'Puchi.'

Finally, someone couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

Huang Longgang's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.

"I will kill you!"

He pulled out a finely crafted golden dagger from his bosom, ready to charge at Lou Yi.

"Young Master Huang, private fights are forbidden in the martial grounds." Jia Hong's voice rang out, like the warmth of spring, reminding him.

"Huang Longgang, have you forgotten the rules of the Extreme Fist Sect? Disciples may not harm one another.

Or do you wish to be expelled from the sect? Or think you have special privileges because you're from the Huang family?" Zhan Weida flirtatiously twirled a white folding fan in front of his chest, speaking with yin and yang.

On the other side, Lou Yi turned and walked away, showing Huang Longgang his back, seemingly unconcerned about a sneak attack.

Huang Longgang's face constantly changed, but he eventually swallowed his anger.

"Interesting," Zhan Weida watched Lou Yi's back with an intrigued expression.

…

"When will these firecrackers be done, it's driving me crazy."

"And the increase in Qi-Blood, we're not like the main courtyard disciples with wealthy backgrounds, no abundance of supplements or spirit monster meat to eat."

"Hey, I'd rather be kicked out early, so I can go back home and inherit the family business sooner."

Niu Peng, He Yu, Jie Bai, and Jin Feng exchanged jokes and laughter as they returned to the side courtyard from the martial arts training ground.

Upon entering their residence, they saw Lou Yi sitting cross-legged alone on the bed, exchanged glances, and ceased their conversation.

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

Niu Peng, who used to challenge Lou Yi often, now avoided his gaze.

Even the straightforward Jin Feng wasn't as chatty as before.

Lou Yi pondered before understanding his current predicament; having offended Huang Longgang severely, retaliation was inevitable.

His roommates mostly came from ordinary backgrounds, and their fear of getting caught in the crossfire made it natural for them to distance themselves.

'It's time to move out,' Lou Yi thought.

Staying here forcibly made no sense; it was uncomfortable for him and for the others.

Lou Yi packed up his clothes from the lower bunk and decisively left the house he hadn't lived in for long.

After Lou Yi left, Jin Feng sighed: "Why bother?"

"We have no other choice," said Niu Peng with small eyes, helplessly.

"Some people just can't see their own status, lack the power or background, yet insist on showing off!" The third person commented, with the voice evidently belonging to He Yu.

…

The sun rose, brightening the sky; a small courtyard in the South City Suburb of Tai City.

"Morning, Brother Yi." Lu Yang, brushing his teeth with willow twig and coarse salt, mumbled a greeting to Lou Yi.

"Morning." Lou Yi casually asked, "Where's Liu Yuan, didn't see him return last night."

"That guy, who knows on which little girl's belly he might've been fooling around," Lu Yang muttered.

"Lu, it's not nice to badmouth people behind their backs, is it?" A handsome man in green long robes entered the courtyard; his appearance had both elegance and some roguish charm. It was Liu Yuan, who had been out all night, "Brother Yi, I've been dealing with people from the River Gang these days, I'm not slacking off."

He lowered his voice, "If you want to find out some things, these local bullies have wide networks and swift information."

Lou Yi nodded: "Notify me at the Extreme Fist Sect once you get the news."

Times were different, merely relying on energy from graveyards couldn't keep up with his pace of power development.

Compared to Lu Yang, Liu Yuan was more resourceful, adept at gathering information, a true expert.

After washing up, he stepped out of the courtyard, heading to the busiest commercial street in the southern city.

It was bustling early in the morning, with voices of vendors and customers bargaining endlessly.

"Buns, buns!"

"Scallion oil pancakes, century-old craft, come and taste!"

"Tai City's morning tea, unmatched in the world, even the emperor praised it!"

Lou Yi went to a bun shop, buying a vegetable bun and two meat buns.

The buns, the size of a palm, were made from fine white flour, delicious and smooth.

