Chapter 524: Seventeen Cloudchain Strongholds!
As the prefecture city governing one hundred and eight county cities, Mistcloud Prefecture City was at least ten times larger than Greenmist City. Even the guards stationed at the city gates were experts at the Half-Step Earthly Core Realm.
At this moment, the entrance to the City Lord Mansion of Mistcloud Prefecture City was crowded with cultivators who had come from various county cities to participate in the Golden Dragon Guard trials.
Each county city had around a dozen people who had passed the preliminary trial. With one hundred and eight cities combined, there were nearly two thousand cultivators participating in the second trial.
Most of these people were at the 1st or 2nd level of Earthly Core Realm, with only a small minority at the Half-Step Earthly Core Realm. However, Li Yun was the only one who was merely at the 4th level of Mortal Core Realm.
Consequently, the moment Li Yun’s group landed, everyone’s gaze immediately fell on him.
A wave of whispers spread through the crowd, and many people’s expressions became extremely strange.
4th level of Mortal Core Realm?
Since when could a cultivator at the 4th level of Mortal Core Realm pass the preliminary trial of the Golden Dragon Guard?
Li Yun ignored the strange gazes around him. As for Lan Yichen and the others from Greenmist City, they sneered inwardly when they saw those doubtful looks.
Others might not know the truth, but as cultivators who had come from Greenmist City with Li Yun, they knew exactly how terrifying his strength was. Anyone who underestimated him would definitely pay a painful price.
As time passed, cultivators from all one hundred and eight county cities arrived at Mistcloud Prefecture City, and the area around the City Lord Mansion became increasingly lively.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Finally, three white-haired elders flew out from a magnificent hall that shimmered with golden light. In an instant, they landed before Li Yun and the others.
These three were none other than deacons of the Golden Dragon Hall.
The Cloudheaven Ancient Kingdom’s management of the Golden Dragon Guard was fairly loose. The Golden Dragon Hall was not meant to restrict the Golden Dragon Guards too much. Instead, it mainly served as a place where they could interact, exchange information, and trade treasures.
Generally speaking, the deacons of the Golden Dragon Hall were rather amiable. However, these three elders all wore extremely solemn expressions, appearing stern and difficult to approach.
Swish!
The three elders formed hand seals at the same time. Immediately afterward, nearly two thousand tokens flew out and landed in the hands of Li Yun and the others.
These tokens were all crafted from bluestone. A circle of complex patterns covered their surfaces, and those patterns seemed to contain a certain restriction. A peculiar fluctuation faintly spread from within them.
"Hold onto your tokens."
One elder spoke indifferently, his face solemn. "These tokens will be vital to your upcoming trial. Furthermore, I may as well tell you now that this trial is a classified mission. With these tokens on you, none of you will be able to use any method of communication. Is that understood?"
"Understood."
As soon as those words were spoken, many people’s expressions changed slightly.
These were cultivators who had either participated in the Golden Dragon Guard trials before or had some understanding of the second trial.
The second trial of the Golden Dragon Guard was different every year, but it always involved carrying out a specific mission. Among these missions, some were relatively simple while others were extremely dangerous. However, among all of them, the most difficult were undoubtedly classified missions.
Very few people knew the details of classified missions. Even those who did know something usually kept their mouths shut. However, one thing was certain. The difficulty of a classified mission was absolutely immense.
If an ordinary mission had a ninety percent mortality rate, then a classified mission often reached ninety-five or even ninety-seven percent.
Every time a classified mission appeared, very few people managed to survive.
News about the difficulty of classified missions quickly spread among all the candidates. For a moment, many cultivators’ faces turned pale, and thoughts of withdrawal began to rise in their hearts.
Unfortunately, at this stage, withdrawing was already impossible. If anyone insisted on quitting now, the people from the Golden Dragon Hall would eliminate them on the spot.
The three elders ignored the different expressions in the crowd. Whether the candidates looked embarrassed, expectant, confident, or terrified, the elders simply waited in silence without saying another word.
Suddenly, the expressions of the three elders changed slightly, as though they had received some command. They waved their hands at the same time and spoke indifferently.
"Time is up. Move out."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of Sky Azure Eagles descended from the sky. Under the leadership of the three elders, the group set off toward the mission destination.
The journey lasted a full two hours.
Two hours later, a massive mountain range appeared before Li Yun and the others.
Although it was called a single mountain range, it was actually formed from seventeen mountain ranges connected together. Because they merged so naturally, they looked like one enormous body of mountains.
From a distance, the seventeen mountain ranges looked like a giant cloud lying across the earth. Thick white mist shrouded the entire area, severely obstructing visibility. Even though everyone present was at least a powerful cultivator, they were completely unable to see clearly into the depths of the mountains.
"Cloudchain Mountain Range?"
"It is actually the Cloudchain Mountain Range. Could this mission be..."
Upon seeing the vast mountain range shrouded in white mist like a giant cloud, many people seemed to realize something. Their faces instantly turned grim, and some even became deathly pale, as though all color had drained from them.
"It seems some of you have already guessed the nature of this mission."
The three old men stood expressionless. One of them spoke indifferently, "Correct. This assessment mission is to exterminate the Seventeen Cloudchain Strongholds within the Cloudchain Mountain Range."
Whoosh!
As soon as those words fell, an uproar erupted among the crowd.
The Seventeen Cloudchain Strongholds consisted of seventeen bandit fortresses. The leaders of the three main strongholds were all peak Earthly Core Realm experts, while the remaining fourteen strongholds each had late-stage Earthly Core Realm experts at the 7th or 8th level overseeing them.
When united, the seventeen strongholds possessed strength that even surpassed many prefecture cities. Several nearby prefecture cities had been repeatedly harassed and plundered by the Seventeen Cloudchain Strongholds, yet they had never been able to launch an effective counterattack.
Within the entire Mistcloud Prefecture, the Seventeen Cloudchain Strongholds were a notorious malignant tumor.