Chapter 923: Welcome Ceremony And Apt Traditions
After getting rid of the painful position of the Golden Sun City Lord and becoming a temporary guard, Feng Ji quickly played the role.
He first made a sailing route and handed it to Bao Gu, who presented it to Yue Yang.
He quickly returned to the City Lord’s mansion and brought out his long-legged Dromaeosaur beast that was also starving. Fortunately, the loyalty of this long-legged beast was not bad. In addition, there were many occurrences where Feng Ji would rather give the beast a portion of his meal and choose not to be full. Otherwise, after being hungry for a few months, no matter how good-tempered a beast was, it would most definitely run away.
“You’re not going to use this war beast to lead the way, are you?” Jia De, the Fat Toad, looked at it. He sweated profusely, thinking, can you get any poorer than this, City Lord?
“Where’s the flying beast?” Bao Gu also felt that Fengji, the City Lord, had accepted the position as a leader in vain!
“Ah, there is no flying beast, but, dare I say, as long as it is fed with a full stomach, it can run as fast as flying!” Feng Ji’s words made Zhong Guan and the others burst into tears with laughter. They thought that it was too much of a stroke of misfortune for a City Lord to end up in such a pitiful state. Finally, the speechless Fat Toad Jia De waved his hand and instructed his subordinates to prepare some food for Feng Ji and the long-legged Dromaeosaur.
Because Feng Ji’s food was served slightly slower, he didn’t care about many people watching from the side and devoured the raw meat along with the long-legged Dromaeosaur.
Jia De and Bao Gu turned around and didn’t want to look.
Even the reincarnation of a starving ghost would not behave like this… Seeing the bloody raw meat in front of their eyes, the Golden Sun City merchants such as Sha Tong and Ouba were also secretly swallowing their saliva.
Fortunately, they were more self-contained and had better control. In addition, they did not dare to be presumptuous in front of the honourable superiors, so they have to endure their hunger with all their might.
In the end, they finally waited until the barbecue was placed on the table. Then, they waited for Bao Gu to invite them to eat and immediately, they surrounded him impatiently. Everyone was tearing the meat with their hands, desperately trying to stuff them into their mouths.
Although Sha Tong, Ouba and the others devoured the meat readily, they had a better appearance and eating etiquette compared to Feng Ji. who had rolled his eyes after swallowing the food too quickly.
If it weren’t for his Quasi-Heaven Ranked strength, Feng Ji would have probably choked to death on the spot!
It’s not like Fat Toad Jia De had never seen starving, poor people before. In the former Thunder Fortress, before the Third Young Master took over the mine, there were dozens of slaves starved to death every day. It would have been odd if there weren’t at least a hundred people dying each day. However, in the legendary Heaven Realm where the strong would stroll around in pride; in a place like the Tong Tian Tower that was as hopeful as a world could get, it was truly a speechless fact to see people starving to this extent. Fat Toad Jia De dared to say that if those in the upper ranks of the Tong Tian Tower knew about this harsh truth, they would probably refuse to come to this part of the Heaven Realm even if they were invited with large sedan chairs.
After feasting on the big meal, the bellies of Feng Ji and the long-legged Dromaeosaur bulged as if they were pregnant.
It would be a miracle for them to be able to remain alive, let alone rush for time!
“Let’s match you with a flying beast!” Bao Gu didn’t want to wait for this guy to take a breather before starting his journey— he knew just how precious Yue Yang’s time was.
“No, no!” Feng Ji held his toothpick and burped his stomach. At the same time, he waved his hands to refuse, “There is no problem in rushing now. As long as my beast is full, it can run faster than most flying war beasts!”
“Bullshit, just do as I say. Zhong Guan, give him a flying dragon and have him set off immediately,” Jia De, the Fat Toad, commanded without the chance to refuse.
Although Yue Yang didn’t ask for it, Fat Toad Jia De would never allow anyone to waste his master’s precious time.
No matter how fast this war beast was when it ran, it was only running on the ground.
The ground was a bumpy road, so how could it compare to flights in the sky? If he were to encounter mountains and hills, it would take a much longer time to run on the ground to reach their destination. There are flying beasts here but he chose to use a four-legged beast? No, this beast travelled on its hind legs, which was equivalent to two legs… Could two legs fly faster than the sky?
