TL: Etude
The Mo family had initially suspected the Shadow and a few other major clans as the culprits behind the murder. They never expected that the perpetrator would be a mere Martial Disciple. Consequently, no matter how much they investigated, their efforts were in vain. They couldn't find any leads.
The Shadow was already dead. How could they find someone who no longer existed? It could be said that as long as Ye Tian didn't deliberately reveal his Shadow Blade and the Shadow's unique abilities, the Mo family would never find him.
In the days that followed, Ye Tian practiced body cultivation techniques every day. He pretended to know nothing and kept a low profile for the time being. Meanwhile, the Linhai Base was in turmoil due to the death of Mo Shaobei.
The death of a mid-level cultivation talent had driven the Mo family to the brink of madness. They engaged in conflicts with several other families, resulting in many secret casualties. Only through the intervention of the Lin family, the strongest clan in Linhai Base, did the disputes end.
As time passed, the Mo family still couldn't locate the Shadow. They assumed that he had already fled from Linhai Base. Although they had to admit defeat, they didn't withdraw the bounty on the Shadow.
The moment the Shadow showed himself, he would face the Mo family's relentless revenge.
Ten days later, when Linhai Base had calmed down, Ye Tian prepared to leave for the vast wilderness to hunt ferocious beasts.
Only with enough beast blood could he quickly advance to the level of a Martial Warrior. Moreover, even after reaching that level, he would still need the aid of beast blood to enhance his strength rapidly.
Once he entered the wilderness, he wouldn't be able to return for a day or two. Therefore, he had to make arrangements with his younger sister.
Ye Tian fabricated a reason, claiming that the academy was taking a group of excellent students for closed-door cultivation and that he wouldn't be back for a while. His sister, not knowing any better, easily believed him.
This time, Ye Tian took two blades with him: the Shadow Blade for use when he was alone, and a newly purchased fine iron blade for use when in the presence of others. He also packed some essential supplies.
Once everything was ready, Ye Tian headed toward the exit of the base.
At the East City Gate, a group of soldiers were on patrol. These soldiers were mostly Martial Disciples, with only the squad leaders being Martial Warriors.
After all, Martial Warriors were esteemed figures and wouldn't be used for gatekeeping. In reality, the base had many Martial Disciple soldiers. If a beast attacked the base, they wouldn't have enough manpower to fend it off without recruiting a large number of Martial Disciple soldiers.
Being a soldier was one of the most promising careers in Linhai Base, although it was also risky. Countless soldiers died at the hands of beasts every year.
Ye Tian walked through the city gate and left. A soldier shook his head as he watched Ye Tian's retreating figure. "Another Martial Disciple hoping to get rich overnight. Does he think the wilderness is like the base? He'll be dead within a day."
Clearly, he thought Ye Tian was one of those Martial Disciples who risked their lives for money.
In fact, there were many such Martial Disciples. If they were lucky enough to find a beast corpse in the wilderness and bring it back, they could live comfortably for several years.
In the face of such lucrative profits, naturally, some Martial Disciples would take the risk.
...
The area within one or two kilometers outside the base was generally safe. Any beasts entering this area would have been killed by Martial Warriors long ago, unless it was during a beast tide, when many beasts would appear.
To hunt beasts, one had to go much farther.
Ye Tian's destination was a habitat of ferocious beasts—Xiao Qing Mountain.
It was said that a hundred years ago, Xiao Qing Mountain was just a small mountain range. But as the Earth expanded hundreds of times, the mountain range grew into a massive one, filled with towering ancient trees and densely populated by beasts. It had become a paradise for them.
"Rumor has it that deep within Xiao Qing Mountain, there are high-level beasts, and even entities beyond that. I wonder if it's true?" Ye Tian thought as he hurried along.
High-level beasts were terrifying creatures that only Great Martial Warriors could handle. Even an Elite Martial Warrior would find it difficult to escape from them.
Ye Tian's goal was not the depths of Xiao Qing Mountain; he merely wanted to stealthily hunt a few beasts on the outskirts. However, less than ten minutes after leaving the base and before even reaching Xiao Qing Mountain, he encountered a ferocious beast.
"Ironclad Bull!"
Ye Tian stared at the massive Ironclad Bull, which was three meters long, his expression serious. The Ironclad Bull was not a rookie beast like the Spotted Snake; it was a genuine low-level ferocious beast. Both its strength and defense far surpassed that of the Spotted Snake. Even an early-stage Martial Warrior would find it difficult to deal with.
Under normal circumstances, it would take several Martial Warriors to surround and kill this Ironclad Bull.
Holding his fine iron blade, Ye Tian activated his speed talent and aimed a Shadow Strike at the Ironclad Bull's neck.
Bang!
The fine iron blade seemed to hit steel; the Ironclad Bull's neck only showed a white mark, not even breaking the skin.
"This fine iron blade is of poor quality, and my strength is only 800 jin. I can't break through the Ironclad Bull's defense," Ye Tian lamented.
Immediately, he drew his Shadow Blade. It was much sharper than the fine iron blade and could at least break the Ironclad Bull's defense. Since no one was around, he wasn't afraid of revealing his identity.
"Kill!"
Ye Tian transformed into a series of afterimages, launching a series of attacks on the Ironclad Bull at an incredible speed. The Ironclad Bull wanted to trample Ye Tian to death, but speed was its significant weakness. It was much slower than Ye Tian and couldn't attack him at all.
After a minute-long series of relentless attacks, the Ironclad Bull finally fell to the ground.
Collect the beast blood!
Ye Tian took out a water bottle and collected a considerable amount of beast blood before stopping. As for the remaining beast blood, he left it behind.
It wasn't that he didn't want to collect it; he just couldn't carry any more. However, he did cut off ten jin of Ironclad Bull meat. It was said that the meat of the Ironclad Bull was of good quality and tasted excellent.
Continuing on...
An hour later, Ye Tian arrived at Xiao Qing Mountain. Along the way, he had faced several dangers, encountering small groups of beasts and even a very powerful beast once. He sensed the beast's formidable aura from a distance.
Each time, he found a dark place and entered his shadow state just in time to save his life; otherwise, he would have died at the hands of the beasts long ago.
He had now genuinely recognized the dangers of the wilderness. One could say that if you didn't move in a team in the wilderness, the chance of a dying was over 50%. Even a hunting squad could be wiped out if they weren't careful.
This was still near the base, where there weren't too many beasts. Farther away, the number of beasts was terrifyingly large, and they were even more potent. Even if all the Martial Warriors from Linhai Base were to go, they would be like sending food.
Ye Tian had heard from his parents that Linhai Base was just in a remote corner with few resources. Even powerful beasts didn't want to come here; otherwise, Linhai Base would have been destroyed long ago.
Upon arriving at Xiao Qing Mountain, Ye Tian didn't rush to hunt beasts. For now, he had already obtained a considerable amount of low-level beast blood and planned to cultivate for a few days before hunting again.
So, he looked around and finally found a hidden small cave to temporarily reside in.