Chapter 812

Lord Xue Jian, though cold and grim, always carried an aura as if forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

But with Xu Jingming, he was unusually gentle, repeatedly asking about Xu Jingming's experiences during their conversation.

When he learned Xu Jingming had encountered ninth-rank Beast Emperors in the Dayangzhou wilderness more than once, his eyes showed even clearer admiration.

It seemed Xu Jingming greatly pleased him; he pulled him aside and chatted for a long while before letting him leave.

"What did Lord Xue Jian my lord talk to you about? It took over half an hour."

As soon as Xu Jingming removed his neural helmet and returned to the real world, Hearing Ling Shuang, waiting nearby, curiously asked.

"He said he'd give me something to save my life," Xu Jingming replied with a smile.

"Something to save your life? A protective talisman? But aren't protective talismans from the Yer Realm unusable?"

Hearing Ling Shuang looked puzzled.

"Not a talisman—a SSR-grade battle suit called 'Yuan Jia.' Have you ever heard of it, Teacher Ling?"

Xu Jingming rose from the sofa.

Brilliant golden Lei Ting surged forth, coalescing roughly into the shape of Yuan Jia.

"I've heard of it—Yuan Jia has incredibly strong defense; even Su Qingli doesn't have one."

I never expected Lord Xue Jian my lord would lend it to you directly."

Hearing Ling Shuang whispered in astonishment.

SSR-grade battle suits still vary in quality.

Yuan Jia is among the higher-quality ones within SSR-grade battle suits.

If Su Qingli's father were still alive, he could surely have gotten her a Yuan Jia.

But Su Qingli's father remains missing; she only possesses an ordinary SSR-grade battle suit.

"So it's just a loan? I thought he was giving it to me outright."

Xu Jingming sounded slightly disappointed.

"You're dreaming too big—Lord Xue Jian my lord has already broken through to ninth-rank upper tier."

But Yuan Jia is still extremely valuable to him; how could he just give it to you?"

Hearing Ling Shuang shook her head.

"True."

Xu Jingming nodded, then mused: "Teacher Ling, we've been away from the martial arts academy for over a month—is that alright?"

"No problem. Vice Director Zhao Ying is highly capable; leave all affairs to him."

Hearing Ling Shuang smiled.

Zhao Ying is also a staunch supporter of Su Qingli; otherwise, Su Qingli wouldn't have sent him to Moben to assist.

"Good. Then let's pack up and depart—Moben to Maple Country is still quite far."

Xu Jingming nodded.

Maple Country is a neighbor of the United States, over ten thousand kilometers straight-line distance from Moben in Dayangzhou!

Even a Chi Xiao-class fighter, flying at double the speed of sound at full throttle, requires twelve hours to reach it.

After preparing the necessary pills and supplies, Xu Jingming and Hearing Ling Shuang didn't finish until past 10 p. m.

When they arrived in Maple Country aboard the Chi Xiao-class fighter, it was exactly noon.

Because the fighter had to cross the dangerous Pacific Ocean en route, the actual travel time was two hours longer than expected—fourteen hours total.

"Lord Xue Jian my lord has already booked us a hotel; we can head there directly."

After inputting the hotel address into Eva, the entire fighter swiftly flew toward the hotel's location.

This Chi Xiao-class fighter had already been registered with Maple Country before departure.

Otherwise, upon entering Maple Country's border, alarms would trigger, making it impossible to fly in.

Though called a hotel, the place Lord Xue Jian reserved was actually a luxury villa complex.

The villa Xu Jingming and Hearing Ling Shuang stayed in was No. 5 in the complex.

Compared to Xu Jingming's villas in Moben and Daxia, this one was slightly smaller.

But its interior was exquisitely decorated, in Western architectural style.

The villa came with its own backyard garden and helipad; the Chi Xiao-class fighter landed swiftly on the helipad.

"We're only staying one or two days, yet Lord Xue Jian my lord booked us a luxury villa?"

Xu Jingming leapt from the Chi Xiao-class fighter and glanced around, surprised.

The Yer Realm is about to open; they won't stay long in this villa—it's merely a temporary base.

"We're all eighth-rank Grand Masters from Daxia; Lord Xue Jian my lord wouldn't let us stay in an ordinary hotel."

As they entered the villa, Hearing Ling Shuang looked around curiously:

"Actually, this is my first time in Maple Country. After the Yer Realm ends, we could stay here a few more days."

Due to the presence of ferocious beasts, ordinary citizens never fly to other countries.

