Chapter 1239: Best Candidate

Teacher Ye is awake?

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow. He patted Wu Yi, who was beneath him, signaling them to remain vigilant, then lightly dismounted and walked towards the Fusion Faction members.

At that moment, besides Teacher Ye, Old Wolf, Mi Bo, He Chengxuan, Zhao Yi, and several other high-ranking combatants of the Fusion Faction were already seated together, their expressions serious as if in a meeting. Sun Buming, dressed in a Tang suit, was also among them.

As Chen Ling arrived, Teacher Ye gestured for him to sit down. Meanwhile, Mi Bo couldn't help but speak:

"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 gaze and calm expression, he knew that Teacher Ye had made up his mind. In the end, Mi Bo couldn't utter a single word of protest.

Mi Bo knew very well that no one could change what Teacher Ye had decided. Since things had come to this, any further argument from him would be meaningless.

"The problem now is how we should bring these children into the South Sea Realm," He Chengxuan said, following Teacher Ye's line of thought and pushing the discussion forward. "Should we enter openly, or sneak in?"

Teacher Ye was silent for a moment.

"If we can enter without alerting the human high-level officials, that would naturally be best... After all, I don't really want to deal with some of them."

A moment later, he added,

"But if the situation requires it, entering openly is also acceptable. It will just be a matter of negotiation... No matter the cost, the children's safety takes precedence above all else."

Silently bringing hundreds of Fusion Faction children into the South Sea Realm during this critical period was almost impossible. Teacher Ye knew this, so he was prepared to deal with the South Sea Realm head-on.

"But with so many of us, it's unrealistic to sneak in, isn't it?" Zhao Yi frowned. "The South Sea Realm doesn't have an inside contact for us; they won't open the gates..."

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

"Walking from here to the South Sea Realm with so many children will take about four days... During this time, we need someone to enter the South Sea Realm ahead of us to gather information. On one hand, they would secretly prepare housing for the children and open the gates to receive us at a critical moment. On the other hand, they would make contingency plans by probing the attitude of the realm's high-level officials towards the Fusion Faction, to see if direct negotiations are possible."

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

"You can't."

"Why???"

"Holy Son, you're too careless in your actions; even buying supplies carries a risk of exposure, and we still have to cover for you... This time it concerns the entire Fusion Faction. It requires avoiding the South Sea Realm's surveillance, finding safe housing, improvising to open the gates for us, and quietly contacting the realm's high-level officials... Can you do all that?"

Without waiting for Teacher Ye to speak, Old Wolf immediately exposed Zhao Yi's shortcomings, causing Zhao Yi's face to turn beet red, unable to utter a single word.

Mi Bo and He Chengxuan were about to speak when a figure draped in a large red opera robe suddenly stood up.

"Let me go."

Everyone's gaze turned to Chen Ling, and they were slightly taken aback.

To be honest, although Chen Ling had been with the Fusion Faction for a long time, everyone still largely regarded him as a "guest," much like Sun Buming. For him to be willing to step up and help the Fusion Faction at such a critical juncture was a true godsend.

"Teacher Ye needs to stay and oversee the Fusion Faction. Zhao Yi is still injured, and others have characteristics of disaster materialization to varying degrees, making them easily exposed... This task is most suitable for me," Chen Ling said, pausing for a moment.

"In this era, perhaps no one is better at these things than I am."

When it came to infiltrating realms, the Twilight Society was undoubtedly the most proficient, and Chen Ling was the ace of aces within the Twilight Society, a figure capable of paying salaries to its members. No one had more experience in this area than he did.

Teacher Ye looked at Chen Ling for a long time. He did not politely decline, but instead stood up, his tone more serious than ever before:

"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 reverted to "Mr. Chen." At this moment, Chen Ling was no longer a student in his class, but a benefactor who had stepped in to help the Fusion Faction overcome its difficulties, and the hope of all the children.

"I'll go with you," Sun Buming said, also standing up.

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

Sun Buming's features immediately crumpled into an expression of distress.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to help, but providing candied hawthorn skewers for so many children, even just to maintain their basic bodily functions, would consume a massive amount of Sun Buming's energy. He wasn't sure if he could do it.

"Mr. Chen, I have a pressing request," Old Wolf suddenly said.

"Go on."

Old Wolf turned and walked behind him. A moment later, several children gathered around and walked towards them. On the back of one of the children lay a semi-conscious figure: it was Xiao Tao.

It was clear that Teacher Ye and the others had already given Xiao Tao simple first aid to stop the bleeding, but Xiao Tao's face was still deathly pale, and her breath was extremely faint. Her entire being was like a flickering candle in the wind, threatening to go out at any moment.

Seeing this, Chen Ling's brows immediately furrowed tightly.

"The vine that attacked her seems to carry some kind of toxin," Teacher Ye continued. "Although we've done a simple treatment, her wound still seems to be infected... The Mother Tree was destroyed, and nothing in the lab survived. I can't perform surgery on her now... If we drag this on, I'm afraid she won't last until we reach the South Sea Realm, and she'll..."

"I understand," Chen Ling said decisively, without waiting for Teacher Ye to 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, and during his time with the Fusion Faction, she had worried about him a great deal. Now that Xiao Tao was critically injured and dying, he couldn't stand by idly.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Please take me with you!" Just then, Xiao Bai came rushing from afar.

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

But before Xiao Bai could even get close to Chen Ling, he plopped directly to his knees, repeatedly kowtowed several times towards Chen Ling and Xiao Tao in his arms, and spoke, his face streaked with tears:

"Xiao Tao was injured trying to save me; it's my fault she became like this... Please take me with you. Your Majesty, you'll be busy working for the Fusion Faction, so someone will be needed to take care of Xiao Tao. I'm willing to serve you tea and water; please, Your Majesty, take me with you! I promise I won't be a burden, Your Majesty!"

After repeatedly kowtowing several times, Xiao Bai's figure swayed, and the pitch-black figure astonishingly transformed directly into a shadow, merging with Xiao Tao's shadow.