Hunting Hall

"Brothers, you two came out of West Cloud Mountain, right? Looks like you had a good haul this time. We're just wondering if you could do us a favor and lend us a few things~" Seeing that Sanbao and Lin Hai were outnumbered, the five-star Spirit General leading the group of roadblockers spoke in a mocking tone.

"Get lost! Are you blind? How dare you make a move on me?"

Lin Hai roared in fury, while releasing the aura of a Spirit Commander.

Lin Hai had entered West Cloud Mountain more than once or twice, and this little town was a must-pass stop every time. This was the first time a few petty thugs had tried to shake him down. In the past, whether he was with his master or traveling alongside his junior brothers and sisters, no one had dared block his way. Now that his master and fellow disciples were gone, these petty thugs had grown bold. At the thought, Lin Hai was overcome with grief, and the murderous intent on his face grew more pronounced.

"Heh. Don't think a Spirit Commander is anything special. Let me tell you, we're taking this haul, no matter what. If you're smart, you'll hand over half your prey and we'll leave. If you refuse to take the easy way out, I'm afraid you'll be leaving your lives here..." The leading Spirit General showed no fear of Lin Hai's strength and merely spoke with a grin.

Seeing that his strength had failed to intimidate the other side, Lin Hai's expression turned grave.

Their opponent wasn't a fool. There was only one reason they were acting so brazenly: they had something to rely on.

His gaze swept across the area within several dozen meters, then settled on a middle-aged man not far away, whose expression seemed evasive.

The man was dressed in white and held an iron fan. He looked dashing and extraordinary. When he noticed Lin Hai looking his way, his aura surged. He, too, was a three-star Spirit Commander.

"Well? Are you leaving your wealth or your life? Choose," the leading Spirit General pressed.

"Fine. I choose..."

Lin Hai pretended to loosen the bundle on his back. The few men blocking the road broke into laughter. Just then, Lin Hai gave a cold laugh. The heavy sword in his hand became a streak of black light, tearing through the air and shooting straight at the Spirit General's leader.

Sanbao attacked at the same time. He circulated his spirit power throughout his body, and five streaks of golden light slashed toward the unsuspecting Spirit General.

The Spirit General's leader jolted and swiftly raised his longsword to block Lin Hai's heavy sword. Just as he was secretly congratulating himself, a streak of golden light appeared strangely before his chest and plunged viciously into his heart meridian.

The Spirit General's leader let out a scream and fell to the ground.

The Nine-Fold Claw was worthy of being an Earth-grade Spirit Skill. One strike, and it had already achieved its purpose.

The two worked together with perfect understanding. In West Cloud Mountain, they had relied on this marvelous teamwork to escape danger time and again. Their opponent was only a mere Spirit General; even a Spirit Commander could fall for their tactics if he let his guard down.

"Watch out!"

The fan-wielding man in the distance called out a warning and rushed over at top speed, but it was clearly too late. The leader, a peak Spirit General, had been killed instantly by the two of them. The sudden attack shocked the others, who retreated several meters and waited for their true leader, the man with the fan, to arrive.

"I underestimated you. So you two were hiding your strength? You won't leave Meiling Town alive today," the white-clad man said, forcing himself to sound calm as he spoke viciously.

At the same time, the men blocking the road slowly closed in, surrounding the two of them.

Now that their chieftain had stepped in, what did they have to fear? Apart from one Spirit Commander, the other was merely a one-star Spirit General who knew how to launch sneak attacks.

"Then let's see who makes it out of here alive today," Lin Hai said with a cold laugh. He stood back-to-back with Sanbao, and the two exchanged a few words.

"Kill!"

The two sides were on the verge of clashing, but the two Spirit Commanders didn't directly engage each other. Instead, as if by unspoken agreement, they attacked the other side's subordinates.

Seeing Lin Hai give up fighting him, the fan-wielding man silently cheered. He waved his iron fan and charged at Sanbao.

His plan was simple: even if it cost him two lives, he would kill Sanbao first, then deal with Lin Hai together.

Lin Hai had exactly the same idea. He would kill several of the other side's Spirit Generals first, then join forces with Sanbao to take on the fan-wielding man. Their opponent would be doomed all the same.

Although the two had identical plans, they vastly underestimated Sanbao's strength, a difference that was directly reflected in the outcome of the battle.

Lin Hai charged down like a fierce tiger from the mountain. A few rushing gusts of sword wind swept the Spirit Scholars aside, leaving them with limbs broken. The remaining Spirit Scholars didn't dare fight and fled in terror. Only several Spirit Generals remained, standing shoulder to shoulder in defense. They had just one goal: wait for their leader to kill the enemy Spirit General, then join forces with him to finish off Lin Hai.

