Volume 1 Chapter 63: The Opportunity is Secured

Soon, Zhao Wujiang entered the hunting grounds and leisurely pulled out a map from his saddle.

He unfurled the map given to him by the eldest princess. It was exceptionally detailed, likely because it was originally intended for staging a rebellion.

After studying it for quite a while, matching the layout of the hunting grounds with his memory of the original novel, he confirmed the route leading to the beast king's lair.

In the original plot, it was precisely through a coincidence arranged by the heartless author that Long Zhan stumbled upon a baby beast king inside its lair.

Having pinpointed the direction, Zhao Wujiang proceeded slowly along a small path marked on the map.

Faintly, he could hear the sounds of crossbows echoing from the distant mountain forest, the whistling of flying arrows, human shouts, and the whinnying of horses.

It seemed the young prodigies like Long Zhan were already at it, fighting not just beasts, but each other.

Tethering his horse to a large tree outside the forest, he proceeded toward the beast king's lair on foot.

Traveling with the horse would create too much noise and present a large target, making it inconvenient for his plans.

As he walked along the narrow path through the woods, his martial arts realm, having surged dramatically of late, allowed his heightened senses to instantly detect someone trailing him.

Feigning ignorance, he continued at a leisurely pace until he reached a fork in the trail, where he pulled out the map to check his bearings.

Taking advantage of the moment he was distracted by the map, a sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air came from behind, accompanied by a surging wave of murderous intent.

He whipped around instantly, transforming his hand into a sword. With an overpowering, peerless sword qi, he directly slashed at the would-be assassin’s arm at the elbow.

A crisp cracking sound echoed through the forest. The assassin’s arm bent backward at an unnatural angle, exposing bloody bone splinters. The short blade slipped from his hand, and he let out a miserable shriek.

Dodging another vengeful, lunging tackle from the attacker, Zhao Wujiang kicked him squarely in the right knee.

Stumbling, the assassin crashed to the ground, plowing a bloody furrow through the yellow mud.

With a cold expression, Zhao Wujiang stepped forward, planting his foot squarely on the assassin's fractured and inverted right arm, eliciting another agonizing scream from the man.

"I've seen you before." Zhao Wujiang applied pressure with his foot, turning the assassin's face ashen with pain, and said indifferently:

"You're from the Fierce Cavalry Camp, aren't you? One of Long Zhan's subordinates?"

The assassin's face was as pale as paper, unable to move, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, yet he refused to speak.

Indeed, he had been sent by General Long to intercept Zhao Wujiang.

General Long had been uneasy about Zhao Wujiang's seemingly passive demeanor and had ordered this man to obstruct him and disrupt his hunting progress.

Who could have expected Zhao Wujiang's senses to be so sharp? He had not only parried the sneak attack but also inflicted severe injuries.

"Not talking is fine." Transforming his hand into a sword once more, Zhao Wujiang pressed his fingers against the pressure points of Long Zhan's subordinate. Then, grabbing the mangled, bent arm, he smiled and said:

"Let me help you up."

"Ah!" The subordinate let out a scream, the excruciating pain choking his tears into silence.

Dragging the man by his arm, Zhao Wujiang marched forward, leaving a smear of blood all the way.

"Your Highness... spare me... mercy, have mercy! Ah!" The man pleaded endlessly, blood flowing more profusely from his arm. With his pressure points sealed, he was utterly powerless to resist.

"Well, rules of the hunting ground and all that—can't take human lives." Zhao Wujiang chuckled, picked up a stone, and hurled it toward a pair of lions not far away that were devouring a wild deer. He then released the man's arm:

"The rest of the way, you can walk yourself..."

Struck by the stone and interrupted in their meal, the male lions turned their gaze toward Zhao Wujiang. Catching the scent of blood, they broke into a rapid charge.

Moving with agility, Zhao Wujiang scrambled up a large tree, continuously leaping through the branches toward his destination.

