by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
But even then, the Ironblood Mercenary Unit hadn’t held back. They had wanted to completely eradicate them. If Mo Gate’s experts hadn’t felt that that was too much and sent out their orders, the Muxue Mercenary Unit would have already collapsed.
The reason why Mo Gate’s experts hadn’t been able to bear watching that was because the Ironblood Mercenary Unit hadn’t just been suppressing them through the mercenary world, but also from the other surrounding powers. Their goal had been to forcibly disband the Muxue Mercenary Unit.
It was due to Zhao Qingyun placing his sights on Mu Xue, but she had repeatedly refused him. For that selfish goal of his, he had been willing to sink to such lows. That had been what had caused Mo Gate’s experts to send out orders to protect the Muxue Mercenary Unit.
However, even then, the Muxue Mercenary Unit’s days hadn’t been very good. Zhao Qingyun might not have been able to use any external powers, but he was still able to use his influence in the mercenary world to make things hard on them. They had been unable to take any good missions, and most of the time, they had to rely on killing Magical Beasts to get the cultivation resources they needed.
However, these bitter experiences had tempered their wills. They were also proof of their confidence in each other. The Muxue Mercenary Unit’s members were all as close as a family and were very reliable.
Seeing over a hundred spatial rings land in her hands, Mu Xue was incredibly moved. The profit within them was definitely beyond her imagination.
The spirit stones in Zhao Qingyun’s spatial ring alone were piled into mountains, and he had possessed countless medicinal pills. There was also an unknown number of Battle Skills and cultivation techniques. This was all the wealth that he had accumulated over the years.
It was no wonder why Zhao Qingyun’s expression had been so odd despite him trying to act calm. His expression made it seem like his father had just died.
Even once the Ironblood Mercenary Unit left, the Muxue Mercenary Unit still stood there like wooden lumps. Long Chen laughed. “Why are you just staring like imbeciles? Hurry up and clean up the battlefield. Those Xiantian fellows definitely possessed some riches.”
They only reacted now, and they hastily ran over to those corpses. They quickly found four spatial rings and two good weapons.
Originally, there should have been six spatial rings. However, two of them had been broken during the fight.
As for the martial weapons, the only ones remaining were the two Xiantian weapons. One was a sword that shone with a cold light, while the other was an odd weapon: a hook. It looked like a very bent sword. Near the hilt, there were two more hooks to protect the arm. It looked extremely awkward to use.
But it was still a Xiantian weapon with considerable value. That former was also what Mu Xue needed right now.
As for the spatial rings, it went without saying they were filled with riches. Just Luo Zhongsheng, who had been a rich junior master, had possessed much more wealth than the entire Ironblood Mercenary Unit.
“Long Chen…” Seeing all these battle spoils, Mu Xue looked at Long Chen.
“I don’t need these things. Pick out the things you need for yourselves, and if you can’t use the rest, either store them for now or sell them. Just remember to treat me to go to some building, or was it some pavilion with some pretty female entertainers?” laughed Long Chen.
“You Giant Eagle Stronghold idiots, how dare you try and set yourselves against my Mo Gate? Are you looking to die?” Suddenly, a furious shout rang out, and several figures rushed over from the distance.
Chapter 553 Bastard Mo Nian
There were a total of seven newcomers. The person at the front was wearing a cloak that hid his face, but when Long Chen saw that figure, he couldn’t help smiling.
“It’s Mo Gate’s junior master!” The Muxue Mercenary Unit’s members let out startled cries.
Within all of Qing Prefecture, the only one who liked to wear a black cloak to hide half his face like this was Mo Nian.
They hadn’t expected this matter to actually disturb Mo Gate’s junior master into personally coming. Mo Nian was acclaimed as Qing Prefecture’s number one member of the junior generation. He was unrivaled within his level. He was an idol for young cultivators.
“Luo Zhongsheng, if I don’t cut off your head today, then I won’t be Mo Nian!” Mo Nian was incredibly fast. When he first shouted, he was still hundreds of miles away, but by the time he was finished, he had already arrived.
