Star Trace Gate

Chapter 938 Potatoes and Moro, Wang Anquan of North Wind Town

A wanderer from the chaotic faction—Wang Tudou?!

Hmm? This name sounds familiar... Ren Ye looked at the ordinary young man in front of him with a kind and gentle expression, his mind racing as he frantically searched through countless jumbled memories.

Soon, he remembered that being whom many low-class New Year's Eve watchmen hated and loathed.

Wang Tudou, a member of the Blue Star Bell Society, is stationed at Black Cage Fortress and is the only ruthless character there who collects rent with a second-grade bento box.

This Wang Tudou is a notorious and ruthless figure in many departments of the Watchers of the Year. He has hunted down Watchers in various low-level secret realms and collected their blank tablets, which he then used to exchange for Star Sources and other resources that could enhance his divine power in Black Cage Fortress.

It was precisely by relentlessly hunting down the year-guardians and creating countless "impossible feats" that he was able to rise to the ranks of Black Cage Fortress's rent collectors with the status of a second-grade cultivator.

It's important to know that the rent collectors in Black Cage Fortress are at least fourth-rank individuals, wearing colorful bells around their waists, and must be exceptionally talented geniuses. But Wang Tudou is the complete opposite, because he was once recognized as the least talented person in Black Cage Fortress.

Perhaps it was precisely because of his extremely poor talent and the many shocking things he did that he gradually gained the recognition of the landlord of Black Cage Fortress and was granted the status of a rent collector, becoming one of the highest-ranking people there.

However, all the information about him was from several years ago. Because Ren Ye was competing with the Bell Society for the Qingliang Prefecture Secret Realm, he had some understanding of him and read some materials about him, but the two sides had never met.

Unexpectedly, after several years, the two sides ended up meeting again in Tiandu. Furthermore, Wang Tudou was definitely no longer at the second-grade realm, but Little Bad King couldn't immediately determine his exact level. This was because the other party showed absolutely no spiritual energy fluctuations, appearing just like an ordinary mortal; he probably possessed some high-grade magic weapon to conceal his aura.

Meanwhile, Little Bad King was unaware that Wang Tudou was not only very famous in the chaotic faction on Blue Star, but also a "legendary" young talent in the chaotic faction of the migration area.

Because, from the time he settled in his new home until now, he has never been defeated, whether he has been to secret realms or to fight with others, making him virtually invincible.

While his "unbeaten record" was due to the inconsistent quality and varying strength of his opponents, consistently winning and delivering complete and accurate reports to the Bell Guild every time was undoubtedly a tremendous honor.

This honor, if bestowed upon a divine heir or an unparalleled genius of an ancient clan, would at most be surprising, but it would hardly be considered an earth-shattering feat.

But if you put it on Wang Tudou, who has extremely poor natural talent and faces one obstacle after another, then it would be truly dazzling.

As an unnoticed stray dog, it carved out a formidable reputation amidst countless brilliant talents in its migration route. The contrast is so striking and so inspiring.

Once the stories of Wang Tudou's exploits spread among the people of Black Cage Fortress, they garnered him the chaotic adoration of countless low-class scoundrels. They all felt that the concepts of "son of an ancient emperor" and "divinely chosen child" were too far removed from their own lives, while Wang Tudou's story resonated with them and served as an inspiration. Therefore, many of these low-class individuals idolized him and saw him as a role model.

Even some of the Wallfacers, whose rank and level were unknown, personally offered to take him as their disciple and even allowed him to temporarily waive his duties in the migration area and the faction war.

But Wang Tudou looked down on these Wallfacers, always saying, "I've never had a master, but I do have a benefactor... who could be considered half a benefactor, the old landlord of Black Cage Fortress. As for the others... they don't need to pity me, and I won't pity them either."

As everyone knows, for cultivators, besides magical artifacts, talismans, and scriptures, the lineage of their master and the influence of their background are absolutely among the most important opportunities. The kind of people who guide you and the kind of power that protects you can directly determine the height of your starting point.

For countless stray dogs, being able to join a sect with a profound foundation and choose a master with high-level skills is an opportunity they would dream of.

However, Wang Tudou repeatedly refused such incredible opportunities, even responding with indifference, giving the impression of being arrogant and conceited.

However, only he himself knew that although he had never formally become an apprentice, he had long enjoyed the bond between master and disciple. Although that old man was extremely harsh on him, he was also extremely fair and objective, even only talking about transactions and not human feelings, but he slowly shaped his tenacious character and gave him a spiritual inheritance that was more precious than the secret techniques of the Great Dao.

If he is trying to climb the social ladder, it would be tantamount to betrayal, and he would only drift further and further away from that old, decrepit man...

On the second floor of Fushunlai Inn, Wang Tudou did not lower his raised right hand, but just looked at Ren Ye with a smile, as if waiting for his response.

Damn, is this King Potato playing so recklessly? He didn't say anything at all, but directly revealed himself as a werewolf, first admitting that he was a traveler, and then putting himself through a test... Before coming here, Little Bad King had never expected to experience such a test, so his brain was instantly boiling.

Why is this kid so confident? Isn't he afraid of the dangers that might come his way if he reveals his player identity? Or does he know that he won't be able to hide his identity in the following actions, so he might as well be simple and direct, test the people around him from the start, and then make the right judgment based on their reactions?

Or is it that I arrived more than ten days late, which is not in line with the behavior of the remnant soul, so he wanted to test me?

This potato is a bit unconventional... Little Bad King couldn't quite figure out his true motives for a moment, but he had already made up his mind.

