The Unparalleled Sword Emperor
Chapter 939 - 937: The Sweep Begins!

Chapter 939: Chapter 937: The Sweep Begins!

Ruan Jinhui went to arrange for the warriors resting in the Coral Dead Sea to prepare for departure.

Jian Ruohan said, "Lin Bai, let me introduce you to the members of the Guard Team!"

"Now, including you, there are a total of ten people in the Guard Team, all of whom are experts with Fourth Level Martial Intent!"

"You have already met Elder Brother Ruan Jinhui and Lu Rui."

"This is Chi Hu from the Fist Daoist Courtyard."

"This is Ling Shuang!"

"This is Qian Shanyun!"

"This is..."

Jian Ruohan introduced each member of the Guard Team to Lin Bai,

and Lin Bai greeted them with a smile and a cupped fist salute.

Besides Lu Rui, who harbored some hostility towards Lin Bai, the other disciples were quite friendly and greeted Lin Bai with a smile.

This made Lin Bai feel somewhat better.

An hour later.

Once Ruan Jinhui had made arrangements for the disciples, he gathered all the experts of the Guard Team and said, "We are about to depart, and I hope no one takes this lightly, as after all, our payment is provided by these disciples!"

"As the saying goes, ’One takes the money to ward off calamities for another,’ so I hope everyone will give it their all."

Ruan Jinhui addressed the members of the Guard Team very seriously.

"We understand," responded all the members of the Guard Team in unison.

"Elder Brother Ruan, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but when exactly will we receive our payment?" asked Lu Rui, following his affirmation.

Actually, this was also a question that other members of the Guard Team wanted to ask but felt too embarrassed to voice.

Hearing Lu Rui ask, the other members turned their gazes to Ruan Jinhui.

Ruan Jinhui said, "Since we all know each other, I won’t beat around the bush. Your payment is already with me, and I can give it to you right now!"

"I believe everyone here has a reputation on the Miracle Ridge and wouldn’t be the kind to accept money without doing the work, right?"

"Moreover, if one were to accept such ill-gotten wealth without fulfilling their duty, I fear it might tarnish their moral virtue."

Ruan Jinhui said with a slight smile, looking at the other nine members.

Lin Bai and Jian Ruohan exchanged glances, knowing that they would never stoop to such dishonorable acts.

The other members also indicated the same.

Ruan Jinhui then proceeded to pay the Guard Team members their payment in advance: "Paying you in advance also serves other purposes."

"Firstly, we might encounter a large number of Spirit Puppets on the way, and I hope everyone will give their best effort—it’s inevitable that accidents can happen, and if a Junior Brother were to unfortunately perish in battle, it would be difficult for me to pay their fee."

"Secondly, giving you the payment now allows you to refine the Spirit Crystals, and if it can help increase our strength even a little, the safety of our expedition will be greatly enhanced."

Ruan Jinhui said softly.

Lin Bai also agreed with Ruan Jinhui’s words and accepted the one hundred Third Level Spirit Crystals Ruan Jinhui handed to him.

"Since that is the case, I will give everyone a quarter of an hour to refine the Spirit Crystals. After that, we will depart and begin the sweep," stated Ruan Jinhui, noting that everyone had received their Spirit Crystals.

Upon hearing this, Lin Bai and Jian Ruohan both left in succession to find a secluded place to refine their Spirit Crystals.

A quarter of an hour later.

Lin Bai had refined all of the Spirit Crystals.

"One hundred Third Level Spirit Crystals allowed me to break through from the early stage to the middle stage of Fourth-order Sword Intent, which is quite a good gain," said Lin Bai as he stood up, smiling slightly.

After that, Lin Bai went to the meeting point and saw that the others had already returned.

Seeing Lin Bai return, Ruan Jinhui said with a smile, "Junior Brother Lin Bai, we were just waiting for you."

"Now that Junior Brother Lin Bai has returned, I will distribute everyone’s assignments!"

"There are ten of us in the Guard Team now! Nearly five thousand warriors have gathered in the Coral Dead Sea, most of whom possess Second Level Martial Intent. I have already ordered them to form ten small teams."

"And according to the formations from the Array Dao Temple, I’ve arranged them into phalanxes!"

"The phalanx is divided into three parts: the front, the middle, and the rear!"

"Let’s do this, Lu Rui and I will cover the rear, while Ling Shuang and Chi Hu clear the way at the front!"

"The rest of the Guard members will stay in the middle, ready to support the front and rear at any time! Does anyone have any objections?"

Ruan Jinhui distributed the tasks to everyone and then inquired.

Lin Bai pondered for a while, then shook his head slightly indicating he had no objections, and the other members did the same.

Ruan Jinhui said, "Good, since no one has any objections, let’s get ready to set off."

Lin Bai nodded and immediately moved to his assigned position.

An hour later, the grand assembly of over five thousand people departed from the Coral Dead Sea towards the Withered Forest Mountains.

Ruan Jinhui continued, "Additionally, I’d like to remind everyone that the Spirit Crystals we gather are entirely based on personal ability. We are all warriors with Fourth Level Martial Intent, only responsible for slaying Fourth Grade Spirit Puppets and above!"

"As for those Third Grade Spirit Puppets, heh, let’s not compete with our Junior Brothers and Sisters who possess only Second Order Martial Intent."

