Yang Gan was overjoyed to hear this. He immediately dropped to his knees and bowed his head, saying, "I will not fail you, General."
A sneer appeared on Zhang Shuyang's face as he said coldly, "If you fail to bring him back, you will face military justice—execution!"
A chill shot through Yang Gan's heart, but he had to brace himself and agree. "Yes!"
***
"Use the terrain and surrounding environment to conceal your movements. For example, you can approach prey along the back of a slope, the bottom of a valley, or through a dense forest to avoid exposing yourself in open areas.
Learn the tracks of different prey—their shape, size, depth, and how long ago they were left. By observing the direction and spacing of the tracks, you can determine the prey's speed and general direction of travel."
At this, Fang Mushan, who had been kneeling on the ground to examine the tracks, rose to his feet and let out a breath. He saw Xu Yunfan's serious expression and nodded slightly.
Over the past few days, Xu Yunfan had proven to be an extremely quick study, even showing an uncanny ability to draw new conclusions from a single lesson. Fang Mushan felt almost humbled by it.
Xu Yunfan nodded and glanced at a system prompt that had just appeared in his vision.
'You have listened to Fang Mushan's explanation of hunting techniques. You have gained some insight into hunting and seem to have glimpsed its fundamentals.'
Xu Yunfan said, "Should we try hunting separately?"
Fang Mushan nodded. "The Eight-Hundred-Mile Desolate River Ice-Plains may look bleak and lonely, a continuous expanse of ice plains and snow-capped mountains, but there are still animals living underground. We'll have a better chance of finding prey if we split up."
That was the theory, anyway. But the Eight-Hundred-Mile Desolate River Ice-Plains was just too desolate. Over the last few days, Fang Mushan had caught very little prey; his only significant haul had been two snow rabbits.
Unfortunately, for the martial artists in their group, it was hardly enough for a snack.
After parting ways with Fang Mushan, Xu Yunfan held a homemade bow. He didn't know what kind of wood it was made from, but Fang Mushan had crafted it with great care. The wood was hard, yet it didn't lack flexibility.
The bowstring was made from the processed fibers of a plant called the alpine willow.
'You have tracked an animal's footprints and made a preliminary determination of its direction of travel. Your Hunting Skill Level has increased.'
'You...'
He glanced at the series of notifications in his vision.
Xu Yunfan knew he was on the right track.
His eyes darted about, not missing a single detail in his surroundings.
A biting wind howled across the Huangchuan Icefield, carrying coarse grit that whipped against his face. The wind cut through his tattered clothes, making him shiver.
Xu Yunfan rubbed his hands together. Using his Flying Leg technique, his movements were nimble and agile as he advanced along the rugged mountain path. His steps were both light and swift, making not a single extraneous sound.
Nearly two Hours later, beside a patch of brown earth and rock so inconspicuous it nearly blended into the surroundings, Xu Yunfan finally spotted a resting mountain goat.
To be precise, it was a highland crag sheep, its coat shimmering with a unique luster in the sunlight.
Though it was settled down to rest, its posture remained agile and alert. Even at rest, its ears twitched from time to time, as if it would sense danger and bolt in the very next second.
A jolt of joy shot through Xu Yunfan's heart. The sight of the prey instantly washed away the fatigue of his journey.
His hand slowly reached for the bow and arrows on his back. He felt the coarse feel of the wood, and every nerve in his body tensed as he fixed his gaze, utterly focused, on the crag sheep's every move.
This particular arrow, one of Fang Mushan's, was fletched with only a few bits of fluff.
He carefully nocked the arrow and drew the bow. The string, made of surprisingly tough processed plant fiber, was pulled back inch by inch, emitting a faint CREAK.
As the muscles in his arms tensed, he drew the bow to its full extent, like a perfect full moon. The arrowhead was aimed steadily at the crag sheep's vitals.
Xu Yunfan's gaze hardened. He suddenly released his fingers, and the fletched arrow shot out like a bolt of lightning with a SWOOSH. It carried an unstoppable force as it cut through the air, flying straight toward the crag sheep.
The crag sheep seemed to sense it and leaped up, but it was a beat too slow. The arrowhead sank precisely into its neck. A fountain of fresh blood spurted out. The sheep let out a piteous bleat, staggered a few steps, and collapsed to the ground.
Xu Yunfan rushed forward, his eyes filled with joy as he looked at his prize.
'You have successfully killed a crag sheep. You have gained new insight into the Hunting skill. The bow feels more natural in your hands. Hunting skill has reached Entry Level.'
'Hunting 0/500 (Entry Level)
Effects: Keen Senses, Wolf-like Tracking, Silent Landing, Basic Archery, Adept Trapping'
In an instant, his mind was flooded with memories of himself hunting endlessly in the mountains.
In these memories, he entered the mountains daily to find trails, track prey, set traps, and practice his Bow Skill.
At first, he returned empty-handed nine times out of ten. But as he painstakingly practiced day after day, honing his Bow Skill, he finally learned how to make traps and track prey. His Bow Skill improved to the point where he could hit his target five or six times out of ten.
Faint, almost imperceptible wisps of heat flowed slowly through his body, but they quickly dissipated. Aside from making his body feel a slight sense of expansion, there was no other change.
Xu Yunfan let out a breath. He understood in his heart. 'My physique is already at a very high level. An ordinary skill like hunting offers an extremely limited physical enhancement.'
'But now that I have this hunting skill...'
Xu Yunfan looked up and gazed out. A vast expanse of white stretched to the horizon. The mountain ridges were covered by a thick, solid blanket of ice and snow, without a single trace of green.
Gale-force winds howled across the icefield, carrying a bone-deep chill and letting out a sharp shriek.
The surrounding mountains undulated. Below the ridges, there was only desolate, yellowed scrubland, without so much as a single tree branch in sight. The mountainsides were covered in jagged, bizarre rocks, pockmarked by the erosion of ice and snow, standing starkly against the barren landscape.
For days, the sky had been perpetually overcast. Heavy, leaden clouds hung low, adding a sense of oppression to the already cold and desolate icefield.
'But now, even on my own, I should be able to survive in this wasteland.'
'This crag sheep's hide can be tanned into clothes to protect against the cold.'
Xu Yunfan shouldered the crag sheep, which weighed a good hundred and fifty jin. His steps were light, and in less than half an hour, he quickly made it back to their temporary shelter in a mountain hollow.
Li Haomiao said in shock, "You hunted this?"
"I did."
"Impossible."
Xu Yunfan hefted the crag sheep slightly. "It's a fact."
"..."
Li Haomiao felt a pang of resentment. 'He recalled hunting in the Royal Forest, where he had single-handedly taken down a vicious tiger and could easily slay a ferocious bear.'
'But he'd never once done any *proper* hunting; most of the time, he had simply relied on his superb Martial Arts.'
Then, under Li Haomiao's astonished gaze, Xu Yunfan skillfully used a fragment of the Purple Gold Earth-Shattering Hammer to skin and gut the crag sheep.
His movements were incredibly practiced.
"Where did you learn this technique?"
"Fang Mushan taught me."
Li Haomiao's face was filled with disbelief. "That technique... I wouldn't believe you haven't skinned a hundred sheep to get that good."
"Believe it or not."
Xu Yunfan didn't even look up, focusing on dressing the crag sheep's carcass.