Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales

Edited by Aelryinth

Sneaking around making a fortune just like that, Zhang Che caught three Nirvana Snakes before he knew it.

This left him incredibly gratified. Hunting the Nirvana Snake King first had truly proven to be a great help.

However, Zhang Che gradually grew curious.

In this mountain range, the beastmasters were separated into G.o.ds-knew-how-many groups. Why didn't they start fighting among themselves for the trophies?

Was it because the Nirvana Snakes were hard to catch, and everyone was busy trying to catch the snakes, so no one had the thought to care about others?

Impossible!

Humanity's bad nature was deeply ingrained into them. If someone had gained something, it would surely draw others with bad intentions to them, especially since the Nirvana Snakes were so difficult to catch. The groups who were lucky enough to obtain one or two beast cards would surely attract attention from others before they even got to brand their spiritual imprints on the cards.

However, the Purple Jade Condor was not only helping Zhang Che look for the singled-out Nirvana Snakes, it was also observing the entire battle ground, in case someone discovered Zhang Che's tracks and tried sneaking up on him.

From the Purple Jade Condor's observations, Zhang Che realized the whole situation was incredibly harmonious.

This was too abnormal!

Although he couldn't fathom why this was so, Zhang Che became even more wary. He didn't go fight for those Nirvana Snakes who might be noticed by others, and only went to look for the hidden ones.

He had to admit that the Nirvana Snake King's snake hunting skills were truly too good, not to mention it was fundamentally very familiar with these exotic beasts' habits. The Nirvana Snake King would find the snakes in places Zhang Che would never expect, surprising him.

Suddenly, the Nirvana Snake King discovered the tracks of another Nirvana Snake and quickly pursued it.

However, Zhang Che cursed inwardly, thinking it was a bad idea.

Over there, a few beastmasters were chasing another Nirvana Snake and quickly coming this way. Before Zhang Che could give the Nirvana Snake King the order to come back, they discovered the obviously unusual snake.

“Hmm? There's a Nirvana Snake King over there! We're rich!”

Looks of surprises shone in their eyes when the beastmasters saw the Nirvana Snake King. They directly gave up on their pursuit of the Nirvana Snake they were chasing.

Earlier, they had witnessed the Black Locust Tree Hall's men surrounding and killing a Nirvana Snake King, and they knew it was a legend-quality exotic beast!

Not only that, after obtaining the Nirvana Snake King, the Black Locust Tree Hall's men immediately went chasing another Nirvana Snake King even deeper into the mountain range by relying on the one they had caught.

From the looks of it, that thing was an incredibly useful tool to hunt one of their own species!

If they could successfully hunt this Nirvana Snake King, then they could sneak around in this area and hunt a whole lot of ordinary Nirvana Snakes in this area, making a huge fortune.

Unbeknownst to Zhang Che, due to his late arrival, he had missed a good show.

He had thought there weren't any Nirvana Snake Kings here. In fact, the Black Locust Tree Hall's men had already killed one thanks to their advantage in numbers, and were currently chasing another deeper into the mountain range.

Of course, even if he didn't know what had happened here earlier, Zhang Che knew the current situation was bad.

Would he tempt the beastmasters into committing malicious deeds now that his Nirvana Snake King was discovered?

He hurriedly gave the order to the Nirvana Snake King, telling it to give up on its chase off the ordinary Nirvana Snake and fly back to him.

“Quickly chase! Don't let that thing run away!”

The beastmasters had no idea the prey they had set their sights on was actually someone else's subdued beast. Seeing the Nirvana Snake King turning tail to run immediately made their hearts tighten. Every one of them quickly directed their flying beasts to give chase one after another.

Despite knowing this was an exotic beast that was incredibly hard to catch up to, how could they be willing to give up without trying? If they got lucky and managed to kill the Nirvana Snake King with a stroke of luck, wouldn't they immediately become rich?

Human always held the thought of getting lucky!

That was, until they saw the Nirvana Snake King flying back to Zhang Che's side.

-What's happening? Is this Nirvana Snake King already owned by someone?-

Seeing them chasing the Nirvana Snake King all this way, Zhang Che had silently grown cautious. The Scarlet Flame Drake and the Purple Crystal Tortoise were guarding at his sides, his hands wielding the Scarlet Meteorite Huge Sword.

If he saw any suspicious movements from them, Zhang Che would immediately strike first to gain the initiative.

However, what caught him by surprise was that when the beastmasters saw the Nirvana Snake King flying back to his side, they actually stopped a hundred meters away.

“Please don't misunderstand, brother. We thought this Nirvana Snake King was still a wild exotic beast. We didn't expect it to be your subdued beast. Sorry, sorry.”

Seeing Zhang Che acting so warily, the beastmasters laughed awkwardly and turned around to leave decisively.

Zhang Che was stunned at the sight.

-That's not right. According to the usual script, shouldn't they threaten me to hand over the Nirvana Snake King in exchange for keeping me alive?

