"The Cyan Mountain City Hunting Competition officially begins now!" He Yiming announced loudly after a glance at Shen Haoran.

As He Yiming’s voice faded, everyone in the square put some distance between themselves. According to the rules, anyone present could be an enemy, so they had to be on guard.

Shen Haoran felt several gazes land on him, the most prominent being from Ge Jian of the Ge Family. Ge Jian was staring at him with a sinister expression. When their eyes met, he raised his Treasure Sword and pointed it straight at Shen Haoran’s nose, his provocative intent couldn’t have been more obvious.

However, Shen Haoran paid him no mind. He gave him a single, indifferent glance before looking away toward the Liu Family’s contingent.

At that moment, Liu Yu of the Liu Family was staring intently at Shen Haoran. The eager look on his face sent a shiver down Shen Haoran’s spine; anyone who didn’t know better might think he had some strange fetish. Still, Shen Haoran mentally marked him as a dangerous individual. He’d heard from Old Sir Shen that Liu Yu had left to train at the age of twelve. After six years, Shen Haoran refused to believe that a once-in-a-century genius of the Liu Family truly only possessed the strength of a Tier Nine Spirit Pupil.

There was another gaze, this one from Qing Hai of the City Lord’s Mansion. Qing Hai looked at Shen Haoran with an indifferent expression, betraying no emotion. But deep within his eyes, Shen Haoran saw something unusual—a hint of killing intent.

Shen Haoran was confused. He’d never had any dealings with Qing Hai, so why would the man want to kill him? After racking his brain for a while, he still couldn’t come up with a reason. He decided to drop it, giving Qing Hai one last indifferent glance before turning away. ’If he wants to kill me, we’ll just have to see if he’s got what it takes!’

After scanning his surroundings, Shen Haoran couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. But aside from those few individuals, he couldn’t spot anyone else who seemed to bear him ill will.

’Is it my imagination?’ Shen Haoran frowned and scanned the area again, but still found nothing out of the ordinary.

’Am I just being too paranoid?’ Shen Haoran shook his head with a wry smile. It was only today that he realized just how many enemies he had. Ge Jian of the Ge Family, likely holding a grudge over the incident with Ge Yan two years ago; Qing Hai from the City Lord’s Mansion, an enemy for no apparent reason; and the powerful Spirit Crane Sect. The thought of it all gave Shen Haoran a headache. ’Looks like the next few days are going to be tough.’

But Shen Haoran wasn’t the least bit afraid. These were things he’d have to face sooner or later. ’I’ll just treat them as stepping stones on my path to power. I’ll take them all down, one by one!’

"All contestants, enter the hunting grounds now!" At He Yiming’s shout, the participants below began running toward the mountain forest outside Cyan Mountain City. The first to arrive could find an advantageous position to set up an ambush or defense—a clever strategy.

"Let’s go, too," Shen Haoran said to Ji Lingxuan, and they began to walk leisurely toward the jungle as the last of the contestants hurried ahead.

Having spent most of the past two years away in the wilds, jungle combat was second nature to Shen Haoran. He felt no need to rush for a favorable position. After all, in the face of absolute strength, such things were meaningless.

"Brother Haoran, what’s our plan? Do we just start robbing people?" Ji Lingxuan asked excitedly. She seemed very interested in this "game."

"Silly girl, with this many people, how long would that take? Relax. Someone will do the robbing for us," Shen Haoran said mysteriously, patting Ji Lingxuan on the head.

"Someone will do it for us?" Ji Lingxuan asked, confused.

"You mean... those disciples from the Spirit Crane Sect?" Ji Lingxuan, being clever, immediately understood.

"Exactly. Our targets are the Spirit Crane Sect disciples. We’ll rob every single one we find," Shen Haoran said, his gaze turning profound as he stared into the depths of the jungle. ’Since the Spirit Crane Sect is plotting against me, I might as well strike first.’

With their target decided, Shen Haoran and Ji Lingxuan began to stroll casually through the jungle. They talked and laughed along the way, treating it less like a competition and more like a vacation.

"Halt!" Suddenly, a cold shout rang out from behind them.

Shen Haoran stopped and turned around. A burly man holding two hammers was staring lecherously at Ji Lingxuan, a trickle of drool escaping the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Shen Haoran shifted his position slightly to block Ji Lingxuan from view. He was disgusted by the man’s lecherous stare.

