Su Wanqing

Following the footprints on the ground, Ye Fei found another Sharp-Haired Bear's cave.

But he was still a step too late. Dark red blood had already spilled all over the small, makeshift cave entrance.

As for the Sharp-Haired Bear inside, it had long since been gutted. Its Points Jade Token and Bear Gallbladder had been taken, and at least a full day had passed.

"Five days. The sixth one. Who the hell is it? Who is it?!"

Frowning, Ye Fei began searching, trying to find traces of battle nearby.

This Sharp-Haired Bear possessed the strength of the 6th level of Qi Refining. Its hide was thick and its flesh tough, while the sharp fur covering its body could effectively ward off spells. It was an exceptionally troublesome Spirit Beast.

If he had fought it himself, he would at least have needed to circle it for half an hour, slowly bleeding it with his Flying Sword and continuously whittling down its fighting strength before he could claim victory.

There should therefore have been plenty of battle traces in the surrounding area.

By following those traces, he could easily identify the spells and magic artifacts used by the hunter, then infer the other party's identity and background.

Ye Fei was confident in this, because there were only a handful of people in this Trial with such strength—none other than the direct descendants of the Five Great Immortal Clans.

Yet after combing through the entire site and searching it carefully, he found no traces whatsoever left behind by a fight.

It seemed the hunt had taken place within only a few breaths.

The Sharp-Haired Bear had not even had time to move or spread the sharp fur across its body before it had died on the spot.

"Damn it! An outsider must have interfered with this Trial!"

Ye Fei thought it over and concluded that even those few from the Five Great Immortal Clans could never have had the power to instantly kill a Sharp-Haired Bear. He therefore decided that an outsider had meddled.

He was growing anxious. "I've only collected nine points so far. At this rate, I definitely have no hope of squeezing into the top ten. The people from the Five Great Immortal Clans are being far too shameless."

From Ye Fei's perspective, it had to be some high-ranking cultivator from the Five Great Immortal Clans secretly interfering and cheating.

What he did not know was that the cultivators of the Five Great Immortal Clans were all thinking the same thing at that moment—someone was breaking the rules!

Because they had all encountered similar situations.

Once Xiao Chen realized he could obtain Points so effortlessly, he directly became a Spirit Beast nemesis, a Token Harvester.

Over those five days, he not only traveled at breakneck speed without restraint, using sound to lure Spirit Beasts, but also turned wherever there was a path and crawled into every cave he saw.

The Spirit Beasts stimulated by medicinal drugs were not as alert as wild ones, making them very easy to track.

More importantly, thanks to the tenfold Mana recovery speed brought by Hextech—

Xiao Chen had ample Mana to repeatedly cast Golden Light Art and Fireball Art without needing to worry about Mana consumption at all.

Because he had too many Points Jade Tokens in hand, he had even used two fox pelts to tie together two large makeshift bundles for storing his Spoils of War.

Things like Twin-Tail Scorpion stingers, Sharp-Haired Bear Gallbladders, and fox pelts themselves were all excellent materials that could be exchanged for Spirit Stones.

By now, both large bundles had been stuffed to the brim.

Xiao Chen could not help sighing. What a pity he was not yet an Inner Sect Disciple, or he would have had a Storage Bag to share the burden.

Because of his frenzied hunting, the Spirit Beasts along his route had become somewhat scarce.

The disciples who set out later could not even find Spirit Beasts. Forced off course, they had to cross mountains and ridges in search of prey.

Of course, some disciples relied on protective magic artifacts and chose to speed up, hoping to catch up ahead and demand an explanation from the "culprit."

Su Wanqing was one of them.

Though she belonged to Branch 4 and had set out rather late—

With the Wind Riding Sword bestowed by her family, she quickly caught up. She even overtook Xiao Chen and ran into a pangolin at the 6th level of Qi Refining before him.

Su Wanqing possessed Innate Dual Spirit Roots. At only eighteen years old, she had already broken through to the 6th level of Qi Refining.

At the same cultivation level, that pangolin was naturally no match for her and was soon beaten to within an inch of its life.

