Chapter 407: A Battle Invitation in the East Ocean Continent
A Battle Invitation in the East Ocean Continent
Translator: Mr Voltaire
Editor: Chlocolatte
After walking for half an hour, Ling Chen reached the western gate of the Sunrise City. The guards at the gate didn’t even look at him, and he was able to waltz right in. Everything had gone incredibly smooth for him.
Everything was going so smoothly that he started to wonder if something was wrong. After all, he had not been surrounded by a mob of Japanese players or detained at the entrance of the city when he arrived.
But then again, this was to be expected. After all, as long as one didn’t offend someone else, they wouldn’t go out of their way to make life difficult for them. Furthermore, Ling Chen had hidden his name, and it was impossible to tell from one’s equipment where they had come from. Apart from Ling Chen’s name, appearance and the rare equipment he had, it was impossible for any Japanese players to recognise him.
As such, Ling Chen swaggered into the Sunrise City. None of the players he passed by had any clue that he was the intruder from China.
Ever since the World Announcement had sounded out, the Sunrise City had descended into chaos and disorder, with Japanese players cursing their hearts out. Not only did Ling Tian intrude into their continent, but even caused their Fame and EXP to fall- this humiliation was something that they could not take.
“All players unite! Find him even if we have to search under every rock! We can’t let him stay in our territory!”
“Killing him would be letting him off easy! Capture him alive! Hang him on the city gates as a warning! Let the whole world know the consequences of offending us!”
“I heard that the three Great Guilds have already started moving. I think they’ll definitely fight over who gets to kill Ling Tian. Heh, whoever kills this Ling Tian will have done our whole country a service, giving them much fame and reputation. With the three Great Guilds moving out, it’ll be impossible for Ling Tian to survive, even if he has a hundred pairs of wings.”
“Offending us is something he’ll regret for a lifetime!”
…………………………
Wherever Ling Chen went, the topic of the discussions was always him. Ling Chen coldly laughed inwardly, and coldly looked at the Japanese players around him. They dressed similarly to the players in China, and all of them were absolutely furious, and radiated bloodlust. However, even when he reached the centre of the city, not a single person recognised him.
Ling Chen asked an NPC where the Sunrise City’s Marketplace was, and directly walked over there.
Item Shop, Equipment Shop, Tailor Shop… everything sold in those places were pretty much the same as what was being sold in the Azure Dragon City. The equipment names were different, but the stats were about the same. Potions and crystals were exactly the same as those that could be found in the Azure Dragon City. Ling Chen walked into a shop and casually sold tens of Elementary Strength Crystals at a low price, while chatting with the old shop owner. He asked, “Uncle, I have a question. I want to visit a place with lots of cherry blossoms, so can you recommend some places to me?”
After buying tens of crystals for a cheap price, the old shop owner was feeling quite happy. Usually, players didn’t even have enough crystals for themselves, and those who did have extras would often sell them at high prices. This was the first time he had picked up such a good deal before. Hearing Ling Chen’s question, he immediately smiled and replied, “Oh! You want to see cherry blossoms? Young man, you must be like me back then, filled with romance and passion. Cherry blossoms are the most beautiful flowers in the world. Just looking at them makes one feel like their soul is being purified. Some people even call it a soul flower…”
Hearing the name “cherry blossom”, the 70 or 80 year old grandpa blabbered on for a long time, and Ling Chen patiently listened to him. Finally, he politely reminded him, “Can you give some recommendations for where I can see the cherry blossoms?”
“There are many places,” The old shop owner replied, “There are probably hundreds of places in the East Ocean Continent with cherry blossoms. There’s the Kumayama Mountains, Fushi Mountains, Cloud Cherry Crossing, Rainbow Valley… the cherry blossoms at the places are all different. Young man, if you love the cherry blossoms as much as me, then you have to visit those places, otherwise you’ll definitely regret it.”
Your mum loves cherry blossoms! Ling Chen pretended to be deep in thought, then asked his actual question, “It seems that uncle is very knowledgeable with regards to cherry blossoms. By the way, I heard that in the East Ocean Continent, there’s a place that is snowy all year round, and there are many cherry blossoms there… they should have bloomed by now. Uncle, do you know where that place is?”
“Eh?” The old shop owner revealed an expression of confusion, “There’s that sort of place? Hmm… cherry blossoms usually bloom during the start of spring. They like warm temperatures, but not cold or hot temperatures. If that place is snowy all year round, it should be very cold there. It shouldn’t be possible for there to be cherry blossoms there.”
