Chapter 9: Ambush

Jiang Yan swaggered toward the outskirts of Linjiang City, carrying a large black sack over his shoulder.

The area near Linjiang City had been relatively cleared of Fierce Beasts, so Wilderness Hunters had spontaneously established a small trading post there.

Many Wilderness Hunters sold the Materials they collected here, while merchants from the city came to purchase raw materials, ensuring the freshest goods at the lowest prices, with no middlemen taking a cut.

The trading post was extremely crude, littered with trash, and a faint scent of blood lingered in the air.

Jiang Yan, covered in Black Wolf blood, blended right in with the bloody atmosphere.

The dried blood clung to his body, and with the large black sack slung over his back, his appearance attracted quite a bit of attention.

Imitating the other Wilderness Hunters, he opened the sack and dumped the wolf pelts and fangs onto the ground, quietly waiting for city merchants to come and make purchases.

Materials from Black Wolves were common, and the market for them was still quite broad, so Jiang Yan wasn’t worried about finding buyers.

Sure enough, before long, a hunched old man with messy hair shuffled over.

He glanced at Jiang Yan, taking in his bloodstained appearance, but said nothing, only expressing surprise at Jiang Yan’s youthful face.

“Is this… a student?”

The old man muttered to himself, asking no further questions, and pointed to the pile of Black Wolf remains on the ground.

“Boss, how much for these?”

Jiang Yan had done his homework beforehand and knew the prices for wolf pelts and fangs well.

“Black Wolf pelts, 10,000 each.”

“Wolf fangs, 1,000 each.”

The old man replied, “Alright, deal.”

The old man clearly wasn’t short on money, as he simply packed up the items and took them away.

Jiang Yan looked at the balance in his bank account and suddenly felt it was all a bit surreal.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands.

A total of 72,000 Star Coins.

Six wolves meant six pelts and twelve fangs.

“Hunting really does pay well. Staying at Linjiang First High School would’ve been the dumbest choice.”

After getting the money, Jiang Yan checked the Martial Skill prices on the Martial Artist official website.

He filtered the category to movement techniques.

Gale Step: Official price: 100,000 Star Coins

Description: Yellow Grade Advanced Martial Skill. Increases step frequency upon use, with a long duration. Suitable for attrition-based tactics.

Meteor Tread: Official price: 110,000 Star Coins

Description: Yellow Grade Advanced Martial Skill. Integrates combat with footwork, allowing for both offense and retreat.

Jiang Yan continued scrolling. He needed a movement technique that could reach the Azure Lord Eagle, and the ones he’d looked up earlier weren’t quite suitable for him.

Burst Step: Official price: 90,000 Star Coins

Description: Yellow Grade Advanced Martial Skill. Extreme explosive power, granting you the ability to soar through the skies and burrow into the earth (Note: Users, please be mindful of height—jumping too high may result in fatal falls).

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow, thinking this one looked promising.

“But it seems I’m still a bit short on money.”

Just as he was considering whether to venture back into the Wilderness for more hunting, a short figure draped in a black cloak, looking rather shady, crept over furtively.

He glanced around cautiously before approaching Jiang Yan, acting familiar as he offered a cigarette.

“Brother, want a smoke?”

Jiang Yan didn’t reach for it, instead staring coldly at the little man. “What do you want?”

The little man chuckled awkwardly, withdrew the cigarette, and tucked it behind his ear.

“Brother, I’ve got some black-market goods here. Want to take a look?”

Jiang Yan understood—this guy was a black-market vendor.

What is a black market vendor? They specialize in buying goods of dubious origin at low prices—items that can’t enter the regular market—and then reselling them to those in need.

Jiang Yan asked him, “Do you have any Martial Skills?”

“Yes! Yes!” Little Shorty grinned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “What kind are you looking for, brother?”

“Burst Step.”

“Ah… that one.”

Jiang Yan: “Don’t have it?”

Little Shorty: “I do, but I’ll need to restock.”

Jiang Yan: “Timeframe.”

Little Shorty: “At least by three this afternoon.”

Jiang Yan: “I’ll wait for you here at five.”

Little Shorty: “Deal.”

After sealing the transaction, the cloaked Little Shorty smiled happily, then stopped talking to Jiang Yan, turned, and disappeared into the crowd, likely off to find his next customer.

Jiang Yan picked up the sack from the ground and didn’t linger long at the exchange. He turned and headed back into the depths of the Wilderness.

To earn money.

As soon as Jiang Yan left, several figures appeared where he had been standing.

“Boss, that guy just sold nearly a hundred thousand worth of goods, and now he’s heading back into the Wilderness. He’s probably going to make a decent haul.”

“He looks like just a student. Should we…”

One of them made a throat-slitting gesture.

“He managed to hunt so many Black Wolves, so his strength must be decent. Let’s follow him for now.”

The figures hurried off in the direction Jiang Yan had disappeared.

In the Wilderness, besides guarding against Fierce Beasts, humans are also an extremely dangerous presence.

There are teams like these—they don’t hunt Fierce Beasts or take risks themselves. Instead, they rob Wilderness hunters to make a profit.

Their usual targets are students new to Wilderness training or complete novices with no experience.

Background and identity mean nothing here. Bodies dumped in the Wilderness go unnoticed, and investigations are nearly impossible.

“You fought an Ironhorn Rhino, and your Physical Body improved slightly.”

“You are under attack; Savage Sturdy Body’s defense increased.”

“You used Wild Bull Strength, and your Proficiency improved slightly.”

…

“You killed a Windrunner Horse. Congratulations, you achieved a Breakthrough after the battle!”

Jiang Yan shuddered, feeling an overwhelming sense of exhilaration rush to the top of his head, so intense he nearly cried out in pleasure.

He opened his Character Panel.

【Host】: Jiang Yan

【Talent】: Savage Sturdy Body

【Realm】: Body Tempering Perfection

【Martial Skills】: (Unranked) Basic Saber Technique – Perfection

(Yellow Grade Low) Wild Bull Strength – Major Achievement

【Traits】: Heaven Rewards Diligence (Destined) | Truth of Desperation (Blue) | Haste

In just one afternoon, Jiang Yan had pushed Wild Bull Strength to Major Achievement through constant combat, and his Martial Way Realm had reached Body Tempering Perfection. Such a Breakthrough speed—even those so-called Geniuses and Prodigies might not surpass it, right?

Fresh from his Breakthrough, his previously exhausted body was now brimming with energy, restored to peak condition.

Just as he was cleaning up the Windrunner Horse he had just killed, an arrow shot toward him from behind like a released bowstring.

Without even turning his head, Jiang Yan twisted his neck. The arrow flew past along its original trajectory, missing by a hair’s breadth. Had it struck, the arrowhead would have pierced the back of his skull, ending his life.

“Damn it, missed!”

A hundred meters behind him, a skinny man who had just drawn his bow cursed.

“Useless! How many times have you messed up these past few days?”

The bald, burly man leading the group angrily scolded the skinny one.

The skinny man scratched his head in frustration. “Boss, it’s not my fault! That guy’s like he has eyes in the back of his head—he just twisted his neck and dodged it.”

“Stop making excuses, he’s already spotted us. Make it quick when we move.”

Seeing their ambush had failed, the bald man and his crew chose to rob him outright.

Jiang Yan was also hot-tempered. If not for the Truth of Desperation activating at the critical moment, even with the Savage Sturdy Body for defense, his head would have been bloodied today.

So he hoisted his saber and charged toward the group.