Roadmap to the Boundless Sky

Book 3, Chapter 336: Distinguished Officials From The Old Era

Since there was machinegun fire coming from above, Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong couldn’t stop the White Plagues from rushing into the gap.Some of them carried explosives in their belly pouches. Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong identified them from a distance and threw stones at them.

But some of the White Plagues detonated themselves the moment they saw Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong, which caused tons of explosions in the area. Shockwaves blasted outward and wreaked havoc in the gap.

The torrential offense lasted for half an hour before stopping, though they didn’t know whether it was because the army had exhausted their supply of White Plagues or whether they thought that Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong had left.

They could still hear propellers above them, which meant that the airship hadn’t left and was still flying outside the gap.

Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong stood on a broken pillar that was only a few paces away from the exit leading to their world.

Ahead of them was a partially collapsed wall. It had come inside when the gap expanded and was used as their cover.

Chen Chuan waved off the smoke and ash in the gap and said, “If they had used this method from the start, they might have actually forced us back to our world.”

“There was no reason for that,” Chen Bitong countered. “They don’t want to push us back to our world. If we went back, fighting us would become much harder.

“Also, mobilizing their firearms would reduce their warriors’ presence, and they hate it. That’s why they avoid using firearms if they can. They only bring them out if they keep on failing despite multiple tries.

“You should have seen it when you were in the camp. They were getting ready to attack us. It shows that as long as the commander and aide-de-camp were alive, they wouldn’t attack us with firearms. They would only draft more soldiers from other places.”

Chen Chuan nodded at that.

It had been the right choice to attack the base.

If they had waited for the army to charge up, the enemy would have come prepared. The commander and aide-de-camp weren’t actually weak, and they had many warriors working with them, so they would have had an advantage against Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong.

Even if they couldn’t kill the defenders, they could retreat if things did not go well. That was exactly what the aide-de-camp had done on his first venture into the gap, and Chen Chuan had been unable to stop him.

If they waited again, the enemies would mobilize an even stronger fighting force, and it would become even harder to fight against them.

Thank goodness they had killed the two, so their strength had waned. While the cannonfire and machineguns might appear fierce, they weren’t much of a threat to Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong. The artillery's offense was just them venting their anger and calming their nerves.

Chen Bitong cast a glance outside. “There’s still some time. Let me tell you a few things.”

Upon seeing how serious Chen Bitong looked, Chen Chuan said, “I’m all ears, Instructor Chen.”

“After the propagated offspring tore the barrier keeping pure essence from us, that opening will always remain. As long as the gap in the World Ring isn’t closed, the opening will keep expanding, and pure essence will keep spilling outward.

“Jibei Road’s Central City and its surrounding area will be the first to receive the pure essence. After all, the opening is right here.

“If your mental energy is strong enough, you’ll be able to sense the leaking pure essence and get some. If you miss it, you might not get it again.

“Let me put it this way. Pure essence is like fish swimming in water. You need to find a way to grab it from the rapid current.

“Pure essence will spread out quickly and head to the rest of the Great Shun Republic, then the rest of the world. Other people will fight for it, so if you want it, you can’t be slow.

“Once Central City notices this, they will definitely think of a way to close the opening and send people to gather the pure essence. If you delay looking for it, your chances of getting any will dwindle.

“The only real free period you’ll have is at the very beginning. There will be no one who can stop you at this time, so you need to seize your chance.

“The amount of pure essence a martial artist needs correlates with their strength. The stronger they are, the more pure essence they need. If you miss this chance, you might need to wait a long time to get more pure essence.

“Signing a contract with those people has to be your final choice, because if you do that, you won’t have any freedom anymore.”

Chen Chuan pondered over this. Chen Bitong was only a martial artist. He had never crossed the threshold. Perhaps it was because of this.

He didn’t want to take that step.

The light around them flashed, and the originally strong gusts became weaker.

Chen Bitong cast a glance at the area around them. “Without the propagated offspring, the gap won’t be able to maintain such a size. It’ll begin to close, and it will do so much faster than it expanded. You need to leave in time so that you won’t get stuck here.”

