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nThe treants were easily dealt with, and Chen Yiming walked into the village.

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nMost of the buildings inside had been damaged by the whirlwind, explosions, and tremors. The ground was cracked and houses had collapsed.

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nChen Yiming glanced at the remains of the dead treants. “It’s very mysterious. Their roots can lengthen and shorten at will, and their perception of vibrations is extremely sharp. It’s almost impossible for us to infiltrate the otherworld.”

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nZhu Song examined one of the more complete corpses of the treants and replied, “That’s true. Once we step onto the land on the other side of the space-travel passage, the surrounding treants will definitely notice us. I’m afraid we won’t have enough time to gather information.”

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nThe mission went according to plan, but everyone’s mood became heavier.

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nFacing the treants with their sharp senses, the team did not have much choice. If they entered, they would have to fight. After that, they would retreat from the space-travel passage and wait for the situation to develop further.

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nThis feeling of not being able to control their own fate could not help but cause them to feel frustrated, anxious, and hesitant.

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nZhao Shumin kicked at the tree trunk that was still burning. A large amount of black ashes mixed with flames exploded, revealing the empty core of the tree.

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nShe muttered, “In order to kill the treants, I didn’t control my strength well and damaged all of them.”

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nThese words that were spoken without any sincerity immediately dissipated the heavy atmosphere. At the very least, everyone could force a smile.

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nAt this point, it was useless to think too much. They could only try their best to do every step well.

n

n…

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nEveryone sat down and perfected their plan before entering the space-travel passage.

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nAs soon as they stepped into the otherworld, a rotting, sinister, and smelly smell assaulted their noses.

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nThis was a cave with a diameter of more than 10 meters. There were all kinds of bones left in the corners. From their appearance, size, and shape, a small portion of them were human bones.

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n“Is this the truth about the trial grounds?”

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nChen Yiming could tell at a glance that this was a trick. At the level of the black river, it was almost too easy for it to create a small test with its materialized spiritual power.

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nThose who could pass the test must have a strong will and have undergone a certain level of transformation of their spiritual power. Coupled with the hints given to them, their martial arts would improve by leaps and bounds after they left this place.

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nHowever, this improvement was essentially a transformation brought about by one’s own will. However, one would subconsciously think that this was a new life bestowed upon them by a higher being.

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nAt this moment, there was a rustling sound outside the cave. Big trees turned into treants one after another, and the faces turned to look into the cave.

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nThese treants were of varying heights. The tall ones were nearly 100 meters tall, and the short ones were just over 10 meters in height. Some were strong, and some were weak. Not every one of them was very strong.

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nChen Yiming turned to look out of the cave.

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nAs far as the eye could see, it was a desolate land. The sky was yellow and gray, and the air carried a large amount of sand with it.

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nWithout the treants, the area would almost completely lose its green color. The real appearance of this place would be like the Gobi Desert, which was in line with the changes in the environment brought about by the black river. There were almost no living creatures in the area.

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nLing Zhongyun, Zhao Shumin, and the others were already prepared for battle.

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nChen Yiming instructed, “The situation among the treants is unknown, and we don’t know where the strongest treant is. Unless I have no choice, I won’t make a move. Try not to put yourself in danger.”

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n“Of course.”

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nWith that, Zhao Shumin was the first to rush out of the cave with her spear.

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nZhu Song and Jiang Kai quickly followed. One of them was responsible for provoking the enemy, while the other was responsible for blocking the enemy’s powerful attacks. They worked together with Zhao Shumin to increase the combat strength of the three of them.

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nLing Zhongyun stopped at the entrance of the cave. He was in charge of suppressing the enemy from a distance and observing the situation.

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nIf not for Chen Yiming holding the line from the back, Ling Zhongyun would have been the one to make the decision during the battle. He would usually choose an open area on higher ground to prevent the enemy from setting up a trap and keeping the team in the dark.

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nThe first battle between humans and treants in the otherworld was about to begin.

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nWherever Zhao Shumin passed, the tree trunks of the treants exploded. In an instant, flames soared into the sky. A series of explosions shook the ground without stopping, leaving behind charred pits everywhere.

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nZhu Song’s flying wheel was even more effective than Zhao Shumin’s attacks when faced with the treants that were weaker than him. The branches of the treants that were poisoned quickly melted away, and they died while letting out painful cries.

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nJiang Kai had transformed into a small giant. Before they encountered any treants at the same level as them, he used his brute force to sweep across the treants with his shield. A large number of tree trunks were broken just like this.

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nLing Zhongyun, who was standing at the entrance of the cave, continuously fired nine arrows. Each arrow created a much smaller whirlwind, and under the control of his spiritual power, they shot towards the treants like tracking missiles.

