Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm

by Little Merger

Rejuvenation of spiritual energy, prevalence of martial arts, and extraordinary awakening, Jiang He said that he didn’t panic at all. With a farm system, farming can become stronger. What should I do if I practice too slowly? Don’t panic, plant some cucumbers to eat. Cucumber effects: clearing away heat and detoxification (relieving hundreds of toxins), strengthening the brain a

4. 103 - 134

Read Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm Chapter 103 - S-Grade Alloy Combat Suit online for free - NovelFull

Chapter 103: S-Grade Alloy Combat Suit

"The M4088 nuclear missile launcher fires W-55 nuclear warheads that are over twenty-kilograms, and those warheads come in two different yields: ten tones or twenty tons." Cheng Dongfeng introduced.

Clearly, he had hastily memorized the data, and could not continued after that. Instead, he barked at the driver's seat of the truck, and a young man wearing a military-uniform got off.

"Jiang He, this is the weapon specialist Commander Chen sent you specially. You may ask him if you have something you don't understand."

The youth was rather reserved, and said, "Hello, Mister Jiang."

Meanwhile, after taking a long look at the M4088 rocket launcher Cheng Donfeng was holding, Jiang He could not help asking, "What's the effective range of that thing?"

"There are two different launchers for the M4088, and this variant is the 155cm M29 launcher, which has a range of four kilometers."

"What about precision? The explosive radius? Would there be radiation?"

"The range of the M4088 is longer than its explosive radius, and its effective range include radiation, heat, shrapnel shockwave…"

Then, seemingly understanding Jiang He's worries, the young military man paused before quietly explaining, "But its accuracy is lacking… that is why I suggest immediately ducking behind cover after using it."

"…"

Jiang He was rather stumped.

At the same time, the young military man introduced the other weapons.

There were two newly developed gatling cannons, a more powerful weapon with a greater rate of fire developed based on the principle of gatling guns.

Moreover, it was equipped with a hundred thousand alloy armor-piercing shells, and a barrage could blow up even rank-seven martial arts grandmasters!

"This stuff is not bad."

Jiang He nodded and praised.

He would strengthen those with Mysterious Soil and put one on both sides of the gate. Who would dare to intrude after that?"

There were also the Vulcan rotary cannons which was another new military development, weighing just 18 kilos. It was easy to carry around, fires rapidly and would not easily blow up.

Jiang He was a little uncertain at that.

Were the gatling cannon and the Vulcan actually different things?

Still, he did not ask any questions, since it might just be different models.

Moreover, the only shortcoming about his reward was that there were only three W-55 nuclear warheads provided for his M4088 launcher, with two being the 10-ton variant and one being the 20-ton variant.

"Please wait for a moment. I've got something to do, and you could send the stuff back to my house when I'm done."

Jiang He told the two men before heading to Mu Wanqiu's office.

Mu Wanqiu had already prepared the blended qi pellets, whereas Jiang He had taken out the two S-grade alloy weapons from his System Backpack as well.

After that, Mu Wanqiu sent for her evaluation specialists, who soon decided on a price—

The S-grade alloy sword was worth 45 million, whereas the staff adorned with a dragon head and bearing a hidden blade was worth 52 million.

"If that's the case… I'll have it rounded up for Mister Jiang."

"Two weapons for one hundred million, what do you think?"

"The Feral corpses before total up to fourteen million and the horned boar is worth thirty-eight million. Counting in the two weapons would make a total of a hundred and fifty-two million, and after deducting the blended qi pellets for thirty million, I would still have to wire you a hundred and twenty-two million."

Mu Wanqiu appeared quite generous.

Still, the truth was that she was still profiting despite the price.

Both weapons were maintained in perfect condition, and they could be either melted down or resold—of course, she would resell them at a higher price.

Nonetheless, Jiang He was quite surprised.

The alloy weapons were much more valuable than he thought, but that was nothing too surprising. With the rank-seven Ferals and corpses laying a foundation with a dozen millions and the rank-eight horned boar earning him at least thirty, it made sense that the S-grade weapons were a little expensive.

However, Mu Wanqiu stopped him when he was about to leave.

"I have something I need your help with, Mister Jiang."

"What is it?"

"Well, the Superpower Research Department has been conducting an experiment recently that needs the blood of rank-six Ferals. Rank-seven blood would be better, of course, but we are especially in need of living blood samples, which is why we require several rank-six Ferals and one rank-seven—all of them alive."

Mu Wanqiu smiled. "You're formidable and a beast tamer at that, which is why we need your help in capturing several Ferals."

Jiang He, however, frowned. "My beast taming style is rather special… I might end up with severe casualties."

"That's fine, since we would never lack Ferals in this day and age."

Mu Wanqiu quickly said. "The Superpower Research Department would reward you generously, of course, and would even provide you with a floral spirit if you could capture a rank-seven Feral alive."

Floral spirit?

Musing to himself for a moment, Jiang He then nodded, which counted as agreeing to it.

Mu Wanqiu was all smiles, rose to her feet, and shook Jiang He's hand. "Very well. I'll arrange for my people to keep an eye out, and would inform you when we've found suitable targets."

After leaving the Superpower Research Department, Jiang He went to greet Cheng Dongfeng and the young military man.

The young military man boarded the military truck, whereas Cheng Dongfeng sniggered as he climbed into Jiang He's sports call, looking around enviously as he took a seat. "I've heard before that your sports car in an unmanned vehicle… I've heard that the technology had been developed years ago, but I've never heard of one installed in a sports car…"

Jiang He could not continue the conservation.

Would Cheng Dongfeng believe him if he planted it out?

Meanwhile, he activated the voice control and picked his destination.

The car started forward, with the military truck following behind.

That was when Cheng Dongfeng became serious and said, "Jiang He, three Grands of the Sky Demon Cult and their Sixth Elder are still in hiding within Lingzhou's jurisdiction. Still, you don't have to worry—Commander Chen has taken up residence near your village, and you just have to unleash your aura if the Sky Demon Cult really tries anything against you. He would sense it immediately and head over."

"Oh?"

Jiang He exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't Commander Chen going back to Yuzhen?"

"That's just for show."

Cheng Dongfeng smiled. "He returned discreetly later. Would the Sky Demon Cult dare to show up if he hangs around in Lingzhou City? Instead of having them hide, we should lure those snakes out of their caves and wipe them all out at once."

"You don't have to worry about your safety. There is still another container on the military truck behind us, loaded with an S-grade combat suit. Consider that your commendation."

There was envy all over Cheng Dongfeng's face. "You should know that even rank-nine martial artists would have a hard time tearing through S-grade combat suits. It's worth ten times the price of S-grade alloy weapons—in fact, the set of combat suit I had which was imbued with a little S-grade alloy cost me over a hundred million bucks."

Jiang He's eyes twinkled then.

S-grade…

Combat suit?

Could he plant that?

"Hmm…"

"Am I possessed or something? Why am I thinking about planting everything?"

"That said, if I really did plant one and strengthened it with some Mysterious Soil, is it possible that I'll get an even stronger combat suit?"

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Chapter 104: Planting Blended Qi Pellets

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Jiang He, your whole village has moved away. Why are you still staying here? You could just move to Lingzhou…"

"Hold on!"

"Where's your mansion?"

Cheng Dongfeng did a double take when he got off Jiang He's sports car.

He looked around—he would have wondered if he was at the wrong place if Jiang He had not been driving.

There was a mansion right there when he came by at noon. And it's already gone now?

Pushing open his car door and stepping out, Jiang He chuckled, "Wasn't it unfurnished? That's why I slapped it away with a single palm, and ordered a simple mobile mansion online. The logistics are smooth and quick, and it would be delivered here by nightfall."

He made something up, so that he would not have to be interrogated again after he had grown out a mansion.

How troublesome that would be.

After that, Jiang He and Cheng Dongfeng worked together to unload the large containers from the military truck behind the sports car.

Then, when that was done, Cheng Dongfeng did not hang around, and left with the military truck after a simple 'see you'.

Nonetheless, Jiang He tried to keep him.

"Grandmaster Cheng, why not stay for the evening? I'll cook something for you."

Cook?

There was no sincerity there at all!

You don't even have a house. How are you going to cook?

Jiang He laughed and looked at the time. It was already seven in the evening.

After cutting out several catties of the Leopard Python's meat and improvising on his menu a little, Jiang He instructed both Dumbo and Trumbo to move the large container out into the yard.

"Slowly. Could you lower them gently?"

"There are nuclear warheads inside. I really don't want to become a man who walks out of a nuclear explosion1!"

"Put it in that corner. Yes, that corner… alright, Dumbo, start digging."

After the containers were settled in, Dumbo assumed digger mode.

Jiang He then walked up and opened one of the containers.

He found a dark-golden combat suit.

Noble, lavish, cool!

Moreover, it was forged entirely from S-grade alloys, and there was certainly nothing to complain about its sturdiness. However, it was not just sturdy—while S-grade alloy weapons permits easier conduction of True Qi, S-grade combat suits could dampen True Qi by a certain extent, even weakening certain superpower attacks.

There was a reason why it was so expensive.

Jiang He put it on, had Trumbo form a water mirror with its powers, and checked his reflection.

"Not bad. This dark golden S-grade combat suit really fits my style. Chen Jingzhou has a good eye."

He then flexed his body and felt around the fabric.

The design and management on the joints shows great consideration for the human form, and even though the whole suit was over 200kg, it did not affect Jiang He's mobility at all.

He hence took it off, just as Dumbo was done digging a hole.

Jiang He hence casually dumped the combat suit worth a billion dollars down the hole, and was not even in a hurry to bury it.

He turned on the System instead.

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Rank-Six Advanced]

[Ability: Royal Sword]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Initiate), Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (), Blind Princess's Eight Practices (Second Practice), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (Second Tier), Ninefold Thunderblade (First Fold), Dragon Elephant Prajna (First Tier)]

[Owned Land: 888m]

[Farm Level: 3 (EXP 2300/5000)]

[System Backpack: 12 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 2200]

"It's best if I get some Mysterious Soil to strengthen the combat suit, but my farm points aren't enough…"

After having accumulated Farm Points to improve his Strengthened Nine Yang Technique, he was left with 700 points. The 2200 points he had now was earned from harvesting the 150 potato landmines.

"What a shame."

"I could only harvest a batch of gold ingots each week, or with their 10 Farm Points and 1 EXP, I would be invincible harvesting two hundred gold ingots every day!"

Jiang He sighed.

Since his Farm Points was not enough, he had to earn from another batch of crops.

Still, having experienced planting qi pellets before, Jiang He thought that planting the blended qi pellets would not fall short either.

He had Dumbo dig ten holes and planted all ten blended qi pellets he had, putting them in with ten nitrogen fertilizer pellets he had redeemed.

After burying and watering them, Jiang He instructed Dumbo to start digging again.

"No time to be lazy. We'll keep digging and plant everything from the rocket launchers and the gatling gun…"

Meanwhile, Jiang He himself had brought out a stool to sit in a corner of the yard, sitting cross-legged as he leisurely ate some walnuts. Not having to peel the shells was already very convenient, and most important the taste was delicious.

Even as he ate, another thought crossed his mind.

"Oh, I should make several eggplant dishes and pack it with a lunchbox, and put it in my System Backpack. I could take it out to eat when I'm wounded, or it just feels so weird eating raw eggplants!"

"The carrots could be cooked or made into coleslaw too. I remember that carrot can be shredded thinly, and would taste well when matched with potato or tofu skin."

"Ah…"

"What a shame—my potatoes can't be eaten. I'll have to buy some."

Just as Jiang He made his plans, his eyes suddenly sparkled.

The ten qi pellets he had planted were sprouting one after another, with two tender buds breaching out of the ground. Soon, the buds grew into a small shoot that swayed gently in the breeze, and began bearing fruit when it rose up to two meters tall.

Jiang He counted the pellets.

There were around a hundred flowers on each blended qi pellet tree.

And just as he was done counting, the flower petals were shedding off into grain-sized qi pellets.

After around twenty minutes, the grain-sized qi pellets were fully grown, each of them now apricot-sized and bright red. A faint medicinal fragrance reached Jiang He noses as a gentle breeze blew over the trees—and it actually felt revitalizing.

[Ding!]

[10 Farm Points]

Jiang He plucked off one of the blended qi pellets and studied it closely, with a cluster of data showing up.

[Blended Qi Pellets]

[Attribute: a strengthened version of qi pellets]

"…"

Jiang He was promptly blue with shock.

Screw me!

Could you not be that lazy, System?

Jiang He understood what 'strengthened version of qi pellets' means, and that it basically had the same function as qi pellets: assisting cultivation and regenerating True Qi, albeit with improved effect… but would it kill the System to simply repeat that?

Swallowing one of the blended qi pellets he was holding, Jiang He stretched out his senses.

He realized then that his True Qi had increased by a whole notch!

"It seems that my Strengthened Nine Yang Technique is more powerful than what Mu Wanqiu had expected. He told me that I might not actually ascend to rank-six pinnacle even if I downed ten blended qi pellets… now, it seems that I won't improve even if I ate a hundred of them!"

[Ding!]

[10 Farm Points]

[Ding!]

[10 Farm Points]

[Ding…]

Nonetheless, Jiang He was smiling in satisfaction even as he watched his Farm Points and EXP increase without stopping.

Was this the joy of farming?

Meanwhile, Nanchuan Village.

In the courtyard of the farm house, one piece of information after another were being delivered to the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult.

"Useless!"

"All of them are useless!"

He abruptly crushed a table with his palm, growling, "A mere rank-five, inflicting such severe losses to our Holy Faith? Are Killer Star, Earthen Savage, and Earthen Majesty all useless?"

As he rose to his feet, rank-nine aura promptly exploded from around him.

There was even a faint blade will that revolved around him!

"Bring me my blade," he said coldly. "I shall attack Jinyintan Village tonight, claim Jiang He's wretched life and wash away the humiliation upon our Holy Faith.

"All of you stay here and wait for orders!"

"As you command, Sixth Elder."

Brave Star and the orders all answered.

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Chapter 105: SS-Grade Dark Golden Combat Suit, Dragon God-Type Nuclear Rocket Launcher

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Boom!

Over ten blended qi trees all collapsed.

Dumbo, shovel in paws spread the ashes eagerly.

"Ten pile of ashes aren't much, but I would probably have gotten eight hundred potatoes if it planted on it. Still, I have a hundred of those left, and I could try planting other crops, such as bananas or bitter gourds."

Jiang He glanced at his System.

[Farm Points: 2200]

[Farm Level: 3 (EXP 3300/5000)]

Not a bad harvest!

He had accumulated a thousand blended qi pellets from the ten blended qi pellet trees.

One blended qi pellet earned Jiang He 10 Farm Points, 1 EXP, totaling up to 10,000 Farm Points and 1,000 EXP. After deducting the 1,000 Farm Points he spent previously on nitrogen fertilizers, he made a net profit of 9,000 Farm Points.

Of course, there was the additional EXP and the one thousand blended qi pellets.

Taking a blended qi pellet offhandedly, Jiang He chewed and swallowed it, feeling the waves of True Qi that grew within his belly. After that, he opened his System Shop and redeemed a bag of Mysterious Soil.

[Ding!]

[-5000 Farm Points]

A bag of Mysterious Soil was actually not much.

Jiang He took out around one fifth and poured it into the hole where he threw the S-grade combat suit. Dumbo, waiting behind him quickly buried the hole with a shovel.

Meanwhile, Trumbo opened its maw, releasing a jet stream to water the soil.

At the same time, Dumbo had already dug out the other holes.

Jiang He opened another container and buried the nuclear launcher, pouring in some Mysterious Soil to strengthen it as well.

As for the other rocket launcher…

Jiang He did not bother with it at all.

The M4088 nuclear launcher was already absolutely awesome. Why would he need a normal rocket launcher for?

After that, he planted all three W-55 nuclear warheads: two 10-ton yields, and one with a 20-ton yield.

Jiang He also poured Mysterious Soil to strengthen the nuclear warheads too.

"Two gatlings… let's strengthen them a bit too."

"Vulcan Rotary Cannon?"

"Forget it. It looks no different from the gatlings, which are easier to carry around… I don't know if it is as powerful as my Thunderblades, but the Vulcan Rotary Cannon in my sports car feels stronger than the one given to me by the military."

After thinking about it, Jiang He split the remaining Mysterious Soil in two and added them to the holes of the gatling guns.

Behind him, Dumbo buried the hole and Trumbo watered it.

With his weapons planting done, Jiang He instructed Dumbo to dig another hole while he took out the mansion model from his sports call.

When the hole was dug and he put in the mansion, the first thing he planted—the S-grade alloy combat suit had sprouted.

Two golden buds breached the ground, with a bundle of golden light hovering between them. As the buds grew and enlarged into the shape of golden lotus leaves, the bundle of golden light rapidly expanded and rose into the air as well.

Meanwhile, night has already arrived, and all of Jinyintan Village was shrouded in darkness. Jiang He's yard, however, was dyed in blinding golden light.

Weirdly, the golden light could not be seen from outside.

Jiang He was shocked.

What was with all the commotion?

Even when he planted the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique, there were only nine great suns rising into the air.

Then, when the bundle of golden light eventually stopped expanding, Jiang He reached out his hand into its radiance.

[Ding!]

[1000 Farm Points]

A System Notification jingled beside his ears as the golden light abruptly shrank in the next split second and landed on Jiang He's palm like flowing water.

"…"

Jiang He's lips parted, countless exclamations of surprise popping up in his head.

He stared blankly at the tiny dark-golden combat suit that was smaller than his palm… could the combat suit had directly leveled up into some mystic item?

"No, no, that's not it. My farm level is too low and there's no reason it could grow a mystic item!"

Collecting his thoughts, Jiang He stared at the mini combat suit, and lines of data appeared.

[Dark-Golden Combat Suit]

[Grade: SS]

[Attribute: Weakens certain attacks of true qi and superpowers, fuses into the body after refinement]

[Refinement: Blood drip]

???

Jiang He blinked.

Blood drip refinement?

Fuses into the body?

That was an attribute of mystic items, although they were not actually mystic items since the System had appraised that the combat suit was SS-grade… of course, Jiang He was not sure what the grade of mystic items were, since he did not have any experience of planting one.

Still, could the Superpower Research Department develop SS-grade alloys?

Never heard of it.

Finding a pocketknife, Jiang He slit his fingertip.

Slit.

The knife was promptly broken.

"I almost forgot that I have Indestructible Diamond… A-grade alloy weapons might not hurt me, let alone an ordinary pocket knife."

Therefore, Jiang He had to draw out his Dragon-Slaying Saber and cut his fingertip, although the wound was rather shallow, and even before he could drip his blood on the combat suit, his wound closed.

That was troubling.

Enduring the pain, Jiang He cut deeper.

He could not help it, since he had cultivated in Indestructible Diamond as well as Dragon-Elephant Prajna which strengthened his qi and body. Not only was his body hardened, his healing powers had strengthened exponentially too.

And since the Nine Yang Technique was a secret text of healing in the first place, would it not be easy for him to close that bit of wound even if the did not direct his qi to heal such a minor bit of injury?

Oom!

The combat suit shook as it absorbed the drop of fresh blood. A weird sensation appeared in Jiang He's mind just then, as if the combat suit had become a part of his body.

And at a thought…

Whoosh!

The combat suit turned directly into a streak of golden light that fused inside his body. Then, at another thought and a golden flash of light, the combat suit covered his body with all coolness and imposingness, though the only drawback was the lack of a helmet.

"Still, this is much more convenient."

Extremely satisfied, Jiang He experimented a few more times, put away the combat suit and turned beside him.

An iron tree had grown beside him.

It was pitch-black and glimmered in metallic luster. It clanged when Jiang He poked at it with his finger, and couldn't help exclaiming in surprise, "I thought that it only looks metal. But it really is metal?"

A rocket launcher was dangling over the tip of the steel tree's branch.

Still, the rocket launcher was more or less the same in size before it was planted, although its appearance changed considerably. The vivid picture of a soaring golden dragon was printed coiled around the barrel rocket launcher, with its maw gaping beside the mouth of the barrel.

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points]

Plucking off the rocket launcher, Jiang He stared for a moment before lines of data showed up.

[Dragon God-Type Nuclear Launcher]

[Effective Range: 6km]

It was a simple and direct introduction.

"…"

Jiang He, however, was speechless.

Was there a mistake here?

He had planted the launcher and added in Mysterious Soil, but it only changed in appearance and increased in effective range for 2km?

"I thought it would increase in effective range by hundreds of kilometers and gain auto-targeting…" After complaining, Jiang He then looked down at the spot where he planted the W-55 nuclear warheads.

There were no flowery trees growing there, although there were three containers around two meters tall, two meters wide, and around ten meters long.

There was a skull and crossbones symbol marked outside the containers.

Moreover, one of the containers was labeled with the numbers 200t*10 while the other two were labeled with 100t*10.

All three containers of warheads also provided Jiang He with 1500 Farm Points and 150 EXP.

"Those numbers… does that mean there are ten warheads, each having a yield of 200 tons? The 20-ton nuclear warheads were all directly strengthened by ten times, and each warhead had yielded ten warheads?"

Delight showed on Jiang He's face.

It was a grand harvest?

Still, he became upset when he took out one of the 200t yield warheads.

[W-55 Nuclear Warhead]

[Yield: 200 tons]

[Explosive Radius: 8km]

"???"

Scowling, Jiang He seethed, "Aren't you mistaken, System? My Dragon God-Type Nuclear Rocket Launcher only has an effective range of six kilometers, but the blast radius is eight? If the enemy is too close, wouldn't I have to die too when I blast them?"

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Chapter 106: Dumbo's Weapon Drill

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After that, Jiang He took out a 100t yield nuclear warhead.

[W-55 Nuclear Warhead]

[Yield: 100 tons]

[Explosive Radius: 6km]

Jiang He breathed a long sigh, becoming much relieved.

"The hundred-ton yield nuclear warhead is much reliable. Even though the blast radius was equal to the effective range, I could run away after I fire it. Can't I just run away from the blast radius?"

"As long as I'm quick enough, the explosion won't hurt me."

That would work!

Moreover, it was just an explosive radius. Jiang He estimated that even for the 200t warhead, its shockwave and fallout would dissipate by the time it spread beyond 8 kilometers. In fact, he just might be able to withstand the brunt explosion up to four kilometers in.

Still, there was no telling how wide the fallout range would be…

"Could Indestructible Diamond withstand nuclear radiation?"

"Probably not… that's not a physical attack, even if radiation could hardly kill a martial artist…"

With a flick of his wrist, Jiang He put the Dragon God-Type Nuclear Rocket Launcher and the three containers of nuclear warheads in his System Backpack, and turned towards his two gatling guns.

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points]

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points]

Both sets of gatling guns provided Jiang He with 1,000 Farm Points and 100 Farm EXP.

[Strengthened Gatling Gun]

[Firing Rate: 6000 shots per minute]

[Attribute: Bullets fired have a one-in-a-thousand chance of armor-piercing effect. When said effect is triggered, the bullet's penetration would increase against alloy combat suits and True Qi defenses.]

Jiang He's eyes sparkled.

Finally, a real treat.

While the thousand-in-one chance was extremely small, it was already impressive for a gun that fired six thousand times per minute.

Moreover, aside from the many normal bullets, the military had also provided him with a hundred thousand newly developed metal matrix composite armor-piercing bullets. Its penetrating force against alloy combat suits and True Qi defenses were already very high in the first place, and if he unleashed a wild barrage at a close range, even rank-seven grandmasters would have to suffer his hatred.

Jiang He suspected that these were bullets that the Vulcan Rotary Cannon of his transforming sports car fired too, or it would hardly repel the rank-eight Killer Star back then.

"A new metal matrix composite armor-piercing bullet, and a Strengthened Gatling Gun… it would definitely kill a rank-eight if its armor-piercing effect triggers. As for whether it kills a rank-nine—that would have to be put on the test."

"Still, rank-nine senior grandmasters are so rare. How many are there, even amongst the military garrisons stationed across Xibei, every civilian martial artist and the Martial Arts Department (MAD) itself? Would I even have the chance to test it?"

Hence, Jiang He decided he would carry one of the Strengthened Gatling Guns around with him, and leave another at his own gates, and Dumbo could use it when the time comes.

The only complaint was that the military provided him with too few newly developed metal matrix composite armor-piercing bullets, at just around a hundred thousand bullets…

"I could plant bullets too, but I wonder how many would I get if I plant all hundred thousand bullets?"

Jiang He glanced at the time then.

It was one in the morning somehow.

Meanwhile, the mansion he planted had not sprouted at all—perhaps because the gestation cycles of mansions were slower in comparison.

"Whatever, take your time. A day or two later won't matter."

"As for the maid, I'll wait until the mansion grows…"

Hence, Jiang He carried one of the gatling guns off to his gates, saying as he went, "Dumbo, Trumbo, come out for a bit. I need to teach you two how to use this thing, and you could use it to shoot anyone who dares intrude our home when I'm not around."

The gun was heavy.

Most were installed on an armored car or an armored helicopter.

However, with the revival of qi and the exponential improvement of individual ability, it became easy for both martial artists and Awakened to carry weighs over thousands of catties. Therefore, it would be easy to carry a gatling gun over a hundred kilograms whilst charging, which was why it had become a strategy for single units, although the only problem there was reloading, and it would be better if they applied that strategy in groups of two.

The [Strengthened Gatling Guns] were stronger than normal gatling guns, and Jiang He estimated that it was over three hundred kg.

Nonetheless, he installed the gatling gun near the gates, fastened it in place before Jiang He took out a chain of the metal matrix composite armor-piercing bullets.

The stark yellow bullets were arranged neatly, and that single chain held ten thousand bullets. That sounded many, but once the Strengthened Gatling Guns fired at its top speed of 6000 bullets per minute, the chain would be used up in less than two minutes.

Still, the cost of making those metal matrix composite armor-piercing bullets were expensive. Even if it was much cheaper compared to a sniper rifle's bullet, this single chain was probably worth ten million.

But that was fine.

Just a drop in the ocean.

Moreover, it was a recyclable resource to Jiang He, and he could just plant however many he wanted when he had free time.

"Look closely. This is how you load the bullet chain… it's called a loader or something, but names aren't important. Just learn how to use it." Jiang He then called out to Trumbo after setting the gatling gun in place.

"Come over here. You try."

"Meow?"

The Three-tails Demon Cat purred and pointed at itself, its black feline eyes showing… wariness.

Nonetheless, it walked up and clutched at the bullet chain, but the loader was too high and it just could not reach it. That was why it quickly started mewing cutely at Jiang He.

Jiang He merely kicked out at it, seething, "Useless. Can't you just expand your size? What use is acting cute?"

It was already one in the morning.

The moon was dim and winds were gusting, with sparse stars up in the skies and twinkling.

In the darkness, a single figure was streaking towards Jinyintan Village.

It was the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult.

With his combat blade slung over his back and traveling in night attire, he moved, aura withdrawn and his posture technique released in full. Even if it was not as phantomlike as Jiang He's Blind Princess's Eight Practices, he was extremely quick.

Along his journey, he covered numerous villages, though ninety percent of them were uninhabited. Even so, the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult was extremely careful, and would quietly kill anyone who noticed him.

Eventually, he paused at the sign outside Jinyintan Village to confirm it.

Then, he entered the village quietly.

He had read the information about Jiang He and knew where his house was.

Moreover, the darkness of the night did not affect a rank-nine elite by much, and since he had obtained blade will, he was one of the best rank-nines there were.

"This village is uninhabited too, but it's said that Jiang He himself did not move… but I can't afford to be careless. I'll be in danger if the MAD and the military hid elites in the village."

Sixth Elder was being quite wary.

He did not enter Jiang He's house recklessly even when he found it, and instead lurked in the opposite yard.

There was a single green belt and a road separating both houses. It was just a dozen meters, and he did not even have to look to know what Jiang He was doing, just as he did not have to worry about Jiang He noticing since he outranked him in martial arts.

"Rank-six advanced!"

"His physical form is powerful and his qi extensive. His True Qi is equally abundant and would match a rank-seven advanced.

After stretching out his senses, Sixth Elder was ruffled inwardly.

A rank-six advanced with True Qi to match a rank-seven advanced. How does that even work?"

