Chapter 318 - 215: Sights and Sounds, Part 2

Chapter 318: Chapter 215: Sights and Sounds, Part 2

"Keep your identity tags on you. Access to many places within Lin Yuan City relies on this small tag. If you lose it, come get a replacement at any time."

According to Bayan, the Celestial Secret Tower was like a server, while auxiliary Martial Artists were the individual small base stations deployed outside. When an auxiliary Martial Artist perceived the environment, they could use a specific Cultivation Technique to transmit the detected information to the Celestial Secret Tower.

A single auxiliary Martial Artist, or even two, might not reveal much. But when their numbers grew into the thousands, scattered across every corner of the battlefield, the information they gathered would converge and integrate. Factoring in the differences in their Cultivation Techniques, data from various dimensions would be compiled, forming a complex and complete picture of the battlefield’s state.

This included at least three Martial Saint-rank and over a thousand Grandmaster-rank auxiliary Martial Artists, spread throughout every corner of the front lines. It was only by adding innumerable mid-rank Martial Artists to this force that today’s real-time command system was formed.

The combat merits of all personnel on the front lines were determined through the combined reconnaissance of auxiliary Martial Artists, integrated with information from battlefield cleanup. It couldn’t be called perfectly accurate, but the margin of error was small.

This made confirming a human Martial Artist’s aura crucial. Every Martial Artist’s Qi signature was unique, even among those who practiced the same Cultivation Technique. It was the equivalent of an ID card in the world of the extraordinary.

Because of this, all Cultivation Techniques capable of altering one’s Qi signature were kept under tight control. Any Cultivator had to obtain repeated, confirmed authorizations before they could practice such a technique.

"Alright, we’re throwing a big welcome party for you tonight. We’ll all cut loose and have a great time. Tomorrow, we get down to business."

Using the transport vehicle today had been Hengji’s idea. But after Jiang Nianwei’s mockery, she’d suddenly felt it was inappropriate. She got chewed out after discussing it with Feng Hua, and as a result, the plans for the evening’s reception were upgraded.

Yu Fei and his group had just entered Lin Yuan City. As first-time arrivals to another world, they were filled with curiosity about everything.

He activated his Reversing Destiny Vision, continuously sizing up the many Martial Artists who passed by.

Just as Ye Shuping had told him, third-realm Martial Artists accounted for nearly half the people he saw. Besides them, the most numerous were second-realm and fourth-realm Inner Qi Martial Artists. At a glance, talent gems of blue and green were the most common. He occasionally spotted someone with white talent, while purple was relatively rare.

Having spent so long at Shenhan University, interacting daily with the most talented individuals in the Yu Kingdom, Yu Fei had almost forgotten the true ecosystem of the martial world.

People bustled to and fro, the air thick with the scent of blood and fire. Yu Fei observed them carefully; the vast majority of the Martial Artists appeared to be young or middle-aged, their battle armor riddled with scars.

Normally, a blue-talent Martial Artist was considered excellent if they managed to reach the late stage of the second realm before graduating from university. After that, they would enlist in the army. By killing enemies, they would simultaneously obtain resources for their cultivation. If, after being tempered by battle, they could break through to the Inner Qi Realm before turning thirty, their future was already considered bright.

Some Martial Artists might struggle for ten or twenty years before they barely managed to break through to the Inner Qi Realm. With luck, they might be able to advance another realm or two in the following years. A Martial Artist like that was already considered to be doing very well.

However, even more people would never manage to break through to the Inner Qi Realm in their entire lives. That was the norm.

Therefore, when Yu Fei and his group of impossibly young, clear-eyed lambs clad in fine armor walked down the street, they inevitably attracted a great deal of attention.

Yu Fei’s perception was the sharpest. Through his [Insight], he could sense that at least nine out of every ten people harbored a trace of malice in their hearts. It was a primal human instinct.

The Inner Qi Realm, a height that an ordinary Martial Artist might never reach in their entire lifetime, was their ultimate aspiration. Yet for the Yulin Army, it was merely the starting point of their cultivation; reaching the Inner Qi Realm presented no difficulty whatsoever.

’If he were in their shoes,’ he thought, ’if he were an ordinary Martial Artist seeing this group of prodigies from the Yulin Army, he would inevitably harbor some dark thoughts himself.’

But he wasn’t.

Meeting the many strange gazes, Yu Fei noticed that some members of the Yulin Army were at a loss. Untempered by life and death, most of them possessed high realms but lacked the corresponding experience. He also saw that although Hengji was being an enthusiastic guide, she hadn’t warned them.

SHIING!

A sharp sword hum rang out. For the first time, Yu Fei released his unique martial pressure. He usually disdained such displays.

