Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

Night fell.

Tang Wen was in his courtyard, training in the Night Divine Fist.

He repeatedly polished his Contemplation Method and the first form of the Fist Technique—Shadow Kill.

The Night Divine Fist wasn’t just a simple Fist Technique.

Beyond its footwork and moves, once mastered, Tang Wen could use his own Dark Ability to conceal his presence, even achieving the effect of Invisibility.

However, his Dark Ability was currently too weak.

It was nowhere near strong enough to meet the requirements for Invisibility.

Invisibility—who wouldn’t want a power like that?

And so, all he could do was train relentlessly.

In fact, if it weren’t for this whole affair with the Bai Family,

Tang Wen would have long since left Ganshan City, returned to his camp, and gone into seclusion to temper his Night Divine Fist.

Even now,

the investigation into the disappearance of the Bai Family’s exploration team had been pushed far down his list of priorities.

It was filed under ’not important, not urgent’.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The moon passed its zenith.

Tang Wen drew a basin of cold water from the well and gave himself a quick rinse.

’Hmm, there’s still one flaw in my cover.’

’I don’t have any slaves or Female Slaves.’

In a normal camp or city, this wouldn’t be a big deal.

But in a place like Ganshan City, where every household kept slaves, it made him stand out.

’It’s just that I have too many secrets.’

’Buying slaves to live with me would be incredibly inconvenient.’

’For instance, this Night Divine Fist can’t be exposed.’

’Sigh, this undercover work is really not fit for a human.’

The next day, as soon as the sun rose, Wu Hao appeared at the entrance to Tang Wen’s residence.

Today was the day they would attempt to tame the Water Spirit.

Wu Hao personally carried a food box, followed by two of his men, and walked into the small courtyard.

After they had breakfast together, they headed to the Black Water Gang Headquarters.

There, they met up with Elder Li and Vice Gang Leader Zhao.

"Have you had breakfast?" Elder Li asked with a concerned look.

Tang Wen patted his stomach, indicating that he was full.

Elder Li nodded. "Good. You must eat your fill before working. Can’t go into battle on an empty stomach."

After speaking, he and Vice Gang Leader Zhao took the lead, walking at the front.

Tang Wen followed behind them on horseback, lost in thought. ’What does this old man mean?’

’Is he trying to confirm whether I’ve prepared the Beast Taming potion?’

’That seems to be the only possibility...’

Ganshan City was a large city.

It was divided into an Inner City and an Outer City.

Like Flame Camp, the city didn’t have a simple concentric layout.

When Tang Wen released his Blood Crow, he had a chance to see the city’s layout through its eyes. It wasn’t a simple concentric structure. It was more like the Inner City was pushed up against the northern wall of the Outer City, sharing that wall and having its own gates leading directly outside.

The Inner City was primarily controlled by the Three Great Families.

The Outer City was the domain of five major gangs.

Among them, the City Lord of Ganshan City and the heads of the Three Great Families were all experts at the Divine Martial Realm.

That is to say, Fifth Grade masters!

However, the five Gang Leaders of Ganshan City’s Outer City were only Sixth Grade Gangwu Realm experts—at least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.

Based on this comparison of strength, it would seem the Outer City was dependent on the Three Great Families of the Inner City.

In reality, that wasn’t the case.

The Three Great Families of the Inner City were rivals, engaging in dirty tricks for profit and harboring deep-seated grudges against each other.

Furthermore, as the families grew larger, their various branches and lineages developed their own agendas.

This made the situation even more complex.

The same was true for the five major powers in the Outer City.

They formed alliances with one another while also keeping each other in check.

They also had various connections with the Three Great Families, and with smaller factions struggling to survive in the cracks and outside forces meddling, the entire power dynamic of Ganshan City was like a giant web spun by countless spiders.

A situation had long since formed where everyone was entangled with everyone else.

Take the current situation, for example.

Logically speaking, the Black Water Gang and the Boat Gang both made their living in the Outer City.

One controlled slaves for farming and animal husbandry, while the other controlled the waterways for shipping cargo.

They had conflicting interests when it came to water resources.

Yet, after they jointly discovered a rare Exotic Beast like the "Water Spirit," no bloody incident erupted.

Instead, they tacitly agreed to bring in two Beastmasters to compete for ownership of the "Water Spirit."

This was far too harmonious—abnormally so.

He wondered if they had fought bloody battles against each other in the past.

Perhaps they had grown weary of the slaughter after suffering heavy losses, which led to the current situation.

If not, then there was probably something fishy going on.

