Overlord's Team

"What major event?"

Bai Pu had already made some guesses. Overlord's score was so high that there had to be a reason for it. The major event last night definitely had something to do with Overlord.

Inkfish said in a low voice, "Huang Gai was punished by Zhou Yu, then sent the messenger Kan Ze to secretly deliver a surrender letter to Cao Cao's camp at night! You know this part of the story, right?"

Bai Pu nodded and cooperatively said, "Could someone have dared to interfere with this crucial plot point?"

Inkfish nodded. "Overlord led more than a dozen examinees and took on a night patrol assignment. They surrounded and killed Kan Ze, seized the surrender letter, and delivered it to Zhou Yu's main tent."

They had surrounded and killed Kan Ze?

Bai Pu's heart jolted. Though he had already suspected it, hearing it confirmed still shocked him!

Though Kan Ze was not especially renowned, he had a vivid role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms! Kan Ze, courtesy name Derun, was from Shanyin in Kuaiji; poor but eager to learn, he once worked for others and borrowed books to read. After reading a book once, he never forgot it. He was eloquent and quick-witted, and had courage from a young age.

One had to know that the setting of Three Kingdoms: Red Cliffs was an ancient Huaxia world where the burning of books and burying of scholars had never happened, and the path of cultivation had never been severed! A scholar like Kan Ze was surely one with heaven and humanity, capable of borrowing the power of heaven and earth to fight! Like Galan Witch from the Flesh Plague: Origin Plane, he was a powerful native with Mental Specialization, skilled in spellcraft.

Considering Three Kingdoms: Red Cliffs Plane's world strength of 2.4, Kan Ze's template could not possibly have been below that of a level-six leader! Yet such a Native Leader had actually been surrounded and killed by Overlord and his group.

And after taking such a dangerous gamble, like pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth, Overlord could not be touched by the upper ranks of the Sun Quan Army! They even had to swallow their resentment and commend him.

"What happened afterward?" Bai Pu asked.

"How would we know what happened inside the main tent?" Inkfish said with a bitter smile. "We only know the outcome. Huang Gai was detained, Gan Ning was punished, and Overlord issued a military pledge before leading troops to Gathering Iron Mountain to burn Cao Cao's grain supplies."

Bai Pu nodded. "It seems Overlord's team chose the opposite path from us."

Bai Pu had avoided the main battlefield and found another route. Overlord's team had chosen to confront things head-on and deeply involve themselves in the plot! "Yeah." Iron Crocodile, who had remained silent until now, sighed. "I have to admire that he came up with this move! As expected of a Heroic Profession. It looks like Overlord has already secured victory for this year's Top Scorer."

"Not necessarily," Inkfish said. "Overlord isn't the only Heroic Profession this time. There's also Mad Zen from the Jiangnan District! The riverside camps are vast, so we simply haven't heard any news about Mad Zen. But the rankings show that Mad Zen has already earned forty-four points, not much fewer than Overlord!"

"You never thought of competing?" Bai Pu asked.

Iron Crocodile shook his head with a smile. "Compete with what? Inkfish and I may both be level-four Reinforced Elites, but the gap between Reinforced Elites and Heroic Professions is enormous! Our goal is to secure Silver Rank and strive for Gold Rank. We'll be satisfied if we can earn a place on either the Gold or Silver Rank."

Bai Pu also knew about the Gold, Silver, and Bronze ranks of the college entrance examination. After all, the rules had remained unchanged for centuries.

The top thousand nationwide were listed on the college entrance examination's Bronze Rank; the top hundred were on the Silver Rank; and the top ten were on the Gold Rank! All were recognized by the Spirit Realm Will and received generous rewards. As for the top three—the Top Scorer, Second Place, and Third Place—their rewards went without saying.

The dozen or so examinees following Overlord probably shared the same thinking as Iron Crocodile and Inkfish. They did not seek to become Top Scorer, only to gain a place on the Gold or Silver Rank.

After briefly exchanging information, Bai Pu sat upright in the cabin and continued studying the medical books Physician Liu had given him, increasing his proficiency.

Iron Crocodile and Inkfish naturally coveted Bai Pu's secondary profession. They watched beside him for quite some time, but received no prompt whatsoever from the Spirit Realm Will. To them, it was like reading a heavenly script! They could only leave dejectedly and head to the deck to watch the sailors fish.

Secondary professions from the origin plane were difficult to learn without careful instruction from natives.

Even with Bai Pu's comprehension, he had spent more than ten days of free exploration time in the Plane World of Flesh Plague: Origin before learning alchemy under the guidance of Qin, a highly learned native! The difficulty was evident.

With favorable winds and smooth waters, the ship raised full sails and reached the ferry crossing before Chaisang City by dusk.

Suddenly, the vessel rocked as a dull thud sounded, as though some enormous creature had struck the ship. Bai Pu braced himself against the cabin wall and, hearing the uproar outside, strode out.

