Chapter 14 - 14

Chapter 852: A Good Start (2)

The old man was a Skysoar. He wasn't exactly a weakling. Su Yu was left quite speechless. Bullshit! He was sure that some of these people were harboring nefarious intentions upon him.

Most of these people did not have the courage to assassinate human experts inside the human-controlled territory. But the moment there was an enemy attack, these vultures would scatter everywhere and return to loot the dead after the fight was over. Su Yu was feeling quite gloomy. Were they viewing him as a delicious lamb?

"Are you guys following me because you think I'll die?"

The old man laughed awkwardly and said, "Not at all."

Su Yu casually tossed a bag over. The old man didn't even dare to catch it. Instead, he hurriedly retreated.

Su Yu indifferently said, "It's some source qi liquid, not poison. Tell me. Help me broaden my horizons. You people are not too strong and hated by many. But I heard that you vultures are also known as the Eyes of Death. Are you following me because you believe I'll die?"

The old man cautiously picked up the bag and checked it. He was overjoyed when he confirmed the content in the bag. He hurriedly said, "Lord, you are generous and magnanimous. Perhaps this is your first visit to the Allheaven Battlefield. Maybe this is your first long journey ever..."

"Most of the time, even lone travelers would maintain a low profile out here. Meanwhile, you're clad in white. That's too eyecatching. With your storage ring on your finger, it is clear you're someone important. As for your strength, you feel like a Cloudbreach to me. But you also seem to have only reached that level recently.

"You don't have a visible weapon on you, so you're definitely a cultural researcher. It is common knowledge that all cultural researchers have numerous good stuff on them. You're riding an earthdragon from the Eastpart City. That city is filled with important people, including a lot of young geniuses venturing far from home for the first time.

"A lot of people coming from Eastpart City lack combat experience. Compared to the human geniuses who had climbed from the bottom of society, these people are much easier to kill. Anyone who has spent some time in the Allheaven Battlefield understands that these first-time visitors are the easiest to kill. And these people are also the most profitable targets to kill. Thus, if there is an enemy expert hiding nearby, they will not hesitate to kill you."

"..."

Due to Su Yu's generosity with the source qi liquid, the old man did not hesitate to share some of his experiences.

The old man added, "As for us...hehe. The enemy expert would most likely flee rapidly after killing you instead of wasting time on us. And they would most likely leave with only your storage ring. In that case...cough, cough, Lord, this is the Allheaven Battlefield. Do not think that we're too cold. We will do good deeds when possible. For example, if we found some name tags or any other forms of identification, we would send them back to the headquarters. We might even collect the bodies of the dead and send them back so that they won't be left to rot in the wilderness."

Su Yu laughed and said, "In short, if I were to end up dying, you would show kindness by collecting my corpse for me. And I need to be thankful to you for that?"

"There is no need for that!"

The vultures had constantly maintained a distance of over five hundred meters from Su Yu. That way, they wouldn't be instantly implicated if Su Yu really ended up killed. That was their way of protecting themselves. This was the way of life for these vultures.

Su Yu laughed in amusement. Interesting. His horizons had been broadened. Was he too conspicuous? He didn't even realize that. Perhaps that was the case in the eyes of others. After all, his white robes were too conspicuous. But as a cultural researcher, was he supposed to wear black robes instead of white robes?

Then again, there were indeed some cultural researchers who would walk around in black instead of white robes. But Su Yu was deeply influenced by a certain individual. Back when he first saw Bai Feng, his teacher was clad in fluttering white robes. That looked incredibly cool to him. Thus, one could say that Bai Feng was the reason why Su Yu started wearing white robes.

In a completely nonchalant manner, Bai Feng had killed a Skysoar. He looked carefree and at ease in his elegant white robes. Ignoring everything that had happened to ruin his image in Su Yu's mind since then, he actually looked incredibly amazing at that moment.

Su Yu smiled and said, "Brother, you guys seem very experienced. Are you not afraid of getting dragged into the fight and dying alongside the lamb you're following?"

"Danger is everywhere in the Allheaven Battlefield. If we wanted zero danger in our lives, we wouldn't have entered the Allheaven Battlefield and remained until now. We might as well return to the Human Realm and retire as a rich landlord with what we already made so far."

Su Yu nodded. With a curious look, he asked, "Vultures are supposed to be decent in strength. Why is none of you willing to return to the Human Realm and get a position as a commander or something in the army? You will be able to get an even better position if you go to one of those smaller cities. Even if you can't get into the army, you can still join the Windcatcher Department, right?"

The old man beamed and said, "You must be kidding, Lord. People like us have spent almost our entire lives here. We are used to carnage and blood. But after going back, we won't be able to kill unless we are prepared to have our heads cut off as punishment. At that time, we will have to either join the cult or die." "But it is way riskier to join the cult. The various prefectures represent the color white while the Myriad Race Cult represents the color black. As for us, we are the color gray. Sure, being vultures is dangerous as well, but we're better than the cultists. At the very least, those large armies won't slaughter us indiscrimately."

Su Yu said, "I heard not all vultures are willing to follow the unspoken rules. Some of them are more than willing to kill their fellow humans for profit. Is that true?"

"Definitely." The old man did not deny it. He said, "But those people don't usually live long. After taking that step, they will turn from gray to black. They will die as easily as those cultists. We can only live longer if we remain gray."

Su Yu nodded. He asked curiously, "Have there been any precedent of vultures doing so good that they managed to gain legitimacy?"

"Yes. But things ultimately ended miserably for them." The old man grimaced and said, "Have you heard of the Liu Family? The Liu Family of Liu City. Back then, they were vultures as well. But one day, their old master wanted to go clean. They established Liu City with the intention of guarding the doorstep of humanity. But they all died terribly. Tsk tsk. Not a single one of them survived. Young and old, they all died. How miserable. If you ask me, once you choose to walk the gray path, don't even think of turning white or black. You will only suffer miserable endings."

Liu Family?

Su Yu blanked out. Liu Wenyan's family! A family of vultures? He was very surprised to hear that.

"Are you doubting my words, Lord?"

The old man bowed and followed Su Yu. He said, "Have no doubt. This happened a long time ago. I heard that Great Xia King was the one who had personally convinced them to go clean back then. There were also rumors claiming that after going clean, a marriage alliance would form between the Xia and Liu Families. Unfortunately, Great Xia King took a very long time to produce a descendant. A few decades away, they finally decided on the marriage candidates. Unfortunately, the Liu Family ceased existing not long after."

Su Yu had heard of that from Xia Huyou before. Xia Huyou was supposed to take someone from the Liu Family as his wife, but it didn't happen due to the destruction of the Liu Family.

"So is the Liu City no more?"

"It's still there, but very few people are staying there nowadays. The direct descendants of the Liu Family are almost all dead. A few branch family members are still around, but the strongest among them are at the Cloudbreach Realm. Back then, they were led by Sunmoons. And the Liu City is also situated in a bad location. They wanted to guard the doorstep of humanity, so they founded their city on the same defensive line as the Vanguard Regiment. That place is incredibly dangerous. Each year, countless people will die there. Thus, the city is now a shadow of its former self."

Guarding the doorstep of humanity. That was the choice made by the old master of Liu Family. Whether the choice was made for the sake of going clean or some other reasons, that was ultimately still the choice they made. Because of their vicinity to the frontlines, the entire family ended up destroyed.

The Liu City had fallen.

Su Yu thought about it and said, "Liu Family...Liu Wenyan...I heard that Liu Wenyan is currently in the Vanguard Regiment, right? Is he a direct descendent of the Liu Family? Have you heard of him?"

"Of course." The old man seemed to be in a talkative mood. But the main reason for that was the source qi liquid given by Su Yu. There was no harm in saying more to a rich guy like this. He said, "Who doesn't know Liu Wenyan? Back when Ye Batian swept through the Allheaven Battlefield, he went to Liu City. The moment he saw Liu Wenyan, he took Liu Wenyan as his student. Tsk tsk, the apprenticeship ceremony was truly a sight to behold. Who was Ye Batian? He was the only Sunmoon with the courage to make Invincibles kneel before him. He was arrogant. He was domineering. He was unrivaled.

"Back then, the Liu Family held a feast for three days and three nights. All sorts of valuable ingredients were served to the guests. Any human in the Allheaven Battlefield was allowed to attend the feast. They had fully gone clean with Ye Batian accepting a junior of their family as a student. Their future seemed limitless.

