Chapter 66: Vengeance Does Not Wait Overnight

“Does Hong think there’s a problem with him?”

Liu Yusuo hadn’t been paying attention to any ranger but on hearing the superconductor say so, she instantly synced her senses with a Red-eyed Mountain Eagle in the sky changing her vision to an aerial view and immediately spotted Ji Xinghuo threading through the forest.

“It’s just a guess, the chances are quite low.” Pei Hong stroked his chin “After all the ether fluctuations from the Tears of the Stars are very intense…”

“We’ll know if we catch up with him.” Liu Yusuo jumped onto her Silver-winged Pegasus.

“Don’t rush!”

Pei Hong, looking helpless, had only spoken in passing without any real proof.

Given Liu Yusuo’s domineering style a conflict was inevitable though the other was just a lone ranger with middling apparent strength. But in the Star Realm anyone daring to travel alone had true skill, potentially overturning their fortunes unexpectedly.

“I’m the leader, what I say goes for Squad Seven.” Liu Yusuo, seated high on her horse, declared, “If you don’t come and I get the Tears of the Stars, you’ll get nothing.”

Pei Hong could only mount another Silver-winged Pegasus.

“You guys wait here. No need to follow.”

Liu Yusuo instructed her team members. It was just a ranger, she and Pei Hong alone were more than enough, no need for a big show.

The Silver-winged Pegasus galloped on the ground a few steps, flapped its giant white wings, and soared into the sky.

About a dozen Ironback Bears, Shadow Wolves and Thousand Peaks Retrievers, upon receiving the order, darted into the forest.

Elsewhere.

Ji Xinghuo had planned to continue searching for another two to three hours and then leave unnoticed.

But he had just moved a short distance when he felt something off, looked up and saw the eyes of the circling hawks fixed on him.

“Are they tracking me?”

Ji Xinghuo quickly averted his gaze, pretending not to notice, yet his heart skipped a beat unsure where he had slipped up.

He continued forward a few dozen meters, entering under tree shade.

Making use of the hawks’ blind spot, Ji Xinghuo quickly pulled out the star-wrapped Tears of the Stars from his backpack and patted the pocket on his waist where Little Green Snake’s head popped out.

“Eat this quick, hide it inside your stomach.”

Little Green Snake, understanding immediately, opened its mouth at the touch, and the Tears of the Stars vanished.

“And these too…”

Ji Xinghuo, having foreseen this while finishing his grilled fish earlier, had packed up most of the different species, including the basalt body and sensitive legal tender, among other illicit goods like the Ice Double Blades into a separate bag.

Little Green Snake swallowed this bag as well.

“Well done!”

Ji Xinghuo was overjoyed. Now his backpack contained only a dozen harmless species items.

“Off you go, remember to stay hidden and not be seen.”

Ji Xinghuo placed Little Green Snake on the ground, and it quickly slithered into the bushes, disappearing from sight.

He continued to walk slowly forward.

In less than ten seconds of completing these actions, he heard the sound of flapping wings overhead. Ji Xinghuo looked up to see two Silver-winged Pegasuses sliding through the tree gaps, hovering a few tens of meters ahead in mid-air, belonging to two superhumans of the Beast Park Hunting Team.

“Stop!”

Liu Yusuo called out softly.

Ji Xinghuo had already stopped, gripping the Dragon Hawk Eagle Bow in his hand, he asked sternly, “What is the meaning of this blockage?”

Liu Yusuo didn’t mean to respond. By then, about a dozen battle pets had arrived, surrounding Ji Xinghuo.

She looked at Pei Hong beside her, “Hong?”

Pei Hong scrutinized Ji Xinghuo but saw nothing amiss and scratched his head, “I must have been mistaken.”

He felt it odd as the ether fluctuations from this ranger seemed quite normal. Perhaps he had indeed mistaken earlier?

That wasn’t out of question.

Moreover, from the lake to here was only a few hundred meters. Even if this ranger had anything unusual, there wasn’t enough time to deal with it, making it impossible to conceal the Tears of the Stars.

Liu Yusuo’s expression faltered.

She was always serious-minded, never letting go of any suspicions, she said coldly, “Remove your face mask and hand over your backpack for inspection.”

“Yusuo!”

Pei Hong quickly intercepted, shaking his head at her.

That would completely offend the ranger in front, totally unnecessary.

