South River City Inspector!

South River City Inspector! However, this was only the beginning.

News of the first group of hunters being wiped out seemed to spread rapidly among the nearby Wilderness hunters through some channel.

But the temptation of the hundred-million bounty and the Water of Life was too great. Not only did it fail to scare off the later arrivals, it drew even more hyenas—stronger and greedier ones.

Less than two hours later, the second group arrived: twelve people from three different small mercenary groups. The outcome was beyond doubt.

Another pile of corpses appeared on the hillside, and the stench of blood was so thick it could not be dispersed.

The third group consisted of five lone experts, all above the Third Tier, working in seamless coordination.

They were far more cautious, attempting ranged attacks and setting traps. But Lin Ming's Dragon Roaming Step and Heaven-Splitting Spear Art, under his subtle-level mastery, could no longer be restrained by ordinary traps. After a fierce battle, all five died.

The fourth group, the fifth group...

Lin Ming was like a tireless killing machine, standing guard atop the high slope.

One group came, one group died. The Silver Frost Spear had drunk its fill of blood, and even its silvery-white shaft seemed faintly stained dark red.

More wounds began appearing on his body. Though none were fatal, the Indestructible Asura Body's "Boiling War Blood" passive had long since activated. His injuries only made his fighting spirit blaze higher, making his attacks even fiercer and more violent.

The hillside had long become an Asura battlefield. Corpses carpeted the ground, and blood flowed in streams.

The dense smell of blood surged into the sky, as if even the heavens had been dyed with a faint layer of crimson. The Mutated Beasts in the distance were so frightened by the horrific bloodlust and killing intent that they scattered in all directions, not daring to approach.

Even Lin Ming no longer knew how many groups he had killed, or how many people had died by his hand.

His aura began to grow somewhat unstable. The continuous high-intensity battles had consumed an enormous amount of his vitality and blood. The Silver Frost Spear remained steady in his hand, but his arms had begun to feel sore and numb.

He glanced at the pile of communicators he had collected from the corpses by his feet, casually picked up one that looked the most powerful, and pressed the call button.

The channel was filled with noise. He could vaguely hear cries of alarm, discussions, and... terrified gasps. Clearly, the carnage here had already been transmitted back through someone's eyes or equipment.

Lin Ming spoke slowly into the communicator. His voice was slightly hoarse from the killing and exhaustion, yet it clearly carried over a public channel:

"Tell Chen Haidong..."

He paused, then enunciated every word clearly:

"Stop sending these pieces of trash."

"Have him come find me himself."

After saying that, he clenched his five fingers.

Crack!

The communicator was crushed to pieces in his palm.

South River Base City, Chen Household manor, underground meditation chamber.

Boom—!!!

A terrifying vitality-and-blood pressure erupted like a volcano, instantly blasting through the chamber's ceiling!

Bricks and stones flew everywhere as dust billowed! Chen Haidong's hair and beard stood on end, his eyes blood-red. Substantial crimson flames of aura coiled around him, shattering everything nearby!

Before him, a massive light screen was frozen on a blurry but recognizable recording—the blood-soaked hillside piled with corpses, where a young man holding a spear faced the camera and spoke those words.

"LIN! MING!!!"

Chen Haidong's roar echoed through the entire manor like that of a wounded, crazed beast, even spreading across half the inner city! The terrifying killing intent made the servants and guards within the manor tremble as they knelt on the ground.

"You little bastard! I'll tear you into ten thousand pieces! I'll rip out your soul and refine it!!!"

He was practically mad with rage! And bewildered beyond measure! What the hell was going on?! According to the earliest intelligence, wasn't Lin Ming only at Tier Two, Level Three?

Even if he had stumbled upon some opportunity, killed Dabiao, and escaped into the Wilderness, how strong could he possibly have become? Yet the Shadow Squad—three Third Tier experts—had been completely wiped out!

The hunters sent afterward, as well as those drawn in by the bounty, had gone one batch after another, and every last one had died!

By rough estimate, more than thirty Third Tier martial artists had already died at that brat's hands! Some of them had even been experts in the middle and late stages of the Third Tier!

Was this what Tier Two looked like? Was this luck?!

There was definitely something wrong with that brat! Something seriously wrong! He had to be hiding some earthshaking secret! Otherwise, there was no way he could have improved so quickly or possessed such terrifying combat power!

"We can't wait any longer!" Killing intent boiled in Chen Haidong's eyes. "If this boy isn't eliminated, he will become a grave threat to the Chen Household! I must act personally and crush him with thunderous force! I absolutely cannot let him keep growing!"

He no longer hesitated. With a flicker, he appeared above the manor. His terrifying Fifth Tier vitality and blood burst forth without restraint, and like a crimson sun, he shot toward the Wilderness!

