Chapter 1546 – Cloud Rat Zhe Jun
Zhe Jun was carefully traversing the sea in front of him. He kept cautious of his surroundings. It must be said that Zhe Jun’s appearance was quite sinister. He had s.h.i.+ny rat-like eyes as well as a pair of buck teeth. He also had short hair which made people a.s.sociate him with mice.
Zhe Jun was a very interesting person. Besides his greed, he really had no other weakness. His hands and feet were very dishonest. He liked to do petty thefts. However, he was also wise, he didn’t dare provoke people. Because of this, he was able to live easily before.
But five years ago, he stole something from a very ordinary cultivator. It was the cultivator’s storage cloud token. He managed to find a lot of good things inside from cloudfruit wine to cloud crystals.
However, before Zhe Jun could enjoy his spoils, he suddenly heard that a clan was tracking him. It was said that they wanted to find the person who stole from their steward. The clan was very strong. It would be very easy for them to squeeze him to death.
Zhe Jun didn’t dare stay in the huge Whitecloud Island. He ran to the Hidden Cloud Village and hid there for five years. Afterwards, he discovered that the village was very good with n.o.body managing it. He was unfettered there. Moreover, he can go to the Sea of Beasts once in a while in order to take a small cloud beast or two. Although it couldn’t be sold for a lot, it was still able to provide him with enough food to eat.
Zhe Jun also had a peculiar liking towards rats. He has a lot of rats inside his cloudbeast token. These rats were also cloud beasts, but the help they provided people was very minimal. Because of this, not a lot of people use them. Despite this, Zhe Jun liked them. The cloud beasts he used were all rats. Rats don’t help much when alone, but they’re quite useful in big numbers. Slowly, Zhe Jun was able to gain a reputation for himself in the Hidden Cloud Village. He was named Cloud Rat Zhe Jun.
n.o.body knows the reason why Zhe Jun liked to use his army of rats. Actually, Zhe Jun was a practical person. The cloud beasts he used before weren’t rats. Cloud beasts needed to be fed white clouds from time to time otherwise they would die. While Zhe Jun was running away, his cloud beasts began dying one by one. Later on, he can only afford to use rats.
However, after using rats, Zhe Jun discovered that the spiritual qi provided by rats allowed him to stay in the Sea of Beasts for quite a while. Moreover, they consume very little food. In terms of costs, they were quite efficient. So from then on, Zhe Jun decided to use rats as his cloud beasts.
In the Cloudsea Territory, everyone can use cloud beasts to provide themselves with spiritual qi. These beasts lived freely among the dark clouds. Even if they don’t eat white clouds, there would be no problems. However, once they were caught, they needed to be fed with white clouds from time to time otherwise they would die of hunger. Captured cloud beasts give their energy to cultivators so that they could survive in the Sea of clouds. This allowed the cultivators to move in the dark clouds for a long time. Once the cloud beasts die, the cultivators would be in danger since they would be affected by the dark clouds.
Due to this, if they weren’t using Cloudsea s.h.i.+ps, people knew that they could only stay in the dark clouds for at most ten days. If they don’t come back in ten days, their cloud beasts would be exhausted and they would be influenced by the dark clouds.
After Zhe Jun used rats, he discovered that they allowed him to thrive in the dark clouds for 15 days with no problem. These rats would still be energetic and their strength didn’t decrease.
Despite having this discovery, Zhe Jun didn’t inform anybody else. He knew that he wasn’t strong. If he made his discovery known, then he would only be bringing disaster onto himself. He just used this discovery to benefit himself.
This day, Zhe Jun was out catching cloud beasts. His strength was only at the Core Formation Stage. His level of strength was at the minimum in this place. He also didn’t have a special ability, which caused him to be at the lowest level of society. Majority of cloud beasts he caught were rabbits, cats, and other small critters. They were barely enough to trade for some food and drinks.
Zhe Jun was cautiously moving forward. With his strength, if he met a strong cloud beast, then he would definitely become food.
Fortunately, Zhe Jun was using rats as his cloud beasts. These rats were very good. As long as a high-level beast was in the vicinity, they would immediately become alert and then group up.
