At night, in a small wooden hut, Ming Dong and Jianchen gathered together.
"From the looks of it, your injuries should be completely healed, right?" Jianchen looked Ming Dong up and down and said with a smile.
Ming Dong nodded slightly and said, "It's all thanks to the medicine you left behind. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to recover so quickly. Moreover, after this period of cultivation, my strength has reached a new level as well."
Jianchen nodded slightly and praised, "Not bad, you're already a high level Saint Master. With your talent, you'll probably be able to break through to Great Saint Master in a few months."
"As long as I have enough monster cores, I'll definitely be able to break through to Great Saint Master in three months." Ming Dong's face was filled with confidence. As soon as he mentioned his talent, he felt a wave of pride. However, when he thought of Jianchen, the pride on his face immediately vanished without a trace.
Although his talent for cultivation was exceptional, Ming Dong also understood that he was still far inferior to Jianchen. Jianchen only seemed to be in his early twenties, yet he already possessed the strength of a Great Saint Master. As for himself, he was already twenty-seven, a few years older than Jianchen, yet he had just reached the high level Saint Master level. The difference between the two of them was like heaven and earth.
Jianchen took out ten Class 4 Monster Cores and gave them to Ming Dong. He said, "Work hard to increase your strength. As for the monster cores, you don't have to worry about them. I'll take care of all your cultivation needs. However, you have to remember that increasing your strength has to be done step by step. You can't be in too much of a hurry, or else you'll leave behind any hidden dangers that might affect your future path."
Ming Dong had already experienced Jianchen's generosity, so he didn't refuse. He directly accepted the monster cores from Jianchen and said, "Don't worry, I understand this principle as well."
"By the way, do you know about the Mercenary Gathering that is only held once every fifty years?" Jianchen suddenly asked.
Ming Dong nodded slightly and said, "I've been out for quite some time now. I've heard a bit about the Mercenary Conference. I heard that it's a huge competition between mercenaries, and the battles are very intense. It's best not to participate if you're not strong enough. Otherwise, it's hard to escape death."
"Yes!" Jianchen agreed, "I also heard that the death rate there is very high, but the rewards are very generous, making all the mercenaries go crazy."
Hearing this, Ming Dong's heart skipped a beat. He stared closely at Jianchen and asked, "Don't tell me you want to participate in the Mercenary Conference."
Jianchen didn't deny it and said, "That's right, that's exactly what I was thinking."
"You better not go!" Ming Dong became serious and said, "I don't know much about the Mercenary Conference, but I've heard from others that it's dangerous. If you're not an Earth Saint Master, it's best not to participate. Otherwise, you'll probably die."
Jianchen chuckled and said in an unconcerned manner, "Don't worry. I may not be an Earth Saint Master, but I'm still capable of staying alive. A Heaven Tier Battle Skill is just too tempting. I have to give it a try."
Ming Dong immediately became stern. He stared at Jianchen for a long time, and only after confirming that Jianchen wasn't joking did he sigh helplessly, "Looks like you've made up your mind to participate in the Mercenary Conference."
"Yes, I have to participate. I plan to leave tomorrow morning. Come with me. The Huang village is far too quiet. You probably won't get used to it if you stay here for too long."
"Alright. I've been rather bored staying here these past few days. If it weren't for your return, I would've left long ago."
… …
The next morning, Jianchen and Ming Dong bade farewell to the people in the village. They left behind a large amount of food that they had brought in from outside before leaving without any hesitation.
Everyone in the village was reluctant to part with Jianchen, but they knew that he wasn't suited to living here. It was only a matter of time before he left. Only the outside world was suitable for him, so they didn't try to persuade him to stay. They only hoped that Ming Dong and Ming Dong could visit the village often when they had the time.
After all, the village was located in the depths of the mountains, so it was basically cut off from the rest of the world. Very few outsiders set foot in this place.
Two days later, Jianchen and Ming Dong emerged from the mountains. They then walked for an entire day before arriving in a grade 2 city. In the distance, the city gates were filled with large groups of mercenaries and merchants who were entering the city.
There were a lot of soldiers at the city gate. There were more than three hundred of them. Everyone who entered the city, whether it was a stout merchant or a tall mercenary, would be stopped and interrogated before they were allowed to enter. On the city wall, there were also groups of elite soldiers in full armor. They swept their sharp gazes downwards.
