Within Yangping Mountain

"Fish Fat Grass?"

At the name, Liu Yuanshan's face showed a trace of bewilderment.

"It is a kind of wild grass with a distinctive scent. Once crushed into juice, the smell can linger on a person for a long time. Some exotic beasts are extremely sensitive to this grass's scent; even several miles away, they can still smell it."

Meng Hongsheng explained.

By this point, Liu Yuanshan already understood.

"Gang Leader, are you saying Ergou had been targeted long ago?"

"That should be the case. As far as I know, someone in the Fist Gang keeps a similar exotic beast."

"Fist Gang remnants!!"

Hearing this, Liu Yuanshan recalled that among the intelligence he had gathered on the Fist Gang, there had indeed been high-ranking members raising an exotic beast with an exceptionally keen sense of smell.

He clenched his fists until they gave off a series of creaks. At that moment, he was basically certain—the ones who had acted were absolutely people from the Fist Gang.

When they had wiped out the Fist Gang before, he had killed quite a few of their people. It was only natural for them to seek revenge against him.

"I never expected these remnants to have such nerve. That old dog Tian Song took a palm strike from me and was seriously wounded, yet he still dared to jump about. He truly doesn't know death..."

Meng Hongsheng spoke with a cold sneer.

"Since they still dared to return to the city, then catch them all in one net. You will handle this matter. Mobilize whoever you need from the gang. This time, do not let that old dog escape."

"I understand. This time, I'll make sure they die cleanly." Liu Yuanshan answered with a savage expression.

*

*

Clatter, clatter, clatter...

Urgent hoofbeats rang out along the official road.

Several carriages raced past. At the front of the last carriage, Lin Sheng wore a gray fitted outfit and a yellow headscarf. He held a mixed-iron staff as tall as his eyebrows. Though called an iron staff, one end was somewhat pointed, making it look more like an iron spear.

"Lin Sheng, although the Beast Hunter Hall's benefits are excellent, they are all earned with one's life. Now that you have been assigned to our Ninth Squad, you must obey all arrangements within the squad. Remember not to act rashly on your own, or if you lose your life, you will have no one to blame but yourself."

The man speaking was seated beside Lin Sheng, driving the carriage. He was around thirty or forty years old and dressed much like Lin Sheng. As he drove, he spoke to Lin Sheng in a solemn tone.

"I understand, Captain Wang. In future operations, Lin will certainly follow the captain's arrangements."

Lin Sheng nodded earnestly in acknowledgment.

This man was precisely Lin Sheng's captain in the Beast Hunter Hall, Wang Sanyang.

He was an old hand in the Beast Hunter Hall, and his strength had already entered the Muscle Forging realm—far stronger than the likes of Liu Ergou.

Seeing Lin Sheng neither arrogant nor servile, Wang Sanyang was rather satisfied. The sternness on his face softened somewhat.

He had been in the Beast Hunter Hall for many years and had led more people than he could count. What he hated most were those young people with a bit of talent who thought too highly of themselves and did not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth.

It did not matter if such people got themselves killed quickly; the key was that they would drag down the rest of the team as well. Thus, seeing Lin Sheng's demeanor put him somewhat at ease.

After giving Lin Sheng a few more instructions, an hour later, they finally arrived at their destination.

"So this is Yangping Mountain?"

Before his eyes stood a vast mountain, thick with vegetation and ancient trees, looking rather like the primeval forests of his previous life.

At the foot of the mountain lay a cluster of buildings and homes. From afar, people could occasionally be seen coming and going. Most were dressed similarly to him, clearly members of the Beast Hunter Hall.

"That's right. This is Yangping Mountain. Those rural homes are where we usually rest. There were originally not many people at the foot of Yangping Mountain, but after our Town Mountain Tower secured the hunting and operating rights to Yangping Mountain, our efforts gradually drew in many hunters and traveling merchants. Over time, it grew into a town of considerable size, called Yangping Town."

