Jiang Kai noted down the location of the Bewildering Mist Zone, then followed Luo Yan and the others to leave the Ghost Prison Ground.
On the way, several War Gods showed great interest in Hu Yan's geomancy skills.
Luo Yan said, "With the ruins of the Hidden Goddess and the God of War appearing one after another, we have reason to believe there are more divine relics on Ghost Star."
"Before, we all overlooked the capabilities of geomancers in this area, but only now do we realize that Huaxia players actually have a natural advantage!"
Hu Yan, however, shook his head. "To be honest, finding the God of War's ruins this time had little to do with my geomancy. All I could deduce was that this was a great place of power, but all you War Gods, including some wanderers, already knew that much."
"As geomancers, we can't predict unknown regions. We can only make deductions about areas with maps already in hand. But once you already have a map, you should more or less know whether a place is dangerous or not."
After hearing this, Luo Yan thought for a moment, then smiled. "Hu Yan, don't be so modest. Geomancers can still see things the rest of us can't."
"In short, as the development of Ghost Star deepens, the position of geomancers may well rise higher and higher."
This time, Hu Yan didn't say anything more.
As a geomancer, he naturally hoped the status of his profession could improve.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few beasts, but the War Gods could easily slay ordinary ones.
With War Gods leading the way, four days later Jiang Kai and his group returned to Huaxia City.
After arriving back, Jiang Kai discovered that his reputation was far greater than the last time he'd been here.
From afar, many people were already whispering about him and his Fire God Squad.
"Hey, Jiang Kai of Huaxia, good job!" A gate guard shouted to Jiang Kai while pounding his chest and pointing at him in a cool manner.
"Uh…" Jiang Kai felt a little awkward. A stranger greeting him with such enthusiasm—should he gesture back or something…
"Jiang Kai, don't worry, when the national war comes, I'll protect you!" a young man shouted to him.
Jiang Kai frowned.
Am I really close with him? Why say something so ambiguous?
"Jiang Kai, rest assured, with us around, no one can touch you!" Several more people called out to him.
Jiang Kai glanced at his teammates. What the hell, was he about to become some sort of protected animal now?
Luo Yan looked at Jiang Kai's confused expression and laughed. "Jiang Kai, the commotion outside is even worse than you imagined. On international forums, many foreign players are discussing killing you first."
Jiang Kai frowned, not sure what to say.
Luo Ping was already waiting for Jiang Kai at military headquarters.
"Uncle Luo," Zhao Tiequan greeted.
"Little Quan, I see you too. Looks like your three years of training in the unknown zone really paid off," Luo Ping said warmly.
Jiang Kai frowned and looked at Zhao Tiequan. "Don't tell me Luo God is also your relative."
"Though we're not that closely related, I do have to call him uncle. Uncle Luo watched me grow up," Zhao Tiequan scratched his head.
"…Alright, you win." Jiang Kai was thoroughly defeated by Zhao Tiequan's powerful background.
After affirming the Fire God Squad's performance, Luo Ping finally pulled Jiang Kai aside alone.
"Jiang Kai, in the national war, prioritizing the killing of a National Soul bearer is nearly inevitable."
Jiang Kai nodded. "I know. I'll just have to be careful when the time comes."
"I'm afraid being careful won't be enough…" Luo Ping looked worried. "We've gotten reliable intel: at least seventeen countries have already formed special task forces. Their mission is specifically to figure out how to kill you!"
Jiang Kai helplessly shook his head. "If they want to study me, there's nothing I can do."
Luo Ping said, "The National Soul enhances the stats of every participant in the national war. Even if it's just a 10% boost, no matter how high your attributes are, you can't compare with the overall increase of hundreds of thousands, even millions of troops."
"So, your survival is no longer just your own matter."
Jiang Kai sighed. Luo God was right. In the national war, no individual could ever be more important than the Huaxia army as a whole.
"Luo God, so what's the plan you called me here for? Some sort of tactical arrangement?"
"There are two things," Luo Ping said. "First, if possible, try venturing into the Endless Abyss again. If you can open the Transcendent stage of the Endless Abyss, that would be ideal."
"Second, you may need to undergo special training. The goal is to give you enough self-protection ability when facing assassination. At the very least, so you won't be killed instantly."
Jiang Kai frowned. "What level of special training?"
