"Magic words"

The Blood Desolate Land.

"Hiss-"

A Blood Arrow shot out, killing the last Desolate Ghost Ape on the spot as it howled and tried to flee. Its corpse crashed heavily to the ground.

Lin Shuguang stood among a heap of Desolate Ghost Ape corpses, his expression grave.

"I didn't expect that after becoming a Martial Artist, a Desolate Ghost Ape would only give me 1 cal of Blood Energy Value. Doesn't that mean it'll give me even less later..."

But then he reconsidered. "Once I'm stronger, I naturally won't have any use for low-level Ferocious Beasts like these anyway."

The Blood Energy Value might have been low.

But Lin Shuguang was anything but slow in processing the corpses.

A profit of twenty-one hundred per beast was no joke.

If his strength had allowed it, Lin Shuguang would have loved to scour every inch of the Blood Desolate Land and slaughter everything in it.

Even so, his diligence still frightened Feng San.

"Shuguang, take some advice from your Brother San. Don't push yourself too hard. Your health matters."

He had genuinely never met another "inhuman" like Lin Shuguang, who practically wanted to live in the Blood Desolate Land!

Every time he saw Lin Shuguang approach with bags large and small, his heart trembled.

The profit Lin Shuguang alone brought him equaled that of three or four other clients.

More incredibly, Lin Shuguang brought that in every day, while other hunting teams were doing well if they made a trade once a week!

And the more this happened, the more he felt that befriending Lin Shuguang had been an incredibly wise decision.

With this wealth, Lin Shuguang's cultivation had now reached Bone Tempering (88%).

Others might have seen cultivation, but in Lin Shuguang's eyes, this was all fucking money! Cold, hard cash!

Meanwhile.

In the northwest.

Three figures swept rapidly across the desolate Gobi, their terrifying momentum whipping up great swaths of sand and gravel.

Under their combined assault, a seventeen-meter-long lizard Ferocious Beast let out a mournful cry and crashed to the ground.

"You two clean up!" The leader of the three was a Red-Clothed Woman with cold, beautiful features. She turned away and stood on a cliff, gazing into the distance, seemingly uninterested in the Martial Artist-level Ferocious Beast worth a million behind her.

Seeing this, the blond young man on the left walked over and asked softly, "Still no word from A-Yao?"

The Red-Clothed Woman shook her head expressionlessly.

The blond young man consoled her, "Maybe A-Yao's just out having fun. He'll be back in a few days."

The Red-Clothed Woman said coldly, "I'm going to Huai City."

The blond young man froze. "But the commander..."

"He'll agree!" The Red-Clothed Woman turned and left.

As next month's assessment drew ever closer, Lin Shuguang sometimes noticed during his visits to the Martial Arts Hall that although Peng Chao and the others still clustered around Ye Tianhao, they were beginning to seem distracted.

A tense atmosphere began spreading through the Martial Arts Hall.

"How are your preparations coming along?" Taking advantage of Song Shi's absence, Feng San pulled up a chair beside Lin Shuguang's practice area and ate an orange with a thoroughly relaxed expression.

Lin Shuguang gave an offhand reply, then suddenly asked curiously, "Are you going this year?"

"I passed two years ago."

Feng San's answer didn't surprise Lin Shuguang. The last time Feng San had fought, Lin Shuguang had already picked up on a few things.

"Then when are you taking the Martial Artist exam?"

Feng San paused. "Next year..." But he immediately changed his answer. "Actually, I'll wait another two years. My comfortable little life is pretty good right now... The world of Martial Artists is a lot more complicated than we imagine."

Seeing his guarded attitude, Lin Shuguang fell into thought.

In truth, he had never been able to figure Feng San out.

When eight thirty that evening arrived, Lin Shuguang left the Martial Arts Hall with the others.

Feng San had a dinner engagement that day and wanted to bring Lin Shuguang along, but Lin Shuguang politely declined.

He wanted to go home and take another look at the notebook of insights Song Shi had given him.

As he walked down the road, the hairs on Lin Shuguang's back suddenly stood on end.

He whirled around, the Slaughter Blade appearing in his grip, looking ready to launch into a killing attack at any moment.

Yet there wasn't a single figure on the pitch-black road.

Lin Shuguang frowned.

The blade in his hand did not dissipate. He kept a firm grip on it.

Beneath the bright moonlight, a chilly wind whistled.

The deserted streets were as deathly silent as a ghost town.

