Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao
chapter-1680

Chapter 1680: If the price is high enough

Ding Hu’s expression was dark.

As a Severing Mundane Tier, it had already been a very long time since he had such an unpleasant experience, but now a mere Genesis Tier actually caused him to bear such a powerful killing intent.

He declared, “For those who can obtain the position of captain this time round, I will present a reward of… 10 Star Stones!”

Star Stones were a natural resource unique to the Celestial Realm, and were made from the shards of stars above the Nine Heavens—which were also meteorites.

The Nine Heavens of the Celestial Realm could not be ascended. As legend had it, only Celestial Kings could ascend, so one could only wait until the shards of stars in the skies fell down as meteorites to be able to refine Star Stones out of them. The Dao of Heaven and Earth were contained within, and were of great help to the advancement of cultivation level for cultivators.

Including the Dark Moon Army, every soldier of the enlisted army could obtain two Star Stones as their pay, and every member of the reserve troops would earn one. Even a captain could only earn two, which was the same as any soldier of the official army.

And now Ding Hu promised 10 Star Stones; this reward could be claimed to be quite generous.

Don’t think that time was cheap in the Celestial Realm. Because competition in the Celestial Realm was cruel, time would only be more valuable.

What was Ding Hu’s purpose? Everyone was clear; he wanted to use wealth to get others to make a move on Ling Han.

‘If I exert pressure, you all think that the law does not punish numerous offenders, and ignore me completely, but what about 10 Star Stones? Who could refuse?’ To Ding Hu, taking out 100 Star Stones naturally was only a small token, merely the cultivation resources for one month for a Severing Mundane Tier.

If the price was high enough, there would be those who were willing to be bought.

Previously, no one had made any move. Firstly, even if they defeated Ling Han, they would be uncomfortable even in the position of captain. It was like there was a fire lit under their behinds. But it was a different story with a reward of 10 Star Stones. A lot of people were willing to give it a try.

There would be one person that would be eliminated from the reserve troops every single year; what if they were eliminated in their very first year? Hence, 10 Star Stones were still considerably valuable.

Xiu, a person shot out, and stood in front of Ling Han.

It was a man whose looks were not outstanding. He clasped his hands in Ling Han’s direction, and asked, “Brother, I have no wish to wound you, so could you admit defeat on your own volition?”

Ling Han’s eyes burned fiercely. Facing a man that planned to take advantage of his critical state, what need was there for him to be polite?

“Scram!” he stated calmly.

“You take my kindness as ill intention?” The man smirked coldly, and suddenly shot out, charging towards Ling Han. As he saw it, with how severely wounded Ling Han was at present, he would be able to defeat him with a light blow.

Thus, he even cautiously controlled his strength to avoid killing Ling Han with a single blow.

Ling Han moved, and gripped that man’s neck with a single move. Then, he slammed him into the ground. Peng, that man was instantly sent heavily onto the ground. He had not even managed to get up when Ling Han had already stepped on his head.

“Take off your foot!” The man roared in fury. This was too humiliating. He pushed with both hands against the ground, wanting to stand back up.

Ling Han ignored him. He only looked at Ding Hu who was on the high platform. Then, with a slight effort of his right foot, peng, the man’s head below his foot was forcibly stomped into the hard rock.

It should be known that the rocks here were extremely hard, and were completely capable of sustaining a powerful barrage from a Genesis Tier, yet Ling Han actually stomped a man’s head in with one foot. What kind of concept was that?

The arms of the man below his foot immediately drooped lifelessly as he had directly passed out.

Ling Han’s foot was placed on that man’s head, while his eyes were fixed on Ding Hu. His provocation was leaping from his action. ‘Come on then, what other tricks do you have? I will take all of them on!’

How domineering!

Everyone paled in silence. This brat was really fierce to actually dare to oppose a vice commander publicly like this. Could it be that he did not know that this vice commander would be their overseer for as long as 100 years here?

If you were not eliminated, then you would have to live under his shadow for the next 100 years.

But even more people could feel their blood burn hot, feeling that this was what a true man was, and this was what a true cultivator should be like.

The fury of even an ordinary man could spill blood in all directions!

Ding Hu’s little finger involuntarily moved. This was a signal that he was close to being unable to control his killing intent. But if he dared make a move to kill at this moment, he definitely would be targeted by the Long Clan and Duan Clan. It was not impossible that he would be punished with death, even.

…The relations between the three great clans definitely could not be considered amiable, especially with the Ding Clan’s precedent—they had caused another prestigious clan, the Hu Clan, to suffer a destructive calamity, so who would not guard against them?

‘There will be a chance, there will be many chances in future!’ Ding Hu told himself mentally. He closed his eyes once more, ignoring Ling Han’s provocation. He actually did not know what was going on. The moment he set eyes on Ling Han, he felt dislike for him. Otherwise, how could he have so quickly forced a three and a half stars aptitude prodigy onto the opposing sides of the Ding Clan?

Perhaps he had seen the hatred that Ling Han bore towards the Ding Clan in his eyes.

After an hour, another greedy man moved to attack Ling Han, thinking that his might was only short-lived, and that it was impossible for him to continue such a performance, but the result was still the same—he was pressed down onto the ground by Ling Han with a single move, and had his head stomped into rock.

There really was no one else that was this domineering.

After this, no one else dared challenge Ling Han; he was too f****** powerful.

Before the three days’ time had passed, the 10 captains had actually all emerged. Everyone had eyes they could see with. Those who could successively win over a dozen battles were definitely overwhelmingly strong, so it would be better for them to avoid seeking their own suffering.

Next, it was the allocation of members for the 10 troops.

Every person could choose to follow any of the captains, and the captain could also choose whether to take them in or otherwise. This was a two-sided decision. When everyone had made their choice, those remaining would be randomly stuffed into the troops that did not have the full 100 whether they liked it or not.

Ling Han stood, his blood still flowing profusely. The martial intent of Severing Mundane Tier was wreaking havoc in his blood and flesh, and even the Indestructible Heaven’s Scroll was unable to expel it. This gap in cultivation level was really too wide.

He was like a lone wolf that had been injured and was bleeding, yet his fighting spirit burned even fiercer than before, and was more frightening now.

The Empress naturally chose him to be her captain without hesitation, but aside from her, no one else dared come over to his side.

Who dared to offend Ding Hu?

Previously, it could be claimed that the law did not punish numerous offenders, but if anyone were to take the initiative to follow Ling Han now, then wasn’t that a direct slap to Ding Hu’s face?

Who would dare slap the face of a Severing Mundane Ancestor!

Compared to the other captains, who had many visitors, Ling Han’s side was deserted. An indifferent smile hung on his lips, and he was indeed uncaring. He merely wanted to make use of the Dark Moon Army to fit in with the Celestial Realm, and did not have any other thoughts aside from that. Since he had no particular ambition, he naturally feared nothing.

Of course, he definitely had a clear short-term goal by now, and that was to destroy the Ding Clan.

The other nine captains soon finished their recruitment, and the remaining 98 people had no other alternative, and were forcibly listed under Ling Han’s banner.

At this time, they had no further need to use serial numbers, and registered their own names and personal information.

Ling Han found out that that assassin that looked like a kid was named Wei Bo, the woman who used the corrosive power of darkness was called Qin Henyu, and the old man covered in black scales was called Luo Xinyang.

Because Ling Han’s subordinates were all those remaining after the best had been chosen, their quality was naturally also the most inferior. It was inevitable that they were all sighing in despair. It looked like they would all be bullied by the others in the upcoming 100 years.