He would personally enter the Wilderness, find that little bastard, and grind his bones to ashes!

Almost at the same time.

In the core district of South River Base City, atop the ninth floor of an ancient-looking, majestic tower with the two characters "Peak" written in soaring calligraphy on its plaque.

This was an enormous office of extreme luxury, yet it carried a cold sense of technology. One entire wall was made of floor-to-ceiling one-way glass, overlooking more than half the inner city.

A young man dressed in a silver-white casual suit lounged lazily on a massive leather sofa with one leg crossed over the other. His face was devilishly handsome, and he looked no older than twenty-five or twenty-six. In his hand, he idly played with a crystal-clear wineglass.

Several light screens floated before him, rapidly scrolling through all kinds of data and intelligence.

One of them displayed the blood-soaked scene in the Wilderness hills, as well as Lin Ming's cold, calm face just before he crushed the communicator.

Interest gleamed in the young man's narrow, captivating peach blossom eyes.

"Interesting... truly interesting." He gently swirled his wineglass, the crimson wine rotating within it.

"One man, one spear, holding the Wilderness alone and killing no fewer than twenty Third Tier martial artists? Tsk, tsk. That killing intent, that boldness... How long has it been since South River produced a young man this exciting?"

He tapped the air with a finger, and another light screen lit up. It swiftly displayed connected intelligence on "Lin Ming," "Chen Dabiao," "Chen Haidong's bounty," "the destruction of the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group," and "the suspected appearance of the Water of Life."

Before long, a middle-aged man in a black combat suit, his aura as deep and still as an abyss, silently appeared at the office entrance and bowed respectfully. "Inspector."

"Have you found out everything?" The devilishly handsome young man was none other than Xiao Wuhen, the inspector of South River Base City's Peak Martial Arts Hall.

Without even raising his head, he asked.

"Yes." The middle-aged man reported swiftly.

"The matter has been preliminarily verified. The incident began when Chen Dabiao, the direct descendant of the Chen Household, coveted a special admission slot at Jiangnan Martial University. Together with his parents, he framed his cousin Lin Ming and had him assigned to Blade Camp.

During a conflict at Blade Camp, Lin Ming killed Chen Dabiao in retaliation after Chen Dabiao ambushed him, then fled into the Wilderness.

The Chen Household issued a bounty for his death. As for the Water of Life... intelligence indicates it is connected to a female researcher named Xia He from the Life Technology Research Institute. She fled while carrying a sample and was suspected of traveling with Lin Ming.

The Gray Wolf Mercenary Group's destruction, along with the deaths of multiple subsequent batches of bounty hunters, were all Lin Ming's doing. His strength evaluation... was severely underestimated. He is suspected to have already broken through to the Third Realm and possesses powerful martial skills and talent."

After listening, Xiao Wuhen's lips curled into an amused smile.

"Framed and persecuted, killing in retaliation and fleeing, fighting alone in the Wilderness, cutting down dozens of Third Tier martial artists in a row... Heh. This script is far more exciting than the childish games those young masters in the inner city play."

He set down his wineglass, rose to his feet, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Looking down at the prosperous yet undercurrent-filled city below, his gaze was profound.

"Eighteen years old, Third Realm, capable of killing late Third Tier opponents across realms, standing alone against the siege of dozens at the same tier without defeat... Such talent, such temperament, such decisive ruthlessness..."

Xiao Wuhen slowly turned and looked at the middle-aged man. His eyes shone with the excitement of a hunter discovering perfect prey.

"The Peak Martial Arts Hall needs fresh blood like this."

"Tell the people below," Xiao Wuhen said, his voice carrying unquestionable authority, "I want this Lin Ming alive. Before that old mad dog Chen Haidong bites him to death, bring him back to me."

"As for Chen Haidong..." A cold glint flashed through Xiao Wuhen's eyes.

"Throwing his weight around, indulging his son's crimes, and even openly posting a bounty worth a hundred million, disrupting the order of the Wilderness... Does he think the Peak Martial Arts Hall is just for decoration?"

"Prepare the car. I'm going to the Wilderness... for a walk."

The middle-aged man's heart tightened, and he hurriedly bowed. "Yes, Inspector!"

He knew that South River's skies would likely stir because of that young man with a spear in the Wilderness.

Meanwhile, at the center of the coming storm, Lin Ming remained completely unaware. He was seizing the time to absorb the Kill Points "contributed" by yet another group of hunters, restoring his severely depleted vitality and blood, while coldly gazing toward the depths of the Wilderness, in the direction from which Chen Haidong's aura was approaching.

The real hard battle was about to begin.