Bab 24: Joining the Hunter Team
Editor: Caron_
After easily killing the Black Cruel Bear King, Ye Tian roared out in excitement, running forward and heading back to the Ye Family Village.
Thick and dense True Qi flowed inside him, increasing Ye Tian's already rapid speed. He felt as if he was flying, and after two short hours, he could already see the village walls.
So fast! This is the density of a Level Six Martial Warrior's True Qi. Even after running at my fastest speed for so long, I've only used up a third of my True Qi! Ye Tian thought, surprised as he slowed and focused inwards on his True Qi supply.
The Sixth Level of the Martial Artist Realm was many times that of the Third Level, and Ye Tian felt as if he had an inexhaustible amount of Qi.
It's time to return. I never thought I would stumble upon such a heaven-sent opportunity; fate is really treating me well! Ye Tian thought, looking up at the darkening sky. He tried his best to reign in his excitement as he headed for the village gate.
It was already dusk by the time Ye Tian reached his front door, and just as he was opening the door, his father walked out.
"Hey kid, where've you been? Why are you home so late? Your old man was just about to go searching for you!" Ye Meng nagged, his concerned frown softening as soon as he spotted Ye Tian.
Even though Ye Tian often went out, he never came back this late.
Ye Meng had been preparing to look for his son when Ye Tian returned.
"Dad, I'm hungry. Let's eat first!" Ye Tian hurriedly changed the subject. He didn't dare tell his father about his adventures—if Ye Meng knew that he had gone to the dangerous zone, he would definitely get beaten.
"You still know to eat? Come—your mother has already prepared dinner. We were just waiting for you." Ye Meng smiled and lightly scolded him, not thinking too much about the matter.
Ye Tian quickly followed his old man and entered the warm house.
"Tian er, you're back. Really, wandering around outside into the night…" Lin Mei nagged as the pair walked in.
Dinner passed peacefully as Ye Tian gobbled down his food. As soon as he finished, he told his parents that he was going to cultivate and hurriedly retired to his room.
"This child…" Lin Mei shook her head and sighed.
"You don't have to worry too much about him. Tian er is a good boy. He cultivates diligently, and I think he'll be able to break through to Martial Warrior Stage Three soon," Ye Meng said casually, vaguely gesturing.
"It's important to cultivate, but he can't just cultivate all day. I think we need to find him a wife. Find someone to take care of him," Lin Mei replied.
"Who are you thinking about? Tian er is still set on that Ting girl—he won't agree." Ye Meng shook his head.
"Then.. how about I go back to my maternal home and talk to the Lin Village Chief, see if he'll restore the betrothal between the two children? Now that Tian er has his talent back, there's no way that the Lin Village Chief will refuse!" Lin Mei suggested.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Ye Meng furiously refused, snorting. "Bullsh*t! They broke the engagement and humiliated us, and now we have to go back and beg them to give us back the betrothal? Never! Our son is a genius and he can have any woman he wants. Why would we need to beg them! Hmph!"
With that said, Ye Meng left and returned to their room without even finishing dinner.
Lin Mei watched her husband leaving and sighed, shaking her head. She knew her husband, and she knew her son. This road would lead nowhere.
"Roar roar!"
As soon as Ye Tian returned to his room, a white shadow pounced on top of him. Ye Tian chuckled and opened his arms, hugging the white shadow.
Of course it was the little white tiger!
After these months of growth, the small white tiger was bigger and was now the size of an adult dog. Even though it was still quite cute, the domineering nature of a tiger was already showing. The tiger was already strong and handsome, and the big dogs of the village were no longer a match for it.
"Little White, behave. Big brother needs to cultivate!" Ye Tian petted the little white tiger's head and put it back on his bed before he crossed his legs and began his cultivation.
Now that he had jumped up three levels, the True Qi in his body had multiplied. However, he still couldn't fully control the power that he had now and still needed time to adjust.
But in order to truly adjust to this new power, he had to find opponents of equal strength. Even though Ye Tian was already a Level Six Martial Artist, he still didn't dare venture into the dangerous zone.
Staying alive wasn't easy and Ye Tian no longer dared to be careless. He decided to be patient and wait two months for winter to end. When the time came, he would join the hunter team and venture into the mountains with them.
That's right!
Ye Tian was ready to join the Hunter Team!
Time slipped by and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.
The enormous sun rained down a burning light, melting the snow blanketing the mountainous forest.
Soon, the quiet and still woods once again awoke, the verdant trees and bushes peeked out into the world and showed off their vitality as beasts emerged from their nests one after another to hunt for food.
And when the beasts emerged, so did the hunters of the villages to ply their craft.
The Ye Family Village was no different.
"Dad, Mom!" Ye Tian called out in greeting, a large white tiger following him as he left his room. In the span of two months, Little White had already grown to what would've been an adult-sized tiger on earth, and it possessed the power of a Level Three Martial Artist beast.
Lin Mei was having breakfast in the living room, turning in response to the greeting. "Tian er, come have breakfast. Your father is leaving for the mountain soon; you can accompany them part way."
