Perceiving that someone was rushing over, Shen Han was about to find a place to hide when a group of people arrived before him.
"Kid, was it you who killed the Thunder-Patterned Violent Scorpion just now?" The leader of the group was a rather shifty-looking middle-aged man.
"What if it was?"
"We are hired by the Tang Family, one of the three major Families in Yang City, and we've been watching this Thunder-Patterned Violent Scorpion for some time. Our Young Lord's Awakening is an extremely rare Lightning Element Special Ability, and he needs this Thunder-Patterned Violent Scorpion's Yao Beast Core to advance. Would you be willing to let us have the Yao Beast Core?"
"Kid, I'm giving you a chance to pledge loyalty to me. As long as you follow me, our Tang Family can ensure you walk freely in Yang City," a gloomy young man behind the middle-aged man stepped forward.
"Presumably, this is their Young Lord then."
"That's right, only by following our Young Lord do you have a future. Our Young Lord awakened an A-Rank Lightning Element Special Ability. Follow the right person and you're guaranteed to never worry about food or drink."
"The corpse is over there, why don't you go get the Yao Beast Core yourselves?" Shen Han didn't want to get entangled with this group of people. These people's Cultivation was similar to Shen Han's, all around the fourth or fifth layer of Martial Artist, but the other side had strength in numbers.
Seeing that the other party was unappreciative, the Young Lord's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.
"Kid, are you toying with us? This Thunder-Patterned Violent Scorpion is already almost a dried corpse; the Yao Beast Core is probably long gone. Speak quickly, have you already taken the Yao Beast Core? If you don't mind, let us check your Storage Pouch," the middle-aged man pressed him tightly.
"The Yao Beast Core is really not on me. As an Ice Element Martial Artist, this Lightning Element Yao Beast Core is not much use to me."
"Kid, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. You wouldn't think you could take the Yao Beast Core and sell it at the trading hall for resources, would you?" A gloomy young man beside the middle-aged man couldn't help but say.
"The Yao Beast Core is really not on me. I've said all I can; believe it or not," Shen Han was already prepared to slip away.
"Since that's the case, don't blame us for being impolite," the middle-aged man and his group surrounded him in an arc, seemingly ready to forcefully take it.
Shen Han also had a headache; he had just arrived in the Shadowed Forest and encountered such a thing. He also knew that this time he had run into people who wanted to kill and seize treasures. In this world where the strong prey on the weak, weakness is the original sin.
"Frost Condensing Thousand Blades!" Shen Han concentrated all his Mental Energy on this Ice Element skill, and Ice Blades shot towards the weakest man in the group. Breaking through the gap, Shen Han sprinted towards the depths of the forest. "At this time, if only I had a speed-type or stealth-type skill."
"Chase!" The group behind him bit tightly, not letting go.
"Green Leaf Blade," Shen Han only felt a gust of wind behind him. "Chh—", a leaf pierced his shoulder, bringing a string of blood.
This wouldn't do. Even if he wasn't caught, he would die from excessive blood loss. He had to find a way to get rid of this group.
"Sniff Skill, activate—" Shen Han dodged the long-range attacks from behind in a zigzag pattern, while closely monitoring his surroundings, looking for an opportunity to escape.
"Got it, there's an exotic beast's lair ahead, and the exotic beast is sound asleep. It looks quite strong, it should have reached the Early Stage of Martial Master Realm," Shen Han merged into a giant ancient tree, changing direction. Before the pursuers behind him could react, Shen Han quietly slipped into the exotic beast's lair.
"It's actually an Illusion Python, I can't beat it." The Illusion Python, a Water Element Tier 2 Yao Beast, possesses both attack and defense, and can create temporary illusions to confuse people's senses. It is a very dangerous exotic beast in the outer regions, and ordinary hunting parties and mercenary groups usually avoid it.
Shen Han found the Illusion Python's lair, with only a mother snake and a nest of snake eggs. "I've got it."
