Chapter 367: Chapter 334: Am I Qualified to Steal Your Prize?

Una stepped out of the crowd, her expression calm as she looked at the adventurers.

The scarred man whipped his head around, glaring at her with cold eyes. "Who the hell are you supposed to be? You got some nerve trying to snatch my prize!"

His companions turned as well, eyeing Una like hungry wolves.

Before Una could speak, Morrek stepped forward. "We’re from the Silver Moon Race," he said in an unhurried tone. "How’s that? Does that give us the right to take your prize?"

The scarred man’s expression instantly froze. His companions stopped dead in their tracks, as if turned to stone. The surrounding onlookers, who had been itching to make a move, quickly averted their gazes as though doused in freezing water.

The name of the Silver Moon Race was an unstoppable force across the Eastern Continent. Even a mighty faction like the Steel Mane Tribe had been utterly annihilated in just a few days. These mere adventurers, scraping out a living in the wilderness, stood no chance. If they actually offended the Silver Moon Race, the Clan wouldn’t even need to act personally. A single rumor would send countless factions scrambling to hunt them down just to curry favor.

"L-Lords of the Silver Moon Race! I’m so sorry. I couldn’t keep my big mouth shut. I apologize to you milords, please don’t hold it against me..." The scarred man was decisive. Snapping out of his daze, he immediately plastered a fawning smile across his face and bowed repeatedly to Una, all his previous arrogance evaporating. The surrounding adventurers cast disdainful glances at him, yet they knew perfectly well that they would have apologized just as quickly in his shoes. Unless someone had a death wish and wanted to be driven out of the eastern half of the continent, nobody dared to offend the Silver Moon Race.

Una ignored the scarred man. She turned to the adventurer holding the short sword. "You can see for yourself. If you carry that thing, you might not make it out of this forest alive. Rather than wasting your effort, you should just sell it to me."

The adventurers exchanged glances. After a moment of hesitation, their leader gritted his teeth and nodded. "Fine, we’ll sell it to ya. But no rush on the payment. We’ll be waitin’ at the tavern in the small town twenty miles south. You can pay us after you get out. We trust the word of the Silver Moon Race."

Una took the short sword, her gaze lingering on them for a moment before she nodded. "Acceptable."

Relieved, the adventurers didn’t linger. They supported their injured companion and hurried away.

Una watched them go, feeling a trace of appreciation. Taking the payment now carried the risk of being robbed by others. Waiting until they reached the town significantly reduced that danger. A massive organization like the Silver Moon Race wouldn’t covet such a paltry sum, either. Thinking that far ahead proved these guys had sharp minds.

Una withdrew her gaze and looked down at the short sword in her hand. The edge of the blade had several tiny notches, but the metal still emitted a cold gleam. A faint, dark luster was visible along the spine. She retrieved a gray, pigeon-egg-sized bead from her waist and pressed the flat of the blade against it. This was a Talisman specially distributed by the Clan to Taichu City disciples who accepted missions, designed to detect Spirit Souls. A faint glimmer soon flickered inside the bead, pulsing on and off like a firefly cupped in the palm of a hand at night.

"It is indeed a Spirit Soul," Una said with certainty, putting the bead away.

Morrek leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Captain, what’s our next move?"

Una looked up at the dark, gaping crevice. "We go in," she said without hesitation. They had finally found the source of the Spiritual Weapons. This was an excellent opportunity to earn a massive amount of Contribution Points, and she naturally wouldn’t let it slip by.

The others clearly shared her mindset, rubbing their hands together in eager anticipation. Morrek, in particular, was counting on saving up enough Contribution Points to earn an early promotion to a formal disciple of Taichu City. This was undoubtedly a perfect chance.

"However, before we go in, we will report the situation here to our superiors and gather some manpower." Una took out a Sound Transmission Talisman from her robes, infused it with a wisp of Spiritual Qi, and gave a brief summary of their situation and coordinates. After that, she pulled out a Thousand Mechanism Feather.

"Captain," the Catman youth couldn’t help but ask. "Are we really gonna call people over? Won’t we have to split the credit?"

Una shook her head. "We have already pinpointed the source of the Spiritual Weapons. The greatest merit of this mission is safely in our hands, and no one can steal it. All that remains is actually retrieving the Spiritual Weapons.

"You heard what those men said earlier. There are numerous Undead inside, and the danger is quite high. With the meager strength of our squad, going in would be a gamble with our lives.

"There is no need for us to take unnecessary risks. It is much safer to gather more helpers before heading inside. Earning a share of the remaining credit will be good enough. If we try to swallow the whole prize ourselves, we might just lose our lives in the process."

The group thought it over and agreed. Discovering the source of the Spiritual Weapons had been pure luck. In terms of overall combat power, they weren’t actually that strong. They didn’t even have a Silver Tier expert in their squad, making the expedition genuinely perilous.

Seeing no further objections, Una channeled Spiritual Qi into the Thousand Mechanism Feather. The feather trembled slightly before shooting into the sky as a streak of flowing light. It exploded into a very faint cyan halo, slowly dispersing among the clouds. The cyan light faded entirely, like thin ink blown away by the wind, blending tracelessly into the grayish-white canopy of the sky in the blink of an eye.