One reason is the exorbitant ticket prices—starting at tens of thousands of Blue Star Credits.

The other is extreme danger: if they encounter terrifying flying beasts, the result is almost always total destruction and death.

Though Hearing Ling Shuang had both money and strength to travel abroad, her daily cultivation left no time or inclination for tourism.

This was her first time in Maple Country.

"Sure," Xu Jingming nodded with a smile.

He'd spent the past period constantly fighting ferocious beasts in the wilderness, with little rest.

It's foreseeable that this journey in the Yer Realm won't be easy either.

Afterward, a little proper relaxation wouldn't hurt.

The Yer Realm opened within the city of Toronto, in the Maple Leaf Nation.

The villa where Xu Jingming and others resided, as well as the banquet at Wilson Hotel at nine p. m., were both within Toronto.

Only when there were still over ten minutes left until nine p. m. did Xu Jingming and Ling Shuang depart from the villa.

After meeting the remaining four members of Lei Ting Martial Arts at the entrance of Wilson Hotel, the group of six entered the hotel.

Unlike the banquet in Daxia, the banquet inside Wilson Hotel leaned toward a Western style.

In the hall, long tables scattered everywhere held various exquisite dishes and desserts, available for free.

Staff in uniforms moved through the crowd, smiling as they carried drinks and alcohol.

The hall, nearly four hundred square meters in size, already held many people.

When Xu Jingming's group entered, the previously somewhat noisy hall fell silent.

All eyes inevitably turned toward this group of six.

First was Ling Shuang, the team leader of Lei Ting Martial Arts, nominally the captain.

Today, she had not dressed specially—only a black evening gown.

Under the gown, her full, graceful figure was unmistakable, elegant and alluring.

Already stunning, the tear mole at the corner of her eye added a touch of cold beauty.

Even the eight-stage Grand Masters present, who had seen countless beauties, could not help feeling stunned upon seeing Ling Shuang.

After Ling Shuang came Xu Jingming, beside her.

This man, possessor of an SS-grade Lightning-element ability and currently the number one prodigy of Blue Star, they had seen more than once in the virtual world.

But when they met him in the real world, they were astonished to discover.

The aura Xu Jingming faintly emitted made them all feel a sense of danger!

This tall, upright youth resembled an peerless spear, freely radiating his own sharpness.

Could this really be just a seven-stage Grand Master? Why did his aura feel stronger than ours, the eight-stage Grand Masters?

Does an SS-grade ability truly bring such obvious changes to an ability user?

The shock in their hearts passed in an instant, quickly turning into warm greetings:

"Director Ling has arrived."

"Director Ling, Director Xu, come, come—we've been waiting for you."

"......"

The thirty eight-stage Grand Masters entering the Yer Realm were undoubtedly among the upper-middle tier of Daxia's eight-stage Grand Masters.

No one who had broken through to the eighth stage was foolish; naturally, none would miss such a prime networking opportunity.

One by one, they raised their glasses and came forward to make connections.

Even the rival Bear Fury Martial Arts, one by one, approached with smiles.

If this had been before, Xu Jingming might still have been awkward in handling such situations.

But after the experiences at the Song family and the Lei Ting Martial Arts director meeting, he had fully adapted.

Facing any eight-stage Grand Master who approached, whether known or unknown, he simply said, "I've long heard of your great name."

As for Ling Shuang, she appeared even more at ease, handling it effortlessly.

While networking with these eight-stage Grand Masters, Xu Jingming noticed.

Besides Ling Shuang and Bear Fury Martial Arts's Chen Yang, there was yet another S-grade ability awakened individual.

His name was Luo Lan, possessing an S-grade Earth-element ability, at the upper tier of the eighth stage.

He was muscular, handsome, and seemed very cheerful.

Had Xu Jingming not known his actual age, he might have mistaken Luo Lan for a young man in his twenties.

"Luo Lan—he must be the strongest among us entering the Yer Realm."

Watching Luo Lan, glass in hand, walk away gracefully toward the next person, Xu Jingming thought silently.

An S-grade at upper eighth stage—right now, he probably couldn't defeat him.

But that was only for now; once inside the Yer Realm,

after he hunted a few more ferocious beasts and accumulated enough ability points to break through to the eighth stage, things would be different.

He hadn't expected, however, that Daxia had so many S-grade ability awakened individuals.

He had never heard the name Luo Lan before.

"Daxia's depth is stronger than I imagined," Xu Jingming marveled inwardly.

Not all prodigies attend the three top-tier universities.

