Although the mysterious group in the depths of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts outside Wake City was no longer a secret, so much time had already passed that no one knew the identity of this mysterious group.
During that time, there were a few more powerful clans and mercenaries groups that wanted to subdue the group. However, all of them failed without any exceptions. The mysterious group seemed to be immune to greed; no matter how great of a condition proposed, and no matter how great of a temptation given. It was unable to move any member of the mysterious group. They seemed to be completely immune to wealth and power.
The sky was covered with dark clouds. A muffled thunder rumbled in the sky, and echoed across the entire world. It was noon, but everywhere had already become dark.
Not long afterwards, pea-sized raindrops fell madly from the sky. The world began to pour with rain, and the originally-bustling Wake City immediately became cold, with no one on the streets to be seen. There was only rain, and it washed the dirty streets created by the mercenaries.
At that moment, in the peaceful sky above Wake City, a crack suddenly appeared in the dense, dark clouds. A sliver of blue light shone through it and underneath the thick clouds, a person appeared out of nowhere.
Thunder rumbled in the sky. A flash of lightning shot across the sky with dazzling radiance, and created a web below the clouds.
The person wore light-blue, long robes. When the surrounding rain approached him, it was dispersed by an invisible force, unable to reach him at all. He stood underneath the lightning, and observed the area below. He seemed to ignore the deafening thunder and streaks of lightning from the surroundings, similar to a god.
He was Jian Chen who had come from Gesun Kingdom.
Jian Chen floated in the sky. His presence enveloped the entire city and after a while, he slowly opened his eyes. Through the mist in the distance, he could vaguely see the mountain range. He mumbled to himself,
If they’re not in the city, then they must be in the mountain range.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jian Chen turned into an afterimage, and disappeared from the sky. He had already flown to the mountain range that was ten kilometers away with a speed almost invisible to the naked eye.
In the depths of the mountain range, a dozen or so large tents were set up under a towering old tree. Outside the tent, there were several big, bare-chested men standing in the rain, keeping guard. Their swift and forceful gazes were filled with a fierce light. They clearly were not simple people.
At that moment, in the most centre tent, there were nine people around a large round table, eating roast magical beast meat as they talked.
Senior An, Yun Zheng, it’s all thanks to your help that my brothers could escape, terrified but unharmed from the magical beasts.
An old man raised a glass of wine and said sincerely to the big man and gentle-looking middle-aged man who sat on the opposite side.
Haha, Kai Er, you don’t need to thank me. Yun Zheng and I were secretly sent by captain Jian Chen to protect you. Captain Jian Chen’s request was that every single one of you needed to remain alive under no exceptions. Originally, Yun Zheng and I always protected you from the shadows, but who thought that after you guys became Earth Saint Masters, you actually discovered us.
Senior An laughed aloud, his bald head gleaming.
Senior An has put it correctly. Protecting you was only our orders, but now you guys have all become Earth Saint Masters, and also mastered a wondrous technique that can make people’s battle capability increase by several fold abruptly. Also, every one of you have battle skills, and your overall strength is not any weaker than the two of us. If we continue to stay here, we won’t be of use anyway.
Yun Zheng said with a smile.
Those people were the core members of the Flame Mercenaries that Jian Chen initially then into the mountain range to train. Every single one of them was undergoing life-or-death training and was extremely loyal. They were reliable, as well as the first group of elites that Jian Chen really trusted and spent a great fortune in raising.
When Jian Chen left before, he left behind great amounts of monster cores and various battle skills. After the period of training and growth, every single member underwent an upheaving growth in strength. Seven of them had even become Earth Saint Masters, while the remaining dozen or so had reached Great Saint Master. There were no longer any Saint Masters.
Listening to what Yun Zheng said, the people in the tent all pondered silently. Charles said,
Brother Yun Zheng is right. This Mountain Range of Magical Beasts is just too small, with the strongest magical beasts only being class 5. In this period of time, there aren’t many Class 5 Magical Beasts left after we killed a few. With our current strength, it’s pointless to stay any longer.
My brothers have already gotten a good grasp with the Human Tier Battle Skills, and with the Heaven’s Stolen Fortune from captain, they can easily kill magical beasts that are much stronger than them. The magical beasts here no longer for any threat to us. It’s just a pity that captain is not here. Without his orders, we can’t just leave here.
Qingfeng said with a soft voice. After the period of violent magical beast huntings, Qingfeng had already become the person who improved the fastest in the group. Not only was he the first one to become an Earth Saint Master, he had reached the Second Cycle just a few days ago. Other than Yun Zheng and Senior An, he was the strongest in the group.
