[Chapter 49]
Although that 'intent' was very, very small, almost negligible, Luo Zheng's soul had been tempered, and after he comprehended the Selfless Realm, he was very sensitive to this kind of 'intent', so he was able to sense this' intent '.
What puzzled Luo Zheng was that this dragon head was clearly just a sculpture carved out of a large stone by an artisan. It was not a living thing, so why could it emit "intent"?
After thinking for a while, Luo Zheng could not figure it out. He put this question aside for the time being and followed everyone into the Dragon Castle.
Inside the Dragon Castle, torches made of kerosene were everywhere. They were burning fiercely, and from time to time, crackling sounds could be heard.
Under the illumination of the flames, the dark Dragon Castle was brightly lit.
Lu Xiao led everyone to a building in the Dragon Castle and then said to everyone, "You can rest here today. It should not be the first time that many of you have accepted a mission. You know the rules of the Dragon Castle. If you want to follow our Imperial Army to hunt the saber insects, you can wait here tomorrow. If you want to act on your own, you can leave at any time!"
Hearing Lu Xiao's words, many of the Blue Cloud Sect's disciples had different expressions.
Four of them took the initiative to stand out. One of them cupped his hands towards Lu Xiao and said, "Brother Lu, thank you for helping us out today. We have decided to act on our own."
Lu Xiao waved his hand and said straightforwardly, "Go ahead!"
The four people cupped their hands towards the other Blue Cloud Sect disciples and then left.
After the four people left, more disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect chose to leave. In a short while, hundreds of Blue Cloud Sect disciples had all left.
Other than Luo Zheng, there were only three others.
It was Luo Zheng's first time participating in the insect tide mission. There was no one else he could cooperate with. Now, it seemed that it was not a bad thing to act with the Imperial Army.
As for the others who were willing to stay, they naturally had their own reasons.
Luo Zheng noticed that the ponytailed youth who had saved him on the giant flying chariot had also stayed.
Seeing that four people were willing to stay, Lu Xiao's attitude became much more polite. He said to Luo Zheng and the others, "Please come in!" After that, he turned around and shouted to the soldiers who were standing neatly behind him, "Today's mission has been completed. Brothers, you are free to move about!"
After the soldiers were dismissed, Lu Xiao accompanied the four of them into the building.
It turned out that this gray building was a tavern.
Luo Zheng walked in. A strong smell of alcohol, sweat, and smoke hit him in the face.
Luo Zheng and the other Blue Cloud Sect disciples couldn't help but frown.
Their reactions were all within Lu Xiao's expectations. He laughed and said, "My friends, the Imperial Army is stationed in the Dragon Castle. We live a life of danger. Naturally, it can't be compared to the life in the Imperial Capital. Please forgive us."
The Imperial Army was stationed here, fighting monsters all day long. Under such a harsh environment, even the most delicate people would be tempered to be rough.
"There's no need to be forgiven. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you want to live a comfortable life, why would you come to the Dragon Castle?" The ponytailed youth laughed.
"That's good, that's good." Then Lu Xiao found a table and shouted at the top of his voice, "Waiter, get your old guy a jar!"
The old guy Lu Xiao was talking about was a big jar of old wine. The jar had been thrown in the corner for many years and was covered with a thick layer of dust. The waiter didn't even wipe it. He just opened the lid and poured the wine on the table.
This "old guy" didn't look good, but when poured out, it was rich and fragrant.
After the waiter filled the wine cups and the few people casually made a toast, Lu Xiao could not wait to drink the wine in one gulp. Then, he licked his lips and said, "I haven't asked for your names, my friends!"
Luo Zheng and the others said their names.
"Luo Zheng."
"Zhao Xuyong!"
"Yang Tai!"
"Meng Changjun."
After everyone introduced themselves, Luo Zheng knew that the ponytailed youth's name was Meng Changjun.
Lu Xiao wrote down the names of the four people, then picked up the wine glass, "You are willing to stay and help our Qinglan team. On behalf of the soldiers, I thank you!"
"Brother Lu Xiao, you're too polite. We stayed because it's more convenient to hunt the blade insects." Luo Zheng finished the wine, put down the wine cup, and then asked, "I thought that it might be more profitable to hunt blade insects with the Imperial Army, but I don't know why the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect don't want to?"
Just now, Luo Zheng also had some doubts. The Emperor Army obviously had a unique set of methods to deal with the blade insects, but the disciples of the Emerald Sky Sect were afraid of mixing with the Emperor Army. Could it be that there was some taboo in it?
Being asked this question, Lu Xiao was obviously stunned. He then said, "Brother Luo Zheng, this should be your first time in the Dragon Castle, right?"
Luo Zheng nodded, then Meng Changjun continued, "Brother Luo Zheng, you might not know, but the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect always hunt blade insects in teams of four or five people. They work together, which is very efficient. Moreover, the rewards are all kept in their own pockets. If you follow the Imperial Army, sometimes you have to follow the team, which is quite restrictive. Sometimes, the Imperial Army will ask you to share a portion of the crystal cores with them. In such a situation, are you willing to act freely or follow the Imperial Army? "
Hearing Meng Changjun's explanation, Luo Zheng suddenly understood.