Some S-grade prodigies from ninth-stage ability user clans have dozens of eighth-stage ability users within their families to guide their cultivation.

They can freely use their clan's resources—no need to go to an ability university.

An ability university is, after all, merely a promotion path for ability users of average family background.

"Average family background" here means no seventh-stage Grand Master exists within the family.

"Director Xu, I've long heard of your great name—today meeting you, I see you truly are extraordinary!"

As Xu Jingming pondered, a middle-aged man in a robe appeared before him, raising his glass with a smile:

"I am Wang Linyang, commander of the Jinghai Corps."

"Wang Linyang?"

Xu Jingming was about to greet him, but upon hearing the name, his brow furrowed.

That name... I've heard it somewhere before.

As a seventh-stage upper Grand Master, Xu Jingming's memory was exceptional.

In an instant, he recalled the origin of the name.

Originally, the guild my senior brother Liu Ming belonged to was destroyed because he was arranged by this Wang Linyang to serve as bait.

Because of this incident, Teacher Yang Zhentian once flew into a rage and fought him.

The Weida Sect also took him to the military court, but in the end, he was only ordered to pay compensation and had his former legion commander position revoked.

Judging by how things look now, he must have been reinstated.

Thinking of this, Xu Jingming narrowed his eyes and asked: "Wang Linyang? Was it you who commanded the Black Crow Campaign on the Great Xia border two years ago?"

Although the names are the same, he still needed to confirm it.

And the Black Crow Campaign was precisely the battle in which my senior brother Liu Ming was severely injured and lost all four limbs.

"The Black Crow Campaign?"

Wang Linyang paused.

As an eighth-rank Zhongweida Master, he had commanded many battles.

The Black Crow Campaign was indeed commanded by him, but he never expected Xu Jingming to know about it.

This meant Xu Jingming had researched beforehand—likely he was a fan!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought it up right away.

Thinking of this, Wang Linyang couldn't help but smile, a hint of pride and triumph in his voice:

"That's right, it was me. I didn't expect Director Xu to know about that battle.

During that campaign, an eighth-rank ferocious beast was extremely cunning, hiding deep within the wilderness zone.

If not dealt with promptly, it could have caused massive casualties.

Fortunately, I eventually used a stratagem to lure it out and killed it at minimal cost."

The Black Crow Campaign was indeed one of his most proud command victories.

"So it was you."

Xu Jingming's gaze turned cold, and he suddenly asked: "Do you know Liu Ming?"

"Liu Ming? I don't know him. Which eighth-rank Da Zongshi is he?" Wang Linyang shook his head, puzzled.

"No, he was merely one of the many Weida Sect students you used as bait during the Black Crow Campaign—and he is also my senior brother."

Xu Jingming fixed his eyes on him, his voice now icy cold, a faint but terrifying aura of slaughter radiating from his body.

Every time he returned to the Weida Sect, he would spend some time at Teacher Yang Zhentian's place.

Besides seeking advice on cultivation, he sometimes mentioned Senior Brother Liu Ming.

After graduation, Liu Ming joined the Great Xia military legion and has since broken through to fourth-rank Shangwei.

His newly regrown limbs have long since healed—and are now even stronger.

But Liu Ming has never escaped the nightmare of that day.

According to Teacher Yang Zhentian, Senior Brother Liu Ming fights relentlessly in the legion, always charging to the front in every battle against ferocious beasts.

Even on nights with no combat, he would break down emotionally and call Teacher Yang Zhentian, saying he saw the old battle again.

Senior Brother Liu Ming has never forgotten the losses from that day; his heart burns with rage, swearing revenge against Wang Linyang.

Yet the very man responsible, Wang Linyang, doesn't even know Liu Ming exists...

"Your senior brother?"

Wang Linyang frowned.

He now remembered that, besides Su Qingli, Xu Jingming had another teacher at the Weida Sect.

What stunned him more was that Xu Jingming's senior brother was precisely one of the students he had assigned as bait to lure out the eighth-rank ferocious beast.

Damn it!

He should never have come over so willingly.

Wang Linyang's heart sank, but now that things had gone this far, he couldn't simply turn and leave.

After all, the commotion had drawn the attention of several eighth-rank Da Zongshi nearby.

"Director Xu, back then I was forced into it.

If I hadn't deployed bait, that eighth-rank ferocious beast might have hidden indefinitely.

As for your senior brother's case, I deeply regret it.

I did provide appropriate compensation afterward—I hope you can forgive me."

Wang Linyang first apologized sincerely, then raised his wine cup, as if to seal old grudges with a drink.