Hours had passed since the teams left the stadium. People had come out from their respective pavilions and intermingled with other factions.

“The harvest this year might not be enough to supply the needs of our City. Do you want to partner with me for a one-time stint in the food grain Business?”

“If your Sect’s industries provided the farm equipment, we would not have to wait for months to get them from that slow poke, Gu Dan!”

“The Silk production has decreased in Mulberry City. This has forced loom owners to look for alternatives like jute and linen.”

As Ikasa roamed with Xin Ruo, he could hear conversations like this happening everywhere they passed.

​ People were approaching acquaintances to earn profit together. Some strove to strike deals that were favorable to themselves, uncaring if it would harm others’ livelihoods.

There were also people who were exchanging news specific to their industry.

The borders of factions were blurred and all these elites cared about was earning profits and making connections.

Ikasa paid special attention to the talks about Cultivation resources. Unexpectedly, he found out that none of the two powers sold weapons and armors.

The Monstrous Flame Sect focused on the medicines and pills helpful for cultivation. After the Herb Garden declined, the Sect began to source the required herbs from other Cities.

The Hu Clan was more like a mercenary organization. Their men could be hired to protect the fields outside the City Walls, provide security to caravans, and adventure in the forests.

Whatever shops they had in the City, sold the spoils obtained during their adventures. It may be the animals they hunted, herbs and fruits, or even some ores.

The activities of these two powers were all in the public domain. After listening to people gathered, Ikasa had easily pieced together this information.

But he had no idea about their Cultivation Manual business.

‘Why do both the powers have the same Cultivation Methods for sale? And where did they come from?’

This question hounded him after he had agreed to aid City Lord in taking over Birch City’s Cultivation manual market.

The powers in question would probably not use Low-Grade cultivation methods. Even if they did, they were not foolish enough to sell the cultivation methods they used to the general public.

‘Did the Sect perhaps inherit the manual? Or did the Hu Clan find it during one of their adventures?’

His thought process was broken when Xin Ruo tugged at his sleeves and motioned him to listen. He paid attention to the two bourgeois gentlemen sneakily whispering to each other.

His auditory sense enhanced due to reaching Sense Realm let him eavesdrop on their conversation without attracting their attention.

“The Fourth Seat is taking this task of sourcing the Herbs?”

“Yes. You can rest assured. The Monstrous Flame Sect will have no dearth of herbs they need.”

“If not for the He family’s mediation, it would be impossible for the Hu Clan and the Monstrous Flame Sect to cooperate.”

“True. By the way, You should hurry and ask the Fourth seat to let you handle the logistics.”

“Hmph! I am already transporting precious goods like manuals. Who else will the Fourth seat assign the task to, if not me?”

Ikasa’s eyebrows rose. He quickly turned and dragged Xin Ruo away.

The two men had yet to realize that their conversation had been overheard.

“What’s the matter?” Xin Ruo asked once they were a sufficient distance away.

“The Monstrous Flame Sect and the Hu Clan are cooperating.”

Xin Ruo’s eyes widened as she looked worriedly at the Crystals placed at the Center. She was afraid for her father.

“Not that way. It is a business relationship. Some He Family orchestrated this. I want you to look into this He Family. Find out which City it belongs to and how they earn their coins.”

Looking in the direction of the two pavilions of his adversaries, Ikasa narrowed his eyes.

“If my guess is correct, this He Family is providing the Low-Grade manuals to the two powers.”

Suddenly, he heard a commotion from the pavilions. Zhen Ya came out and placed a hand on one of the Crystals. The image in the Crystal magnified and became holographic. It was so large that it could be seen by everyone in the stadium.

“Look, the team from Hu Clan has encountered their target!”

Someone shouted, and everyone’s attention was attracted to the marvelous scene above the Crystal.

In the scene, the team of 10 was stealthily surrounding the Boar. Unaware of the hunters, it was leisurely rubbing his tusks on the tree trunk to sharpen them.

The Spectators watched with excitement as the encirclement was completed without a hitch.

“I am telling you, the Hu Clan has lots of experience hunting beasts. They will win this tournament.”

“This is not any random animal! This is a Spiritual Condensation stage Beast! Has the Hu Clan ever hunted one?”

“It does not matter if it is a Spirit Beast! Our Clan Master has bestowed the Dragon’s Blood Saber upon the Second Seat just for this tournament. He will lop the head of the Boar before it can attack.”

