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People dressed accordingly. Even the commoners and shopkeepers wore fine clothing. The most outstanding feature was that the garments were colorful. In the cities of South Phoenix, the garments mortals wore were usually simple. It was the same in the Eight Sect Coalition, though the clothing tended to be slightly higher quality. But here in the county capital, you could find every color imaginable, and it made the entire city lively and full of life.

Because it was still not yet time to report for duty, Xu Qing and the Captain didn’t fly to their destination. Instead, they strolled through the city.

Xu Qing hadn’t been out of seclusion for the entire half-month that had passed, so this was really his first chance to get familiar with their new surroundings. He looked around at the crowds on the streets, and occasionally glanced up into the air.

There were quite a few swordsages out and about. They all wore the same uniform, making it impossible to tell who was a new recruit. That said, all of them emitted extraordinary fluctuations. It wasn’t a surprise to Xu Qing. After all, this was the county capital, where the best of the best from all the provinces would end up.

“Master said a great era is coming,” the Captain said as he munched an apple and looked up into the sky. “That’s why there are so many chosen nowadays. There are a lot more swordsage recruits this time around than there usually are.

“However, little Ah Qing, you don’t need to worry about sticking out as a newbie. Your Eldest Brother doesn’t go into new places unprepared, and therefore, I spent a huge amount of money on some intelligence reports. As a result, I know the chosen from the various prefectures like the back of my hand. In fact, I also know a lot about the three big sects here, as well as the two nonhuman species.”

The Captain looked very smug, as if he had spent his spirit stones in a very clever way.

Xu Qing nodded. While Xu Qing preferred to take time observing new surroundings, the Captain liked to spend money buying intelligence reports.

“Sadly, the Swordsage Palace doesn’t sell information about the post assignments.” The Captain sighed in discouragement.

Xu Qing looked at him and didn’t say anything in response.

Seemingly depressed, the Captain took a vicious bite out of his apple. “This Swordsage Palace is really full of goody-two-shoes. If only they could be a bit more reasonable.”

Considering that the Captain only got a one-meter light, he was really feeling down about his post assignment. While Xu Qing had been working on his cultivation, the Captain had repeatedly gone to Chen Tinghao and others to ask for help. His hope had been that by giving gifts to the right people, he might secure a good post. However, all of that asking around just confirmed that it was impossible to pay for an assignment. The Swordsage Palace wasn’t like other places. They were very strict, and only filled posts based on decisions made by the leadership. What was more, they had strict assessments to govern post assignments.

Seeing how depressed the Captain was, Xu Qing was planning to change the subject when something in the distance caught his attention. His expression flickered.

The Captain also looked over.

Some distance away in the sky was a group of cultivators flying in their direction. They wore a very different type of outfit compared to what most humans wore. Although they were daoist robes, they were form-fitting instead of loose. They featured an outer garment of woven gold thread, and an inner garment of silver.

Though their outfits seemed strange, the fluctuations they emitted were astonishing and also unique. They included both men and women, yet all of them had skin as fair as snow. Their hair and eyebrows were just as white, as were their eyes. It made them look very holy. As they flew through midair, the sunlight hit their golden daoist robes and created light refractions that made them seem even more dazzling and proud.

“Are they Demi-Immortals?” the Captain murmured curiously. Despite how many times he had gone out in the last half-month, this was his first time seeing cultivators from this species.

Xu Qing studied them intently.

These cultivators definitely were not human. In addition to the white hair and eyes, they also had white wings. And they conformed perfectly to Chen Tinghao’s description of one of the two most powerful nonhuman species in Sea-Sealing County, the Demi-Immortals.

What was even more noteworthy to Xu Qing was that the Demi-Immortal cultivators had another very unique entity with them. It was a figure clad in a black suit of armor. This figure had black wings and wore a black mask that obscured its facial features. Its unbound hair was equally as black. Its aura clearly surpassed that of the surrounding Demi-Immortals. And what was of even greater significance was that it emanated mutagen. Its eyes seemed to completely lack life, as if it were a puppet.

“That black thing is probably one of the immortal puppets that the Demi-Immortals are famous for,” the Captain said. Apparently the intelligence reports he’d purchased were actually useful.

