Visitors from the Lord's Mansion

Lin Lei sat alone beside the monster's corpse. A large sign stood next to it, with the price clearly marked.

"Make way! Make way!"

Voices like these rose from the back of the crowd. Lin Lei's smile faded, and his eyes narrowed as a dangerous glint flashed in them. He muttered to himself, "Looks like some major power has arrived. I wonder if it's the Thomas Family from the north of town, the Feiyuyan Family from the south, or someone from the Lord's Mansion. Only those three have the means to buy a silver-rank monster."

The shouts drew closer. As the crowd parted, Lin Lei saw a large group of soldiers in white armor. They clearly weren't soldiers a small town could afford.

Could some young master from a powerful family be passing through Wheat Town?

Lin Lei wondered. He put on another cheerful smile. When doing business, a friendly face was the surest way to succeed.

It wasn't long before a soldier who was noticeably more burly than the others stepped forward. His armor was different from theirs, with gold patterns woven into the white.

"Is this your bear?"

The lead soldier asked doubtfully as he prodded the corpse with his sword. The Earth Demon Bear didn't stir, and the blade couldn't even pierce its hide.

"Indeed. It's a silver-rank monster. Even this fine steel sword can't damage it in the slightest. Hunter, we'll take your bear. Come with me to the Lord's Mansion to collect your money."

As he spoke, the lead soldier took a few steps toward the Lord's Mansion. Then he turned around and saw that Lin Lei hadn't moved an inch.

"Why aren't you coming?"

The lead soldier had to stop and ask Lin Lei, looking puzzled.

Only then did Lin Lei speak to the soldiers for the first time.

"What about my bear? Are you just going to leave it here? I'd better bring it along."

The lead soldier looked at Lin Lei, torn between amusement and exasperation. Then he turned to the soldiers beside him.

"Sessi, Mori, take a few men and keep an eye on the hunter's goods. Don't let anyone take them."

The lead soldier turned back to Lin Lei.

"Can we go now?"

Lin Lei watched the soldier's actions and nodded in approval. Then he followed him toward the town hall.

People on the street moved aside as Lin Lei and the soldiers approached. They hadn't known the men were guards from the Lord's Mansion, but after hearing the lead soldier, they understood that they had come from Flower Territory.

To most people in Wheat Town, Flower Territory was a great city that existed only in their imaginations. Every citizen was an upper-class person, someone they could only ever look up to.

Once the guards from the Lord's Mansion had surrounded the Earth Demon Bear's corpse, the people who had been watching scattered like startled birds. Those still curious enough to stay hid in dark corners to watch.

They stole a glance, then tried to conceal themselves, as if some monstrous beast were hunting them down.

As for the guards on watch, most of them stood around the Earth Demon Bear, chatting and joking. To bronze-rank guards like them, a silver-rank Earth Demon Bear was a monster they could never hope to defeat in their lifetimes.

The guards paid no mind to the townsfolk peeking at them. Though they rarely visited Wheat Town, they'd been to plenty of remote towns like it and were used to the locals making a fuss over them.

Rather than waste time driving the townsfolk away, they'd rather discuss martial skills or chat about which beauties in Flower Territory had the fairest skin.

Meanwhile, Lin Lei followed behind the guard captain in silence, all the way to the town hall.

The guards outside stopped the captain and Lin Lei, but the captain went up and spoke with them, pointing at Lin Lei as he explained something.

It didn't take long for the guards to let Lin Lei and the captain inside. Lin Lei hadn't said a word the entire time; the captain had taken care of everything.

As Lin Lei passed the two guards, they looked at him curiously, but they didn't sneer at his coarse clothes.

Stepping through the town hall's gates felt like entering a different world. The first thing that caught his eye was a pristine white path paved with fine marble. It was spotless, without a speck of dust, and smooth enough to reflect a person's image.

It was nothing like the roads outside the hall, which were strewn with manure, dirt, and gravel. Lin Lei felt almost embarrassed to step on the path with his tattered cloth shoes.

Beside the path was a pond dotted with a few unfamiliar flowers that swayed gently in the breeze. In the distance, Lin Lei could make out several beautiful fish swimming in the water, appearing and disappearing as they darted up and down.

The town hall was beautiful, but Lin Lei wasn't some ordinary, uncultured farmer. He'd seen the vast world of a modern city, so he didn't gape at everything like a country bumpkin at the Grand View Garden.

They didn't linger for long. Following the path, they came to a splendid hall.

A man and a woman sat inside, with a large number of servants standing nearby.

