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Chapter 377: Ahead of Time

Translator: WQL Editor: Millman97

When the 5 people went back to the refugee camp, it was almost 2 pm.

Zerom and his men changed their clothes in Zhang Tie's tent; Zhang Tie then saw them off.

"No matter what, Thor Mercenary Army owes you!" the emaciated Professor Simon said as he embraced Zhang Tie to bid him farewell. Although they'd only stayed with each other for one morning, they had become brothers-in-arms.

"Come to Armes when you are free. I will introduce the hottest girl to you!" Jordan said as he gave a bear hug to Zhang Tie, "Thanks for that nickname, Black Cyclone, I like that!"

"You can bring me fortune!" Shrek also hugged Zhang Tie and sighed with feelings, "Now, Heavens Cold City is like a vault; to be honest, I don't even want to leave!"

Zerom also hugged Zhang Tie, "Take care of yourself!"

"You too!" Zhang Tie replied.

"We planned to go to Huaiyuan Prefecture; however, we have to give up on it; Professor Simon said we had to notify the headquarters of Thor Mercenary Army and let them prepare for the coming war!" Zerom appeared to be slightly disappointed.

"Why were you going to Huaiyuan Prefecture?" Zhang Tie was slightly stunned by this.

"Hmm, I heard an alchemist in Huaiyuan Prefecture had produced all-purpose medicament. After the event in Heavens Cold City, the various medicaments are in short supply. However, Armes is covered with poisonous things. As long as the antidote is in short supply, it will cause many bad chain reactions. Previously, we intended to seek a solution in Huaiyuan Prefecture; but now..." Zerom waved his head helplessly. As they only had one airship, they had to go back to notice Armes first about the more emergent information.

"How many vials of all-purpose medicament do you need?"

"At least 4,000 vials! Zerom replied. The trading volume of 4,000 vials of medicament was huge wherever it was, especially for a mercenary army.

If Thor Mercenary Army was under the control of Zerom, Zhang Tie would directly promise him by selling or gifting him the all-purpose medicament. Zhang Tie's life philosophy was influenced by his dad and his mom as he firmly insisted on repaying one's help. When he attended survival training in Wild Wolf Valley, Zerom and Captain Kerlin saved him in the cave. Of course, as repayment, Zhang Tie would gift his all-purpose medicament to him without any hesitation.

However, Thor Mercenary Army was not under Zerom's control. As a member who was though highly of by the management of the mercenary army, he was nothing different than a staff member in a business group. He was not even a shareholder. Therefore, Zhang Tie needed to consider it carefully. If he repaid his thanks to Thor Mercenary Army, it be not proper; instead, he needed to repay his thanks to Zerom and let Thor Mercenary Army know about Zerom's significance in the Army, which would be advantageous for Zerom's development in the mercenary army.

Many thoughts flashed across Zhang Tie's mind.

Zhang Tie smiled and pretended to take out of something from the vials container in his tactical vest; actually, he was taking out of 2 vials of all-purpose medicament from Castle of Black Iron and gave them to Zerom.

"Do you mean this?"

At the sight of the two vials of medicament in Zhang Tie's hands, Zerom, Simon, Shrek, and Jordan were stunned.

Under the sunlight, the crystal vials were radiating rainbow-like brilliance, which made the greenish yet golden medicament pretty mysterious. The unique symbol of Manjusaka on the vials instantly attracted their eyes.

"Argh, Manjusaka, I heard it was the symbol of the all-purpose medicament..." Shrek screamed before Zerom spoke.

"Zhang Tie, where do you get this from?"

"Why wouldn't members of the Zhang Clan have such good items from Huaiyuan Prefecture?" Zhang Tie casually answered.

Staring at the two vials of all-purpose medicament, Zerom's eyes gleamed, "I was told that very little of such medicament could flow out of Huaiyuan Prefecture. Nobody in Armes has even seen it. We just heard about its marvelous functions. Can it really replace preliminary antidote potions?"

"If you only used to detoxify, you would find it was more effective than preliminary antidote potion. Some of my friends have tried it, this thing could easily detoxify the toxin of a huge centipede!"

Hearing Zhang Tie's words, Professor Simon took one and started to gaze at it carefully. He seemed wanting to open it; however, he felt embarrassed to do that; ergo, he glanced at Zhang Tie, asking for Zhang Tie's agreement.

"Just open it, these 2 vials of all-purpose medicament are yours!"

Hearing this, Professor Simon instantly opened the clasp of the vial and moved it closer to his nose and sniffed. Soon after that, he looked very energetic. Seeing this, Jordan and Shrek also drew close.

"Argh, how come it smells so good..." Jordan shouted.

"Is this the smell of a super enzyme?" Professor Simon became a bit stunned.

"What, Professor? Shrek asked.

"Alas, I also wanted to be an alchemist when I was young. I studied some knowledge as a herbal apprentice and tried to make a super enzyme; pitifully, I failed it. I even wasted several years on this. At the sight of this vial of all-purpose medicament, I recalled what happened before..." Professor Simon waved his head in a nostalgic look.

Zerom then looked at Zhang Tie full of inquiries and desires, which could be easily felt.

"When you go to Huaiyuan Prefecture next time, you can go to Jinwu Company in Jinhai City. You could get all-purpose medicament there!" Zhang Tie told Zerom.

"Jinwu Company?" Hearing this, Zerom became a bit surprised. Companies were usually small trading organizations; the greater ones would be called commercial associations or business groups. He had not heard a company called Jinwu Company in Jinhai City of Huaiyuan Prefecture could sell all-purpose medicament. Zerom felt it was unbelievable, "Is Jinwu Company selling this?"

"If it were anyone else, they would not be able to buy all-purpose medicament from Jinwu Company even for a high price, but if it's you, you will definitely buy it from Jinwu Company. They can get all-purpose medicament for you through special channels!"

Hearing Zhang Tie's words, not only Zerom understood, even Professor Simon, Shrek and Jordan had understood who then glanced at Zerom with amazed looks. 'When did Zerom become so welcome? No matter whether Zhang Tie was bragging or not, it was very significant for Thor Mercenary Army that Zerom can get all-purpose medicament from Huaiyuan Prefecture.'

Zerom glanced at Zhang Tie and felt moved inside. Hearing Zhang Tie's words, Zerom finally confirmed that this teenager might have grown too powerful, so much so that even Zerom felt strange about him.

People didn't need to explain somethings.

Zerom then embraced Zhang Tie once again, "Take care of yourself, I hope to see you again!"

"You too!"

Zerom, Shrek, Jordan and Professor Simon finally departed Zhang Tie. Seeing them disappearing in the distance, Zhang Tie stood still in the wild for a while. He then took a deep breath and looked at the scorching sun before he returned to the refugee camp.

It was a sunny day; however, Zhang Tie felt chilly inside.

Watching their backs, Zhang Tie wondered if he would see them again; perhaps, this was the last time they would see each other.

Last year, Donder told him that the third holy war between human race and demons would break out in five to twenty years. So, according to Donder, the holy war would break out in 4 years; however, based on the information that Professor Simon gained through study and analysis of the demonized puppets, Zhang Tie knew that it would break out much earlier than estimated.

Zhang Tie only had one year to prepare for the coming war, instead of four years. Based on the analysis of Professor Simon, the puppet worms had lived in their hosts' brains for over 36 months. If not for the event, those puppet worms would've incubated for another six months to one year...

This was very important and frightening information, which meant that demons and their lackeys in Three-Eye Association planned to launch the war and plunge the whole continent into great chaos next year, next August at the latest — as was predicted by Professor Simon.

The world had become chaotic. What happened in Heavens Cold City was just the beginning; in the future, more and more places would become a hell like Heavens Cold City.

Zhang Tie didn't know whether the complete collapse and exposure of the Zhen Clan in Heavens Cold City would let demons and Three-Eye Association's some plans shift to earlier dates. Now that Professor Simon could gain the information through anatomy and analysis of the puppets, Zhang Tie believed that those big clans in Jinyun Country and the other countries and powers which took away not only one demonized puppet from Heavens Cold City could also work it out.

As long as they started to accelerate their defense towards the 3rd holy war, actually, they were forcing Three-Eye Association and demons to launch the war. Therefore, Zhang Tie and most of the other average people would have less time to prepare for it!

No war would start when both parties were well prepared for it. Wars were always competitions on speed.

Thinking of this shocking information, Zhang Tie walked in the refugee camp with a low mood. Seeing those extremely sorrowful and numb looks, Zhang Tie's heart gradually became cold.

At this moment, Zhang Tie was like a man running on the prairie; seeing the horizon in the distance, he thought that he could somewhere brilliant if he kept running like that; however, all of a sudden, that man found that the horizon was merely a mirage. Actually, he stood on the edge of an abyss and had no road ahead.

...

At this time, a red leather football rolled towards Zhang Tie and hit his foot, causing him to look around.

