Of course, while waiting in place, the Lin Clan members also ran into some familiar faces.
Among the group at the very front, the two men standing at the head were one wearing a pale gray silk robe, whose age seemed about the same as Lin Zhentian's.
The other was a middle-aged man with a smile on his face—a thoroughly cunning, smiling tiger.
They were, naturally, the respective heads of the Lei and Xie Families.
The older one was Lei Bao, head of the Lei Clan, while the younger one was Xie Qian, head of the Xie Clan.
At that moment, when the two saw the Lin Clan members there, they approached with smiling faces.
"Heh heh, Lin Zhentian, long time no see. Looks like your old bones are still as tough as ever."
"Old Lei, don't worry. These old bones of mine will make it into the coffin a little later than yours."
"That's not necessarily true. With so many things to worry about, it's not easy to live a long life."
"Besides, every Hunting War costs you a fair bit of prize money. Anyone would feel a knot in their stomach over that, and once your heart's all knotted up, you won't live long."
Their words, however, were rather unpleasant.
After all, the Lin Clan and the Lei and Xie Families had long been mortal enemies.
So though both sides appeared cordial as they spoke, anyone who listened closely would realize they were constantly at each other's throats, their words full of mockery and curses.
Lin Yan also glanced at the heads of the Lei and Xie Families. After all, he was a member of the Lin Clan, and the Lin Clan had treated him well. So seeing how arrogant those two families were made him rather unhappy.
Still, Lin Yan wasn't foolish enough to think he was already qualified to fight those two. Both were practically experts at the Heaven Origin Realm. Even with Eight Extremities Collapse, Purple Fire, and Purple Cloud Wings at his disposal, Lin Yan could at most fight above his level and take on someone at the Late Earth Yuan Stage.
But against someone at the Heaven Origin Realm, he still wouldn't stand a chance.
His gaze soon shifted to the rear, where he immediately spotted Lei Li and Xie Yingying staring fixedly at him.
Lei Li's gaze had grown especially icy whenever he looked at Lin Yan.
After all, what had happened last time had left him utterly humiliated. And when Lei Li returned to his family, Lei Bao had given him a thorough scolding over the incident.
Still, it could be said that misfortune had brought him good fortune. Lei Bao hadn't merely criticized him; after finishing his scolding, he had given him several fourth-grade medicinal ingredients.
Lei Li naturally couldn't refine pills. Even so, he had boiled those fourth-grade ingredients into a medicinal soup, and with several months of diligent practice, he had successfully raised his cultivation to the Earth Origin Realm.
"Lin Yan, we'll settle our score later."
Lei Li was now brimming with confidence. Looking at Lin Yan, he sneered and made a throat-slitting gesture.
He was determined to win back the face he'd lost last time. If he got the chance, Lei Li might even use this opportunity to kill Lin Yan.
After all, fists and feet had no eyes. If he killed Lin Yan by accident, it could only be said that Lin Yan wasn't good enough.
"Heh."
"Looks like he's pretty confident."
Lin Yan, however, looked completely unconcerned.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
He couldn't handle Lei Bao and Xie Qian himself.
But someone like Lei Li? He could beat him up with ease.
Seeing Lei Li's smug expression, Lin Yan couldn't help wondering how desperate he would look after Lin Yan personally beat him to a pulp.
The two groups soon parted ways.
The people from the Mad Blade Martial Hall also arrived in succession.
Once all the contestants had collected their identity tokens, they entered the grounds, and the Hunting War officially began.
"Brother Lin Yan, shall we go together?"
Lin Xia and Lin Dong didn't hurry to set off. Instead, they first asked Lin Yan.
"Better not."
Lin Yan shook his head at the two of them.
"If we stick together, we'll be less efficient at collecting tokens."
"Besides, the Hunting War itself is also a way to train ourselves."
"If we travel in a group, it'll be far too easy, and this kind of training would lose its meaning."
Lin Xia and Lin Dong were both slightly taken aback.
After all, everyone else was thinking about how to get as far as possible, while Lin Yan seemed to regard it as nothing more than a training exercise.
"Sure enough, that's Brother Lin Yan."
Lin Dong sighed with admiration, feeling that compared with Brother Lin Yan, he seemed to lack a strong heart.
"You've got me. A genius really does think differently from ordinary people like us."
Lin Xia looked at Lin Yan and said, utterly exasperated.
Still, she didn't try to force him. Everyone had their own ambitions, and deep down, she actually agreed with what Lin Yan had just said.
Perhaps it was because he had always held himself to such strict standards that he had grown so strong.
"Well then, Brother Lin Yan, let's split up here!"
"See you at the finish line!"
After saying that to Lin Yan, Lin Dong quickly left.
As for Lin Xia, she headed straight off in another direction.
Lin Yan wasn't in a hurry to get moving.
After all, his system never showed him where he could sign in. It only announced that the sign-in was complete once he reached the location.
So unlike the other contestants, who were aiming for the finish line, Lin Yan's goal was to explore every corner of the grounds.
That way, he wouldn't miss any sign-in opportunities by overlooking a spot.
"Then... I'll start this way."
Lin Yan tossed a branch into the air and looked toward the direction it fell. Having made his choice, he set off.
Along the way, he ran into contestants and demonic beasts.
Lin Yan naturally defeated every one of them.
After all, if contestants ran into Lin Yan, they wanted his token so they could make it through the later stages. They naturally attacked him first.
As for demonic beasts, there was even less to say. High-rank demonic beasts were one thing, but these low-rank ones had practically no intelligence. The moment they spotted Lin Yan, they charged at him like mad.
Lin Yan naturally showed no mercy, killing them all with a single punch each.
So, as time passed, Lin Yan wandered from one place to another.
He realized that he still hadn't managed to sign in.
Yet without noticing, he had collected more than a dozen tokens, and he had also amassed a large pile of demon cores from the demonic beasts.
He let out a rather helpless breath. "This isn't what I came here to do."
Lin Yan continued onward and soon saw another demonic beast charging at him.
Without hesitation, Lin Yan summoned his Beast Fire, and purple flames instantly engulfed his fist.
Then he threw a fierce punch, using Eight Extremities Collapse.
Before the demonic beast could react, Lin Yan's fist had punched straight through its chest.
Lin Yan took the demon core from the beast's corpse and planned to keep searching for a sign-in location.
But after taking just a couple of steps, the system's voice suddenly rang out.
"Congratulations, Host! You have successfully signed in at the Hunting Grounds!"
"Reward obtained: Nine-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python!"
Before you continue