Volume 4 – Perpetual Conflict, Chapter 33: Boulderheart Jade Letter
Blood energy raised on pure darkness origin power advanced at a relatively faster rate . Seven of the ordinary blood energy in Qianye’s body had already advanced successfully, and the purple blood energy was also on the verge of upgrading to rank three . Since then, the essence blood from the iron-skinned rhinoceros had all been refined .
The battle on the surface was still ongoing . But after that one world-shaking battle, there were no more collisions of the same scale . They fought back and forth for a period of time before gradually becoming silent .
Deep inside the mountain, Qianye knew neither day nor night as he entered a critical part of his cultivation . He was in the process of igniting his seventh origin node . It seemed the effects of pure daybreak origin power were also superior .
At one point, Qianye’s body suddenly shook as radiance erupted from within . The barrier around his seventh origin power node shattered with a loud rumble, following which, origin power flowed out continuously from within . The other six nodes were also vibrating constantly in response to the newborn node .
Qianye slowly withdrew the surging origin power tides within his body only after the origin nodes were stabilized . He felt every movement of his limbs full of power and had the urge to release them in a ruthless battle .
From now on, he had formally reached rank seven . According to vampire race standards, he had already stepped past the threshold of a high-ranking vampire and would be able to receive the title of esquire . Rank seven was also the doorway for the promotion of new nobility in the human empire . In the military, he would be eligible for the rank of lieutenant colonel and gain the qualifications to lead a regiment .
The surroundings had already quieted down for quite some time . It seemed the battle on the ground had reached the end of a phase . Qianye followed the snaking tunnel to reach the entrance, listened for a moment, and proceeded to break apart the rock blocking it .
It was daytime outside—the sunlight almost seemed brighter with the coming of the light season, and the mountain gale was also suffused with warmth . It was just that the winds also contained the intense odor of gunpowder and blood .
Qianye climbed to the peak and gazed into the distance . Traces of a cruel battle appeared before his eyes .
The plains had long since been charred, and the isolated mountains in the periphery were actually broken across the middle . The river had stopped flowing, and the woods had been reduced to scorched earth . The gigantic war beasts were like small hills and possessed boundless strength while alive, but now only their gigantic skeletons remain .
The battlefield had apparently been cleaned already . Both parties had already retrieved the remains of their soldiers . However, no one bothered with those giant dark race war beasts and cannon fodder like the servspiders . At this moment, countless ravens and vultures were gathered on the battlefield . Corpses were swiftly reduced to white skeletons under their razor sharp beaks .
Qianye knew not whether the empire won or lost this great battle, and it was too difficult to determine the outcome from the traces on the battlefield . But judging from the way the cleanup was carried out, it was likely that the battle had ended in a draw after which both sides began to pick up the pieces .
At this moment, neither humans nor dark races appeared within Qianye’s vision . Such battlefields would always be plagued with epidemics for a certain period because of the dark race’s habitual abandonment of cannon fodder and giant beast carcasses in mass . This land would become a forbidden region for humans with insufficient strength . Although Qianye had no need to fear such diseases, it didn’t feel too comfortable either after a while .
He checked the direction and began to head toward Weiyang City .
The vast region seemed completely empty after the battle . Qianye didn’t encounter a single high-ranking warrior along the way, not even beasts .
However, large mobs of scavengers and tramps had flocked here . To them, the recent battle was like an excavated gold mine with countless opportunities within . The little things left behind after the cleanup would allow these scavengers to live as if they were in paradise for a certain period .
Qianye arrived in Weiyang City without a hitch . The war had hardly affected the largest city in Evernight Continent—the bustling city was still flourishing and extravagant .
Lights of various colors, akin to dazzling stars, could be seen in the night sky . Those were long distance airships landing and taking off continuously .
As one of the two major hubs connecting Evernight and the empire, Weiyang City’s airship base itself was like a small city servicing hundreds of airships each day . During wartime, this number would increase severalfold due to the transportation of troops . Most of the imperial regular armies arriving to participate in this war arrived via this hub .
Qianye, on the other hand, was in no mood to admire the thriving city . He had been detained in the mountains for ten-odd days because of the war and was worried about the situation on Song Zining’s side .
He checked in at a small inn upon entering the city and then visited some other places like the imperial trading company to sell off a large part of his crystal python scales for several hundred gold coins . Finally, he visited the origin power raw material trading company run by the Ningyuan Group .
Qianye sold the remaining crystal python scales and other materials here, then flashed his token to obtain a parcel Song Zining had left for him .
Reportedly, none of the several high-ranking managers of the Ningyuan Group were in the city and the shopkeeper was only tasked with delivering the package upon seeing the token . After chatting with him for a while, Qianye realized that this shopkeeper was merely an outsider . The latter was even under the impression that Qianye was a customer who had custom ordered certain equipment .
Qianye opened the package after returning to his residence . There was half a piece of palm-sized jade within—this was a boulderheart jade letter . Its surface was smooth with seemingly nothing upon it, when, in truth, there were words therein carved with origin power . The words would only appear when the recipient injected origin power into it with a predetermined method . It was impossible to retrieve the contents without it .
