Chapter 707: The Hunt Begins

"Master Zhang, don't forget our bet just now—whoever gets the higher score wins!"

Seeing everyone quickly ascend the mountain, "Brother Yu" couldn't hold back. He turned to look at Zhang Xuan, sneered, and with Feng Wu, swiftly charged up the mountain.

"Let's go too!"

Seeing the others leave, Zhang Xuan glanced at Luo Xuan, Ruohuan Gongzi, and the others, and said.

In the freshman assessment, Master Hong, as a master seeing them off, was not qualified to enter and could only watch from outside. Thus, the rest was up to them.

"Mm!"

Luo Xuan and the others nodded.

"Over there!"

Knowing that everyone now looked to him for guidance, Zhang Xuan did not decline. He looked around, his eyes settling on a narrow valley, and led the way.

The masters from Huanyu Empire followed closely behind.

Leiyuan Peak was not only steep but also vast, with countless ravines, passages, rocks, and vegetation... Though there were thirty thousand people, they became insignificant when placed on such a massive mountain.

The passage Zhang Xuan chose had few people, sparsely populated.

The group, all at least at the peak of Zhuqing Realm, moved extremely fast. In about ten minutes, they entered the mountain forest.

Dense vegetation blocked the sun, and the entire mountain range exuded a cold aura.

The forest was quiet and serene, without a sound. It was unclear whether the animals and birds had been driven away by those who entered earlier, or if they knew so many masters were hunting and hid in advance, giving a sense of lifelessness.

"Master Zhang, which way should we go?"

After walking for a while without seeing even a strand of beast fur, let alone a spirit beast, Luo Xuan and the others couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Leiyuan Peak is vast; spirit beasts are not easy to find if they hide. But don't worry, I am a beast tamer and have already detected some traces..."

Zhang Xuan smiled.

Apart from being a master, he was also a beast tamer proficient in beast language. Although the forest seemed empty, it could not hide from a beast tamer's eyes.

Moreover, he had the Eye of Insight.

If he really wanted to find them, no matter how well hidden, they could not escape.

After walking a bit further, Zhang Xuan suddenly stopped, signaling everyone to be quiet. With a flick of his wrist, a long sword appeared in his palm.

Swish!

With a flick of his hand, a sword beam slashed down at the steep rock face before him.

Just as everyone was wondering why he was striking the rock, a loud boom was heard, the rock shattered, and a gray figure shot straight out.

A peak Huafan Fourth Layer spirit beast... Howling Wind Wolf!

Unexpectedly, this creature had been hiding inside the rock.

"I'll leave it to you; I'll go ahead and take a look!"

Knowing that this level of spirit beast posed no pressure to Luo Xuan and the others, Zhang Xuan did not intervene. He stamped his foot on the ground and swiftly flew forward.

This valley slanted upward. Although there were steep rocks everywhere, there was also dense vegetation. His feet lightly tapped on the branches, and before long, he had advanced seven or eight kilometers.

Whoosh!

Zhang Xuan stopped, frowning.

"Are these traces of a beast herd passing through?"

Though the ground before him did not leave many marks, with the Eye of Insight, he could easily see that a beast herd had recently passed by.

"Green-backed Savage Bear, Iron-toothed Leopard, Yellow Southern Tiger, Golden-armed Iron Ape... This beast herd has at least a dozen different kinds of spirit beasts, and... all have reached Heling Realm and are good at speed!"

After observing for a while, he made a judgment.

Different kinds of spirit beasts leave different traces. At a glance, he recognized at least a dozen species among the herd that had passed.

These spirit beasts were normally hostile to each other, but now they were traveling together. This was probably as Elder Mi had said earlier—they had united and planned to besiege humans.

"Master Zhang..."

Just as he was continuing to observe, trying to see where this herd had gone, Luo Xuan and the others caught up.

A peak Zhuqing Realm spirit beast was indeed nothing to them; they killed it easily.

But there were too many examinees in their team; killing one or two of this level was like a drop in the bucket.

"Mm, everyone keep your voices down. Let's go for a big catch!"

Zhang Xuan smiled slightly.

Since at least a dozen Huafan Fifth Layer spirit beasts had passed this way, he naturally had to find a way to kill them.

If they were all killed, everyone's scores should be sufficient.

For other teams or alliances, even if they knew there were a dozen Heling Realm spirit beasts ahead, they probably wouldn't dare to charge head-on. But he was different. His own strength had already reached the peak of Huafan Fifth Layer, and his combat power was even stronger. Heling Realm spirit beasts were nothing; if he wanted, he could slaughter them all alone.

"A big catch?"

Everyone was puzzled.

"Mm, based on my observations, a group of Heling Realm spirit beasts just passed by. If we kill them, our scores will be enough..." Zhang Xuan said lightly.

"Heling Realm spirit beasts?"

Everyone's eyes lit up with excitement.

