Chapter 195: Comparing Backgrounds? Go to the Western Paradise and Invite Yuqing Buddha! (4K)

Chapter 195: Comparing Backgrounds? Go to the Western Paradise and Invite Yuqing Buddha! (4K)



After a moment of silence, Xue Jing spoke up, his voice calm. "What did I do to offend him?"

"Or is there some misunderstanding?"

Although Xue Jing's voice was steady, Xu Ran on the other end of the phone felt a sense of impending danger.

Her tone became more cautious as she replied, "...I'm not sure."

"The Logistics Department is a hotbed of nepotism, with many factions inserting their people. And those who get in through connections rarely do any real work; they're basically just collecting a paycheck while the ones without connections do all the actual work."

"Although Zhu Xuanli is the deputy director of the 'Special Asset Management Office' in the Logistics Department, he rarely shows up for work... But a few days ago, when the application for the divine relic that was rewarded to you was submitted to the 'Special Assets Office,' he suddenly started coming into the office."

"Normally, these applications are just a formality, and no one in the 'Special Assets Office' would bother to actually review the requests from upper-level leaders. Just like this time, you had already prepared the divine relic in advance before submitting the application to speed up the process. But Zhu Xuanli... he outright rejected it."

"Because of his family background, even the director of the 'Special Assets Office,' who is the only one with a higher position than him, didn't dare to say anything. So now we're at an impasse."

Xue Jing maintained a calm expression as he walked into the garden of the residential compound and sat down on a bench. Tapping his knee with his fingers, he asked, "So, there's no possibility of a misunderstanding, and he's deliberately targeting me?"

According to Xu Ran, the 'Special Asset Management Office' in the Sixth Agency's Logistics Department was essentially a decorative department, created to comply with management regulations and go through the motions.

Moreover, Zhu Xuanli usually didn't even work in this department, but now he was not only showing up for work but also actually performing his duties.

It was clear that he was targeting Xue Jing a hundred percent.

Xu Ran thought for a moment before speaking. "If it were just his personal actions, that would be one thing. But what's worrying is if it's his family's intention."

"The reason he's able to block your application right now is primarily because of his position as a direct descendant of the Zhu family. Otherwise, he would have been 'asked to resign' the moment he dared to reject an application from above."

"If the Zhu family truly bears ill will toward you... then I'm afraid it's a difficult situation."

As the name "Zhu family" crossed his mind, Xue Jing pictured his senior, Zhu Shan Ying.

"The Zhu family, one of the Thirteen Great Houses, has countless branches and hundreds of thousands of descendants. But those who can be considered direct descendants are only from the 'Five Branches.'"

"Two of these branches are in the inner ring city of the First Urban Cluster—the capital city. To distinguish between them, they are referred to as the 'Greater' and 'Lesser' branches."

"Zhu Xuanli belongs to the 'Lesser Capital Branch'... Although he's not from the core 'Greater Capital Branch,' he's still a direct descendant, and his influence is formidable."

Xue Jing pondered this information for a moment before speaking. "Let's set aside for now how powerful his family is. The current problem we need to solve is how I can get my hands on the divine relic that's being withheld."

Xu Ran fell silent for a moment. "There's not much we can do on our end. Even the commander is scratching his head over this."

She paused briefly before continuing, "However, while we may be at a loss, you, or rather, the people backing you, should have a way."

"The Zhu family may be influential, but there are certainly forces greater than them..."

"I shouldn't say more, but I think you understand what I mean..."

Xue Jing nodded. "I understand."

After chatting with Xu Ran for a while longer, he hung up the phone.

Sitting on the bench in the garden, Xue Jing fell into deep thought.

He had no idea why the Zhu family would create trouble for him.

The only connection he could think of between himself and the Zhu family was his senior, Zhu Shan Ying.

But he couldn't be sure of that yet, even though it was obvious that Zhu Shan Ying came from a prestigious family. Whether or not she belonged to the Thirteen Great Houses, specifically the Zhu family, remained uncertain.

Xue Jing felt that the probability was probably around ninety-eight percent.

"Senior Zhu is from the First Urban Cluster. If she's indeed from the Zhu family, is she a direct descendant? If so, is she from one of the two branches in the capital city? And if so, is she from the Greater or Lesser branch?"

