The force behind Divine Weapon Workshop is the "Six Paths Alliance," a superpower that no other force dares to offend easily.
Now, seeing that the "Beast Tide" outside the city poses no more threat to Zhenyue Immortal City, if they want to leave the city, Ren Tianxing, the City Lord of Zhenyue Immortal City, indeed cannot forcibly keep them inside.
After all, even the Kunwu Sect, which he relies on, is insignificant before the entire "Six Paths Alliance."
However, although Ren Tianxing cannot forcefully retain the people of Divine Weapon Workshop, he placed restrictions on their numbers for leaving the city, allowing them to recruit no more than ten cultivators as guards for the merchant caravan.
With only ten slots, Divine Weapon Workshop naturally had to choose the most capable cultivators from those wanting to apply as guards for their caravan.
Thus, before leaving the city, Zhouyang first dueled with several cultivators.
With his current means, any cultivator below Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment was hardly a match for him, so the outcome of these duels was naturally without any suspense.
When the ten guard selections were finalized, he unsurprisingly became the only mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator among them.
"Impressive, impressive, I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist Zhou to have such excellent means despite his cultivation being not so high. I was truly mistaken back then!"
In the dueling ground arranged by Divine Weapon Workshop, when Zhouyang consecutively defeated two competitors, Hua Yuerong, the female shopkeeper overseeing the competition, had a look of amazement flash across her charming face and praised him continuously with eyes shining brightly.
Dong Jianping, who was also watching the battle, heard her words and sighed wryly, "Isn’t that right! Fellow Daoist Hua, you haven’t fought at the city wall. Otherwise, if you knew that during this beast tide, over twenty Tier Three Demon Beasts died by Brother Zhou’s hands, you’d understand just how formidable Brother Zhou’s strength truly is!"
What he didn’t say was that Zhouyang could even subdue Tier Three High-Grade Demon Beast Eagle Lion Beast, so his real combat power was definitely not as simple as currently shown.
Yet, the fact Zhouyang subdued the Eagle Lion Beast was a secret known only to the two of them, and without Zhouyang’s permission, he naturally wouldn’t spill the beans and bring trouble to Zhouyang.
But even so, the accomplishments he described deeply astonished Hua Yuerong.
"Is what Fellow Daoist Dong said true?"
Hua Yuerong looked at Dong Jianping with a moved demeanor, her voice trembling slightly.
One person slaying twenty to thirty Tier Three Demon Beasts in this "Beast Tide" is a feat that, even among all currently surviving Foundation Establishment cultivators in the city, only a few top-tier Ninth-Layer cultivators could achieve.
Zhouyang, with trivial Fifth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivation, having such accomplishments is astonishing, even making Hua Yuerong, a cultivator from a renowned clan, find it hard to believe upon hearing.
"Fellow Daoist Hua, don’t be fooled by Brother Dong. Zhou slayed many Demon Beasts, but that was under collaboration with him at the city wall, and many were killed using the [Demon-Hunting Divine Crossbow]!"
Just as Dong Jianping was about to confirm to Hua Yuerong that he wasn’t lying, Zhouyang, with powerful Divine Sense, heard their conversation and walked over in time to interrupt what Dong Jianping wanted to say.
Understanding Zhouyang’s intention from his words, Dong Jianping immediately showed an apologetic expression to Zhouyang and laughed, "Hahaha, look how Fellow Daoist Hua was scared! If Brother Zhou truly had that strength, why would he be willing to leave Zhenyue Immortal City instead of staying here to kill Demon Beasts for Spirit Stones?"
"Is it really like this?"
Hua Yuerong looked at Dong Jianping suspiciously, then at Zhouyang, obviously having little faith in Dong Jianping’s words.
However, Zhouyang didn’t wish to continue the topic with her and promptly changed the subject, "Since Zhou has obtained the guard position, I’d like to ask when is the exact departure date from Fellow Daoist Hua?"
Being a shopkeeper at Divine Weapon Workshop, Hua Yuerong was naturally skilled in handling social relations. As soon as Zhouyang expressed his unwillingness to discuss his strength further, she wisely dropped the matter and responded accordingly:
"It’s not urgent yet. Our Divine Weapon Workshop’s Elder Meng is currently in contact with Elder Jia Yunzhen. He’s trying to persuade Elder Jia to become the head of our merchant caravan guards. If negotiations go well, we’ll depart in a few days, and we’ll send a message to notify Fellow Daoist Zhou to join us!"
"Oh, if Elder Jia really agrees to accompany us, the caravan’s safety should no longer be a concern!"
Zhouyang’s eyes lit up, evidently very pleased with the information Hua Yuerong revealed.
Others might not be aware of Jia Yunzhen’s strength, but Zhouyang, who also practiced the "Great Derivation Sword Technique," understood it very well.
Especially since Jia Yunzhen had likely already mastered the "Bloodthirsty Demon Saber" secret technique obtained from him now.
With Jia Yunzhen’s overwhelming Blood Evil Qi, if he refined the "Bloodthirsty Demon Saber," the strike with that saber would certainly be earth-shattering!