"Even the Holy Child could only get that far after completing his cultivation in the Sky Sage Arcanum. Could the brat's cultivation compare to the Sky Sage Arcanum?" Sixth Elder narrowed his eyes and subtly looked through a crack on the wall, only to find Jiang He mounting a gatling gun at his gates while instructing a cat and a dog on how to use it.

"???"

"The cat is a rank-five Feral, but its aura is unstable and it must have ascended recently. The dog is a rank-four and even weaker… but their intelligence is supposed to be on par with a child's, and yet they are using modern technology… hmmm…"

Even before Sixth Elder finished the thought, he saw the cat put the bullet chain in place.

At the same time, the dog…

Pressed on the trigger.

Brrt-brrt-brrt-brrt-brrt-brrt!!!

Orange-red flames promptly streaked through the night.

A dog manning a gatling gun—what sense does that even make? Either way, it had pressed the trigger and fired a wild volley into the night.

"Now!"

Sixth Elder's gaze darkened at that. He drew his combat blade with a whoosh, ready to dash out and kill Jiang He. He could cover the dozen meters of distance between them instantly, and it would take him less than a second to cut down a rank-six advanced like him!

However…

Even before he could let his aura burst away, the walls in front of him were cracking as the bullets of the gatling gun shot through it.

Then, he felt something cold over his chest.

"…"

Disbelief was written all over Sixth Elder's face as he touched his chest.

Fresh blood was dripping all over his palm.

What…

How was that possible?

'I…

'I am a rank-nine senior grandmaster who has reached the boundary of wills! True Qi shields my body, so how… did a mere bullet from a gatling gun hurt me?'

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Chapter 107: Dead Eyes That Do Not Close From Lingering Grievance

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Eh?"

Jiang He blinked and threw a glance at the opposite yard.

Was he imagining things?

Why did he seem to hear a different sound just now, as if a bullet had pierced through a body?

"I must have imagined it. Why would there be anyone around after the whole village moved away?"

Shaking his head, Jiang He turned towards Dumbo and Trumbo.

Dumbo was lying behind the gatling gun and pressing on the trigger, whereas Trumbo had enlarged itself and stood on its two rear legs, loading bullet chain after bullet chain. The two beasts were beside themselves with joy firing, barking, and purring away as they sprayed bullets all over the night.

"Stop!"

"I'm just letting you test it. Why are you so excited?"

A good chunk of the bullet chain—over four thousand bullets—was used up just like that. In other words, the dog and cat had fired up to six million bucks, and not even literally burning money was that quick.

But that was fine, since money was no more than a number to Jiang He now.

Still, Dumbo stopped reluctantly.

It seems that it had not played enough.

But even after it stopped, its paw 'accidentally' touched the trigger—

Brrt!

The orange-red trail of two bullets streaked through the night, hitting the wall of their neighbor's house.

"God damn it… Eh?"

Jiang He was about to scold it when he paused. His aura promptly burst out as his Dark Golden Combat Suit materialized, and he glared forward, Dragon-Slaying Saber in hand as he barked, "Who is it?"

He waited for seconds.

No answer.

Smirking, Jiang He said, "Sneaking around in the middle of the night? If you still wouldn't come out, I would have to deal with you as if you're a Sky Demon Cultist."

He strode forward.

After all, the green belt and the road separating the opposite house and his own was over a dozen meters, and since his thunder-slash only extends ten meters, he had to walk a few steps before he could reach it.

At the same time, behind the wall of the opposite house.

The Sixth Elder touched his chest blankly, before finally reacting—

Whatever!

He promptly pulled off the mask of his nightclothes, the eyes over his fearsome face now scarlet.

Many dusty memories swept through his mind like a montage…

One could only say that the Sixth Elder had the worst luck.

Dumbo was merely practicing with the gatling gun and firing randomly.

And yet, that single bullet triggered its 'armor-piercing' effect before it struck him squarely on his chest, piercing his heart… then, even as he blanked out in bewilderment, the second bullet triggered the armor-piercing effect again before it hit him.

This time, the Sixth Elder was lucky because the bullet only got his lung.

Still, it was no thanks to him withdrawing his aura to hide himself, and did not use his True Qi at full power to protect his body… or the bullet would hardly have pierced him.

Everything happened by sheer coincidence!

"No…

"No!"

"I, Kun of the Left had trained in martial arts since I was a child, a manslayer whose name shook Southeast Asia twenty years before the revival of qi! The Saint acknowledged me upon my initiation into the Holy Faith and conferred me the rank of elder… how could I died, letting down hopes placed upon me and without revealing my true might?

"I, Kun of the Left would never die to a dog!

"Absolutely not!"

He burst out.

Boom!

His rank-nine aura was as blinding as the sun as he abruptly darted forward, the walls beside him crumbling under it as he charged!

He was still a powerful martial artist who had reached rank-nine for years. How powerful were his qi, blood, and vigor?

Even with his heart pierced, his abundant true qi shielded his heart and veins at once. He would not die as long as he did not burst out his aura or fight, and hanging on for another thirty minutes would not have been a problem.

Nonetheless, his heart being pierced was still a lethal blow. Even if his Holy Faith had holy potions that could cure death, where would he have the time to eat it?

What good was living another thirty minutes?!

He would kill Jiang He…

No…

He would kill Jiang He's dog!

But if he burst out with his energy like that, he would die in seconds.

His eyes crimson even as blood trickled down his lips, killing intent overflowing around his body as if it had become solid, surging towards Dumbo.

In that very instant, he could clearly feel his lifeforce draining away from his body… he would probably last another five seconds, but that was enough.

After all, how hard could it be to kill a rank-five advanced martial artist and a dog?

Whoosh!

Sixth Elder directly charged his arcanum, brandishing his combat blade as he streaked towards Dumbo with the wildest of poise!

It would not be too late for him to kill Jiang He after killing the dog!

Jiang He, who was approaching, sword in hand jumped, startled.

There really was someone?

A Sky Demon Cultist?

And such a horrific aura?

Was he rank-nine?

But…

Why was his killing intent aimed at Dumbo and not himself?

Who did he think he's underestimating!

Yip!

Dumbo shuddered in fright.

'What the heck?

'I was just practicing how to use my master's big heckin' gun, so why is that dude looking like he cannot wait to skin me?'

Hence, just as its canine paw left the gatling gun trigger, it pressed down on it again by reflex.

Brrt-brrt-brrt-brrt-brrt!!!

Flames flared, shrouding Sixth Elder and knocking sparks over his True Qi shield.

Crack!

One bullet triggered armor-piercing effect again, directly penetrating his True Qi to strike him on a shoulder blade. But now that his True Qi was on full charge, what momentum remaining in the bullet only burst out a small puff of blood mist over Sixth Elder's shoulder.

"Die!"

Sixth Elder became even more furious.

Why am I being so careful?

When he spotted Jiang He, directly unleashed all his strength—all he had to do was kill him instantly and then retreat. If he did that, would the bullet have pierced his heart?

But there was no medicine for regret in this world.

Raising his combat blade and swinging down, Sixth Elder's Sword Qi slashed across the night, the horrific blade will it embodied tearing down upon Dumbo's head.

While it appeared to be a long time in between, it was actually less than a second between the moment Sixth Elder started his charge until Jiang He could think. But when he saw the mysterious elite bounding towards Dumbo, Jiang He unleashed his power too!

True Qi surged, and the silhouettes of two great suns rose behind him.

"Stop!"

He bellowed in rage, swinging out his saber to block Sixth Elder's blade.

Even so…

Without eating a pepper, Jiang He's real combat ability was around the same as a rank-seven pinnacle's…

Hence, the thunder-slash was cut apart with a single slash.

With that, the horrific blade will landed upon Dumbo's head.

Sixth Elder cut down Dumbo with a single swing, before promptly turning around to laugh manically. "Haha! Your dog is dead, Jiang He! Now, it's your turn!"

With those words, he promptly shot forward again, cutting down towards Jiang He with another slash embodying petrifying blade will.

He cannot afford to waste his five-seconds worth of life to drivel.

"How powerful!"

Jiang He couldn't help praising sincerely!

That swing was as powerful as it was fast, and its blade will was locked on to Jiang He's aura, permitting no escape. All Jiang He could do was praise it inwardly as the horrific slash landed of him.

Pow!

Jiang He was sent flying over dozens of meters, crashing through his neighbor's wall and house.

Beneath the collapsed debris, however, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It was lucky that he equipped his Dark Golden Combat Suit beforehand. Even so, that single swing of a blade…

"That slash was scary. I'm almost puking blood from the shock even though the Dark Golden Combat Suit, and it hurts!"

Jiang He's True Qi stirred. Just as he was about to push off the debris covering him, he heard loud, maniacal laughter—

"Hahahaha!"

"Saint! The Kun of the Left could not accomplish the ambition of your Holy Faith!"

"But I die with no regrets!"

"All in the name of the Holy Faith!"

Rumble.

Suddenly that voice stopped.

Jiang He had shaken off the debris and stepped out, growling, "Really, Sky Demon Cult. What on earth is going on in your heads? Do all of you really have it in for me?!"

"You're not dead! That's impossible! That's…"

Even as he held his blade like a crutch, Sixth Elder's eyes widened even though he was ready to croak, and then…

Life drained away from his body.

Jiang He shivered then.

That glare of his…

Was so frightening.

And it was quite familiar, since he had seen it in the eyes of the Tranquil Heavenly General.

It was the eyes of someone who died with lingering grievance!

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Chapter 108: How Did He Die?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Meanwhile, Chen Jingzhou, who was hiding in a civilian house near Jinyintan Village abruptly opened his eyes. Bursting out with his rank-nine aura, he charged straight toward Jinyintan Village at top speed, almost breaking the sound barrier, kicking up wild gusts and incessant rumbles in his wake.

"Hold on, Jiang He. You have to hold on!"

There was a dark look on Chen Jingzhou's face even as he dashed along.

Since he was closer, he could sense it clearly—

Kun of the Left, the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult had learned blade will… Jiang He was never going to stop him!

Nonetheless, Chen Jingzhou was moving rapidly. He was not adept at posture technique and this was his limit, and before he ran two kilometers, his body shivered, and a look of agony crossed his face.

The burst of aura was gone.

It meant that Kun of the Left had done what he wanted, withdrew his aura, and fled.

Still, even though his body stiffened, Chen Jingzhou continued dashing toward Jiang He's house, sinister killing intent radiating from his eyes.

He directly crashed through a wall and rose into the air, bounding into the air after the softest of contact on a brick house.

Up above, his qi thundered as he cried, "I'll kill you, Kun of the Left!"

Lingzhou City.

Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng both looked up at the direction of Jinyintan Village.

Even twenty kilometers apart, they could vaguely sense the horrific burst of rank-nine aura.

"They're here!"

"The Sky Demon Cult's elite actually came!"

Duan Tianhe's eyes glimmered as he turned toward Cheng Dongfeng, quietly, saying, "Old Cheng, stay behind at Lingzhou City. I'm going to Jinyintan Village!"

"Hah!"

Reluctant, Cheng Dongfeng sneered. "Who do you think you're underestimating, Old Duan?"

"You've always remained at Lingzhou City and had me run your errands before. Now that a rank-nine showed up, you are actually afraid I would get killed?"

Even before Duan Tianhe could speak, Cheng Dongfeng had already drifted away. He charged downstairs, climbed into an off-road vehicle, and floored the pedal.

Was Duan Tianhe daydreaming!

Commander Chen was over there!

He was a rank-nine champion who had learned sword will. There was no danger with his protection, though that being said, it was rare to see rank-nine elites clashing. Spectating one would definitely help his martial arts journey.

Jiang He, who emerged from the debris was startled by the gaze of the mysterious elite who showed up out of the blue.

He died with his eyes opened out of lingering grief?

But…

Why did he die just like that? Jiang He did not even get the chance to test his Dark Golden Combat Suit.

That burst of aura, that violent charge, and how he had cut down his thunder-slash with a single swing of his sword… before cutting Dumbo in two with his razor-sharp blade will, and then slashing out at himself. If he had been wearing an ordinary S-grade alloy combat suit, he would either be dead or half-dead.

"What the heck?"

"Is he really rank-nine?"

"Are the rank-nine of the Sky Demon Cult that weak?"

"Or was that a corpse of a Sky Demon Cultist, suddenly showing up because of some mysterious technique to unleash a rank-nine martial artist's power, but the side effect is death after unleashing it?"

Jiang He was left utterly befuddled.

Why did that feel like it was a faked accident?

However, after he walked up to check the corpse—

Pfft!

Jiang He couldn't help laughing out loud.

"So he was killed by the gun, and a bullet actually pierced his heart. Isn't that too sad? He was killed by a dog… is there an unluckier rank-nine in this world?"

Still, when he thought of the dog…

Jiang He only remembered Dumbo then, and quickly turned toward his front gates.

Beside the Strengthened Gatling Gun was the two halves of Dumbo's corpse, lying on the ground and spilling blood all over the ground.

Nearby, grief was written all over Trumbo's face and it was crying out incessantly.

In human size, it was over two meters tall and very burly. But now, it was on its knees, and clawing on the dirt repeatedly with its front paws—

It wanted to retrieve Dumbo's corpse, but after it was cut in two and everything from its heart and lungs were splashing over the ground, there was just no part of the dog to recover!

Eventually, Trumbo could only rub its tears with its two front paws.

Beside it, Jiang He gritted his teeth and seethed, "The damned Sky Demon Cult! They actually killed my dog! From now on, I will kill every last Sky Demon Cultist I reach!"

He walked up and shoved Trumbo into the dirt with his foot, barking, "Crying and more crying. Is that all you could do? Now hurry up and collect what's left of Dumbo."

It was fine.

They just had to collect the pieces and plant him.

Dumbo just reached rank-four, and according to the Farm Level's 2 rule… he probably could plant the dog, and strengthen him a bit after.

That was when Jiang He looked up toward the distance.

He sensed a presence that was no weaker to the Sky Demon Cult elite that Dumbo killed, and it was moving rapidly toward his direction.

"No, this presence is even stronger… Is that Chen Jingzhou?"

Even as that thought crossed Jiang He's mind, he heard Chen Jingzhou's thunderous roar—

"I'll kill you, Kun of the Left!"

Why would Chen Jingzhou rush here?

Jiang He hence turned toward Kun of the Left's corpse. Although he was dead, his body did not drop into the dirt—he had stabbed his blade into the ground and his corpse was leaning on it, although his eyes were round and glaring, leaving anyone who looked at it disconcerted.

Snikt, snikt.

Dragon-Slaying Saber in hand, Jiang He walked up to Kun of the Left's body and stabbed his chest twice.

His aim was true, and his sword pierced the heart of the corpse.

Still, Jiang he was not a corpse-mutilating deviant…

His two stabs were thorough, cutting through Kun of the Left's heart and lungs to hide the gun wound.

With his stabbing done, Jiang He also noticed another gunshot wound over Kun of the Left's shoulder, although it was not a deep bullet wound. Even so, he slashed on it a few times to cover that up too.

Thud.

Kun of the Left's body collapsed to the ground.

Fortunately, his consciousness was gone, or he might revive himself through sheer rage, thinking, 'It's already very tragic mighty rank-nine like me would die to a wild bullet from a dog, but I also have to suffer your mutilation after death, Jiang He!?'

And approximately five seconds after he was done mutilating, Chen Jingzhou arrived.

His aura was bursting at full power as sword will revolved around his entire body. In fact, his aura was so powerful that he was not walking normally, but leaping and gliding from rooftop to rooftop!

His foot tapped gently on the roof of Jiang He's neighbor's house before he leapt high above, and then…

"Eh?"

His eyes tightened as his entire being blanked out.

What was that lying on the ground?

The dead body… of Kun of the Left?

And Jiang He was leaning on his blood-tainted sword whilst standing beside the corpse… and was even smiling and waving at him?

His True Qi rather messed up, Chen Jingzhou jumped down vertically from high above.

Bang!

The earth shook from the resulting crash.

Even so, he rose stiffly as if he did not feel it, and walked up to Kun of the Left's remains, ashen-faced even as he stared at the dead body for a while.

"Dead?" He then muttered.

"Kun of the Left… dead?"

"How did he die?"

He was speaking to Jiang He with utter disbelief… that was a rank-nine elite who was just a class beneath Chen Jingzhou. And how long has it been since he sensed the first burst of aura?

Dead, just like that?

For Jiang He, although he was a little chagrined from claiming Dumbo's accomplishment, when he thought about it… Dumbo was his dog, and wouldn't its kills count as his own?

He promptly smiled and said, "Clearly, I cut him down."

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Chapter 109: Why Hasn't Sixth Elder Returned?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After being ambushed by Kun of the Left, Chen Jingzhou had looked into him.

Musing for a long time, as if to digest the outcome that he could neither believe nor accept, he only spoke after half a beat, "Kun of the Left, Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult."

"He started his martial arts training at a young age, becoming a famous killer whose name shook the world even before the revival of qi. He was based in the Southeast Asia, posing as one of the leaders of a gang's branch overseas, though according to the information we had, he was already almost rank-seven around twenty years ago."

"He is adept at assassination, and he was recoded to have successfully assassinate a grandmaster before. Now that he is rank nine and has mastered blade will, he is untold times stronger than before. If he really blindsided me, I might not even be retreat unscathed."

Jiang He couldn't help exclaiming, "He was that powerful? So, he started out as a killer… no wonder I sensed nothing at all when he hid at the opposite house."

There was a look of lingering fear on his face.

He softly patted his chest; his heart was still pounding a little.

Fortunately…

Dumbo contributed.

If it wasn't firing wildly away, perhaps…

Jiang He seriously thought about it then—even if Dumbo did not hit Kun of the Left, that Sky Demon Cultist would never get him.

His Dark Golden Combat Suit would have covered his whole body at a thought. Though Sixth Elder's blade will proved vicious, it did not hurt him much after it was weakened by the combat suit, and at best made him vomit a little blood.

And that was because he had not used Indestructible Diamond.

However, Chen Jingzhou's forehead vein was bulging when he saw Jiang He's reaction.

'What is with that 'I'm scared' look, when you cut him down to such extent?'

Still, he took a deep breath and could not help asking, "Jiang He, could you tell me what happened? I'm very curious how you killed Kun of the Left."

Of course, he could not tell the truth.

Still, he would never fool Chen Jingzhou if he made up some nonsense, and he definitely could see the truth.

Therefore, he tried to give as simple an explanation as he could so that Chen Jingzhou could not nitpick it, and quickly said, "Didn't you give me a whole load of munitions? So I was thinking that my cat and dog could use the gatling gun too, which is why I brought it out and gave them drills on how to use them."

Even as he spoke, he pointed at the gatling guns near the gates.

Chen Jingzhou nodded.

He had noticed when he came by last afternoon that Jiang He's cat and dog was a rank-five and a rank-four respectively, and Ferals of their level were quite smart.

Moreover, Jiang He was a beast-tamer, and it would not be difficult for him to teach his pets how to use the gatling gun.

"At the time, my dog was firing randomly outside when Kun of the Left, hidden in the opposite house suddenly released his aura and charged at us. I quickly reacted and cut through his heart and then his lungs, and after he dropped to the ground, I stabbed him again over his shoulder twice, and only then did I kill him."

"…"

Chen Jingzhou's face turned green. He had the feeling that Jiang He was spouting nonsense—how could a rank-nine who mastered blade will be killed just like that?

What the hell did he even mean, cut through his heart?

Was Kun of the Left an idiot?

Was he standing there, letting you stab away?

Still, he could not help being bewildered after he checked Kun of the Left's wounds.

What the hell?

Was Kun of the Left standing there, letting Jiang He stab away?

There was silence all at once, and Chen Jingzhou was not sure what he should say.

Soon, the purr of an engine could be heard. Cheng Dongfeng had arrived, powersliding his off-road vehicle before jumping off, exclaiming blankly, "Am I late? Is the fight over already?"

He was rather disappointed that he did not make it in time for a rank-nine's battle…

His eyes then fall on the corpse on the ground, and walked up to it, laughing, "You really are the best rank-nine around, cutting one down with relative ease with your sword… Eh? Why does it look like a normal blade wound?"

Crouching, Cheng Dongfeng checked the wounds over Kun of the Left's body, before his body shuddered and he turned to Jiang He, as if he had seen a ghost.

Jiang He smiled simply and politely.

It was only after half an hour that Cheng Dongfeng drove away with Chen Jingzhou, who took away Kun of the Left's token plate before he left.

The Sky Demon Cult has a different token plate for their Elders. Aside from being more exquisitely detailed compared to the Decan Decree and the Fiend Decree, it was entirely forged from S-grade alloy. There was also violet metal decorating the border of the token plate, making it appear exceedingly noble and extravagant.

Moreover, the face of the token plate was inscribed with a big 'six' and a 'holy' behind, representing the Sixth Elder's identity.

Chen Jingzhou had wanted to take is corpse too, but Jiang He stopped him.

"Commander Chen, while Sky Demon Cultists deserve death, they were still a living being. I can't bear it even though my wild flailing stabbed him to death, which is why I want to bury him in my yard, so that I could burn joss paper for him whenever an important day comes by. Think of it as a way to pacify my tender spirit."

Chen Jingzhou was left blanking out at his words.

Tender spirit… what?

All he could do was leave with the token plate.

Nanchuan Village, 70 kilometers away from Lingzhou City.

Brave Star and the other Sky Demon Cultists were still in the farmhouse.

Since this village was long since abandoned, electricity and water were cut out. Nonetheless, the farmers of Xi Bei farming villages had the habit of storing water in cellars or wells, therefore, they would not run out of the water even if they stayed here.

As for food?

There was a huge mountain behind Nanchuan Village with abundant Ferals, with certain hares that did not evolve into Ferals somehow still doubling in size compared to before the revival of qi. With the Sky Demon Cultist's ability, would it not be easy to just hunt a few down?

Right now, a bunch of those cultists had lit a bonfire and were feasting on baked meat.

Brave Star was himself chomping down on a massive mountain chicken leg. He looked up at the Rolex on his wrist for time and said, "It's two in the morning. Sixth Elder should be back soon… you there, cook one chicken leg for him."

Brave Star was talking to a C-class fire-type Awakened.

Despite Brave Star's command, not only was the fire-type Awakened not complaining, he appeared delighted. Nodding and bowing, he threw away the rabbit hip he was holding and promptly smoked some meat for Sixth Elder.

It was a cushy job after all.

Being within the sight of Brave Star notwithstanding, being able to personally smoke some meat and prepare a warm, heated chicken leg for Sixth Elder was a great honor to the average Sky Demon Cultist.

Even as he baked the chicken leg, he beamed, "Brave Star, Ma Liang, at your service. I've been infiltrating in Xibei for a long time… what else would you want to eat, Lord Grand? I could smoke it for you."

Brave Star burped in satisfaction then, waving the cultist off and gesturing that he did not need it.

Still, he gave Ma Liang a pleased look, saying, "You're a quick one, kid. Do well, and your future would be infinitely bright."

Despite what Brave Star said, he held some doubts.

The kid had sunny good looks, but his voice was girly… just as his gaze was not quite right.

Be that as it may, Ma Liang was delighted, and the other Sky Demon Cultists around them were throwing him looks of envy.

Ma Liang's days with their Holy Faith would improve considerably thanks to Brave Star's words.

Meanwhile, Ma Liang continued baking the chicken leg.

Since it was a mountain chicken that evolved into a Feral, it stood over a meter tall, which was why its leg was over nine catties. Ma Liang had to flip it repeatedly and bake it over an hour until it was golden and emitting a fragrant scent.

But while the chicken leg was almost ready, why was the Sixth Elder not back yet?

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Chapter 110: Jiang He Plants A Dog

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The chicken leg was cooked, but since Sixth Elder had not returned, Ma Ling carefully put the food inside a clean plastic bag.

But that was not a problem.

He was a fire-type Awakened, and could easily heat up the chicken leg even if it had gone cold. In fact, he could even have more face time with Sixth Elder when that happened.

Ma Liang continued dreaming, envisioning Sixth Elder's high regard and henceforth reaching the pinnacle of his existence, living out his days by Sixth Elder's side shamelessly.

Yet, Brave Star was frowning.

He had a bad feeling, and he raised his hand to look at his Rolex again by instinct.

It was now four in the morning.

He caught sight of Ma Liang with the corner of his eye then, and there was no telling what the brat was thinking with that degenerate look on his face, his thighs tightly squeezing together while his buttocks fidgeted restlessly.

It was a rather annoying posture.

His teeth clenched, Brave Star barked, "What are you doing, Ma Liang?"

Coming to a realization, Ma Liang smiled enchantingly at Brave Star and said with his girly voice, "Lord Brave Star, when would Sixth Elder return?"

"How the heck should I know?"

Brave Star was quite irritated, and his bad feeling became even stronger.

On the other hand, Ma Liang found Brave Star's frustration quite masculine, and kept smiling dazzlingly, "Lord Brave Star, I'm done baking Sixth Elder's chicken leg. I wonder if Sixth Elder managed to kill that damned Jiang He…"

"Shut up!"

Absolutely furious, Brave Star slapped out from some distance away.

Pow!

Ma Liang flew backwards, puking blood when he landed.

Promptly jolted awake from his day dream, he kneeled and begged, "Mercy, Lord Grand… Mercy, Lord Grand…"

Brave Star had rose to his feet at the same time, quietly saying, "Jiang He is merely a rank five. Doesn't Sixth Elder have this in the bag already? I'll slap you to death if you dare to voice a single word of doubt!"

He turned and started to head out of the farmyard.

"No, I have to contact Sixth Elder!"

Brave Star whipped out his satellite phone.

Reasonably speaking, Sixth Elder was out to kill and calling him at a critical moment might affect him.

Even so, Brave Star could not care that much right now.

After seeing off Cheng Dongfeng and Chen Lingzhou, Jiang He moved Kun of the Left's corpse into his yard.

Of course, he was not about to overlook the cultist's blade.

It was an S-grade allow combat blade—its quality and finish were better than the two S-grade weapons he sold before, and it would easily fetch around forty million.

Moreover, Kun of the Left had another sixteen flying daggers with him.

Jiang He checked them: their blades were sharp and were all forged from S-grade alloys too.

"Still, these daggers are quite small and would not need much S-grade alloy as materials, although it would not be difficult for al sixteen to be sold at around ten million." Jiang He said even as he studied the daggers, and soon started to laugh uncontrollably.

Why did it feel like the Sky Demon Cult was one of those child of wealth mascots, and came to him bringing riches?

How long had it only been?

Already, the Sky Demon Cult alone had gifted him up to three hundred-million-dollar worth of resources, and that's not counting the merit points that the Martial Arts Department had credited him with.

"Oh, right!"

"How many merit points do I have now?"

"And didn't Duan Tianhe mention that Warrior Home was on its closed testing phase? He even sent me an URL invite… I could look into it."

At that thought, Jiang He looked up to find Trumbo, kneeling in the yard and wiping its tears.

Dumbo's remains were beside it.

Trumbo had cleaned and pieced it together so that it did not look as miserable as before.

That was when a humming vibration could be heard. Jiang He then found a satellite phone on Sixth Elder's body after searching it for a while, and a voice spoke from the other end once he answered the call. "Sixth Elder?"

Jiang He frowned but said nothing.

At the same time, the voice from the other end continued, "When would you be returning, Sixth Elder? Is that vermin Jiang He dead now?"

"???"

Jiang He was shaking with rage.

"What the heck! What do you Sky Demon Cultists even want?!"

"Forget trying to take me out repeatedly before. Your Sixth Elder even hide out in the opposite house in the middle of the night and brutally butchered my dog. Don't you people know shame?"

Jiang He could vaguely here the breathing over the other end becoming rapider. Just as he was about to use his 'ten rants per second' skill, he heard the voice speak again, and there was noticeable shaking.

"Where's Sixth Elder?"

"Cut the crap. I stabbed him to death with my wild lashing, of course!"

Bang!

Brave Star's satellite phone promptly dropped to the floor, its screen turning dark. He did not seem to sense that, however—his whole body shuddered as cold sweat dripped all over, whereas his limbs were turning cold and his throat running dry.

"No…

"That's impossible!

"Sixth Elder had grasped blade will. How great is his power?!

"He was even a hitman of legends, most adept at infiltration and assassination. He could not have misfired against a rank-five like Jiang He!"

According to the information the Sky Demon Cult had secured, Jiang He was still a rank-five.

That said, one could not blame them for having weak intelligence. Jiang He's cultivation was simply improving too quickly, and anyone else's information gathering or updates could not catch up at all.

