108: Chapter 108 The Soul of the Righteous Army, the Fourth Scroll of the Gods!

The rainy night was dark as ink, and the wild wind whirled withered leaves around Qin Ji's feet.

He was in no hurry to head deep into the Black Wind Mountain Range. Instead, he stopped by a withered ancient tree and glanced back at the royal city, where a defensive grand array was slowly rising.

The chess piece known as Princess was now completely useless—or rather, he had personally scrapped her to be rebuilt from scratch.

“To break this deadlock, relying on those two princesses who are still engaged in internal strife is a lost cause.”

Qin Ji lightly stroked the edge of his Storage Ring, a hint of calculation flashing in his purple-gold pupils. Since that old fogey Abra was already on alert, there would surely be a wave of purges targeting the 'Snow Emperor' next.

Going head-to-head wasn't impossible, but it was unnecessary.

As a person of Rebirth, what he excelled at most was finding shortcuts within the cracks of the rules.

“For the prerequisite mission scrolls of the Blessing of the Gods, I currently have three: Old Man under the Moon, God of Wealth, and Empress Houtu. Seven more to go.”

Qin Ji quickly constructed a web of character relationships in his mind.

Princess has one, Qing Fuyun has one, the recently returned Princess Leona has one, Queen Fiodingyu, King Abra, Prime Minister Colosso, Grand Marshal Lorraine Muyuan... These seven people most likely each hold one.

All of them are tough nuts to crack.

Especially King Abra; the timing isn't ripe yet to pull teeth from that old lion's mouth.

“Let the bullets fly for a while longer.”

Qin Ji withdrew his gaze, a playful arc curling at the corner of his mouth. Since the situation in the royal city had already been muddied, he would first go get that '1.5' walkthrough point.

In his memories of his past life, that was a hidden spot that was extremely easy to overlook yet crucially important.

“Return to city.”

With a flash of white light, Qin Ji's figure instantly vanished from the spot.

...

Origin Royal City, Commercial District.

Although it was late at night, the commercial district was still brightly lit.

Qin Ji didn't go to those luxuriously decorated equipment shops; instead, he walked straight into an inconspicuous general store.

“Boss, Town Portal Scrolls, I want a hundred of them.”

The NPC boss, who was dozing off on the counter, was startled. He rubbed his bleary eyes, and after seeing clearly who had come, he suddenly jolted awake.

“A hundred? Customer, this is...”

*Thud.*

A large bag of gold coins smashed heavily onto the counter, making a dull sound. The mouth of the bag fell open, and the glittering golden light almost blinded the boss.

“Is it enough?” Qin Ji's tone was flat.

“Enough! More than enough!” The boss nodded like a woodpecker and nimbly began packing.

At this stage, where ordinary players were still haggling over a few silver coins, a Town Portal Scroll costing one gold coin was something commoners simply couldn't afford. But to Qin Ji, this was just a drop in the bucket.

Next, Qin Ji swept through the nearby potion shop.

Finally, he stopped in front of a tavern.

“Bring out all the rice wine you have in stock.”

The tavern waiter froze for a moment and asked cautiously, “My lord, do you want the aged fine wine? We have the best...”

“No.” Qin Ji waved his hand, his gaze sweeping past those exquisite glass bottles, finally pointing to those turbid liquids stored in coarse ceramic jars in the corner. “I want this kind—the strongest, the most rustic, the kind that commoners love to drink most.”

He also wanted meat.

Large chunks of braised beef, whole roasted chickens, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and even several large bags of coarse salt.

The surrounding players were dumbfounded.

“Holy crap, is that Snow Emperor? Why is he buying so many daily necessities? Is he going to open a supermarket?”

“You don't get it, do you? You don't understand the world of a Great God. Maybe this is a trigger condition for some hidden quest!”

Qin Ji ignored the surrounding chatter and swept the mountain of supplies into his backpack.

The people in that place didn't lack money or equipment; what they lacked were these items that carried the most scent of everyday life.

...

Returning once again to the edge of the Black Wind Mountain Range, Qin Ji did not choose to walk.

*Crack—*

A crisp sound of freezing rang out.

