You Don't Cherish the Opportunity

"Haha...!"

Pei Menglong threw his head back and laughed heartily, saying, "Just for you calling me Brother Pei, consider that Profound Heavy Iron mine all mine!"

Chen Xian grinned.

Pei Menglong wouldn't help him just because of a single 'Brother Pei' greeting; he valued Chen Xian's character, talent, and strength.

In life, no matter the circumstances, everyone makes one or two friends they find agreeable and can converse with easily.

For Pei Menglong, giving him the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art on their first meeting was enough. Chen Xian was willing to befriend him for that reason alone.

"Pei Gang, take these Demon Cores and exchange them for ten mid-grade Essence Replenishing Pills and ten mid-grade healing pills."

"The Golden Silk Great Ring Saber is Chen Xian's spoils of war. Take it to the weapons camp and tell Master Yue to forge it into a straight saber, mixing it with the Profound Heavy Iron I left there last time!"

"Yes, General!"

Pei Gang stepped forward to take the pills and the Golden Silk Great Ring Saber. He glanced back at Chen Xian before striding away.

Pei Menglong invited Chen Xian to sit down, discuss his cultivation experiences, and asked if he could understand the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art technique.

The two began to chat.

Less than half an hour later, Pei Gang returned with two white porcelain bottles.

After handing the bottles to Chen Xian, he said to Pei Menglong, "General, Master Yue replied that the saber will take at least a month to forge."

"A month?"

Chen Xian's eyes flickered. He hadn't expected it to take so long.

Pei Menglong said, "Commonly made sabers are quicker to forge, but high-quality materials take longer. You'll just have to wait patiently. Master Yue's blade-forging skills are top-notch even in Great Ning; he'll definitely craft a fine saber for you!"

"Thank you, Brother Pei. It's getting late, so I won't impose any longer!"

Chen Xian stood up to express his gratitude and then took his leave.

Not long after he left, Pei Gang grumbled, "General, that's Profound Heavy Iron, a top-grade material for forging weapons. You were reluctant to use more of it, yet you gave it to this young cook?"

"I, Pei Menglong, have always been a good judge of character. Although Chen Xian is in the cook's camp, he's a talented individual. A little Profound Heavy Iron is just the cost of making a friend."

"If you value him so highly, General, why not keep him by your side?"

"The time is not right!"

Pei Menglong said calmly.

He had spoken to General Sun about it, but with someone instigating from behind the scenes, General Sun hadn't agreed.

Pei Menglong had a good guess as to who it was.

In the Ninth Battalion, the only ones who could make General Sun pay attention were the noble sons within the Head Chef Army.

Early October.

The weather had turned cold.

Ten more days had passed since Chen Xian had asked Pei Menglong to forge the straight saber.

During this time, Liu Dingchun had sent people to replenish the number of cook soldiers in the cook's camp and had also distributed the August monthly salary of five taels of broken silver (a form of currency).

There was no letter from home.

After practicing spear techniques with Ding Chen and others every day, Chen Xian stayed in his tent, cultivating.

He had consumed 40,000 experience points. The Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique was still at the perfect completion stage, but his cultivation realm had reached the perfect completion of the Soaring Realm.

The system prompt indicated that he couldn't advance to the next realm without the proper method.

Chen Xian planned to either upgrade the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art or deduce the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique.

Based on his current conditions, upgrading the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art to advance his cultivation realm seemed simpler.

At the same time, he could master a powerful technique, and when released through martial skills, its power would be ten times greater than the Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique.

That evening, Chen Xian was summoned by a soldier from the Head Chef Army.

The soldier was someone close to Li Sheng. After ten days, Li Sheng had finally sought him out.

In a large camp tent.

Li Sheng was alone.

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Xian got straight to the point, "Captain Li, what important matter requires my presence?"

"How have you considered that matter?" Li Sheng asked, turning around.

"What matter?" Chen Xian asked expressionlessly.

A cold glint flashed in Li Sheng's eyes. He wasn't a patient person to begin with, and he had tolerated Chen Xian for ten days. This kid was truly uncooperative.

