I Am Overlord c1-962
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When Feng Xiaosha heard the explanation, he nearly spat up blood from anger.
"Xiang Shaoyun, you're shameless! You were the one who came to provoke us and beat up my brothers. You even wanted to beat me up as well! Lord enforcer, please uphold justice!" Feng Xiaosha shouted indignantly.
"Lord enforcer, how strong can I be all by myself? How could I dare to provoke so many of them? He is blatantly lying!" Xiang Shaoyun countered.
Feng Xiaosha was fuming. He had seen many shameless people, but he had never seen someone so shameless before. Even the disciples observing the situation were cursing inwardly, This is truly shameless!
Xiang Shaoyun was obviously the one who had provoked the fight, but he was levying accusations against the other party. How shameless.
And yet, the enforcement captain actually nodded and said, "You make perfect sense. You people, you are gathering in large numbers to create trouble, and you are even attempting to suppress your fellow disciples? You deserve to be punished. But since you have all been injured, I will let this slide. If you dare repeat this, you won't be spared!"
Feng Xiaosha's face practically greened from anger. He had not imagined that the captain would so blatantly side with Xiang Shaoyun. He was furious, but he couldn't do anything. After all, he was only a disciple. Even if he was the personal disciple of an elder, he was not qualified to question the enforcers. Thus, he was forced to swallow his anger.
Xiang Shaoyun, I won't spare you! Feng Xiaosha vowed inwardly.
"Um. This matter ends here. I am still an overseer, and for your offense of offending your superiors, you can even be expelled from the academy. The lord enforcer is actually being very kind toward you," said Xiang Shaoyun, deciding to quit while he was ahead.
"Ok. Everyone, disperse," said the captain. He then looked at Xiang Shaoyun, "Overseer Xiang, do you have the time to have a drink with me?"
Xiang Shaoyun quickly replied, "Even if I'm busy, I will squeeze some time out if it's lord enforcer's invitation! However, you must allow me to treat you instead!"
Xiang Shaoyun did not know why this captain was being so friendly, but he had to show him some respect.
"Haha, let's go," said the captain with a hearty laugh.
And just like that, Xiang Shaoyun strutted away from the villa with Mu Qingyu and Wang Xin alongside the captain. Feng Xiaosha was gnashing his teeth in anger. If eyes could kill, Xiang Shaoyun would be ridden with holes by now.
"I will be sure to repay this!" roared Feng Xiaosha furiously.
After finding somewhere quiet, Xiang Shaoyun and the enforcers sat down and started drinking. Only then did Xiang Shaoyun learn something from the captain. It turned out this captain had been promoted all because of Xiang Shaoyun.
Two years ago, a captain called Ouyang Jianghu had once treated Xiang Shaoyun unfairly. Subsequently, the academy punished him, and this new captain named Chu Yuan was selected as his replacement.
Apart from that, an even more important reason was that he was Xiao Wei's disciple, and Xiao Wei had once told him to show Xiang Shaoyun more care. Xiang Shaoyun immediately felt closer with this captain after learning that he was Xiao Wei's disciple.
The enforcers held sizable power in the academy. At the very least, they wielded enough power to plant fear in all disciples. Establishing a friendly relationship with them would only improve Xiang Shaoyun's status in the academy.
While chatting, Xiang Shaoyun took out some good stuff and gifted them to Chu Yuan. One ought to know that Xiang Shaoyun had quite a collection of treasure, including some sovereign-grade items. These gifts were rare treasures for Chu Yuan, and he naturally accepted them.
After a short while, they separated. Through this battle, Xiang Shaoyun once again caused shockwaves in the academy.
Chapter 765: Group Mission
"Have you heard? Xiang Shaoyun alone stormed Feng Xiaosha's villa, wiping the floor with the Squall members. Even Feng Xiaosha lost a couple of teeth!"
"You are exaggerating. Feng Xiaosha is probably fine, but his subordinates were indeed beaten up. That Xiang Shaoyun's combat prowess is becoming more and more scary."
"A high-grade nine-star physique is no joke after all. If he cultivated only one power, he could probably fight people many stages, or even an entire realm, above him."
"The Squall thoroughly lost their reputation this time. In the future, they won't be able to stand tall before the Overlord Legion."
...
News of Xiang Shaoyun's feat spread throughout the entire academy. One could say that Xiang Shaoyun's popularity had climbed to a new peak. Alongside that, the status of the Overlord Legion also went up a notch. When the Overlord Legion members heard the news, they were all overjoyed.
Thus, they all agreed unhesitatingly when receiving the call to set out on the incoming group mission.
Not long after news of Xiang Shaoyun's feat spread, a different piece of news appeared as well. Ouyang Chuanqi had visited Zhan Wushuang's villa. It was unknown if he had met Zhan Wushuang, but he was able to leave safely. Apart from his slightly pale complexion, he looked completely fine. Not long after that, the Crushing Sky also announced that they would temporarily stop provoking the Overlord Legion.
This created an even bigger commotion. The Crushing Sky was one of the top factions in the academy. If even they were not provoking the Overlord Legion anymore, it was clear how strong the Overlord Legion was.
