Chapter 887 - Barbaric Body

“Canglong, what are you doing?”

The mayor was just about to head upstairs, but then he lowered his head and looked in Long Chen’s direction. With his sharp senses, he knew that his son was about to cause trouble.

Long Chen sighed. The only people he was wary of were the mayor and the Underworld Soldier. He could’ve escaped on his own if they wanted to fight him, but now he had to protect Xiong Wan’er and the others. If he angered them, he would have no way of escaping safely if he had to bring along the youth of the Barbaric Bear Tribe.

Canglong explained profusely, “Father, that person was bold enough to bully Qing’er. I-”

“Idiot! Are you disturbing the peace of the Underworld Soldier just because of this? How can you call yourself his disciple if you act like this? Just toss them out!”

The mayor’s words left no room for objection.

He took one look at Long Chen and scoffed. “Also, he’s only at the Second Heavenly Martial Stage. How could he bully Qing’er? Are you stupid?”

“I understand.”

Canglong deflated like a ball after getting scolded, but when he turned around, he poured out his anger on Long Chen.

“Come outside with me, brat!” he said.

Long Chen crossed his arms and ignored Qian Canglong. He wasn’t an idiot, and now was not the time to get out. He had already come up with a plan.

Xiong Jun and the others hid behind Long Chen. They were now looking at him as their leader. Xiong Jun had completely abandoned all thoughts of becoming the Underworld Soldier’s disciple after seeing how the latter hadn’t even looked at him even though their lives were at stake.

Also, Qian Canglong clearly had the same objective as Xiong Jun. He wanted to become the Underworld Soldier’s disciple and would become an Underworld Soldier himself once he had enough power.

“Do you think you will be safe staying here? I will wait for you outside. I do not believe that you can stay here forever.”

Qian Canglong allowed Liu Qing’er to hold his arm before both of them turned and left.

“Wait.”

The Underworld Soldier looked past Long Chen and saw Xiong Jun. A strange thought flickered behind his eyes.

He immediately went down to the ground floor and stood in front of Xiong Jun. The Underworld Soldier looked menacing with his cold, glinting armor.

“I can’t believe there’s a youth with a Barbaric Body here in this small city. Little child, what is your name?”

“Barbaric Body?” Xiong Jun scratched his head in confusion, but since the person in front of him was the Underworld Soldier that he yearned to meet, he excitedly answered, “I am Xiong Jun!”

The Underworld Soldier stared at Xiong Jun for a bit longer and then broke out into a smile. “Xiong Jun, are you interested in becoming my disciple? My name is Zhao Kongming.”

“What?” Everyone, except for the mayor, was shocked. Qian Canglong was the most surprised because he had always wanted to become Zhao Kongming’s disciple, but the man himself had not agreed verbally. To think that he would ask someone from a barbarian tribe to become his disciple!

“What’s a Barbaric Body?”

Almost everyone was confused.

“The Barbaric Body is a type of body constitution that has a high chance of reaching the Divine Martial Realm. That is why I would like to have you as my disciple, in hopes that I can recommend you to join the Underworld Soldier in the future. Do you agree?”

“I ... I agree! Greetings, Master!”

Xiong Jun was so ecstatic that he felt like he was dreaming. He kneeled down on the ground with pleasure. To think that his dream was finally coming true, and he even had a chance of reaching the Divine Martial Realm!

If he could become a Divine Martial Realm cultivator, he would be a legendary figure within this entire region.

“Good! From today onwards, you are a disciple of Zhao Kongming.”

Zhao Kongming helped Xiong Jun up before he looked at Qian Canglong. “Long’er, it seems you had some kind of disagreement with him before. Would you mind letting it go for my sake?”

Qian Canglong was clearly displeased, but he had no choice but to accept since his father was watching him. “Naturally. Now that Xiong Jun is your disciple, he is one of us too. How could I fight against my own family? But, Uncle Zhao, when will you accept me as your disciple?”

Qian Canglong could only ask like this in hopes that Zhao Kongming would take pity on him.

Zhao Kongming smiled. “Long’er, you have great potential. Also, Brother Qian is already teaching you, so I don’t want to butt in and point you down the wrong path. When you are strong enough one day, you can come find me and I will give you a recommendation letter to join the Underworld Soldiers.”

Qian Canglong wanted to become Zhao Kongming’s disciple so that he could join the Underworld Soldiers one day. Zhao Kongming’s recommendation was all that he needed. He had completely forgotten about becoming Zhao Kongming’s disciple after he heard that proposal.