"What's going on here? Why is it so troublesome to enter the city? I don't remember it being like this in the past …"
"I think something big must've happened. I just came from Antelope City yesterday, and there are a lot of guards there. The entire city has been mobilized, and they're searching for someone all over the city …"
"You don't know, but my cousin is the captain of a city guard in a nearby city. I heard from him that a spy from the Kingdom of Gesun broke into our Blue Wind Kingdom and killed over 300 of our most elite Blue Wind Guards. He stole a large batch of magic cores and escaped. Our king is furious, and the entire kingdom is searching for this spy …"
At the city gate, many people were discussing this matter with relish. And when Jian Chen heard these words, he couldn't help but sneer. It was certain that the loss of this batch of magic cores was definitely an unbearable loss for the Blue Wind Kingdom.
After waiting in line for a long time, the people in front of them entered the city one by one. Finally, it was Jianchen and Ming Dong's turn.
"Stop, what are you doing here?" A few soldiers immediately stopped Jianchen and Ming Dong and asked.
Jianchen smiled and said, "Brother, we're both mercenaries. Of course, we're here to stay and replenish some necessities." Then, Jianchen took out his mercenary badge.
The soldier pretended to take Jianchen's mercenary badge and looked at it. Then, he looked at Jianchen and Ming Dong's figures and said, "You don't look like spies. Go in!"
Jianchen and Ming Dong entered the city without any obstructions. Then, Jianchen discovered that the city's streets and alleys were filled with portraits. The person in the portrait was very similar to Jianchen, but the strange thing was that the person's face was not depicted.
"How can we find the spy with just a portrait? We don't even know what the spy looks like, how can we find him …"
"I don't know what the spy looks like. Even if he stood in front of me, I wouldn't be able to recognize him. Sigh, why didn't they put up a portrait of the spy? How can we find him with just a picture?"
There were many people surrounding the portrait, looking at it, and all of them were grumbling.
"Haha, does the king of the Blue Wind Kingdom really think that he can find someone just by looking at this portrait? This is simply a fool's dream. There are many people with this kind of body, they can be found all over the streets. Don't tell me that you want to catch all the people with the same body type as the one in the portrait." Looking at the portrait without any facial features, Jian Chen said with a smile.
"That's right. If we don't know what the culprit looks like, these portraits are just for show." Ming Dong said in agreement.
Jian Chen and Ming Dong left and made their way into the city. After asking around, they arrived at a market that specialized in magical beast mounts.
The magic beast mount market was relatively quiet. There were only thirty or so magic beasts of various kinds lying in a large straw shed.
Although the magic beast mounts sold in the market were all very docile and had almost no offensive capabilities, they were very expensive. Very few people could afford them, so there were not many people in the market.
Jianchen spent five hundred purple gold to buy two rank three magic beast mounts that were good at running long distances. He then rested in the city for a night and left early the next morning.
There was still half a year until the Mercenary Gathering. During this time, Jianchen and Ming Dong had to travel nonstop because they were just too far away from Mercenary City. They had to pass through several kingdoms and travel several hundred thousand kilometers.
Jianchen and Ming Dong traveled several thousand kilometers in a day on their magic beast mounts. The dust they kicked up formed a long dragon behind them, causing many merchants and mercenaries on the road to curse them. However, seeing that the two of them were riding Class three magic beast mounts, they must be something special, so no one dared to offend them.
Two days later, Jianchen and Ming Dong left the Blue Wind Kingdom and ran in a straight line across the plains.
The two of them traveled as fast as they could during the day and set up tents to cultivate at night. After half a month like this, they had already passed through three kingdoms and traveled several tens of thousands of kilometers.
On a plain, Jianchen and Jianchen stopped by the side of the road to rest. Jianchen held a map in his hand and looked at it, comparing it to their current location.
"Ming Dong, look at the map. There's a first rank city fifty kilometers ahead. Let's go in and rest first and see if there are any better magic beast mounts for sale," Jianchen stared at the map and said without raising his head.
Ming Dong opened the lid of his water bottle and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. He said, "Alright, you don't lack money anyway. It's time for us to get a better mount. Although this Class three magic beast mount isn't slow, it'll take us at least two or three months to reach Mercenary City at this speed."
Soon after, Jianchen and Ming Dong arrived on their Class three magic beast mounts and entered the first rank city called "Valoise".
As a first rank city, Valoise occupied a large area and was bustling with activity. The main road was very wide and could fit ten carriages side by side at the same time. There were shops and restaurants selling all kinds of goods on both sides of the road. There was an endless stream of mercenaries and merchants coming and going on the street, making it a hubbub of people.
The management of Walaurent City was very good. Both sides of the streets were very clean, and there was no trash left behind. The streets were filled with passersby, unlike Wake City, where the streets were filled with stalls set up by mercenaries. Just from this point alone, one could see the difference between a first class city and a third class city.
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