“As usual, you still like to give advice in hindsight. I’ve already helped you cut off the head. Here!” Long Chen laughed and threw a head at Mo Nian.
Mo Nian had been furious at first, but as he got closer, he realized the situation was a bit off. Before he understood what was going on, he heard Long Chen’s voice. He almost thought he was hallucinating.
He raised his hand and caught the head. “Long Chen, you’ve finally come!”
“Hahaha!”
The two of them suddenly laughed. Mo Nian threw the head aside, and the two of them fiercely embraced each other. It had been months since they had last seen each other in the first monastery. Now, the two of them had both stepped into the Meridian Opening realm.
“How have you come here?” Mo Nian was surprised to see Long Chen with the Muxue Mercenary Unit. He was even wearing their clothes.
“Hehe, don’t even mention it. A group of bastards chased me down. If it weren’t for the Muxue Mercenary Unit, perhaps I’d still be wandering in the mountains,” said Long Chen.
“You were chased down by people? Just who possessed such a sense of righteousness?” asked Mo Nian.
Mo Nian’s words almost made the Muxue Mercenary Unit collapse to the ground in laughter. Long Chen’s expression darkened. “Brat, you want to fight?”
“Hehe, it’s just a joke. Who would be so brazen as to fight you, Long Chen?” laughed Mo Nian.
“Let’s not talk about it now, as it’s just too infuriating. Here, let me introduce you. This is-”
“Haha, I’ve long since become acquainted with leader Mu Xue. Long Chen, it’d be best for you not to throw your affection at someone who’s not interested,” advised Mo Nian. “Leader Mu Xue, you have to be careful. This brat Long Chen might not possess any other skills, but his pick-up techniques for women are unrivaled beneath the heavens. Keep yourself safe.”
“Mo Nian, you bastard!” Long Chen roared.
“Ah, Long Chen, are you talking to me?” A muscular man behind Mo Nian smiled at Long Chen. He had a thick beard and a powerful aura.
Long Chen was startled. This person appeared similar to Mo Nian’s father. In terms of age, he seemed a bit older than him.
“Hehe, uncle, he was definitely talking to you. Look, this brat’s gaze is clearly looking down on you. If you don’t teach him a lesson, it’ll make me look down on you.” Mo Nian winked.[1]
A large hand clapped Mo Nian on the back of his head. His uncle cursed, “You little brat, how dare you even scheme against your uncle. You’re the one who needs to be taught a lesson.
“Looks like we didn’t need to come here. This world will be for you youngsters in the future, so we’ll leave first. You can accompany your guests.”
Mo Nian’s uncle saw the corpses on the ground. With his sharp eyesight, he could see they were killed by absolute strength, which was why he was deeply moved by the sight.
He walked up to Long Chen and patted him on the shoulder with praise. “Qi and blood like a sea, and a body like a wild dragon. Yunshan was correct. Long Chen, you definitely are a peerless genius. With the two of you together, you’ll be able to dominate all of Qing Prefecture.
“Alright, the two of you can mess around. When you get tired of playing around, remember to return home!”
“Take care uncle!” Long Chen hastily called out respectfully.
Once those experts from Mo Gate left, Long Chen sighed with emotion, “Mo Nian, your uncle really is not bad.”
“Please, don�
��t give me that. Are you going to get angry just because of a little insult? You really are a contemptible little man who hits people while they’re down,” raged Mo Nian.
“Hitting people while they’re down is at least better than despicably trying to trap people,” said Long Chen lightly.
“Um, excuse me, can I interrupt? Junior master Mo, I can just directly give the Hidden Ground Spider’s crystal core to you, and you can cancel the mission at the Mercenary Guild.” Mu Xue had no choice but to interrupt. It seemed the two of them would never stop insulting each other.
“The Hidden Ground Spider’s core? You actually obtained it?” Mo Nian almost jumped with delight.
The only reason he had come here was because he had heard the three great powers, which included the Giant Eagle Stronghold, were trying to prevent the various mercenary units from obtaining the Hidden Ground Spider’s core.