"Come out!" Lin Shuguang barked coldly.

But there was no movement.

"Hmph!"

Lin Shuguang snorted coldly, extending his powerful perception.

Yet he found no one else on the street.

Was it my imagination?

Lin Shuguang paused, his icy gaze piercing the dark street as though staring at someone.

After a long pause, he withdrew his gaze, turned, and left.

The feeling of being watched never returned.

After arriving home, Lin Shuguang kept wondering who had been following him in secret.

Someone from the Crimson Sand Gang?

Unless they had nerves of steel, they certainly wouldn't dare provoke Master Jin.

Then who else could it be?

Lin Shuguang went through every possibility in his mind, even considering Pei Xi.

But that girl was merely a little fast, not a Martial Artist. Otherwise, she certainly couldn't have escaped his perception.

The night passed without incident.

Lin Shuguang never figured out who had followed him the previous night, but he supposed that if they made another move, they were bound to give themselves away.

After washing up that morning, Lin Shuguang casually picked up an ear of corn from the dining table.

Then he heard his younger sister's voice from the kitchen doorway. "Mom, I want some porridge."

"There's some on the table. Get yourself a bowl." Mother Lin walked over from the balcony with a clothes hanger in her hand.

Lin Xiaoxi took a look and declared firmly, "Not the white kind. I want the red kind!"

Mother Lin said casually, "Then go get a handful of red beans. That's what your brother did last time."

"Cough! Cough!" Lin Shuguang nearly choked when he heard that.

Lin Xiaoxi had already turned and rushed into the kitchen. A little later, she held up a bowl and shouted urgently in confusion, "Mom, I tried it! It's not like that!"

"It's not?" Mother Lin peered over doubtfully, then promptly urged her, "Ask your brother!"

Lin Xiaoxi immediately ran over. "Brother, I want red porridge!"

Lin Shuguang nearly spat out the corn in his mouth. He leaned over to look. "Isn't that pretty red? It'll do. You can drink it."

"I want the kind from last time!"

"It's the same. Maybe the red beans were too sad, so their color faded."

"Brother, do you think I'm stupid?"

Lin Shuguang gave a dry cough and a smile. His sister was growing up and getting harder to fool. He missed the little girl he could run circles around.

Helpless, he could only take the bowl. "Wait here."

Unexpectedly, Lin Xiaoxi followed right behind him.

Lin Shuguang's eyelids twitched.

Given his sister's gluttonous nature, if she actually saw the Blood Sea Heart Lotus, she would probably eat even its roots.

This stuff couldn't be eaten every day. Its medicinal properties were too potent, and eating too much could easily harm the body. Had some time not passed, Lin Shuguang would never have relented.

"Go get me a bowl." Lin Shuguang intended to send her away.

But Lin Xiaoxi deftly retrieved a new bowl from a corner of the kitchen.

Lin Shuguang: "..."

Seeing him standing there without doing anything, Lin Xiaoxi urged, "Hurry up, Brother!"

Her big eyes fixed intently on him.

That determined look, as though she swore to memorize every step, made the corner of Lin Shuguang's mouth twitch despite himself.

Steadying himself, he casually lifted the pot lid.

Suddenly, he looked toward the doorway, his face full of surprise. "What's that?"

"What?" Lin Xiaoxi instinctively looked over.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Shuguang tossed the small half of a lotus seed left over from before into the pot.

The instant Lin Xiaoxi turned back, she saw the roiling red water boiling inside the pot, and her already large eyes widened even further.

"Brother, how did you do that?"

Lin Shuguang put the lid down and said casually, "You need magic words for this."

"What magic words?"

"I can't say."

"Brother~~~"

"All right, I'll reluctantly tell you. The magic words are to silently recite..." Lin Shuguang spoke the second half very softly.

Lin Xiaoxi froze. She hadn't heard him clearly at all and hurried closer. "Silently recite what? Brother, I didn't hear you."

"Then I'll say it again. Silently recite..."

"Huh? Silently recite what? Brother, could you speak louder? I still didn't hear you just now."

"I've risked my life saying it so many times. How can you still not hear me? This really is the last time! It's..."

"..."

Lin Xiaoxi stared blankly as Lin Shuguang walked out of the kitchen, her face bewildered. At one point, she even thought she had gone deaf.

Did my brother... actually say anything just now???

PS [Thanks to Yong Baicheng for the 500 Qidian Coins tip.]