Behind him came the desperate roars and shrieks of the assassin. Glancing back sideways, Zhao Wujiang saw the man's flesh being torn apart as he was toyed with by the lions.

The male lion appraised this rare prey, bringing its heavy paws down with crushing force. Within a few strikes, it snuffed out the assassin's life, silencing him forever.

Zhao Wujiang glanced back, feeling no pity.

Toward anyone attempting to harm him, he showed zero mercy.

He merely wanted to memorize the man's appearance.

Along the way, nimble as a gibbon, he kept climbing. He even crossed paths with a real gibbon, man and monkey locking eyes for a brief moment.

He had not expected to encounter another destiny-chosen protagonist besides Long Zhan.

Eventually reaching the summit of the mountain forest, he looked out into the distance and saw the group of young prodigies at the foot of the mountain locked in a fierce contest—fighting over the ownership of slain beasts while attempting to defeat as many rivals as possible.

Long Zhan moved through the crowd with absolute freedom; no one could stop him. He radiated boundless youthful vigor and overbearing dominance.

Withdrawing his gaze, Zhao Wujiang descended toward the foot of the mountain, swinging across vines and plunging into the dense thicket. The closer he got to the beast king's lair, the more cautious he became.

He had to ensure the beast king was absent; otherwise, breaking in to steal the baby beast king would be no different from seeking death.

Finally, threading carefully through the dense woods, he spotted a cave. Outside the entrance lay the bleached bones of numerous beasts, and a rich stench of blood hung heavily in the air—a mixture of fresh, viscous gore and the rotting odors accumulated over many years.

Zhao Wujiang tossed a small pebble forward and immediately retreated backward, staying on high alert in case the beast king appeared.

However, the pebble failed to flush out the beast king. Instead, a tiny, fluffy, snow-white creature poked its head out of the cave, its large, gemstone-like purple eyes rolling with intelligence.

His brain racing as he matched the sight with the original novel, Zhao Wujiang deduced that this adorable little creature was undoubtedly the infant beast king.

It was precisely this natural, innocent cuteness that later helped Long Zhan captivate numerous women.

For instance: "My beast king can do a backflip, care to come see?"

Confirming that this was indeed the baby beast king—which would grow into a domineering overlord of its domain—Zhao Wujiang still did not act rashly. He tossed another pebble and stepped back once more, ensuring a swift escape route in case of any emergencies.

Intercepting Long Zhan's fortune was important, but the self-preservation instincts of a villain told him to bide his time. As long as he stayed low, the path ahead would open up.

Never sacrifice personal safety for the sake of an opportunity.

As for seeking fortune in the jaws of danger—that was only for when one had no other choice.

If a treasure could be obtained without taking risks, why risk it for nothing?

The adorable baby beast king was distracted by the mysterious pebble that had appeared from nowhere, rolling its round eyes as it looked left and right.

Seeing still no sign of danger, Zhao Wujiang pulled a strip of dried meat from his tunic and tossed it over.

This meat had been prepared in advance according to the dietary preferences of the beast king described in the original novel, specifically to ensure absolute success today.

Sure enough, catching the scent, the baby beast king trotted over happily to chew on the meat strip.

After waiting a good while without seeing the adult beast king or sensing any danger, Zhao Wujiang guessed that the beast king had most likely been drawn away by the commotion of Long Zhan and the others fighting.

Only then did he cowardly and timidly shuffle step-by-step toward the baby beast king, looking every bit like a dog thief.

Noticing the movement, the baby beast king turned its large eyes toward him, human and beast locking gazes.

"Little one, where are your parents?" Zhao Wujiang lowered his voice and pulled out another strip of dried meat. "Come here, come here... over to me..."

The fluffy baby beast king looked at Zhao Wujiang with curiosity. What a strange upright monkey—how did it hide things it loved to eat?

