First Blood

Early in the morning, after a night of regulating his breathing, Lin Ming had recovered his Dou Qi and even faintly sensed a slight improvement. It was time for him to set off again. After all, the Harmonious Ape territory was only a little over twenty kilometers from here. Who knew whether those Harmonious Apes would wander over? It was better to leave first.

Lin Ming followed the flowing stream onward. He had no particular destination anyway, so he simply went wherever he felt like going.

Over the next half month, Lin Ming returned to a life of roaming the forest during the day and finding a place to spend the night near dusk. During This Period, he obtained more than a dozen Magic Cores. Less than One Third were First-Order Magic Cores, while the rest were all Second-Order Magic Cores. After all that fighting, Lin Ming had become quite proficient in using the Star-Stepping Steps. As for the Startling Swan Saber Technique and Explosive Thunder Fist, he had mastered them to the point where he could execute them instantly.

Another night came. Lin Ming was quite lucky today and found another cave. After dinner, just as he was preparing to cultivate, he heard a burst of noisy voices. As the sounds drew closer, he finally made them out clearly.

"Search quickly! Don't overlook a single place. We must find that Woman. If she gets away, I'll skin you alive!" Hearing this, Lin Ming realized these people were looking for a Woman. I hope you don't come looking for trouble with me, Lin Ming thought.

No sooner had Lin Ming hoped they would not trouble him than he heard someone say, "Young Commander, there's a cave here. There's firelight inside." Soon after, five people carrying torches entered. Of the five, one appeared to be over thirty and had the cultivation of a Six-Star Dou Zhe; another was around twenty-four or twenty-five and had the cultivation of a Five-Star Dou Zhe; the remaining three were all Four-Star Dou Zhes.

"Kid, who are you? What are you doing here? Have you seen a Woman around twenty years old?" Before Lin Ming could even finish looking them over, the twenty-four- or twenty-five-year-old man began questioning him in a decidedly hostile tone.

Lin Ming looked at the man as though he were an idiot and did not intend to answer him. Perhaps Lin Ming's silence made the man feel insulted, because he snarled, "Kid, looks like you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit." Then he turned to the Six-Star Dou Zhe and said, "Captain Chen, take him down."

"Young Commander, this..." Captain Chen wanted to advise the Youth he called Young Commander. This place was already close to the depths of the Monster Mountain Range. No one who could survive here alone was an ordinary person. Moreover, the Youth opposite them had not shown the slightest panic in the face of several opponents. He clearly had something to rely on. Making a move against someone whose identity and strength were unknown was truly unwise.

Before Captain Chen could finish, the Young Commander cut him off. "At a time like this, we can't let anyone who might leak information go. Make a move!"

"Who are you people?" Although Lin Ming had already guessed, he still asked.

"Kid, now you know fear? Too late. In your next life, pray you're luckier and don't run into our Pei Family Mercenary Group again." The Young Commander assumed Lin Ming was afraid and sneered.

"Pei Family Mercenary Group. You're that Young Commander called Pei Lang, right?" Lin Ming said.

"Haha, Kid. You've heard of my name? Fine, come over and kowtow ten times. If I'm in a good mood, I might spare your worthless life and let you be a dog in my Pei Family Mercenary Group." Pei Lang, the Young Commander of the Pei Family Mercenary Group, laughed arrogantly.

"As the first person to die by my hand, I only wanted to know your name." Lin Ming gave a cold laugh. With a flash of his movement technique, he appeared before Pei Lang, the Young Commander of the Pei Family Mercenary Group, and shouted, "Explosive Thunder Fist!"

"Buzz. Bang!" His fist struck Pei Lang's chest. Pei Lang flew back more than three meters, his chest completely caved in as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"As the first person to die by my hand, I let you know the name of the fist technique that killed you." Lin Ming spoke calmly. It seemed that when he had shouted Explosive Thunder Fist Just Now, he had merely wanted Pei Lang to know the name of the technique that killed him. After Lin Ming finished speaking, Pei Lang's head lolled to one side, and he died.

"Y-you killed the Young Commander?" Captain Chen finally came back to his senses and stammered. The Explosive Thunder Fist had apparently shaken him to the core, and only now had he awakened from the shock.

"Killing someone for the first time feels a little unpleasant, but it's not too bad." Lin Ming muttered to himself. Then, as if recalling that someone had spoken to him, he said to the others, "Get lost. I don't want to kill anyone else right now. If you don't leave within three breaths, go Be Buried With your Young Commander."

The other three turned and fled. Captain Chen carried Pei Lang's body and escaped as well. Lin Ming ignored them, turned around to pack his things, and prepared to leave. Since he had killed someone here, naturally he had to leave; he could not let others trap him in the cave. Just as Lin Ming turned around, he saw a beam of light shoot into the sky outside. It was probably the Pei Family Mercenary Group's Signal Flare. Ignoring it, Lin Ming finished packing and set off.