Ren stood at the door, not raising his arm to shake hands with the other party, but revealing an expression of trepidation and mental blankness. Then he placed his raised right hand in front of his chest and replied in the tone of a remnant soul: "Hello, Benefactor Wang. This humble monk is a disciple of the Arhat of Yuyang at Tianzhao Temple, with the Dharma name Zhenyi, and is also a traveler of the fourth rank... However, this humble monk has been preoccupied with trivial matters recently and has not entered the secret realm to travel."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around leisurely and pointed to Master Chu behind him, saying, "This man is Old Chu. He was a servant of my master and has not yet converted to Buddhism. He came to Beifeng Town to help me handle some miscellaneous matters in the inner palace."

The Little Scoundrel's intentions were clear: he was determined to keep the remnant soul's identity a secret. He didn't care why the other party had self-destructed; he just needed to maintain his own pace and avoid falling into someone else's carefully planned probing.

Whether Wang Tudou suspects he's a player is actually not important. Most players instinctively conceal their identity when entering a new instance, and even when facing their own faction, they wouldn't immediately self-destruct like Wang Tudou did.

Therefore, he only needs to play the role of a cautious person in the chaotic camp. As long as his thinking is not off track, this behavior will not cause any problems.

As for the temporary identity of Master Chu, Little Bad King had considered it for a long time. Since Yu Yang has over four thousand disciples, it shows he's extremely adept at managing his own power base; wouldn't he have a ton of lackeys and servants? Even if Wang Tudou wanted to secretly verify it, it would be incredibly difficult. Even if he personally sent a letter to Yu Yang himself inquiring about Master Chu's situation, he wouldn't receive any negative response.

As the old saying goes, when one is away from home, one may obey the emperor's orders or not. I am doing a errand for my master, so what's wrong with having a trusted henchman by my side? My main purpose for this trip is to obtain the Enlightenment Ginseng Fruit for my master. As long as my master can feel that I am working hard to accomplish this... even if I arrange for a hundred people to accompany me, I don't think Yuyang will ask a single question.

Remember, true loyalty means thinking what your leader thinks and doing what your leader wants to do but can't. Everything else is irrelevant. Once you understand this, you can thrive in both the order and chaos camps.

In the brightly lit private room, after seeing Ren Ye's expression of a remnant soul, Wang Tudou slowly withdrew his hand and changed the subject, saying, "Hehe, Master Zhenyi, you don't look very old. Are you twenty?"

"I've got it, I've got it." Ren Ye nodded slightly and said, "After I entered the third rank, I am less prone to aging, so I look younger."

"Oh, we're about the same age. From now on, I'll call you Master Zhenyi, and you can call me Potato or Old Wang, either is fine." Wang Potato had a kind face and spoke in a concise and powerful tone: "Come, let me introduce you to the people in our group."

"Thank you for your trouble." Ren Ye bowed slightly and walked with him towards the inner side of the private room.

Master Chu followed behind the two, his expression one of drooling with anticipation even after being cured, and he dared not utter a word the entire time.

The private room was quite large. After the three of them passed through a screen, they arrived at a tea room that was at least 100 square meters in size.

When Ren looked up, he saw more than a dozen people sitting in the tea room, and they were divided into two groups, one with seven people and the other with six people.

The group of seven sat at a square table on the north side of the tea room. They all looked extremely ordinary; their clothing, appearance, and even the aura they exuded inexplicably conveyed an air of poverty and ordinariness. This aura perfectly matched Wang Tudou's unremarkable appearance.

They were a group of five men and two women, dressed in various styles, some in plain clothes and black robes, others in modern mountaineering gear and windbreakers from ordinary brands. They seemed to lack any sense of organization. In addition, the two women among the seven were also without makeup and dressed rather bulkily, with no beauty to speak of. So Ren only glanced at them before quietly looking away.

Another group of six people sat by the south-facing window of the tea room, leisurely sipping their tea.

They were all men, dressed as monks. Five of them wore ordinary brown robes and light gray inner robes; while the young monk sitting in the center wore a purple robe and a blue inner robe. Judging from his features, he had regular face and round eyes and ears, and seemed to be the leader of the six.

After Wang Tudou led Ren Ye and the other two into the tea room, he smiled and pointed to the seven people, introducing them: "These seven are the people who came with me to Beifeng Town on business. They will be traveling together from here, and you can get to know each other."

As soon as he finished speaking, the five men and two women turned their heads at the same time and nodded to Ren Ye with expressionless faces.

Ren only bowed slightly, but did not take the initiative to talk to them.

Wang Tudou turned around gently and pointed to the six monks on the south side, saying, "The high monk in the purple robe, whose Dharma name is Moro, is a fifth-rank monk who works at Tianzhao Temple. He should have met your master Yuyang as well. He is coming to Beifeng Town to take over the position of the chief official of the inner palace, and will be your superior from now on. Hehe... You two should get closer in private."

The position that Yu Yang sought for Ren Ye was "Chief of the Inner Palace's Logistics Department," which, in terms of rank, meant that the head of the entire Inner Palace was definitely higher than him. In other words, this handsome monk Moro was indeed his superior.

Ren Ye carefully recalled the memories of the monk Zhenyi's soul, and after confirming that he had never seen Moro before, he took the initiative to step forward and, for the first time, revealed a fawning attitude: "This humble monk greets Lord Moro. Hehe, this humble monk has been following my master in Tianzhao for many years, how come I have never seen you before?"

"This humble monk was only recently transferred to Tianzhao Temple." Moro glanced at Ren Ye with his eyelids, and then said indifferently, "On this trip to Beifeng Town, you will take over the position of Inner Palace Transport Officer. In the future, we will inevitably have to deal with each other. Since we are from the same family, let's take care of each other as much as possible."