Chapter Thirty-Three: The Iron Shield Adventurer Party

The blazing radiance of the Sunset Sword Technique split open the forelimb of the Emerald-Eyed Spectral Wolf, slicing upward toward its skull. In the wake of the sword’s shadow, the spectral wolf perished instantly.

Chen Mu then began to systematically deal with the rest of the wolf pack, a feat made possible only thanks to the teamwork of the five-person group who had managed to distract and separate the wolves. In the blink of an eye, Chen Mu had slain every last Emerald-Eyed Spectral Wolf, allowing the team to once again savor the precious feeling of safety.

Once the danger had passed, the five collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted. After a short rest, Zhao Dongren rose and bowed deeply to Chen Mu, who was collecting the beast cores. “Thank you, little brother, for saving our lives. Had it not been for you, the five of us would have perished in these woods.”

The woman in green, Zhou Miaomiao, also stood to thank him. “Little brother, thank you for coming to our rescue. If not for you, your sister here would have become a meal for these monsters.”

The remaining three joined in, clasping their fists in gratitude.

“No need to thank me. I just happened to stumble upon you while out hunting myself, so I lent a hand,” Chen Mu replied nonchalantly, waving away their gratitude after collecting the beast cores.

After a moment’s pause, he continued, “These beast cores are of great use to me. Could I have them all? As for the other materials, you may divide them amongst yourselves as you see fit. What do you say?”

“Brother, you’re too kind. You saved our lives—taking all the materials would not be too much,” Zhao Dongren said earnestly.

“You all put in the effort holding off the other wolves. The materials from the Emerald-Eyed Spectral Wolves are yours. The beast cores alone are more than enough for me,” Chen Mu replied firmly.

Seeing he would not be persuaded otherwise, the five stopped protesting and began to extract the valuable materials from the spectral wolves.

Once everything was packed up, Zhao Dongren turned to Chen Mu. “By the way, may I ask your name? Do you have any plans? If not, why not join our team? With your skills, we’ll surely be able to hunt far more prey together.”

“My name is Chen Mu. I have no particular destination right now, just wandering and hunting as I please.”

Zhou Miaomiao beamed. “Brother Chen, you’re so skilled at such a young age—I can’t imagine how many girls you’ll enchant when you’re older. If you weren’t so young, I’d have set my sights on you already! Why don’t you join our team? When we get back to town, I’ll treat you to a feast.”

“Town?” Chen Mu echoed.

“You didn’t come from the town?” Zhou Miaomiao asked curiously, hearing the uncertainty in his voice.

“No, I entered from the direction of Stargazer Valley.” Chen Mu shook his head.

As it turned out, Chen Mu had spent the past half month roaming the outskirts of the forest and had now come near the town.

The group was astonished—he’d come from Stargazer Valley? Did that mean this young man was a disciple of Stargazer Valley? It made sense; someone so young with such cultivation, appearing in Stargazer Valley’s territory—who else could he be but one of their disciples?

“So you’re a gifted disciple of Stargazer Valley. No wonder you’re so capable,” Zhao Dongren said with a hint of respect.

“Not at all,” Chen Mu replied modestly. “I can join the team, but on one condition: I want two-thirds of the beast cores, and you may split the other materials as you wish. Is that acceptable?”

“Well… all right. Cores are only useful as alchemical ingredients to us; we’d only sell them anyway. If you need them, you should take the lion’s share,” Zhao Dongren agreed after a moment’s thought. “Let’s introduce ourselves then. I’m Zhao Dongren, this young lady is Zhou Miaomiao, the young man over there is Liu Mutian, the thin one is Ding Feng, and the quiet one is Yan Jin.”

The six quickly became acquainted. With Chen Mu’s addition, the team was able to locate prey much more quickly, thanks to the constant spiritual scouting of Rou’er, who resided within the Spirit Beast Bracelet.

Chen Mu served as the main force in battle, Liu Mutian as his support, Zhao Dongren as the defensive shield, Zhou Miaomiao as the healer, and Yan Jin as the auxiliary support. Their cooperation grew ever more seamless, and over the course of the day, they felled more than a dozen monsters.

