The Hunt Begins

Time flew by, and the year's end drew near.

As the year's end approached, Green Sun Town entered the liveliest time of the year.

From within a hundred-mile radius, countless forces and people drawn by its reputation flocked to the town.

Besides the major forces of Green Sun Town, quite a few others took part in the hunting competition. But they had little desire to win; they were only there to watch the excitement and raise their family's profile a little. That was all.

Whatever their reasons, the hunting competition in Green Sun Town was already the biggest, liveliest event within a hundred miles. No matter who won, the fame of their family—or of themselves—would rise tremendously.

The hunting competition was scheduled for the first day of the new year, and its venue was the Beast Horn Arena outside Green Sun Town. It was the town's most magnificent structure, covering an enormous area. It even enclosed a stretch of forest dozens of miles across. At the center of the forest stood a massive platform built from several small mountain peaks. Countless eyes would be fixed on that spot, where the hunting champion would be crowned.

As the day of the hunting competition slowly approached, countless people streamed toward the Beast Horn Arena.

"Is this the Beast Horn Arena?"

Standing atop the high platform, Lin Ge looked down over the entire Beast Horn Arena. He studied the dense forest and looked slightly surprised.

"Mm."

Behind Lin Ge stood the members of the Lin Clan, including Lin Zhentian, Lin Xiao, and Lin Dong.

"That stretch of forest below connects directly to the deep mountains, so it's full of ferocious beasts. Everyone taking part in the hunting competition will receive a token bearing their identity, then be thrown into the forest. In there, you'll have to rely on your own abilities to escape the beasts' claws."

Lin Zhentian said with a hearty laugh, "And while you're staying alive under those beasts' claws, you'll also have to find a way to take ten identity tokens from other people. Only then will you qualify to enter the giant platform at the center of the forest. The hunt isn't just about hunting beasts. More often than not, it's about hunting people."

Lin Ge's eyes narrowed. This hunting competition really wasn't simple. To qualify for the platform, he would need ten identity tokens—which meant defeating ten people. But everyone taking part was a genius from one family or another. How could they be so easy to beat?

Lin Ge could imagine just how fierce the competition in the forest would become.

"There are just over a hundred identity tokens in total, so at most a dozen people will make it to the platform. Many of the competitors will end up losing. The competition is fierce enough," Lin Zhentian said, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Only ten out of a hundred? This should be interesting."

Lin Ge nodded slightly, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Heh, with Lin Ge's current strength, making it to the platform will be a piece of cake," Lin Ken said with a laugh from the side.

"Just making it to the platform?"

Lin Ge smiled without answering, but a glint flashed in his eyes, as if he were plotting something.

Standing beside Lin Ge, Lin Dong naturally saw his smile. His brow furrowed slightly; he had a feeling Lin Ge's grin boded no good.

"Heh, Lin Zhentian! Long time no see. Looks like these old bones of yours are still as tough as ever."

Just as the Lin Clan members were chatting and laughing, an unwelcome voice came from a distance. At its sound, everyone from the Lin Clan frowned, feeling uneasy.

Lin Ge glanced sideways. A large group was approaching them from afar in a steady stream. The crowd in their path quickly parted, fear showing in the eyes of those who looked their way.

At the very front of the group walked two men side by side. One wore a pale gray silk robe and looked to be about the same age as Lin Zhentian. His eyes were sunken, giving him a rather cold, stern look. The other was a middle-aged man whose face was always wreathed in smiles. He seemed kind and amiable, but only those who knew him well understood that he was a smiling tiger.

"Lei Bao, Xie Qian."

Lin Ge didn't remember the hunting competition particularly well, but he knew the leaders of the Lei and Xie Families in Green Sun Town. After all, they were two of the town's few Heaven Origin Realm experts.

"Old Lei, don't worry. These old bones of mine will make it into the coffin a little later than yours." Lin Zhentian looked at the approaching members of the Lei and Xie Families with a bright smile. If they couldn't hear what the two men were saying and judged them by their expressions alone, anyone would have thought they were close friends.

"You've got a lot on your mind. Living a long life isn't easy," Lei Bao said flatly. Then his gaze shifted to Lin Ge, and his expression tightened.

The title of Green Sun Town's number-one genius had long since spread far and wide. How could Lei Bao not have heard of him?

"So he's the legendary number-one genius of Green Sun Town? He certainly looks the part."

"I'm only a little famous. How could I compare with your Lei Clan?"

Lin Zhentian sounded modest, but anyone could see the pride shining in his eyes.

"I hope you really can surprise this old man when the time comes," Xie Qian said with a genial smile, though a trace of coldness flickered in his eyes.

"You will. The seniors will see for themselves soon enough." Lin Ge smiled faintly, his expression calm.

Lin Ge had some idea what kind of men Xie Qian and Lei Bao were. They would surely have the participants from the Lei and Xie Families gang up on him later. But he wasn't afraid—in fact, he was looking forward to it.

Lin Ge's sudden reply caught the two men off guard and angered them, but they hid it well enough that no one else noticed.

"Is that so? Then I'll be watching your performance closely."

After saying this, the two men led their people away, leaving the Lin Clan members in dead silence.

"Looks like they've set their sights on Lin Ge. Father..." Lin Ken said in a low voice.

"What's done is done. All we can do now is leave it to fate." Lin Zhentian understood as well, but there was no way to solve the problem. He sighed and tried to console him.

Lin Ge, however, wasn't worried like they were. He remained perfectly calm. Turning to Lin Dong, he chuckled softly and asked, "A pack of wolves against a lion—who do you think has the better odds?"

At that, Lin Dong's eyelid twitched. He answered calmly, "Normally, the pack of wolves. But this time, the lion."

Lin Ge seemed to have known all along that Lin Dong would answer that way. He laughed happily and said, "A mayfly trying to shake a tree! It's time those ants learned what a genius really is—and what real strength looks like!"

Lin Ge's voice was quiet. Only Lin Dong heard him, but that made him all the more grave.

"Lin Ge plans to take on every genius from the Lei and Xie Families by himself!"