While Zhe Jun was flying forward, he suddenly noticed the dark clouds in front of him roll over. This caused him to be startled. This could only mean that there’s something abnormal in front of him. But what made him feel strange was the fact that his cloud rats didn’t make any response. As Zhe Jun was confused, he suddenly felt his body tighten. Without noticing it, iron chains had entangled him.
Zhe Jun was greatly surprised. Just as he was about to attempt breaking loose, he felt his body losing its strength. He can no longer move. Then he felt the iron chains tighten even more before being pulled towards the approaching figure.
Before long, Zhe Jun felt a presence in front of him. He was approaching a huge s.h.i.+p, and there was someone standing in front of it.
Seeing this person, Zhe Jun couldn’t help but be startled. This was because this person didn’t look like someone from the Cloudsea Territory. Due to his surprise, Zhe Jun forgot to speak.
Seeing Zhe Jun, Zhao Hai smiled faintly and asked, “What’s your name? Are you from the Hidden Cloud Village?”
Zhe Jun recovered, his original white appearance had now turned green. He looked at Zhao Hai and asked, “May I ask who you are? Why did you tie me up?”
Zhao Hai looked at Zhe Jun and said, “I’m the one asking the question. You only need to answer. If you don’t, then I won’t mind killing you.” Zhao Hai’s tone was very light, but Zhe Jun was able to feel the murderous aura coming out of him. The more he pondered about it, the more scared he became.
Zhao Hai looked at Zhe Jun and asked once more, “What’s your name? Are you from the Hidden Cloud Village?”
Zhe Jun didn’t dare lie as he quickly replied, “This one is named Zhe Jun and I’m from the Hidden Cloud Village. Mister, please spare my life. From now on, I will obediently follow your orders.”
Zhao Hai stared. He didn’t expect Zhe Jun to be so smart. He was clearly aware that if he didn’t capitulate, then he would not be able to survive.
When he heard Zhe Jun’s response, Zhao Hai no longer wanted to kill him. He also saw that Zhe Jun was only at the Core Formation Stage. Such a person could provide no help to him. Moreover, although Zhe Jun looked wretched, he was a very clever person. It won’t be bad to have him as a servant.
Seeing Zhao Hai being silent for some time, Zhe Jun’s heart couldn’t help but beat like a drum. He could see that although Zhao Hai spoke plainly and without any killing intent, he was a person that couldn’t be provoked. This was a person that casually took lives. Because of this, Zhe Jun immediately expressed his willingness to surrender and serve. He was hoping that Zhao Hai would take him in.
Other cultivators might not be able to do this, but Zhe Jun had been at the bottom levels for so long that he was sensitive to other people’s moods. Moreover, to unimportant people like him, surrendering to a powerful expert wasn’t a disgrace. Instead, it would be very advantageous if a powerful expert were to take him in.
Zhao Hai waved his hand as the chains binding Zhe Jun vanished. Zhao Hai looked at Zhe Jun and said, “Zhe Jun, I’m someone from the Ten-thousand Realm Battlefield. Have you heard about the Ten-thousand Realm Battlefield?”
Zhe Jun stared, then his expression changed. But he immediately bowed towards Zhao Hai and said, “Yes, I’ve heard of it.”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “That’s good. I know what the people from the Cloudsea Territory think about those from the Ten-thousand Realm Battlefield, but I don’t care about that. I’m just an advance party. Later on, the Ten-thousand Realm Battlefield and the Cloudsea Territory will have more interactions.”
Zhao Hai’s tone was light, but Zhe Jun could feel his body shudder. He knew what Zhao Hai meant. Zhao Hai wasn’t afraid of Zhe Jun revealing his status. This was because Zhao Hai was just a vanguard and the Ten-thousand Realm Battlefield’s main force was right behind him.
Thinking of this, Zhe Jun couldn’t help but kneel down as he kowtowed and said, “This one is incompetent. It’s this one’s honor to be able to meet the Young Master. This one is willing to become a slave for his entire life!”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “Get up. Since you’re willing to become my servant, then I will take you into my wing. You will not regret this decision.” He waved his hand as a dragon and a tiger appeared. They were the Thunder Dragon and the Howling Wind Tiger.
Zhe Jun was so frightened by the two beasts that he laid down on the floor without moving. He was a person who traversed the Sea of Beasts regularly, so how could he not recognize the Thunder Dragon and the Howling Wind Tiger? These two beasts were quite famous in the Cloudsea Territory.
