CSMCDB - Chapter 126
Chapter 126
Tan Xingyu roared, "Kill!" He flew toward the Star King, who was terrified by this sudden turn of events, and eight chess pieces shot out as well. Zhao Ruanyue's spirits lifted. As her opponent blocked the chess pieces, her meteor hammer flew from her grasp. The two large hammers spun through the air and smashed into the man's back. As his internal organs churned, she closed in, infused her hands with Star Power until they turned jade-colored, and fiercely hooked his neck. With a crisp crack, the man stopped breathing.
In an instant, two Star Kings had fallen. The remaining "Fu" members grew even more panicked. Coupled with their leader's shouted order to "retreat," they stopped fighting and tried to flee with all their might.
...Flee?
After slaying the 3rd Layer Star King with a single strike, Lu Manfeng stood in the air, blade in hand. Anyone who dared to leave the confines of the trapping formation was cut down by her blade.
After finishing off their opponents, Tan Xingyu, Zhao Ruanyue, and the others returned to help the rest. In just a moment, the battle was over. Wen Yuncheng's Star Cannons shattered the small bead. As the cannon fire rained down on the building, the people inside the estate could no longer stay put and fled outwards in a panic.
Enemy-Annihilators, freeze rounds, fire!
After the barrage, the estate was reduced to complete ruins. Under the full bombardment of the Star Cannons, most of the people trying to escape were hindered by the freeze rounds and were forever buried beneath the rubble.
[Mission Complete: Defeat the Enemy]
[Reward Acquired: 12,000 EXP, 500 Points]
Host: Wen Yuncheng
Race: Human
Age: 20
Class: Mechanical Overlord
Level: 47
Experience: 33375/41000
Points: 7495
Wen Yuncheng did a quick calculation and realized that the people killed by her Star Cannons also counted towards the Heart of a Victor mission, rewarding her with 50 EXP. As for the points, although the 500-point mission reward was good, using either the flame rounds or the freeze rounds was extremely costly.
The battle was over. Wen Yuncheng looked at her remaining eighteen turrets and seventy-two Star Cannons, her heart aching.
Twenty turrets and twelve Star Cannons had been destroyed. Not to mention the cost of materials in Star Stones, just the energy cores cost her 960 points. Among her seventy-two remaining Star Cannons, only fifty-eight were completely undamaged. These were the ones farther away that had suffered little collateral damage, and their bio-minerals could self-repair. But as for the Star Cannons that had been blasted until only a layer of golden lacquer remained covering their cores... if she didn't rebuild them, she'd have to wait until the cows came home for them to recover.
With the battle over, it was time to clean up the battlefield and divide the spoils. The family estate had been leveled, and those lucky enough to survive were all tied up. Cheng Jiangliu had originally wanted to slaughter these scumbags, but on second thought, he realized they needed to leave a few alive to hand over to the imperial family. That way, when the imperial family meted out punishment, they could make an example of these dregs.
The group took stock of the storage rings and divided the Star Stones evenly. Aside from the little fox, who didn't get a share, the two Star King seniors had contributed a great deal and also received a portion of the Star Stones. As for the single Profound-rank Spirit Treasure and several Yellow-rank Spirit Treasures, Wen Yuncheng didn't participate in the distribution. She chose to take the contribution tokens from the "Fu" members she had killed, planning to exchange them for merit points to get into the imperial family's small secret realms and grind for experience.
Turrets to blow up two Star Spirits, Star Cannons to blow up a Star King... If she could get into two secret realms, Wen Yuncheng wouldn't be at a loss. More than two would be a profit. At this thought, the ache in Wen Yuncheng's heart eased considerably.
Wen Yuncheng stroked her chin. If her remaining seventy-two Star Cannons were piled together and detonated all at once... she wondered if that could kill a Star Venerate. But the chances were slim. A single Star Cannon was too large. Piling them all together... how conspicuous would that be? Plus, Star Venerates could fly, making them hard to hit. If only the Enemy-Annihilators had cores, she sighed.
