Chapter 94

After only a brief rest, Lu Qing had already received dozens of invitation emails.

These emails came from both alien elite squads and human elite squads…

Some invited him to join their team, others simply wanted to befriend him, and even two squads wanted him to serve as their squad leader…

“I never expected that a Marquis-level cultivator would already be this popular on the Outer Battlefield!” Lu Qing thought to himself.

Back when he first entered the Outer Battlefield, how could he have ever enjoyed such treatment?

After briefly scanning the email messages, Lu Qing quickly chose an immortal squad named “Xuan Kong Squad.”

The Xuan Kong Squad had seven members, including three Marquis-level immortals; their captain, Marquis Xuan Kong, was a High Marquis-level cultivator.

Such a powerful immortal squad was quite renowned even among the countless strong cultivators on the Yanji Continent.

At this moment, the Xuan Kong Squad was resting at Base Camp 026; after receiving Lu Qing’s reply, they quickly arranged a meeting time with him.

…

After receiving a reply from Captain Xuan Kong, Lu Qing promptly left his quarters and headed toward the restaurant where they had agreed to meet.

This restaurant served only immortals, with over ten thousand tables and chairs, but the number of immortals resting in the base camp was small, and even fewer came here to dine—so the restaurant held only a scattered few hundred people.

At the restaurant entrance, Lu Qing glanced around and soon spotted someone waving at him from a table.

Seeing this, Lu Qing quickly walked over to the person.

The man wore a black battle armor, his face covered in blue scales, a sharp spike protruding from his forehead as if it could pierce the heavens, and he radiated an aura as deep and boundless as an ocean—it was none other than Captain Xuan Kong, the High Marquis-level immortal of the Xuan Kong Squad.

Seeing Lu Qing arrive, Xuan Kong rose immediately and warmly greeted: “Hello, I’m Captain Xuan Kong of the Xuan Kong Squad. You must be ‘Thunderstorm’!”

“Greetings, Captain Xuan Kong!” Lu Qing nodded slightly in response.

“Hahaha!”

Xuan Kong laughed heartily, then turned to Lu Qing and said: “Thunderstorm, I heard you’re looking to join an immortal squad active on Yanji Continent?”

“Yes!” Lu Qing nodded again.

“What do you think of our Xuan Kong Squad?”

Xuan Kong smiled and said: “There are many immortal squads from our human race active on Yanji Continent, but excluding those led by King-level immortals, our Xuan Kong Squad’s strength is certainly among the top ten. If you join us, earning military merit will become much easier, and your chances of surviving danger will greatly increase…”

“I do intend to join the Xuan Kong Squad!”

Lu Qing smiled and said: “But before that, I have a question I’d like to ask Captain Xuan Kong.”

“No problem, Thunderstorm, ask whatever you like!”

Seeing Lu Qing’s willingness to join, Xuan Kong’s face lit up with a smile as he added: “Anything I know, I’ll tell you without hesitation!”

“It’s not really a big deal!”

Lu Qing smiled and said: “I’ve heard many squads stay in the base camp for long periods after returning. How long does the Xuan Kong Squad usually stay each time?”

“There’s no fixed time,” Xuan Kong replied after a moment’s thought. “We return to the base camp mainly to process loot and resupply, occasionally to rest—but never longer than a year.”

Hearing this, Lu Qing immediately said: “Captain Xuan Kong, I accept your offer. I look forward to your guidance.”

“This…” Xuan Kong blinked in surprise at Lu Qing’s answer.

He hadn’t expected Lu Qing to agree so instantly—just after asking about the base camp rest duration.

But he didn’t know that Lu Qing cared precisely about the rest time.

After all, Lu Qing’s purpose in coming to the Outer Battlefield was to hone himself through combat; if his elite squad stayed too long in the base camp, it would waste his time.

The Xuan Kong Squad’s rest period never exceeding a year made it one of the more combat-oriented elite squads—perfect for Lu Qing at this stage.

As for other matters, he didn’t care much.

“Hahaha…” After a brief moment of surprise, Xuan Kong quickly recovered and laughed: “Thunderstorm, welcome to the Xuan Kong Squad!”

He then poured Lu Qing a glass of fruit wine himself, ordered the servers to bring out the dishes, and continued: “Let’s drink and chat—I’ll introduce you to the rest of our squad.”

