Chapter 1239: The Best Candidate

Teacher Ye is awake?

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow, patted Wu Yi beneath him to signal them to keep watch, then nimbly leaped to the ground and walked toward the Fusion Faction group.

At this moment, besides Teacher Ye, Old Wolf, Mi Bo, He Chengxuan, Zhao Yi, and several other high-level combatants of the Fusion Faction were already sitting together, looking as serious as if they were in a meeting. Sun Bumian, dressed in a Tang suit, was also mixed in among them.

As Chen Ling arrived, Teacher Ye signaled for him to sit down. At the same time, Mi Bo couldn't help but speak up:

"Teacher Ye, are we really going to the South Sea Realm??"

"Yes."

"But..."

Mi Bo wanted to say more, but seeing Teacher Ye’s lowered eyelids and calm expression, he knew the decision had been made... In the end, Mi Bo couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.

No one could change what Teacher Ye decided; Mi Bo knew this clearly. At this point, there was no sense in arguing.

"Then the problem now is how we are going to get these children into the South Sea Realm," He Chengxuan continued, following Teacher Ye's line of thought. "Do we enter openly, or sneak in?"

Teacher Ye was silent for a moment:

"If we can get in without alerting the human leadership, that would naturally be best... After all, I don't really want to deal with certain people there."

A moment later, he added,

"But if the situation demands it, entering openly is fine too. It would just be a matter of negotiation... No matter the cost, the children's safety is the priority."

Trying to bring over a hundred Fusion Faction children into the South Sea Realm unnoticed during this critical period was nearly impossible. Teacher Ye knew this, so he was prepared to deal with the South Sea Realm head-on...

"But with so many of us, sneaking in isn't realistic, is it?" Zhao Yi frowned. "We don't have any insiders in the South Sea Realm; they won't open the gates for us..."

"That is the biggest problem right now," Teacher Ye said solemnly.

"With so many children, it will take about four days to walk from here to the South Sea Realm... During this time, we need someone to enter the South Sea Realm in advance to scout the situation.

On one hand, they can secretly prepare a place for the children to stay and open the gates for us at the critical moment; on the other hand, they can make secondary preparations, testing the realm's leadership's attitude toward the Fusion Faction to see if there's any possibility of direct negotiation."

"I'll go," Zhao Yi stood up without hesitation.

"You can't."

"Why???"

"Saint Son, you're too reckless. Even buying supplies carries the risk of exposure, and we'd have to cover for you... This concerns the entire Fusion Faction. We need to avoid the eyes and ears of the South Sea Realm, find a safe shelter, be ready to adapt, open the gates for us, and make contact with the leadership without being detected... Can you do that?"

Before Teacher Ye could speak, Old Wolf exposed Zhao Yi's shortcomings, causing Zhao Yi to blush and remain speechless.

Just as Mi Bo and He Chengxuan were about to speak, a figure draped in a bright red opera robe suddenly stood up.

"I'll go."

Everyone’s gaze turned to Chen Ling, and they were slightly stunned.

To be honest, although Chen Ling had been with the Fusion Faction for a long time, everyone still viewed him more as a "guest" like Sun Bumian. His willingness to step forward and help the Fusion Faction at such a critical juncture was like providing charcoal in snowy weather.

"Teacher Ye needs to stay and command the Fusion Faction, Zhao Yi is still injured, and the others have more or less obvious traits of Calamity embodiment, making them easy to expose... I am the most suitable person for this task," Chen Ling paused for a moment.

"In this era, I'm afraid no one is more skilled at this than I am."

When it comes to infiltrating realms, the Twilight Society is undoubtedly the most skilled, and Chen Ling is the ace of aces in the Twilight Society—the one who pays the members' salaries. No one has more experience in this area than he does.

Teacher Ye watched Chen Ling for a long time. He didn't offer any polite refusals but instead stood up, his tone more serious than ever:

"I trust Mr. Chen."

"This time, the future of the Fusion Faction... is in Mr. Chen's hands."

Teacher Ye’s address for Chen Ling had changed back to "Mr. Chen." At this moment, Chen Ling was no longer just a student in the classroom, but a benefactor helping the Fusion Faction through a crisis, the hope of all the children.

"I'll go with you," Sun Bumian also stood up.

"No, you have to stay. For these four days, the children have no food; they have to rely on your candied haws to sustain their lives," Chen Ling said sternly.

Sun Bumian’s face immediately twisted in distress.

It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but supplying candied haws for so many children, even just to maintain basic bodily functions, would consume a massive amount of his energy... He wasn't sure if he could do it.

"Mr. Chen, I have one more request," Old Wolf suddenly spoke up.

"Go ahead."

Old Wolf turned and walked behind him. A moment later, several children crowded over, and on the back of one child lay a figure with blurred consciousness—it was Xiao Tao.

It was clear that Teacher Ye and the others had already provided basic hemostatic treatment to Xiao Tao, but her face remained deathly pale, and her breathing was extremely weak. She was like a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment...

Seeing this, Chen Ling’s brows furrowed tightly.

"The stem that attacked her seems to carry some kind of toxin. Although we've treated it simply, her wound seems to have become infected..." Teacher Ye continued, "The Mother Tree was destroyed, and the things in the laboratory didn't survive. I can't perform surgery on her now... If we drag this out, I'm afraid she won't last until we reach the South Sea Realm..."

"I understand," Chen Ling said decisively before Teacher Ye could finish.

"I'll take her to the South Sea with me. I will definitely find someone to treat her."

Xiao Tao was Chen Ling's tutor. During his time at the Fusion Faction, Xiao Tao had worried about him quite a bit. Now that she was critically injured and dying, he couldn't just sit by and watch.

"King, King! Take me with you!" Just then, Xiao Bai ran over from the distance in a hurry.

"Xiao Bai, do you know what Mr. Chen is going to do? Don't cause trouble!" Old Wolf reached out to stop him.

Unexpectedly, before Xiao Bai could get close to Chen Ling, he fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing several times to Chen Ling and the Xiao Tao in his arms, his face covered in tears:

"Xiao Tao was injured because she saved me. It's my fault she's like this... Please take me with you. King, you'll be busy running around for the Fusion Faction, you'll need someone to take care of Xiao Tao. I'm willing to serve you tea and water, please take me with you!! I definitely won't hold you back, King!!"

After kowtowing several times, Xiao Bai's figure flickered, and his pitch-black form actually turned into a shadow, merging with Xiao Tao's shadow.