Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

Tang Wen flashed a grin, revealing his pearly whites. "The Black Water Gang is in charge of the salvage, yet they don’t know how many slabs there are? But you do."

The Black-clothed Martial Artist hastily explained, "They truly don’t know. An elder in my family is high up in the Black Water Gang. He was the one who got the information first."

’That connects the dots.’

’That makes sense.’

Tang Wen’s smile was as pleasant as a spring breeze. "My friend, I operate from the shadows, while you are in the open. Not only will your family be yours, but the Black Water Gang will be yours sooner or later, too!"

The Black-clothed Martial Artist didn’t dare to fully believe him, but he dared not disbelieve him either.

Since he had already revealed most of the secret, he steeled his resolve and laid everything bare. "The Azure Stone Slab is of great use to anyone below the Gang Martial realm."

"Great use? How great is it?"

"It increases one’s Spiritual Power!"

Tang Wen frowned. "Then how is that any different from a Meditation Technique?"

"The difference is huge! A Meditation Technique is a slow grind, requiring painstaking effort. The Azure Stone Slab is a shortcut! A way to improve rapidly."

Tang Wen’s brow furrowed even deeper. "Explain."

"Er, I only heard this from my family’s elders."

Tang Wen snapped his head around to stare into the man’s eyes.

Cold sweat beaded on the Black-clothed Martial Artist’s back, and he quickly explained:

"My grandfather has always been a cautious man. If he wasn’t absolutely certain...

...he would never have sent me, his own grandson, to handle this personally.

If we were discovered, the Lin Family would be finished."

"That makes sense."

’Now that I take a closer look, this kid really resembles that old bastard, Vice Gang Leader Lin!’

’Could he really be his grandson?’

’I need to plan this carefully.’

At this, he once again lamented that he had no one he could rely on. Whenever something came up, there wasn’t a single person he could consult.

In the distance, the sky...

The night grew deeper.

A white mist permeated the air.

Dark sky, white mist.

They swirled together in an eerie dance.

The black and white were starkly distinct.

Tang Wen and the Lin Family Martial Artist looked up.

"We don’t have much time," the martial artist reminded him.

"Right."

With a word of agreement, Tang Wen grabbed the man and sped toward the location of the other three black-clothed figures.

The Lin Family Martial Artist took the initiative to speak. "The Gang Leader is Fifth Grade, and so is that Ice Chilong. Our Gang Leader is a titan of the city, but the Ice Chilong is the overlord of this region for hundreds of miles around! There’s no way they’ll fight to the death."

"So they’ll come to an agreement?"

The Lin Family Martial Artist nodded. "Exactly! The Gang Leader secretly prepared over a thousand slaves. They’re undoubtedly a tribute for that Ice Chilong to snack on."

Tang Wen narrowed his eyes. "Oh? Gifting people to Exotic Beasts... is that common in Ganshan City?"

"Not really. After all, Ganshan City is quite powerful."

This reminded Tang Wen of a question he’d been curious about for a long time.

"Where exactly did all the Beastmasters in the city go?"

The Lin Family Martial Artist paused, a look of recollection on his face.

"I’ve asked that before. Originally, when the Three Great Families of the Inner City invited the Beastmasters, they claimed to have discovered a unique Exotic Beast Clan. They said they wanted to study it together."

"That doesn’t add up," Tang Wen said.

The Lin Family Martial Artist agreed. "Yes, it’s been too long. And what’s more..."

A cold glint flashed in Tang Wen’s eyes. "And in all that time, not a single one of them has come back."

As if knowing what he was thinking, the Lin Family Martial Artist said:

"They’re still alive, just not free. This very Beast Taming Ring came from a Beastmaster who’s an acquaintance of my grandfather."

As he spoke, a look of resentment flashed across his face.

They didn’t dwell on the issue.

A powerful aura and tremors continued to emanate from the distance.

As they drew nearer to the Cold Pool, Tang Wen grabbed the Lin Family Martial Artist’s arm, and a faint black aura enveloped them both.

「A few minutes later.」

They were less than half a mile from the trio in black.

Tang Wen came to a halt.

The Lin Family Martial Artist reminded him, "Our rendezvous point is just ahead."

"Shhh." Tang Wen put a finger to his lips, his expression grim.

