The Mystery of the Newborns' Appearance

At this moment, Old Fourth Gu, who had returned to the village the day before yesterday, appeared once more in the small valley. His distinctive curses faintly echoed through the valley.

"Is this all the coordination you've got? You were only dealing with a Level 7 Corpse Fiend, yet three people got hurt. What were the people in the back doing, eating for free? Don't you know how to support your teammates?"

Dugu Feng, who was leading the group, explained, "Captain, we didn't expect this Corpse Fiend to jump so well. It actually leaped out of the pit trap..."

"Don't give me excuses. You didn't inspect the trap, and now you want to blame me? You may be Newborns, but you only have one life. If you don't train hard now, then if you want to see me later, you'll have to visit me in a dream..."

It was no wonder Old Fourth Gu was so angry. Not only had he come in person today, but he had also invited his master, the Village Chief of Ancient Pool Village.

He had wanted to properly show his master the results of his training for Militia Squad Five, but at the crucial moment, Dugu Feng and the others let him down.

"Enough, Xiao Si. They performed quite well just now. If you insult them like this, it may sometimes have the opposite effect."

A gentle yet aged voice rang out. An elderly man with grizzled hair, a white beard, and a hunched back slowly walked out of the tent.

This old man was Gu Tianci, the Village Chief of Ancient Pool Village.

Hearing this, Old Fourth Gu scratched his head and shamelessly grinned. "Hehe, since they did well, then those Spiritual Fruit resources you promised me earlier..."

Gu Tianci thought for a moment before slowly saying, "Fine. I'll let you allocate all of them. Those fruits aren't of much use in our village anyway. After all, there are too few children in the village worth nurturing. At present, the Newborns are the village's hope."

Old Fourth Gu's face lit up at those words.

The Spiritual Fruits he had requested were among Ancient Pool Village's most precious resources. They were all Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures of white quality or above that could increase attributes, the village's stockpile of Spiritual Fruits accumulated over decades.

Now, the Newborns of Militia Squad Five could not increase their strength because they were suppressing their experience levels. Even with all nine of them working together, they could only handle a Level 7 Corpse Fiend.

If they wanted to increase their combat power without leveling up, they could only start with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and External Martial Skills.

He had people teach them External Martial Skills every day, but most of Squad Five's Newborns had limited talent. After more than a week, basically none of them had managed to learn one.

Thus, he could only think of a solution through Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

At that moment, Gu Chenghu, who was recovering from his injuries inside the tent, walked out and said, "Village Chief, Qingshan from our Second Squad is also a Newborn worth investing in. Can I get some Spiritual Fruits for him as well?"

Old Fourth Gu chimed in, "Master, Qingshan is the Newborn I told you about—the one who obtained our village's Inherited Soul Artifact. To be honest, that kid is indeed decent and highly talented, but he hasn't signed a contract with our village after all..."

The Village Chief shook his head. "A contract is merely a means, not something important. If the Green Mountains Never Age you mentioned is truly a gifted Newborn who knows gratitude, then there is no harm in taking out some of the village's resources to nurture him."

"After all, only true powerhouses can protect Ancient Pool Village in the future. If we merely nurture a group of Newborns whose strength is about the same as ours, it would be a futile effort."

Village Chief Gu Tianci turned his head. "Xiao Hu, speak to Elder Gu Yuan later and have him raise the Contribution Point prices for Newborns exchanging items. At this stage, our village's priority is to nurture reliable Newborns. Stop squeezing them."

"Understood, Village Chief."

As the three chatted, a figure slowly appeared in the distance. It was Lin Yi, who had just rushed over from the large tree.

"Master, that's the kid—Green Mountains Never Age."

"My eyes aren't blind. I can see him."

Gu Tianci narrowed his eyes at the approaching Lin Yi, then nodded with a smile.

Lin Yi also spotted the white-haired old man standing between Gu Chenghu and Old Fourth Gu from afar. He tried asking, "Are you the Village Chief?"

After being in Ancient Pool Village for so long, this was Lin Yi's first time meeting its Village Chief.

He had not expected the Village Chief to be so old. He looked a full generation older than the Three Village Elders, seemingly eighty or ninety years old.

However, appearance was not necessarily tied to age in this extraordinary world. This old Village Chief might well be over a hundred.

Gu Tianci smiled. "That's me. Young man, we've been waiting for you. Come, let's talk inside the tent."

Lin Yi nodded. It seemed the one who had rescued Gu Chenghu today was this Village Chief, and the reason the Village Chief had appeared here was likely related to the Inherited Soul Artifact on him.

Nearby, Dugu Feng and the others stopped training and wanted to come over to watch.

But Old Fourth Gu, his face stern, immediately cursed them away. "Get lost, get lost! Not training properly, and you came here to get cursed at? So full of energy, are you? Just wait and see how I work you to death this afternoon!"