"Unfortunately, good things do not last long. Ye Batian died, and the Liu Family also suffered alongside him. They were subjected to constant attacks until all their Sunmoons perished. Liu Wenyan was crippled. And the Liu Family was ruined.

"Yes, Liu Wenyan has returned. But it's pointless. He's only a Skysoar. And he is serving his sentence in the Vanguard Regiment. It's only a matter of time before he dies. I heard he actually has to fight among Mountainseas. How can he survive that?"

"..."

The old man seemed to know a lot. But he definitely didn't know more than the surface details.

Su Yu laughed and said, "That might not be the case, right? I heard that back then, the Liu Family saved a lot of human experts. A lot of people owe them a favor, including some Invincibles. With Liu Wenyan's return, wouldn't those people watch over him?"

The old man wasn't too optimistic about that. He said, "You never know. Those Invincibles are too important to get involved in something so trivial. If they really wanted to take care of him, he wouldn't have been sent to the Vanguard Regiment in the first place. That damn place wasn't too bad in the past, but things have been very intense recently. There are way too many battles. I don't think he can survive for long."

"True." For more chapters visıt novel{f}ire.net

Su Yu nodded. He continued riding ahead nonchalantly on his earthdragon. He said, "This isn't my first time in the Allheaven Battlefield, but I never went too far in the past. I didn't know all that before. But the more I learn, the more interesting things seem to be. Brother, do you know where I can find some divine and devil geniuses? Tell me about the weaker ones. If they're too strong, I won't be a match. It would be even better if you could point me to a place with more female geniuses. Maybe I can capture a few of them."

"..."

Unknowingly, the old man had slowed down considerably. When he was about a thousand meters away from Su Yu, he replied, "Lord, you should calm down. The divine and devil experts are not easy to deal with. In fact, even the experts of the weaker races are very difficult opponents. Yes, cultural researchers have a lot of trump cards, but things are no longer the same after the decline of the multiple character faction."

The old man concluded that this was a dangerous person to associate with. He was arrogant and young. Such people would usually die very fast in the Allheaven Battlefield. He asked for divine and devil experts right away. Did he think that this was still the Human Realm?

Did he think that the divines and devils were comparable with those garbage with only thirty-six acupoints? The warriors of the divines and devils would not open less than 108 acupoints. A lot of them would open at least 144 acupoints. Some would even open hundreds of acupoints. And they would not forge their bodies less than eighteen times.

This was not a joke. Humanity did not have any advantage over them. Apart from a small number of geniuses, most humans would end up dead even when they were facing divines or devils with lower cultivation levels.

Chapter 853: A Good Start (3)

After thinking about it, the old man asked, "Lord, are you from Great Qin, Great Xia, or Great Zhou?"

"No!"

"Are you from the Dual Holy Prefecture?"

"No. I'm from Great Ming."

"..."

The old man instantly stopped walking upon hearing that. His subordinates also stopped with him. They started distancing themselves from Su Yu. It was way too dangerous to follow someone like that around. They were worried that he would end up killed before he could even put up a fight. In that situation, things could get very dangerous for these vultures as well.

Holy shit!

This was a cultural researcher from Great Ming. Did he think that he was out on a scenic tour? Things might not be that bad if this was a warrior. The warriors of Great Ming were still quite strong.

As for their cultural researchers...the myriad races loved encountering Great Ming's cultural researchers. Yes, yes, their cultural researchers had a lot of abilities. But some of these abilities were too weird. For example, they would suddenly transform into a beauty in the middle of a fight. What was the point of that?

Was this guy here to throw his life away?

When Su Yu noticed what they were doing, he blanked out. But soon, he laughed in amusement as he asked, "What's the problem with cultural researchers from Great Ming? Brother, why are you scared when I'm not scared? The cultural researchers of Great Ming are very scary. Well, since there is a suitable opponent here, let me demonstrate my skills..."

Mid-sentence, Su Yu vanished into thin air. At the exact same moment, a large hammer appeared and struck a specific spot in the air.

Rumble!

With an explosion, a figure flickered into view. Before that person could even do anything, the hammer struck again. The escaping vultures were greatly astonished. A figure finally appeared in the air.

Clad in his fluttering white robes, Su Yu hovered in the sky. With a smile, he said, "Interesting. Someone from the shadow race. This is a very interesting race."

The shadow instantly decided to retreat. This was not an easy target. The light-headed shadow was just about to start escaping when the large hammer descended yet again. With a loud bang, the shadow was fully revealed upon everyone there.

Next, Su Yu reached out at the shadow. With a crack, the shadow's head was crushed.

Su Yu did not stop at that. His hand suddenly shot toward the shadow's heart. With a crushed head, the shadow's heart blood activated. Before the heart blood could escape, a hand shot through the shadow's chest before withdrawing with a black heart.

Pa!

The heart was crushed as well. Then, Su Yu gathered all the blood of the shadow into a ball before storing it in his storage ring.

Then, Su Yu returned to his earthdragon. Everything had happened instantly. He smiled and said, "Brother, let's continue our journey. You guys can have the corpse, but I'll keep the blood. That's a first-stage Cloudbreach, so the corpse is worth something, right?"

"..."

Far away, the old man had a look of shock. He swallowed and carefully said, "Lord, that's someone from the shadow race. That race might not be a top 100 race, but it is still a race with at least one Invincible."

Su Yu indifferently said, "Invincible? We humans have so many Invincibles. Why should we be scared of that? The shadow race? Yeah, I know about them. What's so special about them?"

"..."

No, it wasn't that there was anything special about them. The old man was simply shocked and scared. Holy shit. This was a ruthless guy!

In the blink of an eye, this fellow had killed a shadow of the same cultivation level. The shadow race was also known as the assassins of the myriad races. A member of that race was totally capable of killing those with a higher cultivation level.

It also wasn't surprising that such a person was able to sneak into the human territory. After all, the territory was too big. It wasn't easy to control everything inside the territory.

As long as an intruder stayed away from the headquarters, they wouldn't be discovered so easily. But now, one such intruder had been killed instantly. That was a Cloudbreach!

The old man was greatly alarmed. But he was also incredibly courageous. His group instantly surrounded the corpse. Even without the blood, the corpse of a shadow was still worth a lot.

The old man hurriedly explained, "Lord, after killing the members of the myriad races, you can collect something from their corpses to claim your reward from the military. Generally, killing a Cloudbreach will net you at least a thousand merit points."

That was a lot of money. As a Cloudbreach, this shadow could be considered a big deal. This shadow was truly unlucky to be killed by Su Yu not long after sneaking into the human territory.

Su Yu nodded and said, "I'm aware of that. I read it somewhere before. But the heart has been crushed. Forget it. For the shadow race, the military requires the heart to verify the kill. Looks like the military is not stupid. This is a hard requirement to meet as very few people can kill a shadow while preserving the heart."

The old man realized that this fellow might be venturing out for the first time, but he wasn't completely clueless. At the very least, he was aware that he could only claim the reward for killing a shadow with the heart.

The vultures worked on the corpse while Su Yu watched on leisurely not far away. He said, "This is really amusing. This shadow was so weak. Would the Invincibles discover such weak intruders and casually kill them?"

"You must have misunderstood something, Lord. The Invincibles won't scan their surroundings for no reason."

The old man explained, "Even Invincibles need to cultivate. And they are very busy. It is very draining to spread their willpower across a large area at all times. Thus, unless you go near an Invincible, they won't really detect you since they won't be randomly spreading their senses everywhere at all times."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. He said, "Brother, I thought you could get heavenly rewards by killing here. Where's my reward?"

"..."

At this point, the old man and his team had finished dealing with the corpse. He was left speechless by that question. He thought about it and said, "Lord, you need to kill someone above your level for heavenly rewards. In fact, heavenly rewards are very rare. At times, the requirements to receive these rewards can be very hard to understand. For example, you might end up with nothing even after killing a Mountainsea. It depends on your luck."

"That's so inconvenient."

Su Yu shook his head. But at the very least, he had still benefited somewhat by killing a Cloudbreach. The blood itself could be considered a profit for him. That was only a first-stage Cloudbreach. Su Yu had zero fear against an opponent like that.

He also knew the shadow race very well. But he had never consumed the blood essence of the shadow race before. This would be an opportunity for him to finally do that. As for the shadow in his research center, that fellow had been rather obedient so he had not forced that fellow to provide him with blood essence.

Was the shadow he just killed a cultural researcher? It was hard to determine, but Su Yu reckoned that the dead shadow was most likely a cultural researcher. Perhaps he could get a cultural art or something from the blood essence.