Through the eyes of his Brown-tailed Crow, he saw that the three Black-clothed Martial Artists were being targeted by a squad from the Black Water Gang.

The Lin Family Martial Artist immediately fell silent.

"Your men have been spotted by the Black Water Gang."

"What?" ’We’re still so far away,’ he wanted to ask, ’how could you possibly know?’

Tang Wen found a large tree and stashed him in its branches. "Stay here. Don’t move."

With that, he turned and descended from the tree.

The martial artist stared after Tang Wen’s retreating back, momentarily stunned and unsure whether he should try to escape.

Whether the man escaped or not, Tang Wen wasn’t worried.

He had disguised himself before leaving the city.

Even if the Lin Family Martial Artist had seen his face, he wouldn’t be recognized if they crossed paths in the city later.

The reason he hadn’t killed him was simply that the man was far more valuable alive than dead.

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

First came the sound of blades sinking into flesh three times.

A moment later, a fourth was heard.

The entire four-man squad of Martial Artists lying in ambush was dead.

Martial Artists had impressive physiques. Even Tang Wen couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t wake up quickly if he only knocked them unconscious.

Under these circumstances, if any of them woke up and raised the alarm, Tang Wen would be a dead man.

He quickly searched the four bodies.

He found an unusually shaped Bone Whistle.

It was still slightly damp and carried the faint tang of saliva.

Tang Wen’s expression changed.

This meant the Black Water Gang’s Martial Artist had just blown the whistle and alerted the gang.

This type of Bone Whistle emitted a very low-pitched sound.

Only someone wearing a special, funnel-shaped earpiece could hear it.

That was why the three Black-clothed Martial Artists from the Lin Family remained completely unaware.

They were still in the same spot, diligently commanding their Earth Beasts to dig the tunnel.

"You three!"

Tang Wen approached the trio and spoke directly.

The three of them jumped in fright.

They turned to see a stranger.

Tang Wen tossed the Bone Whistle at their feet. "Idiots! You’ve been discovered and you don’t even know it. Take this and get out of here. I’ll take over."

"Who are you?"

Tang Wen flashed a waist token bearing the character for "Lin."

The three men were skeptical.

"No time to explain. Go draw away the pursuers and buy me some time."

Hearing this blatant order to go to their deaths, most of the suspicion in the three men’s eyes actually faded.

One of them asked quickly, "Besides the token, do you have any other proof of identity?"

’Damn it!’

’They’re pretty cautious.’

Without hesitation, Tang Wen’s lips moved, and using a secret sound-transmission technique, he spoke two words into their ears:

"Gang Leader Lin."

The three men shuddered in unison.

All doubt erased, they turned and fled.

After running a few dozen yards, the three men deliberately made some noise, then scattered in different directions.

’The Lin Family really has some loyal men,’ Tang Wen mused. ’Are they Death Warriors?’

Time was short. After that brief thought, Tang Wen looked down at the deep hole at his feet.

The mouth of the tunnel slanted downward, its depths out of sight.

But he could sense several large creatures burrowing deeper inside.

"They’re nearby! Search carefully!"

"I smell blood. Be on your guard."

’They got here fast!’

Tang Wen took a few steps back, moving silently to stand in the shadow of a large rock.

He let the darkness envelop him, pushing his Breath Concealment Technique to its limit.

He glanced at the conspicuous opening on the ground.

His Spiritual Power flowed out, wrapping around a stone the size of a millstone.

He lifted it and placed it silently over the entrance to the tunnel.

"They’re dead!"

"Old Zhou! Fuck! Boss, Old Zhou and his men are dead!"

"Footprints over here. Three men. Judging by the tracks, they can’t be far."

"After them!"

A commanding voice rang out without hesitation.

The sound of footsteps faded into the distance.

Suddenly, the commanding voice spoke again:

"Come on out! I see you!"

Tang Wen held his breath, remaining perfectly still.

"Hmph. You’re courting death!"

The air whistled.

Several sharp arrows shot out, spraying across the area in a fan-like pattern.

The spread was incredibly dense.

It was a Repeating Crossbow.

Tang Wen shifted slightly, dodging one of the bolts. Aided by the darkness, he made no sound.

"Hm?"

The man with the Repeating Crossbow saw the Ancient Whistle on the ground.

"Damn it, there’s a mole!"

It was unclear what conclusion he had jumped to.

He took off like a gust of wind.

...

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