"Haha, how could my Five Elements Sect miss out on such a grand occasion!" Just as the crowd was eagerly awaiting the start of the hunting competition, a deafening voice boomed from the horizon. A ball of red light then appeared, streaking across the sky like a meteor before crashing down in front of Jian Wuxin and the other two! Once the fiery light faded, a scruffy little old man stood before the crowd.

Seeing this little old man, the crowd below was speechless with exasperation. Jian Wuxin and Rose Fairy’s expressions also became a little unnatural, while He Yiming stared at him with outright disgust. However, the man paid no mind to their disdainful gazes. Instead, he sized up the participants below with great interest.

"Elder Huo, today is the day for us, the Three Great Sects, to select our disciples. What are you doing crashing the party?" He Yiming said, clearly displeased.

The scruffy old man glanced at He Yiming, picking his nose as he spoke, "I’m here to recruit disciples today, too. What, is that not allowed?"

Hearing the scruffy old man’s words, He Yiming sneered and said disdainfully, "Hmph, on what grounds? Your sect is a sect in name only. What do you have to offer potential disciples?"

He Yiming wasn’t wrong, and everyone in the crowd agreed. The Five Elements Sect was considered an oddity in the Southern Domain of the Xingluo Continent. It was said that all their disciples combined numbered fewer than the population of a small town. Even counting the Elders and the Sect Leader, they couldn’t even match the scale of a Minor Sect! Everyone knew that the smaller the Sect, the fewer its resources. Therefore, very few people would ever choose to join the Five Elements Sect for their Cultivation!

But strangely, this force that couldn’t even be considered a Minor Sect was shrouded in mystery! Why was it mysterious? Shen Haoran knew of two reasons. The first was that no one knew the true location of the Five Elements Sect! The second was the Five Elements Sect’s power. A first-rate family had once tried to annex them, but their entire clan was wiped out the day before they planned to act. The family members died in very strange ways: some were burned to death, some were drowned, some were impaled by sharp weapons... Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the Five Elements Sect was responsible! To be able to annihilate a first-rate family overnight showed just how terrifyingly powerful they were!

There were even rumors that the Five Elements Sect had once gone head-to-head with the Three Great Sects and managed to retreat completely unscathed! This added even more to their mysterious aura. As a result, countless Martial Artists wanted to join them! But later, disciples who had left the Five Elements Sect claimed that the Cultivation there was all a sham. They did nothing but light fires and cook meals all day, without receiving a single resource. The Sect was unbelievably stingy! When those aspiring Martial Artists heard that the Five Elements Sect didn’t distribute any cultivation resources to its disciples, they instantly lost all interest. Gradually, no one wanted to go anymore, and the Five Elements Sect’s terrible reputation spread. After all, Martial Artists joined Sects for their resources. What was the difference between a sect that didn’t provide resources and a good-for-nothing?

Hearing He Yiming’s words, the scruffy old man shot him a glance. He then rolled the booger he’d picked into a ball and flicked it right into He Yiming’s collar. Then, he sat down directly on the stage and said in a thuggish tone, "I said, you damn bird, why are you spouting so much nonsense? It’s none of your business whether I can recruit disciples or not. Just start your hunting competition. All this dawdling... you’re worse than an old woman!"

"You..." He Yiming’s face flushed red with anger at the old man’s words. The "damn bird" comment, in particular, infuriated him!

"Alright, Elder Huo is right. Let’s just get started," Jian Wuxin said with a frown. ’If I don’t step in and smooth things over, these two are probably going to start fighting!’ 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Hmph! I won’t lower myself to your level!" He Yiming huffed, flicking his sleeves.

At this, the scruffy old man rolled his eyes at He Yiming but didn’t bother with him further, busying himself with the wine gourd at his waist.

He Yiming ignored the old man and stepped forward. With a grand wave of his hand, hundreds of Tokens flew into the hands of the crowd! The participants caught the Tokens from He Yiming, their faces filled with confusion, not knowing what this meant.