"Money is dropping from the sky for me right after I stepped out of the city. This is a good start!"

Su Yu laughed happily. It would seem like Consul Liu's well wishes for him had worked very well. He had encountered a Cloudbreach shadow right after leaving. That was a profitable encounter. None of the vultures said anything. Inwardly, they all realized that they had really stumbled on a powerful genius.

How was a shadow Cloudbreach so easy to kill? Any other Cloudbreach would have been instantly assassinated by that shadow. But this fellow had actually killed that natural-born assassin instantly.

And from how composed this fellow was and the lack of hesitation when killing, he was most definitely not a stranger to killing. When did Great Ming produce someone like this?

Su Yu did not care about what they were thinking. Seeing that the vultures were done, he started moving again. With a smile, he said, "Guys, come closer. Don't stay so far away. Let's chat while walking. I've discovered that you vultures know a lot. If we encounter more opponents, I will kill them and take only their blood essence. You guys can keep the corpses. Both of us can benefit from this!"

"Lord..." The old man laughed awkwardly and said, "You should go ahead. We still have something to do so we won't be bothering you anymore."

Forget it. They might earn more following this fellow...but his instincts were screaming at him that it was extremely dangerous to travel with this fellow. And vultures were extremely sensitive toward danger.

Before leaving, the old man gave one final reminder, "Lord, if you kill too much, the aura of blood around you might grow too heavy. That could very easily attract the attention of dangerous experts. You should try not to kill when possible."

"Thanks for the reminder." Su Yu had a pensive look. He hurriedly asked, "Will consuming blood essence attract the attention of dangerous experts as well?"

"Yes. Try to be careful, Lord." Chapters fırst released on novel⦿fire.net

"Thank you!"

Su Yu nodded. If he had known this, he wouldn't have bothered cleansing his body in the Heart Calming Spring. Then again, if he hadn't done so, he might not have been able to hide the fact he was the killer of Zhang He's son.

How troublesome.

He was feeling regretful. It would seem like he needed to consume more blood essence. That way, he did not need to look for opponents. Instead, opponents would come running toward him instead.

He started praying to meet more Cloudbreach opponents. Su Yu was unbothered by the old man's departure. Vultures were very common out here so he could find a random team easily if he had anything else to ask. Without those vultures, he increased his pace.

It was time for him to visit the frontlines. Perhaps he could kill more enemies there. Before long, he vanished into the distance.

Not long after that, someone arrived at his previous location. After scanning the area, that person muttered, "That fellow is not weak at all. Well, looks like his name is worthy of entering the index of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion."

A shadow had actually been killed in the blink of an eye. That Cui Lang was most definitely qualified to enter the Yellow Index. Before long, this person vanished again.

Not long after the mysterious person left, Su Yu returned to the same spot. Looking in the direction the mysterious person disappeared, he rubbed his chin and smiled. Was this someone from the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion?

Or was this a spy sent by someone else?

Interesting.

He had a lot of inhibitions in the Human Realm, but here, he could finally let loose.

Chapter 854: Wolf In Tiger's Lair (1)

Su Yu vanished into thin air as he started tailing the mysterious person. This felt quite exciting to him as this was his first time in the Allheaven Battlefield and also his first time tailing someone who was tailing him.

He had barely started feeling excited when he turned around and fled madly. He vanished into the distance at an incredible speed.

Less than three seconds later, the air warped as a figure appeared. With a smile, the newcomer said, "What a cautious kid. Interesting."

After a short while, the previous mysterious person returned. It was actually a youth with a mask. He softly asked, "Elder, is he gone?"

"Yeah." The elder said, "He's too sharp. Interesting. Let's place him in the index. There are 360 spots in the Yellow Index. He can have the 360th spot."

"Yes." The youth answered before asking, "Did he discover you, Elder?"

"Perhaps." The elder said, "A weaponsmith...how interesting. He's even someone from Great Ming. Ahhh...it has been many years since Great Ming did anything big."

After saying that, he grabbed the masked youth and vanished into thin air. Not long after, a group of armored soldiers arrived. They were clad in black armor and black helmets. The leader scanned the area with his cold eyes before snorting.

"Useless garbage, the lot of you!"

Beside him, his deputy asked gloomily, "General, are they from the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion?"

"They're from the Four Index Department. Looks like they're here to verify Cui Lang's strength." The general coldly said, "Continue the pursuit. How dare they operate in the eastern sector. We'll kill every last one of them!"

"Yes!"

The group of soldiers proceeded to vanish into thin air as well. Every single one of them was a powerful cultivator. There were multiple Mountainseas in the group, with the general and his deputy being Sunmoons. This was the group tasked with hunting Heavenly Hunt Pavilion members in the eastern sector.

***

Meanwhile, Su Yu, who had escaped far away, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Fuck!

What the hell was that? Were Sunmoons so common nowadays?

Why would a Sunmoon appear right as he decided to tail a random individual? Good thing he was cautious enough to flee immediately. It also seemed like even more experts had arrived after that. If it wasn't for those experts distracting the Sunmoon, he could very well end up caught.

All his excitement at the prospect of killing to his heart's content had vanished.

Fine, fine. It was still not the time to strut around arrogantly yet. This damn Allheaven Battlefield was way too dangerous. A Sunmoon could be encountered so easily. Holy shit. People used to tell him that Sunmoons were very rare even on the Allheaven Battlefield.

Why would he encounter one not long after leaving the city? Su Yu could still feel some lingering fear in his heart. It would seem like survival was impossible here without some ability.

Fine, fine. Let's keep a low profile. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ NoveI(F)ire.net

Having made his choice, Su Yu changed into green robes. White robes were too eye-catching. Green robes were much more subdued in comparison. He then moved forward to look for his earthdragon.

But when he arrived, an odd expression covered his face as he cursed, "Why are people stealing something like an earthdragon? And why in the world did the thief take only a single leg? Was that someone who has never tried earthdragon drumsticks before?"

What was this? The earthdragon before him had one leg missing. More importantly, the stump had been treated, so the earthdragon was actually still alive. But could an earthdragon with only three legs still act as a mount?

Su Yu might be cursing, but he was also on alert. He hadn't even been separated from his earthdragon for long, but a leg was already missing. Why did he feel like danger was everywhere in the Allheaven Battlefield? What a dangerous place.

Su Yu decided to keep an even lower profile than before. He took out a cloak and covered his face with it before vanishing into thin air, leaving the earthdragon behind.

Fine, fine.

He didn't know who the culprit was, but he could see that the culprit was definitely not weak. He had to be careful.

***

At the same time.

Several kilometers away, a man and a woman met. Both of them were extremely young. The man was walking over with a large earthdragon leg resting over his shoulder. With a smile, he said, "I found food. Some idiot left an earthdragon alone in the wilderness. I took the chance to remove one of the legs from the earthdragon. Let's try it out."

The woman glanced at the man expressionlessly and said, "Idiot."

"Idiot?" The young man said, "How am I an idiot? I was hungry so I removed a leg from an ownerless earthdragon. What's the problem with that? The eastern sector has been rather chaotic recently. I even saw the Evilrid Army earlier. I wonder if they're hunting some Heavenly Hunt Pavilion members or some other people."

"Evilrid Army?" The young woman exclaimed in surprise, "Near us? Are there Heavenly Hunt Pavilion members nearby? Are they here to kill us?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

The young man started roasting the earthdragon leg as he said, "Old Wu..."

"Hmph!" The woman snorted coldly.

The man did not seem to mind. He continued roasting the earthdragon leg while saying, "Old Wu, are those fellows too afraid to attack you with me around? Maybe I can pull far away from you? I feel like I'm going to break through soon. Maybe you can lure a few geniuses over for me to kill?"

"Huang Teng!"

The woman was none other than Wu Qi. She furiously said, "Get lost. Get as far away from me as possible. Stop following me. You're too annoying."

Huang Teng!

He actually looked quite ordinary. He did not look as domineering as one would think from his reputation. In fact, he looked like a normal kid you could get as a neighbor. He laughed and said, "I'm not following you at all. We merely met each other through sheer coincidence. Since we're both from Great Xia, I need to give you some protection. After all, your name is in the Heavenly Hunt Index as well."

"Get lost!"

"You sure are rude." Huang Teng started adding some condiments on the earthdragon leg he was roasting. With a smile, he said, "I'll leave after this meal. Be careful. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion people might be around. Try to not go further than the frontlines for now. Some devils are looking for you."