“Immortal puppets?” Xu Qing asked.

“That’s right. The Demi-Immortals are very skilled in the puppetry arts. That’s especially true of the pitch-black ones. Those are their battle puppets. Nobody knows exactly how they make them, but they’re supposedly very difficult to deal with.”

Xu Qing looked on thoughtfully as the group of Demi-Immortals flew toward the city center and gradually disappeared.

He got a similar sensation from the immortal puppet as he had from the ghasts he’d seen, though not exactly the same. As for the specifics, he was too far away to make any determination.

With that, the two of them continued on their way, keeping an eye on their surroundings. As they walked, they saw disciples from the three great sects, as well as occasional Saintfiends.

The Saintfiends were very different from the Demi-Immortals. The Demi-Immortals preferred to stay in the county capital, and rarely traveled outside to have dealings with other species. But the Saintfiends were merchants. They had shops just about everywhere in the city.

The Saintfiends were tall and burly. They were generally about 6 meters tall or more, making them look almost like giants. They had faces in the normal spot, but also faces on the backs of their heads. When talking, they would occasionally swivel their heads and start speaking out of the other face. To people unfamiliar with them, it could be somewhat unsettling. What was more, Saintfiends always had two male heads. However, sometimes their bodies might not seem obviously male or female, making it very difficult to determine their gender. They were such an unusual species that Xu Qing couldn’t help but stare a bit when he saw them.

Soon it was approaching the time to report for duty, so Xu Qing and the Captain flew the rest of the way to the Swordsage Palace.

When they arrived, there were already people lined up and waiting. They were new swordsage recruits from various prefectures. There were men and women, but all were young. Apparently, most had been in the county capital for some time.

In the various prefectures of Sea-Sealing County, the number of new recruits that came out of a recruiting event varied, but not by much. At the most, there might be seven or eight recruits. On the lower end, for places like Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, there might only be three.

There were already about thirty people gathered. Some stood alone, others in groups of between three to five.

Xu Qing spotted Qing Qiu in the crowd. She wasn’t alone. Standing next to her was a seemingly ordinary, but simultaneously strange-looking young woman.

“She’s not wearing red,” the Captain said. “I almost didn’t recognize her. But that’s Qing Qiu, alright. She might as well just wear her red clothes underneath her main outfit. That would befit that big scythe of hers.”

Grinning, the Captain called out a greeting. He also sized up Qing Qiu’s female companion, glancing more than a few times at the item she held in her hands.

Qing Qiu had obviously arrived in the county capital much earlier than the delegation from the Eight Sect Coalition. With a few months’ lead time, she had gotten to know some people. The young woman standing next to her was one of them. They seemed to match each other well. One of them emanated an aura that warned other living things to stay away, and beneath her mask, her eyes were cold. The other held some melon seeds in her hands that emanated godly fluctuations. If you looked closely, it looked like they were actually formed from flesh. As she ate from her stockpile, her mouth filled with blood, and she looked around coldly.

Upon noticing the Captain looking their way, she studied him for a moment. “Big Sis Qing Qiu, do you know them? Isn’t that one Xu Qing?”

“That’s right. Two fools.” Meanwhile, the evil ghost scythe she had slung over her shoulder was talking to her via divine will.

“Mad Dog is here. He’s talking like normal this time, but I still feel like smacking him. Everyone else is a swordsage, but he’s a swordslut! We can definitely find an opportunity to end things with him in mutual destruction. Get rid of him for the swordsages! End in mutual destruction!

“As for Ghost Hand, we should leave him alone. He’s not going to be easy to deal with. Trying to end things in mutual destruction with him wouldn’t be a good idea.... You absolutely, positively must not make a move on him!”

Qing Qiu seemed used to the chattering of the evil ghost, as she kept her face expressionless and just let him talk.

Meanwhile, the Captain was talking to Xu Qing via divine will.

“See that person next to Qing Qiu? She’s no simple individual. She has no name, so everyone just calls her Duskspirit. Those melon seeds in her hand are supposedly made from all kinds of godly flesh. Not only are they very good for the fleshly body, but also, they never run out! Some people suspect that they’re actually a part of her body!