"Son, just wait. I'll definitely bring back some fresh meat. It's been so long since we've hunted and I'm already tired of dried meat, haha!" Ye Meng added, laughing.
"En!" Ye Tian replied, sitting down and taking a few bites. Finally, he lifted his head and said, "Dad, Mom, I want to join the Hunter Team."
"Join the Hunter Team!"
"Join the Hunter Team?"
Ye Meng and Lin Mei echoed in astonishment, excitement soon filling their faces.
"Son, did you break through to Level Three Martial Artist?" Ye Meng asked with anticipation while Lin Mei waited happily for the answer.
The Ye Family Village's rules dictated that only someone who had broken through to Level Three Martial Artist could join the team, and Ye Tian was intimately familiar with this rule. Since he knew the requirement and still asked to join, he must've broken through already.
"Dad, can I join the Hunter Team now?" Ye Tian initiated a reply without nodding.
Lin Mei turned a hesitant gaze towards Ye Meng, her eyes filled with worry.
Ye Meng was excited for a moment but he also soon frowned, saying: "Son, your cultivation is good enough but you're still young. You're only sixteen—don't you think that it might be too early to be joining the Hunter Team?"
In the history of Ye Family Village, the youngest member of the Hunter Team was twenty-five, and that powerful genius had ended up a Village Chief with the village flourishing under his leadership.
Ye Meng didn't want his son to join the Hunter Team too early. After all, their hunting expeditions were always quite dangerous. He didn't want to see his son hurt and thought that it was perhaps better to wait a couple years and let Ye Tian break through to Martial Warrior Level Five first.
"Father, I'm already a Level Four Martial Artist!" Ye Tian added, smiling with confidence as his father hesitated.
"Level Four Martial Artist!"
"What?!"
Ye Meng and Lin Mei both shot upright, staring wide-eyed at Ye Tian with disbelief.
It was only because their son had never lied to them that they didn't doubt him; otherwise, how could they believe he had progressed so quickly?
"Really, I'm a Level Four Martial Artist now! I broke through yesterday!" Ye Tian continued.
Ye Tian had already come up with a plan two months ago—he would slowly reveal his true cultivation to the rest of the villagers, but he wouldn't dally too long. After all, he still needed to practice.
And so, he decided he would join the Hunter Team with the status of a Level Four Martial Artist.
To take three months to jump from Level Two Martial Warrior to Level Four was quite ridiculous, but the villagers would still be able to accept it given his Yellow Martial Spirit.
Ye Meng and Lin Mei also thought along these lines, so after they got over their shock, they were filled with joy.
Ye Meng even danced a little, gesturing with his fists as he excitedly called out: "Good! Look at my son! Tian er, you've really made your father proud, haha!"
Lin Mei was also deeply moved, and even though she wasn't a powerful expert herself, she knew that the stronger her son was, the better life he would have in the future.
As his parents smiled excitedly, Ye Tian asked once again, "Dad, do you think I can join the Hunter Team now?"
"Well..."
Ye Meng examined Ye Tian's expectant face and couldn't bear to disappoint him, so he finally nodded and said, "Let's go. We'll go find the captain. Since you're a Level Four Martial Artist now, you should be able to join the Hunter Team. Just remember to stay with the team and avoid running around. When we're on the mountain, just follow the captain. He'll protect you."
Ye Meng was no fool; he understood just how important his son was to the village's future. If anything happened, Ye Feng would definitely prioritize protecting Ye Tian, so he wasn't too worried about Ye Tian joining the Hunter Team.
"Thank you Dad!" Ye Tian smiled, happy to finally be able to join the Hunter Team.
Lin Mei glared at her husband, clearly unhappy that he had agreed so easily.
"Son, let's go. Today our family can work together, and who knows, we might bring back a great harvest, haha!" Ye Meng said happily, bringing Ye Tian with him towards the village gate after they finished breakfast.
"Be careful! If our son loses a single hair, you'll hear it from me!" Lin Mei yelled in warning.
"I know! I'll be by his side. He'll be fine!" Ye Meng waved back.
The pair soon left their home behind and approached the gate.
Many strong warriors were already gathered and waiting by the gate. When they had all arrived, there were at least a hundred powerfully built men, each exuding a tough aura.
This was the Ye Family Village's Hunter Team!
"Here, Big Wolf, your machete! I had some people clean it for you. Just kill some more beasts this time around!" Ye Ba called out laughingly. Part of his vice-captain duties included handing out weapons.
Many of the village men had hot tempers, and everyone gathered here was a Martial Warrior. Many of them were unable to stomach insults or poorly phrased words, and if weapons were taken home, there might be injury or even death.
Thus, the Ye Family Village only allowed weapons to be carried while hunting on the mountain, never in the village.
So every time they headed out into the field, the first matter was to hand out the weapons.
"Ye Ba, give me my Blood Dragon Spear and get my son a weapon as well... Son, what kind of weapon do you want?"
When they arrived, Ye Meng and Ye Tian standing shoulder to shoulder, Ye Meng called out loudly.
-- Hadiah diterima