Her tasks complete, Una found a rock near the cave entrance, sat down, and waited patiently. The others sat down beside her, clutching their weapons and occasionally glancing around.

The surrounding adventurers lacked such patience. Upon learning that the Magic Equipment they dreamed of lay beyond the cavern, they couldn’t hold back and immediately rushed inside. As more people went in, the remaining groups grew increasingly afraid that someone else would beat them to the prize, prompting them to grit their teeth and follow suit.

Before long, the once-crowded clearing grew desolate. Only Una’s group and a few hesitant adventuring parties remained.

Time slowly ticked away.

A short while later, the faint rustle of fabric brushing against leaves emerged from the woods. Two young disciples clad in cyan robes dashed out of the underbrush. Their gazes swept the area and quickly locked onto Una.

As Romance’s only disciple, the Dog-man Maiden enjoyed quite a resounding reputation in Taichu City. Many disciples recognized her, and these two new arrivals were no exception.

"Senior Sister Una, did you release the Thousand Mechanism Feather?" The disciple leading the way looked surprised. "Did something happen?"

Una didn’t keep them in suspense. She immediately gave a brief recount of what had transpired. Hearing her tale, joyous expressions broke out on both disciples’ faces. They, too, had ventured out after accepting the mission regarding the Spiritual Weapons. Unfortunately, they hadn’t found any clues. They never expected Una to make a discovery so quickly.

"Senior Sister Una, we will remember this favor. If you ever need our help in the future, just give the word." The two disciples thanked her profusely.

Una didn’t stand on ceremony, calmly accepting their gratitude.

As time passed, more people gradually arrived. There were lone Taichu City disciples, pairs and trios traveling together, and even those who, like Una, led a squad of Vassal Races. Upon learning the intel about the Spiritual Weapons from Una, these Taichu City disciples were overjoyed, each declaring that they owed her a favor. After all, this was a fantastic opportunity to earn a massive amount of Contribution Points.

In less than an hour, over twenty Taichu City disciples had gathered in the clearing, along with more than sixty members of the Vassal Races. Seeing this, Una was just about to speak when her expression suddenly shifted. She turned her head toward the front right.

A slender figure gracefully glided out from the forest. It was a Half-Elf maiden wearing a cyan robe, exuding an aura of cool, otherworldly detachment. Her steps were so light they barely made a sound on the fallen leaves. The dark patterns on the hem of her robe brushed slightly against the ground as she walked, like a paper-thin layer of water washing over a shallow shoal. Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the tree canopy and landed on the tips of her silver-gray hair, but it didn’t linger, as though gently pushed away by something frigid.

Upon seeing the newcomer’s face and figure clearly, many disciples gasped in low voices.

"It’s Ivy."

"She was in the area too?"

"What a coincidence."

Una widened her eyes and stared at the Half-Elf maiden. So this was Ivy, the girl who possessed the Taiyin Body and was universally acknowledged as the most talented disciple among them. Una had heard Ivy’s name countless times, but this was her first time seeing the girl in person. She couldn’t help but study her curiously.

On the other side, Morrek’s gaze landed on Ivy, a complex expression crossing his face. He hadn’t seen her in years, and the Half-Elf maiden’s transformation was even more drastic than he had anticipated. The sense of distance she used to carry was still there, but it had settled into something far more reserved. She was like thin ice on a winter river, concealing bottomless depths beneath. She appeared increasingly ethereal and transcendent, like the bright, pure light of the silver moon—so blinding that one dared not stare for too long.

Morrek subconsciously averted his gaze. He lowered his head and pretended to organize the talismans in his hands, his fingertips repeatedly rubbing against the edges of the paper.

Ivy raised her eyes and swept her gaze over the assembled Taichu City disciples. Her eyes lingered on Morrek for a brief moment before shifting to Una. When she spoke, her voice was clear and cold.

"Before I came here, Senior Sister Fu Luo contacted me. She said the Clan has already dispatched personnel, but the Iron Hill Kingdom is quite far from the Taichu Spirit Realm. It will take some time for reinforcements to arrive. She told us to handle the situation as we see fit for now."

The crowd exchanged glances, and someone quickly spoke up.

"Many adventurers went in before us. If we wait for reinforcements, there might not even be scraps left."

"Yeah, we have quite a few people already. It wouldn’t hurt to go in first and scope out the situation."

The surrounding disciples chimed in with their agreement. Unlike Una and Ivy—who either had strong backgrounds or were highly valued by the higher-ups—the rest of them had to hoard Cultivation Resources entirely on their own. Opportunities to earn a massive amount of Contribution Points were rare. Now that they had stumbled upon such a rare chance, they naturally didn’t want to let it slip through their fingers.

"I also think we can go in and take a look first," Una added at this moment. Had Ivy not appeared, she would have hesitated. But since Ivy was here, there was nothing left to second-guess.

The others might not know, but Una was certain that an exceptionally talented disciple like Ivy would absolutely carry life-saving trump cards while adventuring outside. After all, the higher-ups wouldn’t allow such a promising seedling to perish in the wilderness. With Ivy around, their group shouldn’t have to worry about running into an insurmountable crisis.

Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Ivy didn’t object. She nodded, her expression impassive.

"Then we shall go in first."

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