Sword Sovereign of the Celestial Emperor-Chapter 73, Ironfire City

"Young Hero Chu!"

Li Lin and the one-eyed man returned to Li Family Town from afar and immediately approached Chu Ming, speaking softly.

As soon as Chu Ming and his party appeared, he had already noticed them. Initially, he was worried that the martial artists in the town wouldn’t be able to defend it, but the appearance of Chu Ming and his company greatly relieved him. However, the strength that Chu Ming showcased next left him utterly astonished.

Slaying the White Demon Bear and the Tailless Demon Wolf, in his eyes, Chu Ming’s combat power had already reached the extreme limits of the Transcendence Realm. His growth rate was simply too fast.

However, the stronger Chu Ming became, the more delighted he felt for having befriended Chu Ming in the first place.

"Patriarch Li!"

Chu Ming walked over and exchanged a few words with Li Lin. Then, Li Lin pointed to the one-eyed man next to him and introduced, "This is Li Family’s tributor, Zuo Anming. Brother Zuo, this is Young Hero Chu from the Cyan Yang Sect!"

Chu Ming glanced at Zuo Anming, who was a man in his forties. His right eye was injured by something, covered with a black cloth. He wore coarse clothing, and his hands were rough and calloused. freewebnσvel.cøm

"Senior Zuo!"

Chu Ming said lightly, instantly making Zuo Anming feel flattered. Sect disciples were incredibly proud. For Chu Ming to call him "senior" was a gesture of respect.

"Come, come! Let’s go inside to talk!"

Li Lin led the way, and several people walked towards the interior of the small town. However, Red Moon and some others stayed behind, working with the martial artists of Li Family Town to clear the demon beasts’ corpses and collect the demon beasts’ right ears.

Though the outskirts of the town were in ruins, the interior was still well preserved, though filled with a sense of death and dusk, like an elderly man nearing the end of his days.

The group entered the Li Family’s main hall and started a casual conversation, mainly focusing on the current situation of the beast tide. As a True Dao Martial Artist, Li Lin knew far more than Li Lingru.

From his words, Chu Ming learned that the beast tide was not only occurring in the Great Yan Kingdom but had also swept across neighboring small countries. Even in the distant Black Rock Empire, there were traces of beast tides, as if the entire Celestial Realm had become unstable.

"If it were just a beast tide, it would be manageable. The fear is that there might be the presence of demonic organizations behind the beast tide!"

Li Lin sighed, saying that throughout the lands of the Celestial Realm, there were numerous sects, but also countless demonic organizations that killed and cultivated by bloodshed, hiding in the shadows and always haunting the sect members like a nightmare.

Moreover, demonic organizations that have survived until now weren’t weak. Some even had Realm of Transcendence experts. Even the number one sect, the Celestial Travel Sect, didn’t dare to act rashly, usually maintaining a stance of deterrence.

"I wonder how long Young Hero Chu and your party plan to stay in Li Family Town?"

After the conversation ended, Li Lin asked nonchalantly.

"The Red-eyed Demon Tiger has been injured by your people, so the beast tide likely won’t happen in Li Family Town in the short term. We’ll leave tomorrow."

Chu Ming said calmly. He had already considered this question. They had been delayed for a few days and needed to reach the nearest city to expedite earning contribution points.

Upon hearing this, Li Lin’s face showed a look of disappointment. Naturally, he hoped that Chu Ming and his party could stay in Li Family Town for a few more days. They were sect disciples with significant strength—especially Chu Ming, who was a substantial support that could reduce the pressure on Li Family Town—but it was not meant to be.

Li Lin instructed some servants to prepare the best rooms in the Li Family for Chu Ming’s group of five, ensuring they didn’t neglect them in the slightest.

As soon as Chu Ming returned to his room, about to take a bath, he heard a knock on the door. Upon opening it, he saw Red Moon, with bloodstains on her body, looking quite disheveled.

"Come in!"

As Chu Ming closed the door, Red Moon took out a storage ring from her bosom and placed it on the table, saying, "These are the demon beast right ears collected during the beast tide. They are all here!"

Chu Ming took a glance at the storage ring, which was filled with demon beast ears, neatly categorized. There were roughly five hundred First Level demon beast ears, two hundred Second Level, thirty Third Level, and two Fourth Level.

The demon beast ears inside were worth about five thousand contribution points. Just the two Fourth Level demon beast ears amounted to almost two thousand contribution points.

"You four can divide the rest!"

Chu Ming took out forty percent and placed them in his storage ring, then handed the storage ring back to Red Moon.

"Actually, Brother Chu could take an additional ten percent. The four of us could divide the rest!"

Red Moon said cautiously. She and the other three had discussed it and hadn’t expected Chu Ming to take only forty percent, making her feel a bit embarrassed.

"No need!"

Chu Ming said indifferently. Seeing his persistence, Red Moon had to give up and took the storage ring, leaving the room.

It wasn’t that Chu Ming was being magnanimous about that ten percent of contribution points. In his storage ring was a top-tier Fourth Level demon beast core, alone worth about twenty thousand contribution points. He didn’t care about that ten percent.

"I need to reach the city quickly!"

Chu Ming thought to himself. Staying in Li Family Town was too relaxing. There were only a few Fourth Level demon beasts, not enough for him to truly showcase his skills. Only by reaching the city could he increase his pace of hunting demon beasts by a significant amount.

Chu Ming ordered a servant to bring a pot of water to his room. After bathing and changing into the Cyan Yang Sect’s Inner Sect disciple attire, he took out a Middle Grade Spirit Stone and began cultivating. The complex situation in the Great Yan Kingdom gave him a sense of urgency.

The night passed without incident.

...

The next day, after finishing their meal, Chu Ming and his party mounted their horses and galloped away in the direction of the nearest city, Ironfire City. Ironfire City was the only city within a thousand miles, home to seven to eight True Dao Martial Artists of considerable strength. From what Li Lin told them, there should be two teams from the Cyan Yang Sect currently in Ironfire City, though he didn’t know which ones.

Their destination was Ironfire City!

"We need to pass through two small towns on our way to Ironfire City, which might cause some delay!"

On horseback, Sun Ping relayed all the information he knew, and Chu Ming listened intently without interrupting.

Surrounding Ironfire City were dozens of small towns, like stars encircling the moon. Chu Ming and his party would pass through Sunset Town and Luohe Town. Perhaps because of their proximity to Ironfire City, the beast tides in these towns were far more ferocious than what Li Family Town had experienced.

Along the way, Chu Ming and his party encountered many wandering martial artists. These people were from shattered towns, barely escaping, and were heading to the nearest towns for refuge.

These wandering martial artists looked at Chu Ming and his party with greedy eyes, not for their money but their horses. In this desolate area, where beast tides could arise at any moment, horses greatly increased their travel speed, crucial for reaching a nearby town and potentially surviving.