Chapter 408 - 301: Land of Extreme Evil (2)

Chapter 408: Chapter 301: Land of Extreme Evil (2)

This was just like how Wu Liangchen could pick up a machine gun and immediately fire with precision. It seemed that once his archery reached its zenith, he could master any related shooting discipline.

This made Wu Liangchen greatly anticipate maxing out the other Cultivation Techniques he was close to mastering.

’For example, if the Jingzhe Saber Technique reaches its max level, does that mean I’ll become an expert with all slashing weapons?’

For the next few days, aside from his daily visits to Yuan Mingfei’s cabin, Wu Liangchen spent the rest of his time honing his Martial Arts.

After all, he was about to set foot on an unknown land. Any increase in strength, no matter how small, would be a precious asset.

His experiences since boarding the ship had especially shown him that this secret overseas domain was far more perilous than he had ever imagined.

To say nothing of anything else, the very concept of harvesting Martial Veins was beyond what most people could even conceive.

’My strength is decent, but I’m already a target. There’s no guarantee I won’t run into danger later.’

Besides, this land was home to extraordinary individuals like Yuan Mingfei. Even if the Magic they wielded was mostly supportive in nature, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

During this time, Cai Liben invited Wu Liangchen out for drinks several times, but was refused on every occasion.

He wasn’t sure if Cai Liben suspected that he had seen through the charade, but he figured it was better to refuse outright than to get drawn into mind games.

The rest of the voyage was uneventful.

It was as if all their bad luck had vanished with the retreat of the tentacled Sea Siren.

The great ship sailed steadily for over a month more, until one day, the fog finally began to thin.

This lifted everyone’s spirits.

They knew it meant they were finally about to leave the vast, fog-shrouded sea behind.

Sure enough.

Just one day later, the fog dissipated completely.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief and eagerly threw open their windows to inhale the fresh air.

Soon, the passages to the deck were opened. The crew, sailors, and Martial Artists aboard the ship rushed out cheering, eager to enjoy the rare sunlight.

Wu Liangchen didn’t join them. He was in his cabin, talking with Yuan Mingfei.

After days of recuperation, Yuan Mingfei’s condition had improved significantly. Though his face was still pale, he could at least walk around now.

When Wu Liangchen had first met him, the man had been confined to a wheelchair.

"Aren’t you going to go take a look?" Yuan Mingfei asked suddenly. He was sitting by the window, enjoying the gentle sea breeze.

"No point. I’m not going," Wu Liangchen replied flatly, standing behind him.

Yuan Mingfei smiled. "Has Cai Liben been looking for you lately?"

"Not so much anymore. He’s probably guessed that I’m onto him," Wu Liangchen said.

"Don’t worry," Yuan Mingfei said. "With me here, they can’t cause any real trouble."

"How much longer until we arrive?" Wu Liangchen didn’t respond, instead gazing at the distant horizon and asking in a low voice.

"Soon. Another half a month or so and we should be there," Yuan Mingfei replied with a smile.

Yuan Mingfei’s estimate was spot-on. Half a month later, the faint outline of land appeared on the horizon.

At the same time, more and more merchant ships began to appear on the sea.

The atmosphere on the great ship grew increasingly festive.

Some were so excited they had tears in their eyes.

After all, the journey had been incredibly arduous. They had nearly been lost to the fog, destined to become a meal for the Sea Siren.

Having endured so much, they were finally about to make landfall. Naturally, everyone was overjoyed.

At this point, Wu Liangchen’s duties as a guard were effectively over.

After all, they were only a day or so from shore, and Yuan Mingfei had recovered some of his strength. No one would be foolish enough to try anything now.

Under the circumstances, Wu Liangchen took a temporary leave and went to attend a banquet.

The banquet was organized by a few sailors to thank Wu Liangchen for saving their lives.

It was an unimpeachable reason, so Wu Liangchen didn’t refuse.

