Chapter Thirty-Four: Becoming Famous (Third Update)

ps: Finally finished, haha, I really can't hold on any longer. The scribe is off to bed. Tomorrow's update probably won't be on time either, sorry, brothers—especially those of you following the story closely. I've truly done my best.

“One hundred and two thousand crystal coins. Six families. That’s exactly seventeen thousand for each.”

Ke Bei walked along the road back to North City, silently doing the calculations in his heart. Although next month, when the Guardian Squads tally up casualties, the authorities will offer a certain amount of compensation to the families of the fallen, the amount is meager. For example, Gu Kun's personal contribution reached two stars, and the compensation would be about ten thousand; as for the others—Wang Shan, Zhao Hai—their personal contributions are only one star, so their families receive a mere thousand.

Though still young, Ke Bei had a scale in his heart. He felt the members of the Condensed Star Squad had treated him well and sincerely, and he owed them something in return.

He first went to the home of Captain Gu Kun, then to Wang Shan, Zhao Hai, Chen Hu, Sun Ze, and Zhang Wu, leaving behind the crystal coins and his own address, telling them that if they ever encountered trouble, they should seek him out. So long as it was within his ability, he would never turn them away.

With these matters settled, a whole day had passed.

The next day, Ke Bei headed to the East City Guardian Squad's military district, casually picked up a mission, and set out alone for the wilderness with his broadsword slung across his back.

In order to prevent the Condensed Star Squad from being disbanded, Ke Bei had to raise his personal contribution to two stars within a month—and that required one hundred thousand crystal coins!

A hundred thousand was no small sum, but not beyond reach for someone willing to fight for it.

That day, the sun blazed overhead.

“So warm and comfortable,” Ke Bei thought as he strode out of Lingfeng City, his broadsword on his back and ten throwing knives at his waist, heading west.

There were no more ruined highways west of Lingfeng City—nearly a century had passed, and all he could see was endless wild grass. Ke Bei found a narrow path where the grass was sparse, and, treading lightly, sped forward with his Phantom Step.

Crossing the wildlands and then following an old, broken road for three hours, he finally reached his destination: the Han River Woodlands.

To Ke Bei, this mission was nothing—he only had to slay a hundred low-tier demon beasts, the Three-Tailed Hounds. With his current strength and speed, it posed no challenge.

The Han River Woodlands was a gathering place for demon beasts; there were no zombies here, only monsters. In fact, at the very heart of the woods, there were even general-level demon beasts.

It was precisely because the mission description warned of general-level beasts deeper within that Ke Bei chose to accept it.

He had come for the general-level beasts. If he could slay one, the hundred thousand red crystal coins would be his!

With a casual swing, Ke Bei decapitated a Three-Tailed Hound, extracted the unique sinew from its middle tail, and tucked it into his pack—the proof of his kills, not worth much, but necessary for completing the mission. From the edge of the Han River Woodlands to its true interior—a journey of a few dozen miles—Ke Bei had already slain more than twenty Three-Tailed Hounds.

“Not bad. Although these hounds are weak, they're perfect for honing my blade technique and Phantom Step,” Ke Bei smiled slightly, making his way along the riverbank toward the woods.

When he was less than five hundred meters from the Han River Woodlands, Ke Bei suddenly looked up, a faint smile curling on his lips as he spotted a pack of a dozen or so Three-Tailed Hounds in the distance.

“Come on, let me really train myself!”

With a fierce push, Ke Bei's foot struck the ground, cracking the earth with a thunderous sound. His figure flickered eerily, and in a flash, he darted toward the pack of hounds.

A god of slaughter had descended upon the Han River Woodlands.

Time ticked by. Since Ke Bei appeared on the outskirts of Han River’s base city, the local beast packs had suffered disaster. The entire Han River Woodlands was home to only one species: the Three-Tailed Hound. The task of killing a hundred had long since been completed. In just a single day, at least a thousand hounds had perished at Ke Bei’s hands. Eventually, he stopped collecting the sinews from their tails.

It was no longer necessary: the mission was done, and the proof was of little value—just a hassle.

