Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao

Chapter 1672: Enlisting

Ling Han and the Empress journeyed towards the western part of Dark Moon City. This city was too colossal, being comparable to a great star. They could claim to have traveled over land and water, and only arrive at their destination a day later.

This was a range of hills, and an empty space had been cleared at the base. They could clearly feel that there was a protective formation, and the might that it unleashed should be capable of insta-killing Genesis Tiers, reaching the level of the Severing Mundane Tier.

There were a great many people here. Clearly, joining the Dark Moon Army was a wonderful opportunity for one to excel, and anyone with the slightest bit of ambition would not want to miss it.

Thus, there were crowds of people, and they could see people in all directions they looked.

It was not just limited to pure humans, either. There were also half humans, and they occupied a great proportion of the crowd. Among the many races, the human race had the highest tolerance level, so even if a great many humans looked purely human, there was actually the bloodline of Demonic Beasts flowing in their bodies.

There was a very long line at the registration area, and Ling Han and the Empress also lined up obediently behind the masses. In the Ancient Realm, they were already strong enough to conquer all opposition, but in this place, Genesis Tier was really not enough.

As they lined up, the two of them also listened to the idle conversations of others to increase their knowledge of the Celestial Realm. However, the most common topic was the recruitment.

This time, the Dark Moon Army would recruit a total of 1,000 people to become their reserve troops. These 1,000 people would be divided into 10 teams, with 100 per team. Then, in the next 90 years from now onwards, one person would be knocked out every single year. Finally, every team would be left with 10 people, totalling up to 100 people who would truly become members of the Dark Moon Army to replenish the wear and tear of the Dark Moon Army.

The Celestial Realm was a place that was filled with battles. Though the Dark Moon City had a backer, and it was rare for large-scale battles to take place, this was not a lone city. It needed to do business with other cities, and this concerned the problem of transport.

...Between any two cities, there would definitely be mountain bandits, and the task of the Dark Moon Army was to regularly purge some mountain bandits. Otherwise, if the bandits were too rampant, not only would it affect the reputation of the Dark Moon City, it would also damage their direct profits.

However, those that would become mountain bandits were basically below the Severing Mundane Tier, and the Severing Mundane Ancestors of the Dark Moon City were too lazy to even bother wasting time to search for these mountain bandits because they were like weeds—if one batch was eliminated, a new one would pop up. There would always be people taking risks and wanting to reap profits without working for it.

Hence, the task of suppressing the thieves was handed over to the Dark Moon Army. Sometimes, they would also be hired by traveling merchants as protection, and earn some extra income on the side.

All things considered, after one joined the Dark Moon Army, he would be able to obtain a regular amount of cultivation resources, and those that accomplished military merits would even get celestial techniques. Sometimes, they would also have extra gains. Aside from the fact that it was more dangerous, it really did not have any disadvantages.

Added with the fact that one could also be promoted and finally enter into the Fu Clan, the masses would naturally scramble for the opportunity.

The progress of the troop was very slow. A few hours had passed, and Ling Han and the Empress had only advanced half the way forwards. Because the two of them had come very late, they were the final two, and there was no one else lining up behind them.

It was at this moment that a young man flew over from the distance, adn directly charged to the registration area.

He was clearly cutting the line here, but the people at the registration area actually did not chase him off, but rather helped him register politely.

This incited fury from the crowd, and a great many people jumped up.

“What gives him the right?”

“That’s right. We are all honestly lining up here; why is he allowed to cut in?”

“This is unjust!”

However, someone immediately poured cold water on them, and asked, “You guys don’t even know who that is?”

“Who?”

That person shook his head, looking at them like they were idiots. “That is a prodigy of the younger generation of the Ding Clan, Ding Xiaochen! This whole Dark Moon Army is theirs; so what if he cut into the line?”

With these words, everyone lost their anger, but there was also someone mumbling under their breath, “This is not the Ding Clan’s; it belongs to the Fu Clan! Even if it was not the Fu Clan, there is still the Black Moon Sect, and there are also two other great clans.”

“Ding Xiaochen is a prodigy with astonishing natural talent in cultivation. It is said that he has formed over 600,000,000 stars when he was in the Eternal River Tier, and now that he is a Saint King, who could be a match for him among his peers?”

“Sigh, I initially had thought of aiming for the position of team captain, but from the look of things now, the pressure has increased considerably. There is one less position available out of the 10 positions.”

“Strange, Ding Xiaochen still needs to join the Dark Moon Army to earn military credits? What cultivation resources would he even lack?”

“Hoho, perhaps he has come here to show off.”

“Wrong, wrong!” A person wagged his finger, pretending to be mysterious. Seeing the people around him look in his direction, he smiled proudly, and said, “That is because there is another person that would be coming here today, and Ding Xiaochen has come for that person.”

“Who is it?” Everyone pressed the question.

“You guys will know later,” the person answered, feigning mysteriousness.

At this time, a commotion was suddenly heard from ahead of them.

“What is it?” Those behind were not clear about the situation, and did not dare extend their divine sense to find out, either. There was a Severing Mundane Tier elite overseeing things here; who would dare release their divine sense in front of such an elite and challenge his authority?

“Ding Xiaochen actually has Three Star aptitude!” Very quickly, someone who was in front informed them of the situation.

“What?!” Everyone was shocked.

In the Celestial Realm, there was a different kind of method to estimate the natural talent of cultivators. Basically, it was to calculate the tier-surpassing battle prowess of a cultivator, but there was also potential of growth and so on, which was not completely identical with the Ancient Realm.

Ordinarily, One Star aptitude would be worthy of nurturing, Two Star aptitude could be considered a prodigy, and Three Stars would be a prodigy among prodigies!

As expected of a young king tier from the Ding Clan, this was too amazing!

“So this is a disciple that has been nurtured by the three great clans?” someone asked softly with a trembling voice.

“Before this, there were indeed a few top talents, but they only had Two Star aptitude.”

“Most people would only have One Star aptitude.”

Everyone shook their heads. This gap was really too wide, so wide that they did not even have the heart to feel envious. They could only admire such talent from afar.

Xiu, it was at this moment that another figure shot over from the distance. Dressed in dazzlingly crimson robes, it was a young girl as beautiful as a fairy, a lovely young woman with a snow white complexion, while her hair was as black as ink, forming a powerful juxtaposition. She looked extremely enchanting.

“That is Mao Shuyu, the only daughter of Great Commander Mao Dai of the Dark Moon Army!”

“Hiss, Great Commander Mao Dai? That is a third severance grand elder!”

“Lord Mao is a living legend. In the past, he came all alone to Dark Moon City; who would have thought that he could have become a third severance grand elder in three eras?”

“I get it. Ding Xiaochen has come for the sake of Mao Shuyu.”

“Hehe, Lord Mao is the only Severing Mundane Tier in Dark Moon City that does not belong to any of the three great clans, and a third severance at that. With his freakish talent, becoming a fourth severance consummate level would definitely be no issue. By then, it is highly possibly that he would be directly transferred over by the Fu Clan, and a meteoric career success is just round the corner!”

“Thus, the three great clans must all want to maintain good relations with him. Even if he continues to stay in Dark Moon City, a third severance grand elder is still a top tier elite, and is worth them fighting over him at all costs.”

“Furthermore, isn’t marrying his daughter the least expensive and safest method?”

“Sigh, if I could marry her, that’d be great!”

As everyone discussed spiritedly, the young woman in red did not take advantage of her superior status to cut into the line like Ding Xiaochen had. Instead, she obediently joined the end of the line, which just happened to be right behind Ling Han and the Empress.