Chapter 213: Is Being Cultured Such a Big Deal?

"Attention, everyone!"

A tall, sturdy man wearing tactical gear stood at the very front: "You are all elites of the military, along with several young talents. I will first state the objective of our mission and the operational requirements. You must remember them well!"

"Yes!!"

The uniform sound made Zhang Suannai's ears buzz.

But she still didn't pay much attention, because she had already seen that this person was from the Wangting Sword Sect; noble Traditional Sword Cultivators would never bow to Wangting trash.

Zhang Suannai quietly glanced to the other side.

A young Daoist with delicate features and wearing Daoist robes was listening intently to the officer's speech.

Another young man of average build and average looks, dressed in tactical gear, sat in the very corner; his posture was straight, but he seemed a bit out of place.

This person was the nameless individual from the group chat.

Everyone had introduced themselves just a moment ago; his name seemed to be Li Zhang.

At this moment, the nameless individual seemed to sense her gaze and looked at her, but as soon as their eyes met, he quickly looked away.

"Haha..."

Zhang Suannai twitched the corner of her mouth—

Feeling inferior after seeing my beauty, right?

"Our mission is to protect the History Expert Group dispatched by the country. This is the primary task and the highest priority objective. The personal safety of the experts is more important than our own lives. Everyone, stay alert, do you hear me?"

"Yes!!"

"Besides that, keep a low profile, obey orders, and don't cause trouble!" Colonel Song glanced at Zhang Suannai and Zhong Miao Zhimen, "Including you two. Although you were sent here by your sects for training, since you have joined the team, you are considered soldiers and must obey orders, otherwise you will be dealt with by military law! If serious consequences arise due to your mistakes, you will still face a military tribunal. Your sects have already agreed to this point!"

"Whatever you say." Zhang Suannai nodded.

"Understood." Zhong Miao Zhimen was very sincere.

"Furthermore, I must state that although you are all at least Fifth Stage or above, this is no longer an era where Cultivators are invincible. During this period, the domestic situation in Duqin will be especially complex, and the terrifying nature of the modern Battlefield far exceeds your imagination."

These words were clearly meant for Zhang Suannai and Zhong Miao Zhimen.

But both of them agreed.

Even for Zhang Suannai, arrogance and caution never conflicted—after receiving the news, she had already familiarized herself with the situation in Duqin.

There were actually many ancient cultivators within Duqin, and there was no lack of Intermediate Stage, or even High-Tier ones.

In such chaotic and disorderly regions, cultivators had to focus the vast majority of their learning on "force," and the biggest difference between modern times and ancient times was that the closure of knowledge had been greatly reduced—the ancient cultivators nurtured by a country like Duqin naturally could not be compared to disciples of top Dayi sects, and perhaps they were even slightly inferior to disciples of large Yiguo sects, but their average combat level certainly exceeded the average level of folk ancient cultivators in Yiguo.

Moreover, on the modern Battlefield, especially on the front lines, cultivators were indeed no longer invincible.

Even executing special missions had become increasingly difficult.

For example, decapitation strikes.

Breaking through heavy blockades and shattering defense systems specifically designed for cultivators was already extremely difficult; by the time you finally broke in, there might be a dozen or more people with the same cultivation level as you sitting together in a meeting.

That would be awkward.

And as a Fifth or Sixth Stage cultivator from a top sect, if one encountered troops within Duqin, one might be able to win a small-scale skirmish, and there was a high probability of escaping unscathed even if encountering a large force, as their armies were primarily equipped with various light and heavy weapons—light weapons being various firearms, and heavy weapons being nothing more than heavy machine guns, High-Spirit Cannons, or armored vehicles, Heavy Shield Tanks, etc., essentially remaining at the level of several decades ago.

But there were "Mercenary" forces from Lan Country here.

The Lan Country military was a different concept entirely.

The soldiers themselves had a foundation of cultivation or Martial Artist ranks, coupled with the support of a modern combat system, various high-precision modern weapons, attack and defense weapon systems specifically designed for cultivators, and tactics and coordination—encountering them, let alone Fifth or Sixth Stage, even High-Tier ones could potentially capsize.

The greatest strength of modern power lay in mass production and popularization.

In fact, the "Mercenary" forces on both sides were indeed operating in Duqin in the form of elite units and special forces—among the special forces of major powers, there was a specific type of soldier called a "Hunter Unit," which was used to hunt down the other side's ancient cultivators.

Even for Zhang Suannai and Zhong Miao Zhimen, walking in such a place was fraught with crises and required caution.

Not to mention that the Square Body was too valuable; it was unknown what powerful forces it would attract.

If a direct conflict were to break out between Lan Country and Yiguo, or if High-Tier individuals were to fight, those below High-Tier would truly have no qualifications to intervene.

"Besides protection, if the experts have any reasonable requests, especially those helpful to the research of the Square Body artifact, we must satisfy them as much as possible if we can; if we cannot, find a way to satisfy them; if there is truly no way, we will discuss it later."

"Yes!!"

Yes, my foot!

Zhang Suannai twitched the corner of her mouth, meaning I have to be a lackey for that idiot Qingcai?

Are you stupid!

Is this something a Sword Cultivator could do?

Wangting Sword Sect is truly pitiful...

"!!"

Zhang Suannai felt Colonel Song sweep a cold glance at her; this guy seemed to have already stepped into the threshold of High-Tier, and this gaze put a lot of pressure on people, but relying on the pride of a Traditional Sword Cultivator, Zhang Suannai still resisted it head-on.