Ke Bei was not the only one who had accepted this mission. Over the course of the day, he encountered three other Guardian Squads.

“Captain, did you see that youth’s strength? It’s insane—he charged alone into a pack of over a hundred Three-Tailed Hounds, emerged unscathed, and in mere breaths, slaughtered every last one!” Wang Wei from the Blazing Fire Squad stared at Ke Bei’s drifting silhouette in the distance, gulping and muttering in awe.

“Watch? Watch your damn self!” barked the Blazing Fire Squad’s captain, who, seeing Ke Bei turn his gaze their way, shivered and smacked Wang Wei hard on the head.

He was terrified that Wang Wei’s words would offend this god of slaughter.

Whew—

Only when Ke Bei glanced at them and then turned away, showing no intention of attacking, did the captain finally exhale in relief.

“Damn, where did this monster come from? He looks like he’s only fifteen or sixteen, yet his strength is…unbelievable!” The Blazing Fire Squad captain kicked Wang Wei, still trembling from the encounter.

...

Ke Bei was in no hurry to delve into the depths of the Han River Woodlands to hunt the general-level demon beasts. He was focused solely on refining his blade technique. The Thunder Slash—an explosive move—did not yet blend smoothly with his Phantom Step. Every time he attempted Thunder Slash, he had to pause and gather power first.

For three days running, Ke Bei pondered how to unleash Thunder Slash while in motion with Phantom Step. The Three-Tailed Hounds became his ideal training fodder.

Intent on discovering a way to combine the two techniques, Ke Bei paid no heed to anything else. Even when he encountered other Guardian Squads, he would only smile slightly and move on, unaware that his reputation was already spreading among the squads.

In fact, in the last two days, many had come just to watch him fight.

“Brother Han, what do you think of that man?” asked a young man clad in silver armor, three gold stripes embroidered at his chest, as he watched Ke Bei dance effortlessly among the demon beasts.

“Haha, what’s wrong, Xiao Jiu? Feeling the pressure?” replied the man beside him, also dressed in silver armor but with four gold stripes on his chest, gently flicking a white jade fan, his face calm as he shrugged, teasing lightly.

“Heh, a bit of pressure indeed. Truthfully, I’m not confident I could beat him,” the young man replied after watching Ke Bei for a long moment, falling silent before speaking.

“What? Are you kidding me?” The man with four gold stripes tapped Xiao Jiu’s head lightly with his white jade fan, which caught the slanting sunlight. Along its surface, a line of ancient script carved in purple jade shimmered with a noble, mysterious violet glow:

“Eternal youth in an instant, a lifetime of carefree wandering.”

Anyone who recognized that fan and the inscription would instantly guess the man’s identity.

Han Lingyue, the true powerholder of Lingfeng City, the only son of the Icebound War God Han Tian. At twenty, a Level Three Skybreaker at his limit, the youngest in the city to reach the Transcendent Realm. At eighteen, he entered the genius training camp at Jiujang Base Headquarters, and for three consecutive years made the top ten of the Azure Dragon Roll!

Beside him stood Xiao Jiu, also a trainee of the genius camp, officially listed as a Level Three Enhancer at his limit. But as a gene variant, almost no one knew his true strength—except Han Lingyue.

Han Lingyue knew that if Xiao Jiu truly unleashed his power, even most Transcendents would not be his match. So he was truly surprised when Xiao Jiu admitted he could not be sure of defeating Ke Bei.

“Heh, I only said I’m not confident. If it came to a real fight, who knows who would win? No need to get so worked up, Brother Han,” Xiao Jiu replied, rubbing the spot where Han Lingyue had knocked him and mimicking his casual shrug.

“Haha, seriously, am I that surprised? Who said I was surprised?” Han Lingyue laughed, and knocked Xiao Jiu’s head again.

“Brother Han, let’s go. Someday, we’ll have a chance to cross swords.” Unbothered by Han Lingyue’s playful blows, Xiao Jiu took a deep look at Ke Bei’s fading figure, tapped his toe lightly, and leapt toward Lingfeng City.

“Hey, wait up, are you kidding me?” Han Lingyue called after him with a meaningful smile, lifting lightly into the air to follow.