But the result was a great disappointment. Relying on the speed of the Nine-Turn Golden Body, Sanbao darted and spun through the confined space like a phantom. The fan-wielding leader could barely find an opening to strike. Instead, several of Sanbao's counterattacking claw strikes gave him a great deal of trouble.

The Spirit Generals fighting Lin Hai weren't nearly as fortunate. Under the attacks of Lin Hai's heavy sword, they were in constant danger. When one of them slipped up, the sword's edge cut across his arm, and blood poured out. His strength immediately fell by more than half, putting even greater pressure on the other two.

"Big brother, save me! Ah..."

With a scream, the wounded man finally couldn't hold out any longer. Lin Hai kicked him several meters away, and the remaining two went pale. Seizing the opening, they both retreated.

If they didn't retreat now, they might not make it out alive.

Lin Hai let out a long roar and made as if to pursue them with his sword, but then he turned and charged into Sanbao's battle.

With a clang, the white-clad man was knocked back half a meter by Lin Hai's heavy sword. Sanbao took the opportunity to break free and stood shoulder to shoulder with Lin Hai.

The two glanced at each other, then laughed in unison before swaggering away...

The fan-wielding man darted forward, hoping to pursue and kill them, but in the end, he had his reservations and stopped. His face turned livid as he growled, "Damn it! I really misjudged them this time. We've lost big."

Their fight had long since drawn countless onlookers from the town. As the two left, the crowd showed their admiration one after another. The powerful aura the pair had displayed left everyone impressed.

This was a world ruled by the strong. The strong would always be respected.

After this close call, the two decided not to linger. They bought two Unicorns at the post station outside town, then headed straight for Willow Forest City.

Willow Forest City was an ancient frontier city in the Yunli Kingdom, said to be several thousand years old. Besides its towering stone walls, the broad moat outside the city had also borne witness to its many rises and falls.

The dozens-of-meters-high black stone walls stood like a natural chasm, separating the inside and outside of the city into two different worlds. Apart from powerful birds and beasts capable of flight and Spirit Profound experts, the only way for anyone else to enter Willow Forest City with ease was to cross the moat and enter through the city gate.

Night fell, and the city lights came on. At last, the two reached the gates of Willow Forest City, only to find that the drawbridge over the moat had just been raised.

"Guard brothers, please let us through. We have urgent business in the city!" Lin Hai didn't want to spend the night outside the city, so he called out loudly.

"The drawbridge is up and the city gates are closed for the day. Come back tomorrow if you have business." Across the moat, the guard on duty answered indifferently.

"Brothers, we're here on business for the Lei Family. If we miss the appointed time, we'll have a hard time explaining ourselves. Here's a little silver for you to enjoy a drink." As a small pouch of silver coins flew over the moat, several loud creaks rang out, and the drawbridge was lowered.

"You two, hurry across!" Once they heard the pair were working for the Lei Family—and saw they understood the proper "courtesies"—the guards didn't dare neglect them. They hurriedly lowered the drawbridge. After Lin Hai showed them the Lei Family's bounty notice, the two were quickly allowed through.

Along the broad flagstone streets stood row upon row of tall buildings, some stone towers and some wooden houses, some shops and some homes. At night, most of the shops lining the streets were closed, and the few scattered pedestrians hurried along.

After winding through eighteen bends, the two arrived at the entrance of a compound on a moderately busy street.

"We're here, brother!"

When he saw the three characters "Hunting Hall" hanging above the entrance, Lin Hai's eyes grew moist. He raised a large hand and pounded on the door several times.

Bang, bang, bang.

The great doors slowly opened. As soon as the gatekeeper saw Lin Hai, he shouted excitedly.

"The chief is back! The chief is back..."

Footsteps quickly rose all around. Before long, more than ten Spirit Cultivators of various ranks had gathered in the compound, most of them low-level Spirit Generals.

Lin Hai nodded to everyone in turn, then led Sanbao inside.

Before long, muffled sobbing could be heard from the Hunting Hall's council chamber...

The Hunting Hall was a weak Spirit Cultivator faction in Willow Forest City to begin with. On this trip to West Cloud Mountain, three of the hall's only four chieftains had died at once, dealing a devastating blow to its strength.

"All right, everyone, stop crying. We've always lived with our blades at our throats. The only way to survive is to keep improving our strength. This time, it was all thanks to our little brother Sanbao that I made it back alive..."

As Lin Hai comforted everyone, he introduced Sanbao to them.

Their only consolation was that they had at least recovered the Crystal Monkey Heart listed on the bounty notice.

That night, several white lanterns were hung inside and outside the Hunting Hall to mourn the departed chieftains.