Chapter 318: The Top Ten Mercenaries
The bustling and lively Adventurers and Mercenaries Association was always just that—lively. Since the day it opened, the noise had never ceased. This was also one of the few places in Anyang that operated 24 hours a day. It had no fewer than six full work shifts.
At dusk, the place became particularly lively. People came to post missions—and there were more and more of them. Even more came to take on these missions—adventurers and mercenaries alike. Although the association hadn’t been established for long, it already had a wide variety of strange and unique tasks, and it attracted many eccentric individuals.
In just the past few days, mysterious soul shamans—or so-called spirit-calling shamans—had appeared, along with eerie curse-wielding warlocks, mages who had given up their roots and longevity in pursuit of pure magical power, and other strange cultivators.
In Anyang, after careful experimentation, these diverse practitioners had finally started appearing openly. People suddenly realized that the rule of law was a wonderful thing: as long as one obeyed the law, even demons could appear publicly in Anyang. But if the law was broken, even a legendary saint of a hundred generations would end up behind bars.
But this evening, the association once again exploded with activity. A new mission had been posted, igniting the hearts of mercenaries—and, behind them, some newly rising commercial groups.
A large, eye-catching red title drew countless eyes:
“Save Nanyang County.”
What followed, naturally, was a display of righteous emotion and noble intent.
A figure cloaked in a dark, black-patterned robe read the notice posted on the wall in a hoarse voice:
“It is with great sorrow that we have learned of Nanyang County’s betrayal, having aligned itself with the Jin Kingdom. Millions of citizens are now trapped in a living hell, exploited by both Jin Kingdom and the Nanyang government. They have no clothes to wear, no food to eat; families are selling their wives and daughters just to survive.
Nanyang County has become a hell on earth. Kinship has been torn apart, hope extinguished. The people wander like the walking dead, trapped like animals on the unforgiving soil of Nanyang, waiting to be slaughtered. There is no greater sorrow in this world.
This king cannot bear it. I hereby call upon heroes to rescue the people of Nanyang from their suffering. You are hereby permitted to build cities on-site, settle the refugees, and take full responsibility for their lives.”
Rewards for Rescuing the People:
- Protection from Anyang County (you may request aid from the Anyang military).
- Build or rescue a city with a population of 10,000, or rescue 10,000 people: Reward of 100 taels of gold and 100 points. This reward is cumulative.
Example: Build or rescue a city of 50,000, or rescue 50,000 people → reward of 500 taels of gold and 500 points. - Build or rescue a city that can house 100,000 people and rescue 100,000 people: Receive 1 Primary Spirit Communication Treasure Mirror. Not cumulative.
- Rescue 500,000 people and build/rescue a city that can accommodate 500,000: Receive 1 Intermediate Spirit Communication Treasure Mirror. Not cumulative.
- Rescue 1,000,000 people and build/rescue a city that can accommodate 1,000,000: Receive 1 Advanced Spirit Communication Treasure Mirror. Not cumulative.
Notes:
- Nanyang County has an estimated population of 16 million, so the association has prepared:
- 5 Advanced Spirit Communication Treasure Mirrors
- 20 Intermediate
- 100 Primary
First come, first served.
- 5 Advanced Spirit Communication Treasure Mirrors
- Gold and point rewards may be combined with Treasure Mirror rewards.
Example: Rescuing 500,000 people = 5,000 taels of gold, 5,000 points, and 1 Intermediate Mirror. - Treasure Mirror rewards are not cumulative.
- You are responsible for your rescued city’s population. If the population is lost or the city falls, the association won’t revoke rewards already given but will deduct equivalent value from future rewards.
- No time limit.
- Excessive killing of civilians will result in punishment.
The hoarse voice wasn’t very loud and was soon drowned out by the increasingly noisy crowd.
“What does this mean? Why does this task sound… a little weird? It almost sounds like they’re encouraging us to… um… occupy Nanyang County?”
“Idiot, why overthink it? We’re going to rescue Nanyang County.”
“Hurry up and get to Nanyang already…”
In a corner, ten people were seated around a simple table—none other than the leaders of the ten most recognized mercenary groups in Anyang.
In the short span of time since Anyang’s rise, the ten major mercenary groups had emerged:
- Xuantian Mercenary Group, leader: Xuantian Zhenren, Nascent Soul stage.
- Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Mercenary Group, leader: Juedai Fenghua, a stunningly beautiful woman of noble bearing and seductive allure, like an overripe peach—too red, too tempting. Nascent Soul cultivator.
- Ironblood Mercenary Group, leader: Zhao Feiwu, also called Wu Zhenren.
- Tiangang Mercenary Group, leader: Zhang Hang, Nascent Soul stage, expert in talismans and charms.
- Windcloud Mercenary Group, leader: Bu Fengyun, also known as Fengyun Zhenren.
- Red Chamber Mercenary Group, leader: Yue Nu Jian, a female sword cultivator, Nascent Soul stage. Compared to the seductive Juedai Fenghua, Yue Nu Jian had a heroic air and sharp brows.
- Wandering Dragon Mercenary Group, leader: Jin Wanli, known as Youlong Zhenren.
- Seven Stars Mercenary Group, leader: Beidou Zhenren, Nascent Soul stage.
- Mo Feitian Mercenary Group, leader: Mohun Zhenren, a demonic cultivator—cheerful and lacking the gloomy aura most associate with his kind.