Dugu Feng and the others were scolded senseless, and they could not help sighing inwardly. They were all players, so why was the difference so great?

Inside the tent, Lin Yi noticed that Gu Chenghu's right abdomen was wrapped in a circle of white cloth and asked, "Captain, you're injured?"

Gu Chenghu grinned. "A Level 9 Corpse Fiend scratched me while I was coming down from the tree. It's nothing."

Old Fourth Gu could not help sarcastically adding, "Nothing? It nearly pulled your intestines out at the time. I told you not to rush down and to wait until the Corpse Fiend horde was cleared before coming down, but you insisted on showing off..."

Lin Yi roughly guessed what had happened. Old Fourth Gu and the Village Chief had probably gone to rescue Gu Chenghu.

He just did not know how the Village Chief had dealt with that Corpse Fiend horde.

Lin Yi remembered that many broken Corpse Fiend bones had been left beneath the tree. They seemed to have been violently chopped apart, with no traces of Divine Talismans being used.

It seemed the Divine Sacrifice Profession had other extraordinary methods besides Divine Talismans.

Inside the tent, Lin Yi spoke first. "Village Chief, did you call me here alone because you wanted to ask about the Soul Artifact?"

Village Chief Gu Tianci nodded. After thinking for a moment, he sent both Gu Chenghu and Old Fourth Gu out. There were some things he needed to say to Lin Yi privately.

Gu Chenghu was obedient and immediately left the tent, but Old Fourth Gu was unwilling. He stood stubbornly at the entrance. "Master, I'm the next Village Chief. What is there that I can't hear?"

"We'll talk when you become Village Chief. Besides, I never said you would definitely be the next Village Chief."

After driving Old Fourth Gu out, Gu Tianci took a Divine Talisman from his sleeve and tore it apart. A white film of light immediately enveloped the entire tent.

"Village Chief, what is this?"

Lin Yi was startled. He thought the Village Chief was about to make a move against him.

Gu Tianci smiled. "Don't worry. It's just a little soundproofing trick. My disciple is probably still eavesdropping outside. Besides, you needn't worry. We people of Apocalypse Continent currently have no way of directly attacking you Descenders. Otherwise, we will suffer Heavenly Punishment."

"Heavenly Punishment?"

"Yes. You can understand it as being abandoned by heaven. Those cursed by Heavenly Punishment may not die immediately, but they will invite misfortune. It often brings catastrophic disaster to those around them and to their villages as well."

"So, when people of Apocalypse Continent want to deal with you Descenders, they generally only do so through Ghost Spirits and Monsters. You must remember this."

After hearing that, Lin Yi nodded. He could sense the Village Chief's goodwill toward him, but he still remained somewhat wary and could not help asking, "Village Chief, what exactly do you want from me?"

Gu Tianci was in no hurry. He sat cross-legged on the carpet with a smile and looked at Lin Yi. "Don't rush. This is our first meeting, so it would be better for us to get to know each other first."

"My name is Gu Tianci. I am one hundred and twenty-one years old this year. When I was thirty, after the previous Village Chief died, I became the new Village Chief. It has now been over ninety years."

"Yet after more than ninety years, I am still only at Divine Sacrifice One Star, so my lifespan is nearing its end."

Lin Yi raised a brow. "Divine Sacrifice One Star? Village Chief, is that a classification after the Professional level?"

"Don't rush. Listen to me first. If you are the person I'm looking for, I will tell you everything you want to know later."

After a pause, Gu Tianci continued, "About half a year ago, the Temple delivered an oracle, and celestial phenomena across the entire Apocalypse Continent changed. After consulting ancient texts, I learned that Apocalypse Continent had captured another new world, and Descenders were about to appear."

Gu Tianci's words contained a great deal of hidden information. Lin Yi's heart trembled after hearing them.

Blue Star had been captured by Apocalypse Continent, which was why they could enter Apocalypse Continent?

Then what would be the consequence of Blue Star being captured by Apocalypse Continent?

Could the end of the world be coming?

Seeing that Lin Yi did not interrupt him this time, Gu Tianci continued with a smile. "Ancient Pool Village has existed on Apocalypse Continent for a very long time—perhaps over a hundred thousand years, perhaps even a million. But according to the records, our first Village Chief was a powerful Divine Sacrifice and, at the same time, a Descender."

"So, compared with you, I know more about the existence of Descenders and why you can appear here."

"I do not know what attitude the other powers of Apocalypse Continent have toward you Descenders, but at least Ancient Pool Village has remained friendly toward Descenders ever since its founding. Whenever we encounter exceptionally gifted Descenders, our village also spends great resources nurturing them."

"So you need not worry that I will harm you. As long as you do not damage the village's interests or endanger its safety, I can guarantee that you will not be in danger."

"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. Now you may ask me questions, but at the same time, you must answer one question for me. That way, neither of us loses out."

After saying that, Gu Tianci fell silent and waited for Lin Yi.