Chapter Twenty-Five: Truth Lies Only Within the Range of the Cannon

Yi Shen had already ventured deep into the snowy desert to raise his level.

Elsewhere.

Jingmen Safety Zone.

After completing a series of assignments at the martial academy, Zhu You returned home and began to follow Yi Shen’s advice: she set out to investigate recent information concerning Peach Blossom Cove and the Land of Moonlight in the Jingmen Safety Zone.

However, she no longer appeared as naive and innocent as she did before Yi Shen. When she set her mind to a task, Zhu You was far more earnest and contemplative than one might expect.

“Something this serious happened in Peach Blossom Cove?”

“The president of Peach Blossom Cove is dead?”

She gasped quietly.

As one of the three oldest established guilds in the Jingmen Safety Zone, most explorers there were familiar with the name. Moreover, as the only guild whose name carried a hint of romantic charm, it was especially popular among martial academy students—particularly the girls. Yet according to the forum rumors, Peach Blossom Cove’s main team had been attacked at the portal to the Land of Moonlight, and there was talk of multiple high-ranking casualties, inciting internal strife and even the possibility of dissolution.

She had heard classmates mention some of this in passing, but never imagined it could be so grave. The president of Peach Blossom Cove was at least level sixty—a legendary figure who could sway the entire power structure of the zone. Now, even though the authorities had only released the news of his demise, the repercussions were enough to influence the decisions of many factions.

“So, his identity must be tied to Peach Blossom Cove.”

Their acquaintance was brief, so Zhu You still didn’t know Yi Shen’s real name. She had previously searched his communicator’s code, but found nothing noteworthy.

“He stopped using his own communicator—probably worried about being tracked. If he only agreed to meet again in three days, he’s most likely entered a portal to another realm or temporarily left the Jingmen Safety Zone. He could be the child of a Peach Blossom Cove executive, explaining his remarkable combat prowess.”

Zhu You pondered silently, sensing that the matter was far more complicated than she had first thought. She hesitated, wondering whether she should get involved in such murky waters.

But after a brief consideration, Zhu You decided to try.

Aside from her growing fondness for Yi Shen, she realized that this was also her first step toward forging a strong connection with him.

Although the martial academies claimed to ensure every student’s safety, anyone who had spent time there knew that even within the same cohort, students from different family backgrounds encountered vastly different environments. Some had their parents raise their levels to over ten before training even began, and purchased them the latest gear.

For those from poor families, not only did they lack combat experience, their level and stats lagged behind, relegating them to the lower ranks of their classes. As time went on, the best students used connections to join reputable guilds, elite departments, and top teams. Those without power or background, explorers like her elder sister, could only scrape by at the margins of guilds, doing menial work and logistics. When they were first recruited, it was promised they’d be guided through secret realms, but in reality most of the rewards were taken away; even gaining a bit of experience required booking in advance with contribution points.

If she could help Yi Shen this time, perhaps she wouldn’t have to be as humble and busy as her sister, nor endure unwanted harassment in those guilds.

Since Yi Shen advised her to keep things confidential, Zhu You decided not to tell her sister about it for now. Judging by the forum posts, the Jingmen Safety Zone was indeed restless of late. If the young man was truly caught up in something bigger, her sister would be safer the less she knew.

Yi Shen had no idea that, after he entered the snowy desert, the authorities had released such earth-shattering news, nor did he know of Zhu You’s increasingly cautious thoughts.

But just as Zhu You weighed many considerations, Yi Shen too, though he had a good impression of this girl, was far from placing absolute trust in someone he’d only met twice.

Both were cautiously probing, unsure whether deeper cooperation might be possible in the future.

For now, Yi Shen was focused on raising his level.

Truth resides only within the range of cannons: only with sufficient strength could Yi Shen grasp more secrets and possess more cards to play against unforeseen events.

...

Nanxi Gobi.

Having cleared out two minor enemy zones, Yi Shen began a brief rest. In reality, this meant sorting through materials—setting aside the better ones in his inventory, and dismantling the inferior ones for magical research.

The materials here were generally superior to those from the Frozen Rift, offering a notable boost to his attributes.

But today, Yi Shen’s luck wasn’t as good as before. Apart from discovering a rather mediocre mana regeneration skill, he found no other worthwhile abilities.

He noticed a pattern: researching materials one by one yielded minimal, sometimes no, attribute gains. Repeated research on the same type of material also saw diminishing returns. As for equipment, if its stats were decent, even a single piece could bring substantial benefits. Overall, disassembling everything at once increased the chances of acquiring new skills.

Yi Shen climbed a hill.

The kobolds here had no idea the minor enemy zones had been cleared. The upper level of the kobold hills was distinctly different from the lower. From their attire to their houses, the upper kobolds lived more comfortably, some even laying gray flooring in certain areas.

Five minutes later, those gray floors were strewn with kobold corpses.

One particular kobold priest proved troublesome, but ultimately fell to Yi Shen’s relentless firepower.

“The first elite monster, Gobi Disciple.”

Yi Shen started by clearing the left side of the management zone. Here, the elite monster was called Gobi Disciple, and its strength was comparable to the previous spider.

The spider could be dispatched by exploiting a bug, but this one required a direct frontal assault.

Though his attributes had greatly improved, Yi Shen was still a mage. He wasn’t sure if he could withstand the monster’s attacks, so he began by probing with wind elementals.

The Gobi Disciple was a green-skinned kobold, twice the size of the ordinary kind. Sensing the wind elementals, it immediately grew enraged and charged forward, accompanied by seven or eight other kobolds.