Section 549: Unfathomable
In this battle, Ye Zhong made a name for himself.
Su City was in an uproar! So was the entire Kingdom of Dongyun! The news spread from Su City to every corner of the world at an astonishing speed. Within a short time, the news had reached Xihan and Nan Zhou, and even the scattered smaller nations quickly learned of it.
The whole world was astounded!
Xuan Ning was already a top-tier shooter, yet he was defeated by Ye Zhong. This battle established Ye Zhong’s lofty status, and his title as a Close-Combat Master was truly well-deserved.
The citizens of Su City were overjoyed. Although the unique combat style seemed mysterious to them, witnessing such a historic moment filled them with excitement. Unbeknownst to Ye Zhong, his battle with Xuan Ning appeared extraordinarily spectacular to ordinary people. After this fight, Ye Zhong became an idol worshipped by countless individuals.
Moreover, the fact that the first Close-Combat Master in Dongyun’s history—and the world’s first ever—emerged from Dongyun filled its people with immense pride. In their eyes, Ye Zhong had become one of Dongyun’s symbolic figures. However, in the eyes of envoys from other countries, Ye Zhong was someone they respected, feared, and even despised. A Close-Combat Master meant little to them. Yet, some discerning individuals, such as Mu Chen, soon uncovered intelligence about Ye Zhong widely accepting disciples, which stirred concerns within them.
For a time, close combat became the most sought-after profession. However, other combat specialists were merely flashy imitators. Only those under Master Ye’s tutelage could claim to practice authentic close combat.
Without any additional promotion, Ye Zhong’s brand was already established. Soon after, the recruitment for Master Ye’s second batch of apprentices was about to begin. Youngsters who had regretted missing the previous opportunity were now eagerly awaiting their chance.
In contrast to Ye Zhong’s dazzling fame, Duan Qian’s achievement as the only close-combat fighter among the top eight also made headlines, albeit on a smaller scale. Consequently, Duan Qian was nicknamed “Little Ye.” Although he revered Ye Zhong as if he were a deity, he deeply disliked this moniker.
After all, no true genius wants to be called “the second” someone.
A wave of enthusiasm for learning close combat swept across Dongyun, exactly as Su Men·Xiyehua had hoped. Soon, Su Men·Xiyehua swiftly issued a series of measures to fuel this trend, such as distributing standardized basic close-combat textbooks authored by Ye Zhong to various regions. This book quickly spread to other nations on the continent and, over the next few hundred years, became the most influential book of its time.
Almost simultaneously, the military department issued documents raising the conscription standards, adding physical fitness requirements. They also began recruiting soldiers skilled in close combat, offering extremely high benefits. However, for the time being, there were no takers.
During this period, Su City was a whirlwind of activity, with many events profoundly impacting the continent’s future situation. Visionaries like Mu Chen had already noticed Dongyun’s national power quietly rising.
Yet, Ye Zhong paid no attention to these matters. As soon as the exhibition match ended, he returned to his manor, leaving Duan Qian—eager to become his disciple—with no opportunity to approach him.
The first thing Ye Zhong did upon returning to his manor was to summon Sha Ya.
Ye Zhong asked Sha Ya, “What kind of place is Darkniss?”
Sha Ya glanced at him suspiciously. She hadn’t expected Ye Zhong to call her in urgently just to ask this question. “Darkniss? Why are you suddenly interested in it?”
However, she knew Ye Zhong would never answer such a question. After a brief pause, she said, “Darkniss is a very strange and dangerous place. Generally, only experts of level seven or above can truly enter Darkniss. The outskirts of Darkniss consist of the Sand Zone and the Mist Zone.
The Sand Zone is always dusty and desolate, with very few signs of other life. However, the creatures that survive there are extremely formidable. For shooters above level six, the Sand Zone isn’t too dangerous unless they encounter terrifying beings like sand scorpion swarms. It’s impossible to pilot combat aircraft in the Sand Zone, as sandstorms can arise at any moment, making it highly perilous.
