Moments later, Qian Ye had hunted a giant anaconda in the dense forest. He drained its blood and drank it all. Such a scene was common in survival situations without provisions; even if some powerful watcher discovered him, they would not suspect his vampiric abilities.
Qian Ye finished drinking the anaconda’s blood, rested for a moment, then stealthily moved towards the Zhao family’s hunting team.
The sky was already darkening. The Zhao family had set up camp and was preparing to rest. After the chaos of the afternoon, Zhao Junhong had no mood left to continue hunting. He appeared extremely restless, pacing back and forth inside the tent.
Zhao Junhong had originally been full of confidence for this spring hunt. He was not too concerned about acquiring points, as it wasn’t much of a challenge. What he really wanted was to witness the secret techniques of the Song and Yin families.
But now, the spring hunt had barely begun and was already turning into a disaster, all because of Qian Xiaoye, an insignificant level-five guard! For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly lacked confidence in the guard who was supposed to be pursuing Qian Ye. It was just a hunch, with no real reason behind it.
Suddenly, a loud boom!
Zhao Junhong nearly jumped out of his skin. It was another Eagle Strike!
A guard fetching water by the stream screamed in agony, his body erupting in a burst of blood. He was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground. Fortunately, after a few tumbles, he found cover and managed to avoid further injury, though he was wounded.
On a hill a thousand meters away, Qian Ye appeared, waving at Zhao Junhong, then vanished again.
After a long moment, Zhao Junhong finally reacted, roaring, “Sniper against sniper! Who will go and kill this brat for me?”
His roar was met with a sudden, eerie silence. Only then did Zhao Junhong remember that his team’s longest range was only three hundred meters, and none of them had a sniper rifle.
Zhao Junhong felt extremely irritated. He waved his hand forcefully, shouting, “Sleep!”
But that night, they were destined to have no peace. Qian Ye occasionally fired a few shots from his sniper rifle at the camp. Zhao Junhong, perhaps particularly unlucky, had his finger grazed by a stray metal shard. Though it was a trivial wound, it infuriated him even more.
The next day finally arrived, and Zhao Junhong, with a gloomy expression, continued the hunt. He had made up his mind: if Qian Ye dared to show up, he would personally chase him down! As for honor and face… if he didn’t kill this audacious boy, what honor would he have left?
Zhao Junhong and the remaining guards formed an anti-sniper formation and moved forward.
Yet, the sound of the Eagle Strike boomed again, this time from the maximum range of twelve hundred meters. The target was not a person, but a seventh-level werewolf that Zhao Junhong had already injured. Seeing the faint light soaring into the sky, Zhao Junhong let out a roar that echoed through the mountains, chasing at full speed in the direction of the shot.
This chase lasted for most of the day. By the end, Zhao Junhong was no longer sure if he was going in the right direction. There was no trace of Qian Ye, and none of the guards could keep up with him.
Unable to catch Qian Ye, Zhao Junhong vented his anger on the surrounding prey. They were now in the high-risk dark zone of the hunting grounds, where dark race warriors began to appear in groups. They were not mindless beasts and would gather in teams, ready to hunt the humans in return.
This was the danger of the spring hunt. When dark race warriors appeared in groups, lone aristocratic warriors found it difficult to resist. Thus, most wisely stayed in the areas with sixth-level beasts, avoiding the dark zone, where the risk was far lower. Without special reasons, no one would venture so deep. This was the exclusive territory of noble families, where the gap in achievements and the honor of the family name truly began to show.
Zhao Junhong was no ordinary hunter. When five dark race warriors appeared before him, he immediately drew his gun. Two silver flashes from the muzzle blew apart the upper bodies of two werewolves. Then, the second young master of the Zhao family put away his gun, drew his blade, and charged towards the remaining three warriors!
A fierce battle ensued!
In a blink, the three werewolves were covered in wounds, while Zhao Junhong also gained several scratches, two of which pierced through his armor, leaving long, bloody gashes.
Just as Zhao Junhong was about to finish off the three werewolves, the sound of the Eagle Strike echoed through the mountains again!
One werewolf was suddenly flung out, causing Zhao Junhong to pause. By the time he recovered, the second werewolf was also blasted away!
Zhao Junhong finally realized what was happening and quickly slashed the last werewolf.
Five sixth-level werewolves, totaling over three hundred points. They were essentially all killed by Zhao Junhong, confirming his reputation as one of the Zhao family’s powerful fourth sons. But if you looked at the points, Qian Ye had taken a significant portion, making Zhao Junhong feel like a heavy stone was pressing against his chest, suffocating him.
He strode forward, facing the empty mountain and dense forest, and roared, “Qian Xiaoye! Come out! I, Zhao Junhong, am here. Do you dare to fight like a man? Are you only capable of using the Eagle Strike? If so, shoot! Aim here!”
