Hunting

"Going up the mountain?" Liu Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, waved the servants away, then instructed the burly youth, "Wu You, keep practicing. I'm heading out for a while."

A moment later, Liu Yi climbed a tree in a secluded corner. After confirming no one was around, he took out a whistle and blew it. A green-feathered sparrow flew down and landed in his hand.

[Black Camel Ridge, two people, Hidden Sword Manor servants in white, below the second gate, injure or cripple, ten taels.]

After checking the contents of the small note, Liu Yi rolled it up and slipped it into the tiny wooden tube fastened to the sparrow's leg with an iron ring. With a light pat, the sparrow shot into the sky.

"Zhao Meng, will your Myriad Swords Tower still come out of this without a single casualty?"

For this sword shipment, the three new Forging Sword Tower recruits Liu Yi had selected had either died or been crippled. In particular, Cao A-Man, whom he had just poached from Myriad Swords Tower, had been crippled outright—and in such a stupid fashion. It had utterly ruined his face, and Ye Wanqing had even given him a vicious scolding. The resentment burning in his chest was unbearable.

Meanwhile, Myriad Swords Tower had sent only Zhao Meng. He returned completely unscathed, even giving Liu Yi that faintly mocking smile. That wordless ridicule had left Liu Yi holding back a tremendous rage.

But the manor strictly controlled infighting among anyone above servant rank, so it was inconvenient for him to act personally. Then again, there was no need for him to do so.

There were plenty of small gangs around Azure River County willing to work for money.

This time, he had sought out the Hunter Gang, an organization he had worked with many times before. They had gathered a group of young, able-bodied hunters skilled in martial arts and monopolized several mountain ranges. Much of the rare game served by aristocratic families and restaurants came from the Hunter Gang.

Going into the mountains to hunt, having a misunderstanding or conflict with the Hunter Gang, getting injured—it was perhaps the most ordinary thing in Azure River County...

Deep in the mountains stood a large settlement of sheds.

A group from the Hunter Gang was discussing recent hunting supplies.

Suddenly, a sparrow flew down.

The leader of the group removed the letter from the wooden tube on the sparrow's leg and scattered some bird feed.

As the sparrow pecked at the grains, the Hunter Gang leader finished reading the letter.

"Boss, what's the job?" a hunter asked.

"A bounty. The targets are over at Black Camel Ridge. Isn't Zhou Dayuan's group at Black Camel Ridge, preparing to harvest that great medicinal herb?" the leader said.

"Yes. That herb is nearly ripe. A pack of Black Mountain Wolves is guarding it—it should be meant for the Black Mountain Wolf King," another hunter immediately replied.

"Send word over. Tell Zhou Dayuan to take care of it while he's at it. The information says they're just two Hidden Sword servants below the second gate."

"Hidden Sword servants? Isn't that inappropriate?" A hunter immediately hesitated.

The foundations of Hidden Sword Manor were renowned throughout Azure River County. The only ones who dared provoke them were bandits like the Mountain-Holding Vulture—desperadoes unafraid of death, with formidable experts backing them.

They were merely the Hunter Gang, scraping together a living. Even their strongest leader was only at the third gate. They had paid plenty of tribute and were familiar with the mountain terrain, so few people bothered them.

But provoking Hidden Sword Manor was another matter entirely...

"The employer said not to kill them. Just injure or cripple them. Such an easy job, silver for free—do I need to teach you how to do it?" the leader said.

"No killing, then." The others nodded at once. Causing deaths would be hard to clean up, but injuries and crippling were no problem.

They were hunters, after all. Accidental injuries were perfectly normal. As for wandering into traps or being attacked by exotic beasts, that was even more common...

Another well-trained sparrow flew out of the forest and swept toward Black Camel Ridge.

Under the clear daylight, a sparrow streaked through the air and descended into a towering black mountain range shaped like a camel's hump.

The youth in white bit into a piece of dark jerky and took a large gulp from his waterskin.

Looking at the pitch-black ridges ahead, his right hand pressed against the black scabbard at his waist.

"This is Black Camel Ridge."

The burly, bearded man beside him spoke. He wore all manner of gear: a sword, bow, quiver, and a small pack slung at his side. He looked every bit the seasoned old hunter.

Li Mu and Zhao Tuo had traveled on foot for several miles before reaching Black Camel Ridge.

Having broken through with his blood and qi, Li Mu's physique had improved by an unknown amount. Along the way, he had secretly circulated his blood and qi to strike at the acupoints in his legs, turning the journey into cultivation and speeding up the digestion of exotic beast meat as he kept close behind Zhao Tuo.

"Follow me." Zhao Tuo was clearly very familiar with the area, but upon arriving here, his expression grew solemn.

"When hunting, you must watch the traces left on the ground. There are only a few common beasts at Black Camel Ridge—Black Mountain Wolves, Silver-Ringed Snakes, Thorn-Horned Boars... Among them, a few variants may breed and become exotic beasts. Those exotic beasts are immensely powerful and have thick hides. Ordinary people will die if they encounter them. Only martial artists who have broken through the gates have a chance of hunting them."

