Chapter 26

The atmosphere instantly grew tense, as if even the air had solidified.

"Huh?"

The sinister man who had cut in line was highly perceptive, sensed the danger behind him, and abruptly turned his head.

"You little brat, are you sick of living?"

He uttered harsh words, but his eyes scanned around; upon seeing the patrol squad nearby, his eye twitched.

Lu Jing's right hand bulged with muscle; if he could act directly, he wouldn't waste words.

"Little brother, hold on a moment; absolutely don't fight here!"

Just then, a middle-aged woman's voice came from behind.

"Fighting is prohibited within the Alliance; if anyone starts a fight, they'll be straight away taken to jail. This Shi Xiu is deliberately provoking you, just waiting for you to make the first move!"

The sinister man ahead, his expression somewhat displeased, said: "Hou Yu, stop meddling here!"

"I'm taking care of this; you're supposed to go out on a mission with the team later, right? If you're not afraid of death, just keep going."

Hou Yu's face darkened, and a fierce aura burst from his eyes.

Shi Xiu felt his face lost and was very angry.

But since the other party was a Fourth‑Realm Martial Artist, he could only stare helplessly at Lu Jing.

"Hou Yu, don't think you can stay this arrogant forever; next time we meet, I won't be afraid of you."

Shi Xiu took his documents from the front desk, then slunk back to the rear to rejoin the line.

"That arrogant idiot will eventually get himself killed."

Hou Yu, seeing Shi Xiu walk away, said: "You weren't scared, were you? Many hunters have short tempers because their nerves are constantly tense, making their emotions uncontrollable, and they often vent everywhere."

Lu Jing shook his head; how could he be scared? Even as he prepared to strike, he felt a bit excited.

He urgently needed a real combat to test his recent cultivation progress.

If Hou Yu hadn't intervened in time, Shi Xiu would probably already be lying on the ground.

Hou Yu saw Lu Jing shake his head and smiled: "You were just about to strike, weren't you?"

Lu Jing nodded slightly, not denying it.

"Just because you can't act recklessly here doesn't mean you can't in Huāngshén Cónglín; once inside, you can repay grudges and resentments—there's no order at all."

Hou Yu explained.

"Go register quickly; I'm off to attend to other things. Remember one thing: never go alone in Huāngshén Cónglín."

"Okay, thank you, big sister!"

"You're welcome."

Hou Yu smiled, turned, and went off to attend to other things.

After registering his identity, Lu Jing entered a recruitment area to the side, which resembled a bar.

A glance showed it filled with high tables, each bearing the plaques of various hunting teams, with many members seated around drinking.

If you take a liking to a team, you can go talk to them directly—just like an interview, it's a mutual selection process.

Lu Jing intended to find a team somewhat weaker in strength that wouldn't overly restrict personal freedom.

As they were examining each team's information one by one, a shout came from nearby.

"The Xuánwǔ Shòuliè Tuán needs a vehicle‑watching logistics person! No strength required; once the crew is full, we depart immediately!"

"Urgent hire! Urgent hire! The last opening only requires watching the cargo truck on the outskirts!"

Lu Jing's eyes lit up, and he followed the sound to look.

He saw a middle‑aged man holding up a sign, shouting.

After some communication, Lu Jing successfully joined the Xuánwǔ Shòuliè Tuán.

The one who had just been shouting was precisely the team leader of the Xuánwǔ Shòuliè Tuán, named Wu Li, a Third‑Realm Martial Artist.

After Lu Jing expressed his intention, Wu Li directly approved his application to join the team.

"Our mission this time is urgent; hurry up and follow me!"

Wu Li ordered, leading Lu Jing toward the outside.

Arriving beside a cargo truck, Lu Jing saw the other members of the Xuánwǔ Shòuliè Tuán.

To Lu Jing's surprise, the man who had cut in line earlier, Shi Xiu, was also among them.

"Let's all introduce ourselves; I'll go first," Wu Li said quickly, "I'm Wu Li, a Third‑Realm Martial Artist, skilled in swordsmanship."

"Guan Yulan, Second‑Realm Martial Artist."

"Liu Kuanglong, Second‑Realm Martial Artist."

The other two also gave their self‑introductions, leaving only Shi Xiu to the side, eyeing Lu Jing tigerishly.

"Heh heh, what a coincidence, little brat—you've fallen into my hands."

Shi Xiu sneered.

Wu Li's brows furrowed slightly as he sensed the tension between Shi Xiu and Lu Jing.

But he did not choose to stop it.

The main reason for recruiting Lu Jing into the team was just to fill the numbers, and incidentally to watch the cargo truck.

Just then, he received an urgent commission from a Dan Medicine manufacturing company.

Although the task was simple, the employer, to ensure its smooth completion, strictly required a full squad of five.

Wu Li, hearing in the recruitment hall that Lu Jing lacked a Martial Artist badge, immediately agreed.

For such an inexperienced newcomer, the chance of survival is extremely low.

When Lu Jing dies, the four of us can split the mission reward among ourselves.

Even if he luckily survives, we can just toss him a few scraps.

Anyway, after entering the Huāngshén Cónglín, is life or death still not up to us?

Wu Li secretly gave Shi Xiu a look, hinting that Shi Xiu should first enter the Huāngshén Cónglín before speaking.

Shi Xiu understood and began his self‑introduction.

"Shi Xiu, a Third‑Realm Martial Artist, has no particular specialty—just that his fists are hard enough."

After saying that, he also squeezed his own fist wearing the metal gauntlet.

"Lu Jing, a Second‑Realm Martial Artist."

Lu Jing remained calm and also gave his self‑introduction.

His current goal is to rely on the Xuánwǔ Shòuliè Tuán to enter the Huāngshén Cónglín; personal grudges can be settled later without problem.

"You? A Second‑Realm Martial Artist?"

Shi Xiu raised his eyebrows, grinned, and said, "Haha, this kid is really funny—could it be that he's trying to scare me silly?"

Not only did Shi Xiu doubt it, but several other teammates also eyed Lu Jing with suspicion.

After all, Lu Jing is really too young; these people completely don't believe a high school student could be in the same realm as these middle‑aged folks.

Team Leader Wu Li laughed and said, "Kid, there's no need to pretend; having the strength of an official Martial Artist is already not bad. Anyway, your task this time is just to watch the vehicle."

Having said that, he eagerly took out the Dan Medicine Company's commission form.

"This time we accepted a material‑collection commission from the Dan Medicine Company; the difficulty is not high, but the time is tight."

Wu Li glanced at everyone and continued, "We need to collect, within five days, the tendons and bones of ten Shadow Wolves, the fangs of ten Giant Fire Pythons, and the eyeballs of ten Moon Shadow Rabbits."

"These Demon Beasts are basically on the outskirts; we don't need to go deep to find them, especially the Moon Shadow Rabbit, which has little aggression—anyone who has trained in martial arts can deal with it."

"Later, after we drive in, everyone except Lu Jing will follow me to look for Demon Beasts; as for Lu Jing..."

"You just need to watch the vehicle; if you're confident in your strength, you can also help kill a few Moon Field Rabbits—this shouldn't be hard for you."

Having said that, Wu Li looked at Lu Jing and said, "How about it, kid, can you do it?"

Lu Jing nodded.

Seeing Lu Jing agree, Wu Li breathed a sigh of relief; he had thought he'd still need to spend more words.

"Come on, get on the vehicle, prepare to depart!"