Chapter 96: Strange Changes on the Ancient Battlefield

Li Yunfei thought for a moment and said, “Going to see Ziwei might take a few more days. I plan to head to Ba Ling tomorrow.”

Liu Bin understood at once, and a surge of delight filled his heart as he teased, “Want to see your childhood sweetheart first? Have you contacted her yet?”

Li Yunfei’s thoughts stirred. Since Liu Bin spoke in this manner, it was clear he had not learned the news through Yingzi. Letting Yingzi hold back for a few days and not reporting it immediately was, in a way, a breach of discipline. Since Liu Bin and the others knew nothing, it was the perfect time to close this matter.

Thinking this, Li Yunfei replied, “Not yet. Please don’t tell her. I still want to give her a pleasant surprise!”

Liu Bin laughed heartily. “Fine, I won’t spoil your surprise. After you see Yingzi, call me so I can arrange people to escort you to Ziwei.”

“By the way, where have you been hiding these past few weeks? I can’t get through to you. Only the Shennongjia Forest Area in your vicinity has no signal. You can’t possibly be hiding out in the woods, can you?”

A jolt ran through Li Yunfei’s heart, but his mind worked swiftly and he quickly concocted a reply. “You guessed right. I did go into the forest. I heard that wild boars have run rampant here, causing quite a disturbance. I suspect these boars have become spirits, which is why I’ve come to eliminate the harm for the people!”

“Indeed, my suspicions were correct. There really are spirit wild boars here. In the depths of the forest I encountered a pack of wild boar spirit beasts, slaughtered every last one of them, and gathered several tons of their meat. I plan to send some to Yingzi.”

Liu Bin clicked his tongue in astonishment. “You little rascal is quite bold. You actually went to Shennongjia. The spirit beasts there are numerous and their cultivation is profound.”

“Recently there have been troubles everywhere across the country. Our Xuan Group logistics has been unable to allocate manpower, and even our experts are stretched thin.”

“Without experts holding the line, the logistics personnel of Xuan Group wouldn’t dare venture into those areas to harvest spirit beast meat. Only you Yin Shen big shots would be so reckless.”

Li Yunfei followed Liu Bin’s lead. “Still, I only dealt with the spirit wild boars. I left every other protected animal untouched.”

“Alas…” Liu Bin sighed, a mixture of amusement and exasperation in his voice. “Brother, what age is this? Where are the so-called protected animals anymore?”

“Spiritual energy is reviving, and every living being now has a chance to grow stronger. This is the era when all beings are reshuffling their strengths.”

“Even the undead are fighting us living people for every scrap of survival space. Who is protecting whom? Do you truly believe that once spirit beasts reach a certain scale they can still coexist peacefully with humanity?”

“Those protected animals look so adorable and charming, don’t they? What about when they turn their gaze on us humans? Aren’t we just as fresh, tender, and delicious to them?”

“Enough about protected animals. From now on, whenever you encounter spirit beasts—whether South China tiger, golden leopard, or any other—subdue what you can and slaughter the rest. Cut the meat, sell it, and let us humans maintain our position at the top of the food chain.”

Li Yunfei listened, stunned. So that was the reasoning behind it.

So he had previously held back because of concerns over protected animals and refrained from striking at those tigers, leopards, and bears, indirectly slowing his own cultivation progress. That was quite the waste.

Exactly. The sheer numbers of animals far outstrip those of humans. If spirit beasts reached a critical scale, perhaps a spirit race would even appear on Blue Earth Star.

Devouring spirit beasts could rapidly boost cultivation. Were the spirit beasts themselves not also prey? Both sides were each other’s knives and fish; the contradiction was irreconcilable. Why protect them at all?

Li Yunfei suddenly felt a twinge of hesitation. He asked Liu Bin, “What about the giant pandas? This one… I truly can’t bring myself to act.”

Liu Bin smiled. “No need to worry about that. They are actually quite friendly toward humans and even dependent on us.”

“In fact, a year ago there were already giant pandas that had become spirits. Purple Dawn even has several giant panda honorary elders! Damn it, all the spiritual bamboo and shoots we collected from Xuan Group ended up in their stomachs.”

“Still, they are little more than mascots. Expecting them to fight is nonsense. Even if they were willing to serve as mounts, we wouldn’t dare use them. The cautionary tale of Chiyou is right before our eyes!”

