Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 672 Heaven 3000

Nearly a hundred people instinctively formed a fan shape around Shi Chun, naturally wanting to communicate and get to know him. After all, they still had a tough time ahead, and they didn't even know their team leader's name.

The list of team leaders selected through the competition was actually made public beforehand, and they had gathered around the announcement to check it out. However, that only included the list of successful participants; those who did not participate were not included. Moreover, Shi Chun was not the only one who was directly appointed as a team leader without participating in the competition.

This decision rests entirely with Commander Manxi's judgment. He believes that some people have the ability to become captains without needing a competition, and that is his right. Whether it's a means to eliminate unexpected events or to use resources wisely, he has no need for outsiders to interfere with his troop deployment.

It was a list of more than two thousand people. Few of the participants would be so idle as to count all the names of those two thousand people, nor would anyone bother to remember all the names on the list.

At the feet of a group of people, there were stones embedded in the ground that marked the number "3000".

Before they found their respective team positions, they had no idea who their teammates were.

This is purely for confidentiality purposes, to prevent the team's lineup and strategy from being leaked in advance. The consequences of leaking information are quite serious. If others know the location of your team's main players, they may be wiped out by the opponent as soon as they appear on the field.

There's no way around it. With so many people involved, who knows if any of them have been recruited by other teams as informants? Now that things are like this, even if there are informants, they won't be able to figure out the situation. For the most time, they can only find out the situation of their own squad.

Of course, the command core of these teams is aware of the situation of each team's personnel. After all, the team assignments of all personnel are the result of their careful consideration. They must know the details, but they have taken strict measures to keep it confidential.

Shi Chun, the centurion, had just received the details of his team's personnel. The list was contained within his centurion token, which could be accessed through spellcasting.

Before Shi Chun and the others arrived, the members of the 3,000-person team had already gotten to know each other, and now they were finally waiting for their captain.

But when everyone eagerly gathered around, they found that the centurion seemed a bit aloof, arrogant, and unwilling to pay attention to them.

Shi Chun was still in a daze, ignoring his teammates in front of him, and slightly raised his chin, still staring at the pavilion in the distance.

Ming Shanzong and his group were also unsure of Shi Chun's intentions. Seeing Shi Chun's attitude, they did not dare to make contact with their teammates without authorization.

Wu Jinliang sized up the eighty or so people in front of him and found that they were all sorts of people. There seemed to be seven or eight women, and the rest were all men of different ages. Some looked young, and some looked very old. He just didn't know how many of them were prisoners and how many had been tricked into coming here.

After noticing that something was wrong with Shi Chun, unlike the others, he nudged Shi Chun with his elbow and said, "Boss, everyone's waiting for you."

The address "Big Boss" immediately made the eighty or so people who arrived earlier understand how to address this team leader.

One person taking the lead directly established the way they would be addressed thereafter.

Shi Chun then came to his senses and slowly scanned the group of people of all kinds in front of him.

An old man stepped forward, pointed to the name on his chest, and cupped his hands, saying, "I am Chai Wenwu. May I ask how the chief is addressed?"

Each of the men's armors had a two-finger-wide flap on either side of the collar, which could be used as a small button when needed. The old man's flap had the name 'Chai Wenwu' engraved on one side and the words 'Tian San Ling Ling Ling' on the other. It was clearly newly engraved and intended for identification.

Ming Shanzong and the others looked at the people in the nearby teams and found that it wasn't just their team doing this; it seemed that all the teams were doing it this way.

Shi Chun did not answer directly. He stared at the old man in contemplation for a while before glancing at everyone and nodding slightly in greeting, saying, "My name is Wang Ping."

Upon hearing this, Ming Shanzong and his group were all secretly taken aback. What the heck? Why are they using aliases?
Wu Jinliang's astonished reaction was even more obvious. If he was going to go in, he would just have to find a chance to hide in the underworld. Why bother with an alias? He keenly realized that something was wrong.

Then he bowed to the crowd and said, "My name is Gao He."

The Mingshan Sect members exchanged bewildered glances, but quickly realized that the centurion's token was in the hands of their leader, preventing others from seeing their names.

Wu Hong was the first to follow suit, bowing to the crowd and saying, "My name is Wu Jiang."

Chen Wuji cupped his hands and said, "My name is Chen Ji."

Fang Zicheng followed suit, cupping his hands and saying, "I am Fang Zicheng."

Xiao Sheng cupped his hands and said, "My name is Xiao Mu."

Haoji cupped his hands and said, "My name is Tianji."

Tong Mingshan, with his silver hair, white eyebrows, and dignified appearance, nodded slightly and said, "Tong Shan."

Shen Moming cupped his hands and said, "Shen Ming."

An Wuzhi cupped his hands and said, "An Youzhi."

Zhu Xiangxin nodded slightly and said, "Xiangxin."

They were all quick learners and didn't need to be taught. Mulan and Qingqing naturally followed suit and became bad. After a slight hesitation, Mulan nodded and said, "Mulan."

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang both turned around to look at everyone. Neither of them expected the power of role models to be so great, nor did they expect everyone to follow suit and use aliases. It felt like a collective fraud. Was this appropriate? Then they all looked at Han Bao.