Traveling through the night was far more difficult than traveling during the day. The first problem was visibility; the forest was practically pitch-black at night. Fortunately, Lin Ming's Spiritual Strength was powerful, allowing him to roughly sense his surroundings so he would not be completely blind.

After walking for a while, Lin Ming sensed someone following behind him with his Spiritual Strength. He stopped and called out, "Friend following me, come out!"

A moment passed without any response.

"Friend about fifty meters to my left, do you need me to invite you out?" Lin Ming called toward the rear.

At that moment, a person dressed in black stepped out. This person was likely the Woman the Pei Family Mercenary Group had been pursuing. However, with the darkness and no lights around, Lin Ming could not make out her appearance or figure.

A woman's voice rang out. "My name is Shi Shanshan, daughter of the commander of the Stone Beast Mercenary Group in Stone Horse Town. May I ask how I should address you?"

From her voice, Lin Ming guessed that Shi Shanshan was probably not unattractive. However, this was clearly a matter between the two Mercenary Groups. So long as they did not provoke him, Lin Ming had no intention of getting involved. Thus, he said indifferently to the Black Shadow, "Don't follow me anymore." Then he turned to leave.

"They found a Scaled Beast. It will give birth within the next two days," Shi Shanshan hurriedly said.

"Oh, a Scaled Beast? What order is it?" Lin Ming asked in surprise. He had read about Scaled Beasts in a book. Scaled Beasts gave live birth, producing one or two offspring at a time. They possessed an extremely thin trace of the divine beast Kirin's bloodline. They somewhat resembled Kirin in appearance and were covered in scales, though they had no horns. Upon reaching adulthood, they would definitely attain Peak Third-Order, and most could even break through to Fourth-Order. Although Kirin had already gone extinct in this world, in ancient times it had been a being capable of contending with apex creatures like the Ancient Void Dragon and Ancient Heavenly Phoenix.

"Third-Order. After giving birth, its strength will greatly decline, and it will only be able to display the strength of a Peak Second-Order Magical Beast," Shi Shanshan hurriedly explained.

"Why tell me?" Lin Ming asked again.

"This Scaled Beast will give birth in the next two days. I don't have time to notify my family. Besides, you Just Now slaughtered the Young Commander of the Pei Family Mercenary Group. You and them are Eternal Enemies now. I believe you won't be able to help the Pei Family Mercenary Group." Shi Shanshan spoke. Seeing that Lin Ming did not respond, she continued, "The Scaled Beast's cub will be yours if you get it. Just don't let the Pei Family Mercenary Group obtain it. Otherwise, once they have it, our Stone Beast Mercenary Group will be in danger."

"Lead the way. I'm somewhat interested in this Scaled Beast," Lin Ming said to Shi Shanshan. He was not lying. He truly was interested in the Scaled Beast. After all, to someone from his Previous Life, creatures such as dragons and Kirin carried a special significance. He had seen drawings of the Scaled Beast in books and felt that it looked similar.

"Follow me. It's this way." Shi Shanshan then walked ahead to lead the way.

On the Pei Family Mercenary Group's side, inside the largest tent, four people knelt on the ground. One of them was reporting something, while the other three kept their heads lowered, not daring to make a sound. Beside them lay a corpse with a caved-in chest.

Of the three seats above, the man on the left stood and said to the man in the center, "Big Brother, let me kill that Kid and avenge Lang'er."

The man on the right also stood. "Big Brother, let me go with Second Brother. We'll definitely cut off that Kid's head and offer it in sacrifice to Lang'er."

"Sit down. The Scaled Beast is our priority right now," the man in the center said with a dark expression.

"Big Brother!" the two standing men called out together.

"Sit down!" The man in the center slammed the table and stood up, radiating the pressure of a Dou Master.

"When you fight the Scaled Beast later, you four will take the lead. Once we obtain the Scaled Beast cub, I'll spare your lives. But if you dare hold back and something goes wrong while capturing the Scaled Beast, then go Be Buried With my son. Get out." After stopping the two men who called him Big Brother from avenging his son, the man in the center addressed the four kneeling below. Though his voice sounded calm, it made the people below shudder in terror.

The four kneeling people scrambled out of the tent.

"Kid, I don't care who you are. I'll make you Be Buried With my son. And the Stone Beast Mercenary Group—if it weren't for you, my son would not have gone out in pursuit and would not have died. Once I obtain the Scaled Beast cub, I'll make your entire Stone Beast Mercenary Group Be Buried With my son." After speaking, the man in the center crushed the armrest of his chair with one hand.