WU DONG QIAN - KUN
Chapter 40: The Hunt Begins

Towards the end of the year, the hustle and bustle of Qingyang City gradually reached its peak as assorted people from various factions within hundreds of miles flocked towards the city. The streets have never been so full.

The main players in this Hunt were some of the main factions in Qingyang City. However, there were also contestants from other factions as well. Of course, the competition among the smaller groups was not as hot as the competition between the four large factions. In fact, most of these small factions only wanted to use this opportunity to improve the reputation of their families or villages.

Regardless of their respective destinations, the Qingyang City Hunt was arguably the biggest event held within a few miles. Therefore, every member of the younger generation who excels in this event will not only see his reputation and status skyrocket, but also the reputation of his family.

The hunt was held on the first day of the Lunar New Year and the location was the Monster Arena located in the outskirts of Qingyang City. It has some of the grandest architecture in the entire city. The building was huge and covered several kilometers of forest and right in the middle was a small hill that had been transformed into a giant stage. Sitting there, there will be many guests, all very much waiting to witness the birth of the latest champion.

…

Countless anticipating people waited with bated breaths as the minute hand on the clock finally ticked until the day of the Hunt. When the time finally came, the busy atmosphere of Qingyang City exploded into a tsunami of people rushing towards the Monster Arena. The whole place was filled with amazing air.

"Is this the starting point of the hunt?"

Lin Dong asked, standing on the tall tower while looking down in wonder into the dense forest.

Standing behind Lin Dong was a core member of the Lin Family. The one leading the group was naturally Grandpa Lin Zhentian, while Lin Xiao, Lin Ken, Lin Mang and the others stood beside him.

"Yes." Yeah."

After hearing Lin Dong's question, Lin Zhentian beamed as he replied. As he stared at the first one, an expression of happiness and satisfaction appeared. After Lin Dong's impressive achievements, he began to pay more attention to this grandson. During this period of time, he even suggested to teach Lin Dong martial arts personally. However, he was rejected by Lin Dong because the latter wanted to focus on improving his body first.

In reality, Lin Dong did not need anyone to teach him martial arts because he had a shining shadow of the Stone Amulet. Moreover, he was afraid that if someone got too close to him, they might accidentally discover the existence of the Stone Amulet. That's not good.

“The forest below is connected directly to the mountains. Thus, there would be many ferocious and vicious creatures. Each 'Hunt' participant would wear a tag to identify themselves before they were thrown into the forest. After that, you have to rely on your own abilities to survive. ”

Lin Xiao smiled before continuing his explanation: “In addition to worrying about this ferocious beast, you also have to find a way to snatch ten tags from ten different participants. Only then will you get the right to enter the giant stage in the middle of the forest. Therefore, for this Hunt, you will not only hunt wild beasts, but also hunt people. ”

Lin Dong trembled slightly in fear. It turned out that this hunt was not as simple as he had hoped. To obtain ten tags, he had to defeat ten different individuals. Only then would he gain the right to enter the giant stage. Therefore, once the contestants entered the forest, they would definitely start fighting each other which caused chaos to ensue.

Furthermore, while they found a way to obtain the marks from the other participants, they also had to protect themselves from ferocious beasts. Therefore, even the slightest mistake would probably cause one to lose his life.

This was not an ordinary competition but rather a dangerous event that risked one's life. This sort of selection process felt a little cruel.

“There will be about a hundred tags. Therefore, only about ten individuals could reach the giant stage and many participants would leave with defeat. A truly merciless competition. ” Lin Zhentian uttered while keeping his hands behind his back.

Lin Dong nodded. Just a ten percent chance, he had no chance to relax at all.

"Haha, based on Lin Dong's current strength, he will definitely make it onto the giant stage." Lin Ken said with a smile.

After hearing these words, the smile on Lin Zhentian's face brightened. Almost half a month ago, he got word that Lin Dong had successfully advanced to the 9th Layer of Tempered Body. The progress of this training was even more incredible than Lin Xiao at his peak.