"Are they touched in the head?"

Jiang He swiftly smashed the satellite phone apart too.

'They killed my dog, and still called to greet me? Are they trying to provoke me on purpose?'

But that did not matter.

Dumbo's death was valiant.

It actually killed a rank-nine elite before its sacrifice, and its dog life had very much reached a pinnacle.

Getting a shovel, Jiang He went inside the yard, turning to look at Trumbo by reflex as he dug a hole.

The cat was still brushing off its tears, and was not bothered to even look at Jiang He.

"Your eyes aren't that good, really!"

Jiang He shook his head. Dumbo would have assumed digging mode once he saw Jiang He picking up a shovel…

No.

It understood human intention, and would dig a hole even before Jiang He took a shovel.

[Day One of Missing Dumbo]

Nonetheless, Trumbo only miserably started shoveling after Jiang He threw the shovel at it.

Jiang He himself took out a handful of blended qi pellets, crunching on them as he thought, "Using an iron shovel amidst the revival of qi is a little weak. In the future, let's see if I could plant earth-type superpowers if I ever kill an earth-type Awakened Sky Demon Cultist. Digging graves would be so much easier then."

"Oh?"

"The blended qi pellets taste just fine. Still, one for three million bucks is still a little expensive."

Jiang He grabbed another handful of blended qi pellets and swallowed them in a single gulp.

He was a little hungry.

What time was it?

He had forgotten his dinner just like that.

After Trumbo had dug a hole, Jiang He buried Dumbo and redeemed a pack of Mysterious Soil, sprinkling a third of its contents with the dog's remains. Only then did he instruct Trumbo to fill the hole, pile a mound over the grave and water it.

When that was done, Trumbo found some paper out of nowhere—it was actually about to burn joss paper for Dumbo.

Blue with shock, Jiang He kicked out. Why had he not noticed how talented the feline was at acting?

"What do you think you're burning? Go dig a hole and bury Kun of the Left… Eh?"

He suddenly gasped in surprise.

Ascension… just like that?

He had merely been eating the blended qi pellets for supper, and he unwittingly reached rank-six pinnacle?

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Chapter 111: Disco Dancing Over A Grave

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Still, his ascension was only to a small extent, Jiang He was slightly taken aback too, since it did not matter if soulless cultivation like this made him grandmaster.

What was there to be displeased about?

He took out another two walnuts and crunched them down.

Blended qi pellets for dinner and supper, and walnut for snacks.

"Maybe I could grow some fruits… and eat it before and after meals."

At that thought, Jiang He turned to look at Dumbo's grave.

Rustle.

A faint sound was audible from the grave.

Meow!!!

Trumbo's feline ears twitched even as it knelt in front of Dumbo's grave, trilling while its jet-black eyes palpated fear. Its black fur bristled and it promptly turned into a black blur as it darted inside Jiang He's arms, shuddering.

Jiang He: "…"

Does a rank-five Feral like you have to be that scared?

That sound was clearly Dumbo sprouting. It was not as if the corpse was coming back to life!

Holding the cat with his left hand and pointing at the grave with his right, Jiang He was at a loss for words. "Don't be afraid. Look, Dumbo is almost coming out."

The bricks that Trumbo piled over Dumbo's grave were shaking.

Trumbo shuddered even harder in Jiang He's arms then, especially its bristling coat. The rank-five Feral's fur was no different from steel needles, pricking Jiang He and leaving him very uncomfortable.

Grabbing the cat and promptly flinging it beside Dumbo's grave, Jiang He could not help barking, "You only need to bury the hole with soil. Why would you pile bricks over it?"

Even as he spoke, he walked up to remove the bricks.

And just as expected, he found two tender buds pressed sideways beneath the bricks.

Trumbo, who had been sprawled before the grave, covering its eyes whilst shaking could not help peeking at the grave. It only breathed a sigh of relief after it saw the two buds, and its bristling fur slowly lowered.

Meow!

Meow…

Delighted, it kept purring, before leaping atop Dumbo's grave and jumping around it.

Grave disco!

Jiang He allowed it to skip around as it liked, while his eyes were focused on the two buds that bore a rather weird hue.

After all, the buds were neither green nor light yellow like new shoots that had not seen sunlight. Instead, it was the exact same color as Dumbo's fur.

"With the current growth rate, it would probably bear fruit in two hours…"

Jiang He glanced at his phone then.

It was already four in the morning, so he promptly climbed into his sports car—anything could wait until he had some sleep.

As for the dog?

Well, let it grow.

Meanwhile.

Nanchuan Village.

A group of Sky Demon Cultist was having a lively chat. Then, someone who had been idling too much even suggested some entertainment, and they began to sing and dance.

But outside the farmyard…

Brave Star was standing under the night sky utterly dispirited, and all he could feel was a humming in his head.

Sixth Elder…

Was gone?

That could well be true, since Sixth Elder would never allow someone else to receive his calls. Still, Brave Star could not understand however much he thought about it… Sixth Elder was a rank-nine elite who has mastered blade will, and was a grandmaster adept at assassination.

How could he have failed to kill a rank-five martial artist?

And even if he was spotted, who could stop him if he tried to flee?

And what is with that person on the other end saying 'brutally butchered my dog'?

Brave Star could not help remembering what Sixth Elder said before he left…

To kill Jiang He and wash away the humiliation to the Holy Faith?

"Sixth Elder… did he really target Jiang He's dog?" Brave Star muttered to himself.

Soon, however, he shook his head firmly to dispel such ridiculous thoughts, before striding towards the farmhouse, scowling!

Sixth Elder was dead!

Things had gotten out of hand!

Five Heavenly Generals were an acceptable loss for their Holy Faith, and they would make up for two dead Decans as long as they could take Lingzhou City… this time, however, it was Sixth Elder, who had begun to master blade will. The Holy Faith would never recover from this loss even if they managed to take Lingzhou City!

Brave Star reached the gates of the farmyard then.

That was when he heard the singing and dancing within, especially that girly Ma Liang, who was putting on a Chinese Opera show…

Bang!

Brave Star crushed the gates to the farmyard into pieces with a single swipe of his palm. Then, he darted up to Ma Liang in a single stride even as he hummed a tune and made rather graceful hand gestures, and slapped him as well, leaving him in pieces.

The farmyard was instantly silent, and every Sky Demon Cultist appeared shocked and frightened.

What…

What was going on?

"Brave Star!"

A burly man with prominent facial hair and an alloy combat blade slung over his back rose to his feet, frowning—he was Guilty Star, one of the elites who had ambushed Chen Jingzhou alongside Sixth Elder.

And being a part of that group, one could easily deduce how remarkable Guilty Star's ability was.

The third person who had helped in the ambush was Bound Star, an A-class earth-type Awakened who looked to be in his thirties and was much younger.

But at present, Brave Star did not respond to Guilty Star, and instead strode into one of the houses.

Guilty Star and Bound Star traded glances before following him inside.

Entering the room and closing the door, Brave Star checked outside before saying quietly and hoarsely, "Sixth Elder is down!"

The other two men's faces dropped at that.

There was disbelief all over Bound Star's face as he quietly said, "No way! How powerful is Sixth Elder? There are no elites guarding Lingzhou right now, and even Chen Jingzhou… would never stop him!"

"Moreover, Sixth Elder has grasped blade will and is a master of assassination. If he's doing it, wouldn't a rank-five like Jiang He be in the bag already?"

"But…"

Guilty Star suddenly said somberly, "What if it was a trap in the first place?"

Even though he appeared rough with his facial hair, tanned skin, and muscular form, but one should not mistake him to be a brainless boor.

Still, there were certainly parts of him that were quite small…

Nonetheless, it was clear he had thought further than Bound Star and Brave Star, even as he mused, "Everyone had read Jing He's information: rank-five, advanced, and even his resume was absolutely average. And yet, he had sabotaged our Holy Faith's plans multiple times, slaying two or our fellow Grands in Killer Star and Pain Star, along with five Heavenly Generals, including Earthen Majesty and Earthen Savage…"

Guilty Star paused for a moment then, before asking, "Brave Star, do you even believe that it's possible?"

Brave Star frowned.

Meanwhile, Guilty Star sneered and continued, "Even the Holy Child, groomed with the sea of resources from our fellowship and receiving guidance from the Saint himself—could he have beaten a rank-eight grandmaster when he was rank-five?"

Bound Star frowned then as well.

"From how I see it, there is no way a rank-five could kill a rank-eight. Moreover, since our double agents in Lingzhou had long since been rooted out, and the information the Holy Faith provided us was information provided to the higher-ups of the Martial Arts Department (MAD)."

Guilty Star lowered his voice then, "But what if the MAD deliberately leaked that information?"

At his words, the expressions on the other two men's faces changed.

"That's impossible," Brave Star quickly whispered. "Not even we are aware of the identity of those agents who infiltrated the higher hierarchy of Hua Nation. There's no way they had been found out!"

"What if they were?"

Guilty Star said. "The Holy Faith has been losing people left and right in Lingzhou City, and now, even Sixth Elder is not coming back… this has to be a trap set by the MAD!"

Everyone in the room became silent.

After half a beat, Guilty Star suddenly said, "I even suspect whether this person named Jiang He exists… A rank-five turning the tables on a rank-eight? If such a prodigy exists, would the MAD allow him to remain in an uninhabited village by himself?"

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Chapter 112: Sowing A Dog, Reaping A Dog

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Out in the farmyard, the Sky Demon Cultists were silent. Only the bonfire was crackling as it burned.

A mysterious fear had caught the cultist's minds then.

They were not sure what happened, and neither Brave Star nor the other Decans clearly would tell them. It was the unknown that terrified them further, and since the Sky Demon Cultists did not dare to talk to each other, all they had were hunches which escalated the panic.

Right now, all of them were staring at the small house.

After one long hour and when the sun almost rose, all three Decans—Brave Star, Guilty Star, and Bound Star opened the door and came out.

Every Sky Demon Cultist rose to their feet immediately, watching them.

Guilty Star smiled and said, "A fellow elite of our Holy Faith had discovered treasure near the region of Helan Mountain, and Sixth Elder had gone there to offer support. Brave Star, Bound Star, and I would be heading out to help as well, so the rest of you need not worry and hide here. Do not act on your own without orders from the Holy Faith."

Hence, the trio left, leaving their many followers behind.

In fact, it was the instructions they had received after contacting their fellowship.

The order from above was to give up on Lingzhou City for now.

Still, the treasure was real.

Both Bound Star and Guilty Star were definitely heading to Mount Helan, although Brave Star was to hurry back to headquarters.

As for Jiang He?

It was all smoke and mirrors—such was the conclusion they came to after some serious analysis.

The human named Jiang He did exist, and he was not weak since he could reach rank-five at twenty… but his accomplishments were all definitely fake. The Martial Arts Department (MAD) must be waving it in their faces on purpose to set a trap, ambushing and killing the elites of the Sky Sage Faith.

In fact, the MAD had succeeded.

Their Sixth Elder had definitely fallen there!

At the same time.

Duan Tianhe had reported to the higher ups of the MAD that Jiang He had slain Kun of the Left, aka the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult. Likewise, Chen Jingzhou also informed the military about the news.

At ten in the morning on the next day, that piece of news travelled along secret paths and reached the headquarters of the Sky Demon Cult, which was in a hidden location, at a realm of birdsong and fragrant flowers.

However, beyond that realm birdsong and fragrant flowers was a mountain forest that rarely anyone visited. The toxic miasma of poisonous insects filled it, and it was also full of swamps and raging rivers, with more untold dangers lurking within.

And right now, an old woman whose hair was all-white was reading through the secret report.

She was the senior elder of the Sky Demon Cult whose rank was next to the Saint, their two Cardinals and Sentinels. Her power would absolutely put her amongst the top rank-nine individuals.

Incidentally, the secret report she was holding read, "Jiang He of Lingzhou City in Xibei progresses rapidly, and is now rank-six advanced. Suspected to have a hand in Kun of the Left's death."

However, the writer seemed worried that a simple description was not convincing enough, and so added, "Both the MAD of Lingzhou City and Chen Jingzhou, Leader of Xibei's Third Field Operations Squad have submitted a report of this incident."

"Humph!"

There was a cold glint in the old woman's turbid eyes after she read the report. The temperature in her room abruptly fell, and every object inside, from plants to glasses shattered in the freezing atmosphere.

Nonsense!

Absolute nonsense!

Jiang He's information was last updated several days ago. How many days had it been, and he was already rank-six advanced?

Most importantly, a rank-six advanced killing Kun of the Left?!

Kun of the Left had called her just twelve hours ago, informing her that he had mastered blade will and reached the boundary of wills. When even the senior elder as herself would have a hard time killing a champion like him, a rank-six somehow succeeded?

Guilty Star's judgment was perhaps right…

Withdrawing her aura, the old woman quickly left her private courtyard and soon arrived before an extravagant royal residence belonging to one of the Cardinals.

Of course, that was what the Sky Demon Cult was known to others. Usually, they refer to themselves as the Sky Sage Faith.

Meanwhile, Jiang He had just woken up.

Jiang He, who had been lying down on the seat of his sports car opened his dazed eyes and glanced at his phone…

It was not even half-past eleven.

And he already woke up naturally?

Closing his eyes and trying to sleep a little longer, Jiang He suddenly noticed that his spirit was utterly invigorated and he did not feel sleepy at all.

"The quality of sleep here is too poor…" He sighed inwardly.

Recently, he had been staying up late, and only slept for hours before he was invigorated. In fact, he would not feel drowsy even if he stayed up for more than a day, leaving the quality of his sleep indescribably poor.

Could the reason for that be his strengthening and change in physicality?

"No, should I be sleeping more soundly the healthier I am?"

"Could I still be worried subconsciously that the Sky Demon Cult would still attack me?"

"That's it—that's definitely it!"

"Even if I had learnt Indestructible Diamond to the level of initiate and possess the Dark Golden Combat Suit, even if most rank-nines wouldn't be able to kill me, there are too many methods of killing, such as poisoning. There might even be Awakened who could attack the soul…"

Jiang He couldn't help clenching his fist at that thought.

He was still too weak!

He was still lacking in defense.

"But how should I guard against poison and spiritual attacks?"

Jiang He mused to himself for a long time before forcing a laugh, "There really isn't much anyone could do about those measures. All I can is make sure that I'm impervious to poison and my spirit and will are immeasurably powerful!"

Taking a dozen blended qi pellets to suppress his fear, Jiang He entered the yard, and could not help blanking out when he looked up!

There was a small, bald tree in the middle of the yard with no leaves.

And there was a dog tied to the top of the tree.

Most importantly, the rope was tied onto the topmost branch, whereas the other end was tied over the dog's neck. That was why it appeared as if the dog was being hanged on the tree.

The dog's eyes were closed even as it remained suspended on the tree, breathing faintly.

Looking at the dog, Jiang He noticed that the dog's fur was a shining greasy blackness, whereas the fur over its belly and legs were brown and the fur beneath its neck was white.

It was identical to Dumbo when it was alive.

Jiang He came to his senses then, but was still rather speechless.

What the heck?

I added in a third of one pack of Mysterious Soil, damn it. That was almost 1700 Farm Points…

The Dumbo he had planted was no different than from when it was alive, and it was certainly worth noting here that his Wang Mazi-brand cleaver had become a cleaver forged from 'meteor steel' after he planted it. Likewise, Trumbo had been a rank-one Feral Cat, and it became rank-three after Jiang He planted it casually, even gaining intelligence.

"Maybe it's not in appearance but in stats!"

With a flick of his finger, Jiang He released a streak of True Qi, cutting off the rope that was tying down Dumbo.

[Ding!]

[1000 Farm Points]

Thud.

Dumbo jumped as soon as it dropped the ground, yipping and howling as it celebrated enthusiastically. It then ran a lap around the yard, before leaping high into the air, assuming a diving pose and tunneling inside the ground instantly.

It then spread its paws and pretended to swim like a fish, paddling ahead until it carved a long trail into the yard.

Delighted, Trumbo jumped up on Dumbo's back.

That actor of a cat even found a stick that it drove into the ground, and used Dumbo for a raft…

"…"

Blue with shock, Jiang He barked at them, and only then did cat and dog stand up on their rear legs, hang their heads fearfully, and stand beside a wall—just like children who were caught in their mischief.

Jiang He looked at Dumbo then, and lines of data appeared before his eyes.

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[Dumbo]

[Breed: Mutated Sichuan wolfdog]

[Ability: Fire manipulation, water manipulation, gold manipulation]

[Rank: five-pinnacle]

Dumbo's data appeared before Jiang He's eyes.

"Gold manipulation? It gained another power?"

Jiang He was rather surprised—Dumbo had awakened its fire-type powers on its own, and gained water-type powers after eating the grass growing over that B-class water-type Sky Demon Cultist.

And now, after planting the dog, it actually awakened a third power.

Moreover, as a feral, it had risen from rank-four to rank-five pinnacle, although Jiang He expected that and it was not too outrageous in the first place.

Still, its new breed was quite interesting.

Reasonably speaking, all evolved Ferals had mutated anyway, and most mutations were actually quite normal. On the other hand, specimens like Trumbo which grew three tails was one of the more unique of mutations.

And then there was that horned boar, a rank-eight Feral under Pain Star's control.

Was it not unusual for a boar to grow a horn?

The Nine-Headed Serpent must be one of the special mutants too.

"That being said…"

Jiang He circled Dumbo in The Thinker's pose, musing to himself, "Dumbo did not really change at all aside from getting brighter further. How did he even mutate?"

Then, when Jiang He arrived behind Dumbo, the dog which had been standing on its rear legs… tightened its butt by reflex!

It crossed its legs and used its front paws to cover its buttocks.

Even Trumbo's jet-black pupils showed confusion… why did it feel like its bro was being nervous?

At the same time, Jiang He was blue with shock and had an impulse to kick the dog.

What was the little beast thinking?

Kicking Dumbo and the butt, Jiang He scolded it, "God damn it! What do you take me for?!"

Yip!

Dumbo rolled a dozen meters away, landing and rolling on the ground, its canine eyes distant and questioning the meaning of its life.

On the other hand, Trumbo's eyes were twinkling.

Bro Dog was so clever!

It had anticipated Master's kick… although, how did Bro Dog know that Master would kick it?

Jiang He walked up to the dog then—Dumbo, who was lying down as if it had no regrets in life, promptly clutched its head, calling out, "Woof woof… don't hit me, don't hit me. Master, stop hitting me, or I'll die!"

"…"

Jiang He did a double take, the look on his face stiffening.

Dumbo kept begging for mercy fluently in Xibei accent, and when Jiang He listened carefully, it actually had some Sichuan styles too.

"It's a Sichuan wolfdog and grew up in Xibei, which makes sense that it has some extent of Sichuan accent… hold on, why am I thinking about such stuff? Most importantly… this little rascal could talk?"

Jiang He was rather stunned.

While he had suspected before that Dumbo was highly intelligent and might speak human language one day, he did not expect him to talk so early.

After all, only rank-seven Ferals were capable of spirit speech, and only Feral Kings, Ferals rank nine or above was capable of human speech…

But Dumbo, a rank-five pinnacle was already talking?

Composing himself, Jiang He asked, "You can talk now?"

"Woof-woof… Master, I don't know, I was asleep for a while… and I could talk afterwards."

Jiang He understood then.

That… might have been thanks to Mysterious Soil.

As for the sleep?

Jiang He chuckled. "You weren't sleeping. Someone killed you with a single slash, and it took me a lot to revive you. Oh, and do you have any special powers now?"

"Special powers?"

Dumbo tilted its head in thought. "Woof-woof… Master, I'll show you a magic trick. Look…"

It poked its head out.

And then…

Woof!

As it abruptly gaped its maw and bellowed, Dumbo's body rapidly expanded. Crunching sounds echoed from its neck, and both sides of its neck split apart, before two more dog heads grew out.

Jiang He did a double take.

What on earth was that?

Transforming on will? And three heads too…

A name came to Jiang He's mind then: Cerberus.

It was said to be a dog guarding the netherworld and it had three heads, each of them having gaping maws full of razor-sharp teeth. Its tail was a snake, and its fur were actually vipers coiled into themselves—because its body was ablaze with nether flames, which was why nothing left in its wake would survive.

In other words, it was absolutely terrifying.

And yet, Dumbo's appearance was clearly different.

Right now, the three dog heads were trying their best to bare their teeth and put on their mean faces, but no matter how they tried, they looked to Jiang He rather adorably silly.

And the three dog heads had distinctly different noses too.

The dog head in the middle had a scarlet nose, whereas the left one had a black nose and the right a golden nose, which was sparkling rather blindingly under the sun.

"Master, don't I look cool?"

The golden-nosed dog head spoke with its Sichuan-Xibei accent then, its dog eyes twinkling.

But before Jiang He could say a thing, the dog head with a black nose showed a look of disdain. Chuckling coolly, it then barked, "You fool. You look no different from a hammer—what's cool about you?"

Furious, the golden-nosed dog head snorted. "Speak for yourself. Your nose is as black as a piece of dung, and you would still insult me?"

"Woof!"

"Woof-woof-woof!!"

"Woof-woof-woof-woof-woof ~~~"

The two dog heads barked away as if they could not wait to tear each other apart, with the red-nosed head caught in the middle, almost losing its mind from the two other head's barking.

"Okay, okay, let's calm down for the moment. We're all the same dog sharing the same body. Why so serious?"

Still, after seeing trying for a while but still failing in its persuasion, it promptly roared in rage, "Shut the hell up! Now get back inside!"

With that, three heads become one.

Through it all, Jiang He was left gaping.

Did they almost fight?

Three dog heads, three different minds, split personality… no, split dog-nality?

Soon, Dumbo was back to its usual look and beaming, "Master, isn't my power quite awesome?"

Jiang He came to his senses then and quietly gave a thumb-up. Leaving aside the split dog-nality, when Dumbo transformed, its body expanded and its aura rapidly strengthened up to three times.

Moreover, Jiang He suspected that the three heads with different hued noses definitely represented its three different powers.

Meow~~~

Suddenly.

A sharp purring could be heard then. Jiang He turned around to find Trumbo had put itself in a hole it had dug some time before, with only its head poking out of the ground.

Those eyes… it was clearly saying, 'Master, hurry up—kill me and bury me. I want to become like that too."

Jiang He chuckled. "I'm not planting anything twice. I'm burying you for real if I do."

Trumbo shrieked in fright and climbed out of the dirt in disappointment.

Jiang He's eyes twinkled then, and he turned towards another direction.

Only then did he notice that the mansion model he planted… actually sprouted!

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Chapter 114: Warrior Home Forums

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"The mansion I planted in the wee hours of the morning had just sprouted. That's quite a slow growth rate… I wonder if it would mature by the evening."

Jiang He complained, holding back the idea of planting a maid right now. "Let's wait until the mansion is grown."

Stepping out of his yard, Jiang He found the village in silence and felt a little lonely just then. There would usually be children chasing each other and playing at this hour, and a bunch of old folks playing poker and chess under the willow trees beside the green belt.

The old madam next door would be walking the streets, looking for other women to gossip with.

But now.

There was only nothingness.

Jinyintan Village was now an uninhabited village.

Breathing a long-sigh, Jiang He shook his head and laughed bitterly. "Are you already bored, Jiang He? How many days had it been?"

"This is how elites should be!"

"I would only develop if I could bear the isolation… that said, when could my farm be upgraded to mobile space?"

"I could leave when I level up… only an idiot would stay in this village!"

After all, the neon lights of the city were very beautiful, and the chicks of the city center sweet.

Taking out one of his folding chairs, Jiang He sat beneath a willow tree beside the green belt. Whipping out his phone and turning on WeChat, he found some unread messages from Duan Tianhe.

He clicked on it to find a website.

However, every time he tried to open the URL, WeChat would warn him that it was a 'dangerous website'.

"…"

Jiang He was at a loss for words.

Had that old-timer Duan Tianhe sent him some age-restricted stuff?

Was it not supposed to the Warrior Home forums? Why is it categorized as a dangerous website?

Still, being a former intellectual of online videos, that little bit of work wouldn't trouble Jiang He. Clicking to copy to URL, he pasted it on the browser and clicked 'download website', and a dialogue box promptly popped up.

It was the login panel.

"Why is there no registration button? Do I force a login?"

Jiang He keyed in his own ID, and the option of setting a password popped up. It was especially troublesome since it still required video verification, winking, showing his teeth, looking right and left—just like an imbecile.

Nonetheless, he cleared it after much difficulty.

But after he logged in, he still had to go through a real-name check system.

Even so, Jiang He understood that, since during the multiple occasions when Duan Tianhe mentioned the Warrior Home forum, it was supposed to be a platform for exchange between martial artists and Awakened across the country in the future. There, they would conduct trade for cultivation resources, weapons, combat suits, cultivation method, and secret text, which was why a real-name check system was the most basic of checks.

But is it not a little too much to get a nickname as well?!

Jiang He was not good when it came to names, and was not bothered to think too much, so he simply combined several letters and numbers.

Entering the forum, he saw the name 'Warrior Home' calligraphed on the top right of the main page, with a logo of two crossed blades underneath it.

There was a horizontal bar beneath the logo, inside of each were red bold font.

[Team Blitz official formed. Recruiting three martial artists and one Awakened. Specific requirements are as below…]

[Help: I've awakened fire-type powers but my control is bad, and I keep burning my clothes. What should I do?]

[WTS: A rank-seven Feral that recently gave birth, and is in weakened state…]

Jiang He looked around.

The forum itself felt like one of the shoutout systems in various games. New posts would be given priority, but posting here was more expensive than the shoutout items in game, since a single merit point was equal to ten thousand dollars.

Underneath the horizontal bar were buttons labeled 'cultivation manual trade', 'weapons trade', 'secondhand items exchange' and 'Feral materials', and those were easier to understand.

It was the same thing like filters in other websites such as 'language', 'HD image' and 'GIF image'.

Jiang He clicked on cultivation manual trade, entering the block.

There were already hundreds of posts inside, and it appeared that there were many members in Warrior Home already. Two or three of the cultivation manuals were actually self-made, while most others were a family inheritance.

Jiang He scanned through them, but most were plain and average, especially the self-made ones. Even Jiang He could find several flaws that would cause major problems if cultivated carelessly, and since he could not find a button for 'report', he decided to call Duan Tianhe tomorrow to talk about it.

Was cultivation a joke?

How could blindly created cultivation method even be used?

Still, the officially sold cultivation manuals available at Warrior Home surprised Jiang He. There were thousands of them, with a wide range of categories, from sword, palm, fist, foot to inner strength.

"Oh?"

"That palm-technique… Stonebreak Palm? That was the manual I got from Killer Star, but it's sold as much as two thousand merit points?"

Jiang He was taken aback.

That thing was actually so expensive?

After all, 2,000 merit points was equal to twenty million dollars!

"How much did the Martial Arts Department (MAD) bring it from me back then again… Anyway, those bunch are so sly. Such cutthroats!"

Jiang He complained inwardly.

He checked out the larger tabs, and wrote a post [WTB mutated plants, fruits, vegetables and seeds within the country (permanent post)]. Then, he went on to check his personal data.

It shows that he is a rank-six martial artist, his superpower being 'beast-taming' and rank was 'possible B'.

Jiang He then looked beneath the rank to check his merit points, which now totaled up to 35,900.

That was not much.

According to the exchange of 1 merit point for 10,000 dollars, he only had three hundred and fifty million, which was not too useful.

Moreover, he saw nothing he liked from the items available for sale on the forum.

"I could keep the points, but I wonder if there's a high-interest rate loaning scheme for it… like the type where you lend a thousand but I only give you eight hundred, and you still have to repay me a thousand…"

Jiang He thought about it, but decided it was not worth it.

What if the loans he granted were not repaid?

Still, he was not worried that he did not have the ability to collect his debts, since there was a high-risks in being martial artists or Awakened in the first place. What if his debtors suddenly kicked the bucket? Was he supposed to chased him all the way down to hell to collect his debt?

After Jiang He had slapped away his own mansion with his palm, the simple kitchen he had before was gone too.

Afternoon arrived, and so Jiang He had to stick to his old habits and have smoked Leopard Python meat.

One must admit that the System Backpack was wonderful. Even though the Leopard Python's flesh had been stuffed inside for so long, it was still tender and sweet as if it had just left the butcher's shop, with no decay whatsoever.

