Utterly delighted, Jiang He said, “Please help me reach out to the Superpower Research Department, then. I’d pay for some high-grade scrap pellets.”
“That won’t do.”
Wang Hou quickly said, “How could we have you break the bank for pellets that have lost their medicinal value? I’ll contact the Superpower Research Department later and have them get in touch with you.”
“I’m counting on you then, Minister Wang.”
Jiang He said his thanks before adding, “By the way, Duan Tianhe did get me some mutated rice, which I thought was quite good. I wonder if you could get me more, Minister Wang, General Pei?”
Planting the mutated rice to earn farm points was good too.
Of course, he should not limit his crops to mutated rice only since he would need any mutated variants of fruits and vegetables.
Both Wang Hou and Pei Donglai nodded in affirmative then, but then asked puzzledly, “Jiang He, a Secret Realm is inestimable in value and you could have asked for an army. Why would you want this stuff instead?”
“What use do I have for an army?”
Jiang He chuckled. “I have to raise them, and instead of the cost for upkeep, it’s better if I planted—I mean, made more homecooked bombs.”
***
Around 6 pm, when the sun was almost setting, Chief Commander Li of the military arrived.
Jiang He had heard about him frequently but had never actually met him, and so was very curious.
The man turned out be a white-haired elderly man who was around sixty, dressed in military uniform and sporting inch-long hair. His gait was so upright he resembled a javelin.
He surpassed Three Blades Lin in strength, having reached divine-union, the third rank of divine-tiers.
“Mister Jiang!”
As Chief Commander Li landed on the square, he promptly made his way toward Jiang He, shaking his hand after a brief preamble and speaking with gratitude, “I’ve heard from Pei Donglai about the Secret Realm. You are truly a national hero, serving both our country and our people.”
“You flatter me…”
Jiang He quickly replied, “We merely have our respective pursuits and I’m not that noble.”
After further exchanges, Chief Commander Li’s tone then shifted and he said, “By the way, I heard from Pei Donglai that you need flying swords?”
Jiang He nodded and Chief Commander Li waved his hand, drawing out a plain old longsword from his spatial ring.
It appeared simple and ordinary, but upon a closer look, one would find a wooden pattern on the sword that resembled the age rings of a tree.
“Is that…a mystic item?”
Jiang He appeared taken aback.
The wooden sword certainly looked like a mystic item from its aura, but it was so outstanding in grade that it outclassed even his Scarlet Flame Sword a little.
In return, Chief Commander Li stroked the wooden sword and said, “This is a treasured sword of my family, the Li Clan. I remember my grandfather telling me that there were immortals among our forebears, and that this was a saber that a Li once used to slay and subjugate demons.”
With that, he handed Jiang He the wooden sword, leaving Jiang He inwardly stunned.
An immortal?
While he was not sure if there was an immortal among the Li Clan ancestors, Jiang He was sure that there would definitely be a powerful cultivator among them since the sword itself may be a sage item.
After all, there were different tiers for mystic treasures too: mystic items, soul items, and sage items, each of which were divided to the four grades of inferior, mediocre, superior, and premium.
Still, Jiang He declined despite his thrill, saying, “No way! I can’t accept this sword since it’s a treasure passed down from your ancestor, Chief Commander Li. It’s too precious!”
“Why not?”
Chief Commander Li reacted stiffly. “Though my ancestors have kept this sword so the descendants of the Li Clan would wield this sword to slay demons, none in the family could use it for almost a thousand years. Instead of having it collect dust here, it would be better to give it to you, Mister Jiang. It would not be going against my ancestors’ will if you use it to destroy demons.”
After the man himself put it that way, Jiang He stopped refusing and promptly accepted the wooden sword, saying, “Don’t worry, Chief Commander Li. I would never insult the memory of this sword.”
Then, the conversation shifted to the approaching sky demon legion after several more exchanges.
The Sky Demon Cult’s Saint did not hide the fact that the Legion was coming, having revealed it previously when she mobilized every asset. That was why the undercover agents knew, and immediately sent word via encrypted measures.
Clearly, the Sky Demon Cult’s Saint had no intention of keeping it secret as she had revealed it despite knowing there were moles among her believers.
From her perspective, the Sky Demon Legion was unstoppable. As their endless ranks arrived in the absences of ancient cultivators or ancient daemons, they were absolutely enough to sweep their way across the globe.
And it was certainly true: once the Sky Demon Legion arrived, the Hua Nation would have a hard time stopping them.
Chief Commander Li spoke frankly, “Though the sky demons are powerful, the Hua Nation still stands a chance. I suggest evacuating all civilians in Lingzhou city and station a heavy military presence within, so as to keep the Sky Demon Legions outside the city.”
Wang Hou indicated his agreement and turned toward Lin Tianzheng. “Elder Lin, I hope I can still count on you on the matter I’ve asked of you before.”
Lin Tianzheng nodded, but said, “According to old text in the Penglai Immortal Sect, there are many such immortal legacies both inside and outside the Hua Nation. However, it would be difficult to find them as the text did not record the specific locations of those sects.”