When Feng Ji heard this, an embarrassed look suddenly appeared on his face.
Butler Sha Tong, who knew him well, stepped up and explained, “City Lord Feng Ji, ahem, I mean Guard Feng Ji, is afraid of heights. Unless there is a danger to his life and he is unable to avoid flying, he will not dare to fly at high altitudes.”
Bao Gu and Jia De listened to him before falling to the ground.
Good fellow, a Quasi-Heaven Ranked warrior who was unable to fly?! Forget about flying, he was even afraid of heights? Could this guy get any more unreasonable?
“If you weren’t specially hired by the master, I’d have already dragged you out to be buried alive,” Zhong Guan had never seen such a person in his life.
If it was due to the natural physical characteristics, such as a man of fire being afraid to enter water, or a water warrior being unable to enter areas of high temperatures, that much was understandable.
But a normal Cat Clan member being unable to fly seemed ridiculous.
Fortunately, he did not hail from a flying clan like the Eagle Clan or the Sparrow Clan. Otherwise, this brat would have been the janitor for the household by now!
After Yue Yang heard about it, he couldn’t help but laugh. The Heaven Realm was truly amazing— if a Quasi-Heaven Ranker couldn’t fly, it would be similar to an Innate powerhouse of the Tong Tian Tower being unable to fly. Not to mention, he has a fear of heights! Of course, because a warrior’s strength in the Tong Tian Tower was not granted upon birth but was cultivated, any Innate Ranker would definitely be able to fly… The Innate powerhouses of the Tong Tian Tower having subpar flight skills and speed would already be looked down upon, let alone having a fear of heights! Moreover, after reaching the 6th Innate Rank, life in the air shouldn’t feel different from that of the ground.
“Zhong Guan and the others will stay behind to cooperate with Bao Gu and Jia De in handling the Golden Sun City. The Electric Flower Ores are the key point, after all,” Yue Yang made a temporary decision. Instead of flying in a luxury airship, he would follow Feng Ji and take a walk around the Heavenly Splendour Territory. Maybe this way, he would be able to obtain more information and figure out the real reason behind the snake-haired demon man’s request of meeting him here.
Drunken Cat Yu Jie and Yue Yu entered Yue Yang’s Grimoire World.
The Heaven Realm Female Draconians and the luxurious airship temporarily stayed in the Golden Sun City and waited, whereas the Fat Toad Jia De and the others were separately busy with their own matters.
For the first time, Yue Yang and Princess Qian Qian, who were wearing the same style of platinum armour, appeared in front of Feng Ji for the first time. Seeing how the two were almost identical, Sha Tong and Ouba were stunned. Even Feng Ji, who had good eyesight, was a little unsure, “Please forgive my rudeness, but which one of you is Master Titan?”
Jia De, the Fat Toad, got angry on the spot, “I really think that you are a blind man— Master Titan is beside Madam, Princess Qian Qian. You don’t even know the most gallant Princess in the world, how am I expected to trust you as a road scouter? Even the blind are stronger than you are!”
In fact, it’s no wonder that Feng Ji couldn’t distinguish the difference between the two.
In Yue Yang’s Domain, no one could see through the truth. Plus, Princess Qian Qian and Yue Yang’s armours were the same as they had the vague image of deception of reality and falsehood. Unless one solved the mystery in the Gates of Life and Death or had the strength of an Innate Supreme, it was not possible to see through the deceptive appearance. What Fat Toad Jia De and the others saw, under Yue Yang’s control, was different from what Feng Ji could see. To be exact, there were even distinctions between what Feng Ji and Sha Tong and the others could perceive as well.
Feng Ji made Jia De come to a dismay, so he suddenly felt a little ashamed. But at the same time, he felt like Master Titan and Princess Qian Qian didn’t have very high levels when it came to their skills. It was odd because he initially thought that they would have been much stronger.
As the guards were even Level 3 Heaven Rankers, it would only make sense if they were at the very least 4th Level Heaven Rankers, right? Unexpectedly, at first glance, it seemed that they were inferior to him— using their current abilities to pass through the Wind-Stopping Swamp was going to be an impossible task.