But even as he ate, Jiang He sighed.

Days when he had nothing to do was quite a bore…

"I'm actually not used to the Sky Demon Cult not bothering me," he mumbled and laughed bitterly. Forget it. After I finished eating, I'll plant a maid. And if that succeeds, I'll plant too more, so that I'll have company for mahjong and fight the landlord when I get bored!"

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Chapter 115: Capsule Mansion

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After eating the smoked meat, Jiang He brought out the maid doll from his sports car.

"Hmm…"

"This doll looks very familiar, but I just can't put my finger on her name… was it 'So' or was it 'Ra'?"

"Sora?"

Since it was a paper doll, it was a little flattened in the tummy after it was kept in the car for two days. As such, Jiang He fiddled around with her tummy to get her back in shape, and when he turned around, Dumbo had already dug a hole.

Just as he thought, Dumbo had the best insight.

After carefully putting the maid doll inside the hole, Jiang He exchanged a composite fertilizer and threw it within as well.

Then, he closed the hole and watered it.

With that done, Jiang He ordered Dumbo to dig a few more holes, and planted the remaining nine-and-a-half chains of metal matrix composite armor-piercing (AP) bullets.

When he turned around to look, he saw that there were two fresh buds on the spot where he planted the maid.

Jiang He: "…"

Damn it!

More buds?

The maid would not grow on a tree, would she?

Fortunately, the buds did not grow into a tree as he imagined. Instead, they grew into two enormous leaves, and bore the fruit that was a small human in its middle.

At first, the 'small human' was merely thumb-sized, but it appeared more vivid than the joss paper, and its body portions were basically perfect.

She was also growing at a visible rate, and was around five inches tall within minutes.

Beside the maid, the bullet chains were sprouting too.

Chen Jingzhou had provided Jiang He with a hundred thousand of those newly developed AP bullets, with every ten thousand tied to one chain. Dumbo and Trumbo had almost used up one chain during their gun drills, and after Dumbo fired a wild barrage when Kun of the Left came charging, the chain was emptied, which left Jiang He with nine bullet chains.

Jiang He had planted the nine chains in separate holes, and now that nine shoots were growing out, the sight of their thriving was delightful.

As a farmer, what pleased Jiang He the most was to see the crops he planted with his own hands taking root, budding and getting ripe for the harvest. While that process was always quicker for him and he would grow many weird things, but was there any rule that farming was limited to wheat and maize?

Cheerful, Jiang He then went to where he planted the mansion model, and only noticed then the fresh buds had grown into a small shoot that stood three-feet tall.

Moreover, the shoot had already stopped growing, and was ripe for the picking.

"What the heck?"

"Where's my mansion?

Jiang He was dumbfounded. Why are you ripe when you have not blossomed or borne fruit?

Furthermore, the three-feet-tall shoot was not thriving. It only had nine leaves, but all of them had curled into a round cylinder resembling a caterpillar, not to mention that the leaves looked malnourished upon first glance.

Most importantly, where was the mansion?

Nonetheless, Jiang He found himself staring at one of the leaves for a long time when a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind.

"Is that a caterpillar?"

"No, it's a leaf that curled into itself. Instead… it looks like a capsule!"

Jiang He's eyes brightened then.

That's right!

Capsule!

After all, who had not taken medicine from a capsule!

What was more, when the two words 'capsule' and 'mansion' connected, Jiang He immediately remembered a certain anime which boasted advanced technology, where things like capsule mansion, capsule airplanes and capsule cars were very common.

Jiang He tentatively plucked off one of the capsule-shaped leaf—

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points]

The crisp melody of a System Notification rang in his ear, stirring Jiang He's mind.

Since the System had notified them that it was a successful harvest and rewarded him with Farm Points, his theory of a capsule mansion was naturally correct.

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points]

[Ding…]

System Notifications jingled repetitively as Jiang He plucked off the remaining eight capsule-shaped leaves, after of which the small shoot rapidly withered into a pile of ashes.

Holding one of the capsules between his thumb and index finger to study it, Jiang He then saw lines of data appear before his eyes.

[Capsule Mansion]

[Attribute: Mobile and convenient.]

[Usage: Throw on ground.]

After that, Jiang He left the yard.

He had slapped the mansion built beforehand into mere debris with a single palm, and its foundation was flattened with a single slash of his sword.

Hence, he threw the capsule on the ground.

Bang!

A cloud of smoke shrouded his vision as if a smoke grenade blew up.

The smoke soon dissipated, and a three-floored mansion that was identical to the one he had planted before appeared before his eyes. Even though he had expected that outcome, Jiang He was still a little surprised.

That was really illogical!

Were capsule mansions that awesome?

He opened the door and entered.

On the first floor were a wide living room, a dining room, and a kitchen. There were also two bedrooms with toilets, and a dojo around fifty meters square wide.

The furnishing of the mansion was luxurious but unpretentious, and there were also many green potted plants.

Jiang He tested the toilet first…

It flushed smoothly.

That was weird… how would the capsule mansion deal with drainage? Still, when he thought that he could plant something as unreasonable as the capsule mansion in the first place, would it not make sense for more unreasonable things to happen?

Either way, he neither scrutinized nor pondered about it.

Jiang He then walked around the second floor.

The bedrooms were nice, especially the three bedrooms that faced the sun and had balconies, each of which had jade-white parapets.

The third floor was much simpler. Aside from a large AV room, there was an indoor swimming pool that was dozens of meters wide with crystal clear water. While it was quite small swimming in it and would never compare to swimming in rivers or seas, would it not be nice to have a soak when he was idling?

"Not bad, not bad."

Jiang He was quite satisfied, and even lay down on one of the huge beds in his bed room.

So soft.

So cozy.

He noticed a remote placed on the bed cabinet, and when he took it, he saw a button with the word 'vibrate'. But once he tapped the button gently, the bed beneath him shook wildly as if it was having a stroke.

"…"

At a loss for words, Jiang he quickly turned the switch off and breathed a long sigh. "Isn't this design a bit ridiculous? Aren't beds for sleep? Why bother putting in this function?"

With that, he left the mansion and returned to his yard.

The nine bullet chain trees were now thriving. Everything from their branches and leaves were all golden, especially with the bullet chains dangling over the tips of the branches, and were rather blinding as they reflected sunlight.

And beside the nine bullet trees was…

The maid, who was now 'ripe' for the picking.

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Chapter 116: Nature Qi

Jiang He walked up and studied his 'maid' in curiosity.

Before 'harvesting', the maid stood atop two enormous green leaves like a plastic model, her eyes closed and her presence weak.

Still, her eyelashes were very long and her figure stunning.

Most importantly, her face was white and tender—and her cheeks a little babyishly plump like a child's. Moreover, she looks just like that sensei whose name Jiang He remembered vaguely to be Sora.

"An angelic face, a devilish figure!"

Those words suddenly popped up in Jiang He's mind.

Still, there was one thing that he was not contented about—the maid's clothes, identical to when it was still a paper doll, was rather lewd…

"That said, the food she would make while wearing that… would definitely be very delicious."

With that thought in mind, Jiang He walked up, hugged the maid to pluck her from the leaves.

[Ding!]

[1000 Farm Points]

As the System Notification jingled in his mind, the maid he 'plucked' opened her large round eyes, looked around in curiosity before finding Jiang He. She agilely curtseyed then, and said,

"Goshuujin-sama."

Jiang He: "…"

There were question marks all over his head, but he could guess that she must have meant 'master'. Still, why would the maid he had planted speak the language of a certain island nation?

She then spoke another pile of gibberish, and Jiang He could not understand a single word.

Still, Dumbo promptly slithered out and it saw Jiang He's confusion.

Beaming with its dog mouth, it said, "Master, I know the island nation's language. Should I speak to her?

"Really?"

Jiang He was quite surprised.

Dumbo actually knew that country's language?

Truly, dog looks could be deceiving.

But was the beast not a Sichuan Wolfdog? It even grew up here in Jinyintan village and probably never left this place despite its age. How could it have learned another language when it was bad at Chinese?

"Could it be…"

"Mysterious Soil has such effect?"

Jiang He had to give it to the Mysterious Soil. He nodded at Dumbo, despite nursing the impulse to cut himself down and plant what remained.

Rising on its rear legs, Dumbo came to stand beside Jiang He. The dog even coughed a few times, clearing its throat before saying, "Ay you, tiny island nation flower girl!"

???

Jiang He's eyes widened in disbelief at Dumbo, even as the dog continued barking in its Sichuan-Xibei accent whilst imitating the intonation from an old war film, "Don't afraid, don't drop tears!"

"What does your dad and mom do fer a living?

"Tell me all, you understand?"

The maid merely stared blankly at Dumbo.

Scratching its head with its paws, Dumbo exclaimed in surprise, "Is she really from the island nation, master? She doesn't understand the language…"

What…

The hell!

As a vein bulged over Jiang He's forehead, he sent Dumbo flying with a kick, yelling furiously, "God damn it! Get over there and stop embarrassing me!"

Dumbo whimpered as it landed, and rubbed its bottom in grief.

'What?

'I didn't say anything wrong, did I?

'Isn't that how you speak the language? She definitely isn't from there since she can't.'

On the other hand, Jiang He couldn't help laughing after he kicked Dumbo away.

The 'island nation's language' really broadened his perspective!

Nonetheless, he turned towards the maid, musing to himself for a moment before saying, "Do you understand me?"

The maid nodded and said with her girly voice, "Master…"

"You can speak Chinese? Good. I'll be calling you Sora from now on."

With that, he checked his phone.

It was past seven o'clock—time for dinner.

Jiang He promptly waved, drawing out a thick, huge thirty-centimeter eggplant from his System Backpack along with an equally large golden cucumber. Then, after getting two catties of Leopard Python meat, he handed everything to the maid.

"The rice is over at the storehouse, go cook… wait."

As another idea struck Jiang He, he brought out another 18cm carrot.

His intention was clear.

A plate of fried eggplant over meat.

A coleslaw of cucumber and shredded carrot.

Jiang He had also wanted to add a pepper then, since fried eggplant over meat without pepper was soulless… but he resisted the idea after a look at his maid.

He feared that the side effect of the pepper proved too severe.

What if he could not hold back?

Sora nodded in understanding, curtseyed again before turning to leave the yard.

Lighting himself a cigarette, Jiang He took one long puff before breathing a mouthful of smoke, and was unable to hold back a praise. "Such an obedient maid… well, I don't have to cook and do the dishes starting tonight."

With that, Jiang He turned towards the nine bullet trees.

"Hmmm…"

"Why does it feel like the name 'bullet tree' is so weird…"

He muttered inwardly as he stepped up and studied the trees.

Each tree had ten chains of bullets dangling, and every chain had ten thousand bullets. Disappointingly, however, the bullets were no different from the bullets before.

"What a shame."

"I thought that planted bullets would increase in firepower or some other function, such as auto-aim, explosion, increased chance of armor-piercing and the like…"

Jiang He shook his head, aware that such thoughts were unrealistic.

With such bullets, the only other thing he needed was his Strengthened Gatling Gun, and he would rule the world as long as rank-nine elites or above did not show up.

He reached out to pluck one of the bullet chains.

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points]

There were fewer farm points than imagined, but this was already quite good since there were a lot of them—nine trees meant 90 bullet chains, and it would provide him with 9000 Farm Points and 900 EXP.

Jiang He checked the System after he was done harvesting.

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Rank-Six Pinnacle]

[Ability: Royal Sword]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Initiate), Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (), Blind Princess's Eight Practices (Second Practice), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (Second Tier), Ninefold Thunderblade (First Fold), Dragon Elephant Prajna (First Tier)]

[Owned Land: 888m]

[Farm Level: 3 (EXP 4390/5000)]

[System Backpack: 12 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 15900]

"Eh… My farm's EXP somehow reached four thousand, three hundred, and ninety points?"

Jiang He's eyes twinkled.

Since it was already 4,390, was that even far from the checkpoint of 5,000 points?

Most importantly, his Farm Points were now 15,900, and that was even after Jiang He had redeemed two packs of Mysterious Soil, one composite fertilizer pellet, and nine nitrogen fertilizer pellets, the latter two for planting a maid and the bullet chains.

Otherwise, Jiang He probably would have reached thirty thousand points.

Nonetheless, fertilizer and Mysterious Soil were necessary. Who wouldn't put fertilizer on their crops?

"Fifteen thousand and nine hundred points… Mastery over Indestructible Diamond needs ten thousand. I'll just learn it!"

With that thought…

[Ding!]

[-10,000 Farm Points]

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained mastery over Indestructible Diamond.]

A System Notification could be heard in Jiang He's head. As he firmly charged Indestructible Diamond., a sheen of golden light materialized over his whole body, just as a layer of Nature Qi surrounded him and protected him.

If the Nature Qi was not pierced, no physical attacks would reach him.

"Not bad, not bad…"

"I'm now safer with mastery over Indestructible Diamond. Even without the Dark Golden Combat Suit, an average rank-eight would have a hard time hurting me."

Jiang He nodded contentedly.

Then, when he left his yard, he found Mu Wanqiu's car parked outside his gates.

Dressed in her usual body-hugging spandex, the stunning-proportioned lady stepped out then.

Report chapter

Chapter 117: Maid

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mu Wanqiu's fashion had always been astounding, especially after eating Jiang He's corn—there was wind in her very stride, and her entire body was overflowing with glamor and confidence.

"Yo?"

"What brought you here, Miss Mu?"

Jiang He teased, and poked his head out to look at her car outside. "Is Miss Wu not with you?"

"What?"

Mu Wanqiu chuckled. "Missing my bestie?"

Studying Jiang He, she then said, "My bestie likes you a lot, but in Lingzhou City, she is still the chief of Department of Education (DOE) and the director of the Martial Arts Academy (MAA). That said, she would be moved to tears if you take up the post as an assistant director or something, and just might repay you with her body."

Heh.

Jiang He smiled but said nothing.

'What do you mean, like me?

'She is only aiming for my body, please!'

Mu Wanqiu noticed Jiang He's mansion then, and could not help exclaiming in surprise, "Your house…"

"Mail ordered." Jiang He answered—whether that was true and whether Mu Wanqiu and the others would believe it was their own problem.

"Do you have something for me?" He asked after that. "Come, let's talk inside. My dinner might be ready now."

Jiang He opened the door with an inviting gesture.

Mu Wanqiu entered the mansion interestedly, studying her surroundings and smiling, "I really envy your pastoral life… I would have moved in with you if I wasn't too busy with my work."

However, Jiang He did not seem to hear Mu Wanqiu.

He was looking around in confusion.

Where was his maid?

Where was Sora?

Why was there no one in the kitchen?

And there were no dishes served on the dinner table either.

Could there be a time limit on his maid's existence? And she would disappear automatically once it was time?

That should not be the case, should it?

Nonetheless, Mu Wanqiu noticed the look on Jiang He's face and asked, "What's wrong, Jiang He? Oh, right. There are two things I want to talk to you about…"

However, before Mu Wanqiu finished, Jiang He pressed her down on the couch, laughing, "Let's put business on hold for now. Please sit around for a moment, I've just come out of the yard so I'm all dirty. Let me take a bath first."

Mu Wanqiu promptly flushed.

That's…

That's…

That's not appropriate, was it?

Having the wrong idea about the situation, she promptly rose to her feet and scolded, "Jiang He! I'm here to talk some serious business with you! Moreover, we are only partners and have not progressed that far!"

Firmly flinging his hand away, she turned and was about to storm off, biting her lip as she exclaimed, "If you're going to play around, I'm leaving!"

"???"

Jiang He was taken aback.

'I'm playing around?

'My maid is nowhere to be seen and I'm absolutely panicking. Where would I get the time to play around?'

Jiang He, questioning the meaning of his life promptly scowled and barked, "I'm just asking you to sit around. What the heck are you talking about? And what even are you thinking?"

Thud-thud-thud.

Jiang He promptly went upstairs, leaving Mu Wanqiu embarrassed, unable to decide if she wanted to leave or sit.

She stomped her feet in frustration, cursing, "Hmph! How dare an eternally single man like you scold me!? I… I…"

Even after thinking for a long time, she could not come up with anything ruthless.

Indeed, she could neither defeat Jiang He verbally or in a physically fight.

Sitting on the couch again, Mu Wanqiu could feel her cheeks burning!

How embarrassing… why would I think of that? And what is good about Jiang He? The only things good about him is only his good looks, individual ability, humorous, smart at moneymaking…"

"It's not like I want that! Hmph!"

Upstairs.

Jiang He was searching from bedroom to bedroom.

He could not help becoming furious when he checked one of the beds. He pulled off the sheets with a single motion, barking, "Sora, I told you to cook, and yet you're here sleeping?"

Beneath those sheets, Sora was sleeping alluringly.

And in her maid costume… she was exceedingly captivating.

Blue with shock, Jiang He muttered, "I planted you so that you would cook and do the dishes, brew tea, massage my shoulders and clean the house. What's more the house is already warm, and I'm a rank-six pinnacle who cultivated to new heights, and my body is already a hearth…"

"Though I think you were just trying to goof off."

He then barked, "Get up, there's a guest in the house. Now brew some tea and cook!"

"This maid can't be relied on at all. She might not know how to cook either."

Shaking his head helplessly, Jiang He could see that he might have to plant a kitchen helper, since his point in planting a maid was so that she would cook and wash the dishes, and nothing else elaborate.

He went downstairs, with Sora gingerly following him.

Mu Wanqiu was thinking about something when she turned and saw them. She almost fell, her eyes widened as she stared tightly at Sora blankly, even feeling a mysterious uneasiness inside.

Meanwhile, Jiang He threw a cucumber and an eggplant to Sora, saying, "The rice is in the storehouse with the seasoning. Go get them yourself."

After having given his instructors, he plonked down on the couch while crunching down on a carrot, smiling, "Now, let's talk. What did you want to speak to me about?"

Mu Wanqiu, however, was staring at Sora in curiosity, watching as she went outside to carry the rice in.

The fifty-catties of rice… that Jiang He had not eaten more than a few servings of.

It appeared to strain with Sora's small stature.

But after she put down the rice, she went out to get the seasoning…

Jiang He frowned then, exclaiming, "That body is a little weak!"

On the other hand, there was a look of disgust on Mu Wanqiu's face when she saw Sora's maid costume, and seethed, "I never expected that you are a person like this, Jiang He!"

"How could you let a frail girl like her do your dirty, heavy labor?

"Since she's living with you now, you have to take responsibility for her!"

Mu Wanqiu appeared furious.

"What?"

Jiang He was utterly confused and at a loss for words. What was she being annoyed about?

"I'm living alone in a huge house. Is hiring a maid outrageous? And how is carrying rice a dirty, hard labor? If she couldn't carry it, I'll come up with something to strengthen her physically so that she could move it more easily."

"Maid?"

Mu Wanqiu was clearly doubtful. 'Who are you trying to fool?

'You are even playing with costumes already, and you tell me that is a maid you hired?'

Giving Mu Wanqiu a look, Jiang He decided that he was not bothered to fight her on it, and asked, "You've come about beast taming, didn't you? How is it? Have you found a target?"

Upon mentioning that matter, Mu Wanqiu turned away from the topic of maids too.

"I've read through the information about Ferals near Lingzhou City," she said, "and I've noticed there's a valley of snakes near Lingzhou City, where a rank-seven python king resides. It also rules over a swarm of pythons, with no lack of rank-six and rank-five pythons."

Eh?

Jiang He blinked and asked, "Valley of snakes… is it near the Ningdong Mines?"

"You've heard of it?"

Mu Wanqiu replied. "That's right, it's not too far from Ningdong Mines. By the way, with regards to the python king, it seems that it is only rank-seven intermediate, but the python swarm is huge. If you think you couldn't handle it, we could pick another solitary target."

"No…"

Jiang He said awkwardly then. "I've already killed the Leopard Python, and I leveled that valley of snakes. Aren't your information outdated? Still, to tell the truth, the Leopard Python meat is quite delicious. I'll have Sora cook you a portion later."

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Chapter 118: I'm Smaller Now

Mu Wanqiu's eyes widened and she could not help exclaiming, "When did that happen?"

"Just a while ago."

Jiang He recalled things abit as he said, "I first cut off a chunk of its tail, and thought that it was quite delicious after I cooked it. Then, after I killed the Earth Demon Heavenly General and the Tranquil Heavenly General and started to felt bored while waiting for the Martial Arts Department (MAD) to come, I went over to the valley of snakes for a bit."

Taking a bite out of his carrot, Jiang He leaned back on his sofa and added, "I was thinking that it wasn't far, and the snake was quite tasty so I simply killed it. I had no idea it would mess up your plans."

Delicious?

Bored?

And then simply killing a rank-seven intermediate Feral?

Mu Wanqiu turned silent, unsure how to continue the conversation.

Most importantly, when had rank-seven intermediate Ferals become that weak?

One should know that even for rank-seven pinnacle grandmasters, defeating rank-seven intermediate Ferals were easy, but killing them was difficult.

Still, Jiang He had accomplished too many miracles. Come to think of it, killing a rank-seven intermediate python did not amount to much, considering that he had killed Pain Star and Killer Star, as well as Kun of the Left, an elder of the Sky Demon Cult.

Mu Wanqiu squeezed out a smile after musing to herself for some time, saying, "It's a good thing that you've killed the Leopard Python to save the people. Well, I'll gather more intelligence after I get back, although there aren't many Ferals near Lingzhou City. Moreover, most of the powerful Ferals are concentrated at Mount Dadong, where the Graywolf King is… I would need to investigate things further and see if there are any spotting of rank-seven Ferals at other locations.

Mount Dadong?

As a matter of fact, Jiang He was very interested in Mount Dadong since it was uninhabited for hundreds of miles with countless powerful Ferals, but he would not be going for now with the Graywolf King's presence.

Safety was Jiang He's policy. Why go to Mount Dadong when he was no confident in killing his target?

"We could widen the area if there's none near Lingzhou City, such as Mount Luo or Mount Helan… I'm not convinced there wouldn't be any Ferals there in those Mountains."

Jiang He urged.

After all, he had already promised Mu Wanqiu he would help, and since he was idling anyway, he could catch a few Ferals for her as soon as possible and then manage his farm in peace.

The only question was…

How was he supposed to tame a beast?

He only ever encountered one real beast-tamer before—it was that D-class Sky Demon Cult beast-tamer who came with that unlucky rank-four named Cordo to start some trouble at Jinyintan Village. Still, he was blown into pieces by a pea bomb before they had a chance to talk.

"Maybe I could try developing a beast-taming method…"

Jiang He thought inwardly, whereas Mu Wanqiu changed the subject, smiling, "Jiang He, I've heard that you've slain Kun of the Left. He was the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult and holds a noble rank, so you must have received much rewards, hadn't you?"

"That's the other thing you came to talk about? You're really a businesswoman, Miss Mu!" Jiang He teased.

"But Kun of the Left was quite poor—he only had one S-grade alloy combat blade and sixteen S-grade alloy flying daggers. He did not even carry cash, let alone a single golden ingot."

Rising to his feet, Jiang He added, "I left those at the storeroom. Wait a moment, I'll go get them now."

In fact, Jiang He had kept the S-grade combat blade in his System Backpack. Still, he should not take it out directly in front of Mu Wanqiu, so he had to pretend for a bit at the storeroom.

Before he left, he went to the luxurious kitchen, where Sora was cooking.

She was wearing an apron she got from somewhere and was frying the python meat proficiently.

"She's actually quite good at cooking… it seems that I've worried too much. This must be a maid's mandatory skill, right? If that's the case, I won't need a kitchen helper now." Jiang He nodded subtly and smiled contentedly.

Still…

Jiang He is being constantly reminded of the plot in certain movies when she is cooking in that maid costume.

After that, he feigned going to the storeroom, and then returned with the combat blade.

Mu Wanqiu gently stroked the back of the blade, her beautiful eyes twinkling as she said, "Kun of the Left must have been carrying this blade around with him and honing it with his True Qi. From the grief and killing intent lingering on its edge, he must have used it to kill frequently!"

"What a shame…"

"If Kun of the Left was a top elite who had grasped blade will and nurtured his blade with blade will, even helping it develop a certain extent of consciousness, this blade would have been worth no less than three hundred million dollars. Right now, the highest price I could offer you is sixty-eight million."

"Oh?"

Jiang He was naturally aware of what 'blade-will' was.

At Mu Wanqiu's words, he said unhappily, "I did hear Commander Chen mentioning that Kun of the Left had learned blade will, but that must have been recent and he probably did not have the time to nurture his combat blade… Oh, why would that bastard be in such a hurry to provoke me? Can't he wait for a few days and hone his sword before coming?"

Mu Wanqiu: "…"

She became reluctant to talk.

Nonetheless, dinner was soon ready.

Sora placed the dishes on the dinner table, and only then did she come to Jiang He and said sweetly, "Master, dinner's ready."

Smiling, Jiang He rose to his feet and said, "Come dine with me, Mu Wanqiu."

Mu Wanqiu, however, was looking at Sora in surprise… how did Jiang He manage to discipline a beauty with such good looks and glamor? She would actually call him 'master' with someone else around?

And not only was her cosplay alluring, she was even in-character, acting as if she really was a maid?

"I'll pass this time. I've eaten before I came… Eh? How does that smell so nice?"

Mu Wanqiu had wanted to decline, but smelled an alluring scent before she could finish. So, she had to stiffen herself and sit at the dinner table, saying, "Alright, I'll have a smaller portion. Let's see how delicious the Leopard Python's meat is."

The dishes were simple.

White rice.

Stir-fired eggplant with meat, cucumber coleslaw with carrot shreds.

Still, when it comes to price, those two dishes would be worth millions. The worth of the carrot and the cucumber notwithstanding, the eggplant alone would drive the masses crazy with its properties, such as easing swells, stopping bleeding, and promoting longevity.

Mu Wanqiu first had a taste of the meat fillets, and felt as if the pores all over her body was opening up.

She then took a bite of the eggplant…

And exclaimed in shock and a face full of disbelief. "Are eggplants that tasty?"

Hence, her 'smaller portion' became two bowls of rice, just as she single-handedly devoured half the dishes.

Jiang He was scowling after he walked her out.

"Glutton!

"Such an appetite!

"I haven't had my fill, and the dishes are already gone…"

Jiang he hence blacklisted Mu Wanqiu amongst the guests of his dinner table.

Taking out a big cucumber, Jiang He told Sora contentedly, "The food was not bad. Here, this is your reward…"

With that, Jiang He went up to the swimming pool on the third floor and had a good bath.

Afterward, he lay on the comfortable Simmons bedding. All Jiang He felt was comfort and the impulse to jump and roll over the bed… That was something the narrow space in his sports car would never compare to.

It was only around 12 midnight when Jiang He fell asleep peacefully.

However, he was soon woken up by a WeChat video call.

Groggily answering the call, all he heard was Mu Wanqiu's thrilled voice, with the lens aimed straight at her chest as she shrieked, "It shrank! Jiang He, I'm smaller now…"

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Chapter 119: Self-Made Physical Beast Taming Method

"What? Bigger? Smaller?"

Groggy from sleep, Jiang He only found a sheet of whiteness when he glanced at the video, barking, "Are you mental, Mu Wanqiu? What time is it, and you're still not letting me sleep?"

He hung up.

And promptly blacklisted her!

After that, he returned to dreamland, and slept until he awoke naturally, washed up and wobbled downstairs.

Sora was standing by the stairs waiting, curtseying as she said with her coquettish voice, "Lunch is ready, Master."

She pulled out a chair when Jiang He reached the table, and only then did she serve the steaming dishes. It was still rice, eggplant over meat, coleslaw cucumber over carrot shreds, but there was also corn porridge today.

Jiang He had his fill.

Then, just as he put his chopsticks aside, Sora quickly walked up and cleaned his mouth with an expensive-looking handkerchief.

There was enjoyment all over Jiang He's face, and he was sighing inwardly!

There was little wonder why the rich would hire a maid. So, the feeling of enjoyment was this pleasant… Did his meals even have such variety before?

A single pot of cooked rice would last him three days.

And he had to crunch down on cucumbers in every meal…

He was on the verge of vomiting, and most importantly, he had to clean the dishes afterwards.

"There aren't that many ingredients. I'll take you to the city at night and buy some… I'll get some crop seeds too, so we could plant them. We get to feast right after the harvest, not to mention it's green and doesn't pollute the environment."

"Yes, Master."