Han Bao had no idea who he was going to team up with beforehand, so he only knew that Shi Chun had used an alias. Little did he know that when he learned the names of the group for the first time, they were all fake names. So he was the only one who said indifferently, "Han Bao." After they had all introduced themselves, Old Man Chai immediately approached Shi Chun and reached out to tug at the collar of Shi Chun's shirt. "Boss, let me help you with that."

Okay, Shi Chun let him carve the words for him.

Other enthusiastic people also stepped forward to help the rest of the Mingshan Sect carve words. They were about to fight side by side and risk their lives, so this was a way of making friends in advance. After they finished carving, they even knew to apply some color to make the words more visible.

It can be considered as getting to know each other better.

To Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang's dismay, after they started communicating, the Mingshan Sect group not only used aliases, but also used fake sect identities when chatting with people.

In a way, it's not entirely untrue; they're all referring to the name of the sect they were originally expelled from.

The problem is that he claimed to be a prisoner participating in the war.

This group of guys could not only talk about their own sect in great detail, with no mistakes in location or position, but they could also talk about their imprisonment in a very realistic way, as if they had just been released from jail.

It was Xiao Sheng who started this. Shi Chun couldn't help but glance at Wu Jinliang a few more times. He felt that Xiao Sheng had obviously changed. He wondered what he had learned from Wu Jinliang over the past twenty years. He could lie without batting an eye.

Mulan Qingqing remained silent, barely responding to the questioner, because she hadn't yet figured out how to fabricate a suitable identity. After all, everyone else's fabrications were so convincing, they could always be answered perfectly, just like the real thing.

She felt that she was falling behind. She had stayed in a large sect for too long and had not experienced the hardships of life. Her basic adaptability was obviously much worse than that of others.

Han Bao, who had been staying by her side, seemed unapproachable and unwilling to talk to anyone, but he couldn't help but slowly observe Ming Shanzong's group. He was a little surprised that most of the people who came with him were former prisoners who knew everything about prison life. This didn't seem like something made up.

He knew Shi Chun; he had just been released from prison.

Who are these people? Why would Mulan Jin surround her daughter with such a bunch of scoundrels? The worst part is that their self-proclaimed cultivation levels aren't even that great.

However, he could understand it after thinking about it. Mulan had also said when she dug him out that she really couldn't find suitable manpower.

Some people tried to inquire about Shi Chun's cultivation level, but Shi Chun, being a man of principle, humbly evaded the question.

It wasn't that he knew shame, but rather that he had some experience in managing and controlling people, and as a centurion, he needed to maintain his authority for the time being to prevent people's hearts from falling apart as soon as they got to know each other.

Seeing that everyone was really interested in the centurion's cultivation level, Wu Jinliang was sensible and quickly asked Shi Chun for a private conversation. He pulled Shi Chun out of the crowd and moved him aside, then whispered in Shi Chun's ear, "You seem a bit off. You're distracted. What's wrong?"

Shi Chun glanced at the buildings in the distance and whispered in his ear, "When I went into that building with Mulan, I saw our teacher."

Wu Jinliang naturally knew who he meant by "our teacher." Upon hearing this, he was also surprised and looked over there before asking in detail, "What is her identity outside? How come she is in a place heavily guarded by the Heavenly Court?"

"I don't know..." Shi Chun told him the general situation in a low voice, and said helplessly, "There's definitely no time for us to look for it now. We can only ask around after we get out."

Wu Jinliang sighed, "And there are attendants... I knew my teacher was extraordinary, but I didn't expect him to be from the Heavenly Court..." He paused, then asked, "To be able to appear there at this time, he must be from the Heavenly Court, right?"

Shi Chun: "I don't know. They might have just been passing by. But since they have dealings with the Heavenly Court, they must know someone there. It shouldn't be hard to find out."

Wu Jinliang's eyes suddenly lit up. "If Teacher is some important person, do you think she'll take care of us after we find her?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Chun lowered his head slightly and remained silent.

Seeing his reaction, Wu Jinliang hesitated and asked, "You mean you won't take care of him?"

Shi Chun thought for a moment and said softly, "It's because our names aren't well-known enough. Doesn't she know we've come out?"

These words silenced Wu Jinliang. He instantly understood the meaning behind Shi Chun's words. If their reputation wasn't impressive enough, that would be one thing. But if they were someone important and had heard of them, wouldn't it be difficult to meet them? Especially since they had already almost passed each other by. Or was it that after leaving the environment of the prison, the teacher simply looked down on them and couldn't be bothered with them?

Whether they are or not, it all seems to point to one thing: they are not qualified enough.

"Maybe he really hasn't heard of it..." Wu Jinliang muttered to himself, his mood suddenly souring.

Truly beautiful things and people are those that appeal to the aesthetic sensibilities of most people. It's not just Shi Chun who finds them beautiful; Wu Jinliang also likes them. It's just that everyone has a different level of self-awareness regarding their own preferences.

He paused for a moment, then muttered, "How about we give it a shot this time..."

Shi Chun: "This is different from before; it's too dangerous this time."

Wu Jinliang muttered to himself, "Then why are you still using an alias..."

He has now realized what it meant for the other party to use an alias.

Shi Chun pondered for a moment and said, "We don't know the true strength of each side, let's observe the situation first. If we can maintain our dignity, then let's do so. If things don't go well... then so be it. If we truly can't meet the teacher's standards, why drag so many brothers to their deaths? It's not worth it..."

(End of this chapter)