True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 357 - 334 The End or The Beginning One

Chapter 357: Chapter 334 The End or The Beginning One

"Hmm?"

Lin Fei abruptly paused, seemingly catching a hint of something happening.

In his hand, he held a green longsword over a meter in length, its blade dense with runes and blue circuit-like patterns.

A red arrow was deflected gently, rocketing into the sky and bursting into red fireworks.

With a casual slash in front of him, the green longsword easily diverted several attacks.

Chirp, chirp!!

A piercing chorus of bird calls descended from above as blue and white totemic avian creatures dived down in spirals, some with talons crackling with lightning, others with eyes alight with flames, and still others whose mere size dwarfed ordinary eagles, large as a car, nearly blotting out the sky. Over a dozen totem beasts swooped down in series.

At the same time, on one side, a huge axe was fiercely cleaved towards Lin Fei.

Lin Fei stepped forward, vanishing in an instant, and reappeared atop a distant hillock, having crossed tens of meters.

From behind him, came the faint sound of Jingjing’s shout from among the people.

An array of light green ribbons lazily undulated out of the crowd.

A sudden scream rose as a group of people rushing forward was blasted away, as if an explosive had been detonated within them, sending everyone flying from the blast.

"C...C-level Peak..." a dry voice came from a black-armored figure on the outskirts, who hadn’t had a chance to approach yet.

Around him, the remaining black-armored onlookers let out a collective gasp.

"No wonder he dares to stand against a Successor. He’s indeed not ordinary..." muttered a one-eyed man in the distance.

Jingjing methodically began collecting the red epaulettes from all the black-armored bodies on the ground, quickly amassing a large handful.

But just then, the black vortex in the distant sky resonated again with a thunderous voice.

"Everyone, teleportation protection will commence shortly, to be activated within twenty minutes. Those who fail to arrive in time will be considered deceased."

"Go! Move quickly!"

"Everyone, keep up!"

A mass of black-armored figures swiftly surged toward the direction of the black vortex.

"Time is up! Run for it!"

The black-armored ones earlier blown away by Jingjing, most not dead but with many broken bones, struggled to move fast enough to reach safety. Hearing this announcement, despair colored their faces. Only a few helped the injured to their feet and moved on together.

"Everyone knows what it means to remain on this plain," a quiet woman next to the one-eyed man spoke, "The ’Plain of Despair’ earns its name for a reason.

Be it the water sources, plant fruits, or animals and grasslands here, not a single one isn’t deadly poisonous. Completely inedible and with a vast expanse, it would take weeks to navigate out. And there is the constant threat of dangerous creatures. Even more lethal than these is the impending sweep from the Red Armor brigade. The Alliance of Cities won’t easily swallow this defeat. They will become the perfect targets for retribution."

"So, their fates are sealed," the one-eyed man said indifferently, "Let’s go and pick up the pace." Young members of his team followed closely behind, their faces flickering with sorrow as they passed over the black-armored figures wailing on the ground.

Among those lying there were the previously arrogant Bender brothers, their knife-wielding arms hacked off, blood gushing out, both of them in a dazed state. Had they both been conscious, perhaps they could have bandaged each other and lived a while longer, but regrettably, Jingjing had taken special care with these two—who wouldn’t come to for hours.

Closing her green longsword, Jingjing lightly caught up with Lin Fei atop the hill.

"It was just like a sword drill," she chuckled.

"Let’s go." Lin Fei turned and quickly headed toward the black vortex, his form flickering slightly, each flicker covering a great distance, while Jingjing periodically touched the tips of her feet to the ground, leaping across the grass, almost as if flying.

Just like their arrival, Lin Fei and Jingjing swiftly made it to the black vortex. Beneath it was now a sea of people, a view dominated by a sea of black armors. Countless powerful auras swirled among them. In the sky, a Dragon Knight announced loudly, "All arrivals have one hour to exchange for Energy Stone Points. The twenty-minute mark has been reached. The rookie selection mission is completed."

Hum....

A buzzing, reminiscent of the hum of bees, faintly resonated from the sky.

Lin Fei and Jingjing stood on the periphery, watching as a semi-transparent membrane slowly descended from the sky, dense with countless runes interconnected by fine lines, appearing like countless nodes upon a large net.

The membrane descended slowly.

At this moment, some black-armored figures, frantically trying to get inside the assembly perimeter, were not yet inside. Seeing the membrane, they sped up desperately, rushing madly in this direction.

Just as Lin Fei was about to go to the logistics area to exchange for Energy Stone Points, he overheard a familiar shout from behind. Turning around, he saw among the approaching black-armored figures was Nailisha and her group.

Their black armor was smeared with blood, and both Nailisha and Chen Fengnan were wrapped in white bandages. Zhou Sixue seemed to have twisted an ankle and was moving slowly towards them. Lin Qishan was nowhere to be seen.

The trio walked amidst a chaotic crowd of black-armored figures, looking particularly unassuming. Occasionally, healthy black-armored figures rushing past would bump into them, slowing their pace even more.

Chen Fengnan seemed to catch sight of Lin Fei from afar, a flash of joy crossing his face.