Beyond the Sand Zone lies the Mist Zone. Unlike the dry, water-scarce Sand Zone, the Mist Zone is a jungle shrouded in purple mist, with a very humid climate. The vegetation there grows densely. If one’s spiritual sense isn’t strong enough, it’s best not to enter the Mist Zone, as eyesight is nearly useless there. One must rely on spiritual sense to detect their surroundings. The Mist Zone teems with life, mostly small creatures, particularly insects, but they are difficult to deal with and often appear in swarms. Additionally, the area is filled with dangerous plants, making it an exceedingly hazardous place.”
Ye Zhong suddenly interjected, “The mist is purple?”
Sha Ya nodded and replied, “Yes.”
Seeing Ye Zhong fall silent again, Shaya continued, "After passing through the Mist Zone, we truly enter Darknis. Darknis is underground, where sunlight never reaches, and crimson magma flows everywhere like rivers. Although there's no sunlight in Darknis, the plant life isn't sparse; in fact, it's much more lush than in the Sand Zone. I've always found that very strange.
The creatures in Darknis are extremely powerful, and the slightest carelessness can mean death. Heavy stones are found everywhere there; they are a specialty of Darknis and exist only in that place."
Ye Zhong knew that what Shaya called "heavy stones" were actually metals. However, they likely weren't naturally occurring pure metallic elements but rather metal ores with a high metal content.
"Marksmen who enter Darknis often bring some heavy stones out with them. They are very rare materials and can be traded to weapon smiths for quite good weapons. The turtle-grained wood from last time also came from Darknis. Darknis has extremely rich resources, and due to its different geographical environment, the materials produced there are vastly different from ordinary materials from the outside. Unfortunately, very few people can enter Darknis, and because you have to pass through the Mist Zone and the Sand Zone, it's impossible to enter using fighter craft.
There are many fierce creatures in Darknis. The deeper you go, the more vicious the creatures you encounter. What we currently refer to as the depths of Darknis is only about ten days' journey inward from the entrance. As for the true depths, no one has ever been there. No one knows how large Darknis is, how deep it goes, or what its true depths look like."
Ye Zhong suddenly thought of the Red-Tailed Beast sent by the Western Cold Kingdom. He asked Shaya, "Have you ever seen a creature with a red arrow-like tail?"
Shaya thought for a moment, then shook her head: "No, I haven't. There are too many creatures in Darknis, and they are all surprisingly powerful. We always try to avoid their active areas. Moreover, the creatures there have their own territories and generally do not cross boundaries."
"Oh?" A thought suddenly struck Ye Zhong. "They don't cross boundaries?"
Shaya nodded: "Yes. This is actually quite strange. Ever since Darknis was discovered, people have been worried about creatures from Darknis escaping. You know, there are too many powerful monsters there. Among those we've discovered so far, there are several types of monsters with strength equivalent to Level 8 marksmen, and there are even a few that Level 8 marksmen simply cannot match. And in the depths, who knows if there are even stronger creatures. If these creatures were to escape, it would be an absolute disaster for humanity; no country could withstand them.
However, from the discovery of Darknis until now, not a single such incident has occurred. Oh, I remember now, it seems a giant was spotted in Yetta City, its body entirely clad in armor made from heavy stones. But it only appeared once and then vanished. Doga and the others were concerned about this matter... Ah, it's just that no one expected..." Shaya sighed with regret for the tragic fate of Doga and the others, but then, remembering their deaths were closely related to Ye Zhong, she held back her lament.
She suddenly remembered that Ye Zhong had been in Yetta City at that time and asked curiously, "Haven't you heard about this?"
How could Ye Zhong not know? No one could have guessed that the armored black giant was actually Ye Zhong's mech, Chen. Only now did Ye Zhong realize why he had been attacked by Doga's fighter craft when piloting Chen in the forest that time.