Or, to be precise, it was Ouyang Chuanqi who was strong enough to make the Crushing Sky halt their provocations. Why would Zhan Wushuang make such a decision that was akin to slapping his own face otherwise?
There were rumors claiming that Ouyang Chuanqi had defeated Zhan Wushuang, forcing him to withdraw. There were also rumors claiming that Ouyang Chuanqi and Zhan Wushuang were old friends. Thus, the Crushing Sky had decided to stop provoking the Overlord Legion.
In short, rumors abounded, all of them painting the Overlord Legion in a positive light. The Overlord Legion members were incomparably excited, rejoicing their choice to join the Overlord Legion.
At this moment, the Overlord Legion was gathered at a spacious training field. Usually, they would gather at 1 Dragon Villa for any sort of meeting. This was the first time they were publicly gathering at a training field.
In truth, this was Zhuge Zhantian's suggestion. He was aiming to further grow the legion's prestige through this exercise.
"Overlord, everyone is here. We can announce the mission," said Zhuge Zhantian.
Xiang Shaoyun nodded. "Brothers and sisters, you are all aware of the reason we are all gathered here today. Now, I will be announcing the mission we have accepted. We will be exterminating bandits at the Desert of Despair. Are you confident we can complete this mission?"
The Desert of Despair was one of the academy's nine major cultivation grounds. The academy had appointed nine places as cultivation grounds, and the grounds consisted of restricted spaces and non-restricted spaces.
The restricted spaces were places that the academy experts had sealed, allowing only those from the academy to enter, such as the Purple Lightning Pool and Castle of Darkness. The non-restricted spaces were actually locations that were open to the public and weren't monopolized by the academy.
The academy would supply the disciples with access to the places, but other forces or races were residing in the zones. For example, the Deep Tidalwave, the Vicious Steel Mist, and the City of Light all had other parties.
The Desert of Despair was also one of the non-restricted spaces. It was a large desert located in the Western Desert. In fact, the desert made up a third of the Western Desert. Regular Kings and Emperors would find it hard to even cross the desert. The moment one became lost, one could only sink into despair because the only result would be death.
In the Desert of Despair, apart from the dreadful desert beasts, there were also bandits mainly focused on robbing the cultivators intending to cultivate in the desert. The Overlord Legion had accepted a mission to kill 3
,000 bandits to clean up the Desert of Despair.
One should never look down on these bandits, as they were all fearless, possessing impressive combat strength. Not many people were willing to fight these lunatics. Furthermore, the bandits were very familiar with the desert's topography, able to come and go as they wished, making it difficult for one to even catch their trails.
The Overlord Legion had accepted this mission after a series of discussions. The mission's difficulty wasn't low, and it was rather challenging for them. It fulfilled the requirement of a mission needing them to work as a group.
After hearing the mission details from Xiang Shaoyun, nobody voiced any objection. Instead, they appeared eager. Evidently, they had high expectations for the group mission.
"This is the first group mission we will undertake. I hope we will suffer zero casualties. Are you confident in achieving that?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
"Yes!" answered the Overlord Legion members collectively.
Their voice was loud and sonorous, reverberating through the training field.
"Good. Without further ado, let's set off," said Xiang Shaoyun.
Just as they were about to leave, a lazy voice rang out, "I shall come along as well."
Everyone looked over and found that it was their deputy commander. Reverence covered the eyes of many people at the sight of Ouyang Chuanqi. Although he had never participated in the legion's affairs and he was also a recent joiner, it did not stop them from revering his strength.
"Brother Ouyang, it's great that you can join!" said Xiang Shaoyun with a smile. "Everyone, greet the deputy commander!"
He had not expected Ouyang Chuanqi to join this mission, but he was more than happy to see him join.
"Welcome, Deputy Commander Ouyang!" the Overlord Legion members shouted with excitement.
"Although the overlord's scheme had forced me to join the legion, since I'm now a member, I should naturally participate in group missions like this. Please do take care of me in the future, everyone," said Ouyang Chuanqi in an amicable manner.
His demeanor further improved the members' impression of him. Not even Tang Longfei could compare with him in terms of prestige.
However, Tang Longfei was not the least bit jealous. He knew very well this was a world ruled by the strong. If he wanted to preserve his position in the legion, he needed to continue growing as well.
Chapter 766: Desert of Despair
The Desert of Despair was located at the border of the Western Desert, joined with the Southern Wasteland. It was extremely large, having a size comparable to tens of regions. As far as the eye could see, sand was everywhere. Dust filled the air, and visibility was low.
In the sky, the sun shone upon the desert, making the sand scalding. The temperature in the desert was much higher than the temperature of other places, and some rarely seen beasts resided in the desert. At any moment, a beast could kill a person.
Those losing their way in this desert would sink into endless despair with little chance of survival. The Overlord Legion had just arrived at the border of the Desert of Despair through a teleportation formation.
The disciples were filled with excitement as they looked at the seemingly boundless desert before them. This was the first time many of them were seeing a desert this big. An urge to conquer the place rose within them.