The venue was the same restaurant where Wu Liangchen had eaten before, but the food was much more substantial this time—at least there weren’t so many fussy, impractical dishes.

As Wu Liangchen was drinking and chatting merrily with the sailors, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

It was the man who had mooched a meal off him before.

The man was hiding in the distance, peeking around furtively. He looked like he wanted to come over but didn’t quite dare.

Wu Liangchen couldn’t help but smile at the sight and gave a beckoning wave.

Overjoyed, the man immediately trotted over.

"Why don’t you join us?"

"Thank you!"

The man was as shameless as ever. Without a hint of polite refusal, he immediately sat down and started eating.

Wu Liangchen smiled at the sailors. "Pardon me. This is a friend of mine. You don’t mind if he joins us, do you?"

"Not at all, not at all! Why would we mind!"

Although the sailors all recognized the man as a moocher, since Wu Liangchen called him a friend, none of them were about to make a scene.

The feast continued.

The sailors took turns toasting him, and Wu Liangchen never refused, draining his cup every time.

His capacity for alcohol left the sailors in awe, and their admiration for him grew even stronger.

"Sir," a sailor named Ah Yi asked after raising a toast to Wu Liangchen and setting down his cup, "do you have any plans for when we get ashore?"

"Not yet," Wu Liangchen replied. "I’ll take it one step at a time."

"With your strength, Sir, you’re bound for greatness. But let me give you a word of warning: don’t trust anyone too quickly." Ah Yi began with a compliment, but then his expression grew serious as he lowered his voice.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because the people in the Alliance are treacherous. Even lifelong friends will turn on each other for the slightest profit. Someone like you, who’s never been here before, is an easy target for deception."

Over the past while, Wu Liangchen had learned a bit about this secret overseas domain, which the sailors called the Alliance.

How to describe it... It was a deeply dysfunctional society.

It was feudal and conservative, yet it possessed incredible technology. This led to a situation where major corporations and families monopolized nearly all resources, leaving everyone else to fight over the scraps.

But because the technology was so advanced, the average person could still get by, which kept the Alliance’s rule stable.

It was the people in Cultivation who suffered.

With all resources monopolized, their only path to becoming stronger was to sell themselves to a major corporation or family.

And you couldn’t even be picky about it, because there were far too many people who couldn’t even get the chance to be a lapdog.

All in all, it was a society that was a bizarre fusion of feudalism, imperialism, and cyberpunk.

And this sailor’s warning was clearly sincere.

Wu Liangchen raised his cup in a return toast to show his thanks.

"Sir, if you really don’t have anywhere to go, you can come to the docks," Ah Yi said. "A few of us are planning to stay put for a while after we get back. We’ve been around long enough to have some pull, so finding you a job would be no problem."

"Thank you, but I plan to look around a bit before I decide anything."

"Alright. You can find us at the docks anytime."

After a while longer, the sailors drank their fill and staggered off.

Wu Liangchen watched them go. He was about to leave himself when the other man, his eyes hazy with drink, spoke up.

"Don’t trust anyone, or you’ll regret it dearly."

Hmm?

Wu Liangchen paused. He turned to look, only to find the man had already passed out on the table, fast asleep.

He considered this for a moment, then gave the waiter a tip to look after the drunken man before turning to leave.

Meanwhile, in the captain’s cabin, Xiong Tianzong asked in a low voice, "You’re saying the kid’s caught on?"

Cai Liben nodded. "Yes! I’ve invited him out several times, but he keeps making excuses."

"That’s not surprising," Ma Yuhui said. "Even if he didn’t figure it out, Yuan Mingfei would have told him. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve already contacted the Sun family. They said they’ll make their move as soon as Wu Liangchen leaves the docks."

"And the money?" Clearly, that was Xiong Tianzong’s main concern.

"The Sun family’s reply was that they’ll pay in full once Wu Liangchen is captured. I trust they’re good for it."