Chapter 7: Recruitment (Part 1)

Chen Yuxian turned despairingly toward his caravan. Suddenly, his gaze swept over two people, and his heart trembled as he saw Guo Shier and Eagle Demon, who appeared calm—this gave him a glimmer of hope. He knew the three people they encountered on the road were experts, likely among the best professionals.
“Do we really have to be recruited? Do you mean everyone?”
Suppressing his unease, Chen Yuxian asked tentatively. He was well aware that professionals wouldn’t act without reason.
The burly man shouted, “Stop talking nonsense! No one is exempt!”
Chen Yuxian resisted the urge to look back at Guo Shier and Eagle Demon and said dejectedly, “Yes…” He knew he couldn’t resist. Even with the caravan’s guards, they couldn’t stand against the city guards. Yet deep down, he hoped Guo Shier and the others would resist.
The moment Chen Yuxian agreed, his guards and workers erupted in outrage. Some shouted, “No! What right do they have to recruit us?”
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon watched silently. The burly man then said, “Smart of you! Gather everyone, line up, and get ready to follow us!”
The caravan dared not resist, but the hunters refused. They had families to take care of—how could they follow the city guards? Some hunters began to resist fiercely, prompting the city guards to start killing them.
Chen Yuxian felt chilled as he watched a hunter being slain by several city guards. An official among them shouted, “Who dares resist? Execute on the spot!”
Even low-level professionals were beyond ordinary people’s ability to withstand. Though skilled in hunting, the hunters were far inferior to professionals.
After killing several rebels, the resistance weakened. The locals here were different from those in many other continents—they seemed more peaceful, lacking a fierce fighting spirit.
Chaos ensued as cavalry squads dispersed, chasing the fleeing hunters. Too afraid to resist, the hunters fled desperately. If they could reach the nearby forest, it would be difficult for the city guards to pursue them.
A few city guards rushed up to Chen Yuxian and ordered, “Leave the camels and horses behind, line up, and come here!”
Chen Yuxian’s face showed bitterness and reluctance, but he had no choice. One of the caravan guards was a talisman martial artist who shouted, “I’m a professional! I’m a professional!”
Two city guards, holding talisman spears, pointed at him and said, “Professionals are no different!”
The guard took out his talisman weapon—a two-meter-long battle axe—and snapped, “You bastards are going too far!” He swung the axe at them.

Clang!
A long spear in the hands of a city guard flew away. He was just a rune warrior—how could he block a strike from a rune master? His spear was instantly shattered. In panic, he tried to dodge on his horse, shouting, “You dare resist! You dare resist!”
Another city guard thrust his spear forward, shouting, “Kill them!”
Immediately, several cavalry riders rushed over from a distance. One of them leaped off his horse before it even came close, also wielding a long spear. He shouted, “Looking for death!” He was a junior grand rune master.
The guard roared in despair, “I’ll fight you to the death!” and charged with his sword.
Clang! This time, it was his rune sword that flew into the air. The grand rune master kicked the guard aside with one foot and sneered, “Even if you’re a professional, you still can’t resist!”
Guo Shier said calmly, “Uncle Eagle Demon!”
Boom!
Eagle Demon soared forward. With just one palm strike, a powerful gust of wind blasted out. With a loud crash, more than a dozen city guards along with their horses were sent flying backward. Soon after, both Eagle Demon and Guo Shier were in the air.
Eagle Demon shouted, “Stop all of you, or I’ll kill you without mercy!”
His voice was like thunder, making the nearby city guards tremble, and their horses reared back in fear.
A dark shadow flashed by as Luo Zhan flew to Guo Shier’s side and asked, “What’s going on?”
Guo Shier replied calmly, “We’ve run into a bunch of bastards.”
The three of them hovered in the air side by side. Then someone among the city guards shouted, “Shoot!”
Whoosh whoosh! Countless rune arrows were fired. Neither Guo Shier nor Eagle Demon nor Luo Zhan moved—such attacks posed no threat to them. The arrows fell several meters away from them. Someone shouted, “Use javelins!”
“Stop!”
Someone among the city guards yelled. Guo Shier sneered, “Hmph, not hiding among the city guards anymore?”
Eagle Demon asked, “What do you mean?”
Guo Shier said, “There are two junior grand saints, probably also from outside, hiding among the city guards.”
Eagle Demon said, “Damn it, more professionals from the outer continents!” He understood that these city guards were also controlled puppets, with those two junior grand saints as the real controllers.
Chen Yuxian showed a surprised expression. When Eagle Demon took action, he breathed a sigh of relief. Though he didn’t know how powerful Guo Shier and Eagle Demon were, he knew that as long as these two intervened, he might be able to escape this disaster.

Two great sage masters flew over. When they saw the three people in front of them clearly, their hearts sank to the bottom of the sea. Three high-level professionals! They were terrified.

