Chapter 496: Mistakenly Entering a High-End Game

"Brother Zhou, you and I are like old friends at first sight. Once we return to Fucheng, we must see more of each other."

The person speaking was 'Jade Shell Golden Turtle' Pei Li.

Pei Li is a legendary figure; he originally came from a rural martial background, relying on a set of farm-style techniques to train until he became a Martial Master. After joining the rebel army, he shone brilliantly, and once the rebel army was defeated, he threw his lot in with the aristocratic faction.

As a model of someone who abandoned darkness for light, the aristocratic families treated him very generously, and the martial arts circles also gave him the green light, allowing him to open a martial arts hall in Fucheng.

Compared to the thousand dangers and difficulties faced by other Martial Masters, Pei Li's path to success was unimaginably smooth.

His powerful social skills, broad network of connections, and solid fist techniques made him a rising star in the Fucheng martial arts scene, and he is considered a prominent figure.

Zhou You never expected to encounter him on such a chaotic battlefield.

The last time he saw him was at Gongliang City, at the Five Birds Palace; he was the 9th to fight against Mao Laoliu, stopping at the point of contact, fully displaying an upright and honorable demeanor.

Seeing Zhou You alone in the wilderness, Pei Li came up to chat cordially, and upon learning he was Zhou You of the Daqian Martial Arts Hall, he invited him to travel together.

It must be said that some people are natural social butterflies; within minutes of meeting, he made one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze, creating a sense of familiarity as if they were old friends.

Pei Li first exchanged battlefield intelligence with Zhou You, handed him some food and water, and they began to converse as they walked.

"The undisputed number one person in our Fucheng martial arts circle is still 'Overlord-Hating' Yan Shan."

"He charged into the battlefield of the Strong Martial experts single-handedly to show off his skills; if he survives this battle, breaking through to the Strong Martial realm will be a matter of course."

"The last time I heard news of him, he was bested by a Witch Person Strong Martial expert and escaped after losing his mount."

Hmm, Yan Shan had already been at the peak of the Martial Master realm for many years and was a prime candidate to break through to the Strong Martial realm; he and other high-level Martial Masters were not in the same league.

After the war began, he abandoned the Overlord Martial Arts Hall group and the Fucheng martial arts circle to seek out powerful opponents to fight.

This act was undoubtedly placing his own life as a wager to seek the opportunity to break through to the Strong Martial realm.

When Pei Li spoke of Yan Shan, his tone was full of envy; after all, every Martial Master has a dream of reaching the Strong Martial realm.

"Brother Pei, where are we heading?"

Seeing that he did not seem to be wandering aimlessly, Zhou You asked about their destination.

"Has Brother Zhou heard of a Storage Pocket?"

Zhou You gave a start and subconsciously asked back, "You have seen one?"

Pei Li patted his chest, "Not only have I seen one, I have one. To tell you the truth, this trip of mine is to transport supplies under orders."

Zhou You was even more interested after hearing this. Who could it be that would let Pei Li run errands to transport supplies and trust him so much? When he looked up, however, he saw a dense mass of markers on the interface, with red and green groups very close to each other.

Whoa, ever since entering the battlefield, everyone had been operating separately; it had been a long time since he had seen a confrontation of this scale.

Crossing the area obscured by the Witch Banners, the two climbed over a hill and saw two groups of people scattered across the flat land, belonging to the Martial Artist and Witch Person camps respectively.

"Quick, follow me to pay respects to Young Master Liu."

Pei Li quickened his pace, not forgetting to urge Zhou You to keep up.

Young Master Liu? So it was Liu Fengji.

Zhou You saw at a glance that in the center of the Martial Artists, surrounded like stars around the moon, stood the Liu family's lucky charm, Liu Fengji.

His heart skipped a beat; he had accidentally stumbled into the high-end game among high-end games.

As everyone knows, the back-and-forth slaughter surrounding the ten prodigies of the Witch People is the most top-tier battle on many fronts.

And the most top-tier among these high-end games is the elite of the aristocratic families represented by Liu Fengji, and the powerful Gu-Dao army led by the Gaoyang Clan descendant Gaoyang Ruoqiang.

The strength and status of these two have already transcended ordinary Martial Artists and Witch People, possessing significant political implications.

