Chapter 407: Joining the Team, Initial Preparations

Chapter 407: Joining the Team, Initial Preparations

September 6th, 2024

After half a day in Feng Cliff City, Su Chen finally received an invitation.

This team already had five members, but at this moment, they were still recruiting more.

If they waited longer, they might even be able to find another team.

But after some thought, Su Chen didn't hesitate much.

Among the five members of this team, there were two middle-aged martial artists, seemingly in their forties.

One man and one woman, they appeared to be martial siblings.

However, for Su Chen and the other three, these two were significantly older.

The woman was named Tian Lan, and she was the team's current powerhouse.

As for the other middle-aged man, his name was Duan Hanchuan.

He was said to be formidable, but he didn't do anything within the team.

All he did was eat and sleep, and sleep and eat.

But if they wanted to keep Tian Lan, they had to bring Duan Hanchuan along.

However, Tian Lan also mentioned that her martial brother wasn't interested in this competition's spot.

Aside from the two of them, the other three members seemed much younger.

The team leader was named Dongfang Yong, and he was a relatively kind person.

During their conversation, he spoke rationally.

He wasn't the type to boast or act arrogantly.

He was someone with whom Su Chen could have a deep discussion and exchange ideas.

Su Chen approved of such a team leader; at the very least, he was willing to listen to advice.

After some negotiation, Su Chen agreed to join this small team.

The next issue to address was the registration fee.

They either had to pay the Golden Armor Kingdom or go out and slay demons, helping the kingdom resolve some border troubles.

Su Chen couldn't possibly carry a large amount of gold and silver with him.

After making their decision, they chose the path of slaying demons.

They rested for half a day.

On the second day of Heavenly Destiny, Team Leader Dongfang Yong gathered everyone to head into the wilderness.

After setting off, Su Chen realized that there were only four of them.

Beside him, another companion smiled helplessly.

"Brother Su, do you think those two experts will come to help us with the registration fee?

We can only rely on ourselves for these matters.

They will only take action when it comes to competing for the spot."

No wonder Tian Lan had joined this team of youngsters.

As they moved forward, Dongfang Yong led the four of them southeast.

This line was the most troublesome border for the Golden Armor Kingdom.

They landed at a certain location, and the three of them began to set up an ambush.

They had probably been to this place before.

The ambush spot seemed to be a location they had used multiple times.

"Brother Su, come and hide over here first.

If you stand in that position, the demons will have already spotted you.

They won't fall for this ambush again."

Dongfang Yong whispered, calling Su Chen over to hide by his side.

From the overall terrain, the spot where the three of them were hiding was indeed a well-concealed location.

But Su Chen had already discovered many traces of demons.

Several Golden Demons had already been here and even lingered for a while.

"Brother Dongfang, let's change our ambush position.

This spot has already been noticed by the demons."

Upon hearing Su Chen's words, the three of them couldn't help but frown.

He had just joined them and was already making suggestions and demands.

Dongfang Yong and the other two didn't seem to approve of this.

"Brother Su, we've had great success at this location.

If there were any issues, we would have encountered them long ago.

Why would we wait until now?"

One of them spoke politely, trying to dissuade Su Chen from causing trouble.

The other person beside him spoke with a hint of mockery and sarcasm.

"If the demons are watching us, isn't that even better?

We can just wait for them to come, and slay one as they appear.

It's best if more demons keep an eye on us, so we can quickly gather the required number of demon kills."

Dongfang Yong, standing nearby, gently patted him.

He signaled for him to be more mindful of his words and not be so sharp-tongued.

After hesitating for a moment, Team Leader Dongfang Yong finally turned to look at Su Chen.

"Brother Su, this position is actually quite ingenious.

It has excellent cover on three sides, and there are gaps for us to observe through.

This is indeed an ideal spot for ambushing and slaying demons.

If we don't come here, and others find out about it, they will definitely rush to ambush here."

Hearing Dongfang Yong's explanation, Su Chen nodded.

"I understand what Brother Dongfang says, and I also know that this spot is good.

But it has already been discovered by the demons.

Demons aren't that foolish; Golden Demons and above can easily counter ambushes.

There's been a strong scent of blood here.

The demons will be extremely vigilant as long as they catch a whiff of it."

Su Chen's explanation seemed to make the other two even more impatient.

