Reduced to a wage slave, go gather materials

In the blink of an eye, Chen Yi defeated the Xuanlan Five Heroes using Sotuofeiren, but he spared their lives. He still had a use for them.

The Xuanlan Five Heroes lay on the ground covered in wounds, rolling around in agony. They looked so miserable that they no longer resembled Martial Gods in the slightest.

They were not fools. They could tell that Chen Yi had shown them mercy and deliberately spared their lives.

“Senior… you spared our lives because there’s something you need us to do for you?”

Sotuofeiren clicked his tongue in amusement.

He was very familiar with the Xuanlan Five Heroes.

These five Martial Gods had been recruited by Sky City several times.

Yet all five of them had arrogantly refused, claiming that they cherished their freedom and would never become anyone else’s subordinate. They wanted to live for themselves.

And now they were calling someone “Senior” and even volunteering to work for this human.

So much for arrogance. So much for living for themselves. In the end, it had all been nothing but empty talk.

Chen Yi landed on a large boulder and squatted down, looking at the five of them.

“Good. I like dealing with intelligent people.”

“Please give us your orders, Senior.”

After the trials of his sixth simulation, Chen Yi’s artifact-refining skills had reached an entirely new level.

On top of that, he now possessed the “Reverse Engineering” trait, which meant he could do one thing—

Refine the immortal artifacts of the Human Realm all over again and raise their quality to an even higher level!

The Demon-Refining Pot, the Immortal-Binding Rope, the Heavenly Dragon Saber…

Chen Yi intended to increase their power so they could keep up with the latest major developments in the True Realm.

Unfortunately, even the cleverest housewife could not cook a meal without rice.

He needed rarer, more precious, and much greater quantities of heavenly treasures and earthly materials.

The reserves of the Human Realm alone were nowhere near enough.

While scanning the Wing Realm with his divine sense, Chen Yi discovered several precious artifact-refining materials that did not exist in the Human Realm.

Since he was already here, he might as well collect them.

Even with the materials from the Wing Realm added in, they probably still would not be enough.

But Chen Yi still had several other planes to visit.

This was merely a side quest. Chen Yi needed to focus on the main storyline, so he needed a few helpers.

The five Martial Gods were perfect for the job.

“I need a few things. I’ll give you a list later, and you’ll collect them for me throughout the Wing Realm.

“Some of them are buried deep underground. You’ll dig them up.

“Some are in other people’s warehouses. You’ll steal them.

“Some have already been refined into spirit artifacts. You’ll seize them.

“In short, use any means necessary to get them for me.

“If you obtain them, you live.

“If you fail, you die.

“Understood?”

Sotuofeiren watched from the side, laughing at their misfortune.

The dignified Martial Gods were now going to commit petty theft and work as highwaymen. How humiliating!

The Xuanlan Five Heroes also felt that doing such things was beneath their status.

Their first reaction was to refuse. But when they looked up and saw Chen Yi’s half-smiling expression, they immediately lost their nerve.

Xuanlan Big Brother still mustered his courage and raised one concern.

“If we do these things, I’m afraid we won’t be able to survive in the Wing Realm anymore. Could we perhaps act under your banner? Or disguise our identities?”

“There’s no need for that. Once you’ve gathered all the materials from the Wing Realm, leave with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the next plane, to continue our pillaging.”

“…”

The Xuanlan Five Heroes were completely dumbfounded.

Was this man really the human race’s protector—or was he some kind of human bandit?

Sotuofeiren laughed so hard from the side that he doubled over.

“The dignified Xuanlan Five Heroes are going to become plane bandits from this day onward! Hahaha, I’m dying!”

“You’re going too.”

“…”

And so, the renowned Xuanlan Five Heroes became Chen Yi’s hired laborers. They ran all over the Wing Realm, gathering materials for him.

With the five Martial Gods working together, they could essentially run rampant even in the far more powerful Wing Realm.

Besides, Chen Yi had only asked them to collect some materials, not conquer the Wing Realm.

Anything that could be settled with brute force was handled directly.

If something truly could not be solved through force, the five Martial Gods could still deal with it by using their brains and employing a few schemes.

The Xuanlan Five Heroes passed through the spatial barrier around the empty region and arrived in the surface area. They discussed matters as they flew.

“Big Brother, are we really going to work for that man?”

“What else can we do? He’s absurdly powerful. It feels like he isn’t even in the same realm as us!”

“Big Brother, you’re just afraid of him. Think about it—what realm could he possibly be in? This is the Void Realm, not the True Realm!”

“I say we’re already outside the range of his divine sense. Why don’t we just keep flying and hide at the edge of the plane? I refuse to believe he’ll be able to find us!”

“Good idea!”

The next second, all five of them slammed to a halt and froze in midair.

Chen Yi had appeared directly in front of them out of nowhere.

With his profile turned toward them, Chen Yi said, “Believe me, that isn’t a good idea.”

The Xuanlan Five Heroes went pale with fright.

“Senior, we—we were only joking.

“Rest assured, we’ll retrieve everything you want as quickly as possible!

“What reputation? What principles? It’s our honor to work for you, Senior!”

Chen Yi smiled and pointed at them one by one.

“Good. I’m glad you understand.”

The next moment, Chen Yi vanished again. His comings and goings were so elusive that the Xuanlan Five Heroes were left trembling with fear.

“Has he left? He’s really gone this time, right?”

“Um… Senior, are you still there?”

“Senior, we’re going to run now, all right?”

“That’s enough! Stop talking! If we anger him again, we’ll all die here!”

The Xuanlan Five Heroes finally admitted defeat and began to earnestly work for Chen Yi.

Not long afterward, guided by Sotuofeiren, Chen Yi arrived at the sacred land of the Wingfolk—the Sky City!

It was a massive complex of buildings suspended in the starfield, with castle after castle stretching across the heavens like a vast collection of medieval European fortresses.

Most of the castles were white or silver, radiating a holy brilliance.

Behind Sky City, an enormous multicolored halo slowly rotated, making the entire city appear even more divine.

The Wingfolk ruled their people through theology. This Sky City, which no ordinary person could ever reach, was the “heaven,” “holy land,” and “temple” that the Wingfolk recited prayers to every day.

To Wingfolk cultivators, it was the goal they strove toward through relentless cultivation and hard work.

Being accepted into Sky City was the greatest source of pride for a Wingfolk cultivator. It was also regarded as proof that one had achieved the greatest success in life.

When Chen Yi arrived, tens of thousands of Sky City warriors, the ten deities of the Wing Realm, the Overlord of the Wing Realm, and the Wingfolk Guardian were already standing ready for battle.

Sky City had received the news quickly.

They already knew that Chen Yi had smashed Arba City and subdued the Xuanlan Five Heroes.

The entire Wing Realm regarded the situation as a grave threat.

No—that was putting it too mildly.

To the Wingfolk, Chen Yi’s arrival was clearly an invasion by an alien race, the descent of an extraterrestrial demon!

“Stop! Take one more step forward, and we’ll reduce you to ashes!”

Chen Yi stopped in front of the Wingfolk army, still holding the Immortal-Binding Rope that bound Sotuofeiren.

“Everyone, there’s no need to be so tense. I’m not here to start a war.”

Furei God, who possessed four pairs of wings and stood twice as tall as an ordinary Wingfolk, flew a short distance forward.

His entire body was covered in massive, muscular limbs that gleamed like molten gold.

“Who exactly are you, and why have you come to the Wing Realm? Unless you give us a clear explanation today, I’m afraid you won’t be leaving alive!”