-Even if they could tell that it wouldn't be an easy fight, it's impossible for them to leave so decisively. At the very least, shouldn't they try something?-

Zhang Che couldn't help but recall the scene of everyone trying to catch their own Nirvana Snakes honestly when he first entered this area. There weren't any incidents of s.n.a.t.c.hing prey at all.

This was truly too strange. It was unbelievable!

Something must be going on if such an anomaly had occurred. Zhang Che grew even more wary, and gradually moved towards the outskirts of this area.

The situation here was truly too unusual.

The sky slowly darkened bit by bit. Although Zhang Che had entered this area for less than an hour, with the Nirvana Snake King, he had made great harvests.

Including the Nirvana Snake he hunted on his way here, the number of Nirvana Snake cards he had obtained had broken through double digits, with twelve in total!

Various noises could still be heard in his surroundings, but they were no longer as fierce as before. After an hour's time, many beastmasters had chased the Nirvana Snakes to deeper areas. There were much fewer people in this area now.

Zhang Che's doubts were even greater than before.

Could those beastmasters Zhang Che encountered before really be model citizens? None of them actually had any ill intents against him?

There was simply a stark difference compared to the Zhen family's men and the few other teams of beastmasters he encountered previously at the outskirts of the mountain range.

—

A beastmaster suddenly flew high up into the sky on his flying beast. A deep voice rang out, spreading a dozen kilometers away.

“Everyone, it's getting late. Please mind your safety and do not chase the Nirvana Snakes alone into the depths of the mountain range, in case anything bad happens.”

That man was obviously a high-tier beastmaster whose physique was altered to superhuman levels by the nourishment of soul force. Even his voice could be amplified with the use of soul force to reach further. It went without saying he was a very powerful man.

But, wasn't this man acting too kindly?

He actually flew high up into the sky to remind others to watch out for their safety. Wasn't it more advantageous for him in hunting the Nirvana Snakes if more people died?

Although this way of thinking was a little too dark, this was indeed understandable under most circ.u.mstances. It couldn't be said that Zhang Che was twisted.

Thinking back on everything he had seen on his way, Zhang Che couldn't help becoming more suspicious. He felt like there was something he didn't understand here.

Soon, Zhang Che's doubts were cleared. The conversations between other beastmasters nearby answered all his unspoken questions.

“Tsk, tsk. Although the Black Locust Tree Hall can be a little tyrannical at times, the way they handle things is really something else!”

“From the sound of it, brother, you must have not come into contact with the Black Locust Tree Hall before, right?”

“Haha, how can ordinary beastmasters like us have the opportunity to come into contact with large organizations like the Black Locust Tree Hall? I have heard some things about them, though. They have always been a little oppressive, but they are very aware of the bottom line. So, the words of that guy that told us to come s.n.a.t.c.h prey here can't be fully trusted.”

“Heh, what do you mean by ‘can't be fully trusted'? It can't be trusted at all! Do you know why he was chased by the Black Locust Tree Hall? Of course it's not only because of the large amount of storage-type exotic beasts discovered here. That guy and his team were all wicked people! I heard they always bullied and humiliated ordinary people. The evil deeds they had committed were too many to count, and the Black Locust Tree Hall's people learned about it…”

“Eh? There's actually something like this? Then those people really deserved to die. A pity that guy got away!”

“He can't escape. Unless he's willing to abandon his status as a beastmaster and live in seclusion. The Black Locust Tree Hall's men will find him even if he escaped out of Hua Xia.”

After overhearing the conversation between the two, Zhang Che finally came to a realization.

From the looks of it, the Black Locust Tree Hall's beastmasters were pretty similar to the chivalrous warriors from the ancient times. Although their actions might not be the most proper, at the very least, they were righteous in most situations.

“So, the beastmasters here acting so honestly is probably because the Black Locust Tree Hall's people warned them in advance to not act maliciously to prevent chaos,” Zhang Che mused. He felt that this seemed reasonable, and was definitely more in line with the Black Locust Tree Hall's interests.

After all, if the beastmasters here were in chaos, the Black Locust Tree Hall would inevitably be greatly affected. Although they had quite a number of experts in this mountain range, there were far more beastmasters that were drawn here by that young beastmaster.

Once the situation fell into chaos, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The warning from that expert from the Black Locust Tree Hall was acknowledged. Although some Nirvana Snakes would fly deeper into the mountain range from time to time, no one went chasing after them.

After all, the beastmasters who could make their way here were at least at mid-tier. They knew dangers lurked everywhere in the beast world. It was better to be as careful when they could.

The sky gradually darkened, and it became even harder to hunt the Nirvana Snakes. The beastmasters in this wide area decided to form groups and found places to rest, preparing to have a simple dinner.

Zhang Che was still worried about those beastmasters from before. If they secretly leaked the information about him having a Nirvana Snake King, wouldn't it be too dangerous if they decided to team up with some people who were used to committing heinous deeds and tried to act against him?

As such, he had the Purple Jade Condor on overwatch find a tall mountain nearby and rode on the Scarlet Flame Drake, heading that way.

For Zhang Che, there was no place safer than the inside of a mountain…