Chapter 183: The Great Battle Begins

"Senior Liu Jing." Hearing this familiar voice, Li Yuan felt a small surge of joy and flashed out from the dark cave.

The old man in blue standing several dozen meters away was indeed Liu Jing.

Subconsciously, Li Yuan activated his Divine Palace scan, confirming without a doubt: a level 24.2 Source Martialist.

There was no notification of spiritual intelligence; he was a human of the Seven Stars.

This was a point the teacher had emphasized in the general knowledge course: when roaming the Star Realm, always remain vigilant, and never let success or joy cloud your judgment.

"You hide quite well. If not for the positioning from the smart ring, I'm afraid I would have had a hard time finding your trail," Liu Jing said with a chuckle.

Li Yuan couldn't help but smile: "Senior, how did you get here so fast?"

From the time he submitted his report via communication, less than five hours had passed.

"I received the news, consulted with the other two chief officers, and set out immediately, rushing all the way." Liu Jing's face was solemn: "Also, I just followed the guidance of your intelligence map and went to that Tianliang tribe encampment you mentioned... it was already deserted."

"No one there?" Li Yuan was surprised.

"I observed the surroundings just now and found many Flying Snake corpses on the outskirts of Flying Snake Valley. That must have been from your battle," Liu Jing said: "I estimate you startled them, making them afraid to stay, so they retreated quickly."

"Senior is wise," Li Yuan said with a smile.

"Alright, stop the flattery." Liu Jing smiled slightly: "I already went down to scout Flying Snake Valley just now. I can preliminarily confirm your intelligence is correct; a large quantity of Blood-Vitality Source Spirit Mushrooms are growing on the canyon walls... I have already sent a message back, ordering the main base force to rush over. I estimate they can arrive within three days."

"Senior is formidable." Li Yuan was genuinely shocked and felt even more admiration: "In such a short time, Senior has accomplished so much. This junior is impressed."

Less than five hours to travel from the base and also conduct reconnaissance and exploration everywhere.

Truly dedicated!

"It's all what I should do. As a chief officer, I naturally cannot be slack." Liu Jing's face didn't flush, and his heart didn't race.

But in reality, for these few hours, Liu Jing had been resting not far away, adjusting his own state.

Feeling his physical state had recovered to its peak, he immediately came to find Li Yuan.

"Senior, what should we do next?" Li Yuan asked.

"According to the intelligence you provided, if Flying Snake Valley is truly suitable for the large-scale growth of 'Blood-Vitality Source Spirit Mushrooms,' then it is worth our Xia Nation investing a large amount of resources," Liu Jing said: "Spending over a hundred billion Blue Star coins or even more resources to establish a war base here is worth it."

Li Yuan couldn't help but nod.

Indeed, for Blood-Vitality Source Spirit Mushrooms, the value of a single stalk or two isn't high, but what if they could produce one hundred thousand, or even a million stalks annually?

In a sense, its value is far higher than the Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Wood.

Because the Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Wood can only help a few martialists.

But a continuous supply of Blood-Vitality Source Spirit Mushrooms can enable thousands upon thousands of martialists to grow faster.

"Of course, I am not an expert either; we must wait for those scientists to come and conduct tests," Liu Jing said.

Li Yuan nodded slightly; professional matters should be left to professionals.

"In our next actions, we must be mindful of some things," Liu Jing said: "First is the experts of the Tianliang tribe."

"Didn't they retreat?" Li Yuan was puzzled.

"Didn't you say Lord Xue Shu had scouted Flying Snake Valley before?" Liu Jing said solemnly: "When encountering an enemy, one must assume the worst-case scenario. Assume that Lord Xue Shu also discovered the Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Wood... he likely wanted to swallow the Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Fruit alone, which is why he never reported it to the Tianliang tribe's high command."

"Of course, there are many contradictions. Even if he is a level 19 genius, logically it would be hard for him to fight two Tier-2 Flying Snakes," Liu Jing said.

Li Yuan couldn't help but nod; this was indeed a confusing point.

However, Liu Jing and Li Yuan had no idea that Lord Xue Shu lacked Li Yuan's stealth ability and had no idea there were Tier-2 Flying Snakes at the bottom of Flying Snake Valley.

"Regardless."

"He has now been scared off by you. Assuming he reports to the Tianliang tribe's high command, will the Tianliang tribe come to compete?" Liu Jing looked at Li Yuan.

