Chapter 557: Insignificant
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Chen Fei noticed Chen Daoheng, and naturally, Chen Daoheng also caught sight of Chen Fei.
As Chen Fei walked away, Chen Daoheng took a proper look at Chen Fei’s back, his eyes revealing a hint of interest. He was still somewhat curious about how Chen Fei had been able to perceive him a while back.
With the concealment technique displayed by Chen Daoheng, many mid-Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts couldn’t see through it, even those from the top ten powers.
“Go and find out where those people who just pa.s.sed by came from,” Chen Daoheng instructed a disciple from the Fallen Heaven Pavilion who was nearby.
“Yes!” The disciple from the Fallen Heaven Pavilion nodded and then disappeared on the spot.
Chen Daoheng casually strolled through the Sea Dominion City. As a member of the Fallen Heaven Pavilion, even when summoned to the frontline, Chen Daoheng still enjoyed many privileges compared to other ordinary Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts.
These privileges were granted by the forces behind him. After all, while Minister Min Yanlu held the highest authority in Sea Dominion City, the various details and matters below were discussed and decided upon collectively by the peak Combined Aperture Tempering realm experts.
With a peak Combined Aperture Tempering realm expert from the Fallen Heaven Pavilion present in Sea Dominion City, it was natural for them to show favoritism towards their own disciples.
With power comes privilege; this was almost an inevitable reality, understood by all warriors within Sea Dominion City. As long as things weren’t too excessive, everyone could accept them.
After a brief moment, the Fallen Heaven Pavilion disciple who had disappeared earlier reappeared by Chen Daoheng’s side.
“How did it go?”
Chen Daoheng asked as he lightly sipped his drink in a tavern, turning to the Fallen Heaven Pavilion disciple.
At this moment, Sea Dominion City was in a state of war, but some basic services within the city remained intact. With so many warriors coming to defend the frontline, there naturally needed to be enough people to serve them.
Therefore, establishments like taverns, tea houses, and shops were still operating as usual. In the heart of Sea Dominion City, there was even a huge market bustling with activity.
Coming to the frontline was all about resisting the sea demons, and the most straightforward way to do so was by killing them.
After these sea demons were slain, their bodies would be dragged back to Sea Dominion City, where they could be used for alchemy or crafting.
Even directly consuming their flesh could help one’s cultivation grow.
The area around Sea Dominion City had become a slaughterhouse, but for those with the ability and luck to survive, their cultivation would undoubtedly skyrocket.
Compared to sea demons from elsewhere, the ones sold in Sea Dominion City now were incredibly cheap, and there were no other places with such favorable conditions for cultivation.
“Reporting to Elder Chen, the situation of those few individuals has been clarified,” the disciple said, handing over a jade slip.
Chen Daoheng took the jade slip and delved his consciousness into it. After a moment, he lifted his head.
The jade slip detailed the information about Chen Fei and his companions. This wasn’t particularly difficult to ascertain because with the arrival of the five ships, it was easy to find out where they came from.
“To have risen to such prominence in just a few years since breaking through to the Combined Aperture Tempering realm, truly remarkable!”
Chen Daoheng flipped the jade slip in his hand, his expression thoughtful.
The information about Qin Haishan and the others could be disregarded, but Chen Fei’s experiences were undeniably impressive.
Such talent, such strength; if he had joined one of the top ten powers at a young age, his cultivation would likely have soared by now.
But evidently, fate had not favored him in that regard. He had only joined a small sect, lacking the opportunity to cultivate to the pinnacle of martial arts. His potential had been almost locked away.
Without a powerful background, he now found himself on the frontline. While his early Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation was decent and offered some self-defense capability, a slight misfortune could easily lead to his demise.
Sea demons were adept at ambushes and had no qualms about using their size to bully the smaller. What they loved most was preying on weaker beings, even directly devouring the flesh and blood of warriors.
While warriors could exploit every part of a sea demon’s body, sea demons couldn’t do the same. However, devouring a warrior whole would still enhance their cultivation.
*Snap!*
Chen Daoheng crushed the jade slip in his hand into powder, losing interest in Chen Fei.
Though decent, he posed no threat and was inconsequential!
When the opportunity arose, he could be dealt with!
At the Lord’s Manor in Sea Dominion City, the information of Chen Fei and his companions was registered, marking their successful registration.
“Nowadays, with numerous sea demons lurking outside the defense lines of Sea Dominion City, to encourage everyone to slay them, there’s a task hall next to the Lord’s Manor. It lists various slaying tasks.”
The steward said as he led Chen Fei and his companions out of the manor towards the direction of the task hall.
“After completing tasks, you’ll receive corresponding elemental stones as rewards. If you don’t want elemental stones, you can exchange them for divine weapons, breakthrough spirit herbs, or even profound martial arts, all listed in the inventory,” the steward whispered.
Chen Fei’s expression subtly changed. This was a point-based exchange system. After completing tasks, you could either choose the corresponding elemental stones or acc.u.mulate points. Once you acc.u.mulated a certain number of points, you could select treasures from the inventory.
If this had been earlier, Chen Fei would have undoubtedly gone straight for the profound martial arts. But now, if he truly completed tasks, Chen Fei would probably opt for elemental stones or cultivation-enhancing elixirs.
