Chapter 122: The "Five Tiger Generals" Bound Like Boars Awaiting the New Year

Qingcheng Mountain is vast, with high terrain and a wide coverage area. Along this mountain range, there are 55 towns and villages, home to nearly 300,000 people. Unlike Canglong Mountain, however, Qingcheng Mountain, spanning 800 kilometers in radius, surprisingly has very few appearances of strange beasts.

Throughout the entire day, Zhang Chu and his group of six had been boasting and gossiping without encountering a single strange beast, let alone a demon beast. As for the half-beasts, it felt as if they had been nothing but a dream.

They crossed endless grasslands and wove through primeval forests. Chen Long led Hu Sanyi and another companion at the front, chatting animatedly about the gossip from the Martial Management Bureau, which everyone found fascinating.

Zhang Chu and Zhang Xueying walked at the rear of the group. Zhang Xueying asked, “Teacher Chu, have you noticed anything unusual?”

“Looks like Xueying also finds it a bit absurd,” Zhang Chu replied, holding a cup of iced coffee, exuding a charming, elegant aura that was almost too alluring. At least, Zhang Xueying thought so. The aloof goddess, once her heart was won, was only cold toward strangers.

“The straight-line distance is nearly 150 kilometers, yet we haven’t encountered a single strange beast. It’s truly baffling,” Zhang Xueying said.

Xueying continued, “What puzzles me most is how Guyue, the half-beast, appeared at the Qingcheng Mountain 203 Boundary Marker. We traveled 150 kilometers without seeing even a shadow of a strange beast, so how did Guyue manage to get there from deep within Qingcheng Mountain in just one hour?”

Zhang Chu squinted and smiled. Before long, the four people ahead heard their whispered conversation and came back to join them.

“What are you two talking about?” one asked.

“We’re guessing the location of the Shenluo Alliance’s stronghold in Qingcheng Mountain,” Zhang Xueying replied.

Stronghold?

The four exchanged confused looks. Isn’t it supposed to be in the middle of Qingcheng Mountain?

Zhang Chu took out his phone and activated a holographic 3D map. The terrain of Qingcheng Mountain instantly appeared before them, along with information about the surrounding villages and towns.

It was time for “Detective Zhang Conan” to perform.

He presented Zhang Xueying and the others with a simple math problem, which, for people in this world, was akin to an Olympiad-level challenge.

Upon hearing the question, Chen Long immediately gave a thumbs-up in admiration and exclaimed, “Martial Arts World’s top scholar!”

Huang Lili shot him a look of worship.

Zhang Xueying’s only thought was: Across the entire Spiritual Energy Continent, who else could be so gifted in both martial and intellectual pursuits?

Zhang Chu’s question was:

“The distance from Qingcheng Town’s guesthouse to the Qingcheng Mountain 203 Boundary Marker is 80 kilometers. Of this, 50 kilometers are traveled by car, taking 30 minutes. The remaining 30 kilometers are on foot, taking one hour.”

“Assuming we and Guyue set off simultaneously and move at the same speed...”

“But Guyue started 30 minutes later than us.”

“Please calculate the maximum possible distance between Guyue’s starting point and the 203 Boundary Marker.”

The group looked at each other, feeling like five fools.

“Teacher Chu, where do you come up with these tricky questions? Even professors at the Martial God Academy might not solve this easily,” Zhang Xueying marveled.

Zhang Chu’s vision darkened a little as he nearly burst out laughing. Such an elementary problem was elevating him to legendary status.

He squatted down and picked up a stick. “Solution: Let X be the distance from Guyue’s starting point to the Qingcheng Mountain Boundary Marker...”

What followed was a flurry of swift calculations, leaving the others rooted to the spot.

Two minutes later, Zhang Chu gave the answer.

Zhang Xueying quickly marked a circle around the 203 Boundary Marker on the map.

“Xianchi Village?” Hu Sanyi pointed out a blinking marker. “I visited this place a few years ago. Now that I think about it, it was quite strange.”

“Strange?”

Hearing that, everyone suddenly perked up. Strange was the norm—if it weren’t strange, what reason would they have to go?

After a brief discussion, they swiftly set off in the direction of Xianchi Village, 170 kilometers away.

The most direct route was through the mountain streams within Qingcheng Mountain, following the Qingcheng River.

When they reached the river’s entrance, everyone was stunned.

“Brother Chu, looks like we guessed right—there’s even a motorboat here,” Hu Sanyi said, eyeing the parked boats.

“I sense a faint spiritual energy fluctuation, very similar to Guyue’s. But there seem to be several other energy ripples nearby,” Huang Lili said after closing her eyes to sense for a few minutes.

“Stay alert,” Zhang Chu warned as they quickly boarded the boat.

Hu Sanyi, a seasoned mercenary who excelled in various skills, handled the motorboat as if stuck in traffic.

They floated 100 kilometers down the narrow mountain stream along the river.

Finally, they reached the shore.

“It’s still early, yet smoke is already billowing from Xianchi Village?” Chen Long looked at several thick columns of smoke rising in the distance. “My dad said the local farm inns are quite delicious and environmentally friendly. Looks like we’re in for a treat today.”

“Chen young master, could you wake up?” Zhang Chu rolled his eyes.

“Fifteen years ago, the entire continent banned such pollution sources. They all use clean energy now—where would the smoke come from when cooking?” he said.

Chen Long nodded seriously. “Guess I need to get out more and experience real life.”

They all almost burst out laughing at his poor act.

“Be careful, I’m detecting extremely high energy radiation,” Zhang Xueying said, taking out an energy detector. The readings almost maxed out. “The last time I saw such high energy was in the artifact forging chamber at Binzhou Storage Bureau.”

“Teacher Xueying, could this be the smoke from the Shenluo Alliance hunting martial artists and refining spiritual pills?” Wang Peng interjected.

The group exchanged uneasy glances and instinctively put on masks.

If that were true, it would be no different from an incinerator—they’d be inhaling death with every breath.

“Stay hidden and proceed quietly. No shooting!” Zhang Chu gestured, and the group quickly concealed themselves along the rocky walls of the mountain gorge, advancing stealthily toward Xianchi Village, five kilometers away.

Soon, they hid behind a slope overlooking the entire village.

Xianchi Village was shrouded in a misty veil, obscuring the view.

“There’s a spring here with abundant spiritual energy, and the mist covers the whole village—that’s why it’s called Xianchi Village,” Hu Sanyi explained.

“Brother Zhang Chu, I sense a formation barrier around the outskirts of Xianchi Village,” Huang Lili said.

A formation barrier?

The group was stunned; this implied there were likely spiritual realm practitioners inside the village.

“Chu, let me report to the Martial Management Bureau and see what Director Fan and Dean Luo say before we plan our next move.”

Zhang Xueying quickly relayed the situation.

Fan Tianlei personally ordered an emergency meeting and asked them to wait.

Since they couldn’t enter the village, they settled behind the large rocks on the slope to rest.

Chen Long even played a card game with Hu Sanyi and Wang Peng on his phone.

Just as the group was dozing, a sudden clatter of footsteps roused Zhang Chu.

“What the hell is going on?” he muttered, spotting a motorboat docked several hundred meters away by the riverbank.

Two half-beasts were carrying a long iron pole, upon which hung five people.

The blonde leading them was someone Zhang Chu recognized—Fan Chengcheng, Director Fan’s son.

It was obvious.

The “Five Tiger Generals” mercenary squad had been wiped out, strung up on the iron pole like boars, and were being carried into the village.