Chapter 215: Pleasant Cooperation

It was obvious that the struggle on Qiao Tianhao’s face showed his lingering fear of Lin Dong’s violence, but his desire to improve his skills rapidly helped him overcome that fear.
The struggle faded away like a spring stream, and a flattering smile appeared on Qiao Tianhao’s face as he turned to Lin Dong, who was picking up some vitality beef balls wrapped in a milky-white film.
“Just now, boss, that kick was a perfect blend of strength and agility—fast as lightning. Congratulations on your greatly improved skills since returning.”
“Save it! Don’t think that spiritual materials are something easy to get just by saying a few flattering words,” Lin Dong said bluntly.
“How could I think such a thing, boss? My admiration for you is as clear as the sky and sun. How could it be for some spiritual material? You’re wronging me if you say that,” Qiao Tianhao shook his head repeatedly. Of course, he understood that spiritual materials weren’t something that could be obtained with a few sweet words. But being a hardworking good chef on one hand and being a sycophant on the other—such a useful subordinate, if he had extra spiritual materials, who else would he give them to?
Lin Dong picked up a vitality beef ball and suddenly said, “Can you make these beef balls as round as possible?”
“As round as possible? Well…” Qiao Tianhao scratched his head and pondered, “Unless we make several molds, it’s impossible for humans to shape them that round.”
“What about the center of gravity?” Lin Dong thought for a moment before simply saying, “It means that no matter how you cut it in half from that position, each side should weigh the same.”
“That’s even harder,” Qiao Tianhao frowned and considered it before saying helplessly, “Unless we crush the beef meat, even turn it into powder—only then can it work.”
“Do it that way then,” Lin Dong decided immediately. “For the molds, go to the backyard and ask Mrs. Peng to help invite a blacksmith to make some. As for crushing, organize the strong workers to do it; if necessary, hire outsiders. It’s not necessary for all of them—just the free gifts need to meet these two requirements.”
Since he didn’t have to do either of these himself, Qiao Tianhao nodded eagerly.
Lin Dong continued slowly, “Also, later I’ll write down some table tennis skills and rules for you. In the next few days, find time to organize the workers to practice hard.”
“Table tennis?” Qiao Tianhao was confused.
“Vitality ball!” Lin Dong raised the beef ball in his hand, instantly giving it a name. As for the table, it would be called a Vitality Ball Table.
Qiao Tianhao suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly, only to feel something was off again. “Boss, why practice this?”

“It’ll be useful in a while. If the guys improve, I’ll reward you with a spiritual fruit. If it’s mediocre and disappoints me, go to the inn entrance and beat yourself until your face is swollen.” Lin Dong waved impatiently. “You’re not needed here. Get lost!”
Qiao Tianhao was overjoyed—another spiritual fruit!
After Qiao Tianhao left, Lin Dong examined the racket and table again, feeling there shouldn’t be any major issues. As he straightened up, Ma Chun came running over.
“Owner, did you call for me?”
“Can only collect a little bit of the spiritual tree’s sap?” Lin Dong asked.
Ma Chun nodded. “The Liu family itself doesn’t even know the name of this spiritual tree. It’s estimated to be a third-tier spiritual material. Since only the Liu family possesses it and uses it in mechanisms for combat advantages, they control it strictly—even its location is unknown.”
After a pause, Ma Chun continued, “I spent ten taels of silver to bribe a guard, getting him to take a little from each of his companions’ swords. It’s about half a water bag’s worth. Fortunately, vitality beef balls don’t cost much, so half a water bag is enough to make thousands of them.”
“How do you make them?” Lin Dong was curious. This sap would solidify instantly upon contact with air. In this world, it should be impossible to remove air.
“After the sap solidifies, it can be melted again with fire,” Ma Chun explained. “A regular iron pot in our kitchen can melt it in half a minute.”
Lin Dong realized then—the sap feared high temperatures.
After thinking for a while, Lin Dong still felt it was not enough. Ten taels of silver was expensive, and only half a water bag was too little.
If branches were opened everywhere, thousands would be far from enough. They needed to plan ahead and obtain a spiritual tree.
The Liu family was one of the seven major families, and this sap was their secret weapon. Trying to get a spiritual tree under the guise of an inn definitely wouldn’t work. Lin Dong decided, “I’ll figure this out. Any news from the guild?”
Ma Chun shook his head. “Yesterday, all there was was news that Censor Wang opposed allowing merchants from various counties to form their own guilds, saying it would exacerbate collusion between officials and merchants and big merchants oppressing small ones. But he was thoroughly criticized by the ministers and almost executed for slandering his colleagues.”
Lin Dong remained silent. Among a bunch of corrupt officials, criticizing collusion was too straightforward for this Lord Wang.
Given the situation, even Emperor Qianwei might not be able to stop it.

