My starting summon is a small skeleton

Fucheng, outside the Governor Mansion.

Lu Wu's sudden kick was a bit fierce.

The odd man he kicked was sent tumbling to the ground.

Unit 044 was completely befuddled, while Unit 003 immediately flew into a rage.

"Lu, what the hell are you doing?

Bullying people, is that it?"

Team leader Kong Qing rushed up to Lu Wu right away.

At that moment, he was both shocked and angry.

Angry that Lu Wu had the audacity to strike that big shot, and shocked because, might it mean Lu Wu had discovered something with his sudden move?

"I'm bullying him, so what? My mom is the Governor! Are you going to get out of the way or not? If not, I'll beat you up too!"

It must be said, Lu Wu always had a good grasp of his demeanor.

The tactic he learned from Jiang Tianyang was used much better now than by Jiang Tianyang himself.

It was quite impressive.

Kong Qing was immediately intimidated, and Lu Wu took the opportunity to push him aside and approach the strange man, lifting his leg to kick him once more.

"Kid, you've blocked our Old Lin in the restroom several times already. You come here today and keep staring at Old Lin; what, are you some kind of freak?"

"That, it's a misunderstanding, I really didn't do anything to him."

Facing Lu Wu, this man called Kong Yi was nothing like his arrogant self when he used to bully Lin Jianying, responding only with subservience.

"Misunderstanding, I'm telling you there's no misunderstanding."

Lu Wu said, delivering several more kicks fiercely, exuding the demeanor of a young master through and through.

While Lu Wu was beating up the man, inside the Governor Mansion, there were people watching this scene.

One was the rich woman, Lu Wu's godmother, and the other was the lady in white.

"Is this your adopted son?"

Technically, this was the first time the lady in white had seen Lu Wu.

But she didn't expect to see this side of him, causing her eyebrows to tighten slightly.

Lu Wu's current demeanor wasn't too appealing!

That temperament, radiating from inside out, didn't look like that of a good person, and the lady in white didn't understand what the rich woman found appealing in Lu Wu. His looks, perhaps?

Okay, she admitted, Lu Wu was quite handsome.

But she was long past the age where appearance equated to virtue.

So her first impression of Lu Wu wasn't good at all.

"Your adopted son is beating up a member of Unit 003 outside your Governor Mansion. That won't sound good if word gets out. Are you just going to stand by and watch?"

"He knows what he's doing."

Jiang Yuexing replied indifferently, without stirring.

The lady in white shook her head upon seeing this and was about to intervene when Lu Wu outside stopped.

"Kid, let's leave it at that for today. If you dare to bully Old Lin again, I'll skin you alive!"

After finishing, surveillance showed Lu Wu pushing past Unit 003's members, approaching the main gate of the Governor Mansion, and shouting at the closed doors, "What are you waiting for? Open the gate for your young master! I want to see my mom!"

"Open the gate for him, bring him here!"

Jiang Yuexing ordered immediately, and her underlings sprang into action right away.

The gate of the Governor Mansion opened, and Lu Wu was led to Jiang Yuexing.

As soon as he arrived at Jiang Yuexing's side, the arrogance on Lu Wu's face disappeared in an instant. The speed of the transformation slightly surprised the lady in white, but what surprised her even more was what Lu Wu said next.

"Godmother, there's something wrong with Unit 003!

To be precise, it's the team captain, and that Kong Yi I just beat up—they have issues!"

This abrupt statement from Lu Wu caught the lady in white off guard.

She now wasn't sure whether Lu Wu was framing them or if he really found some problems.

Jiang Yuexing then raised her hand slightly, "Let's hear it."

"This unit, when they previously won against Units 002 and 066, used underhanded methods to win.

That Iron Blade Mantis must have taken some drug to have such a strong burst of power in such a short time.

In this period, I did some investigation, and the drugs that could cause such a terrifying surge are mostly not good ones.

Also, I've checked out the Summoned Beasts of Unit 003,

The Iron Blade Mantis has developed problems, likely a reduction in lifespan, which is clearly a side effect of substance abuse.

And such drugs, which trade life span for power, are all banned—prohibited from development by the Cultivation Center, and are impossible to acquire through legitimate channels.

That is one point!"

"Another point is,

when I was hitting Kong Yi, I noticed something off about the emotions of his Summoned Beast.

Normally, as I was beating him, his beast should have become furious.

But I didn't feel any significant emotional turmoil from his beast; it was as if I wasn't beating its master at all."

"Combining these two points, I think there's a serious problem with Unit 003."

Lu Wu had been keeping an eye on Unit 003 since the final competition.

He had sensed something was amiss with them back then. That's why he paid closer attention today and discovered these flaws.

That was also the reason for his performance just now.

Lu Wu felt that such destabilizing factors should be dealt with quickly, wiped clean from the instance-running teams.

However, at this moment, Jiang Yuexing's reaction was entirely unexpected to Lu Wu.

"Where's the evidence?"

"What?"

"You said you have evidence for all of this," where is it?