"Flying Snake Valley is much closer to our Seven Stars human outpost base," Li Yuan hesitated slightly.

"But the Tianliang tribe has greater strength and stronger long-range projection capabilities," Liu Jing sighed: "Otherwise, how would they dare to kill their way to Observation Point 19."

Li Yuan felt a chill in his heart.

Indeed, the Tianliang tribe's power in the Mingxu Star Realm was even more formidable.

"But just as you said, the proximity is our advantage," Liu Jing smiled slightly: "Even if the Tianliang tribe's Source Martialists want to rush over, it will still take some time."

"What we must do is utilize this time to snatch the three Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Fruits."

"Although Flying Snake Valley has high value, that is aimed at the entire nation and the entire civilization," Liu Jing said solemnly: "We have established great merit. In the future, if a planting base can be established, we, as the first discoverers, will receive a 20-year share of the profits... but in the short term, the returns are far inferior to the Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Fruits."

"Understood." Li Yuan nodded.

Flying Snake Valley has high value, but it requires the Xia Nation and even the Seven Stars Alliance to invest a large amount of resources before it can be effective.

For powerful martialists? It has little use.

And the three Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Fruits can directly yield billions of Blue Star coins.

"After obtaining them, according to the Alliance rules, you, as the discoverer, get 20%, and the remaining 80% will be determined by the extent of our contributions," Liu Jing laughed: "No objections, right?"

"No objections." Li Yuan shook his head.

If he had gone to break in alone, he wouldn't even get 1%. Now, basically guaranteed to get one Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Fruit, he naturally had no objections.

"Did you not tell the other two chief officers?" Li Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"No need to say. They can't come. The base only has three Source Martialists in total; it's impossible to send everyone out," Liu Jing said indifferently: "We also don't have time to wait for other Tier-1 martialists to arrive; they wouldn't be able to play any role either."

"Alright, I will follow Senior's arrangements." Li Yuan nodded.

If it were other Source Martialists he had only met a few times, Li Yuan would be very vigilant, but he still admired Liu Jing quite a bit.

Facing a Source Martialist who was willing to guard a frontier for thirty years for the country, Li Yuan believed the other party wouldn't harm him over a few Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Fruits.

Of course, Li Yuan also kept his teacher's words in mind: no matter how much you trust the other party, you must keep an ace up your sleeve. Li Yuan secretly kept some means as well; one must guard against others.

In the Star Realm, no one cares if martialists kill each other.

"My plan is very simple," Liu Jing said: "You take the initiative to scout down into Flying Snake Valley."

"The deeper, the better."

"Your stealth ability is stronger than mine. You are responsible for sneaking to the place closest to the Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Wood," Liu Jing looked at Li Yuan: "Then I will strike from high up in the canyon, attracting the two Tier-2 Flying Snakes and other Flying Snakes over... you are responsible for seizing the opportunity to snatch the Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Fruits."

"After you seize it, if you are not discovered, sneak away alone."

"Once you have successfully escaped, send me a signal, and I will find a way to leave on my own."

"If you are discovered after seizing the treasure, given your strength, the threat from ordinary First-Rank Flying Snakes should be minimal in the short term."

"Then, flee immediately toward me, and I will take you out," Liu Jing said.

"Then what about you, Senior?" Li Yuan asked with some hesitation.

This plan sounded simple.

But its greatest premise was that Liu Jing could withstand the siege of two Second-Rank Flying Snakes and thousands of First-Rank Flying Snakes.

"Haha, looking down on me?" Liu Jing laughed. "Although I cannot kill ten thousand Flying Snakes by myself, it is very easy for me to delay them for a while and then take you to safety."

Li Yuan nodded slightly, his inner worries put to rest.

Senior Liu was a Level 24 Source Martial Artist who had held down this region for decades; he certainly considered things more comprehensively than he did.

"In fact, if we weren't in a rush and worried that the Soul-Nourishing Ancient Spirit Fruit might be destroyed directly by the Second-Rank Flying Snakes,"

"we could have waited for the mechanical troops to arrive and directly wiped out the Flying Snake tribe with heavy weaponry," Liu Jing said. "The Flying Snake tribe is weak and not worth worrying about."

Li Yuan was speechless.

The Flying Snake tribe was weak? That was only relative to the Xia Nation's war machines.

Soon.

Li Yuan and Liu Jing discussed more details, checking the time, location, escape route, and emergency contingency plans one by one.

Set off immediately.