Sora stood tamely at a corner.

But as Jiang He looked at her, he suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, who was it that prank called me last night?"

"Mu Wanqiu?"

"She said something… was smaller?"

Rubbing his temples, Jiang He seemingly understanding what that white stuff was.

But why would she call him because she was smaller?

An idea struck him then, and Jiang He exclaimed in surprise, "It couldn't be the eggplant, could it?"

"Easing swells… Those things count as swells?"

Cold sweat promptly broke out over Jiang He's body. He quickly took of his pants for a look, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, saying, "Luckily, it's not smaller… Moreover, this isn't a swell, is it?"

'My junk is born huge. How is that a swell?'

Jiang He glanced at Sora then.

She was staring at him in shock, her eyes almost bulging.

Putting on his pants back on with composure, Jiang He said, "Alright, stop looking. Go wash the dishes."

"Yes, Master."

Sora came to her senses then, and fled to the kitchen.

Shock appeared all over Jiang He's face… wasn't that reaction too intelligent? It did not feel like she was planted at all, and it was as if she was no different from a real person.

Jiang He went to sit on the couch afterwards, putting pen and paper on the coffee table as he started to think about how he could develop a beast-taming method.

He had nowhere to start even after thinking for half a day.

That stuff was too difficult to make up, unlike the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms or Dragon-Elephant Prajna, which he could mnemonic chant online to fabricate with…

"Hold on."

"Online? Fabricate?"

Jiang He's eyes twinkled as he whipped out his phone and turned on the browser, typing in [How to tame your Feral] and searched it. However, there was not much information on that subject, and after browsing for a long time, Jiang He only found one unreliable article titled [Four Rules of Beast Taming].

[First Rule: Reward the pet if it did something you hoped for. Pretend you did not see it if the animal did something you don't want.]

Jiang He raised his pen, mused to himself for a moment before revamping it!

"Reward the Feral if it did something you hoped for. Beat it until it's almost dead if it did something you don't want!"

Jiang He nodded in satisfaction after he repeated the first rule of beast taming he revamped three times.

After all…

Unlike animals, Ferals were as powerful as they were dangerous. Are you really supposed to act as if you saw nothing if it made a mistake? Would that not be allowing a decay of discipline?

"As the saying goes, good boys are only born under the stick. It's the same for taming Ferals—we have to beat them up like they're our own children, and only then would they listen."

Jiang He turned towards the second rule then.

[By following the principle of exclusion, you could train your pet to something else when it is reluctant to do something you desire. If the principle of exclusion applies to both matters, your objective is achieved.]

Jiang He stared at the second rule for a long time, before realizing…

"I have no idea. What even is that principle of exclusion? It seems revamp is the only way!"

Lifting his pen, Jiang He mused to himself for a bit before writing, [When the Feral you're training does not do what you want, beat it until it does. With that, your objective is achieved.]

Then, he saw that the third rule of beast taming was [It's never the animal's fault].

Heh.

Jiang He thought that the rule was utter nonsense.

He wrote [It's always the Feral's fault] instead.

The fourth rule of beast-taming was: [Even the best beast-tamers could never change animal instincts. As the saying goes, you can't teach a cat to dive.]

???

Jiang He snorted.

Not changing the animal's instincts? How is that called beast taming?

He felt his inspiration coming like a surging spring then, and wrote: It is only by changing the Feral's instincts that you're considered a beast tamer, such as making cats dive, teaching sows to climb trees, having tigers eat grass and stopping dogs from eating poo.

After he was finished, Jiang He noticed after some thought that those four rules were only suitable for tamed Ferals… which only made them more obedient.

One should know that 99% of all Ferals were lethal.

So how are you supposed to deal with Ferals that want you dead once you encountered them?

There was something online that mention the use of lures…

And then there was 'eagle toil' that was used for birds.

Jiang He disapproved of those measures. It was just taming Ferals—why go through so much trouble?

Lighting himself a cigarette as he thought about the matter, Jiang He soon had a idea and wrote: Attack any Feral that you want to tame once you encounter them until they were half-dead and compliant.

Slamming his pen on the table, Jiang He nodded in satisfaction after reading through his 'beast-taming method', chuckling, "Not bad, not bad. I think this beast-taming method would work."

"Right… now that I have the manual, surely it can't go without a name?"

Still, the naming was easy since the simpler it was, the better it was.

After some thought, he wrote [Physical Beat-Taming Method] on top of the paper.

Manual in hand, Jiang He arrived at the yard.

With just a look, Dumbo promptly said with its Xibei-Sichuan accent, "Wait a bit, Master. I'll get digging."

Picking up a shovel, it made a hole in just several strokes.

Jiang He was about to plant the beast-taming manual when he suddenly realized, "Hold on… I've used up both chances to plant cultivation manuals after my farm improved to level three."

After some thought, Jiang He put away his 'physical beast-taming manual', thinking, 'It's not a problem whether I plant it since it's an average beast-taming style and not a cultivation manual. Would I be unable to cultivate it when I developed it?'

Moreover, cultivating this manual was simple: He just had to find a bunch of Ferals and test it on them one after another.

Even if he weaker in talent, he would definitely succeed after he beat up five hundred Ferals!

Jiang He's phone started ringing then.

It was Mu Wanqiu.

Answering her call, Jiang He chuckled in surprise, "Why are you calling, Mu Wanqiu? Don't you always contact me on WeChat?"

Mu Wanqiu clenched her teeth on the other side of the call!

WeChat?!

Are you doing this on purpose?!

How am I supposed to contact you on WeChat after you blacklisted me?!

She took a deep breath, holding back her rage as she said, "Jiang He, I've worked overnight to check through the information about Ferals spotted around the Western Xia province. It seems that a martial artist had seen a black panther at Mount Helan, and it could be a rank-seven Feral."

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Chapter 120: Mutated Fungi

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mount Helan was located on the borders of Western Xia province, stretching 220km from north to west and 40 km from east to west. Since it was around 200 km away from Lingzhou City, it was not actually too far.

Jiang He checked online, and found out that Mount Helan was within a region with frequent seismic activities: a magnitude-8 earthquake had occurred back in 1739 and a magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred in 1561 and 1709.

There was also a coal mine over at the northern sector of Mount Helan, and there used to be a coal processing plant located in that region.

A lot of information about Mount Helan was available, just as there were a number of legends originating from that place.

The most famous amongst them were their many ancient cave paintings, most prominently of a sun god that was listed as one of the world's most famous unsolved mysteries. There were many paintings of UFOS, and the people depicted there resembled extraterrestrials.

Although plants used to have a hard time growing on Mount Helan, its ecosystem changed drastically following the revival of qi. Bushes and forests were now growing atop the mountain, but with fearsome poisonous insects and Ferals moving in, no average joe would dare to venture inside.

On the other hand, Jiang He was quite interested in Mount Helan.

He was troubled that he had nowhere to cultivate in physical beast-taming. Would Mount Helan not be the best choice in that respect?

Hence, he told Mu Wanqiu over the phone, "Let's go to Mount Helan, then. I've heard of the place long ago but never went there—should we ready up before we leave tomorrow?"

"You'll decide when."

After some thought, Mu Wanqiu asked, "Jiang He, Mount Helan is filled with poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, which would have evolved into Ferals after the Revival of Qi. Should I get some people from the Superpower Research Department to help?"

"Save the trouble… I'll capture the Ferals first, and you could arrange for transport later."

With that, Jiang He hung up.

Even as Mu Wanqiu listened to the beeping from the other end of the call, she was puzzled…

Why did it feel like Jiang He was rather… excited?

Was she imagining things?

She must be!

Live capture of Ferals was much more difficult compared to killing them. Moreover, Mount Helan was a dangerous place—even if there was no information on dangerous Ferals there, no one had ventured deep inside to investigate either. Who would know what unknown threats were there?

After musing for a moment, however, Mu Wanqiu returned to her work.

Meanwhile, Jiang He had returned inside his mansion, changed his clothes before going to Sora's side while she wiped the floor on her knees, "Tidy up the house. I'm going into the city for a bit for an errand."

He drove into Lingzhou City, visiting the agricultural market first and buying a lot of vegetable seeds.

After that, he went to a barbecue shop to replenish his spices and condiments, along with some other ingredients including steamed bean curd rolls, meatballs, and tofu.

Of course, he also bought a new barbeque set and equipment.

After all, he would get bored of eating smoked meat every day, and changing his palate occasionally was quite good.

"Right!"

"I still have to prepare for camping outside… since it could be noon when I wake up tomorrow. It's very troublesome if I still have to look for Ferals after a two hundred kilometers journey!"

"I'm definitely not getting home tomorrow. How am I supposed to sleep without a safe, comfortable spot in the middle of the wild?"

Jiang He searched the streets over half a day, and only then did he manage to buy a simple single-person tent.

Although he still had eight more capsule mansions, those were too unbelievable. It would also be inconvenient to use it since Mu Wanqiu would be there as well, and he should have a tent ready just in case.

The sun was already setting when Jiang He returned home.

Sora was preparing dinner in the kitchen.

And at the living room, Dumbo was sitting cross-legged and leaning into the couch, wearing a pair of shades he found somewhere and chewing a cigarette, looking just like a thug dog.

Jiang He was quite amused.

Would it not be more outrageous if he got Dumbo a pair of flowery shorts?

"Master!"

Sensing Jiang He's return, Dumbo promptly leaped up from the couch gingerly, just like a grade schooler who had committed an offense.

"Am I that scary?"

Jiang He teased, smiling. "I'll call Duan Tianhe tomorrow to hook us up with internet, and I'll also get a few computers and a TV, so you guys could relax while you look after the house… by the way, is dinner ready, Sora?"

"Soon, Master. Please wait for a moment."

It was time for dinner after Jiang He washed his hands.

After finishing dinner, Jiang He went upstairs to have a bath. At the same time, after Sora was finishing cleaning the plates, she went to the bathroom on her own initiative to give him a massage. It was so comfortable—such was how plain life with a maid was.

Having bathed, Jiang He went to his bedroom, whipped out his phone, and swiped through the news.

Before he fell asleep, he went to take a look at the Warrior Home forums.

Surprisingly, there had been a dozen replies to his [WTB mutated seeds] post that he had put up hastily, although most of the replies were unrelated and could be ignored straightaway, half of which were about recruitment.

"How hard are these parties going with their recruitment? That they would try to pull me in on my own post?"

In truth, Jiang He had forgotten to make his personal information private. That was why every other martial artist and Awakened who could see his data and martial artist. It would be weird if they did not try to recruit him!"

Still, aside from those recruitment posts, there was a private message.

Jiang He clicked on it to find that it was sent by a user whose ID was the 'Great Desert Swordsman'. His personal data was not set on private eighter, and Jiang He found out that he was actually a rank-four martial artist.

He was not strong, but certainly not weak either.

The legacy of martial arts has an extensive history, and one could cultivate techniques even before the Revival of Qi, although it would be more difficult before and easier afterward.

Of course, 'easier' was relative.

It was still not easy for a normal person to cultivate as a martial artist.

As for superhumans?

There was no common ground between the Awakened, and everything from how they awakened to what powers they awakened was random. In fact, after years of researching on that topic, the Superpower Research Department was still unable to find any method to control awakening.

Jiang He was not learned on that subject either, which was why he was not aware how awesome the grave grass that he planted was!

Back to the topic at hand.

Great Desert Swordsman's message was simple:

[I have information about mutated states available for 50 merit points. My mobile number is 131XXXXXXX…]

Jiang He checked the time of the message—it was posted hours ago.

After some thought, he dialed Great Desert Swordsman's number.

The dialing tone rang a dozen times.

Then, the call was answered, and a quiet but rough voice spoke from the other end. "Wang Meng speaking. Who are you?"

"Great Desert Swordsman?"

Jiang He asked, and after confirming that the other person was who had been looking for, he cut to the point, "I saw your comment at Warrior Home. You have information about mutated seeds for sale?"

"That's right!"

Great Desert Swordsman answered from the other end. 'I've discovered some mutated fungi out in the wild before, and my ascension to rank four has to do with that encounter."

It appeared that Great Desert Swordsman was business savvy—he first released a hook that drew his audience's interest before saying, "But I need you to pay up first. I'll give you the information after I received the merit points. Don't worry, I have some reputation in Xibei, I'm not going to cheat you off those dozens or so merit points…"

Beep!

Jiang He promptly hung up.

'Is that man mental?

'Pay first, goods later?

'Is he doubting my reputation?'

"Mutated fungi…"

Jiang He muttered then. When it came to fungi, could it be the mushroom known as the prince?

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Chapter 121: Cold Shoulder Me Today…

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Of course, fungi species were not limited to the prince mushroom.

But what is the fungi species in the first place?

Most commonly seen mushrooms were fungi, including wood-ear and snow fungus. They do not have chlorophyll to perform photosynthesis, and they could be found living everywhere: underwater, in the air, beneath the soil or even within the body of plants and animals.

As a matter of fact, Jiang He was quite interested in the mutated fungi.

However, he could not bear with Great Desert Swordsman's attitude.

Pay up front?

Was he afraid that Jiang He would cheat him?

"Bleh. I'm more afraid that he would try to cheat me. If you are known in Xibei, why haven't I heard of you?" Jiang He complained, and was about to sleep when his phone started ringing.

It was Wang Meng.

So, Jiang He promptly rejected the call.

Still, that man stubbornly called back, and a modern classic saying appeared in Jiang He's head then: Cold shoulder me today, and I'll destroy you tomorrow.

Lighting himself a cigarette, Jiang He only answered then.

Over at the other end, Wang Meng was laughing. "Uh, well, I was just joking just now, bro… You wanted to buy mutated fruit or vegetable seeds, right? Fungi counts, I believe?"

His attitude was much better this time, and his tone less arrogant. "I definitely discovered mutated fungi out in the wild and managed to pluck one by luck. We could talk in detail if you're interested."

"Didn't you say that the reason you could ascend up to rank-four was mostly thanks to that fungi?" Jiang He replied.

Wang Meng chuckled awkwardly on the other end, saying, "I was just exaggerating. My ascension definitely was connected to that experience, but it was not mostly because of the mutated fungi."

Jiang He nodded.

That was much better.

If that fool had still insisted that his ascension from rank three up to rank four was because of the mutated fungi, Jiang He would suspect him for being a cheater!

One should know that rising from rank-three to rank-four in martial arts was a great leap, but if successful, the individual's ability would improve by leaps and bounds—even by several folds, along with gaining the ability to cultivate True Qi.

Such information would be worth more than 50 merit points even when sold to the Martial Arts Department (MAD).

Meanwhile, Wang Meng was still tirelessly introducing how special that 'mutated fungi' was, how his qi and body improved immensely after consumption and his whole body was filled with inexhaustible vigor…

Unable to help it, Jiang He asked, "Mister Wang, can I just ask… what is that fungi you harvested?"

Pausing, Wang Meng then quietly said, "Wood-ear."

"Then start with that! Again and again with that mutant fungi, I almost thought that you found lingzhi!" Jiang He barked, a little lost for words. "Are you from Western Xia?"

"Yup!"

"Where in Western Xia?"

"My old place was in the Helan district, but I moved two years ago." Wang Meng replied.

It seems that he was a martial artist with some ability even before the Revival of Qi, and had only recently cultivated up to rank-four. Still, he knows more than the average person, and it made sense that he moved house early on.

Moreover, it was reported in the news a while ago that the entire Helan district was being moved to the new city zone of Western Xia. With Mount Helan just beside that district, it was too dangerous not to be evacuated.

"That works."

Jiang He said. "Incidentally, I'm heading to Mount Helan tomorrow. We could meet up then."

From Lingzhou City, he would pass Western Xia City on his way to Mount Helan.

After he hung up, Jiang He yawned, ready to sleep.

Despite his interest at first, once he heard that Wang Meng's mutated fungi was wood-ear, he felt… uninterested.

"Still, wood-ears are wood-ears…"

"That stuff is quite good stir-fried or served cold. It's a match in heaven with cucumber and nutritious, and it would definitely be stronger in effect after I grow it."

Soon, Jiang He was in dreamland.

Sleeping until he woke naturally again, he washed up and went downstairs, where Sora was waiting by the stairs just like yesterday, saying coquettishly, "Master, I have prepared lunch for you, look…"

Jiang He was about to tell her that he would eat right away, but when he looked up to find Mu Wanqiu on the living room couch, he quickly said, "Wait a moment. I have something to discuss with Miss Mu."

After all, he did blacklist Mu Wanqiu.

Mu Wanqiu herself was rather speechless when saw him in his pajamas. "Do you always wake up at this hour, Jiang He?"

"Of course."

Jiang He replied, sitting opposite her with a begrudging smile. "The dogs of the Sky Demon Cult had been troubling me so much that the quality of my sleep was on free fall. I would wake up by default at this hour every day, and can't fall back to sleep!"

As he spoke, he leaned into the couch with a helpless look as he rubbed his temples. "I'll go with you to Mount Helan first. After I come back, I'll come up with an idea to adjust my body and see if I could improve my sleep.

Mu Wanqiu: "…"

She took out her phone and look carefully at it.

It was definitely one o'clock.

So why Jiang He was talking as if the sun had not risen?

'You only woke up in the afternoon, and that is still poor sleep?

'How about me, when I have to deal with truckloads of work and still cultivate, sleeping just around four to five hours per day?'

Since she was becoming more furious the more she thought about it, she rose to her feet, saying, "Hurry up and eat your lunch. We'll be heading to Mount Helan immediately after you're done."

With that, she strode out of the mansion and climbed on to her off-road vehicle, which she parked outside his yard.

Jiang He gave chase, saying, "Well, do you want to eat a little since lunch is ready? Alright, if you don't want to eat, please help me carry some of the camping equipment up in your car.

"…"

Mu Wanqiu scowled even harder.

Did I say I didn't want to?

And am I going to bankrupt you from just one meal?

Then, she saw Jiang He enter his storeroom and carry out a huge pile of items.

Barbeque rack, sleeping back, tent… and even bottle of oil, a steel wok, and a large clutter of condiments.

"It was on short notice so my preparation was rushed, that's why these are all I had. Still, if you're worried about food, we could get ingredients from Mount Helan itself… anyway, help me move them—I'm going to have lunch."

Atop Mount Helan.

Several figures were standing side-by-side and looking out into the distance on one of the ridges.

Along their gaze, they could clearly see the crown of an enormous tree on one of the ridges opposite.

There was no wind, but the tree crown was shaking without end. When Ferals passed it by on occasion, there would be a crisp 'thud', and the creature would end up in pieces, its blood and remains splattering all over the ground.

And in no time at all, those remains would disappear without a trace, as if the earth itself had devoured it, leaving only a pile of dried bones.

Upon a closer look, there was a big pile of dried bones beneath that big tree.

A middle-aged martial artist with facial hair carrying an alloy combat axe appeared thrilled as he said somberly, "It's big. It's definitely a big one. Us few are never going to handle it—Bound Star, contact headquarters immediately for backup!"

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Chapter 122: The Soil Eats Humans

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"I'm leaving for a few days. You two look after the house!"

"There's fifty thousand bullets in the storehouse. If an enemy proves too powerful, shoot his butt!"

After his lunch, Jiang He called out to Dumbo and Trumbo, issuing a ton of instructions before he left the mansion.

Then, he glanced at Mu Wanqiu who at the gates and smiled. "You've loaded the stuff already? Good, now we can go."

"By the way…

"Could we get some beer and sunflower seeds if we pass by a supermarket?"

Jiang He had no intention of driving himself, since there was much to carry and his sports car had no baggage space. Moreover, he did not want to reveal his System Backpack to Mu Wanqiu, and was it not just right for him since Mu Wanqiu was driving an off-road vehicle?

He opened the door and sat beside the driver's seat, when he found that Mu Wanqiu was glaring at him with clenched teeth.

"Drive," he said. "What time is it already? What are you looking at me for?"

So, you actually could tell the time?

A little lost for words, Mu Wanqiu said, "Jiang He, we don't actually need the barbecue rack, do we? I've brought vacuum compressed food."

"What is those trash compared to smoked meat?"

"What about the beer and sunflower seeds, then?"

Then, as the car drove out of the village, Mu Wanqiu forced a smile. "Ferocious beasts and poisonous insects were flourishing on Mount Helan even before the Revival of Qi. The ecosystem changed drastically after that, and there would definitely be many powerful Ferals. With dangers lurking everywhere and since we're not going for a pleasure trip in the first place, let's skip the beer and sunflower seeds."

"Wouldn't the spirit of barbecue be lost if there are no beers?"

Jiang He smiled. "I've not been to Mount Helan before, but I heard that the environment there has become lush after the Revival of Qi. The scenery is countless times better than before, so let's just consider it a pleasure trip… oh, right, did you bring a camera? My phone's camera pixels aren't that high."

"…"

Mu Wanqiu took a deep breath then.

At the same time, Jiang He was staring at the small undulation, and suddenly realized…

Were they smaller?

Still, they looked as huge as before. Could the reason be her wearing a body-hugging sportswear, which made them looked larger?

Later, after they had bought sunflower seeds and beers in town, Mu Wanqiu promptly accelerated her car.

That left Jiang He rather surprised, and he asked her while he continued eating sunflower seeds, "Are you supposed to speed up on a highway?"

After all, were railways and highways not always destroyed by Ferals after the Revival of Qi?

"The highway connecting Lingzhou City to Western Xia was not destroyed, although after we get off the interchange on Western Xia, we'll be moving slower."

As a matter of fact, Mu Wanqiu was good at driving—the car was steady even though the car was moving at 140.

One reason was the fine condition of the road, and secondly…

She was an Awakened. While she would not match a martial artist of the same level physically, her reflexes and physical conditioning was much better than the average human. As long as the car was good, she could go even faster, let alone 140.

When they were about to reach Western Xia, Jiang He dialed Great Desert Swordsman's number.

"I'm near the highway too," Wang Meng said. "I'll wait for you there."

Ten minutes later, Jiang He indeed met him.

He looked every bit as strong as rough as Jiang he thought.

Standing at 1.9 meters, he was burly and tanned. He was wearing a camouflage suit and had an alloy combat blade slung over his back, as well as a small knife and several flying daggers hanging over his hip.

There were two other men and one woman with Wang Meng.

From their aura, one of the men was a rank-three martial artist while the other was rank-four. The woman, who was dressed in red, was a little ugly albeit having a good figure, and she had a rather icy aura.

That was a far cry from a martial artist's qi, and she clearly was an Awakened.

Jiang He had a hunch that she was a water-type Awakened.

"You're Great Desert Swordsman?"

Jiang He walked up to shake Wang Meng's hand before glancing at the others. "I'm a little curious, but you guys must be a warrior party, right? You don't seem weak, and since you know about the mutated… wood-ear, why don't you go harvest them yourselves?"

Wang Meng shook his head, saying, "I would have tried half a year ago, but there's no way I can do that now. The mutated fungi I found as located at the Rolling Bell Mouth deep in Mount Helan, and with my party's current abilities, there is little chance we would survive."

The Rolling Bell Mouth was a former scenic spot in Mount Helan. It was said that a warlord of the Republic of China had once built a summer villa there.

"Oh?

Jiang He's gaze twitched then as he smiled. "I was about to head to Mount Helan myself. Could something had happened there recently?"

"Are you heading to Mount Helan right now?"

Wang Meng's expression changed as he quickly said, "Buddy, for the sake of our acquaintance, listen to me. It's not safe up at Mount Helan right now, so don't go there right now. It's not too late for you to wait until the storm's over before you climb up the mountain."

He then lowered his voice, adding, "It is said that a treasure had been spotted up on the peak, drawing many powerful Ferals and elites. Allegedly, there are people slaughtering each other on the mountain every day now, and blood-curdling screams could be heard every night."

"Buddy, listen to me here. Don't just get killed up on Mount Helan right after I sold you the information…"

Jiang He smiled.

While Wang Meng was not good with words, Jiang He could tell that his advice came out of the goodness of his heart.

Nonetheless, he handily logged in to Warrior Home and transferred a hundred merit points to Wang Meng, saying, "I've credited fifty more merit points to your account. Tell me a bit more about Mount Helan."

Wang Meng's expression changed again, but he stopped persuading Jiang He. After musing to himself for a moment, he then spoke, "This is actually hearsay, but word is that the very soil of Mount Helan devours humans, and there were also rumors that treasure was buried beneath its ground. That said, the appearance of many powerful Ferals and martial artists was definitely real."

Jiang He frowned, but soon offered Wang Meng a fist-palm salute. "Many thanks."

When he returned to Mu Wanqiu's car, she asked, "Should we find a different target?"

"No need. Now, drive."

Jiang He was actually more interested in Mount Helan now.

The soil devoured humans?

'Could the 'soil' itself have mutated?

'I wonder if it eats potatoes…

'Or should I dig some of that man-eating soil to see if I could grow something out of it?'

Meanwhile, as Wang Meng and his group watched Jiang He leave, one of his party members could not help exclaiming, "Bro Meng, where did that kid come from? Is he really that fearless, or is he just new to this? He even brought a chick with him to Mount Helan… does he think he's on vacation or something?"

"Shut up!"

Wang Meng barked coldly.

Though his ability was strong and nearing rank-four advanced, he was completely unable to observe Jiang He's depth, although he did feel a faint signature of fire-type power from Mu Wanqiu.

So, how could someone chauffeured around by a fire-type Awakened who was stronger than Wang Meng himself be a newbie?

Around five in the afternoon, Mu Wanqiu's off-road vehicle arrived at the foot of Mount Helan.

As she alighted and observed the chain of towering peaks, a vague fear mysterious crept up her heart… Because of her family, Mu Wanqiu had not really experienced a life-or-death struggle until now, despite being an Awakened.

To put it in layman terms: she was still a greenhorn…

On the other hand, Jiang He was raring to go.

There would definitely be no lack of Ferals in these mountains!

Now was the time he observed the effectiveness of his physical beast-taming technique!

Waving at Mu Wanqiu, he said, "Come, let's get up the mountain!"

Meanwhile, twenty kilometers away on another side of Mount Helan.

Guilty Star, carrying his alloy combat axe, arrived beneath the mountain with Bound Star, where they met an old man wearing Chinese traditional clothes.

The old man had a goatee and appeared around sixty.

"Guilty, Star, Bound Star."

The old man smiled. "Wasn't it already mentioned before that a floral spirit had been spotted on Mount Helan? Why would you need me with your combined ability?"

"Third Elder!"

Guilty Star said reverently. "We've found a big one in the mountain… with powers to match a rank-nine!"

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Chapter 123: The Words Of Women Cannot Be Trusted

"Jiang He…"

"Are you…"

"Really a beast-tamer?"

Mount Helan, beside a small creek.

Mu Wanqiu was throwing a weirded-out look at Jiang He.

Right now, his whole hand was dripping with blood, and a rank-four Feral Cow's corpse lay beneath his feet.

It had not been more than several minutes since they entered the mountain when they ran into the Feral Cow. Jiang He, with a look of delight, bounded forward to 'tame it'.

Mu Wanqiu was quite expectant, and wanted to see how Jiang He would display his 'beast-taming' abilities. After all, it was one of the special superpowers that was rarely awakened, and Jiang He had yet to observe from short distances how a beast-tamer pacified Ferals.

And yet.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

After Jiang He leapt forward, he greeted the cow first, only for the beast to charged wildly at him. And then…

Jiang He beat it to death.

Now, crouching beside the creek and washing the beast's blood off his hands, he explained, "Of course I'm a beast-tamer. There is no doubt about it."

"I also remember telling you before that my methods are quite unique and have a greater chance of casualties. Still, you don't have to worry—Mount Helan is very vast, there definitely would be enough Ferals."

Mu Wanqiu forced a smile at that.

'There definitely would be enough Ferals?

'What does that even mean?

'Are you going to beat every Feral on Mount Helan to death?'

She watched Jiang He, before her eyes twitched and she quickly said, "Jiang He, there could be Ferals hiding in the water too, and your blood could draw them…"

Even before she finished, there was an audible splash over the water, and a fish over a meter long suddenly appeared in the creek and bit onto Jiang He's hand.

Crunch.

A crisp sound echoed.

"Eh?"

Jiang He exclaimed in joy. "Am I so lucky that I caught a fish even when I wash my hands?"

He pulled back his hand, but the fish was not letting go. So, Jiang He carried it up to shore.

