Li Hao nodded. Since the other party was unwilling to talk, he didn't press further. Besides, he wasn't particularly interested in knowing.
Following the line to the officer, as people ahead of them signed up and registered one by one, it soon became the young man and Li Hao's turn.
"Name, origin, cultivation realm." The officer took out an identity token and asked.
The young man recited like reading from a textbook: "Huo Xiaoqi, originating from Jinkong Continent in Youying Prefecture, current cultivation realm is True Immortal Realm, eighth level."
While speaking, he released his aura, revealing his cultivation realm.
The officer nodded slightly, using immortal dao laws to engrave his information onto the identity token, then tossed it to him, saying: "This item cannot be discarded; it is a symbol of your identity, otherwise you cannot enter the city.
"Furthermore, in the battlefield, some military formations will indiscriminately attack certain areas. Wearing this token will allow you to be identified as friendly forces, avoiding attacks. You only need to inscribe your nascent soul power on it. If it is invaded by other nascent souls trying to seize control, this token will be directly destroyed!"
The young man 'Huo Xiaoqi' nodded upon hearing this, accepted the token, and stepped aside.
"Name." As Li Hao stepped forward, the officer took out another blank token.
Li Hao pondered slightly and reported in the same manner as Huo Xiaoqi: "Chong Er, originating from Heart-Questioning Pagoda City, current cultivation realm is True Immortal Realm, third level!"
Hearing Li Hao's words, the officer looked up at Li Hao, but didn't question Li Hao's name and origin. Whether these two points were true or false was unimportant to the Wildfire Army.
"Only True Immortal Realm, third level, what made you think of joining the army here?" The officer raised an eyebrow and asked.
Li Hao's expression turned solemn, and he said seriously: "I want to slay demons."
After a three-second eye contact with Li Hao, the officer nodded slightly, and said: "Courage is commendable, not bad. I hope you can survive in the Wildfire Army. Within three years, if you can establish immortal merit and take down three ancient demon heads, come find me. I'll let you be my subordinate soldier!"
Li Hao was a bit surprised, bowed and said: "Thank you." Although he didn't plan to truly make a name for himself here, he appreciated the other party's kindness.
"Go." The officer waved his hand, and a soldier wearing black armor came over to lead Li Hao and the others to the Wildfire Army's location.
The Wildfire Army was stationed in an area within the city. Along the way, Li Hao and the others saw many warriors wearing various types of armor.
These warriors wore uniform armor, clearly belonging to different legions. For example, if a wolf head was engraved on the armor, it belonged to the Skywolf Legion. The Skywolf Legion also had different divisions and officers leading them. The shoulder armor had different battle patterns, allowing those familiar with this place to recognize at a glance which battalion a warrior belonged to.
"This is the Wildfire Army. You guys go with him to collect supplies first, then report in," the guide instructed.
Before Li Hao and the others was a vast complex of buildings. The Wildfire Army here wasn't as particular about uniforms; they all wore their own true treasure armor, in various styles, but all equipped with a shoulder emblem true treasure. This true treasure could activate special light and shadow effects in battle and slightly enhance the wearer's immortal power.
In the battlefield, it was also a means of identification.
Someone came to take over, leading Li Hao and the others to collect shoulder emblems.
"There are no weapons or armor here. If you need them, you can only exchange for them with immortal merit. When you join the Skywolf Legion, you can get a set of Skywolf armor, which is a superior true treasure, capable of withstanding attacks from ancient demons below the seventh level of the True Immortal Realm!"
A Wildfire Army squad leader said to Li Hao and the others, then led them to a building.
"Go report. This is the Yinglong Yuwu Battalion of the Wildfire Army. Battalion Commander Shi Tianjing is waiting for you inside."
The guide waved his hand and said.
Li Hao and Huo Xiaoqi looked around, and walked into the building's courtyard.
They saw formations of barriers everywhere in the courtyard, within which mystical energy rippled, revealing figures cultivating within the barriers, some practicing spear techniques, others swordsmanship.
In the main hall of the courtyard, a burly middle-aged man, clad in majestic Skywolf armor, was drinking and eating heartily.
Hearing movement, he looked up and saw Li Hao and the others walking in.
"A new batch?"
The middle-aged man placed his wine gourd on the table, glancing at them askance with a hint of drunkenness.
The others exchanged glances, some timid and hesitant to respond.
Huo Xiaoqi stepped forward and said, "That's right."
"Oh, True Immortal Realm eighth level, not bad guts."
When the middle-aged man saw the aura he revealed, the previously fierce look on his face immediately turned into a smile. He then called out:
"Guys, stop what you're doing, we have new friends! Come over and welcome them!"
His voice was hearty and loud, reverberating through the various barriers.
In an instant, the many figures cultivating within the barriers stopped their movements and gathered around; there were seven or eight of them.
"A True Immortal Realm eighth level has arrived, not bad."
"And two True Immortal Realm seventh levels, the quality of this batch is quite good."
These people held weapons in their hands, chatting and laughing casually, but all naturally exuded a fierce aura.
