As the next few days passed, it was finally time to depart for the Nether Cave.
Isshin was accompanying the Su Clan, who had around thirty Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and five True Soul Realm cultivators with them, along with the leader himself, who was at the early stage of the Dao King Realm.
As they headed off, the clan leader warned Isshin while they rode in a carriage together.
"The chances of the Qian Ancestor being there are slim, but we still need to be on guard. The Baidu Empire will likely be there as well. Although we're somewhat on good terms with them, that doesn't mean we can trust them completely."
Isshin nodded and continued cultivating.
It took them a couple of days before they finally reached their destination. They stopped occasionally to eat and rest in open fields and forests before continuing onward. Throughout the journey, Isshin spent most of his time cultivating.
However, many of the cultivators were not happy with the way Isshin was being treated. They didn't understand why the clan leader seemed so fond of him.
"This kid is just at the Nascent Soul Realm."
"Is he the leader's son-in-law or something?"
"Really don't know what the leader is thinking."
Some of them glanced toward Isshin while whispering among themselves.
Isshin ignored all of it.
When they finally reached the destination, Isshin realized it wasn't just some cave hidden away in a corner somewhere.
The entrance alone was enormous.
It stood nearly thirty meters tall and over forty meters wide. The opening looked like the mouth of some ancient beast waiting to swallow anyone who entered.
To their left stood the Baidu Empire, who appeared to be the strongest force among the three groups.
From what Isshin could see, they had around fifteen True Soul Realm cultivators and fifty Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. Their leader was an early Spirit Realm cultivator.
They were a true powerhouse.
And this clearly wasn't even their main force.
The man leading them was only a military commander, yet he was already at the Spirit Realm. It only showed how powerful the Baidu Empire truly was.
On the opposite side stood the Qian Clan.
Their overall strength seemed roughly on par with the Su Clan.
Meanwhile...
Rune had found his way to the Qian Clan.
He didn't know much about the clan, but when he heard they were looking for mercenaries for the Nether Cave expedition, he decided to give it a shot.
After reading the notice related to the project, he headed straight to the recruitment area.
More than a hundred people were already gathered there.
As Rune approached the crowd, he found himself standing before the Qian Clan leader, a man with a short white beard and a permanent scowl on his face.
The old man looked down at everyone gathered before him.
"SILENCE!"
His voice immediately echoed across the field.
The crowd instantly quieted.
"All of you are looking like nothing but clowns. We will take ONLY one person for this project. Our clan already has enough people for the mission. We just need someone to handle more work."
Rune thought it over.
If they didn't value their mercenaries, it didn't really matter to him. He wasn't here to make friends.
The only thing that would convince these people was overwhelming strength.
"So what do we do?" someone from the crowd asked.
The Qian Clan leader snorted.
"Figure it out yourselves."
Several people blinked.
One cultivator cautiously raised his hand.
"Um... I think I deserve to be the mercenary because I actu—"
Before he could finish, another cultivator punched him from behind and launched him across the field.
The crowd immediately understood.
This wasn't some debate.
They had to fight for it.
Rune wasn't slow either.
Several stone golems rose from the ground around him as the battle erupted.
The field quickly descended into chaos.
Techniques exploded in every direction.
"Light Qi Palm!"
One cultivator attacked Rune from behind.
Rune spun around and blocked the attack with his sword before firing a mana bullet directly into the man's chest.
The attacker stumbled backward.
Another cultivator immediately rushed him.
"Mountain Crushing Fist!"
A massive fist covered in Qi slammed into one of Rune's golems.
The golem lost part of its arm but grabbed the man before he could retreat.
Rune fired another mana bullet.
The man was sent flying.
The battle continued.
People were knocked unconscious one after another.
Some surrendered.
Others were simply overwhelmed.
Nearly an hour passed.
Rain gradually began falling from the sky.
A large thunderstorm formed overhead.
Still, nobody was willing to quit.
Eventually, only three people remained.
Rune and two other cultivators.
The two looked at each other before turning toward Rune.
Both of them clearly understood who the biggest threat was.
Without saying a word, they attacked together.
One rushed Rune directly while the other tried to circle around him.
One of Rune's golems intercepted the first.
At the same time, Rune met the second with his sword.
Metal clashed repeatedly.
The second cultivator pushed forward aggressively.
Meanwhile, the first managed to break past the golem.
The two of them pressured Rune together.
For a few moments, Rune was forced onto the defensive.
Then one of his golems suddenly grabbed one of the cultivators by the leg and slammed him into the muddy ground.
Rune immediately took advantage of the opening.
His sword flashed.
The second cultivator was forced out of the fight.
Now it was one versus one.
The remaining man wiped blood from his mouth and raised his sword.
Cold Qi began gathering around the blade.
"Blizzard Tornado Slash!"
A storm of ice and wind surged forward as he charged.
The attack covered almost the entire area.
It looked nearly impossible to avoid.
Rune tightened his grip on his sword.
He was naturally better at fighting from range.
Swordsmanship was never his specialty.
But he hadn't been slacking these past months.
Slowly, he lowered his stance.
"I wasn't really fond of swords but... somebody changed that thinking for me..."
Rain continued falling around him.
"This was what I made to combat him. Well, now I can't..."
He exhaled slowly.
"Heaven's Rain. First Technique."
Rune calmly entered his stance.
In a single instant, his sword had moved.
The attack looked strange.
It looked like he cut through water.
And cut through rain.
The man's eyes widened.
A moment later, he collapsed heavily onto the muddy ground, severely injured.
The battle was over.
The winner had been decided.
The Qian Clan leader laughed loudly.
"Wonderful! You're enough to cause trouble for those Su Clan bastards!"
He looked genuinely pleased.
But before he could celebrate further, a young man hurried toward him, covered in bruises.
The leader immediately frowned.
"What happened?!"
"T-those Su Clan bastards!"
"What about them?"
"A man wearing a mask just beat up all of us, Father! I don't know what he did... he was so fast!"
The clan leader's expression darkened.
"What technique did he use?!"
"T-Thunder Qi Palm... he was fast like lightning!"
As the Thunder roared above the raining skies,
Rune remembered someone.