Chapter 45: Hunter
"Wang Daoyi’s teammates?"
—They’re just trying to use this as an excuse to extort the Five Elements Sect. These hyenas think they can leech off of us. No, it won’t be that easy!
Zhao Yuan quickly continued.
—Since you killed Wang Daoyi, It's best if you stay out of Zanglong City for now to prevent these people from taking any extreme measures against you. Give us one month, at most, and the Five Elements Sect will use our connections to resolve the matter.
—The martial arts world isn’t just about fighting and killing. Strength alone doesn’t give a person the right to act recklessly.
"I understand," Li Pin said.
—Take care of yourself. If things get too bad, just lay low for a while.
Just as Zhao Yuan was about to hang up the phone, Li Pin quickly asked, "Who are his teammates? How strong are they? I need to at least have some idea of who I am dealing with."
—Right, I’ll send over their details to you later.
As Zhao Yuan was talking, a thought seemed to strike him
—Don't do anything impulsive. You are still young. As long as you continue to grow stronger, these people will be nothing compared to what you will accomplish in the future.
"I know," Li Pin responded.
Zhao Yuan gave a few more reminders before ending the call.
"What’s wrong? Have Wang Daoyi’s teammates come looking for you?" Fang Lingjue asked, his expression turning grim.
Li Pin nodded.
"When it comes to hunters who hunt in groups to kill ferocious beasts and demonic creatures, there are several types. Some people do it to accumulate combat experience, others do it to temper their will amidst life-and-death challenges in pursuit of higher realms of their martial arts. The two types of people are perhaps the most honorable.
"As for the other two types… you have the private mercenaries employed by powerful figures, who in their spare time kill some demonic beats for extra income, and the bounty hunters who accept bounties to seek lucrative rewards."
"The former might inadvertently cause huge trouble, as for the latter..." Fang Lingjue sneered, "The job of a bounty hunter may sound appealing, but in reality, most bounty hunters are forced by circumstances to get into this line of work. With their prowess at the Core Formation level, they could easily open martial halls, secure local government positions, or teach disciples to gain recognition and a steady income.
"Wouldn't that be easier than risking their life for some mere profits? The truth is, the majority of bounty hunters operate in the gray areas, chasing money like hyenas hunting for prey. Once they latch onto a target, they’ll relentlessly pursue it until they claim their reward."
“Wang Daoyi was a bounty hunter?” Li Pin asked.
"Yes," answered Fang Lingjue, nodding. "This is also why the Five Elements Sect said that they are trying to extort them for money. Wang Daoyi’s death is just an excuse. If Cao Tianyou was still up to scratch, things like this would never have happened."
The majority of bounty hunters were martial artists who had attained the level of Core Force and Aura Force at the very least. Moving up further, as long as they hadn't committed major offenses or have serious personal issues, they can generally smooth things over with connections.
If Cao Tianyou was still young and strong, with his mastery over his Aura Force and the support from his disciples, no bounty hunters would dare provoke him. Unfortunately, he has aged. Coupled with Wang Daoyi's incident, it gave these hyena-like bounty hunters an excuse to stir up trouble.
***
Ye Shu invited a bank manager over to assist Li Pin with completing the loan application process.
The total amount was 26 million yuan. Li Pin made a down payment of twelve million yuan and borrowed the remaining fourteen million yuan through a loan.
His status as a martial artist provided him with a lot of convenience when applying for such a large loan amount. Otherwise, considering the difficulty of obtaining a loan for a mansion, securing ten million yuan would have been considered already quite good.
As Li Pin completed the procedure, a notification came through to his phone. A piece of information was sent to him.
Li Pin glanced through his phone and quickly gained insight into the bounty hunters attempting to extort the Five Elements Sect.
A bounty hunter group typically ranged from two to eleven members. Wang Daoyi included, the group had seven. Now that he had died, the group dwindled to only six members.
It’s as Fang Lingjue mentioned, very few people would choose to be bounty hunters if they had other options.
Among the six remaining members, the strongest was their captain, Xiang Yi, who went by his alias, Peregrine.[1]
He had once achieved resonance of his internal organs to unleash a power akin to Aura Force. Aside from that, there were two Core Formation and three Core Force martial artists. Additionally, there was another team of six members, but rather than being frontline combatants, these six specialized in gathering intelligence and providing support.
