CHAPTER 391: CHAPTER 36: A MASTER FALLS FROM THE SKY

Those familiar with Mercenary King Qi Yue know that he likes to wear a mask, and ordinary people can only ever see the seemingly harmless smile beneath it.

But only those who have seen the true face of Mercenary King Qi Yue know that beneath his mask, there is another mask. This mask is her best disguise. Whether faced with overwhelming odds or a myriad of enemies, her "mask" remains ever unchanged, and her lips always carry a defiant smile.

At this moment, what caught Old Kuru’s eyes was Yue Jinghua’s flawless expression. With a calm, unruffled voice, she said, "Grandpa Kuru is indeed formidable. Yes, I am Yue Jinghua, the eldest daughter of the Blood Cherry Duke Mansion, and the new lord of Fengdan County, of the Yue Clan."

Old Kuru was utterly astonished; he had not expected Yue Jinghua to also be the mysterious new lord of Fengdan County.

The spies from the Imperial Military Department have already started to slowly infiltrate Xuan Beast Ridge. Soon, the area around Mazaro Mountain will not be spared either. The emperor’s tax officer has already made the long journey here.

"Young lady, are you saying that the disappearance of that Mercenary Branch inspection team was also your doing?" When Old Kuru came back, he had heard news in Five Saints Town that a few days ago, a dozen or so mercenaries from the Five Saints Mercenary Branch had vanished around Xuan Beast Ridge.

Not a single one of them had made contact.

These were all elite members of the Five Saints Mercenary Branch, and among them was even a Four-star Mercenary named He Lei.

This news had an impact in Five Saints Town no less than a small hurricane. The Five Saints Branch even offered a reward of 10,000 Fourth-level Dark Pills just to find any useful information.

Unfortunately, several days have passed, and that little team stirred up during the night remains without any trace. Most people speculated that this small team encountered a powerful High-level Dark Beast in some part of Xuan Beast Ridge.

Although Old Kuru noticed some recent horse tracks on the mountain road when he returned to Mazaro Mountain, he had not expected that it was Yue Jinghua who had secretly interfered.

A girl in her early teens, merely a two-star little mercenary, had wiped out a whole team comprised of three-star mercenaries led by a four-star mercenary. Just thinking about it forced Old Kuru to change his attitude towards Yue Jinghua.

"Grandpa Kuru really loves to joke. I’m just an ordinary little mercenary, my two-star badge isn’t even warm yet. How could I possibly kill an entire team of elite mercenaries," Now that her female identity was exposed by Kuru, Yue Jinghua no longer hid it. With a cunning smile and eyes curved like crescents, she said, "I just used a little trick to lure those people to the mountain peak. Who knew that they would encounter a strange insect? After clashing with the insect, both ended up suffering injuries, and I just took advantage of the situation."

Hearing Yue Jinghua’s casual explanation, Old Kuru guessed that things weren’t as simple as she described. Even if those dozen elite mercenaries fought a life and death battle with the Centipede Worm, where did the bodies of the Dark Insect and those people go?

Could it be that this young girl before him is a ruthless executioner, who kills without bloodshed and devours without spitting bones?

Old Kuru’s expression changed rapidly, from astonishment, to amazement, to somewhat awe-stricken. Yet, in the end, all these emotions dispersed in a burst of loud laughter.

"Well, you little girl, with your composure, I believe even if the Federation Army’s Mercenary Group were to press down, you could stand firm like Mount Tai crumbling before you without changing your face. To think that in my old age, I could still find such an outstanding disciple, Long Ao, Long Ao, after all, I am a bit stronger than you," Old Kuru howled.

The howling resonated through the Qu Wood Forest, buzzing and reverberating like a tiger’s roar in the mountains, affecting one’s eardrums.

"Disciple?" Yue Jinghua looked at the seemingly lunatic old man in front of her who had made a loud and clear noise, and couldn’t help but roll her eyes. When did she agree to become the disciple of this moody old man?

"Little girl, do you know why your sword can’t cut through Qu Wood? If I’m not mistaken, that night, the outbreak of the Centipede Worms in the mountains was also caused by you, right? If you take me as your master, I will teach you the Hua Xuan Technique, and not just a piece of Qu Wood Forest, but even if a dozen Centipede Worms come, I can take them all," Old Kuru eyed Yue Jinghua, knowing all along that there were rare minerals hidden near the top of the Heavenly Pit, but he had not yet found the exact location of the veins.

In his early years, he competed in skills with the Empire’s Sky General, Long Ao, and lost to him by only three moves. Later, due to family obstacles to his marriage with Madan, in a fit of anger, he left the Wohua Imperial City and came to Mazaro Mountain, setting up his ranch on the mountain.

After living on the mountain for decades, his early ambition was long gone, and the only thing he still remembered was his loss to Long Ao.

He heard that Long Ao’s disciple had joined the Imperial Dragon Cavalry Group, known as one of the four top generals of the empire, which inevitably enraged him. Now, upon meeting Yue Jinghua, he was inspired to train a disciple and have her compete with Long Ao’s disciple.

Old Kuru’s calculations were very thoughtful. Yue Jinghua had a cunning and sly nature; such a person, if she were to infiltrate the Imperial Military Department, would definitely rise quickly. Being a woman was even better; stepping on Long Ao’s precious disciple would add even more glory to him.

Thinking of all these, Old Kuru couldn’t help but let out a triumphant laugh.

"Old fart, really can’t escape his gaze, but from his tone," Yue Jinghua originally intended to outright reject Old Kuru, but seeing his crazy laughing demeanor, she feared whatever she said wouldn’t be heard by the old man.

Moreover, if she were taken as a disciple, did it imply she had a certain chance to learn Old Kuru’s unique techniques of manipulating Dark Energy?

Hearing Old Kuru boast about being able to thrash a dozen Centipede Worms, Yue Jinghua’s heart thumped with excitement, yet on the surface, she still stubbornly said: "Grandpa Kuru, you say you can thrash a dozen Centipede Worms, but there are none available right now, how do I know you are not trying to trick me into becoming your disciple?"

Tricking her into becoming a disciple, Old Kuru felt a breath caught in his chest, unable to rise or fall, feeling almost as if he was choked by a gob of thick phlegm almost to the point of death.

He jumped up high, his legs kicking off the ground: "Tricking you? Do I need to trick a yellow-haired girl who hasn’t even grown all her fur yet? Think about me, the mighty Eagle of the Empire, thirty years ago, the entire Imperial Military Department had to nod and bow when they saw me, even your father Yue Nian had to call me General Kuru when he saw me, and you dare say I am deceiving you? Really, horses don’t know their faces are long and monkeys don’t know their butts are red. Fine, you don’t believe me, right? I will show you my unique skill right now, let you know what true Dark Skill is."

Old Kuru’s fiery temper, the more provoked, the more intense the reaction, now provoked by Yue Jinghua, he had long forgotten about any disciple initiation ceremony. His eagle eyes glared, and his fists, the size of two bowls, flashed with red light.