Chapter 397: Olfactory Enhancement Ability

"No need for such formalities, you two. Sit, sit."

Wei Xiong's face immediately shifted to a warm smile, his hands pressing down in a gesture of invitation; he was like a completely different person compared to the sour face he had just shown Chen Qinglin.

The two men exchanged a smile and sat back down in their seats.

"Brother Wei, how is it? That guy who came earlier—did you manage to dig up any results?" the man with the crew cut on the left asked.

"What could that piece of trash possibly find?" Wei Xiong sat down in a chair, picked up the water glass in front of him, took a sip, and said disdainfully, "He even asked me to give him two more days. Hmph, I'd like to see what kind of result he can give me after two days."

"I see. Actually, we can't entirely blame him; after all, even with all the connections we pulled, we haven't been able to find that person. But a True Essence Realm Martial Artist—their strength is not to be underestimated. How could they not have left behind a single trace?"

The crew-cut man furrowed his brows, his face full of confusion as he said, "Could it be that he hasn't joined the Martial Arts Association? Or perhaps, he is actually someone from the Awakened Association?"

"Someone from the Awakened Association?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Wei Xiong and the thick-browed man beside him instantly widened their eyes, their gazes filled with astonishment.

"Brother Lv, are you suspecting that the guy is actually a member of the Awakened Association?" Wei Xiong asked hurriedly and eagerly.

"It certainly cannot be ruled out," Lv Hua said with a serious expression. "In our Yanxia Country, there are only five Martial Arts Associations in total. If you add up all the True Essence Realm Martial Artists across them, there are fewer than twenty people."

"Think about it: if one were truly determined to mobilize all their power to find someone, how could there be no leads at all, not even a single clue? Unless this person is simply not within the Martial Arts Association system."

"You must know, the path of martial arts is fraught with difficulties and obstacles. Without the assistance of the Martial Arts Association, for a martial artist to rely solely on their own strength to cultivate to the True Essence Realm—the difficulty of that is simply beyond imagination."

"Although it is not entirely impossible to succeed, the probability is truly minuscule."

"In the entire Yanxia Country, with a population of tens of millions, it is likely difficult for such a gifted prodigy who could reach the True Essence Realm on their own to even appear."

"What you say is absolutely correct," Wei Xiong said, nodding in agreement.

Not to mention martial artists, just taking their own experiences as Awakened into account, wasn't the hardship just the same?

If one does not join the Awakened Association and relies entirely on groping forward in the dark, the effort and heart's blood required are beyond what others can imagine—likely several times more than those who have the support of an association.

Moreover, the most critical point is that even after paying so much, one is not guaranteed to receive a corresponding reward.

After all, many key cultivation resources and pieces of information are controlled by the associations; if one does not join an association, there is simply no way to know these vital things.

The situation with the Martial Arts Association is the same; without the resources and guidance provided by the association, how could it be easy for a martial artist to achieve a breakthrough?

Of course, if such a person with peerless talent truly existed—a ruthless, murderous glint flashed instantly in Wei Xiong's eyes.

In his view, if such a person were not eliminated, it would surely lead to endless trouble.

No matter the cost, he had to find a way to track this guy down and then eliminate him without hesitation to prevent future trouble!

"By comparison, I think the second possibility is the most likely—that is to say, he is highly likely to be a member of the Awakened Association who has merely cleverly disguised himself as a martial artist."

Lv Hua continued his analysis, "Brother Wei, you must be aware that in the world of the Awakened, many people start trying to dabble in the field of martial arts after successfully promoting to B-Grade."

"The reason for this is not hard to understand. To give a simple example, the Awakened themselves possess Mental Power far superior to ordinary people; this powerful Mental Power makes the difficulty of cultivating Mental Secret Manuals naturally decrease quite a bit."

"Furthermore, the power contained in many mental martial arts is in no way inferior to supernatural abilities, and in certain specific situations, they perform even better."

"Therefore, for the Awakened, studying one or two mental martial arts is like mastering one or two additional supernatural abilities; this is undoubtedly an effective way to enhance one's own strength."

"And the scope of martial arts is extremely broad; besides Mental Secret Manuals, there are various fist and foot techniques, weapon techniques, movement techniques, and Internal Energy, among others."

"Many B-Grade and above Awakened will choose a few martial arts they are interested in to study, just in case."

"You mentioned earlier that the person had extremely strong physical defense; looking at it this way, he is very likely an Awakened who has awakened a physical enhancement-type ability, and he has also practiced a blade technique."

"So that's it!" Wei Xiong said, suddenly enlightened, and slapped his thigh.

He had been wondering: the number of martial artists above the True Essence Realm is limited, so how could he have mobilized so many people to search and still come up empty-handed?

It seems highly likely that the other party is indeed from the Awakened Association.

However, the next moment, his brows furrowed tightly.

If the other party were just a martial artist, he, Wei Xiong, would naturally have nothing to fear; even the head of the North Mountain District Martial Arts Association would have to be polite when seeing him.

But if they were a fellow Awakened, the situation would be completely different.

After all, Wuji City is, at the end of the day, just a medium-sized city; let alone him, even the Wuji City Lord has many people they cannot afford to offend.

Could it be that he just has to swallow this hatred of being killed?

Lv Hua exchanged a glance with Yu Feng beside him, and Yu Feng said with a smile, "Even if that person really is from the Awakened Association, Brother Wei need not worry. With the two of us here, even if the other party is a B-Grade Awakened and proficient in blade techniques, so what?"

"That's right!" Wei Xiong's eyes suddenly brightened, as if he had grabbed onto a life-saving straw.

The two people in front of him were both genuine B-Grade Awakened!

What was he worrying about? The one who should be worried was clearly the other party!

"Brother Yu is right. With the two of you assisting me, what else do I have to worry about? It's just that finding out that guy's identity probably won't be an easy task," Wei Xiong said, his brows locked in a frown, his face showing his difficulty.

He, Wei Xiong, is indeed a somebody in Wuji City.

But once he leaves Wuji City and goes to other medium-sized cities, he is nothing.

"Don't be anxious, Brother Wei," Lv Hua said, soothing him with a smile. "I know a friend whose ability is quite special—it is olfactory enhancement. He can track targets by distinguishing scents."

"!" Upon hearing this, Wei Xiong's body shook violently, and he asked excitedly, "Brother Lv, you mean?"

"That's right," Lv Hua nodded. "That battle happened only one day ago; even if we rush over tomorrow, the scent at the scene will likely not have completely dissipated."

"As long as my friend arrives at the scene and finds the scent left behind by that person, he will be able to begin tracking and subsequently determine that person's whereabouts."