A sunny boy of 5 years old or so was running towards him, "Elder brother, can you kick the football back to me?"

At the sight of the little boy's smiling face, Zhang Tie became stunned. After circling around the refugee camp for several days, it was Zhang Tie's first time to see such a happy smile. It was like a ray of sun light among the black clouds.

Zhang Tie didn't react until the little kid repeated what he said. Zhang Tie then slightly picked the football by his foot into the air and held it by hand. After that, Zhang Tie walked towards that little boy and squatted, patted his little head, and passed the football to him, "Are you alone? Where's your dad?"

"My dad is catching bad guys in Heavens Cold City!" The little boy answered in a spirited way. "He's a police officer in Heavens Cold City. My dad also has the same uniform as yours. But my dad's uniform is blue!"

"Your dad is catching bad guys in Heavens Cold City?" Zhang Tie failed to understand it at once, Are there any bad guys there at this moment... No, is there anybody alive in Heavens Cold City?'

"Yes, my mom told me that my dad is very great. He has caught a lot of thieves before. We are camping outside; after my dad catches all the bad guys in Heavens Cold City, we will go back home!"

'Camping?' Zhang Tie looked around at the refugee camp filled with tents. Before he wanted to say something, he saw a 30-odd woman running towards him in a flurried way, "Argh, sorry, sorry, did Xiaoxing's [1] football hit you?"

The little boy turned around and told his mom, "Mom, I'm talking about dad with this elder brother!"

"Ah, Xiaoxing, go play over there, don't trouble this elder brother. Haven't I told you to not trouble others when you play?"

"But I was asking whether this elder brother had seen my dad or not. My dad also has a uniform almost the same as that of this elder brother. This elder brother is also in the police!" The little boy said innocently before asked Zhang Tie, "Elder brother, you are a police officer, right?"

"Ah...yes...yes!" Zhang Tie smiled.

"Are you catching bad guys too?"

"Almost that. But you dad is much sharper. I've not caught any thieves yet!"

"Are you catching bad guys in Heavens Cold City every day? Have you seen my dad there? How about him now? My mom said my dad would write a letter to me in a few days!"

The little boy didn't see it; however, when he asked this, his mom who was squatting behind him started crying tears instantly. The woman stared at Zhang Tie with an imploring look.

"What's your dad's name?" Zhang Tie asked patiently.

"My dad is Fang Weiqiang!"

"Oh, I met him before. When I went to Heavens Cold City last time, I saw him catch a lot of thieves! He's great!"

"Really?" The little boy became excited at once, "When you see him next time, can you tell him that Xingxing misses him so much? It's really interesting to live in tents here, I want to play together with him!"

"No problem!" Zhang Tie nodded.

Hearing Zhang Tie's promise, the little boy threw his football onto the ground and kicked it away. After that, he chuckled and chased after his leather football.

The woman hurriedly wiped off his tears as she stood up and thanked Zhang Tie.

For this mother's consideration, Zhang Tie could only let out a deep sigh, "He will find out about it sooner or later!"

"Just let him remain happy temporarily. He's still young now; I don't want him to know that he has lost his dad at such an age!" The woman looked firm and painful.

Zhang Tie then glanced at her, "I'm Zhang Tie. I live in the camp of Huaiyuan Palace, if you need my help, come find me!"

"Thanks..." The women dropped off her tears once again.

…

Zhang Tie then left the refugee camp. The woman had given him a lesson just now. From what happened to her and her kid, Zhang Tie learned that no matter how tough the road ahead was, one had to survive on. You might not decide what was going to happen; however, you should at least fix your own attitude.

'Even a kid could treat living in refugee camp as a camping trip and found pleasure among it, why wouldn't I treat the tough and unpredictable future as a gamble of my life?

'Although the future didn't look bright, at least I have taken the preemptive move due to all-purpose medicament. The sudden shortage of medicament materials indicates that the proportion of my all-purpose medicament becomes heavier in the market. What does this mean? It means more money and more chances to gain resources. Then, I will be more influential. Of course, more unpredictable dangers will come towards me.'

Zhang Tie returned to his base and found two officers of Hidden Dragon Palace waiting for him outside his tent.

"Are you Zhang Tie? The seniors of the Zhang Clan want to see you!"

Hearing this, Zhang Tie's heart pounded. "Seniors of the Zhang Clan have summoned me? What's that for?"

"Elder brothers, what's up?" Zhang Tie asked politely, 'Could it be that I screwed up by leading outsiders in Heavens Cold City? No way! How could such a trivial thing arise the attention of the seniors of Zhang Clan.'

"We don't know either. Just follow us there!" the two officers also replied very politely, which made Zhang Tie recover his composure at once.

He then followed the two officers towards the flagship airship in the far...

Chapter 378: Never Lower My Head

Translator: WQL Editor: Millman97

The airship parked on the ground was like a giant building dozens of stories high. Thick steel wires were pulled taut from the body of the airship and were firmly nailed onto the wood piles on the ground like those ropes nailed to the ground to hold the tents. If not fixed to the ground, such a colossal thing would cause a very dangerous accident when facing heavy winds.

To park a huge airship on the ground was as technical as parking a huge ship in the harbor. Zhang Tie learned how to park a huge airship recently. Looking at that airship which brought him a great sense of oppression, Zhang Tie was thinking about something in his mind—

'I've not entered Castle of Black Iron to eat fruits for many days. I wonder whether new fruits have grown on the small tree after killing so many demonized puppets over the past few days. Hopefully I can get another Trouble-Reappearance Fruit; then, I'd be able to try driving a fury-wind airship in the trouble-reappearance space.'

The huge airship was parked on a wide, sandy area; many people were accessing the hatch door at the end of the airship. It had observably become a temporary headquarters of Huaiyuan Palace in Heavens Cold City. Personnel only! Two rows of fully armored soldiers from Huaiyuan Palace were standing outside the hatch door. Without permission, no students from Hidden Dragon Palace were allowed to access the airship.

Under the guidance of the two officers, Zhang Tie smoothly entered this huge airship and came to the outside of a room on the second floor of the airship.

After lightly knocking at the door, the two officers said respectfully outside the door, "Senior, Zhang Tie has arrived!"

"Let him in!" a tender voice said from inside the door.

An officer pushed open the door and made a gesture to let Zhang Tie in. Zhang Tie then entered the room with various questions filling his mind.

The room was arranged in an elegant and simple way. An old man in plain robes was sitting on his knees and making a kettle of fragrant tea water. He looked both attentive and pious, all of his movement made Zhang Tie very comfortable.

Zhang Tie looked at his bloody clothes, then looked around the surrounding environment in the room. He instantly felt like a plate of dog meat served in a top-class cocktail party, which formed a sharp contrast.

Zhang Tie scratched his head, not knowing whether to walk forward to destroy the nice ambience or just stand still. To be honest, it was Zhang Tie's first time seeing a senior of Huaiyuan Palace. These seniors not only had a terrifyingly great amount of power, but also had a say in Huaiyuan Palace. What was more, this man should be Zhang Tie's great-grandfather.

Of course, Zhang Tie became nervous in front of him.

"Come here, take a seat!" The senior was very kind. He seemed to understand what Zhang Tie was thinking about now. Raising his hand, he beckoned Zhang Tie. "Be at home; people are the noblest creature in the universe; items might not match a man, yet a man is qualified to match all the items!"

'Items might not match a man, yet a man is qualified to match all the items?' Zhang Tie was shocked by this meaningful line. Therefore, Zhang Tie didn't hesitate anymore; instead, he walked straight into the room and sat on his knees like that senior before the teapot.

"Have a try!" The senior pushed a cup of tea in front of Zhang Tie.

The moment the cup of tea was pushed in front of Zhang Tie, Zhang Tie smelt a special odor, which was extremely delicate with a refreshing and rigorous moisture. He then thought about the scene in the mountain after the early spring rain.

Zhang Tie downed the whole cup of tea, but was shocked; he tasted nothing at all. The tea only tasted a bit sweet, nothing else.

"How do you feel?" the senior asked Zhang Tie full of expectation.

"It would be better with a bit of sugar in it!" Zhang Tie answered honestly.

Hearing this reply, the senior's eyelids quivered; he then watched his cup with the same kind of tea water for a short while before sighed, "Didn't you taste such tea before? It's 'Wild Spring', the top-class tea in Eastern Continent. How come you want some sugar with it?"

"I have not tasted any tea like this before; I only tasted tea leaves before!" Zhang Tie said with an embarrassed look.

Thinking about Zhang Tie's life in Blackhot City, the senior shook his head as he took his teacup and smelt the fragrance of the tea inside. After that, he took a sip carefully and asked Zhang Tie straightforwardly, "You took outsiders into Heavens Cold City today, correct?"

Hearing this, Zhang Tie's heart raced instantly. The old man continued sipping his tea; however, Zhang Tie felt that this old man immediately became taller and unshackable like a mountain, which caused him difficulty breathing.

