"Wow, this building is so deserted, there isnât even a security guard."
Su Yue walked into Youâan Mansion.
There was a plaque in the lobby, with the words written very clearly: Divine Land Auxiliary Martial Artist United Exchange Association.
Anyone with half a brain could tell this was where Auxiliary Martial Artists came to collect subsidies and have meetups.
The benefits werenât bad.
But it was understandable; cultivation was just too hard.
Auxiliary Martial Artists couldnât grab kills on the battlefield, so there was no way to calculate military merit for them like for ordinary Martial Artists.
But Auxiliary Martial Artists still had to live.
This Auxiliary Association was where the Divine Land handed out subsidies; easy enough to understand.
Su Yue was feeling a bit excited.
Could it be I can actually pick up a subsidy today?
Just donât give me rice, flour, grain, and oil or something; I donât cook at home anyway. Best if itâs converted into cash.
"Hello, you must be Su Yue!"
Just then, a handsome middleâaged guy walked over.
White shirt, black leather shoes.
In his forties, full of energy, his slickedâback hair was meticulously groomed, and more importantly, heâd even put on cologneârefined and elegant.
Su Yue looked down at himself.
Sneakers, sweatpants, pullover hoodie, his whole body exuding the smell of soap.
This outfit was totally wasting his handsome face. When he had time, he should buy a bottle of cologne too, to add a bit of personal charm.
"Hello, Iâm Su Yue, and you are..."
The handsome uncle was very familiar, coming right up and shaking Su Yueâs hand.
"My name is Lu Xiliang, Sima Linglingâs senior brother, an Auxiliary Martial Artist whoâs already changed posts. I work at the Ministry of Education now, but I also serve as a viceâpresident of the Auxiliary Association.
"I know about your deeds. My daughter is a hardcore fan of yours. Oh, right, sign an autograph for me later, thanks."
Lu Xiliang introduced himself.
"Uh, I donât deserve that."
Su Yue hurriedly nodded.
So he was his mentorâs senior brotherâby seniority, that made him Su Yueâs martial uncle.
No wonder he looked so damn handsome. Must be shared auraâpeople from their sect were generally all goodâlooking.
"Itâs a pity. Your generation of Auxiliary Martial Artists already canât be registered on the Divine Landâs official website, otherwise you could still get some subsidies.
"But it doesnât really matter. I heard after the Jiangyuan Country battle you got more than two hundred million from the Divine Land in rewards, so this little subsidy doesnât really mean much to you.
"Young and promising, no wonder youâre my daughter and her friendsâ idol. Youâve got a bright future!"
Lu Xiliang sighed again.
The young people these days were terrifying.
A bunch of thirdâgrades who could even kill a Grandmasterâenough to scare people to death and not have to pay for it.
"There was no two hundred million, who said I got two hundred million in rewards!"
Su Yue was full of frustration.
It was only 130 million total. Who was out here spreading rumors for him?
Also, he did care about subsidies.
He cared!
"Haha, thatâs just what everyoneâs sayingâwe donât know the exact figure either!
"Thereâs an analysis post on the Martial Arts Network, full of all kinds of data calculations. Donât believe those rumors!"
Lu Xiliang laughed awkwardly.
"Su Yue, youâre here to learn the Profound Ice Palm, right? Lingling already told me.
"This Profound Ice Palm is my signature combat art. Iâll be the one to pass it on to you in a bit.
"You might also be my last disciple in this lineage. Canât be helpedâProfound Ice Palm is thankless, eats money and time, and very few people are willing to cultivate it."
Lu Xiliang steered away from the topic of Su Yueâs bonus.
"Costs money? Takes time?"
Su Yue licked his lips.
This Profound Ice Palm didnât seem quite like what heâd imagined.
Forget it.
Who cares if it costs time or notâlearn it first and talk later.
Su Yueâs conviction was firm: the more skills, the better.
"Teacher, why is Youâan Mansion so empty and gloomy? Itâs kind of creepy."
Then, Su Yue asked another question.
"Itâs going to be demolished.
"After Youâan Mansion is torn down, the profession of Auxiliary Martial Artist will disappear from the Divine Land.
"In the future at Wuda, auxiliary combat arts will just be electives; they wonât be split off as an independent department anymore. After you graduate, your mentor will either be forced into early retirement, or transferred to the Ministry of Education to do clerical work.
"In fact, starting next year, the auxiliary department wonât enroll new students. You are the last batch of Auxiliary Martial Artists!
"Itâs kind of heartbreaking when you say it out loud."
Lu Xiliang lifted his head and looked at the lobby; there was reluctance in his eyes too.
"What a pity."
Su Yue also shook his head.
But to be honest, based on his experience, Auxiliary Martial Artists really werenât that important anymore.
At least on the Divine Landâs battlefields, none of the combat battalions were equipped with Auxiliary Martial Artists.
Maybe in places like Jiangyuan Country, Auxiliary Martial Artists still had some market, since those were defensive fronts.
Strictly speaking, it wasnât that Auxiliary Martial Artists were useless.
It was a choice made by the era.
Back in Earthâs toughest years, the Divine Land was just like Jiangyuan Country, with defensive works everywhere in the cities and alien races charging in every day.
At that time, Martial Artists all focused on defense.
As long as you could hold one inch of land, it was considered a victory.
In that era, Auxiliary Martial Artists and defensiveâtype Martial Artists were basically the backbone of the entire system.
But at the same time, speedâtype and offenseâtype Martial Artists, because of their glassâcannon nature, were easily killed, so they werenât the first choice for Martial Artists.
Now that the Divine Land was counterattacking the Wet Realm, speedâtype and offenseâtype had already become hot majors.
It was the eraâs choice; hard to say whatâs right or wrong.
Of course, being able to develop allâaround would be best, but a personâs energy was ultimately limited.
Su Yue himself was an exception.
"Su Yue, youâre here!"
At this moment, Sima Lingling came up from the basement.
"Mentor!"
Su Yue nodded.
He saw that Sima Lingling was holding a very retro round clock in her hands.
Obviously, this clock was about to be scrapped.
However, Su Yue took a few extra glances at it, and then his gaze simply could not leave the clock.