Chapter 385: Target: Ji Yuan

Xiangnan City is famous throughout Great Xia for its strange stones; the streets and alleys are filled with jagged, peculiar rocks.

After leaving Kyoto, Chen Fan arrived here.

This place is under the jurisdiction of the Qiongxiao Army, and within its borders lies an other-dimensional space named the Stone Realm.

The Stone Realm is home to many stone-type strange beasts with powerful physiques that are difficult to kill, which once brought endless suffering to the locals until one man came here to take office: Ji Yuan.

"Young and promising" is the most fitting description for Ji Yuan. The people of Xiangnan might not be able to name their mayor, but everyone knows who Ji Yuan is.

Ji Yuan is a native of Xiangnan. As a former top martial arts scholar of Xiangnan City, he joined the Qiongxiao Army after graduating from Magic University. Due to his rapid rise in strength, he gained the favor of Bai Sheng and was taken in as a personal disciple.

Guarding the Stone Realm now is merely a way to gild his military career; everyone in Xiangnan knows that the future of the Qiongxiao Army most likely belongs to Ji Yuan.

This information is available online, so Chen Fan didn't need to ask around. He sat in an authentic Xiang-style restaurant, closed his phone, and leisurely savored the local delicacies.

At a nearby table, four military officers were drinking and chatting.

One of the officers hooked his finger at the other three and whispered, "Have you heard? General Ji plans to lead a team tomorrow to exterminate that group of Titan Ants in Wan Sui Mountain."

"Oh? I haven't heard that. But Titan Ants are notoriously difficult to deal with, and they usually don't run out of Wan Sui Mountain to hurt people. Why would General Ji do such a thankless job?" a bearded officer asked in surprise.

The officer who spoke first smiled triumphantly: "Of course, it's because General Ji has his eyes on the Glazed Ant Wax. I've heard that this Glazed Ant Wax is a treasure; just one drop can refine a person's entire skeletal structure and double its strength!"

"It's that powerful?" everyone exclaimed.

"Of course. Otherwise, why would General Ji be foolish enough to attack Wan Sui Mountain? Wan Sui Mountain is the nest of the Titan Ants. There are at least a hundred thousand Titan Ants inside. Powerful Titan Ants can move mountains; taking on a Grandmaster head-on is nothing for them."

"But... even if we sent out all the soldiers guarding the Stone Realm, we might not be able to take Wan Sui Mountain, right? There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of ant tunnels inside Wan Sui Mountain, and they are interconnected. We wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps in the Titan Ants' teeth if we went in."

"What are you thinking? Even the lowest-level Stone-Skinned Titan Ants are Tier 4 strange beasts; they aren't something we ordinary soldiers can handle. I heard this operation only allows ability users Tier 4 and above to participate."

"Tier 4? We only have about a thousand Tier 4 ability user soldiers in the Stone Realm, right? Attacking Wan Sui Mountain is simply impossible!"

"Don't interrupt! Let me finish." The first officer glared at the person who interrupted him, then said: "I heard General Ji plans to invite heroes from all over the world. I estimate this news will spread throughout Xiangnan City very soon..."

Although the soldiers' discussion was quiet, it didn't escape Chen Fan's ears.

He popped a piece of roasted meat into his mouth, the corners of his lips curling up. He had been worrying about how to get close to Ji Yuan and kill him without anyone noticing, and he hadn't expected the opportunity to come so quickly.

Ji Yuan is different from Ye Beichen. As a Major General of the Qiongxiao Army and a disciple of Bai Sheng, the chain reaction caused by killing him openly would put Chen Fan in an extremely passive position.

Therefore, to save trouble, he planned to finish him off secretly.

"Glazed Ant Wax, hmm, that's a good thing. It was worth traveling thousands of miles to Xiangnan." Chen Fan drained the wine in front of him, then stood up to pay the bill and left.

The next day, news about the attack on Wan Sui Mountain spread thoroughly throughout Xiangnan City.

The military promoted it extensively, sincerely inviting non-military personnel to participate.