As for divine weapons and breakthrough spirit herbs, they weren’t bad, but their utility for Chen Fei was relatively lower.
“However, to prevent anyone from slacking off, the leader has decreed that within three months, everyone must slay at least one sea demon of equivalent cultivation level, or face the consequences,” the steward said, turning to glance at Chen Fei and his companions.
Chen Fei and Qin Haishan exchanged glances. This was a compulsory action. Compared to Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators who were integrated into military formations, those in the Combined Aperture Tempering realm had more freedom in their actions.
But this freedom wasn’t entirely without principles; there were still rigid targets in place.
Slaying a sea demon of equal cultivation level was definitely risky. After all, sea demons had much larger bodies, and in a direct confrontation, ordinary Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators couldn’t match up to them.
However, if several people cooperated and were cautious, although still dangerous, it was at least feasible. And extending the time frame to three months had also taken into account the possibility of injury.
“I heard there are a few newcomers. I have a task here that requires two people,” a figure suddenly appeared in front of them before they reached the task hall.
His face was covered in stubble, his eyes gleaming, and a strong aura emanated from him.
With just one glance, Chen Fei and his companions sensed Xu Wucheng’s late Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivation level.
The footsteps of Qin Haishan and the others involuntarily halted. They glanced at the steward, who took a few steps forward to inquire, but Xu Wucheng directly tossed a jade plaque from his sleeve.
The steward hastily caught it, sensing the information contained within the jade plaque, then turned back towards Chen Fei and his companions.
“This senior has taken on an urgent task. As per the leader’s decree, this task can temporarily request a.s.sistance from others, and refusal is not permitted,” the steward whispered.
Qin Haishan and the others couldn’t help but be stunned. They had thought that the Combined Aperture Tempering realm offered more freedom, and the five of them could act together. They hadn’t expected someone to come and requisition manpower before they even reached the task hall.
“Just the two of you, follow me!”
Xu Wucheng said after the steward finished speaking, pointing directly at Chen Fei and Qin Haishan before disappearing on the spot.
In Xu Wucheng’s eyes, among the five individuals, Tong Zhongqiu showed signs of old age and declining strength, indicating that his life was nearing its end. In such a state, his combat power was gradually weakening.
Moreover, recovering from injuries would be much more difficult for him compared to the others, potentially turning him into a liability.
While Zhao Tianxuan was slightly better than Tong Zhongqiu, his capabilities were still limited, and he too was experiencing a decline in strength.
As for Yu Shoucheng, he was relatively average, falling within an acceptable range.
However, compared to Qin Haishan, his aura was noticeably weaker, making Qin Haishan the obvious choice.
As for Chen Fei, he was undoubtedly the youngest in both appearance and aura. Not being from one of the top ten powers and yet being so young, his talent was unquestionable.
Moreover, just now, Xu Wucheng could sense that among the five individuals, there was a faint sense of Chen Fei leading the group. Clearly, Chen Fei must have other outstanding qualities, which influenced the other four to defer to him.
With just a few glances, Xu Wucheng had taken in all the circ.u.mstances and made his decision.
Tong Zhongqiu and the others looked at Qin Haishan and Chen Fei with bitter smiles. With the two strongest members being directly requisitioned, their original plans were completely disrupted.
But evidently, judging from the steward’s intentions just now, such a requisition could not be refused.
“Take care of yourselves,” Yu Shoucheng whispered.
Upon hearing that it was an urgent task, they understood that it definitely involved danger. After all, it required a late Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivator to lead, indicating that they would be facing sea demons of that caliber.
Chen Fei nodded and glanced at Qin Haishan, who also nodded. The two of them then vanished from their original positions, following behind Xu Wucheng.
After a short while, Xu Wucheng landed in a courtyard where two other Combined Aperture Tempering realm cultivators were already present.
There were two of them in total. One was in the mid-Combined Aperture Tempering realm, a woman with a gentle appearance but a hint of valor in her eyes.
The other was in the early Combined Aperture Tempering realm, middle-aged, and appeared to be of similar age to Qin Haishan. He held a formation plate in his hand, muttering incantations.
As Xu Wucheng landed in the courtyard, the man noticed and raised his head.
Chen Fei and Qin Haishan landed in the courtyard as well, and all three of them looked over.
“Here are the new teammates. I’m Tong Linyun.” Tong Linyun looked at Chen Fei and Qin Haishan, her face revealing a charming smile. Then, she casually pulled out a giant blade from her back and plunged it into the ground nearby.
As the blade appeared, Tong Linyun’s charming demeanor vanished, replaced by a fierce aura that filled the entire courtyard.
Chen Fei glanced at the nearly human-sized giant blade. Even among male warriors, it was rare to see someone use such a blade, let alone a female warrior.
“Guo Huasheng, a formation master,” Tong Linyun introduced.
Guo Huasheng’s face lit up with a smile, and suddenly, the entire courtyard trembled slightly. In an instant, the surroundings were transformed into a picturesque scene, with flowers blooming and birds chirping. Countless tall trees sprang up from the ground, filling the entire courtyard..