Chapter Eighty-Nine Return Journey

  After finishing a set of martial skills, Qin Hao put away his sword and converged his aura. He didn't care what others thought, but instead walked straight to Feng Yan's face and asked with a smile: "Now, have you seen clearly?"

  Feng Yan's mouth was wide open, his eyes were staring wildly, and he was stunned for a while, frantically nodding his small head.

  Qin Hao smiled and threw the sword over, Feng Yan hastily jumped up, caught the sword, inserted it into the scabbard, and held it in his arms, as if embracing a treasure.

  Qin Hao suddenly thought of another question, furrowed his brow and asked: "Just now when fighting the demon beast, why did I always use brute force to hold on without retreating?"

  This is a problem he can't figure out. An eleven or twelve-year-old boy, with such a fierce fighting style? Is this good or bad?

  "A real man must never retreat." Feng Yan puffed out his small chest and tapped it with his right hand: "This is what Father told me."

  When he said this, Feng Yan's spirit was high and his face was radiant, without any of the previous childishness. As if he also had the vigor of a grown man.

  Qin Hao's eyes gazed at Feng Ping, seeing the proud look on his face, and for a moment didn't know what to say. After a brief silence, Qin Hao took a few steps forward, shook his head and said: "A man is not unable to retreat, but cannot be let go."

  "Can't retreat? Can't let go?" Feng Yan tilted his head, a pair of eyes filled with deep confusion: "I don't understand what you mean."

  "You'll understand" Qin Hao didn't give him much explanation either: "Now go and put the Sharp Gold Bee away." He pointed to a place, dismissing Feng Yan.

  Feng Yan slapped his forehead, seemingly also extremely interested, and hastily ran over, waving his hands non-stop. With a stretch and a pull, he retrieved the corpse of a sharp golden bee.

  "This kid, you've taught him well." Qin Hao said with a tilt of his head, speaking to Feng Ping.

  Perhaps, Feng Yan's innate talent is not too high. Without mentioning others, just comparing with the current 14-year-old Qin Yu Xian, the six and ten peaks are also completely incomparable. Compared to Qin Hao's eighth peak of Condensing Mystery at the age of ten, it is far from comparable.

  However, his talent is not much worse than most people's.

  What is a true strong person after all? It's not just about possessing top-notch cultivation and grasping the ultimate battle skills, but still can't be called a strong person.

  A warrior, while possessing real power, must also have a strong and brave heart to grasp this power. The power is incredibly strong, but without a sufficiently firm heart to control it, it's like a child wielding a large hammer - the heavier the hammer, the more severely one's own body is injured.

  Although his strength was at its peak, he couldn't control it due to his unsteady mind and ended up backfiring on himself. Qin Hao had seen such examples many times before.

  Currently, the seal of flame is misunderstood in some ways. However, judging from the huge change in his demeanor and the way he held his sword before and after, as well as the fact that when facing the demon beast, his two small legs were trembling but he didn't retreat at all, it can be seen that at least, he has already possessed the courage, determination, and understanding of martial arts required to become a strong warrior, which is not much different from those with exceptional innate talent.

  Such a young man has already met the basic conditions for becoming a strong person. What's lacking is whether he can truly meet someone in the future who can lead him on a suitable path, or whether he can truly develop his own potential.

  "I've spent a lot of effort on him." A thick smile spread across his face as he gazed at Feng Ye with an extremely gentle gaze: "This kid is more promising than I was back then. He knows what his old man has done for him and is willing to work hard."

  "Hmm." Qin Hao also smiled and looked up for a moment before turning around and saying, "Let's stop here for today and head back to the Hunting Alliance." After finishing speaking, he led the way out.

  Feng Ping raised his head to gaze at the sky, a bright moon broke through the remaining sunset glow, countless starlight hung high in the vault of heaven. Unbeknownst to him, the sun had already set behind the mountains, and this outer area also gradually darkened.

  "Let's go." Feng Ping looked at him gathering his things and ran over to Feng Yan, waving his hand as he turned around.

  He hadn't walked many steps when Qin Hao suddenly stopped again. His gaze swept over and looked at the top of a certain large tree, his eyes burning intensely.

