Guo Shier whispered, “Uncle Ying Mo, I need you to explain that the altar is very important."
Ying Mo Grand nodded and said, “I trust these people. They are my friends. I speak for them.”
Ying Mo officially started working for Guo Shier and acted accordingly.
Guo Shier politely said to Luo Zhan, “Uncle Luo, I will trouble you later.”
Luo Zhan smiled. “Don’t think I don’t know what you are thinking! Hey, Shier, if there’s anything I can do, don't hesitate to tell me. I’m now your follower.”
Guo Shier couldn't hold himself and laughed happily. Everyone couldn't help but laugh, too. This little guy looked like a kid getting new toys—he couldn't conceal his inner excitement and joy.
Luo Jie said, “Everyone, continue copying the Rune patterns!”
Guo Shier called Ying Mo, Luo Zhan, and four small team members to the corner of the altar. He said, “Well, everyone already knows each other. Hahaha!
Guo Shier said to Uncle Ying Mo, "This is my first follower Huo Bao. We call him Bao-zi."
(Note: Bao(豹)means leopard, Zi(子) means child, so Bao-zi is like saying Baby/Kid Leopard.)
"Little Bao-zi…"
"… the sturdiest is Hong Shi"
"Shi-tou…"
(Note: Shi(石)means rock, tou(头) means chief or leader, so he's sturdy because he's the rock.)
"This is Chen Bing and Chen Hong. They're cousins. The four of them advanced at the altar and are now Marked Warrior Adepts.”
Ying Mo smiled and said, “That's great. You've reached the Marked Warrior Adept level. Hahaha! When I advanced to Marked Warrior Adept, I was more than twenty years old.”
Huo Bao and the other three saluted.
Everyone is very excited. Shier has two Marked Warrior Grandmasters, which means the team is now very powerful. Even more gratifying is that, the two Marked Warrior Grandmasters can train the 4 Marked Warrior Adepts. You no longer need to go to the Inner Sect to get trained.
Guo Shier said, “I'll assign the tasks.”
Ying Mo and Luo Zhan said, “Good!"
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Luo is responsible for internal affairs while Uncle Ying Mo is responsible for external. And also… Hahaha! I need the two uncles to simultaneously train the four Marked Warrior Adepts."
Luo Zhan is very familiar with Guo Shier's household. It’s appropriate for him to manage his internal affairs. Also, he is not a sociable person.
Ying Mo is different. He wandered the grasslands for hundreds of years. He has seen countless monsters. Communication is his forte. Although he's got a big reputation on the grassland, he has a moody personality.
The two men readily agreed.
Guo Shier says, “Great! Our team finally has a strong combat power. We may have to act alone later… but today is the first time for everyone to gather. Hahaha! In order to welcome Uncle Ying Mo and Uncle Luo, I’ll cook a big dinner tonight!”
Huo Bao cried, "Yahoo! Hahaha! It’s gonna be delicious!”
Chen Hong whispered, “Glutton!”
Luo Zhan explained, “Elder Ying, Shier's culinary skills are very good. You'll have a treat!"
Ying Mo said, “Elder Ying? Being called elder is a new experience. Fine, I'll be called Elder Ying, Elder Zhan …”
Luo Zhan says, “Elder Zhan? Call me Elder Luo, Elder Zhan… feels strange."
Ying Mo simply ignored him and says, “Elder Zhan, the last time I tasted Shier's grilling, it was really good. Hey, hey! Will Shier grill Rune Food again?"
Huo Bao says, “Martial Uncle Ying, Shier will grill Rune Food."
Ying Mo asked, “Bao-zi, how old are you?”
Huo Bao puffed his chest, “Thirteen years old. I will be 14 soon!"
Ying Mo smiles. “Thirteen years old and you're already a Marked Warrior Adept? Ugh, this is the benefit of following someone."
He then continues, "Bao-zi, how long have you been with Shier?"
Huo Bao smiles, “More than a year.”
Ying Mo rubbed his face hard and said, “You group of little demons advanced in a year!"
Chen Bing interrupted, “A year ago, Shier was like us. He was an Artificer apprentice.”
Ying Mo said, “A year? Shier, how old are you?"
Recently, Guo Shier's body started developing because he ate a crystalized drop of Blood Essence from an Earth Dragon. His body is now taller than it used to be. He previously looked like a three-year-old boy.
Guo Shier replied, “I'm going to be ten years old soon! Hehehe!"
Ying Mo could not help but burst into foul language, “Fuck… No wonder they call you a demon!"
Guo Shier protested, “Hey! Uncle, I'm no such thing!”
Ying Mo murmured, “I'm not teasing you… I’m praising you! You’re not simply a demon, you're a monster!”
Guo Shier surrendered, “Fine, whether a demon or a monster… this is how I am…”
Ying Mo suddenly laughed and said, “I like it!”
Guo Shier could not help but get goose bumps all over his body and said: “Hey, don’t I don’t like it! ”
The crowd suddenly burst into laughter. Luo Zhan shook his head and said: “Okay, Old Timer asked us to go to work. Copying the runes is a big project. Everyone should start working. It’ll take days. This altar is too big. There are too many Runes. But this is priceless."
Even Marked Warrior Adepts know these Runes are precious, though they don't understand what Runes are.
The task assigned to Guo Shier's team was to copy the Runes on the three pillars. When Luo Jie came to them, he incidentally taught Guo Shier the knowledge of ancient Runes.
So, Guo Shier not only copied the Runes—he also learned the meaning of the Runes under the direction of Luo Jie. Guo Shier was very happy. He was lucky to have learned the ancient Runes here. Luo Jie is usually very busy. There was little time to do one-on-one lessons.
