Chapter 204: Ming Dong
Although the man Jian Chen had rescued wasn’t dead, he was still on the verge of dying. This small mountainside village wasn’t able to find any sort of high quality medicine to help treat the man’s wounds, so Jian Chen could only rely on the light Saint Force to save his life.
Under the treatment of the light Saint Force, Jian Chen was able to force the man away from the beckoning of Yanluo Wang. Just as his health stabilized, Jian Chen stopped using the light Saint Force since he had no desire to reveal that he could utilize the light Saint Force. That also meant the man’s wounds would not be healed in a single motion.
TL Note: Yanluo Wang is the equivalent of Yama https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yama_(East_Asia)
Standing in front of the bed, Jian Chen looked over the man only to see the blue robes he was wearing. From his appearance, the man looked to be around 28 years old and was quite handsome.
Suddenly, the youth’s eyes began to blink open as the pupils inside searched all around. Finally, his eyes landed upon Jian Chen with a confused look before realizing that he was safe.
“Are you the one who saved me?” He asked Jian Chen weakly.
Nodding his head, Jian Chen replied, “That’s right, it was me.”
“Many thanks for saving me. This one is truly grateful and will return the favor.” The youth then responded.
Jian Chen gave a small smile before saying, “For now, don’t say anything, let alone repaying me. I too was saved by someone, so like you, we are quite similar.”
The youth had a mild smile on his face as he heard those words, “This one is called Ming Dong, might I know how to call my benefactor?”
Jian Chen sat on a stool near the window and replied, “You can call me Jian Chen, no need to call me benefactor.”
“Your wounds are still very severe, if it weren’t for me bringing you down the mountain and using some medicine, you would have woken up at the yellow springs in half a day.”
Ming Dong’s eyes gained a sudden spark of intense hatred as he bit his lips and spat, “These wounds of mine, sooner or later I will pay them back.”
Still sitting down on the stool, Jian Chen’s eyes had a spark of interest as he looked at Ming Dong. Pointing a finger at the various wounds, he asked, “These wounds, were they from your hated enemy?”
“No,” Ming Dong shook his head, “I originally discovered an injured Class 4 Magical Beast that was already on the verge of death. After a huge amount of effort on my part, I was able to kill and extract the monster core, but a group of mercenaries found and robbed me. If it was just a single mercenary I wouldn’t be afraid, but it was a large group of them. Combined with my wounds, it was enough for them to take my Space Belt. In a final effort, I ran away with all my strength, otherwise, I would not have lived.”
Jian Chen could only sigh to himself when he heard about Ming Dong’s plight. These type of occurrences were common within the Tian Yuan Continent since the world was one where the strong fed off the weak. Strength was vital here, and if you didn’t have the strength, then living on the Tian Yuan Continent would be exceptionally difficult. Even if one tried to live a low profile life by not offending anyone, one would not be guaranteed a safe life. Danger could drop down from the skies at any given time, so no one would be able to constantly avoid it.
After that, the two began to chat for a while to get to an understanding of each other. Ming Dong was a child from a rural village. He had a decent talent at cultivation and was hard working as well. At the age of 28 he had already reached the level of a Middle Saint Master. This type of cultivation speed was ranked among one of the top within the continent.
Because of his habit of living alone, he had never wanted to to travel with anyone else. Even after becoming a mercenary, he didn’t join any mercenary groups and instead obtained personal freedom.
These past few years, Ming Dong would accomplish a few mercenary missions that involved killing a few low leveled magical beasts for their monster cores. Aside from selling a few for money, he used the rest to help him cultivate; making his cultivation speed faster than those around his age.
After finding out about that, Jian Chen gained a new level of respect for Ming Dong. It went without saying that the two most important things that make one strong are to be hardworking and to hunt and kill magical beasts by yourself. Jian Chen was certain in his heart that Ming Dong would be destined for many achievements if he continued to cultivate those traits.
After all, for a 28 year old to reach the level of a Middle Saint Master, was almost unheard of. What was even more surprising was he had accomplished this by himself. Only the children of those who were born in a wealthy clan or had some sort of treasure would be able to reach such a level so fast.
Staring with a complicated look at the pale faced Ming Dong, Jian Chen hesitated for a moment before finally saying, “Ming Dong, I don’t know if you’re willing to join my mercenary group. After experiencing these things, I’m sure you can realize how beneficial joining a mercenary group can be.”
Ming Dong hesitated for a moment. He was already accustomed to the solo lifestyle and honestly wasn’t willing to join a mercenary group and be restricted by it. The truth of the matter was, with his strength, he could have joined any strong mercenary group a long time ago if he wanted to.
Sitting on the bed, Ming Dong had thought about how his life had been saved by Jian Chen and so, despite his personal convictions, he decided. “If brother Jian Chen won’t mind, then I, Ming Dong, will join your mercenary group.”
Jian Chen had a happy smile on his face as he laughed, “Good, Ming Dong, with you entering the group our strength has gone up. Given some time, I will definitely make our mercenary group the number one group within the Tian Yuan Continent.” As he spoke, Jian Chen couldn’t help but think back to the words uncle Kendall had once said.
“My biggest wish is for my Flame Mercenaries to become the strongest group within the Tian Yuan Continent.”
Jian Chen had now took on Kendall’s wish for his own. He would replace uncle Kendall and make the Flame Mercenaries the strongest in the continent.
“Ah, that’s right. I don’t even know what the group is called, how many people there are, how strong it is, or who the captain is.” Ming Dong stated.
Jian Chen smiled, “The mercenary group is called the Flame Mercenaries. As of right now, I am the only member, but with you, that makes two. As far as strength goes, I am currently at the Primary Great Saint Master level.”
“What, just us two?” Astonished, Ming Dong looked at Jian Chen with disbelief realizing how young Jian Chen was before continuing with a dumbstruck voice, “Wait…you say you have the strength of a Primary Great Saint Master? Are you sure you’re not joking?”