Although the group of people did not possess the talents of great geniuses, their body constitution had already been improved by the thousand-year-old Hundred Grass Wine from Jian Chen. It allowed them to cultivate at speeds much greater than ordinary people and with the period of hard training, every single one of them had great improvements.
Only if the captain was here. Ever since we’ve entered the depths of the mountain range, we haven’t left. We don’t know much about the situation outside.
Mo Tian sighed. He could not help but think of a handsome, righteous face.
Just at this moment, a grand presence suddenly descended from outside. Although the presence was gentle, unable to cause any harm to people, it carried a feeling of vast endlessness, as if it represented the world. Even Earth Saint Masters felt weak like ants before the presence.
What a immovable presence!
Everyone within the tent suddenly became alert. They then threw away the cups in their hands, hurrying out from the tent.
Rain continued to pour outside and the sky was gloomy. Yun Zheng, Senior An and the members of the Flame Mercenaries who recently became Earth Saint Masters all came out of the central tent together, and allowed themselves to be drenched in rain. At the same time, various other people came out one by one from the surrounding tents. They quickly arrived behind Yun Zheng and the others, and looked around with solemn expressions. They were looking for the source of the presence.
In just the time of a breath, the core members of the Flame Mercenaries who had originally entered the mountain range to train had all gathered together.
Just at that moment, a pale blue light slashed the horizon in half. It flew over the distance like a lightning bolt, and headed right in the direction where the Flame Mercenaries were.
Everyone be careful, the person’s a Heaven Saint Master!
Everyone’s expression was filled with vigilance. Meanwhile, a thumb-sized piece of jade had already appeared in Senior An’s hand.
The blue figure that had cut through the sky stopped before the mercenaries in the end, floating above. There, everyone could see his appearance.
Observing him clearly, everyone was slightly surprised. Their vigilant expressions immediately disappeared, replaced by expressions of joy and excitement.
Captain!
It’s the captain! The captain’s returned!
Everyone cried out in excitement. They were clearly elated with Jian Chen’s arrival and afterwards, they all kneeled on one knee to welcome Jian Chen.
Jian Chen’s long, blue robes shook about in the violent wind, his towering body remained dry from the rain. He looked slowly at the large men below, and a faint smile appeared on his expressionless face. He said,
Not bad, well done. Looks like you’ve all improved greatly during this period of time.
Jian Chen slowly descended and with a thought, an invisible force immediately flooded the surroundings, pulling everyone up off the ground.
Jian Chen was courteously invited into the central tent by several Earth Saint Masters. Afterwards, they gave a general report of what had happened during the years to Jian Chen.
Yes, well done. There’s actually seven of you who’ve become Earth Saint Masters, which has indeed created some surprises for me. With your current strength, staying here won’t do you any good.
Jian Chen took out a wooden box and a stack of books from his Space Ring. He said,
In this box are Class 6 Radiant Spirit Pills. These are some Earth Tier Battle Skills. You should take these and split the pills evenly between each other as a life-saving measure. As for these Earth Tier Battle Skills, you can learn them once you’ve become an Earth Saint Masters. Prepare to leave here tomorrow and go train on the vast continent.
Yes, captain.
The seven Earth Saint Masters replied together. Each of them had joy that they struggled to conceal in their eyes.
Remember, when you go training on the continent, don’t use the name Flame Mercenaries. Go under a different group name.
Jian Chen warned them once again, before turning his head and said,
Yun Zhang, Senior An, the two of you have done well. You’ve already completely the mission. The two of you can report back to the main base of the mercenaries with my keepsake.
Jian Chen gave them a jade trinket. The trinket was a keepsake from the Changyang clan and was used for the purpose of identification, but Jian Chen no longer had any use for it.
Captain, just where is the main base?
Senior An asked. Before the Flame Mercenaries had even rose up in power, Yun Zheng and him were already sent into the depths of the mountain range, always protecting Jian Chen’s trusted subordinates. They had never left.
Jian Chen smiled mysteriously,
Just do some casual investigation when you get out. You’ll know where it is.
Jian Chen stayed for a day and in that day, he passed on some knowledge about cultivation as well as his experience of breaking through to Earth Saint Master. At the same time, he left behind a great amount of Class 4 and Class 5 Monster Cores for everyone. He departed the morning of the next day, and began his journey to the Holy Empire.
The Holy Empire was one of the strongest empires on the Tian Yuan Continent. The Tian Yuan Continent had a total of seven capital cities, while the Holy Empire possessed three of them. It was greater than either of the other two empires.
The history of the Holy Empire was ancient. It already had a million years of history, and it was commonly said that before Mo Tianyun and the Winged Tiger God had even appeared, the empire already existed. Also, its status back then was the same as now, domineering and an overlord. Even with so many years behind it, it remained as glorious as it was before.
