From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"then."

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Shi threw the iron box directly to Lei Sanshan.

Lei Sanshan caught it, his expression growing increasingly surprised. He looked at Chen Shi warily, wondering if Chen Shi had actually given it to him.

Two breaths later, Lei Sanshan finally looked at the iron box in his hand.

That's right, it was the one Chen Shi pulled out of the stream.

Regardless of why Chen Shi gave it to him, let's take the contents out first.

"Um?"

But the next moment, Lei Sanshan frowned.

It can't be opened; it's locked.

Although the metal box is not large, it is quite sophisticated, with a keyhole on it.

Lei Sanshan looked at Chen Shi, who was holding a delicate key in his hand and looking at him with a smile.

"Give me the key!"

"I can't give you this."

Chen Shi snorted softly and instead held the key in his hand.

"You won't give it to me? You think I can't do anything about it?!"

With a slight exertion of force in his palm, Lei Sanshan smiled.

Although it was made of refined iron, it was not difficult for him to force it open with his strength.

"I advise you not to use brute force to destroy the box."

Seeing Lei Sanshan's intention, Chen Shi quickly spoke up, sneering.

"Guess why, if you can force it open, you would still need to prepare a key?"

"This is unnecessary..."

Lei Sanshan looked disdainful, but the next moment, he suddenly realized something and frowned.

"You mean, if we force it open, it will damage what's inside?"

"I can't think of any other reason."

"In that case... give me the key!"

Lei Sanshan hesitated for a moment, then gave Chen Shi another cold shout.

If anything inside is damaged, then it's all over.

We cannot take the risk.

Chen Shi flipped his hand over, then opened both hands, revealing that he had hidden the key somewhere.

"How about the two of us team up?"

Just as Lei Sanshan was about to seize it, Chen Shi suddenly spoke up.

"Join forces..."

Lei Sanshan suddenly stopped and frowned as he looked at Chen Shi.

If Chen Shi had proposed joining forces with him from the beginning, he would have just spat and dismissed it with disdain, thinking that Chen Shi had no ability to even consider joining forces with him.

But now, Lei Sanshan's ideas are different.

After exchanging blows with Chen Shi, he realized that although Chen Shi was only a seventh-rank cultivator, his strength far surpassed that of others of the same rank, and was even not much weaker than him.

After all, the reason why a sixth-rank is stronger than a seventh-rank is mainly due to the enhancement of a divine body, and Chen Shi already possesses a divine body.

Furthermore, Chen Shi's blood energy condensation is also very strange. In addition to the extremely threatening scorpion tail barb, his whole body is covered with solid scales, making him a perfect combination of offense and defense.

In reality, if the fight continues, Lei Sanshan is confident of victory, but it will likely not be easy.

"At least let's try to save our belongings first."

At this moment, Chen Shi said something else.

Lei Sanshan glanced back, his expression growing increasingly grave.

Yes, the problem now is not whether he can get the token from Chen Shi, but whether he can keep it.

After all, Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qinghe, who also possessed the sixth-rank cultivation level, were the real threats.

The fight with Chen Shi just now took some time, and the two of them are probably not far away.

"...Damn it! Let's team up!"

After a moment's hesitation, Lei Sanshan cursed and gritted his teeth in agreement.

Although Chen Shi was not weak, he was only a seventh-rank official. Before this round of assessments began, everyone knew that whoever allied with Chen Shi would be at a disadvantage.

The problem is, if he doesn't join forces with Chen Shi now, he'll have to fight Chen Shi. Even if he manages to seize the key, open the box, and retrieve the token, it will inevitably cost him a lot.

How should we deal with Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qinghe?

Therefore, even though he knew he would suffer a loss, he had no choice but to join forces with Chen Shi due to the circumstances.

"General Lei is indeed as expected..."

"etc!"

Before Chen Shi could finish speaking, Lei Sanshan suddenly raised the iron box in his hand and looked at Chen Shi with a wary expression.

"Did you already open the box, take the contents out, and deliberately try to fool me with an empty box?"

"Heh, look closely, there's a mechanism up there. Activating it will cause damage."

Chen Shi rolled his eyes and snorted coldly.

Lei Sanshan was taken aback, then examined it more closely. Yes, there were metal wires connecting the lid and the box. If it had been opened, these wires would have been torn off.

"Any other questions?"

"Walk!"

Without further ado, Lei Sanshan gave a soft shout and took off running.

Chen Shi immediately followed.

Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qinghe estimated that they would arrive soon.

As they sped through the mountains and forests, Chen Shi glanced at Lei Sanshan beside him and casually asked a question.

"I heard you were a general who fought on the battlefield. Why did you come to the Marquis's mansion to be a servant?"

"Servants? Hmph, don't you know that the steward of this Marquis's mansion is more powerful than many high-ranking officials?"

Lei Sanshan snorted softly, reached out and touched his severed shoulder, his face suddenly darkening.

"Furthermore, by becoming the chief steward of the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion, one can obtain the Withered Wood Divine Body!"

"You're after the withered wood divine body? You must be mistaken?"

Seeing Lei Sanshan's actions, Chen Shi couldn't help but frown. Could this brute really think that the withered wood divine body could regenerate from a severed arm?

Although Chen Shi has not yet become the chief steward, he has already obtained the withered wood divine body. It must be said that he does have a good self-healing ability, but he is still far from being able to recover his severed limbs.

"A severed arm regenerated, humph, that would require at least a Marquis-level divine body, I know that much."

Lei Sanshan snorted coldly again, then said in a deep voice.

"I don't expect this arm to grow back. I'll be satisfied as long as it doesn't hurt so much at night."

"How could this happen?"

"My arm wasn't cut off with a knife, but was eaten away by poison."

Lei Sanshan's expression grew increasingly gloomy, and he spoke through gritted teeth.

"Even now, residual poison remains in the wound, and every day after sunset, it feels like being bitten by a thousand ants."

As he spoke, a look of pain appeared between Lei Sanshan's brows.

Chen Shi widened his eyes slightly, a look of surprise in his eyes. The third round of assessment was at night, which meant that Lei Sanshan had been enduring this excruciating pain while taking the assessment.

He had even exchanged blows with him just now, but he hadn't noticed anything amiss.

Looking at Lei Sanshan again, Chen Shi couldn't help but feel a touch of respect. He had to admit, Lei Sanshan was indeed a man of great courage.

"If you fail to obtain the token and the withered wood body in the end, I can introduce you to a doctor."

After a moment of silence, Chen Shi suddenly spoke again.

"She might be able to cure your poisoning."

"Thank you very much."

Lei Sanshan glanced at Chen Shi and said something indifferently.

He had seen many famous doctors, including imperial physicians, but none of them had any effect.

Chen Shi, a mere servant, could hardly know any good doctors.

But it was all well-intentioned, and Lei Sanshan appreciated his kindness.

He thought to himself that when it came time to seize the token, he could show Chen Shi some leniency.

Without saying another word, the two fled at full speed.

……

Half an hour before dawn, somewhere in the mountains.

Chen Shi and Lei Sanshan stopped, their expressions serious.

Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qinghe stood in front.

In the end, they were caught up.

"You two actually teamed up."

Looking at Chen Shi and Lei Sanshan, Jia Xingzhou chuckled and asked a question seemingly casually.

"Who has the item?"

Lei Sanshan took out the iron box, while Chen Shi showed off the key.

"So that's how it is."

Jia Xingzhou and Wang Qing instantly understood and exchanged a glance.

The next moment, without any further ado, they rushed towards Lei Sanshan and Chen Shi respectively.

To obtain the token, you must seize both the iron box and the key!