On the second evening, Qiqi’s team stopped to camp on a gentle slope.
They had already ventured deep into the heart of the Tianxuan Mountains. Now, only the nine-member Yin family hunting team remained at the camp. The rest of the entourage had split into several groups; some were setting up supply points as logistics personnel, while others headed for the noble hunting grounds as independent participants.
Other noble families had similar setups, with central forces, logistics, and scouts, making them miniature armies.
Qianye was in his tent, organizing his equipment. His original Yingji had been lost, but this was a trivial matter for Yin Qiqi. Qianye received a brand new, enhanced version of the Yingji, recalibrated and modified by an expert.
The new Yingji had two power settings for its origin array. One setting reduced the power to half and the range to six hundred meters, which helped conserve origin power and extend endurance. Many targets couldn’t withstand the full power of the Yingji, so the extra power would be wasted.
Additionally, the new Yingji’s maximum range was increased to one thousand two hundred meters. Finally, it had a more advanced internal origin array, incorporating designs used in fifth-level origin guns, allowing it to handle more intense origin power. For Qianye, who was already at the fifth level, the enhanced Yingji was even more powerful than before.
Ji Yuanjia’s voice came from outside the tent. He walked in and saw Qianye attaching a quadruple scope to the Yingji. “Are you leaving tonight?” he asked.
Qianye nodded. This was what he had requested of Qiqi. He planned to leave the main team and operate independently, using his skills in mountain warfare and long-range sniping to maximum effect from a flexible position.
Ji Yuanjia sat across from Qianye and placed a box of military stimulants on the table. “Be careful, especially before our main team reaches the black circle. Don’t accidentally enter another family’s hunting ground.”
According to the Spring Hunt rules, entering another family’s hunting ground was equivalent to invading their territory and would immediately provoke an attack. With Qianye’s long-range capability, beasts posed little threat, but being targeted by other hunting teams would be dangerous. The guards selected for the hunting teams were generally at the sixth or seventh level, far superior to ordinary warriors. Like Ji Yuanjia, many could light their eighth node but refrained from doing so to participate in the Spring Hunt.
The black circle represented the most dangerous area of the hunting grounds, where dark race warriors roamed. From here on, the hunting grounds of different families largely overlapped, leading to frequent conflicts over prey, injuries, and even the elimination of non-core members. It was also where Qianye and Qiqi’s team planned to converge.
Qianye smiled and agreed, “I’ll be careful.” Having survived the Netherworld Training Camp, he was vigilant.
“I received a message that Seventh Young Master Song has been inquiring about your background,” Ji Yuanjia added.
Qianye paused, lifting his head sharply. Ji Yuanjia was frowning.
“Our hunting grounds are separated from the Song clan’s by the Zhao clan. Once you reach the sixth-level area, they will intersect, so be extremely cautious,” Ji Yuanjia warned, clearly concerned about potential consequences.
The file attached to the appointment letter of the 17th Division was fake. After Qianye escaped Gu Liyu’s trap, Ji Yuanjia, though he didn’t say anything, guessed that Qianye had his secrets. He had helped create new documents, including birth certificates, but if someone really wanted to dig, there might be slip-ups.
Furthermore, the “Qian Xiaoye” identity was just a facade to placate the Yin elders, betting on common psychology. Uninvolved passersby either wouldn’t pay attention to Qiqi’s new favorites or, if they noticed something amiss, wouldn’t speak up. It wasn’t just Qiqi’s face; even if the Yin family handled it privately, they wouldn’t be happy about it being publicized. However, even Qiqi hadn’t anticipated the complication brought by Song Zining.
No matter how he appeared, the Seventh Young Master of the Song clan was not as harmless as he seemed.
After a brief discussion, Qianye sent Ji Yuanjia off. He then continued selecting close combat gear. The Twin Bloom was already an excellent weapon, but Qianye also chose a half-meter-long origin crossbow. This crossbow was exceptionally delicate and, within thirty meters, was as powerful as a third-level gun, perfect for silent kills.
He packed fifty crossbow bolts, a large-caliber gunpowder sniper rifle, and one hundred sniper rounds. He left out most of the other wilderness gear, even preparing only two days’ worth of food.