Su Chen's gaze shifted towards Dongfang Yong.

"Captain, who is this person you've brought along?

One person finished speaking, and another followed suit.

"I understand what you're implying. To put it bluntly, you're scared and don't dare to face those demons, right? There's no need to make up strange excuses."

As the two finished speaking, Dongfang Yong seemed to agree with their words.

"Brother Su, ambushing here is the safest method. We have the advantage of the terrain, and by striking first, we can cripple those Golden Demons with our initial attack. When we finish them off later, it will be even easier and more convenient."

Dongfang Yong's tone was much more agreeable.

However, his words still carried the same intention as before—to persuade Su Chen to follow their plan.

Su Chen's reluctance seemed like fear in the eyes of the three men.

He appeared unwilling to confront the demons.

"Brother Dongfang, by hiding here, not only can you not kill the demons, but you're also being watched by them. If you wait here until you're exhausted, they might suddenly launch an attack, putting you in danger."

Su Chen's explanation didn't seem to convince them.

The more outspoken one among them even stood up.

"Didn't you say that we were being watched by the demons? I, Xu Rufeng, have a big heart. Tell me, where are the demons that are watching us? Point them out, and I'll go take a look. Let's see what these demons that are watching us look like."

Xu Rufeng stared at Su Chen, not really intending to go and take a look.

He was just saying these words to provoke Su Chen.

But upon hearing this, Su Chen directly pointed towards the northeast direction.

"Walk about two hundred steps in that direction, behind that bush. But be careful and stay alert."

Hearing this, Xu Rufeng seemed even angrier.

Holding his spear, he headed towards the northeast.

Dongfang Yong quickly stood up to dissuade him: "Brother Xu, there's no need for an argument. We..."

"Brother Dongfang, you saw it too. If we don't prove it to him today, he won't listen to any advice. After we teach him a lesson this time, he'll follow arrangements and orders in the future. It's better for us to take care of this small matter and benefit from it."

Dongfang Yong's face was filled with helplessness, and he couldn't help but glance at Su Chen again.

With a sigh, at this moment, Xu Rufeng was already walking step by step towards the northeast.

He also saw the bush that Su Chen had pointed out.

A messy bush with sprouting buds on its branches.

As spring approached, these plants, which had withered throughout the winter, seemed to regain their vitality.

Xu Rufeng's heart was filled with worry, but he still had some courage.

And this bush didn't seem to have anything special about it; there were no traces of demons.

Although much of the snow had melted, it wasn't quite spring yet, and many demons were still in hiding.

After walking a few more steps, Xu Rufeng's face carried a faint smile.

He was about to turn around and shout at Su Chen, wanting to argue with him again.

But before he could open his mouth, a Golden Demon with a brownish-yellow hide burst out from the bush.

Its sharp claws and bloody maw lunged towards Xu Rufeng.

Fortunately, he hadn't gotten too close.

And because of Su Chen's earlier warning, he still maintained some vigilance.

He ran back, and Dongfang Yong immediately drew his sword to support him.

Facing a single Golden Demon, the group wasn't too afraid.

But this Golden Demon's sudden appearance did startle Xu Rufeng.

Seeing the reinforcements, the Golden Demon quickly fled without pursuing further.

Su Chen, however, waited for it on its escape route and ended its life with a single strike.

Then, holding the demon's head, he walked over to the three men.

Seeing this, Dongfang Yong and the others exchanged glances.

They had previously called Su Chen stubborn.

But now, it was they who were being stubborn.

They had even talked about teaching Su Chen a lesson.

If they had been more relaxed, who knows, maybe when Xu Rufeng walked over, he would have been injured by that Golden Demon.

"If we're going to ambush, we should change our position. The smell of blood is too strong here, and demons are naturally sensitive to such scents. Normally, they wouldn't just pass by this way."

Su Chen's words remained the same as before.

He didn't ridicule anyone just because his words had been proven true.

Seeing this, the three men nodded.

Looking at Su Chen again, their expressions carried a hint of acknowledgment.

Su Chen had always been like this.

Unless there was a deep-seated grudge, these minor conflicts could always be resolved amicably.

On the rest of the journey, Su Chen took the lead and made the arrangements.

Xu Ru Feng, who was usually straightforward and somewhat hot-tempered, did not argue back.