"This still depends on Elder Jia’s wishes, after all, he has been in Zhenyue Immortal City for over a hundred years and has deep feelings for this city. To ask him to leave at this time would be very, very difficult!"
Hua Yuerong shook her head, seeming not very optimistic about persuading Jia Yunzhen to accompany them.
Following this, Zhouyang and Hua Yuerong discussed the rewards and obligations of accepting employment from the Divine Weapon Workshop, and then returned to the cave dwelling with the deposit of two thousand Spirit Stones given by Hua Yuerong along with Dong Jianping.
The criteria for recruiting guards at the Divine Weapon Workshop are stringent, but the remuneration is decent. Each selected guard receives a reward of six thousand Spirit Stones, which can be taken as Spirit Stones or by selecting a Tier Three Middle-grade Magical Artifact from the workshop.
Zhouyang chose Spirit Stones as his reward, so according to the rules, Hua Yuerong first paid him a third of the deposit.
"Brother Zhou, I sincerely apologize for my slip of the tongue earlier, almost leading to a grave mistake!"
In Zhouyang’s cave dwelling, as soon as Dong Jianping returned with Zhouyang, he immediately apologized for inadvertently revealing Zhouyang’s achievements earlier.
Upon hearing this, Zhouyang waved his hand graciously and said, "Brother Dong, there’s no need to blame yourself. I had not informed you earlier, nor should we dwell on it as it’s already in the past."
"Thank you for your understanding, Brother Zhou."
Dong Jianping expressed his gratitude, then a gleam flashed in his eyes as he suddenly said, "There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask for a long time, but never knew if I should. Now that Brother Zhou is soon to leave, and this might be our last meeting in this life, could you satisfy my curiosity?"
"Oh, what does Brother Dong wish to ask?" Zhouyang’s eyes narrowed, his expression turning serious as he looked at Dong Jianping, a foreboding feeling arising in his heart.
Indeed, as soon as he said this, Dong Jianping continued, "Brother Zhou said it was your first time hunting Demon Beasts in the Broken Cloud Mountain Range with me. It seems likely, yet your true origins might not be as you claimed, just some family cultivator from Liuyun Continent, right?"
"I find it hard to understand which clan’s Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm would be unaware of the Beast Taming Sect or the Demonic Soul Contract. Furthermore, your actions in certain places since entering the city have been puzzling."
"So, Brother Zhou, you are not from our Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm!"
"Am I right?"
Silence.
Zhouyang looked at Dong Jianping with a calm expression and did not speak.
He rarely interacted with other cultivators in Zhenyue Immortal City, so it was natural that others couldn’t discern his origins, but Dong Jianping, having personally brought him out of the Broken Cloud Mountain Range and being the cultivator he’s interacted with the most in recent years, could detect anomalies in him and guess his true identity, which wasn’t all that surprising.
It’s no wonder that Dong Jianping, as a loose cultivator who successfully reached Foundation Establishment and progressed to his current realm, would possess such observational skills and judgment.
However, Zhouyang had not anticipated Dong Jianping would ask this question at this moment, making it difficult for him to respond.
Still, his silence spoke volumes, and Dong Jianping understood the answer.
With a gentle nod and a solemn expression, he said, "I understand. Brother Zhou doesn’t need to elaborate. Everyone has their secrets, and I, Dong Jianping, am no exception."
"Rest assured, Brother Zhou, about your true identity, even my son will never know, and I swear by my Dao Heart never to reveal it to a third party in this life!"
"Lastly, Brother Zhou, you saved me from peril multiple times. Although I’m just a loose cultivator, I know the gratitude for a drop of water should be repaid in kind; let alone a life-saving grace? This is my token of appreciation, please do not refuse!"
After speaking, Dong Jianping suddenly patted his storage bag, took out a jade box, opened it, and handed it to Zhouyang.
Looking into it, Zhouyang saw inside the jade box a jade scroll and a glimmering Tier Four Lower-Grade Spirit Talisman.
"This jade scroll records a secret technique for concealing one’s aura, which I obtained on an adventure in my early years. This secret technique has been indispensable in my successful hunts of Demon Beasts and collection of Spirit Elixirs in the Broken Cloud Mountain Range over the years!"
"As for this Tier Four Lower-Grade Spirit Talisman, the Wood God Escape Talisman, I purchased it over ten years ago fearing encounters with Tier Four Demon Beasts in the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, but thankfully, I’ve never had to use it!"
As Dong Jianping explained the origin and purpose of these treasures in the jade box, he firmly placed the box into Zhouyang’s hands, smiling softly at Zhouyang’s bewildered expression, "I know family cultivators like Brother Zhou often view loose cultivators as unscrupulous people who forget favors for profit."
"I have no intention of debating this with you, for indeed, many loose cultivators fit that description, but what I want to tell you, Brother Zhou, is that I, Dong Jianping, have never betrayed anyone who has shown me kindness!"
"Now, I will take my leave. When Brother Zhou departs, I shall come again to bid you farewell!"
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