After that, Jian Chen continued to travel with the mercenary group and chatted with them. Jian Chen and the group of mercenaries subconsciously grew closer together while at the same time Jian Chen had learned a thing or two about the group.
This group of mercenaries was called the Loyal Spirit Mercenaries and it had around eighty members. Aside from the captain that had Peak Saint Master strength and five others that were Saint Master Experts, everyone else ranged from Saint to Great Saint.
As the night came, Jian Chen and the Loyal Spirit Mercenaries would often talk for a while before retiring, but Jian Chen would always take out his tent from his Space Belt and then two monster cores in order to spend the rest of the night cultivating.
As usual, the energy within the monster cores was absorbed into Jian Chen’s body at an alarming rate. However, the only difference this time was that the moment it entered Jian Chen’s body, it automatically rushed toward the violet and azure Sword Spirits within his dantian without a single speck going toward Jian Chen’s own body for refinement.
Right now both Sword Spirits were especially weak. Their strength wasn’t anywhere close to its peak, so Jian Chen didn’t rush trying to improve his own strength. Instead, he chose to pass all of the energy he absorbed to the violet and azure Sword Spirits in order to help them recover. Since he could borrow the power of the Sword Spirits, he wanted to strengthen their power first so that the power he could use would be even stronger.
Now that Jian Chen was a Great Saint Master, he wasn’t in such a frantic rush to improve his strength again. Although the berserk elements within the monster cores energy were quickly absorbed by the Sword Spirits, just randomly cultivating would only lead to a shaky foundation and affect his strength.
The violet and azure Sword Spirits had taken the energy at a fast rate; even faster than Jian Chen’s original absorption rate. A single Class 4 Monster Core would be completely assimilated into the Sword Spirits in two hours.
Taking in a deep breath, Jian Chen was surprised by just how fast the Sword Spirits were absorbing the energy from within the monster cores. He didn’t know just how much it would take for the Sword Spirits to recover, but the speed they were taking the energy had triumphed over his. With a Class 4 Monster Core completely gone within two hours, Jian Chen could only be shocked at this speed.
After all, a Class 4 Monster Core was not like a Class 3 Monster Core. If it took two hours to fully absorb a Class 3 Monster Core, then Jian Chen would take the results begrudgingly. But for a Class 4 Monster Core? Jian Chen couldn’t afford to have that kind of result. Despite the fact that he could kill a Class 4 Magical Beast without a problem, they weren’t as abundant in numbers as Class 3 or Class 2 Magical Beast.
“Ai.. it takes two hours to absorb a Class 4 Monster Core, and with twenty four hours in a day, that means twelve Class 4 Monster Cores could be fully absorbed. What an extravagant waste.” Jian Chen sighed as he furrowed his eyebrows together.
The night was very peaceful in the campground, but occasionally there was an odd sound.
By morning, the sun dyed the lands a bright red as the Loyal Spirit Mercenaries packed up their tents while chattering. Soon afterward, the campfire came to life with a crackling sound.
In his tent, Jian Chen slowly opened his eyes and shook himself sober from his cultivational meditation. Walking out of his tent, Jian Chen’s eyes swept around.
Seeing only forty men moving about and lighting campfires while packing up the tents, he noticed a few were already mounting the horses in preparation to move out.
From some other tents, a few men slowly crawled out in a hazy stupor. A few of them were yawning continuously, a symbol of their lack of good sleep.
Slowly shaking his head, Jian Chen began to pack up his tent.
“Hey, Jian Chen! Did you get a good night’s sleep?” Suddenly, a deep voice called out to him from behind. At the voice, Jian Chen turned his head behind only to see a sturdy looking man coming toward him.
This man was someone Jian Chen recognized. He was the leader of the Loyal Spirit Mercenaries– Hudolf.
“Ah, quite well, yes!” Jian Chen responded with a laugh, though last night, he hadn’t slept a wink. To be accurate, Jian Chen hadn’t ever slept frequently since he was young. The moment he had become a Saint, he started to sleep less and less and generally spent the nights cultivating.
Sleep was nothing more than a waste of daylight. Although sleep was necessary to recover, when a person sleeps, their head becomes blank. Within this world of spirits and dreams, a person wouldn’t be able to sense the passage of time, but the common man would waste this time by sleeping. A cultivator could enter a state of meditation and recover his spirit there. Through this method, not only would the spirit recover, but it would also improve faster than sleep would.
Sleep was merely a way to recover spirit. The stronger experts of the world would be able to go day and night without sleeping.
After an early breakfast, the Loyal Spirit Mercenaries immediately set off for the road. Jian Chen didn’t have a mount to ride on, but instead rode within a crowded caravan on the way toward Wake City.
In a flash, Jian Chen had traveled with the Loyal Spirit Mercenaries for an entire day. In that time, Jian Chen had idly chatted and deepened his friendship with them all.
At this moment, Jian Chen sat within the crowded caravan with his eyes shut before slowly opening them. Staring outward with a cold glare, he spoke out, “Be careful everyone, there’s movement up front. It should be a Magical Beast.”
Hearing Jian Chen’s warning, the group paused as each one of them stared up ahead. However, no matter how much they strained their eyes, they could only see an empty plain in front of them with no strange object.
“Jian Chen, you’re too sensitive! Everything’s normal with nothing moving at all.” A mercenary called back with a grumble.
“Yeah, Jian Chen, this type of talk shouldn’t be said so casually. If you can’t make sure of this in the future, then it’s best to not joke about it.” Hudolf reprimanded.
Suddenly, just as Hudolf finished speaking, the land around them began to shake.
“Captain, there’s actually movement! Pay attention to the ground!” A mercenary cried out the moment he realized the ground was shaking.
“The earth is shaking…”
“Could a group of mercenaries on mounts be passing by?”
“Are we being attacked by a group of magical beasts?”
As they spoke, each one of the Loyal Spirit Mercenaries began to pay attention to the shaking of the ground with serious expressions on their faces.
“Everyone prepare yourself for an attack!” Hudolf cried out without hesitation toward his group of mercenaries.
Each one of the Loyal Spirit Mercenaries suddenly sprung into motion as they brought out their Saint Weapons. They arranged themselves into a serious battle formation as if ready to fight a war.