This was purely a spiritual feeling. It was an all-round overwhelming state from qi field, spirit, ability, will and other aspects.

At this moment, Zhang Tie felt like a trivial ant. No matter how high he jumped, he would always be an ant. In contrast, this old man was a mountain which was hard to pass or compete with. Zhang Tie even felt that on a whim the old man on the opposite could destroy him both spiritually and physically.

After only a few seconds, Zhang Tie had realized that he was losing control of his body under such a terrifying suppression. He was now in an extremely powerful force field both physically and spiritually. The force field was like mercury spilling over the ground. It penetrated into his body without any obstacle and could even impede his nerve center and brain from sending orders to his body.

Under such suppression, Zhang Tie's straight back started to bend towards the ground slowly. At this moment, each of his cells seemed to be forcing him to lower his head with the instinct to kneel down and give up completely.

The senior was still sipping his tea leisurely with his attention on the teacup. He didn't glance at Zhang Tie at all.

'Is this a knight's force? Is this the 3-in-1 force mentioned by Master?' Zhang Tie was shocked too much inside. Although he was clear-minded, he felt helpless as he could only see his body slowly bending towards the floor. His head was closer to the beige floor which he was kneeling on; at the same time, the wooden grains on the floor became larger and clearer.

'No, I will not surrender to this... even if I die...' Zhang Tie screamed inside out of fury. Meanwhile, the veins on his forehead started to bulge. With full of his spirit and strength, he wanted to take back control of his own body...

Zhang Tie then saw some images in his mind: that teenager who was abducted by Huck and Snade and stomped onto the ground... Glaze throwing a contemptuous sneer towards him... the seven wild wolves who almost killed him... the hidden bolt covered with blue frost which was shot towards him after he walked down from the duel platform... those undead of Black-Feathers Army of the Sun Dynasty who wanted to tear him to pieces... Major Franca's wolf-like eyes...and the assassination attempt executed by that Zhen douchebag in Dragon Cave...

'No... no, I won't...' Zhang Tie's eyes turned red at once.

The spiritual energy in his mind was boiling up...

Zhang Tie's blood started to boil...

Every one of his muscles started to tense as hard as steel and iron...

When Zhang Tie's forehead was only one egg's distance away from the ground, Zhang Tie's hands which were put on his knees finally became fists.

The sweat over his forehead started to drip onto the floor one blob after another. Because of the narrow distance, Zhang Tie could almost hear the sound of his sweat dripping onto the ground.

Zhang Tie finally controlled his head; after that, he started to raise his head and straighten up his back gradually. Although it was a simple movement, it caused a sound of "Kakakaka" over Zhang Tie's muscles and skeletons like forcefully opening those fixtures on the metal processing platform which had been rusted for a long time

It took Zhang Tie two minutes to completely raise his head and straighten his back.

However, after such a short while, Zhang Tie was fully covered in sweat like he'd just climbed out of water. His combat uniform had become completely drenched. He felt even more tired than after fighting a whole day in Heavens Cold City.

Not until Zhang Tie raised his head and straightened up his body did the senior raise his head and peer at him with a shrewd light.

Zhang Tie panted. Even after drinking a cup of tea, he still felt his throat becoming hoarse. He then stared at that person opposite him, "Yes, I took four people into Heavens Cold City today!"

"Don't you know about the order?" The senior gazed at Zhang Tie as he put down his tea cup. At the same time, his kind gaze turned into sharp-bolts and shot directly into Zhang Tie's mind, "Why do you think you are an exception?"

Chapter 379: If Not an Ant, Be a Chinese Dragon

Translator: WQL Editor: KLKL

Facing the sharp stare of the senior, Zhang Tie replied without any fear, "I just did what I should do!"

"What you should do?" A forbidding sneer appeared on the senior's face. "Don't you know that Huaiyuan Palace is enforcing military laws here? You think that's what you should do, but you might lose your life according to the military laws. Since its founding, Huaiyuan Palace has been strictly complying with the clan regulations left by Lord Huaiyuan for hundreds of years. Even an heir who once violated the clan regulations was abolished and imprisoned for the rest of his life by the clan. Do you think that you are unaffected by clan regulations just because of your all-purpose medicament? Do you think that Huaiyuan Palace won't kill you?"

"I'm just a small figure. I don't think I am great. If I violate any clan regulations, of course Huaiyuan Palace could kill me!" Zhang Tie raised his head. "But as a man, I have to do something!"

"Oh? You still have an excuse for your actions?" The senior turned his furious look into a smile. "Is your excuse more important than clan regulations? Tell me about your reason. Do they deserve what you did to them?"

"One of them saved my life before. I have to return the favour. This is the first reason!"

"What about the second reason?"

Zhang Tie kept silent for a short while before he continued with a lower, yet firmer tone, "The information that was gained at the cost of over a million common people's lives doesn't belong to a single individual, the six influential clans in Jinyun Country or their privileged lords. Nobody is qualified to hold this information personally. If the news about the holy war was locked, more average people would become cannon fodder as they wouldn't be able to prepare!''

"You really think so?" The senior of Huaiyuan Palace narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Yes!" Zhang Tie replied with a louder voice as he puffed up his chest. "In the last few days, many powerful people have already gained the information they wanted from Heavens Cold City. I don't think those big figures and influential clans in Central States Union are the only ones who have the right to know that the holy war will arrive next year, or even in six months. Why don't other people have any right to know about this information, which is so closely related to their lives?"

The senior fixed his eyes onto Zhang Tie's face. His sharp gaze almost shot through Zhang Tie's eyes and entered his mind. "Do you want to know why? Because only these people and clans can deal the greatest damage to the demons and keep more people alive. Because of their great combined power and organizational ability, they are qualified to know more information than commoners!"

"Therefore commoners are destined to die?"

With an extremely solemn face, the senior replied, "Have you seen how ants cross a river when it has flooded? Ants cannot swim, so all they can do is hug each other in a ball with tens of thousands of them and roll over the river. During this process, many of the ants on the outer sphere are flushed away by the flood, leaving those in the core alive. This holy war is akin to ants crossing a river. In the end, some ants would be flushed away by flood. However, some would survive. Sacrifice is unavoidable. While we cannot make sure that every ant will cross the river, we have to believe that only those ants who are powerful enough to unite can decide the future of the ants!"

Zhang Tie knew he was right. When the holy war arrived, most of commoners who were not powerful enough to unite with each other would not organize effective counterattacks towards the demons at all. Instead, they would only think about escape, escape and escape...

'At this moment, the big figures and I don't think the same. They pay more attention to the ants who can unite with each other. However, I want those commoners who cannot unite with each other, who are doomed to be flushed away by the floods, to make preparations ahead of the floods, even just a bit. They might not able to roll over the river like other ants, but at least they could have a chance to find a leaf for themselves.

'Is anybody wrong? Nobody is wrong. Each person has his or her own stance. Although my idea is almost perfect, I could actually only help a few "ants". A Thor Mercenary Army of only tens of thousands of people was nothing compared to those big powers. I was just trying my best to help them in case of regret.'

Before coming to Huaiyuan Palace, his family members in Blackhot City were those ants, doomed to be flushed away by this flood in the eyes of those big figures.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tie smiled with self-mockery. Until then he didn't realize that although he was rich and more privileged than before, it was impossible for him to become a person like Lan Yunxi or the elites from other clans, because he could not think like them at all. His life experiences at the bottom of Blackhot City had been deeply impressed in his soul. Deep in his mind, there was a small figure, a poor guy, a flesh bag in the Iron Thorns Fighting Club, who would always do something at the sight of someone like him encountering unfairness or doomed to be cannon fodder.

Donder told him that according to a discovery made by human psychologists before the Catastrophe, everybody was actually trying to do one thing——to make their personality formed in childhood more complete.

'I can hardly understand the "good intentions" of the big figures. Instead, I only want to do something to make me and my friends feel better. I am both resigned to the coming adversities and rebellious. I expect this world to be a paradise where "everyone is equal". Does this expectation come from the small figure in my soul?'

"You didn't have to attend this action. Nobody has forced you to do that. But you came voluntarily in response to the summons of the clan. Additionally, you are very brave on the battle field. I appreciate it very much!" Seeing Zhang Tie stay silent for a while, the senior sipped a mouthful of tea and continued, "As it's your first mistake taking people inside the city privately, I will punish you according to the military laws of Huaiyuan Palace in the name of playing favoritism. Your clan contribution points for this action will be fully deducted. Furthermore, you should accept one hundred whips. Do you agree?"

"A country has its national laws, similarly, a clan has its regulations. As I have violated the regulations of Huaiyuan Palace, I accept the punishment voluntarily!" Zhang Tie said in a low voice.

