Chapter 42: Strength II

Mist Barbarians were often thought to be former humans transformed by the corrosion of the mist. However, after killing several of them, Lin Hui realized this notion was absurd. He had discovered unfamiliar characters carved on the equipment worn by these Mist Barbarians.

It was a completely new and special script, though it seemed incomplete due to its great age.

But such traces were enough to prove that these monsters belonged to some non-human race.

It was just that these once-intelligent creatures were now left with only their killing instincts, becoming Harmless-grade monsters.

However, the four-armed one before him might be approaching the Nuisance grade…

ROAR!!

Just then, the four-armed barbarian suddenly accelerated, stepping, sprinting, and charging recklessly toward Lin Hui like a heavy rhinoceros.

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In the distance, in another direction.

Through the hazy mist, two blurry figures gradually emerged in front of Mingde’s wooden hut.

As the figures approached and became clearer, they were revealed to be the old and young pair Lin Hui had encountered just before entering.

“Teacher, there’s a temporary safe house ahead. It was likely built by nearby hunters. Should we go in and rest?”

The cold-faced woman sized up the wooden hut and asked softly for instructions.

The old woman carefully observed the footprints on the surrounding ground.

“We can. The only martial arts sect nearby is the Clear Wind Taoist Temple; they likely built it. We’ll just go in to rest and borrow the place for a bit, and resupply while we’re at it…”

Such temporary safe houses were generally available for hunters in the Mist Zone to borrow temporarily; it was considered mutual aid among humans.

However, after borrowing, one must replenish the consumed supplies for the next wave of people to use. This was the hunter’s tacit understanding.

“Alright,” the young woman nodded.

Having just killed over a dozen One-Horned Spiders along the way, both were somewhat exhausted. It was a good time to rest inside the hut.

Soon, the two women crossed the courtyard, arrived in front of the wooden hut, and pushed open the wooden door.

At first glance, the object they saw stunned them both.

It was a large bag of black crystalline bodies, almost spilling out. At a glance, there were at least thirty pieces in the leather bag!

“So many black crystalline bodies??! Who hunted these and temporarily stored them here!” The old woman looked delighted and quickly looked left and right, tightening her grip on the Tranquility Incense.

The young woman beside her, Wan’er, was also stunned.

Her hunting goal for this trip was to collect enough monster materials as family proof to stand out among her many siblings and gain a higher ranking in the succession rights.

This time, the family had moved from Xingdao, occupying more and larger fields and shops. Collateral branches like theirs, originally unqualified to share the property, now had the qualification to compete for some storefronts.

This grand competition used monster materials as proof, comparing quantities to prove the strength of one’s branch.

This competition wasn’t limited to personal strength but was a total contest of financial and manpower resources.

The only condition was that the time since the monsters were hunted couldn’t be too long; the materials had to be obtained within two hours to serve as proof.

Seeing so many black crystalline bodies now, Wan’er’s eyes trembled.

Having practiced her family’s martial arts for over ten years, even if she joined forces with her grandmother, it was unlikely they could find this many materials within two hours.

This wasn’t just a matter of martial arts attainment but also because their hunting efficiency wasn’t fast enough. “It should be an expert from the Clear Wind Taoist Temple. They are known for their speed. Looking at the luster of these crystals, almost all were dug out within an hour.” The grandmother stepped forward, gently poking a crystal with her cane to examine it.

“Clear Wind Taoist Temple, the Tuyue martial arts hall defeated by Song Zhanlong of the Black Dragon Gate?” Wan’er squinted, a calculation faintly forming in her eyes.

“Yes. Why? Do you have an idea?” The grandmother looked at Wan’er.

“How much are these crystals worth?” Wan’er asked softly.

“About thirty pieces, including two of rare quality. It adds up to around a hundred thousand qian. Just take them. This way, your progress will be much faster than the others.” The grandmother smiled, guessing the other’s intention.

“A hundred thousand qian is a lot, but it’s not worth doing this…” Wan’er shook her head.

“What’s not worth it? The Clear Wind Taoist Temple only has a few kittens left. Even if they know we took it, what can they do? They should be glad. They can’t even deal with the Black Dragon Gate; would they dare create more trouble?” The grandmother sneered. “Besides, every penny you have now needs to be spent where it counts, all used to acquire fresh monster materials to boost your score. Were you planning to save money to buy them?”

“True,” Wan’er sighed and nodded.

Immediately, the two quickly packed the crystals back into the bag, tied it up, and the grandmother carried it as they left the wooden hut, re-entering the mist and disappearing.

About twelve minutes after the two left.

Lin Hui emerged from the mist carrying a palm-sized piece of thick black keratin and silently returned to the door of the wooden hut.

“Hmm? Someone has been here?”

He looked down at the fresh footprints of two people on the ground, squatted down, and distinguished them according to the simple identification method taught by his teacher.

“They left not long ago. Two females or children. Children can’t enter this kind of Mist Zone, so it must be females…”

Standing up, Lin Hui carried the materials and pulled open the door.

With a soft creak, on the floor inside the room, the leather bag that had just been full of crystals had vanished without a trace…

Lin Hui’s expression changed.

He had actually worried about this for a long time. Previously, his teacher was guarding, so he didn’t worry about losing materials. Now that he was acting alone, a problem inevitably arose.

Walking out of the wooden hut, he gazed at the gray mist outside, his face as calm as water.

He hadn’t learned tracking skills, and his teacher himself was only half-competent. Simple footprint identification was fine, but using it to chase people was completely useless.

Clearly, he had to swallow this loss in silence.