“I got a lot of information about her in my intelligence reports. She grew up in an abyss in a forbidden region somewhere. Years ago, a patriarch from the Supreme Void Demonization Sect ran across her and brought her back to the sect. She has a cold personality, and according to the rumors, can actually demonize herself into a greater demon!”

As Xu Qing listened to the Captain, he looked at the young woman with the melon seeds of flesh. Then he shifted his attention to a young man sitting off to the side meditating. Upon arriving he had noticed the young man sitting there. Other than Duskspirit with her extremely gruish aura, this young man was the one who seemed the most dangerous.

Noticing Xu Qing’s gaze, the Captain said, “That’s Sir Mountain-River. He’s also a very impressive chosen. He’s from one of the three great sects, the Blood Chill Society. And his clan is a major force within that sect. In other words, he has an amazing background. He had a very unusual birth. Supposedly, he has a birthmark that looks like a painting of mountains and rivers. That’s why Patriarch Blood Chill gave him the daoist name Mountain-River. He has shocking natural talent, and two imperial-class techniques!” [1]

As the Captain made this explanation, Sir Mountain-River’s eyes opened, and he looked coldly at Xu Qing.

Obviously, all of the people that Xu Qing studied could sense the pressure of his gaze on them.

A moment later, their gazes separated as something flew toward them from above.

It was a black coffin made of wood. Lounging atop it was a young man wearing a swordsage uniform. Somehow his swordsage uniform was very wrinkled. The young man also kept yawning as though he had just woken up. His arrival caused all of the swordsages present to suddenly go on guard. Xu Qing knew why; he immediately got a sense of profound danger from this person.

“That’s most likely Wang Chen from the Supreme Ancient Lightning Order, who’s come closer than anyone else from this generation in attaining the Supreme Ancient Lightning Body. Interesting. I can sense the aura of some sealing marks on him. Little Ah Qing, I bet that what you see on the outside isn’t his true form. His true form is inside the coffin.” [2]

Xu Qing nodded. From inside the coffin, he could sense the fluctuations of a life lamp. He had started on the continent of South Phoenix, then gone to Emperor-Receiving Prefecture, and was now in the county capital. Along the way, he had learned and experienced a lot. And he had seen life lamps. Life lamps might not be common, but that was only relatively speaking. When you brushed shoulders with powerful experts and top organizations, it was impossible to not encounter life lamps.

“So many experts,” Xu Qing murmured. Whether it was Duskspirit, Sir Mountain-River, or Wang Chen, they all gave Xu Qing the impression that they were incredibly strong.

As for the other new recruits, none had auras as impressive as those three, but they were still extraordinary.

Xu Qing knew that even though their auras seemed weak in comparison to his own, he couldn’t afford to underestimate them. After all, he wasn’t the only person in the world who knew how to keep trump cards hidden to use in a key moment to strike a fatal blow. Any person who had experienced as many life-or-death situations as he had would have trump cards. And they wouldn’t reveal them unless necessary.

“Those three are strong, little Ah Qing. But in this group of new recruits, there’s someone I’d consider a true monster.” The Captain sighed.

Xu Qing looked at him in surprise. For the Captain to call someone a monster indicated... that the person in question was no one to take lightly. He was just about to inquire further when a terrifying aura suddenly weighed down on the area.

It was such a powerful aura that everyone present reacted with visible surprise. Duskspirit stopped eating melon seeds. Wiping blood from her lips, her expression turned from cold to pleasant. Even adoring. Sir Mountain-River stood up, a reverent expression on his face. Wang Chen climbed to his feet, arranged his clothes, and suddenly looked ingratiating.

As the aura filled the area, a booming voice echoed from above.

“Which one of you is Xu Qing?”

1. Putting the character for mountain and river together creates a unique word. It can literally just mean “mountains and rivers,” or it can figuratively mean “land (of a country), general topography, territory, country.” ☜

2. Wang Chen: Wang is #1 on the list of the 100 common surnames. It also means “king.” Chen means morning, dawn, daybreak.” Madam Deathblade says this name makes him sound like “a handsome young guy, bubbly maybe.” I think her impression is pretty funny considering the dude flies around on a coffin. ☜