Guo Shier studied very seriously while Luo Jie was at the altar. Under the guidance of Luo Jie, he experienced a strange phenomenon of being familiar with the ancient Runes.
(Note: This 'phenomenon' becomes clearer in the next book. It has something to do with the Legacy Rune Transference from the previous chapter.)
Guo Shier quickly learned how to identify the most intricate Runes. Luo Jie also felt very strange about this. Guo Shier's learning speed was too fast. He just explained the lessons once and Guo Shier got it all figured out.
Luo Jie didn't have to explain anything twice. The next time Guo Shier saw the Runes, he recognized them immediately.
Teaching this disciple gave him peace of mind.
After five days, they finished recording all the Runes. Everyone can finally rest. This is a taxing job.
Luo Jie said, “We're almost out of time. We will soon be thrown out of the Secret Realm. Everyone, start climbing down the mountain! Be careful. I don’t want to run into another Rune Insect Variant before I leave…"
The crowd descended quickly and began to organize horses and luggage.
Luo Jie glanced at the peaks behind them and secretly said: “We will return.”
He then shouted, “Mount up, get ready to go!”
Before they can leave, they heard sounds of horse hoofs coming. Luo Jie's face changed. He said, “This is not good. There are horses coming!”
He did not want to expose the altar's position. He shouted, “Form up and block them!”
Guo Shier was excited and in high-spirits. Regardless of who it was, he was reassured by two Marked Warrior Grandmasters following him.
Luo Jie shouted, “It's the Wind Cavalry! Shier, take charge. Stall them until we're all thrown out together from this Secret Realm."
Guo Shier nodded and replied, “Rest assured master. I got it! Hahaha! Let Nan Shan Grandpa drag them for a while."
In less than 10 minutes, two horses met on the plains.
Qi Nan Shan, taking the lead, blocked the way. Grinning, he shouted, “Stop! Robbers!”
Guo Shier could not help but burst into laughter. He did not think Qi Nan Shan would be joking.
Elder Storm Xie rode his horse forward. He looked a bit miserable and seemed to have been badly hurt.
“Qi Nan Shan, you’re blocking our way. What do you want?"
Qi Nan Shan still smiled and said, “Oh, did you not hear clearly? Fine, I’ll say it again! Robbers!”
Elder Storm Xie suddenly became furious. He said, “Qi Nan Shan! You… you're the robber! You think you're a noble man. You call us robbers? What do you want?”
Qi Nan Shan laughs, “Actually it's nothing. I just want to talk to you guys!"
Elder Storm Xie immediately got angry.
Elder Storm Guai came forward to hold him back and said, “Qi Nan Shan, spit it out. What do you want?"
Qi Nan Shan smiled, “Didn’t I say? I just want to make small talk. Talk gossip. Hahaha! What do you think I’m doing?"
Elder Storm Du finally arrived just in time to hear Qi Nan Shan's words. He gritted his teeth and said, “In the Secret Realm, every minute is very precious. You want to chat… okay! We’ll talk when we get out!”
Storm Du gnashed his teeth in hatred. Though wasn't clear why Qi Nan Shan is blocking the road, he knew that there must be a very important reason.
Qi Nan Shan's face was stoic. He said, “Oh, you're not giving me face? Talk when we get out? Fuck… If you don’t want to talk to me, then you can't leave!"
A Marked Warrior Grandmaster is shameless playing with other people. The more powerful an individual is, the more troublesome he is to deal with.
Elder Storm Du's face was flushed with anger. This has turned out to be a very bad trip. First, they were supposed to enter with 50% of their men. But as a result of confusion, only a mere hundred people made it inside. Fortunately, the strength of their team was relatively strong. Most of them are at the Marked Warrior Master level.
Then, when they entered the Secret Realm, they lost their directions and unfortunately met a Rune Insect Variant. It was a rare Metal Armored Marked Insect whose whole body was as hard as steel. They were unable to do damage to it, even with Elder Du's fire and cold attack.
That thing was so big and scary.
Fortunately, the attack style of the Metal Armored Marked Insect is relatively simple. It just crashes into you and constantly knocks you quickly.
It killed and wounded a number of Marked Warrior Masters. Elder Storm Xie was also hit and got his ribs broken.
When they finally broke free of the Metal Armored Marked Insect's entanglement, they then encountered a Rune Snake. They were trapped battling it for seven or eight days, until it swallowed a few horses. They decided to give up. The horses were decapitated like headless flies. Not only did they end up without gains—they also suffered heavy losses.
Seeing time running out, Elder Storm Du can't help but get anxious.
They did not expect the North Rune Sect group to block the way. Elder Storm Du became gloomy. Qi Nan Nan Shan is making him lose his mind.
The sound of hoofs came from afar. Another group of people were approaching.
Luo Jie revealed a bitter smile. He whispered, “Damn it!” Do they know the existence of the altar?"
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Ying Mo, I have to trouble you… please block their way.”
Ying Mo said, “I’m good at this.” He rode his horse out.
Guo Shier whispered: “Okay, good. Things are getting more and more lively. It’s the Black Hawk Cavalry! Hahaha! Master, unfortunately, they came too late. Even if the altar is found, they would get no benefit. They have no time to stay at the altar.”
Ying Mo loudly yelled, “Hey! Robbers!”
Qi Nan Shan almost fell off the horse.
Elder Storm Xie, sitting on the horse, exasperatedly said, "Can’t you just say something new?"
Guo Shier laughs, “This is fun!”
Translator: Glasses TangGu
Editor: M