This lineup was undeniably formidable; otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to extort the Five Elements Sect.
As Li Pin looked through the information Zhao Yaun sent over, a spark of fiery determination ignited in his eyes. "Aura Force."
Aura Force!
So far, the only living Aura Force martial artists whom he had seen were Cao Tianyou and Jiang Qingyue. However, both of these men were already advanced in age, belonging to the highly respected and revered category, which explained their high status.
If they were to truly engage in a battle… one single burst of Aura Force would send them teetering on the brink of death, hence why he couldn’t get himself to seek advice from those two for the power of Aura Force. However, Xiang Yi, on the other hand….
After a moment, his gaze once again fell upon the other five members of the group.
In the scenario where he was dueling the Aura Force practitioner, Xiang Yi, if the two Core Formation and Core Force cultivators were to join in, he wouldn’t be able to hold them back.
Let's see how the Five Elements Sect plans to handle this. A one-on-one fair duel would be ideal, but even a series of battles would work. I'm ready to step up to the challenge, Li Pin thought to himself.
"Should I arrange the renovation company for you, or do you prefer to choose your own style?" Fang Lingjue asked.
"You already have a person in mind?" Li Pin asked, then suddenly thought of something. "Changfeng Martial Hall’s branch in Jiang Province is already under renovation, it seems you have found a suitable partner for the project."
"Yes, that renovation company is quite good," Fang Lingjue replied.
"That would be great," Li Pin said.
"I’ll have them get in touch with you. In any case, I’ll need to travel to Jiang Province City quite often to oversee the renovation of the Changfeng Martial Hall branch here. If you’re busy, I can keep an eye on things for you," Fang Lingjue added. Seeing that Li Pin was a rising star, he didn’t mind showing him some goodwill when it came to these small matters.
"Thanks."
As the two engaged in casual conversation, Ye Shu presented all the invoices and contracts. Expressing her gratitude, she proposed treating them to a meal.
Li Pin, however, was not accustomed to dining with strangers and declined the offer. With that, they departed from Riverscape Marvel.
Nevertheless, he still couldn’t escape his fate of being invited.
Upon hearing about the Riverscape Marvel renovation project, Zhao Mu, the manager of the renovation company, made a special trip just to meet them. Given his longstanding ties with the Fang Family, Fang Lingjue found it difficult to refuse his request and brought Li Pin along to the landmark building in Jiang Province City, the Starry Sky Tower.
As the two arrived at the designated restaurant, and before they even stepped through the doors, the duo was immediately drawn to another establishment located on the fifth floor of the same mall.
The equally luxurious restaurant, where the average spending per person could reach two to three hundred yuan, was currently filled with dozens or so robust men. Of course, there were also a few women scattered among them. More than half of these individuals were dressed in a similar style.
When Fang Lingjue noticed the symbol on their shirts, he came to a realization.
"They’re the disciples of the Solar Vermillion Sect, a major faction in Jiang Province City," Fang Lingjue explained, somewhat surprised. "Is that a gathering meal for the Solar Vermillion Sect disciples?"
Li Pin peered into the restaurant through the glass. "Solar Vermillion Sect?"
Due to the distance and the obstructions of their attires, Li Pin was unable to clearly sense the cultivation levels of these individuals.
But just the name Solar Vermillion Sect was already able to give a hint of their power.
At this instance, the atmosphere of the gathering seemed to have reached its peak. A man who looked to be in his thirties, resembling the senior martial brother among them, stood up and raised his wine glass. Everyone else stood up in unison.
"Everyone! Remember why we have traveled so far from the capital to Jiang Province for the martial competition. We have only one goal in mind…" the man declared with unwavering conviction, "dominate the Jiang Province!"
"Dominate the Jiang Province!" The others responded simultaneously, each one of them filled with unwavering confidence.
Fang Lingjue watched the scene from a distance, his gaze especially fixed on that man. After a long while, he let out a sigh and said, “Dragonfist Jiang Zhenhai.… The Jiang Province Martial Competition this time is going to be tough.”
1. Peregrine is a type of bird known for its size and hunting prowess in the sky. ☜
Comments
Top