Qing Kingdom, Barbarian Wasteland Forest.
Guo Yun, dressed as a hunter, gripped his bow tightly as he crouched silently amid the bushes.
His lower earlobes were an inch longer than normal, nearly hanging down to his jaw. This was a distinctive trait unique to the disciples of the Long-Eared God, granting him hearing far sharper than ordinary people. If he used divine power to strengthen his ears, he could even hear movements a hundred li away.
After years upon years of suppression by the disciples of the Ear-Wisdom God, Long-Eared God disciples like him had become few and far between. The remaining thousand or so were scattered throughout the Barbarian Wasteland Forest, surviving by gathering wild fruit and hunting beasts.
Fortunately, the Long-Eared God had bestowed divine power upon them, allowing them to avoid venomous snakes and insects, find clean water, and locate enough food to fill their bellies. Even so, life remained difficult. Their environment was exceptionally harsh, and many died in all manner of accidents. Moreover, disciples of the Ear-Wisdom God would often enter the Barbarian Wasteland Forest to hunt them down.
Guo Yun silently praised the Long-Eared God in his heart, then held his breath and focused, listening for the faint roars of beasts in the wind and catching the subtle rustling of dead branches and fallen leaves in the forest.
"They're here!"
Guo Yun's ears twitched slightly. He heard a herd of wild boars entering within five li of him, rooting through the dead branches for grass seeds and tree fruit.
They were somewhat far away. Without drawing upon divine power, his arrows would find it difficult to pierce through the layers of bushes and branches and kill those thick-skinned, tough-fleshed wild boars in a single strike... Guo Yun hesitated. Every wisp of divine power in