Chapter 397: No Money, No Men, No IQ
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
"I ask you, are you my follower?"
Amidst the hazy light, Wang Lu vaguely heard someone ask him a question. It was just that the questioning voice sounded especially weird. Although he could understand every word of it, it was as if they were separated by a layer of something, so Wang Lu subconsciously asked, "What?"
At the same time, the light gradually dissipated a bit, so that the stature of the young woman in front of him became clearer. She was tall and straight, even seemingly not that different compared to Wang Lu. And Wang Lu, as a man, has a stature that was already considered as above average. Furthermore, her whole body was covered in a shining steel armor. Only the joints exposed a few pieces of exquisite leather. Through the armor, one could vaguely determine that the woman, though not stout, was also far from being slender and weak. Her body was very firm and toned.
The young woman's face had cold determination like her armor, her pair of clear eyes were like the eternal ice, and her two slender eyebrows were like a pair of sharp sword awns, truly a woman with threatening heroic spirit.
"I ask you, are you my follower?"
The woman's questioning voice came into Wang Lu's ears once again, and with an intonation that was unexpectedly identical to the previous. Wang Lu pondered, and decided to tell the truth.
"What kind of thing is a follower?"
"!???"
Several fine lines seemed to appear on that bone-chilling face. Then a look of shock appeared on the woman's face. "You don't know what a follower is? Who exactly are you?"
Wang Lu asked back, "Who are you?"
While being questioned, Wang Lu began to look around and found out that he was actually in an awe-inspiring hall, with torches hanging on the four pitch black walls. The firelight flickered in this dark hall like they were starlights in the night sky. On the flagstone below Wang Lu's feet, there was a circular array that exuded brown radiance that illuminated all around it. The atmosphere was filled with extremely rich earth type spiritual energy. And behind him was a pitch black altar that reflected all the light.
In accordance with the present situation, this hall should be used for sacrificial ritual purposes. The altar on the back was still tainted with a strong smell of blood, and combined with the array circle at his feet and his experience of coming out of the darkness, this was the inference that was most consistent with common sense...
At this time, the young girl said, "I am your master."
"Pfft! Hahahaha!"
Wang Lu immediately burst out laughing. In response to this, the young woman silently raised her right hand, and from the back of it, a red ray of light rose out. Wang Lu immediately felt as if there was a mountain-like pressure on his shoulder, which nearly caused him to fall.
Under this sudden attack, Wang Lu's years of Non-Phase Method training shown its brilliance. While his bones emit crackling sound under that mountain-like pressure, the index finger on his right hand pointed down and emitted out his Non-Phase Sword Qi, which reversed the shock on his body and enabled him to maintain an erect posture. However, the flagstone at his feet could not withstand the pressure and began to crack. But along with the cracked flagstone, the array glittered twice and then its light completely extinguished.
The young woman seemed a bit surprised that Wang Lu was still able to stand straight under such heavy pressure. After pausing for a moment, she carefully explained, "It seems like the sacrificial offering is not enough, so you don't get fully enlightened… No matter, I will explain everything to you."
Then, still with the incredulous look at the sight before her, the young woman took a deep breath, and said with a steady tone, "You are the one that responded to my summon. You came to this temple of blood as a blood spirit follower, and I am the master who summoned you to come. The relationship between you and me is contractually maintained, and if it's not done, then it's the end of it."
Wang Lu thoughtfully nodded. At this time, the pressure on his body gradually dissipated, but whenever he decided to go against the young woman, the heavy pressure would come with it.
It seemed like the contract relationship mentioned by the young woman was indeed true. This was clearly the symptom of a strong contract constraint… On the Nine Regions, summoning such a follower was not uncommon. It was just that, in the immortal dream lands, this was the first time he came in as a follower to a master. What was the meaning of this?
"Have you forgotten the purpose of you coming here?" The young woman shook her head rather helplessly. "Sure enough, I should not use the defective mask to summon the blood spirit. Listen, you came to this temple of blood for the sole purpose of assisting me in obtaining the five blood spirit crown… You don't even remember the five blood spirit crown, do you?"
Wang Lu said, "I don't remember."
"... The so called five blood spirit crown is the most valuable treasure in this realm. It could be used to coronate the king to rule the realm." The young woman lightly said, "However, this most valuable treasure can only be made through the gathering of five blood spirits and refining them. And these five blood spirits…"
"It's me and the other four blood spirits?" Upon hearing this, Wang Lu was already able to understand the general direction of this plot. Its principle was like the refinement of poison insects, by gathering five formidable followers and to let them beat each other up. The winner then would take the crown. And he has to face the other four blood spirits and their masters in an all out team fight… The only thing that didn't make sense was the defective mask the woman previously talked about.
The young woman said, "To summon the blood spirit in the temple of blood, one must rely on a corresponding tool. Unfortunately, within the hundred generations of my Gray Mountain, so far, there are only several blood spirit inheritances. Among which, this stone mask is the highest in value, which could summon the most powerful blood spirit. Unfortunately, a hundred years ago, it was damaged. Thus, for it to be used in blood sacrifice, more or less it will have an adverse impact towards the mask owner. Due to the temple being temporarily in decline, proper edifying isn't entirely completed, which makes you unaware of the five blood spirit crown and even your own identity."
