“Heh heh. The moment you said you came from the City of Heaven’s Stars, I had already guessed roughly why you were here. That blood phoenix cannot possibly be as mighty as a true phoenix, but it is a phoenix all the same, and possesses formidable power. It may well be a Heaven-Severing-tier beast… perhaps even a Divine Mystery-tier beast, something no human can match at all. Of those twelve warriors who went in, only one came back — gravely wounded.” The mayor finished slowly and let out another long sigh.

One of them is still alive?

“Where is he?”

“Come. I’ll take you to him.”

The mayor of Guping Town rose and led Ye Tianxie toward a small house not far off, speaking as they walked. “That lone survivor from the City of Heaven’s Stars was badly wounded and lost the ability to fight or even to walk. He has been recovering here ever since. We would have liked to carry word back to the City of Heaven’s Stars for him, but we have no one here strong enough, and the road there is beset with all manner of dangerous beasts, so…”

So the city lord had lost all word of the squad entirely. In truth, after so long a silence, the city lord had already assumed they had all perished at the blood phoenix’s hands; sending Ye Tianxie here was only his refusal to abandon that last thread of hope. Perhaps even he had never imagined one man might still be alive.

The mayor opened the door of a simple, tidy wooden house, revealing a plain bed and a man half-reclined upon it. Beside it, a middle-aged couple busy with their tasks saw the mayor enter and greeted him warmly at once.

“Young man, this is the one you’re looking for. Heh heh — warrior of the City of Heaven’s Stars, a friend of yours has come.”

“A friend?” The man on the bamboo bed, bandaged head to foot, turned his head in puzzlement and looked at Ye Tianxie.

“Hello. My name is Xietian. The city lord of Heaven’s Stars entrusted me with finding you. A month without word from any of you has left him unable to eat or sleep.” Ye Tianxie stepped forward, his face full of relief. The first half was true; the second half he had added against the facts — because it would very effectively close the distance between them.

Sure enough, the wounded city guard grew visibly moved. He shifted his body and said with feeling, “The failure was ours, and now we have burdened the city lord with worry… Ah! Friend, I must trouble you to return and tell the city lord that apart from me, all eleven others are dead… and that it will be roughly another month before I am able to return. And please tell the city lord this as well: the blood phoenix’s power is terrifying. Its grade is at least Heaven-Severing, and it may even be an unmatchable Divine Mystery-tier beast. To destroy it, only the mightiest divine masters of the City of the Lost could possibly manage it. And the reason the blood phoenix attacks the City of Heaven’s Stars is not some unknown grudge it bears against us — its mind is not fully developed, and it merely attacks by instinct whatever it happens to see. I have heard from the people here that the blood phoenix often flies about at random, with no purpose at all. It is for this reason that we have been able to drive it off again and again.”

No sooner had the city guard finished than a clear chime sounded in Ye Tianxie’s ears:

“Ding… You have obtained the key element of the quest ‘Investigate the Whereabouts of the Missing City Guards.’ Simply return to the City of Heaven’s Stars and report what you have learned to the city lord to complete the quest.”

From yesterday morning until now he had traveled without pause, crossing region after region no player of his level had any business entering, evading pack after pack of monsters that could have killed him with a casual blow — and now, at last, the quest could be brought to a close. He need only produce a Return Scroll for the City of Heaven’s Stars, and the Unique quest would be complete.

This was a quest requiring no monster-killing and no collecting, only the gathering and confirmation of information. But anyone who knew where it had to be undertaken would never doubt the difficulty of this Unique quest. Its difficulty lay in traveling — at under Level 20 — through regions no player below Level 50 should tread, and doing so for a full day and night. And once the destination was reached, the quest was as good as complete, and everything became simple.

“Very well. I’ll deliver your words faithfully. Rest here and recover in peace.” Ye Tianxie said. He took out the Return Scroll, then turned to the mayor with a smile. “Thank you, mayor. You’ve been a great help to me.”

“Ding… Owing to your superhuman Charm and exceptional courtesy, the mayor of Guping Town’s favorability toward you increases by 22.”

“Heh heh, young man, you’re far too polite. If ever the chance arises, you’re welcome to— Ah! That… that badge on your chest is… is…” The mayor’s words broke off halfway as he grew suddenly agitated, agitated enough to begin trembling, his eyes fixed on Ye Tianxie’s left breast, his mild smile transforming into disbelieving shock.

Ye Tianxie understood in an instant. His left breast… the Hero’s Badge.

He had possessed the Hero’s Badge for only a few short days, and already he had witnessed again and again how formidable a thing it was. He suspected that if Yuan Que, the pharmacist of Novice Village No. 60001, were to offer the Demon Serpent — that Heaven-Severing-grade weapon priced at 100,000,000 gold — in exchange for his Hero’s Badge, he would refuse outright.

And the badge’s power was not confined to the City of Heaven’s Stars. Even in this all but world-forsaken little town, someone still recognized it.

He could not know, of course, that the hero who had saved this town a century ago — and for whom it was renamed — had himself been a bearer of the Hero’s Badge. Those who could obtain one were exceedingly few; a single one might not appear in decades, and whoever did obtain one was without fail a true powerhouse. And so the people of Guping Town had, for a hundred years, revered and honored heroes, and revered and honored above all those who bore the Hero’s Badge and the Champion’s Badge — a thing that could by now be called a custom, handed down to this very day. And now, seeing on Ye Tianxie’s chest a badge identical to the one described in their records, how could the mayor of Guping Town not be moved?

“This is a Hero’s Badge. Do you recognize it, mayor?” Ye Tianxie asked with perfect composure, knowing full well the answer, his puzzled expression rendered to the life.

“A Hero’s Badge… it truly is a Hero’s Badge… Recognize it? Of course I recognize it. This is the badge that marks a true hero. Our ancestors left us instruction: should we ever see one who bears this badge… And in the blink of an eye, a hundred years have passed.” The mayor’s emotions surged violently. The two middle-aged people in the house wore expressions of the same overwhelming agitation, their eyes fixed as one on the Hero’s Badge at Ye Tianxie’s chest.

And what will this bring me… Ye Tianxie still held the Return Scroll in one hand, but no longer had any intention of crushing it. His face betrayed nothing while he calculated quietly within.

(End of Chapter 96)