An early Heling Realm spirit beast was worth ten points; five would be enough for everyone's scores.

As for danger, didn't Master Zhang have a half-step Ninth Layer beast pet? If danger arose, it could handle everything easily...

"Follow me!"

Ignoring what the others were thinking, Zhang Xuan shook his body and chased forward along the traces.

"Not right..."

Soon, he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Ruohuan Gongzi came up to him.

"There are traces of a formation being set up ahead, but no signs of a fight..."

Zhang Xuan frowned.

"What do you mean?" Everyone was confused.

"Traces of a formation being set up mean someone ambushed here before. No signs of a fight indicate that this group of spirit beasts did not fall for it and avoided it in advance!"

Zhang Xuan explained.

"Spirit beasts are naturally sensitive to spiritual energy. Maybe they detected the formation and avoided it!"

Luo Xuan interjected.

Spirit beasts have keener senses of smell and touch than humans; detecting a formation in advance is not surprising!

"This is a Five-Star Azure Sky Illusion Formation! Known for its concealment. Even a Heling Realm master passing by might not detect it..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

It wasn't that simple.

Although the other party's formation had been removed, the traces remained. With his eyesight, he could determine the type and level of the formation from these traces.

The Azure Sky Formation was famous for concealment. Without using the Eye of Insight, even he would find it hard to detect if suddenly encountered, let alone a group of spirit beasts!

He didn't believe that a group of Heling Realm spirit beasts had better eyesight than him.

"Then what's going on?"

Hearing about the Azure Sky Formation, everyone frowned.

"I don't know either... Let's continue chasing and see!"

Zhang Xuan couldn't figure it out either, but there was no need to dwell on it. Judging by the traces, this group of spirit beasts had passed not long ago. If they continued chasing, they should be able to find out what was going on.

"Alright!"

Everyone knew his judgment was correct and continued following behind.

Moving forward while searching for traces, after another ten minutes, Zhang Xuan stopped again.

"What now?" Seeing his expression, Ruohuan Gongzi couldn't help but come up to him.

"Someone passed by here just now, using [Red Blood Pill] as bait. But... this group of spirit beasts still didn't take the bait and quietly left..."

Sniffing the lingering scent in the air, Zhang Xuan said.

"Red Blood Pill?"

"Mm, a fifth-grade pill that Heling Realm spirit beasts simply cannot refuse..." Zhang Xuan grew more puzzled.

For other items, spirit beasts might refuse, but the Red Blood Pill, once taken, could enhance bloodline and greatly benefit spirit beasts. Yet they could resist it—this was strange.

Spirit beasts do not have as high intelligence as humans. If they knew it was a trap and avoided danger, there wouldn't be so many beast pets tamed by humans.

Avoiding a formation once could be coincidence, but now even resisting the temptation of the Red Blood Pill made one suspicious.

"Most importantly, the people who set up the formation and placed the Red Blood Pill to lure the spirit beasts have disappeared!"

Zhang Xuan continued.

"Disappeared? Could it be... they were killed by them?"

Luo Xuan's pupils contracted.

A force that could produce a fifth-grade formation and a peak fifth-grade pill was certainly not simple. If so many people were killed, encountering them would be hard to withstand.

"No! If there was a fight, traces would be left. Even Huafan Eighth or Ninth Layer spirit beasts would find it hard to kill a team of masters in one go!"

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Those who came here for the assessment were all outstanding masters, with high status and bright futures. Who didn't have some life-saving measures?

Not to mention a dozen Heling Realm spirit beasts, even several Huafan Eighth or Ninth Layer ones could not kill people silently without leaving any traces.

"Then..." Everyone was bewildered.

"If I'm not mistaken, this group of people probably discovered the spirit beasts and quietly followed them..." Zhang Xuan stated his inference.

"Followed them?"

"Mm, otherwise, the formation couldn't have been dismantled so cleanly, and the pill was taken away, leaving no traces on the ground!" Zhang Xuan continued.

"Discovered the spirit beasts? That's not right. Since the spirit beasts detected them in advance, they would surely leave quietly. Letting the other party track them would be very dangerous, wouldn't it?"

Ruohuan Gongzi saw the key point and couldn't help saying.

"That's why I find it strange!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Since this group of spirit beasts could detect formations and human traps in advance, they would surely leave quietly without being discovered to escape.

But now, not only did the first group discover them, but the second group also did... It was as if they deliberately left traces to be found.

This made one think deeply.

"Let's continue chasing and see..."

Knowing that dwelling here wouldn't yield answers, Zhang Xuan identified the marks left by the spirit beasts and continued the pursuit.

Everyone followed closely.

Soon, they had walked for half an hour, circling a large part of the mountain. They had already found several human ambush sites, and even traces of fights.

However, these marks were very simple, suggesting that the spirit beasts encountered the other party, fought little, and directly retreated.