Hearing the chatter of Hu Clan’s supporters, Ikasa shook his head and turned his attention to the screen.

Four people had taken out ropes with hoop knots on one end and advanced stealthily to tie the Boar. Others readied themselves to jump into action.

Tweak!

The sound of a twig breaking reached the Boar’s ears. They instantly perked up as it sensed unusual silence in the surroundings. It paused in mid-action and the black mane on its back straightened.

Figures of the approaching hunters tensed and their hearts thumped with trepidation. They stood still, not making a single sound or movement.

The Boar resumed sharpening its tusks after a few breaths but its ears were still raised, trying to detect any threat in the surroundings.

Yao Mao motioned to move forward with his Saber. The vanguards abandoned stealth for speed and jumped out, their ropes flinging.

Two of them managed to bind their ropes to two of the three giant tusks of the Boar. Before the other two could imitate their success, the beast tugged at the ropes making the men lose their balance.

Sensing danger, the beast tried to escape. As it ran, it dragged the two poor men along with it.

“Stop it! Grab the ropes and tie them to trees!”

Yao Mao shouted as he directed his men to help their comrades. Due to the beast’s relentless running, the two holding the ropes tight swept the forest floor with their bodies.

Everyone chased after the beast until they were led into an open plain with nothing but tall yellow grass in sight. Yao Mao realized they had entered surroundings where they were at an utter disadvantage.

The Boar’s figure had disappeared somewhere in the grass. His only consolation was his men still clung to the beast.

“Arghhhhh!”

A heart-wrenching scream came from his right. His trained senses recognized the voice to be of one of his people who was holding the rope.

“The Boar is in that direction!”

Yao Mao directed his subordinates to follow the moans of pain. They soon found their man, but he didn’t have a rope in his hand. His left hand was mangled below the shoulder.

“The Boar has escaped. Beware of your surroundings!”

Seeing the state of his man, Yao Mao immediately reminded his subordinates. No sooner had he spoken than grass rustled on his left. Soon after, they felt the ground tremble.

“The Boar is charging towards us! Disperse!”

Yao Mao shouted while diving to his right. His men were not so lucky. The Tri-tusked Boar pierced through one of the men and trampled the one on the ground. Both died before the pain could register.

“You Beast!”

Yao Mao slashed with all his might at the passing figure of the beast. He managed to leave a gash on the back of the Boar. But the bleeding was not as severe as he hoped.

Only now did he come to understand just how thick was the hide of this beast.

Before he could catch a breather, he heard the third seat shout,

“It is coming back! Try to trip it with your staves!”

After enduring one charge, the people had wisened up and accurately predicted the path. They jumped out of the way and held the wooden poles in their hands horizontally, just above the ground.

The Boar stampeded through their midst, ignoring the hindrance of the wooden staves. This time it managed to injure two men with its side tusks.

Before it could go far, Yao Mao dived and stabbed again at the Boar’s rear. The Saber penetrated the Boar’s chrysanthemum, and it squealed like a pig.

Only the tip of the Saber had gone through. It was not enough to kill the beast, but it gave it a sense of danger.

Without turning around, the Boar disappeared into the grassland, not giving the people from Hu Clan a chance to catch up.

“Shit!” Yao Mao exclaimed as he looked at the two broken bodies of his teammates.

“Search for his brother. See if he is alive. We need to get out of this grassland before that pig recovers.”

As soon as Yao Mao finished talking, the magnified image on the screen disappeared.

Zhen Ya returned to the pavilion without saying a word.

The Spectators were disappointed but none dared to voice their displeasure.

The City Lord looked at his counterpart in the Hu Clan and ridiculed him.

“I knew Hu Clan had mastered the art of attacking from behind. Today I witnessed it. To think that even with your weapon of authority in hand, your Second Seat didn’t spare the bottom of that poor beast.”

His joke garnered a round of laughter from the other two pavilions. However, Hu Clan’s Master did not find the joke funny. He glowered at the City Lord and then at the Crystal Globe.

Gnashing his teeth, he barely suppressed his desire to challenge the City Lord to a duel. Instead, he directed his anger at the culprit who caused him to lose face.

“Bastard! You better return first or that Saber will taste the blood from another chrysanthemum!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep