Chapter 3: Arrival (1/2)
Zhongshan had been cleared out entirely, leaving the enormous plaza filled with numerous modern facilities that left the newcomer cultivators in awe. They saw soldiers walk by with uniform blades on their backs; a strange fusion of modern and ancient equipment. Regular guns had become useless as cultivation developed, and many national armories had been destroyed in the Apocalypse. For someone to still be able to outfit all their soldiers with standardized equipment was a demonstration of their power and influence.
Lu Yin and the other newcomers were taken to a huge square where they were encircled by the soldiers, both men and women alike. About ten meters above them was a square of clear glass that separated another area from which quite a few people looked down on the soldiers and newcomers while giggling.
“I wonder if there are any useful ones this time. It’ll be good if we could get someone of decent strength or even in the Realm of Man,” someone grunted from among the overlookers.
“Don’t get your hopes up. The Realm of Man isn’t easy to reach. Besides, the Executioner has already decided who the Realm of Man captains will be. Neither of us qualified,” a beautiful woman next to the man replied irritatedly.
“It couldn’t have been easy guarding tens of thousands of survivors to Nanjing, so I have pretty high expectations of this group. If you don’t want them, I’d be happy to take them off your hands.” a young man said with a smile.
“Stop dreaming. It all depends on how Feng Hong handles this. He’s the instructor this time, so he’s sure to get the best ones,” the middle-aged man said.
All the people in this upper area were captains at the camp. The camp held eighty thousand cultivators, of whom only those that had reached the Realm of Earth could become captains. Each held almost absolute power in Nanjing, with status second only to the Executioner himself. Sight of the Executioner was a rare occasion to the millions of survivors in Nanjing, so to most, the captains were the ones in power.
“Apparently, the Water Sage’s disciples are coming to Nanjing to battle one of us. Who wants to take on the challenge?” the beautiful woman suddenly asked with a grin, bursting into laughter when everyone went silent, “Rumors say that she declared the Snow Maidens invincible in the Realm of Earth. Don’t you guys want to defend your reputations?”
Nobody said a word in response, and despite a giggle the woman covered her mouth and went quiet as well. Although the common person might think that the Seven Sages stood equal, a few individuals knew that there were three high sages and four normal sages. The Water Sage with the Blue Camp atop her icy peak was a high sage, while Zhou Shan was only a regular sage ranked below her.
“Lu Yin, was it? This will just take a moment, so please wait for a bit,” the nurse smiled gently at him. Lu Yin nodded, thanked the nurse, and walked to the other side to wait.
It didn’t take much time before the tests on all of the nearly five hundred cultivators were completed without complications. Before much time passed, a middle-aged man in a dark military uniform arrived, exerting a wave of pressure that cracked the earth and left everyone awestruck.
“He’s- He’s in the Realm of Earth! A Realm of Earth expert!” Someone shouted, instilling fear and envy into the onlookers.
The middle-aged man stopped about ten meters away from the newcomers before speaking with a clear voice, “My name is Feng Hong and I’m a captain in this camp. I’ll say this just once: whoever is unwilling to enter the camp, leave now!”
Hundreds of cultivators looked at each other and people started to leave the formation one after the other. While the camp was powerful, those who enjoyed its shelter had to fulfill certain obligations as well. Many of these cultivators had never been soldiers, and it was quite normal for them to not want that kind of life. Lu Yin himself was in this group.
Almost two hundred people were unwilling to enter the camp, which was nearly half of the newcomers. Feng Hong looked at the departing group and said, “Joining us not only ensures your protection, but we will also look after your loved ones. They will be taken to a location near Zhongshan. Also, you will be provided with energy crystals to train and it is even possible to receive a battle technique from the Executioner.”
“What’s a battle technique?” Someone asked curiously.
Feng Hong replied coldly, “A technique that can allow you to exert twice your maximum power. The Executioner’s battle technique is the Storm Slash. I’m sure you’ve seen it before, I don’t need to explain that few can block it.” This visibly excited all of the cultivators. They had indeed seen the Storm Slash before— with just one attack, the Executioner had taken out all of the mutant vines and cracked the earth. Even the winds had shifted in the face of his overwhelming might.
“Can we learn that?” someone asked longingly.
“So long as they are acknowledged by the Executioner, anyone can,” Feng Hong answered coldly, drawing back many of the cultivators who had started to leave. In the end, Lu Yin was among less than fifty people who were still determined to leave.
“Take them away,” the captain waved them off, sending some soldiers to escort the group out of Zhongshan. Looking back, Lu Yin knew that the camp would erupt into chaos soon enough.
Outside Zhongshan were a substantial number of survivors and even cultivators. As Lu Yin and the others came out, the crowd immediately pounced on them.
“Would you like to buy some real estate? If you do, you can come to me. I guarantee I’ll give you a good deal.”
“Want to travel, sir? Don’t look at me like that. There’s way too many zombies and monsters outside Zhongshan, and without a guide, you’re sure to get surrounded in no time.”
“Would you like a weapon, Sir? I’ve got sharp blades, tough spears, and a lot of other options. If you want to buy explosives or firearms, I’ve got those too. How about buying some self-defense options?”
…