Chapter 481: Experience Inheritor

A small stream flowed gently past the brown-and-yellow wooden cabin, its waters clear enough to see the bottom.

A rainbow of seven colors hung high in the sky.

Tranquil Hill had become a distant snow-capped peak.

The Bayonet Gang members had entered the wooden cabin.

Here, Spring Boxer slowly opened his eyes, gradually regaining consciousness, “Where am I?”

Bing Xiao stood by his bedside and answered him.

He then asked Spring Boxer, “How do you feel?”

Spring Boxer still looked dazed: “I think I had a dream. In it, I was part of an army fighting a pack of ice plains wolves.”

“Strangely, the battle qi I used was the ice battle skill of our gang leader.”

Bing Xiao nodded: "That's Teng Dong Lang's battle experience. You became his coffin bearer, and now you've placed his ice coffin within the Tranquil Hill. In the days ahead, you'll gradually receive much of his combat wisdom—how he used battle skill, how he cultivated himself, how he led armies into battle, and more."

“This is the true meaning behind his choosing you as coffin bearer.”

Spring Boxer's eyes widened in astonishment at this revelation.

Soon, a sorrowful expression spread across his face. He missed Teng Dong Lang deeply. The latter had shown him immense kindness, and even in death, Spring Boxer continued to receive Teng Dong Lang's care.

"Live well with Teng Dong Lang's experience. Strive to become stronger. Only then will you live up to his earnest hopes for you." Bing Xiao encouraged Spring Boxer.

Spring Boxer pressed, “When will the gang leader be revived?”

Bing Xiao hesitated, but ultimately chose honesty: "Regrettably, he may never be revived again. When you began absorbing Teng Dong Lang's lifetime experience, it signaled his soul had already begun dissipating within Tranquil Hill. These precious combat insights stem from his memories, which reside within the soul itself. A soul stripped of memory forgets who it once was."

Spring Boxer's mouth fell open, “Then I'd rather not have this combat experience! I want the leader revived!”

Bing Xiao shook his head. "This isn't something we can simply choose to do. Truthfully, I've never heard of anyone I know being resurrected in Tranquil Hill. To me, Tranquil Hill's true purpose is preserving our ancestors' combat wisdom and passing it to the next generation of successors. You are Teng Dong Lang's chosen coffin bearer, his successor. Therefore, the better you live and the stronger you become in the future, the more it proves Teng Dong Lang's choice was correct. Do you understand what I mean?"

Spring Boxer silently shed tears. After a moment, he nodded heavily, accepting this harsh reality.

Bing Xiao sighed, patted his shoulder, and led him out of the small cabin onto the green grass in front of it.

There, Bing Xiao gathered the others and informed them that “Spring Boxer had just acquired Teng Dong Lang's lifetime combat experience.”

This elicited gasps from the group.

“Is such a miraculous thing even possible?”

“Sharing one person's combat experience with another saves so much time.”

"The successor can dedicate all their time to training. Such exceptional combat knowledge could transform a battlefield novice into a seasoned veteran or even surpass that level—in an instant."

Everyone was talking about it.

Lan Zao felt a pang of suspicion. He recalled the memory fabrication device aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish.

As one of the survivors, Lan Zao understood the function of memory crystals.

He thought to himself: “Compared to memory crystals, Tranquil Hill's role is more like the Grand Arena Medal in the commander's hands.”

Lan Zao naturally drew some connections.

In truth, the essence of all three was tied to the soul.

The survivors had obtained the memory fabrication device from the War Merchant and speculated that this alchemy apparatus was likely acquired from the undead faction.

The memory fabrication device originated from necromancers, while Tranquil Hill = the divine domain of the Dueling God, and the Grand Arena Medal traced their roots to the Demon God Serene Fury.

Whether necromancers or deities, all possess the ability to unearth secrets from souls. Extracting combat experience from souls is not uncommon.

After detailing the events surrounding the Spring Boxer, Bing Xiao swept a meaningful glance across the assembled crowd and declared, "You can achieve this too."

This statement astonished the assembly.

The human ringleader urgently pressed, “Lord Bing Xiao, what do you mean?”

Bing Xiao elaborated, "Though only 38 tombstones stand in Tranquil Hill, countless souls have been laid to rest here throughout history. Only when both their bodies and souls completely dissipate do their tombstones vanish."

“It's hard to fathom how much battle wisdom lies within Tranquil Hill.”

"Unlike elemental crystals, which are utterly depleted after use, this knowledge persists like the pages of a book, enduring here."

“We, standing within the divine domain, can also draw upon this knowledge and experience.”

“Yet there is only one prerequisite to achieve this.”