Nonetheless, with the protection of Indestructible Diamond, would a rank-two fish even chew through him? In fact, he did not have to charge Indestructible Diamond and was not shielded by Nature Qi…

The sheer strength of his physical body had broken several pieces of the fish's teeth.

Dumping the creature on the ground, Jiang He punched its head twice without a word.

It flailed several times, and did not move anymore.

"…"

Jiang He was rather troubled at that, and he exclaimed, "Mistakes were made. The fish is just a rank-two… why is it dead from two soft punches?"

Heh.

Mu Wanqiu did not say a word this time.

Meanwhile, Jiang He whipped out his mobile phone for a look and said, "Time really flies. I thought it had just been minutes after we entered the mountain, why is already seven? Should we have dinner first?"

Then, before Mu Wanqiu could say anything, he said, "Here's not too far from where we parked. Sit here and wait for me—I'll go bring our stuff."

With that, he casted Blind Princess's Eight Practices and bounded away.

The steep mountain forest was no different from flat ground to Jiang He.

He returned to Mu Wanqiu in just twenty minutes, and brought everything from tent, barbecue rack to the food up the mountain.

"Jiang He," Mu Wanqiu could not help saying, "Staying the night in wildlands is exceedingly dangerous these days. Wang Meng himself told us that things aren't peaceful here atop Mount Helan, so can't we find a Feral first, tame one, and quickly return?"

"The sun is soon setting and it's almost dark now. How are we supposed to look for Ferals in the blind gloom?"

Jiang He replied without looking up, even as he assembled his tent according to the manual. "Moreover, Ferals are mostly nocturnal, so there were would more of them at night, logically speaking. In fact, we don't even have to search for them at all—they would come looking for us."

Setting up the tent soon enough, Jiang He started to tinker around with the barbeque rack.

He had also bought a few boxes of coal with the rack, and had brought everything there.

After arranging the coal, Jiang He shot Mu Wanqiu a glare and said unhappily, "What are you doing, just standing there? Come help… why are women all so lazy nowadays?"

"You…"

Mu Wanqiu gritted her teeth indignantly.

Still, with a simple point of a finger…

Whoosh.

The coal was ignited immediately, starting a fire.

Jiang He's eyes twinkled then, and said, "It seems that there's some benefit in bringing a fire-type Awakened to a vacation… Anyway, Mu Wanqiu, could you clean the fish too? I think it's an evolved grass carp and it looks quite good. Gut it a bit and we'll smoke it later."

At the same time, Jiang He had gone to the Feral Cow.

He whipped out the golden cleaver he always carried around with him and gently cut it…

Slash.

The cow's hide was parted, and as Jiang He pulled his cleaver, he sliced off a piece of tendon.

He then simply washed the beef a few times at the creek nearby, and then took out a small chopping from his pile of things, cutting the meat into tiny pieces with a few quick thuds.

Mu Wanqiu was left entirely dumbstruck.

You even brought a cleaver and a chopping board???

You're not supposed to bring every kitchen tool even if it's a barbecue camp, are you?

Jiang He glanced at Mu Wanqiu then, and was a little speechless. "What are you spacing out for? Clean the fish!"

"I…"

Mu Wanqiu said meekly, "I don't know how to gut it."

Jiang He was amused despite his irritation. "You ladies from important families are always so troublesome," he muttered. "Can't even clean a fish… well, do you know how to skewer the meat? The barbecue forks are in that bag. Remember to oil the meat too, and they're in the same bag."

He then walked up, the cleaver in his hand dancing as he scaled the fish.

Then, with a soft slit, the meter-long fish was cut in two, and Jiang He washed it in the spring before taking it out again.

"Well, since you're not every experienced here, let me explain: to grill a fish, you first season it and add fragrant oil. Let it marinate for hours, and only then would the fish taste good."

Jiang He offered Mu Wanqiu some general knowledge about cooking.

With slight disdain.

After all, who would want a woman… who couldn't even cook?

Then, while Jiang He was grilling the fish, he found Mu Wanqiu staring blankly at himself with scarlet cheeks.

"What?" He could not help exclaiming with a scowl. "Are you nursing some unhealthy intentions towards me now?"

"Hmph! Who would want that?"

Mu Wanqiu snorted coolly, although she flushed even harder.

Were the words of women really to be trusted?

Nonetheless, Jiang He did not nitpick with Mu Wanqiu since she had good looks. Instead, his eyes shifted elsewhere and he said, "Come take over the grill. We got a biter."

Right now, the fist was seventy percent cooked, and a thick fragrant fishy smell spread over the dark night.

Ferals with a sharp nose were now all heading towards their direction.

"Rawr!"

With a loud bellow and rustlings amidst the mountain forest, many Ferals that had come close at first disappeared into the night like a wave.

A panther then appeared amongst the trees.

It was three times the size of a normal big cat, and its form was elegant. With a single pounce, it leapt dozens of meters into the air and landed on a boulder, where it lowered its gaze down at the mountain creek where a fire was lit.

That was where the fragrant smell came from.

But just as the panther was about to move, its ears pricked up and it promptly turned its head to another corner, with suspicion showing in its intelligent eyes.

Was there something that just vanished in a flash amidst the woods?

Nonetheless, it found nothing after searching for a while.

'I must have been imagining things. With how sharp my smell is, and how could anything escape my eyes?'

Hence, the panther leapt off the boulder.

However, even as its body hung in the air, a human's figure shot out too.

The silhouettes of two suns hovered behind the human, illuminating the night sky as he laughed. As he slapped out, a dragon's silhouette shot out, its mighty roar quaking the air.

Pow!

The panther was promptly sent flying by the slap.

A voice spoke beside its ears then.

"Hey, big kitty.

"Can we talk? What do you think about becoming my pet?"

As Jiang He streaked forward, a lightbulb flashed in his mind then…

"I understand why I failed to tame beasts now!"

"Hell, I would beat any Feral the moment I see them, basically killing them in a few strokes… without mentioning I want them as my pet!"

His physical beast-taming technique was flawed.

Adjustments were needed!

Chapter 124: Jiang He Tames A Beast

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

All at once, a thousand thoughts crossed Jiang He's mind.

"As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success, and truth could only be reached by doing it!"

"The beast-taming technique I developed myself is only all-talk. Now that I've tested it several times, I finally realized its flaws and shortcomings."

He looked ahead.

The panther had promptly rolled around and risen to its feet, bursting out its rank-seven advanced aura as it growled, glaring warily at Jiang He.

"Human, why did you attack me?"

Though unable to speak, rank-seven Ferals could speak spiritually. Still, Jiang He had experienced that before with the Leopard Python, and therefore was not surprised.

He stared at the panther, his eyes twinkling.

The panther…

Is so cool!

And so imposing.

Moreover, it was not weak. How grand would his house look if it were guarding it?

And it could also be used as a mount.

Those thoughts left him rather distracted.

Meanwhile, the panther seized its chance, and lunged at Jiang He, its form turning into a single dark line.

All big cats are adept at speed in the first place, and they became even more agile after Ferals. That was especially the case for this rank-seven advanced panther—with a single burst of speed, it lunged over a hundred meters forward.

"Nice charge!"

Jiang He came to his senses then, but stood his ground without evading the creature, laughing. "I know you Ferals have strong pride and would never want to become a human's pets. It is only by beating you half to death that you understand how precious life is!"

After all, that was how it was often written in the novels.

The plot always goes like this for the protagonist: When they go out in the wild to train, they would run into some divine beast, dragon or whatnot that holds disdain for the protagonist and humans in general because of their noble bloodlines… but after several clashes, the protagonist would ultimately instill fear upon them, conquering and subjugating them.

Of course, there was also the plot of releasing of a king's imposing charisma that subjugates all beasts.

With a burst of True Qi, the silhouettes of binary suns arose.

Charging Indestructible Diamond and shrouding himself beneath Nature Qi, Jiang He allowed the panther to lunge at him as much as it wanted.

Screech!

With a sound that was no different from nails of a chalkboard, the panther's razor-sharp talons kicked up sparks over the protective Nature Qi, with the creature itself sent flying backwards.

However, its body flipped around mid-air to land on a large tree, and with another angry growl, it charged again.

This time, the panther was quicker than before—a soft gust encircled its form, and the cold glint of blood flashed over its claws.

Rawr!

On the other hand, a dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting could be heard over Jing He's body, just as vague images of a dragons and an elephant appeared around the binary suns behind him.

Dragon Elephant Prajna, unleashed.

His fingers spread apart; Jiang He struck a palm into the air.

Boom!

The air exploded.

That palm was not a move taken from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, nor was it showy—it was nothing more than an average slap, but buffed with Jiang He's abundant True Qi and his brutally powerfully physicality, how strong could that slap be?

The panther, which talons was about to tear through the protective Nature Qi felt as if the skies above were crashing down over it, and hence looked up by instincts.

Slap!

Jiang He slammed the creature into the floor with a single palm.

Crunch.

There was a sound of bones breaking as its backbone was crushed.

The panther howled in anguish, feeling its organs rupturing. Blood shot out of its mouth and nostrils as it landed, sprawled over the ground, breathing out more than in like a dying pup.

"A mere rank-seven advanced, daring to show off in my face… eh?"

Jiang He was about to unleash another palm when his expression changed, sensing the panther's lifeforce rapidly diminishing.

"Are you really rank-seven?" He exclaimed in shock. "Why are you so weak?"

"No, no, no…"

"I've decided to take you as my pet. You can't just die like that!"

Glug~

The panther sputtered another jaw-full of blood.

Its entire being… was utterly dumfounded.

What the heck?

The human was clearly just a rank-six. How could he be this terrifying?

Playing the pig to devour a tiger… or indeed, devour a panther?

'So this is how I die… don't you even know that you've just killed me? What nonsense are you spouting blindly?'

Hence, the panther felt its eyelids grow ever heavier, its body turning ice cold and losing all senses, its consciousness fading…

But in the next split second, it felt that human firmly pinching open its jaws, before sticking a thick, huge object inside. What consciousness remained jolted the panther, granting it a second wind and a heart of resistance.

It wanted to spit out that thick, huge thing.

And yet… It simply could not do it. Instead, the entire object was stuffed inside!

The human was too strong!

Beside it, Jiang He was wiping his forehead.

He couldn't help breathing a long sigh of relief as he felt the panther's vigor strengthening.

What good luck…

He managed to stick the whole eggplant in.

The vegetable should be able to drag the big kitty back from the verge of death, right?

Meanwhile, back at the small mountain creek.

Worry was written all over Mu Wanqiu's face.

Why was there no commotion now?

Why hasn't Jiang He return? Did he run into some danger?

The embers in the barbeque rack was slowly dying out, but the fish was not yet fully cooked. Hence, getting a sudden flash of inspiration, she wrapped her own fire-type power around the fish… in moments, its fishy sweetness was overflowing.

Mu Wanqi tore out a piece of its flesh and chewed on it.

It was delicious!

As if discovering a whole new world, she picked up a few meat skewers and baked them with her powers too.

"So superpowers can be used this way…"

She muttered as she took a bite off one of the smoked meats… well, it was a little burnt since she put in too much heat, but that was fine. All she needed to do was adjust the temperature, and since she had not awakened recently, she could control her own flames as she intended.

Jiang He stepped out of the dark night then, looking envious as he watched Mu Wanqiu grill meat with her own powers.

He has to get fire-type powers now.

That way, things would be more convenient when he was out in the wild, and he wouldn't have to bring a barbecue rack.

Behind him, the panther trilled once.

Pow!

Jiang He slapped the cat into the ground, scolding, "Did I tell you to purr, rascal?"

"What?

"You want some meat?

"Get out of here and eat grass instead!"

[Rule four of beast-taming: change the nature of Ferals.]

Since this was the very first pet he tamed, Jiang He had to discipline it well.

Fifty miles away, on one of the peaks.

The man in traditional Chinese clothing furrowed his brow as he stared out into the dark, distant night.

"There's a fight over there…" He said.

Beside him, Guilty Star, who was carrying an alloy combat-axe replied, "Third Elder, it seems that someone has leaked news that a treasure would soon be born here at Mount Helan, which drew a lot of random martial artist. We should act right away so that the Martial Arts Department and the military would not catch on."

Then, he looked out at the distant hill.

There, a single enormous willow tree stood motionlessly as if in slumber.

Guilty Star's eyes seemed to be blazing then.

It was a mutated plant!

Moreover, it was one that gained sentience, and could otherwise be known as a floral spirit.

Although many plants had mutated following the Revival of Qi, those that could truly develop sentience and could be known as 'floral spirits' were extremely rare. That was why any single floral spirit was very expensive and could at least fetch a price tag of several dozen millions.

Their effects were even more special: some promotes longevity, just as others help with ascensions, or even awakens superpowers within those who consumed it…

Furthermore, the stronger the floral spirit was, the greater that effect would be.

And as a matter of fact, that enormous willow tree was basically a match for rank-nine. Once word of a floral spirit of such caliber gets out, it might attract every divine champion above rank-nine!

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Chapter 125: Third Elder of The Sky Demon Cult

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"The battle is over!"

"I could feel a strong energy signature even across such distances. It must have been a rank-seven who encountered a powerful Feral."

The Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult stared into the night sky, and only withdrew his gaze after a long time.

As a rank-nine who had reached the boundary of wills, his senses were incredibly powerful, and he could determine the approximate power of the people fighting even from fifty miles away.

"Should I take a look?"

Bound Star asked then, making a gesture over his own neck to ask if he should kill them. After all, it was just a rank-seven and Bound Star could easily kill him—in the complex landscape of the mountain forest, earth-type Awakened are buffed greatly in power.

"No need.

"A mere rank-seven would never stir a wave."

Third Elder waved him off.

Standing on one of the peaks and looking out, one could see that the topography of the mountain areas is very unusual. It looks like a bell lying horizontal from afar, and the eastern side was broader like the mouth of a bell. One would be surrounded by three sides of mountains if they entered through the mouth of the bell, and incidentally, the peak where the giant willow tree stood resembled the bell's clapper.

That was why that particular peak was called bell peak, and these mountains was a former scenic spot famous at Mount Helan: Rolling Bell Mouth.

And right now, the Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult looked at the giant willow tree for seconds before suddenly turning, before sprinting down another side of the peak.

Bound Star and Guilty Star followed him closely behind.

They reached a goat path after getting off the mountain.

There were many road signs that once stood beside the path—Mount Helan could be considered famous in Western Xia, attracting a sizeable number of tourists every year.

The Third Elder of the Sky demon Cult seemed to know this place very well too, and was smiling as he pointed ahead, "We'll reach a summer villa if we go down this path. It was once the imperial residence of Li Yuanhao, Emperor Wulie of Western Xia, before it was claimed by Ma Hongkui, a warlord of Xibei and renovated into a summer villa."

"Thirteen years ago, I came to Mount Helan when I was traveling the world, searching for the key to ascend as a grandmaster."

Third Elder stopped walking then and breathed a long sigh, with emotion filling his words.

He pointed at the distant night and said, "Before the Revival of Qi, most peaks near Mount Helan are bald. There was none of the trees and bushes we see today, which was why the best scenery here at the time was limited to the Suyukou Forest Park over there."

Third Elder appeared to have taken up the role of tour guide, smiling as he explained, "Suyukou Forest Park was a virgin forest, and it was most famous for the Helan violet mushroom that locals take to calling the violet lingzhi. Come July and August every year when Suyukou Forest was open for a certain period, the mushroom gatherers would buy their tickets and go in to pluck those mushrooms.

"Violet lingzhi?"

Seeing that it was quite boring for Third Elder to talk alone, Bound Star quickly continued the conversation with a hearty laugh, "Those people are being fools. Pretending that mushrooms are lingzhi?"

Third Elder looked lengthily at Bound Star then.

As he turned back to the distant night sky, there was a glint in his eyes as he said somberly, "I had the same idea as you did then, and even sneaked inside because it was interesting… and I ended up ascending in there!"

Breathing a long sighed, he then smiled, "You have to know that the Revival of Qi had yet come to pass, and it is more than ten times as hard for martial artists to reach the level of grandmaster. That was why many of our predecessors could not surpass the level of rank-six even until they died."

Both Bound Star and Guilty Star were utterly confused, seemingly unable to understand why Third Elder was telling them so many things.

"After I snuck in, all I see was the pleasant scenery that eases my mood. That's why I stayed the night, grilling and eating a lot of those mushrooms… and then I ascended."

"At the time, I believed that my accumulated cultivation had finally paid off along with a bit of luck, which allowed me to reach the tier of grandmasters. But now that I've returned here to Mount Helan, I finally realized that the violet mushrooms were mutated plants!"

Both Bound Star and Guilty Star traded a look of shock.

"Third Elder, no plants could have mutated thirteen years ago without qi, could they?" Bound Star asked.

However, Guilty Star shook his head.

After musing to himself for a while, he calmly said, "That is not certain. Researchers foreign and domestic had a theory that the Revival of Qi and the Upheaval did not actually start ten years ago. The phenomenon may have begun deep within forests and uninhabited zones even before that, and sightings of water monsters and the like was most likely Ferals that had already metamorphized at the time."

Third Elder laughed then. "The Revival of Qi… but why did it have to happen ten years ago, specifically? Not before, or after? In truth, my knowledge about that is only half-baked. Perhaps the saint would tell you when your cultivation has reached a certain level."

He then waved them off, unwilling to continue the conversation. "Let's rest at former emperor's residence now. We shall chop down the willow tree early next morning."

Since Third Elder was not telling, neither Bound Star nor Guilty Star would ask despite their itching curiosity.

Still, Bound Star asked then, "Third Elder, should we get rid of the many martial artists who were trying their luck over there? News of our operation could spread otherwise."

Beside the mountain creek.

Jiang He and Mu Wanqiu were having a feast, having almost devoured a quarter of the meter-long fish and devouring five catties of the Feral Cow's meat.

As Mu Wanqiu took a bite of the grilled meat, the aroma of the buttery meat wafting even as she chewed.

Then, after she took a sip of a beer, she could not help raising a thumb. "Wonderful. Jiang He, you really account for everything… please pass me that yogurt drink."

"Don't you have hands?"

Jiang He barked, but he threw her the yogurt drink nonetheless and smugly said, "Who was it who said this wasn't a vacation, but an operation to capture Ferals? That there's no need for beer or snacks? I've even bought a pack of cards. It's shame that we're just two and we can't play Fight the Landlord."

Mu Wanqiu was drinking the yogurt drink, and almost splashed herself at that.

Nearby, the black panther that was eating grass was salivating.

It sneaked a look at Jiang He, and just as it was wondering if it should sneak out, capture and eat one Feral, there was a whoosh behind it even before it could move two steaps away, and it turned to find a fist that was getting larger by the second.

"What the hell…"

Even before the black panther's spirit voice could extend…

Pow!

Punching the black panther into the ground, Jiang He then sat over the creature and gave it another thrashing until it was almost dead and bleeding from both its mouth and nostrils.

Only then did he dust his hands and sneered. "You brat. Trying to run?"

If it would not listen, it shall be beaten!

Physical beast taming was ever so simple and boring.

When the black panther recovered slightly, Jiang He fiddled with his Dragon-Slaying Saber and asked with a smile, "Big kitty, tell me. What's been happening recently here at Mount Helan?"

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Chapter 126: Willow Tree, Willow God?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The black panther growled, seething through its spirit voice "I'm not a big kitty…"

"Am I supposed to respect you?"

With a flick of his wrist, Jiang He slapped the black panther's cheek firmly with the back of his Dragon-Slaying Saber, sending the creature flying into a cliff wall near the creek with a dull thud. The wall shattered and the ground shook as mountain boulders rolled to the ground.

The black panther howled and puked another blood. However, just as it turned and attempted to dart into the mountain forests to escape, Jiang He caught up in no time at all, restraining it and giving it another good thrashing.

The speed the creature had always been most proud of was lacking before Jiang He's Blind Princess's Eight Practices.

Still, having fear beaten literally into itself, it quickly spoke through its spirit voice, "I was just reminding you that I'm not a kitty…"

It was feeling grief.

'I am just a little upset with the name 'big kitty' and growled a little in discontent. Why would you keep hitting me?'

"How dare you use I1 in my face?"

Jiang He smirked, the third of the four rules of 'physical beast-taming techniques' appearing in his mind then—

It was always the Ferals' fault!

And what should be done when they do something wrong?

Give them a beating, of course!

Minutes later, the black panther was lying on the ground, its blank eyes staring up at the night sky in despair.

It could neither win nor flee.

What else could I do?

At the same time, Mu Wanqiu looked utterly confused, and asked, "Didn't you already tame the black panther, Jiang He? Why would you beat it up?"

Pausing, she then added, "It looks… pitiful."

Still, Mu Wanqiu was aware that 'pitiful' was not how you describe a Feral. Even so, that word unwittingly appeared in her mind as she looked at the black panther just lying there.

Jiang He smiled and explained, "This is best-taming. You have to beat them often, or they won't listen."

"…"

Mu Wanqiu was a little speechless.

She may not have seen how beast-tamers calmed Ferals with her own eyes, according to the studies by the Superpower Research Department… those who awakened the power of beast-taming would communicate with Ferals with a unique method, and then spiritually form a special connection to control Ferals.

Could it be that Jiang He's beast-taming method was as unique as he said?

Whatever the case might be, they managed to capture a rank-seven Feral alive and 'tame' it. Two more rank-six Ferals and the objective of their trip here was achieved.

After that, Jiang He smiled even as he instructed Mu Wanqiu to clean the barbecue set. "Big kitty, now that you've calmed down, you can talk to me, I believe?"

The black panther quickly nodded.

"What's actually going on at Mount Helan?" Jiang He asked. "There's word of a treasure spreading out there, is that true? And I heard that there are many mutated plants up there?'

The black panther hence told Jiang He everything he knew without holding anything back.

"Many mutated plants?"

"Black wood-ear, violet mushrooms?"

"And one enormous willow tree that eats people?"

Jiang He frowned at that.

An enormous willow tree that eats people?

The information about floral spirits that he read about on the Warrior Home forum came to mind then, and Jiang He couldn't help stirring in spirit. "Could that willow tree had gained intelligence?"

From what Jiang He could tell, was the 'spirit' that floral spirits gained not the same as intelligence?

He had not been especially attentive about the effects of floral spirits. Promoting longevity and strengthening cultivation or qi was chickenfeed to him anyway, since any fruit or vegetable he would plant in his yard would have the same effect.

"Willow tree, willow tree…"

"I vaguely remember a willow tree mentioned in a novel. It was called the Willow God that stood since ancient times and was outrageously powerful. Wonder if I could plant one in my yard."

Jiang He decided to try.

According to the black panther, the willow tree was very powerful and might have reached the level of rank-nine. Reasonably speaking, his farm level was still too low and he would not be able to play anything rank-nine… but that's for Ferals and humans."

"Willow tree, willow tree… it's still a tree no matter how powerful it is. And is there a yard where trees can't grow?"

Jiang He hence rose to his feet and gave Mu Wanqiu a head's up, saying, "I heard from the black panther that there is a mystical tree up in the mountain. You know that I like farming and procuring some unique crops, which is why I'm ready to try if I could move the tree over to my yard."

"I'm going too!"

Mu Wanqiu, who was squatting beside the creek and washing the barbecue set quickly rose to her feet.

"Why would you go there?"

Jiang He was at a loss for words. "Look, you hadn't even finished washing up. Did you use the detergents I brought along?"

"You just stay here and don't go anywhere. I'll be right back.'

"Moreover, you are quite strong. I've asked the black panther and it said that there aren't powerful Ferals nearby, and there wouldn't be any danger if you didn't run off."

Jiang He felt as if he was now a father worried over every little thing. Indeed, just after he was a few steps away, he couldn't help turning back to say, "If you're bored, there's still that pack of sunflower seeds and peanuts in my bag. There should be some hot potato chips inside too."

"…"

There was shock all over Mu Wanqiu's face. Was there a thing Jiang He did not buy?

Meanwhile, Jiang He had taken another few steps before he glanced at the black panther, that was still lying on the ground. "What?" He said flatly. "Are you ready to slip away when I'm gone?"

The black panther shuddered. It struggled to get up for a while before keeping up behind Jiang He.

It could feel several broken bones because Jiang He's beating was not light… it did not feel it when on the ground, but after walking over one kilometer, its body shuddered and it could not move in pain.

As such, the black panther couldn't help remembering its near-death experience before—when Jiang He had jammed something down its throat, and it quickly recovered despite how grievous its wounds were.

"Bro…"

"Could you put it inside me again?"

"Eh?"

Jiang He was blue with shock. Are you trying to get up to something depraved?

Still, the big kitty was still the first pet he tamed and it would a pity for it to die. That was why he promptly took out an eggplant and snapped it in half.

The black panther felt its wounds heal rapidly after eating, feeling astonishment as its broken bones connected themselves… what actually is that thick, huge thing?

As a leopard that grew up in Mount Helan since it was a cub, it had never seen an eggplant.

Therefore, it felt something positive towards Jiang He, and even more fear at the same time.

The way he would start beating it up at a moment's notice was simply terrifying!

It then spoke through spirit, "Bro, that willow tree is extremely frightening. Two powerful humans who came up the mountain before could not even win against them when they fought together…"

"Oh?"

Jiang He's gaze twitched and he asked, "Powerful humans? How powerful?"

Nonetheless, he was worried inwardly. "According to the black panther, those two had come aiming for the willow tree. Wouldn't it be bad if they suddenly slip out when I'm fighting the willow tree?"

Jiang He was only too familiar with that plot.

Neighbors who could not agree would always lose out a third party, and he could not afford to let anyone take advantage of him.

At that thought, Jiang He asked, "Where are those two humans now?'

He decided to meet those two men beforehand.

Of course, it would be best if he could persuade them to leave Mount Helan.

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Chapter 127: It's Useless Even If You Know Me!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After walking a large circle around the mountain, Jiang He finally saw the big willow tree.

It was too huge!

That was Jiang He's first thought when he saw the willow tree.

It would probably take a dozen people to make a circle around its thick, massive trunk, and that colossal tree crown shrouded an area of over several hundred meters. At the same time, the branches that dangled down from it were glimmering in faint crystalline green radiance beneath the night sky.

And beneath the tree was a pile of white bones.

Jiang He's vision had became stronger after eating carrots every day.

As he looked out from a far, he noticed a Feral passing beneath the willow tree just then.

It was a wild hare that was over a meter in length and must have evolved only recently—it actually stopped when it passed by the big tree to graze the weeds beneath it.

One of the dangling willow branches promptly descended at that.

In that spit second, the pale green light over it flashed… like a glow stick.

Pow!

The wild hare was instantly quartered.

Its flesh and blood soon seeped into the soil beneath, leaving only a pile of white bones.

Jiang He's eyes tightened and he couldn't help exclaiming, "So powerful! A single branch's blow almost reached rank-seven. If that struck me…"

After some thought, he then said, "It might hurt a lot."

"…"

The black panther rolled its eyes.

Hurt a lot?

That willow tree was outrageous—there was no telling how many of those dangling branches there were, and would you not be blown into pieces with a single trike?

Being a smart creature, an idea struck the black panther then.

If this human was blown into pieces, it should be freed, right?

With that in mind, it quickly communicated, "Bro, plants are certainty tough, but they have one weakness—they can't move. Since you are quicker than I am, you would definitely be able to avoid those branches and stand a chance of defeating it."

Jiang He simply slapped the beast in return, snorting, "Are you crazy? I have to be within its range of attack if I want to attack it. How could I avoid so many branches?"

The black panther saw stars from that slap, and did not dare to breathe.

Still, Jiang He then smiled. "That actually doesn't matter much. If I give it my everything, the willow trees would only be scratching my itch."

He then turned towards the black panther and asked, "Where is the two humans you mentioned?"

The black panther pointed behind the peak, saying, "There's a palace over there. Most humans who come up these mountains would rest there."

"Let's go have a look."

Jiang He walked around the mountain, crossing a goat path with the black panther's directions and soon arriving at the palace. Having studied Mount Helan onling before and knowing the history of the palace, he couldn't help blinking and thought, 'Does this mean I'm at Rolling Bell Mouth already?'

'According to Wang Meng, he found the mutated black wood-ears over here… but there's no rush. I'll chop down the tree first, and it won't be too late to look for the mushrooms later.'

One of the buildings inside the palace.

There was bonfire burning over the floor.

Guilty Star, Bound Star and the Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult was sitting cross-legged around the fire and having some smoked meat.

