Chapter 120: A Storm Approaches

Outside the gates of Qingliang Prefecture, Xu Peng exchanged a few words with a burly young man and learned that he was a rogue player aligned with the Order Faction.

Within the Order Faction, the Vigil Keeper represented the official forces of China, but that didn’t mean all players in this faction were part of the Vigil Keeper organization.

In fact, the selection process for the Vigil Keeper was extremely rigorous, especially regarding personal character, adhering to the principle of “quality over quantity.” Joining the organization and receiving official support required passing multiple assessments.

Moreover, not all players in the Order Faction or Freedom Faction wanted to join the Vigil Keeper. Many preferred to roam Star Gates freely, living a laid-back life of “mining” without getting involved with any organizations.

These players might not enjoy the benefits of being a Vigil Keeper or have access to large-scale, highly competitive Star Gates, but they were free and unrestricted, which had its own appeal.

The young man traveling with Xu Peng was such a player. Though they weren’t part of the same group, being in the same faction made communication easy and amicable.

When they arrived at the city gate, Xu Peng stepped forward and asked a guard, “Sir, we heard that Prince Huai has issued a recruitment order. We wish to enlist—where can we sign up?”

The soldier turned around and pointed toward the inner city streets. “Register at the government office.”

“Thank you.”

The soldier nodded haughtily, saying nothing more.

“Let’s go.”

Xu Peng called out to his companion, and the two stepped into the city.

As they walked along the main street, they noticed bloodstains in several places and many soldiers handling corpses.

“This place looks like it just went through an armed conflict…” The young man glanced around uneasily. “Creepy.”

Xu Peng stopped and asked a simple-looking city resident, “Brother, my companion and I just arrived in Qingliang Prefecture. Can you tell us what happened here?”

A man in his thirties furtively glanced around before replying in a hushed tone, “The imperial court is riddled with corruption. They say that old Emperor has repeatedly forced Prince Huai and wanted to take his life. But Prince Huai refused to sit and wait for death—so he just rebelled… even the Prefect, Feng Xing, was killed.”

Xu Peng was stunned. It had only been five days, and this guy had already launched a rebellion? That’s reckless… but he’s certainly capable.

After asking a few more questions, Xu Peng understood Prince Huai’s current situation—he had successfully taken over the city and regained control of military and political power.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the two arrived at the government office’s personnel department.

As the saying goes, a local government office has three divisions and six departments, one of which was the personnel department. This department had a simple function—handling promotions, disciplinary actions, and recruitment within the local administration.

In modern terms, it was basically the HR department.

Entering the courtyard, they saw a middle-aged man with a mustache lounging lazily at the entrance, sipping tea.

The mustached man glanced at them and asked, “Are you two supernatural beings who saw the recruitment order and came specifically for it?”

“Yes.” Xu Peng nodded and cupped his hands. “We have heard of Prince Huai’s benevolence and great ambitions, and we wish to follow him.”

The mustached man paused before solemnly saying, “The imperial court is corrupt, and Emperor Jing is unjust. We only recruit righteous supernatural beings willing to defend Qingliang Prefecture to the death. Can you two do that?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a Star Gate notification rang in Xu Peng and his companion’s ears.

[Master, you have received a mission from the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate.]

[Main Quest: Join Prince Huai’s faction, swear to defend Qingliang Prefecture, and assist Prince Huai in obtaining the mysterious inheritance from Princess Anping’s tomb.]

[Victory Conditions: If Prince Huai ultimately survives and achieves victory, you will receive substantial rewards, including Stellar Essence, experience, and rare items.]

[Special Reminder: Once you accept this quest, you may not betray Prince Huai, abandon the quest, or flee on your own. Otherwise, you will face a death penalty. Additionally, once the mission begins, a mandatory conflict rule will be enforced between opposing factions—even if you don’t intend to kill others, they will try to kill you. Please consider carefully before accepting this quest.]

[Quest Difficulty: First-Tier Star Gate, SSS-rated.]

[Quest Background: Emperor Jing of the Great Qian Dynasty…]

As the string of notifications faded from his ears, the burly young man beside Xu Peng furrowed his brows. “An SSS-level mission where you can’t betray, can’t give up, and can’t run away? And there’s a mandatory conflict rule?! Does that mean… there’s some kind of kill score system? In other words, I can’t even just coast along and claim a minimal reward?”

Xu Peng nodded. “That’s about right.”

“Then I’m out.” The burly young man immediately declined. “I’ve never played this kind of high-intensity PvP mode before. My life is more important—forget it, forget it…!”

For many players, an SSS-level Star Gate quest offered lucrative rewards and was highly tempting, but it also came with extreme risks of death. So, without hesitation, the young man chose to withdraw from the quest.

Xu Peng remained standing in place, hesitating.

For him, this particular Star Gate mission wasn’t especially attractive. He was a Light-system player, with the subclass title of “Barefoot Doctor.” Participating in a straightforward battle-focused mission like this wouldn’t do much for his personal growth beyond some Stellar Essence and experience points.

Simply put, it didn’t match his specialization. He preferred exploring ancient Star Gates related to traditional Chinese medicine, as they were less risky and had a higher probability of granting profession-specific items and skills.