"Starting with the regional War God Hall level, then the Huaxia War God Hall level," Luo Ping added. "Of course, once the national war starts, we'll assign people to guard you closely."
"For now, our plan is for you to avoid combat as much as possible. Providing stable National Soul buffs is what matters most."
Jiang Kai thought for a moment, then said, "Luo God, aren't we being a little too cautious? The national war isn't Huaxia one-on-one against the entire world. If it really was, I think I could guarantee my own safety."
Luo Ping shook his head. "Let me ask you this: can you dodge the attack of a super expert with thirty thousand agility? Or more importantly, can you dodge ten ferocious strikes coming at you simultaneously from all directions?"
Jiang Kai thought about it, then shook his head. "The first case is easier. The second one, avoiding all the attacks would be very difficult."
"Exactly," Luo Ping said. "Once you're in a perilous situation, anything could happen. You can't guarantee your own safety."
"As for whether the national war will be one-on-one or a free-for-all, the rules aren't out yet, so we don't know. But either way, your survival is worth far more than you personally killing hundreds or thousands of people!"
Indeed, from Luo Ping's perspective, what he said was absolutely true.
Since this was the military's arrangement, Jiang Kai didn't argue. As long as Huaxia could win the national war, whether he fought or not didn't matter.
"Luo God, my level hasn't hit the cap yet. I'd like to focus on leveling up first."
"What level are you now?"
"Tier Four, Level Two."
"Wha…What? You're not max level yet?"
"Nope."
Luo Ping took a deep breath. "Alright then. I didn't expect you still had room to grow. But I can only give you three months. After that, you must join the War God Hall's special training!"
Jiang Kai sighed. Three months less to grind money.
"Fine. Luo God, what about the rewards this time…"
"The villa—you can log off and go directly to the sales office, someone will receive you. The other rewards have already been sent to your guild," Luo Ping smiled. "Don't tell me you're afraid I'll cheat you out of it?"
"No, no, just making sure… I'll log off first then, pick the villa. My brother's about to take the Player Trial soon."
"Oh, right. Your brother already passed the Player Trial," Luo Ping said.
Jiang Kai's eyes widened. "He—he already passed? Then he's on Ghost Star now?"
"Yes. But…" Luo Ping hesitated, which only made Jiang Kai more curious, staring hard at him.
"We can't locate his current position."
"…What do you mean? He didn't go to District 18, didn't join the Main God Guild?"
Luo Ping shook his head. "After the Player Trial ended, Jiang Fang took him away from the player group, and then no one knows where they went."
"I've already asked the nearby main cities—no sign of your brother. Even Jiangzhong City has no record of him dying or logging off."
"What?" Jiang Kai was utterly shocked. His big brother came to Ghost Star and didn't even come to find him? Not only that, but now he had vanished!
Where did big brother and Jiang Fang go?
And also, what class did his big brother change into?
......…
Thirty miles north of Huaxia Zone Three's border.
This was the unknown area north of Huaxia territory.
Two people were trudging through dense jungle.
"Jiang Lan, I think your leveling speed is faster than your brother's," Jiang Fang said, brushing aside shrubs and leading the person behind him deeper into the forest.
"And from the attribute increases after you leveled up, I think if your body weren't damaged, your true starting attributes might have been all four at the rare level."
"Jiang Lan, seriously, four rare attributes? I've never seen that even in the War God Hall. I really wonder, just how strong were you before?!"
The man following behind was none other than Jiang Lan.
Interestingly, at this moment Jiang Lan was taller by two or three centimeters compared to when he first entered Ghost Star, and his body no longer looked so frail.
Jiang Lan smiled. "I'm just lucky. With a War God from another star beating beasts half to death, I just finish them off. Hard not to level quickly."
Jiang Fang chuckled. "Mainly, I want to see you display your starting talent."
Jiang Lan smiled faintly. "You know as well as I do, at Tier One my talent was incomplete. I still can't use it. I must hurry and raise my profession level."
"In the national war, Jiang Kai will definitely become everyone's target. I must quickly grow stronger to protect him!"
Jiang Fang's smile faded. "The military will definitely do everything they can to protect Jiang Kai. You don't need to. You'd better protect yourself. If your class is exposed, your situation will be very bad."
Jiang Lan shook his head. "Jiang Kai and Jiang Ying, I'll protect them myself. I don't trust anyone else."
"Even if it means going against the whole world, I won't hesitate!"
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