"It's all on their Summoned Beasts; just capture them and check, and there will definitely be problems found."

"But what if after the investigation, it turns out there are no problems?

Have you considered that outcome?"

Jiang Yuexing didn't give Lu Wu a chance to respond and continued, "The Inheritance Land only opens once a year, and any delay means they lose this opportunity.

This affects them a lot, and it has a big impact on you too.

What if in the end it turns out they are innocent, can you compensate for their loss? Even if you can compensate financially, can you compensate for the loss of their reputation and mine?"

Lu Wu struggled briefly, "I can guarantee they have problems!"

"With what do you guarantee?"

Jiang Yuexing suppressed him with just a sentence.

"Also, even if all of this is true, why do you choose to handle it this way?

I wanted to say this last time at Sea Suppression Tower.

Like before, you have numerous ways to explain it, why go for such an offensive approach?

Is it more fun this way?"

"Do you realize how immature you are in handling matters?!"

At this moment, Lu Wu was bewildered; he didn't know how the discussion had shifted to his maturity.

Yet, he could sense that Rich Woman was not her usual self.

If he acted stubborn now, the consequences would likely be dire, so he didn't dare backtalk and was exceptionally sincere!

Jiang Yuexing wasn't just harshly criticizing for the sake of it.

After a couple more scoldings, she changed her tone to a more earnest one and said to Lu Wu, "You are no longer the person you once were.

Now, you're not just my foster son, but also the most valued person among Zhang Wentao and those at Jiangnan University.

They even consider cultivating you as the next heir.

So, you must shed that frivolous attitude and habits of the past.

You need to be stable and grand; don't be frivolous and sarcastic like someone else!

When faced with issues, you can't rush in recklessly; you need to think thrice before acting. Your brilliant mind should not just be used for studying and researching but also for understanding people and the world."

Lu Wu had not expected such an outcome.

Not only did he fail to eliminate the instability of 003, but he was also caught up in a lesson on philosophy.

Seeing Rich Woman's demeanor, Lu Wu knew within his heart that it didn't look like 003 would be driven away; he had no choice but to lower his head and show he was taking it all in.

Seeing Lu Wu's acquiescence, Jiang Yuexing didn't intend to continue the lecture.

"Okay, let the matter rest here. You can go now. Oh, and about that greeting gift you've been wanting? Take this ring!" she said, taking off a ring from her own finger and tossing it to Lu Wu.

Lu Wu caught the ring and left with a somewhat dejected air.

It wasn't until Lu Wu had left that Bai Yi spoke up.

"He deliberately acted like a profligate just now, probably to take on the responsibility of expelling 003."

"I know," Jiang Yuexing responded indifferently.

Bai Yi added, "That team, 003, really does have problems."

"I know," Jiang Yuexing replied again.

This time Bai Yi was confused, "If you know, then why not expel Team 003?"

From the interaction between Jiang Yuexing and Lu Wu, Bai Yi clearly understood Jiang Yuexing placed great importance on Lu Wu.

If that was the case, it made no sense for her to leave such an unpredictable element like 003 by Lu Wu's side.

Bai Yi suddenly remembered the ring Jiang Yuexing last handed over to Lu Wu—it was meant to protect him; but this only deepened Bai Yi's confusion.

Instead of using the ring to protect Lu Wu, wouldn't it have been simpler to just drive those people away?

"The issue with Team 003 is complex; there's a lot behind the scenes, and many people are watching. I can't just expel them—they'll have to be left alone," Jiang Yuexing elaborated.

Bai Yi pondered for a moment, then pushed up his glasses and said, "Then why not have Lu Wu give up on this round to the Inheritance Land?"

"Why should he give up?" Jiang Yuexing countered.

"This trip to the Inheritance Land could save Lu Wu at least a year or two and tens of thousands of points' worth of expenses.

There might even be gains beyond our imagination. So why should we give up? I'm already giving them enough face by not interfering with them—there's no reason for us to retreat completely.

And naturally, they wouldn't dare to expect me to back down that much, so they'll do their thing, and Lu Wu will do his, each to their own."

But in the Secret Realm, anything could happen—who can be certain?

What if something unfortunate does occur?"

"That's why I gave him the ring!

I've given him all the protection and help I can; if something still happens, it's just bad luck, and I can't be blamed!"

Though Jiang Yuexing said this, she knew well in her heart that Lu Wu wouldn't die.

The ring she provided was a special piece of Equipment, with many functions, one of which was Damage Sharing.

Should Lu Wu suffer a fatal injury, the damage would be transferred to her and shared with her Summoned Beast, ensuring Lu Wu's safety unless she died.

He was after all someone meant to work for her for nothing—how could she let him die so easily?

The reason she insisted on Lu Wu going was because the inclusion of 003 presented both a crisis and an opportunity for him; things that couldn't otherwise be obtained might now be within reach because of 003's presence.

This opportunity could be greatly beneficial for Lu Wu's growth, and the better his growth, the more he could help her in her endeavors.

...

Another long day passed, and for the third consecutive day, he was exhausted!