"This time, our Lin Family rank will be on Lin Dong's shoulders."

“Haha, Lin Zhentian. Been a long time. Looks like you're still alive.”

As the Lin Family was talking amongst themselves, a laugh sounded from up close. After hearing this laughter, Lin Zhentian, Lin Xiao and the others furrowed their brows as the smiles on their faces faded.

Lin Dong turned his head towards the direction the voice was coming from just to see a large crowd of people approaching them. Wherever this crowd passed by, everyone nearby would immediately make way for them and their appearance was extremely threatening.

Leading the mob were two people. One of them was wearing a young gray silk robe and looked the same age as Lin Zhentian. Both of his eyes were sunken and he gave off a cold and threatening aura. The other person was a middle-aged man, and a smile kept plastered on his face. He looked friendly and approachable, yet, those who really knew him, knew that this person was a smiling tiger.

“The old man is the Head of the Lei Family, known as Lei Bao. The other, was the Xie Family Head, called Xie Qian. Both of them are enemies of our Lin Family and they are trash. ” Lin Xia, who was standing beside Lin Dong, muttered softly.

Lin Dong slightly tilted his head as he glanced towards the two of them. She could faintly sense that they were both extremely strong. In fact, the two of them should be at the Heavenly Yuan level.

As Lin Dong's gaze swept over the two of them, he saw two other familiar faces behind them, Lei Li and Xie Yingying.

As if they could feel Lin Dong's glaze, Lei Li and Xie Yingying immediately stared back at him. A smile appeared on Lei Li's face as he gently swung his palm in empty air at Lin Dong. Clearly, he still remembered the slap that Lin Dong owed him.

"Old Brother Lei, rest assured, my old bones will not enter the coffin before you." Lin Zhentian smiled as he approached the two of them. Without hearing their tone of voice and judging from their expressions alone, anyone would think that they were best friends.

"When one has many worries, it is difficult to live long ..." Lei Bao smiled faintly as he observed the members of the Lin Family. Finally, his gaze stopped on Lin Xiao and he frowned as he sensed the powerful Yuan Energy within the latter. It seemed like the rumor that Lin Xiao had recovered his strength was indeed true.

“When someone loses so much every hunt, of course he will get angry. This would definitely hurt one's longevity. ” Standing beside Lei Bao, Xie Qian uttered with a deep smile.

As they heard the subtle humiliation in his words, every member of the Lin Family was furious. However, with a wave of his hand, Lin Zhentian managed to stop everyone before he casually replied: "This time, I'm worried that your Xie Family will get angry."

“I heard that a genius recently emerged from the Lin Family? Let me guess, this guy should be?” Lei Bao's sunken eyes suddenly turned towards Lin Dong as an evil grin appeared on his wrinkled face.

Lin Dong felt his hair stand up when Lei Bao looked at him. This old man is obviously bad news.

"My son has only a small reputation, hardly worth mentioning compared to the Lei Family." Lin Xiao replied nonchalantly as he stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Dong.

“We'll see after the hunt starts. Remember to prepare your gift for us.” Lei Bao smiled as he lazily waved his hand before leading his people to directly pass Lin Zhentian and the others.

Lei Li's footsteps suddenly stopped when he reached Lin Dong. As he glanced towards the latter and the other members of the younger generation of the Lin Family, he softly muttered: "Lin Dong, there are many terrifying ferocious beasts in the forest. You better be careful. Don't end up in their stomachs, okay?…”

After saying these words, a grin appeared on Lei Li's face. He glared at Lin Dong viciously before finally turning around to leave.

"That bastard, he's too arrogant!" Lin Xia angrily retorted as he stared at the dagger on Lei Li's back.

Lin Dong glanced behind Lei Li. He naturally knew that the latter was trying to intimidate him. A cold smile appeared on his face as he muttered to himself.

"It is too early to determine who will end up in the belly of a wild beast ..."