Ruan Jinhui said with a smile.

It was no wonder that Ruan Jinhui would say so, as it was indeed a trivial matter for warriors with Fourth Order Martial Intent to slay a Third Grade Spirit Puppet.

Without exaggeration, any Fourth Order warrior could kill three or four Third Grade Spirit Puppets with a single palm strike.

If Fourth Order warriors went after the Third Grade Spirit Puppets, then it’s likely that the warriors of Second Order within the Alliance Army wouldn’t even get the scraps.

After Ruan Jinhui reminded everyone not to hoard too many Third Grade Spirit Puppets, everyone agreed; moreover, Third Grade Spirit Puppets were no longer that attractive to people like Lin Bai.

Immediately, the Alliance Army began to leave the Coral Dead Sea and started sweeping through the Scorching Gobi.

Ling Shuang and Chi Hu led the way at the front of the troop, while Lin Bai, Jian Ruohan, and a few other members protected the middle of the group, leaving Ruan Jinhui and Lu Rui to cover the rear!

All tasks proceeded in an orderly fashion.

The large troop left the Coral Dead Sea and traveled for half a day. Although they encountered several groups of Spirit Puppets along the way, the numbers were small, only about a hundred or so, and all of them were Third Grade, with not a single Fourth Grade Spirit Puppet in sight.

Therefore, members of the Guard Team did not take action, allowing the Alliance Army to handle it directly.

Towards the back of the troop, Lu Rui chatted casually with Ruan Jinhui as they walked, "Elder Brother Ruan, you really shouldn’t have let Lin Bai join. How powerful can the Martial Intent cultivated from a Yellow Level First Grade Martial Spirit be? Even if he encounters a Spirit Puppet, he won’t be of much help."

Ruan Jinhui shook his head and said, "Oh, Lu Rui, you have been nagging about this for half of our journey. Given that there are so few experts of Fourth Level Martial Intent in the Scorching Gobi, having one more person is always good."

"Lu Rui, I think you’re not just concerned because Lin Bai has a Yellow Level First Grade Martial Spirit. It’s because you see that he has a close relationship with Junior Sister Jian Ruohan, and that’s why you’re so resistant, aren’t you?" Ruan Jinhui asked with a slight smile.

Upon hearing this, Lu Rui panicked as if his little secret had been caught, hastily saying, "Elder Brother Ruan is joking. I genuinely believe that Lin Bai joining the team won’t be helpful. His hundred Third Level Spirit Crystals might as well be distributed among us."

"Just watch, Elder Brother Ruan, if we encounter high-level Spirit Puppets later, Lin Bai will surely be the first to flee! He won’t put in any effort at all."

Ruan Jinhui gave a helpless wry smile, not wishing to continue this conversation with Lu Rui.

After all, Ruan Jinhui was someone who had lived for nearly thirty years and had experienced many things; how could he not see through Lu Rui’s petty scheming?

In the middle of the troop.

Jian Ruohan slowly approached Lin Bai and asked with a smile, "How’s it going?"

"All is calm," Lin Bai replied with a light smile.

"Isn’t that a good thing? A free gift of a hundred Third Level Spirit Crystals," Jian Ruohan said, revealing a smile.

"Hahaha, indeed, if there are more deals like this, definitely count me in," Lin Bai replied with a casual smile. "Jian Ruohan, you look so beautiful when you smile; why don’t you do it more often?"

"Heh," Jian Ruohan lightly smiled, "Aren’t I smiling right now?"

Lin Bai said, "Fair enough. But it seems that Lu Rui has quite a strong aversion towards me. He doesn’t appear to be happy about me joining the Guard Team."

"But Elder Brother Ruan seems to be a nice person," Lin Bai said with a light chuckle.

"Don’t bother about Lu Rui; that’s just the way he is," Jian Ruohan said, her smile disappearing upon mentioning Lu Rui. "But Elder Brother Ruan is indeed a good person."

Lin Bai nodded with a smile, holding a very firm confirmation of Ruan Jinhui’s character in his heart!

As Lin Bai and Jian Ruohan stood together chatting.

Suddenly, a chorus of exclamations erupted from the crowd.

"Spirit Puppets!"

"So many Spirit Puppets!"

"All of them are Third and Fourth Grade Spirit Puppets!"

"So many Spirit Puppets; there must be at least a thousand of them, with many being Fourth Grade!"

"Whoa, we’re going to be rich!"

"Attack!"

"Leave the Fourth Grade Spirit Puppets for the powerful members of the Guard Team to handle; we’ll take on the Third Grade ones!"

"Attack!"

As the shouts spread, they ignited like a fuse, rapidly propagating through the ranks.

Lin Bai and Jian Ruohan were startled and quickly scanned their surroundings. On the distant plains, numerous figures appeared, clearly a large number of Spirit Puppets had emerged.

Seeing so many Spirit Puppets, all disciples were ablaze with fervor.

Perhaps a day before, the sight of so many Spirit Puppets would have sent them fleeing in terror, but now, with an alliance of over five thousand disciples, facing a group of more than a thousand Spirit Puppets was cause for sheer delight.

With a sword each, they would have no trouble slaughtering all these Spirit Puppets!