CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53 SNATCHING THE SPOILS OF WAR_1

"Hmm?"

Qin Feiyang raised his eyebrows slightly, turned his head to look at the young man in purple, and chuckled, "Indeed, this is my first time participating. Once we enter Black Bear Mountain, I hope for your assistance, brother."

The enchanting young man said, "Assistance might be too much to ask, but we could cooperate. What do you think? Would you consider it?"

"Cooperate?"

Qin Feiyang’s pupils contracted.

This man knows about the conflict I had with Jiang Wei and the other one, yet he still wants to cooperate with me. Isn’t he afraid of incurring their resentment?

"May I ask for your esteemed name, brother?" Qin Feiyang asked.

"Ling Yunfei, of the Ling Family from Black Bear City," the enchanting young man enunciated each word carefully.

Qin Feiyang finally understood. So, he’s from the Ling Family. No wonder he isn’t afraid of offending Jiang Wei and his companion.

But what made him curious was, why did this person seem to be grinding his teeth when he said the words ’Ling Family of Black Bear City’?

Just then, a large group of people rushed past them, led by a young man in his early twenties.

Seeing Ling Yunfei and Qin Feiyang walking together, he frowned and shouted, "Ling Yunfei, hurry up and keep pace!"

However, his eyes were filled with loathing.

Qin Feiyang clearly caught that, which only piqued his curiosity further.

These people are obviously Ling Yunfei’s clansmen, so why are they looking at him like that?

Ling Yunfei glanced at Qin Feiyang, then at his clansmen not far away, a hint of struggle in his eyes.

"What are you dawdling for?"

"Hurry up and move!" two impatient young men shouted.

Ling Yunfei shivered slightly, his gaze sweeping over his clansmen’s faces; all he could see was disdain and scorn.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, looked at the leading young man, and said, "Ling Sheng, I’ve decided not to go with you all. You go on ahead!"

"Hmm?"

Ling Sheng seemed surprised, glanced at Qin Feiyang, apparently lost in thought.

"Suit yourself."

Leaving these indifferent words behind, Ling Sheng led his clansmen and strode off.

"That good-for-nothing is so unappreciative! Does he think he can get ahead just by associating with Jian Haotian? Naive!"

"Just wait. Jiang Wei and Mu Fei won’t let Jian Haotian off. The closer he gets to him, the faster he’ll die."

"Who cares about him? Without him dragging us down, our chances of winning are much greater."

"That’s true. We should be glad we finally got rid of that deadweight."

"HAHA..."

Their undisguised ridicule reached Qin Feiyang’s ears.

He frowned, turned to look at Ling Yunfei, and saw him clenching his fists, staring intently at his departing clansmen, his sky-blue eyes blazing with endless fury!

It seems he has quite a story too. Qin Feiyang mused inwardly. After a moment’s consideration, he patted Ling Yunfei’s shoulder and smiled, "I agree to cooperate with you."

"What?"

Ling Yunfei’s gaze flickered, looking at Qin Feiyang in disbelief.

He had thought that after hearing those words, Qin Feiyang would refuse to cooperate with him.

After all, who would want to team up with someone everyone called useless?

But to his surprise, the other party had agreed!

Qin Feiyang smiled. "Let’s go. On the way, tell me about the rules of the competition and the use of this Token."

Ling Yunfei hurriedly caught up and asked, "Aren’t you going to ask about my strength?"

"Why should I?" Qin Feiyang countered.

"If you don’t ask, how will you know if I’ll be a burden to you?" Ling Yunfei frowned.

"Then tell me, will you be a burden to me?" Qin Feiyang asked.

"No." Ling Yunfei shook his head, a hint of pride touching his features.

"Then that settles it," Qin Feiyang smiled, though his heart was filled with doubt.

He was very familiar with the pride this man displayed; it was very similar to his own.

This kind of pride was innate.

But why would this person hide such pride?

Hearing such a direct reply, Ling Yunfei was also somewhat taken aback. He shook his head and said, "You truly are a strange person."

"Aren’t you the same?" Qin Feiyang chuckled.

"Me?" Ling Yunfei let out a self-deprecating laugh, then composed himself and explained, "The Token is just proof of participation; it doesn’t have much use beyond keeping it safe and not losing it."

Qin Feiyang asked, "What happens if it’s lost?"

Ling Yunfei replied, "Losing it means forfeiting the qualification to claim any rewards."

"I see." Qin Feiyang nodded in understanding and directly stored it in his Qiankun Bag.

「Less than an hour later.」

All the participants had entered the mountain range. Qin Feiyang also arrived at the foot of the mountains. Gazing at the boundless mountain landscape, he felt the dormant blood within him gradually awaken!

Indeed, battle is what I desire most! Only through constant battle can one continuously grow stronger!

One moment, he was like a gentle lamb. The next, he transformed into an awakened lion, his entire being radiating an astonishingly ferocious aura!

"Let’s go!"

With a wave of his hand, he unleashed his maximum speed and darted directly into the jungle.

Ling Yunfei’s expression turned cold, and he quickly followed.

He can actually keep up with my pace? Qin Feiyang was surprised.

He was currently moving at his full, unrestrained speed. Could it be that Ling Yunfei is also a Four-star Martial Master?

Interesting.

A faint smile touched his lips as he executed Smoke Step, his speed instantly quadrupling.

So fast!

Behind him, Ling Yunfei’s pupils constricted. He pushed himself to his absolute limit to give chase, yet not only did the distance between them not shrink, it grew wider and wider.

A river snaked through the mountain forest.

Qin Feiyang stood on the bank, watching the turbulent waters, his eyes shining brightly.

