Chapter 82: Strike First and Ask Questions Later

Inside the box, there was also a slip of paper.

“Slip on these heart-stirring gauntlets, and you will become the center of every gaze!”

“Damn it!” Gu Changqing laughed and cursed, though the second-rank spirit artifact gauntlets were indeed excellent. The Demon Eye had the power to unsettle the mind, and with his own Eight-Wilderness Fist intent, the effect would surely be impressive.

Moreover, these gauntlets had been forged with fragments of another bizarre artifact, making them even sturdier than alloy.

Gu Changqing removed the gauntlets and looked at the wounds on his fists. Thanks to the healing medicine from that other world, the injuries had mostly recovered; by tomorrow, they should be nearly healed.

Only the bones in his hands still throbbed faintly.

After all, that world had developed for who knew how many ages, and its foundations ran deep. In many respects, it surpassed this one.

For example: cultivation methods, magical implements, and dual-cultivation arts...

Gu Changqing had not yet found an opportunity to visit the pleasure quarter, and it had been lingering in his thoughts ever since. He could not help wondering what the dual-cultivation methods of those women there were really like.

...

The next morning, everyone packed up their belongings and stepped out of their tents one by one.

Their faces held both anticipation and gravity.

They were eager because of their curiosity about the Qinghe battlefield.

As for the heaviness in the air, it was because it was not safe inside, and casualties were highly likely.

Especially since any injury could easily lead to an accident, everyone became that much more cautious.

Each person carried a large pack supplied by the military, filled with water, compressed rations, and some wilderness first-aid supplies, including raincoats and the like.

Even Gu Changqing was absentmindedly carrying a large pack, though in truth his spatial pouch held no less, especially with some spirit rice inside.

Seeing that Ning Ze had recovered most of the way, Gu Changqing strode over with a grin and slung an arm around his shoulder.

“You’re not bad. Once we’re in, I’ve got your back. But don’t forget you still owe me those gauntlets! Third-rank spirit artifact gauntlets—that’s the entire fortune I’ve scraped together after all this time!”

The others looked on in silence. How long had he awakened, exactly?

“I’ll return you a third-rank pair of gauntlets. Your fist intent has been of some help to me,” Ning Ze said seriously.

At that, everyone else present was inwardly shaken.

Fist intent?

“Fist intent?” Gu Changqing thought it over and immediately understood. He burst out laughing and slapped Ning Ze on the shoulder.

“So that’s what you mean! That thing isn’t trained into existence—it’s beaten into existence!”

Ning Ze nodded slightly. Gu Changqing’s fist intent had indeed been forged through battle, and it had given him some inspiration.

However, Gu Changqing’s method was also dangerous. By accumulating his fist power and fist intent through one battle after another, if he lost even once, all his efforts could come to nothing.

Seeing that Ning Ze and Gu Changqing held no grudges toward each other, the others were somewhat surprised.

But what occupied them even more was the “fist intent” the two of them had just mentioned; in only a few words, it brought many things to mind.

Especially why Gu Changqing’s strength had improved so quickly.

Over the past two days, no matter which province they came from, they had gone to great lengths to obtain combat recordings of Gu Changqing as well as descriptions from others.

Gu Changqing had not been that strong when he fought his first match. Yet in an extremely short span of time, his strength rose a little with every battle.

That made sense now.

Yan Hao walked over and glanced at the crowd. Seeing that everyone was ready, he said directly, “Move out!”

“Let’s go!” Gu Changqing tossed his bag to Ning Ze, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked forward with a lazy sway in his step.

Ning Ze caught the bag and froze for a moment. He had always been the top genius at Yong’an Headquarters. When had he ever done such a thing?

Still, after thinking about it, he carried Gu Changqing’s bag and followed behind.

The group reached the edge of the white mist. Here, the fog seemed to form a barrier of its own, though unlike the root-severing mist, visibility was a little better.

Moreover, the white haze was constantly surging, like waves trying to spread outward, yet it remained tightly bound by some unseen force.

As Gu Changqing reached the edge, he suddenly turned his head and looked to one side. From that direction, many others were also approaching—men and women alike, with varied appearances and far greater numbers than their own. Their momentum was likewise stronger.

