Chapter 4: The Secrets of Soul Beads (Part 2)

Guo Shier quickly said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, I could never do such a thing. Grandpa Nanshan was also forced into it… How could I do something like that…” He shuddered involuntarily and shook his head firmly; he couldn’t accept such an idea.
Eagle Demon nodded and said, “Hmm, I believe Shier wouldn’t do it either. We’re humans, not mutants!”
Guo Shier sighed and said, “Actually, the difference isn’t that big.”
Eagle Demon also admitted in his heart that a professional almost spends their entire life killing, and in some aspects, they are indeed very similar to mutants. He said, “Stop thinking too much. Let’s focus on figuring out how to get out of here.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “At this stage… we should gather as many Soul Beads as possible. Once our strength improves, we’ll definitely have a chance!”
Eagle Demon said, “I’ve seen that Soul Beads can be exchanged for points.”
Guo Shier replied, “It takes a lot of points—50,000 points for one. The Gu Xi Long family is really greedy. If I hand over Soul Beads, I only get 10,000 points per one.”
Eagle Demon sighed and said, “Then we might as well kill them ourselves.”
Crazy Bull rushed in and said, “Team Leader Guo, Lord Qian is looking for you. Go quickly—it’s at the headquarters.”
Guo Shier stood up and asked, “Did he say what it’s about?”
Crazy Bull replied, “No, he just said to go fast. Lord Yao is there, along with the other team leaders.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll be there right away.” He flew with Eagle Demon to the headquarters.
The tent at the headquarters had been replaced, giving the entire unit a fresh look. Qian Rongyao naturally wanted to tidy it up as well. Thick animal skins were laid on the ground again. When Guo Shier entered, he smelled a faint fishy odor—he knew it was because the skins hadn’t been properly treated; they were cheap goods.
Yao Lixilong sat in the main tent, with Qian Rongyao standing beside him, along with the other team leaders. Guo Shier and Eagle Demon entered, and he called out, “Lord Yao, Lord Qian.”
Yao Lixilong asked, “I heard you used professionals to form a talisman array?”
Guo Shier thought to himself, Asking now is really slow. He nodded and said, “Yes.”
Yao Lixilong said, “Could you share your training methods?”
Guo Shier replied, “Sure.” He had no intention of hiding it. These methods were only useful for lower-level disciples. Advanced professionals didn’t care about talisman arrays at all—they could break through any of them with their own strength.
Yao Lixilong nodded in satisfaction and said, “Of course, we won’t let you contribute for nothing. You’ll get points from our sect.”

Guo Shier didn’t care. Yao Lixi Long said, “I’ll give you 200,000 sect points. You should know that 100,000 sect points can grant one inheritance from the sect, while 200,000 sect points can allow both of you to receive an inheritance.” The team leaders couldn’t help but show envy. The inheritance of the Gu Xi Long family was also the inheritance of the Gu Fu people, one of the most authentic forms of inheritance.

Guo Shier hesitated for a moment before asking, “What if I use it to exchange for the Soul Beads of mutants?” Yao Lixi Long was slightly taken aback and said, “You want the Soul Beads of mutants? Though they’re valuable, they can’t be used without being refined… You…” He shook his head, not believing that Guo Shier could refine Soul Beads. Even in the Gu Xi Long family, no one could refine them—the method had been lost for a long time. The Soul Beads they had now were used for trading with other families. He said, “It can be exchanged, 50,000 points per bead—so expensive… Do you really want to exchange them?”

Guo Shier replied, “Can you give me a discount? Hehe, I know that only 10,000 points are given for one Soul Bead handed over to the family. If anyone here has Soul Beads, I’m willing to pay 25,000 points for them.” Yao Lixi Long happened to have some Soul Beads on hand and said, “If you’re willing to pay 30,000 points per bead, I do have some.” Guo Shier replied without hesitation, “200,000 points for seven beads!”

Yao Lixi Long was overjoyed but kept a straight face and said, “Agreed.” He took out seven Soul Beads and handed them to Guo Shier, asking, “May I ask… how do you plan to use these Soul Beads?” Guo Shier sneered inwardly and said, “I have a beast talisman—the Giant Nesting Dragon Talisman. Lord Qian has seen it too. I want to use these Soul Beads to strengthen the essence of the Giant Nesting Dragon.”

Yao Lixi Long suddenly understood and said, “So they’re for using with an essence beast… What a pity…” Qian Rongyao shook his head, inwardly cursing Guo Shier as a spendthrift. Exchanging 200,000 points for seven Soul Beads was utterly unreasonable—such a waste! He had no idea that Guo Shier had inherited the methods of the Gu Miluo family to refine Soul Beads. The faces of the team leaders all showed confusion—using so many points for just a few Soul Beads? Was he crazy?

Eagle Demon suppressed his excitement and watched quietly, his heart pounding. Of course, he understood what those seven Soul Beads meant—they meant that he and Guo Shier would soon be promoted to Great Sage Masters, meaning their strength could improve rapidly.