The Void Realm behind him suddenly distorted, and a pair of crystal-clear profound ice wings emitting a bone-chilling cold Aura snapped open.

【profound ice wings】!

This special piece of equipment that could grant players the ability to fly was an absolute dimensional strike at this stage.

*Whoosh—*

The air surged, and Qin Ji rose straight from the ground, turning into a streak of light as he swept rapidly over the treetops.

Flying not only allowed him to ignore terrain, but more importantly, it was fast.

In a straight line, the rugged mountain roads that would have originally required hours of detouring now receded rapidly beneath his feet.

During this process, Qin Ji's gaze remained coldly fixed on the ground below.

After the Cataclysm in his past life, he had seen too much of the ugliness of human nature. To survive, some sold their Soul to join the Aleit Star System, while others stabbed people in the back.

But it was precisely because of this that the group of people hiding deep within the Black Wind Mountain Range seemed particularly precious.

The rebels of the Star Kingdom.

No, to be precise, they should be called—the Rebel Army.

In that battle years ago, three thousand Star elites faced twenty thousand enemy troops. They decapitated eleven thousand, forcibly repelling the enemy's offensive, and in the end, fewer than three hundred survived.

Every single one of them was a battle-hardened man who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

But what was the result?

Upon returning to the royal city, what awaited them were not flowers and medals, but only perfunctory verbal praise, and even the pensions for the fallen were embezzled layer by layer.

The remaining two hundred-plus veterans were completely disheartened. In a fit of rage, they rebelled against the royal city and became outlaws in the wild.

“If I were to establish a kingdom in the future, this group would be the best foundation.”

Qin Ji thought to himself. He didn't consider himself a good person, but he respected such pure warriors.

Suddenly.

Qin Ji, who was flying at high speed, paused. His profound ice wings gave a sudden flap, and he drew a sharp braking arc in the air, landing steadily within a seemingly ordinary dense forest.

This place looked no different from the surrounding primeval jungle.

It was overgrown with weeds and brambles.

But in Qin Ji's eyes, which could perceive everything, every broken branch and every piece of overturned soil here revealed traces of human activity.

Moreover, they were experts.

Almost the moment he landed, a faint, indistinct killing intent locked onto his throat, heart, and the back of his head.

At least twenty powerful bows and crossbows were aimed at him from the shadows.

Qin Ji's expression remained unchanged; he didn't even take out a weapon. He just casually brushed the dew from his sleeves and said loudly:

“My name is Snow Emperor, and I am an Adventurer. I heard that a group of indomitable heroes lives in these mountains, and I have come specifically to ask for a cup of wine.”

His voice wasn't loud, but with the enhancement of spiritual power, it spread clearly across a hundred-meter radius.

Dead silence.

There was no response from the jungle, only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Qin Ji wasn't embarrassed either. With a flick of his wrist, those coarse ceramic wine jars sealed with red clay appeared out of thin air, neatly arranged on the empty ground in front of him.

Next came the braised beef and roasted chicken wrapped in oil paper, along with those bags of coarse salt, which were more precious than gold to wilderness survivors.

He slapped open a wine seal.

A strong, pungent aroma of wine instantly permeated the damp forest.

This was the lowest quality rice wine, but to those men who hid in the deep mountains year-round and whose mouths had long since become tasteless, this was nectar and ambrosia.

*Gulp.*

In the shadows, someone seemed to swallow a mouthful of saliva with extreme restraint.

Finally, the bushes ahead shook.

A burly man over two meters tall, with a bare upper body and muscles bulging like granite, strode out. He wore a tattered animal skin, a hideous scar ran across his face, and he carried a giant axe the size of a door panel.

Those tiger-like eyes stared fixedly at Qin Ji, then glanced at the wine and meat on the ground, his voice booming like muffled thunder:

“Are you that Snow Emperor who went on a killing spree in the royal city and single-handedly slew the nine Silver Generals of the Wo Family?”

Qin Ji nodded slightly, meeting his gaze calmly. “That's right.”

“What courage!”

