Chapter 51: A Hundred Thousand for the Bounty
Inside the hall.
The old man in white stared blankly at the crystal in his hand.
Could there be something wrong with the crystal?
It shouldn’t be possible!
His mind full of doubts, he walked to the altar, stretched out his withered hand, pressed it on the crystal, and closed his eyes in concentration.
Buzz!!
The crystal trembled, not once, but three times in total.
“I have third-level spiritual power. There is nothing wrong with this crystal!”
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, his confusion replaced by fury!
His aged face began to twitch.
Since the crystal was fine, there was only one explanation—he had been deceived by that boy.
“You little rascal, you won’t get away with this!” he gritted his teeth, seething with anger as he dashed toward the main doors.
“Old Feng, what on earth is going on?” Luo Xiong grabbed him, face full of bafflement.
“That boy just now possesses ninth-level spiritual power!” the old man in white blurted out, shoving Luo Xiong aside and rushing out of the grand hall.
“What?” Luo Xiong was dumbfounded.
When he had first arrived, he thought Qin Feiyang had done something foolish to offend the old man before him, which was why he treated the youth so roughly.
When he'd heard the old man mention ninth-level spiritual power, he’d assumed it was a joke—but now, astonishingly, it was true!
Luo Xiong hastily caught up, grabbing the old man again with a serious look. “Old Feng, this is no joking matter. Tell me honestly, does he really possess ninth-level spiritual power?”
“I can tell you with absolute certainty—he truly possesses ninth-level spiritual power!” the old man declared.
Luo Xiong shuddered, his eyes flashing with sharp light. He whispered, “Old Feng, no matter what, we must make him join the Pill Hall. And this information—only you and I must know. Not a third soul!”
“Cut the nonsense, if we don’t go after him now, he’ll escape.”
The old man gazed down anxiously.
Below, Qin Feiyang was running down the street as if fleeing for his life.
“Don’t worry, he can’t get away!”
“Jiang Haotian, stop right there!” Luo Xiong shouted, leaping from the pinnacle, landing steadily on the ground.
Qin Feiyang’s expression changed. He quickened his pace, darting into the crowd.
“What’s going on?” The passersby were utterly confused.
“He’s still trying to run!”
Luo Xiong’s face darkened with anger. “Whoever stops him, the Pill Hall will reward with a thousand Spirit Gathering Pills!”
At those words, the entire street was in an uproar!
“Get him!”
“Stop him!”
The spectators, previously just watching the commotion, now surged toward Qin Feiyang with newfound zeal.
“Is this really necessary?” Qin Feiyang gave a wry smile. He activated his Cloudstep Technique, weaving through the crowd as though no one was there.
“This kid is slippery!”
“Let’s form a line—don’t let him escape!”
A dozen people linked hands, forming a human barrier ahead.
“Let’s see how you run now,” Luo Xiong sneered from behind.
Qin Feiyang glanced at the group, then back at the rapidly approaching Luo Xiong. His brows furrowed. With all his might, he stamped on the ground and vaulted onto the rooftop, fleeing without a backward glance.
“Boy, don’t run!” Luo Xiong’s face shifted. Battle energy surging, he too leapt onto the roof.
But when he looked around, Qin Feiyang was nowhere to be seen.
“Is this kid sprouting wings?” Luo Xiong frowned.
The old man in white hurried over, looking up to ask, “Hall Master, where is he?”
Luo Xiong scanned the area again, then jumped down, landing before the old man and shaking his head. “He’s too slippery—gone without a trace.”
“At least you’re a One-Star Battle King, yet you still lost him? Useless!” The old man jabbed his finger at Luo Xiong’s nose, cursing so vehemently his entire body trembled with rage.
“Old Feng, I’m still the Pill Hall’s master. Do you have any sense of propriety?” Luo Xiong’s eyes flashed with irritation, though he was also rather embarrassed.
“I don’t care. If we don’t find him today, I won’t let you off!” the old man declared, then marched into a narrow alley to search alone.
“Ugh, headache,” Luo Xiong muttered, rubbing his temples. He glanced at the surrounding crowd and shouted, “The reward is now raised—whoever finds Jiang Haotian gets twenty thousand gold coins!”
“Twenty thousand!”
“What kind of heinous crime did Jiang Haotian commit at the Pill Hall?”
“Who cares—that’s twenty thousand gold coins! I must find him!”
The crowd scattered in a frenzy, searching the city with feverish excitement.
...
“The royal bounty is only ten thousand, but now the Pill Hall offers twenty thousand. The Pill Hall truly has better judgment than the royal family, wouldn’t you agree, Brother Wolf?” Qin Feiyang hid inside an old castle, grinning at the Wolf King.
The Wolf King bared his fangs in approval.
“Oh, right.” Qin Feiyang slapped his forehead, took out a Beast Spirit Pill, and held it to the Wolf King’s mouth. “I keep my word—this Beast Spirit Pill is yours.”
The Wolf King’s eyes lit up. Without hesitation, his tongue flicked out, swallowing the pill.
Qin Feiyang held his breath, anticipation rising.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the Wolf King’s entire body erupted in dazzling white light.