"Third Elder, I've alerted our apprentices nearby, and they should be able to come before sunrise." Bound Star said. "I've checked—of the eighteen persons aside from us, there are sixteen martial artists and two Awakened. The most powerful are rank-fives and the weakest is a D-class superstrength user, who probably awakened just recently."

He made a chopping gesture to kill, somberly saying, "They must be martial artists who came by chance, but if word of what we're doing gets out and caught the attention of the Martial Arts Department (MAD) and the military, we would be disadvantaged."

"No rush."

Third Elder smiled. "I've checked myself that there's no telco signals here, so there's no communicating with the outside unless via satellite phone. Those martial artists would have spread the word earlier if they really wanted to."

His tone suddenly changed then and he asked, "You two had came with Sixth Elder to Western Xia… what happened to him?"

Third Elder's expression darkened then, and even his voice became colder. "I've read the report about this fall… but that report was utter nonsense."

"Oh?"

Guilty Star's gaze twitched as he asked, "Third Elder… did the report really say that Sixth Elder was killed by a rank-five martial artist named Jiang He?"

"Absolutely."

Third Elder nodded. "That is what the report said, but Jiang He is rank-six but rank-five. It even describes in detail how Jiang He killed Sixth Elder."

The Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult paused then.

There was a mystified look on his face, and as both Bound Star and Guilty Star looked on expectantly, he said slowly, "According to the report, Jiang He first ran his blade through Sixth Elder's heart, and then again through his lungs, before a wild swing cut off one of his shoulder blades.

Bound Star and Guilty Star then waited for a while, but when Third Elder said nothing, he could not help asking, "And then?"

"That was it."

The room turned quiet right then.

After half a bit, Bound Star seethed through clenched teeth, "Are they trying to fool a child? Sixth Elder had grasped blade will, and even the best rank-nines would have a hard time killing him. But a mere rank-five… I mean, rank-six turning the tables against him?"

Guilty Star said somberly, "It seems like my hunch was right… Jiang He is just a bait!"

"Hmmm?"

The trio's expressions changed all of a sudden then, and all of them looked out towards the distance.

They could feel a powerful presence slowly approaching.

"A powerful rank-seven Feral… it must be rank-seven advanced!" Third Elder's powerful senses instantly knew, though he soon appeared taken aback as he exclaimed in surprise, "And there's a rank-six pinnacle martial-artist walking alongside it… but the Feral is actually not attacking him?"

Bound Star laughed out loud. "It probably was his pet, and it evolved into a powerful Feral by chance. Still, a rank-seven Feral and a rank-six martial artist aren't significant."

Third Elder frowned in return, saying, "The other martial artists don't matter. However, we have to give a rank-seven Feral some attention. Bound Star, deal with them."

His reaction was nonchalant.

So what if a rank-six pinnacle martial artist could strangely bring along a rank-seven Feral?

As a veteran rank-nine, he did not even have to lift a finger to kill a rank-six, and only one strike was needed to down a rank-seven Feral!

Bound Star hence turned and left the room.

Killing intent broiled over his body.

He had always been bloodthirsty. It was a pity that Third Elder forbade him from ridding them off those random martial artists, but now that he had Third Elder's permission, he was only too happy to kill.

An earthen-yellow hue flickered over his body, and he seemed to fuse with the ground itself.

Being an earth-type Awakened, he had a mysterious affinity for the ground in the first place, and could even use it as a medium to hear the winds blowing on a blade grass from thousands of meters away.

That was when he heard the rank-six pinnacle martial artist approaching the villa laugh and say, "Big kitty, what are you afraid of?"

"Like you've said, there's only two rank-eights and no need for concern."

"Moreover, I'm going to reason with them and not fight them. Perhaps, my persuasion might word and they would give up on the willow tree…"

"Us humans are different from you thickheaded Ferals…"

Jiang He was striding forward on the mountain path.

He was now less than a hundred meters away from the villa.

His expression changed and he promptly leapt backwards. After loud rumble, the spot where he had been standing suddenly blew up.

A figure overflowing with killing intent left the shadows then, smirking, "You're merely a rank-six pinnacle, but you have quite the mouth despite your average strength. I would really like to see how you would persuade us… oh?"

Bound Star's pupils tightened before he finished, and he couldn't help crying out, "Aren't you Jiang He?"

Having read Jiang He's data, he certainly knows what Jiang He looked like.

Jiang He's gaze turned dark and he coldly said, "You know me? But it's no use even if you know me!"

He was really angry.

'I'm here to reason with me, but you're actually trying to kill me?'

Whoosh!

He instantly turned into an after image, his body arriving before Bound Star in a flash.

Boom!

Violent True Qi exploded in a split second as the silhouettes of two great suns rose behind him. A dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting echoed at the same time, and as Jiang He's pushed out his palm, the silhouette of a golden dragon was printed upon Bound Star's chest.

Jiang He was too fast. Seizing the instant of Bound Star's distraction, he reached him in a flash!

Bound Star only had the time to direct his earth-type powers to defend his chest, but it crumbled instantly with a crunch under Jiang He's palm!

Feeling as if a high-speed rail moving at top speed struck his chest, Bound Star was sent flying backwards before landing heavily dozens of meters away, coughing blood profusely.

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Chapter 128: Who Wants To Die Next?

"I…"

Blargh!

Bound Star struggled to rise to his feet, and just as he was about to speak, he felt a pain in his chest before coughing a mouthful of blood, the thoughts of his head thrown into disarray.

What the heck?

Jiang He?

A rank-six pinnacle?

Wasn't he supposed to be 'bait'?

Weren't all his feats merely 'smoke and mirrors'?

Why couldn't he block his palm?

Even if Bound Star had been momentarily distracted when he noticed that the new arrival was Jiang He, he already reacted by the time Jiang He unleashed his palm, instantly materializing layers of defenses before his chest.

And earth-type Awakened had always been adept at defense!

Individuals of the same level are not assuredly capable of hurting them, and yet, a single palm form a rank-six like Jiang He left Bound Star puking blood, his organs dislodged…

Feeling as if he was about to lose his mind, Bound Star bellowed, his superpowers instantly charged as an obscure earthen yellow radiance gathered around him.

With just a point of his finger, the ground beneath Jiang He's feet split apart.

Nonetheless, Jiang He was too quick—the Blind Princess's Eight Practices was quite scary a physical art. He disappeared in a flash, escaping Bound Star's attack.

And yet, the instant he reappeared, a ground spike shot out from the ground with a crack.

"What the hell!"

Jiang He's eyes went red.

It hurts.

After all, that ground spike was summoned by an earth-type awakened out of stone and extremely sharp. It instantly pierced the soles of his shoe, leaving a fiery-pain beneath his foot.

"…"

Even so, Bound Star was even more shocked.

Are you kidding me?!

His stone spike would have impaled a rank-eight individual, let alone a rank-six. However, it broke off the second it struck Jiang He's shoe….

Even so, he continued pushing with his superpower, splitting the ground and summoning more stone spikes and earth-ramparts to stop Jiang He. The instant Jiang He crushed one rampart, he would gather the dust and rock that fell off, throwing them at Jiang He like little meteors while he continued retreating.

But Jiang He was even more violent.

Charging Indestructible Diamond and having a sheet of Nature Qi shielding him, he crushed every single one of Bound Star's blows with a single slap.

Behind him, the black panther was utterly dumbstruck.

When it looked up, it saw Jing He firing one golden dragon silhouette after another out of his palm into the night.

It was a dazzling, imposing sight.

That was when a gust bellowed, and the Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult streaked towards them.

Guilty Star was right behind him.

At first, they were not at all concerned with a rank-six pinnacle martial artist or a rank-seven Feral, but they were certainly astounded when they sensed the commotion of the battle, and promptly rushed to the scene. Aside from them, the random Awakened and martial artists resting at the villa were alerted as well, and all of them came out to observe from afar.

"Third Elder, Guilty Star!

Bound Star was almost crying—help has finally arrived, and if they had been a minute too late, it would be questionable whether he would have escaped unscathed.

He quickly went to stand beside Guilty Star and Third Elder, telling them somberly, "Third Elder, it's Jiang He. The brat is weird… his fighting ability would not lose out the best rank-eight elites!"

Guilty Star's eyes tightened then. They were less than thirty meters away from Jiang He, and he had definitely recognized him.

Third Elder was a little taken aback, and asked in surprise, "That is Jiang He?"

All three pairs of eyes glanced towards Jiang He then, with disbelief showing in their eyes.

Perhaps…

The brat really did kill five heavenly generals, two grand, and the Sixth Elder?

"Sky Demon Cultists?"

Jiang He frowned then.

When he heard the titles 'Third Elder' and 'Guilty Star, he quickly understood who the trio before him was.

As such, he could not help feeling a blaze rising in his chest and coldly said, "You mongrels are really relentless. Here am I, having a vacation to relax, and you would still ambush me. Do you people really have nothing else to do except follow me around?"

Even as he spoke…

With a turn of his hand, a pepper appeared in his palm, and he ate it in a few crunches.

Since he was outnumbered, he would have to 'do drugs'!

And yet, the side effect immediately kicked in even as the pepper went down his stomach, and Jiang He realized…

The three burly folks before him had suddenly become very attractive.

"Oh no…"

'I have to do this quick. The pepper's side effect wouldn't work if I kill them fast enough!' Jiang He thought as his aura abruptly bursts out, his Dragon-Slaying Saber appearing in his hand before he charged forward without a word.

At first, he was ready to dance around with the Sky Demon Cultists. But now, it seemed that he had to go on the attack.

"Allow me!"

Guilty Star barked as he drew out the alloy combat axe behind him and strode forward to meet Jiang He. Within moments, they were trading blows, but he was falling behind in just several moves.

His axe technique was unconstrained, but it was based on him being 'menacing'.

His cultivation, too, revolved around his ferocity, and he combats brute strength with brute strength in most of his duels.

Now, however…

He was losing!

He may be brutal, but Jiang He was even more brutal!

As slashes rained down repeatedly, kicking thunder sparks with every swing, Jiang He every stroke may not be stronger than a rank-eight pinnacle individual like Guilty Star, but each of his Ninefold Thunderblade strikes were quicker than the next, and embodied the power of thunder!

Worse, once the electrical energy collided upon Guilty Star's combat axe and conducted into his body, he was becoming numb, and his movements slowed considerably.

And that was even after his abundant True Qi had partially suppressed the thunder.

"He had yet to reach the Boundary of Wills, but his blade technique alone draws the might of thunders. In fact, that technique does not fall short against the Sky Sage Arts!" Third Elder's pupils narrowed then in utter astonishment.

A rank-six pinnacle matching Guilty Star in strength. He would definitely stand at the top amongst rank-eight!

Even so…

That little bit of competence was still a little lacking if one were to use it against Sixth Elder, who had made his first steps into the Boundary of Will.

Could the brat still be holding another trump card!

"Bound Star!"

Third Elder barked then, and Bound Star attacked as ordered.

He did not join the battle, but instead aided Guilty Star with his control over the earth, splitting the ground one moment and summoning a ground spike the next, wrong-footing Jiang He just then.

"Damn it!"

Jiang He's expression changed then.

Just an instant ago, one of the stone spikes shot out of the ground and stabbed between his legs. If his Nature Qi did not shield his body… he would have been finished!

At the same time, Guilty Star seized the chance and closed the distance, swinging down his axe at Jiang He's waist!

Pow!

The axe tore through the protective Nature Qi, and the sharp hammer landed heavily on Jiang He's body… and yet, the expected sight of a body being split in half was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Guilty Star heard the loud 'snikt' of a sword, before his vision was filled with the blindingly white radiance of a sword.

He tried to dodge, but it was too late.

Whoosh.

A hole was punched between Guilty Star's eyes, and he fell stiffy to the ground.

Only then did Jiang He land on the ground too.

Doing a flip to rise to his feet, Jiang He withdrew his luminous sword and took a look at his waist that he was struck.

He could not help gasping.

"That was close!"

"If my defense technique had not improved, it wouldn't be just my clothes and a red swelling. That axe swing would have cut me down!"

Jiang He's expression turned somber, as a dark golden flash appeared over his body as his Dark Golden Combat Suit materialized.

"I'm being too careless!

"I might have been riding the high of my recent achievements. To think that I was holding back…

"This is a fight for my life, why hold back?"

Taking a deep breath as those thoughts vanished from his head, Jiang He growled, "You two. Who wants to die next?"

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Chapter 129: Running When You're Beaten?

Nearby, both Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult and Bound Star were gaping blankly at Guilty Star's corpse that lay on the ground, unable to believe what they were seeing just then.

Guilty Star…

Was dead?

In fact, he died too quickly and too unexpectedly that even Third Elder could not react at once.

That sight alone left Third Elder's perspective of life utterly overturned.

'You are actually not even affected at all by Guilty Star's axe?

'How tough is your body?'

Could it be a technique from stress training?

There were indeed many martial artists who underwent stress training, with some individuals even ascending as grandmasters and becoming as tough as tortoises. However, wasn't it a little too outrageous for a rank-six pinnacle to walk away without a scratch after being struck by a rank-eight pinnacle's axe, from mere stress training?

And then there was the golden combat suit that suddenly appeared over Jiang He's body, which stood beyond Third Elder's knowledge.

There was a somber look on his face when he returned to his senses, and he murmured, "Is that a divine item? No, no one who isn't divine could not use those… eh?'

Even before he could finish that sentence, his face dropped.

He saw Jiang He took out a weirdly sharped rocket launcher, and was holding it over his shoulder.

Third Elder could feel a chill in his spine right then, and goosebumps rising over his skin.

'That rocket launcher could kill me!' He could not help thinking.

Be that as it may…

Jiang He put away the rocket launcher, and he muttered, "Nah. The Dragon God-Type Nuclear Rocket Launcher is too powerful and I would never make it out when we're so close. Mutual destruction is not that ideal…'

Hence, as Third Elder and Bound Star looked on in shock, Jiang He drew out his Strengthened Gatling Gun.

He had two of these: he left one at home, and kept the other in his System Backpack.

Hence, he held the one he had brought along up, aimed it straight at Bound Star and Third Elder and asked again, "Who wants to die next?"

Bound Star did a double take.

After all…

Jiang He was just so strange.

With a turn of his hand, a rocket launcher and a gatling gun had appeared in his hand—it was more mystical than magic itself!

Still, Bound Star soon became relieved.

Void Storage!

Jiang He must be carrying a treasure that grants storage space, an item that both saint and the two cardinals possess. Rumor has it that the Senior Elder had been granted one as well because of her accomplishments.

While there was no telling how a rank-six like Jiang He got his hands on such a valuable treasure, now was not the time to think such things.

As Bound Star strode forward into the night, an obscure earthen-yellow light surged towards himself with a wave of his hand, and soon a stone combat suit materialized around his body. "Jiang He, to think that you really have the power to kill rank-eight— even rank-nines," he laughed coldly. "My Holy Faith had underestimated you…"

"However, there is a great gap even amongst rank-nines. Do you think you're going to walk away with Third Elder with us?"

Even as he spoke, he shot the gatling gun Jiang He was holding and smirked. "That thing would work against anyone below rank-seven… but not against us."

Beside him, the Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult had charged his True Qi, and his aura was slowly energizing over his body.

Scarlet flames began to gather around him, just before it spread rapidly across every direction, dying the night sky in its color. However, that was not a phenomenon caused by the True Qi he cultivated.

Instead, it was the Boundary of Will that he had reached: the will of flames.

That was why he could instantly materialize fire with a flick of his wrist, unleashing aura of a world even if he was not a fire-type Awakened.

He strode out slowly towards Jiang He, the pebbles and weeds beneath his feet igniting.

"It is truly unbelievable you could achieve all this as a rank-six pinnacle," he said flatly. "That is why you have to die on this day… or the Holy Faith shall know no peace!"

His pace was very slow, just like his speech.

And yet, his presence grew more imposing by several notches with each passing step.

Jiang He's heart sank.

That man…

Was very awesome at putting on airs!

That scarlet night sky behind him especially felt like it was about to burn and boil.

And what Jiang He hated to see most are people putting on airs right in front of him.

Hence, he pressed the trigger.

Brrrrrrt!

Orange-red flames shot out of the barrel of the gatling gun. How horrific was 6000 shots per minute? That was a hundred bullets per second!

Still, Third Elder remains unaffected, and actually smiled faintly. "Guns would never hurt me."

He charged his True Qi to protect himself, and the bullets would spark whenever they struck the shield he formed with True Qi. Even so, none of the bullets broke through his True Qi defense, and he even had the mood to pause and putting on a show of catching bullets with his bare hands.

Behind Third Elder, there was a smile on Bound Star's face.

Shooting a rank-nine elite with a gatling gun?

Was Jiang He dreaming?

Even he, let alone a rank-nine, would be unscathed by the bullets of a gatling gun.

Hence, Bound Star did not bother to block the stray bullets coming towards him. The armor he conjured with his earth-type powers may not match an S-grade alloy combat suit, but it would not lose out to an A-grade, and was even one level above…

'Just look at those bullets. They are hitting me but doing nothing more than tickle…'

Eh?

Bound Star's eyes bulged then.

The look on his face froze, and he slowly reached out to touch the spot between his brows.

It was icy-cold, and there seemed to be whole in there…

And then.

His consciousness instantly diminished, and he fell stiffly to the ground.

Third Elder, who was still playing catching bullets promptly turned, snarling, "Bound Star…"

He dove towards Bound Star, but Bound Star was no longer bleeding—a single bullet had punched a hole between his eyes and he could not be deader.

There was a thrilled but slightly embarrassed look on his face.

After all, his marksmanship was crap. He was clearly aiming at the Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult, so why would a stray bullet reach Bound Star? Most importantly, that one bullet also triggered the chance of armor-piercing effect that the Strengthened Gatling Gun possess…

"Jiang He!"

Lowering Bound Star's corpses, Third Elder abruptly looked up at Jiang He with fully-red eyes. As his body burst out with a horrific presence, he appeared in a flash before Jiang He!

Pow!

He slammed a palm on Jiang He's chest.

All Jiang He could feel was being struck by an enormous force as he was being sent flying backwards, and only landed over dozens of meters away.

Still, he rose to his feet and took a look at his chest.

It seems that he was just fine.

After his SS-grade Dark Golden Combat Suit had weakened the palm strike, it ended up as nothing more than a tickle when it reached Jiang He's body, which was shielded by a mastered Indestructible Diamond.

Whoosh!

Third Elder attacked again then, moving rapidly like a phantom, matching Jiang He's Blind Princess's Eight Practices and slamming three more palms over Jiang He's chest.

However, Jiang He was prepared this time, with Indestructible Diamond charged at the ready. As three palms landed on him one after another, it merely made him stumble several steps backward, crushing the ground beneath his feet.

He felt around his body.

It seemed that it hurts more than the first palm now.

"The Dark Golden Combat Suit is really tough. Still, I wonder what's its limit…"

Even as that thought Jiang He's mind, he looked towards Third Elder with a twinkle in his eye.

Limit…

Wouldn't he know that if he fought a while more?

Hence, he promptly tapped his chest and laughed. "Keep coming, old timer!"

Whoosh!

However, Third Elder turned and ran without a word!

"Running when you're beaten?"

"It won't be that easy!"

With a fierce laughter, Jiang He strode out in hot pursuit!

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Chapter 130: The Might Of A Nuclear Rocket Launcher

The two figures vanished into the dark night, one after another.

That was when the many martial artists and Awakened who were standing outside the villa to spectate the battle slowly approached and arrived at the battlefield. All of them couldn't help gasping when they saw the carnage left!

"Woah!"

"That blade slash is probably meters deep…"

"Oh my goodness, so this is a battle between elites? It's like the earth was being turned upside down!"

The strongest amongst them was only a rank-five, which was why they were staying too far from the battle to watch it clearly, although they vaguely heard mentions of 'Sky Demon Cult' and 'Jiang He'.

Still, when they walked up to check, they found two corpses—although they took more notice of Guilty Star's corpses because of his combat axe.

"Is that…"

"An S-grade alloy combat axe?"

Someone murmured as he tried to take it for himself. However, when he noticed the unfriendly looks around him, he quickly said, "We're all martial artists of Western Xia—there's no need to die over one weapon. And even if we really do fight to the death… there's no telling who actually survives!"

"Moreover…"

"If those guys return, who could take this axe away?"

His voice became somber then as he seethed through clenched teeth. "S-grade alloy weapons are at least worth 30 million bucks, and this S-grade alloy combat axe would not lack in material used compared to the forging of blades or swords. It might even sell for fifty million, and even with everyone here, it would not be a problem for us to walk away with a few million dollars when we sell it…"

Everyone else appeared interested at those words.

But then, someone said meekly, "But… this is a spoil belonging to the elite called Jiang He for killing Sky Demon Cultists. It's not exactly right for us to take it away, is it?"

He cowered when the others looked towards him, his voice becoming softer at that. "I mean, we would definitely get tracked if we sell it here at Western Xia, and none of us are getting away if that elite decides to pursue the matter. How about we get off this mountain right now and trade it in another province? I heard that there are black markets elsewhere…"

"Rawr!"

A roar echoed then.

And yet, that single bellow left the random martial artists fleeing over every direction like startled birds, with someone crying out, "Run away! I've seen that black panther before, it's a rank-seven Feral…"

???

The black panther was utterly confused.

'What are they doing?

'I just suddenly remembered that I could flee with that guy gone from sight, which was why I vented my excitement a bit. Why are you people running?'

"The Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult, hehe… all talk!"

"He was quite good at being dramatic, but it's now clear that he's just a piece of trash… A might rank-nine who had grasped the Boundary of Wills, not daring to face me directly?"

Moving like a phantom, Jiang He was in hot pursuit amidst the mountain forest.

At the same time, Third Elder was fleeing with a scowl, and cursing inwardly at every last ancestor Jiang He had.

'Fight?

'Fight, my foot!

'This is outrageous!'

Jiang He was only rank-six… and even if he was not actually that powerful, no one could expect the tricks he was pulling. Not only was his cultivation frightening, he was an Awakened too!

And it had to be Royal Sword…

That one superpower said to be most lethal against individuals of the same tier!

And by logic, Third Elder just had to stay on guard after learning Jiang He's trump card with the power he possessed. And yet, after four palms, he lost hope!

His attacks had no effect!

At all!

Why was he even fighting when his attacks had no effect?

Moreover, he still had to be wary of that luminous sword at every moment, as well any stupefying gimmick the brat might pull out of nowhere!

That being said, Third Elder's form technique was not bad and he was familiar with Mount Helan. Jiang He could hardly catch up when he was at top speed, although even if he could not catch up, shaking Jiang He off was rather impossible.

He had run past the vicinity of Mount Helan after dashing sixty kilometers away in a single breath. Then, when he turned to look and found Jiang He still in pursuit, a flash of shock passed through his eyes, although he soon started to laugh coldly.

"Even if he is beyond common sense, he is still a rank-six martial artist!"

"On the other hand, I am a rank-nine who had grasped the Boundary of Wills. I possess endless True Qi and could continuously absorb the Universal Force from the world around me, using it as my own strength. Running for hours like this wouldn't be a problem, and when he's almost exhausted, I'll turn back and catch him off guard, and I'll definitely be able to kill him."

However.

Third Elder soon realized that something was wrong.

The distance between them seemed to be widening.

"Could he have used up his True Qi?"

As the idea struck Third Elder, he slowed down as was ready to turn around to counter-kill Jiang He, when he felt a chilling sense of danger…"

To the rear.

Jiang He was cursing.

"I can't catch up, I can't… and running at top speed like this really burns my True Qi. I would have to start taking drugs if we keep this up for another dozen hours."

Still, as their speed were almost reaching the sound barrier, they would probably have run out of the country in a dozen hours.

Therefore…

He slowed down, and watched as the distance between them reached 300 meters.

Then 500 meters.

Then 1 km.

Then 2 km.

At that, he took out his Dragon God-Type Nuclear Rocket Launcher, and loaded it with a 100-ton nuclear warhead.

[Dragon God-Type Nuclear Rocket Launcher]

[Effective Range: 6km]

[W-55 Nuclear Warhead]

[Yield: 100 tons]

[Range of Explosion: 6km]

With the warhead loaded, Jiang He was about to fire when Third Elder got further away, but he was surprised to find that Third Elder had slowed down…

Good. He could get a better bead on his target now.

Gritting his teeth, Jiang He promptly fired!

Bang!

Nuclear warhead, launch!

And almost at the same instant he fired, he turned and ran.

Pushing himself to run as fast as he could and reaching the speed of sound, he covered over a mile in just two seconds.

Boom!

Behind him, a terrific explosion echoed. Even as Jiang He dashed away, he could feel a tremendous shockwave behind him… and then…

Nothing.

???

Jiang He froze where he was.

He turned to look at the epicenter, only to find a small mushroom cloud rising into the air.

"What the heck," he muttered in surprise. "It's a lot less powerful than I've thought."

Not only was the carnage limited, but the range was also questionable too, wasn't it?

Be that as it may, the corner of Jiang He's mouth twitched as he came to a realization. "So I've misunderstood. The six kilometers range of explosion refers to the diameter of the blast, which is why the blast would at most reach three kilometers… Eh? I didn't kill Third Elder yet?"

From afar, he could see a figure struggling to rise from the edge of the explosion.

The Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult was coughing out blood profusely, appearing dazed and almost blacking out.

He was not dead, but he was definitely maimed.

In the instant that Jiang He fired his rocket launcher, he had sensed the danger and fled the epicenter at once. Even so, the shockwave from the 100-ton nuclear warhead instantly tore through his protective True Qi, setting his body and qi on fire while dislodging his True Qi, bursting a lot of his nerves and veins too.

The worst of it was the nuclear radiation.

It was leaving him bleeding through his mouth and nose, but while it did not kill him immediately, he could not muster his True Qi to heal himself.

In the distance…

Jiang He was uncertain.

What should he do?

Even though the radiation of his nuclear warhead was not too powerful and has a short half-life… what if he could not withstand the radiation?

"Better safe than sorry. It's better if I don't go over for the double-tap!"

Hence, Jiang He fired his launcher again.

He did not have to be wary about the radiation when he was merely going for the double-tap from a long distance away.

"No!"

Third Elder screamed shrilly in despair. Right now, he could not even direct his True Qi and his entire body felt like jelly from fatigue. How was he supposed to run?

Boom!

The nuclear warhead detonated beneath his feet. Meanwhile, Jiang He had turned around and was dashing back to Mount Helan, not even bothered to collect his spoils of war!

"It's late… it might even be dawn soon. I'll have to deal with the big willow tree sooner so that I could get some sleep!"

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Chapter 131: A Family Must Always Stay Together

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

How far would the disturbance from a nuclear warhead extend?

As a matter of fact, everyone within dozens of miles away from ground zero would hear the violent explosion, and see the flames rising into the night sky.

While Helan County at the foot of Mount Helan was now uninhabited, the founding of the Martial Arts Department (MAD) and the completion of the Warrior Assessment Policy saw the forming of many parties of warriors.

Wang Meng's group was incidentally one such party.

The cultivation manuals, weapons, and cultivation resources that the MAD sold in turn had allowed these martial artists and Awakened to see the hope of becoming stronger… which needs a lot of money. That was why the Superpower Research Department's purchasing of Feral materials provided those martial artists and Awakened a channel for obtaining funds!

Most importantly, they could earn a lot from it!

After all, Feral Materials fetched a hefty price, which was why there were many parties of warriors who would go hunting for Ferals.

As such, there were people nearby who noticed the terrific explosion. Though they did not dare to get a closer look, they reported it to the MAD, even uploading videos of the scene—someone even inadvertently captured the scene where the second W-55 nuclear warhead detonated.

In the wee hours of the morning.

The MAD of Western Xia.

While Western Xia was a province, its MAD was much smaller in scale compared to Lingzhou City. Incidentally, the person in charge was Pudgy Jiang, a longtime acquaintance of Jiang He's.

And now, his plump figure was seated before a computer as he watched the scene of the detonation broadcasted on his computer. With a twitch of his gaze, he immediately made his conclusion with a frown, "It appears to be a nuclear warhead… from its detonation range and magnitude, its yield is at least above 80 tons."

"However, the effective firing range of nuclear rocket launchers are too short. With such a heavy yield, the shooter would definitely be dead!"

