Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A stream of light swept across the forest and suddenly disappeared at the end of one’s sighed. The figure was in a hurry but was definitely not slow.
Ou Yangming took a glance at the arc then looked away.
He moved tens of meters by taking one step to get to Xue Boren, then he retrieved a healing pill from his long sleeve and handed it to the elder. “Senior, you’re quite severely injured, so please heal yourself first while I guard you.”
Xue Boren cast a complicated look at Ou Yangming and was slightly resentful. He thought, ‘I must’ve been living like a dog to be inferior to a young fella in his twenties.
‘Is he a gius? Not only is his cultivation base in formations mysterious and unpredictable, but his cultivation base in martial arts has also reached a boundary that’s out of reach for countless people all their lives.’
Xue Xuanle smiled gently and looked at Ou Yangming. In her eyes, he was extremely good-looking and was shining bright.
When Ou Yangming waved his hand, numerous Illusion Formation Boards flew toward him from all directions. After keeping them, he looked at the dead Qi in the sky and thought, ‘Even if I wasn’t controlling the Illusion Formation from the inside, this rogue cultivator’s quite capable for being able to break out while I was gone.’
While he was deep in thoughts, Wu Xuning cupped his hands at him. “Big Brother Yu, thanks for your saving grace!”
Before this, he addressed Ou Yangming as Brother Tianrui, but he changed the term of address to Big Brother Yu. It was evident that the Wu family’s youngest master was a person that knew current affairs and could adapt to circumstances.
Ou Yangming chuckled and shook his head. “It was easy work so don’t mention it.”
Wu Xuning had a solemn look on his face. He responded in a deep voice, “Big Brother Yu, it might be easy work for you, but it’s something important that’ll affect my life and family possessions.” He paused for a while and added sincerely, “I’ll host a feast once the Hunting Meet ends, and I hope that you’ll do me the honor by joining me, Big Brother Yu.”
As he spoke, he bent over and bowed at the young fellow. He was so earnest that nobody could reprimand him.
This was what Wu Xuning learned as he became wiser. Relationships could only be deepened if people invested time and energy in them, and the best way for men to improve relationships with one another was by having drinks together.
Ou Yangming waved his hand. “Brother Wu, you don’t need to do that!”
As said by Wu Xuning as well, it was only easy work for him.
The young fellow later rolled his eyes as though he recalled something, so he asked softly, “Brother Wu, why were these people pursuing you so closely?”
Wu Xuning had a complicated look on his face. After keeping quiet for some time, he answered in a hoarse voice, “Deng Changfeng wanted to snatch my red crow, whereas Shu Ya…” He paused for a moment and had a rather strange look on his face. At last, he sighed and continued, “Big Brother Yu, I don’t mind if you find this a joke. She said that my primordial Yang energy hasn’t overflowed, so she wanted to catch me for her collection. Apart from that, they also wanted to take a smithing material from me.”
“A smithing material?” Ou Yangming voice became high-pitched when he asked.
“That’s right!” Wu Xuning nodded and searched for a while before he retrieved a white object that looked like a fish scale.
Ou Yangming tensed up a little. He breathed rapidly as he questioned, “A horned dragon’s scale?” His heart was also pounding fast.
“A horned dragon’s scale?” The rest exclaimed at the same time. To them, anything that was related to dragons was extraordinary.
Xue Boren forced himself to suppress his shock. He cleared his throat and asked weakly, “Is that really a horned dragon’s scale? Are there really dragons in this world?”
Ou Yangming sat on some decayed leaves and shrugged. “There are dragons indeed, but horned dragons have only left behind their last variegated bloodline, which can only be considered a collateral branch, but it’s also exceptionally precious. Horned dragons’ scales will only fall once in 1,000 years and are considered one of the finest smithing materials in the Spiritual Realm. They can be discovered but not sought.”
His eyes flickered as he smiled shyly and expressed, “Brother Wu, I have a favor to ask!”
Since Wu Xuning showed the material, he was prepared for this. He laughed heartily and replied to him, “Big Brother Yu, please go ahead.”
“I’d like to exchange some things for the horned dragon’s scale to refine a spear. Brother Wu, don’t worry. Whether it’s spirit stones or spiritual herbs, I’ll make sure that you’ll be pleased with what you get in return.” Ou Yangming looked sincerely at Wu Xuning.
“Big Brother Yu, what are you talking about? You were the one who saved me. If you want it, you can just take it.” He handed the horned dragon’s scale to Ou Yangming with both hands.
Ou Yangming was not going to let Wu Xuning suffer any loss. After keeping the scale, he retrieved an interspatial bag and gave it to the young master.
The interspatial bag was filled with plenty of cultivation resources. By scanning the items inside with his mental power, Wu Xuning knew he did not suffer a loss at all. He kept the interspatial bag without saying a word and remembered this favor well.
Seeing as they were done, Xue Boren noted softly, “Younger Brother Tianrui, if you’d like to refine a spear, I know a smithing master in Huixun City that can smith pieces of White Silver Equipment with ease. Once the Hunting Meet ends, I can bring you there to visit him. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a weapon that you can conveniently use.”
