Deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range

At the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's camp.

By now, members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had surrounded the entire camp, and the mercenaries who had been there earlier were all gathered together.

Beside Hao Meng's corpse, two middle-aged men stared down at his body, their faces livid.

And at the glaring words beside it.

"Want to play? I'll play with you to the bitter end!"

Mu Li, standing nearby, said to the middle-aged man in front of him, "Father, it must have been the brat who took the secret treasure."

As he spoke, he seemed to recall how he had led men into an ambush only to have the brat escape his grasp, and his fists clenched again.

The two men before him were none other than the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's leaders, Mu She and Gan Mu. The death of their third leader had shocked and enraged them.

The Wolf Head Mercenary Group had dominated Qingshan Town for years, yet an outsider had killed their third leader and challenged the entire group. To men like them, who licked blood from the edges of their blades, this was a feud that would end only in death.

Mu She's furious eyes remained fixed on Hao Meng's corpse. Turning his head, he ordered, "Spread the word. The Wolf Head Mercenary Group is putting a bounty on Xiao Fan. Anyone who provides useful information will receive a hundred thousand gold coins. Anyone who brings us Xiao Fan's head will receive a Black Tier Dou Technique and become an elite member of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group!"

"When the tiger doesn't bare its fangs, people start thinking anyone can bully our Wolf Head Mercenary Group!"

Before long, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's bounty had spread through every street and alley of Qingshan Town. Not a single mercenary who came there could resist coveting it.

Whether it was the Black Tier Dou Technique or elite membership in the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, both sent them flocking like ducks.

Inside the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, Xiao Yi Xian listened to the mercenaries outside discussing the matter, her hands unconsciously gripping the hem of her clothes. But when she noticed the pavilion employee secretly watching her, she could only shake her head with a bitter smile and whisper, "I hope you escape this calamity..."

[Strongest Supporting Character System] (Pidàn)

Host: Xiao Fan

Level: 4 (481600)

Strength: Seven-Star Dou Zhe (7011000)

Cultivation method: Radiant Sun Art

Dou Techniques: Yellow Tier Low Grade Fire Cloud Palm (Effortless mastery), Profound Tier Low Grade Suction Palm (Proficient), High Profound Tier Eight Extremes Collapse (Proficient), Profound Tier Low Grade Dragon-Shocking Steps (Major accomplishment)

Items: Low-Grade Storage Ring, Blood-Refining Pill, Third-Rank Wood-Type Magic Core, Green Lotus Core Flame Map, Jia Nan Academy Admission Invitation, Shadowless Mask, Thousand-Flame Spear, pure soul experience (Awaiting absorption).

Main quest: None at present.

Character relationships:

[Xiao Fan] Favorability: 85, Reliance.

[Yao Lao] Favorability: 83, Reliance.

[Xiao Xun'er] Favorability: 66, Slight fondness.

[Xiao Yi Xian] Favorability: 70, Trust.

[Mu She] Favorability: 30, Mortal enmity.

[Gan Mu] Favorability: 30, Loathing.

In a dense forest somewhere in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Fan examined the changes in his panel.

Naturally, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's movements could not escape Xiao Fan's notice. But he had taken Hao Meng's Storage Ring and easily burned through its seal with the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, discovering a plentiful supply of everyday necessities inside.

He had no need to return to Qingshan Town for now, nor could he linger nearby and risk being surrounded by those mercenaries.

Just today, he had discovered that the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had sent many more men into the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Combined with the mercenaries who wanted to kill him after seeing the bounty, their numbers were considerable.

It seemed the death of their third leader, Hao Meng, had finally made the Wolf Head Mercenary Group take him seriously.

But seeing that Mu She and Gan Mu both had a favorability of 30 toward him, yet one already regarded him with mortal enmity while the other merely loathed him, Xiao Fan realized that the system's favorability ratings still allowed for subtle distinctions.

When their favorability was at a threshold, their attitudes toward him could still change.

But his most urgent priority was to lie low and grow stronger. Once he had developed a little more, he could return to farm the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, that big boss. So Xiao Fan glanced at the mercenaries searching the dense forest behind him, grinned, and gradually headed deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

With the system, along with the portion of Yao Lao's experience he had already absorbed, the Magical Beast Mountain Range posed no great danger as long as Xiao Fan remained careful.

And the reason Xiao Fan wanted to venture deeper was a woman.

Just kidding!

Of course, it was because the system had issued another quest. Otherwise, he would never have gone in there looking for death.

With his strength as a Seven-Star Dou Zhe, reaping any benefits in there would not merely be difficult-it would be virtually impossible.

Those fourth- and fifth-rank magical beasts could kill him many times over with a single mouthful of spit.

The quest the system had issued this time was as follows.

Main quest: Help Yun Yun obtain the Amethyst Winged Lion King's purple spirit crystal.

Quest reward:

Earth Tier Low Grade Dou Technique - Cloud Crane Shadow (Spear technique)

An Earth Tier Dou Technique!!

And a spear Dou Technique at that, the very thing Xiao Fan lacked most right now.

Clearly, the system was forcing Xiao Fan to go.

Xiao Fan could only continue deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King was a sixth-rank magical beast, equivalent to a human Dou Huang expert.

He was only a mere Seven-Star Dou Zhe right now. If not for the system, Xiao Fan would never have wanted to get involved.

But although he faced no great danger in the Magical Beast Mountain Range as long as he was careful, the same could not necessarily be said once he reached the vicinity of the Amethyst Winged Lion King.

Moreover, Xiao Fan did not know exactly where the Amethyst Winged Lion King's territory was, so he could only keep heading deeper.

Along the way, Xiao Fan passed through the territories of numerous magical beasts with his heart pounding in fear.

He had now reached a marsh, which was also home to a magical beast known as an Earth Dragon Rhinoceros.

It was a kind of magical beast that lived near marshlands.

Its entire body was encased in a layer of thick, heavy scales, giving it astonishing defenses, and a sharp horn grew from its forehead. It resembled the rhinoceroses of his previous life, but was far larger, with a body nearly five meters long.

If not for the Shadowless Mask the system had given him concealing his aura, Xiao Fan would have been discovered long ago.

Even so, the Earth Dragon Rhinoceros splashed marsh mud all over him, and he did not dare move a muscle.

As a result, Xiao Fan was now coated from head to toe in foul-smelling sludge.

Only after the Earth Dragon Rhinoceros finally disappeared from sight did Xiao Fan dare creep out from behind the boulder where he had hidden.

Pinching his nose, he seized the chance to get away.

When he reached a river, Xiao Fan surveyed the surroundings. It was fairly quiet, with no particularly dangerous magical beasts, so he decided to wash up and rest there.

After all, no one could endure being enveloped in such a foul stench for long.

After washing himself in the river, Xiao Fan immediately felt that life had become much easier.

Just as he was about to climb ashore, he discovered a black-robed figure standing beside his clothes. The loose black robe concealed the man's build, making it difficult for Xiao Fan to judge.

But considering how dangerous this place was, the man had to be at least a Dou Ling, or perhaps even a Dou Wang.

"Uh... senior, may I ask what you wish to discuss?"

With only his head poking out of the water, Xiao Fan could only address him respectfully.