Chapter 73: Chapter 72: You’re Too Weak (Part 2)

A few people who seemed to be at high Realms immediately followed.

The others saw this and trickled in after them.

Jiang Che sighed. ’Just as I thought. They don’t respect my authority.’

Yin Yingying, however, stuck by his side, looking a bit nervous.

"What’s the matter? Scared?" Jiang Che chuckled.

"Are you kidding me? Me? Scared?" Yin Yingying said, feigning toughness.

It was her first time hunting the legendary Black Beasts, and she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

"Don’t worry, just stick with me. As the captain, I’ll be sure to protect you," Jiang Che said.

He wasn’t even afraid of Iron Skin Realm Black Beasts anymore, so what were these Low Level Bull Skin and Stone Skin Realm creatures to him?

"Hmph! We’ll see who’s protecting who!" Yin Yingying retorted.

At first, everyone proceeded with caution. But after walking for some time without encountering anything, they gradually began to relax.

Suddenly, someone spotted three pitch-black, boar-like beasts to the front right.

"Black Beasts!" someone shouted.

Before the words had even left his mouth, a figure shot forward, striking the centermost Black Beast with a palm.

It was Xiong Hui.

The Black Beast took the palm strike to its head and was sent flying backward with a BOOM!

The creature struggled on the ground for a few moments, blood trickling from its mouth and nose, before it died.

Immediately, two others followed suit, each engaging one of the remaining Black Beasts.

All three Black Beasts were at the Bull Skin Realm. As for the three attackers, Xiong Hui was at the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm, and the other two were at the Late-stage of the Stone Skin Realm.

As a result, the Black Beasts were quickly dispatched.

They then used small knives to cut off the creatures’ ears, placing them in their personal preservation pouches.

"They can just do that?" Yin Yingying said, shocked.

’They were killed before I could even get a clear look?’

Jiang Che shook his head and called out.

"Fellow brothers, please try not to be so reckless next time. It would be bad if we ran into unexpected danger."

As their team captain, he felt it was his duty to offer a "reminder."

Xiong Hui sneered.

"Don’t think you’re some big shot just because Chief Liu made you a team captain. We’ll do as we please. What are you going to do about it?"

A tall, thin man beside him chimed in.

"To put it bluntly, these Black Beasts are just walking piles of silver. The Government Office isn’t usually this generous—ten silver for a Bull Skin Realm beast, fifty for a Stone Skin Realm one, and they even let us keep the Black Crystals!

"Doesn’t that mean it’s every man for himself? The spoils go to whoever can claim them. If you can’t, it just means you’re not strong enough. You can’t blame anyone else for that!"

Upon hearing this, the others exchanged glances.

"That’s right. The Government Office has never been this generous before. These Black Beasts must have destroyed the Noble Families’ farmland and ruined the harvest, so now they have to be dealt with," a short, stout man said.

"Besides, Stone Skin Realm Black Beasts used to be rare. If you wanted to hunt for Black Crystals, you had to go up into the mountains. But that’s not a casual stroll like this—you never know when you might run into some High Level Black Beast!" a man with sharp, unpleasant features replied.

"But... how are we supposed to compete with them?" asked a dark-skinned, skinny boy with a youthful face.

The group looked over. The three who had charged in first were also the three strongest among them.

Of the remaining members, only three were at the Mid-stage of the Stone Skin Realm; the rest were all at the Early-stage.

They immediately began to worry. If they couldn’t get a single kill, wouldn’t this whole trip be for nothing?

"Maybe more Black Beasts will show up later, more than they can handle. Then we’ll get our chance, right?" a female disciple suggested.

Just then, Xiong Hui pulled the other two high-Realm disciples from the Martial Arts Hall aside, whispered something, and then continued onward.

The others had no choice but to hurry after them, afraid they would miss the next Black Beast.

Jiang Che shook his head. He and these people were clearly not cut from the same cloth, and he couldn’t be bothered to say anything more.

The group continued deeper into the forest. The farther they went, the darker it grew.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, allowing only sporadic rays of sunlight to struggle through the canopy, casting mottled light spots upon the thick layer of fallen leaves below.

The air was thick with the mixed scent of rotting plants and damp earth. The only sound in the quiet woods was the RUSTLE of their feet on the dry leaves.

