Chapter 47: Clay Figurines

In the quiet room, Lin Dong sat cross-legged, his brows slightly furrowed. This expression had persisted for a whole day. Outside the window, a beam of sunlight pierced through the thin paper covered in dark spots, casting a faint golden glow inside the room. Suddenly, Lin Dong’s body trembled as his cracked dantian shattered into pieces. A luminous barrier enveloped the spiritual energy within. The frown between his brows gradually relaxed. As the spiritual energy returned to his dantian, Lin Dong let out a long sigh, got up from bed, and pushed open the door. A gentle warmth hit him, so soothing it made him want to moan.
Hiss…
On the stone table, the silver rabbit raised its ears in defiance. Lin Dong glared back at it. To deplete the little creature’s spiritual energy, he had troubled it frequently lately. Unfortunately, despite rapid progress in his “Misty Steps” and “Reality Control” skills, he still hadn’t managed to touch the silver rabbit even once. Up to now, he could only watch as the rabbit’s injuries healed slowly; the daily chases now took up as much time as practicing his spiritual techniques.
Normally, after practicing, Lin Dong would go out—either to eat or to check on the progress of the man with the three eyes on Honggu Street—before embarking on hours-long pursuits of the silver rabbit. Today was different. After having lunch in the kitchen, he didn’t stay in the courtyard but went straight to the main hall.
With the new inn about to open, there weren’t many staff members in the main hall; most had been taken by Wang Liuzhi to set up the new inn. With so many customers, they didn’t even have time to greet Lin Dong. However, the tiger mother and her servant nodded slightly in his direction from a distance. Lin Dong smiled in return and strode out of the main hall.
Walking swiftly, as the sun began to shift from the center to the west, Lin Dong arrived at the Military Assessment Institute. He came here, of course, to register. According to the rules of the Great Han Nation, aside from annual assessments, one must also register at the Military Assessment Institute if their cultivation level improved.
Just like when he visited over two months ago, the Military Assessment Institute hadn’t changed much, and it was just as deserted. Entering the main hall, the same middle-aged man sat behind the counter. The only difference was that he wasn’t dozing over the table but was counting accounts with abacus beads.
There weren’t many martial artists in Xilan County. Although each person received a monthly salary, the accounts weren’t complicated to keep track of.

According to regulations, the county-level Military Assessment Institute should have had two accountants, but Yang Laiting didn’t assign even one. The same applied to maids, servants, guards, cooks, and others who could be recorded in the accounts. It wasn’t that the manager wanted to take on dozens of roles to earn more money; rather, there was nothing to do here, leaving him so idle he felt like banging his head against the wall.
This manager was the middle-aged man behind the counter who also served as the registrar. Apart from him and the institute’s director, who were both old bachelors, there was no one else in the entire Military Assessment Institute.
“Test your realm!”
Walking over to the counter, Lin Dong took out his Military Assessment card and placed it on the counter.
“Hmm!”
Yang Laiting pushed the red stone pillar used for testing forward and glanced up at Lin Dong, frowning slightly.
This man seemed familiar somehow…
Out of the corner of his eye, another person entered. Yang Laiting was slightly surprised—having two people come for testing at once was rare in over forty years. Without overthinking it, Yang Laiting, somewhat energized, grabbed the Military Assessment card, checked the information on it, and then took out the registration book.
“Move aside, move aside…”
As soon as Lin Dong placed his right hand on the top of the pillar, someone pushed his shoulder, causing him to stagger several steps before he could steady himself. Frowning, Lin Dong looked at the person who had pushed him.
The man was in his twenties, wearing a green robe. Aside from his haughty posture and a greasy smell, he seemed ordinary.
“What are you staring at?”
The young man glared at Lin Dong and casually tossed a Military Assessment card onto the counter.
“Register me first. I’m transferring my household registration; I’m from the capital.”
“Is it that great just because you’re from the capital? Do you know the order of arrival?” Yang Laiting snorted. What kind of attitude was that? He too had come from the capital forty years ago.
“You wouldn’t think someone just doing registration could be so arrogant!” the young man said sarcastically.
Yang Laiting waved at Lin Dong. “Come here, I’ll test you first!”
Lin Dong touched his nose and walked over.
“Take another step and see!” the young man said, glaring at Lin Dong. “Tell this old man his eyes are bad—he was here first.”
“What? Trying to intimidate people? Don’t you know where you are?” Yang Laiting dismissed him with a disdainful look, tapped the counter, and gestured at Lin Dong. “Come and take the test!”
“Dare you!” The young man kicked the counter. After a series of thuds, he said coldly, “I, Qiao Tianhao, can take tests anytime at the Military Assessment Institute in the capital. And yet, some mere registrar in a small county dares to be rude to me!”
“A chef?” Yang Laiting sneered. “So you’re a chef from some important person’s household! No wonder you’re so arrogant. I wonder if that important person holds a sixth-rank position…”

“Sixth rank? There are more sixth-rank officials in the capital than dogs.” Qiao Tianhao sneered disdainfully. “Have you heard of Fenglin Restaurant? Their head chef!”
“Fenglin Restaurant?”
Yang Laiting frowned. Fenglin Restaurant had branches in every county and prefecture of the Great Han Kingdom, and over 90% of them were the largest restaurants in their respective areas. Although merchants didn’t hold much status in the Great Han Kingdom, having as much wealth as Fenglin Restaurant was beyond what even a sixth-rank head of a martial assessment institute like himself could compare to. Not to mention, with Fenglin Restaurant having grown so large, there might be powerful figures behind it.
Lin Dong was also puzzled. If this young man was really a chef from Fenglin Restaurant, why would he come to Xilan City to register? Could it be that Fenglin Restaurant planned to open a branch here?
“I see you’ve actually heard of it?” Qiao Tianhao burst into laughter, his tone filled with mockery.
“He’s just a chef, not the owner of Fenglin Restaurant. He thinks he’s some big shot!” Yang Laiting was angered by his laughter. With a stern face, he held up the registration book at Lin Dong. “You, come here for the test!”
“Call your manager over,” Qiao Tianhao snapped, slamming the counter and glaring angrily.
“I am!” Yang Laiting narrowed his eyes and smiled.
Qiao Tianhao stiffened. The manager of the county martial assessment institute was a proper seventh-rank official. Although his power was vastly different from that of a seventh-rank county magistrate, if they played tricks with the registration times, it would still be something he couldn’t handle.
This wasn’t the capital; he didn’t have a master to step in and solve problems.
Taking a deep breath, Qiao Tianhao directed his anger at Lin Dong.
“Try registering in front of me today!”
Lin Dong had never backed down from anything that could be solved with force. He had originally planned to finish his business first and then register, but now… Smiling, a brand-new bench suddenly appeared in Lin Dong’s right hand.
With people shouting orders at him from both sides, did they really think this shopkeeper was just a clay figure they could mold at will?