Prey

Beyond the city gates, the world lay blanketed in white.

Snow covered the wilderness, and the cold wind cut like knives.

Not far from the gates, a dark mass of refugees had gathered. Their clothes were tattered, their bodies thin as kindling, and they huddled trembling in the wind and snow.

Several stiff corpses lay sprawled across the snow, fought over by a crowd.

Soldiers shouted as they roughly drove them toward the distant woods, clearing the road.

A convoy of carriages approached. Several bolder refugees stumbled to their knees in the snow, stretching out withered hands and begging for food.

Zhu Yan and the others had followed Chai Nian out of the city before and were used to such sights. Together with the Martial Warriors beside them, they stepped forward and easily knocked down and scattered the refugees blocking the way.

"Enter the Dalian Enclosure!" Chai Nian ordered.

Dalian Mountain was the largest mountain range around Ji City, located southwest of the city.

Ji City lay in the southern part of Cloud Province.

At the southernmost edge of Cloud Province, the Cloud Ridge Mountains stretched across the land, nearly forming an impassable natural barrier that separated north from south.

The Cloud Ridge Mountains also contained countless heavenly treasures and powerful Monsters. Su Yuan knew that the Cloud Mist Sect had been built within those mountains.

Dalian Mountain was a small branch of Cloud Ridge. It too held abundant resources, and naturally, abundant danger.

Before Great Liang invaded, many people from Ji City had entered the mountains to hunt Monsters and gather resources. Some had even gone deep into the Cloud Ridge Mountains because of it.

The Liang People had built enclosures within Dalian Mountain instead.

The Dalian Enclosure was divided into forty smaller enclosures.

Each covered an area roughly twenty li across.

As the convoy entered the mountains, ancient trees towered along the road, their branches laden with heavy snow. The surroundings were silent, save for the wind and snow and the wheels grinding across frozen earth.

There were even more refugees in the mountains than outside the city. Yet at the sight of carriages and horses, they all hurriedly retreated in panic.

Chai Nian said calmly, "These refugees will also be your prey in the future. Winter is bitterly cold, and many hide in the enclosures, inevitably causing trouble and robbing others. They see you as prey, and you may see them as prey as well. Their kills will count toward your merits in the sacrificial rites. During the future hunt, there is no need to hold back. When prey is scarce, they are also an option."

The Martial Warriors who had never participated in the Wolf God Festival were all stunned.

The hunt was not merely about hunting beasts. They had to hunt people too!

But they were all citizens of Great Jing.

Then again, compared to hunting fierce Monsters, slaughtering these unarmed refugees was much easier.

Su Yuan recalled what he had just seen. Ji City's soldiers had clearly driven those people into Dalian Mountain.

And there were watchtowers spaced throughout the mountains.

Rather than saying the refugees were hiding here, it would be more accurate to say that the Liang People had confined and controlled them here from the start.

Even in winter, it was not long before beastly roars echoed through the forest.

A camp appeared ahead, enclosed by wooden fencing. A black flag bearing the character "Chai" fluttered within.

The stone houses inside were crude yet sturdy, their roofs covered in thick snow and icicles hanging from their eaves.

"Stay here. The Martial Academy will purchase today's gains at market prices, or you may directly exchange them for Blood Origin Pills." Chai Nian got out of the carriage and entered the camp.

People could kill Monsters, Monsters could eat people, and people could then refine Monsters into Blood Origin Pills...

"Perhaps the Wolf God Festival was a harvest from the very beginning." Su Yuan came to a realization. When he had first arrived in Ji City, there had not been so many Monsters outside the city.

The difference between Monsters and ordinary beasts was that their bodies contained something akin to a Martial Warrior's Blood Qi, making them stronger and fiercer.

Monsters coveted things rich in Blood Qi, while people also coveted the essence of a Monster's Blood Qi.