Ling Yunfei was indeed a Four-star Martial Master.

Considering his age, he was at most fifteen or sixteen. Such talent surpassed even Lin Baili’s. But why would the other members of the Ling Family label him as useless?

After a considerable while, Ling Yunfei finally caught up, gasping for breath. "Can you slow down a bit? I can’t keep up at this speed," he said helplessly.

Qin Feiyang turned to look at him, about to speak.

THUD!

SPLASH!

But just then, the river exploded with a deafening sound. A Water Python, as thick as a washbasin, shot out from the surface, creating waves several meters high. Its venomous fangs gleamed sinisterly as it lunged at Qin Feiyang!

The acrid, fishy stench was nauseating!

"Watch out!" Ling Yunfei’s expression changed drastically. He shoved Qin Feiyang aside, and then, with a loud BANG, his fist slammed into the Water Python’s lower jaw.

However, the result was Ling Yunfei coughing up a mouthful of blood and being sent flying backward!

But the Water Python merely shook its body a few times, then shot out of the water and charged violently towards Ling Yunfei.

Its narrow eyes radiated a bone-chilling coldness!

"Beast, die!"

After stabilizing himself, Ling Yunfei roared. With several evasive maneuvers, he closed in on the Water Python, his True Qi surged forth as he swung his fist towards the Water Python’s seven-inch spot.

CRACK!

The scales at its seven-inch spot shattered instantly!

The Water Python let out a mournful cry and crashed back into the river, sending up waves tens of feet high.

"PHEW!" Ling Yunfei took a few deep breaths, walked over to Qin Feiyang, and said solemnly, "Martial Master Level fierce beasts are tough to deal with. Jian Haotian, although this is just the periphery of Black Bear Mountain, there are still many fierce beasts and Water Beasts. We must be extremely careful from now on."

However, Qin Feiyang seemed not to have heard him, his eyes fixed on the back of Ling Yunfei’s hand.

The entire back of his hand was ripped open, blood streaming unceasingly!

Ling Yunfei, thinking Qin Feiyang was worried, smiled. "It’s just a small wound, nothing serious."

Qin Feiyang said, "In that situation just now, you should have used a Martial Arts Technique. If you had used a Martial Arts Technique, you wouldn’t have been injured."

"Martial Arts Technique!" Ling Yunfei’s body stiffened. He shook his head. "I don’t have any Martial Arts Techniques."

"How is that possible?" Qin Feiyang frowned.

As a disciple of the Ling Family, how could he not have any Martial Arts Techniques? Is this some kind of joke?

"I really don’t." Ling Yunfei shook his head.

He leaped and sprang towards the opposite bank, clearly not wanting to dwell on the issue.

BOOM!!!

But at that moment, five Water Pythons erupted from the water.

Each one was as thick as a washbasin, their bodies covered in scales that shimmered with an eerie light!

"Damn it!" Ling Yunfei’s face paled in shock.

Suspended in mid-air, he had no way to dodge; it looked as though he was about to become food for the five Water Pythons!

At this moment, Qin Feiyang moved.

He stomped his foot down hard. With a BOOM, a large crater appeared in the ground!

Using the momentum from the stomp, he leaped high into the air, landing above the Water Pythons. Then, he flipped over in mid-air, his head facing down and feet up, he stretched out his arm, True Qi surging, and repeatedly jabbed his index finger towards the spots between the eyes of the Water Pythons.

HISS!!!

The next moment, a finger-sized bloody hole appeared on the forehead of each of the five Water Pythons. Blood gushed out like a fountain. Accompanied by painful hisses, the five Water Pythons crashed into the river and died on the spot!

In an instant, their blood stained the river water red!

Simultaneously, Qin Feiyang grabbed the panic-stricken Ling Yunfei and landed on the opposite bank.

"That was close!" Ling Yunfei patted his chest, glanced gratefully at Qin Feiyang, then turned to look at the river.

Then, he couldn’t help but gasp!

These Water Pythons were all fierce beasts comparable to Four-star Martial Masters, yet they were killed instantly? Is this a dream?

He hurriedly looked at Qin Feiyang’s index finger and discovered, to his amazement, that it seemed to be formed from ice crystal, radiating a brilliant light!

"This is Ice Crystal Finger. It’s a fairly decent Martial Arts Technique," Qin Feiyang smiled, retracting his True Qi. The ice crystals on his finger swiftly dissipated.

Is this the power of a Martial Arts Technique? Ling Yunfei’s eyes sparkled with an intense light—it was the look of yearning!

Qin Feiyang saw it but said nothing. He smiled. "Let’s go!"

Ling Yunfei hastily said, "Wait! We can leave the corpses of these Water Pythons, but we need to collect the scales from their seven-inch spots."

"Collect the scales for what?" Qin Feiyang frowned.

"You don’t know?"

"Oh, right, I haven’t told you. The hunting competition is judged by who kills the most fierce beasts."

"Moreover, most fierce beasts are too large to fit into a Qiankun Bag. So, in all previous competitions, unless the beast was exceptionally rare, participants would only take its most important part as proof of the kill."

"For these Water Pythons, the most important parts are the scales at their seven-inch spots."

After explaining, Ling Yunfei prepared to enter the river to retrieve the scales.

"You’ve only just entered Black Bear Mountain and already killed several Water Beasts. Your luck is quite good!"

However, just then, accompanied by a jeering voice, more than a dozen young men and women emerged from the jungle behind them, cold smiles playing on their lips.

Qin Feiyang’s brow furrowed as he turned to scan the group. Without needing to ask, he knew they were here to snatch their spoils.