"That girl Meng drew this map in great detail. This area matches my memory... Here, though, it needs updating. Look, this side has been cut bare. The rain has washed it into a deep pit, so we can't pass through."

Holding the map, Li Mu followed Zhao Tuo forward, learning the route and committing every detail to memory while listening to Zhao Tuo's reminders.

Only then did Li Mu learn that the brothers Zhao Meng and Zhao Tuo had once been hunters, rich in experience. Anyone else would not have dared bring him hunting. Countless fierce beasts and venomous creatures lay hidden in the wild mountains.

In the dense forest, dead leaves lay piled layer upon layer.

Neither of them dared venture too deep. According to Zhao Tuo, the deeper they went, the more likely they were to encounter exotic beasts they could not handle. It was good enough to try their luck around the edges.

Hunting truly was not easy. Li Mu could now understand why Meng Ling, despite possessing this skill, had chosen to take her younger brother and leave the mountains with Fan Rong after their father died.

Many dangers lurked within the forest. Now, all they could hear were the occasional chirps of insects. For long stretches of time, they heard only their own footsteps. They did not know where the prey might be, nor where danger might emerge.

Suddenly, Zhao Tuo's expression tightened as he stared at a gray clump on the ground.

"Black Mountain Wolf droppings. They've been dried by the wind for three or four days."

"We should be within their territory now."

Li Mu's gaze sharpened. This was their main target for the trip.

Wolves always appeared in packs, and the chance of encountering an exotic beast was high. If they found even one, even split between the two of them, it would last them a long time.

Even if no exotic beast appeared—

These wild wolves at the top of the food chain could still fetch a good price. They could then trade the money for exotic beast meat.

There were many Black Mountain Wolves in Black Camel Ridge, and they reproduced rapidly. It was said that hunting parties often organized expeditions into the mountains, yet had never managed to wipe them out.

Before long, they spotted several more gray clumps.

Li Mu put away the map, drew Black Frost, and entered a guarded stance.

Zhao Tuo untied his pack and hurled a large chunk of raw pork into the distance. Blood still stained it.

"Li Mu, watch our rear." He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed ahead.

The breeze quietly stirred the treetops.

Li Mu suddenly frowned. He heard something rushing toward them at high speed.

A black shadow flashed out of the forest and leaped straight toward the raw meat.

Whoosh!!

A sharp arrow viciously struck the spot where the shadow had been.

Zhao Tuo's long-prepared arrow had actually been avoided.

The black shadow darted aside in an instant. It no longer paid attention to the meat on the ground, instead fixing the two men with cold, yellow-brown beast eyes.

It was a massive black wolf, comparable to the giant Tibetan Mastiffs Li Mu had seen in his previous life. It stood nearly half a man tall, at least twice the size of an ordinary wolf.

[Black Mountain Wolf, Blood and Qi 8.0]

Information about the Black Mountain Wolf immediately appeared before Li Mu's eyes.

He could not help clicking his tongue.

An ordinary wild wolf actually had 8.0 blood and qi? He had struggled so hard to reach that number himself! No wonder this place was so sparsely populated!

And this seemed to be among the weaker beasts on the outskirts of Black Camel Ridge.

Even if its blood and qi were lower than his, it was still a wolf. Its sharp claws and fangs could not be taken lightly.

"Watch out!" Zhao Tuo suddenly sensed something and shouted, slashing his sword toward Li Mu's left.

Li Mu reacted just as quickly, swinging toward the right.

Two black shadows shot from the forest like arrows, pouncing from both sides with maws wide open and savage wolf howls.

Two Thunderous Tide Roars rang out at once. Sword light flashed left and right, blooming into two sprays of blood.

The two black shadows flew backward, each crashing heavily into a tree. Long gashes tore open across their bellies, and their intestines spilled out.

The two Black Mountain Wolves collapsed to the ground, letting out their final dying howls.

The heavy Thunder-Hearing Tide Severance strikes of a first-gate martial artist and a second-gate martial master were simply not something two ordinary Black Mountain Wolves could withstand.

Though Zhao Tuo wielded only an ordinary Azure-Edge Sword, he had broken through the second gate. His full-force strike was astonishingly powerful.

Though Li Mu had only broken through the first gate, he possessed Black Frost, the high-grade treasured sword Leng Shuangyu had given him. It was extraordinarily sharp, cutting through the Black Mountain Wolves' tough fur like paper.

"Awooo!!!"

Seeing its packmates slaughtered, the Black Mountain Wolf standing before the raw meat howled in grief and fury.

In an instant, the sound of a herd of beasts charging echoed through the forest.

Black Mountain Wolves emerged one after another from the trees—at least twenty of them—completely surrounding the pair. Their yellow-brown eyes fixed coldly upon Li Mu and Zhao Tuo, filled with greedy, murderous light.

Li Mu swept his gaze over them and felt that the two wolves from before had been deliberate cannon fodder sent by the pack. Every Black Mountain Wolf before him had blood and qi above 9.0, while the strongest was as high as 11.8!