Lu Manfeng and Tan Xingyu dealt with the traces of the battle and the corpses, while Cheng Jiangliu and the others took some pills on the spot to heal and recover. Once they had mostly recovered, Cheng Jiangliu said, "Let's head back to the Imperial Capital. Everyone should be more careful when going out from now on. We've annihilated a family colluding with 'Fu' this time, so there might be dangers in the future."
"No matter. 'Fu' and we were already irreconcilable," Qi Nian and Yue Qi said with a smile. "Killing members of 'Fu' is enough for us to brag about for a while."
Zhao Ruanyue stood beside Zhao Qiuyu and didn't say much, only glancing at Cheng Jiangliu and asking, "When will you pay a formal visit?"
"Sis!" As soon as the question was asked, Zhao Qiuyu tugged on Zhao Ruanyue's arm. Cheng Jiangliu quickly smiled and said, "I will, I will. When I get back to the Imperial Capital and tell my parents, I'll immediately pay a visit to Uncle and Auntie."
Wen Yuncheng listened in silence, stroking the restless fox in her arms a couple of times. Even though she hadn't eaten anything, she felt a little stuffed.
Without much delay, the group went to a flight station and flew towards the Imperial Capital. Wen Yuncheng took out an empty storage ring, hesitated for a moment, then bought five salt-baked chickens and put them inside. Including the one she had used to tempt the fox earlier, that made six in total. She handed the storage ring to the little fox.
"Senior Cheng, if there's another operation like this, you have to call me!" As they parted ways at the station, Wen Yuncheng waved. She didn't want to get involved in reporting the matter to the imperial family; she just needed to show the tokens to the First Princess and then get into a few small secret realms. Tallying up the experience she had gained this time, Wen Yuncheng's gaze towards Cheng Jiangliu became fervent. She hoped that Senior Cheng and Senior Zhao's graduation trip would continue, and that they would "coincidentally" run into a few more minor 'Fu' factions so she could tag along for another wave of rewards.
"Haha, don't worry! Student Wen, you contributed so much this time. If there's a next time, I'll definitely remember you." If they hadn't called Wen Yuncheng this time, without the Star Kings she brought, they really would have had no choice but to notify the Empire to clean up, and they wouldn't have gotten any spoils or so many merit points. At most, they would have received a reward for reporting the location.
Wen Yuncheng didn't go to see the First Princess right away. After that wave of fighting, plus the arduous journey back to the Imperial Capital, none of them had dared to rest. Wen Yuncheng went straight back to her residence and collapsed on the bed. After relaxing for a bit and composing herself, she took out her communication stone to let Lin Jinyu know she was safe.
"Little Ice Mountain~ I'm back in the Imperial Capital. Let me tell you, that family's involvement with 'Fu' was pretty deep. It drew out quite a few Star Kings. I blew up more than ten of my Star Cannons and killed a 3rd Layer Star King!"
—"???" On Lin Jinyu's end, the smile on her lips gradually froze as she received the call. She didn't even realize her expression had turned cold and her tone suppressed. "You encountered Star Kings? And a 3rd Layer Star King? A 3rd Layer Star King tried to kill you... Did you use the defensive scroll?"
"Hah, it was just killing a 3rd Layer Star King, why would I need a defensive scroll for that!" Wen Yuncheng didn't sense anything was wrong and laughed. "Even though they had more people, I had two Star King seniors protecting me, and the little fox too. I'm even thinking now that if I blew up my remaining seventy-two Star Cannons, I might even be able to kill a Star Venerate!"
Lin Jinyu felt a breath catch in her chest, unable to exhale or swallow it. She fell silent for a moment, moved the communication stone away, and sighed. Only then did she compose herself and say, "Don't be reckless. You're only a Star Lord. You, you..."