"Feilin! It’s Feilin! Sixue, come on!"

"Qishan, you’re here too! Quick, use your abilities to help us!" Nailisha cried out in delight upon noticing Lin Qishan amidst the crowd of black-armored individuals, her voice loud and clear.

Lin Fei turned his head and saw Lin Qishan not far away among the crowd in black armor, watching Nailisha and the other two with a complex expression on his face.

Just as he heard Chen Fengnan’s shouting, he looked over in their direction and also saw Lin Fei and the other. However, he made no move but instead slowly retreated back into the crowd.

"Golden Armor," Lin Fei whispered.

"Understood." Golden Armor drew his longsword, which instantly stretched out and flew towards Chen Fengnan and the others with incredible speed.

The few dozen meters between them were covered in the blink of an eye as the green longsword encircled the trio like a ribbon, binding them completely.

"Lift!" Golden Armor chuckled softly as the longsword swiftly contracted.

Shh!

Amidst the astonished gazes of the surrounding black-armored warriors, Nailisha and the other two were yanked over like cannonballs, hurtling straight towards Lin Fei.

Just as they flew into range, the light membrane in the sky crashed to the ground fiercely, countless runes shone brilliantly, the grassland outside gradually darkened, and the light membrane began to change from transparent to black.

A gentle force caught the three mid-air and then slowly set them down on the ground.

"Are you all right?" Lin Fei asked with concern.

"We’re... we’re okay..." The trio was pale, clearly shaken, narrowly missing being trapped outside. Once left on the outside, the consequences would be unthinkable.

After allowing them a moment to catch their breath, Lin Fei then suggested.

"You rest here for a while; I’ll go to the logistics area to exchange some items."

"Go ahead, and thank you for this. I owe you one, and it’s engraved in my heart. If you need anything, I can’t promise much elsewhere, but in Cloud City, it should be no problem," Chen Fengnan said earnestly.

"Us too," Zhou Sixue gritted her teeth, pressing on her right leg, "You only see true nature in times of adversity! I have seen through it all!" She glared fiercely towards where Lin Qishan had been, but he was no longer in sight.

Nailisha looked slightly crestfallen, but didn’t say anything.

Lin Fei scanned the surroundings, where the same wounded black-armored warriors sat resting quietly on the ground, some consuming their brought-along medicine, others changing bandages, and many more were resting with their eyes closed.

"Then, we’ll be on our way. See you in a bit."

After parting with the three, he quickly squeezed through the direction where the black-armored were most concentrated.

About ten minutes later, behind the black vortex, a line of tightly-packed, phone booth-like black blocks sat side by side on an open field.

Black-armored individuals continuously entered and exited them, with no sight of any logistics personnel around.

Lin Fei noticed that on the outside of these black block rooms, different English words were inscribed right beside each door.

He took a cursory glance. "Exchange room?"

As a black-armored exited a small cubicle ahead of him, Lin Fei hurried over, pushed open the door, and walked in.

The door of the black block room automatically closed.

The room was extremely small with no lighting, except for a white five-pointed star-shaped platform in front of Lin Fei. Intricate and mysterious patterns surrounded by complex runes formed a beautiful design, and all the lines were pulsating with a flickering white light, almost like breathing—this was the only light source within the cubicle.

"Initiating detection of exchanger’s Energy Stone Points... Please wait..." A sweet female voice emanated from the platform.

"Energy Stone Points: 42. Please select the desired exchange items."

A semi-transparent screen unfolded abruptly in front of Lin Fei.

"Seems like holographic projection technology, but perhaps even more advanced," Lin Fei murmured as he furrowed his brows, scanning the screen filled with various items for exchange, categorized into weapons, resources, and others, just like what he had seen earlier on the huge screen.

The first page was to select a category: Weapons, Medicine, Energy, Special, Creatures.

"What sort of weapons can I exchange for, no point in getting medicine as my True Force’s recovery outperforms any medicine, ’Energy’ is probably Energy Stones, but with only 42 points I can’t exchange for much. However, Purple Raw Ore is only two points, I might find what I need," Lin Fei pondered, tapping the ’Energy’ category.

A multitude of different Energy Stones appeared, further subdivided into categories: Breakthrough, Accumulation, Strengthening.

Clicking on ’Accumulation,’ a long list of Energy Stones meant for accumulating strength appeared before him.

Nightingale Stone, Spotted Hemp Stone, Krim Stone, Golden Glow Stone...

They were arranged from top to bottom based on the total strength of the Energy Stones. The strongest was a type of Energy Stone called Sun Stone, shining like the sun, with each piece requiring over five thousand Energy Stone Points. There was also a blood-red stone and some with butterfly patterns, which turned out to be the two unidentified Energy Stones Lin Fei had captured earlier. However, they were all Low Level Energy Stones, and each required dozens of points. Since he already had them, there was no need to exchange them; he’d rather test their effects first.

In a slight disappointment, Lin Fei decided to go back to the main menu, hesitating a bit before finally choosing the ’Special’ category.

Information Receiver, Locator, One-Time Magic Stone, Treehouse Stone...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your Recommendation Votes, Monthly Ticket, and your support is my greatest motivation.)