Chapter 1928: Becoming Team Leader
The steel beaked swallows that were besieging the cultivators numbered around 400. Each of these steel beaked swallows were extremely agile. Their attacks were as penetrating as a bullet. They left no traces.
Even 200 immortal experts wouldn’t be able to withstand the attacks of 400 steel beaked swallows. Seeing this situation, Zhao Hai rushed over to attack the birds.
Li Mu and the others followed immediately and attacked the steel beaked swallows. However, stopping the swallows wasn’t easy. The steel beaked swallows were small and agile. They moved as if they were teleporting everywhere. One second they were in one place, the next second they were at another place dozens of meters away. Such a speed was very hard to catch.
Fortunately, Zhao Hai was present. Zhao Hai stopped a hundred swallows from attacking, even killing dozens of them.
Actually, what the others didn’t know was that Zhao Hai didn’t kill these swallows. Instead, he sent them to the s.p.a.ce. Since everyone was busy fighting, they didn’t notice.
After receiving more than ten steel beaked swallows into the s.p.a.ce, Zhao Hai began to seriously attack. Zhao Hai’s attacks were very fast, making it easier for him to kill the swallows.
Finally, after Zhao Hai killed dozens of steel beaked swallows, the flock was beginning to be afraid. Beasts like them were typically cowardly. Unless necessary, they wouldn’t go all out against you.
Several steel beaked swallows screeched before the flock scattered in all four directions. In a blink of an eye, not even a shadow of a bird could be seen. Seeing that the enemy had run away, everyone began to relax. Li Mu flew to Zhao Hai’s side and said, “Army Commander is really powerful. You’re already stronger than us right after entering the immortal stage.”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Alright, don’t talk about these useless things. Go and see if we suffered any loss.”
Li Mu smiled and said, “I just went to take a look, there’s no loss but there are two injured. They should be able to recover in no time. We actually profited this time. Steel beaked swallows are quite valuable. A lot of shops in the city buy them.”
Zhao Hai nodded, “Then you can keep it. I just arrived, I don’t know much about these things.” Li Mu complied and went to make the arrangements. Before long, the battlefield was cleaned up. However, Li Mu didn’t rush to leave. The group mingled with each other for some time.
The team that was attacked comprised 94 people. Forty of them were from the nine super sects while 54 came from the Freedom Alliance. Their task this time was to pick medicinal herbs. Majority of those from the Freedom Alliance knew Zhao Hai. After all, Zhao Hai was a legendary figure in the alliance. Meanwhile, the others have partic.i.p.ated in the Heavenly Demon War. Because of this, all of them were excited to see Zhao Hai.
None of them dared to underestimate Zhao Hai. The fighting strength that Zhao Hai showed shocked them. Although steel beaked swallows were beasts that rely on their numbers to win, they were notoriously difficult to kill due to their agility. Even if they can’t kill you, it would also be difficult to catch them.
Because of this, living steel beaked swallows were very marketable beasts in the Soaring Dragon Realm. Their corpses could also be sold. The flesh and blood of the swallows could be made into pills that could permanently increase a cultivator’s agility and speed.
This made steel beaked swallows popular in the True Spirit Realm. Various sects would buy them for high prices. These prices stayed high as well due to the difficulty in catching these birds.
The people of the Great Realm of Cultivation weren’t living good lives in the Soaring Dragon Realm. The income from these steel beaked swallows would alleviate some of their financial pressure.
They needed money to live in the Soaring Dragon Realm, and they needed a lot. They can’t always rely on the Great Realm of Cultivation to send them resources. Here, most of their expenses were earned by themselves.
Besides giving tasks, the sects of the True Spirit Realm also open shops to purchase materials. Most of Li Mu and the others’ income came from these shops.
One could cultivate even without using pills in the Soaring Dragon Realm because of the dense spiritual qi. However, if you want to join a powerful sect, then you would need to go to the big cities. Most of the camps of the realms who come to the Soaring Dragon Realm were in remote places. This was because the closer they were to the city, the more likely they would get attacked. Due to the remoteness of their camps, people from the lower realms need to fly to the cities. But flying from their camp to big cities would take more than a day. They also couldn’t travel during the night or they would be swarmed by beasts.
Since they cannot fly all the way, they can only use transmission formations or stay in cities during the night. Both options require a lot of money.
Moreover, cultivators would need all kinds of artifacts to accomplish their tasks. The Soaring Dragon Realm was too dangerous. And the artifacts of the Great Realm of Cultivation wouldn’t work here. Therefore, cultivators need to buy from the sects of the True Spirit Realm. They would also need all kinds of pills to survive. All of these need high-level spirit stones. Such expenses weren’t small.
Because of this, Li Mu and the others always found themselves short of money. With these steel beaked swallows, they could relax for a few days.
After receiving the steel beaked swallows, Li Mu and the others helped the team gather medicinal herbs. Then the group used a portable transmission formation to return to Wulong City.
Once they were done handing the task in, the group returned to the Great Realm of Cultivation’s camp in order to welcome Zhao Hai and the other newcomers. Li Mu also bought spirit wine. These spirit wines weren’t high-end goods, so they were inexpensive. However, Li Mu and the others still wouldn’t buy them unless there’s an occasion.
This doesn’t mean that Li Mu and the others were having a difficult time. But they used all their extra money to buy artifacts. The artifacts in the Soaring Dragon Realm were all high-end goods. If they could buy these artifacts and send them back to their sect, their sect would become stronger. They could also spend any extra money to buy artifacts that could make them safer, just like the communicators and portable transmission formations that Li Mu used. Because of this, Li Mu and the others would save money on food and entertainment.
Daytime in the Soaring Dragon Realm was very long. A day would last 48 hours while there would be 36 hours of night. This gave cultivators enough time to go outside.