"Hmm. There's another thing that you need to know. Someone of the Zhen clan once worked in the Alchemists Association of Jinyun Country. The quantity of vials that you ordered from Alchemists Association was too large and had attracted his attention. Therefore, the Zhen clan arranged for someone to assassinate you on Hidden Dragon Island. Additionally, the Zhen clan are members of the Three-Eye Association, which was developed by demons among the human race. After they heard that you can realize mass-production of all-purpose medicament, the other clans and members in Three-Eye Association probably already knew about it too. Therefore, you are in a very dangerous situation right now!"

"Three-Eye Association wants to kill me?" Zhang Tie was shocked by this information. He thought that he had solved the problem after sweeping then Zhen Clan. However, he had not imagined that Zhen's attack on him might only be the beginning, as Three-Eye Association was backing the Zhen Clan and might still be watching him at this moment.

"Based on Three-Eye Association's style, when we are on the verge of the third holy war, they will eliminate anyone who can reinforce the overall strength of the human race and help the human race to fight demons. Recently many alchemists have been assassinated, and a senior clan of the Carlo Federal Alchemists Association was swept. According to our investigations, these actions were done by Three-Eye Association. As you are much more valuable than a common senior alchemist, Three-Eye Association will definitely try to find a way to get rid of you!"

"Thanks for your warning, senior. I will take care of myself!"

"After the Zhen Clan's real status is exposed, Three-Eye Association will be in the thick of the storm. They might be lurking for a while more. Therefore, you should still be safe for a short period of time. If you agree, our clan can assign powerhouses to protect you!"

"I think the best protection is to disappear. I prefer if nobody can find me, or if Three-Eye Association just thinks that getting rid of me is not worth the trouble. I will deal with it myself!" Zhang Tie considered for a short while before he refused the senior's help.

One minute later, Zhang Tie left the senior's room with a calm look.

To tell the truth, the Zhang Clan's punishment to him for bringing outsiders into Heavens Cold City was fair. Zhang Tie wasn't grateful or resentful towards the Zhang Clan for the punishment. Instead, he thought he deserved the punishment. However, through this he felt an invisible chasm between him and those big figures, which also existed between him and Huaiyuan Palace.

This chasm was not cause by interest disputes, but purely the differences in values and world views. The big figures' distant attitude towards small figures and average people from the event in Heavens Cold City made Zhang Tie very uncomfortable.

If the Central States Alliance or Huaiyuan Palace could make a detailed announcement about the coming holy war, they'd spare time for commoners to prepare and they might be able to save the lives of hundreds of millions of people. However, Zhang Tie knew that he was dreaming.

When he left the senior's room, Zhang Tie recalled the faces of his friends still in Blackhot City and Bulapei——Barley, Owen, Doug, Hista, Bagdad, Leit, Alice, Beverly, Hanna, girls of Rose Association and...Miss Daina.

Zhang Tie knew that these people were the "ants" that would be flushed away by the flood. During the long holy war, their lives had become trivial. If they could survive the holy war it meant they were lucky. However, if not it was nothing strange. Even though the holy war was coming, nobody felt it was necessary to notice them at all.

This made Zhang Tie uncomfortable and furious.

After that, Zhang Tie saw Lan Yunxi in the airship. A few days before, Zhang Tie had heard that Lan Yunxi forcefully triggered her ancestral bloodline and killed three powerhouses of the Zhen clan who were above level 10 when she assaulted Heavens Cold City. Because of this, her primordial qi was heavily weakened. She needed to recuperate for a period. Therefore, she left the battle field from then on.

Zhang Tie had seen many people to inquire about her whereabouts, yet nobody knew where she had gone. He even thought that Lan Yunxi had returned to Huaiyuan Palace for recuperation. Therefore, Zhang Tie was a bit amazed at the sight of Lan Yunxi in the airship.

She was followed by a man, who was over twenty years old. With sword-like eyebrows and sparkling eyes, the man was as white as jade. He was robust and tall in a blue silk warrior's robe. A long sword was hanging at his waist. What a handsome guy! Walking together with Lan Yunxi, the man was not overwhelmed by Lan Yunxi's qi field at all. Instead, he kept laughing and jesting with Lan Yunxi.

Zhang Tie passed by them calmly without even glancing at them.

When she brushed past Zhang Tie's shoulder, Lan Yunxi peered at him and slightly bit her lip instead of saying anything. In contrast, the man completely ignored Zhang Tie.

"Younger sister Xi, here's the Jade Marrow Primordial Qi Recovery Ointment. I had my man bring this from Shantai Family in Qinghua Mountain by airship. I hope it can help you recuperate as soon as possible."

After he'd walked two steps away from them, Zhang Tie heard the man's voice. He then clenched his fist and felt jealous inside.

...

Five minutes later, Zhang Tie accepted his punishment in the open square of the camp of Hidden Dragon Palace, which aroused the attention of many people.

"Zhang Tie, student of Hidden Dragon Palace, brought outsiders into Heavens Cold City privately by playing favoritism. As punishment, all the clan contribution points that he gained through joining the action of assaulting Heavens Cold City were cancelled. Additionally, he will suffer one-hundred whips!" A military inspector of Huaiyuan Palace declared Zhang Tie "guilty" after glancing over the onlookers. He then ordered a soldier to execute the punishment on Zhang Tie.

Hearing this, all the onlookers exchanged glances with each other. Zhang Tie's performance in Heavens Cold City in the last few days was very outstanding, which brought him a good reputation. However, it was really beyond everyone's imagination that he could suffer such a punishment. Therefore, everybody just watched silently.

A two meter high pile of wood was fixed on the ground in front of Zhang Tie. An iron chain was fixed on the wood pile which was used to handcuff the offender's hands.

The soldier then walked towards Zhang Tie and wanted to fix Zhang Tie's hands onto the wood pile.

"I will stand still right here, just whip!" Zhang Tie took off his shirt, exposing his robust back.

"The whip in the army is no joke. It's a dragon whip made of the large tendons of mutated killer whales and steel wires. An average person would pass out with only 3 whips. I suggest you to respect this whip. Otherwise, you might lose your honor in public. I respect you as a tough guy considering your excellent performance in Heavens Cold City recently, therefore, I am warning you about this!" The inspector murmured to Zhang Tie.

"Thanks, no need. I want to know whether the whips of Huaiyuan Palace can wake me up a bit!" After saying this, Zhang Tie smiled at Ma Aiyun and the other girls who had concerned looks.

After another glance at Zhang Tie, the inspector moved back as he nodded towards a muscular, barebacked, tough-looking guy who was holding a whip and preparing to execute the punishment. The tough guy then opened a rosewood box on his side and took out a black whip, which was as thick as a kid's arm. He then raised the whip in the air to show it around to the onlookers. After that, he dipped the whip in the water barrel before he pulled it out. After that, he slapped it towards Zhang Tie's back...

With an air-breaking sound, "Si..." he lashed the whip onto Zhang Tie's back, producing a crispy sound, "Pah..."

Hearing that sound, all the onlookers felt their hairs stand on end.

Although he had a blood stain on his back, Zhang Tie was still standing there as firm as an iron pillar with the exception of a slight frown.

After slashing Zhang Tie with the whip, the tough man found that Zhang Tie didn't respond at all. He then moved his whip in front of his eyes to check whether or not it was broken. After finding no problem with the whip, he continued.

"Pah..."

"Pah..."

"Pah..."

In a wink, the tough guy had lashed over twenty whips. Not only did the onlookers change their looks, but even the executor changed his facial expression. Such a whip could even leave a mark on a rock, not to mention a person. However, Zhang Tie just stood there, still as a statue. The muscles on his back didn't even twitch a bit.

At the beginning, Zhang Tie would slightly frown after each lash. However, after ten lashes, he wouldn't even frown a bit. Instead, he looked calm after each lash.

The onlookers had never seen a person who could stand more than twenty dragon whips without even moving a bit. They had not even heard of such a thing before.

More and more people came to watch, not only those from Hidden Dragon Palace, even many soldiers from Hurricane Army and Breaking Sun Army of Huaiyuan Palace had arrived. At the sight of Zhang Tie's performance they were all stunned.

After lashing the whip more than ten times with his full strength, the tough guy started to pant slightly.

"Harder, have you eaten food? This is no fun! Change to another executor!" Zhang Tie roared.

The moment he shouted, someone among the crowd instantly yelled, "Tough guy!"

With a solemn face, the inspector walked over. He took the whip and started to lash it onto Zhang Tie's back, causing a shrill, air-cutting and cracking sound on his back.

Then, gradually, all the onlookers started to count for him loudly.

"58..."

"59..."

"60..."

The sound of counting grew louder and louder, which even aroused the attention of people far away.

Hearing the increasingly louder yells outside the airship, the senior of Huaiyuan Palace, who was tasting tea calmly in his room, frowned. He walked towards the window and looked outside. Because the body of the airship was very high, the senior noticed Zhang Tie, who was standing still like an iron pillar and suffering from the punishment.