Wang Sanyang said with a smile.

After talking with Lin Sheng along the way, he had formed quite a good impression of him. Moreover, when Tian Hu had handed Lin Sheng over to him, he had mentioned that Lin Sheng's talent was fairly good. Thus, Wang Sanyang could not be bothered to put on airs.

"Alright, unload the goods from the carriage first. After that, I'll take you to meet the others in the squad."

"Alright."

The carriages were loaded with supplies such as food, clothing, medicinal herbs, and the like.

In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, they had unloaded everything. Lin Sheng then followed Tian Hu into a courtyard within the cluster of buildings.

"This courtyard is where the members of our Ninth Squad live, and it is also where the squad gathers every day. There are empty rooms over there. Pick one of them for yourself."

Wang Sanyang pointed to several rooms on one side of the courtyard. Then, as if recalling something, he added another sentence.

"There are quite a few people living in the courtyard. If you are worried about it affecting your martial arts practice during your free time, you can also rent a small courtyard outside for yourself. It only costs seventy large coins a month."

"Alright."

Lin Sheng nodded. Even if Wang Sanyang had not mentioned it, he had been about to ask.

After all, he had quite a few secrets. Cultivating in such an environment, with so many eyes around, was truly inconvenient. If someone noticed something, he would have no way to explain it.

Entering the Raging Bull Fist in ten days already counted as having decent comprehension and talent.

If people learned that he had cultivated this fist technique to minor accomplishment and entered the Body Tempering realm in less than five days, even a fool would know that there was something abnormal about him.

He did not believe that, once exposed, Town Mountain Tower would remain unmoved, to say nothing of anyone else.

In this extraordinary world that possessed the Martial Way, deciding whether a person lived or died was far easier than one might imagine.

His cultivation progress could no longer be described merely as genius. That was why he had not revealed that he had already broken through to minor accomplishment in the Raging Bull Fist and become a Body Tempering martial artist.

Especially now that he had obtained the White Ape Leg Technique. Since he could not obtain the subsequent stages of the Raging Bull Fist for the time being, he naturally needed to cultivate this leg technique. No matter what, he had to rent a courtyard of his own.

"Captain Wang, is this the newcomer who came over? Didn't they say the new recruits for this batch would not be selected until several days later? Why has he arrived already?"

Lin Sheng's and Tian Hu's arrival naturally drew the attention of some people in the courtyard, and someone soon came over.

The speaker was a tall man with a face full of smiles. From time to time, he sized Lin Sheng up with an inexplicable look in his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? If he can come over now, he must be a newcomer with decent talent."

A short, sturdy, rough-looking man spoke indifferently. He did not show much reaction to Lin Sheng's arrival.

Besides those two, there were another eight or nine people in the courtyard. Some showed a little curiosity toward Lin Sheng's arrival, while others, like the short and sturdy man, did not react much.

"Decent talent? Then Captain Wang has to let Old Ma test him out."

At those words, the tall man's smile widened. His eyes burned as he stared at Lin Sheng, and his two rough palms collided with a dull smack.

Wang Sanyang frowned, but he did not reject it. Instead, he turned to look at Lin Sheng.

"Once you join the squad, sparring between members is common. After all, blindly burying your head in hard training will not produce much. Martial arts are dead, but people are alive. Combat experience between martial artists cannot be gained merely through burying your head in training."

"I understand. Lin is willing to give it a try." Lin Sheng nodded solemnly, and a hint of fervor appeared in his eyes as he looked at the tall man.

He knew very well that his cultivation speed was much faster than that of others, but he lacked actual combat experience.

He had only learned some basic fighting techniques on Blue Star in his previous life, but in this world with genuine martial arts, that little bit was clearly not worth mentioning.

Now that the other party had taken the initiative to approach him, he naturally would not refuse. This was a chance to hone his combat skills, and also a chance to establish his authority. In a new environment, showing a bit of fang and claw at the right time could spare him many unnecessary troubles in the future.