The World that Tao Rules, Volume 17, page 12
"By the way, do you know how long I was unconscious?"
"You were not unconscious for long initially, but in order to fully merge the Vajra Demon Mark with your body, I secretly helped you, and now you have been unconscious for a year and three months!"
"I've been unconscious for that long?"
Jiang Yun's expression changed suddenly as he said, "The Military Merit Competition of the Desolate World tribe should have already started. Gaining military achievements is crucial in changing the fate of the Desolate World tribe. I have to leave now, thank you for your help, sir!"
"Alright!" the old man nodded and said, "Remember, in this illusion, nothing else matters except completing your mission."
"You don't need to worry about the Desolate World's matters anymore. When you come back next time, I will make sure to give you a satisfactory explanation!"
Jiang Yun suddenly remembered and then asked, "By the way, elder, before I fell into a coma, I used the Art of Reincarnation to scatter my Taoist Body, but now I have lost contact with it. Do you know anything about this, elder?"
The old man nodded and said, "Your Taoist Body was taken away by the Chaos clan. I don't know what they did with it. When you have time, you can go to the Chaos clan and check it out!"
Jiang Yun was surprised to hear that the Chaos clan had taken his Hun Tian's Taoist Body.
However, his Hun Tian's Taoist Body carried the aura of the Chaos clan, so they probably didn't destroy it.
"Elder, I will take my leave now. I will do my best to fulfill your request, elder!"
Without further delay, Jiang Yun quickly left the depths of the earth after bowing in farewell.
The old man sighed as he watched Jiang Yun's retreating figure, saying, "I hope I made the right bet this time!"
When Jiang Yun reached the surface, he found that the power that had sealed off the world had completely disappeared, allowing him to retrieve items from his storage device.
Without hesitation, Jiang Yun took out the Sky-reaching Vehicle and activated it with his Desolate Mark. The Sky-reaching Vehicle soared into the air in an instant and quickly flew out of the Desolate World.
However, at that moment, Jiang Yun heard the old man's voice again, "With the Vajra Demon Body, your body can withstand the power of the world crack, move faster, and no longer need to use this ancient mode of transportation."
Although Jiang Yun knew that the Vajra Demon Body was extremely powerful, he didn't have time to study its specific effects and changes it would bring to him.
Upon hearing the old man's message, Jiang Yun's heart raced, and he stepped out of the Sky-reaching Vehicle, appearing in the dark world crack.
Even though the Demon Mark didn't appear, Jiang Yun could feel the immense pressure coming from all directions, but his body was able to bear it easily, with a hidden power within him.
This made him feel like standing in the world crack was no different from being in the real world.
Excited by this discovery, he moved so fast that he outpaced the Sky-reaching Vehicle.
As he traveled, he kept an eye on the route back to the Desolate World tribe's world, so without hesitation, he pushed his speed to the limit and headed towards them.
"Desolate World tribe, I'm back!"
"Ezheng, I hope you haven't disappointed me during my absence!"
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and within the Desolate World tribe, the second stage of the Military Merit Competition finally arrived!
As this Military Merit Competition took place during a critical period, it had already attracted a lot of attention beforehand.
Therefore, for this second stage of the competition, not only were members of various tribes present, but even strong warriors from other tribes came to watch.
Furthermore, the second stage of the competition was conducted with tens of thousands of people participating.
To accommodate this, the Desolate World tribe specifically opened up a separate huge space where anyone could freely enter to watch.
The environment inside the space was very simple, consisting of an immensely huge platform that could hold millions of people, surrounded by no less than a million people seated in huge grandstands.
The major competition of the second stage was actually divided into two main parts.
The first part involved a hundred teams competing against each other, while the second part had three Desolate Generals leading three hundred thousand soldiers each into battle.
After all, this is a battle within the Desolate World tribe, so in order to ensure the safety of all tribe members, the Desolate World tribe will specially arrange experts to guard them.
As for the Desolate World Lord Slave, they can only try to ensure their safety, but casualties are allowed.
Now, a hundred squads have appeared around the platform with their respective Desolate Guard Chiefs.
Seeing this army of a million people immediately caused many onlookers to exclaim in amazement.
Although the nine silent clans each have their own characteristics, the Desolate Mark of the Desolate World tribe can turn living beings into Desolate World Lord Slaves, which makes others very envious.
Especially now, almost everyone in the million-strong army is exuding a murderous aura, with blood stains on their armor, making them look extremely mighty and imposing.
As for the method of the competition, it's very simple—it's a battle of offense and defense.
One team is responsible for offense, while another team is responsible for defense!
Specifically, who attacks and who defends will be decided by drawing lots, with pairs competing against each other, the winner advancing, and the loser being eliminated!