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nLong-range attacks ignored dodging and distance when faced with the relatively weak treants. The efficiency of such attacks was higher than the other three members of the team combined.

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nIn just a few minutes, the group had swept through the area within five kilometers of the cave. Almost all the weak treants had been wiped out, and more than 20 treants were still standing, chasing after the three-man team.

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nThese 20-over treants were led by three treants who had reached the level of a half-step away from the master realm.

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nThe top combatants were all at the half-step master realm, with four on the human side and three on the treants’ side. The humans had the advantage, but the treants still had many other weaker fighters.

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nZhao Shumin, Zhu Song, and Jiang Kai used guerrilla tactics to lead the treants in circles. From time to time, they would attack ruthlessly and kill one or two relatively weak treants.

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nLing Zhongyun used energy arrows to attack them from a distance, constantly forcing the relatively weaker treants to dodge. This caused the treants to be unable to surround the three people even though they clearly had the advantage in numbers.

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nAlong the way, the treants tried to split off into a small group and charge towards Ling Zhongyun in the direction of the cave. The three of them immediately unleashed their full strength and killed three treants in a short period of time, forcing the treants to return to the main group to provide support.

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nAfter about 10 minutes, there were less than 10 treants left.

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nThe treants stopped their pursuit and retreated into the distance. The three humans also stopped and did not chase after them.

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nIn the distance, a large number of treants had surrounded the cave. The faces had different expressions, but they did not take any further action.

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nAt this point in the mission, the battle plan could be said to have been perfectly executed. The humans gave a bold response to the treants’ tentative invasion.

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nWhether it was a bluff or not, since the treants did not know the true situation in the human world, the goal of intimidating them was most likely achieved.

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nChen Yiming and the four-man team stood at the entrance of the cave and watched as the treants gathered in the distance. The forest that the treants had transformed into seemed to have come alive.

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nFortunately, no treants above the master realm had appeared from the start to the end. There was no need for Chen Yiming to make a move to help them.

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nThey did not stay for long and quickly returned to the blue planet through the space-travel passage.

n

n…

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nUnlike the oppressive atmosphere when they left, when they stepped onto the blue planet again, a heavy burden seemed to have been lifted off their shoulders.

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nThis was especially true for the middle-aged man, Zhu Song. His usually serious face was also smiling at this moment.

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nWhen Wang Ronghui, who was waiting outside the village, saw this, he walked forward and said, “All of you have worked hard. Leave the rest to the military. Jiangnan City has already organized a banquet to welcome the return of the heroes.”

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nZhu Song looked up at the sky and sighed. “It’s all thanks to Chief Chen holding the line for us this time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have dared to barge into the territory of the otherworld creatures without finding out the true situation first.”

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nWang Ronghui smiled and said, “That’s right. Chief Chen, you deserve the credit.”

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nThe two of them echoed each other, as if the mission could not be completed without Chen Yiming leading the way.

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nHearing this, Chen Yiming became vigilant. The price for freedom was high. He wouldn’t accept anything even if they were offered for free. The main reason was that these people couldn’t give him what he needed.

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nMoreover, there was definitely something amiss. Zhu Song might have been a member of the military from the start, and might have been carrying out additional missions.

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nOf course, he could gain a lot of power if he was given a high ranking position, but it would also take up a lot of his time. Chen Yiming didn’t want to live a life where he couldn’t complete his work every day.

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nThey got into the off-road vehicles and drove away from the village.

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nAlong the way, Chen Yiming saw a large group of soldiers digging holes in the wilderness. Carriages of explosives were waiting nearby. The wilderness had become a large construction site.

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nDue to the fact that the area around the space-travel passage was also slightly affected by the otherworld, technological weapons could fail, misfire, and so on.

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nTherefore, they could only retreat to a distance away from the strange mountain village and plant bombs around it to ensure that once the treants invaded, they would immediately be attacked by the humans.

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nThey had achieved their goal of intimidating the treants, but that did not mean that they could rest easy. The situation was still not completely clear, and Jiangnan province and even the Daxia Kingdom needed to continue to be on guard.

n

n…

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nAt the Star Sky Hotel, at this moment, the entrance of one of the most luxurious hotels in Jiangnan City was already empty. Soldiers were also standing guard at the end of the street, and unrelated people were not allowed to enter.

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nTwo luxury cars entered the underground parking lot under the command of the security guards.

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nChen Yiming handed over an invitation to the soldiers on the street. After receiving permission to enter, he walked to the entrance of the hotel.

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nHe originally did not want to participate in the banquet. Wouldn’t it be good to stay at home and cultivate quietly?