  Since he saved Feng Yan from just now, he felt that something was off. It seemed like a gaze had been focusing on him all along.

  But at this moment, the moonlight is slanting down, and the treetops are gently swaying in the occasional breeze. What else could be clearer than that?

  However, his intuition was rarely wrong. After years of fighting with others, once he was targeted by someone, he would naturally have a sense of foreboding in his heart.

  "What's wrong?" Feng Ping saw Qin Hao stop in his tracks and looked in the direction where Qin Hao was staring.

  "There's something off." Qin Hao raised an eyebrow, his gaze unwavering: "I keep feeling like I'm being watched?"

  "Really?" Feng Ping asked in surprise. But Qin Hao did this, and he couldn't help but focus his attention on the treetop, his eyes fixed tightly on it.

  "What's wrong? What's wrong?" Feng Yan ran over, panting, and seeing the two of them with such expressions, he also became curious. His eyes kept darting around in all directions.

  "It's all right. Let's go." Qin Hao smiled and turned around, taking a step forward.

  He had only walked a few steps when he suddenly turned his head back and looked in that direction. At this moment, the top of the tree was clear at a glance, and there was still nothing.

  "Was I just being paranoid?"

  Qin Hao shook his head, feeling quite helpless. The feeling that had never gone wrong for so many years suddenly appeared with a problem.

  Feng Ping saw Qin Hao's expression and didn't say much, quietly walking beside him. Feng Yan still had a childlike heart, hugging his sword and feeling the space filled with the ring, constantly letting out low chuckles.

  The rest of the warriors had long since dispersed, and the three of them also gradually walked out. The dense forest was quiet again. Occasionally, there were only clear insect sounds and faint calls from unknown beasts.

  Qin Hao originally looked in that direction, at the top of the treetops, a white figure appeared at some point.

  That white figure, in appearance, looked like a nine or ten-year-old little girl. The girl's long hair was a dazzling silver-white color, and she wore a moon-white long dress. Her pupils were an eerie silver-white color, with flashes of lightning-like silver light passing through from time to time. On the right cheek of the girl, there was a patch of striking bloodstain, and her two hands were covered in the crimson-colored blood of a monster, dripping down drop by drop, seeping into the ground through the gaps between the leaves.

  She stared in the direction where Qin Hao and the others had left, dazed and distracted. Her big eyes were extremely bright, but eerie, without even a hint of vitality, looking lifeless and gloomy.

  A nine- or ten-year-old girl, no matter how light she was, had a certain weight. However, at this moment, her feet were standing on a not-so-thick tree branch, yet she was extremely steady, without even the slightest sway...

  ***

  The three of them slowly walked back to Blackstone City. Unlike when they came, this time on the way back, the three were extremely comfortable. Feng Yan occasionally laughed and walked back and forth beside Qin Hao, chattering about something. Feng Yan would occasionally scold Feng Yan a few words, and Qin Hao would also occasionally retort with a few sentences. The three of them just happened to arrive at the city gate before it closed.

  After walking for a while longer, the three of them returned to the Hunter's Guild branch. The guild at night was ablaze with lights, looking very grand from afar.

  Three people stepped in unison and entered the hunting alliance. As soon as they entered, nearly a hundred gazes shot over.

  At this moment, there are a large number of warriors sitting in the Hunting Alliance. Many unfamiliar faces that Qin Hao had not seen before also appeared. Apparently, those warriors who went out to perform tasks earlier have returned to the Hunting Alliance.

  "Oh, you're back? I wonder how the harvest was?" Yang Qing's face suddenly showed a mixture of surprise and sarcasm as she saw Qin Hao's figure appear.

  Others also looked at him with some surprise, having heard that the Hunter's Alliance had a new registrant who could shatter the testing stone with one punch. They were curious about this person and now that they saw it was just this young man, their curiosity grew even thicker.

  To be frank, even if they are martial artists with four or five layers of spiritual aura, it's still very difficult for them to shatter the testing stone into powder with one punch.

  Qin Hao didn't bother with them, as if those gazes had no effect on him at all. He chose a position closer to the registration desk and sat down, quietly adjusting his breath.

  "Is it done?" Su Ya smiled lightly: "The harvest should be pretty good, right?"