In a sense, these two represent the extension of the struggle between the Prefecture Monarch and the Gaoyang Clan.

Pei Li walked quickly to Liu Fengji and presented a pocket held in both hands, "Pei Li has not failed the mission."

"You have worked hard." Liu Fengji nodded at him, and a person behind him took the pocket and tore it open; in an instant, various supplies fell to the ground like raindrops, piling up into a small hill in a moment.

The surrounding Martial Artists were already accustomed to this and stepped forward one by one to take the supplies they needed.

In the Witch Person camp, many people saw this scene and revealed looks of curiosity, confusion, and jealousy.

The Witch People still rely on Witch Beasts to carry supplies, which is bulky and a large target, often being ambushed and looted by Martial Artists; the Martial Artists on the other side are already using 'black technology,' which is too great a blow to morale.

Zhou You, being a newcomer, was actually also allocated a share of supplies: food, water, as well as replacement clothing, socks, and shoes, Healing Pills, and even a temporarily assembled tent for shelter.

This was truly thoughtful.

He learned from Pei Li that the aristocratic families, planning for a rainy day, had long ago set up multiple supply points in their own territory.

After the great war broke out and logistics routes were cut off, these supply points came in handy. With the Storage Pocket, the difficulty of transport was further reduced because the target was too small, and the Witch People couldn't find a target even if they wanted to ambush them.

Even so, every transport of supplies was a brush with death and extremely dangerous.

"Come, let me introduce you to a few fellow practitioners."

Pei Li pulled Zhou You into a group of people.

The Martial Artists behind Liu Fengji were also divided into different groups; aristocratic and civilian Martial Artists certainly wouldn't mix, and Jueguang Sect Disciples and family Gate Guests wouldn't be too harmonious either...

Zhou You's position was very clear: he was just a Martial Master from a civilian martial arts hall, and apart from having a high-level Martial Master as a backer, there was nothing unusual about him.

"This is Hall Master Bian Zhou of the Horse-Face Martial Arts Hall."

Pei Li introduced a person to Zhou You; he was thin and tall, with hands and legs longer than an ordinary person's, and his face was as long and narrow as a macaque's.

His pair of thin, long eyes seemed drowsy when looking at people, but the sharp light leaking from the slits indicated that this was not a simple character.

"Hall Master Bian, I have long admired your name."

Bian Zhou came from Caojiang Cheng, fought his way through the Witch People's encirclement to reach Fucheng, and built his foundation with his bare hands.

Bian Zhou cupped his hands in a salute, "Long admired, long admired; I have also often heard of Hall Master Zhou's name."

He looked around Zhou You, "Is that Gu Lao of yours not following?"

Zhou You smiled, "Gu Lao had something to attend to and did not participate in this battle."

"Is that so!"

Just as they were exchanging pleasantries, movement came from the front; another duel had begun.

The one fighting on the Martial Artist side was a family Gate Guest, with yellowing whiskers, broad shoulders and a thick waist, holding a long-handled Copper Hammer in both hands.

The contestant sent out by the Shaman people was, like him, a High-Level Martial Master; they were evenly matched in terms of cultivation realm.

"Brother Zhou, watch carefully; the opponent is a powerful Gu-Dao army, far beyond what ordinary Shaman people can compare to."

Pei Li whispered to Zhou You, explaining the situation.

Sure enough, after the Shaman contestant entered the arena and exchanged a few blows, two or three flying insects crawled out from his ears.

"Flying Gu General."

Looking closer, the flying insects appeared to be pieced together from seven or eight different types of insects; even among bizarre-looking bugs, they were the ugliest of the lot, their wings vibrating until they were nearly transparent.

The Gate Guest raised his Copper Hammer to strike, the heavy weapon feeling as light as a withered branch in his hands, and he landed hits on several of the flying insects one by one.

A terrifying scene unfolded: not only were the flying insects not smashed to pieces, but they instead dove headfirst into the Copper Hammer, gnawing frantically, rapidly boring through the interior of the weapon, and burrowing into his palm.

By the time the Gate Guest attempted to pull his hand away and discard the weapon, it was already too late; the flying insects emerged from his nostrils, dragging two long trails of brain matter.

The Gate Guest died, and the Shaman person was victorious.

(End of this chapter)