"In addition, besides us and the expert group, some high-ranking officials will be traveling with us tomorrow. Do not be surprised, do not strike up conversations with them, do not attempt to discuss their identities, or do anything strange. If they have any orders, their priority is higher than mine, understand?"

"Understood!"

"Very good, now let's begin assigning tasks!"

Colonel Song scanned the circle, clearly having already memorized everyone present, and called out only one name: "Zhang Tengyu!"

"Here!"

Zhang Suannai couldn't help but click her tongue again.

These people were truly loud.

Immediately after, Colonel Song began arranging protection tasks and the respective responsibilities in the event of a battle.

There was nothing for Zhang Suannai and Zhong Miao Zhimen to do.

This was not unexpected.

They were the professionals, after all.

Zhang Suannai already knew that these people were all very impressive; although they were all ancient cultivators or Martial Artists, their military branches were all different.

There were main combat personnel responsible for frontal containment, artillerymen operating High-Spirit Cannons and Honeycomb Motherships, snipers providing long-range high-energy sniping, tank crewmen driving Heavy Shield Tanks, air force pilots flying Hunting Fighters, as well as scouts, signalmen... Everyone had a set of cool modern military combat armor, while the armor and those large military equipment and supplies were all stored in Storage Artifacts.

Storage Artifacts were also essential equipment for the elite special forces of major powers.

The combat power and comprehensive capabilities that such an elite unit could unleash were unimaginable to ancient Cultivators.

"Everyone tonight, stay up all night, no sleeping allowed! Sleep on the plane tomorrow!"

"Yes!"

"Dismissed!"

A group of people stood up in silence and left.

Zhang Suannai walked quickly toward Zhong Miao Zhimen, punched him on the arm, grinned, and then wanted to go find the Nameless Person, only to discover that the Nameless Person had already stood up and returned to his own barracks without even greeting them.

"..."

Zhang Suannai could not help but frown.

This person was much less sociable than when in the group!

The eighth day of the ninth lunar month.

Di Du International Airport.

They were not taking a military plane to Duqin, but chartering a civil airliner.

Zhang Suannai, wearing a long-sleeved sports T-shirt and shark leggings, and Zhong Miao Zhimen, in a Daoist robe, were mixed in among a group of security personnel in uniform, appearing somewhat out of place. Colonel Song had not required them to wear uniforms, but he did require them to be here together to welcome the expert group.

Beside them was a large civil airliner.

Zhang Suannai was not being willful; she stood obediently at the end of the line, stretching her neck to look into the distance.

About twenty people walked over.

Walking at the very front were several middle-aged men.

Zhang Suannai recognized two of them.

One of them was in traditional clothing, looked somewhat like the Former Emperor, and had a calm expression, yet brought immense pressure to everyone present.

The other was Professor Liu, who was walking beside him. In the past, when she was bored, she would watch Professor Liu's History Forum. She really liked this kind of program that recounted ancient emperors, generals, and Cultivator bigwigs in a witty, humorous, and plain, straightforward way; it was the only form of historical popularization she could actually get into.

Seeing him in person, this person did not look as energetic as on TV.

At this moment, Zhang Suannai withdrew her gaze because she caught sight of Chen Shu following right behind them. She had to keep her eyes straight ahead and pretend she didn't see him.

Just secretly look with her peripheral vision!

So he wouldn't discover her!

This person had a gentle expression, chatting and laughing with the people around him, and when he walked over, he even greeted her.

Zhang Suannai nodded coldly.

She was half a soldier now.

She had to maintain her demeanor.

She had to be aloof.

Immediately, her peripheral vision caught that person greeting Zhong Miao Zhimen, and Zhong Miao Zhimen nodded with a smile, his eyes sparkling with luster.

By this time, Chen Shu had already walked past them and had his back to them. Only then did Zhang Suannai turn her head, staring at him without blinking, wanting to see what the scene was like when he greeted the Nameless Person. For this, she had specifically secretly taken a photo of the Nameless Person this morning and sent it to the group.

"Brother Nameless, we finally meet. You look a bit different from what I imagined."

The Nameless Person stood straight, not saying a word.

It was indeed not the time for idle chatter.

But his expression still shifted, and his eyes moved; he exchanged a glance with Chen Shu, which counted as a response.

Chen Shu smiled and boarded the plane.

Differential treatment, this is...

Zhang Suannai twitched her lips, but she wasn't surprised.

In the group, the person who usually had the best relationship with the Nameless Person was Qingcai Keke. Come to think of it, this silly Qingcai Keke actually had something going for him. No matter how awkward the messages the silly Nameless Person sent in the group were, he could always keep chatting with him. Zhang Suannai considered herself a very talkative person who loved to chat, but if she were left to awkwardly chat alone with the silly Nameless Person without anyone else interjecting, she would just shake her head.

Not to mention that this silly Qingcai Keke was sending Zongzi and Mooncakes; I'm afraid even if Luo Huaian and Zhaoyeqing saw him, they wouldn't have the heart to keep a cold face, right?

Pfft! A social butterfly!

Zhang Suannai thought to herself.

At this time, the History Expert Group had all boarded the plane, and they followed them on.

The expert group sat at the very front, with several authoritative professors sitting in first class. Chen Shu, because he was very young and the junior of everyone present, was instead pulled by several professors to sit in first class, while Zhang Suannai had to follow the security personnel and sit at the very back.

Damn it all to hell!

This feeling of being a rank lower than Chen Shu made her want to scream that she couldn't accept it.