“That is - to convert, to embrace the faith of the Dueling God!”

The Bayonet Gang members fell silent.

“Convert my faith...”

“How could that possibly be done?”

Conversion was exceedingly difficult.

Some present had worshiped a single deity since childhood, their faith deeply ingrained.

Others, however, held only a casual belief, indifferent to adding another deity to their pantheon.

The human ringleader appeared outwardly tempted, yet inwardly grasped Bing Xiao’s true intent in gathering them.

“He seeks to use faith to screen talent and guard against potential traitors.”

“Though I successfully infiltrated Tranquil Hill, my current position is likely becoming precarious!”

The human ringleader and Shuang Tu belonged to the same organization. However, due to the urgency of the situation at the time, the human ringleader had remained within the Bayonet Gang's stronghold. This prevented effective communication between the two.

As the mastermind behind the scenes, Shuang Tu had united the vast majority of silver level factions to besiege the Bayonet Gang. At the critical moment, he spared no expense, deploying a costly artifact that amplified the divine power of Tranquil Hill upon its summoning. This surge engulfed not only the interior of the Bayonet Gang's stronghold but also everyone within a significant radius outside.

Thus, entering Tranquil Hill had been an unexpected turn of events for the human ringleader.

"This is the enemy's crucial secret stronghold. Getting in was difficult; getting out will likely be even harder!" The human ringleader had already come to terms with this.

Bing Xiao smiled as he surveyed the Bayonet Gang members, his tone gentle, “I'm not forcing you to convert. I'm merely reminding you: we'll be living here for a while.”

"During this time, even if you don't worship the Dueling God, your presence within the divine domain of Tranquil Hill will grant you some infusion of combat experience. When these occur, do not be overly astonished."

"The key point is this: if you worship the Dueling God, the efficiency of this experience infusion will increase significantly. The deeper your faith, the more combat wisdom you draw from Tranquil Hill, and the greater your rewards."

“It is even possible that you might become a holy warrior of the Dueling God, earning the privilege of being buried within Tranquil Hill after death.”

“You know the legend, though the probability is low, warriors buried here may indeed be resurrected!”

Silence fell over the crowd.

Everyone actively processed and absorbed the meaning of these words.

After speaking, Bing Xiao dismissed the assembly.

Members of the Bayonet Gang eagerly began training around the wooden hut.

After inspecting the perimeter, Bing Xiao returned to the hut.

Inside, facing the ice-capped peaks beyond the window, he knelt in prayer, recounting the cracks appearing on the tombstones of the Axe Gang leader and the other two.

“Perhaps the others have already noticed this situation.”

"Whatever happens, we must recover the bodies of the Axe Gang leader and the others at all costs. But this is no longer a matter I can interfere with."

Ice Sculpture Kingdom, Snow Rabbit City, inside an upscale inn.

Zi Di regarded the three corpses before her with a complex expression: the Axe Gang leader, Lin, and Jia Bing.

All three bodies were gold level materials.

When Zong Ge brought them back, Zi Di had already performed emergency processing. During the initial handling, she had already noticed some peculiar and unusual aspects.

Upon arriving in Snow Rabbit City, Zi Di thoroughly processed the three corpses and confirmed the presence of abnormalities in each.

"Typically, after death, a soul is guided away by the deity it worships. Even if not guided, it would plunge into the abyss. In any case, souls swiftly separate from their bodies."

"But these three were different. Traces of divine magic were present on their bodies, binding their souls within the corpses. Though their souls are fading, the process is exceedingly slow."

“Perhaps Teng Dong Lang's situation is similar to theirs.”

Zi Di naturally thought of Teng Dong Lang.

She too had witnessed the battle at Snow Bird Harbor's docks.

Back then, a rocket assault boat had run aground midway. To salvage Teng Dong Lang's ice coffin from that vessel, Bing Xiao and the others, who had already reached Feng Lian's pirate ship, turned back. They didn't rest until they retrieved the coffin.

The ice coffin contained Teng Dong Lang's sealed corpse. Though dead, Teng Dong Lang still held immense significance for the Bayonet Gang.

Connecting the dots, Zi Di suddenly surmised: Teng Dong Lang's situation was likely similar to these three!

“So, the reason we were attacked was because the captain killed Teng Dong Lang?”

“Teng Dong Lang may appear merely as the leader of the Bayonet Gang, but behind the scenes, he was likely a member of another major organization.”

“And the members of this organization must share a common faith!”

As for what that faith specifically entailed, Zi Di couldn't be certain.

She felt the most likely candidate was the Snowfield War God.

This deity was one of the principal gods of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom. Though holding the divine authority of the War God, he focused more intently on warfare within snowy terrain.