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nHowever, Wang Ronghui had promised repeatedly that he would not let him go on stage to make a speech to celebrate. He would help hide his true identity the entire time. He only needed to attend quietly.

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nIn the end, Chen Yiming saw that it wasn’t easy for Wang Ronghui to handle the many matters in Jiangnan province, and his hair had turned white, so he relented and agreed.

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n“Welcome!”

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nAt the entrance of the banquet hall, two lines of long-legged receptionists in exquisite makeup smiled and greeted him.

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nChen Yiming’s gaze stopped on the two at the front. They seemed to be the announcers from some television station, and their faces and figures were indeed attractive.

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nFor the sake of the television station’s viewership, most of the female announcers were dressed sexily. Silk stockings and short skirts were the standard attire, but because of the camera’s wider field of view, many of them were not as good-looking on television as they were in real life.

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nThe receptionists treated Chen Yiming as an ordinary guest and smiled in response to his gaze.

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nChen Yiming walked into the banquet hall and realized that there were already many people inside.

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nOther than some beautiful socialites, there were the higher-ups of the government, the martial arts factions, the presidents of large companies, and some people from the second generation.

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nThese people had their own social circles. For example, the socialites were gathered together and chatting softly, and the second generation were gathered together and chatting loudly.

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nChen Yiming told himself that he had been too tense the entire day. He would treat it as taking a meal to relax.

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n“Handsome, did you come alone?”

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nJust as Chen Yiming took a plate of dessert, steak, and fruits and started eating, a woman in a low-cut shining gown walked over with a wine glass in her hand.

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n“That’s right. I couldn’t turn down the repeated invitations. Actually, I didn’t want to come at all.” Chen Yiming glanced at the person who had arrived and continued to eat his steak.

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n“You’re so funny.” Of course, the woman did not believe him. She covered her mouth and laughed.

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nShe only thought that the other party was a young master from a certain clan. It was just that he had a strange personality and did not like to form factions.

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nChen Yiming finished his steak in a few bites and took a tissue from the side to wipe his mouth. He said, “You look a little familiar. I think I’ve seen you on television before. What song were you singing…’I Can’t Fall Asleep Tonight’.”

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nThe woman was a little angry and said, “I didn’t sing that. That was the song of Sun Fei, the queen of love songs. My famous song is ‘Tomorrow Will Be Better’.”

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nWith that, she added, “I was invited from the capital to Jiangnan City to cheer for all the soldiers at the front line.”

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nAt this point, the young woman subconsciously straightened her back. She felt a strong sense of duty, honor, and responsibility.

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nChen Yiming stole a glance at the other party’s low-cut gown and said apologetically, “I see. I might have mistaken you for someone else.”

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nThe woman was clearly not satisfied with his words and asked again, “Sun Fei is already in her forties or fifties. Are you kidding me?”

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nChen Yiming didn’t know what he was thinking, but he suddenly asked, “You’re not even thirty… are you still not married?”

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n“Why are you asking this?” The woman was stunned and could not understand why he would say that.

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nIn the next moment, she felt dizzy and her legs went weak. She took a step back before she could steady herself.

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nShe was only 25 years old. How could she be 30?

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nThe woman corrected him angrily, “It’s all because you men like those who are sexy. It’s like we’re all forced to be sexy. I’m only in my early twenties, and I’m not married.”

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n“I’m only 19,” Chen Yiming muttered.

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n“Damn it! Doesn’t this person know that asking a woman’s age is taboo? Which family’s young master is he? Other than being a little handsome, he doesn’t know how to say anything nice.”

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nThe woman was going crazy in her heart from anger, and her face was completely red.

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nHowever, she had to force a smile. After all, those who were invited to this banquet came from extraordinary backgrounds. He might be the descendant of some big shot or martial arts expert,

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nAlthough she was quite famous and had made a name for herself with just one song, and was often invited to various banquets and concerts all over the country, she was only a singer after all. She had gained some fame, but her fate was not in her own hands.

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nHer greatest wish was to marry into a wealthy family, just like her countless peers. However, this was too difficult. Countless examples showed that there was a high chance that she would become a mistress and be abandoned after being played by others for a period of time.

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nSeeing this, Chen Yiming realized that he had been too blunt. He decided to ignore the woman and picked up two more steaks to eat.

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nThe woman stopped trying to make friends with him and snorted. In the end, she turned around and left, clicking away in her high heels.

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nChen Yiming glanced at her departing figure. The back of the woman’s gown was V-shaped, revealing her fair skin.

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nHe shook his head and felt that he was not entirely to blame for this. After all, this woman looked like she had just gotten married and had been nourished until she was fair and rosy.

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