"Do you think I'm scared of them?" Wu Qi sneered and said, "That's not a bad thing. I can kill them and increase my ranking in the index."

"Looks like your body has focused a tad bit too much on growing your long hair instead of your brain."

Huang Teng shook his head, "Even someone from the original devil race is looking for you. That person can easily defeat you. Do you really think that you're a war god?"

Wu Qi sat down cross-legged and ignored him. As for Huang Teng, he crouched down with one foot in front and the other foot at the back, looking like he was getting ready for a sprint.

Wu Qi did not seem to care about that. Cultural researchers and warriors fought differently. This wasn't too surprising to see.

When Huang Teng was done roasting the earthdragon leg, he tossed a piece of roasted meat over. Wu Qi did not reject it. Nor did she care about the fact that the leg had not been washed before the roasting. She didn't even care about the taste. After taking a bite, she asked, "Huang Teng, you have been following me for two days. What is the meaning of this? Don't bother saying that you're protecting me."

Huang Teng did not answer the question immediately. He wiped his mouth with his dirty battle robe and continued eating. While chewing on the meat, he said, "There is no special meaning behind that. Someone is really targeting you. Just go back. The elder brother of the devil you killed back then is here for you. He declared that he would not spare you."

Wu Qi laughed and said, "I'll be waiting for him. I can definitely get a heavenly reward from killing him. It would be interesting if I received a natural character after killing him."

"My father said that women should stay at home and take care of their children. Why are you insisting on entering the battlefield? Someone like you won't be able to find a husband."

"..."

Wu Qi shot Huang Teng a cold glance and said, "Huang Teng, you only have the guts to say these words in front of me."

"Nope." Huang Teng's oily lips curved into a huge grin as he said, "I said the same thing many times before. Previously, I said the same thing to Deputy General Zhang. She beat me up because of that, but I didn't change my mind."

The deputy general of the Devil Subduing Army was a woman. A very ferocious woman. Wu Qi did not feel like talking to him anymore. After finishing her food, she stood up to leave.

Huang Teng hurriedly followed her. She looked at him and coldly said, "Get lost already. Huang Teng, don't create trouble for yourself."

She snorted and added, "I'm not a piece of trash like Bai Feng. If you dare to keep following me, I won't show any mercy to you."

"Bai Feng isn't that bad." Huang Teng said, "He's really quite capable. Unfortunately, he has way too many interests. If he had focused only on combat, he would be much stronger. Unfortunately, he insisted on research, slowing his own growth. Otherwise, he might be even stronger than you."

Wu Qi ignored him and flew into the sky.

Huang Teng shook his head and said, "I'm not kidding. Someone is really coming after you. That fellow is very strong. He's already a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. You won't be his match. Woman, why are you so stubborn?"

After saying that, he flew after Wu Qi.

Chapter 855: Wolf In Tiger's Lair (2)

Numerous geniuses were scattered all over the eastern sector.

The frontlines had been very chaotic and busy as of late. Thus, some people had taken that opportunity to sneak through the frontlines. Some of these geniuses were humans who were roaming the eastern sector to hunt the infiltrators. Some of these geniuses were the infiltrators who were here to challenge the human geniuses.

As for Su Yu, he had missed out on a chance to meet Huang Teng and Wu Qi. Of course, even if he did meet them, he wouldn't operate alongside them. Huang Teng was someone who had beaten his teacher three times. He had promised Bai Feng to return this favor one day.

Even without a mount, Su Yu was still able to move rapidly. But after the series of encounters, he was a lot more cautious than before. This place was extremely dangerous. But it was also exhilarating.

This was the feeling he had been searching for. A feeling where danger was everywhere. This was the same sensation he used to feel in his nightmares. And now, this sensation had returned to him!

His tribulation character constantly pulsed. The calm character was kept active, helping him stay calm and reducing the cautiousness of others around him. During this first trip beyond the Eastpart City, Su Yu felt like he had joined a game of predator and prey. It seemed incredibly interesting.

Some people seemed to have sneaked through the frontlines during the chaotic battles there. And these people seemed to be everywhere, seeking for their respective prey. How exciting. Was the Allheaven Battlefield so exciting all the time?

Little did Su Yu know, things hadn't been this intense for many years. The Vanguard Regiment had always been a very busy army, but things were clearly different this year as they had to get involved in battle after battle. The last time things were so intense was fifty years ago.

Su Yu's body was faintly discernible as he traveled in the sky. Below him, some vultures could be seen heading toward the frontlines. Some lone travelers could also be seen. Perhaps they were roaming around looking for prey, or perhaps they were looking for some other opportunities.

Slaughter was the main theme of the Allheaven Battlefield.

The Perception Jade was kept fully active at all times. Su Yu also paid full attention on his surroundings with his senses stretched to their limit. Not far away, a battle seemed to have broken out.

After sensing the battle, Su Yu moved in its direction. In less than a minute, he arrived. He was just about to conceal himself before observing the battle when he saw someone vanishing while dragging a corpse behind him. The victor seemed to be a human while the corpse belonged to a large demonic beast.

The human did not even look behind him as he warned, "I'm Great Jin's Jin Biyue. If you're a human as well, stay out of my way."

After saying that, he vanished into thin air.

"It's him?"

Su Yu knew this person. This was a genius from Great Jin, someone ranked rather high in the Yellow Index. He was someone comparable to Great Xia's Wu Qi. After spreading his senses around, Su Yu was astonished. The dead beast seemed to be a seventh-stage Cloudbreach.

Holy shit!

Who was it that had told him that a Skysoar could do well in the Allheaven Battlefield? But look, he had just arrived not long yet he had already killed a Cloudbreach. And this fellow from Great Jin had just killed a Cloudbreach as well. Two Cloudbreaches had died in such a short span of time. A Skysoar doing well here? Was that a joke?

Suddenly, his eyes flickered as he vanished into thin air again. Right at that moment, an arrow appeared out of nowhere and struck his previous position. Not far away, a silhouette flickered and vanished.

"Fuck!"

Su Yu streaked toward the attacker. How dare this fellow mount a sneak attack on him? He was fast, but the other person was also extremely fast. Dıscover more novels at novèlfire.net

The two vanished into the distance. Moments later, some other people arrived. One of them scanned the area and smiled, "This seems to be the Profound Breaker Arrow. Is that guy from Great Yuan testing a newbie? Has a newbie arrived?"

"I guess so. Which prefecture are the recent newcomers from? That Yuan Shihao seems to be mentally ill. For some reason, he loves provoking newbies. It's not like he hasn't been beaten up for this before. Hopefully, this newbie is not too terrible. That Yuan Shihao deserves another beating."

"Don't get your hopes high. Yuan Shihao might be mental, but he's quite strong."

***

Meanwhile, Su Yu was still chasing his attacker. After a while, the young man ahead of him stopped running. He looked at Su Yu with a look of madness and grinned in an absolutely unrestrained manner.

"Too slow. You're not good enough. Great Ming's Cui Lang? Since you're a weaponsmith, just go back and stick to weaponsmithing. Killing is an activity for people like us. Weaklings like you have no business here."

"You must be sick." Su Yu cursed. Holy shit. So it was really a human.

That arrow earlier was fast, but it was honestly not too destructive. Perhaps it was merely meant to test his strength instead of killing.

"How do you know about my sickness?" The young man said, "Cui Lang, you're too weak. You better fuck off or I'll have to use you to lure some fellows out."

"You?" Su Yu smiled. He observed the young man for a bit and said, "Come with me. There are too many people here. We have too many spectators hiding nearby. This isn't a good place to fish. Come with me. I'll take you somewhere with fewer people to fish."

After saying that, Su Yu vanished with a flicker.

The young man called Yuan Shihao laughed and vanished into thin air as well.

***

A few minutes later, Su Yu arrived before a mountain. He stopped and vanished into thin air.

At the next moment, Yuan Shihao appeared. He looked around. His eyes flickered as he took out a bow, pulled the string, and unleashed an arrow at the spot Su Yu had vanished previously.

Boom!

Space shattered while a large hammer appeared right above Yuan Shihao. His source qi erupted and blasted the hammer apart. But immediately after, dozens of hammers appeared all around him.

Booming sounds rang out repeatedly as the hammers struck down at him unceasingly. The hammer strikes generated numerous vibrations that stacked with each other. One stack, two stacks, three stacks...and eventually, it reached eighteen stacks.

