Chapter 82: Incident at the Tavern

Upon hearing the words of Captain Lang Tian, the faces of the several mercenaries in the room who were unaware of the situation changed drastically. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

Captain Lang Tian continued, "Captain Bai Yunfei, I assume you are also worried that the mysterious powerhouse might have some connection with Mu Yun."

Captain Bai Yunfei nodded and said, "If it weren't for the fact that Mu Yun, after his combat technique was exposed, still remained here without any fear, I wouldn't have associated him with that mysterious powerhouse."

"Your reasoning is sound," Captain Lang Tian said. "If Mu Yun truly has any connection with that mysterious powerhouse, we absolutely cannot make a move. Otherwise, the consequences would be even more severe than encountering the Cangmang Bandit Group."

"That mysterious powerhouse can easily wipe out our entire team," Captain Bai Yunfei said with a serious expression.

"Pass the order down: no one is to mention Mu Yun's combat technique again. Everyone should act as if they know nothing about it."

...

After bidding farewell to Mu Yun, Jian Chen wandered around the city named "Blackwind City." Blackwind City was not a large city, but due to its proximity to the border fortress of the Fenglan Empire, it was bustling with activity. The city was filled with people, and one could see merchants and mercenaries from other countries everywhere.

Approaching the mercenary guild, Jian Chen directly found a tavern to stay in. The continuous travel over the past few days had left him feeling quite exhausted.

After eating a simple meal at the tavern, Jian Chen, feeling satisfied, was led by a waiter back to his room. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Jian Chen did not sleep but took out several first-grade magic cores from his spatial belt to practice. He dared not slow down his efforts to enhance his strength for even a moment. Whenever he had the time, he would take out magic cores to practice. Only by possessing strength that could make the Huayun Sect wary could he return home with dignity. Although he could sneak back without being discovered by the Huayun Sect, Jian Chen's inherent pride would not allow him to do such a thing.

The energy within the magic cores was rapidly depleted, flowing into Jian Chen's body through his pores and being absorbed by him. However, only one percent of the vast energy could be absorbed by Jian Chen, while the remaining ninety-nine percent was absorbed by two mysterious light points, one purple and one green, in his dantian. These light points seemed like bottomless pits, absorbing energy without any change.

Jian Chen was helpless about the situation in his dantian, as it was beyond his control. He could only let the two light points in his dantian continue to absorb his energy. The only consolation was that although the consumption of magic cores was hundreds of times greater than before, his cultivation speed had increased, which provided some comfort.

The next morning, as the warm and gentle sunlight shone upon the earth, Jian Chen woke up from his cultivation. Opening his eyes, he looked at the few first-grade magic cores in his hands, which had completely disappeared, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. He sighed, "The consumption is really too high. One night of cultivation has used up more than fifty first-grade magic cores. Although I still have some magic cores in my spatial ring, at this rate, I can probably only last for ten days."

Jian Chen got out of bed, slightly moved his feet, and then went to the window to look at the bustling crowd on the street outside. He muttered, "Cultivation cannot be stopped. Without magic cores, relying solely on absorbing the elemental energy of heaven and earth would reduce the cultivation speed to one-tenth of the usual. This is not feasible. I need to find a way to replenish the magic cores."

Jian Chen left his room and went downstairs to the tavern, finding an empty table to sit down.

"Sir, what would you like to eat?" As soon as Jian Chen sat down, a friendly waiter approached with a smile.

"A plate of stir-fried flower tiger meat, two side dishes, and a bowl of white rice," Jian Chen casually ordered.

"Sure, sir, please wait a moment."

Sitting at the table, Jian Chen looked around the tavern. The tavern was not very large and could only be considered medium-sized in Blackwind City. However, it was morning, the time when merchants and mercenaries usually came to eat, so the tavern was already quite crowded. Out of the original thirty to forty tables, only about five were still empty.

The tavern was very noisy, with many mercenaries speaking loudly, disregarding the feelings of others.

"Sir, your food is here." The waiter quickly brought the dishes Jian Chen had ordered and carefully placed them on the table.

While eating breakfast, Jian Chen listened to the idle chatter of the mercenaries in the tavern. Although the tavern was very noisy, the people gathered here were all experienced mercenaries who had traveled far and wide, and from their conversations, one could hear many interesting and new stories.

Just then, several men dressed as mercenaries entered the tavern. There were five of them in total. Three of them looked to be in their twenties, while the other two were middle-aged men in their forties. They all wore green robes and had silver badges hanging from their chests, indicating that they belonged to the same mercenary group, and this group was of a relatively high rank.

As soon as they entered the tavern, they looked around, but it was the peak time for meals, and all the tables were already occupied, leaving no empty seats.

"Damn, there's no place to sit," one of the young men in green robes, who was relatively thin, cursed.

The young man standing next to him scanned the tavern and finally stopped his gaze on Jian Chen, who was sitting alone at a table. He laughed and said, "What a coincidence, who says there's no place to sit? Look, there's a table right there. Although it might be a bit crowded for us to sit together, it can't be helped."

Although there were still several people in the tavern sitting alone, they all looked like tough customers. Only Jian Chen seemed harmless, so the young man naturally targeted him.

Hearing this, the five men all turned their attention to Jian Chen, who was dressed in a simple white robe. When they saw his youthful face, they all smiled with ill intent and walked over together.

When they reached the table where Jian Chen was sitting, the young man called "Gan Hou" patted Jian Chen's shoulder and said with a forced smile, "Friend, we need this table now. Please move to another one."

Upon hearing this, Jian Chen frowned, slightly raised his head, and scanned the faces of the five men. When his powerful divine sense detected that their strength was not very high, he felt relieved and said, "I'm sorry, but I need this table as well." Jian Chen was not particularly wary of these five men. Although two of them were older, their strength was not very high.

After all, one's strength does not necessarily correlate with age. Some talented individuals could become renowned experts at a young age, while others, despite their efforts, could never achieve the status of a holy weapon or cross the threshold of a holy realm.

Gan Hou's face darkened, and he looked at Jian Chen with a cold expression, saying, "Kid, don't push your luck. Move away now if you know what's good for you."

The incident involving Jian Chen naturally attracted the attention of many people in the tavern. However, such occurrences were common in the Tianyuan Continent, so everyone watched with a sense of curiosity, and no one intended to help.