Sighing, he said, “Some sects are already lost after more than two thousand years have passed. Likewise, even if some sects still remain, it’s hard to tell if they would help.”
“We have to try.”
Wang Hou said with a smile, appearing a little helpless, “It’s not just the immortals. I would talk it out with the ancient daemon cultivators as well.”
Nearby, Jiang He was left utterly bemused, and asked hesitantly, “Gentlemen, there’s no need to go through such trouble, is there?”
Evacuate Lingzhou City?
If that really happened, wouldn’t he have to go very far to buy clothes and daily necessities?
It left him with a headache just thinking about it.
Once he spoke, Chief Commander Li and the others turned toward him, asking, “Would you have another solution for stopping the sky demon legion, Mister Jiang?”
Their eyes were actually alit with expectation.
Could Jiang He, a youth who had accomplished feat after feat and single-handedly wiped out the Sky Demon Cult, be able to turn the tide?
As a matter of fact, no one should take to heart that they appear ready for a fight…because there was no helping it.
After all, they had no chance of victory against the sky demon legion at all, and all they could do was fight courageously. With themselves being the leaders of the Hua Nation, who would dare to fight if they were cowed from fighting?
Now, with everyone looking on expectantly, Jiang He did not dare to exaggerate—after musing to himself for a long while, he said, “I don’t think there’s a need to be that pessimistic about this. Based on how most world settings go, the Sky Demon Cult would only be able to send in a limited number of forces and champions once they open the Stargate this time.”
Wang Hou and the others all looked confused, with Three Blades Lin unable to resist asking, “What world setting?”
Jiang He was dumbstruck.
How frightening was the uncultured!
Do these people not read high fantasy novels?
Do they not know even the most basic of settings?
Honestly, what could anyone do if a bunch invincible champions descend upon Earth from the very start? Would the book’s setting not fall apart?
Still, not bothering to explain himself, Jiang He simply said, “Actually, I have a few immature ideas on how to stop the Sky Demon Legion.”
Unconcerned with the heated gaze from Wang Hou and the others, he continued, “For one, we could throw hydrogen bombs into that Stargate or whatnot when it’s about to form and blow it up.”
“That idea won’t work.”
Chief Commander Li refuted Jiang He’s plan, saying, “Actually, some of our country’s specialists have done their research and it appears that the Stargate would cause spatial distortion when it forms. Nuclear weapons would be affected with space itself becoming incredibly unstable, and there is a chance they might not even detonate.”
“That thing is so impressive?”
Jiang he was surprised, but…
His Doom Shrooms weren’t hydrogen bomb but crops, so it wouldn’t be affected, would it?
As he was uncertain, he did not mention it right then but instead continued, “I have a second plan, too—we could lay an ambush outside the Stargate and wait, killing any sky demons that come through. Crisis solved.”
Wang Hou and the others scowled.
They would not have to worry about the sky demons’ arrival if they really had such ability.
Then, Jiang He added, “Actually, I have a third plan, but that’s not workable at the moment so I won’t say it out.”
As a matter of fact, his third plan was simply to kill his way into the sky demons’ territory and root out the problem at its source, curbing any future issues.
Wang Hou and the others breathed a long sigh.
It was better that Jiang He did not tell them.
Everything that he said was not worth a fart. The first plan might not be workable but at it least was reliable, whereas the second plan was utter nonsense…
Do you even have to tell us if the Hua Nation has such power?
Jiang He was a little upset at that.
What are you saying?
Are you belittling me now?
My first two plans are not bad even though they are not perfect, but you have no opinion even after you’ve heard me out?
‘Whatever…they can’t be of help to me anyway. I’ll just carry out my own plan when the time comes,’ Jiang He thought to himself.
In the end, his trip today had been quite fruitful.
Although finding that the sun in the Sky Demon Cult’s Secret Realm was a significant setback for Jiang He, Chief Commander Li’s wooden swords, which could prove to be a sage item, was definitely an unexpected surprise.
“Minister Wang, Chief Commander Li.”
Jiang He called out to them, saying, “I suddenly remembered that I have stuff to do back home, so I’ll be off.”
Wang Hou came to him and said, “I’ve arranged for people to help you search for what you were asking, and send word to the Superpower Research Department as well. Someone will contact you around tomorrow morning.”
Jiang He hence took to the skies and disappeared in the night skies as a sword light, while Wang Hou and the others began discussing how they would handle the Sky Demon Cult.
After flying over four hundred kilometers at one go, Jiang He suddenly remembered something and could not help mouthing an expletive.
“Sh*t…wasn’t Minister Wang saying that they are going to talk to the ancient daemon cultivators about fighting the sky demons?”
He slipped up!
He actually did not notice that.
Before this, he had wanted to make an excuse to go on a round trip to the ancient daemon cultivators’ territory, and see if he could borrow floral cultivation manuals… but had ended up missing out on such an opportunity.
“Forget it.”
“A waste is a waste. I wanted to visit the ancient daemon cultivators’ territory anyway, so I shouldn’t bother coming up with excuses.”
The most pressing matter right now was to improve his own ability.
When he was strong enough, would he still need excuses to borrow cultivation manuals from ancient daemon cultivators?
He just had to fight his way in!
