Chapter 518 - 314: News (2)

Chapter 518: Chapter 314: News (2)

He Man nodded and said in an unnatural tone, "If it was a Celestial Pride Grandmaster, that would explain everything. But the motive doesn’t add up..."

As a veteran who had been in the martial arts world for many years, He Man knew full well that accusing any Celestial Pride Martial Artist would have serious consequences.

This was especially true for those at the Grandmaster level and above. Don’t be fooled by the fact that these Celestial Prides sometimes fought to the death amongst themselves—ordinary Martial Artists were still at a huge disadvantage when facing them.

You never knew if some careless remark might offend a powerful figure. Besides, the idea of a Celestial Pride Grandmaster attacking such an insignificant person was bizarre no matter how you looked at it. That’s why He Man felt her own speculation was a bit absurd.

Yu Fei, of course, was unaware of He Man’s delicate considerations. He actually found her line of thinking quite meticulous. ’If I’m not mistaken, this really was the work of some Celestial Pride Martial Artist and that reckless teacher of his.’

After thinking for a moment, Yu Fei tried to shift her line of thought.

"It’s true that a Celestial Pride Martial Artist would have the means to do it, but I don’t think anyone would be that bored. If someone really wanted to question the victim from your army, they could have just approached you or your corps commander directly. I’m sure you would’ve granted them that courtesy."

"My guess is that it’s highly likely related to a personal grudge held by the Grandmaster who was attacked. As for your deployment information, there must be plenty of ways to obtain it when one isn’t on guard."

He Man nodded. Yu Fei had a point; they’d had the same suspicion themselves.

"Was there anything unusual about the victim?"

Without suspicion, He Man explained, "That Grandmaster wasn’t particularly strong in combat, but his Body Technique was exceptional. Years ago, before we had Elemental Energy Communicators, he served as a vanguard courier. I can’t imagine he’d have any enemies!"

"A vanguard courier?" Yu Fei murmured, deep in thought.

"Yes," He Man said with a wry smile,

"The requirements to build a mental network are too high. Many conventional corps will pay handsomely to hire one or two Celestial Pride Martial Artists as field commanders to coordinate troops. Besides, Celestial Pride Martial Artists are exceptionally powerful in combat and have no obvious weaknesses."

"But for intelligence that needs to be transmitted over long distances, you need a Martial Artist with good Body Technique and stealth abilities to deliver it. Now that we have the Elemental Energy Communicator, it’s so much more convenient than before!"

Only then did Yu Fei notice the uniquely shaped metal bracelet on Grandmaster He Man’s wrist. Seeing his interest, she activated it for a demonstration.

It turned out the metal bracelet was a protective casing for a chain-like mechanical device within. As He Man operated it, a faint fluctuation of elemental energy appeared, and a screen of light materialized.

Yu Fei sensed it carefully; there was a faint electromagnetic fluctuation in the bracelet.

It seemed that as long as a mechanical device used the primal energy of the world as its power source, it could function in the borderlands.

Yu Fei remembered that Ren Feng had also given him an Elemental Energy Communicator. He pulled it out; he had never used it before.

It was an intricately crafted pendant, shaped like a silvery-white teardrop.

Yu Fei tried activating it. After the teardrop-shaped communicator absorbed his Gang Qi, it spontaneously transformed into a silver bracelet and fastened itself around his wrist.

It felt soft yet durable, and was perfectly comfortable.

An envious look was plain to see on He Man’s face. When she saw that Yu Fei didn’t seem to understand, she explained:

"The model in your hand is a collector’s edition from the Flame Stream Laboratory. They say it’s only available to Martial Saints, and its communication range can reach over ten thousand kilometers! Mine is just a premium model with a range of only two thousand kilometers."

’The perks a Martial Artist like Yu Fei enjoyed are truly enviable. The crucial part is that he doesn’t even realize how precious the item is.’

’A Grandmaster like me, whose potential is already exhausted, only appears impressive on the surface.’

"It was a gift from a classmate of Tianwen’s. If you’re interested, Grandmaster He, I can ask for you next time!"

"I would be immensely grateful!"

Yu Fei figured it was a laboratory product, so the technology was bound to mature over time. ’Its intrinsic value will only decrease,’ he thought. ’Right now, it’s just a novelty.’

"By the way, have you caught those two?"

Yu Fei asked, feigning casualness.

He Man didn’t give it much thought and answered directly, "We tracked them to the Pingsha Ridge area, but that region is under the effective control of Yuan Demons, so it’s difficult for a large force to pursue them. However, we’ve already notified the Cangye Corps stationed over there. They’ve sealed off Pingsha Ridge’s only entrance and exit, Frost Mist Lake. Without supplies, it’s only a matter of time before they’re captured!"