Xue Jing had too many questions, but Zhu Shan Ying was currently unreachable.

If she were indeed the reason for this situation, what was the specific cause?

"Is it because Senior Zhu and I are close? Does the Zhu family think that Senior Zhu and I are in a relationship?"

"Classic tale of a wealthy heiress and a poor boy being forced apart by their families?"

"But I really don't have any designs on Master Zhu..."

"Fck, if that's really the case, then this is truly unwarranted disaster."

Regardless of the reason, he would remember this grudge.

"The Zhus, huh? You've chosen the path of death."

For now, he would set aside his thoughts of revenge. The pressing matter at hand was to obtain that batch of divine relics.

Xue Jing stood up and began walking towards his home.

Upon arriving home, Xue Jing first went to his room and retrieved his student ID. He then looked at the item on his desk, [GOD-1291: Little Girl's Matchsticks].

After some thought, he decided to take the matchbox with him and placed it in his pocket. He then left the house and headed towards the entrance of the residential compound. With a slight push off the ground, his entire body instantly lifted several meters into the air, gently floating onto the rooftop of a tall building.

"Hmm?"

Xue Jing's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Just from this initial movement, he could already feel a change.

...It was surprisingly lightweight.

Previously, although he already possessed immense strength, he could still clearly feel a sense of 'weight' when acting.

It was similar to how an ordinary person holding a ring weighing five or six grams would still be able to feel the weight of the ring.

But now, after his Running ability had reached Level 10, he felt incredibly light and agile as he leaped onto the rooftop, like a feather floating in the wind.

Xue Jing's figure flashed, and he sped towards Qingcheng Middle School, maneuvering across the rooftops of the buildings along the way.

His body instinctively adjusted its posture and movements to maximize speed and reduce air resistance.

Unknowingly, his speed gradually increased, becoming faster and faster.

On a certain utility pole, a few swallows were perched, chirping and chattering away.

Suddenly—

"Swoosh—!!"

A dark shadow flashed by at an incredibly fast speed. These highly agile birds didn't even have time to realize what was happening before they were swept away by the powerful airflow generated by the passing shadow, flung over a dozen meters away.

"Chirp!"

One unlucky bird even collided with an iron fence and fainted on the spot.

Xue Jing was unaware that he had just caused a little bird accident.

As he ran faster and faster, his movements became more and more agile, as if he had transformed into the wind itself. He even felt a sense of freedom and exhilaration similar to when he used Dragon Horn to fly.

"...This speed, my estimated velocity should be approaching 70 meters per second, which is roughly—250 kilometers per hour."

Xue Jing made a rough estimation.

Back when he had just left the border area, his top speed was around 190 to 200 kilometers per hour.

And when it came to running speed, the marginal effect decreased severely; the higher the speed, the harder it became to improve.

Increasing the speed from 200 to 250 kilometers per hour might seem like a mere one-fifth increase on the surface, but in reality, it was several times more, even as much as ten times the improvement!

"This is the cumulative enhancement from all the factors—including my daily martial arts training, the influence of the True Martial Body, and the upgrade of my Running ability to Level 10... All these factors combined have resulted in such a massive improvement."

For Xue Jing, the enhancement in his basic running speed was not merely an increase of 50 kilometers per hour.

He possessed the Twin Speed skill, which could ignore physics and double his speed, as well as the deadly move 'Flame-Linked Colors' that allowed him to burst into extreme speeds...

In his hands, this 50-kilometer increase in speed actually translated to at least a 200-kilometer boost in his maximum speed!

At this moment, if he were to simultaneously use Twin Speed and Flame-Linked Colors, his short-distance burst speed would be comparable to that of an airplane!

"Awesome!"

...

After about ten minutes, Xue Jing arrived at Qingcheng Middle School.

It was dismissal time at the school, and while the initial wave of students had already left, there were still a few stragglers exiting the school gates.

Xue Jing transformed into a shadow and entered the school grounds without attracting attention. A few female students who happened to be near the gates had their skirts ruffled by the strong airflow he generated, causing them to shriek and cover their skirts, their faces turning red.

He entered the Qingcheng campus and made his way to the library, only then slowing down to a stop.

