Chapter 69 Joining the Beast Hun

Lu Tianzi was naturally not interested in this Nanlan Qianxue, but the Nine Suns Sect and these Beast Hunts were another matter altogether.

Judging from their tone, this Nine Suns Sect seemed to be an influential organisation within Bluenight City. Lu Tianzi understood that he would have to be careful when dealing with them in the future.

As for the Beast Hunts, the bulky man mentioned that they were a source of beast cores, a requirement to progress in cultivation.

Right now, Lu Tianzi had already started cultivating the Heaven Devouring Divine Art, and was familiar with the means that demons used to cultivate the Slaughter Essence system.

There was only one way to obtain Slaughter Essence – by killing.

By taking the lives of others, a martial artist would be able to absorb the primordial form of Slaughter Essence, allowing them to refine this into a form that could be assimilated fully into their body.

However, when it came to high level beasts, things worked a little differently.

High level beasts would form a beast core within their body, where the bulk of their energy would be stored. When they were required to fight, they would tap on the energy stored within their beast core, allowing them to display their greatest combat prowess.

This was similar to the inner world of martial artists, only that the energy within high level beasts would still remain trapped within the beast core after their deaths.

While they would still release a minimal amount of Slaughter Essence when killed, it was truly minimal as compared to the Slaughter Essence that would still remain trapped within their beast core.

So in order to fully enjoy the fruit of their efforts, martial artist would have to search the carcasses after killing these wild beasts, and retrieve the beast cores from within.

Considering that they contained Slaughter Essence essential for cultivation, beast cores were rare commodities within the Scarlet Moon Kingdom, especially among martial artists!

And these Beast Hunts that they were speaking of must be organised hunting trips so as to increase the survival rate of the martial artists.

Lu Tianzi understood immediately.

Having an established martial arts heritage also meant that there would be measures put in place to ease the path of cultivation, and these Beast Hunts were one such measure.

Otherwise, if every martial artist had to risk their lives venturing out into the wilderness alone, then the casualty rate would definitely be a staggering amount!

Since Lu Tianzi had now learnt about this, he was certainly interested in checking it out.

If he found that it was truly an efficient way of cultivating, then there was no reason for Lu Tianzi not to continue joining these Beast Hunts!

With that decided, Lu Tianzi immediately stepped forward and walked right up to the table where the two men were seated.

"These two brothers over here, do you mind answering this junior's curious question?" Lu Tianzi clasped his fists towards the two of them politely.

"Hmm?" the bulky man was surprised when he saw such a young man standing before him, but considering that Lu Tianzi was being rather courteous, he naturally did not react negatively. "What is it?"

"I accidentally overheard your conversation earlier. May I know more about this Beast Hunt that you are talking about?" Lu Tianzi inquired.

"Ah…" the two of them simultaneously exclaimed with a meaning smile on their faces.

"So this young brother is one of our kind as well, unable to resist the allure of beauties!" the bulky man laughed.

"Even such a young man is interested… it looks like the competition is certainly going to be tough this time!" his companion laughed along.

Lu Tianzi could only speechlessly laugh along with them as well.

"Don't worry, young brother. Other than the fact that Nanlan Qianxue is leading the group this time, nothing else is going to change," the bulky man continued. "The meeting place is still at the Eastern Gate at dawn, and the price is still ten gold for each individual, to be paid at the gate prior to departure. If you are truly interested, then we will be seeing each other two days from now!"

"I see!" Lu Tianzi nodded gratefully before clasping his hands towards the two of them once more. "Thank you for the information. I am sorry for the short disturbance, this junior will take my leave now."

Still not too familiar with what was considered common knowledge within the populace, Lu Tianzi decided against asking more in case any suspicions arose from that.

The two men merely nodded politely before returning to their conversation, not bothering too much about this young man whom they just met.

Over the next two days, Lu Tianzi spent the bulk of his time either walking around the city or sitting at the inn, gathering as much information as he could.

It was then that he realised just how influential this Nine Suns Sect truly was.

The Nine Suns Sect was the number one power that stood at the very top of Bluenight City. Even the Lord of Bluenight City had to give them some face.

In fact, it was widely known that the Nine Suns Sect possessed an even greater influence within Bluenight City than the City Lord himself!

But such an influential power naturally had great expenses as well.

Thus, it came as no surprise that the most lucrative businesses conducted within the city were all under the control of the Nine Suns Sect.

In order to maintain their position as the top power within Bluenight City, they naturally possessed countless experts in their midst as well.

No one knew the true depth of the Nine Suns Sect's strength. In fact, there were even rumours going around that their ancient Sect Leader had reached the very peak of the Origin Core realm, and he had been accumulating sufficient resources over the past years to try for a full breakthrough to the next realm!

If the Nine Suns Sect Leader truly managed to do so, then the Nine Suns Sect would become an extremely fearsome power that simply could not be toppled!

Given its reach and influence, it went without saying that most martial artists wished to join the ranks of the Nine Suns Sect. However, their entrance examination was stringent to the point that only the best talents in the city were able to enter.

Such a matter left many unaffiliated martial artists sighing in helplessness.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Lu Tianzi left his room before dawn, arriving early at the Eastern Gate as he was told.