The burly man slammed his giant axe onto the ground, causing it to tremble. “While in the territory of the Star Kingdom, you killed the royal family's generals and still dare to swagger into this Black Wind Mountain Range. Are you not afraid of death?”

“Afraid of death?”

Qin Ji chuckled, casually grabbed a jar of wine, and tilted his head back to take a swig, letting the liquid trickle down the corners of his mouth. “That group of trash from the Wo Family helped a tyrant and preyed on the people. Killing them was doing justice for Heaven. As for death...”

He put down the wine jar, his gaze suddenly becoming as sharp as a blade. “The person who can kill me hasn't been born yet.”

“Hahahaha! Well said!”

The burly man laughed toward the sky, the wariness in his eyes fading by more than half, replaced by the appreciation of encountering a kindred spirit. “I hate those sophisticated, sour scholars the most. You look fair and clean, kid, but this temper of yours suits my appetite!”

He wasn't polite either, stepping forward to grab a jar of wine, slapping off the clay seal, and pouring it into his mouth.

“Refreshing!”

The burly man wiped the wine stains from his mouth and gave Qin Ji a deep look. “However, one doesn't visit a temple without a reason. You brought so many good things today; surely it's not just to treat us wanted criminals to a drink?”

“I want to become stronger.”

Qin Ji didn't beat around the bush and said directly, “Within the system of the Star Kingdom, I see no hope. There is only intrigue and flattery there. I heard there is an iron army here that once broke twenty thousand with three thousand. I think that from you, I might find what I want.”

He didn't directly mention the scroll.

When dealing with this kind of straightforward warrior, exposing one's utilitarianism too early would be a clumsy move. Talk about strength first, then talk about the deal.

Hearing this, the smile on the burly man's face gradually faded, revealing a complex sense of world-weariness.

“Become stronger... Heh, in this world, what if you become stronger? You'll still be ordered around like a dog.”

He shook his head self-mockingly, then looked at Qin Ji. “Snow Emperor, you're candid enough. I won't hide it from you either; there are indeed many experts in my stronghold. Especially that blind old archer, who holds an Earth-Grade hidden class transition scroll. Just based on your 'nomination gift' of killing those nine dogs of the Wo Family, I can make the decision to give that scroll to you.”

An Earth-Grade hidden class.

Outside, this would be enough to make any guild fight to the death over it, even triggering a guild war.

But Qin Ji just calmly shook his head.

“What? You look down on it?” The burly man's brow furrowed, his tone somewhat displeased.

“It's not that I look down on it, but that I have something I want even more.”

Qin Ji took a step forward, his eyes burning as he stared into the burly man's eyes, saying word by word:

“I heard that the leader holds an ancient scroll named... Blessing of the Gods.”

The moment those words fell, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

The burly man's hand, which had been reaching for the beef, froze in mid-air. His eyes, which had been somewhat hazy with drink, instantly became clear, and then erupted with a suffocating, terrifying Aura of pressure.

“Do you know what that thing is?”

The burly man's voice was frighteningly low, like a Vicious Beast whose territory had been encroached upon.

“I know.”

Qin Ji's expression didn't change, and he didn't even blink. He just stood there quietly, letting the other's Aura crash against him like a tsunami.

“It is the key to the divine throne, and also the root of disaster.”

The burly man slowly stood up straight, his massive shadow completely enveloping Qin Ji.

“Kid, since you know about this thing, you should understand that to take it away, just these few jars of wine and few pounds of meat are far from enough.”

The corners of Qin Ji's mouth curled up slightly, and he slowly raised his right hand. In his palm, a cluster of brilliant ice-blue light was slowly condensing—it wasn't a precursor to an attack, but a display of strength.

“That's why I came.”

“Not just wine and meat; I also brought the hope that will allow you to see the light of day again, and... the power that will make those decadent nobles of the Star Kingdom tremble.”

A night wind rose abruptly, making the campfire crackle and roar. The firelight reflected on the two men's faces, flickering. The burly man stared fixedly at Qin Ji's fearless purple-gold eyes, the half-drunk wine jar in his hand creaking under his grip. The turbid liquid dripped through his fingers onto the parched earth. In this tense moment, it felt as if even the passage of time had become viscous.