With a rumble, Yuan Shihao's willpower defense was finally smashed apart. Dizziness assaulted him while his mind screamed at him of danger. Before he could think of anything, an incomparably powerful clump of flame appeared around him. His clothes were burned into nothingness. Even the hair on his body was burned clean.

Not a single strand of hair remained on his entire body. Then, a fist shot out of nowhere, punching Yuan Shihao's face and flattening his nose. Blood sprayed out like a waterfall.

Stepping out of thin air, Su Yu looked around and sneered, "Kid, when your Grandpa Lang started traveling the world, you were still playing with mud somewhere. If we're not in the human territory, and if your first arrow had been launched with the intention to kill, you would be dead already."

After leaving those words behind, Su Yu vanished.

After about two seconds, Yuan Shihao finally recovered from his dizziness. He rubbed his nose and stained his palm with blood, but he did not seem to mind. He laughed and said, "Interesting. Cui Lang, I'll remember you."

***

"He's definitely sick in the head."

Somewhere else, Su Yu was cursing. That fellow was crazy. That was the vibe he got from that fellow.

So that was Great Yuan's Yuan Shihao? That was one of the geniuses he had read about. Basically, that was a madman.

He had even been captured by the military several times because of his random attacks on fellow humans. But since he never attacked with the intention to kill, his life was spared. But that fellow had still been sent to the Vanguard Regiment twice as punishment, once as a Skysoar and once as a Cloudbreach. Each time, he served his sentence and killed the required number of enemies before he was released. But after his release, he would return to his old ways.

From the way that fellow was acting, he was probably trying to get into the Vanguard Regiment again.

Yes, that was most likely the case. The Vanguard Regiment was the army with the highest intensity and frequency of battles. That madman was trying to get into that place so that he would have an excuse to kill as many people as he wanted.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Su Yu rubbed his chin and considered getting into the Vanguard Regiment as well. Forget it. There were too many people there. He wouldn't be able to fight freely.

That Yuan Shihao was actually decently strong. He might not have used all his strength earlier. Like Su Yu, he had also been suppressing his strength. Su Yu wouldn't have obtained a victory so easily otherwise.

"The hammer is pretty strong with eighteen stacks, but that's probably my limit for now. Teacher is a lot more impressive with his over a hundred stacks. With one hit, even Mountainseas would be stunned."

Su Yu couldn't help but think about Old Zhao. After entering the Mountainsea Realm, with his incredible willpower and Soul Expanding Hammer, Su Yu believed that he would be able to stun a regular fifth or sixth-stage Mountainsea with a single strike.

As for Su Yu himself, he was far from that level. His mastery of the Soul Expanding Art was not high enough. Otherwise, he would be able to defeat Yuan Shihao with only one hammer strike.

"I'm not interested in playing with these people here."

Su Yu muttered to himself. He didn't dare to use his real strength in the human territory. He had to cross the frontlines. This place could be considered the hinterland of the human territory. It was pointless to stay here.

Since he was finally out here, he wouldn't return before killing to his heart's content. Even better if he could kill some geniuses. The heavenly rewards were not the only reason he wanted to kill. He also wanted to fully release his nature through battle. He was worried that after staying patient for so long, he would really turn into a coward.

He resumed his journey at a rapid pace, not even bothering to slow down and appreciate the beautiful starry sky above him. If he was already outside the human territory, he would have beaten Yuan Shihao to death for the provocation. But since he was still within the human territory, he decided against that. What if an Invincible discovered what he did? That would be troublesome.

Some people, like Yuan Shihao, simply needed to be taught a lesson. Not everyone was interested in playing that game with him.

Su Yu continued heading toward the Vanguard Regiment. There, he might be able to see his Teacher Liu. He wondered if things would be dangerous there. Then again, he wouldn't be participating in any of the battles there. That was a place that might be under the monitoring of Invincibles at all times. He wouldn't risk exposing himself.

Furthermore, several of his enemies were currently in the Vanguard Regiment.

Members of Great Xia's single character faction like Zhou Mingren, Zheng Yuming, and Elder Ma were all there. He wondered if these people had been creating trouble for Liu Wenyan. According to what Su Yu heard, Zhou Mingren had left for the Allheaven Battlefield the day after the trial. He had probably reached the Vanguard Regiment already.

Chapter 856: Wolf In Tiger's Lair (3)

At the same time.

Inside a certain massive ravine, members of the Vanguard Regiment were engaged in an intense battle. Countless demonic beasts were attacking them. Several gigantic dragons hovered in the sky. A large number of experts had gathered there.

It was an endless carnage. Human and beasts were constantly dying, painting the ravine in the color of their blood.

Of the hovering dragons, one was a golden dragon. Overlooking the battlefield below with his large eyes, he coldly demanded, "Release all of the captured dragons or the dragon race won't let this rest."

Right after that demand was made, a spear shot through his stomach, causing his golden blood to rain down from the sky. An expert in black armor snorted.

"Big Worm, why are you uttering so much nonsense? Are you here to chat or fight?"

On the spear, suns and moons spun. Then, five half-moons appeared. The golden dragon was sent into constant retreat, his desperate roars reverberating in the area.

A battle between Sunmoons erupted in the sky.

Down below, Liu Wenyan was running all over the battlefield under the protection of his uncle. His robe was wrapped around his waist instead of worn on his body. His figure flickered everywhere with the occasional roll on the ground to avoid the random incoming attacks.

His usual elegance was nowhere to be seen. Su Yu had always viewed his Teacher Liu as a refined and elegant scholar. If he saw this scene, that image would be completely shattered. At present, Liu Wenyan looked more like a vulture than a cultural researcher.

Suddenly, a massive tail shot up from the ground and swept toward him. With a roar, Liu Wenyan manifested his axe and cut the tail off. Next, he sent a character into the ground beneath him.

Boom!

The solid ground was blasted into pieces, revealing a large snake with a severed tail. Apart from that, the head of the snake was also missing. The previous explosion had completely decimated the head.

Before Liu Wenyan could move away, thousands of soul devouring bugs flew out of the dead snake and swarmed him.

"Soul devouring bugs?"

These people sure were pulling all sorts of tricks to kill him. Individually, these soul devouring bugs were weak. They were also very small in size. But with so many of them spitting at him together, he could feel his willpower melting away before they even reached him. There were several cultural researchers nearby, and all of them had a look of pain on their faces.

"Trying to corrode my willpower?"

Liu Wenyan threw a punch out. The punch was powered by a black radiance, bringing with it a powerful corrosive force. He was using the Soul Devouring Art!

Pop! Pop! Pop!

In the blink of an eye, over a hundred soul devouring bugs were reduced to ashes. The remaining bugs were about to launch their second salvo of attack when a clump of flame appeared. With a hum, all the bugs were burned into ashes.

"Pfft!"

Liu Wenyan snorted with disdain before looking up and yelling, "Uncle, come back."

A white-haired old man in the sky sent an expert flying with a punch before returning to Liu Wenyan. He moved nimbly and caught Liu Wenyan before vanishing into the distance. Not long after they left, the shockwaves from the battle of two Sunmoons blasted the spot apart.

From afar, Liu Wenyan snorted and said at one of the Sunmoons in battle, "Old Zhou, if you keep moving your fight near me, I'll stop holding back."

Zhou Mingren ignored him.

Liu Wenyan's uncle used to be a Sunmoon as well, but his cultivation had dropped to the eighth-stage Mountainsea Realm due to his previous injuries. He frowned and sent a voice transmission to Liu Wenyan, "Ignore him. He's not a match for his current opponent. That might not be intentional."

"I am ignoring him." Liu Wenyan looked around and sighed, "The situation here is getting more and more intense. Fortunately, Bai Feng left earlier. He won't be able to survive for long in such an environment."

"You can leave as well. You have been pardoned."

Liu Wenyan shook his head and said through voice transmission, "No. Yes, things are safer behind the frontlines, but I won't be able to activate my characters there. I need constant battles to do so.

"Uncle, just run if you encounter any danger. You're not even a member of the Vanguard Regiment. You'll be fine even if you flee from a battle. You won't be considered a deserter."

His uncle said nothing. The Liu Family was no more. What was the point of fleeing? The two of them were the only survivors from the main family.

He was once a Sunmoon, but his serious injuries had pushed him down to the Mountainsea Realm. As time passed, his strength would continue dropping. What was the point of running? The only meaningful thing he could do now was to protect his nephew as long as he could. At the very least, he had to protect his nephew until his nephew was done activating those characters.

Liu Wenyan said nothing else and went to a different area with more Skysoar and Cloudbreach combatants. Uncle Liu did not participate in the fights there. Instead, he was cautiously watching their surroundings for sneak attacks.