- Soul-Binding Mercenary Group, leader: Kugu Zhenren, a soul-calling shaman.
(Note: Zhenren – Taoist master title)
Among these ten, “Juedai Fenghua” and “Yue Nu Jian” were clearly codenames; their real names were not publicly known. Registering as a mercenary did not require disclosure of identity. Even opening a bank account with the Adventurers and Mercenaries Association did not require real names.
However, this anonymity came at a price: if passwords were leaked or identities impersonated, neither Anyang, the bank, nor the Association would bear responsibility. While Anyang would try to protect all data, they made no promises if things went wrong.
Of course, publicly disclosed names might not be real either; and declared cultivation levels or profiles might not be accurate.
At this moment, ten Nascent Soul cultivators sat quietly in the corner, surrounded by the elite members of their mercenary groups. Irrelevant onlookers kept their distance—but many whispered:
“As expected, true experts hide among the people. Just look—this Adventurers and Mercenaries Association has attracted so many powerful figures…”
Some people also muttered, “I’m afraid it’s not just locals from Anyang, but also people from other places who have come here.”
“Could there be undercover spies or hidden agents? This ‘Adventurers and Mercenaries Association’ set up by Prince Xian must have been a rash decision—like one of those decisions where you slap your own head flat.”
“Shhh, you can eat recklessly, but don’t speak recklessly. Be careful or someone might come knocking to inspect your taxes. Don’t you know? Although Anyang doesn’t punish people for what they say, a trading company next door to me kept badmouthing Prince Xian. Even after three warnings, they didn’t stop. In the end, a tax officer thoroughly went through their financials and found they had evaded taxes amounting to 120 taels of gold. According to the law, they had to pay ten times that amount in compensation.
As a result, the guy’s funds were completely cut off, which led to defaults and so on, and the total financial loss exceeded ten thousand taels of gold. Now? As far as I know, the guy is suicidal and gets beaten by debt collectors every day.”
“Beaten? Isn’t that illegal? Getting beaten every day—don’t the police care?”
“He agreed to it voluntarily, and even registered with the police. Each beating offsets 5 taels of silver in debt.”
“Ah…”
At the same time, the gathering of ten Nascent Soul-stage experts had a purpose: to discuss related matters—not just about Nanyang County, but also why Li Xian was allowing the development of armed forces so freely. After all, Anyang’s attitude would determine everyone’s future direction.
But the ten of them seemed unfamiliar with each other, and for a moment, no one knew how to start the conversation. They just sat silently, observing each other and deep in thought.
“Honored seniors and fairies, please excuse me,” a charming young girl approached with a tray. “This tea is a gift from the president, to thank you all for your contributions to the ‘Adventurers and Mercenaries Association’ during this time.”
“Wait!” Just as the girl was about to serve the tea, the one known as ‘Juedai Fenghua’ smiled radiantly and said, “Young lady, there’s an order in which tea should be served. Who do you plan to serve first?”
It turned out, these ten Nascent Soul experts weren’t just here to share information—they were also subtly competing for first, second, and third rank. The leaders of these ten mercenary groups were the current rising stars. But as the saying goes, ‘a mountain cannot have two tigers’—and these ten renowned experts naturally wanted to fight for ranking. No one liked to be placed last.
Their earlier silence might have come from this unspoken competition—whoever spoke first would appear to be yielding. Now, taking advantage of the tea serving, ‘Juedai Fenghua’ seized the opportunity to speak up.
Immediately, all ten Nascent Soul experts focused their gaze on the girl.
But the girl was neither alarmed nor flustered. She smiled brightly and cheerfully, “Anyang is a land of law, and everything is governed by legal codes. Among them is one rule: respect the elderly and care for the young; the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled go first. Esteemed seniors, who would like to go first?”
“……” The ten fell silent and gave up competing.
The girl giggled, “Please, seniors.”
As she spoke, she spun the tea tray in her hands, and all ten cups of tea landed simultaneously, not spilling a drop.
‘Juedai Fenghua’ watched with admiration and surprise in her beautiful eyes. “Such skill! At such a young age, you’re already at the Golden Core Formation stage. It seems Anyang is hiding many secrets.”
The girl wasn’t shy at all, smiling naturally. “Replying to senior, I’m just a student who barely met the graduation standards. Today is my first day on the job. If anything isn’t done well, please kindly correct me.”
“Graduation?”
“Yes, from the Star of Hope School next to the City Lord’s Mansion in Anyang. Alright, that’s all I can say—I won’t disturb you any further. But if you seniors have any questions, you can check at the information window.
Oh, and the information window just opened. I’m the one in charge of it. You’re all welcome to visit.”
After she spoke, the girl cheerfully departed; the ten Nascent Soul experts looked at each other, then turned to see Li Yuanming, who had come to inspect the association, offering a distant cupped-fist salute before disappearing into the back of the association, leaving only his silhouette behind.
The ten turned back and looked at the tea on the table, and suddenly their eyes widened—it turned out the tea was brewed with liquefied spiritual energy.
“This single cup of tea is definitely worth more than one spirit stone!” exclaimed Xuantian Zhenren, his tone filled with surprise as he looked at the tea.
“Hmph!” scoffed the ‘Yue Nu Jian’. “The spirit stones sold in Anyang cost 500,000 taels of gold, but the purchase price offered by Anyang is only 5 taels of gold. Fellow Daoist Xuantian, you tell me—how much is this cup of tea really worth?”