After straightening his clothes, Xue Jing entered the library and swiped his card to access the seventh floor.

As always, the old and deserted attic was quiet and empty. On a wooden chair in the resting area, a familiar figure sat silently, her waist-length, smooth, and glossy black hair falling like a dark waterfall. She closed the old, hardbound book titled "Divine Taboo Day" in her hands and turned her serene amethyst eyes towards Xue Jing, the purple irises sparkling like beautiful gems.

"Only you can help me, Little A..."

Xue Jing pleaded with Wu Youqing in a voice that resembled Nobita being bullied by Gian.

Wu Youqing blinked, sighed, put down the book in her hand, and said helplessly, "What's with this childish attitude... Go on, what's the matter?"

Xue Jing felt that he somehow detected a hint of indulgence in her tone.

Clearing his throat, Xue Jing walked over, pulled out a wooden chair, sat down, and recounted the incident about his godly relic reward being withheld by Zhu Xuanli.

"I see." Wu Youqing nodded and fell into thought after listening to his story.

After a while, she spoke, "This issue is easy to resolve. I just need to put in a word for you over there."

Hearing his boss nonchalantly say this, Xue Jing's spirits lifted, and he sincerely said, "As expected of you, big sister. You're truly my Little A... No, my Youqing Buddha!"

"Comparing backgrounds, huh? I'll just go to the Western Paradise and invite Youqing Buddha myself!"

Wu Youqing smiled and gently poked his forehead with her finger, "Stop joking around."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "While the issue itself is easily resolved, the key problem lies in the Zhu family's hostility towards you."

"If we don't address their hostility, incidents like this will keep happening, and even I might not be able to help you every time."

Xue Jing flattered her, "You're just being humble, Buddha."

With the effortless recovery of the four thousand divine natures and Wu Youqing's consistently reliable performance, Xue Jing was starting to believe that this woman was truly omnipotent.

"I'm not being humble. The Thirteen Great Houses are just that troublesome."

As Wu Youqing spoke, she stood up and went to the cabinet to retrieve the tea set, placing it on the table.

She seemed to have a particular fondness for brewing tea.

As she poured water into the teapot, Wu Youqing said, "They are the 'winners of the new era.' In the nearly three hundred years since God's death, these thirteen families have reaped the most victory fruits."

"They have become a part of this country... or even a significant part of it."

"The Zhu family's hostility towards you is almost equivalent to the country itself being hostile towards you."

Xue Jing stroked his chin, "Oh? Then am I in deep trouble?"

Wu Youqing pushed the teacup filled with tea towards him, "With me here, they won't use direct force against you. You won't die... probably."

"This is probably why they're only using such an annoying method to irritate you."

Wu Youqing picked up her teacup, took a slight sip, and looked at Xue Jing, "But conversely, the Zhu family, knowing that you're my person, still showed hostility towards you. This indicates that you must have touched upon their fundamental interests."

"This time, with your godly relic reward being withheld, is a warning to you."

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes.

Wu Youqing smiled, "Annoying, isn't it? This arrogant attitude of looking down on others from above."

"They won't directly explain the situation to you but instead hit you first, making you figure out why you were hit and then go to them to plead for a solution."

"This is the mindset of mediocre people who are born in a superior position but lack the virtue to match it."

Xue Jing remained silent for a moment, then smiled.

"...I'll figure out why, and I'll take the initiative to resolve the issue."

He said quietly.

As for what issue he would resolve when he took the initiative to approach them... that would be up to him when the time came.

With his mind made up, Xue Jing refrained from bringing up the Zhu family again and instead reached into his pocket, taking out an ordinary matchbox, which he handed to Wu Youqing.

"Big sister, I obtained this by chance some time ago."

Wu Youqing took the matchbox and immediately recognized it.

"GOD-1291..."

As she spoke, Wu Youqing opened the matchbox.

Inside were dozens of matches of the same length and size, each with a strange red and blue mixture of combustible material on its head.

"It is said that lighting one of these matches will allow you to see the most beautiful 'little girl' from your cognition." Wu Youqing curiously blinked.

Then, to Xue Jing's surprise, Wu Youqing took out a match, struck it on the side of the box, and lit it.

"Whoosh—"

GOD-1291 was ignited.

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end