Cooperating with the Frost Blade skill, Shen Han interspersed a few stones as interference during his counterattack. After blocking Shen Han's ineffective counterattacks, the middle-aged man and his group felt that Shen Han had reached the end of his rope, and a sneer appeared on the gloomy Young Lord's face.
"What is this, all sticky?" a subordinate suddenly shouted. Looking closely, he found that the blade of his weapon was covered in egg liquid, and the eggshell was shattered on the ground. "What kind of exotic beast's egg is this?"
"Not good, run!" The middle-aged man suddenly woke up, "These are the eggs of a Tier 2 exotic beast, the Illusion Python! Run for your lives. Kid, I'll remember you. If you make an enemy of our Tang Family, there will be no place for you in Yang City!"
With that, the middle-aged man grabbed the gloomy Young Lord and ran back. The others were not so lucky; before they could react, they were directly trapped by the illusion. In their moment of daze, they were slapped into the ground by a tail, completely devoid of life.
Seeing this, Shen Han couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, he slipped away quickly. The other side was not so lucky; only the middle-aged man and the gloomy Young Lord escaped with their lives. This time, they had truly made an enemy. However, Shen Han didn't care; he was not a soft-hearted, kind person. Anyone who attacked him was an enemy. Being soft-hearted would make it impossible to get by in this world.
Shen Han fled for a while, and when he could no longer see the Illusion Python or the two from the Tang Family, he climbed up a tree and hid among the leaves. He took out the Medicinal Pills he carried, applied them to his shoulder, and began to meditate to slowly recover.
Recalling the recent battles, Shen Han still lamented the lack of strength. Since he already possessed the SSS-Rank Chaos Element ability, he needed to fully utilize the corresponding skills to improve his strength. Especially this escape incident made him realize the necessity of speed-type skills and stealth-escape skills; these are life-saving skills at crucial moments. Although in school, one only needed to Cultivate the Martial Skills corresponding to one's Special Ability, to survive in this world, the academic faction could never compare to the practical faction; he had to complete the relevant skills. Moreover, his only skills were the Ice Element Frost Blade and the Lightning Element Thunder Rending Sky, and the two could not be used simultaneously, which greatly limited his effectiveness. His area-of-effect attack was insufficient, and his defense was the weakest of the weak.
Previously, his idea was to use the F-Rank Lightning Element to develop cautiously without exposing his SSS-Rank Chaos Special Ability. However, plans couldn't keep up with changes. Just surviving with an F-Rank Lightning Element became a problem; his Cultivation speed was slow, and resource utilization efficiency was low. When would he ever catch up with students of the same year? In this world, one must strive and fight for one's life. A conservative strategy of always trying to hide would not work.
Shen Han wanted to reach the peak of the Martial Dao, to see a bigger world, and he needed to constantly improve his strength and adopt a more proactive upgrade strategy.
After deciding to adopt a more proactive strategy, Shen Han decided to start by raising the Rank of his Lightning Element Special Ability, and then try to Copy some speed and defense-type Special Abilities. As long as the SSS-Rank Chaos ability was not discovered, even if the Lightning Element was raised to S-Rank, he could claim it was a problem that occurred during testing, and anyway, others had no way to verify it.
Deep in the jungle,
The gloomy young man and the shifty middle-aged man calmed their nervous feelings. "Uncle Qiao, it's a good thing you reacted quickly, otherwise, we would all have been stuck here. I, Tang Yunxiang, will definitely have that Ice Element kid's life. It's been a long time since I've been played for such a fool," the gloomy young man gritted his teeth.
"Young Lord, don't worry, that kid should still be in the forest. We have plenty of opportunities."
"That kid is not simple; his Ice Element Special Ability's Rank should not be low either. His age is similar to mine, but I haven't encountered anyone like him in Yang City, nor have I heard of any Family suddenly rising with an Ice Element Genius in recent years."
"Perhaps he's from another city nearby, but since he cannot be used by us, then let's get rid of him as soon as possible, lest there be further complications," Uncle Qiao added.
"He won't live much longer," Tang Yunxiang said with a gloomy expression.