As he spoke, the propellers outside got weaker, as if the airship was retreating.

They exchanged a glance. Something had happened.

They stepped off the pillar, bypassed the mangled carcasses on the ground and the pits, and arrived next to the gap to the merged space.

Much of the fog on the mountainpath had disappeared, so they could clearly see the airship retreating.

Further away, an even larger airship had arrived above the camp. The word “Gai” [1] was written clearly on its front. Around the word were some patterns.

Upon seeing the word, Chen Bitong’s expression changed to one of wariness and alertness. His body tensed. In a grave voice, he said, “It looks like we might be fighting against an old enemy of mine.”

“Does that word mean something?” Chen Chuan asked after taking a look.

“When the royal family was forced into the merged space, more than thirty families of distinguished officials left with them.

“These families were really powerful during the old era, and the Gai family was one of them. The Gai boasted ancestors who had been dukes, and during every dynasty, they had high-ranking martial officials. Their family has a long legacy.”

Chen Chuan nodded. That made the family really impressive, because whenever a dynasty changed, the new dynasty would inherit many things, including texts, the royal family’s collection, medicine, precious items, and other things. Setting everything aside, when the Great Shun Republic was formed, a lot of the first round of wealth came from there.

The distinguished officials were bound together with the royal family. They had received plenty of benefits, so even if they retreated to the merged space, they retained a lot of things from their ancestors.

“There’s a person among the Gai family called Gai Shuhe. He’s younger than I am by a few years. In the time I was stationed in the merged space and later sent to defend the World Ring, I fought against him more than twenty times. Most of the time, we tied. The last time I fought against him was seven years ago. That time, I won and injured him badly.

“I heard that after he went back, he promised that he wasn’t going to show up at the frontlines until he transcended. The patterns around that word on the airship are his unique emblem.

“I think he decided to come over after I showed my face here. If that’s the case, it can only mean that he’s confident that he can win against me now. Perhaps he has already transcended and become a martial arts master.”

The airship stopped on the mooring point in the camp, and the soldiers moved into neat rows.

Further ahead, the remaining royally appointed warriors and military advisors got off their horses and removed their helmets to hold them by the crooks of their elbows. Their expressions were stern but anxious.

When the ladder was lowered, a man walked out of the airship. He had skin as white as jade, a tall, long, and thin nose, deep-set eyes, thin lips, a goatee, and a dark, ghastly look in his eyes.

The man appeared to be in his thirties, and there was a wound stretching from his chin to his cheek. He was more than two meters tall and had his hair in a net. He wore a dark purple martial arts uniform with silver patterns.

Behind him was a woman in her twenties. Her eyes were bright, and she had pearly white teeth. She wore a martial arts uniform with a belt around her waist, had her hair tied in a high ponytail, and carried a spear in a reverse grip. She appeared similar to the man.

Once the man came down, he suddenly turned to look at the mountaintop and punched the air. His body gave off a faint glow.

Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong’s instincts screeched at them. Then, the powerful gust in front of them was split apart, and a monstrous wave of refined force came charging at them.

Chen Bitong took a step forward and punched the air as well. His fist, too, glowed.

A thunderous explosion rang out at the tip of Chen Bitong’s fist. The wind in the gap howled as it spread outward.

Chen Chuan narrowed his eyes. If he wasn’t mistaken, the man had used the gap to teleport his punch.

With his mind, Chen Chuan even detected a sharp gaze piercing through the fog and gap to stare at them.

The man was at the foot of the mountain, but he had managed to make his mind and refined force travel such a long distance. This couldn’t be done through technique alone. The transcendent strength played a part in it.

Chen Bitong’s expression turned incredibly grim as he said, “Looks like my worries were true. If he could make his refined force travel so easily here, he’s already a martial arts master. He was saying hello just now.

“We can’t fight him with brute force, Captain Chen.”

While he spoke, the powerful light in the gap swayed, and the gap shrank again.

Chen Bitong looked around. “Fortunately, the gap is about to close, and he’s not the type to take a risk to rush in right away. He came here for me, so you can go back, Captain Chen.

“This is my own battle.”

1. it’s written like this: 盖. It means cover. ☜