Chapter 245: The Hunt Begins

Hearing that, Jiang Cheng thought, I've already been prepared.

"Hmm, I'm ready on my end too; when shall we set off?"

"Tomorrow? No, let's make it the day after tomorrow."

Ye Ying said, "I just broke through and need to adjust; the day after tomorrow works. If you want to extend another day or two, that's fine, but it's best not to delay too long, otherwise when the mission comes…"

"No problem."

Jiang Cheng answered in one breath.

"What do I need to prepare?"

"Just bring your sniper rifle and enough ammunition."

Ye Ying said, "I'll take care of the rest."

"Alright."

Jiang Cheng nodded.

"Okay, meet at headquarters at seven in the morning the day after tomorrow."

He hung up, and anticipation flickered in Jiang Cheng's eyes.

He could finally go out hunting.

He had been waiting for this day for almost half a month.

First set a small goal: earn ten million before anything else.

Earning ten million would instantly make him a Level One Spiritual Thought Master, and then he could focus on cultivating the Heaven Martial he holds.

Entry is required to become a First-level Grandmaster, but it doesn't mean you must fully open all twenty acupoints; opening the first or second is also useful and can absorb massive primal force.

Once a dozen or so are opened, he might break through to Seven-level.

It's best to obtain some Secret Medicine to speed up the Secret Martial Arts practice.

The next day, evening.

The family sat around the table.

After nearly two months, with living conditions greatly improved, the Old Man, Chen Sao, and Lin Yue all looked much healthier.

Moreover, the three of them gradually got used to life in the Outer City District and blended into the surroundings.

Jiang Cheng felt happiness but also a bit of worry.

The worry was that everything now rests on his obedience to the Dawn Society.

If one day he refuses to follow their orders, things would be uncertain.

"Grandma, Chen Sao, I'll be on a business trip for the next few days; be careful at home, don't stray far from the community, and if you go out, return before nightfall."

Hearing Jiang Cheng, the three at the table simultaneously paused their actions and looked over.

"Going out again for a few days?" The Old Man's eyes showed reluctance.

"Yeah, there's no choice."

Jiang Cheng gave a helpless smile.

Chen Sao whispered, "You don't need to worry about us; we'll take care of ourselves. You should focus on safety. If the task gets too hard, never mind, we can just go back home."

She also knew that behind this happy life, Jiang Cheng must be carrying a lot.

"Yes, Brother Jiang Cheng, be sure to stay safe," Lin Yue said, also showing concern.

"Don't worry, it's just a few days of business travel, not an adventure; there won't be any danger, we'll be back in a few days."

Jiang Cheng smiled.

After hearing that, the three felt a little reassured.

Yet doubts lingered, since Jiang Cheng might have said that just to ease their minds.

After dinner, Jiang Cheng stayed in the living room, chatting with the three while watching TV until the Old Man grew drowsy, then returned to his room. Though departure was tomorrow, the night couldn't be wasted.

He planned to continue cultivating Cloud-Piercing Skill.

After entering yesterday, the Cloud-Piercing Skill's next proficiency Experience Bar rose to 800,000.

Fortunately, the conversion rate doubled; it used to refine 32 per minute, now 64, just like the Great Completion Breaking Jade Skill.

It's estimated that once Cloud-Piercing Skill reaches Mastery Level, its conversion rate will match the Complete Breaking Jade Skill.

At the current refining speed, 96 Experience Value per minute means the 800,000 Experience Bar will take about six days, 1.5 times longer than before.

"If Spiritual Power rises again after we return, the time needed to cultivate this Secret Martial Arts could be halved."

Jiang Cheng felt conflicted thinking of this.

Which one to train first?

Logically, it's better to cultivate Heaven Martial first; after mastering the high-level Secret Martial Arts, then turn to the lower-level ones for an Experience Value bonus.

However, Shadowless Blade and Cloud-Piercing Leg are unrelated—one is a blade technique, the other a leg technique, they have nothing to do with each other.

If he had bought the other leg‑style Heaven Martial that comes with the Niutou Mianju, he wouldn't be so conflicted.

Jiang Cheng shook his head, closed his eyes, and focused on cultivation.

……

Early the next morning, after saying goodbye to his family, Jiang Cheng rushed toward headquarters.

Even at just past six A. M., the main street was already bustling with vendors shouting, and a faint fragrance drifted in the air.

Few people could be seen inside headquarters.

They were probably still cultivating or dreaming.

Jiang Cheng first fetched his sniper rifle from his room, bought some ammunition, carried two boxes—one large, one small—and met Ye Ying.

"Let's go."

Ye Ying nodded, led Jiang Cheng into the garage, winding around until they reached a vehicle that looked like a pickup but wasn't quite one.

The reason it's said to resemble a pickup is because the front end looks exactly the same, including the tires, which are also the off‑road type.

Unlike that, the rear originally was an open cargo bed, but it has become a proper enclosed cargo box, covered on all sides—top, bottom, left, right, front, and back—with metal sheets, making the whole thing look like a small truck.

"This is a modified pickup."

Ye Ying saw the doubt in Jiang Cheng's eyes and explained: "Later we will drive this vehicle to hunt beasts in the wilderness; the wilderness is not flat, the terrain is rough, ordinary vehicles lack power, only a pickup like this off‑road vehicle will do. The rear cargo box can carry the game, and to prevent others from seeing how much we have harvested and causing unnecessary trouble, we installed this."

"I see."

Jiang Cheng suddenly understood.

"However, even with this installed, it's not foolproof."

Ye Ying looked at the tires.

"An experienced person can completely tell how much game is inside just by looking at the tire condition, and in the wild we will also encounter people like us; good people are few, most will do anything for money, but you don't need to worry."

She turned her head to look at Jiang Cheng.

"The place we are going this time is not too dangerous, because there the number of exotic beasts is relatively small, mostly second‑ and third‑tier, and occasionally, if luck is good, one can encounter fourth‑ or fifth‑tier beasts; however, these are not easy to deal with, even if you have a heavy sniper rifle,"

So, the people we meet there will not be very strong either; basically no senior original force warriors will appear. If someone fires a cold shot at us, I will block it immediately, and then we will cooperate just like in your first mission; now I am stronger than before, so you don't need to worry.

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng felt somewhat relieved, but it's not only Ye Ying who has become strong; compared to before, he is much stronger than he was two months ago.

Suddenly, he realized a problem.

"Ye Ying, how much is a second‑ or third‑tier exotic beast worth?"

(End of chapter)