Ma Chun grumbled resentfully, “Forming a guild is inevitable, but it’s unclear when it will be finalized. It’s been almost half a month now—this damn council is really dragging things out.”
Lin Dong smiled bitterly. The imperial hierarchy was too complex; things could only progress slowly. Fortunately, the Vital Beef Balls could ensure that people would be brought back quickly once a decision was made. The loss would be just a temporary drop in business, something they could afford.
“Owner, if there’s nothing else, shall I head to the main hall?” Ma Chun asked.
“Come back to me after closing time; the tables still need adjusting.”
“Hmm!” Ma Chun nodded.
After Ma Chun left, Lin Dong turned back to the backyard. Through the delivery door in the storage room, he reached Xilan City and climbed over the wall to head straight for the Military Assessment Institute.
The Military Assessment Institute in Xilan City was still deserted. At the counter in the main hall, Yang Laiting was engrossed in studying an ancient book. On the pages, the principles of being an official were written in blue ink on a black background, leaving Lin Dong speechless.
What use was there for the Military Assessment Institute to teach the principles of being an official?
“Butler Yang!” Lin Dong called out with a smile.
“Lin Dong?” Yang Laiting was startled. He quickly put down the ancient book and said cheerfully, “Did you come to see the director? I hope it’s not to ask him to deceive an old friend again. You don’t know—because of this, the director spent all his wealth to buy a fifth-tier spirit tree and give it to the Wan family, just to calm Wan the director down.”
Lin Dong was amazed. Ren Qingsong’s loss was quite significant.
But…
Lin Dong smiled leisurely, “Butler Yang, could you please ask Director Ren to come here? Tell him I’m here to compensate for his loss.”
“Compensate for the loss?” Yang Laiting waved his hands repeatedly. “Don’t be polite. It was just a small favor. The director doesn’t even care about the silver money; it’s just a pile of useless stones anyway.”
“I don’t have any silver money,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “I’m here to deliver an official position.”
“A position?” Yang Laiting’s eyes widened in shock. “You mean…?”
Lin Dong nodded slowly.
Yang Laiting collapsed to his knees with a thud, trembling violently.
“Forty-two years… exactly forty-two years… I’m finally getting promoted…”
After waiting a while, seeing that Yang Laiting, tears streaming down his face, had finally calmed down from his excitement, Lin Dong stepped forward to help him up and said with a smile, “It’s such a great news. It wouldn’t be right for Butler Yang to enjoy it alone.”
“Right, right! Wait a moment, I’ll go inform the director right away.”
Yang Laiting staggered into the back door.
A moment later, a thunderous roar came from the courtyard. In a flash, Ren Qingsong rushed in, grabbing Lin Dong tightly, his face twisted in fury.
“Have you broken through?”
Lin Dong nodded.

