Already Found a Path to Death

Thousands of miles south of Nanqing City, in the Demonic Beast Territory, lies a heavily guarded military fortress.

This fortress is humanity's foothold deep within the Demonic Beast Territory, a bridgehead for expanding our territory.

At this moment, above the central plaza of this bridgehead, a large bird the color of flame is slowly descending with a "whoosh~ whoosh~" sound.

When they were only ten meters from the ground, Chen Lin and his group couldn't wait to leap off, quickly landing on the ground.

"A'Lin, this is the bridgehead our human race has established in the Demonic Beast Territory. It's our forward operating base for Martial Artists when we carry out cleanup missions deep in the territory. We usually come here for a short rest after clearing out Demonic Beasts!"

Zhu Wei pointed to the stone buildings covered in mysterious patterns all around and explained with a smile.

Chen Lin nodded upon hearing this, curiously observing his surroundings, his eyes filled with awe.

The dark green giant stones bore the marks of time, and occasionally, mysterious patterns would flash with a sheen, indicating that this group of buildings, with their rugged style, was not as simple as it seemed.

In the midst of mountains and wilderness, surrounded by endless fierce and savage Demonic Beasts, Chen Lin was truly curious and amazed that such a complex could exist for so long.

After everyone had tidied their clothes, Zhu Wei, familiar with the layout, led the group to a stone building adjacent to the plaza.

They handed their identity jade tokens to the staff in the stone building, briefly registered their information, and then walked out with the house keys given by the registrar.

Along the way, people greeted Zhu Wei familiarly.

"Brother Zhu, how long are you planning to stay this time? If you hunt any rare Demonic Beasts, be sure to sell them to me! Our Merchant Alliance buys at a high price!"

"Brother Zhu, don't listen to that Old Zhang's nonsense. Although our War God Temple offers a slightly lower price, we have Merit Points as a reward! You must take care of your own people first!"

"Okay, sure, sure!"

Facing these invitations, Zhu Wei didn't give a definite answer, instead responding with ambiguous words and a hearty laugh.

He Yanjun patted Chen Lin, who was full of curiosity, and said with a smile, "Those people just now were from the Four Great Powers. Most of them don't have high cultivation. They are mainly responsible for guarding the bridgehead and also do business buying precious materials from Demonic Beasts from Martial Artists."

"I see!" Chen Lin nodded in realization.

The bridgehead wasn't very large, about half the size of Nanqing City's Inner City.

After Zhu Wei led them for a short while, they found the temporary housing assigned to them – a three-story stone house built with stones, with a very rugged style.

Using the key to open the door of the stone house, Zhu Wei smiled and instructed all the team members.

"Everyone pick a room you like and put away your extra items. We'll gather here in fifteen minutes and then set off to hunt demons!"

The group agreed with smiles, clearly accustomed to Zhu Wei's way of doing things, and began to disperse to choose their preferred rooms.

Chen Lin went to the third floor and chose a room with a small balcony. He placed the bamboo box on his back by the window, looked around, and seeing nothing unusual, slowly went downstairs.

In the first-floor hall, Zhu Wei and He Yanjun had already put away their luggage and were sitting leisurely, drinking tea.

It was as if they were here for a vacation, not to kill demons.

Seeing Chen Lin appear, Zhu Wei smiled and invited, "A'Lin, do you like tea? Would you like a cup?"

"Sure!" Chen Lin smiled and sat down.

After a pot of tea, the group, led by Zhu Wei, left their residence fully armed.

"A'Lin, be a bit more vigilant these few days. Duan Hengyuan's team seems to be here too," He Yanjun said in a low voice, nodding towards a figure not far away with his chin.

"Hmm?" Chen Lin followed He Yanjun's gaze but met Duan Hengyuan's fierce look directly.

Duan Hengyuan stared at Chen Lin ferociously, as if he wanted to skin and dismember him, making Chen Lin frown.

"Second Brother, is that young man the culprit who caused your younger brother to be sentenced to twenty years of hard labor?"