However, Xiang Shaoyun was in no rush to move out immediately. He had them settle down at the town to gather more information about the desert before doing anything else. The town was known as Desert Sea Town, and it was also the nearest supply station on this side of the desert. The town did not have a lot of residents, and life was difficult here.
There had been a decent number of towns nearby, but as those towns had been slowly overrun by the desert over the years, they were now buried under the sand. Many people were forced to migrate, while those unwilling to leave the place they were born stayed in Desert Sea Town. After the desert swallowed this town as well, they would most probably be forced to migrate.
The moment the Overlord Legion entered the town, they were surrounded by beggars.
"Kind lords, please beseech me with some food. It has been several days since I last ate anything."
"Dear kind visitors, please bestow upon me some food and water. I am going to starve to death soon."
...
As the disciples looked at the poor residents, their kindness was triggered. They prepared to donate some food and drinks. However, Zhuge Zhantian mercilessly stopped them. Some of them were unhappy and started arguing, claiming that Zhuge Zhantian was too cold.
To their surprise, Ouyang Chuanqi backed up Zhuge Zhantian. "Butler Zhuge is right. We are entering the Desert of Despair soon. We don't know what will happen to us then. We need to ensure we have enough food and water. Otherwise, anyone separated from the main group will probably end up like them, not having any food and water, suffering the fate of death from hunger or thirst."
Due to Ouyang Chuanqi's prestige, the moment he voiced his opinion, the others no longer dared to say anything.
"Ok, let's look for a place to sit down and ask around before entering the desert," said Xiang Shaoyun.
They then headed for the best restaurant in town. Of course, even the best restaurant looked incomparably shabby compared to the restaurants of other places. The restaurant was a building constructed with earth. There were no windows, making it stifling to be inside. It was dirty and small, not able to fit even 100 customers.
Left with no choice, the Overlord Legion members had to leave and look for a different place they could hold a discussion.
At this time, a young man stepped forth and said, "Overlord, we don't have to look for a place. We only need to announce that we are looking for someone who knows the desert well, offering some rewards for information. There won't be a lack of people coming to tell us about the desert."
"Good idea. You'll be in charge of carrying it out," said Xiang Shaoyun. "What is your name?"
The young man had soft facial features, looking only about 15 years old. He wore a light blue martial outfit with a helmet that looked like a tortoise shell. When he smiled, two dimples formed on his cheeks, making him look rather adorable.
As there were too many members in the Overlord Legion, it was hard for Xiang Shaoyun to remember everyone. After this young man volunteered an idea, he left a deep impression on Xiang Shaoyun.
"Overlord, I am Pan Yun, a new member," said the young man with a bashful look.
"Good. Everyone else, feel free to propose any suggestions you have like Pan Yun as well. We are a big family, and we need everyone's effort to grow strong together," said Xiang Shaoyun.
He could sense an unusual aura from Pan Yun, and he was sure there was more to Pan Yun than being a mere second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. Naturally, there were definitely a considerable number of disciples pretending to be weak in the academy. Thus, it was always hard to see which of the disciples were the stronger ones.
Bringing a few people with him, Pan Yun traveled around the town, spreading the news that they were looking for people familiar with the desert. The moment the news spread, a large number of people came forward, each claiming to know the desert well.
Pan Yun and his group were quickly surrounded, the environment becoming clamorous. Fortunately, Pan Yun was quick-witted, and he listed several requirements. Only those who met the requirements could stay, and those who refused to listen would not be shown mercy.
This carrot and stick approach worked well. Soon, those who only wanted to take advantage of the situation left, leaving only three people behind. The three were cultivators as well, two men and one woman. One was an Emperor, while the other two were Kings.
They were dressed in local costumes, and it was obvious they were probably locals. Pan Yun brought them back to Xiang Shaoyun and said, "Overlord, these three know the desert very well. You may ask them any questions you have."
Xiang Shaoyun nodded with a satisfied look. He gazed
at the three and asked, "Do you know which direction will be the most dangerous to travel? For example, territories of beasts, bandits, and so on. Tell me what you know. We won't mistreat you."
Having said that, Xiang Shaoyun took out something rather valuable and waved it before them. Their eyes seemed to shine as they quickly started saying all they knew. They were barely keeping anything back.
Through the three, the Overlord Legion members obtained a deeper understanding of the Desert of Despair. The scorn they had of the desert before was all gone. Initially, they assumed that eliminating 3,000 bandits would be a breeze. But from what the three had said, these bandits were actually backed by Soul Foundation Realm experts! Just that alone was enough to make them feel helpless.
They started fearing they would actually encounter an enemy with that cultivation level. They would not be able to reap any benefits from such opponents.
Chapter 767: Entering the Desert of Despair
After asking some more questions, Xiang Shaoyun rewarded all three of the informants before sending two of them away, leaving only the Emperor behind. His name was Ge Mote, and he looked middle-aged. He seemed somewhat nervous facing the Overlord Legion members, as if he was afraid they would treat him unfavorably.
"Ge Mote, you are probably aware that we are foreign visitors. We are entering the desert on a training session, and we wish to hire you as our guide. Are you willing to come with us?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
Ge Mote replied nervously, "I'm afraid I won't be a good guide."