‘The thieves must have run far away. Unfortunately… It seems next time I’ll have to find a hidden and safe place to store materials, or find a companion to guard them.‘

Lin Hui suppressed the displeasure in his heart. Carrying the four-armed barbarian materials, he hopelessly circled the wooden hut, quickly utilizing his movement technique to search for the thieves.

Circle after circle, constantly expanding the range.

Surprisingly, his search yielded results. To the northwest of the wooden hut, about two hundred meters away, he discovered two sets of fresh footprints.

Following the footprints, within a few minutes, Lin Hui slowed down, looking ahead.

A large cavity in the mist suddenly appeared ahead—a safe zone formed by burning Tranquility Incense to dispel the mist.

This also meant someone ahead was burning Tranquility Incense.

He discovered the two people, and they discovered him at the same time.

Both sides stopped simultaneously, looking at each other.

Lin Hui immediately saw the leather bag carried by the two women. It was identical to the bag he had emptied to hold the black crystalline bodies.

“I wonder where you two got that bag in your hands?” He stood still and asked in a deep voice.

“Someone from the Clear Wind Taoist Temple?” The grandmother reached out to stop Wan’er, who wanted to speak, and spoke first.

“It would be better for you two to answer my question first,” Lin Hui said cautiously. Although his strength had increased greatly, how many weaklings could enter the Mist Zone to hunt?

So, being a little careful in everything was not a mistake. What if the bag in their hands just happened to look like the one he lost?

Better to confirm it wasn’t a misunderstanding first.

“We borrowed this bag from a temporary wooden hut just now. Why? Why does the little friend ask this?” The grandmother countered.

“Then did you two see the more than thirty black crystals I put in the bag?” Lin Hui asked again.

“Crystals? These crystals were all hunted by the two of us with hard work. When we borrowed it earlier, this was an empty bag.” The grandmother smiled.

Admitting to stealing was impossible for them. This was the Mist Zone; let alone taking someone’s things, even killing people to silence them happened frequently.

When she asked if the other party was from the Clear Wind Taoist Temple and he didn’t deny it, the grandmother decided to forcibly keep this bag of crystals.

The Clear Wind Taoist Temple’s movement speed was fast, but their lethality was too weak. Apart from running fast, they were truly useless.

Previously, they collapsed quickly after being challenged by a single person from the Black Dragon Gate. They couldn’t even beat the Black Dragon Gate, let alone the Wei family, who were a notch stronger than the Black Dragon Gate.

“You two, saying such things is meaningless.” Lin Hui was now certain that the crystals in that bag were the ones he had hunted earlier. He immediately stepped closer.

“Joke. Who can prove you hunted these crystals? These were clearly obtained by the two of us hunting just now,” the grandmother sneered. “Kid from the Clear Wind Taoist Temple, speak with evidence. You’ve split into three branches, yet you still haven’t learned your lesson?”

“But I feel that those are my things,” Lin Hui said in a deep voice. “You two…”

“Is your master Minchen, Minxiu, or Mingde?” The grandmother raised her voice. “Kid, think carefully about the consequences before you speak.”

Lin Hui fell silent.

Looking at the bag in the two women’s hands, various guesses flashed through his mind. Finally, he sighed lightly.

“Fine. Perhaps I was mistaken. Apologies.”

He slowly backed away, quietly disappearing into the mist, retreating completely.

Seeing him leave, the grandmother and Wan’er turned and continued walking deeper into the mist.

“If we want to rank in the top three, we need materials from at least fifty monsters. Then, adding the parts acquired with money, we might barely secure a spot,” the grandmother said gravely.

“Yes, Grandmother,” Wan’er nodded.

“The only dangerous place here is the Yanshan side. As long as we don’t encounter mutated individuals in the rest of the area, you and I can basically handle it easily. We need to speed up next,” the grandmother urged.

The two walked straight ahead in their current direction. But not long after, muffled footsteps suddenly came from ahead.

Thump, thump.

A four-armed barbarian growled low, wielding four huge wooden clubs, swinging them wantonly as it approached from the side.

This was a variant, much stronger than the average Harmless-grade barbarian.

“Be careful. This variant is almost close to Nuisance grade. I’ll hold the line for you; you try first!” The grandmother said gravely.

“Okay.” Wan’er gripped her dual knives tightly, taking several steps forward, about to attack.

Hiss.

Suddenly, a faint hiss came from behind the two.

Accompanying the sound was yet another four-armed barbarian!

It seemed to be chasing something, rushing out of the mist and pouncing straight at the two women.

“Careful!” The grandmother’s expression changed slightly, and she shouted in a low voice. “I’ll deal with the one behind, you take the front!”

But before she could finish speaking, another four-armed barbarian roared and rushed out from the right!

ROAR!!

At the same time, three four-armed barbarians pounced on the two from three directions.

This sudden, huge change caused the expressions of both women to change drastically, and their hearts sank slightly.

Meanwhile, in the distance from their position, on the branch of a tall, withered black tree.

Lin Hui squatted quietly, silently listening to the barbarian roars and the clashing of blades from that direction.

This was a test, and also a trial.

If the two truly had the strength to pass the trial, giving them a few crystals wouldn’t matter.

But if they couldn’t pass…

Lin Hui gently gripped his sword hilt, rubbing the rough anti-slip wrapping.

“Since you dare to threaten me to my face, threaten the entire Clear Wind Taoist Temple, your strength must be very strong, right?”

“As an apology for wrongly blaming you, I’ll send you three gifts…”

He raised his head, listening to the sounds of combat beginning ahead.

It would be fine if they could withstand these gifts, but if not…

(End of Chapter)