Each of them wore an air of arrogance, and after glancing toward the soldiers’ side, many smirked and whispered to one another.

“So these are the elite of Crimson Light?”

“They were already hard-pressed to gather this many people.”

“No idea why they’re even sending them here!”

“No choice. They’re from the public security system, after all. Now that our soldiers are too strong, someone wants to keep them in check!”

The soldiers’ overall strength was not something Crimson Light could compare with now.

These elite members from Crimson Light’s various branches were simply not worthy of their attention. Only people like Ning Ze and Pei Yuntai were enough to make them glance twice.

Even so, Ning Ze and Pei Yuntai were top geniuses within Crimson Light, while among the soldiers they could only be considered fairly good.

...

Hearing the voices from afar, Gu Changqing bared his teeth at them in a fierce smile, then raised his thumb and turned it downward.

“Trash!”

The soldiers were used to arrogance, and the awakened ones from Crimson Light’s other branches had long been unhappy with them.

Seeing this scene, they felt rather pleased and all broke into smiles.

But the soldiers, upon seeing Gu Changqing’s gesture, immediately erupted into an uproar.

“Who is that guy? Is he provoking us?”

“When did Crimson Light get this arrogant?”

“Don’t let me run into him inside!”

“Who knows where he’s from in Crimson Light? Once we’re out, I’ll show him what kind of trash he is!”

The soldiers all looked over with unfriendly expressions, their gazes like blades.

If not for the place and the occasion, they would probably have started fighting right then and there.

“It’s him!” One woman among the soldiers said in surprise. She was Luo Xiu.

The soldiers had a much more abundant personnel pool than Crimson Light, and their team composition was more reasonable. Each team had eight people, and Luo Xiu had been selected as a speed-type scout awakened one, not as a combatant.

“Luo Xiu, he’s from your An Harbor branch? The people from An Harbor Crimson Light are that bold?” said a curly-haired woman beside her coldly, her tone full of mockery.

In her view, if the people from Crimson Light’s An Harbor branch dared act this arrogantly, it could only mean the soldiers’ strength there was nothing special either.

“After we get out, you can go test his strength for yourself,” Luo Xiu replied indifferently.

“Looks like you have a lot of faith in him,” the curly-haired woman sneered. “Then I’ll be sure to see for myself.”

...

Yan Hao ignored Gu Changqing’s provocation as though he had not seen it, and warned everyone, “Remember this: do not get injured! Also, do not eat anything inside, and try not to drink any water inside either!”

“By the way, why aren’t fifth-level awakened ones being sent in?” Gu Changqing suddenly asked, turning his head.

“Fifth-level awakened ones will enter later, but you are the main force of this expedition,” Yan Hao said, giving him a flat look.

Gu Changqing waved a hand, shoved both hands into his pockets, and walked into the fog, a rope hanging from his waist.

Ning Ze, Pei Yuntai, and the others followed suit, each tied together by a rope, otherwise once they passed through the mist they might drift off in an entirely different direction.

If they got separated in the fog, once they came out they could end up dozens or even hundreds of miles away from each other.

After a while, they all vanished into the mist.

The others did the same in turn.

No one knew how long they walked through the fog. There was no sense of direction, no sense of time, and it gave one a disorienting feeling; even the light seemed to come from nowhere.

Only much later did Gu Changqing see light ahead.

After walking another hundred or so meters, the scene before them gradually became clear, slowly revealing a landscape of green mountains and clear waters.

As the others emerged behind him, Gu Changqing snapped the rope at his waist in two.

But before he could choose a direction and leave, he saw eight people stepping out of the mist a hundred meters away—it was the soldiers.

“What a coincidence,” said the leader of that team with a cold sneer.

“Yes, what a coincidence indeed,” Gu Changqing said, the corners of his mouth splitting nearly to his ears as veins rose one by one across his skin.

Although Yan Hao had specifically warned him before that this expedition was South Chu’s top priority, and that the soldiers and Crimson Light were exploring together this time...

He still felt that it would be better to fight first and talk later!