The mountains remained silent, with only Zhao Junhong’s roar echoing.
Two werewolves lay dead near Qian Ye, but he did not drink their blood, as he felt a constant, lingering gaze upon him. Drinking beast blood was normal, but drinking werewolf blood was not.
Hearing the cursed name “Qian Xiaoye,” Qian Ye’s face darkened, then he ignored it, calmly injecting himself with a stimulant. After recovering some of his power, he sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
During the spring hunt, the core disciples of the noble families had special protection, a clear red line written in the rules.
Based on what Qian Ye observed of the second young master of the Zhao family, a direct shot might not cause much damage unless it hit a vital spot. Moreover, if Qian Ye truly harbored such murderous intent, the surveillance force arranged by the Wei State Duke would intervene. These were the rules of the spring hunt.
Zhao Junhong roared and shouted for a while, feeling it was pointless, and started walking aimlessly along the ridge. Suddenly, his pupils contracted as he saw Qian Ye strolling a thousand meters away, moving parallel to him.
Qian Ye was clearly intending to stick with Zhao Junhong, taking advantage of the Eagle Strike’s powerful, long-range, and superb sniping skills to interfere whenever there was prey. Past records showed that he had a high chance of stealing the prey from Zhao Junhong.
Qian Ye’s strategy was brutally clear: take advantage of your short-ranged weapon!
Zhao Junhong was momentarily at a loss, unsure of what to do. He couldn’t catch up, and he couldn’t overpower him in the hunt. Most importantly, with his status as the second young master of the Zhao family, he couldn’t run and escape Qian Ye, the persistent shadow.
Even if he humbled himself and ran, he likely wouldn’t shake off Qian Ye. At that point, people might comment: the great second young master, a seventh-level warrior, was chased away by a fifth-level opponent. How could he live with that?
From that day on, those watching the spring hunt rankings noticed something strange.
First, the Wei family, who had been surging forward, suddenly became sluggish, their ranking plummeting. They were soon overtaken by the Kong and Nan Gong families. It was said that the Wei family’s heir, alone, had defeated a seventh-level armored brown bear, but in doing so, he had been seriously injured and had to stay in the camp to recover.
Wei Po Tian’s team was extremely unbalanced, with only one tactic: Wei Po Tian would lead the charge, blocking all attacks, while the guards provided covering fire. This method was simple and efficient, but when Wei Po Tian overplayed it and was severely injured, the imbalance in his team became apparent.
Although Wei Po Tian’s behavior was consistent with his usual single-mindedness, few laughed at him. Powerful figures like the Wei State Duke actually appreciated him. To defeat a seventh-level iron-armored brown bear with his bare hands, demonstrating his Thousand Mountains had reached a certain level.
The Wei family’s secret technique, Thousand Mountains, was usually only mastered by those above the rank of war general. Yet, Wei Po Tian had developed the first layer of Thousand Mountains from the moment he ignited his first node. Over the years, he had progressed rapidly, proving his talent and potential. In the past six months, he had even advanced two levels, showing no signs of instability but instead a deeper understanding of Thousand Mountains. In this young man, one could see a glimmer of hope for a future marshal.
Compared to Wei Po Tian, although Nan Gong Wanyun and Kong Ya Nian performed well, their performance was merely satisfactory given their strength and background.
The Song family remained steady, staying between the fifth and sixth ranks. Song Zining, as rumored, seemed more interested in esoteric studies than in martial arts or governance.
Yin Qi continued to neglect her duties, enjoying the scenery and feasting. However, the Yin family’s score steadily rose, not only entering the top ten but also maintaining a strong upward trend.
The most surprising was the Zhao family. Starting from the fourth day, their daily scores dropped dramatically, each day lower than the last. Looking at the daily scores, the Zhao family had fallen out of the top five. If not for the large lead they had initially built, their first place would have been lost long ago.
Thus, the Zhao family’s score continued to decline, falling to less than a quarter of their original total by the seventh day. With the spring hunt halfway over, the various families should have seen a surge in points as they entered the dark race territories. By the seventh day, the Zhao family finally relinquished their first-place position, replaced by the Nan Gong family.
The instant the rankings changed, the entire duke’s residence erupted in discussion. People speculated that something unexpected must have happened to cause the Zhao family’s sudden decline.
Thus, a fifth-level, ultra-long-range sniper from the Yin family came into everyone’s view. The resume of Qian Ye, which Ji Yuanjia had deliberately shown to the seventh son of the Song family, was now in everyone’s hands, and they discussed it thoroughly. Of course, those who had attended the night banquet overlooked the fleeting appearance of Yin Qi’s companion.
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