Of course, Master Titan and Princess Qian Qian might have secretly hidden powers.
The two of them stood together, giving off a very strange vibe. They seemed to be very strong, yet very weak at the same time, so it was hard to guess.
Feng Ji decided to find out for himself.
Otherwise, it would be too late for him to regret it if they went to the Wind-Stopping Swamp without making sure.
It would be better to die now than to die in Wind-Stopping Swamp in vain. Moreover, if nobles like Master Titan and Princess Qian Qian were unfortunate enough to die because they led the way, not only would this party be executed, but the commoners of the Golden Sun City would probably be exterminated and buried with them… Feng Ji thought for a while to gather his courage before he bowed to Yue Yang and Princess Qian Qian, “Since the Master and Her Highness have entrusted me with the task of leading the way, then I am responsible to care for your safety. Before trying to pass through the Wind-stopping Swamp, I hope that the Master and Her Highness can show convincing skills. Otherwise, no one would be able to save them from the Wind-Stopping Swamp should unforeseen circumstances arise…”
“You want to test the Master’s skills?” Zhong Guan suddenly felt that this guy was a lunatic. If he wasn’t a lunatic, why would he leave the position of a City Lord improperly and become a guard? If he wasn’t a lunatic, how could he, as a guard, try to test his own Master’s strength? Is this something that he had the authority to do?
“You’re just courting death!” Hei Tu and Bai Ma were also very angry. As for the Hua Ban and the Flying Locust, they were ready to beat him up.
The identity of the Third Young Master shouldn’t be doubted by a mere guy like him.
He should have just stuck to being a proper pathfinder, but he chose to doubt the Third Young Master’s abilities? If the Third Young Master was not strong enough, would they leave everyone here to ensure their safety and advance to the Wind-stopping Swamp with Her Highness? He made this decision to show that he had enough confidence but Feng Ji doubted this instead— what a hopeless idiot!
Yue Yang waved his hand and asked Hua Ban and the others to retreat.
He made another gesture, “Come on, I’ll let you punch me and see if you can measure my strength!”
Feng Ji naturally knew that doing this would seem very disrespectful, but no matter how bad it was, it was much better than dying in Wind-Stopping Swamp! He gritted his teeth and gathered his strength. Of course, he did not dare to use all his strength, but secretly reserved 30% of it, so as not to hurt this ‘Master Titan’, who was known to be so honourable. After getting Yue Yang’s prompt again, he punched him.
Halfway.
Suddenly, he made an abrupt switch and aimed his attack at Princess Qian Qian.
Princess Qian Qian didn’t want to pay too much attention to it, but now she had noticed the persistence of this pathfinder thief. Sometimes, persistence was not a good thing, but if the starting point was good, then it would definitely not be a bad thing.
She stretched out a finger and lightly caught Feng Ji’s 70% punch.
At first, he thought that her strength was similar to his own, so he was stunned while Sha Tong and Ouba’s jaws dropped directly.
With just one finger, she could block Feng Ji’s sneak attack. How powerful was this Princess? But she didn’t seem to be a Heaven Ranker, so what’s going on?
Feng Ji first stayed still for three seconds before he reacted. He bent down and bowed to Princess Qian Qian, sincerely apologising, “Your Highness, Feng Ji just wanted to test your strength and reaction. In the Wind-Stopping Swamp, there are dangers at any time, so…” Before he could finish speaking, he jumped up and threw a punch at Yue Yang. This time, he did not make any reservations and used all of his strength to attack him.
In the Wind-Stopping Swamp, there were many powerful and unpredictable Heaven-Ranked beasts. If he couldn’t even take this sneak attack, then it’s better for him not to go to the Wind-Stopping Swamp!
Yue Yang also stretched out a finger, but his movement seemed slow.
Slow enough for anyone to see clearly.
Including Feng Ji, who made the sneak attack. The very slow and gradually moving finger, inconceivably bypassed Feng Ji’s lightning-fast fist. Instead of defending himself like Princess Qian Qian, he directly counterattacked.
With a flick of his finger, he flicked it on Feng Ji’s forehead.
