Sudden Change

Seeing Chen Jing finish putting on his leather armor, Zhuang Huan finally spoke. "Xiao Jing, although you're a Second Blood Martial Artist now, this is still only your second hunt. You're still a newcomer."

"This time, we're heading into the depths of Cold Mountain, which are far more dangerous than the Green-skinned Horned Pig's habitat we visited last time. So the rules are the same: follow Senior Brother Tao's and my instructions the entire way. Don't act on your own. Understood?"

"Understood."

Chen Jing immediately nodded in agreement.

Chen Jing had never been the sort to get carried away after achieving a little success.

He knew that hunting was Zhuang Huan's and the other hunters' specialty. Acting rashly would not only risk causing trouble, but might also drag down the whole team.

So professional matters should be left to the professionals. Following their instructions was the safest choice.

Seeing how steady and sensible Chen Jing was, without a trace of the restlessness that often came after a young martial artist broke through, Zhuang Huan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had worried that Chen Jing might be like other young martial artists, getting so carried away after a breakthrough that he lost all sense of how high the heavens were and stopped listening to anyone else.

Now it seemed he had worried for nothing.

After a brief rest, everyone checked their weapons, gear, food, and water. Then, led by Zhuang Huan, the group filed out through the Zhuang Family's gates. The hunting party of more than a dozen set off in a grand procession toward the south gate.

As they walked, Zhuang Tao deliberately slowed his pace to stay beside Chen Jing. He patiently explained the conditions on Cold Mountain, from its terrain to the strange beasts they might encounter, leaving nothing out so Chen Jing could familiarize himself with the hunting grounds in advance.

Chen Jing listened attentively. Then a question occurred to him, and he asked, "By the way, Senior Brother Tao, we martial artists have clearly defined realms. Do strange beasts have a similar system of classification?"

"Of course."

Zhuang Tao nodded. "But we still don't know enough about strange beasts to classify them precisely. We can only assign them broad grades."

"The Green-skinned Horned Pig we hunted last time was an ordinary beast, the most basic kind. The blood and qi within it are useful only to ordinary people or First Blood Martial Artists. For Second Blood Martial Artists, its nourishing effect is already negligible."

"The Three-Eyed White Snake that your leather armor came from, and the Spotted Flower Fox meat Master gave you earlier, both belong to the rare category."

"The blood and qi of these beasts are pure and abundant. They're highly nourishing for Second Blood Martial Artists, and even Third Blood Martial Artists can benefit from consuming them."

Zhuang Tao paused, then added, "But there's no way to tell a beast's grade just by looking at it. Many beasts look unremarkable, yet have abundant blood and qi. Others look vicious and fearsome, but are hollow shells inside."

"Only after hunting one and tasting its flesh can you feel how its blood and qi aid your cultivation and judge its grade accurately. So most of the information about strange beasts that circulates today comes from the older generation of hunters sharing their experience."

"There's also a simple way to make a rough judgment."

Zhuang Tao changed tack, speaking more plainly. "Generally speaking, the stranger a beast's body is—the more unusual its features, like extra eyes or scales—the more abundant its blood and qi, and the rarer it is."

After listening to Zhuang Tao's detailed explanation, Chen Jing felt as if a knot had suddenly come undone.

Before, his knowledge of strange beasts had been a jumble of scattered impressions. Now it had been sorted into a clear framework. Even a rough classification would help him make judgments during the hunt and keep him from plunging headlong into a deadly trap.

The two continued walking and talking in low voices.

Before they knew it, the scenery around them had quietly changed.

The paved road gradually disappeared, and the ground grew uneven.

The fields and villages they had once passed were long behind them. All that remained in sight were broad stretches of withered grass and scattered, jagged rocks. A desolate air pressed in from every direction.

Before long, the group reached the outskirts of Cold Mountain.

Chen Jing glanced ahead and immediately recognized the familiar path they had taken on their last hunt for Green-skinned Horned Pigs.

This time, however, the group didn't turn onto the old trail. Instead, they headed toward the deeper, more secluded heart of Cold Mountain.

They had Zhuang Huan's supply of beast-repelling powder to thank for the smooth journey.

The grayish-white powder was scattered around the group from time to time. Its pungent smell drifted through the air, driving off the keen-nosed, low-grade beasts from afar.

As a result, their journey went remarkably smoothly. They didn't encounter even one serious disturbance.

Before they knew it, the sky had begun to darken, and Chen Jing's party had reached the edge of Cold Mountain's depths.

The setting sun cast its golden rays over the rolling slopes of Cold Mountain.

Zhuang Huan looked up at the sky, and his brow furrowed slightly.

He immediately raised a hand to signal the group to stop. "It's getting late. We'll set up camp here and rest. We'll go deeper into the mountains tomorrow."

"Yes!"

The hunters answered in unison and quickly scattered to find a suitable campsite.

Soon, they chose an open patch of ground that sat slightly higher than the surrounding area, with sparse, low shrubs nearby.