Battles were unfolding everywhere.

During the past few months, the Vanguard Regiment had gotten involved in around eight major battles. Each time, they suffered a high number of casualties. Originally, there were about eight thousand people in the Vanguard Regiment. After several battles, only about five thousand of them were left.

As the carnage continued, a small clump of cloud suddenly formed above a tiger in the distance. Right at that moment, the Sunmoons of both sides unleashed all their strength, creating numerous loud explosions.

The human experts were rushing the tiger from all directions. The tiger was also alarmed. The cloud had appeared too suddenly and entered his body before he could react. A large amount of heavenly source qi spread all over his body, strengthening him considerably. Nevertheless, he still found himself incapable of moving.

While he was going mad, a saber stabbed through his head.

"Idiot."

A human expert with numerous scars on his face sneered before vanishing into thin air. Receiving a heavenly reward in such a place was basically the same as turning into a life target.

That tiger must have killed a lot of opponents before this. After the bloody aura around his body reached a certain level, a heavenly reward was generated. What a pity that this was not the kind of situation one wanted to receive a heavenly reward.

Here, a heavenly reward was akin to having a noose around one's neck. The tiger was killed before he could even complete his strengthening process.

After that little episode, the carnage continued. All the people here were already used to that. This wasn't the first time the Vanguard Regiment had encountered an incident like that. The lucky ones would be able to grow from the heavenly rewards while the unlucky ones would naturally die before they could even enjoy the heavenly rewards.

Some time passed, and finally, the sounds of drumbeats rang out. The giant dragons in the sky withdrew from their opponents and flew over the mountain ridge.

Down below, the beast experts were also retreating with all sorts of unique abilities. In the blink of an eye, all of them had departed the battlefield. The battle thus came to an end. Such battles had been very frequent as of late. In fact, this battle could only be considered a minor battle.

The ground was filled with corpses. Some belonged to beasts while some belonged to humans. Most of these corpses were devoid of blood essence. In the Allheaven Battlefield, most people would extract all the blood essence of their opponent right after killing them.

"Withdraw!"

The Sunmoon who had battled the golden dragon earlier ordered from the sky. This battle was merely a probe. There was no need for them to give chase.

The experts of the Vanguard Regiment started retreating one after another. Next, a team of battle inspectors entered the battlefield to clear the corpses, gather the spoils of war, and record the contributions made by the human soldiers. Everything was done in an orderly manner.

Not far away, a group of vultures left regretfully after seeing that the battle inspectors had arrived before them. This was a common sight after battles. If the battle had proceeded longer, both sides might have ended up too weakened to clean the battlefield promptly. Such a situation would be perfect for these vultures to move in and loot whatever they could.

Before the battle ended, Liu Wenyan was able to kill a third-stage Cloudbreach. Thus, he had a wide smile while withdrawing from the battlefield. During the retreat, he sent his uncle a voice transmission, "I've grown slightly. But if I continue killing, I'm afraid I'll receive a heavenly reward as well. That might get very troublesome."

Uncle Liu replied, "In the worst-case scenario, I can take you somewhere to kill some beasts and trigger the heavenly reward in advance before returning."

"We'll see."

Liu Wenyan was already a ninth-stage Skysoar, but his speed of growth was still too slow. At the very least, that was what he believed. With such a slow growth, how was he supposed to take his revenge?

Sure, climbing from the first stage to the ninth stage in about a year was actually an incredible feat, but he was not satisfied with it. In fact, even being a ninth-stage Mountainsea would still not be sufficient for him.

He was going to reach the Cloudbreach Realm soon. But he would probably take another year to reach the ninth-stage Cloudbreach Realm. He was confident he could reach the Mountainsea Realm in three years. But that was too long. He didn't have that much time.

Suddenly, an expert ahead of him roared, "Are you courting death? This is a battleground. The Vanguard Regiment is operating here. Stop! If you dare to enter without permission, we'll cut you down!"

Not far away, Su Yu appeared. He was alarmed. He had nearly intruded upon a battleground unknowingly. That was an extremely dangerous act. He stopped and looked in the direction of the ravine. Numerous corpses could be seen.

After traveling through that ravine, he would officially leave the human territory. That ravine was known as the Eastrift Valley. It was massive, extending over hundreds of kilometers.

Su Yu ignored the shouting Sunmoon in the sky. He hadn't actually stepped into the battleground. He was busy looking for someone. But after looking around, he couldn't find Liu Wenyan. Could it be that...

Then, he saw a familiar person. When he focused on that person...

Holy shit!

Teacher?

He almost failed to recognize his teacher.

Was this a joke? Was this how his teacher was supposed to look like? The cultural researcher's robe was wrapped around his waist and he was walking around with his hairy legs fully exposed. Was that really Liu Wenyan?

His beard was untrimmed, and his white beard had turned gray due to how dirty it was. His hair was messy as well. Was this really Liu Wenyan? Was that a joke? His teacher would never be so ungraceful! If Wu Yuehua and the others saw this, would they still insist on chasing after his teacher?

They would probably kick him away instead.

Holy shit!

His teacher's image had been destroyed.

It was as though a storm was raging in Su Yu's mind from sheer shock. From Liu Wenyan's current appearance, everyone would believe it if he claimed that this was a butcher from the market. Just look at the axe Liu Wenyan was carrying, coupled with his bare hairy legs and bloody shirt.

Was this really his teacher? Su Yu refused to believe that! He must have recognized the wrong person.

***

In the distance, Liu Wenyan looked in the direction of Su Yu. He didn't think much of this. Was this guy new here? He wasn't even a member of the Vanguard Regiment. How brazen of him to travel openly near a battleground. He was lucky he wasn't killed by mistake.

This was simply an inexperienced and dumb youngster. He didn't seem to look like a vulture. Was he trying to cross the Eastrift Valley and leave the human territory?

Similar to Hong Tan, he felt a random sense of familiarity with Su Yu, but he didn't dwell on it too much. He was sure he didn't know this newcomer. Perhaps the sense of familiarity was due to the kind look on that newcomer's face. Liu Wenyan did not think too much about the newcomer, but it was the opposite for Su Yu.

When he saw that a military official was flying toward him, he hurriedly said, "I'll be leaving immediately. This is a misunderstanding. I'm a peak profound weaponsmith, here to gather materials."

The military official glanced at Su Yu and took out a jade talisman. After checking the talisman, he said, "Cui Lang, this is not the type of place for you to visit. Go away. Also, the Eastrift Valley is ahead of us. If you cross it, you will leave the human territory."

Right at that moment, the black armored Sunmoon in the sky exclaimed in astonishment, "Great Ming's Cui Lang? Why are you here? You sure are fast. Good. You shall do, then. Repair my weapon for me!"

Right after that, he reached out to grab Su Yu.

Su Yu turned and ran immediately. While running, he shouted, "No thanks. I have something else to do!"

"You've been conscripted."

"I'm from Great Ming. You can't conscript me."

The Sunmoon in black armor laughed and said, "Are you running from me? If you continue running, I will deem you guilty of disrupting a military operation. Get over here. Follow me to the encampment. Repair our weapons for us and we'll pay for your service."

"No!"

Su Yu refused. It wasn't that he was unwilling to help, but he was worried that they would lock him in their base. He had heard that the people from the Vanguard Regiment were rude and unreasonable. Their military officials would frequently detain any useful individual they found without a care for the consequences.

They would only reluctantly release these people after they were scolded by the higher-ups. Su Yu was regretting this. Why must he come this way?

Run!

The Sunmoon in black armor commanded, "Soldiers, surround him! This is a pseudo earth weaponsmith! Our previous earth weaponsmith was killed in an ambush. It has been a while since our weapons were repaired. The higher-ups have yet to find us a replacement even now. If you don't want to fight your next battle with scrap iron, catch this guy! We'll only focus on repairing our weapons for now. Ignore everything else!"

With that order, more than ten Mountainseas flew toward Su Yu at the same time. They were all trying to catch him.

As for the fact that this was unlawful...why should they even care? They had to first get their weapons repaired. They were already in the Vanguard Regiment. What else could the law do to them? At worst, their time of service would be extended by a few months or a few years. That was better than dying due to broken weapons.

Meanwhile, Liu Wenyan was looking at the newcomer with sympathy.

A pseudo earth weaponsmith had appeared. Someone like that could be considered quite a big deal. Unfortunately, he had arrived at a place where everyone was crazy. Their weapons were on the verge of crumbling apart yet no new earth weaponsmiths had arrived.

