Chapter Sixty-Eight: Misunderstanding

The Black Iron Tree Essence was the training material Li Kuang recommended to Lu Sheng. It was distilled from the Black Iron Trees produced by goblins, and its weight was already comparable to iron, growing even heavier after compression. After Li Kuang’s recommendation, Lu Sheng had him inform Wang Xian, but did not seek Wang Xian out himself. Nevertheless, Wang Xian instructed him to pick it up in the afternoon, hinting that there was something she wanted to discuss with him.

The remaining frogmen were quickly dispatched one by one; the battle concluded smoothly.

“Let’s go, time to head back!”

After spending some time cleaning up the battlefield, the whole team began their return journey.

...

“Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!”

The earth trembled as the sound of a moving troop echoed from the distance. A squad clad in iron armor, each riding a uniform White Cloud Horse, charged forward, their presence formidable—especially the leader, who gave Lu Sheng an extremely dangerous impression. The entire troop, nearly a hundred strong, sped past Lu Sheng and his companions without stopping to interact.

“Who are these people?” Lu Sheng asked Li Kuang beside him.

“Sir, they are from the Frost Gate, the ruling power in Ox Beetle City. That leader is Cao Bin, the fifth gatekeeper of the Frost Gate.” Having lived here for many years, Li Kuang was well acquainted with the major powers, even if smaller ones eluded him.

Lu Sheng nodded, satisfied with merely understanding their identity.

...

The group soon returned to the settlement, and after a brief tidying up, Lu Sheng headed to Wang Xian’s home.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

He rapped on Wang Xian’s door, and from within the tightly closed entrance, a voice quickly responded.

“Coming!”

The voice belonged to a girl—childlike in tone, with a doll’s face and petite stature—someone Lu Sheng remembered distinctly.

The door swung open, and Li Nuannuan glanced at Lu Sheng. “Big brother, please come in. Sister has already prepared what you asked for.”

Wang Xian’s room was spacious; upon entering, there was a large circular card-crafting furnace at the center, specifically used for making cards. Refining materials, compressing them, and crafting cards—all required this equipment.

Wang Xian was seated by the table in the hall, her red attire strikingly vivid. Seeing Lu Sheng enter, she waved Li Nuannuan over. “Nuannuan, you go back for now. Come again tonight. I have important matters to discuss with Lu Sheng.”

Li Nuannuan blinked. “Oh, alright.”

Once Li Nuannuan had left, Wang Xian gestured for Lu Sheng to sit and began extracting items from her storage card.

“Here is the Black Iron Tree Essence you requested, along with vegetable seeds and their cultivation methods.”

Lu Sheng accepted the items. “Thank you.”

“No need for thanks; what you’ve accomplished far surpasses these things,” Wang Xian replied, her voice melodious and distinctly different from Li Nuannuan’s childlike tone.

“There’s also a snakeskin undershirt here—made from the twin-headed serpent skin Li Kuang brought over this morning. My abilities are limited; this is the best I could do.”

Lu Sheng inspected it. “They’ve put some thought into this.”

[Snakeskin Undershirt]

Quality: Green

Tier: Second

A straightforward second-tier defensive gear—no skills, no special attributes. Though it was of little use to him, it was a gesture from his subordinates, so he accepted it.

“I heard from Li Kuang that you wanted to talk to me?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Xian recalled the scene from this morning when Li Nuannuan returned, her tone cooling. “Don’t have any designs on Li Nuannuan. She might be fifteen, but her mental faculties, due to certain circumstances, are closer to eight. I don’t know if you harbor any perverse preferences, but if you do, stay away from her.”

“......”

Lu Sheng was momentarily speechless—had he been mistaken for a lolicon? What had happened?

He stood and prepared to leave. “You’re misunderstanding something—I don’t care for flat-chested lolis.”

With that, Lu Sheng left.

Goodness, does that mean you prefer well-endowed lolis? And you claim not to be a lolicon! No wonder Nuannuan wanted to enhance her figure upon returning!

Wang Xian instantly saw through Lu Sheng and resolved never to let Nuannuan near him again.

Lu Sheng shook his head to banish the chaotic thoughts and returned to his room to study the Water Spirit Fruit Tree.

...

The Shi Jiu Squad.

At this moment, the entire Shi Jiu Squad was surrounded. A palpable sense of mortal danger enveloped them.

Shi Jiu’s expression was grim as he faced the other side. “Chief Qiu, what is the meaning of this?”

Qiu Ming stood calmly opposite Shi Jiu. “Where are Qi Yuan and his group?”

Shi Jiu was somewhat baffled. “What do you mean?”

A murderous glint flashed in Qiu Ming’s eyes. “Qi Yuan clashed with you in the Spirit Fruit instance last time and hasn’t been seen since. According to what I’ve learned, after leaving the instance, Qi Yuan and his group headed toward your Gale Gathering settlement.”

Shi Jiu was frustrated. “What does it matter where they went? Do you really think I could kill them?”

Qiu Ming snorted coldly. “You won’t cry until you see the coffin. Take them! Capture them!”

Combat erupted instantly—over a hundred surged forward.

Mu Kui cursed loudly. “Damn it, if you want to attack our Gale Gathering settlement just do it, don’t come up with useless excuses!”

In his opinion, Qiu Ming simply wanted to expand his power by targeting their settlement; the pretext was just a cover.

Shi Jiu shouted, “Fight your way out! Better to die than fall into their hands!”

Everyone unleashed their full power, revealing the might of the second tier for the first time. Any who blocked their way were instantly knocked aside—dead or wounded.

Qiu Ming’s expression shifted. “Second tier… How are these guys all second tier?”

He couldn’t fathom how this squad could all be second tier, but it only made them more suspect as murderers.

Qiu Ming rushed to intercept, a blade aura erupting from him. The aura was small, about the size of a palm, but none dared underestimate its power. Everyone dodged in time; the aura struck the ground, blasting a small crater.

Staring at the destructive force of the blade aura, the group felt lingering fear.

Qiu Ming made it clear he would not let them leave unharmed; they were in grave danger.

Wei Liang approached Shi Jiu. “Captain, later take everyone and charge out. I’ll hold them off.”

Shi Jiu refused without hesitation. “No, if anyone holds them off, it’ll be me—I’m the captain.”

Wei Liang pressed urgently, “Captain! This isn’t the time to argue. I have the ability to delay them; you don’t. Go back and get Lu Sheng to rescue me.”

Without giving Shi Jiu a chance to protest, Wei Liang dashed forward, a powerful aura surging from him, violet light shimmering across his body.

With the situation dire, Shi Jiu could hesitate no longer. “Attack!”

Violet light shone through the forest.

In the sky, two people stood atop a giant bird.

“Sir, it seems a talented individual has appeared below.”

“Hmm, let’s go down and have a look.”