The area was open on all sides, with no tall obstructions to block their excellent view. At night, they would spot the slightest rustle at once.

The ground was also dry and level, making it ideal for starting a fire and keeping watch. It was an excellent place to camp in the wilderness.

As dusk deepened, several bonfires were lit in succession.

The hunters sat around the fires, chewing on the rations they had brought and quietly sharing what they had seen and learned on past hunts. Now and then, a few hearty laughs rang out, easing the tension that had held them taut throughout the journey.

Unlike their last hunt, when an unfamiliar reserve had kept everyone at a distance, Chen Jing found himself surrounded by lively company this time.

Many hunters came over of their own accord, their eyes brimming with undisguised curiosity and envy.

After Zhuang Tao's explanation, they had learned that Chen Jing had already reached the Second Blood realm.

At his age, progressing so quickly was rare among hunters, let alone in the various fist academies.

The hunters hurried over to Chen Jing and asked, "Brother Chen, how did you get through the breakthrough from First Blood to Second Blood?"

"Were there any tricks to refining your blood and qi?"

Questions came one after another.

Chen Jing didn't keep anything to himself. Drawing on his own cultivation experience, he briefly explained the key points to watch for while refining blood and qi and breaking through a bottleneck.

Chen Jing didn't dress up his words with fancy phrasing, but every sentence was practical and went straight to the heart of the difficulties in cultivation. The hunters around him nodded again and again, their expressions growing increasingly serious.

Though Chen Jing practiced mostly unorthodox arts, his understanding of the flow of blood and qi and the body's limits was solidly at the Second Blood level. It was more than enough to guide these hunters.

"Brother Chen is so young, yet he's already broken through to Second Blood. His advice really is practical!"

A hunter with a thick beard was the first to clap, his laughter hearty and bold. "I've been stuck at the peak of First Blood for three years. Hearing you explain it like that has really opened my eyes. I'll have to give it a proper try when I get back!"

"Exactly!"

A lean hunter beside him nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Most people get a little stronger and start looking down their noses at everyone else. They wouldn't have the patience to guide people like us. Brother Chen's got real class. He's bound to go far!"

One after another, the hunters praised Chen Jing without pause.

In the shifting firelight, their weather-beaten, sun-darkened faces were full of genuine admiration and respect.

The praise made Chen Jing a little uncomfortable, so he could only smile and wave a hand. "You're all too kind. They're just a few basic observations. If they can help everyone, that's more than enough."

Zhuang Tao sat nearby, watching the scene with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

He had already known Chen Jing was steady and reserved, but he hadn't expected him to get along so naturally with these blunt, rough-and-ready men.

Without realizing it, his estimation of Chen Jing had quietly risen another notch.

Elsewhere, Zhuang Huan leaned against a protruding rock with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.

Yet when the hunters' chatter reached his ears from time to time, his eyelids twitched. He opened them a sliver and looked toward Chen Jing. After a moment, he closed them again.

Just then, a chill mountain breeze swept without warning out of the low grass.

The wind struck the bonfires, and the flames suddenly dimmed. Sparks scattered in all directions, flickering in and out.

The laughter abruptly stopped.

The hunters' expressions changed in unison. Almost instinctively, they snatched up their hunting forks and cleavers, swiftly closed ranks, and stared fixedly toward the patch of grass swallowed by night.

"What was that?"

The bearded hunter barked under his breath. His fingers tightened around his hunting knife, which gleamed coldly in the firelight, while his eagle-sharp gaze swept across the rippling grass.

The next instant, Zhuang Huan's eyes flew open. His formerly relaxed frame tensed, blood and qi surging faintly within him as he shouted, "Stay alert! It's a strange beast!"

Before his words had even faded, disaster struck.

A black shadow suddenly sprang from the darkness of the grass, skimming close to the ground. It moved with terrifying speed, like an arrow loosed from a bow, and charged at the people by the bonfire with a wave of rank, bloody wind!

The group saw only a blur. They didn't even have time to make out its shape before a piercing scream tore through the night.

"Ah!"

The hunter nearest to it had no time to dodge and was struck head-on by the black shadow.

Razor-sharp claws tore across his shoulder, spraying blood into the air.

The hunter grunted and stumbled back several steps, nearly losing his balance.

In the firelight, three deep claw marks, reaching to the bone, had appeared on his shoulder. His flesh hung in ragged strips, and blood poured from the wounds.

"Shadow Wolf!"

Zhuang Tao's pupils contracted. He recognized the beast from the wounds at a glance and immediately shouted, "That beast is incredibly fast. It loves to ambush anyone separated from the group from the grass!"

"Don't split up! Stay together!"

The Shadow Wolf didn't linger after its successful attack.

It let out a shrill, grating cry, then darted away and vanished once more into the undulating shadows of the grass.

At the sight, everyone scrambled to their feet, weapons pointed outward as they formed a circle.

The atmosphere around the bonfire tightened to the breaking point. Every pair of eyes locked onto the depths of the grass in the darkness, and no one dared let their guard down again.