And in such a situation, someone like that had arrived. Even Liu Wenyan himself was getting excited at the prospect of getting a new weaponsmith. His weapon was already on the verge of breaking apart. His uncle's weapon was in the same condition as well. Thus, he supported the act of catching the weaponsmith.

Thus, he started cheering the Mountainseas on, "Don't let him escape! Catch him and make him repair our weapons for three months! Don't worry, we'll shoulder the consequences together!"

"Catch him!"

"Hurry up! Hurry up!"

"He's at the left. Left! Are you dumb? I'll do it myself!"

"Don't get in my way. Catch this kid. Brat, repair my weapon and I'll pay you ten thousand merit points!"

"..."

One expert after another flew after Su Yu. How fortunate. A weaponsmith had actually dropped right into their lap. Perhaps they should be more decisive and break his legs? That way, he would be forced to spend several months in their base to recuperate.

***

Meanwhile, Su Yu was greatly regretting his act of coming here.

Holy shit!

He wanted to cross the Eastrift Valley and find some people to kill! He didn't want top stay here and forge weapons for these people! If he knew this would happen, he wouldn't come. He was only here to see his Teacher Liu. And since he had already seen his Teacher Liu, it was time for him to leave.

Also, that damn Teacher Liu was a bastard! This was crazy.

That damn Teacher Liu was actually shouting so loudly for him to be captured? Yes, he heard his Teacher Liu's voice amidst all the shouting. Seeing that he was surrounded by Mountainseas, Su Yu despaired. He raised his hands in surrender and shouted, "Fine, fine. But I will only be repairing some damaged weapons. And I must leave after three days. Otherwise, I won't work on even one weapon!"

The Sunmoon in black armor nodded, "Sure. Three days it is, then. But make sure to do your job properly. I'll reward you well if you do a good job. Otherwise, I will deem you guilty of disrupting military operations and sentence you to life in the Vanguard Regiment." Thıs text ıs hosted at novel·fire.net

He was in a good mood. How lucky. His earth weapon had been damaged during the previous battle. He was about to urge the headquarters to send an earth weaponsmith over as soon as possible. But the headquarters had to first negotiate with the earth weaponsmiths before they could even send anyone over. After all, most people were unwilling to come to the Vanguard Regiment. But now, a weaponsmith had appeared out of nowhere.

He was willing to agree with everything just to take this weaponsmith back. There, he could test the weaponsmith's skills and negotiate with the headquarters. Perhaps they could forcefully conscript this weaponsmith into the Vanguard Regiment.

As for the option of getting this weaponsmith to voluntarily join them...that was impossible. No earth weaponsmith would be crazy enough to join the Vanguard Regiment. The previous earth weaponsmith to join the Vanguard Regiment had died during an ambush. Even now, everyone was still regretting his death.

The death of a normal Sunmoon wouldn't be that big of a deal, but this dead Sunmoon was also an earth weaponsmith. In fact, even now, the weaponsmiths at the headquarters were still making trouble for him due to that one death.

Chapter 857: Vanguard Regiment (1)

Su Yu was feeling very gloomy.

The Sunmoon in black armor was very strong. This could very well be the general of the Vanguard Regiment. Even if he wasn't, he was most likely a deputy general or something like that.

The Vanguard Regiment was separated into multiple units, such as Sunmoon Unit, Mountainsea Unit, Cloudbreach Unit, and Skysoar Unit. It was filled with experts, and all the people here were ruthless individuals. The person leading the entire operation was most likely a spectacularly capable individual. Even the deputy generals of such an army would be incomparably capable.

After all, they were fighting at the outermost frontline. In a place like this, one wouldn't be able to lead the difficult individuals in the army without enough strength. And one most certainly wouldn't be able to face the attackers without enough strength either.

These powerful individuals were currently surrounding Su Yu. He was left with no choice but to raise his hands in surrender. Meanwhile, the Mountainseas and Sunmoons around him were looking at him like hungry wolves.

In fact, they were actually quite polite toward him. Most of the time, weaponsmiths were a lot more popular than pillmasters. After all, one could still survive as a cultivator without pills, but one could not survive as a cultivator without a proper weapon. Failing to maintain one's weapon properly could very well lead to a loss of life.

They started escorting Su Yu back. The Mountainsea who had shouted at Su Yu to leave earlier came over and laughed, "When I told you to leave earlier, you refused. Now, you won't be able to leave even if you want anymore."

Su Yu had an ugly expression. But that was understandable. Any other weaponsmith would also have the same expression after being caught by the Vanguard Regiment. The newly arrived Mountainsea did not mind the ugly expression. He took off his helmet, revealing an exhausted face. He looked at Su Yu again before smiling. He actually looked quite old.

"I'm Hong Du, a deputy general of the Mountainsea Unit."

After introducing himself, he said, "Master Cui, we'll be troubling you for now. Try to repair our weapons as soon as possible. These days, battles have been very frequent. A lot of our brothers have been forced to fight before they could recover from their previous injuries. Due to the poor condition of our weapons, we don't even dare to use our weapons that much anymore. Because of that, our casualties have been very high recently."

Su Yu looked around at the greatly exhausted soldiers and their wounded bodies. He said nothing. This was the Vanguard Regiment. Everyone here was a criminal. But that was not absolute. For example, two of his teachers, Liu Wenyan and Bai Feng were once sentenced to serve in the Vanguard Regiment as well. But were they sinners? Su Yu did not think so.

Of course, there were definitely some people who had been sentenced there for some heinous crimes. Thus, not everyone sentenced to the Vanguard Regiment was equal. For example, Xu Bin, the master of disguise he knew would probably end up in the Vanguard Regiment if Great Ming had decided to prosecute him. He was indeed a criminal, but his crime was not bad enough to warrant execution.

Su Yu looked at the ravine and the corpses sprawled everywhere again. He sighed with sympathy but still spoke sternly, "This won't work if you try to force me. When I said three days, I meant it. I can help you with your weapons for three days. But if anyone tries to stop me from leaving after that, I'll mess with your weapons and have them explode the moment you start fighting. Let's see if you'll still want me as your weaponsmith after that."

Hong Du had a helpless expression when he heard that. He said, "Master Cui, please calm your anger. We're only doing this because we're out of options."

These people were capable of changing their attitude very quickly. Just moments ago, all of them were still shouting at him. But now, they were respectfully addressing him as Master Cui.

Su Yu could not be bothered to say much to them. He turned to look at Liu Wenyan and snorted, "I can't do anything to Mountainseas, but that's not the case for Skysoars. This little guy was very loud earlier. I won't be repairing your weapon."

"..."

Liu Wenyan blanked out. Little guy? How old was this fellow? But when he compared their strength, he could only shut his mouth helplessly. Damn it! He was actually weaker than a brat! This was too sad.

Hong Du and the other experts couldn't help but laugh. With a smile, Hong Du made an introduction, "Master Cui, you probably know this person. At the very least, you must have heard of him before. This is Great Xia's Liu Wenyan."

"Hmm?"

Su Yu exclaimed in astonishment, "Him? According to the records in Great Ming, Liu Wenyan is supposed to be graceful, elegant, and carefree. Countless beauties are smitten by him. General Hong, are you sure you're not joking?"

After saying that, he started looking Liu Wenyan up and down with a look of disbelief. Liu Wenyan snorted and put his robe on properly, covering his hairy legs. What? Was he not elegant and graceful? He refused to believe that he was no longer elegant.

Su Yu clicked his tongue and laughed as he removed his gaze from Liu Wenyan. Looking at Hong Du, he said, "General Hong, looks like I can't stay in this Vanguard Regiment for long. If I become someone like him one day, I might as well die. You see, I care a lot about my reputation."

Hong Du laughed when he heard that. Su Yu continued, "By the way, can I know the name of that general earlier? If you don't mind, please do tell me his name. That way, I'll know his name when I complain about him to the Invincibles in the future."

Su Yu sneered and said, "I wish to see if nobody will care about an earth weaponsmith being detained for no reason."

"..."

Hong Du had an awkward expression. He was just about to say something when Liu Wenyan said, "Aren't you a pseudo earth weaponsmith? Strictly speaking, you're still a profound weaponsmith, right?"

Su Yu disagreed, "I have merely been trying to stay humble. I can forge an earth weapon any time I want. Little Geezer Liu, times have changed. Fifty years have passed since your era. People of my generation are the actual main characters of this era."