Fortunately, he had come with Zhao Tuo, his blood and qi had risen to 12.7, he had cultivated the Water-Questioning Sword Manual to its third form, and he carried the high-grade sword Black Frost. Otherwise, there was no guarantee they could escape today.

"The variant is here!" Zhao Tuo warned in a low voice.

Li Mu's pupils contracted.

A giant wolf larger than every other black wolf, nearly one and a half meters tall, emerged from the forest. Its pair of crimson beast eyes made the two men's scalps tingle.

"The Black Mountain Wolf King!" Zhao Tuo laughed. "Brother Li Mu, this wolf king's meat is even more precious than Scarlet-Scaled Anaconda meat, and its nourishing effects are even better! This body has to weigh at least a hundred jin—worth a fortune!!"

"The Black Mountain Wolf King..." Li Mu's pupils narrowed.

[Black Mountain Wolf King, Blood and Qi 21.1↓ (Bleeding, toxin damage)]

Why was its blood and qi so high? Comparable to a second-gate martial master... But it was injured!

Li Mu immediately saw that something was wrong with the wolf's condition.

The Black Mountain Wolf King panted faintly, its eyes gleaming viciously as it let out an incomparably stifled growl. It had just lost the great medicinal herb and been driven away by a barrage of arrows. It was looking for something to vent its rage on...

"Brother Tuo! Leave the wolf king to you. I'll handle the rest." Li Mu spoke at once, tightening his grip on Black Frost.

"It seems injured. Black pus-filled blood is seeping from its wounds. It should be poisoned. It must have fought someone earlier, so we can drag the fight out."

He reminded him.

Zhao Tuo nodded, threw aside his other burdens, drew his Azure-Edge Sword, and stepped in front of Li Mu to face the Black Mountain Wolf King.

At this distance, bows and arrows were useless.

Li Mu turned around, his gaze calm.

Facing so many dangerous creatures for the first time, his heart did not tremble. Instead, he strangely felt his blood and qi boiling.

With a tap of his toes, he charged forth!

His target was the small wolf leader with 11.8 blood and qi, second only to the wolf king!

The moment Li Mu moved, the entire wolf pack moved.

More than twenty black shadows pounced in succession!

Bang!

Li Mu flashed forward, carving a black crescent through the air. A streak of black light struck the head of the enormous Black Mountain Wolf rushing at him with incredible speed.

Rip...

A horrifying gash split open across the wolf's neck.

Blood sprayed everywhere as the strongest of the more than twenty wolves fell into a pool of blood.

Li Mu's arms erupted with the strength to lift 240 jin, and Black Frost fully lived up to its name as a high-grade treasured sword. Against the Black Mountain Wolf, already comparable to a gate-breaking martial artist, it cut like an axe through brittle wood. One strike took its head!

The other wolves missed their pounces, roaring furiously as they lunged again at the white-clad youth who had landed lightly.

"Yellow Dragon Spits Emerald."

Li Mu transformed into a surge that swept up the yellow sand across the sky, smashing aside the wolves rushing toward him. Several smaller wolves had their bones shattered by the impact and slammed heavily into the ground.

Within dazzling sword light, the youth in white thrust his sword like a dragon. Every strike sent blood spraying into the air.

The pack's numbers rapidly dwindled, while more and more wolf corpses piled up on the ground!

The remaining smaller wolves looked at the corpses of their kin around them and could not help feeling a trace of retreat.

They truly seemed unable to defeat this young two-legged beast...

"Awoo!!!" Suddenly, the wolf king roared, its voice overwhelmingly intimidating.

At once, the remaining wolves lost all thought of retreat and charged Li Mu with frenzied howls.

On the other side, the Black Mountain Wolf King focused on attacking Zhao Tuo. As a variant and leader of the pack, it possessed intelligence. It understood clearly that as long as it dealt with the man before it, whose blood and qi were so strong, the other youth would be nothing to fear!

Zhao Tuo was having an extremely difficult time. Besides fighting the equally powerful wolf king, he had to occasionally slash back the smaller wolves that charged at him.

Even as he continuously performed the four forms of the Water-Questioning Sword Manual, he still suffered a few minor injuries.

Moreover, using the Water-Questioning Sword Manual placed a burden on him. He had to save his strongest move for the Black Mountain Wolf King.

Fortunately, Li Mu was sharing the pressure. As the wolf pack thinned, Zhao Tuo could focus more fully on fighting the wolf king.

But it had to be said that the Black Mountain Wolf King's body was far tougher than those of ordinary Black Mountain Wolves. It had endured over a hundred sword strikes, poison, and bleeding, yet remained sturdy, showing no signs of severe injury.

Meanwhile, fine damage had already appeared on Zhao Tuo's Azure-Edge Sword...

"Die!" Li Mu shouted, bringing his sword down and splitting the final small wolf lunging at him through the air into two halves.

Letting out a light breath, he saw that his white robes had already been dyed red with wolf blood, and that his blood and qi were becoming difficult to circulate.

But there was no time to rest. He immediately looked behind him. Zhao Tuo and the Black Mountain Wolf King had already fought to the fiercest point.

[Black Mountain Wolf King: 18.9↓ (Bleeding, toxin damage)]