"This time, we will be in the White Deer Enclosure. With this camp as the center, there will be at most first-rank Monsters within this enclosure. You may act freely. If you encounter danger, send a signal. Once the gong sounds, you must return," Chai Nian instructed.

For the first rehearsal, he had only marked out a small area.

Great Liang's classification of Monsters was simple: those capable of contending with Blood Condensing Martial Warriors were called first-rank. Those corresponding to Savage Strength were second-rank.

It was said that even higher-ranking demons existed, possessing supernatural abilities and capable of bringing city-destroying calamities with a wave of their hands.

"Tie Niu, let's go look for white deer," Su Yuan called.

Lin Fan, Huang Jiangyue, and Meng Qi followed as well.

After being taught a lesson by Su Yuan, Meng Qi had become more sensible and chosen to follow the crowd.

But the senior brothers from the higher year did not join them. They each dispersed on their own.

Although Chai Nian had warned them in advance, they were still somewhat unwilling to accept it. All of them wanted to show off their hunting abilities.

Su Yuan was also eager to give it a try.

He had yet to test the many techniques and postures Gao Mian had taught him in the field.

Tie Niu was brimming with confidence. "Young Master taught me plenty too! Follow me, and we'll definitely bring something back!"

"Alright!" The group followed Tie Niu deeper into the woods.

Su Yuan took a deep breath and carefully distinguished the muddled scents in the air.

"A fresh smell... Black-Furred Rabbit droppings." He used a branch to pick up a lump of black filth and brought it close for a sniff.

[Scent Discrimination: 985/2000 (Complete)]

Lin Fan and the others were stunned to see Su Yuan actually smelling animal dung.

Knowing their own strength was lacking, they had only intended to tag along and pick up some benefits. They truly knew nothing about hunting.

"Are these really Black-Furred Rabbit droppings? They don't look much like them."

Tie Niu offered his own opinion, but he could not reach a definite conclusion either. Embarrassed, he said, "I-I can't distinguish scents. It's safer to look at tracks."

Afterward, everyone followed Tie Niu through the snowy forest.

Tie Niu bent down to examine the tracks, but mistook fox tracks for deer tracks. After quietly following them for some time, all he startled was a nest of mountain sparrows.

When nearing a prey's den, his steps were too heavy, and he could not fully restrain his breathing. Again and again, he frightened off wary small animals.

He set rope-snare traps, only to choose poor locations and wait half a day without catching anything.

Su Yuan wanted to speak several times, but Tie Niu remained full of confidence. Mistake after mistake, it all came to nothing in the end.

Not until the gong sounded did they have no choice but to return empty-handed.

The other senior brothers had gained something, at least. Even without Monsters, they had caught ordinary prey.

Chai Nian looked at the empty-handed group, his brows knitting slightly.

Tie Niu's face turned red with shame.

He felt incredibly foolish. The books had explained everything so clearly, so why was actually doing it this difficult?

Seizing the opportunity, Zhu Yan slammed a wild boar weighing several hundred jin onto the ground. "Young Master, perhaps Senior Brother Tie Niu truly has no talent for hunting. This is not something one can accomplish through fighting alone. You may need to reconsider."

For the sake of his own future, he was willing to go all out.

Chai Nian pressed his fan to his forehead. He too had not expected Tie Niu to be so utterly lacking in talent for this.

Seeing Tie Niu's embarrassment, Su Yuan knew he could not hand this chance to feed off him to someone else. He immediately said, "Young Master, Tie Niu was merely nervous during his first attempt. He still needs practice. Besides, I have some insight into tracking. With me assisting him and Tie Niu taking the lead, the brothers working together will surely bring in a rich haul."

Zhu Yan sneered. "You? If you were really useful, why did you return empty-handed just now? You're only a carpenter. What do you know about hunting?"

In his eyes, Su Yuan had merely become a Martial Warrior through luck. His past politeness had all been for Tie Niu's sake.

Now that Su Yuan wanted to compete with Tie Niu, there was no need for him to spare Su Yuan any face.