Two suns hung high, their light shining upon the earth, and the thick, rolling mist within the Flying Snake Valley seemed to have dissipated quite a bit.

Li Yuan and Liu Jing, wearing their combat suits, had already snuck to the edge of the canyon.

Looking down from here, one could already see many traces of Flying Snakes in the canyon.

"Let's begin," Liu Jing said in a low voice.

"Alright." Li Yuan nodded slightly, the combat suit covering his entire body turning black-green to blend into the surrounding environment to the greatest extent.

He gripped his long spear.

Whoosh! With a movement of his figure, Li Yuan followed the vines to probe into the Flying Snake Valley.

This was his second time sneaking in, and following the familiar route, he could be considered well-versed; Li Yuan's speed was much faster than last time.

In just two minutes, Li Yuan had descended more than 300 meters, completely disappearing into the mist.

"This little fellow is truly formidable; his stealth ability... it's a unity of heaven and man." Liu Jing looked down at the scene below, sighing inwardly; even with his keen eyesight, he could no longer clearly see Li Yuan's position.

Of course, the further down he went, the slower he became.

15 minutes later, the Flying Snake Valley remained as quiet as ever, with only the hissing roars of the Flying Snakes echoing from time to time.

"Has he not reached the designated position yet?" Liu Jing felt a slight worry in his heart.

Suddenly.

Hum~ The smart ring on Liu Jing's arm vibrated slightly, and a number appeared on the screen—0!

0 represents safety; everything is according to plan.

1 represents encountering a predicament; please wait.

2 represents a request for support.

Liu Jing's mind stirred, the light screen flickered and sent a "0," and immediately after, his combat suit wrapped around the smart ring, turning his entire person completely pitch-black.

Only his eyes were slightly exposed.

Swish! Drawing his combat saber from his back and holding a shield in one hand, Liu Jing felt a surge of hot blood boiling within him.

"Haha, it's been a long time since I've experienced such a great battle," Liu Jing murmured to himself.

Without hiding his figure in the slightest, Liu Jing stood up directly.

Whoosh!

Liu Jing leaped directly from the thousand-meter cliff, turning into a terrifying stream of light as he lunged downward; gravity combined with his own exertion caused his speed to instantly skyrocket to nearly 200 meters per second.

Boom! The terrifying speed caused the air to vibrate and explode, transmitting in all directions.

The sound transmission caused many Flying Snakes on the cliff walls to subconsciously raise their heads to observe above.

"Boom!"

Like a massive meteor collision, two giant Flying Snakes on the cliff wall about 300 meters below the canyon were instantly split in two by Liu Jing's descending combat saber.

Countless blood splattered, and Liu Jing landed directly on the cliff; under the terrifying impact, countless rocks were shattered, shooting out in all directions.

"Kill!" Liu Jing's eyes were cold; exerting force with his legs, he flashed nearly a hundred meters across the cliff wall in a single move.

"Puchi~" Another Level 18 Flying Snake was slashed in mid-air, its massive body torn to pieces.

Flesh and blood fell one after another.

"Awoo!"

"Ang!" Finally, throughout the entire Flying Snake Valley, the heaven-shaking roars of hundreds and thousands of Flying Snakes erupted, as if they had encountered a mortal enemy.

This sound spread rapidly, reaching the cliffs on both sides of the Flying Snake Valley and even deeper into the valley.

At this moment.

Tens of thousands of Flying Snakes knew—Second-Rank! A Second-Rank alien has come!!

Only a few seconds later.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Flying Snakes rushed out of the mist one after another, hissing and flapping their wings as they charged out.

Almost simultaneously.

On the cliffs on both sides, even more Flying Snakes emerged rapidly; these Flying Snakes spread their wings, their eyes extremely sharp, quickly locking onto Liu Jing, who was waiting on the cliff wall.

Swish! Swish! The Flying Snakes diving down from above were even more terrifying in speed, charging toward Liu Jing one after another.

"Haha, well come." Liu Jing revealed a cold smile.

Boom! A scorching flame burned faintly on his body, as if he were a god of war!!

About 1200 meters at the bottom of the canyon.

An inconspicuous black-green figure was lurking in the vines.

"It has begun." Li Yuan held his breath; in the Flying Snake caves around him, a large number of Flying Snakes were crazily rushing out, continuously charging out.

It was overwhelming.

The entire Flying Snake tribe's terrifying numerical advantage was completely unleashed at this moment.

(End of chapter)