"I’m sure you’re all curious about the Tokens in your hands. Remember this: they are your proof of identity in the hunting competition! They are also more important than your own lives! Next up is a three-day jungle hunt. Your objective is the Identity Token in your opponents’ hands. Three days from now, at this same hour, you will gather back in the square. The top ten with the most Identity Tokens will have a chance to gain the favor of the Three Great Sects! So, for the next three days, every one of you is a Hunter, and also the prey! For these three days, do your best to survive!" He Yiming announced in a loud voice.

"Oh, right. Given the excessive number of participants this time, I’ve decided on the spot that this hunting competition will have a special rule! Zuo Chuan, come out with your junior brothers!" He Yiming said coolly.

Hearing the name Zuo Chuan, Shen Haoran’s pupils contracted. His face turned cold as he stared at the man slowly emerging from behind He Yiming!

Zuo Chuan hadn’t changed much compared to two years ago, but his strength had increased significantly. Shen Haoran couldn’t sense his true power level. ’He’s definitely stronger than I am now!’

After appearing, Zuo Chuan’s gaze also landed on Shen Haoran. He was visibly taken aback when he sensed Shen Haoran’s power, but he quickly composed himself and shot Shen Haoran a look of utter disdain!

"Brother Haoran, is that Zuo Chuan?" Ji Lingxuan asked in a low voice, sensing the cold aura emanating from Shen Haoran.

"That’s him!" Shen Haoran nodded, his eyes locked on Zuo Chuan.

"Be careful of him. He has already broken through to Tier One Spirit General and is even on the verge of reaching Tier Two!" Ji Lingxuan saw through Zuo Chuan’s strength with a single glance! This came as a bit of a shock to Shen Haoran. ’For Ji Lingxuan to see through Zuo Chuan so easily, her strength must have recovered to the Spirit General Tier!’

However, learning Zuo Chuan’s strength didn’t surprise Shen Haoran all that much. ’As a genius disciple of the Spirit Crane Sect, he would have been wasting his life if he hadn’t broken through from a Tier Five Spirit Pupil to a Spirit General in two years!’ Shen Haoran’s heart now surged with fighting spirit. ’A Spirit General expert? Is that supposed to be so impressive? I’d like to test that!’

As Shen Haoran’s fighting spirit rose, He Yiming, on the stage, shot him a glance and then announced, "This time, my head disciple, Zuo Chuan, will participate in the hunting competition with his junior brothers. They will also be competing for Tokens. This is an excellent training opportunity for all of you. Seize it!"

"What! Disciples from the Spirit Crane Sect are participating too?"

"Then what’s the point? The Spirit Crane Sect’s disciples are so strong. How are we supposed to have any chance of keeping our Tokens from them!"

"Exactly! Isn’t this just deliberately making things difficult for us?!"

As soon as He Yiming finished speaking, a wave of disgruntled voices rose from below the stage!

"Silence! These are the rules. If you don’t want to participate, then get lost!" Zuo Chuan shouted scornfully at the murmuring crowd below!

At Zuo Chuan’s sharp roar, the crowd below fell silent. No one was willing to leave. Everyone wanted to try their luck. What if they got lucky? It was a chance to enter one of the Three Great Sects!

"Elder He, may I ask if we are allowed to take the Identity Tokens from the Spirit Crane Sect’s disciples?" Amidst the silence, a clear voice rang out. Hearing this, everyone turned their gazes toward the speaker! It was none other than Shen Haoran!

"Heh, if you have the ability, be my guest! But that’s assuming you can even survive an encounter with us!" Zuo Chuan said cruelly, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Haha, so that means we can! In that case, you senior brothers had better prepare yourselves. Don’t get so thoroughly humiliated that you become a laughingstock!" Shen Haoran said with a grin.

"Hmph! I’ll be waiting for you!" Zuo Chuan snorted coldly and retreated behind He Yiming.