Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

"I haven’t seen them myself, but my senior sister saw them with her own eyes—and more than once. She even secretly used a Memory Stone to record what the Demons look like. Those Demons... their bodies are deathly pale, hairless, with blood-red eyes that are unnaturally large. They crawl on all fours..."

As Li Zi spoke, a look of discomfort crossed her young face.

It was the kind of expression you’d have when seeing a rotting monster—a mix of disgust and alarm.

Tang Wen and General Zhao exchanged a glance.

The situation was not what either of them had expected.

"So, you’re saying there’s a type of Underground People?"

"Yes, they live underground. Right beneath Ganshan City."

General Zhao glanced at the ground.

As she spoke, Li Zi pointed to a mountain peak not far outside the city:

"Some people say they live inside the mountains. But I don’t think that’s likely. The nearby mountains are the territory of Fifth Grade Exotic Beasts. If those Underground People were in the mountains, they would’ve clashed with the beasts long ago."

"Are there a lot of these Underground People?"

"Mm, there must be."

A thought struck Tang Wen. "The Beastmaster... is he researching the Underground People?"

"Exactly!" Li Zi’s high ponytail swayed as hatred flashed in her eyes. "The Huang Family! This is the Huang Family’s plan!"

’Researching the Underground People using Beast Taming methods?’

’What does that even mean?’

’Aren’t they just studying how to enslave people?’

"So what’s the story with the Huang Family’s Slave Factory?"

Li Zi didn’t know for sure, but she guessed that some kind of Curiosity was involved.

It completely brainwashed those women.

It made them willing to be slaves, sell their bodies, and remain docile and unresisting.

Based on the strength of the Huang Family’s female slaves,

the Curiosity in the Slave Factory likely only worked on Martial Artists, at best.

And it probably had significant limitations.

Tang Wen and General Zhao asked a few more questions about the underground Demon Cave.

Unfortunately, Li Zi’s knowledge on the subject was limited.

All she knew was that the leaders of the major factions had to take turns leading men underground to guard the Demon Cave.

From this, they inferred that those pale-skinned Underground People likely didn’t have a favorable opinion of the humans on the surface.

Their relationship could only be hostile.

And yet, the situation hadn’t escalated.

Aside from the leaders of the major factions and the elite members of the various gangs who had guarded the underground,

no one else was aware of the Demon Cave’s existence.

Tang Wen was both surprised and confused.

’Could there really be an Inner Earth World in this world?’

’With no sunlight and no plants, how did they survive down there?’

His mind was swimming with questions that no one could answer.

He changed the subject.

"How did the feud between the Thief Sect and the Huang Family start?"

Li Zi’s voice was sharp. "It’s not a feud! The Huang Family stole our sect’s Curiosity first."

"What Curiosity?" Tang Wen pressed.

"Um, a stone." Li Zi looked puzzled herself, gesturing with her hands to indicate something about the size of an egg. "It’s supposedly a [Void Stone]."

Both men grunted in confusion.

"Well, they say the stone can hold the contents of an entire house."

General Zhao’s expression remained blank. "I don’t get this Void Stone. If it’s just the contents of a single house, you could just get a few Middle-level Exotic Beasts, hitch them to a large cart, and move everything in one trip."

Li Zi had never seen it either. "Maybe it has some other function I don’t know about. The Thief Sect has been raided by the Huang Family several times, and many of our records were lost. I’m not sure myself."

The light in her eyes dimmed.

’A [Void Stone]... sounds a lot like a Spatial Ring.’

Tang Wen, however, had a rough idea of its value.

’It’s not just convenient for carrying supplies. It could also be used for things like Invisibility.’

’It sounds like a perfect match for the Thief Sect’s skills.’

’One quick swipe, and you could stash the stolen item right in the stone. No one would ever find it. A body search would be useless!’

"How many people are left in the Thief Sect?"

"One hundred seventy-three," Li Zi answered instantly, her eyes filled with hope as she looked at Tang Wen.

Tang Wen asked again, "How many are adults?"

"Um, aside from three Martial Masters and twenty-five Martial Artists, the rest are all children. They’re disguised as members of the Beggar Gang to get by."

Li Zi chose her words carefully.

Her gaze upon Tang Wen was just as cautious.

She was like a puppy that had been lost in the woods for a long time and, having finally found its owner, was terrified of being abandoned again.

"Alright. Tell me the address. After a little while, I’ll move them out."

Without giving Li Zi any room to negotiate, Tang Wen added,

"You and General Zhao, help me find some people. Be careful how you proceed."

The people he was looking for were, of course, the Bai Family’s exploration team.

As for why he wanted to wait a while before relocating the people from the Thief Sect,

it was mainly because he was worried there might be a Huang Family spy in their midst.

Li Zi’s heart leaped with joy. ’He’s giving me a task? Does this mean he’s accepting me... accepting us?’

She confessed, "The Thief Sect also has two Visualization Martial Arts. One is [Skillful Hand], which is used for stealing—er, for taking other people’s things. The other is the [Stealth Technique]. It’s said that if you master it, you can become invisible even in broad daylight. Even a Fifth Grade Divine Martial Realm expert wouldn’t be able to sense your presence."

This piqued the interest of both Tang Wen and General Zhao. "Show us what you can do."

Li Zi immediately flushed with embarrassment. "I... I haven’t learned how."

The masters and elders of the Thief Sect had fallen one after another.

The knacks, insights, and training methods for these Ultimate Skills had not been passed down. Li Zi had to rely entirely on her own comprehension of the Visualization Images, so how much could she have possibly learned?

"Bring them here. We’ll study them together."

Tang Wen and Li Zi left the Beast Taming Garden together.

They went to the secluded little courtyard where she lived. Li Zi packed her belongings and two Stone Slabs, then shut the door and left.

She gazed at the courtyard she had lived in for so long.

Li Zi was reluctant to leave.

"You’ll have a chance to come back in the future."

"Mm." The girl nodded, suppressed her apprehension, and handed the Stone Slabs to Tang Wen before shouldering a large bundle herself.

When they arrived at the new courtyard, General Zhao was already waiting.

The three of them conferred for a while.

Tang Wen said, "To find the Bai Family’s people, don’t go yourselves. Hire someone. The locals in Ganshan City may not be reliable, so hire people from the Four Seas Camp. From now on, I’m going to be in seclusion. I’ll leave the [Moon Traveling Clothes] with you to use!"