Strength II

Mist Barbarians were often believed to be humans who had been transformed after being eroded by the mist. But after Lin Hui had killed several of them, he discovered that this claim was utter nonsense, because he had found unfamiliar carved writing on the equipment carried by those Mist Barbarians.

It was an entirely new kind of special script. Its age was simply too great, and it seemed to have become incomplete.

Yet such traces were enough to prove that these monsters belonged to some nonhuman race.

Only, these once-intelligent creatures had now been reduced to nothing but killing instinct, becoming Harmless Grade monsters.

The Four-Armed Barbarian before him, however, might already have neared Harassment Grade...

ROAR!!

At that moment, the Four-Armed Barbarian abruptly accelerated. It stomped forward and burst into a sprint, charging savagely at Lin Hui like a heavy rhinoceros.

Far off in another direction.

Through the hazy mist, two blurred figures gradually emerged before Mingde's wooden cabin.

The figures slowly drew closer and came into focus. They were precisely the elderly woman and young woman Lin Hui had encountered before entering.

"Teacher, there's a temporary safehouse up ahead. It should have been built by nearby hunters. Shall we go inside and rest a while?"

The cold-faced woman studied the wooden cabin and quietly asked for instruction.

The old woman carefully examined the footprints on the surrounding ground.

"We can. The only sect or martial hall nearby is Qingfeng Temple, so they must have built it. We'll go in, rest, borrow the place for a bit, and replenish our supplies while we're at it."

For hunters in the Mist Zone, such temporary safehouses could generally be borrowed for a short while. It was also a form of mutual aid among humans.

However, after borrowing one, they had to replace any consumable supplies they used, so that the next group could use them. This was an unspoken understanding among hunters.

"Alright." The woman nodded.

They had killed over a dozen One-Horned Spiders along the way and were somewhat tired, so this was a perfect chance to rest indoors.

Very soon, the two women crossed the courtyard, arrived before the wooden cabin, and pulled open the wooden door.

What they saw at first glance made them both freeze.

It was a large sack of black crystals, so full that they were nearly spilling out. At a glance, there were at least thirty pieces inside the leather bag!

"So many black crystals?! Who hunted these and temporarily stored them here?" Joy flashed across the old woman's face as she swiftly looked around, tightening her grip on Ning Xiang.

Wan'er, the young woman beside her, was likewise stunned.

The purpose of her hunt this time was to gather enough monster materials as proof for the family, stand out among her many brothers and sisters, and obtain a higher rank of inheritance rights.

This time, the family had moved here from Xingdao and occupied more and larger fields and shops. Even collateral branches like theirs, which had originally been unqualified to receive any property, now had the right to compete for some storefronts.

This grand competition used monster materials as proof. The contestants compared quantities, using them to demonstrate the strength of their respective branches.

This contest was not limited to one's own strength; it was a test of combined financial and manpower resources.

The only requirement was that the monster materials could not have been obtained too long ago. Only those hunted within the past two hours could serve as proof.

Seeing so many black crystals now, Wan'er's gaze trembled.

She had practiced her family's martial arts for more than ten years. Even if she brought her grandmother along, the two of them working together would hardly be able to find so many materials within two hours.

It was not merely a matter of martial proficiency—their hunting efficiency simply was not fast enough. "They were probably killed by an expert from Qingfeng Temple. They specialize in speed. Judging from the luster of these crystals, almost all of them were dug out within the last hour." Grandmother stepped forward and gently nudged one crystal with her cane for inspection.

"Qingfeng Temple? The Tuyue Martial Hall that Song Zhanlong of the Black Dragon Gate defeated?" Wan'er narrowed her eyes, a faint calculation appearing within them.

"Mhm. What? You have an idea?" Grandmother looked at Wan'er.

"How much are these crystals worth?" Wan'er asked softly.

"Over thirty pieces, with two of rare quality among them. Altogether, they're worth around a hundred thousand coins. Just take them. That'll put you far ahead of the others in progress." Grandmother smiled, having guessed her intentions.

"A hundred thousand coins is a lot, but it isn't worth doing this..." Wan'er shook her head.

"What isn't worth it? Qingfeng Temple only has a few stray cats and dogs. Even if they learn we took them, what can they do? They should be grateful enough as it is. They can barely handle one Black Dragon Gate—would they dare stir up another matter?" Grandmother sneered. "Besides, every coin you have now needs to be spent where it counts. You should use it all to buy fresh monster materials and boost your results. Don't tell me you plan to save money to purchase them?"

"That's true." Wan'er sighed and nodded.

At once, the two swiftly packed the crystals back into the bag and tied it shut. Grandmother carried it out of the wooden cabin, and they entered the mist once more, vanishing from sight.

About twelve minutes after the two left.

Lin Hui emerged from the mist carrying a palm-sized slab of thick black horn, silently returning to the front of the wooden cabin.

"Hm? Someone came by?"

He lowered his head and spotted two sets of fresh footprints on the ground. Squatting down, he identified them according to the simple methods his teacher had taught him.

"They left not long ago. Two women or children. Children couldn't possibly enter a Mist Zone like this, so they must be women..."

Rising to his feet, Lin Hui carried the material and pulled open the door.

With a soft creak, the leather bag that had just been filled with crystals had already vanished without a trace from the cabin floor...

Lin Hui's expression changed.

He had actually worried about this all along. With his teacher standing guard before, he had never feared the materials being lost. Now that he was acting alone, trouble had indeed arisen.

Walking out of the wooden hut, he gazed at the gray, murky fog outside, his face as still as water.

He had never learned tracking techniques, and even his teacher had only been a half-baked amateur. He could manage simple footprint identification, but using it to track someone down was utterly useless.