“Have you really broken through?” Ren Qingsong’s forehead veins bulged, his expression as if he wanted to devour Lin Dong. Lin Dong remained silent; spiritual energy surged from his dantian, spread throughout his body with each breath, before being suppressed at the surface of his skin. Ren Qingsong’s hands, tightly gripping Lin Dong’s arms, suddenly trembled and were flung back instantly. “A spiritual energy shield—true breakthrough, indeed.” The terrifying expression on Ren Qingsong’s face vanished in an instant, and he began to tremble with excitement. It seemed Ren Qingsong would need just as much time as Yang Laiting to recover. Seeing Yang Laiting run in through the back door, Lin Dong stepped forward immediately. After testing and registration, Yang Laiting looked up and asked, “Lin Dong, do you choose to pledge loyalty to the court or just go through the registration process?” “Registration,” Lin Dong replied without hesitation. “Won’t you consider it?” Yang Laiting urged. “If you pledge loyalty to the court, whether to become an official, join the Tianwei Pavilion, or just keep a nominal role, the benefits are countless.” “I’ve thought it through—registration.” Lin Dong shook his head. While warriors who pledged loyalty to the court did enjoy many benefits, it wasn’t yet worth sacrificing his life for them. If he chose to pledge loyalty, the court could summon him at any time to carry out missions. The court usually summoned warriors to eliminate powerful bandits or sect members who crossed the limits set by the Great Han Nation. Bandits wasted time, and sect members… there was a high risk of death at the Mental Energy stage. It wasn’t worth it for mere benefits. But with registration, there were no such concerns. Although the court could still summon people, it would only happen in times of crisis for the Great Han Nation—such as foreign invasions, major sects joining forces to challenge imperial authority, or large-scale rebellions… Such things hadn’t occurred in hundreds of years. Although Emperor Qianwei had been tyrannical over the decades, the foundation of the Great Han Nation still stood. The possibility of such events wasn’t zero, but it was extremely slim. This meant he could essentially reap benefits and privileges without putting in any effort. “In that case…” Yang Laiting glanced at Ren Qingsong, who was still trembling slightly, and said, “Dean, it’s time to issue Lin Dong a martial test card.” Ren Qingsong shuddered, wiped away tears from the back of his hand, and after his emotions settled, he took out a martial test card with no information on it from his storage spirit ring and brought it to the counter. Taking out a small red-glowing carving knife, he carved on it for a while before handing the card to Lin Dong. “The martial test card is ready, but it still needs to have a spiritual array installed on it by the prefecture-level martial test institute.”

He took out another storage spirit ring. After Ren Qingsong handed it to Lin Dong, he continued, “There’s only one cubic unit in the storage spirit ring. After breaking through to the second level of the Mental State phase, you can go to the Military Testing Institute to get a larger one. Also, the silver and medicinal pills are inside. You can collect your monthly salary and supplies every few months, or even every few years. But after breaking through, unless there are special circumstances, you must register at the Military Testing Institute within a month. As for the privileges of warriors—like immunity from punishment for killing or tax reductions for business operations—I doubt there’s need for me to repeat those, right?”
Lin Dong shook his head. He knew all about the privileges of warriors by heart.
Taking a deep breath, Ren Qingsong suddenly said solemnly, “Lin Dong, thank you!”
Lin Dong smiled and said, “Why be so polite, President Ren? You’ve also helped me a lot. I heard that the head of a prefecture-level Military Testing Institute can get promoted as long as there’s a strong warrior in their jurisdiction. Let me know once you decide which prefecture you’ll be assigned to. If it’s not too far, I’ll transfer my household registration to yours.”
Ren Qingsong was stunned for a moment before slapping his thigh vigorously and saying eagerly, “Will you keep your word?”
“Of course!”
Lin Dong nodded. Ren Qingsong had indeed helped him a lot, so continuing their cooperation would be great.
“Then it’s settled!” Ren Qingsong beamed with joy. He suddenly realized that he might even become the head of a second-rank county-level Military Testing Institute during his lifetime.
“It’s settled!”
Lin Dong also smiled brightly. From now on, he was part of the privileged class in the Great Han Nation.