Lin Lei recognized the man. He was Shengdelu, the mayor of Wheat Town, and a fifth-stage bronze-rank fighter. At an annual bonfire festival in town, Lin Lei had once seen him catch several thieves who'd gotten rich.

It had been Lin Lei's third year on the Azeroth Continent. Like other farmers' children, he'd possessed not the slightest bit of martial prowess. The mayor, with his swift and decisive moves, had become the person Lin Lei admired most.

Lin Lei had never seen the woman in Wheat Town. The mayor kept trying to please her, and she looked even younger than Lin Lei. She must have been an important figure from Flower Territory.

As soon as the guard captain entered the hall, he went to the woman seated at the head of the table and whispered, "Miss, the hunter who killed the silver-rank monster is here."

After that, the guard captain stood silently behind her.

When the young woman heard that the hunter before her, who had only just turned eighteen, had killed a silver-rank monster, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.

"You're the hunter who killed the Earth Demon Bear? What's your name?"

The young woman asked curiously.

"Lin Lei. Thunder Roar, honored lady."

"Good name. I'm curious how you managed to kill the Earth Demon Bear. If you're willing, would you spar with my guard captain, Aier? If you win, I'll not only buy your monster's corpse, but also make you a centurion under my father. If you lose, I'll still buy the corpse. How does that sound?"

As she spoke, the young woman turned and asked Shengdelu with a smile, "May we use your training ground? You don't mind, do you?"

"It would be my honor, Miss Alice."

Shengdelu agreed with a smile.

Lin Lei didn't take long to consider it. He readily accepted Miss Alice's proposal.

Led by Shengdelu, the group headed to the training ground at the back. It was enormous, over twenty zhang long and wide—nearly half the size of Lin Lei's village.

The surface gleamed darkly. It was made of hard obsidian, and the ground was so sturdy that even golden-rank fighters would have trouble doing much damage to it.

When Lin Lei and the others arrived, several dozen men in the same uniforms as the guards outside were sparring on the training ground. The sounds of fists and legs slamming into flesh rang out nonstop. Every so often, someone was sent flying, and the others hurried over to tend to his injuries.

When the mayor, Shengdelu, arrived with a large group, a burly, dark-skinned man with a bare chest climbed down from the ring and went over to him.

"Mayor, what can I do for you?"

"Lude, have them stop for now. This young man will be sparring with Captain Aier in a little while. Let them have the training ground."

Shengdelu spoke to Lude, who was drenched in sweat.

Lude was the commander of Wheat Town's guards, overseeing the town and all the villages under its jurisdiction. Whenever monsters or bandits showed up, he was the one sent to deal with them.

Lude had taken over the post only a few years ago. Before that, his father, Lu Yong, had held it. Lin Lei had seen his father once, when he came to the village and killed a Shadow Cat Demon that had wandered in by accident.

The village hadn't had any major trouble in recent years, so Lin Lei hadn't seen him again.

But Lin Lei had heard that Lu Yong died protecting the mayor during a bandit raid. The raid had failed, but Shengdelu hadn't treated his family poorly. He'd promoted Lu Yong's son from an ordinary town soldier straight to commander. It had been two years since Lude's promotion.

After hearing the mayor's order, Lude glanced at Lin Lei, then jumped up and landed before a war drum. He struck the oxhide drum with all his strength.

At the sound of the drum, the men on the ring stopped what they were doing and stared at Lude in confusion. They hadn't noticed Lin Lei and the others yet.

Lude folded his arms and called out to them, "That's enough training for today. Get off the ring. Two important guests will be using it shortly. Don't keep them waiting."

Only then did the men on the ring notice Lin Lei and the others, though they were still quite confused.

"Important guests? Fighting on the ring?"

The soldiers climbed down but didn't leave after training ended. Instead, they stayed to watch the upcoming match. Watching a fight between high-rank fighters could help with their own training.

After everyone had left the ring, Lin Lei said nothing. He left Ah Huang where he was, then leaped onto the ring in a flash.

Without Ah Huang, Lin Lei was sure he'd have a hard time in this match. Could Yang Jian still be Yang Jian without the Howling Celestial Dog?

The answer was yes. Even without the Howling Celestial Dog, Yang Jian was still a match for anyone. Lin Lei feared no one.

As Lin Lei moved, Aier also leaped onto the ring and unleashed his full aura.

"Silver rank, first stage..."

Lin Lei muttered to himself. He'd thought Aier would be on the same level as him, but it turned out his opponent was a whole major rank above him. Things had gone badly for him from the start.