Yet, Liu Yusuo only glanced at Pei Hong, continued without another word. He was just a ranger, offend him and so what?

Ji Xinghuo’s face darkened. Although he had anticipated the people from the Beast Park had malicious intentions, he didn’t expect they would indeed search him.

This was a huge insult to anyone.

His right pupil’s light ring flickered.

Wanxiang Senluo instantly activated, Ji Xinghuo saw several seconds into the future, every possible outcome unfolded.

But in every future, he was undoubtedly doomed.

The two superhumans’ strength far surpassed that of Ji Zongbang, the Martial Master, and Superconductor were top-tier profession templates, much stronger than Shadow Blade. They were among the best of the superhumans at their peak while he was only a junior superhuman. The proximity was too close, and the chance of victory was zero.

At most, he could trade his life for one of theirs.

Ji Xinghuo deactivated Wanxiang Senluo after just a second.

Although there was no chance of victory, foreseeing the future let him learn some of their moves and fighting styles.

“Beast Park truly likes throwing its weight around,” Ji Xinghuo remarked mockingly.

“You don’t agree?”

Liu Yusuo smirked, “This is the Star Realm, strength speaks, and if you disagree, you’re welcome to try.”

Ji Xinghuo stayed silent for a few seconds then threw his backpack to the ground.

He etched today’s grudge in his mind.

“Hong, check his backpack,” Liu Yusuo ordered. Although Pei Hong disapproved of her methods, he dismounted and walked up to Ji Xinghuo.

“Brother, I’m sorry.”

Pei Hong casually checked the backpack, not really applying his mind, he already knew the Tears of the Stars wouldn’t be there. Then he circled Ji Xinghuo, recognizing his bow and war knife as superweapons, his heart skipped a beat.

Anyone equipped with such fine weaponry, even a loner, either had backing from a power or personal strength far surpassing his peers.

This man was no simple character!

Pei Hong regretted speaking up earlier.

Now that he had deeply offended this ranger, there was no possibility of salvaging the situation. Either do nothing or be thorough… He looked around, with other hunting teams quietly approaching, keeping an eye on this scene. Starting something now wouldn’t stay hidden.

“Search him,” Liu Yusuo stated again.

Pei Hong didn’t listen to her, even leaving Ji Xinghuo’s mask untouched, facing Ji Xinghuo, he slowly backed up to the Silver-winged Pegasus.

“There’s no Tears of the Stars on him, Yusuo, you’ve gone too far,” Pei Hong said firmly, “Show some restraint.”

Liu Yusuo was about to insist, but then something occurred to her.

She noticed Pei Hong had backed away. To make a superconductor who specialized in long-range attacks retreat, and from a ranger…

If she truly angered him, a surprise arrow at this close range might be dangerous.

“Understood.”

Finally, Liu Yusuo relented, giving Ji Xinghuo a deep look, she lightly patted the pegasus, and it broke through the canopy into the sky.

Pei Hong nodded at Ji Xinghuo and followed suit.

As the two departed, the dozen or so battle pets surrounding Ji Xinghuo also quickly withdrew, heading back to the lakeside.

Ji Xinghuo silently picked up his backpack and moved on. His magnetic field sensing detected several superhumans nearby, some observing secretly, others seemed to be approaching.

He didn’t want to get tangled with these people, so he quickened his pace.

A few hundred meters later, Little Green Snake silently emerged from beneath dry leaves, crawling back into Ji Xinghuo’s waist pocket.

“Good job!”

Ji Xinghuo lightly tapped his pocket. This time, if not for Little Green Snake, he definitely wouldn’t have gotten away.

He roughly guessed why he had been targeted. The ether fluctuations from the Tears of the Stars were too intense. If someone else also merged with ether sensitivity, they should be able to detect its presence.

Among those two superhumans from Beast Park, one must surely possess ether sensitivity.

As expected, it should be Pei Hong.

Ji Xinghuo hastened his steps while occasionally looking back at the sky as the hawks still occasionally eyeballed him, obviously, the female martial master hadn’t completely given up.

“Hmph…”

“A gentleman’s grudge demands redress.”

Ji Xinghuo’s eyes sparkled with cold light. There’s a saying: a gentleman’s revenge is not overnight; he couldn’t wait ten years. A gentleman’s revenge spans from morning till night.

He glanced at his mechanical watch.