"I gave you an opportunity, and you don't cherish it, do you?" a cold voice ground out from between his teeth.

Chen Xian remained silent.

Li Sheng also said nothing, standing with his hands behind his back, staring at Chen Xian.

For ten breaths, the two remained locked in a stalemate. A flicker of killing intent flashed in Li Sheng's eyes as he nodded repeatedly. "Good, good, good! You brat are truly something else!"

"Tomorrow morning, lead your troops to the west of Blood River Forest. Cooperate with Captain Chen Quanwu of the vanguard to hold Blood River Forest for three days. After three days, await my command."

"Understood, Captain!" Chen Xian cupped his hands and turned to leave.

After he left, Wang Pei and Mu Feng emerged from behind the screen.

Wang Pei said coldly, "Young Master Sheng, this scumbag is ungrateful. If we can't win him over, let Chen Quanwu take care of him in the chaos."

Li Sheng snorted, "Chen Quanwu is no match for this scumbag. Let Zhong Lian handle it; he's at the Soaring Realm."

He had initially thought Zhong Lian wouldn't be needed, but given the current situation, if they wanted to kill Ding Chen, they could only have Major General Zhong Lian of the vanguard act, taking both their lives amidst the chaos.

Mu Feng spoke up, "The number of demons has increased to thirty thousand. Five Great Demon Kings, thirteen Lesser Demon Kings, twenty-five Demon Lords, and fifty Demon Men have arrived."

"Zhong Lian is likely stretched too thin. And with ten thousand against thirty thousand, if things go badly, our Head Chef Army might have to get involved."

"At this juncture, it's best not to worry about Ding Chen and Chen Xian."

"After this battle is over, we'll have opportunities to deal with them."

Li Sheng disagreed with Mu Feng's assessment. "Don't forget his background. Even if he's trash, no one cared when he was alive. But once he dies, someone will step forward and cause trouble in his name."

"Therefore, Ding Chen must die on the battlefield, preferably at the hands of the demons."

Hearing this, Mu Feng said nothing more.

Cook Soldier Barracks.

Upon his return, Chen Xian found Ding Chen and explained the entire situation.

Ding Chen listened with a calm expression.

Chen Xian wasn't surprised. Ding Chen already had a conflict with Li Sheng and Wang Pei, so it wasn't a big deal that they wanted to kill him.

"Why didn't you agree to their terms?" Ding Chen suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked at Chen Xian.

Chen Xian shook his head speechlessly. "Let alone us being brothers who'd die for each other, even if we didn't know each other, I would never agree to kill someone who slays demons and protects Great Ning from behind."

"Besides, I truly look down on a pampered brat like Li Sheng."

Ding Chen nodded. "Based on my understanding of Li Sheng, if you don't agree, he'll kill you too!"

Chen Xian asked, "To silence me?"

Ding Chen replied, "Not just to silence you, he wants to kill you! For his own amusement!"

Chen Xian frowned. "Is he a freak or something?"

He then looked at Ding Chen. "That guy has always wanted to kill you; could it be for amusement too?"

"What do you think?" Ding Chen responded.

Chen Xian nodded and remained silent.

A moment later, he informed Ding Chen of the arrangements for the next three days before returning to his tent.

He summoned his status panel.

[Martial Arts: Ox Demon Body Refinement Technique (Mastered), Vajra Dragon Elephant Art (Uninitiated)...]

[Experience: 346,000 points]

[Realm: Soaring Realm (Mastered)]

[Lifespan: 300 years]

After a quick glance, Chen Xian began to upgrade the Vajra Dragon Elephant Art.

[After ten thousand months of diligent cultivation, your Vajra Dragon Elephant Art has reached Vajra Realm initiation.]

Buzz!

Instantly, Chen Xian's entire body took on a golden jade hue, with golden light radiating from his skin.

At the same time, he noticed changes in his physical body, particularly his muscles, bones, blood, and skin, which seemed to have undergone a million refinements of metal, forged into a Vajra body.

Clang, clang, clang...!

Chen Xian punched his own chest, producing a sound like metal colliding.

"This...!"