Now standing very close to the infant beast king, and fearing that delays would bring changes, Zhao Wujiang lunged forward—only to lunge at empty air.

With agile reflexes, the baby beast king dodged aside, stopping just a step away. With the meat strip clamped in its jaws, its curiosity grew even stronger as it trotted in a small circle around Zhao Wujiang.

An idea flashed in Zhao Wujiang's eyes. Seizing the moment while the adorable little creature was captivated, quicker than thought, he darted forward and planted a swift lick right on the beast's fluffy little head with his nimble tongue.

The little beast froze, paralyzed in place. Grooming?

That was something only superiors could do to subordinates!

Could this upright monkey be its boss?

After finishing the lick, Zhao Wujiang spat out a couple of times, reached out to scoop up the dazed baby beast king, tucked it squarely into his robes, and plunged back into the dense thicket.

At first, he ran cautiously to avoid making noise, but soon his pace accelerated until he was tearing wildly through the forest like a monkey newly released after five hundred years of imprisonment, or as if a vengeful ghost were howling at his heels.

Not knowing how far he had run, he finally stopped, gasping for breath. The adorable little beast poked its head out from his robes, staring up at him with curiosity while continuing to hold a strip of dried meat in its paws and nibbling on it.

Zhao Wujiang finally exhaled a breath of relief. The beast king had not given chase, and he had successfully intercepted the baby beast king! He had snatched away yet another of Long Zhan's great fortunes!

Soon after, however, a heaven-shaking roar echoed from afar, causing the entire mountain forest to tremble.

He instantly squatted down, pressing his back against a large tree as he vigilantly surveyed his surroundings.

He could feel rhythmic tremors originating from the direction of the former beast king's lair. Glancing sideways, he saw a swathe of vegetation collapsing in that area, as if a fierce beast was venting its fury, trampling down patches of brush one after another.

The trail of flattened brush extended down toward the foot of the mountain—evidently, the beast had chased its way down.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Long Zhan and the others stared in shock at the ferocious beast that had suddenly appeared before them.

Towering over a zhang tall, looking part tiger and part lion, the beast radiated a terrifyingly fierce aura.

"The beast king?"

"It's the beast king!" One of the young prodigies reacted, shouting in pleasant surprise:

"We've encountered the beast king! If we can capture it, this will be our greatest prize!"

"Are you insane? In all these years of hunting, who has ever dared to challenge the beast king head-on?"

"Why would this beast king suddenly show up here, filled with such violent rage..."

"Could it be?"

"Could it be that it just gave birth? Does it not want us to come near? Is it here to block us?"

"Makes sense, makes sense! Otherwise, why would the beast king proactively fly into a rage and hunt us down? There's never been a record of this in history!"

Listening to the chatter of those around him, Long Zhan's eyes gradually brightened. Upon hearing that the beast king might have just given birth, a sudden intuition struck him: the baby beast king was destined to be his fortune, safely within his grasp!

"We may not be able to defeat the adult beast king, but if we can get our hands on the baby beast king and raise it properly, its future achievements will be boundless!"

"Indeed! What a great opportunity! As long as we get the baby beast king, this trip will have been more than worth it!"

The thoughts of the various young prodigies coincided completely with Long Zhan's. Every single one of them set their sights instantly on the infant beast king, their hearts burning with fervor—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

"Everyone, why don't we join forces to take down this beast king? As long as we trap it, we'll have the chance to seize its cub!"

"How should we divide the spoils?"

"Let's not worry about the division yet. Let's take down the beast king first, and we can discuss the rest later!"

Without much ado, the group quickly agreed on a current countermeasure.

Being talented youths, they understood the priority of issues and knew this was not the time for infighting.

While they were enthusiastically plotting how to deal with the beast king and seize its cub, the incomparably violent beast king felt the murderous light in its eyes grow even more intense. It knew for certain that it was this vile group of humans right before it that had abducted its child!

It was going to slaughter this pack of despicable thieves!