PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

602 Chapter 602 Sasha, a rather special monster.

As Mei Fei Long and Miao Xiauyue’s maids and personal guards cleared the dishes from the table and prepared to bring dessert, Revna continued the conversation. “You girls mentioned three main events during this Eternal War Maiden Sect gathering. The first event is an alchemy competition, and the second is an exhibition dueling event. What about the third event?”

Since Xiauyue was busy filling her cup with liquor this time, Fei Long responded. “I’m glad you asked; the third event is quite special in more ways than one. You see, the Eternal War Maiden Sect does a massive recruitment every year and always holds some events to go along with it; it’s a way to showcase their skills to the surrounding forces. There are auctions for powerful artifacts, weapons, and armor, as well as rare martial techniques and resources. There are also martial arts demonstrations in the form of duels and miscellaneous events. But this event is different precisely because of its third main element.”

Instead of explaining further, Fei Long took the liquor from Xiauyue’s hands and began to drink with some melancholy still hidden in her eyes. Taking Fei Long’s hint, Xiauyue continued with her explanation. “This event is different because it involves a huge problem that the Eternal War Maiden Sect is currently in. Millie, bring that map, please.”

Once one of Xiauyue’s personal guards left a map on the table, Xiauyue continued. “You see this point here. This is a newly discovered island a hundred miles off the east coast of the mainland. This place is technically within the maritime territory of the Eternal War Maiden Sect. Still, it is also too close to the territory of other sects. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but that island is special. For unknown reasons, that island has an environment extremely rich in Aura. Many theorize that it must be due to a convergence of ley lines or the existence of a heaven-defying treasure, but no one knows for sure. However, the problem remains the same, that island is a virgin land with an obscene amount of precious resources. No powerhouse will let the Eternal War Maiden Sect harvest it by itself regardless of whether it belongs to its territory or not.”

Seeing Fei Long finish her drink, Xiauyue let her continue. “The powers of the entire eastern region of the continent pressured the Eternal War Maiden Sect with all sorts of cheap pretexts and threats. They weren’t willing to let a single sect hog all those resources. And this is where the sect outsmarted its enemies. Using the ancient traditions, the sect proposed a joint expedition of all the forces of the eastern region. During this expedition, only the younger generation participates. Regarding the younger generation, the Eternal War Maiden Sect has a quality advantage. Still, they are at a huge disadvantage in numbers, and it is rumored that the other forces plan to take advantage of that to reap the best benefits.”

Suddenly understanding something, Revna looked at the duo of Xiauyue and Fei Long and found them just as unreasonable and shameless as Desmond. Trying to confirm her thoughts, Revna interrupted Fei Long’s speech. “You girls plan to participate in that expedition, right?”

Revna would swear she saw a shadow of Desmond in the bloodthirsty, war-thirsty smile Fei Long had in response to her question. Fei Long nodded and replied as her smile receded into a soft and innocent expression. “Of course, we will participate. Xiauyue and I just turned 23; we are still considered the younger generation. We have every right to participate.”

Revna wanted to curse Fei Long for that shameless smile, but she felt weird thinking about it since Desmond used to have the same expression when he was going to fuck someone big. Unlike Claire and Cecilia, Sasha somewhat understood what Revna meant by her question, but she had to ask for confirmation. “Forgive the question, but aren’t you too strong to be considered the younger generation?”

Fei Long smiled even wider and replied. “Indeed. My Xiauyue and I are considered monsters, a pair of absurd anomalies that break common sense. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are unfairly talented and strong for our age.”

.....

Xiauyue added. “Although it sounds arrogant when Fei says it like that, the truth is that we don’t get involved in the events of the younger generations anymore... It’s not fair that we do.”

Revna understood where both girls were pointing and didn’t hesitate to say it out loud. “You girls plan to participate in annihilating the rest of the expedition teams that will be going to the Eternal War Maiden Sect’s island. That would allow the sect to harvest obscene resources and put them in your debt.”