“There isn’t such a place?” Ling Chen was shocked… he knew what this old shop owner said was true. However, the sentence in Su’Er’s message ‘the snowy gully under the cherry blossoms’ was definitely describing a place with cherry blossoms, snow, mountains and valleys…
“Wait!” The old shop owner suddenly thought of something, and suddenly stood up from his chair as his old eyes stared at Ling Chen, “Young man, could you be talking about… the Celestial Cherry Valley?”
“Celestial Cherry Valley? What sort of place is that? Ahem… uncle, I’m just a player who hasn’t been in the East Ocean Continent for very long, so there is much that I don’t know,” Ling Chen said earnestly. Seeing the old shop owner’s reaction, Ling Chen was able to confirm that there was indeed such a place. Moreover, it had to be some sort of a special place, otherwise the old shop owner wouldn’t have reacted like that.
The old shop owner stared at Ling Chen, then sat down, “That’s not strange. Even the East Ocean Continent’s residents might not know of this place. The Celestial Cherry Valley is in the north of the East Ocean Continent. It is extremely cold there, and it is covered by snow and ice throughout the whole year. Moreover, there are many cherry blossoms there, which are all snow-white. They bloom all year round, but do not wither in the cold. Only the Celestial Cherry Valley fits your descriptions.”
“Bloom all year round but don’t wither? How is that possible?” Ling Chen asked in surprise. This time, the surprise wasn’t fake. Every flower had a season for blooming, and from what he knew, cherry blossoms usually bloomed for a very short period of time… how was it possible that they bloomed all year round and in such a cold place?
“It’s true,” The old shop owner nodded, as an expression of worship appeared on his face, “It’s because the Celestial Cherry Valley’s great Cherry Blossom God Representative lives there. Her godly powers affect the cherry blossoms there, allowing them to not only bloom in the cold, but also not wither… Within the snow, there are always tens of thousands of cherry blossoms- just imagining it makes my heart melt.”
“Where is the Celestial Cherry Valley? I must go and have a look at such an amazing place!” Ling Chen said emotionally.
The old shop owner looked at him, but shook his head, “Young man, that sort of beautiful scenery is something that we mortals do not deserve to see. The great Cherry Blossom God Representative is an ambassador of the Moon God Clan. She is powerful, pure, beautiful kind and noble, like a cherry blossom without blemish. The Celestial Cherry Valley is a holy place to us, and is not somewhere you can casually go. If anyone goes there and enrages the Cherry Blossom God Representative, and is punished by her, that person will also be hated by countless residents of the East Ocean Continent, and may even be exiled. Also, I heard that because of the influence from the Cherry Blossom God Representative’s godly powers, some ‘spirits’ have spawned, which attack creatures that get close… as such, young man, no matter how much you love cherry blossoms, don’t go near there. I know that as an otherworlder, even if you die, you will be revived. However, if you really do anger the Cherry Blossom God Representative, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
“Oh, I see,” Ling Chen nodded as he committed the Celestial Cherry Valley to memory.
After exiting the shop, Ling Chen went to the Item Shop and bought a map of the East Ocean Continent.
The map bought from the Item Shop was, of course, much less detailed than the one he had bought from Qian Gun Gun. Luckily, the Celestial Cherry Valley was on this map, and Ling Chen found it immediately. It was at the northernmost position of the East Ocean Continent, and there were few other places of significance around it.
Ling Chen estimated that the Sunrise City was about four or five hundred kilometres away from the Celestial Cherry Valley. Even if everything went smoothly, it would take quite a bit of time to get there.
Celestial Cherry Valley… I hope that’s the place Su’Er’s message was referring to. Otherwise, this is going to be a big waste of time!
Ling Chen closed the map and immediately headed towards the north. At this moment, a loud announcement sounded out.
“Ding… player ‘Cruelty Ichinawa’ initiated Region Announcement: I, Cruelty Ichinawa, officially issue out a battle invitation to Ling Tian, who has intruded into our East Ocean Continent! The time of the battle will be 12pm, and the location will be the Sunrise City Central Square! We’ll have a fair 1v1 battle with the honour of the East Ocean Continent on the line. If China’s number 1 player is just a coward, then don’t bother coming, hahaha.”
Ling Chen immediately stopped walking, a cold smile forming on his face.