Chapter 608 – Encounter!

“Thank you, Vice President!”

Seeing Xiao Jin nod, the three elders of Mulan finally let out a sigh of relief, as though the sword hanging over their hearts had finally been removed.

With the submission of the three Mulan elders, this conflict was at last drawing to an end.

Within the fortress, nearly a quarter of the soldiers who had previously gathered had already begun to withdraw.

This quarter of the troops all belonged to the Xuanhua Empire. Ever since Granny Xuanhua and the three One-Star Dou Ancestor experts had fallen, their morale had been shattered. Terrified, they began fleeing the fortress in large numbers.

Among those remaining, the forces of the Jinyan Empire were the most numerous, occupying over half of the fortress, with the rest belonging to the Mulan Empire.

This time, under the witness of hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the three great empires, the Mercenary Guild demonstrated its unmatched strength, crushing the combined might of all three empires in one fell swoop.

“People of the Jinyan Empire, open the gates and let Vice President through!”

Taking advantage of the moment, the tiger-headed elder, who understood the situation well, shouted toward the fortress below.

“Open the gates!”

Hearing his words, a general of the Jinyan Empire, a Nine-Star Dou Emperor, quickly responded and gave the order.

Creak!

With a heavy rumble, the massive gate of the fortress, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, slowly opened.

“Vice President is mighty!”

“Vice President is mighty!”

Seeing the gates swing open, the hundreds of members from the Mercenary Guild cheered once again. This entire ordeal had lasted less than half an hour, yet Xiao Jin had resolved it with ease. His prestige had reached new heights.

Soon, the Mercenary Guild’s contingent smoothly passed through the fortress and entered the territory of the Jinyan Empire.

After killing Yan Luotian, Xiao Jin did not seek further trouble with the Jinyan Sect. Instead, he instructed the Mercenary Guild to select a location here to build a branch and recruit new members.

Thanks to the reputation earned from the recent battle, almost no one in the Jinyan Empire dared to cause trouble for the Mercenary Guild. The Jinyan Sect, in particular, was terrified that Xiao Jin might come for them and annihilate their sect. Thus, they acted extremely cautiously, even going out of their way to curry favor with the guild.

The Jinyan Empire, like the Jiama Empire, was also home to the demonic beast mountain range, which was part of the same continuous mountain chain.

With the vast expanse of the demonic beast mountains nearby, once the Mercenary Guild established its branch here, missions for mercenaries would become abundant, allowing the guild to recruit many new members.

The mountain range teemed with demonic beasts. In its depths, even fifth- and sixth-rank demonic beasts could be found. By coordinating with each other and renting large-scale weapons from the guild, mercenary groups significantly increased their combat capabilities. Thanks to the guild’s policies, these mercenary teams were even more motivated to take on missions.

Xiao Jin remained in the Jinyan Empire for seven days, after which he left all affairs here in the hands of Mu Feng and Elder Li.

The three Mulan elders, after returning to Mulan Valley to settle some matters, expressed their desire to await Xiao Jin’s next visit, when they would follow him directly to the Mercenary Guild headquarters deep within the Black-Corner Region.

……

After the failure of the combined forces of the Jinyan Empire, Mulan Empire, and Xuanhua Empire against the Mercenary Guild, the various nations within ten thousand miles all declared their support, welcoming the guild’s expansion into their lands.

Among them were the rising Yunlan Empire and the Jiama Empire.

The Jiama royal family, after consulting with the Yunlan Sect, officially announced their agreement. As for the Yunlan Empire, Hua An, the Left Protector of the Poison Sect, publicly stated that the Mercenary Guild was permitted to establish branches anywhere in the empire except within the Poison Sect’s own domain.

With these two powerful empires taking the lead, which of the surrounding nations would dare say otherwise?

……

In a small teahouse near the border region of the Jiama Empire, a young girl dressed in green leaned forward slightly and whispered to the white-haired old man seated across from her, after overhearing the discussions of those around them: “So the Mercenary Guild already has such influence… As expected of Senior Brother!”

“That boy does indeed have ability—and great ambition,” the white-haired elder nodded heavily in response to the girl’s remark.

This pair, one old and one young, were none other than Venerable Tianhuo and Qinglin, who had left the Yunlan Sect nearly a year ago to travel the world.

Qinglin had spent eight to nine months meandering slowly, still not yet beyond the borders of the Jiama Empire.

During the first month, Venerable Tianhuo had remained hidden in the shadows, unnoticed by Qinglin. But eventually, he could no longer tolerate watching the girl be tricked again and again—despite her solid strength, she was being scammed by people not even at the level of Dou Practitioners. Infuriated, he finally revealed himself and gave a harsh lesson to the small-time crooks who had been deceiving her.

After nearly a year of traveling together, Venerable Tianhuo had come to realize that Qinglin’s heart was truly pure—without a trace of cunning, kind, and prone to compassion. And so, he had been teaching her to recognize the cruelty of the world.

However, each time he and Qinglin made wagers on the goodness or wickedness of human nature, he always ended up losing. It was because of this that Venerable Tianhuo’s own mindset began to shift over time.

At first, Venerable Tianhuo had only asked Gu He to arrange for him to protect Liu Ling, a promising young man, hoping to inject some vitality into his own life. But now, Venerable Tianhuo found that traveling with this little girl Qinglin had its own sort of charm—life on the road was unexpectedly enjoyable.

“Yao-senior, why don’t we go find Senior Brother? I bet things over there will be really fun!” Qinglin suddenly suggested.

“Go see Liu Ling, huh…”

Without thinking much, Venerable Tianhuo gave a slow nod and replied, “Alright. Anywhere you want to go is fine.”

“Great! Then let’s head out right now!” Qinglin beamed with delight upon hearing his agreement.

“Let’s go! Waiter, bill please!”

Qinglin placed some coins on the table, then stood up and left the teahouse.

Just as she stepped onto the street outside, Venerable Tianhuo suddenly raised his head and gazed toward the sky, murmuring, “Five-Star Dou Ancestor… This aura feels… familiar…”

“Yao-senior, what’s wrong?” Qinglin asked curiously, noticing his unusual expression.

“Qinglin, I think that blond-haired kid from the Yunlan Sect is back.”

(End of Chapter)

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