At this moment another man also walked towards the window in the room and watched.

"What a pity." Watching Zhang Tie being lashed, he shook his head slightly. "This young man is too merciful. Since he experienced the assassination on Hidden Dragon Island, I feel he's always estranged himself from Huaiyuan Palace on purpose!"

"It's normal. After all, he's new in Huaiyuan Palace and has no strong background. For a young man who was to be assassinated by a guard arranged by the clan, he is already brave enough to keep the previous partnership with Long Wind Business Group and stay on Hidden Dragon Island!" Although having scolded Zhang Tie just now, the senior started to appreciate him at this moment.

"I think that Huaiyuan Palace should master the manufacturing method of all-purpose medicament. If this young man encounters a worse situation, I'm afraid that nobody else will be able to produce it any more! For the sake of the Zhang Clan, it's not a good thing for him or Huaiyuan Palace if all-purpose medicament is under the control of this young man! This is nothing different than a baby holding a treasure passing through the boisterous market!"[1]

The senior of Huaiyuan Palace then smiled proudly, "The reason Huaiyuan Palace is so powerful is not because of a small bottle of medicament. No matter what, the manufacturing method of all-purpose medicament is in the hands of Lord Huaiyuan's descendant. That's enough! If Huaiyuan Palace forces or cheats him into submitting the manufacturing method for all-purpose medicament, it would ruin the cohesiveness of the clan members. If so, do you think that Huaiyuan Palace can survive this holy war, considering the powerful capabilities of those people who cast their greedy eyes on Huaiyuan Palace?"

"It's really pitiful..."That man sighed as he watched Zhang Tie from afar, "If this boy could be a bit more docile, he would become another ferocious general in Huaiyuan Palace in a couple of years. But now, I feel this brat is not completely standing in line with Huaiyuan Palace. As he dares to take outsiders into Heavens Cold City privately and violates the rules of Huaiyuan Palace, he might do something more excessive in the future. Additionally, I'm afraid that he will not help Huaiyuan Palace do anything after the one-hundred whips!"

"No matter who he is, as long as he violates the rules of Huaiyuan Palace, he should be punished! In future, as long as he doesn't betray Huaiyuan Palace, defame his ancestors or impact the interests of Huaiyuan Palace, just take him as a freak. Oh, what about that investigation?"

"We've confirmed that this brat has nothing to do with that event. First, he's not able to do that, especially considering the many people in the conference room of the Zhen Clan Mansion. He would not be able to kill them all in a short period before some of them even moved a bit. Second, he was drinking with his friends in Jinwu Castle until midnight that night. On the 2nd day, he was still on Hidden Dragon Island. Unless he could fly, he could not swim over 1000 miles over night to do this. Additionally, no airships or ships were recorded as leaving Hidden Dragon Island that night, neither on the next morning. Last but not least, how could he know about Zhen's arrangement in Huaiyuan Palace? When the Zhen Clan was scheming about Huaiyuan Palace, he was still in Blackhot City. Therefore, we've confirmed that another powerhouse who cultivated Iron-Blood Fist must have been involved with the event in the Zhen Clan Mansion."

"Who could that guy be?" The senior of Huaiyuan Palace also frowned.

...

In another room of the airship, Lan Yunxi watched Zhang Tie from afar as her face started to turn pale gradually.

...

"97..."

"98..."

"99..."

"100..."

With the last cracking sound, the yells among the crowd stopped. Then, the onlookers became quiet. Everybody was gazing at Zhang Tie. At this moment, Ma Aiyun and the other girls who got along well with Zhang Tie ran over, full of tears.

Yuan Ziyi took out wound medicine and started to rub it over Zhang Tie's back. At the same time, Gu Caidie had brought Zhang Tie's coat over and put it on for him.

However, Zhang Tie kept watching the clouds in the sky, which looked like ants and robust dragons. The one-hundred whips really woke him up. Just now, among the ever terrifying pain, his mind was unprecedentedly clear. Watching the clouds in the sky, he thought through many things.

"Zhang Tie, are you okay?" asked Ma Aiyun. Finding Zhang Tie absent-minded, she touched his forehead out of concern. She was afraid that Zhang Tie was driven mad by the whips.

"Senior sister Ma, I'm okay!" Zhang Tie grinned with a big smile. At the sight of Zhang Tie's smile, Ma Aiyun finally felt reassured.

When he was being lashed just now, Zhang Tie didn't feel pain at all. However after the punishment was over, when he moved his hand intending to pull out something from his bag, he felt his whole body had been cut into pieces, which made his face twist slightly.

"What do you want? I'll help you!" Ma Aiyun pressed Zhang Tie's hand, "Do you want all-purpose medicament?"

"No, it's my purse!" Zhang Tie answered as he gasped, "Senior sister Ma, please take out my purse and help me buy meat and alcohol from the Logistics Division for 150 people!"

"You still think about eating and drinking?" Ma Aiyun popped her eyes out at once.

"I've promised some cavalry brothers in Taishi Clan I'd drink with them tonight. I cannot eat my words. You come together with me. Don't forget to call Liu Xu, Wei Wu and Liu Yunfei when they come back, just to see me off!"

"What? You want to go?"

Hearing Zhang Tie's words, Yuan Ziyi, who was rubbing medicine over Zhang Tie's back, suddenly shook her hand, causing Zhang Tie to frown once again.

Zhang Tie then nodded, "I feel it's not proper for me to stay here any longer!" After saying this, Zhang Tie saw the girls' faces turn ashen at the same time. Soon after that, Zhang Tie revealed a sunny smile as he lowered his voice and murmured with a sneaky look, "Are you wanting to see me raising my buttocks on the bed, my senior sisters? I don't know whether that gesture is sexy or not. If you really want to have a look, come for me in Jinwu Castle silently. I will show it to you for free, either with pants or not..."

Having felt like crying just before, Yuan Ziyi instantly burst out laughing. As she wasn't being careful about the force from her hands, Zhang Tie uttered a ground-breaking, miserable shriek at once as he almost jumped up, "Argh, d*mn, lighter please..."

The onlookers who had intended to move closer to him instantly stopped after hearing Zhang Tie's shrill shriek like a pig being slaughtered. They then exchanged glances with each other and questioned to themselves, "Where's that tough guy? How come that tough guy disappeared after being lashed? Was he pretending just now? Why not pretend a bit longer? Why so embarrassing now..."

...

That night, Zhang Tie, Taishi Ci, Liu Xu, Yang Yuankang, Ma Aiyun and some cavalry brothers of Taishi Clan sat around bonfires and drunk until midnight.

After Zhang Tie returned to his tent in a half-cocked way, a shadow drilled into his tent.

"Senior sis Ma..."

Zhang Tie became awake immediately. However, his mouth had been blocked by a hot face...

What a nice wet dream...

Chapter 380: A Strange Place

Translator: WQL Editor: EbonyFrost

On the tranquil sea with tender waves an old wooden trawler longer than 30 m was wobbling harshly.

The lacquer on the body of the trawler below the drafting line almost faded away. The earsplitting sound of the steam engines in the engine room also indicated that the working condition of the most important machine in the trawler had been much worse than before, like an old ox who was still pulling an oxcart and climbing the slope.

A flock of jagers was following after this trawler. Having been living in the sea area for a long time, these jagers knew that when sailors hauled their nets, they would throw small-sized sardines and parwns back into the sea. Those jagers would enjoy their meal at that moment.

If sailors had a nice mood they would even throw the fish and prawns into the air. Seeing this, those jagers would directly bite them in the air as if performing acrobatic stunts.

The jagers had already followed after this obsolete trawler for a whole morning, during which periold, the sailors cast their net 6 times, 2 of which had nice gains which the jagers also enjoyed.

At this moment, a greater part of the fishhold had been filled with fish and prawns. With tons more weight, the old-ox like engine uttered a more jarring sound.

Besides, even the jagers in the sky started to tweet loudly.

"Boss, just cast the net. Even those jagers can't wait any more!" A sailor shouted loudly.

Beside the shipboard, a middle-aged tough man whose face had been full of wrinkles due to the long-term effect of sea wind was holding a tobacco pipe in the mouth. He was gazing at the seawater attentatively, wanting to see through the sea water.

After hearing the sailor's scream, he raised his eyes towards the sky before waving his robust arm forcefully and sent the order loudly, "Cast the net! After hauling this net, we will go back home!"

Seeing his gesture, all the sailors started to cast the well-arranged net into the sea by sections from the stern of the trawler.

The man being called boss then came to the cab from the shipboard and told to the helmsman, "Maund, starboard the helm! I feel ocean currents under the sea. Those silver-headed spotted fish always like to follow ocean currents!"

"Yes, sir!" The helmsman then turned around to check whether those sailors had finished casting their net. The moment they finished doing that, the helmsman had started to starboard the helm to steer the trawler towards the right.