Guo Shieru took out a talisman, quickly inscribed the training methods into it, handed it to Yao Lixi Long, and then left the tent with Eagle Demon. Without saying a word, the two flew back to the Talisman House at high speed. Once inside, they remained silent for a moment before bursting into laughter. The gains were truly enormous—after all, Guo Shieru was a high-level Saint Master. Once he reached the rank of junior Grand Saint Master, he would be able to easily kill a mutated being. The same applied to Eagle Demon; once he became a Grand Saint Master, he could use several powerful skills inherited from the Gu Miluo family. Although Saint Masters were not weak in battles against mutated beings, it was still difficult to kill them effortlessly.

After taking a quick look at the soul beads, Guo Shieru found that one of them belonged to a female mutated being, while the other six could be used by them. In high spirits, he said, “These past few days, I’ve managed to refine the soul beads. But let’s not use them for now. Give our souls some time to adjust. We just absorbed one soul bead—using them consecutively would be too much for our souls to handle.”

Eagle Demon replied, “I know. There’s no rush. Hehe.” He had just reached a new rank and needed to stabilize himself first, so he couldn’t consume soul beads continuously.

Apart from daily training, Guo Shieru spent his time refining soul beads. All the large teams in Camp 27 began training, covering everything from uniform wear to cleaning, and then marching in formation—progressing comprehensively across various aspects.

During this time, another batch of newcomers arrived, all professionals captured by the Gu Xilong family. Squad 10 also completed its roster, with a total of 350 members. Guo Shieru no longer had to worry about these matters; Eagle Demon, Crazy Bull, and Ning Xin handled everything, allowing him to focus solely on refining soul beads.

In just over ten days, he successfully refined seven soul beads. He gave three to Eagle Demon and stored the rest in the Spirit-Hiding Talisman.

One day, with nothing to do, Guo Shieru took Eagle Demon outside the rear camp and to the front camp. The front camp was a gathering place for low-level professionals who couldn’t enter the rear camp—they were the true bottom rung of professionals. It was chaotic there, but various personal items were sold, mostly those brought along during capture. Among them were some rare materials, and many skilled professionals liked to search there.

This world was vast, with each place having its own unique items. What might be worthless locally could become extremely precious when transported to another continent.

Professionals who had just arrived still had some belongings. Those who had been there for a long time but hadn’t advanced were in a dire situation. The worst off were those who hadn’t even reached the level of a talisman master, as they struggled even to survive.

Guo Shier and Eagle Demon walked along the narrow streets—actually just gaps left behind by the tents. The entire camp was filled with smoke and dust, the temperature was scorching, and flies buzzed everywhere. To Guo Shier, it felt like being in a refugee camp from his past life: dirty, chaotic, and crowded with people. Yet as he and Eagle Demon walked, all the lower-ranked professionals respectfully stepped aside to make way for them.

Hierarchies were strict here, and there was a rule in the camp: higher-ranked professionals could kill lower-ranked ones without facing any consequences. Of course, such things rarely happened, as everyone understood they were prisoners there, and if they had to fight among themselves, it would only make their situation worse. No one could guarantee that killing a lower-ranked professional wouldn’t result in them being killed by an even higher-ranked one. Thus, all professionals voluntarily adhered to this unspoken agreement.

“Captain Guo!”

Guo Shier turned and saw Yu Lan standing not far away. Although she was calling out to Guo Shier, her gaze was fixed on Eagle Demon.

“Captain Yu, are you out shopping too?”

Yu Lan smiled. “I’m usually in the front camp whenever I’m free.” There were many lower-ranked professionals standing around her.

Guo Shier and Eagle Demon walked over.

Yu Lan led them into a relatively large tent, where several lower-ranked professionals were sitting.

Curious, Guo Shier asked, “What’s going on? Why are so many professionals gathered here?”

Yu Lan smiled. “I come here whenever I’m free to teach them some spell knowledge. Since they don’t have points, they can’t inherit any skills. Some of them have already advanced but still can’t learn the corresponding skills.”

Guo Shier was surprised. “You’re teaching spell knowledge?”

Yu Lan nodded. “I also distribute some water and food for them. Many people from our team come here. Hehe, it gives them a little hope.”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but feel respect and said, “Okay, I’ll come too whenever I’m free!”

Eagle Demon added, “Count me in!”

Yu Lan smiled gently. “Then thank you.” The lower-ranked professionals in the tent also bowed. She then asked, “Is this your first time in the front camp?”

Eagle Demon rushed to answer, “Yes, it’s our first time.”

Yu Lan said, “Xiao Gou, go accompany these two lords. They’re not familiar with this place.”

A thin little girl stood up and said, “My lords, I’m Xiao Gou. I know this place best. Let me show you the way.”

Yu Lan said, “Xiao Gou was born in this camp. Her parents passed away long ago. She has great potential and is already a junior spellcaster. She’s only fifteen.”

Guo Shier said, “There’s no need to call me ‘my lord.’ I’m not much older than you. Just call me big brother.”
Yu Lan was surprised. “You’re not much older than Xiao Gou? Captain Guo, how old are you?”
Guo Shier sighed and said, “Twenty.”
Yu Lan was stunned. How could he be only twenty? She said, “You… you’re not joking, are you? Twenty? You’re a high-ranking Holy Master…”
There was chaos in the tent.
Yu Lan found it unbelievable; she knew how astonishing this was. After a while, she asked Eagle Demon, “You… you can’t be only twenty either, can you?”
Guo Shier suddenly found Yu Lan’s question a bit strange.