Once night fell, Qianye left the Yin camp and ventured deeper into the Tianxuan Mountains. In these vast mountains, various beasts roamed, and occasionally, exotic creatures could be seen.
After a day and night of non-stop travel, Qianye estimated he had left the noble families’ teams far behind. Few solo hunters would venture this far.
He climbed a peak, surveyed the surroundings, marked the map, and then buried some ammunition and equipment to create a small supply point. He then began searching horizontally.
Suddenly, a rapid clatter of hooves echoed through the forest. A two-meter-tall armored bull burst out, charging towards Qianye. Similar to a bison, it was covered in hard armor from forehead to spine, and some even had massive bone spines. Its armor was ideal for crafting elite troop armor.
Such a beast was difficult for even fourth or fifth-level soldiers to handle, but in the depths of the Tianxuan Mountains, it was quite common.
Qianye dodged the initial charge, then charged forward, slamming into the bull and knocking it off balance. It tumbled to the side.
With a boom, the Twin Bloom blew a hole in the weak spot under the bull’s neck. The beast twitched and lay still.
A faint light flew from the corpse, heading straight up, intercepted by an airship. Another beam of origin light shot toward the distance, caught by another airship’s origin array. The signal was amplified and sent further.
This relay continued until the information reached the Grand Hall in Duke Weiguo’s estate.
The hall was filled with a giant origin array, powered by hundreds of black crystals. Beams of light emanated from the array, forming a virtual leaderboard in the air. The board displayed the names of major noble families and independent clans, constantly updating rankings.
When the light from the armored bull’s corpse reached the array, the number behind the Yin family flickered, increasing by twenty-five. The Yin family’s ranking rose slightly to thirty-seventh place.
The armored bull was a fifth-level beast, and its kill score was five squared. Higher-level prey scored more points, and killing dark race warriors doubled the score.
Duke Weiguo stood in the hall, looking up at the leaderboard. Seeing the swift and accurate updates, he nodded in satisfaction, smiling. Every year during the Spring Hunt, he personally used the Hun Tian Wann Miao Jue to mark all life forms in the Tianxuan Mountains, creating a fair and swift scoring system.
Whoever killed the prey got the points, ensuring fairness. Cheating would require a cultivator surpassing the duke, and there were few such individuals. Moreover, cheating in the Spring Hunt, a prestigious social event, would be a serious scandal.
Although it took a month to prepare, the Hun Tian Wann Miao Jue could cover thousands of miles, demonstrating the duke’s profound cultivation. The crowd flattered him, and he smiled contentedly. The technique was one of the rare ancient methods, rivaling the Lin Xitang’s Great Derivative Heaven-Machinery Technique.
Most names on the board were from lesser clans. In the first few days, this was normal, as the major noble families were advancing deeper. Lesser clan members, not venturing as far, had begun hunting and earning points. This was their best chance to impress.
Duke Weiguo saw the Yin family’s score jump by twenty-five and smiled, “Yin Qiqi is doing well. She’s quite confident this year!”
Someone commented, “It’s said that Qiqi is leading the inheritance exam in the Yin family. She’s the only one of her generation to have mastered the Water Moon Flow Cloud Technique before becoming a war general, making her a strong contender.”
Another person added, “I heard Qiqi is betrothed to a lesser clan member. If she becomes the next head, it would be a pity.”
Duke Weiguo nodded, “Indeed.”
Someone suggested, “Perhaps the Yin family could annul the betrothal or choose a different girl. Qiqi is the perfect match for the duke’s young master.”
The duke stroked his beard, intrigued.
If Qiqi became the head, the duke’s son would need to marry into the Yin family, but as a top-tier family, it wouldn’t be a loss of face. The marriage would strengthen the ties between the two families.
The Yin family, like other noble families, lacked top-tier martial power, especially in the past two decades. Only Lin Xitang, among the new imperial marshals, was from a noble family. The duke could fill this gap, a mutually beneficial arrangement.
As he pondered, the Yin family’s score jumped again, adding thirty-six points, pushing them to thirty-fourth place.
Duke Weiguo was surprised, “Qiqi has gone so far already?”
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