The boss then came onto the deck to watch the buoys on the net together with the sailors.

"Boss, Pike[1] is too old. It has almost run for 10 years. Why not get a new one for us..."

"Yes, it's such an unprecedented good market recently. Any seafood would be sold out the moment they reach the market. Those purchasers from canning factories in the downtown are squatting in the wharf every day. As long as they see us, they would charge at us like that we were beauties. We begged them before, but now, it's the complete opposite!"

"I was told that those canning factories really had good business nowadays. They work overtime every day. There are so many orders that they just can't deal with them all!"

"When I was in the tavern, I was told by a sailor that it was pretty chaotic on the continent recently. It seems like war will break out soon. A city might have been destroyed by demons while all the commoners inside had been killed..."

"So what! We have money to make!"

"But 2 months later when the sea freezes, we will not able to head out any more, otherwise, we would make more money!"

The sailors talked before hauling the net. By contrast, the boss still held his tobacco pipe in the mouth with his eyes fixed on the stern. He was imagining a beautiful new steel trawler.

Of course, he had also thought about buying a new trawler like what those sailors had suggested. He had ordered a new trawler from Minsk Shipyard. He found an old friend who could help him get his new trawler in September without having to queue up.

Now, shipyards also had a good business. Additionally, the prices of the fishers manufactured by those shipyards also rose up like those canned fish.

Thinking of the 1800-odd gold coins, the price of the new trawler that he had paid for in advance, the boss felt heartache for a while. 1 month ago, the price of another steel trawler longer than 50 m and weighing 460 tons was only 1500-odd gold coins. He had been considering changing trawlers at that time. However, he hesitated and decided to change next year. Therefore, he missed the best purchasing opportunity.

As a result, he had to pay 20% more this time.

...

After he finished his smoke, the boss knocked his tobacco pipe which was made of whale's bone on the shipboard and sent another order, "Now, haul the net!"

Receiving the order, the sailors immediately started to rotate the capstan at the stern to haul the net out of the sea. This time, the boss's face turned gloomy.

The easier the sailors rotate the capstan, the fewer they gained.

Finally, they got no fish at all, even a prawn. What was more, they found a tidy hole whose diameter was greater than 2 m at the bottom of the net.

Squatting around the net, the boss and those sailors started to check the mysterious hole carefully.

"Is it a magical beast in the sea?" A sailor asked while his teeth started to quiver.

"Impossible. If it's a magical beast, it would take a great strength for it to make such a hole and we should have sensed that!" Another more experienced sailor waved his head.

The boss then rubbed the broken net and took the broken fish lines and started to observe them carefully. The end of the lines was tidy just like having been cut by a sharp weapon, making it very mysterious. Not only the boss had noticed that even those sailors had found it.

What could cause such damage in the sea? What if that thing targets at this trawler...Thinking of this, everybody felt a chill inside while those sailors moved their eyes onto the boss.

"As we've gained a lot today, it's time to go back!"

Hearing this, everybody felt they'd been relieved of a heavy burden...

The Pike then turned around and drove towards the north. After sailing for half a day, the trawler finally drove into a boisterous fish pier on Kaja Island which was filled with fishers at dusk.

After ensuring they were safe on the wharf, everybody let out a sigh.

When they landed, their haul was soon sold out. After one day's work, Pike brought over 90 silver coins to the boss, which was much higher than that 1 month ago. After receving their salaries, those sailors left jubilantly.

The boss directly called a trailer to carry away that broken net to mend it up overnight; otherwise, they would not able to set sail tomorrow.

Several hours later, as those fishers had come back consecutively and sold out their fishes and prawns, few people were left on the pier. When the last purchasers from canning factories left after midnight, the whole fish pier became quiet, except for the surging sea waves.

At this moment, a black figure showed his head above the sea at the stern of the Pike like a legendary water ghost. Without making any sound, he then grabed the shipboard and jumped on board the trawler.

After that, the shadow came outside the door of the crew modules on the trawler. With a slight twist, he had broken the tiny lock, causing a light sound, "Ka".

3 minutes later, that shadow changed into a tidy set of sailor's clothes and left the fish pier quickly.

Although there were no roadside lamps on the streets in this city, it didn't influence Zhang Tie's actions at all as he had night vision. Walking on the streets, Zhang Tie glanced here and there out of curiosity...

There were no tall buildings in this city. Almost all the buildings were lower than 6 stories with pinnacles or slopes on top. Most of their exterior walls were white, beige or a light wood color. Additionally, the most original textures of the woods and stones which were used to build buildings were preserved, making them natural, concise, firm and massive.

Almost no tall chimneys like those in Blackhot City could be seen in the city. No traces left by trolley vehicles on the ground either. Only a few buses were parking on two sides of the streets. All this indicated that this was a city with poor industry.

For Zhang Tie, this was absolutely a strange place...

After arranging everything in Huaiyuan Prefecture and Hidden Dragon Island, Zhang Tie had left Hidden Dragon Island 3 days ago.

Nobody knew where he was heading. Even Zhang Tie was not sure where to go. He only had one general target in his mind——the sea area in the north of Waii Sub-Continent.

Chapter 381: Ewentra Archipelago

Translator: WQL Editor: Millman97

Zhang Tie went to the sea area in the north of the Waii Sub-Continent with only one target — to gain seven-strength fruits that could greatly increase his fighting strength!

Numerous marine animals and magical beasts were living in the sea area in the north of the Waii Sub-Continent, who were very aggressive and were all mammals. In Zhang Tie's eyes, it was the best hunting ground for him to gain seven-strength fruits.

With some more seven-strength fruits, Zhang Tie was confident that he could improve his precise throwing skill to a terrifying level. Although he had already realized sonic boom, it was not the end; instead, it was just the beginning. A javelin which could fly at the speed of sound would have a completely different destructive strength than that at two times the speed of sound transmission or four times the speed of sound transmission.

If he had eaten some more seven-strength fruits when he was chased by those b*stards from the Zhen Clan in Dragon Cave, he would not have gotten into such a situation; instead, he could've easily killed them all with his handbolts.

Of course, seven-strength fruits could not only improve his precise throwing skill, but also make him more energetic and increase his overall physical strength. Meanwhile, the power of Iron-Blood Fist and Iron-Blood Battle Qi could also be greatly increased by eating seven-strength fruits. The 9 wild wolf seventh-strength fruits not only gave him greater strength, but also gave him wild wolf-like endurance and speed.

Zhang Tie didn't travel by ship; instead, he directly dove into the sea and entered an ocean current that flew northwards. Under the propulsion of the ocean current, he crazily absorbed sea water into the Castle of Black Iron. With the effect of the counterforce, he gained an unparalleled speed that could not matched by any traffic tools in this age. He then flew under water for three days like this before finally coming to this wonderful and strange place...

Over the past three days, Zhang Tie couldn't tell how many kilometers he had swum under water. He only knew that, without the bliss of rapid moving skill, he also reached a terrifying speed under water by only using his spiritual energy to adjust the diameter of the space tunnel for absorbing sea water into the Castle of Black Iron. He was definitely travelling at double the speed of a T9 on road.

What restricted his speed under water was not his ability but the pressure and force on his head, shoulders, and the other parts of his body.

Although he could easily dive into 100-m in the sea, facing the great pressure and impact force, he could still not stand for a long time. Therefore, he could only slightly decelerate for a while to recover. After recovering, he would continue to swim at full speed and test his maximal physical endurance ability.

For Zhang Tie, the three days travelling under water was a tough cultivation and a good chance for him to increase basic energy storage for castle of black iron.

The sea arear in the north of Waii Sub-Continent was pretty vast with numerous islands, large or small. In the northernmost part, there was even an unpopulated icy continent. Zhang Tie only headed northward. Without any map or reference, he didn't know where he was, either.

The only thing that he could confirm was that he was definitely somewhere in the sea area in the north of Waii Sub-Continent. Temperatures in the sea and in the air at night both told Zhang Tie that he was already in the northern sea area.

After staying in the sea for three days, he finally arrived at a strange place; Zhang Tie didn't believe that anyone could find him. At that moment, Zhang Tie changed his look using his set of cross-dressing medicament combination that he'd bought in the auction house in Kalur.

After crossdressing, Zhang Tie's hair and eyebrows turned brown; his eyes turned blue while his skin became white. He was like another human race. Not to mention those who had not seen him before, even his mom could not confirm that he was her son.

For those douchebags of Three-Eye Association, no matter how sharp the killers they assigned were, they definitely couldn't find him anymore.

'This crossdressing medicament combination is really good. It's really a necessity for one to change his face and escape from assassination after killing people or robbery.' Zhang Tie felt very lucky to have bought such a set of items with less than 400 gold coins in the auction house in Kalur.