"I heard about it," Ye Zhong felt a bit strange, but his attention quickly returned to what Shaya had just said. If there really were territorial boundaries, how did that Red-Tailed Beast get out? Moreover, Ye Zhong found it hard to believe that a creature as ferocious as the Red-Tailed Beast would adhere to something like territorial boundaries. They were inherently highly expansionistic. And from what he had seen of the Red-Tailed Beast's craving for energy, this made even less sense. This planet was extremely rich in energy, which in the eyes of the Red-Tailed Beast would be an incredibly juicy piece of meat.
But the current fact was that the Red-Tailed Beast had not emerged from Darknis, which was rather odd.
However, Shaya knew nothing about this either. Ye Zhong now realized that the mysteries in his mind had only multiplied. And all these mysteries required him to personally enter Darknis to uncover.
But that event was still a long way off. The dangers present in a place even Level 8 marksmen feared were something Ye Zhong didn't need to think hard to understand. If he wasn't fully prepared, Ye Zhong wouldn't venture in at all; he never joked with his own life.
Since all the mysteries pointed directly to Darknis, Ye Zhong began planning from that moment onward. Previously indifferent to the training of the participating youths, Ye Zhong now began to take the training seriously. Relying solely on himself to venture deep into Darknis was likely impossible. If the Red-Tailed Beasts truly lived in the depths of Darknis, Ye Zhong knew all too well that such creatures did not have the habit of fighting alone.
Ye Zhong had a quota of 5,000 to form his personal guard, an agreement reached during his first encounter with Su Men Xiyehua. In the recent agreement where he promised Su Men Xiyehua to promote close-combat in the Eastern Cloud Nation, the most important clause was that Ye Zhong would have first pick of the trained personnel. Furthermore, Ye Zhong could select members from soldiers of other legions (excluding the First Legion and the Royal Direct Guard Battalion) to form his personal guard, with the exception of high-ranking officers.
Five thousand people were sufficient for Ye Zhong; he couldn't afford to support more. Although he currently had ample funds, the expenses involved in forming a guard of 5,000 would be staggering. It would be good enough if Su Men Xiyehua didn't play any petty tricks; expecting subsidies from him was out of the question.
Funding wasn't the most critical issue, however; the most important problem was the people themselves. In Ye Zhong's view, these marksmen didn't meet his requirements. He believed mid-range combat wasn't very effective, and the fighter craft here were, in his opinion, very primitive. Ye Zhong didn't expect to train them to become close-combat pilots like himself. Ranged combat had inherent advantages here, both in terms of energy and materials. But the physical condition of the people here was the weakest he had encountered since leaving the garbage planet.
Such frail bodies were certainly sufficient for piloting fighter craft, but what about piloting mechs? They absolutely wouldn't be able to withstand the G-forces from the mechs' directional changes. In Ye Zhong's eyes, they were completely unqualified.
Under the current circumstances, Ye Zhong could only conduct the training himself. This was why Ye Zhong began to pay high attention to the training once again.
Once Ye Zhong's focus increased, life became much harder for those people. The training intensity greatly increased, and all sorts of bizarre, unheard-of training methods tortured the twenty thousand individuals, pushing them to their limits. They ran until completely exhausted every day, with many people's hands and legs still trembling even during meals.
To strengthen the physique of this group and reduce injuries, Ye Zhong specially prepared a large quantity of potions.
The green, glowing liquid emitted a nauseating odor. Everyone held their cups, their faces uniformly pale and sickly green. Many struggled internally, and even Liao San—who was seen as a demonic figure in the eyes of all the trainees—couldn’t help but show an expression of不忍卒视 (unbearable to watch). What he felt most grateful for at that moment was, "Damn it, luckily I’m here as a supervisor and not for training!"
Gui Gui’s pale face twitched, and he rarely looked at the female trainees—who were on the verge of tears—with a pitiful expression. Yet, he drifted several steps backward; the smell was truly unbearable.