Today, he had heard from other Mo Gate’s disciples that the Giant Eagle Stronghold’s experts had moved out. Without even thinking about it, he knew they were carrying out some shameful scheme, and so he had rushed over.
He hadn’t imagined that the Muxue Mercenary Unit had actually obtained the Hidden Ground Spider’s core. That delighted him, as that was what he needed the most right now.
Receiving the core from Mu Xue, he was incomparably excited. “Really, thank you Muxue Mercenary Unit. I’ll pay three times the reward, no, ten times the reward!”
The Mercenary Guild was often entrusted with missions. When announcing the mission and when the mission was completed, the guild would take five percent of the reward. Although they took some of the profit, everyone was well aware that without the Mercenary Guild, it would be much harder for them to set up a trustworthy mission platform. So they were willing to pay to use the Mercenary Guild like this.
However, once a mission was completed, they would only take five percent of the reward promised. If one party wanted to increase the reward afterward, that was their issue, and they wouldn’t take a cut.
“Let’s forget about the reward. Back then, if it weren’t for Mo Gate, our Muxue Mercenary Unit would have long since collapsed. This time, we were mostly just repaying the favor.” Mu Xue then looked at Long Chen. “Other than that, our Muxue Mercenary Unit is no longer lacking money. So there’s no need to mention a reward again.”
Mo Nian nodded. “Alright, well, I’m not someone so argumentative. I’ll remember this favor. Let’s go. We can go have a meal at my restaurant.”
“You have a restaurant?” asked a surprised Long Chen.
“How refreshing. Is having a restaurant so hard? Isn’t it easy as long as you have money? In any case, everyone follow me. We’ll have to properly celebrate today.” Mo Nian pulled Long Chen, leading them into Qingzhou City.
Qingzhou City was Qing Prefecture’s largest city and also its capital. The city was tens of thousands of miles wide. Buildings soared and an ancient charm was present.
This was Long Chen’s first time in such a large city. Although the Xuantian Supermonastery was Su Prefecture’s strongest power, that was a sect, and it was far from the clamor of the secular world.
As for Su Prefecture’s capital, he had never seen it. Even though he had prepared himself for such a sight, seeing Qingzhou City still shocked Long Chen.
This huge, ancient city seemed like a sleeping monster. An ancient Dao-charm came from every inch of it.
However, the wide streets were filled with people. Just a single road could be a mile wide. These people were all martial artists. Xiantian experts weren’t rare at all. Meridian Opening cultivators were everywhere, and Bone Forging cultivators were as plentiful as dogs.
However, although these cultivators had high cultivation bases, their auras weren’t powerful. Long Chen suspected their cultivation bases were reached relying entirely on medicinal pills. Their true combat strength was very lacking.
He knew these were mostly free cultivators that didn’t have a sect’s grooming. They could only rely on their own work to gain cultivation resources.
“How is it? It’s pretty flourishing, right? Compared to my Qingzhou City, your Xuantian Supermonastery is just a large prison.
“Look at how many people there are. Cultivators form crowds, beauties are like the clouds; there’s fun in the day and singing at night. That’s a real way to live. Hehe, what do you think? How about you don’t leave and just stay here. That’ll definitely be better than staying at your Xuantian Supermonastery,” enticed Mo Nian.
It went without saying that when compared, rejoining the secular world was much more emotionally moving than leaving it. Now that Long Chen was interacting with the secular world again, he felt a kind of superiority.
The cultivators here were just too weak. Any random disciple from the Xuantian Supermonastery would be unable to find a match for themselves within the same realm here.
Mu Xue and the others were following Mo Nian and Long Chen. Hearing their words, looking at their backs, they were also moved.
The two of them were the top geniuses of their prefectures. In front of them, any other genius would seem lackluster.
“Do you see how many beauties we are passing on the streets? Are you not envious of their worshipful gazes?” Mo Nian’s expression was calm, but his voice contained a bit of pride.
“I’m not envious at all. Little brat, it’s not like you dare fool around with any of them. What’s the point?” said Long Chen disdainfully.
In the Jiuli secret realm, Mo Nian had asked Long Chen to teach him his pick-up techniques, and how he managed to keep the peace between his women.
