-Rank Ironclad outfit Yang Ling was wearing, and his heart stirred.

From what he knew, the Ironclad Department rarely bestowed the Sixth-Rank Ironclad position on someone with only Seventh-Rank cultivation.

Meaning this junior before him had already advanced to Sixth-Rank while he was in prison?

But how could a newly promoted Sixth-Rank have killed Mingxin?

Just then, a scholar of around thirty years old drifted over gracefully, cupping his hands toward Gu Weizhou with a smile:

"Senior Uncle, let me handle this."

Xu Wenjun and Yun Buchuan instinctively furrowed their brows upon seeing the newcomer.

Lu Yunchen's expression shifted slightly as he said in a low voice to Yang Ling:

"This guy is the standout among the Star Observation Academy's Third-Generation Disciples. He's also Upper Sixth-Rank, and I hear he's already passed his life tribulation.

His Vital Qi has reached the Near Perfection state that ordinary people can scarcely dream of!"

There was a clear note of envy in his tone as he said this.

Gu Weizhou looked pleasantly surprised: "Little Xie, what brings you here?"

The scholar cupped his hands and smiled: "Little Martial Uncle said there might be some trouble here, so he sent me over."

Little Martial Uncle? Luo Kai? Li Fengxian?

Yang Ling looked at the scholar:

"Where is your Little Martial Uncle?"

The other party replied with a smile on his face:

"If you can beat me, I'll tell you."