bookrandom Chapter 68 A Simple Task
Chapter 68 A Simple Task
Half an hour later, the flying boat had reached the river at night.
One of the male instructors stood up first and bid farewell to the group.
The new recruits on this ship would be dropped down the river. The ship stopped several times to send off the various units. When it was Xueyan's turn, they were right near Jisui Mountain.
Zhong Ming shakily stepped off the flying boat. He vowed that, let alone cultivation, he would do anything as long as Instructor Xueyan gave the order: he would go through fire and water, even just stand by the oil cauldron.
After Xueyan disembarked, everyone was given a nameplate to prove their identity. The genealogies that had been handed in had not yet been issued. It was really strange. The stupid bureaucratic system was so slow in going through the process. Others had already received theirs.
She walked gracefully to the front of the neatly arranged line and gave them instructions.
They will travel to a place with a precious ancient tree that is thousands of years old, and take the entire tree away.
Normal monsters can be put into the spirit pet bag and taken away, but tree demons and the like require a special monster bag, which even Instructor Xueyan has to expend most of her spiritual power to open once.
"Instructor, what if the tree demon, which is thousands of years old, refuses to move... are we still no match for it?"
"Don't worry, little guys. Remember this, this is the advantage of the army. You can definitely handle our regular missions. Don't believe me that the tree demon has lived for thousands of years. In reality, it's only at the late stage of Qi Refining for a tree. You don't need to worry."
Xueyan thought to herself, what's the use of living a long time? Even a deer that's several decades old is afraid of a tiger that's only three years old. Instead of worrying about the tree demon, she should worry about the wild beasts in the forest.
After assigning the task, she tossed a military map to Zhong Ming. The other two teams, one led by the old hunter Matt and the other by a group of cultivators whose family had established themselves in the continuous mountain range, didn't need any maps for training.
Only when the bell rang did he begin to learn the Mandarin on the jade slips. Even looking at the words on the map would cause his brain to freeze for a while. He had to think about each word one by one, and after matching them all together, he had to think about them all together to understand the meaning.
Xueyan gave him a map for training, which was naturally well-intentioned, but the other captains were just looking to see him make a fool of himself.
Matt said casually, "It's alright, Third Captain. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask. I'll take you there. You don't need a map."
The other team leader was less polite, saying, "Can you even understand it? Don't waste your time here. If you can't, let me do it."
"I'll give it a try."
While studying the map, Zhong Ming skillfully stopped Yue Kaishan.
After studying it for a while, Zhong Ming discovered something. "I know this place well. I pass this road on my way from the Taoist temple to the Jishuishan Mine. I just need to turn here."
Zhong Ming doesn't recognize maps, but he recognizes mountain peaks.
"Report, Instructor, I may begin."
"Let's go."
Zhong Ming, Xuan Jing, and Yue Kaishan exchanged glances. The group quickly developed a unified style after spending a few days together: they would repay kindness with kindness and support with support from Yue Kaishan. Those who were kind to them would be treated with courtesy, while those who were unkind would be stopped by Yue Kaishan to settle scores later.
Xuan Jing took out several travel talismans from his storage bag. Once he stuck them on his legs, he felt as light as a swallow for several hours.
The captain of the second team couldn't help but sneer, "Do they need to stick talismans to walk a mountain path? Are they just bookworms who can't even run two steps and are already out of breath?"
"Shut up, you don't need to carry a wheelchair around."
Xuan Jing and Yue Kaishan, one on each side, worked together to lift Chen Dahai, wheelchair and all. Before the others could say anything more, Chen Dahai entered combat mode, turning the crossbow from its side to a semi-fixed position in front of him, then pointing it at the insolent men.
The bell rang and the run began.
He was very fast. Although he only had the spiritual power of the third level of Qi Refining, his physique was definitely not inferior to that of people in the middle or late stages of Qi Refining.
Xueyan easily followed behind Zhongming, followed by the rest of the third team, and then the first and second teams also started running.
Breathing in the river breeze blowing in the dead of night, Zhong Ming's heart pounded excitedly, sending fresh blood to every part of his body. His body, nourished by the dragon's flesh, was gradually activated, and his elastic muscles began to move.
He ran faster and faster, like an antelope running on the grassland. After entering the forest, he became more relaxed, as if he had entered his own backyard. It was as if he knew every tree like the backyard. He dodged and weaved through the forest, crossed the mountain stream, climbed the rocks, and called out to his team members.
Compared to them, the other teams are having a tough time.
The first team was doing better; the girl carrying the bow and Matt were both veterans, while the sword cultivator and the formation cultivator were a bit slower and followed behind. The three members of the second team were already panting heavily; they seemed to be the bookworms the captain had mentioned, not good at physical exercise.
After traveling for a while, the group with the help of the travel talisman easily maintained their running speed, while the others had slowed down.
The captain of the second team secretly took out a few pills and distributed them to his team members. These were common pills, and it wouldn't be a problem to take a little while Xuan Jing was applying the travel talisman. It was just a bit embarrassing to take them at this time.
They rushed forward quickly, overtaking a group that was taking shelter behind the giant moving object that resembled a "two-person wheelchair."
"Hey, old hunter, hurry up."
'The second team captain is at it again, being the conspicuous jerk.' Matt thought to himself, unmoved, but Zhong Ming knew the time had come.
"Ah, is someone falling behind? Then I'll slow down." Zhong Ming slowed his pace to a speed that even the slowest formation cultivator could keep up with.
The second team leader quickly said, "It's alright, hurry up. We'll block the wind in front. The mission takes priority, and speed is of the essence. The instructor said that war is not about reason, and a mission is a mission."
He said this smugly, as if mocking the others as "unqualified soldiers" who failed to complete their mission.
“Not so.” Xuan Jing immediately started talking. “How fast a team can go always depends on the slowest one. Don’t worry, since the superiors have assigned us the task, it means they have fully considered our situation.”
After saying all that, he still felt it wasn't enough and added, "Captain Cuihong promptly discovered the situation of his teammates and made adjustments, making him a reliable captain."
He gave Yue Kaishan a wink, and no one knew how Yue Kaishan's magical mask worked, but the entire team's speed decreased.
This made the three members of the second team who had taken the pills feel even worse than if they hadn't taken them at all.
In fact, Zhong Ming had to slow down; he wasn't familiar with the road ahead and could only walk slowly.
This military map is indeed detailed and clear, but the problem is, it's for military use.
Used by the army of cultivators.
In many places, obstacles on the route were not considered at all; even if they were marked, they were just markings that required jumping over.
That was a truly desolate and rugged wilderness, difficult to traverse.