Hearing Su Yuan being mocked, Tie Niu was about to defend him.

But Su Yuan had already responded with a cold laugh. "First, I do understand hunting. But even taking a step back, even if I didn't understand hunting—"

His tone turned cold, each word deliberate. "I understand killing people."

The moment those words fell, everyone understood what he meant, and the atmosphere abruptly froze.

Chai Nian lightly tapped his fan against his palm, breaking the silence. "Well said. Knowing how to kill people is enough. When the time comes, you will not only kill refugees—you may hunt others as well."

Everyone's hearts sank.

The moment one participated in the Hunting Tournament, one became prey as well.

Fortunately, Chai Nian changed his tone. "However, beneath the Wolf God's gaze, you are not permitted to harm your fellow countrymen."

Though he said that, everyone knew it perfectly well: it was forbidden openly, but in secret, they could simply blame it on Monsters.

Even if they did not kill people, they could still steal others' prey.

At the end of the day, this was a game for the strong.

The two brothers returned to the forest.

"Brother Yuan, are we really going to kill people? I don't want to do that," Tie Niu said quietly.

"I was just scaring them. I'll help you, but if we get the chance to run into anyone from the Shan Family, I would like to rob them." Su Yuan patted Tie Niu's shoulder reassuringly.

"I'll listen to you."

Although Su Yuan lacked experience, his sense of smell was extraordinary. Combined with his soundless steps and superb concealment methods, he moved through the forest like a fish in water.

He crouched to carefully distinguish the scent, then raised a hand and pointed toward a thicket.

Tie Niu understood and held his breath as he circled around.

Su Yuan stealthily moved behind it and startled a Hanging-Eyed White-Forehead Tiger from the flank.

The tiger roared angrily and pounced. Tie Niu burst from his ambush, Blood Qi flooding his fists as he smashed them into the tiger's head with a thunderous blow. Its skull shattered, and its massive body collapsed at once.

"Brother Yuan, you're incredible! When brothers unite as one, their sharpness can cut through gold!"

"Keep going!"

When the gong sounded next, Zhu Yan and the others saw that the two had caught so much prey that their expressions changed in shock. "How is this possible?"

"What's impossible about it? I told you long ago that Tie Niu merely hadn't adapted yet. If you invest in Tie Niu, he definitely won't disappoint you." Su Yuan gave all the credit to Tie Niu.

Tie Niu looked at Su Yuan, deeply moved.

It had clearly all depended on Brother Yuan, yet he had let Tie Niu take all the glory.

Tie Niu secretly resolved that he would definitely seize first place.

He might not need the medicine that could help someone break through Savage Strength, but he could save it for Brother Yuan.

Over the next several days, the group returned to the Martial Academy a few times whenever they had spare time. Most of the time, they remained in the enclosure honing their hunting abilities and practicing martial arts when they could. The Cloud-Covering Art had already reached major mastery, leaving only these three skills that could still improve.

[Cloud-Covering Art: 17/1000 (Major Mastery)]

[Slaughter: 94/500 (Minor Mastery)]

[Hibernation: 756/2000 (Complete)]

[Scent Discrimination: 1999/2000 (Complete)]

What interested Su Yuan most was still the Slaughter trait. Unfortunately, crushing ants beneath his feet provided limited progress. He still needed to draw his blade against the strong.

"For the final step of Scent Discrimination, I should smell something fragrant." Su Yuan took out a sachet and inhaled deeply.

It was said to contain hundreds of different scents, and Su Yuan carefully distinguished them one by one.

[Scent Discrimination: 2000/2000 (Complete)]

[Obtained trait: Scent-Based Breath Tracking]

[Take in fragrance and recognize breath; observe qi and discern subtleties]

[The nose's sensory perception grows ever sharper, able to distinguish the differences between all kinds of qi and perceive the slightest fluctuations of breath; especially sensitive to clear, harmonious breaths and partially resistant to foul, turbid breaths.]