Most of the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect probably felt that the efficiency of cooperating with the Imperial Army was too slow, so they were unwilling to act with the Imperial Army.
However, Meng Changjun did not make one thing clear to Luo Zheng.
Most of the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect looked down on the Imperial Army. Compared to the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect who were at the Half-step to Innate Realm or even Innate Realm experts, the Imperial Army was much weaker.
For example, the Centurion Lu Xiao was only at the Half-step to Innate Realm. Lu Xiao's subordinates were a mix of good and bad, with soldiers at the Bone Refining Realm, Viscera Refining Realm, and Marrow Refining Realm.
This kind of disdain went both ways. The Imperial Army did not think highly of the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect. They thought that they were arrogant, undisciplined, and undisciplined …
However, the strength of the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect was obvious. Therefore, they were still welcomed by the Imperial Army. If they could temporarily join the Imperial Army, they would be of great help. This was also the reason why Lu Xiao wanted to treat them to drinks.
"Meng Changjun, why are you willing to follow the Qinglan Team?" Luo Zheng could not understand this. Luo Zheng did not understand the situation in the Dragon Castle, which was why he stayed.
Unexpectedly, Meng Changjun shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "I came to the Dragon Castle to travel. I don't care about crystal cores or points …"
After hearing Meng Changjun's explanation, Luo Zheng was speechless. Just as he was about to ask why he didn't care about points, a voice sounded from the table beside them.
"Hehe, I was just saying that the Blue Cloud Sect has a great reputation. Every one of them is someone who can seize the fortune of heaven and earth. Who would have thought that I would see a fledgling today?" A rough voice sounded.
Luo Zheng and the others turned their heads and saw that the speaker was a big bearded man. The big bearded man was facing Luo Zheng's table and shaking his head.
Everyone quickly understood who the "fledgling" the bearded man was referring to.
Among the four disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect, Meng Changjun was an expert at the Innate Mystic Realm. Zhao Xuyong and Yang Tai were Half-step to Innate Realm. Only Luo Zheng was at the Marrow Refining Realm. Therefore, Luo Zheng was the "fledgling".
"Old Wu, you are spouting nonsense after drinking two cups of horse piss. Sit back down and continue drinking. Don't cause trouble!" Lu Xiao frowned and said to the bearded man. He then turned to Luo Zheng and said, "This guy forgot his surname after drinking a little. He likes to spout nonsense!"
Luo Zheng nodded lightly, indicating that he didn't mind. He never minded others underestimating his strength.
However, Old Wu ignored Lu Xiao. He actually left his seat and walked towards Luo Zheng. He said, "Lu Xiao, did I say anything wrong? The Blue Cloud Sect is known as the number one sect in the world. Is their talent withering now? They actually sent a junior at the Marrow Refining Realm here. Don't you think it's funny? "
Everyone in the tavern put down the wine glasses in their hands, and their gazes gathered in unison.
These Imperial Army soldiers didn't have much to do on a daily basis. Now that there was a show to watch, all of them were naturally interested.
What's more, most of them didn't like the Blue Cloud Sect's disciples. Old Wu finding trouble with the Blue Cloud Sect's disciples was indeed something they were happy to see.
In order to calm the situation, Lu Xiao scolded Old Wu and told him to calm down. On the other hand, he said to Luo Zheng, "Brother Luo Zheng, don't take it to heart. Old Wu had some conflicts with the Blue Cloud Sect's disciples some time ago. He was a little angry, so he spoke like this …"
"Angry? What? Are those Blue Cloud Sect's disciples worthy of making me angry? Lu Xiao, don't try to smooth things over here! " Old Wu didn't buy Lu Xiao's words at all. He said to Luo Zheng, "Kid, if you have the guts, come and spar with me. Let me see the domineering aura of the Blue Cloud Sect's disciples!"
Luo Zheng wasn't moved by this blatant provocation.
Luo Zheng accepted the mission to kill the Blade Bugs to accumulate points. On the other hand, it was to train himself and let him grow faster.
He had no interest in this kind of meaningless dispute.
Meng Changjun, who was sitting next to him, also had an indifferent expression. He didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing.
Instead, it was Zhao Xuyong and Yang Tai who couldn't take it anymore.
"If you want to see the domineering aura of the Blue Cloud Sect, I, Zhao Xuyong, am willing to accompany you!" Zhao Xuyong stood up with a crash.
"You Imperial Army soldiers are really promising. You're a half-step to the Xiantian Realm, while Brother Luo Zheng is only at the Marrow Refining Realm. You're picking on the weak?" Yang Tai said with a face full of ridicule.
In fact, Yang Tai's words could be considered as admitting that Luo Zheng's strength was indeed too low. Although Yang Tai wanted to protect Luo Zheng, he didn't consider Luo Zheng's feelings.
Luo Zheng originally didn't care. He didn't care how others looked at him.
The problem was that the people on the table were very likely to be his future comrades. He couldn't appear too weak. Thus, he stood up and stood in front of Yang Tai and Zhao Xuyong. "My two dear friends, since the other party is here for me, let me deal with this matter."