Zhang Tie walked on the streets in the downtown as he kept looking around. At this moment, all residents across this city had fallen asleep, but there were still some lamplights from bars on the roadsides while tunes and sailors' banter drifted out of the bars. Occasionally he would meet some drunken guys.

According to his acknowledge about pioneers, Zhang Tie walked down the streets that were neither too spacious or eye-attractive nor too dark or narrow as he kept an eye on the shops' signs.

Eventually, Zhang Tie saw an inn's sign in less than twenty minutes after he left the pier. Under the lower right corner of the sign was a pattern of crossing sword and shovel. At the sight of that pattern, Zhang Tie knew that he finally arrived.

This was a three-story inn called 'Wild Home'. Although it was already late at night, there were still lamps on inside.

Zhang Tie then pushed in and immediately felt a warm sense.

On the first floor of the inn was a pretty large bar. When Zhang Tie entered, he found it was pretty boisterous in the bar. Although it was late at night, he could still see dozens of people gathering inside under the slightly dim lamplights. The thirty or forty people were all pioneers. They stayed in groups of three to five people and were discussing something in low voices.

When Zhang Tie entered, the crispy doorbell ring aroused the attention of all the pioneers inside the bar. Seeing that Zhang Tie was just a teenager, after glancing over him for a short while, they moved their attention away from him.

Zhang Tie felt the atmosphere in the bar was a bit weird; without thinking too much, he directly walked up to the counter.

"Are there any rooms available?"

The woman behind the counter was over fifty years old. With a thick makeup, she was holding a cigarette in her mouth while cleaning a glass using a white towel. She looked tall and plump, indicating a threatening, tough temperament.

Hearing Zhang Tie's question, she peered at him before continued to wipe her glass, "The last small one in the attic on the 3rd floor. 2 silver coins for one night. No bargaining!"

"Fine! Give me a pioneering map. Oh, have you got anything to eat?"

That woman then put down her glass before fumbled out a tin-covered metal cylinder and put it in front of Zhang Tie, "Here's a pioneering map on Ewentra; 15 silver coins. We only have cod soup and caviar bread now!"

"Okay, sounds good!" Zhang Tie touched his stomach. During the three days' travel under water, besides drinking two vials of all-purpose medicament, he ate nothing else. At this moment, he really needed some real food.

"According to our regulation, you need to pay first. A map, a cod soup and a caviar bread comes to 15 silver coins and 70 copper coins in total!"

Zhang Tie then fumbled in his backpack before directly pulled out 16 silver coins and put them on the counter. After seeing the silver coins, the woman behind the counter shouted towards the kitchen, "Millie, one cod soup and one caviar bread!"

She then gave 30 copper coins back to Zhang Tie. After putting away his change and map, Zhang Tie chose an available table beside the counter.

'Ewentra?' After sitting down, Zhang Tie immediately recalled the map on the sea area in the north of Waii Sub-Continent and the local customs and practices, political and economic situations on Waii Sub-Continent that he had learned in Hidden Dragon Palace.

In Zhang Tie's mind, there was truly a place called Ewentra. Accurately, it should be the Ewentra Archipelago. It was an island chain on the west of the sea area in the north of Waii Sub-Continent, which was composed of hundreds of islands.

Ewentra Archipelago was one of the accesses to enter Ice and Snow Wilderness in the north from Waii Sub-Continent. If one wanted to enter Ice and Snow Wilderness in the north without going through the Ewentra Archipelago, one had to cross the ice-covered Cauca Mountain which spanned tens of thousands of miles, which would be a nightmare for everybody. Ice and Snow Wilderness was the populated area in the northernmost part of Waii Sub-Continent. If one kept walking towards the north from Ice and Snow Wilderness, one would enter the unpopulated zone of the Ice-Covered Continent.

Ewentra Archipelago was very loose in its governance structure. It had not a powerful government. Like the Andaman Alliance which Blackhot City once belonged to, but it was much looser than Andaman Alliance. Besides some federations of city-states, some influential clans and great pirate organizations which occupied larger islands also had a say here.

'I've arrived at Ewentra Archipelago!' Zhang Tie was a bit stunned inside. 'Ewentra Archipelago was over 11,000 km away from the sea area near Huaiyuan Prefecture in Jinyun Country. Under the thrust of ocean current, I've swum over 11,000 km under water in three days! Who would believe me if I told anyone this...'

Zhang Tie was pretty proud and pleasant inside. Such a free swimming feeling in the sea made Zhang Tie spirited all over.

'Now that I've arrived here, I will look around then.' Zhang Tie told himself inside. Ice and Snow Wilderness faced the sea in three directions. In the wilderness and in the neighboring sea areas, there were so many mutated mammal magical beasts and animals such as huge, snow-land wolves, ice and snow great bears, sea dogs, seals and walruses, not to mention those mutated and evolved LV 1 and LV 2 sea creatures.

How many seven-strength fruits he could gain in Ice and Snow Wilderness completely depended on his fortune.

The cod soup and caviar bread he ordered was soon served by a fat female waiter. They smelt pretty good and appetizing. The moment they were placed on table, Zhang Tie immediately started to dig in without caring about others' stares. 'Wuh, this taste really nice!'

"It seems that the news that pre-catastrophe relics of a human city were found on Ice and Snow Wilderness has been spread out. Even such a hairless brat wants to have a try there..."

When Zhang Tie was eating his food, one of some pioneers who was sitting on Zhang Tie's right hand murmured to his partners. Although his sound was very low, Zhang Tie could still hear every of his word clearly.

"He only ordered cod soup and caviar bread, not even a drink. Besides, he didn't bring any weapons. And his clothes won't protect him in the climate of the Ice and Snow Wilderness. That's definitely a newbie. He must think pioneering is like traveling; one only needs a purse." Another guy sniggered slightly.

"I bet this newbie will only last one week in Ice and Snow Wilderness before becoming the excrement of those wild beasts!" A third voice sounded.

"What a pity! He looks handsome and has the potential to be a boy toy. Why would he choose to be a pioneer?"

"Perhaps, he thinks we pioneers can make money easily. Young men are always naive!"

"When will the guy assigned by Wild Home to gather news come back? Akurey Island Shipping Association's long-distance remote sensing system should able to contact Ice and Snow Wilderness. They must have business contacts!"

...

'I'm on Akurey Island, an island on Ewentra Archipelago. This is a large island covering over 4000 square km.'

Zhang Tie drank his cod soup as he listened to the others' discussions. Although those pioneers belittled him, Zhang Tie finally knew why so many pioneers gathered here.

They were here for the relics of a human city which was discovered on the Ice and Snow Wilderness. They seemed to be waiting for some news. Although Zhang Tie was interested in the relics of human city before catastrophe, he'd rather earn seven-strength fruits. Although relics could bring pioneers wealth, gold coins were not too attractive to Zhang Tie at this time.

The moment Zhang Tie finished his soup and bread, he heard another crisp ring; meanwhile, the door of the inn was pushed open by someone.

A person then rushed inside and started to roar even still at the entrance, "The pioneers on Ice and Snow Wilderness have organized themselves. The news is true. They find some relics of a pre-catastrophe city in the Hella glacial crack in the south of Ice and Snow Wilderness. Additionally, there might be an even greater discovery underground in the crack — pieces of the Star of God..."

After a short silence, the inn exploded into a clamor.

Chapter 382: My Lord Is Coming

Translator: WQL Editor: Millman97

When Zhang Tie woke up in the attic on the third floor of Wild Home the next morning, he found that all the guests in the inn had disappeared.

After cleaning himself up, Zhang Tie ate breakfast in the dining room of the bar on the first floor as he looked around. Even though it was early in the morning, he was the only one left in the whole dining room. He could only see empty tables around him.

Actually, since those pioneers heard about the news on Ice and Snow Wilderness, some of them had already started to leave; most of them had already gone before dawn. Zhang Tie was the only 'lazy' guy left in the inn at the moment.

Millie, the female waiter of the inn served him their brand dish pizza with oyster as she asked, "Young man, you are special; they've long gone, are you still waiting for your partners?"

Millie was plump and looked quite pretty. She had big, watery eyes and raised nose, and some freckles on her face. The thick fat over her neck made her look like she had two jaws. When she stooped to put Zhang Tie's breakfast onto the table, her two white and tender boobs almost popped out of her collar.

"Oh, I'm not in a hurry. The early bird catches the worm; the early worm gets caught by the bird!" Zhang Tie ate his breakfast as he joked. The pizza with oyster tasted nice, but the seaweed soup with shrimp meat tasted a bit weird.

The fat girl then giggled as she coquetted by slightly patting him, "You're really funny!"

"Can you tell me how those pioneers leave Akurey Island? Is it by airship?"

"There's no airship. You can only take ship at the pier. There are ships heading for Saint Herner, where you can take huge steamers for Ice and Snow Wilderness!"

"Oh, thanks!"