At that time, Mo Nian had bitterly complained that he had a fiancée who kept a very close eye on him and didn’t let him fool around. That vexed him greatly.
It seemed he had forgotten that he had already exposed that fact. But Long Chen’s memory was rather good. If he could only look, but not enjoy or even touch, was there anything to be envious of him?
“Hahaha, jealous, you’re definitely jealous. I just knew you would be like this.” Mo Nian laughed.
Long Chen ignored him, and the two of them continued walking. He examined the ancient and flourishing city as he walked, feeling something special in the air.
“Hehe, we’ve arrived. Do you see this? This is my restaurant: the Hero Convergence Building! What do you think of that grand name? A place where all heroes gather! It’s not bad, right?” Mo Nian pointed at a large building proudly.
Long Chen raised his head. The restaurant looked quite lavish, and it was not bad. But when he saw a line of words atop the entrance, his expression became one full of disdain.
[1]Long Chen says ，. It can also be an insult, which would be “You bastard Mo Nian.” This term can also mean uncle, as in “Mo Nian’s uncle.” So Long Chen’s insult can be misconstrued.
Chapter 554 A Cloudless Sky
“Was this written by you?”
“Of course. Just look at that calligraphy! Who else could write with such bold, impressive strokes?” said Mo Nian proudly.
“Yes, well, let’s ignore that calligraphy for now. I’m very curious why you would decide to turn the original horizontal scroll into a vertical scroll[1]. As for your ‘Guests Come Like Clouds’, it’s not the worst thing I’ve read.
“I really want to know just what you were thinking with the next line, ‘A Cloudless Sky’.[2] Are you cursing yourself to have no business?” Long Chen was practically without words as he looked at the marvelous couplet written over the entrance.
Mu Xue and the others also looked oddly at that couplet. It was no wonder this restaurant looked so forlorn and empty. It was like they had done it on purpose.
“Tch, stop spouting nonsense. Do you want to eat or not? Even when I treat you to a meal, you have to be so picky. Are you treating your friend as an outsider?” Mo Nian blushed, also feeling that this couplet he had randomly scrawled out was a bit inappropriate.
He hastily brought them inside. They entered a spaciou
s hall without a single person present.
“It really is cloudless.” Long Chen couldn’t help but laugh.
Mo Nian angrily shouted, “Hello?! Get out here and receive your customers!”
“Junior master? Oh, I mean, boss, you’ve come!” Suddenly, a person wearing a waiter’s clothes ran over.
“Where are the others?! Where’s the shopkeeper?” raged Mo Nian.
“Isn’t it about dinner time? They went to go eat at the restaurant across the street,” answered the waiter.
Mu Xue couldn’t hold back any longer and laughed. They had actually run to another restaurant to eat?
“Mo Nian, what are you playing at?” Long Chen also couldn’t help but laugh.
Mo Nian laughed mischievously. “In truth, I really only opened this restaurant to play around. There are people publicly challenging my Mo family, and even the tenants of this space joined them, refusing to pay rent, so I directly drove them out.
“This territory is my Mo Gate’s, but there have been a few clowns recently who like to come here when they’re bored. Well, since we couldn’t rent this place out, I just turned it into a restaurant to mess around.”
Long Chen was slightly surprised. Had Mo Gate really been bullied to this point? Even their tenants were beginning to oppose them?
Long Chen knew Mo Gate was different from other sects. Qing Prefecture was their territory, and they were part of many businesses, which allowed Mo Gate to keep up with its immense expenses.
That was different from the Xuantian Monastery. The Xuantian Monastery got its resources from the supermonastery, while the supermonastery got its resources from the Xuantian Dao Sect. As for how the Xuantian Dao Sect had enough money to groom so many people, he had no idea.
Other than its businesses, Mo Gate also rented some of its excess territories to other people for rent money.
But now Mo Nian said their tenants dared renege on their rent. Perhaps there were many things hiding behind the scenes.
“Boss!”
At this time, over a dozen people ran over from the restaurant across the street. Seeing Mo Nian, they hastily bowed.