Su Chen could tell that when he made arrangements, Xu Ru Feng still had doubts.

But despite these doubts, Xu Ru Feng kept his thoughts to himself for now.

He would wait for the facts to prove him wrong.

Compared to Xu Ru Feng, Dong Fang Yong had more trust in Su Chen.

Su Chen's performance just now was enough to earn his approval.

Within two hours, Su Chen's plans and arrangements were proven right.

Xu Ru Feng's doubts were completely shattered.

The ambush point that Su Chen had arranged seemed very ordinary.

To them, it appeared to be a location where demons would never appear.

They had even dug a shallow pit and covered it with dry branches and leaves.

Such a simple trap seemed useless against demons.

But surprisingly, the demons fell right into it.

Xu Ru Feng, who had initially been skeptical and dissatisfied, was now completely convinced.

In less than a day, three Golden Demons were slain, and the number of Greater Demons exceeded fifteen!

For these three, it was usually a stroke of luck to slay a Golden Demon in three or four days.

This was why they had believed in the previous ambush location.

At that spot, Dong Fang Yong had easily led them to slay several Greater Demons and a Golden Demon.

So they believed that place was a fertile ground.

It was like waiting for a rabbit to come to them.

However, most demons were clever.

If they wanted to use that location again, they would first need to deal with the scent.

They would have to turn over the surrounding soil to cover the bloody smell.

Now, that location would be meaningless, and they wouldn't set up an ambush there again.

As nightfall approached, the group left first.

In fact, hunting demons at night might yield greater results.

But these three seemed somewhat unaccustomed to dealing with demons at night.

They had struggled against the demons during the day, let alone at night.

Su Chen didn't insist, as there was still time.

There were nine days left until the competition for the Golden Armor Kingdom's quota.

Additionally, Dong Fang Yong's team had already slain a portion of the demons beforehand.

With some accumulation, there was hope to achieve the goal in the remaining nine days.

Of course, with Su Chen's current addition, success was guaranteed.

On their way back, Su Chen intentionally chatted with the three.

After today's events, the three had begun to trust Su Chen implicitly.

As the team leader, Dong Fang Yong wasn't the type to be stubborn, arrogant, or overly proud.

Some leaders couldn't bear to see their subordinates excel, fearing it would diminish their own prestige and make their words fall on deaf ears.

Dong Fang Yong didn't seem to mind this at all.

He had essentially handed over the command to Su Chen, allowing him to make the arrangements.

He showed respect to Su Chen, and Su Chen, in turn, respected him as the team leader.

During their chat, Su Chen was mainly inquiring about the martial arts prowess in this region.

From Xu Ru Feng's own description, he was currently at the Fourth Stage of the Heavenly Spirit Realm.

But when Su Chen observed his skills, his strength seemed to be at the Initial Seventh Stage.

So, there was a significant disparity in how martial arts prowess was assessed here.

There were many differences in the martial arts system compared to the Great Zhou Kingdom.

However, upon closer inspection, the martial arts techniques used were quite similar.

The methods were the same, but the terminology varied greatly.

After observing their skills today, Su Chen was still uncertain about the strength of other martial artists.

The Fourth Stage of the Heavenly Spirit Realm was roughly equivalent to the Initial Seventh Stage.

So, what level of strength did that equate to in this region?

That Tian Lan, for instance, seemed to be at the Heavenly King Realm, but what level of martial artist was he considered here?

Su Chen still couldn't quite grasp it; he didn't know what level his own strength, which was almost at the Fifth Stage, would be categorized as.

There was still time, and he had plenty of opportunities to find out.

Upon returning to Wind Cliff City, Su Chen realized that the group's residence was outside the city, and they had set up tents.

"Brother Su, you're new to Wind Cliff City, so you're not used to it yet.

Everything else in Wind Cliff City isn't that expensive, but the accommodation is exceptionally pricey.

The cost of staying overnight here might be enough for us to eat for half a month."

Dong Fang Yong explained to Su Chen with a smile, detailing the reasons for this situation.

Wind Cliff City was adjacent to the wilderness, and the infiltration of demons was severe, often causing trouble.

By raising the accommodation fees, the city had essentially established a natural defensive frontline.

One could only say that the city lord of Wind Cliff City was quite clever.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end