After about an hour of walking, they came to a fork in the path.

The path on the left was relatively wide, and the fallen leaves seemed to have been trampled frequently, faintly revealing it to be an animal trail.

The path on the right, however, was obscured by waist-high shrubs, looking much more overgrown and difficult to navigate.

"There are more tracks here. The Black-toothed Pigs must have gone this way!"

Xiong Hui pointed to the left path, his tone firm and his face wearing an expression of unquestionable arrogance.

The others nodded in agreement, thinking he had a point.

Jiang Che’s brow furrowed. The very instant Xiong Hui pointed to the left path, his Talent, Omen, activated without any warning!

A powerful sense of crisis washed over him, like thorns pricking his back. His skin tingled as if being stabbed by countless needles!

This feeling was several times more intense than when he had faced the Iron Skin Realm Blood Sacrifice alone!

’Something’s wrong... This path is extremely dangerous!’

Jiang Che’s heart went cold. He had no doubt that if their team went down that path, very few of them would make it out alive.

"Wait!" Jiang Che called out, stopping Xiong Hui just as he was about to set off.

"What is it? Does our great Captain Jiang have some brilliant insight to share?" Xiong Hui turned, crossing his arms and looking at him with a sneer.

Jiang Che ignored the taunt, pointed to the path on the right, and said in a low voice, "We’re taking the right path."

"Ha?" Xiong Hui reacted as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world. "The path on the right is completely overgrown. You can tell at a glance that no beasts go that way. We’re here to hunt, not for a scenic stroll! Do you get it or not?"

"I have a bad feeling about the left path. It’s too dangerous," Jiang Che said, his expression grim.

He couldn’t reveal anything about his Talent, so he could only pass it off as a gut feeling.

"Dangerous? There are so many of us, and we’re all masters in the Stone Skin Realm. What danger could there be?" Xiong Hui scoffed. "I think you’re just a coward! A coward for a captain... that’s hysterical!"

He scanned the crowd, then announced loudly, "I’m taking this path! Anyone who wants to hunt Black Beasts and earn rewards and Black Crystals, follow me! The rest of you cowards can stick with Captain Jiang! But don’t come crying to me when you end up empty-handed and regret it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two Martial Artists from the Late-stage of the Stone Skin Realm moved to stand behind Xiong Hui without a moment’s hesitation.

The others looked at one another, hesitating.

They glanced at the imposing and clearly more powerful Xiong Hui, then back at the calm-faced Jiang Che, whose Realm was only at the Early-stage.

After barely a moment’s hesitation, another five people from the remaining group silently walked over to Xiong Hui’s side.

’Of course...’

Jiang Che sighed internally. He had expected this outcome.

These people only trusted the strength they could see with their own eyes. It was only natural they wouldn’t respect a captain who, in their minds, had gotten his position through sheer "luck."

Now, only Yin Yingying remained by Jiang Che’s side.

She stood with her hands on her hips, pouting. Though she hadn’t moved, her eyes darted between Jiang Che and Xiong Hui, revealing her intense inner conflict.

Xiong Hui glanced at the sizable group now behind him, and the smug look on his face intensified.

He shot a mocking glance at Jiang Che. "See? Looks like everyone knows who to follow if they want to get a piece of the action!"

With that, he turned to lead his group away.

But when he looked back at the seven people following him, his brow furrowed.

"No, this is too many people."

He pointed a finger at the skinny, dark-skinned boy and another rather frail-looking female disciple in the group.

"You. And you."

His voice was ice-cold, laced with undisguised contempt.

"You two are too weak. When a real fight breaks out, you’ll just drag us down. Get lost!"

The faces of the two he had pointed out instantly flushed crimson with shame and anger.

The skinny boy’s lips trembled as if he wanted to speak, but after meeting Xiong Hui’s ferocious gaze, he swallowed his words and silently lowered his head.

The other female disciple first turned pale, then red with shame and fury, like a boiled shrimp.

Xiong Hui paid no mind to their feelings, waving a hand impatiently. "Go on, scram! Go join your coward of a captain. Don’t get in the way!"

With that, he led the rest of his group down the left fork of the path without a backward glance, their figures quickly vanishing deep into the forest.