CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65: THE DISAPPEARING BEAST TIDE

"The name is wrong," Lin Chen said.

"Name?" Qin Hao became interested and said, "Brother Lin, do you know Feng Shui? I also feel that the name Qin Hao isn’t great. Can changing a name change one’s fate?"

"There’s nothing wrong with the name."

Unexpectedly, Qin Shaoshao interrupted at this moment.

Qin Hao was taken aback and wanted to ask more, but Lin Chen was embarrassed and quickly found a reason to brush Qin Hao off.

After eating, Lin Chen called Qin Hao out alone.

"What’s going on?" Qin Hao noticed something was off.

Lin Chen and Qin Shaoshao weren’t in the kind of relationship he imagined.

"It’s nothing." Lin Chen didn’t want to expose Qin Shaoshao’s identity because she was too special, and the fewer people who knew, the better.

"I’m telling you, you’re quite famous now. The ruins incident has caused quite a stir, and the top spot of the Hundred Stars Chart is now vacant, left blank it seems to warn future generations by the Inner Courtyard."

"Those who teamed up were penalized; they can’t receive Inner Courtyard benefits for a year and can’t appear on the Hundred Stars Chart for a year either."

"And now Lee Zaiqing, although written as second, is effectively the number one."

Qin Hao was overjoyed and said, "Everyone in the guild is talking about you guys; even the students in the Inner Courtyard have probably heard of you."

"Thinking about it, I still contributed a bit."

"What does that have to do with you?" Lin Chen asked out of curiosity.

"Think about it, if I didn’t give up my spot, you definitely wouldn’t have been able to take me along," Qin Hao said. "This is what they call stepping aside for the virtuous, naturally a credit."

"You’re really good at dressing up your actions," Lin Chen said speechlessly.

"Hehe," Qin Hao chuckled and said, "Brother Lin, I heard this time it was a Resentful Spirit. Did you meet that young warrior with the same name as me?"

Lin Chen nodded. He knew Qin Hao would ask, which is why he pulled him aside to talk.

"How was it?"

"A very decent person."

"I mean his appearance," Qin Hao said. "To participate in such a war, he must be an outstanding person. I want to know if he’s more handsome than I am?"

Lin Chen glanced at him and said, "He’s a bit more handsome."

"Really?" Qin Hao doubted, asking, "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

Lin Chen turned around and looked at Qin Shaoshao, who was watching the moon from a roof made of flower petals. He said to Qin Hao:

"No, you have to believe it."

...

After sending off Qin Hao, Lin Chen went back without mentioning much. He quickly showered and went to sleep.

The next day, Lin Chen went to the guild. Qin Shaoshao didn’t go, even though Lin Chen strongly urged her to get out more.

Faced with the "senior" who seemed to have lived in the previous century, Lin Chen still hoped she could recover soon, although he knew it was difficult.

Passing through the marketplace, Lin Chen bought some supplements for his two Spirit Beasts.

Like Ye Yun’s Spirit Beasts, their quick leveling up was largely due to such supplements.

Lin Chen never approved of "drugging" to level up, but taking a little in moderation was fine.

"Moo~~"

Xiaobai shook its head, telling Lin Chen it didn’t want supplements, as Lin Chen had told it before that diligence is rewarded by the Heavenly Dao and that the path to power didn’t require supplements.

Lin Chen cleared his throat, naturally unable to tell it that circumstances had changed, and now that they had money, they could afford some supplements.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Chen changed his approach and said, "I’ve been observing you recently, snoring when you sleep and even breaking into a sweat; you should take some supplements."

"Moo~"

Upon hearing this, Xiaobai was shocked, asking Lin Chen if it drooled as well.

"A bit," Lin Chen said.

Xiaobai looked horrified and shouted it would have to wash its pillow and sheets when it got back.

"..."

Lin Chen was speechless, but the Little Fox on his shoulder rolled its eyes.

Lin Chen nearly forgot that this Little Fox would sometimes get up in the middle of the night to check its hidden gold stash, so whether Xiaobai snored or not was something it would know.

So Lin Chen grabbed it with one hand and lightly tapped its head; the Little Fox pouted, saying it understood.

"I’m doing this for Xiaobai’s own good."

Lin Chen spoke softly, demonstrating the parent version of PUA vividly.

The Little Fox nodded trustingly.

Supplements were expensive, costing tens of thousands for just a few boxes, a price that was genuinely hard for ordinary families to bear.

When he arrived at the guild, it was already noon. Lin Chen noticed there were still few people around and found that the guild leader, Lee Zhen, wasn’t back yet either when he went to the office.

"Seems this Beast Tide is quite large," Lin Chen speculated.

The Beast Tamer Guild had issued a warning notice many days ago, advising Beastmasters in Jiuxing City not to go to Black Mountain City recently.

Even today, the notice was still up, not lifted.

Lin Chen wasn’t in a hurry; after all, Lee Zhen must keep his word.

He went to the training ground and was pleasantly surprised to find Ning Zimo and Cai Yuanji there.

"I can spar with you, but you’re treating us tonight," Cai Yuanji said right away.

Lin Chen was greatly disappointed after hearing this and said, "I thought going through life and death together in the ruins made us comrades I could trust..."

By the side, the Shadow Tiger and Snow Lion were visibly moved by Lin Chen’s words, nearly volunteering to be the punching bags.

"Comrades are comrades, but accounts must be clear," Cai Yuanji asserted firmly.

"Alright, as the team leader, I should treat you at least once."

Lin Chen wasn’t a stingy person, so he said, "Tonight, let’s go to the first barbecue place."

After all, he had a black card for the barbecue joint...

Snow Lion and Shadow Tiger swallowed, and Lin Chen laughed, saying, "Don’t worry, there’s something for everyone."

Cai Yuanji was delighted and said,

"Brother Lin, you’re really generous."

....

Black Mountain City

Almost a week had passed since the ambush battle. Huang Xiaotian led a team to search several times at the former Demon Beast Secret Realm, but couldn’t find any trace of the opponents.

"Maybe they’ve really moved far away," Lee Zhen sighed.

Based on years of experience in hunting down beasts, once a demon beast’s secret realm was discovered by humans, they would generally choose to relocate, making it extremely difficult to find them again.

"They must be nearby. On the day we realized we were ambushed, the reinforcements arrived quickly, but we still couldn’t find them."

Huang Xiaotian shook his head, the big scar on his forehead looking terrifying.

Lee Zhen knew it was hard for Huang Xiaotian to move on from Wu Lei’s sacrifice, and he lowered his head, deep in thought.

"Is the Monster Hunter Guild planning to give up?" Huang Xiaotian’s pupils suddenly changed.

"Yes." Lee Zhen knew he couldn’t hide it from Huang Xiaotian.

"No, if we give up, we’ll never find them, and the captain’s revenge..." Huang Xiaotian was anxious.

Lee Zhen exhaled and said, "Black Mountain City’s losses were also significant, and with my persistent efforts, they’ve agreed to extend another five days."

"You know the rules of the Monster Hunter Guild, most people make a living off bounties; we have to prioritize the bigger picture."

"Screw the bigger picture!"

Huang Xiaotian cursed and marched toward the city gates.

"Where are you going?" Lee Zhen asked worriedly.

Huang Xiaotian, not turning back, said:

"Wait for me to come back."

Lee Zhen watched the direction Huang Xiaotian left in, which was towards Jiuxing City.