The five companions grew increasingly aware of Chen Mu’s formidable strength. He could defeat a mid-tier second-level beast in just three or four blows. The golden sword light, though not ostentatious, radiated energy and heat like a setting sun.

By evening, Chen Mu accompanied the group back to town. Their first stop was the local guild, where they sold the day’s materials. When Chen Mu produced a storage pouch from his waist, the others looked on with envy; they’d long suspected he possessed one, since his hunted materials always seemed to vanish into thin air. They, too, had a storage pouch, but it was shared among all five and kept by Zhao Dongren. They could never have guessed that Chen Mu not only owned a pouch, but also a storage ring with an inconceivably vast capacity.

So when Chen Mu piled up the spoils of half a month’s hunting into a small mountain, even the others in the guild cast astonished glances their way. Such a harvest of pelts and claws from a single hunt was a rare sight indeed.

The guild steward, recognizing a major transaction, quickly summoned the manager, who appeared with a beaming smile. The negotiation went off without a hitch, and Chen Mu walked away with over a hundred thousand gold coins, spending nearly all of it on alchemical ingredients for refining Sha Pills, leaving himself with just over five thousand coins.

The manager was all smiles at Chen Mu’s generosity, while his teammates could only sigh with admiration. Even the bystanders, whether out of curiosity or envy, couldn’t help but look his way.

Just as Zhou Miaomiao had promised, once they left the guild, she led Chen Mu and the others to a tavern for a hearty meal.

For the adventurers, it was a celebration of success. They ordered the best food and drink, sharing tales of the day’s hunt and boasting of past exploits.

Chen Mu, who abstained from alcohol, declined the others’ attempts to toast him on the grounds of his youth, quietly enjoying his meal and listening to their stories.

It was then that Zhou Miaomiao raised her voice. “Let’s all welcome our new member to the Iron Shield Adventurer Team—Brother Chen Mu! Don’t be fooled by his age; his strength is first-rate!”

Adventurers from other teams began to tease, “He’s what, fourteen or fifteen? How strong can someone that age be? At best, he’s just entered the Foundation Realm. What can someone at the Origin Vein stage even do?”

“First-rate strength? I don’t believe it! You just have a thing for pretty boys, don’t you? Is that why you brought him into your team?”

Zhou Miaomiao flushed and retorted, “Nonsense! The five of us saw it with our own eyes—he dispatched a mid-tier second-level beast in just a few strikes. He was magnificent!”

“Really?” someone scoffed. “Impossible. You’re exaggerating.”

“This kid doesn’t even show any obvious aura. It’s debatable if he’s reached the Foundation Realm. How could he possibly be that strong? I don’t buy it.”

Refusing to back down, Zhou Miaomiao insisted, “He’s a disciple of Stargazer Valley. We met him coming from their direction.”

The room fell silent at that—Stargazer Valley’s disciple? That was no ordinary background. A few people, seeking connections, began to strike up conversation with Chen Mu.

After the merrymaking, as the crowd dispersed, Chen Mu followed Zhao Dongren and the others to an inn for the night.

At his request, Chen Mu took a room to himself. Rou’er was to refine Sha Pills, and couldn’t be disturbed.

That night, using the sixty-one beast cores collected over the past half month, along with seven from the Emerald-Eyed Spectral Wolves and eleven more from the day’s hunt with the Iron Shield Adventurer Team, Rou’er refined seventy-nine Sha Pills in total.

After consuming all seventy-nine Sha Pills, Chen Mu successfully opened five more Earthly Sha Meridians, bringing his total to fifty-six. No longer could he open a new meridian with every ten Sha Pills; it was clear that the path ahead would only grow more arduous.

Though the task of opening all one hundred and eight meridians was still daunting, he was now halfway there.

At dawn, after refreshing himself, Chen Mu set out to rejoin the Iron Shield Adventurer Team.

As usual, the team planned to explore the outer reaches of Starcrest Forest, and Chen Mu accompanied them, now an official member of the Iron Shield Adventurer Team. This time, however, they joined other adventurer teams to protect the herbalist squad venturing into the forest.