"Y-You…!"
The Gate General was furious upon hearing Zhu Long's mocking remarks.
Xiao Yu stared at the general with a lazy expression, then stepped forward.
"Let's go. Why are you still staying here? There's nothing left that can stop us."
She casually pointed at the Gate General.
"Even if he still insists on being stubborn, he'll just end up sharing the same fate as the other guards."
Zhao Long nodded, followed by Li Fan and Zhu Long. With that, they entered the city through the special gate.
The merchants who witnessed the entire scene couldn't stop their legs from trembling in fear.
They were just merchants—at most at Qi Refinement level 8, and the weakest among them were mere ordinary humans.
Such an unexpected event naturally terrified them. Especially those who had previously mocked and insulted Zhao Long's group.
Some even fainted on the spot from extreme fear.
Others wet their pants.
They wanted to beg for mercy, but it was too late as Zhao Long's group had already left, allowing them to sigh in relief, believing they were safe.
On the other side, the Gate General clenched his teeth in rage. He quickly took out a communication stone and sent the information of what had just happened to the City Lord.
The City Lord was a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
He believed his subordinates were killed due to a mysterious treasure carried by Li Fan, and he intended to report it to the City Lord to seize that treasure.
Besides, this city was under the protection of the Wind Lotus Pavilion—there was no way Zhao Long's group would be able to act recklessly here.
But sadly, what he imagined would become his own destruction.
**
Inside the city.
As soon as they entered, they found the city bustling with life.
Many traveling merchants were offering various items for sale.
Li Fan and the others continued walking through the crowd of cultivators. Eventually, they arrived in front of a grand-looking building called Hunter Hall.
As its name suggested, this hall bought the spoils of the city's hunters, including beast meat, wild herbs, or items containing Spiritual essence.
"Come! There may be something interesting inside," Zhu Long said excitedly upon reading the sign.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward, followed by Li Fan and Xiao Yu, while Zhao Long came last.
Hunter Hall… he had never set foot here before.
Not because he disliked it, but because he never wanted to come into the city.
The reason was his father Zhao Yuan had forbade him from coming here. Zhao Long didn't know why, but he always obeyed his father.
Upon entering, they found the place quite packed, with cultivators discussing, selling their hunted goods, trading items, and taking missions from the board.
"What is this place? It's terrible!" Zhu Long scoffed.
Li Fan and Xiao Yu could only shrug, clearly not knowing either.
They kept walking until they stopped at an exchange counter.
A man attending the counter looked lazily at Zhao Long's group.
"What do you want?"
"We want to sell something," Zhu Long replied.
Bang!
He threw a pile of raw meat onto the table right in front of the man.
The man's eyes widened. His previously lazy demeanor immediately turned enthusiastic.
He stood up, examined the meat, and exclaimed in shock,
"T-This! This is high-tier level 1 beast meat!"
High-tier level 1 beasts were equivalent to Nascent Soul cultivators. In this city, only the City Lord was at Nascent Soul stage—no one else.
This made the city somewhat poor, since the beasts in the nearby forest were usually low-tier beasts, at most mid-tier level 2.
As soon as the shocked cry echoed, the surrounding cultivators immediately turned and stared in disbelief at Zhao Long's group.
"High-tier level 1 beast!? That's equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator!"
"Crazy! In this city, only the City Lord is Nascent Soul!"
"Are they from a powerful family in another city—one that has multiple Nascent Soul experts?"
"Hisss!"
Everyone gasped in awe. Their eyes were fixed on Zhao Long's group, unable to look away, as if staring at their idols.
Meanwhile, Zhao Long's group remained relaxed and indifferent.
"Ah…" The counter attendant let out a helpless sigh.
"Forgive me, honored guests, I do not have the authority to appraise this meat. I have already contacted the Hall Master. He will personally handle this." He said with a strained smile.
Zhu Long simply nodded. Soon, a man descended from the second floor.
As he arrived, the attendant immediately bowed.
"Greetings, Hall Master!"
"Greetings, Hall Master!" others echoed.
The man nodded and approached Zhao Long's group.
"Are you the ones wishing to sell this high-tier level 1 beast meat?" he asked cautiously.
Li Fan nodded. "Correct."
"Very well," he replied before moving to the counter to start the assessment.
Watching the man, Zhao Long furrowed his brows.
"That man… he's at Core Formation level 9. He has even reached Half Nascent Soul," he thought.
The aura of the Hall Master, Yu Shin, was extremely clear and overwhelming.
Hours passed.
"Thank you, honored guests! If you are willing, please visit Hunter Hall again!" Yu Shin waved as Zhao Long's group left.
Li Fan now received a total of 500 spirit stones, 10 level 3 spiritual herbs, and a level 4 black sword.
Li Fan took out a storage ring and handed it to Zhao Long.
"Take it! You don't have a storage ring, right?"
Zhao Long nodded and accepted it happily.
"There are 10 level 3 spiritual herbs, a level 4 black sword, and some spirit stones inside," Li Fan explained.
"You must form your core soon so you can break through to the Core Formation realm."
Zhao Long nodded lightly.
He indeed planned to form his core but lacked resources.
"Later, Zhu Long will guide you in forming your core. So don't worry," Li Fan added when he saw Zhao Long's expression change.
Zhu Long nodded confidently.
"Of course! For my disciple, I will do anything!" he said proudly.