To boost morale, in addition to monetary rewards, the military promised that those who made outstanding contributions in this battle could receive anywhere from one to ten drops of Glazed Ant Wax.

For a time, numerous ability users came to sign up! Many people from other cities even flooded into Xiangnan City.

The Xiangnan City Cultural Square was bustling with people; it had been temporarily requisitioned by the military to screen qualified ability users.

Chen Fan used his Mimicry ability to transform into a youth in his thirties, using the alias Zhang He, with the identity of a retired soldier from the Zhenyuan Army.

When he arrived at the Cultural Square, several long queues had already formed.

Chen Fan found the shortest queue and stood at the very back.

Not long after, a short, dark-skinned youth stood behind him.

Chen Fan frowned slightly; he smelled the scent of the Beast Worship Cult on this person.

"Could it be that the Beast Worship Cult also wants the Glazed Ant Wax?"

Just as Chen Fan was pondering this, the person's voice came from behind him.

"Brother, you're very confident. Everyone else is carrying weapons, why are you empty-handed? You should know that Titan Ants have incredibly hard exoskeletons; without a weapon, you can't break through their defense at all."

Chen Fan quietly covered the space ring on his finger, turned back, and smiled: "I'm a strength-type ability user; my fists are enough. What about you? Didn't you also come without a weapon?"

The short, dark-skinned youth chuckled, pulled up his pant leg, and revealed a golden dagger on his lower leg.

"I'm a speed-type ability user; having this is enough! Brother, meeting is fate. Shall we team up when we enter Wan Sui Mountain?"

"I have no objections," Chen Fan said indifferently.

He suspected that this person had discovered something about him, which was why he had approached him so proactively.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a coincidence in the world.

But the reason he didn't refuse was that he also had his own plans.

After killing Ji Yuan, he would need a scapegoat, and this guy from the Beast Worship Cult was just right.

The two hit it off immediately and chatted very enthusiastically. The short, dark-skinned youth called himself Li Chao, a Tier 7 late-stage ability user.

Soon, it was their turn. The officer responsible for verifying qualifications directly took out two one-inch-thick steel plates and threw them to the two.

"The rules are simple. If you can punch through the steel plate in one strike, you pass. If you can't, it means you can't even break the defense of the lowest-level Stone-Skinned Titan Ants, and joining the team would be meaningless," the officer said bluntly.

Chen Fan looked at the steel plate on the ground, didn't pick it up, but stepped on it with one foot.

The one-inch-thick steel plate was easily pierced through by him.

Li Chao was also extremely agile; he took off his golden dagger, and with a swift motion, the steel plate was easily split in two.

The officer's eyes narrowed, and his expression became respectful.

He knew these two were experts.

"Congratulations to you both. This is your credential badge. Please hold your badges and enter the Stone Realm before 10:00 AM tomorrow morning. General Ji will meet everyone at the entrance and head to Wan Sui Mountain together!"

Chen Fan took the card in his hand; the front was engraved with a three-headed lion, and the back had a string of numbers.

The number on his card was 3285, while Li Chao's was 3286.

"It seems the number represents the order in which we passed the assessment. However, there are already over three thousand people so far."

Chen Fan was slightly surprised.

"Ji Yuan's pulling power is quite something!"

Although there was the temptation of the Glazed Ant Wax, Chen Fan believed that so many people coming to show support was mostly for Ji Yuan's sake.

"Brother, the operation to attack Wan Sui Mountain doesn't start until tomorrow. Since we're free today, why not find a place to go drinking? I know a place where the girls are all beautiful and are also ability users," Li Chao performed a stylish knife flourish and inserted the dagger back into his lower leg.

Just as Chen Fan was hesitating whether to refuse, a long-lost system mission arrived.

"Host, please note: System Mission: Infiltrate the Beast Worship Cult, sabotage the Beast Worship Cult's operation, and seize the Glazed Ant Wax! Mission Grade: A-. Completing the mission allows participation in a lottery." ===== CHAPTER 386 =====