Chapter Eighty: The Son of the Centurion

"Junior Brother Xu, are you still taking sparring requests?"

"Twenty thousand spirit coins per day."

Bai Ningxue stated her purpose directly.

"One hour a day, after all, I still need to train," Xu Chen replied after some thought. He was no longer the wealthy man he had been months ago, when he had hundreds of thousands of spirit coins at his disposal.

"Alright, I’ll pay you twenty thousand spirit coins per day as well."

"I’ll post the request now—see you at the Mirage Valley."

With that, Bai Ningxue boarded her spirit vessel and flew off toward the Hall of Duties.

Xu Chen stepped onto a smaller illusion array in Mirage Valley.

Within a forest touched by late autumn, Bai Ningxue, clad all in white, waited for Xu Chen’s arrival.

"Junior Brother, I wonder how much you’ve improved these past few months?"

"Let’s start barehanded, then move to weapons."

As soon as Xu Chen appeared, Bai Ningxue transformed into a captivating blur, darting at him.

Watching her charge, Xu Chen couldn’t help but feel that twenty thousand spirit coins a day was a bit too generous. Not because she was too strong—but because she was too weak.

After all, since she’d paid him, he couldn’t just defeat her instantly.

So Xu Chen held back, limiting himself to sixty or seventy percent of his strength as he fought Bai Ningxue.

A heavy crash—icy force clashed with surging waves of power, and both retreated several steps.

"Junior Brother Xu, use your full strength," Bai Ningxue demanded coldly, feeling slighted. "You were barely trying just now."

"Sister Bai, you’ll find it less enjoyable if I do," Xu Chen said, waving away the chill in his body.

He hadn’t even used his protective force while sparring with her.

"Let’s see for ourselves, then!"

A swirl of icy mist shimmered behind Bai Ningxue, within which a pair of ferocious, peerless eyes glimmered faintly.

Her speed surged, trailing afterimages with each step.

"Thousand Frost!"

An ice-laden hand struck at Xu Chen.

"Waves Unleashed!"

A thunderous boom—Bai Ningxue’s white silhouette shot like a cannonball deep into the forest, snapping a dozen trees before crashing to the ground.

The illusionary world shattered, then quickly reformed.

Now, beneath bright skies and a warm sun, Xu Chen stood on a beach, watching the somewhat shaken Bai Ningxue in the distance, searching for words to comfort her.

"The Wave-Building Body Technique’s Twisting Wave Palm doesn’t possess such power. There must be other blood and qi foundation methods involved," she said, regaining her composure. "Judging by your speed, you must have trained similar techniques as well. You’re very strong—but it’s a pity your talent is so poor. Let’s continue!"

Once more, Bai Ningxue charged at Xu Chen.

Over the course of an hour, they fought through a dozen different illusion scenarios.

Returning home, Xu Chen couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. "No wonder she’s from a major clan—her mindset is truly impressive."

Seated cross-legged in his home’s training ground, Xu Chen began visualizing the first diagram of the Sacred Spring Spirit Heart.

He meditated until his mind felt depleted. When he finally opened his eyes, dusk had already fallen.

At that moment, a thunder eagle circled overhead.

"Drop the letter," Xu Chen called up.

"Alright," came the reply.

A gust of wind sent a letter fluttering into Xu Chen’s hands.

He opened it and began to read, the gentle smile on his face gradually fading.

"The Celestial Spirit Court—a great alliance of foreign tribes, no weaker than humanity itself. Separated from Father’s location by hundreds of millions of miles of sea. Does this mean the frontline advance will stall?" Xu Chen mused, stroking his chin.

Half the letters exchanged with his parents concerned the ever-changing situation at the front.

His father’s Yellow-Rank Vanguard Army alone had managed to secure an entire continent.

"I must train harder—when I finally see Father again, I want my cultivation to surpass his."

Xu Chen picked up pen and paper to write a reply, updating his parents on his recent circumstances.

By the time he finished, the sun had set and the moon had risen.

"I’ve turned seventeen without realizing it. Time truly flies," Xu Chen murmured, gazing in the direction of the frontlines. "Let’s set a small goal: become invincible in the Blood and Qi Realm before I turn thirty."

Within the Sacred White Space, Xu Chen began refining medicines. After another round of lightning strikes, he entered the bronze gate of the Seven Forms of Celestial Evolution.

"Let’s do this!"

This time, Xu Chen deliberately controlled his internal power to match that of his doppelganger, shifting his force with each move—explosive, penetrating, robust, concealed—adapting with the changing tides of battle.

After ten successive bouts, the doppelganger remained as difficult as ever, but now and then, Xu Chen found himself catching the right rhythm for a move or two.

"Not bad—you’re finally starting to use your head."

A gentle compliment left Xu Chen momentarily speechless.

Sixteen battles later, Xu Chen collapsed onto his bed and slept like the dead.

As Xu Chen trained tirelessly, all across the continents of humanity, ship after ship began ferrying civilians to newly claimed territories.

Before this, the Department of Heavenly Craft had thoroughly surveyed the topography and ley lines of these lands, and construction of cities began with all available local materials.

On the frontlines, in the former territory of the Hillock Clan, a city nearly a thousand miles wide was rising. Hundreds of Heavenly Craft members, masters of earth magic, were excavating the foundations.

In the distance, one spirit vessel after another delivered specially-mined ores to be forged into bricks for the city walls.

A massive spirit vessel, three hundred zhang long, gradually descended outside the burgeoning city, unloading tens of thousands of human civilians.

Before long, tens of thousands of tents dotted a clearing, forming a vast encampment.

The settlers began scouting the surroundings, searching for useful resources.

A vanguard exploration vessel settled softly outside the tent city.

Xu Qiangjia led a hundred-man vanguard unit and their families off the ship.

"Brothers, we can finally call this stage complete," Xu Qiangjia told his comrades, exchanging glances that quickly blossomed into smiles.

He had risen from a squad leader in the Yellow-Rank Vanguard Army to become the commander of a thousand in Hillock City, in charge of all its affairs.

Had Xu Chen been present, he would have joked, "Isn’t this just a mix of police chief and city administrator?"

"Boss, just the other day you were boasting about your drinking? No alcohol at the front, but now there’s no restriction," one of his comrades chuckled.

"Don’t rush things. Let’s finish our tasks first," Xu Qiangjia replied.

"We’ll split into two teams—one will go out and scout the area, telling any local spirits and wild beings within ten thousand miles to behave. If they listen, they stay. If not, or if we dislike their attitude, eliminate them on the spot."

"The other team will organize the civilian encampment. The first batch is fifty thousand people, with more arriving over the next two months. The camp must be properly arranged—no random placement."

Once Xu Qiangjia gave the orders, all his comrades straightened up, expressions solemn.

"Yes, sir!"

When everything was settled, Xu Qiangjia turned to his wife.

"Miao Qiu, hurry and write to our son—let him know the good news. He’s now the son of the commander of Hillock City!"

With a hearty laugh, Xu Qiangjia joined one of the squads heading out to explore the surroundings.

At the Da Xi Sect’s Mirage Valley, thirty thousand disciples at the Blood and Qi Realm had gathered.

A new round of illusionary trials was about to begin.

Xu Chen sat cross-legged atop a large illusion array, inhaled a lungful of mist, and entered the world of illusions.