A burly man with scars like beast claws on his face, standing next to Duan Hengyuan, stared at Chen Lin along Duan Hengyuan's line of sight and asked with killing intent in his eyes.

Duan Hengyuan's eyes glinted with malice, and he said hatefully, "Yes, it's that little beast. He's the one who got my brother sentenced to twenty years of hard labor. I will never let this little beast go!"

Every time he remembered the scene of his younger brother being taken away in terror, Duan Hengyuan's teeth would itch with hatred.

He had spent a lot of Merit Points trying to reduce his younger brother's sentence.

The consumption of a large amount of Merit Points had delayed his progress in breaking through to Grandmaster by an unknown amount, which made him furious.

"Let that brat have his fun for a while. As long as we're in the Demonic Beast Territory, there will be plenty of opportunities to settle things with him!"

The scarred burly man patted Duan Hengyuan's shoulder to comfort him.

"Mm, I'll settle the score with him sooner or later. A mere Martial Master dares to disregard my authority; he has already sealed his own doom," Duan Hengyuan muttered sinisterly.

Chen Lin's team and Duan Hengyuan's team brushed past each other, neither side showing any goodwill.

Outside the bridgehead, He Yanjun said to Wu Fan, who was carrying six quivers, "A'Fan, give me two quivers, I'll help you carry them."

"Hahaha, then I'll trouble you, Brother He!" Wu Fan didn't stand on ceremony and took two quivers from his back, handing them to He Yanjun.

"Brother Wu, I can also carry a quiver for you!" Chen Lin said with a smile.

"No, it's your first time in the Demonic Beast Territory. It's best to travel light and not have too many burdens that might affect your movements. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, lives could be lost! I appreciate your kindness, brother." Wu Fan waved his hands repeatedly, refusing.

Seeing this, Zhu Wei chuckled and advised, "Hahaha, A'Lin, don't worry about this guy. He's an archer; carrying a few buckets of arrows is just exercise. The weight of less than three hundred pounds isn't even half the weight of my hammer!"

The group moved swiftly through the boundless wilderness.

Jiang Tianyu, serving as the team's part-time scout, walked at the very front of the formation. He Yanjun followed closely behind. Wang Ming and Li Fei, armed with a saber and a staff respectively, were on the flanks. Wu Fan, as the team's ranged attacker, and Chen Lin, as the newcomer, were placed in the middle of the formation. Zhu Wei, being the strongest, was at the rear.

"Our target this time is the Purple Flame Lion on Qitian Cliff in Di Qiu. That cunning fellow escaped last time by sheer luck, but we can't let it get away again!" Zhu Wei said with a serious expression.

"Don't worry, boss. The only reason that guy escaped last time was because our squad was short-handed. With Brother He's injuries fully healed and back, plus A'Lin, that guy won't be able to escape even if it had wings!" Wu Fan replied with a smile.

Seeing the Purple Flame Lion, whose strength was comparable to a late-stage Martial Ancestor, being spoken of like a common cat or dog by Wu Fan, the others could only shake their heads.

"Roar~"

"Ooo~"

As the group pressed onward, the roars of Demonic Beasts could occasionally be heard from the grass and trees, which were taller than a person, near them.

There were even a few times when Chen Lin and his group nearly brushed past Demonic Beasts, causing Chen Lin's adrenaline to surge.

Unlike Chen Lin's extremely vigilant behavior, Zhu Wei and his group seemed to be strolling through their backyard garden, appearing very relaxed and at ease.

As the setting sun cast a red glow, dyeing the horizon a bloody red.

Jiang Tianyu waved, signaling the team to halt their advance.

Zhu Wei looked at the majestic Jade Horned Ox in the distance and suddenly shouted to Chen Lin, "A'Lin, the White Jade Horned Bull ahead will be our dinner tonight. Go take care of it. Be careful, this guy is a Demon Soldier-level Demonic Beast. Watch out and don't get injured when you fight it!"