Before he knew it, Tang Wen had followed the group to a small, secluded plaza.

The people from the Boat Gang were already there.

"Well, well! Old Zhao came in person!"

"Didn’t you, you old dog, also come in person?"

"Fuck! Who are you calling an old dog?"

"What, you want to hear it again?"

A golden-haired elder from the Boat Gang and Vice Gang Leader Zhao were "cordially" greeting each other.

Everyone was captivated by their interaction.

But seeing the unfazed expressions on the faces of both groups, it was clear this wasn’t the first time.

Meanwhile, Tang Wen noticed Elder Li nodding in respect and greeting another figure who seemed to be a leader in the Boat Gang.

Then, Elder Li went forward and spoke with every person at the Martial Artist level and above, one by one.

The people from the Boat Gang didn’t shy away either, chatting and laughing with Elder Li in low voices.

’Well, I’ll be damned!’

’He really is an old social butterfly!’

Before long, the sound of rolling wheels could be heard.

Three steel cages, each two to three meters high, were brought in by horse-drawn carts.

When he got a clear look at what was inside the cages, Tang Wen’s pupils contracted. ’This Water Spirit isn’t small at all, is it?’

’And, if I’m not mistaken, the female Water Spirit is pregnant!’

A quick glance was all it took for him to estimate that the male Water Spirit in the cage was over two meters tall.

’Judging by its aura, its Realm is probably close to that of a High-level Exotic Beast.’

The female Water Spirit was slightly shorter.

The smallest one, a half-grown male Water Spirit, lay listlessly in its cage.

The shape of the iron bars was imprinted on its head. It had clearly slammed its head violently against the cage, but its head wasn’t hard enough, and it had injured itself.

"Old Zhao, enough with the nonsense!"

"You’re the one who’s been wasting time, you old golden-haired dog!" Vice Gang Leader Zhao turned his head. "Tang Wen!"

"Here." Tang Wen stepped forward.

A person from the opposing Boat Gang also stepped out.

He was a middle-aged man.

Tang Wen had noticed him long before.

He reeked of a fishy smell, and even in their extreme distress, the three Water Spirits frequently glanced in his direction.

’This man is indeed a Beastmaster.’

Among the Black Water Gang, his appearance sparked some discussion.

Tang Wen overheard a few snippets.

Wu Hao leaned over and explained in a low voice, "I didn’t expect the Boat Gang to bring this guy. His surname is Zhang, and they call him a Half-step Master. He excels at using food to attract Exotic Beasts. The food he prepares is so good that Exotic Beasts can’t get enough of it; the more they eat, the more they want."

Although he wasn’t worried inwardly, Tang Wen’s expression turned serious. "I will certainly do my best."

Wu Hao didn’t say much more, just patted him on the shoulder.

In the hearts of the Black Water Gang members, they felt that their side was probably doomed to lose.

Their silence was a stark contrast to the cheerful and relaxed demeanor of the Boat Gang.

A Boat Gang Elder stepped forward with a grin. "Shall we have a little wager, as is tradition?"

The members of the Black Water Gang all frowned.

The other side had Master Zhang. Betting would be like handing them free money.

After a moment of silence, Elder Li smiled. "All right, how about two-to-one odds?"

"Two-to-one? Old Li, you’re demoralizing your own troops! That shows you have no confidence in your own man!"

For Elder Li, since he was the one who had introduced Tang Wen to the gang, he had to support him.

But when the chances of winning were clearly low, and real silver was on the line, he still had to negotiate the terms.

"Our Xiaotang is only in his early twenties, yet he’s already a Beast Taming expert. He has a long future ahead of him!"

"Heh," the Boat Gang Elder sucked his teeth and looked back at his own people. "Two-to-one it is, then! Brothers, the guys from the Black Water Gang are giving us free money!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

"I bet on our Boat Gang’s Master Zhang! Two hundred taels!"

"Haha, I also bet Master Zhang will win! Three hundred taels!"

"Five hundred taels! I’ll just consider it some extra wine money."

"Don’t bet so hard, look, the Black Water Gang doesn’t even dare to place a bet."

"Are they scared?"

"Fuck! You guys are going too far! Is my brother guaranteed to lose? I bet one thousand taels!" Wu Hao shouted, standing up.

Even knowing it was a losing bet, the others also started calling out their own wagers of two or three hundred taels.

It wasn’t that they were doing it to give Tang Wen face.

It was mainly the atmosphere. If they didn’t put up some money now, wouldn’t the Boat Gang look down on them?