It was obvious that he was destined to swallow this silent loss.

"The thief must have run far away by now. What a pity... Looks like next time, I'll still have to find a concealed, secure place to store the materials, or find a companion to watch over them."

Suppressing his displeasure, Lin Hui carried the Four-Armed Barbarian materials and, with no real hope left, circled the wooden hut as he burst into swift movement, searching for the thief.

Circle after circle, he steadily expanded the search area.

Yet it would have been better if he had not searched. Once he did, he actually discovered two sets of fresh footprints roughly two hundred meters northwest of the wooden hut.

Following the tracks, Lin Hui slowed down after only a few minutes and looked ahead.

A vast hollow in the fog suddenly appeared before him—a safe zone formed when Ning Xiang was lit and drove the mist away.

Which also meant that someone ahead had lit Ning Xiang.

He spotted the two women, and they spotted him at the same time.

For a moment, both sides stopped and looked toward one another.

Lin Hui immediately noticed the leather bags in the two women's hands. They were exactly the same as the bag he had cleared out to hold the black crystals.

"May I ask where you obtained the bags in your hands?" He stopped where he was and asked in a deep voice.

"People from Qingfeng Temple?" Granny reached out to stop Wan'er, who was about to speak, and spoke first.

"You two should answer my question first," Lin Hui said cautiously. Although his strength had increased greatly, how could any of those who entered the Mist Zone to hunt be weak?

It was never wrong to be a little more cautious. What if the bags in their hands merely happened to look like the one he had lost?

He should first make sure this was not a misunderstanding.

"We borrowed this bag from a temporary wooden hut just now. Why does this young friend ask?" Granny countered.

"Then did you two happen to see the thirty-odd black crystals that I had placed in the bag?" Lin Hui asked again.

"Crystals? Every one of these crystals was obtained through the hard work of us two hunting. When we borrowed it earlier, the bag was empty." Granny smiled.

Getting them to admit they had taken it was impossible. This was the Mist Zone. Forget taking someone's belongings—even killing someone to silence them was far from rare here.

When she had asked whether he was from Qingfeng Temple, he had not denied it. That had made Granny decide to forcibly swallow this bag of crystals whole.

Qingfeng Temple's movement techniques were fast, but their killing power was far too weak. Aside from running quickly, they truly had nothing else to offer.

Previously, a single person from Black Dragon Gate had come to challenge them, and they had promptly collapsed. They could not even defeat Black Dragon Gate, much less the Wei Family, who were a notch stronger than Black Dragon Gate.

"You two, there's no point in saying such things." Lin Hui had already confirmed that the crystals in that bag were the ones he had hunted earlier, and he immediately began walking closer, step by step.

"What a joke. Who can prove these crystals were killed by you? They were clearly obtained by the two of us through hunting," Granny sneered. "Boy from Qingfeng Temple, you need evidence when you speak. You've already split into three branches, yet you still haven't learned your lesson?"

"But I think those are my things." Lin Hui said in a low voice. "You two..."

"Is your master Ming Chen, Ming Xiu, or Mingde?" Granny raised her voice. "Boy, think carefully about the consequences before you speak."

Lin Hui fell silent.

Looking at the bag in the two women's hands, all sorts of guesses and possibilities flashed through his mind. In the end, he merely sighed softly.

"All right. Perhaps I was mistaken. My apologies."

He slowly backed away, quietly vanishing into the fog as he withdrew completely.

After Granny and Wan'er confirmed that he had left, they too turned and continued deeper into the mist.

"If we want to secure a place in the top three, we still need to hunt materials from at least fifty more monsters. Only then, added to the portion bought with money, can we barely guarantee our position," Granny said gravely.

"Yes, Granny." Wan'er nodded.

"The only dangerous place here is around Swallow Mountain. In every other area, so long as we don't encounter mutated individuals, you and I can deal with them easily enough. We need to pick up the pace now," Granny urged.

The two continued onward in their current direction, but they had not gone far when heavy footsteps suddenly sounded ahead.

Thump, thump.

A Four-Armed Barbarian let out a low roar, wielding four enormous wooden clubs as it swung them wildly and approached from the front side.

This was a mutant, far stronger than ordinary Harmless Grade barbarians.

"Be careful. This mutant is almost at Harassment Grade. I'll cover you—try it first!" Granny said deeply.

"Okay." Wan'er tightened her grip on her twin blades, took several steps forward, and was just about to strike.

Hiss.

A faint hiss suddenly came from behind the two of them as well.

And with that sound, another Four-Armed Barbarian appeared!

It seemed to be chasing something. Bursting out of the fog, it lunged straight at the two women.

"Careful!" Granny's expression shifted slightly as she barked in a low voice. "I'll handle the one behind us—you take the one in front!"

But before she could finish, another Four-Armed Barbarian roared and charged out from the right!

ROAR!!

At the same time, three Four-Armed Barbarians pounced on the two women from three directions.

This sudden upheaval made both women's expressions change drastically, their hearts sinking.

Far away from where they stood, on the branch of a tall, withered black tree, Lin Hui crouched silently, quietly listening to the barbarians' roars and the clash of blades coming from that direction.

This was a test—and an ordeal.

If the two truly had the strength to pass the trial, then giving them a few crystals was no great matter.

But if they could not pass...

Lin Hui lightly gripped his sword hilt, rubbing the rough anti-slip wrapping.

"Since you dared threaten me to my face, and threaten all of Qingfeng Temple, I presume your strength must be quite formidable..."

"As an apology for wrongly accusing you, I'll send you three gifts of recompense..."

He raised his head, listening to the sounds of battle beginning ahead.

It would be fine if they could withstand these gifts of recompense—but if they could not...