“Pfft… ha ha ha…” Li Yunfei burst into laughter, and Liu Bin’s hearty chuckle came through the line as well.

Since Roll Roll had been accepted by Purple Dawn and even appointed an honorary elder, then the Donkey Head Wolf should pose no problem.

Compared to Roll Roll, the Donkey Head Wolf was a genuine war beast, powerful and formidable in combat.

However, he still needed the Donkey Head Wolf to guard the spiritual stone mine for the time being. It was not yet time to release them.

Humans are never without selfish motives. Once he no longer needed the spiritual stones so urgently, he would hand over the mine and bring the Donkey Head Wolf out.

After exchanging a few lighthearted remarks, Li Yunfei recalled another matter and asked, “By the way, you learned about my situation through Du Lingyue’s incident, right? How has Purple Dawn arranged for her?”

Liu Bin replied, “Rest assured. Du Lingyue’s case is straightforward and clear. The colleagues in Ezhou investigated it thoroughly last night; she bears no responsibility and will soon be sent to the Awakened Training Base in Nanyang Commandery.”

Relief washed over Li Yunfei. “That’s good to hear. It seems Purple Dawn’s regulations are still quite reasonable.”

“Precisely. Our country has always upheld the principle that law must not run counter to human sentiment. Every regulation must align with society’s basic ethical and moral understanding, never straying beyond human emotions—even Purple Dawn is no exception.”

Li Yunfei smiled. “Alright. After I see Yingzi, I’ll call you again. At that time I’ll travel to the capital with the people you arrange.”

Unexpectedly Liu Bin countered, “Travel to the capital for what?”

Li Yunfei asked curiously, “Isn’t Purple Dawn’s headquarters located in the capital?”

Liu Bin’s voice grew solemn. “The Purple Dawn headquarters is indeed in the capital, but Ziwei is not there now, nor are most of the Tian Group’s big shots.”

Li Yunfei inquired in surprise, “Where are they? Can you tell me?”

Liu Bin continued, “Since I’m informing you of this, it must be something you can know. Our Purple Dawn is critically short on manpower, so we need to unite every possible force. Your addition is truly vital to us.”

“Several ancient battlefields in Great Xia have experienced anomalies. A vast number of ancient military souls have turned into Yin soldiers and ghost generals, intent on competing with the living for survival space.”

“Fortunately, Ziwei and the others reacted swiftly, preparing countermeasures in time before the situation fully erupted, thus averting a catastrophe.”

“Now most members of Tian Group are concentrated at the various ancient battlefields, leading the resistance against Yin soldiers and ghost generals.”

“Ziwei himself is personally stationed at the most critical Changping Ancient Battlefield. If you wish to contribute to the nation, this is the perfect moment.”

“The Chi Bi Ancient Battlefield in Ezhou is also far from safe. The current Sect Master Fa Rongzhen of the True Truth Dao Longmen Sect is overseeing it there, though I am not particularly familiar with him.”

Li Yunfei frowned slightly. “If that is the case, then are there no experts stationed along the borders?”

Liu Bin said, “That is not entirely accurate. Confronting ghosts and monsters is Tian Group’s specialty. The warriors of Di Group and the awakened of Huang Group continue to hold the line in the five major war zones.”

“Moreover, foreign nations are in similar turmoil. Everyone is struggling to fend for themselves. Who has the leisure to go abroad causing trouble?”

“For instance, in France, the underground corpse cave beneath Notre-Dame once a world-famous landmark, has now become a living hell. The six million skeletons have all awakened, and the entire city of Paris is on the verge of becoming a ghost town.”

“Does any country lack ancient battlefields of that nature? Today everyone is simply sweeping the snow in front of their own doors, with no time or inclination to stir up trouble.”

Li Yunfei felt somewhat reassured. Then his gaze suddenly brightened.

Yin soldiers and ghost generals belonged to the level of fierce souls and resentful spirits. Even if somewhat stronger, the difference was limited. Ghost generals were equivalent to evil spirits and fierce ghosts, while ghost marshals ranked with Luocha evil spirits.

As long as they did not encounter ghost kings, he could handle these ranks of monsters with relative ease.

To others such battlefields would be overwhelmingly dangerous. To him they would be a paradise for hunting monsters.

At the thought, he replied with a cheerful tone, “Excellent. After I see Yingzi, I will head to Changping to offer my support at once.”

“That would be wonderful. I will await your news.”