Just then, Xiao Chen crossed the small hill ahead and happened to appear behind the pangolin.

With a casual Fireball, he claimed the dying Spirit Beast.

"Hey, who are you?! I found this Spirit Beast first!"

A crisp voice immediately rang out.

Hearing it, Xiao Chen raised his head and finally saw a young girl dressed in a Pink Gauze Skirt, its hem inlaid with tiny pearls and silver tassels, Cloud-Head Brocade Shoes upon her feet.

Holding a gleaming golden Flying Sword, she approached him with graceful steps.

Her bright eyes, like two pools of crystal-clear spring water, examined him from head to toe.

Hm?

Xiao Chen noticed that beneath the light gauze of her upper garment, the fine Embroidered Pattern on the lining could vaguely be seen.

It was a Carp Leaping Through Lotus Picture traced in Gold and Silver Thread. Blessed by its owner's generous bosom, the pattern appeared vividly alive and especially lifelike.

As a disciple of the Li Fire Sect, he recognized it at a glance. It was the symbol of the Su Family, one of the Five Great Immortal Clans.

"Greetings, Junior Sister Su. I am Xiao Chen of Branch 2. Please do not misunderstand—I had no intention of snatching your Spirit Beast. I was merely passing through."

He did not lack this one Spirit Beast at all. In fact, he had so many Jade Tokens on him that they were nearly impossible to carry, and he was already considering what materials he could use to make another bundle.

Besides, judging from the pangolin's injuries and the broken trees nearby, she had indeed arrived first.

So be it if he gave it to her. There was no need to offend this well-connected Junior Sister Su over a mere six Points.

"Junior Sister?" Su Wanqing raised a delicate brow. "What cultivation do you have, and what background do you have, to call me Junior Sister?"

All those participating in this Trial were Outer Sect Disciples, and none exceeded the 6th level of Qi Refining.

Thus, based on cultivation alone, Su Wanqing truly stood among the very highest.

Xiao Chen was also taken aback. Recently, he had been killing Spirit Beasts at the 6th level of Qi Refining as easily as slaughtering chickens, and he had unconsciously begun to look down on that level of cultivation.

When he first saw Su Wanqing, he instinctively assumed he was stronger than her, which was why he had called her Junior Sister.

Only after she questioned him did he realize that he seemed to have misspoken.

By customary etiquette, as the one whose apparent cultivation was lower and who had no seniority within the same master's lineage, he should have called her Senior Sister.

"Ahem, my apologies, Senior Sister Su. I haven't seen anyone for the past several days, so I mixed up the form of address for a moment."

Xiao Chen immediately corrected himself. It was only a change of address; it was no great matter.

Then he cupped his hands in farewell. "Since Senior Sister encountered this pangolin first, it is Senior Sister's prey. This junior was merely passing through and had no intention of competing for it. I wish Senior Sister smooth sailing ahead. This junior will take his leave first."

Hearing that, Su Wanqing stepped to the right and made way for him.

As the two passed each other, she focused her gaze and happened to see that Xiao Chen carried two crudely made, enormous bundles on his back, bulging so full that they were clearly packed with goods.

Those were fox pelts from the 6th level of Qi Refining!

As he walked, there was also the crisp clattering of countless Jade Tokens striking one another.

She immediately realized that Xiao Chen was the one who had hunted a huge number of Spirit Beasts.

This completely exceeded Su Wanqing's expectations. As she had hurried here, she had already decided in her heart that some competitor from a Great Family was cheating.

She had never expected that the person who had truly hunted so many Spirit Beasts would be Xiao Chen.

"Wait, don't go yet!"

Su Wanqing froze for three breaths. Only when she saw him about to leave did she snap back to herself and call out to stop him.

Xiao Chen turned around with some confusion. What did this young lady mean? He had already said he did not want the pangolin, so why would she not let him leave?

Don't tell me she saw my bundles, got greedy, and wants to rob me?

We're in the middle of nowhere, with no one around for miles. I'd advise you to be a little kinder.