61 Background

In the morning, a group of convoys sneaked up on the southern gate of Isolated Cliff City, a sleepless city that stood outside the wars on the mainland as a neutral territory with flourished business. Its gates were open all year round, and there weren't even any guards inspecting the coming and going of merchants, reflecting the splendid atmosphere of a free metropolis of trade.

A skinny figure ran to them. "Are you here, My Lord?" the figure asked.

"Yes. Get into the carriage," Han Jin raised the curtain and said.

Little Joseph agilely jumped onto the wagon. Inside were Han Jin, Cessacioun, and the others. On Little Joseph's back was a cloth wrapper. "What have you brought, boy?" Cessacioun laughed.

"Everything I can carry with me," Little Joseph murmured.

"Why? Are you going..."

"He has to go with us. Those guys won't let him off." Han Jin smiled. "Have you finished what I asked you to do, Little Joseph?"

"Yes." The boy nodded.

"What did you ask him to do?" Cessacioun was curious.

"Put up posters." Han Jin laughed.

The night before, Little Joseph had employed some kids of his age with the money given by Han Jin to put up hundreds of posters on each corner of the city, disclosing the crimes of Cromwell, who had cruelly killed all the members of Morgan Commercial Corp to rob their wealth and intended to also rob the seal from Miss Keeley, the heir to Morgan Commercial Corp, when he got the news that she had come to this city. At the end of the posters, there were some words in large letters: Cromwell will destroy all of the posters to cover the truth.

In all honesty, it was a bunch of made up bullshit, and regardless of the authenticity of the contents, the posters would be torn off. But the behavior of the Mercenary Association would just enhance the credibility of the posters. The news written on it would rapidly spread.

"It's useless." Cessacioun shook his head after Little Joseph's narration. "we have no evidence."

"I am not expecting Cromwell to be tried," Han Jin said expressionlessly. "As long as he restrains himself for a couple of days, I will be content."

"What shall we do next, prophet?" Moxinke finally asked. "Do you really think we can break through the blockade and escort them to Holy Crown City?"

Han Jin looked outside. "What will happen if we are discovered by the armies from Black Raven City?" he whispered.

"All our things will be robbed and all of us will be killed, that's for sure. Quite the result!"

"Including the members of the trade caravan?"

"They are not gods, so why wouldn't they?"

"Which is more valuable: the house and the Wand of Flame mortgaged by Sylner, or the goods we are escorting?"

Moxinke gave it a thought and said, "Though Sylner's house is located in the center of the city where land is very expensive, it's worth practically nothing compared to fifteen carriages of armors and weapons. Even with the Wand of Flame, the total price is worth less than one fifth of that of these goods."

"In other words, nobody will take the pledge seriously, and the merchants are more afraid than us of encountering troubles."

"Well..." Moxinke paused.

"But do you think they look nervous?"

Moxinke recalled the fat guy named Leopold, the person in charge of the trade caravan, who was always kind and easy going, with a big smile on his face all day. He had agreed without hesitation when Moxinke had gone to him last night to request that they leave early in the morning.

"That is to say, they insist on transporting military supplies to Holy Crown City even though they know there is a war. They must have someone powerful backing them up," Han Jin lowly analyzed.

"But, if they have someone powerful supporting them, why not tell us so that we can cooperate with them better?" Moxinke exclaimed.

"I don't know, and won't know unless they are willing to tell us." Seeing that Moxinke seemed to be in the mood for an argument again, Han Jin very quickly shifted the topic to someone else.

***

It was peaceful along the way - almost too peaceful. Regardless, the group maintained keen vigilance. Planning was one thing, but putting the plan into action was another. It was always better to be cautious than be careless. The trip had lasted for over a month. The closer they got to Holy Crown City, the more nervous the atmosphere became.

During this period, Han Ji had absorbed thousands of Yuan's worth of energy each day. The magic crystals he had purchased from Isolated Cliff City had provided to be a solid backup for him. In fact, he had forgotten his master's warning, as well as the lesson he had been taught when he had first tried to absorb the black raven magic crystal. He was eager to improve himself, and thus, he had set aside all other limitations except the one percent impassable limit.

Strictly speaking, he was not a qualified cultivator before accomplishing his final stage of basis construction. He couldn't even perform medium-grade Daoist Art. The fact that he could create some charms such as the Five Wraiths Carrying Charm at present was thanks to the clear-cut rules governing the various elements on this continent! But the energy inside his body didn't totally belong to him, as it would deplete after use and couldn't restore itself. Only when he had completed the real basis construction could the energy be turned into invisible Qi. The difference between the two stages was like the difference between a pheasant and a phoenix.

A formal cultivator starts with methods such as Expiration and Inspiration to consolidate his basis and cultivate his spirit, while Han Jin started by absorbing essence in worldly foods. Luckily, the two roads led to the same destination. Regardless of the method, the way to open one's large heavenly circle, which was essential to be able to circulate invisible Qi, was the same. Only when Han Jin reached this stage could he be counted as a real cultivator. However, his road had rendered him double advantages. Aside from the normal breathing exercises of Expiration and Inspiration, he could also absorb energy from food; only one more step of refinement was needed.

But the situation before this stage was very hard. He had the protection from his teacher in his former world, and, for the sole reason that he couldn't afford to spend energy, he had acted in a low profile manner to avoid challenging the tacit agreement and rules between the cultivation field and the secular world. After throwing ten fire charms, a real cultivator was able to recover within a short amount of time by breathing regularly, but Han Jin couldn't. Thus, unless the situation necessitated that he throw ten fire charms and that he would benefit from it, he would never use his charms that sparingly.

What astonished the others was that Han Jin had started to show interest in strength of fighting and magic. He would ask Moxinke and Cessacioun for advice as long as he had time. It was one of his habits to learn different knowledge while still regarding energy absorbing as the base. The different kinds of Daoist Arts meant he had different roads, all leading to the same destination, along which he could even switch from one to another.

But he didn't last long in his magic learning endeavor before he put Cessacioun aside. Compared to magic, Daoist Arts that consumed the same amount of elements were far more powerful. At least, this was the case for beginner level spells.