Ten hours till starry night, twenty-six till the dark night.

Ji Xinghuo quickened his pace. In the afternoon, he exited the region where the meteor had landed, finding a secluded spot dozens of kilometers away to camp. He fed Little Green Snake and entered his tent to sleep. When he woke, it was starry night. The two days of relentless searching had fully recovered him from exhaustion.

Stepping out of the tent under the starry sky, all was silent.

Ji Xinghuo ate the leftovers from noon’s grilled fish, packed up his tent and backpack, and called out Little Green Snake asking, “Can you swallow all these items?”

Little Green Snake nodded.

It climbed onto the backpack, opened its mouth, and in an instant, the huge eighty-plus kilogram backpack vanished.

Ji Xinghuo felt much relieved.

Now he only carried the Dragon Hawk Eagle Bow, Leichi War Knife, and a tactical knife on him. His back’s magnetic quiver also held only a hundred arrows, absolutely light-armed.

Merely for its storage prowess, Little Green Snake was a priceless treasure.

If not for considering it a spirit creature with boundless potential, and having another means to share its abilities back in Olympia, Ji Xinghuo almost couldn’t resist slaughtering it to harvest its unusual kind.

Using the dim light of starry night, Ji Xinghuo swiftly navigated through the dense forest valley.

Hours later.

He re-entered the area where the meteor had fallen, and more hunting teams had arrived. His magnetic field sensing detected several groups.

Ji Xinghuo also began searching.

But he wasn’t searching for the Tears of the Stars, but for the Beast Park Hunting Team.

Finding the Tears of the Stars was challenging, finding a large group of people and battle pets, however, was easy. In less than two hours, Ji Xinghuo, from a distance, spotted several hawks circling in the night sky. Under the starry night, their vision was diminished, he stealthily approached.

The superhumans from Beast Park were still searching for the Tears of the Stars.

Their search efficiency was much higher than other teams, the dozens of battle pets dispersed, exploring inch by inch the ground, trees, and valleys, leaving no corner unchecked.

Ji Xinghuo quietly lay in wait, exhibiting immense patience.

Until the dark night.

In the completely dark environment, the Beast Park Hunting Team could only rest. They found a clearing to set up camp, erecting a few tents, dozens of battle pets surrounded the area outside the campsite, while hawks and blood crows perched in surrounding trees, forming a dense protective layer.

Darkness did not impede Ji Xinghuo’s eyes.

He encircled the Beast Park’s campsite from a distance eventually finding a cliff about 450 meters from the camp, roughly a hundred meters high giving a commanding view of the entire campsite.

This distance was normally safe.

But in Ji Xinghuo’s eyes, it was an excellent shooting vantage.

He stood on the cliff facing the camp, drawing out three capacitor arrows, fitted one, grasping the other two in his palm, then drew his Dragon Hawk Eagle Bow’s string.

The Dragon Hawk Eagle Bow’s effective lethal range was 300 meters. In reality, its range was much more; an arched shoot could reach close to 1000 meters. The reason the effective lethal range was stated was because typically beyond 300 meters, the arrow’s lethality significantly declined.

Special arrows could extend the killing distance, of course, provided the shot was accurate.

For Ji Xinghuo, that was no issue.

Magnetic fields activated.

Streaks of electricity surfaced on his skin, converging along his arms onto the capacitor arrows, not just the nocked one but those in his palm were also energized.

The arrows glowed with strands of electricity, however, due to the stealth ring, none leaked out.

Light rings flickered in Ji Xinghuo’s right eye.

Wanxiang Senluo!

His vision filled with countless illusory shadows, lines interwove forming the future, and instantly, several outcomes flashed through his mind then settled.

Ji Xinghuo elevated the angle of his Dragon Hawk Eagle Bow and launched the first capacitor arrow into the sky.

A bolt of lightning streaked across the night sky.

While the arrow was still airborne, he swiftly mounted the second similarly close-to-overload enhanced capacitor arrow and released it.

Followed closely by the third.

He fired three arrows in less than two seconds with the first one not even reaching its target yet.

Three bolts of lightning followed nearly identical trajectories from over 450 meters away on the cliff, shooting up into the sky under the night sky like three shooting stars, consecutively falling into the Beast Park Hunting Team’s camp.

After shooting the three arrows, Ji Xinghuo didn’t check the result and immediately turned to run.