"My pleasure!" The fat girl turned around and left when she slightly rubbed Zhang Tie's arm with her plump buttocks under her skirt. Zhang Tie then bravely and slightly patted and pinched them. The fat girl then turned around and threw an enchanting smile towards Zhang Tie.

There was really a high chance for young and handsome male pioneers to fall in love with amorous female waiters in inns. This was an old romance. After crossdressing, Zhang Tie looked pretty different than before.

Because of difference between human races, most of the white men on Waii Sub-Continent who mainly spoke Hebrew looked tough and resolute; Zhang Tie, as an east asian man, looked quite handsome before. After crossdressing, he became a white man and looked much more handsome and delicate. Although he was not as handsome as Heller, who made him self-conscious, he was worth the appellation of handsome boy.

After breakfast, Zhang Tie dropped a silver coin on the table and left. He was only thinking about improving his fighting strength, instead of teasing girls. Therefore, he just ignored Millie's flirting.

After leaving Wild Home, Zhang Tie directly stopped a carriage and headed for the pier on Akurey Island.

Zhang Tie was in a nice mood. During the three days under sea water of challenging his endurance ability towards current, Zhang Tie gained one iron-body fruit in the Castle of Black Iron last night. After eating it, his body had been quenched by that mixed energy of cold and heat once again; as a result, he became resistant to strikes.

Besides that iron-body fruit, Zhang Tie gained one more leakless fruit last night. After eating it, the 15th surging point on his spine turned purple and was going to be activated very soon.

Therefore, although only after one night, Zhang Tie's overall strength had improved a bit. This feeling of gradually improving his overall strength was really awesome.

...

The carriage soon arrived at the pier. Zhang Tie then spent over 20 silver coins for a steamer ticket from Akurey Island to Saint Herner Island.

Saint Herner Island was the biggest island in the northernmost of Ewentra Archipelago and the interchange station from Ewentra Archipelago to Ice and Snow Wilderness. It would take a steamer to go from Akurey Island to Saint Herner Island only a few hours. After Zhang Tie bought his ticket, he only waited a few minutes before the steamer set out.

...

When Zhang Tie left Akurey Island, the boss and the sailors went aboard the ship and prepared for the day's work. They soon found that the lock on the hatch door was broken.

After checking, they found that only two sets of clothes were missing. Besides, that person who took away the clothes even left a gold coin on the desk in the room. They didn't call the police; instead, this thing was usually taken as a laughing stock among those sailors. Nobody connected that gold coin with that big hole on the net.

...

The distance between Akurey Island and Saint Herner was over 1,000 km. The steamer would arrive at next night, which meant that Zhang Tie had to stay on the steamer for over 30 hours.

After stepping onto the steamer, Zhang Tie just stood on the deck watching the passenger liners and freighters on the sea. The developed ocean shipping industry and port trade in Ewentra Archipelago left an extremely deep impression on Zhang Tie. When the steamer fully set out of the harbor and started to navigate on the sea, Zhang Tie saw nothing else except for islands in the distant, large and small; although some islands looked nice, Zhang Tie didn't feel like viewing the scenery anymore; instead, he went straight back to his own cabin. After closing the hatch door, he entered the trouble-reappearance situation.

...

Trouble-reappearance situation — outside Heavens Cold City...

The only demonized puppet activated had already charged at Zhang Tie when he appeared in the trouble-reappearance situation. The demonized puppet was the first humanoid living being that appeared in Zhang Tie's trouble-reappearance situation as an achievement of Zhang Tie in Heavens Cold City.

Seeing this, Zhang Tie instantly pulled out his double-carps sword from his waist and cut off its legs. But the demonized puppet wouldn't die; instead, it just crawled along the ground, furiously clawing at the ground, wanting to drag itself towards Zhang Tie...

After a glance at that demonized puppet, Zhang Tie turned around and ran towards the camp, leaving it far behind him at once.

Half an hour later, a huge fury-wind war airship crushed a lot of tents on the ground into pieces before it unsteadily flew in the air...

...

In a deep night of July, on Ell Zida Mountain, the highest mountain in the middle of Ice and Snow Wilderness, although it was summer with the highest temperature when everything grew up in other places, this place was covered with ice and snow all the year round. Especially in the evening, the dropping temperature along with the chilly wind from the north tested everybody's physical endurance.

Ell Zida Mountain was where the holy grounds of Ice Field Huge-Bear tribe, the biggest tribe on Ice and Snow Wilderness, was located.

At this moment, the holy grounds of Ice Field Huge-Bear Tribe were surrounded by raging flames. Tens of thousands of the most powerful Cruel Bear Fighters in the tribe were kneeling down on the square with one knee with their hot and pious eyes gazing at that high sacrificial altar where the great sacrifice of the tribe was going on.

They were holding a sacred ceremony concerning the life or death of the whole tribe. The Ice Land Huge-Bear tribe had been waiting for this ceremony hundreds of years. It could be said that since this tribe migrated into the Ice and Snow Wilderness under the guidance of Ell Zida, the greatest prophet and pontiff of Ice Land Huge-Bear tribe, they had been waiting for this day.

This mountain was named after the greatest prophet and pontiff of the tribe.

Even facing the intolerable, chilly wind of the ice and snow land, none of tens of thousands of Cruel Bear fighters, who were as robust as mountains, steel, and iron and in only simple leather clothes with naked arms and chests, uttered any sound. The entire holy ground was so quiet except for the sound of the heavy wind and the cracking sound of the burning oil in the braziers.

This ceremony held by the pontiff and 18 officiants of the holy ground had undergone more than an hour. Since the start of the ceremony, sparkling starlights had appeared behind the pontiff. The twisting starlights responded to the stars in the sky while shadows as obscure as mirage constantly twisted among the starlights.

Everybody was holding their breaths and watching that scene with eyes widely opened. However, except for the pontiff of the holy ground, nobody understood what the shadows represented. Because only the pontiff could master that knowledge.

Each time the shadows of the twisting starlights were about to collapse, everybody on the square became very nervous. In order to finish this ceremony, more and more officiants fell down in front of the altar while the rest had blood dripping from the corners of their mouths. However, nobody spoke. Even those officiants who fell down didn't make any sound either. Everybody was gritting their teeth and waiting for the end of the ceremony.

When the twisting starlights finally turned into the image of an Ice Land Huge Bear and disappeared, everybody on the square forgot to breathe.

They stood still for over ten seconds, which felt as long as a century for many people.

Finally, the pontiff's exciting, crisp yet fatigued voice sounded out in the square which could be heard clearly by everybody.

"My lord, the lord of all lords, has arrived..."

Hearing this, tens of thousands of Cruel Bear fighters let out a sigh, which was collectively as loud as a thunder.

Meanwhile, terrifying battle qis surged into the sky one by another in front of the altar.

"We've waited for today for hundreds of years. Now, let's wait for pontiff Sarin's instructions. We will welcome our Lord back to Ell Zida. Each warrior of Ice Land Huge Bear Tribe is willing to use their own skin, blood, and flesh as the carpet and their bones as the stage for my Lord to ascend to the throne!" A loud thunder like voice sounded under the altar, which could be heard by everybody clearly too.

"Aukin, the most dubious and powerful warrior in Ice Land Huge-Bear tribe, in the mysterious maze with crossed time and space, I could only see a part of it. Perhaps, only the great forebears like Ell Zida could see more and guide us to wait for our Lord here and to make the prophecy of rejuvenating our tribe and population come true."

"How can we find him and know who he is?" Aukin asked as what the others wanted to know.

Pontiff Sarin then started to hum again like talking in his dream—

"My Lord, the lord who is destined to conquer all the seas in the world comes here from over 10,000 km away in the sea. The sea with surging and dangerous waves are like plain roads under the Lord's feet...

"My Lord, the lord of creatures who founds an immortal undertaking comes from the east and south; now, he's on the sea and in the sky…

"The most powerful weapon of my Lord is his javelin. The javelin is as terrifying and powerful as bolts and thunders as it will destroy all the enemies on the road before us...

"My Lord's look belongs to himself, yet could not be identified by others...

"When my Lord fights, he erects the banner to summon all of his fighters and all his fighters will see that..."

"He's the most sacred god among all the gods. He controls all the other gods. He will bring the brilliance from the paradise to the earthly world and return the original honors of everyone!"

"Go, all the most powerful and bravest warriors of Ice Land Huge-Bear tribe who's lucky enough to witness the arrival of my Lord, to fight together with my Lord in the future and to accept my Lord's most sacred and honorable baptism for you in the future; since your grandpa's grandpa, they had been waiting for this day, yet they failed. But you are lucky enough to see my Lord. Go, go tell the other tribes on Ice and Snow Wilderness: my Lord is coming. Go, go welcome my Lord to his immortal throne..."

Several minutes later, teams of sword-teeth beasts broke the tranquility of this land under the starlights with their heavy clops and darted in all directions from the foot of Ell Zida Mountain...