Contrary to what Revna expected, Fei Long actually shook her head and corrected her. “That’s not exactly the plan. The complete annihilation of the other expedition forces will only cause trouble and conflict that will put the Eternal War Maiden Sect in a difficult position. More than a search and destroy mission, this is an escort mission. Our plan is to agree with the sect’s high officials and escort their expedition team during their journey to the island. In addition to protecting their members from the younger generation, Xiauyue and I plan to weaken the other forces reasonably. As long as the casualties don’t amount to too high and they are still reaping benefits, those sects won’t cause much fuss.”

From that explanation, Revna understood that despite the ferocity exhibited by Fei Long, the girl obviously had a good head on her shoulders. She had planned how to deal with the problems surrounding her and Xiauyue.

To tell the truth, although it was comforting to know that Xiauyue and Fei Long were not helpless in the face of their problem, Claire and Cecilia still felt a bit sad that they had no way to help. As for Revna and Sasha, they had their own plans in mind.

Seeing no point in putting things off for another time, Sasha jumped at the chance and made her proposal. “Excuse me, Miss Fei Long, although I see that you two have this problem well under control, I would still like to offer my help. In the first instance, I would feel too bad if I didn’t do anything to help you guys who helped Desmond in the past. Besides, I would feel bored if I had nothing to do.”

Recognizing Sasha, Fei Long had to take her and her proposal seriously. From Xiauyue, Fei Long had heard about the destructive power displayed by Sasha. Although Sasha was far from a threat, she was still a powerhouse to be reckoned with, especially considering her age and that she was still younger than her and Xiauyue. Remembering something Desmond said in the past, Fei Long understood where Sasha was going with her proposal. “Intentions alone are more than enough, Miss Sasha. I’d like to say that we don’t need the help, but recent events have shown that Xiauyue and I don’t have the situation completely under control. I assume Miss Sasha is interested in participating in the alchemy competition on our behalf.”

Seeing that there was no need to explain further, Sasha nodded. “Indeed, that is my intention. My skills may not be many, but I would still like to help wherever possible.”

Finishing saying her part, Sasha pulled out a pill container from a bag on her belt before passing it to one of the maidens present. The woman understood the intent and quickly walked around the table before passing the container to Fei Long.

Without saying a word, Fei Long checked the pills contained within it and had trouble keeping her calm countenance. Although she thought it would be rude of her to ask, Fei Long couldn’t help but do so. “Excuse my rudeness, Miss Sasha, but how long have you been practicing with our alchemy system and recipes?”

Understanding where Fei Long’s doubts came from, Sasha answered candidly. “You can call me Sasha if you feel more comfortable with that. As for your question, it’s a bit hard to say precisely. Months ago, Desmond gave me an alchemy book from this world, and I found our systems quite similar. Back then, I used that notes as a source of inspiration and a theoretical basis for some of my research. I achieved some promising results, so I dedicated a few hours of my time to it every chance I got. However, due to the lack of ingredients, I did not put that knowledge into practice until three days ago.”

“Only three days.” Fei Long and Xiauyue muttered simultaneously with the same expression of disbelief.

Comically enough, the legendary duo first met someone besides Desmond, which made them think they had met an irrational monster. It had to be mentioned that Ai Zuling was an alchemy genius seen once every hundred years, but it still took her more than a decade to perfect her craft. In Sasha’s case, although she was still far from reaching Ai Zuling’s level, she still had the level that an alchemy genius would have with five or six years in the trade. The most absurd part was that it took Sasha only a few months of theoretical research and a couple of days of practical execution to reach that level.

Taking a second look at the pills in her hands, Fei Long began formulating a plan. “It will be a pleasure to receive your help, Sasha. Tell me, how much do you think you would improve in a week if you had the guidance of an expert in our alchemy system?”

Sasha thought about the question for a moment before answering. “I believed I could achieve a 20% higher success rate and purity on mid-grade pills and 10% higher on high-tier ones.”

Hearing the assurance Sasha spoke with, Xiauyue couldn’t help but ask. “What success and purity rates are you running now?”

Sasha responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “70% success rate and 65% purity for medium-level pills. 55% and 50% respectively for the high-level pills.”

Suddenly, the feeling of being completely ordinary overwhelmed Xiauyue and Fei Long as they looked at Sasha as if she was a creature of a different species, even though she technically was. As Xiauyue and Fei Long shared a look, a word crossed their minds: Monster.