The instant he lifted the curtain, Bai Pu saw an astonishing scene.

A sailor had speared a huge black carp with a fish fork. The next moment, a dark shadow sprang out of the water—it was a pitch-black crocodile! The crocodile was two to three meters long. It opened its massive jaws and clamped its fearsome teeth around the fish. The tremendous momentum of its fall even dragged the sailor overboard.

More gray-black backs, like floating rotten logs, surfaced around them—there were seven or eight of them in all. There was more than one crocodile! One of them must have struck the cabin earlier.

Though the sailor was an excellent swimmer, surrounded by crocodiles, he could not escape death. He was torn alive into seventeen or eighteen pieces, his blood and organs bobbing in the water! "River alligators!"

Team leader Zhou Yue hurriedly shouted, "No one is to lie on the deck and watch! Get to shore quickly! Those beasts won't dare follow us!"

The warship pulled ashore, and sure enough, the crocodiles did not pursue them. They merely tore apart and devoured their prey on the river.

With their souls finally settling, everyone boarded small boats and went ashore.

After their documents were checked at the city gate, Bai Pu and the others entered the city.

Iron Crocodile and Inkfish arranged a meeting place and a passphrase with Bai Pu before taking their leave. Clearly, they intended to act within Chaisang City and search for some benefits.

Team leader Zhou Yue led most of the soldiers in guarding the ship. Accompanied by several soldiers, Bai Pu headed straight for Chaisang City's major pharmacies.

He was purchasing supplies on behalf of the army. Though he drove the price down very low, the required quantity was large, so the proprietors of the major pharmacies still eagerly catered to him.

While negotiating prices, Bai Pu asked where Returning Dragon Temple was located.

Unexpectedly, whenever the pharmacy proprietors were asked about Returning Dragon Temple, they all looked completely blank. Their expressions of ignorance did not seem fake.

Bai Pu was not discouraged. He knew that this Pill Master advancement mission was rated S-rank, so it could not possibly be easy.

He instead began asking about the distribution of Chaisang City's gangs and factions.

This was an age of chaos, and unlike the Three Kingdoms World of real history, the path of cultivation had not been severed in this plane. Great power belonged to individuals! Martial artists broke the law, and gangs of every size were countless.

Though these martial gangs lacked the strength to oppose the regular Sun Quan Army, they were far more flexible. Nighttime clashes over profits were commonplace.

So long as they did not massacre civilians, the officials of the Sun Quan Army could not be bothered to deal with such toughs, usually turning a blind eye. With Cao Cao's army bearing down on them, they had no time to dispatch troops to "clean up the martial world"! Besides, even if they did, what then? Wherever there were people, there would be a martial world. Once the army left, the martial world would rise in turmoil again.

Unless someone imitated Qin Shi Huang from history, burned books and buried scholars, and banned all lineages of cultivation, so that great power no longer belonged to individuals! Only then could the Three Kingdoms World's state of "martial artists breaking the law" be changed.

After visiting several pharmacies and compiling the information he had obtained, Bai Pu had already gained a clear understanding of Chaisang City's gang landscape.

Under the night curtain, Chaisang City was quiet and empty because of the curfew. There were few pedestrians, and only the occasional figure returning home could be seen slipping past like a thief.

From within a brothel came faint sounds of men and women laughing and playing.

Suddenly, the brothel doors flew open, and several burly men rushed out! A madam angrily cursed after them, "You can't even keep watch over one virgin? Hurry up and bring her back!"

The men led slender hunting dogs as they searched along the streets, cursing under their breaths. Suddenly, someone appeared in front of them.

The leading man nearly crashed into him and immediately cursed, "Damn it, are you blind?"

"Are you brothel pimps?"

In the dim lantern light appeared the handsome, refined face of a young man. It was Bai Pu.

The contemptuous term "brothel pimps" enraged the burly men.

"Bullshit! We're from the Wild Wolf Gang!"

The leading man cursed as he reached for Bai Pu's collar, while the others surrounded him.

"Since you're pimps, there's no harm in beating you."

Bai Pu smiled slightly. The Wild Wolf Gang was one of Chaisang City's martial gangs. Their business consisted of brothels, prostitution dens, and human trafficking.

The burly men were merely strong commoners, not even possessing weak templates. They were skilled at bullying ordinary people, but against an Awakened like Bai Pu, they were simply walking targets!

With one punch, Bai Pu struck a burly man so hard that he clutched his stomach and doubled over like a shrimp. Then Bai Pu sprang up and kicked another man several meters away. He crashed into a wall and fainted without even a groan.

Wind whistled behind him as one of the men swung down a club. With a heavy thud, it struck Bai Pu's rear shoulder, yet it felt as if it had hit old cowhide! Bai Pu did not budge. He stepped back and raised his elbow, smashing the third man until sour fluid sprayed from his mouth! Bai Pu suddenly seized the last man by the throat. "Do you know where Lu Chuan is?"