Chapter 82: The Windhorn Stone

Deep within the mountains and forests, Luo Yuan’s fourteen-member team advanced with full vigilance, their senses attuned to every sound and movement around them.

Luo Yuan reached out with his mental force. “Little Ba, how strong is that squad?” he inquired.

“Seven at the ninth rank of the Stellar class, one at the second rank, and one at the third,” the intelligent system Little Ba replied.

“That’s it?” Luo Yuan let out a self-mocking laugh. “With strength like that, what do we have to fear?”

…

His face was chiseled like a blade, his skin so translucent it seemed carved from jade, with delicate veins visible beneath the surface. His eyes would narrow at times, and when he smiled, he looked harmless—a young man with an innocent air. Clad in a skinsuit-like force armor and carrying a massive warblade as tall as himself, he was being pulled forward by his companion, racing swiftly through the woods with the aid of a psychic weapon.

“What?” He glanced at the intelligent terminal on his arm. “Eleven at the ninth rank of Stellar class, and three more at the first and second ranks? Damn, what kind of faction is this? Even cockier than me.”

“We’ve run into tough prey—retreat!” He issued the order through force transmission.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The entire squad withdrew rapidly, heading toward their other teams.

…

“They’ve retreated,” Luo Yuan announced.

“What? They just left? I was just getting fired up,” Thor complained in frustration.

“Our team is formidable,” Hong analyzed coolly. “They must have detected how many ninth-rankers we have and decided to back off.”

“Alright, next up, we search for the Windhorn Stone,” Luo Yuan said, glancing at his companions.

“The Windhorn Stone exists in only one place in the World of the Domain Lord—the very core of the Thunder World, in the ‘Gale Thunder Canyon,’” Hong said, tapping on the screen on his bracer. “From our location to Gale Thunder Canyon, it’s over three hundred thousand kilometers. Even if everything goes smoothly, it’ll take us nearly a month to get there.”

Three hundred thousand kilometers.

In the Domain Lord’s World, the enormous gravity and the restriction on high-speed flight made progress slow. With Babata and its avatar, Little Ba, keeping watch, the best they could manage was ten thousand kilometers a day—still needing a whole month to reach their destination.

“The Unihorn Iron Rhino herds live far from the core zones in this world. No matter where we hunt them, we’ll still have to head to Gale Thunder Canyon in the end,” Thor said with a frown. “The Universe Mercenary Alliance clearly designed this mission to force us to cross half the Domain Lord’s World.”

The Domain Lord’s World was rife with natural hazards.

To cross half of it was to face a gauntlet of life-and-death trials. Even with advanced warning systems, there was little defense against some of the world’s natural threats.

“This is a test—a culling,” Luo Yuan said, shaking his head. “The Mercenary Alliance means to weed out the unfit. If we can’t get through this, we’re not qualified for cosmic wandering and adventure.”

Hong nodded. “From here to Gale Thunder Canyon, there are three possible routes. Let’s decide which one to take.”

“All three look dangerous,” Thor muttered, scanning the map.

“The first route,” Luo Feng suggested.

The first route was crawling with more beasts but faced fewer natural threats—though only in comparison to the other two paths.

“Alright, the first route it is,” Hong agreed.

“Then let’s go!” Luo Yuan declared.

The Domain Lord’s World was both paradise and hell. Untouched and undeveloped, it was a treasure trove for adventurers and mercenaries—a paradise, yet riddled with deadly risks. Even so, countless thrill-seekers and cosmic mercenaries flooded in. The Thunder World, thoroughly explored long ago, now served as a testing ground for apprentice mercenaries.

…

On the famed Canglan Star of the Black Dragon Mountain system, within the Thunder World.

Luo Yuan and his team had been inside the Thunder World for fifty-one days.

They halted, fourteen streaks of light coming to rest.

From a distance, their squad gazed at the mountain range ahead, shrouded as if by snow, plunging the world into a gloomy haze. It wasn’t snow, but a howling gale filled with countless stones. Above, thunderclouds churned, lightning writhing like serpents, threatening to strike at any moment.

“According to the map, that’s Gale Thunder Canyon ahead,” Thor whispered, holding his breath.

“Thunderclouds hanging above for so long—nowhere else in the Thunder World has this phenomenon but Gale Thunder Canyon,” Hong said, squinting into the distance.

Luo Yuan and Luo Feng watched in silence.

Gale Thunder Canyon—the heart of the Thunder World, its most dangerous place. Yet, the Windhorn Stone, a required item to pass the apprentice mercenary test, could only be found here.

“Let’s move,” Luo Yuan commanded quietly.

No one flew now; instead, the group made their way toward the canyon on foot. Strangely, perhaps all creatures instinctively recognized the peril here. Not a single beast prowled the area, nor did any plant cling to the canyon’s bare, black stones, streaked here and there with silver.

“The wind is fierce,” Luo Feng noted, struggling to keep his footing.

“How strong must it be?” Thor and Hong couldn’t help but marvel.

A level-twelve typhoon on Earth would be nothing to stellar-class warriors. Yet here, even they wobbled with every step—a testament to the uncanny power of this place.

Cautiously, Luo Yuan’s team advanced toward the canyon’s heart, a place where it seemed a divine blade had split the mountains, carving a massive ravine—Gale Thunder Canyon.

Sweeping the area with his mental force, Luo Yuan sensed at least a thousand other examinees hidden nearby. He also discovered a concealed cave.

"Follow me," he whispered.

The other thirteen crept after him. The closer they got to the canyon, the fiercer the wind became. Luo Yuan stopped atop a rock, heaving it aside to reveal an entrance, and sent a mental message, “Inside—there’s a tunnel that leads directly to the canyon wall.”

“How did you even find this?” Thor couldn’t help but praise him.

“Get in,” Hong ordered, leading the way.

The cave wound through the mountain, opening onto a canyon wall battered by howling winds. There, they found an opening just over thirty centimeters wide.

“What’s this?” Thor’s eyes lit up.

“Hm?” Hong bent down and picked up a small, smooth stone near the opening. Mostly black, its surface shimmered with an unusual blue sheen, as if coated with a mysterious film. The ordinary stones here were black or streaked with silver, but only the Windhorn Stone bore a deep blue halo. Legend held that these stones, struck by thunder yet not shattered, absorbed a trace of lightning, becoming the rare Windhorn Stones.

“A Windhorn Stone—it’s a Windhorn Stone!” Thor exclaimed.

“To think we’d stumble upon one just lying here,” Luo Yuan laughed, stepping to the entrance.

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