In the next second, Feng Ji flew out like a cannonball, lashing out 10,000 metres away as he broke dozens of trees and crashed into the faraway mountain with a bang.
Ouba, Sha Tong and the others were so frightened that their knees went weak and their bodies trembled. They wanted to immediately kneel in front of the strong man to plead themselves guilty, but they were afraid that doing so would provoke the other party’s unhappiness.
Not knowing how long it took, Feng Ji crawled out from the depths of the buried mud pit like a dead dog.
He even spat out the remnants of dirt that was stuck in his mouth.
Feng Ji bowed and saluted in admiration. While suppressing his excitement, he shouted, “I was offensive, but this test gives me peace of mind. With your strong abilities and Her Highness’s, plus my role as a pathfinder, I can say that there is at least a 60% chance of passing through the Wind-Stopping Swamp. If I find that person again, with his dog nose and my cat’s eyes working together, the success rate can even be increased to 80%. Even if we fail, I think we can escape safely as your strengths are the most powerful guarantee! Master Titan, are you willing to hire another hunter from the Dog Clan? I dare say that it wouldn’t cost much as long as he can feast on meat and bones in every meal!”
Yue Yang nodded, “It doesn’t matter if you spend some money, but we must pass the Wind-stopping Swamp.”
Feng Ji was overjoyed when he heard it, and regardless of the dirt all over his body, he turned over and jumped on the back of the long-legged Dromaeosaur. Waving his hand, he said, “Master, Your Highness, let’s go!”
“Wait a minute!” Zhong Guan and the others suddenly surrounded them.
“What do you want to do? The Master himself agreed to my test just now and I didn’t hurt the Master either!” Feng Ji found that something was wrong. These guards who let him steal the limelight didn’t want to take revenge on him in public, right?
“What the Master said is beyond doubt, so of course we have no opinion about that; it’s just that you joined our team of guards. As usual, we have to welcome the newcomers!” Zhong Guan patted Feng Ji’s shoulder with a smile on his face with a ‘I am your boss and will cover for you’ enthusiasm. Feng Ji’s heart was hot, so he jumped down quickly and greeted them one by one, “Little brother has not greeted the bosses just now, but I’m too impatient— what is the welcome ceremony? When the task is over, let me invite the bosses for a drink! “
“Don’t be in a hurry to have a drink. Now is the welcome time for a newcomer and the ceremony is very important! Us guards have a fine tradition…”
Zhong Guan punched Feng Ji in the face, knocking him down. Hei Tu, Bai Ma and the others also gathered around to beat him furiously.
They only stopped when they got tired.
Feng Ji wanted to cry but there were no tears flowing out— what kind of newcomer welcome ceremony is this? To hell with that, this was simply abusing a newcomer!
However, Zhong Guan reached out to him and pulled Feng Ji up. He patted his clothes and said earnestly, “Because you have a mission right now, you can’t delay the Master’s time too much, so the next step of our welcome ceremony will be temporarily postponed. When you come back, we will definitely welcome you again. Don’t cry, in fact, your welcome ceremony has already been calculated. This makes me think back on the good old days…young man, the tradition must be inherited as it is a good tradition to carry forward!”
Feng Ji now understood what was going on. It turned out that these guys had been beaten as they were joining, so once a new person joined the crew, they would automatically be beaten.
Come on, such a tradition… Of course, this fight could only be a waste of time as he wiped a tear and nodded solemnly to Zhong Guan, “Captain, don’t worry; when a newcomer joins, I will definitely welcome him and let him understand what a fine tradition is!” At the end, Feng Ji gritted his teeth, wishing that a newcomer would join immediately, so that he could vent the anger in his heart.
“It’s good that you understand!” Zhong Guan smashed Feng Ji’s face with his big fist, and when he fell to the ground, he kicked wildly with his big feet, “Welcoming newcomers is the welfare of every senior team member. You have to remember this point well!”
“Don’t fight for too long, just for another ten minutes!” Yue Yang never objected to this tradition. In fact, he was the first founder of this tradition.
Sometimes, the more one hated something and the angrier they were, the more motivated they were willing to work.
So as the feeling increased, his expectations increased.
Hence, he would become more patient as well.
Although not all of the things in the world could be defined the same way, most of the things were…