Under the night sky, the Lin Yuan City Government Office was brightly lit.

In the spacious clearing of the rear courtyard, the Martial Artists who had participated in the hunt were returning one after another, but the atmosphere was exceptionally strange and oppressive.

Most of them were injured, their faces etched with the terror and exhaustion of having narrowly escaped death.

A few of the weaker disciples were even paler, their gazes unfocused, clearly still trapped in the shadow of the day’s bloody battle.

Xiong Hui stood alone in a corner, his face sullen, keeping a distance from everyone else.

His expression was livid. The once-impressive Martial Arts Hall Disciple’s Robe he wore was now tattered and torn, caked with mud and dried blood.

He didn’t dare to meet anyone’s eyes, because the few disciples he had abandoned—who had miraculously survived—were staring daggers at him. Their gazes, a mixture of fury, venom, and contempt, looked as if they wanted to skin him alive.

If looks could kill, he would have died a thousand times over by now.

"Xiong Hui! You treacherous scoundrel! You still have the nerve to show your face!"

The tall, thin man finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. He pointed a finger at Xiong Hui’s face and began to curse, his voice hoarse with rage.

"If we hadn’t been so lucky, we would have all died because of you today!"

"Pah! ’Number one in the Stone Skin Realm’? What a load of crap! You’re nothing but a coward who’s afraid to die!"

The other survivors chimed in, unleashing all their pent-up fury and resentment.

Xiong Hui’s face alternated between pale and livid, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. But he couldn’t utter a single word in his defense.

Betraying and abandoning one’s companions was the most despicable act in the Jianghu.

’Once word of what happened today gets out, my reputation in the Lin Yuan City Martial Arts Realm will be utterly ruined!’

"Everyone, be quiet!"

Liu Hai walked out from one of the rooms, his brow furrowed. His voice carried an authority that could not be questioned.

"Settle your grudges elsewhere! This is the Government Office!"

Seeing Liu Hai, the crowd, though reluctant, sullenly fell silent. However, their murderous glares remained fixed on Xiong Hui.

Liu Hai scanned the people in the courtyard, his frown deepening.

"Why are so many people missing? Where’s Jiang Che? Hasn’t he returned yet?"

"Chief Liu," Yin Yingying stepped forward, her face etched with anxiety. "Jiang Che said he was going to look for Xiong Hui and the others, but... they’re all back, and there’s still no sign of him. You... did any of you see him?"

She looked toward the disciples who had escaped the beast pack.

Hearing her question, they all shook their heads blankly. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The tall, thin man said with lingering fear, "We were surrounded by a pack of beasts and were on the verge of being wiped out when a mysterious, black-armored monster suddenly appeared. It was incredibly powerful and drew all the Black Beasts away. We seized the chance to escape... We never saw Jiang Che at all."

"A black-armored monster?" Liu Hai and Li Rushan exchanged a confused glance.

"Yes! The monster was two meters tall and clad entirely in black armor. It could kill a Stone Skin Realm Black Beast with a single punch! It was... it just wasn’t human!" another disciple added, his tone filled with awe and fear.

Yin Yingying’s heart tightened at his words, and her face turned pale.

"Then... then Jiang Che... he didn’t run into that monster, did he?"

The dark, skinny youth and the female disciple beside her also looked worried.

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts and the atmosphere in the courtyard grew heavier, a slightly weary voice came from the entrance to the rear courtyard.

"Excuse me, coming through."

Everyone turned toward the sound. They saw a young man covered in blood and mud, slowly walking toward them with two large, bulging cloth sacks on his back.

It was Jiang Che.

"Jiang Che!"

"Senior Brother Jiang!"

Seeing Jiang Che return safe and sound, Yin Yingying and her two companions were overjoyed and rushed to greet him.

The others in the courtyard were also stunned, especially when they saw the two sacks on Jiang Che’s back, which looked ready to burst at the seams. They were shocked into silence.

"You... you... Where did you get such a haul?"

Someone couldn’t help but stutter the question as they stared at the countless Black Beast ears poking through the fabric of the sacks.

Jiang Che threw the two heavy sacks on the ground, where they landed with two heavy THUDS.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, feigning confusion:

"I have no idea. I was following the path to find you, but I didn’t see anyone. Instead, I found the ground littered with Black Beast corpses, all with their ears still attached. I figured it would be a waste to leave them, so... I just cleaned up a bit."

"Cleaned up?"

"Littered with corpses?!"

Everyone stared at each other, their expressions a priceless mixture of shock and disbelief.

The tall, thin man pressed him, "Then... did you see the Black-armored Giant?"

"What giant? I have no idea what you’re talking about!" Jiang Che shook his head, the picture of innocence, playing dumb.

At that, everyone was at a loss for words.

’We fought for our lives and barely escaped, and in the end... this kid, Jiang Che, just waltzes in and reaps a massive windfall!’

’How could anyone be that lucky?!’

Jealousy, envy, indignation... A storm of emotions surged through them, their faces turning pale and red by turns.

Xiong Hui, in particular, looked from the two massive sacks of spoils to the pitiful few ears in his own bag and was so furious he almost spat blood.

’I schemed and plotted, even sacrificed my own reputation, and for what? After all that work, it was all for someone else’s benefit!’

Jiang Che ignored the crowd’s complicated stares. He dusted off his hands and walked straight toward Liu Hai.