A large-scale battlefield with hundreds of participants was too chaotic and dangerous, and the rewards might not even be useful for him. This type of Star Gate was better suited for combat-focused professional players.

However, as a Vigil Keeper, he knew this Star Gate was related to Ren Ye. And after hearing the background story, it was clear that the imperial court would soon send troops to crush Qingliang Prefecture in the next phase.

The Seven-Shot Warlord was in serious danger…

Xu Peng paused for a moment before decisively saying to the middle-aged man with the mustache, “I am willing to pledge my allegiance to Prince Huai!”

“Write down your origin, hometown, and name here.” The mustached man gestured to a registry book on the table.

Xu Peng briefly recalled his character’s backstory and wrote down the required information.

[Congratulations, Master. You have successfully accepted the mission: Qingliang Prefecture—Final Battle at the Tomb of Princess Anping. Mission starts in 119:59:56.]

Hearing the notification, Xu Peng murmured, “Five days?!”

Beside him, the burly young man chuckled. “Bro, you’re bold—taking on a mission where tons of people are going to die?”

“Heh.” Xu Peng smiled but said nothing more.

“Well, I’m heading out. Maybe we’ll cross paths again someday.”

“Alright.”

After a brief exchange, the young man summoned his personal Gate Spirit and swiftly exited the Star Gate.

As Xu Peng stepped outside, he noticed a large number of unfamiliar faces eagerly making their way toward the administrative office.

It wasn’t hard to guess—many first-tier players from the outside world must have received the same recruitment mission from this Star Gate.

Shing!

With a flash of light, Xu Peng left Qingliang Prefecture and returned to the real world.

…

After returning home in his pajamas, Xu Peng rushed to his bedroom.

“Dad, Mom, my workplace just called. I have to go on a sudden business trip. You’ll have to eat dinner without me—I need to leave right away.”

His father was stunned. “What’s so urgent?”

“It’s really urgent. No time to explain, I have to go now.” Xu Peng changed into his clothes, grabbed his backpack, and said, “If anything comes up, call me. Bye!”

In the kitchen, his mother sighed upon hearing this. She suddenly lost the motivation to finish cooking.
“There’s only one more dish left, and now he’s saying he’s not eating…!”

“Thanks for cooking! You two enjoy it—hehe!” Xu Peng chuckled at his mother in the kitchen and waved as he left. “I’m off!”

“Stay safe. If you’re flying, give us a call when you land.”

“Got it.”

Xu Peng jogged out of the house.

Five minutes later, his parents sat at the dining table, looking at the lavish meal prepared for their weekend family dinner. Silence filled the air.

“Come on, let’s eat. Just the two of us is fine too—let’s have a drink.” His father was the first to break the silence.

“He barely makes any money, yet he’s this busy every day. Sigh.” His mother sighed and absentmindedly picked up her chopsticks. “You drink, I’ll keep you company.”

…

Downstairs.

As Xu Peng drove to work, various player social groups had already exploded with activity.

The news of Qingliang Prefecture opening and recruiting 500 players spread like a bombshell, setting the player community ablaze.

Everyone was discussing how this large-scale confrontation mission felt reminiscent of the battle three years ago. Even though many didn’t want to participate, they were still eager spectators, speculating about what kind of legacy lay within the Princess’s Tomb and what rewards both factions might receive.

In the car, Xu Peng picked up his phone and dialed Huang Wei.
“Boss, I got the Qingliang Prefecture mission.”

“You got it?!” Huang Wei was taken aback. “Are you the only one from our unit who got it?”

“Not sure yet. I’m on my way now.” Xu Peng asked, “Has Ren Ye contacted you? Do you know the details of the Qingliang Prefecture mission?”

“He already reached out to me. The final battle starts in five days.” Huang Wei paused. “Headquarters wants him to come to the Capital. Since you got the mission too, head back to find him and come together—we’re leaving tonight.”

“Understood.” Xu Peng nodded and added, “The mission is being distributed randomly. There are 500 slots for supernatural beings, but we don’t know how many will go to Vigil Keepers. Also, this phase doesn’t have tokens, meaning players can’t transfer entry slots between each other.”

“That’s critical information.” Huang Wei nodded in satisfaction. “Come quickly. The higher-ups will figure something out.”

“Got it.”

About half an hour later, Xu Peng arrived at his workplace and met Ren Ye and Tang Feng.

“Oh, Master!?” Ren Ye smiled at the reserved young man. “I’m still alive—this is the best day ever.”

Xu Peng scratched his head sheepishly. “Don’t call me Master, it feels weird. I also got the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate mission. In the next phase… we might be fighting side by side.”

“Huh? You got it too?!” Tang Feng was visibly surprised.

…

Vigil Keeper Headquarters – Vermilion Bird City.

At the Moon-Gazing Pavilion, a man in a crimson robe stood, gazing into the night over the cityscape. A pure white carrier pigeon flew toward him.

He raised his hand, and the pigeon landed in his palm.

“Master, Qingliang Prefecture only has 500 slots, and they were assigned randomly. The slots cannot be transferred.”

The pigeon spoke, its voice clear and its manner animated.

The crimson-robed man remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.
“Notify all Star Gate Officials in various regions—assemble in Vermilion Bird City for a meeting.”