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Early the next morning, Jiang Lin bade farewell to the Xiao Family and set out for Qingshan Town.

As he passed the canyon where he had been attacked before, Jiang Lin, seated inside the carriage, once again sensed someone watching him from afar. However, there was no killing intent in that gaze. Clearly, members of other Mercenary Groups were investigating the area.

After several days of bumpy travel, Jiang Lin finally returned to Qingshan Town. He first gave the sweets he had bought in Wutan City to Xiao Yi Xian, then quietly returned to the small house in his backyard. Uncle Fu went to report everything that had happened along the way to Mr. Yao, who said nothing after hearing it.

That night, Jiang Lin donned the Black Knight Armor, lowered its faceplate, strapped a greatsword to his back, and carried a bundle of items as he slipped out of Myriad Medicine Hall under cover of darkness.

In a highly concealed, mysterious valley somewhere within the Monster Mountain Range, a black figure carrying a bundle crawled out of a tunnel. Looking at the dense forest within the valley, where the peach trees had sprouted anew after the fire and life had returned, his expression grew slightly dazed.

He had returned here after all—to the place where he had nearly starved to death.

Shaking his head, Jiang Lin suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind. He cleared another patch of open ground amid the valley's peach grove, then placed some of the materials he carried for crafting the Mystic Armor Puppet into a cave deep within the valley and sealed it with stones.

After finishing everything, Jiang Lin took one more look at the valley, shook his head, and turned to leave through the tunnel he had entered from.

On the way back through the Monster Mountain Range, Jiang Lin blended perfectly into the night. There was not a single part of his body that reflected moonlight. In the darkness, he was like a silent nocturnal assassin. Then, just as he was preparing to head down the mountain, he spotted a cluster of firelight flickering in the distance.

After thinking it over, Jiang Lin adjusted his breathing and slowly crept toward the firelight.

His superhuman Spiritual Sense allowed Jiang Lin to move through the night as freely as a fish in water, strolling leisurely without anyone detecting him in advance.

However, Jiang Lin ultimately did not creep too close. Instead, he chose a nearby spot, found some high ground, and observed the people beside the campfire from the corner of his eye.

His sharp gaze vaguely made out several familiar figures: Mu Li, Mu She, and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

At the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's wilderness camp, the dancing flames cast flickering light, making Mu She's face brighten and darken by turns as he sat beside the campfire.

Several dead magical beasts lay nearby. Someone had carved off pieces of their flesh and was roasting them over the fire.

"Father, that Jiang Lin is clearly no simple character. Are we really going to keep going down this path?" Beside the campfire, the young Mu Li appeared exceedingly obedient before his father, Mu She.

"..." Mu She fell silent for a moment. His cold gaze swept over the surroundings before he finally said quietly, "That brat may have obtained the inheritance of a Profound-grade Artifact Forger. Otherwise, his skill as an Artifact Forger could not have improved so quickly. Master Pei Suo has already figured out their background. He first tested the true strength of the owner of Myriad Medicine Hall, then tested the forces that might appear at that brat's side. It is time to end this."

After saying that, Mu She stared deeply at Mu Li. "Remember this: as mercenaries, we often do not have the right to choose. From the moment we accept a mission, we step onto fates that already have their prices marked."

"Master Pei Suo promised to forge a Yellow-grade High-tier Battle Weapon for us. If the Wolf Head Mercenary Group wants to go farther, then this Yellow-grade High-tier Battle Weapon will be indispensable. Even if I die in the process, you will be able to use this high-tier Battle Weapon to lead the Mercenary Group to new heights."

"Father..." Mu Li stared blankly at his father, who seemed different from usual, lost in a daze.

"Eat up. Tomorrow morning, we need to deliver these magical beast materials to the Fierce Beast Mercenary Group." Mu She picked up a roasted piece of magical beast meat and handed it to Mu Li.

"..."

Jiang Lin silently withdrew into the darkness without stepping on a single dry branch. In the dark, his superhuman Spiritual Sense was like radar. Within three meters, it could scan a clear image; within ten meters, it could still form a rough picture.

Jiang Lin had always believed that this superhuman Spiritual Sense was his own special ability, but judging from Mr. Yao's attitude, damn it, this seemed to be an ability he had inherited from his mother?

"Myriad Medicine Hall only has one disposable old geezer. What a headache. As a fully leveled Mercenary Group preparing to leave the Novice Village, the Fierce Beast Mercenary Group has not only a Da Dou Shi commander, but several Dou Masters as well, and every one of them is stronger than Mu She."

Because of the Mercenary Group system, whenever a Mercenary Group reached its maximum rank and prepared to head to a larger world, it attracted many powerful mercenaries from the surrounding area. This meant a region's strength would always shift from extreme prosperity to extreme decline in an instant. Over the past few decades, Qingshan Town had been at its strongest when it had simultaneously produced two Da Dou Shi Mercenary Groups: Lionheart and Qingshan, then Qingshan and Fierce Beast. Lionheart had begun leaving several years ago, and Qingshan had recently begun to leave as well. Once Fierce Beast left too, Qingshan Town would enter its weakest period—a time when Da Dou Shis were gone, high-level Dou Masters were absent, and a few low-star Dou Masters ruled supreme.

"They are using a Yellow-grade High-tier Battle Weapon as their bargaining chip? The high-tier Dou Artifacts I can currently bring out would have to use interlocking techniques, fitting multiple components together to achieve power beyond their limits. Not only would forging such a thing be incredibly troublesome, but even if it were not, I cannot just take it out whenever I want."

Unless Jiang Lin reached the Da Dou Shi realm, he would not casually produce Yellow-grade High-tier Battle Weapons without concern. Otherwise, he did not want such dangerous things circulating through the Monster Mountain Range.

After all, he would still be staying in the Monster Mountain Range for a long time. He did not want Qingshan Town to descend into chaos. The bullet you fired today might strike you or someone close to you in the future.

Moreover, once some things went wrong at the first step, every subsequent step would go wrong as well. The other side had already seized the initiative. Since the Fierce Beast Mercenary Group and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had participated in the plot against Jiang Lin, with mercenaries' sense of risk, if the stakes offered by both sides were equal, they would choose the side with no surprises, lest Jiang Lin settle accounts afterward.

Thus, an idea began to sprout in Jiang Lin's heart.

Over the following days, Jiang Lin silently acted as nature's porter. He transported many valuable materials he had collected over the years to Peach Blossom Valley. The valley was extremely secluded, sounds within it could not travel outside, and magical beasts outside did not dare approach it. Jiang Lin had never known why, but recently, a vague suspicion had arisen in his mind. Perhaps Peach Blossom Valley was covered by some kind of formation?

Several more days passed. Just as Jiang Lin began forging a pair of Dou Artifact shoes, Xiao Yi Xian interrupted him.

"Little Linzi, Mr. Yao wants you to go meet Commander Han."