With that, Xuan Kong called out to another corner: “You all come over here!”

Just as Lu Qing took the wine glass from Xuan Kong, six distinct figures approached swiftly from a distance.

Some were tall and burly, others cold-faced, others seductive and alluring…

Powerful law fluctuations radiated outward, even slightly distorting the surrounding space.

Among these six were a powerful being from the Ox-People lineage; a massive, golden-furred Ape-People warrior…

When the six warriors reached Lu Qing and Xuan Kong, they each pulled out chairs and sat down.

Eight of them gathered.

“Let me introduce you,” Xuan Kong said, smiling at Lu Qing. “This is our newest member, ‘Thunderstorm,’ a Low Marquis-level cultivator.”

“Low Marquis-level?”

A towering Ape-People warrior, over two meters tall and covered in golden fur, exclaimed: “Captain, you’re fast! You’ve snatched up this new recruit before other squads could even move!”

Xuan Kong didn’t answer immediately, but turned to Lu Qing: “Thunderstorm, this is our vice-captain, Giant Ape, known as ‘Ironblood Marquis.’ Don’t be fooled—he’s only Low Marquis-level now, but back in his World Lord stage, he was a core member of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. His current strength is no weaker than mine!”

A towering ape-man, over two meters tall and covered in golden fur, exclaimed in surprise: “Captain, I didn’t expect your speed to be this fast—you’ve already pulled in this new recruit everyone else was trying to recruit!”

“I never expected that just by joining a random squad, I’d meet a core member of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance!”

Lu Qing thought to himself: “Given Ironblood Marquis’s strength, he must have been a member of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance’s Glory Sanctum during his World Lord stage.”

Among the five supreme human factions, the Virtual Universe Corporation and the Giant Axe Combat Arena held the highest status, alternating in hosting the Cosmic Peak Talent War and the Strongest War.

The other three supreme factions, lacking the right to host these wars, focused more on nurturing their prodigies—so their core sanctum talents were only slightly weaker than the Virtual Universe Corporation’s Original Sanctum and the Giant Axe Combat Arena’s Giant Axe Sanctum.

Within the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, the equivalent of the Original Sanctum was the Glory Sanctum.

Rosha, the legendary prodigy who appeared once every ten million years before Tian Shi Wang Yawei, came from the Glory Sanctum—unfortunately, she was assassinated by aliens.

At that moment, Ironblood Marquis spoke up.

“Captain, you’re exaggerating! If we truly fought, I wouldn’t last long against you!”

After saying this, Ironblood Marquis turned to Lu Qing and welcomed him: “Thunderstorm, welcome to the Xuan Kong Squad!”

“Thank you,” Lu Qing replied with a smile.

“Thunderstorm, let me introduce the rest of the squad,” Captain Xuan Kong continued.

He then pointed to a towering Ox-People immortal over six meters tall: “Tidal Marquis ‘Wefried.’ Tidal is also Low Marquis-level, but his importance in the squad is no less than mine. Don’t be fooled by his current height—he’s using a secret technique!”

“Once battle begins, Tidal transforms into a giant over sixty meters tall. His enormous size grants him incredible spiritual power reserves—even many large alien races can’t match his total spiritual power. When our squad is in danger, Tidal is always the one who burns his immortal spiritual power to hold off enemies, letting us retreat safely!”

He then quickly pointed to another being, a minotaur over six meters tall: “Marquis Jingtao ‘Wefried’—Jingtao is also a low-rank marquis, yet his importance in the team is no less than mine! Don’t be fooled by his current six-meter height—that’s the result of a secret technique!”

According to the information he’d gathered, Tidal Marquis was from the Ox-People’s ‘Redline Clan.’

Though the Redline Clan was naturally large, most peak World Lords stood only ten meters tall, and their height didn’t increase upon becoming immortals.

For Tidal Marquis to reach over sixty meters was rare even among the Redline Clan—he likely had some other fortune or cultivation.

Strictly speaking, even if Lu Qing combined the spiritual power of all three of his avatars, he might still not surpass Tidal Marquis!

Of course, Lu Qing’s Infinite Sea Avatar was still in its early expansion phase; with enough time, surpassing Tidal Marquis in spiritual power reserves would be effortless.