But the price was hefty, costing a full thirty coins, equivalent to three days' wages from chopping trees in the past.

Prices in the main city were far higher than those in the outer city.

Of course, these buns couldn't satiate Lou Yi's appetite.

He relied on a vast amount of bird and beast meat caught with a slingshot and purchased pickled meat stored in his rented place; the buns were only for satisfying cravings.

While eating breakfast, a commotion arose nearby.

"Beast Hunter Guard in action, bystanders step back quickly!"

"Spirit Monster, such a big spirit monster!"

"Wow, so much meat, enough to feed my family for years."

'Creak!'

'Creak!'

'Creak!'

Lou Yi pushed forward and saw a group of people dressed variably but all holding knives and swords, aggressively escorting a giant cart towards the city center.

Four tall black horses pulled the cart, carrying a massive spirit monster corpses.

The spirit monster was as tall as a building, its messy brown-yellow fur hanging like sorghum.

The head, magnified several times the size of a horse's head, covered in dense black scales, revealing fierce teeth in the open mouth, occasionally oozing yellow pus mixed with blood.

"Horse Spirit, obviously a wild horse turned spirit, tisk, the head is bigger than a millstone, teeth thicker than corncob…"

"Ordinary hunters wouldn't stand a chance, only strong martial artists like the Beast Hunter Guard could tame them!"

"Touching a spirit beast brings good luck and prevents bug bites, and your child won't wet the bed..."

"I've never touched a spirit beast, wonder if its skin is harder than my home's bed board!"

Whispering about the benefits of touching spirit beasts, the crowd followed suit, reaching out to touch the horse spirit arbitrarily.

Despite the Beast Hunter Guard's loud reprimands and frowning, they couldn't stop the surging crowd.

Feeling a sudden urge, Lou Yi joined the throng and had a touch.

In the next moment.

Familiar translucent lettering emerged: 'Energy +3, absorb?'

"Yes."

Seeing the additional three energy points on the attribute panel, Lou Yi felt he'd found a way to solve the energy scarcity.

"Big brother, what's the purpose of the Beast Hunter Guard?"

The middle-aged man, clothed in gray and with hair tied with a fabric band, felt someone pat his shoulder and turned to see Lou Yi's friendly and amiable smile.

"Young man, you're from elsewhere, right?"

"I'm from the outer city, just arrived in the inner city a few days ago."

"No wonder, the Beast Hunter Guard is powerful, well-connected, I advise you not to provoke them…"

After chatting with the middle-aged man, Lou Yi learned some basics about the Beast Hunter Guard.

Wangjiang County, where Tai City belonged, was located on the southeastern corner of Wei Kingdom, separated by continuous mountain ranges, heavily relying on caravans to connect with the Central Plains.

In this world, wherever vegetation thrived but humans were scarce, beasts often ran rampant, and the appearance of spirit monsters wasn't uncommon.

The mountain ranges blocking Wangjiang County from the Central Plains were exceptional, with spirit monster numbers surpassing other areas combined, known as the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range.

Spirit monsters had to be periodically cleared; otherwise, trade routes would be blocked, and Wangjiang County would become stagnant.

Therefore, each city, such as Tai City, Jiang City, and Yang City, under Wangjiang County, had a Beast Hunting Bureau under the City Lord's Mansion, mainly tasked with clearing spirit monsters in the Hundred Beasts Mountain Range.

To become a formal Beast Hunter Guard, one required the power of a Breaking Through Martial Artist and needed combat assessments, a high threshold.

However, in return, Beast Hunter Guards held esteemed positions and enjoyed favorable benefits.

Regarding the specifics of these benefits, the local from Tai City couldn't quite say.

But for Lou Yi, this information sufficed.

He had set his course, planning to become a Beast Hunter Guard in the future.

This not only pertained to energy but also to the more enigmatic talent.

Given that the Stone Ape had bestowed him with petrification talent, what of other spirit monsters?

…

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