When they saw Li Hao, someone frowned and said, "Why is there a True Immortal Realm third level mixed in? Without even True Immortal Realm fifth level, and dares to come to the border to die?"
Among the group, apart from Li Hao, the lowest cultivation was True Immortal Realm fifth level.
Shi Tianjing also noticed Li Hao's cultivation realm. The smile that had just appeared on his face instantly turned cold. He seemed to sneer, raised his head, and drank the remaining wine in his bowl. He stood up and said:
"Since you've come to my Yinglong Yuwu Battalion, you have to listen to my orders. If you perform well, I can recommend you to the Skywolf Legion. Of course, the prerequisite is that you must first survive here!"
"As long as you are obedient, I can guarantee you'll live a bit longer. When it's time to go to battle, if anyone disobeys orders, don't blame me if you die!"
As he spoke, his tiger-like eyes swept across everyone, radiating power.
Except for Li Hao and Huo Xiaoqi, the others' expressions changed slightly, looking uneasy.
"Don't worry, the words I said before still count, I'll cover you."
Huo Xiaoqi transmitted a message to Li Hao to reassure him.
Li Hao transmitted back, "Thank you."
"Over there are vacant residences, choose one for yourselves. Usually, there aren't many rules here, but don't randomly leave the city, don't cause trouble, and provoke people you shouldn't. When you are on the battlefield, don't run around randomly, don't retreat in the face of battle."
Shi Tianjing waved his hand, then sat down and continued drinking.
Li Hao smelled the scent of his cheap wine and food, unable to bear to look further. Having eaten too much fine food, seeing these coarse dishes again felt a little uncomfortable.
"Let's go, we'll choose to live together."
Huo Xiaoqi said to Li Hao, showing that he really liked this little brother and wanted to take care of Li Hao.
Li Hao didn't refuse, seeing this, and followed him to the back courtyard. There were individual small courtyards there. He and Huo Xiaoqi picked adjacent courtyards.
"By the way, if there are sundries in the courtyard, deal with them yourselves, throw them away if you want," Shi Tianjing's voice came from the front yard.
Li Hao saw in his courtyard some clothes and bedding belonging to a woman, with a lingering scent, obviously recently used.
His eyes flickered slightly, he didn't ask. Undoubtedly, the owner of these clothes was most likely gone.
"Let's go, let's wander around," Huo Xiaoqi said to Li Hao after looking around his courtyard, quite satisfied. Then he came to Li Hao's courtyard to invite him.
Li Hao had nothing to do anyway and was also thinking of looking around, so he agreed.
After they left the courtyard, among several resting veterans in the camp, one of them said to Shi Tianjing:
"Battalion Commander, that True Immortal Realm third level kid, might as well just kick him out. This kind of guy coming here is just suicide, and he might even implicate us."
"Exactly, don't let him piss his pants on the battlefield."
Shi Tianjing felt the old members' dissatisfaction, bit off a mouthful of dragon sinew and said: "It's fine, just ignore him on the battlefield. A little guy like that won't survive the first battle."
Hearing this, the others didn't say more.
They also knew that once they arrived at this city, there was no turning back. Kicking such a soldier to another battalion, no one would accept him either.
…
"Over there seems to be the locations of various sects."
"Let's go take a look."
Huo Xiaoqi led Li Hao out of the Wildfire Army's city camp and came to another area in the city. He seemed somewhat familiar with this place, but also showed it quite subtly.
Li Hao didn't expose him and followed him around.
Before long, they arrived at a group of spire-like buildings.
High in the sky here, there were giant boards with rays of light cascading down.
Li Hao looked up and swept his gaze over them. He saw that these giant boards were actually the immortal merit boards for each sect.
Ten Thousand Mountain Sword Pavilion Immortal Merit Board.
Star Constellation Palace Immortal Merit Board.
Illusory Sea Gate Immortal Merit Board.
…
Great Dream Nine Abyss Immortal Merit Board.
Li Hao even saw his own sect's board. Ranking first wasn't Ji Qingxuan, but a person named Zhuang Wuyou.
Ji Qingxuan ranked fourth!
Ranking fourth, yet ranked ninety-ninth on the overall immortal merit board, showing that the three people ahead of him were also famous figures on the overall immortal merit board.
Li Hao had heard that even sect elders would come here to accumulate immortal merit, not just disciples.
Some earth-level sects, even the sect leader themselves, would come personally, but this was rare. After all, the battlefield was unpredictable, and if something happened to the sect leader, it would be a heavy blow to the sect.
Moreover, if other forces knew that their sect leader was at the border, they would also take the opportunity to attack their sect, so precautions were needed.
Huo Xiaoqi looked around, his gaze lingering on various immortal merit boards, but Li Hao clearly noticed that he paused longest on the Illusory Sea Gate Immortal Merit Board, and his eyes also underwent a subtle change, seeming to gleam, as if encouraging himself.
Li Hao immediately understood. The Illusory Sea Gate, like the Ten Thousand Mountain Sword Pavilion, belonged to the Tier One Sects.
"The Tier One Sects' foundation in immortal merit is indeed incomparable to other sects, they all have millions of immortal merit!" Huo Xiaoqi sighed with emotion.