Although the young woman's voice sounded dull, a trace of anxiety was contained within it. Obviously, she wasn't quite confident with the blood spirit before her.
According to her prediction, the blood spirit summoned by the stone mask could at least be ranked three among the five blood spirits, so that she would have the capital to deal with the other four. Otherwise, with her temper, she would not risk using a broken mask to summon the blood spirit. But unfortunately, the end result was still beyond her control. Could this seemingly amnesiac blood spirit help her win the five blood spirit crown…?
While she was hesitating, Wang Lu took the initiative to ask first, "Tell me about the situation on the other four. If you want to win the crown, you must know who the opponents are."
The young woman said, "The remaining four respectively are, Golden City, Harmony River, Flaming Valley, and Eternal Tree."
"What about their strength?"
"Golden City is the strongest, the cultivation base of its master reaches the heaven, and the elite troops under it are millions. The second in terms of strength is Flaming Valley, it's strength is about sixty to seventy percent of the Golden City. Harmony River and Eternal Tree stick together, and they are like water linking with tree. If they join hands, they are a notch better than Flaming Valley, but they can't contend against Golden City. However, if Golden City wants to deal with any party, they would inevitably pay a heavy price, because the third party is likely to benefit from it."
Wang Lu nodded. "So that's how it is, the situation is actually delicate. So what about our Gray Mountain? What is our rank compared to the others? What role can we play in this delicate situation?"
The young woman was silent for a moment, and then frankly said, "Gray Mountain was once equally famous as Golden City, standing side by side as the number one in the whole land. However, after one hundred generations, it has already declined. The strength… among the five respected families, ranks the last."
Wang Lu let out a 'ha' sound and then said, "It's okay, a low starting point does not matter. We can start low but end up high, the more difficult the journey, the bigger the harvest at the end… So, what about the exact strength of Gray Mountain? How does your strength, as the master of the mountain, compare to the city master of Golden City? How many soldiers are there here?"
The young woman said, "My cultivation base… is almost a tenth of that of the Master of Golden City, and there are no soldiers on the mountain other than me."
Wang Lu's smile suddenly froze. "There are no available soldiers? So how could you be the master of the mountain? Moreover, your strength is only a tenth of the other side? Are you sure everyone is playing the same game?"
Upon listening to Wang Lu's barrage of questions, the young woman seemed a bit sad, but she instantly cheered up, and her eyes became more resolute. "It is exactly due to the decline after a hundred generations that I must obtain the five blood spirit crown to restore the former glory of Gray Mountain!"
Wang Lu deeply abhorred this illogical slogan. "You can't even differentiate between who comes first, the chicken or egg, no wonder you are reduced to a lone commander! Based on your strength, how can you fight the other four factions and obtain the five blood spirit crown? Or do you have a supreme wisdom that can make you ignore all those power discrepancies and easily deal with the others?"
Just as the young woman was about to open her mouth, Wang Lu cut her off. "How about this, let me test you a question: how much is the fourteenth root of 1239491273912733?"
The young woman was somewhat caught unprepared, and after gawking for a moment, said, "I… I can't figure it out."
Wang Lu sighed even more. "This IQ, I should've expected it… Then I have only one question left."
The young woman nodded. "Please speak your mind."
"Where is the direction to Golden City?"
"What?"
Wang Lu explained, "A fine bird chooses a tree to nest in, I intend to renounce the dark and seek the light."
"…"
The young woman seemed to have never expected Wang Lu to utter such outrageous words that she was stunned for a whole tea's time and only came back to her senses after Wang Lu called her out.
"I won't let go of you," the young woman lightly said, showing her attitude. "I must get my hands on the five blood spirit crown."
Wang Lu couldn't help but sigh. "Sure, when I help the Master of Golden City get the crown, I will ask him to lend it to you so that you can play with it a bit."
Seeing that Wang Lu seemed to have made his decision, the young woman pondered for a moment, and then released the red glow.
"I told you, I won't let you go."
Instantly, Wang Lu felt a surge of pressure such that even if his Non-Phase Method was best at defense, he somewhat could not stand it.
Towards this, Wang Lu couldn't help but say, "Woman, why are you doing this? Our meeting is predestined, good or bad, this is fate. Why do you want to embarrass me an amnesiac patient? Are you happy to see me die at the hands of others and be reduced as nourishment for the five blood spirit crown?"
Upon hearing this, the young woman was slightly shaken, but she quickly became determined again. "I'm sorry, but this is the only chance for the revival of the Gray Mountain. My time is not much, I can't wait any longer, so I must have your cooperation… You still have the power to resist under the suppression of my two commands, meaning that your strength is most probably the best among the five blood spirits. If we join hands, it is not necessary that we do not have the chance to win. When the time comes, my part in this would only be a few, while the rest belongs to you, therefore… why would you want to go to Golden City to work as a surrendering soldier?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Lu was indeed somewhat moved, especially towards the two words surrendering soldier—he really didn't want to be treated as a nobody.
"Very well, I'll play with you on this game. Starting from zero is also a lot of fun."
"Really?"
In an instant, the snow on the young woman's face melted. A wisp of smile was uncontrollably hung on her face.
"I am Lan, the master of Gray Mountain. I will work together with you to win the crown, definitely win the crown!"