As he waited, more and more people started to arrive. Seeing the number of people around him, Lu Tianzi could not help but feel shocked at the sheer amount of martial artists who were joining the Beast Hunt.

There were at least hundreds of them, though most of them were still at the Essence Building realm.

This was also natural as well.

If a martial artist possessed sufficient strength, then the martial artist could just venture out to hunt alone. How would the martial artist still be willing to pay up just to join some Beast Hunt?

At this moment, Lu Tianzi saw a group of five men stride confidently towards the crowd, wearing white robes that seemed to project an air of nobility.

Their robes had a huge sun embroidered at the back, surrounded by eight other smaller suns. All of them were all at the Essence Condensation realm, and had looks on their faces that clearly showed that they believed they were far superior to others.

Those must be members of the Nine Suns Sect…

Lu Tianzi thought to himself as he silently observed from the side.

"All right, come over and pay up!" the five men yelled.

Beast Hunts were organised on a regular basis, and thus the other martial artists around knew exactly what to do. They quickly formed up into five lines as they queued up to pay the fee.

Lu Tianzi followed suit, queuing up to pay the ten gold required to join a Beast Hunt.

This process was rather quick. Before long, it was already Lu Tianzi's turn to pay up.

However, the moment Lu Tianzi stepped forward, the young man before him suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hey, look at this guy!" the young man called out to his four companions. "He had already lost his tail and yet he still wants to go for the Beast Hunt! This is what you call perserverance! We really should try to learn more from him!"

His words drew the attention of the other four members of the Nine Suns Sect. Not just that, but everyone else turned to look at him as well.

"Oh? You are right! He really is a model for us all!" one of his companions laughed mockingly.

"Why don't you just waive his fee? Do a kind deed for people in need!" another shouted over.

Much of the crowd burst into murmurings as well. Some of them were feeling pity for Lu Tianzi, but some were actually mocking him along with the members of the Nine Suns Sect.

Lu Tianzi simply raised an eyebrow at this sight.

He certainly understood that the other party was trying to put him down. But Lu Tianzi never had a tail to begin with, so why would he feel angered by this?

If anything, he simply found the entire situation amusing.

"Hmm? What's so funny?" the young man's expression changed in an instant as he stared at Lu Tianzi in irritation. "Are you laughing at me?"

It was then that Lu Tianzi suddenly realised he had subconsciously let out a faint smile while observing the current situation.

"Not at all, I was just laughing at my own inability," Lu Tianzi shook his head in a depressed manner.

"Tch, fucking coward!" the young man cursed before receiving the ten gold from Lu Tianzi. "Get out of my sight!"

Lu Tianzi did not bother arguing further, walking away to a corner once more as he continued waiting for dawn to arrive.

The martial artists all paid up eventually. Given their level of perception, anyone who dared to mix into the crowd without paying would definitely be found out quickly.

Should that happen, even if the Nine Suns Sect decided to let them off without punishment, other influences or businesses within the city would definitely still treat them as outcasts, no longer willing to have any sorts of dealings with them!

Shunned by the major powers, the martial artist in question would no longer have a place in Bluenight City!

As dawn arrived, the five men suddenly perked up and looked towards two individuals who were slowly strolling towards them.

Not just them, but every martial artist around turned their attention to the two newcomers as well.

They were a pair comprising a young lady who looked to be in her teens, and a man who seemed to have reached his forties, both of them wearing the same white robe that the other five members of the Nine Suns Sect wore.

The young lady was tall for a girl, being only slightly shorter than Lu Tianzi, and had long silky black hair that reached down to her back. Her black eyes were clear and bright, proof of the vitality of youth that she possessed. Her facial features were sharp and pronounced. Coupled with her unblemished skin that seemed even softer than that of a baby, she could be said to have reached the very pinnacle of beauty.

Her loose white robe might be able to hide her clothes beneath, but it was insufficient to obscure her wonderful figure. Her twin peaks caused her clothes to protrude at her chest, and her hips were round and full. Yet despite her perfect figure, one would not think of profaning her with thoughts of indecency. Wearing a look of indifference, she was like an undefilable goddess whom others could only dream of having, but could never possess.

This beautiful young lady was naturally Nanlan Qianxue, the greatest talent that the Nine Suns Sect had ever seen in the last century.

One would think that with the appearance of such a character, her companion's presence would completely fade away into the background. However, the fact was that most of the people around were even more shocked by the man instead!

"That is Elder Wanglei from the Nine Suns Sect!" someone called out in astonishment.

"An Elder of the Nine Suns Sect? The Nine Suns Sect actually sent out an elder for this Beast Hunt?"

"It really is him! I have had the opportunity to see him once before from afar. He is actually here today, how fortunate!"

"It must be because Nanlan Qianxue is here, and so he is here to protect her from harm!"

Lu Tianzi narrowed his eyes in wariness as well.

He might not have heard of this Elder Wanglei specifically, but he knew the general structure of the Nine Suns Sect.

In order to hold the position of Elder in the Nine Suns Sect, this Elder Wanglei had to be an Origin Core realm martial artist!

Would his disguise be able to hold firm in the face of such an expert?