C19 – Hunting
Boom—
As Min Zhenkang strained to decipher the message that followed, his consciousness was abruptly ejected.
Back in his physical form, Min Zhenkang pondered the nebula’s cryptic words, oblivious to the fact that he had successfully condensed his Martial Spirit and ascended to the Martial Spirit Stage.
“Zhenkang, are you in there?” Min Qi’s voice came, accompanied by a knock on the door.
“Father, what is it?” Min Zhenkang opened the door.
“Oh, nothing serious. I heard some noise from your room and thought I’d check on you. Everything okay?” Min Qi asked, visibly relieved to find his son unharmed.
“I’m perfectly fine!”
“Good to hear. Go on with your cultivation; I won’t keep you.”
“Sure.”
Approaching his bed to resume his training, Min Zhenkang was struck by a realization—he had indeed condensed his Martial Spirit and reached the Martial Spirit Stage.
He hadn’t anticipated that such a breakthrough would occur after entering that enigmatic state. Min Zhenkang hastened to examine his Martial Spirit. Currently unable to introspect, he could only summon it to discern its nature.
With a focused thought, he called forth his Martial Spirit.
“A One-star Martial Spirit!”
Staring at the apparition before him, Min Zhenkang was utterly flabbergasted. The lowest-tier, a One-star Martial Spirit, and it took a human form, its features still indistinct.
How was he supposed to compete with this? In battle, his Martial Spirit would barely manifest before being vanquished by an adversary.
Min Zhenkang was distraught, on the verge of tears he couldn’t shed.
Yet, there was no use lamenting. He had entered that peculiar state during his breakthrough, which had led to this outcome. Otherwise, he had surmised, his Martial Spirit would have been at least a six-star Heavenly Dragon Martial Spirit.
But regardless, he had advanced to the Martial Spirit Stage and was now poised to implement his plan.
Thump, thump, thump—
“Dad, are you in the room?”
“Zhenkang, what’s the matter?” Min Qi inquired as he opened the door.
“I’ll be away for a few days. You and Qigang should take this time to recover at the inn.”
“You’re planning to...”
“Yes, the time has come to seek vengeance for the Min family’s finest.”
“Very well, Qigang and I will await your news. We’ll stay at the inn and recuperate over the next few days.”
“Understood.” With that, Min Zhenkang left the inn and made his way beyond the borders of Steelgrave.
A day later, Min Zhenkang reached the site of the previous ambush. He retrieved a map from his Bag of Heaven and Earth.
“Just as I thought, it’s a route map.” After verifying it, Min Zhenkang was certain the map led to the robbers’ hideout.
He had found it on the corpses of the fallen robbers, likely sketched by newcomers to the gang to prevent getting lost. Little did they know, it would end up aiding Min Zhenkang.
Following the map, Min Zhenkang navigated toward the robbers’ den. The map detailed the traps and the safe paths clearly, sparing Min Zhenkang considerable hassle.
After two hours of travel, the faint outline of the bandits’ lair came into view. Min Zhenkang slowed his pace, cautiously advancing while extending his Spiritual Consciousness to its fullest.
Though Min Zhenkang was only at the One-star Martial Spirit level, his Spiritual Consciousness was exceptionally strong, a fact he had discovered early in his training.
This was a direct result of his practice of the Heavenly Imperial Immortality Spell.
When he was mere hundreds of meters from the lair, Min Zhenkang halted. The entire hideout was now within the scope of his Spiritual Consciousness. He had a clear understanding of its layout and the number of bandits inside.
Since their last encounter, although only three from Min Zhenkang’s group had survived, the bandits had also suffered heavy losses. Some were slain fighting the Min family’s guards, while others succumbed to their wounds during their retreat.
It was clear that the lair was sparsely populated, with only a handful of people scattered throughout.
After scoping out the situation, Min Zhenkang made a slow retreat.
A day later, he was back at the inn.
This was precisely why Min Zhenkang had waited to reach the Martial Spirit Stage before executing his plan to wipe out the bandits.
He had acquired a face-changing technique from the Thousand-faced Old Monster in his past life, a skill that had saved him from peril time and again.
However, the disguise technique was easily detectable and came with a time constraint.
The lower one’s cultivation level, the shorter the duration of the disguise and the more susceptible it was to being uncovered. Additionally, the cooldown period before the technique could be used again increased.
“Kid, what took you so long to take a leak? You’re not getting weak in the kidneys from too much action, are you?”
“Buzz off, my kidneys are just fine.”
Min Zhenkang had just returned from his disguise when someone nearby ribbed him with a laugh.
To avoid detection, Min Zhenkang kept his Spiritual Consciousness alert as he made his way to the second-in-command’s room, as he remembered it.
Knock, knock, knock—
“Who’s there?” An irritated voice called out from inside.
“It’s me, Little Six, Second Head.”
“Come in.”
Creak—
Min Zhenkang opened the door and entered.
“What are you doing here instead of minding the mountain gate, you rascal?”
Min Zhenkang glanced around mysteriously before whispering, once he was sure they were alone.
“Here’s the thing, Second Head. While I was out relieving myself, a white shadow zipped by. I followed it and spotted a White Fox Ferret not far from the mountain gate. Thinking you’d fancy such a creature, I rushed back to inform you.”
“Really? You got a good look? It was truly a White Fox Ferret?”
“As clear as day. You know White Fox Ferrets are known for their speed. Had my cultivation not been so limited, I would’ve already caught it for you. I didn’t want to spook it, so I made haste to report to you.”
“Good. If it’s as you say and we catch this White Fox Ferret, you’ll be handsomely rewarded.”
“Hehehe, much obliged, Second Head.”
“Lead the way, then.”
“Right away, follow me, Second Head.”
With that, Min Zhenkang led the bandit second-in-command toward the mountain gate.
“Little Six, where’s this White Fox Ferret you mentioned?” After half an hour’s walk from the mountain gate, the White Fox Ferret was nowhere to be seen, and the Second Head was growing suspicious.
“He was just here a moment ago, how could he have disappeared? He’s got to be close by. Second in command, take it easy, let’s keep looking with a bit more patience.”
“Besides, the White Fox Ferret is naturally sprightly and famed for its speed. It could have scampered off somewhere else.” Min Zhenkang reassured the Second Head while subtly guiding him towards Min Qi’s location.
“Alright then.” Eager to find the White Fox Ferret, the Second Head resumed his search, oblivious to the fact that he was straying far from the mountain stronghold.
“Uncle, Zhenkang has been gone for quite a while now. Do you think something’s happened to him?” Min Qigang inquired, concern etched on his face as he turned to Min Qi.
“I’m not sure. Let’s wait a bit longer. If we don’t see Zhenkang within the next half hour, I’m going in. You hold down the fort here. If I don’t return, make a beeline for the Min’s mansion.” Min Qi was equally uneasy, aware that the risk of Zhenkang encountering trouble increased with every passing minute.
“Uncle, look over there.”
“I see it, but why are there only bandits? Where’s Zhenkang?”
“Exactly, something must have happened. What if we charge in and take down the bandits’ Second Head?”
“Good idea. You tackle the bandit over there, and I’ll handle the Second Head.”
“Got it.”
Just as they were about to make their move, Min Qi suddenly grasped Min Qigang’s arm.
“Uncle, what is it?”
“Take a look.” Min Qi gestured towards the young robber standing beside the Second Head.
“Zhenkang?” Min Qigang exclaimed, taken aback.