On the other side, after hearing Xuan Kong’s introduction, Tidal Marquis gave Lu Qing a simple, hearty smile.

Of course, Lu Qing’s Infinite Divine Sea avatar was still in its early expansion phase; given enough time, surpassing Marquis Jingtao in divine power reserves would be effortless!

“Giant Elephant, an extremely fearsome martial artist, High Military Lord!”

Xuan Kong pointed to a towering figure over five meters tall, with a long dragon tail, two curved horns on his forehead, and a diamond-shaped crystal mark on his brow: “Before you joined, Giant Elephant ranked fourth in our squad’s strength—he’s even fought and defeated Low Marquis-level aliens multiple times!”

Lu Qing looked at him and recognized him as a member of the Yan Poluo Clan, a well-known human race.

“Thunderstorm, welcome to our squad,” said Yan Poluo Clan’s ‘Giant Elephant,’ nodding slightly.

“Thank you,” Lu Qing nodded back.

“Nightmare, an exceptional illusionist, High Military Lord!”

Xuan Kong gazed at a stunning woman and sighed: “Nightmare comes from one of our human race’s most suitable races for illusionists—the Chimera Clan. Among Military Lord-level immortals, very few can resist her illusions—even some weak-willed Marquis-level immortals are affected!”

As soon as Xuan Kong finished, the beautiful woman, draped in soft white gauze and with two fluffy tails behind her, turned to Lu Qing and said: “Thunderstorm, welcome to the Xuan Kong Squad!”

Marquis Xuan Kong sighed as he gazed at a stunningly beautiful woman: “Dreamshade comes from one of the human race’s most suitable races for illusionists—the Chimera. Among the warlord-level immortal deities, very few can resist Dreamshade’s illusions—even some weaker-ranked marquis immortals would likely be affected!”

In truth, Lu Qing’s current willpower was well-suited for the illusionist path.

But illusionists were rare even on the Outer Battlefield, and honing oneself through illusions was difficult—so Lu Qing had never trained any soul-attack techniques, only a soul-defense method and a soul-binding technique to enslave others.

“Coldheart, a powerful mentalist, High Military Lord!”

Xuan Kong continued: “His attacks are devastating. In battle, he coordinates perfectly with Nightmare—they can jointly hold off three or four alien immortals at once!”

Coldheart was a cold young man in silver battle armor, radiating an aura of detachment; when he noticed Lu Qing’s gaze, he merely nodded slightly.

“Coldheart just looks cold on the outside,”

Vice-Captain Ironblood Marquis chuckled beside him. “Once you get to know him, you’ll find he’s quite easygoing.”

“Shadow, an extremely skilled mentalist, High Military Lord!”

Xuan Kong pointed to the last one with serious emphasis: “Shadow’s master is one of our human race’s Peak Marquis-level alchemists—so we can buy rare alchemicals at normal prices! These alchemicals rarely circulate in the cosmos; even when they do, prices are inflated by two or three times!”

“We rarely use these rare alchemicals in daily combat, but when facing powerful enemies and fighting for survival, they become absolutely crucial!”

Marquis Xuan Kong pointed to the last person and said with great seriousness: “Shadow’s master is one of our human race’s peak-rank marquis alchemists, so we have the chance to purchase rare alchemicals at normal prices! Yaozhidao ， Naxiezhenguiyaojidoushihenshaozaiyuzhouzhongliutongde ， Jishinenggouliutong ， Zaijiageshangyeshiyaoyijialiangsanchengde ！”

“Although we rarely use those rare alchemicals in daily combat, when facing powerful enemies and forced to fight for our lives, those alchemicals are undoubtedly crucial!”

Alchemists’ strength lay in their concoctions; a Peak Marquis-level alchemist could likely brew alchemicals deadly even to King-level immortals.

With enough resources and time, such an alchemist could wipe out an entire army alone.

Lu Qing looked at the final figure—a black-robed immortal with a faint smile—and nodded politely.

Xuan Kong, Ironblood Marquis, Tidal Marquis, Giant Elephant, Nightmare, Coldheart, Shadow—these seven were the entire Xuan Kong Squad. The weakest among them were High Military Lords, each possessing formidable hidden strengths—truly elite.

