Chapter 550: Puzzled (1/2)

Chapter 550: Puzzled

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong became a national celebrity overnight because of this battle.

The entire Su City was trembling in excitement! The entire Eastern Cloud country too was trembling in excitement! News of the battle spread like wildfire form the nation's capital to every corner of the world. Western Frost and Northern Lands had already received the news. Other smaller countries would soon follow.

The world was shocked!

Xuan Nin was the creme de la creme of all shooters. Ye Chong's victory over the man cemented his reputation as a Master in Close Range Combat.

Residents of Su City were all excited. Ye Chong's method of combat was strange, but they were all grateful to have witnessed that historic battle! Besides, Ye Chong never imagined what a marvelous experience his battle with Xuan Ning was to the audience. When the battle ended, Ye Chong had already amassed a great deal of followers.

The first ever Master of Close Range Combat in Eastern Cloud, and in the world, had come from Eastern Cloud. This was the pride of every citizen of Eastern Cloud. The people saw Ye Chong as one of the most important people in Eastern Cloud. However, to members from other countries, Ye Chong was a man they respected, feared and hated. A Master in Close Range Combat was not of a particular interest to them. However, some of them, like Mu Shen, quickly found out the worrying news that Ye Chong was accepting a large batch of students.

For now, combat became the most popular choice of occupation, but the other combat schools were only superficial in nature. Only Master Ye's school was considered real combat.

There was no need for advertising. Ye Chong's personal brand was already strong. Young people who missed out on Master Ye's first batch of student intake were now eagerly waiting for the planned second intake.

Compared to Ye Chong's explosive impact, Duan Qian's emergence as one of the Top Eight contestants was only average news. Duan Qian was nicknamed ”Young Ye”, but he hated the nickname as much as he respected the man himself.

No prodigy would settle for being in placed second.

People in Eastern Cloud began to eagerly participate in combat. That was what Sun Sieha intended all along. Soon after, Sun Sieha announced a series of initiatives to encourage the trend, such as distributing standard combat training manuals written by Ye Chong. The

manual found its way to other countries in no time, and would become the most important piece of literature in the next few centuries.

At the same time, the military announced stricter requirements for recruitment in terms of physical fitness. They also advertised positions for people good in combat with alluring benefits, but no one had answered the ad so far.

A storm was raging in Eastern Cloud. Many events that occured in this time heralded the beginning of a new era. Shrewd people like Mu Shen would realize that Eastern Cloud was slowly amassing greater and greater power.

Ye Chong did not care. When the demonstration contest ended, he returned to his manor immediately, leaving Duan Qian no opportunity to ask him about studying under him.

When Ye Chong returned to his manor, the first thing he did was call for Sha Ya. Ye Chong asked Sha Ya, ”What's Darkniss like?”

Sha Ya took a curious glance at Ye Chong. She did not know why Ye Chong called her urgently to ask about this. ”Darkniss? Why are you suddenly interested in the place?”

Despite asking the question, Sha Ya knew that Ye Chong would not answer her. She paused for a moment, then answered, ”Darkniss is a strange and dangerous place. Usually, only shooters at Level 7 or 8 can enter and survive Darkniss. Surrounding Darkniss is the Desert and the Mist.

There is always dust in the air in the Desert. It's a wasteland, where wildlife is rare. However, creatures that call the Desert home are strong. However, as long as you avoid the terrible ones like the sandscorpions, shooters at Level 6 and above should be able to do just fine. The Desert is not too dangerous, but it's impossible to fly in a fighter in there because of unpredictable sandstorms.

After the Desert is the Mist. The place is as humid as the Desert is dry. The Mist is actually a forest, shrouded in very thick purple mist. The foliage is dense. Without strong parapsychic sense, it's better not to enter the Mist, since visibility is too low. There are many wild animals in the Mist. Most of them are insects, the rest are usually small. However, the creatures there usually move in groups. There are also many dangerous plants in the area, making it an overall dangerous place.”

Ye Chong asked, ”The mist, it's purple?” Sha Ya nodded. ”Yes.”

Upon seeing Ye Chong going quiet again, Sha Ya continued, ”After the Mist, you enter the heart of Darkniss. Darkniss is underground, where the light never shines. You can see red molten lava everywhere in the place, flowing like rivers. Darkniss has no sun, but there are more plants there than even the Desert. I've always found it odd.

”The animals in Darkniss are all very strong. Any slip ups can turn out to be fatal. There are gravstones everywhere in Darkniss. Gravstones are a unique resource found only in Darkniss.”

Ye Chong knew that this so-called gravstone was actually metal. They most likely exist in the form of metal ores in Darkniss.

”Shooters who enter Darkniss usually collect gravtones. They are rare materials that can be exchanged for better weapons from weaponsmiths. The amapolla wood you saw last time is also from there. Darkniss is rich with natural resources. Since the geography and environment there is vastly different, the things you find there are also very different from what we usually have out here. Unfortunately, few people can survive Darkniss. The Mist and the Desert that surround the place make Darkniss impenetrable by flight.

Ye Chong suddenly remembered the red-tailed beast sent from Western Frost. He asked, ”Have you ever seen a creature with a red arrowhead tail?”

Sha Ya thought back to her experiences, and then shook her head. ”No, never. There are too many kinds of lifeforms in Darkniss, and they are all very strong. We try to avoid their territories as much as possible. The creatures in Darkniss always kept to their territories, and will never exceed their boundaries.”

”Oh.” Ye Chong was intrigued. ”They never go beyond their territories?”

Sha Ya nodded. ”That's right. It's a strange thing. Ever since Darkniss was discovered, people worry about the creatures escaping the place into our world. You know, there are too many powerful creatures in there. To date, we have recorded more than a few species that are as strong as a Level 8 shooter. Some are even stronger still. No one knows if there are even stronger creatures in there. If these creatures escape to our world, no country will be prepared to defend itself.

”However, from the beginning until now, nothing like that has happened. Oh, now I remember something. There was a sighting of a giant wrapped in gravstone armor in Yedda City. That creature disappeared soon after it appeared. Duo Ka and his friend were worried about it, but ...” Sha Ya always felt sorry for Duo Ka's group, but since Ye Chong was involved with the deaths of those shooters, she quickly stopped herself from speaking further.

Suddenly, she remembered that Ye Chong was also in Yedda City at the time. She asked, ”Didn't you hear about it?”

Of course Ye Chong knew of it. That giant in black armor was Ye Chong's mech, Celest. Ye Chong now understood why he was attacked by Duo Ka when he flew Celest in the forest.

”I did,” Ye Chong answered, feeling a little awkward. He quickly focused back on Sha Ya's words. If these territories were real, why did the red-tailed beasts escape the place? Ye Chong would not believe that the vicious red-tailed beasts would obey these territorial boundaries. They were inherently aggressive and prone to expanding their territory. Besides, from the way the red-tailed beasts yearned for pure energy in his own world, it seemed more than odd that the red-tailed beasts would leave this place. The planet had so much energy lying around for them.