Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Jiang Yi, you must return alive. My father is arriving soon. Once you return, I will immediately ask him to help you look for your friend. I, He Wei, am a man of my word; I will deliver what I promised.”
As Jiang Yi was going to undergo the appraisal and could not become an in-name disciple just yet, He Wei was taken away by Elder Bu to be settled down. Jiang Yi and the Black Deity could only wait inside the central hall. The two were gifted with black armor. However, there was no insignia from the Demon-Killing Pavilion on them.
The duo stood in the central hall like dummies as Demon-Killing Pavilion disciples entered and exited incessantly and went into different side halls. However, they did not mock the two of them standing like idiots, but no one bothered with them as well.
“You two are the new potential recruits here for your appraisal?”
After six hours, a strong-built man in black armor walked over as he asked in a muffled voice. Seeing Jiang Yi nod, he beckoned and said, “Follow me; be on your toes.”
Jiang Yi and the Black Deity hurriedly followed that strong man outside. A Divine Boat was floating above the city plaza. The man turned and looked at the two of them and said, “Board it.”
Swish!
This man was rather strong; he could fly in the sky. He was probably a Demon-Killing Battle General. While Jiang Yi and the Black Deity could not fly here, Jiang Yi could still jump this distance. He shot upwards while pulling the Black Deity and easily entered the Divine Boat.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The entire Divine Boat was filled with Demon-Killing Battle Generals. Thirty of them were present, with their breastplates decorated with the blood-red wolf head insignia. Only one of them had the additional sharp sword behind the blood-red wolf head on his chest. That person was evidently the captain. He looked at Jiang Yi and the Black Deity and said, “Find a place to sit. The Jiyang Tribe is not far from here; we will reach it soon enough. As you two are here for your appraisal, we will not interfere with any of your actions. Once we reach the Jiyang Tribe, your survival will not be our concern. Also, you two are not to vie for our spoils.”
“Yes, my Lord!”
Jiang Yi cupped his hand and responded. He pulled the Black Deity along as they sat in a corner and started to cultivate. The captain entered the front cabin while the other Demon-Killing Battle Generals also ignored Jiang Yi. They gathered in groups, either to chat softly or to rest and cultivate.
“Hey, hey, these two new recruits are actually following us to the Jiyang Tribe? I heard this is an ‘A’ Grade appraisal mission? Are the two of them nuts? Shall we wager and see if the two of them can survive and return? I’ll be the banker!”
“Alright, I bet that the two will die in the Jiyang Tribe. Ten divine roots.”
“I wager that they will die as well. Ten divine roots for me, too.”
“Zhao Tiezhu, you are essentially giving divine roots to us. Ten divine roots that they will perish.”
“Definitely die! Ten divine roots!”
A chorus of voices traveled over. While the Black Deity could not hear clearly as he did not have a divine body, Jiang Yi’s hearing was decent. He frowned slightly at what he was hearing. All the dozen-odd men that had placed their bets had unanimously wagered that Jiang Yi and the Black Deity would definitely die? Jiang Yi was a little worried. If they didn’t die, would the Demon-Killing Battle Generals secretly kill them, then?
Zhao Tiezhu, the banker over there was also feeling a little uneasy. He glanced at Jiang Yi, gritted his teeth, and said, “I’ll take all your bets. However, I have to make this clear. It has to be both of them dying. That young man is so young—full of youthful energy—and yet managed to ascend. He must be of a certain caliber. I accept this wager.”
“Hehe, you’ll be giving us divine roots soon.”
“Over a hundred divine roots. Zhao Tiezhu, you would have worked for nothing this month.”
“It’s okay if you lose, Tiezhu. I will treat you to go to a brothel if I win. The Feng Luan Pavilion in the south has recently gotten a few dozen new ladies. They are all young and beautiful.”
“Hehe, I went there yesterday. Number three is indeed something special. Her body was moving just like a snake…”
Many of them started to laugh out loud; their subsequent conversation was full of lewd remarks. However, based on their mannerisms, it didn’t seem as if they were that bad. Jiang Yi relaxed slightly as he closed his eyes to cultivate. He wanted to become stronger; even a little more would definitely increase his chance of survival in the Jiyang Tribe.