Guo Shier looked at them coldly. It was two elderly men with considerable presence, appearing somewhat superior, dressed very differently from the locals—clearly professionals from another continent.

“Tiger Continent, Youxian Clan, Junior Talisman-Warrior Great Sage Master, Xianming.”

“Tiger Continent, Youxian Clan, Junior Talisman-Sorcerer Great Sage Master, Xianliang.”

Guo Shier didn’t introduce himself either. He asked coldly, “Were you the ones who ordered the capture of these ordinary people?”

Xianming forced himself to say, “Yes. It was an order from the clan. Our Tiger Continent needs labor!” He said it with confidence. He had done this many times before and never thought it was wrong.

Xianliang said in a deep voice, “Who are you?” He was annoyed. When professionals meet, they should reveal their identities and ranks—it’s a professional habit and a common courtesy across continents. Ignoring it meant the other party thought they were insignificant.

Guo Shier said, “Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that I can’t stand you!”

Xianming flew into a rage and said, “Don’t think just because you’re high-level professionals, you can act recklessly!”

Guo Shier laughed loudly, “Well said! Haha! Don’t think just because you’re high-level professionals, you can do whatever you want!”

Xianming was stunned. He suddenly realized that these three disapproved of their practice of abducting people. He said, “This Feng Continent is a vassal of our Youxian Clan! The population of this continent belongs to our clan! Not to mention conscripting them, even killing them all is none of your business!”

Guo Shier certainly knew this rule, but he was too angry to care. He said, “Eagle Demon Uncle, beat them! Those two old scumbags!”

Eagle Demon rushed forward immediately. His core talisman blade hadn’t been reforged yet, but after advancing to a high-level great sage master, its quality had naturally improved greatly. He swung his blade in one strike.

Xianming and Xianliang panicked and tried to defend themselves, activating their defensive talisman shields. Eagle Demon was incredibly fast. As soon as their defenses were up, his blade already struck.

Guo Shier found such a level of combat beneath him. After witnessing battles between altar masters, fights like this seemed like child’s play. Even battles between great sage masters weren’t much better.

But Eagle Demon felt completely different. He had never experienced such exhilaration. With one swing, he even felt confident he could split a mountain in two.

Boom! Crack!

The bright talisman shield shattered first, and his body was flung away by the immense force. Xianliang tried desperately to block, but was swept aside by the Eagle Demon’s slash, causing his shield to break as well. The Eagle Demon preferred direct combat—it was his habit, ingrained deep in his bones. He flashed over to Xianming’s side.

Xianming let out a shrill cry, “Senior Grand Sage! It’s… ah…” Before he could finish, he was kicked away.

Xianliang grabbed Xianming and pulled him back quickly. Seriously, fighting against a Senior Grand Sage was pure suicide. He shouted loudly, “Stop! Stop! We surrender!” He knew the Eagle Demon didn’t intend to kill them; otherwise, neither he nor Xianming would be alive.

Indeed, the Eagle Demon didn’t want to kill them. He just wanted to test how strong he had become. Since ascending to Senior Grand Sage, he hadn’t had a proper fight yet, and he was eager for one. That’s why his earlier attacks lacked any murderous intent—he just wanted to have a good fight. But the opponent surrendered after just a few slashes, which annoyed him greatly.

“Fight me! If you do well, I’ll spare your lives!”

Luo Zhan laughed, “The eagle wants to fight, hehe.”

Xianming and Xianliang were stunned. How could there be such a demand? That was just bullying! A Senior Grand Sage fighting two Junior Masters—wasn’t it like playing?

Xianming simply said, “We can’t beat you. We surrender!”

The Eagle Demon sneered coldly and said, “Not fight? I’ll kill you!”

Xianming and Xianliang turned and ran, their flying speed astonishingly fast. In an instant, two white trails appeared in the sky. The Eagle Demon wanted to chase after them, but as a follower, he couldn’t leave Guo Shier without permission. He cursed, “Damn it, two cowards, shameless bastards!”

Watching the Eagle Demon curse, Guo Shier and Luo Zhan laughed heartily.

The Eagle Demon glared down and saw that all the city guards looked stunned. Back in Dong City, the city lord treated those two old men like ancestors. Such powerful figures being driven away by this man showed just how formidable he was.

Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, take care of this. Drive these city guards away.”

The Eagle Demon roared, “All of you, get the hell away!” With that, he swung his sword downward. With a loud explosion, a trench dozens of meters long and half a meter deep appeared on the ground.

The city guards panicked instantly. No one could withstand such a slash. The deep trench created by a single strike terrified everyone.

The Eagle Demon shook his head repeatedly. He had seen Guo Shier cut down enemies with his moon blade; the two were incomparable. He was far behind, and he couldn’t help but sigh, “Shier, you’ll have to help me reforged my life sigil weapon. It’s not working well!”
Luo Zhan said gloomily, “If this isn’t considered effective, then what about mine?”