On the immortal merit boards of each sect, only the top one hundred names were recorded, but below the immortal merit board, there was the total immortal merit sum, all over a million.
The highest among Tier Two Sects was only just over 700,000 immortal merit.
Tier Three Sects were even lower, only around 500,000.
Great Dream Nine Abyss, among the Tier Four Sects, was a leading figure, also impressively having nearly 500,000 immortal merit!
"Let's go." Huo Xiaoqi said, turning to leave after looking at them.
Li Hao glanced at them, not lingering either. This time coming here, he had hidden his identity and didn't intend to acknowledge Ji Qingxuan and the others. Otherwise, they would surely send people to protect him, which would restrict his movements when hunting ancient demons.
Dong!
On the way back with Huo Xiaoqi, suddenly a loud bell sound resounded, shaking from the sky above Qinghe Mo City.
The sound came from beyond the nine heavens, yet it echoed throughout the entire city.
Immediately after, Li Hao and Huo Xiaoqi saw that the people who had been casually strolling by the roadside, bargaining at the stalls, all changed expressions. Then, warriors from various battalions wearing armor hurriedly ran towards their respective camps.
"It's an enemy attack, ancient demons are attacking again!"
"Quick, quick!"
Dong~!
Accompanied by the running of many warriors in the streets, another bell sound echoed in the void.
This time, the speed of the warriors running in the streets became even faster.
"It's a two-bell ring, Calamity-level attack!"
In the blink of an eye, the many idle warriors on the streets disappeared.
Li Hao and Huo Xiaoqi exchanged a glance, and also hurriedly rushed back to the Yinglong Yuwu Battalion.
When they rushed back, everyone else in the courtyard was already waiting there.
Seeing Li Hao and Huo Xiaoqi return, Shi Tianjing's face darkened. He was about to scold them, but when he glanced at Huo Xiaoqi, he held back. As for Li Hao, a soon-to-die unlucky ghost, scolding him would be a waste of saliva.
After the two stood still, Shi Tianjing said in a deep voice: "It's a Calamity-level attack. Attacks here are divided into four levels: Malice-level, Calamity-level, Heaven-level, and Annihilation-level!"
"Malice-level attacks are generally handled by the Skywolf Legion. Calamity-level attacks are mainly handled by the Tiger-Lion Legion. As for Heaven-level attacks, the Dragon-War Legion and the Peacock Legion will also join the battlefield. That kind of battle is already a once-in-a-millennium event, and blood will inevitably flow like rivers!"
His gaze swept across everyone sternly, saying, "As for Annihilation-level, don't even ask or think about it. In that kind of battle, the Wildfire Battalion can only serve as cannon fodder. Even the Skywolf Legion might be wiped out!"
Hearing his words, the others' expressions slightly changed. Li Hao and Huo Xiaoqi's expressions only became more solemn.
"Look." Shi Tianjing suddenly looked up.
Everyone couldn't help but look up, and immediately saw black shadows flying past in the distance. In an instant, they turned into a cloud of darkness, densely packed armies, roaring and flying across the sky.
The armor worn by those armies, with a tiger on the left and a lion on the right, majestic and domineering, was dark gold, extremely divine and martial.
"The Tiger-Lion Legion is participating in the battle."
Shi Tianjing fixed his gaze, but deep in his eyes was a hint of admiration and envy. He belonged to the Skywolf Legion and was assigned here to serve as the battalion commander of the Wildfire Army. When he led the Wildfire Army to establish a hundred-level immortal merit ten times, he could apply to join the Tiger-Lion Legion. At that time, the treatment in all aspects would skyrocket and greatly improve.
For a full dozen seconds, the dark cloud of the imposing Tiger-Lion Legion overhead finally "drifted" past.
Not long after, there was another roar in the city. This time, it shimmered with various colored rays of light, and the true treasures carried were also different. Among them, a conspicuous giant sword was the Ten Thousand Mountain Sword Pavilion.
There was also a starlight path spreading out, light and agile, belonging to the Star Constellation Palace.
Among them, Li Hao saw the battle flag of the Great Dream Nine Abyss, tens of feet high, fluttering fiercely, extremely domineering.
Inside, Li Hao saw several familiar figures, including Ji Qingxuan, Wei Hongye, Lu Wuchen, and others, and also saw Lin Yufeng, who was among the Spear Abyss disciples.
At this moment, they all had solemn expressions, gazing at the outside of the city, not paying attention to what was under their feet, nor did they see the admiring gaze of the young man looking up.
"The various sects have also mobilized."
"It's our turn, prepare yourselves!"
A light gleamed in Shi Tianjing's eyes, and he exuded a powerful immortal power aura from his whole body, impressively at the tenth level of the True Immortal Realm!
While speaking, after the many sect disciples flew past, at the Wildfire Army's city camp location, figures soared into the sky in an instant. Li Hao used his divine sense to look down from high altitude and discovered that it was indeed like sparks of fire ignited on the earth, illuminating the entire city camp!
"Follow me to kill, establish immortal merit!"
Shi Tianjing roared and took the lead, soaring and charging forward.
(End of Chapter)