Of course, the Xuan Kong Squad had roamed the Outer Battlefield for over a hundred thousand years, losing three teammates along the way; those who survived naturally grew stronger.

Marquis Xuan Kong, Marquis Tie Xue, Marquis Jingtao, Giant Elephant, Dreamshade, Coldheart, and Shadow—these seven were the entire members of the Xuan Kong squad; even the weakest among them were high-rank warlords, and each possessed powerful trump cards, truly deserving of the title elite.

Of course, the Xuan Kong squad had already roamed the Outer Battlefield for over a hundred thousand years, during which three teammates had perished; those who survived naturally grew stronger.

At that moment, a curious voice spoke up.

"Thunderstorm."

The Nightmare set down his cup and asked softly, "You’ve just arrived on the Outer Battlefield and already possess Foundation Establishment rank power—how much military merit has the army assigned you?"

Hearing this, the other members of the Xuan Kong squad all turned to Lu Qing, their expressions ranging from scrutiny to curiosity...

"My military merit quota?"

Lu Qing smiled faintly inside—he knew this was how the Xuan Kong squad sought to gauge his strength.

After all, he had never yet fought alongside them; the only measurable indicator of his power was the military merit quota assigned by the army system!

Fortunately, before leaving the Outer Battlefield, Lu Qing had already chosen to retire, so upon rejoining, he received a new military merit quota.

Thinking of this, Lu Qing spoke clearly: "My quota is one trillion."

"One trillion?" The Nightmare’s face filled with astonishment; his purple eyes scrutinized Lu Qing with intense curiosity, as if trying to see through him entirely.

The others, too, wore expressions of shock!

"Damn! Assigned one trillion military merit right after arriving on the Outer Battlefield? That’s unbelievable!"

"Heaven, one trillion? How long would it take to complete that?"

"It’s unimaginable that someone at Foundation Establishment rank—a rookie, no less—would get such a high quota!"

"Looks like our squad really landed a rare expert this time."

"Back when we first formed, only Ironblood ever reached a one-trillion quota!"

"Thunderstorm, you’re not some prince from one of the Five Great Powers who just broke through to Immortal, are you?"

The Xuan Kong squad members began murmuring among themselves.

Hearing their remarks, Lu Qing merely smiled faintly.

As the saying goes: "The capable bear more burden"—the stronger one is, the higher the military merit quota assigned upon entering the Outer Battlefield!

When a new recruit enters the Outer Battlefield, their assigned quota can, to some extent, reflect their true strength.

Generally, a World Lord’s quota ranges from one hundred million to one billion; a low-rank Immortal Lord’s from one billion to ten billion; a high-rank Immortal Lord’s from ten billion to one hundred billion; and a Foundation Establishment Immortal’s from one hundred billion to one trillion...

Lu Qing’s quota reached the absolute upper limit of Foundation Establishment Immortal rank—clearly proving his strength ranks among the very top in the Outer Battlefield’s Foundation Establishment tier!

And this was entirely accurate!

Lu Qing had never cleared the Heavenly Bridge’s sixteenth level, but the Heavenly Bridge primarily tests one’s comprehension of primordial laws, so its bonus to amplitude techniques and combat arts is limited.

Besides, those who attempt the Heavenly Bridge are all geniuses within the Virtual Universe Corporation—who doesn’t have some special ability?

But Lu Qing had created a top-tier technique, which was already impressive among Foundation Establishment Immortals; combined with his cultivation of the Thunder Illusion Body to its second level, granting his body a fourfold amplitude.

This placed him solidly in the upper tier even among Foundation Establishment Immortals of the Five Great Powers’ inner circles—and naturally, among all Foundation Establishment warriors on the Outer Battlefield, he stood at the absolute pinnacle!

After all, most warriors on the Outer Battlefield hail from countless races across the vast cosmos. Even if some possess powerful Cosmic Lords, ordinary races like the Golden Horn Clan—led by only a dozen Cosmic Sovereigns—lack deep foundations.

When geniuses from the Five Great Human Powers arrive here, they naturally overwhelm their peers from weaker clans with superior techniques and equipment.

Similarly, royal and imperial members of the Demon Races, along with geniuses from other top-tier factions, naturally hold advantages over their peers on the Outer Battlefield.

(End of Chapter)