Everything had been resolved perfectly today, except for Liu Qing’er’s situation. She was glaring daggers at Long Chen as she left. It appeared that she had other plans ...

Xiong Jun had achieved his dream of becoming Zhao Kongming’s disciple. After the mayor left, Zhao Kongming brought Xiong Jun into his room. Not only had the Barbaric Bear Tribe avoided danger today, they had also gotten something amazing. The youths were happy, and even Xiong Wan’er drank a lot, to the point that her face was red.

Long Chen spent some time with them before he returned to his room.

Is Zhao Kongming a good person?

Long Chen had a feeling that something was off. Zhao Kongming had been so cold initially; he only smiled and warmed up after seeing Xiong Jun’s Barbaric Body.

But Long Chen couldn’t figure out what Zhao Kongming’s true goal was. He hoped that he was actually a decent individual.

“That puppet horse ... And also the Heavenly Fortune Pill ... What are those?”

Someone suddenly knocked on his door.

“Enter.”

The door creaked open, and in walked a blushing Xiong Wan’er. It was already late at night.

Under the soft light of the moon, her wheat-colored skin, tall body, long legs, and bewitching eyes were extremely deadly for men.

“Big Brother Long Chen, am I interrupting your cultivation?”

Even though she had drunk some wine, she was coherent enough to be careful.

“No. Is something wrong?”

“Hehe. It’s nothing much. I just got a letter from the Mech Bird. The people from my tribe want me to bring everyone back tomorrow, so I came to say goodbye.”

Xiong Wan’er looked at Long Chen with longing eyes.

“So Xiong Jun will follow Zhao Kongming?”

Xiong Wan’er nodded. “That is Xiong Jun’s blessing. I hope that he can achieve something and bring honor to our tribe.”

“Wait, did you say something about a Mech Bird?” Long Chen recalled Zhao Kongming’s black warhorse.

“Mech Bird? Don’t you know them? Those are birds made by Mech Spirits, which are a special category of Scribes. Mech Birds fly extremely fast thanks to the special runes inscribed on them. They can also absorb the Royal Qi in the air and turn it into energy. There are many different types of Mech Birds, and their speed differs based on their model. They are very useful.”

Xiong Wan’er looked at Long Chen as if he was the isolated tribesman instead for not knowing something so basic.

“Scribe? Mech Priests? Wan’er, can you tell me more?”

Long Chen trusted her more than the others. The others would’ve been suspicious of him if he asked them those questions, but because Xiong Wan’er trusted him blindly, the risk of someone suspecting him would be lower.

Xiong Wan’er was happy to be useful to him. “In the Three Royal Territory, there are types of cultivators like Armament Warriors, regular warriors, and the obsolete Beast Warriors. There are also numerous positions and jobs.

“Some of them are non-combat professions, with two of them being very special: the Scribes and the Alchemists. Scribes learn different runes and inscribe them onto Divine Weapons, Magical Artifacts, or other special materials to bring out special properties. They can also produce talismans for various uses. Some of the talismans they make boast incredible offensive properties.”

Long Chen knew about talismans. Even people in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory used those. He had once been targeted by a Firestorm Talisman.

“Then there is a special branch of Scribes called Tech Priests. They can inscribe peculiar runes onto special materials to produce different kinds of Mechs. The Mech Bird is one of them.

“Jun’er’s Master, who’s an Underworld Soldier, rode one today. You saw the Underworld Warhorse, right? It was made by a high-grade Tech Priest. It’s extremely fast and doesn’t get tired. More importantly, it’s also very strong! Every Underworld Soldier has one.”

Long Chen could understand that too. People in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory often used demonic beasts as transport since a human’s essence was limited. Traveling over a long distance would exhaust the cultivator’s essence completely. They would be vulnerable if they found themselves in a situation where they needed to fight during a long journey.

Here in the Three Royal Territories, because of the demon race and the Desolate Royal Territory, it was almost unheard of for people to use demonic beasts as transport. That was why the Tech Priests were born.

Xiong Wan’er continued, “It’s said that some legendary Tech Priests can inscribe runes that grant Divine Weapons the power of a cultivator at the Divine Martial Realm. Those legendary Tech Priests have to be at the Divine Martial Realm themselves, so there aren’t any in Scarlet Water City.”