Liu Wenyan's expression changed. He sighed and sank into silence. Those were rude words, but that was also the truth. Check latest chapters at N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

Hong Du coughed and said, "Master Cui, don't mind him. The person you asked about is Deputy General Cao, a fifth-stage Sunmoon."

"Deputy general?" Su Yu nodded, "I thought he was a general."

"Not really. You probably don't know a lot about the Vanguard Regiment." Hong Du explained, "The Vanguard Regiment is led by Lord Qin Guang, the second son of Great Qin King. He is an eighth-stage Sunmoon. He's currently away to handle some business, but he'll be back soon."

Qin Guang, the younger brother of Qin Zhen and the leader of the Vanguard Regiment. Su Yu did not say anything about that. It was true that the Vanguard Regiment needed a leader capable of controlling the army. Someone like that needed both strength and courage. Thus, those from Great Qin and Great Xia would be very suitable for this position. After all, these were the two most ferocious prefectures in the Human Realm.

But considering Great Xia's current situation, they probably couldn't produce anyone capable of taking this important position. They had been moving while they were talking. At this point, they had withdrawn about thirty kilometers away from the battleground. There, the peak of a massive mountain had been flattened. And the base of the Vanguard Regiment was located atop the flattened mountain. It was unknown which crazy expert was the one who had flattened this mountain.

There were about five thousand members in the Vanguard Regiment, and most of them were stationed here. This mountain was also known as the Soul Severing Mountain. A place where one would lose their soul.

Of the over five thousand people here, nobody knew how many of them would return to the Human Realm alive. Perhaps these people were all criminals, but all of them had also contributed greatly to humanity during their time serving here.

The rest of the people started returning to their barracks, but Hong Du continued walking with Su Yu while introducing the place, "We have six weaponsmiths in the Vanguard Regiment. Three of them are yellow weaponsmiths and the other three are profound weaponsmiths. But among the three, only one of them is a high-tier profound weaponsmith."

"We used to have an earth weaponsmith here..." After a short pause, Hong Du continued, "But not long ago, the divines, devils, and demonic beasts attacked together. Lord Zhang fought personally, and he perished during the battle."

Su Yu frowned, "Even an earth weaponsmith needs to fight?"

"Lord Zhang volunteered to fight." Su Yu was still frowning as he said, "And you guys agreed just because he volunteered? I thought Invincibles would keep an eye on the Vanguard Regiment. Why did they do nothing to save the earth weaponsmith? How many earth weaponsmiths do we even have in the Human Realm? If we assign one to each prefecture, we won't even have enough for the numerous elite armies. Earth weaponsmiths are probably even rarer than Invincibles. Are earth weaponsmiths so worthless in the eyes of you people?"

"Absolutely not!" Hong Du hurriedly explained, "Master Cui, none of us wanted that to happen. But Lord Zhang himself was a Sunmoon as well. Since he insisted, we couldn't change his mind."

"As for the Invincibles..." Hong Du hesitated slightly before deciding to explain, "Yes, those lords have been keeping an eye on us. But there is only a possibility of interference when the Vanguard Regiment is defeated. Prior to that, they won't lift a hand as they might provoke a war between Invincibles.

"This applies to the enemy Invincibles as well. All these battles could be considered small skirmishes. But once Invincibles got involved, it would be escalated to an entirely different level of conflict."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. It wasn't that the Invincibles were unaware or unwilling to help. Rather, they couldn't. If their Invincibles got involved, the enemy Invincibles would get involved as well. Then, the scope of the battle would escalate to a whole new level. That was something neither side wanted.

He asked nothing else and landed on the ground with Hong Du. He saw that many of the buildings here were built from stone. Standing at the center of the base was a massive stone building.

Two large words could be seen in front of the building: Weaponsmith Hall. This was the place where most of the weaponsmithing works in the Vanguard Regiment happened. Sounds of metal striking against metal could be heard coming from inside the building.

Hong Du smiled and said, "Master Cui, this is the Weaponsmith Hall of our Vanguard Regiment. Normally, most of us will come here for anything related to weapons. Of course, we will pay for any work done. The Vanguard Regiment might lack a lot of things, but merit point is not something we lack."

Su Yu asked doubtfully, "Are the people here also rewarded merit points for the battles they participate in?"

"Yes." Hong Du explained, "Of course, apart from the merit points for killing enemies, they won't be entitled for any bonus rewards. This has always been the policy of the Vanguard Regiment. After all, the people here are all criminals meant to atone for their crimes through combat."

Su Yu nodded, "I saw that some of the people have been here for many years. They must have slain a lot of enemies. Why are they still here?"

"Some of them...are unwilling to leave." With a complicated look in his eyes, Hong Du explained, "After getting used to the carnage here, a lot of people will commit more crimes once they return to the Human Realm. Some of the people here are too violent to return to the regular society. Thus, some of them decided to stay even after serving their sentence."

"Not everyone here is a criminal." Hong Du sighed, "Some of them are here to vent their desire to kill. Some have served enough to atone for their crimes, but it is too hard for them to return to a peaceful life. The other armies will occasionally recruit some of them, but these people are all too difficult to control. They can't get along well with the regular soldiers in the various armies. Many of them would eventually return here and fight until they breathed their last."

Su Yu's emotions turned heavy as well. Were these people still criminals? Perhaps they were originally criminals, but they had served enough to atone for their crimes. Alas, the excessive violence here made it impossible for them to return to regular society. Thus, they all returned here.

While Su Yu was thinking about that, the door before him swung open. A youth walked out with his head lowered in thought. When he sensed that some people were in front of him, he looked up. He nodded at Hong Du and asked, "Deputy General Hong, do you need anything here? We can try to repair your peak profound weapon, but my master can't guarantee success. We won't be responsible if your weapon ends up breaking apart from the attempt."

"Sorry for troubling you, Master Wang."

Hong Du introduced, "Master Wang, this is Master Cui, a pseudo earth weaponsmith. He is here on Deputy General Cao's invitation. He will be staying for three days and help us with some of the weapons that are more difficult to repair."

"Master Cui?" The youth looked at Su Yu. When he saw how young Su Yu was, he asked doubtfully, "Who are you?"

"Cui Lang!"

"Cui Lang?" After a long while, the youth finally recalled the name. He exclaimed, "Cui Lang? Great Ming's Cui Lang? What scam are you pulling this time? When did you become a pseudo earth weaponsmith? Aren't you a yellow weaponsmith? Even in the event of an advancement, you won't be able to go beyond the early profound grade in such a short period of time. Is this a joke?"

"..."

Su Yu curled his lips. This guy was right. Even if Cui Lang had grown, he shouldn't have been able to go past the early profound grade at this point. But he wasn't Cui Lang.

"Believe whatever you want." With a smug expression, Su Yu said, "Little Wang, learn to be polite when speaking. You see, in weaponsmithing, both luck and talent can be very important. If I really manage to forge an earth weapon, will you kneel down and apologize to me? Learn to shut your mouth if you don't want to embarrass yourself and all the other weaponsmiths in existence."

That rebuttal left the youth somewhat speechless. He said, "Do what you want. Cui Lang, if you're really here to scam, be aware that this place is filled with a bunch of psychopaths. Be careful lest someone cuts you down. Don't court death or nobody will be able to save you."

Hong Du hurriedly said, "How is that possible? Master Cui is someone with real ability. This has been proven by the recent news from the Human Realm."

"Is that so?"

The youth did not seem to believe that. Whatever. Cui Lang would be the one to suffer if this whole thing was a lie. It was none of the his business.

"In that case, I'll take you to my teacher. Cui Lang, my teacher is a high profound weaponsmith. He will be able to see if you're really that capable. Don't think that nobody here can expose your scam just because this place is filled with brutes."

"Little Wang, if you don't apologize to me later, I'll have Deputy General Hong cut you down."

The youth rolled his eyes and said, "Sure. If you're really a pseudo earth weaponsmith, I'll definitely apologize. That is the right thing to do."

He still didn't believe in Cui Lang. In fact, he met Cui Lang once many years ago. But it had been so long that he could barely recognize Cui Lang anymore.

They were never close, but he knew that this guy wasn't a dependable person. At times, this guy would start bragging after drinking too much. Had he been bragging so much that people were starting to believe his bullshit?

He did not harbor any malice toward Cui Lang. Rather, he only wanted to remind this fellow that the people here were crazy. This was not the Human Realm. Bragging here would have grave consequences. People like Deputy General Cao were all murderous individuals. This guy needed to be careful lest he ended up dead.