Then he heard Zhao Hai say, “I’m giving this dragon and tiger to you as a reward.”
Zhe Jun thought that he had misheard. He looked up at Zhao Hai and stuttered, “Ma-master, di-did you just say that you’re giving the dragon and tiger to me?”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly, he nodded and said, “It’s your reward. If you have a cloudbeast token, you can put them away. By the way, what cloud beast do you usually use?”
Hearing Zhao Hai, Zhe Jun couldn’t help but be embarra.s.sed. He lowered his head and said, “Replying to Young Master, this one uses cloud rats.” Zhe Jun felt his face turn red. Using rats as his cloud beasts was a disgrace.
However, Zhe Jun didn’t expect Zhao Hai to just wave it off and said, “Let me see your rats.” Zhe Jun didn’t understand what Zhao Hai wanted to do but he still took out his cloudbeast token and took out the rats inside. As soon as the rats came out, they all trembled on the ground, afraid to make a move.
Zhao Hai waved his hand and sent the rats to the s.p.a.ce. As Zhe Jun was stunned, Zhao Hai waved his hand once more and released the rats. Although the rats didn’t have any visual changes, their aura completely changed. Even if they were in front of the dragon and the tiger, they didn’t show any fear at all.
Zhao Hai waved his hand and took back the dragon and tiger. He looked at Zhe Jun and said, “I’ve transformed your rats and given them back to you. These rats wouldn’t be any weaker than the dragon and the tiger. So I’ll be taking these two back.”
Although Zhe Jun was aggrieved, he stored his cloud rats back into his cloudbeast token. But just as he received the rats, Zhe Jun was startled. This was because the spiritual qi that the rats provided him has increased by a lot. If the spiritual qi provided by the rats before this was a cup of water, now they were giving him a river’s worth of spiritual qi.
Zhe Jun’s heart skipped a beat as he felt even more terrified of Zhao Hai. He saw Zhao Hai wave his hand to receive the rats and then they became formidable when they reappeared. How could this not surprise Zhe Jun? Zhao Hai looked at Zhe Jun and said, “Stand up and cultivate well. Also, call me Young Master from now on.” Zhe Jun hurriedly complied and stood up.
Zhao Hai looked at Zhe Jun and said, “This time, I came as a scout for the Ten-thousand Realm Battlefield. This Hidden Cloud Village is remote and suits my uses. I will take it for myself and use it as a temporary base. Tell me about the village as well as the number of experts there.”
Zhe Jun didn’t delay and quickly explained the Hidden Cloud Village’s situation. It must be said that the Hidden Cloud Village was truly a small island. The place wasn’t large and the people living in it were all fugitives. It was a lawless place. Naturally, there were some groups there, but they weren’t that powerful. The strongest person in the village was at the Transcending Tribulation Stage. Its population numbered about 50 thousand people.
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “Dealing with these 50 thousand people will be a bit troublesome. We can kill them all, but those who went out will return sooner or later. If they discover the changes to the island, I’m afraid they will leak the message out.”
Upon hearing Zhao Hai, Zhe Jun couldn’t help but jump in fright. This was 50 thousand people, yet Zhao Hai just casually mentioned killing them all. When he heard this, Zhe Jun rejoiced in his decision to submit. If he didn’t, then he would have become a corpse a long time ago.
Zhe Jun wiped a cold sweat as he said, “Young Master, although the Hidden Cloud Village is full of fugitives, there are also a lot of people who ran away after offending powerful clans. If Young Master can listen to this one, I suggest forcing them to surrender.”
Zhao Hai looked at Zhe Jun and said, “Having them surrender isn’t impossible. However, there’s one thing you need to understand. They can’t know about my ident.i.ty. Don’t make me repeat it, understand?”
Zhe Jun quickly replied, “Yes, Young Master. Rest a.s.sured, this little one will take care of it.”
Zhao Hai asked, “How are you planning to return?”
Zhe Jun quickly replied, “Young Master, you might not know this, but this one discovered that cloud rats allow me to travel the dark clouds five days more than the others. Therefore, there’s no need for the Young Master to worry.”
Zhao Hai nodded, then he waved his hand and said, “Go.”
Zhe Jun nodded as he departed from the h.e.l.l King’s s.h.i.+p and disappeared into the dark clouds.