The Jiyang Tribe was indeed not far. After only five to six Lower-Domain days, with the purple sun not even risen fully up into the sky, the Divine Boat had stopped. Zhao Tiezhu walked over and slapped Jiang Yi on the shoulder, saying, “We have arrived. Lad, try your best and do not be rash! Follow behind us and retreat once you have finished your task, understand?”
“Many thanks, My Lord for your pointers!”
Although Jiang Yi knew that Zhao Tiezhu was only concerned that if he died, Zhao Tiezhu would lose a hundred over divine roots; he still gratefully stood up and cupped his hands at Zhao Tiezhu. The captain in the front cabin had also emerged. He gestured and said, “Same rules. Number Nine, stay behind here to be our liaison. The rest is to go out to battle.”
Everyone stood up, their killing aura surging, as they flew out one by one. The captain was the last to fly out. He looked at Jiang Yi and the Black Deity and said, “You two are to follow behind us. Once you finish your task, you can retreat back to the Divine Boat. If you have not, you are not allowed to enter. Of course… you can choose to give up. However, you would not have a chance to join the Demon-Killing Pavilion again in the future.”
Swish!
The captain also flew down. Jiang Yi looked outside from the gate as he rolled his eyes. It was a huge mountain below; there were no roads at all. The two could not fly; how were they supposed to catch up with everyone?
“Black Deity, enter my body.”
Jiang Yi said in a low voice. Although the Black Deity was slightly hesitant, he obediently transformed into a phantom image and entered Jiang Yi’s body, becoming a black dragon tattoo on Jiang Yi’s left arm. Jiang Yi rushed out of the gate and fell down into the mountain. After that, he immediately dashed forward as fast as he could.
Unfortunately, the Demon-Killing Battle Generals’ speed was too fast. Jiang Yi followed them for a while but soon lost sight of them. He could only choose a direction and continue to dash forward.
After one hour, the view ahead finally cleared as a flatland was soon visible. Sounds of battle were also traveling towards Jiang Yi from there. Jiang Yi perked up as he hurriedly slowed down and tried to monitor the situation from within the forest.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The closer he got, the louder the explosive sounds were. Jiang Yi also finally found the Jiyang Tribe. It was built entirely reliant on the mountain; all the buildings were forts, and there were at least a thousand of them. There were not many people within the forts at the moment; Jiang Yi could not even see any non-combatants. They must have received word earlier on and had been moved away to safety. There were many martial artists inside. All of them were Heaven-God-ranked at least. There were even a dozen-odd flying in mid-air. They should have reached the Divine General rank.
However, many Demon-Killing troops were also of the equivalent level. The battle became one-sided. Jiang Yi also had the chance to witness the fighting strength of a Divine General martial artist. The dozens of Demon-Killing Battle Generals released their attacks and swiftly killed dozens of Heaven God martial artists. Their captain was even more ferocious. He single-handedly went up against seven to eight Divine Generals from the Jiyang Tribe with ease. His speed was also very frightening; he had killed two men within a few seconds.
“They have indeed been controlled by the Netherworld Realm. Their bodies carry a faint corpse aura.”
Jiang Yi’s eyes went cold. As the Jiyang Tribe’s martial artists fought, their bodies emanated a faint aura that was like Xing Mo’s. Disregarding whether they were being controlled or not—at the very least, they have cultivated the Netherworld Realm’s cultivation techniques.
“Wuu-wuu-wuu!”
A signal sounded as the few hundred Heaven God martial artists immediately transformed into birds and beasts and fled in all directions. They knew that they were no match for the Demon-Killing troop and were prepared to flee for their lives.
“Damn!”
Jiang Yi had just gotten a sense of the situation and was just about to ambush the enemy when his body shuddered. Most fleeing martial artists were headed towards the huge mountain. There were at least seven to eight that were heading towards him.
“Run—”
Jiang Yi knew his limits; he was not unbeatable. If he went up against so many Heaven Gods, based on his little bit of strength, he would definitely perish if he was surrounded.