Once Ji Lingxuan was shielded, the big man snapped out of his stupor. Wiping the drool from his mouth, he yelled, "Hey, pretty boy! Leave your Identity Token and the lady, and I’ll let you live!"

’Great, another one of *these* guys,’ Shen Haoran thought. He figured the brute couldn’t sense his true strength and assumed he was an easy target because of his age.

Shen Haoran glanced back at Ji Lingxuan with a helpless look. Another one captivated by her beauty. Seeing his expression, Ji Lingxuan just spread her hands, shrugged, and playfully stuck out her tongue. Her big, innocent eyes seemed to say, ’It’s not my fault!’

Seeing her adorable display, Shen Haoran sighed and turned back to the big man, shaking his head.

"Kid, you looking to die? You wanna play the hero, but you got the skills for it? If you know what’s good for you, get out of the way, or my hammers will—" Seeing Shen Haoran shake his head, the big man began to curse. But before he could finish, Shen Haoran vanished. He reappeared in an instant, right in front of the brute.

THUD! With a muffled impact, the big man’s body bent into an arc before he was sent flying backward like a cannonball.

"You talk too much," Shen Haoran said, exhaling lightly as he looked at the man, who was already unconscious from the single blow.

Shen Haoran searched the unconscious man for a moment before pulling an Identity Token from inside his robes. He then ignored the man and, taking Ji Lingxuan’s hand, continued on their way.

To Shen Haoran’s exasperation, they were stopped several more times along the way, always by men drawn to Ji Lingxuan. Finally fed up, Shen Haoran found a wide-brimmed conical hat and placed it on her head. After that, things became much quieter.

With no one else blocking their path, Shen Haoran and Ji Lingxuan picked up their pace and soon reached the heart of the forest. Just then, the sounds of a fight reached their ears.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

"Someone’s there?" Ji Lingxuan whispered, looking ahead.

"Shh!" Shen Haoran made a hushing gesture. He pulled Ji Lingxuan along as they crouched and crept forward, soon reaching the edge of the clearing where the fight was taking place.

In the middle of the battle, two disciples in Spirit Crane Sect attire were staring playfully at a group of five people opposite them. The five were covered in wounds, and one had even lost an arm. They looked utterly wretched.

"Those are people from the Liu Family," Shen Haoran recognized them instantly. Only members of the Liu Family wielded their swords with their left hands.

"Senior Brothers of the Spirit Crane Sect, here are our Identity Tokens. We withdraw from the competition," the lead Liu Family disciple said, presenting their tokens. Looking at their condition, it was clear they couldn’t fight anymore. If this went on, people would die. Their lives were more important than the resources offered by the Three Great Sects.

"Tsk, tsk. Who said we wanted your Identity Tokens?" one of the Spirit Crane Sect disciples sneered, looking at the Liu Family group.

"What do you mean? What are you trying to do?" the lead Liu Family disciple asked with a frown.

"Haha! What are we trying to do? We’re just trying to have some fun!" one of the Spirit Crane Sect disciples said. His gaze shifted past the lead disciple to the only female Martial Artist in their group, his lustful intent completely unconcealed.

Realizing their intentions, the lead Liu Family disciple moved to shield the female Martial Artist, saying coldly, "The Spirit Crane Sect is a Major Sect. Aren’t you afraid of dishonoring its reputation with your actions?"

"Reputation? If you’re all dead, who’s going to know?" the other Spirit Crane Sect disciple retorted with a cold laugh.

"You..." The lead Liu Family disciple’s heart sank. ’They’re going to kill us to silence us!’

"Haha, come here, sweet thing! Keep me happy, and maybe I’ll let these pathetic worms go," the Spirit Crane Sect disciple cackled as he lunged toward the female disciple.

Seeing the menacing disciple charge at her, the female Martial Artist’s face went pale with terror, and she collapsed to the ground.

WHOOSH! Just as the Spirit Crane Sect disciple was about to grab her, the sound of something slicing through the air echoed. A tree branch, moving like a Sharp Arrow, shot past his face. If he hadn’t reacted so quickly, it would have pierced right through him.

"Who’s there?!" Furious at being interrupted, the Spirit Crane Sect disciple bellowed toward a large, ancient tree nearby. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Tsk, tsk. I never knew the disciples of the Spirit Crane Sect were all such animals in human clothing. This has really been an eye-opener," Shen Haoran said with a grin, hopping down from the tree in response to the disciple’s shout.

"It’s you!"