Chapter 53: Seizing the Spoils of Battle

“Hm?” Qin Feiyang’s brows rose slightly. He turned to the youth in purple and smiled, “This is indeed my first time participating. Once we enter Black Bear Mountain, I hope you’ll look out for me.”

The strange youth said, “Looking out for you is unnecessary, but we could cooperate. What do you think? Care to consider it?”

“Cooperate?”

Qin Feiyang’s pupils contracted. This person clearly knew he had a feud with Jiang Wei and his companion, yet still sought to work with him. Was he not afraid of incurring their resentment?

“May I ask your name, brother?” Qin Feiyang inquired.

“Ling Yunfei, from the Ling family of Black Bear City.”

The youth spoke each word deliberately.

Qin Feiyang suddenly understood. So, he was from the Ling family—no wonder he wasn’t worried about offending Jiang Wei and his companion. But what puzzled him was the hint of gritted teeth when Ling Yunfei mentioned the Ling family of Black Bear City.

Just then, a crowd surged past them, led by a young man about twenty. Upon seeing Ling Yunfei walking with Qin Feiyang, he frowned and barked, “Ling Yunfei, hurry and keep up!”

His eyes betrayed a trace of disdain. Qin Feiyang caught it clearly, and his curiosity grew. These people were obviously Ling Yunfei’s kin—so why such looks?

Ling Yunfei glanced at Qin Feiyang, then at the nearby clansmen, a hint of struggle in his gaze.

“What are you doing?” “Hurry up!” two youths snapped impatiently.

Ling Yunfei trembled slightly. His gaze swept across the faces of his clansmen, seeing only contempt and scorn.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and looked at the leading youth. Shaking his head, he declared, “Ling Sheng, I won’t go with you. You all go ahead.”

“Hm?” Ling Sheng seemed surprised. He glanced at Qin Feiyang, thoughtful.

“Suit yourself.” With a casual remark, Ling Sheng marched off with the others.

“This useless fool really doesn’t know his place. He thinks he’ll get ahead by sticking with Jiang Haotian? Naive!”

“Just wait. Jiang Wei and Mu Fei won’t let Jiang Haotian off. The closer you walk with him, the quicker you court death.”

“Let him be. Without him dragging us down, our chances of winning are better.”

“That’s true. Finally rid of that dead weight. We should be happy.”

“Ha ha…”

The undisguised ridicule drifted to Qin Feiyang’s ears. He frowned, turned to Ling Yunfei, and saw the youth’s fists clenched, his gaze fixed on the receding clansmen. Those azure eyes were ablaze with boundless fury.

“So he’s a man with a story,” Qin Feiyang mused inwardly. After a moment’s thought, he patted Ling Yunfei’s shoulder and smiled, “I agree to cooperate with you.”

“What?” Ling Yunfei’s eyes flickered, staring at Qin Feiyang in disbelief. He thought, after hearing those words, Qin Feiyang would refuse. After all, who would willingly ally with someone others called useless? Yet, unexpectedly, the other agreed!

Qin Feiyang laughed, “Come, tell me about the rules of the competition and the purpose of this token.”

Ling Yunfei hurried after him, asking, “You’re not going to ask about my strength?”

“Why should I?” Qin Feiyang replied.

“If you don’t ask, how do you know I won’t drag you down?” Ling Yunfei frowned.

“Then tell me—will you drag me down?” Qin Feiyang asked.

“No,” Ling Yunfei shook his head, a trace of pride emerging between his brows.

“Then that settles it.” Qin Feiyang smiled, though he was puzzled inside. The pride Ling Yunfei revealed was familiar, much like his own—innate. Yet, why did Ling Yunfei hide it?

Such a straightforward answer left Ling Yunfei stunned. He shook his head, “You really are a strange one.”

“Aren’t you the same?” Qin Feiyang smiled.

“Me?” Ling Yunfei chuckled self-deprecatingly, composed himself, and explained, “The token in your hand is a life-saving charm. If you encounter danger you can’t escape, just crush it and a guard will come to your rescue shortly.”

“So that’s how it works.” Qin Feiyang muttered, fiddling with the token. “If the token is broken, does that mean the competition is over?”

“Exactly. Losing the token means you’ve lost the right to continue,” Ling Yunfei nodded.

“What if someone else steals your token?” Qin Feiyang asked.

“It doesn’t matter. You just have to snatch another one. But if someone has already crushed their token and given up the competition, and you kill them, the guards will execute you on the spot!” Ling Yunfei said meaningfully.

“Then just don’t give them a chance to crush their token,” Qin Feiyang remarked calmly.

“That makes sense.” Ling Yunfei laughed. This man was even more domineering than he expected. Cooperating with him seemed the right choice.

After half an hour, all participants had entered the mountains. Qin Feiyang arrived at the mountain’s edge and, gazing at the endless expanse, felt the dormant blood within him stirring awake.

“Indeed, battle is what I crave most! Only through constant fighting can I grow stronger!”

A moment ago, he seemed a meek lamb. But now he was like an awakened lion, his entire being exuding a fierce aura.