  Qin Hao said lightly: "It's okay, I guess. The task should be basically completed."

  Su Ya nodded and turned to Feng Ping, "According to the rules, in terms of the payment method for divided prey, two-tenths of the hunted demon beasts belong to the Hunting Alliance. The remaining eight-tenths will be split between you two, is that okay?"

  Feng Ping pulled Feng Yan's hand and walked forward: "No problem, I know the rules. Feng Yan, take out the demon beast you hunted."

  Su Ya walked out from behind the long platform with a gentle smile, and rubbed Feng Yan's face, saying: "The demon beast you hunted can be placed over there." She pointed to the west side of the hall, where there was a raised area, usually used for handling demon beast corpses.

  Feng Yan took small steps and ran over, stretching out her right hand. The ring on her right hand lit up.

  "Hmph. A ring of this grade, how much space can it occupy?" Yang Qing snorted: "If the result of this hunt is just this, then the warriors of the Hunting Alliance are not worth much either."

  Some warriors' eyebrows were flat, looking at him carefully. Obviously, Yang Qing's words were not entirely correct, but he also had some reason.

  Feng Yan didn't care about other people's thoughts, and instead continuously poured Xuan Qi into the ring, muttering to himself: "First-tier intermediate demon beast Rockback Lizard, first-tier intermediate demon beast Doublehorned Beast, first-tier peak demon beast Wind Snake, first-tier high-grade demon beast Gold-eating Mouse..."

  Every time a name was called out, another beast's corpse appeared on the raised platform. Feng Yan continued to hold on, and the number of beast corpses on the raised platform also grew.

  "Are they all first-class demon beasts? That's right, safety first, hunting on the outside is indeed safer." Yang Qing's smile became even more radiant.

  A group of warriors with curious expressions remained unchanged, but their eyes couldn't help revealing a hint of disappointment. The Lingxuan Warriors had only hunted down first-tier demonic beasts, which didn't sound very impressive when spoken aloud.

  Feng Ping saw the crowd's reaction, feeling embarrassed in her heart. She wanted to say something to Qin Hao, but he closed his eyes and meditated, with a calm expression as if nothing mattered to him. Her embarrassment decreased slightly at this sight.

  "Ah, almost done." Feng Yanbao's mouth was dry and his tongue was parched. He wiped the sweat from his forehead: "There is one last kind of demon beast, a high-level demon beast, the Sharp Gold Bee."

  After finishing speaking, his left hand tapped on the ring, and the mysterious energy increased, pouring into it. The Void Crystal on the ring flashed suddenly.

  All the martial artists turned their heads away, they had lost much interest. If this was the achievement of the young man named Tian Lang in front of them today, then he wouldn't be a threat to them in the future.

  Surprisingly, this time the ring flashed for a long time, and after a moment, thousands of golden lights appeared at the same time and fell to the ground.

  "What's this?" Su Ya saw the dense golden light spots on the ground, her beautiful eyes widening: "You didn't stir up a nest of Golden Stinger Bees, did you?"

  "Hmm, since we've met, it's convenient." Qin Hao replied calmly.

  Those warriors who turned their heads also came back to their senses, with astonished eyes, and were shocked by the golden beehive. When they saw thousands of golden bee corpses on the ground again, they were even more surprised.

  If they could, they would rather face a second-tier intermediate demon beast equivalent to the fourth level of human spiritual power than face this first-tier advanced demon beast. Now this kid actually says it's just a coincidence.

  Awesome! This kid is fierce.

  Some warriors had the same idea in their minds at the same time. And Yang Qing's face turned black and red, like a chameleon.

  Qin Hao watched with amazement, this Yang Qing's face-changing technique was quite extraordinary, and he had seen it countless times. This skill was almost on par with that of the Fat Man!

  Su Ya was dazed for a moment, then quickly came back to her senses and ran forward to count the number of monsters.

  Some warriors couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. There must be several thousand Golden Stinger Wasps! Although the probability of a Golden Stinger Wasp carrying a Crystal in its body was low, even if it were one in ten, he would still have over a hundred Crystals.

  ***

  It's exam week, updates may be slower for the next few days. Sorry about that. I'll make up for it after these few days are over.