But soon the glow subsided.
“At last... I can speak...”
The next moment, a hesitant, excited, somewhat awkward voice echoed in Qin Feiyang’s mind.
But why did the voice sound so odd?
Qin Feiyang frowned. “Was that you speaking to me?”
“Of course—who else is here besides me?” the Wolf King rolled his eyes.
“Haha...”
Qin Feiyang stared at the Wolf King in astonishment, then burst out laughing.
He’d expected the Wolf King’s voice to be deep and fierce.
Instead, it was completely the opposite—not the least bit fierce, but childlike, like a boy of seven or eight. It clashed utterly with his savage appearance, shattering the image Qin Feiyang had of him.
Imagine it—a child’s voice emerging from a hulking adult; how absurd and outlandish!
Seeing this, the Wolf King’s veins bulged as he scowled, “Shut up! If you keep laughing, I’ll lose my temper!”
“It’s not my fault! Look at you—your appearance is ferocious enough to make any child cry, but your voice...why is it so funny? Did something go wrong with the Beast Spirit Pill? Hahaha...”
Qin Feiyang couldn’t stop laughing, doubling over.
“Awoo!” The Wolf King had enough and lunged at Qin Feiyang’s arm.
“You’re really going to bite?” Qin Feiyang turned pale, dodging quickly.
“Go on, laugh again!” The Wolf King narrowed his eyes mischievously.
“I won’t, I won’t...” Qin Feiyang waved his hands, his face flushed red from holding back.
The Wolf King rolled his eyes and sighed, “A long time ago, I wanted a Beast Spirit Pill, but as a handsome and mighty wolf, I never dared to venture into a human city. Little Qin, thank you.”
Qin Feiyang’s mouth twitched.
“Handsome” and “mighty” didn’t seem to fit a wolf at all.
The Wolf King rose on his hind legs, clapped Qin Feiyang on the shoulder, and grinned. “Little Qin, to repay you, I’ll look after you from now on.”
“Mm.”
Qin Feiyang nodded.
But the next moment, he reacted, fuming, “What’s that supposed to mean? I need your protection? And stop calling me Little Qin—just by your voice, I can tell I’m older than you. You should call me ‘big brother,’ understood?”
“Psh, who do you think you are? When I was roaming the mountains, you were still in diapers!” the Wolf King scoffed.
“Shameless,” Qin Feiyang said with disdain.
He estimated that from birth until now, the Wolf King was only a few years old at most.
Which meant, when he was famous in the imperial capital, the Wolf King hadn’t even been born!
“Awoo!” the Wolf King snapped at him again.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
“Awooo!”
“Wolf brat, let go!”
“Awooo!”
“If you don’t, I’ll beat you up!”
“Awooo!”
“This is your last warning, don’t push your luck!”
“Awooo!”
“Damn it, you ungrateful wolf. Just because I’m not angry, you think I’m weak? Take this!”
...
After their squabble, man and wolf each settled down to cultivate.
Outside, chaos reigned.
Luo Xiong’s twenty-thousand gold bounty for Qin Feiyang was now the talk of the town.
The people of Black Bear City were searching for him like madmen.
His inn was quickly discovered, and the old man in white stationed himself there, waiting to catch him.
That very afternoon, Luo Xiong raised the bounty to thirty thousand!
The next day, it increased to forty thousand!
Eventually, Luo Xiong offered a staggering one hundred thousand gold coins!
Even the three great clans were alarmed.
Mu Fei and Jiang Wei personally led their clan’s Martial Lords in searching the city.
They believed Qin Feiyang had offended the Pill Hall and was being hunted by Luo Xiong, seeing this as a chance for revenge.
But an entire month passed, and not a soul found any trace of Qin Feiyang. He seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.
Inside the old castle.
Qin Feiyang’s hand paused.
At the same time, the iron-bound book flashed with dazzling light.
After a month of tireless copying, consuming a full eight thousand Spirit Gathering Pills, Qin Feiyang had finally inscribed the third stroke!
His cultivation had also increased to Four-Star Martial Master.
He withdrew his hand.
Gazing at the character “Return” on the iron book, his eyes sparkled.
Three strokes remained.
Once completed, he would truly master the Return Technique!
Returning what one receives, a taste of one’s own medicine!
The thought of the terrifying power of the Return Technique filled him with excitement.
Exhaling deeply, he closed the iron book and bowed his head, frowning slightly.
If his memory served, outside the Treasure Pavilion, the heads of the Jiang and Mu clans had mentioned something about the “Hunting Tournament.”
Judging by their tone, the Hunting Tournament seemed to carry some special significance.
Seeing that the Wolf King was still cultivating, Qin Feiyang left the castle and climbed onto a rooftop.
“Huh?”
He lay low on the roof, concealing himself as he surveyed the surrounding streets, a look of suspicion gradually dawning in his eyes.
At this moment, the sun was already high in the sky.
Normally at this hour, the streets would be bustling with people.
Yet now, as far as the eye could see, there were barely any people about. Even the ubiquitous street vendors had seemingly disappeared.