“Let’s go!” With a wave, he sped into the forest.

Ling Yunfei’s expression turned cold as he swiftly followed.

“He can keep up with me?” Qin Feiyang was surprised. He was moving at full speed—could Ling Yunfei also be a Four-Star Martial Artist?

“Interesting.” He smirked and launched into Smoke Step, quadrupling his speed instantly.

“So fast!” Ling Yunfei’s pupils contracted, desperately trying to catch up. Yet, not only did he fail to close the distance, he fell further behind.

A river cut across the woods. Qin Feiyang stood at its bank, watching the turbulent waters with bright eyes. Ling Yunfei was indeed a Four-Star Martial Artist. Judging by his age, no more than fifteen or sixteen, his talent surpassed even Lin Baili. Yet why did the Ling family call him useless?

After a while, Ling Yunfei finally caught up, panting, “Could you slow down? I can’t keep up with you at this pace.”

Qin Feiyang turned, ready to speak.

Boom! Splash!

Just then, the river erupted with a thunderous crash. A water python shot from the surface, as thick as a basin, raising a towering wave. Its venomous fangs gleamed as it lunged at Qin Feiyang.

The stench was nauseating!

“Look out!” Ling Yunfei’s face changed. He shoved Qin Feiyang aside and, with a loud impact, punched the python’s jaw.

Yet the result was Ling Yunfei coughing blood, thrown aside by the force! The python merely wobbled, then surged out of the water, charging at Ling Yunfei. Its narrow eyes glinted with icy malice.

“Beast, die!” Steadying himself, Ling Yunfei roared, dodged several times, and unleashed his energy, swinging his fist at the python’s vital spot.

Crack!

The scales at its weak point shattered!

The python wailed, crashing into the river and sending waves soaring.

Ling Yunfei took a few deep breaths and moved to Qin Feiyang’s side, saying gravely, “Beasts at the Martial Artist level are truly troublesome. Jiang Haotian, though this is just the mountain’s outskirts, there are many dangerous beasts and water creatures. Be careful from now on.”

However, Qin Feiyang seemed not to hear, his gaze fixed on Ling Yunfei’s hand.

The entire back of it was torn, bleeding profusely!

Ling Yunfei thought Qin Feiyang was worried, and smiled, “It’s just a minor injury. Don’t worry.”

Qin Feiyang said, “In that situation, you should have used a martial skill. If you had, you wouldn't be hurt.”

“Martial skill!” Ling Yunfei stiffened and shook his head. “I don’t have one.”

“How is that possible?” Qin Feiyang frowned. As a member of the Ling family, not having a martial skill was absurd.

“I truly don’t.” Ling Yunfei shook his head, leaping toward the opposite bank—clearly unwilling to dwell on the subject.

Boom!

At that moment, five water pythons burst from the river. Each was as thick as a basin, covered in gleaming scales.

“Damn!” Ling Yunfei cried in terror. Suspended midair, he couldn’t dodge and was about to become food for the beasts.

Qin Feiyang moved. He stomped hard and, with a thunderous sound, the ground sank. Using the force, he leaped up, landing above the pythons. Twisting midair, head down, feet up, he extended his arm, energy surging, and pointed rapidly at the pythons’ foreheads.

Hiss!

In the next moment, each python had a finger-sized bloody hole in its brow. Blood gushed like a spring, pain-filled cries echoed, and all five pythons plunged into the river, dying instantly.

The river was quickly dyed red with blood.

At the same time, Qin Feiyang grabbed the panicked Ling Yunfei and landed safely on the opposite bank.

“That was close!” Ling Yunfei patted his chest, shot Qin Feiyang a grateful glance, then turned to the river.

He couldn’t help but gasp.

These water pythons were all as powerful as Four-Star Martial Artists—killed in an instant? Was he dreaming?

He hurriedly looked at Qin Feiyang’s finger, and saw it was like ice crystal, shining brilliantly!

“This is Ice Crystal Finger, a pretty decent martial skill,” Qin Feiyang smiled, retracting his energy. The ice crystals on his finger faded.

“So this is the power of martial skills?” Ling Yunfei’s eyes shone with longing.

Qin Feiyang noticed, but remained silent, smiling, “Let’s go!”

Ling Yunfei quickly said, “Wait, we can ignore the pythons’ bodies, but we must collect the scales from their weak spot.”

“Why collect them?” Qin Feiyang frowned.

“You don’t know?” Ling Yunfei said, “That’s right, I haven’t told you. The hunting competition is about who kills the most beasts. Most are large, so you can’t carry many in your space pouch. Unless it’s a rare beast, people just take the most important part as proof. For water pythons, that’s the scale at their weak spot.”

Ling Yunfei explained, then prepared to enter the river to collect the scales.

“Just entered Black Bear Mountain and already hunted several water beasts—you two are pretty lucky!”

Just then, with a mocking voice, a dozen young men and women emerged from the forest behind. Each wore a cold smile.

Qin Feiyang’s brows furrowed. He glanced over the group—no need to ask, they were here to steal the spoils.