Chapter 934: The Incompetent Team
Soon, the drawing lots were completed, and the hundred teams had mixed feelings about the results.
Some were happy to draw a team weaker than themselves, while others were worried about drawing a stronger team.
"I envy you for drawing Ezheng's incompetent team!"
A tall man looked at a team beside him, his face full of envy!
"There's nothing to envy about, anyone can win against such an incompetent team."
The Desolate Guard Chief of this team was a member of the Desolate World tribe, named Huang Kun. He was young, with a light golden complexion and a handsome face, looking disdainful as he shook his head.
Although there were a hundred teams, the fact that Ezheng's Desolate Guard Chief had been taken away by Huang Yongfeng and gone missing was no longer a secret due to deliberate spreading of information by some individuals.
Huang Yu's special treatment of Ezheng's team, combined with their consistent last place ranking, had made Ezheng's team famous and known by all teams.
Of course, this reputation isn't good, and it made them the target of ridicule by other teams.
Even other teams under Huang Yu's command didn't have much fondness for them, since the military achievements they obtained also counted towards Huang Yu's accomplishments, ultimately affecting their overall military standing.
At this moment, although Ezheng and the others felt angry, they didn't show it on their faces.
Over the past year, they had already grown accustomed to such mocking remarks.
Even Huang Yu's right-hand man, who was now their Desolate Guard Chief, would actively avoid other teams' members when taking them out on missions, clearly indicating a sense of inferiority.
For this final major competition, if possible, they all didn't want to participate!
At that moment, a Desolate Guard under Huang Kun suddenly spotted Ezheng and loudly exclaimed, "Hey, Ezheng, I remember you used to boast confidently to me that you were about to achieve success."
"So, is becoming worthless what you call success?"
"Haha!"
The words from the Desolate Guard caused a burst of laughter, making Ezheng's face turn bright red!
Once he received the spirit stone from Jiang Yun and defeated thousands with just nine people, he became very proud and boasted about his team being successful everywhere he went.
However, things didn't go as he wished. Now, others were using this against him, making him feel ashamed and unable to argue back, leaving him speechless.
Even though he didn't speak, he glared fiercely at his opponent and spat on the ground forcefully!
This made the Desolate Guard very unhappy, and suddenly he raised his hand and slapped Ezheng hard!
Ezheng never expected that in a situation like this, in front of a crowd, someone would dare to attack him openly. He was caught off guard and was hit hard by the slap.
"Bang!"
With a muffled sound, Ezheng staggered backward, taking several steps before finally steadying himself by bumping into his companion.
He lifted his head, a bit of blood on his lips, swallowing it forcefully, with a cold gleam in his eyes staring directly at his opponent.
Standing next to him, Mo Fancheng took a step forward and coldly stared at the Desolate Guard who had hit someone, saying, "Kou Qing, you broke the rules and dared to hit someone in this situation!"
The Desolate Guard named Kou Qing smirked coldly and said, "How did I break the rules? I just accidentally hit him, what's the big deal!"
"You broke the rules, you will be punished!" suddenly shouted Ezheng. "Desolate Guard Chief, this person just hit me!"
Currently, the Desolate Guard Chief of Ezheng's team is named Huang Ning. Although he is loyal to Huang Yu, he had witnessed the incident just now.
Honestly speaking, if it wasn't for Huang Yu's direct order, he wouldn't have wanted to be the Desolate Guard Chief of Ezheng's team.
After all, he joined the Desolate Army to earn military merits and to show his skills, not to lead such a useless team.
However, being hit in front of so many people, Ezheng couldn't just let it go. He looked up at Kou Qing and said, "You are really bold, Kou Qing!"
Facing Huang Ning, Kou Qing naturally couldn't be as arrogant. He smirked and was about to speak, but another voice spoke up before him, saying, "We are Desolate Soldiers, not cowards. When in trouble, use your hands, not your mouth!"
"Kou Qing did hit your people. If you have the guts, let Ezheng and Kou Qing settle this in a one-on-one fight instead of bringing up rules!"
The person speaking is Huang Kun, who was chosen by drawing lots to be on Ezheng's team. Kou Qing is under Huang Kun's command. He stood up not only to defend Kou Qing but also to look provocatively at Huang Ning and others.
Huang Ning's expression changed slightly when he saw Huang Kun appear.
He didn't care about the Desolate Guard, but Huang Kun and he were both from the Desolate World tribe, and Huang Kun was stronger. Moreover, Huang Kun was under Huang Yongfeng.
Not even Huang Yu dared to provoke Huang Kun, so when he was about to speak, another voice interrupted, "Huang Kun, what are you doing?"
With the voice, a middle-aged armored woman walked over swiftly.
Huang Qinglan!
In the past, Huang Kun would not have cared about Huang Qinglan because no one knew she was the disciple of the chief of the Desolate World tribe.