"I see. A Martial Artist can go for a long time without eating, but without supplies, their strength will eventually weaken. They probably can’t hold out for much longer."

The higher the level of the Martial Artist, the longer they could indeed maintain their combat power without eating, but this was consuming their own energy reserves. Once a certain limit was reached, they would weaken rapidly.

Having learned Yan Sea’s hiding place, Yu Fei lost all interest in pleasantries. He Man, being shrewd and experienced, naturally found an excuse to take her leave.

After a brief scan of his senses, Yu Fei followed the beacon he had left on Jiang Nianwei. In a flash, he appeared inside the temporary encampment.

By now, they had begun constructing a proper base at Celestial Sword Gorge. This was different from the temporary camp on Dragon Ridge Mountain. As soon as the main battle was won, the rear-echelon engineering corps had moved in to begin construction.

They used military-grade modules for wartime construction. Once deployed, these modules could quickly be assembled into a defensible garrison.

The only drawback was that they were single-use and difficult to pack up once deployed, which is why they hadn’t been used at the Dragon Ridge Mountain camp.

"Miss Hua, is Boss Yu Fei leaving again now that he’s back?"

Gao Nianzhen asked anxiously. He had led a group of twelve to make a clean break with Zhang Hu, intending to pledge allegiance to Yu Fei, but they hadn’t been able to get in touch with him.

Feng Hua seemed distracted. "How would I know? Why don’t you ask Jiang? She’s a captain in the Yulin Army. Surely she’d have some idea what her own commander is planning next!"

Jiang Nianwei snorted. "And you think I would know? Our great Commander is so amazing now—slaying a rank-eight Yuan Demon with one slash, crushing Yu Wen Baji without breaking a sweat. Even those Grandmasters are falling all over themselves to curry favor with him. Didn’t you see that old woman from the Celestial Phenomenon Corps who came to ’reinforce’ us? Her face was puckered up like a chrysanthemum from all the bootlicking!"

Qingshan looked envious. "Fuck! If I were that strong, I’d go beat the hell out of that bastard Zhang Hu! Seriously, how does Yu Fei train? It’s ridiculous. Who has Gang Qi that powerful?"

"We’re considered the cream of the crop among Gang Qi Martial Artists. We can solo a rank-seven Yuan Demon, no problem. Even an average Grandmaster is no match for us. By any measure, we’ve earned the title of Celestial Pride Martial Artist!"

"But Yu Fei... his power just defies all martial logic! He kills a rank-eight Yuan Demon like it’s nothing. At this rate, a Grandmaster is definitely no match for him. Do you think if Yu Fei breaks through to the Grandmaster realm, he’ll get the perks of a Martial Saint ahead of schedule?"

One of the experts scoffed, "In your dreams. A Martial Saint is a Martial Saint. They’re a completely different species from Grandmasters. That said, I think once Yu Fei becomes a Grandmaster, with that freaky teleportation of his, no one will be able to hold him down."

Zhang Xunyi was practicing with his sword, slowly tracing patterns in the air. He seemed utterly possessed, constantly gesturing as if in a trance.

"This won’t do. I have to master some kind of spatial Swordsmanship! Otherwise, how will I ever stand a chance against Yu Fei?"

Li Jueyin scoffed, "And you can stand a chance against him now? A certain someone has been getting completely steamrolled ever since the Celestial Pride Positioning Competition."

"Long hair, short wisdom. What would you know? Just because I can’t beat him now doesn’t mean anything. My sword will never admit defeat! A hundred years from now, we’ll all be Martial Saints. A loss today doesn’t mean a loss tomorrow, and a loss tomorrow doesn’t mean I’ll lose forever."

"Yu Fei is just one step ahead for now. One day, I will stand before him and defeat him! Know this: we Sword Cultivators have hearts of iron, indomitable and unyielding..."

Before Zhang Xunyi could finish his speech, he was ganged up on by the entire group. On the topic of long hair, even the girls with the shortest haircuts had hair down to their cheeks. His comment had triggered everyone.

"What’s going on? It’s so lively in here."

Yu Fei had just walked in to see Zhang Xunyi twisted into a bizarre shape, with Li Jueyin dangling him from the tip of her longspear and swinging him around.

Everyone jumped when Yu Fei suddenly appeared. They knew he could teleport, but as Celestial Pride Martial Artists with powerful senses, it was even more jarring to have someone pop up undetected.

Li Jueyin was the first to speak. "Zhang Xunyi has a problem with you! He wants to challenge you!"

"Oh~"

Yu Fei feigned surprise, then drew his sword, Zhanming, from the empty air, trailing faint sparks.

The longsword pointed directly at Zhang Xunyi, and he said with a serious face.

"Come!"