However, everyone’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward Master Ye, who stood expressionlessly on the high platform. Although they had been isolated from the outside world these past few days, news of Master Ye’s victory over Xuan Ning had still reached the training ground. Since then, Ye Zhong’s reputation had reached its peak. Everyone worshipped him with utmost reverence, and the trainees’ enthusiasm for training had soared to unprecedented heights.
But this thing…
The green, glowing liquid still emitted faint wisps of steam, yet its nauseating smell slowly tortured everyone’s already fragile nerves.
Surprisingly, the first one to drink it was Shu Mo’er! She closed her eyes and resolutely gulped down the liquid without hesitation.
This shocked everyone, including Ye Zhong.
With someone setting an example, the others hesitated less. Gritting their teeth, they poured the liquid into their mouths as if taking medicine.
Strangely enough, while the liquid smelled revolting, it didn’t taste as bad as expected.
The effects of the liquid were remarkably clear. From then on, the number of injured people significantly decreased. And so, this liquid became a daily essential drink for the group.
Looking down at the sun-tanned youths below, their bodies had become much sturdier compared to before, though they were still far from meeting Ye Zhong’s standards. This could only be achieved gradually—there was no rushing it. Out of 20,000 people, how many would ultimately meet the standards? Ye Zhong wasn’t sure. To shorten the cycle as much as possible, Ye Zhong announced the recruitment of a second batch of trainees.
However, Ye Zhong was quite satisfied with the military qualities these individuals displayed. As the head supervisor, Liao San’s way of doing things directly influenced the conduct of these 20,000 people. He was a pure soldier, most familiar with military methods, so it was natural for him to implement full military management here.
Although he felt that assigning a deputy battalion commander of the Royal Direct Guard Battalion to serve as a supervisor here was a complete waste, since he was here, his style was to carry out the task meticulously.
It was predictable that those who emerged from this training camp would be no strangers to militarized practices—precisely what Ye Zhong needed.
The celebrations and the national competition had finally come to an end, allowing Ye Zhong to focus on other matters. The weapon-making competition was a week away, and during this time, Ye Zhong planned to thoroughly renovate his estate. By the standards of a base, it was far too rudimentary.
Su Men·Xiyehua looked at Xuan Ning, who remained unconscious, with a very grim expression. Although Xuan Ning possessed high personal combat prowess, that wasn’t what Su Men valued most about him. Xuan Ning was efficient, diligent, and loyal—someone he had personally promoted. Moreover, he was upright and possessed a pure military demeanor, which Su Men·Xiyehua greatly admired.
"How could I have been so foolish as to pit such a madman against Xuan Ning?" Su Men·Xiyehua懊恼无比 (felt extremely懊恼). That lunatic, that murderous maniac! Su Men·Xiyehua had cursed Ye Zhong countless times in his heart.
However, the main responsibility for this incident lay with him. Su Men·Xiyehua knew very well what kind of person Ye Zhong was, and he was equally aware of Xuan Ning’s character. At the time, he had only been thinking about how to elevate Ye Zhong’s prestige but had overlooked their personalities.
Xuan Ning was serious, straightforward, and carried a heavy杀气 (killing intent); Ye Zhong was even more serious, more straightforward, and carried an even heavier杀气 (killing intent)!
When these two clashed, it was like lightning striking a fire!
Su Men·Xiyehua had another doubt—Ye Zhong’s decision to recruit a second batch of trainees. Ye Zhong’s主动提出 (proactive proposal) of this request had delighted Su Men·Xiyehua, who agreed on the spot. But now, thinking calmly, he found it somewhat perplexing. From the beginning, Ye Zhong had shown little interest in recruiting apprentices; it was only through a series of conditions that Su Men had managed to secure his agreement. So why would Ye Zhong now主动要求 (proactively request) to recruit a second batch? How could this not puzzle Su Men·Xiyehua?
Su Men·Xiyehua couldn’t understand the motivation behind Ye Zhong’s move.