"Mhm, I know. I was just thinking about it. I couldn't bear to part with my Star Cannons," Wen Yuncheng chuckled. She had saved up these Star Cannons for so long; unless it was a life-or-death crisis, who would blow them up for fun? "I've missed you. But tomorrow I'm going to the imperial family to see if I can exchange merit points to enter a few secret realms."
"After that, I'll probably go back to doing bounties. I want to make a push and reach the Star Spirit rank."
"...You want to enter secret realms?" Lin Jinyu bit her lip. "Then you..." In the end, Lin Jinyu didn't say it out loud, just sighing internally, feeling helpless about Wen Yuncheng's stubbornness at times. However, speaking of promoting the Mechanical Wings...
—"My father is very pleased with your support for the Flowing Cloud Sect. Both for the pilot program and the future discount on purchasing Mechanical Wings."
"Ah, that? I didn't do it for him. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."
"..." Lin Jinyu blinked and said, "Our Flowing Cloud Sect also controls two small secret realms. My father is willing to give you a spot."
"Sect Master Lin is that nice? ...Alright, but let's wait until after I fight my way up to the Flowing Cloud Sect." Wen Yuncheng readily agreed. It wasn't too late to collect that sixteen thousand experience later.
After the call ended, Lin Jinyu hung up, turned around, and saw her father walking by. He left her with a cold snort, "When did I say I was willing?"
Lin Jinyu wasn't flustered. She simply said, "Wen Yuncheng is a guest elder of the Flowing Cloud Sect and has made such a great contribution to us. I'm asking for two secret realm spots for her. As long as she can enter, even for just one day, what do you think?"
"You're the young sect master now. You can make your own decisions on matters like this." Sect Master Lin waved his hand and turned to leave, saying as he walked, "One day is too short. It will inevitably lead to gossip."
"Yes. I understand."
Wen Yuncheng, of course, knew nothing of the follow-up on Lin Jinyu's side. She took a simple bath and then slept soundly, completely relaxed.
Other places weren't as safe as the Imperial Capital; she could only ever sleep lightly.
The next day, feeling refreshed, Wen Yuncheng went to the Imperial Palace to see the First Princess again, presenting the several tokens.
"You were involved in this matter too, so why didn't I see you yesterday?" The First Princess smiled as she looked at the tokens. The incident in Yuelan Town was another slap in the face for the Empire; those remote places were indeed difficult to manage. Occasional patrols were fooled by false pretenses. The common people living under their control were miserable, but they didn't have the courage to reveal information to the outside world. Over time, they even became numb and degenerate, starting to think that everything happening in their environment was normal.
"I wasn't the one who discovered it. I just went to help my seniors, so naturally, I was too embarrassed to come," Wen Yuncheng said with a grin. "I'm only here now for the small secret realm reward Your Highness once promised."
"You really are..." Wen Yuncheng's "frankness" made the First Princess laugh. She didn't make things difficult for Wen Yuncheng, simply asking, "Last time, you said you wanted to enter multiple secret realms to broaden your horizons? If you want to enter one small secret realm to cultivate, I can approve you to train inside for two weeks."
"No, I want to enter multiple secret realms."
"...Fine. Opening a secret realm is very troublesome." The First Princess pinched the tokens and pondered for a moment before saying, "You're only a 3rd Layer Star Lord, yet you obtained tokens from a Star Spirit and a Star King... In that case, three secret realms are no problem. You can enter three different types of secret realms for three days each."
"What if I only go in for one day? Can I get a few more secret realms then?"
"..." The First Princess shot Wen Yuncheng a look, seemingly at a complete loss for words. But in the end, she still explained, "The resources consumed to open a secret realm for someone to enter are far greater than the resources needed to keep it open."
Wen Yuncheng put on an obedient expression. "In that case... can I chip in some Star Stones?"
"Four types of secret realms, two days of cultivation in each. If you have any more objections, don't blame me for having Zero throw you out."
"Thank you, Your Highness! Your Highness, you're truly a great person!"
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