When he advanced to the Inner Qi Realm, he had forged unprecedented foundation circuits. After more than a month of arduously practicing the [All Things Return to Origin Scripture], his Inner Qi had become as Vast as the Sea. His expansive Qi Sea was already nearly a fifth full, and that was on top of his prematurely formed divine soul core and the boost from his Sword Intent.

Yu Fei’s martial pressure far surpassed an ordinary person’s—it was even greater than that of a typical fifth-realm Martial Artist.

A wave of pressure, like that from a prehistoric behemoth, spread out. Hengji’s heart suddenly hammered in her chest. She whipped her head around, cutting off her light-hearted chat with Jiang Nianwei, only to see Yu Fei’s frigid gaze fixed on the ill-intentioned onlookers.

In a world where great power resided in the individual, order was a shield for the weak. As Yu Fei’s overbearing aura swept over them, the mocking gazes instantly vanished. Many people immediately lowered their heads and hurried away.

Many in the Yulin Army were slow on the uptake and hadn’t sensed the malice, but they knew their leader wouldn’t flare up for no reason. Jiang Nianwei was the first to react, immediately unleashing her own unique pressure in his wake.

The others followed his example. One by one, their auras flared wildly. Over thirty Inner Qi Martial Artists and about ten third-realm cultivators all fixed the passersby with deliberately fierce glares. The entire street fell silent.

No matter how clear and innocent their eyes were, their cultivation realms were still high. It was like seeing a dopey-looking tiger; no matter how foolish or ridiculous it appeared, you would still be terrified when it walked up to you and roared.

Everyone in the Celestial Pride Class group practiced the highest-grade Cultivation Techniques, and their foundations were far deeper than those of ordinary Martial Artists. Their combined auras surged outward like a storm, an utterly terrifying sight.

"Young man, isn’t this going a little too far...?"

Just then, an uncle-like Gang Qi Martial Artist swaggered forward, reaching out a hand toward Yu Fei as if to lecture him. In response, Yu Fei instantly focused his entire aura on the man. The rest of the Yulin Army promptly did the same.

The words caught in the man’s throat. He wasn’t some clueless, low-rank Martial Artist. ’An aura this powerful from a mere Inner Qi Realm cultivator? And this terrifying group of youths behind him...’ He suddenly thought about the time of year. ’Could this group in front of me be one of the Seven Great Celestial Pride Classes?’

He instantly regretted trying to act tough.

Realizing this, his demeanor changed in an instant. He turned and bellowed at the onlookers, "Put away those crooked ideas! Are you looking to die?!"

After shouting, he turned back to Yu Fei with a smile.

"There, you see...?"

Hengji suddenly took a step forward and sneered contemptuously. "Get lost! The Shenhan Salty Fish Assault Team is on the job. You’d better keep your eyes peeled!"

"My apologies, my apologies..."

The man bowed repeatedly as he backed away, then turned and fled.

Jiang Nianwei looked at Hengji in confusion. "What was that about?"

Hengji explained nonchalantly, "You all registered your Qi signatures at the Celestial Secret Tower just now. You should understand that here in the Abyss, there are no reliable surveillance methods. Everything depends on the perception of auxiliary Martial Artists.

The Abyss is huge, so there are always blind spots. Some of the unaffiliated Martial Artists out there, or even members of corporate teams, don’t have the cleanest records.

Besides, the perceptive abilities of auxiliary Martial Artists can be used for joint reconnaissance, but they can also be used to counter each other. In a place like this, you need to have a bit of a vicious streak. If you don’t, there will always be some idiots who can’t gauge their own strength trying to make your life miserable."

At this, Hengji shot Yu Fei a surprised look. He had just flared up without any prompting from her, scaring off many of the sinister gazes. The rest had quietly slipped away after she announced the name of the Shenhan Salty Fish Assault Team.

Anyone in the know understood what the Seven Great Celestial Pride Classes represented. Although Shenhan’s official line was that they took a completely hands-off approach with them, the grass on the graves of anyone who actually believed that was already waist-high.

Hengji herself knew, at the very least, that on the few occasions she had managed to escape a desperate situation, there was always an air of coincidence when she looked back on it later.

As for those who didn’t understand the significance of the Celestial Pride Class—well, they were welcome to come and find out for themselves.

As they walked, Hengji observed him. She discovered that not only was Yu Fei’s combat strength immense, but more importantly, his mind was exceptionally sharp—even more perceptive than many auxiliary Martial Artists.

’That’s right,’ she thought. ’I was taken out early in the exercise. I heard later that Yu Fei’s perceptive abilities were also formidable.’