"Send someone to have a look," Pudgy Jiang said then. "There's a huge chance this was a terror attack by the Sky Demon Cult. And call Duan Tianhe—I need to report to him!"

Right now, Duan Tianhe was basically his leader.

Meanwhile, Duan Tianhe had returned to Mount Helan.

That was when he realized something.

He was lost.

The mountain was pitch-black, and there were no markers with which he could identify directions. He had to run several circles before he found the location where he was fighting.

Both Guilty Star's corpse and the S-grade alloy combat axe was still there.

Jiang He picked up the combat axe and searched his corpse for a long time, until he finally found his Decan Decree which was marked with 'Guilty', as well as several thousand dollars in three cash, three golden bricks, one satellite phone, and an axe technique text called 'World Tyrant Fury'.

"…"

Jiang He stared at the axe technique manual for a bit, feeling…

Embarrassed.

"World Tyrant Fury? Isn't that name too funny? Could this be an axe technique Guilty Star developed himself?"

After that, he walked up to Bound Star's corpse.

He proved to be much poorer compared to Guilty Star, having only one gold brick and just ten thousand dollars in cash.

With that, Jiang He collected their corpses.

"Families must stay together. Since Sixth Elder, Pain Star, Killer Star, and five Heavenly Generals are buried in my yard, I'll bring you home and reunite all of you."

Sighing, Jiang He remembered the Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult then.

He wanted to bring his corpse back as well, but was afraid of being caught in nuclear radiation, and therefore hung his head miserably and sighed, "Looks like I would have to leave your corpse to rot in the wild… eh?"

Suddenly, Jiang He blinked.

Why did it felt like he had forgotten something?

He mused to himself for a while and only remembered then—his big kitty was gone. Therefore, he could not help becoming furious and seethed, "That god damn thing… how dare it flee when I'm away? It seems that my physical beast training technique is not complete."

Jiang He only let it go after cursing for a while, muttering, "But that's fine."

"Mount Helan is only that vast. Where could it hide?"

"I'm going to tear its flesh and break its bones when I find it. I will never believe it would still not listen to me afterward."

Whoosh!

With a leap, Jiang He disappeared.

But after he vanished, the black panther stepped out of a nearby bush. There was a very human grim look on its face, expressing the emotion of 'there is no place for me to hide in the whole wide world'.

In fact, it did not flee.

It intended to stay and hear what Jiang He had to say.

That was why it ended up being spooked when it heard 'tear its flesh and break its bones'.

"Maybe serving that human is not a bad thing." The black panther was quite smart, and it remembered Jiang He moves as well as that big, thick eggplant.

It gave chase in a flash.

"Oh?"

Even as he weaved in and out of the forest, Jiang He sneered inwardly when it sensed the movement behind him. Still, he did not stop to wait, but streaked towards the Rolling Bell Mouth in a single breath, arriving near the giant willow tree.

With its thousands of dangling branches, the giant willow tree was a beautiful sight under the colors of the night.

Some of its branches were even gleaming with crystalline emerald radiance like glow sticks, illuminating the surroundings in a pleasant green hue.

"Bro!"

The black panther caught up then, wheezing through its spirit voice. "Bro, that tree is extremely formidable, be careful…"

And yet, before it finished, Jiang He had already stepped forward into the willow tree's range of attack.

However, the willow tree did not attack immediately, which gave Jiang He time to observe it closely. How many branches could a willow tree have, when its tree crown extends over six hundred squared meters?

It would not be an exaggeration to say countless.

Still, only several hundred branches were brimming with that faint, green crystalline radiance.

And amongst those hundreds, only around ten of those branches were extremely bright.

"A floral spirit develops sentience… according to what I've read on Warrior Home, someone found one willow tree floral spirit discovered two years before at Jiangnan's river delta."

Jiang He recalled that he only spared that post a few glance without really concentrating. He vaguely remembered that the other willow tree was quite powerful as well—it was an equivalent of rank-eight, and it took the combined efforts of three rank-eights to cut it down, thereby obtaining substantial Origin Fluid and one Willow Heart.

The so-called Willow Heart was a spirit object that grew within the tree, the core in which the sentience of the willow tree developed.

It was alleged that the effect of the Willow Heart was outrageous. Not only would one's cultivation improve significantly after consumption, it even extended one's lifespan by dozens of years.

Still, Jiang He was not really interested.

What was so covetous about promoting longevity?

The eggplant he used for dishes did that too.

"Oh, right… willow trees could be grown from a single willow branch."

Jiang He thought then, and smiled. "Big willow tree, I mean you no harm. I will leave if you give me three of your branches, or I'm cutting you down for my hearth back home!"

Whoosh!

The entire willow tree abruptly shook, its many emerald branches twitching wildly…

And yet, it did not attack.

Its root system was too developed, and as a floral spirit, it could observe an area around itself to some extent, via other wild grass and plants growing over the surface… which was how it 'witnessed firsthand' how Jiang He had killed Bound Star and Guilty Star.

Hence, the willow tree turned silent after shaking for a while.

Crunch, crunch.

With three soft but audible snaps, the willow tree detached its own branches, and three emerald crystalline branches landed from the tree.

"You're quite tacful, willow tree."

Jiang He could not help showing delight as he accepted the branches.

After all, he was a little thrilled!

With such an enormous willow tree in his yard… he would definitely be sleeping easy. Even if the Sky Demon Cult wanted to attack him in his house, they would have to ask his tree first!

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Chapter 132: Becoming Grandmaster With Zero Difficulty

Outside the willow tree's range of attack, the black panther's eyes were bulging even as it remained crouching, a humanlike shock flashing over its face.

It even used a front paw to rub its eyes.

Excuse me…

Isn't there something wrong here?

Why did the giant willow tree yield so easily?

Back then, the tree's branch had split the panther's skin open when it peed beneath it, leaving it to question the meaning of its existence. But now, why was it cowed the instant he encountered a human?

It had even broken its own branch to protect itself. How badly did that tree even want to live?

What left the black panther even more confused was his bro, Jiang He. Not even rank-nine elites could scratch him if he wore his combat suit, let alone a tree. So why would he only ask for three willow branches?

What could three willow branches do?

Was he going to take them home to grow them?

Even if the floral spirit had developed awareness and its branches could be grown separately, the branches would not mutate the same way. Wouldn't it be better to cut the tree down and take both the Willow heart and the Origin Fluid?

As for Jiang He?

Delight showed on his face as he felt the abundant lifeforce within the three branches, and hence offered a fist-palm salute at the tree before turning to leave.

The willow tree shook a bit then, seemingly out of slight relief.

The star of calamity was finally leaving.

And yet, Jiang He suddenly paused when he was just about to leave the tree's range of attack, and asked in curiosity, "By the way, I heard that floral spirits develop something called Origin Fluid? Can I just ask… is that thing tasty? And what's the effect…"

The willow tree shook violently, each of its branches looking as if they were about to descend at any moment. At the same time, Jiang He's Dark Golden Combat Suit materialized at his thought, and he smiled, Dragon-Slaying Saber in hand. "No offense, but I'm just asking out of curiosity."

"You…

"Are… Too… Much!"

A choppy spiritual wave rang beside Jiang He's ears.

Jiang He, however, was not surprised—it made sense that the floral spirit which developed sentience and was equal to rank-nines could use spirit voice. Clenching his Dragon-Slaying Saber and causing sparks to shoot out amidst the dull crack of thunders, he grinned. "I only wanted to try something new. Of course, I would have to extract the fluid myself if you don't wish to go through the trouble."

The tree became silent.

It balanced the pros and cons, and eventually…

It extended one of its crystalline branches in front of Jiang He.

Understanding its intentions, Jiang He said, "Hold on for a bit, I'll look for a container… Big kitty, go back to the creek and get one of the oil buckets… you don't know what that is? It's fine. Just ask Mu Wanqiu."

Despite its reluctance, the black panther was obedient and returned almost as soon as it left, holding a 10L sunflower seed oil bucket between its jaws and handing it to Jiang He.

Jiang He bought the oil to marinade his barbecue; he did not expect that the bucket would be useful too.

Opening the bucket lid, he poured the oil on the ground, smiling as he did so. "Actually, it's not like you're losing out. I bought the most expensive blending oil and it costs me over eighty bucks, in exchange for your Origin Fluid and your life."

If memory serves, the Origin Fluid from the rank-eight willow tree mentioned before at Warrior Home was partially auctioned off… for a hundred thousand dollars per drop?

"Hmmm…"

"I wasn't paying attention. Could it be two hundred thousand?"

Jiang He muttered as he held the bucket in front of the willow branch, and cut off the branch with a twirl of his Dragon-Slaying Saber.

Gush.

The fragrant, transparent Origin Fluid streamed out of the cut.

It was as abundant as water, although the streamed slowed considerably after half a bucket, eventually down to drips.

Nonetheless, after filling most of the bucket, Jiang He quickly said out of sympathy towards the big tree, "Alright, that's enough!"

If he squeezed the willow tree dry here, where would he get more Origin Fluid?

Still, Jiang He felt a little thirsty after sniffing the fragrant Origin Fluid, and could not help glugging it down.

Consuming a third of the bucket with a single breath, Jiang He only burped and wiped his mouth in satisfaction then.

"Tut, tut… this Origin Fluid is definitely a hundred times tastier than other drinks like Pepsi of Jianlibao." Jiang He praised, putting away the bucket as he walked away.

Even as he felt the pure energy from in his belly, he could not resist charging his Strengthened Nine Yang Technique.

Boom!

His True Qi burst out instantly, his cultivation rapidly improving by leaps and bounds as his Nine Yang Technique circulated.

Jiang He could actually feel it improve… and of course, it was not just his cultivation!

There was a reason why the Origin Fluid was so expensive.

While one drop of Origin Fluid from the rank-eight willow tree was worth two hundred thousand dollars, the willow tree in front of Jiang He now was rank-nine… its effect was even more divine!

Jiang He's qi and blood were swiftly strengthening—his tendons, bones and skins all rapidly enlarging while his muscular figure becoming even more pronounced. The sea of swords in his mind was quaking as it expanded, the radiance of the single luminous sword in the ocean of edges brightening even more.

Suddenly…

Oom!

A soft hum.

Jiang He's aura became serene again, as if all recent developments were dreamt up.

But in the next instant, an even greater aura burst out of his body. Behind him, the silhouettes of two great suns arose, followed by a third!

Snikt!

The luminous sword shot out from between Jiang He's eyes, hovering in the air before landing in Jiang He's hand.

Jiang He looked dumbfounded.

"I've reached the Third Tier of the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique??"

"And my cultivation…"

"Is now rank-seven, grandmaster?"

Jiang He couldn't help turning to his stats panel on the System.

[Cultivation: Rank-seven pinnacle]

It was not a dream. He has indeed ascended, not just in cultivation and technique. The ocean of swords in his mind had become much stabler as well, and even the luminous sword could now materialize.

He relaxed his fingers, and the luminous sword returned inside his head.

Jiang He withdrew his aura, still in disbelief as he murmured, "Could the System be wrong? Was it not said that rank-six martial artists would run into a tremendous obstacle when they try to reach rank-seven? Many martial artists were stuck in that face for years, decades or even a lifetime without making a breakthrough. Why would I ascend without feeling it?"

Where was the bottleneck he was supposed to solve?

Where was the obstacle he was supposed to run into?

At least have me go through a symbolic five-day seclusion or whatnot, so that I could pretend I was making an effort to ascend!

Indeed, not only did Jiang He not feel any delight from such an easy breakthrough, he even felt slight disappointment.

Was there any purpose in such an ascension?

There was neither hardship nor challenge in it… he just could not feel the joys and charm of cultivation!"

"Huh…"

Breathing a long sigh, Jiang He murmured with a helpless look, "Forget it. It's late now, I need to go back and sleep…"

At the same time, an off-road vehicle was bounding towards Helan County from Western Xia.

Back in Helan County, Pudgy Jiang had met the martial artist who captured the video of the explosion and questioned him in detail.

The martial artist described what he saw, muttering, "There's something else… just a while ago, several martial artists left Mount Helan."

"They said that elites of the Sky Demon Cult had shown up in the mountains, and that some treasure would soon be born."

"Oh, right!"

The martial artist added, "There seemed to be some super elite named Jiang He who fought the Sky Demon Cultists!"

"What?!"

Pudgy Jiang's expression changed as he asked somberly. "Are you sure?"

"Where are those martial artists who left Mount Helan?"

"Find them immediately. I have to ask them something!"

Pudgy Jiang immediately had a hunch once he heard 'Jiang He'… Could Jiang He be the one who had caused the explosion?

After all, Jiang He would blow things up wherever he went, and it made sense if he was the one who came to Mount Helan for his dose of explosions.

The problem, however, was Pudgy Jiang's theory about the violent explosion he saw in the footage.

It was definitely caused by a nuclear warhead with an enormous yield, and its blast range would definitely exceed the firing range of the nuclear rocket launcher.

"Perhaps…"

"Could Jiang He had run into an elite he couldn't beat, which was why after running here and knowing that he has nowhere to go, he detonated a nuclear warhead?"

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Chapter 133: Oh, Don't Take Advantage Of Me

In a single instant, many things crossed Pudgy Jiang's mind…

What was the brat Jiang He doing at Mount Helan in the middle of the night?

Did the Sky Demon Cult's elites come to kill him?

That made sense, since Jiang He had inflicted severe casualties upon the Sky Demon Cult in less than a month. In fact, setting aside the top lackeys he had killed and the number of plans he ruined for them, he had already killed five of their Heavenly Generals, and two of their Grands!

Even one of their elders had died by Jiang He's hand!

It was worth mentioning here that since the Sky Demon Cult came to light ten years ago and clashed against various nations, none of their elders were ever killed!

In short, it would not make sense if the Sky Demon Cult was not trying anything against Jiang He.

"Wait, no!"

"Even if there is no telling how Jiang He killed Kun of the Left, aka the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult, the kid's ability could not be understood through conventional means. For someone to corner him to the point that he had to self-destruct using a nuclear warhead, doesn't that mean an Elder of the Sky Demon Cult who ranks higher than Kun of the Left had come for him?"

Pudgy Jiang's eyes went red.

Soon, however, he was left utterly dumbfounded too.

Another martial artist who came out of Mount Helan was describing vividly what happened up there.

Naturally…

The martial artist was only rank three, and it was too dark and too far for him to see clearly. And was there a human who wouldn't try to spice up the stories they were telling?

"I was sleeping at the time when I heard the noise outside, which was why I ran out there, and heard someone cursing the Sky Demon Cult about bullying someone or something, and the Sky Demon Cultists called him Jiang He…"

"But that person called Jiang He was really powerful. He fought three others alone, killing one instantly, shot another dead and scared away the last one…"

"Oh, and I've also heard something about Bound Star, Guilty Star, and Third Elder mentioned…"

Pudgy Jiang grabbed the martial artist by the collar at that, his eyes bulging like bells as he barked, "Are you screwing around with me?!"

Meanwhile, back at the creek.

Mu Wanqiu's face was pale. She was cowering in the ten, her entire body shaking.

A Feral had attacked her just now.

Although she killed it immediately with flames, it was still her first time personally killing one, and being a little spooked afterward was unavoidable… but that was nothing.

Mu Wanqiu was born to an important family that had seen major action after all.

And yet, after burning the rank-three Feral, she was a caterpillar passing by!

Although the creature was no Feral, it has changed physically because of its surroundings, which in turn had been affected by the Revival of Qi—it was up to eighteen centimeters long, and was as thick as an infant's arm. It even had some woolly spikes over its skin which was an absolutely disgusting sight.

That was when footsteps could be heard.

Mu Wanqiu exhaled lengthily, feeling her entire body relaxed. Opening her tent and running out, she scolded Jiang He coquettishly, "Where the hell have you been, Jiang He? Don't you know… I was so worried about you!"

She was about to say 'how afraid she was', but changed that even though it was at the tip of her tongue.

After all, her grandfather was one of the founders of the Superpower Research Department, her father a major-general in the military and herself a B-class fire-type Awakened.

Someone like her, afraid of a caterpillar?

Be that as it may…

Mu Wanqiu noticed that there was something wrong in the atmosphere once those words left her lips.

Jiang He's eyes were staring straight into her.

The star lasted seven seconds before he frowned and said, "Mu Wanqiu, did you run inside my tent?"

Mu Wanqiu breathed another sigh of relief at that.

Being stared at by a handsome man like Jiang He was really frightening. Her thoughts were almost messed up as her little heart thumped, pounding incessantly.

"I just…"

She was about to speak when she Jiang He snorted and barked, "Don't you have any common sense, woman? Forget not bringing food or drinks when camping out. You didn't bring a tent either?"

"And not only would you freeload my meals, you're trying to claim my tent as well?"

"My tent is only for a single person—it won't fit too. Solve your own problems!"

Yawning, Jiang He climbed into the tent, closing it from the inside with a zipping sound.

"…"

Mu Wanqiu was left gaping, unable to say anything in response just then.

She only came to her senses after a while, and stamped her feet while clenching her teeth in frustration.

"Humph!"

"All you did is bring a tent! What is there to be so smug about?"

Still, she felt wronged.

What the heck?

How much steel was that man made of?

According to the standard script, shouldn't you be conceding your tent voluntarily, and act like a real gentleman? Sleeping outside on your own, while this beauty slept inside?

Mu Wanqiu even suspected…

Was she only seeing an imagination every day when she looked into the mirror?

Or am I, Mu Wanqiu, not a beauty but an ugly?

Now, it was autumn in September, and a chill extends along with a gust of autumn breeze that blew into the mountain forest.

With a twitch of Mu Wanqiu's finger…

Whoosh.

A bundle of flames ignited before her, and the air around her became much warmer.

She crouched outside the tent, and fiddled with the fire miserably in boredom.

Nonetheless, she was not aware that inside the tent, Jiang He was feeling even more miserable than she was.

It was so deadly!

The side effect of the pepper had yet to fade. He did not notice it before since after he blew the Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult to hell with two shots, he only encountered the black panther and the giant willow tree.

He suddenly found the black panther devilishly charming, and even felt the big willow tree awfully easy on the eyes…

But Jiang He could suppress those impulses.

However, the agony began when he saw Mu Wanqiu.

Her body-hugging sportswear fully accentuated her figure.

"Damn it!"

"I shouldn't have sold her the corn if I knew this would happen!" Jiang He cursed, even pondering whether he should force-feed Mu Wanqiu several eggplants. He had a hunch that having a few eggplants that eases swelling… could flatten Mu Wanqiu.

Meanwhile, the side effect of the pepper slowly faded.

Jiang He sat up, a thought crossing his mind.

He should consider improving the pepper species or try growing another crop that improves combat ability in the same way. Of course, he should be open-minded and not limit himself to agricultural products.

If plants and fruits could be grown, Chinese Medicine definitely could be planted too.

"Oh, and if Chinese Medicine could be grown, I wonder if Western Medicine could be too…" Jiang He pondered.

For example, if anti-inflammatories like Amoxicillin could be grown, what would come up after he strengthened that with some Mysterious Soil?

Meanwhile, having heard the noise outside, Jiang He calmly said, "Stop playing with fire. I heard the old folks in my village said that you'd wet your bed if you do that."

"Bleh!"

Mu Wanqiu spat outside the teeth, seething, "Why do you care, thug?"

Zip.

Jiang He unzipped the tent entrance and pulled Mu Wanqiu inside, saying, "I'm in a good mood tonight, so I could squeeze into the tent with you. However, let me put this out there: if you dare to take advantage of me, don't blame me for kicking you out!"

After all, a young lady from an important family would never feel comfortable sleeping outside—he just had to compromise.

Even Jiang He had to inwardly praise himself.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep."

He lay down and turned his back on Mu Wanqiu.

Suddenly however, he asked, "By the way, do you have snore or grind your teeth when you're asleep?"

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Chapter 134: Boys Should Learn To Protect Themselves Too

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Aaaaaargh!

In that very moment, Mu Wanqiu felt as if there was a lion roaring inside her.

Clenching her fist, she punched the air several times.

Jiang He turned to look at her in shock, and quickly cowered, exclaiming, "Mu Wanqiu, tell me the truth: Are you sick mentally?"

After all, even boys had to protect themselves when they were out of the house.

"You're the mental one!"

Mu Wanqiu yelled, and lay down on another end. There was no way she was leaving—the very thought of that caterpillar passing by gave her the creeps!

Pouting, Mu Wanqiu lay on her side, showing her back to Jiang He as well.

Still, the space in a single-person's tent was very small, and they were almost in physical contact despite having their backs against each other. In fact, all Mu Wanqiu felt was her blood flow quickening and her heart pounding without end.

A man and a woman, alone… it was difficult to sleep!

However, barely moments later…

Zzzz~

Steady breaths could be heard. Mu Wanqiu's eyes widened and she could not help cursing through clenched teeth. "You actually fell asleep with a great beauty like me beside you… aren't your preferences the problem here, Jiang He?

While Jiang He was in dreamland, Pudgy Jiang was leading people on a search for the position where the nuclear warhead detonated.

"Be careful. The post-blast radiation is extremely powerful in the forty-eight hours after the nuclear warhead blows up. Get in your hazmat suits and shield yourself up with True Qi, and take a qi pellet if your True Qi is dwindling."

He barked the orders as he stood nearby.

Reasonably speaking, Pudgy Jiang's cultivation was the strongest amongst the people present and he should be searching as well, but after several attempts… he realized that he just could not fit inside the hazmat suit.

"Chief Jiang, we've found a scorched thighbone over here!"

A martial artist called out loudly then, just as someone picked up a scalp nearby.

Then, another person picked up an Elder Decree.

Despite its refinement, it was still left misshapen under the terrific heat at the heart of the nuclear blast. Once Pudgy Jiang took the token plate and stared at it for a long time, he breathed a long sigh, "The Third Elder of the Sky Demon Cult… he died miserably, didn't he? And not in one piece at that…"

Still, 'not in one piece' was putting it lightly.

All of his flesh was gone, his bones blown into pieces and any narrow rib burnt into ash.

After musing to him for a while, Pudgy Jiang added, "Widen the search area. With the yield of the explosion, I'm afraid… there's nothing left of Jiang He too!"

Clenching his teeth as his eyes went red, he said tragically, "He's now slain the Third Elder and the Sixth Elder of the Sky Demon Cult, four Decans in Pain Star, Bound Star, Guilty Star and Killer Star, not to mention five Heavenly Generals: Earth Demon, Earthen Majesty, Earthen Diction, Earthen Savage and Tranquil. His accomplishments are grand, so we must find what remains him, and do him right by giving him a good funeral!"

Meanwhile.

Multiple figures were heading towards Mount Helan from other directions.

There were around forty of them, each of them moving sneakily despite their fine ability, and there was one rank-seven grandmaster leading them.

"Blessed Heavenly General!"

Soon, everyone was gathered and kneeling on one knee and calling out the name 'Blessed Heavenly General'. It was obvious that all of them were Sky Demon Cultists.

And that rank-seven grandmaster was the Blessed Heavenly General, one of the Sky Demon Cult's seventy-two Fiends.

Though his title was almost identical to the Tranquil Heavenly General's1, he was slightly superior in ability.

He had always been hiding within Western Xia and overseeing the other cultists infiltrating the county. That was why he was not a part of the plan to take Lingzhou City, but he was aware of what went on over there.

That was why he had been living in fear recently, afraid that the hierarchs of his Holy Faith would get a stroke and send him to deal with that big-shot named 'Jiang He'.

In fact, he was almost scared to death when he received Guilty Star's call today.

Fortunately…

Guilty Star quickly made himself clear, and only then did the Blessed Heavenly General breathe a small sigh of relief, just as he felt a slight thrill.

After musing to himself for a moment, he said, "Everyone, it isn't, in fact, my orders that gathered all of you here."

"A while ago, I have been notified that three VIPs: Bound Star, Guilty Star, and Third Elder had arrived at Mount Helan to retrieve a treasure, and we are all here to help them."

The eyes of the dozens of figures sparkled then, just as the Blessed Heavenly General laughed heartily. "All of us would have gained a great merit if we could help them retrieve the treasure, and secure a bright future with their instruction. And with them here, how hard could it be for their combined strength to deal with the Butcher of Lingzhou City?"

Indeed.

The Sky Demon Cultists hiding in Western Xia now fully considered Jiang He a butcher, and were living in fear day after day that he would eventually come for them.

And now, all of them were excited.

With their three overlords together…

The Butcher was as good as dead!

Suddenly, someone amongst the cultists meekly asked, "Blessed Heavenly General, where is Third Elder and the two Grands?"

Smiling, the Blessed Heavenly General whipped out a satellite phone.

Normal phones would never get a signal in the mountains, but satellite phones were unaffected, and most importantly, the satellite phone prepared by the Holy Faith is free from national lance… it was even alleged that it was connected to a satellite launched by the Holy Faith.

Hence, Blessed Heavenly General dialed Bound Star's number with a chest full of expectation.

However…

The dial tone rang until it cut off automatically, with no one answering.

His expression changing, the Blessed Heavenly General dialed again with the same results.

He was not aware that Jiang He had found the phone when he searched Bound Star's corpse, and threw it away!

There was a horrible look on Blessed Heavenly General's face. He had a bad feeling, but his rationality told him that… with Third Elder and the two Decans' power, nothing would ever happen to him.

"Our Third Elder and the Grands must be too busy to answer," he said somberly, "Everyone, spread out and search. We'll gather here again two hours later."

The Sky Demon Cultists hence split out, sneaking into the night.

The Blessed Heavenly General picked a direction himself, but found nothing after running a complete circle, and so quickly returned where he was.

Soon.

The Sky Demon Cultists returned, with one of them reporting with a pale face, "I've found signs of a battle thirty miles away…"

Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "Wait, where's Old Wang and Young Zhang?"

Back at the creek.

Jiang He was staring at the two corpses on the ground, all drowsiness gone from his body.

"Those mongrels of the Sky Demon Cult!" He seethed. "Disturbing my sleep in the middle of the night. What the heck are they planning?"

"Big kitty!" He barked.

Soon, the black panther came out of the night.

"Go," Jiang He said through clenched teeth. "Wipe out every Sky Demon Cultist. Aren't you the Feral King of Mount Helan? And have your lackeys search for some mutated plants for me."

According to the black panther, the mutated plants in Mount Helan was not limited to black wood ears.

It was also said that a species of violet mushrooms evolved as well.

Having received its orders, the black panther retreated into the night.

It reared its head and bellowed, and soon, Ferals were rushing towards it from various corners of the mountain forests, and in another half an hour, screams and the sounds of slaughter echoed from the distance.

Jiang He checked the time.

It was past three o'clock in the morning, so Jiang He climbed into the tent and woke Mu Wanqiu, who only slept after much difficulty. "Alright, stop sleeping and pack up. Time to go."

Later, the black panther returned around four o'clock.

There were gashes over its body, wounds it received while fighting the Blessed Heavenly General.

It was also holding two bowl-sized violet mushrooms in its mouth.

Behind the black panther were a dozen other Ferals, the weakest amongst them being a rank-two and the strongest a rank-six. All of them were either holding weirdly-shaped mushrooms between their teeth, or black wood-ears the size of a facewash basin.

Jiang He walked up and collected every last wood-ear and mushroom. He then studied the Ferals, and saw that two amongst them were panthers: one rank-six, the other rank-five, although both were equally imposing and handsome.

"Black panther, I was ready to take you home to enjoy the pleasures of my abode, but now that things had come to this, I shouldn't demean your fellow species. So, you should ask your two brothers to come along with us."

Then, when Jiang He saw that the black panther was hesitant, he smiled and took out his Dragon-Slaying Saber with a flip of his hand. "It's fine if you refuse. I'll just have to cut you three down. Bringing your corpses back are no different."

The black panther shuddered, quickly nodded, and growled at the two other panthers.

Just as expected, Ferals were fundamentally the same as humans.

Reasoning orally with them never works. It is only after you draw your sword that they would listen.

Soon, an off-road vehicle drove away from the foot of Mount Helan.

Three black panthers were in tight pursuit behind.

After driving for just over ten minutes, Jiang He suddenly exclaimed, "Slow down, there's someone ahead… Eh? Isn't that Pudgy Jiang?"

Just ahead, Pudgy Jiang was on a rampage, bellowing, "Start looking! Comb through the entire area and three feet beneath it. Jiang He was some distance away from the center of the explosion and wouldn't be completely vaporized. There would definitely still be something left of him!"

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