Chapter 28: Check-In at the Hunting Ground, Obtaining the Nine-Colored Devouring Sky Python

Of course, while waiting in place, the Lin family members also encountered familiar faces.

Among the group at the forefront, there were two individuals who stood out. One was dressed in a light gray silk robe and appeared to be of similar age to Lin Zhentian.

The other was a middle-aged man with a smiling face, a classic example of a smiling tiger.

Naturally, these two were the respective heads of the Lei and Xie families.

The older man was Lei Leopard, the head of the Lei family, while the younger one was Xie Qian, the head of the Xie family.

At this moment, the two of them saw the Lin family members and approached them with smiles.

"Heh, Lin Zhentian, long time no see. It seems your old bones are still quite sturdy."

"Old man Lei, don't worry, my old bones will outlive yours by a step."

"That's not necessarily true. When you have so many things to worry about, living long isn't easy."

"Moreover, each time we participate in the Hunting Battle, we lose a fair amount of reward. No matter who it is, that will make their hearts feel heavy. And when your heart is heavy, it's natural that you won't live long."

However, their words were rather unpleasant.

After all, the Lin family and the Lei and Xie families had been enemies for a long time.

So, even though their conversation seemed cordial on the surface, attentive listeners could easily detect that they were trading barbs and curses beneath the surface.

Lin Yan also glanced at the heads of the Lei and Xie families. After all, he was part of the Lin family, and they had treated him well. Seeing these two families act so arrogantly was rather unpleasant.

However, Lin Yan wasn't foolish enough to think that he had the qualifications to take on these two. Both Lei Leopard and Xie Qian were experts of the Heavenly Yuan Realm, while Lin Yan could at best fight against opponents in the late Earthly Yuan Realm even with his mastery of the Eight Extremities Collapse, Purple Flame, and Purple Cloud Wings.

Facing opponents in the Heavenly Yuan Realm was still far beyond his reach.

His gaze quickly shifted to the back, where he noticed Lei Li and Xie Yingying were staring at him intently.

Lei Li's eyes turned frigid when he looked at Lin Yan.

After all, the previous incident had greatly humiliated him. Upon returning to the family, Lei Leopard had reprimanded him harshly for it.

However, this could be considered a blessing in disguise. Lei Leopard didn't merely reprimand him; after the scolding, he even gave Lei Li several four-star medicinal herbs.

Although Lei Li didn't refine pills, he used those four-star herbs to brew soups. Combined with his rigorous training in the past few months, he successfully advanced to the Earthly Yuan Realm.

"Lin Yan, we'll settle the score later."

Nowadays, Lei Li was confident. He looked at Lin Yan and made a throat-slitting gesture, indicating his intention to regain his lost face. If given the chance, Lei Li might even attempt to take advantage of the situation to kill Lin Yan. After all, accidents happen, and if he accidentally killed Lin Yan, it would only mean that Lin Yan was inferior in skill.

"Heh..."

"It seems he's quite confident."

Lin Yan wasn't particularly concerned.

He suddenly thought, Lei Leopard and Xie Qian were not within his grasp.

However, dealing with someone like Lei Li was a piece of cake.

Seeing Lei Li's current smug demeanor, Lin Yan wondered how desperate Lei Li's gaze would become after Lin Yan personally defeated him.

The teams quickly separated.

Soon after, participants from the Mad Blade Martial Academy began to arrive.

After all participants received their identification badges, they entered the venue, and the Hunting Battle officially began.

"Big Brother Lin Yan, do you want to team up?"

Lin Xia and Lin Dong didn't rush to set off; instead, they turned to Lin Yan and asked.

"I think I'll pass."

Lin Yan shook his head at them.

"If we don't team up, the efficiency of obtaining badges will be lower."

"Moreover, the Hunting Battle itself is a way to test and improve ourselves."

"Teaming up might seem simpler, but it would make this experience too easy, and then it would lose its meaning."

Lin Xia and Lin Dong were slightly taken aback by his response. After all, everyone's goal was to progress further, yet Lin Yan was treating this as a mere test.

"Truly worthy of Big Brother Lin Yan..."

Lin Dong sighed in admiration, feeling like he lacked the spirit of a strong contender compared to Lin Yan.

"I'm amazed. Your way of thinking is really different from us average folks."

Lin Xia looked at Lin Yan with mixed feelings.

Although she didn't impose her perspective on Lin Yan, in her heart, she also greatly approved of what he had said.

Perhaps, it was precisely because he held himself to such high standards that he had become so powerful.

"Well then, Big Brother Lin Yan, let's part ways here!"

"See you at the finish line!"

After bidding Lin Yan farewell, Lin Dong quickly left.

As for Lin Xia, she headed in a different direction.

Lin Yan wasn't in a hurry to set off. After all, his system didn't indicate where he could check in. It would only show that he completed the check-in after he reached the designated spot.

So, unlike those who aimed for the finish line, Lin Yan's goal was to explore every corner of the area to avoid missing the check-in opportunity due to oversight.

"So... let's start from this direction."

Tossing a twig into the air, Lin Yan looked at where it landed and made his choice, setting off on his journey.

Along the way, he encountered both participants and demonic beasts, all of whom he naturally defeated.

After all, if other participants came across Lin Yan, they would attack him in hopes of obtaining his badge for later levels. As for the demonic beasts, particularly the low-level ones, they lacked intelligence and would rush at Lin Yan wildly upon seeing him.

Lin Yan didn't hold back, directly using his strength to eliminate them one by one.

As he continued, he realized that his attempt to check-in was unsuccessful, yet he had unintentionally gathered over ten badges and a pile of demon cores from the beasts.

He sighed in exasperation, muttering to himself, "I didn't come here for this..."

Lin Yan continued to explore different areas, hoping to find the check-in location.

However, just as he took a few steps, the system's voice suddenly rang out.

"Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed the check-in at the Hunting Ground!"

"Reward Obtained: Nine-Colored Devouring Sky Python!"