However, after the start of the Military Merit Competition, Huang Qinglan also joined the Desolate Army and became a Desolate Guard Chief under Huang Xun.
Leading her team to many victories, she now ranks fifth on the Military Merit List, making her identity known to more people.
The chief's disciple, even Huang Yongfeng and others, had to show some respect to. Huang Kun wouldn't dare to offend him.
Huang Kun didn't expect Huang Qinglan to speak up for Ezheng and others at this moment, so he just smiled and said, "Oh, it's Sister Qinglan from the tribe. It's nothing. There was a small dispute but it's resolved now!"
However, Huang Qinglan ignored him completely, nodded at Ezheng and Mo Fancheng, and sighed, "If Taoist Friend Jiang could come back, you wouldn't have been treated like this."
Huang Qinglan didn't know if Jiang Yun was outstanding in leading troops in battles, but in the Desolate World, Jiang Yun single-handedly fought off thirty waves of demon race attacks, and even fought Man Shang in the end.
Very few people in the Desolate World tribe could achieve this.
If Jiang Yun hadn't disappeared, Ezheng's team wouldn't have been mocked and looked down upon by other teams, and they might have gained military achievements.
Huang Kun's eyes flashed with cold light after hearing Huang Qinglan's words.
As the Chief of the Desolate Guard under Huang Yongfeng, he knew about Jiang Yun's situation and even approved of Kou Qing's provocation.
The purpose was to completely humiliate the team Jiang Yun once led, to show everyone that Jiang Yun was nothing!
However, what Huang Qinglan said now is like telling everyone that Jiang Yun is stronger than herself.
If Jiang Yun were here, he would never allow his men to be beaten by her men.
Huang Kun couldn't help but coldly smile and ask, "What do you mean by that, Sister Qinglan? Why are you taking sides with an outsider?"
Huang Qinglan finally looked at him and said, "Outsider? This outsider has done more for my Desolate World tribe than even a million of us!"
As Huang Qinglan finished speaking, a cold voice rang out, "Huang Qinglan, you should remember that you are the disciple of the chief of my Desolate World tribe. This is not the time to raise the spirits of outsiders and diminish the honor of our own people!"
The crowd gathered together suddenly dispersed, and a middle-aged man in white armor stepped forward.
Huang Yongfeng!
Chapter 935: Leave It to Fate
Huang Yongfeng's appearance was expected by Huang Qinglan.
Even Huang Qinglan knew that Huang Kun and Kou Qing dared to disrespect the rules and provoke and embarrass Ezheng because they had Huang Yongfeng backing them up behind the scenes!
Huang Qinglan already knew about what happened between Huang Yongfeng and Jiang Yun after returning to the tribe.
Honestly, it was all Huang Yongfeng's doing from start to finish.
Despite knowing all this, Huang Qinglan chose to remain silent when facing Huang Yongfeng.
In the Desolate World tribe, the military and political powers are separate.
Although the tribe leader is the highest authority, Elder Huang, who controls a million troops, also has a strong influence.
There are rumors that Elder Huang and the tribe leader don't see eye to eye and both want to replace each other. Huang Qinglan is well aware that as Elder Huang's top Desolate General, Huang Yongfeng is highly favored by Elder Huang.
His presence represents Elder Huang, while Huang Qinglan represents the tribe leader.
If she were to argue with Huang Yongfeng without regard, it could potentially lead to a showdown between the tribe leader and Elder Huang.
This kind of outcome is too much for me to handle by myself.
So, after a brief silence, Huang Qinglan spoke softly, "It turns out the Lord Desolate General has arrived. I am just telling the truth. If the Lord Desolate General is not satisfied, he can personally investigate Jiang Yun's actions in the Desolate World to see if what I said is true!"
"Now is the time for the big competition. We should each manage our own followers well so we don't become a laughingstock to others."
"If there's anything, let's wait until after the big competition to discuss it!"
"Haha! Alright, I will investigate the matter of Jiang Yun."
Huang Yongfeng burst into laughter, with a hint of killing intent in his smile. He coldly glanced at Ezheng and the others, saying, "As for you, I hope you can survive until after the big competition. Now go back and rest, and make sure to clean up these useless people for me!"
"Useless people!"
Huang Kun, Kou Qing, and the others each coldly threw these words at Ezheng and the others before following Huang Yongfeng, who was laughing loudly, and leaving in a grand manner. Ezheng and his companions, full of anger but helpless, were left behind.
Huang Qinglan sighed again, looked at Ezheng with sympathy, and said softly, "This is a critical time. Try to endure it and don't give Huang Yongfeng any reason to take advantage of you. Otherwise, even Huang Yu won't be able to save you!"
After saying that, Huang Qinglan turned and walked away.