Ou Yangming had an odd look on his face. He sighed and rejoined, “Thank you, senior, but… But there’s no need for that as I’ve also studied smithing art slightly.”
Xue Boren twitched his mouth. His thoughts were in a mess.
He could not help but lament, ‘How old is he? How could he have learned so much? Besides, how exactly potent is he when he says that he has only studied it “slightly”…’
Xue Xuanle kept making circles with her fingers in front of her tummy. Her eyes were gleaming.
After half an hour, they hurried toward the periphery again.
As for the fact that Ou Yangming had been hiding his cultivation base, everyone somehow had the tacit understanding to not bring it up at all.
With that, the 4 of them joined hands and kept killing low-rank ferocious beasts at the periphery.
At night, clusters of stars were seen in the sky. The snow outside the Forest of Death had begun to melt, and the plants were starting to grow. Spring’s aura filled the air, but the forest itself seemed like a forgotten world as nothing changed at all. The trees were dark while dead Qi filled the air.
A bonfire was set up inside a cave. It was not bright, but it could be used for warmth. Ou Yangming and his companions sat around it.
Xue Xuanle kept retrieving the blood crystals from her interspatial bag and smiled.
“1, 2, 3…” Her clear voice was pleasing to the ear. Once she was done counting, she grinned and said, “Overall, we have 3 top-grade blood crystals, 5 middle-rank blood crystals, and a mutated blood crystal, which is more valuable. As for low-rank blood crystals, we have tens of them. We’re definitely going to finish first this time, right?” She asked probingly with eyes that shone like stars.
Wu Xuning could not help but laugh and teased her. “The first place is like a horse tied to a big tree for you—it’s going to be yours for sure.”
Xue Boren noted, “We won’t have to worry about finishing first anymore but the key is the suitable number of blood crystals that we should submit.”
Ou Yangming’s eyes lit up. He asked in a deep voice, “Senior, what do you mean? Is there a knack to this?”
Xue Boren looked meaningfully at him and answered, “Of course. If not, do you think that the Beyond Heaven Pavilion would anyhow reward someone? In simple words, the reward can only be exchanged with blood crystals. Of course, whether it’s an aristocratic family or a rogue cultivator, anyone would be happy to do that because one would gain a useful material and a notable reputation at the same time. This is why we must grasp a fine line. If we submit too many blood crystals, we’ll suffer a loss; if we submit too few, we won’t be able to finish first. Everything needs to be planned out well but fortunately, we haven’t recorded our blood crystals with our Tianyuan Stones yet, so we can still act accordingly when the time comes.”
Ou Yangming nodded and kept quiet as if he was deep in thought.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, the ground was painted gold.
Several 10,000 people gathered below the Water Suspension Tablet and stared fervently at it.
All of a sudden, a white light flashed and covered the morning sunlight.
The people around the tablet moved around as they looked at the names on the stone tablet.
“Today’s the last day of the Hunting Meet. Looks like the outcome is set.”
“This… Judging from his dark red name, did he obtain a blood crystal from a top-grade ferocious beast?” A rogue cultivator breathed rapidly and asked.
“Yes, it has been decades since a top-grade savage beast was killed. Who knew, Wang Haobin succeeded this time. Looks like he’s going to finish first for sure.” The person that spoke had a distinguished temperament, which was clear that he was an elegant young master.
“Hiss, hiss…” Right after he spoke, gasps were heard everywhere. ‘A top-grade vicious beast? How could this be?’ It was worth noting that the highest-rank participants in the Hunting Meet were Advanced Spiritualists. Now that an Advanced Spiritualist slaughtered a top-grade fierce beast, regardless of how he did it, it was still a top-grade beast, so how could the others not be surprised?
Due to the top-grade beast’s blood crystal, Wang Haobin became even further ahead and had a much better result than the person in second place. It vaguely made him seem unequaled as compared to the rest.
First place, Wang Haobin, 361 blood crystals!
Second place, Li Tianyu, 278 blood crystals!
Third place, Su Tianqian, 275 blood crystals!
Fourth place, Chen Botian, 253 blood crystals!
…
“Patriarch Wang, congratulations! Given that Haobin killed a top-grade ferocious beast, the Wang family is certainly going to finish first in this Hunting Meet.” Chen Danbo chuckled but was envious.
Wang Weinian tried to hide it on purpose, but the look of joy on his face was clear to see. He waved his long sleeve and sighed. “Brother Chen, Botian did well too.”
Chen Danbo smiled bitterly. “He’s not far from the others but there’s a huge gap between him and the Wang family! A single mutated high-rank beast’s blood crystal is worth the blood crystals of countless low-rank and middle-rank beasts. On top of that, Haobin, managed to obtain a top-grade savage beast’s blood crystal. They can’t be mentioned on equal terms at all.” He shook his head and lamented.
In any case, Wang Weinian was finally relieved. He thought, ‘Judging from the current result, the first place should belong to our clan.’
At this time, someone finally spotted Yu Tianrui’s name but instead of praising him, the person ridiculed him.
“Look—it has been a month, but someone still hasn’t gotten a single blood crystal.”
When everyone looked, sure enough, there was a dark name at the bottom of the Water Suspension Tablet.