There was also a letter in the package with only a few words on it . Song Zining had entrusted Qianye with the task of delivering this boulderheart jade letter to the Western Continent, the recipient being a certain champion from the Zhao clan .
Qianye was rather concerned by the atmosphere around this business which seemed calm on the surface but involved a lot of tension inside . He himself had a load of problems in his hands . He couldn’t just start investigating the Song clan in an unfamiliar city without careful consideration .
The destination, however, surprised him a great deal . It was actually the Zhao clan of the Western Continent . The Forgotten Mountain Range mentioned in Deryl’s diary belonged to Blue Dreams Mountain Belt, as did the Zhao clan’s Swallow Cloud Pass .
In the couple of days that followed, Qianye was busy preparing his luggage . He disassembled the eye-catching Eagleshot and packed all the components into his backpack . The Twin Flowers and Radiant Edge were tucked away in his tactical jacket . He bought some common equipment from the gunsmith and hung them from his waist, including a secondhand Butcher and a military use tactical dagger .
The outfit made Qianye look like an extremely ordinary hunter . The dagger and Butcher delivered a clear message—this was a madman who loved close quarters combat . Those with some degree of rationality wouldn’t be willing to provoke a fellow who loved melee combat . Such people were quick to die, but, on the other hand, they enjoyed taking risks and were more willing to fight with their lives on the line .
Qianye paid five gold coins to board an airship flying toward the empire where he would transfer towards the Western Continent .
The price of five gold coins was a significant amount . As such, many citizens of Evernight Continent, including the soldiers of the expeditionary army, found it hard to visit the empire even once in their lifetimes .
This was an old airship . Qianye was squeezed into the lower cabin with several hundred other passengers . They would all have to stay there for the long two-day journey . There were neither toilets nor dining halls . As such, the odor in the cabin wasn’t exactly the best .
But this wasn’t too challenging for Qianye . At least there were seats in the lower cabin . When he first came to Evernight Continent, Qianye had traveled as a stowaway in the cargo hold and was made to sleep on a pile of mineral ores . He came quite close to being buried alive by collapsing piles of ore when the airship shook violently .
Qianye didn’t want to attract any attention, and as such, he had chosen to travel with hunters and mercenaries of similar social status despite the availability of better cabins above .
Not long after boarding, the airship rumbled and shook violently as it gradually rose into the air and flew toward the border of the continent .
There was a long journey ahead . Qianye leaned on the cabin wall and began to rest with his eyes closed . It was at this time that he received a heavy kick to the foot .
Qianye opened his eyes to see a burly man as stout as a bear staring fiercely at him . The man smiled coldly and said, “Move aside . Master Fang here wants that place!”
As Qianye looked over, the burly man revealed a tattoo-riddled arm and drew out the dagger on his waist half-way . There were a number of companions behind the man looking on at Qianye with bloodthirsty eyes . Apparently, these people would immediately pounce on him at the slightest protest .
Such incidents weren’t rare at all, but Qianye didn’t expect it would happen to him . Those willing to squeeze into the lower cabins usually never exceeded rank three, and the people before him were not an exception . They were relying on their build and muscles to demonstrate their might instead of releasing their origin power auras . Hence, it wasn’t too hard to imagine their strength .
Qianye stood up and smiled at the burly man . “You kicked me . ”
“So what? This daddy here still wants to kick you a couple more times!” the burly man said . Then, as expected, he kicked fiercely toward Qianye’s knee .
Qianye laughed once again without moving an inch . He merely lifted his leg to block the incoming blow .
The two legs collided with a muffled thump followed closely by the crisp sound of cracking bones! The burly man cried out in misery as he bent down to hug his completely deformed shank . His cries were almost world-shaking .
Qianye briefly rotated his ankles and felt quite relaxed . He had just reached rank seven—his body, especially his legs, were undergoing another round of strengthening . This was a long and painful process and the bone-deep itch often gave him the urge to kick the wall .
Seeing the burly man’s cries weren’t stopping, Qianye shrugged his shoulders . “So noisy . ” He then proceeded to knock the man out with a kick to the back of his head .
The expressions of the man’s companions rapidly changed . Two violent but not-so-intelligent men drew their guns at Qianye .
Qianye said indifferently, “I’m in a bad mood . You guys are really courting death . ”
Everyone saw a blurred scene before their eyes followed by two earsplitting booms . The sound emitted by the Butcher was enough to deafen people within this enclosed space .
Origin power erupted on the two men’s bodies as they were blasted into the distance with countless shattered bones .
The lower cabin was quite crowded . There were still quite a few unrelated passengers standing near the two unfortunate fellows . At this time, they were pale with shock as they frantically felt around their bodies for possible wounds but found themselves completely unharmed .
Qianye had used a powerful Butcher to shoot explosive shells . Why were they unharmed despite standing so close to the two fellows?
The lower cabin descended into a moment of chaos . People squeezed toward the sides to open up a large area in the middle . There used to be seven people facing Qianye, but now, three of them were already collapsed on the floor .
The lower cabin doors were suddenly opened with a bang as a number of fiendish sailors charged in along with a bearded captain .
“Don’t you know the firing of origin power guns is forbidden on airships?” the bearded captain asked, his voice suffused with killing intent .
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