When Zhao Hai and the others arrived, it was already noon in the Soaring Dragon Realm. And after saving the others and returning to the camp, it was almost dark.
It didn’t take long before the skies turned completely black. Teams began to camp one after another. Li Mu also activated the protective s.h.i.+eld. Not only could the protective s.h.i.+eld block attacks, it also hid the camp and prevented beasts from discovering them. This s.h.i.+eld was also unique to the Soaring Dragon Realm, and its price wasn’t cheap.
After starting the protective s.h.i.+eld, Li Mu held a party and had a good drink with Zhao Hai and the others. When the party was in full swing, Li Mu stood up and raised his cup as he said, “Everyone, in addition to welcoming the newcomers, I have something else to announce. This is Mister Zhao Hai, I think everyone already knows him. He’s the Army Commander of the Freedom Alliance’s army. You should be aware of the army commander’s strength. I want to announce that I’m officially resigning as the team leader of the Great Realm of Cultivation’s team. I ask Mister Zhao Hai to take my place.”
Zhao Hai stared, he didn’t think Li Mu would have such a proposition. He quickly replied, “Li Mu, I just arrived at the Soaring Dragon Realm. I’m not yet familiar with the place. How can I work as the captain?”
At this moment, Yuan Ba stood up and said, “Mister, please don’t refuse. We might be from different factions, but once we enter the Soaring Dragon Realm all of us have one ident.i.ty, and that is people from the Great Realm of Cultivation. Mister, all of us know that your commanding ability is unparalleled. As for being unfamiliar with the Soaring Dragon Realm, you don’t have to worry. I believe you will be familiar with it soon.”
Yuan Ba’s words resonated with the others. Zhao Hai was very famous in the Great Realm of Cultivation for decades. It can be said that the nine super sects didn’t dare start a war with the Freedom Alliance because of him. Although he has entered the Soaring Dragon Realm, this didn’t affect his status in everyone’s hearts. Zhao Hai was someone who can summon a thousand immortal-level Undead. This meant that he had a thousand powerful helpers. Zhao Hai was also famous for his ability to command. In addition to his undead and commanding ability, Zhao Hai was also known for his strength.
There’s also another important reason, the existence of the alliance army. There were nearly a hundred people from the alliance army in the Soaring Dragon Realm. People from the Freedom Alliance would also be listening to Zhao Hai’s orders. It can be said that as soon as he entered the Soaring Dragon Realm, he became the most influential person among those from the Great Realm of Cultivation. Even if Zhao Hai declines, n.o.body would dare take the position of team leader as long as he was present.
Yuan Ba and the other cultivators from the nine super sects were also aware of how vicious and merciless Zhao Hai could be. If they didn’t support Zhao Hai and offend him, then Zhao Hai might find an opportunity to deal with them. When the time comes, it would be too late for them to regret.
Because of all these reasons, Yuan Ba and the others decided to support Zhao Hai. Seeing this, Zhao Hai knew that it wouldn’t be good if he didn’t become team leader. He smiled bitterly as he waved his hand, making the room silent. Zhao Hai looked at everyone and said, “Since everyone wants me to become team leader, then I’ll have to accept. But I want all of you to understand that I’m still not familiar with the Soaring Dragon Realm. I hope that you will all help me. Otherwise, you can’t blame me if I happen to send you to a ditch.”
As soon as they heard Zhao Hai, everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Some of them weren’t familiar with Zhao Hai. Hearing Zhao Hai joke around, the obstructions in their heart disappeared. They thought that it might be a good idea for Zhao Hai to become the team leader.
Zhao Hai lifted his cup and said, “Alright, then I am the team leader. Let me offer you all a toast for our future cooperation. I promise you that one day, we will move our base inside a city.” Everyone raised their cups and cheered.
In the Soaring Dragon Realm, there are people from the lower realms who live inside cities. This was because these realms have become powerful. The spirit stones that they earned was enough for them to pay for a base inside a city. Living inside a city was the dream of many cultivators in the Soaring Dragon Realm. Although they didn’t expect much, everyone couldn’t help but get uplifted hearing Zhao Hai promise them.
Everyone drank all of the wine that Li Mu bought. Then everyone went back to their residences to prepare for the next day’s affairs. Of course, people were also a.s.signed as night watch. If the camp was discovered by the beasts, everyone would have enough time to run away.
The next morning, everyone got up early. Zhao Hai also got up early and went out of the s.p.a.ce. He went to the transmission formation square and announced, “Everyone, gather around. It’s time to distribute tasks.”
Upon hearing Zhao Hai, everyone couldn’t help but stare. They couldn’t understand what Zhao Hai meant. Zhao Hai just arrived at the Soaring Dragon Realm. How could he distribute tasks to everyone? Yesterday, he even said that he wasn’t familiar with the Soaring Dragon Realm. Is he trying to establish his status because he just became the team leader?
However, no matter what, they have to give face to Zhao Hai. So everyone gathered in the transmission formation plaza. All of them looked at Zhao Hai with a confused expression. Some of them even had traces of dissatisfaction on their faces. Only Li Mu and the others were confident in Zhao Hai and were excitedly waiting for him to talk.
When everyone gathered around, Zhao Hai said, “I’ll be a.s.signing tasks now. Li Mu, bring a few hundred people with you to the camp and resume any tasks that’s left. Complete the easier ones. Write down any rewards you got and any items used. Yuan Ba, take 100 people to Wulong City and copy all of the tasks that we can accept. w.a.n.g Feng, take another 100 people to a city you’re familiar with. Naturally, don’t go to Wulong City. Copy all of the tasks there as well. Zhang Tao, you do the same. Now go.”