Chapter 10

Deep night.

In the luxurious and grand courtyard of the Zhao family.

"Brother! You must stand up for me. Zhao Feng, just a mere descendant of a branch family, made me lose face in public."

Zhao Kun gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with venomous hatred.

Recently, he had been defeated twice by a descendant of a branch family, almost too ashamed to go out.

"Worthless!"

Sitting on a cushion in the center of the room was a lean, short-haired youth, resembling a leopard.

The short-haired youth looked two or three parts like Zhao Kun, but his demeanor and aura were decisive and cold, straightforward and efficient.

He was Zhao Kun's brother, Zhao Qian.

"Brother, please, I beg you, I must vent this anger."

Zhao Kun was uneasy, both fearful and resentful.

He had always been afraid of this brother.

From childhood to adulthood, his brother Zhao Qian had always bullied him.

What made him feel most powerless was that Zhao Qian always outperformed him in everything.

Now, Zhao Qian had cultivated to the peak of the third level of martial arts and had mastered the advanced martial technique *Thirteen Transformations of the Poisonous Snake* to the sixth level, making him strong enough to rank in the top five among the outer circle.

Even three or five Zhao Kuns would not be a match for his brother.

...

The next morning.

Zhao Feng got up early and first practiced *Raging Dragon Fist* and *Pushing Technique*.

These two martial arts techniques were the main cultivation methods for Zhao Feng at this stage.

"Still quite a distance to the third level of martial arts."

After practicing for half an hour, Zhao Feng, following the "plan" he had set the night before, headed to the family's accounting office.

By custom, Zhao Feng received ten taels of silver as his monthly allowance from the family.

"This month's allowance hasn't been collected yet."

Zhao Feng arrived at the accounting office in the outer part of the family compound.

"Zhao Feng, second level of martial arts, branch family descendant, allowance twenty taels of silver."

The accountant said expressionlessly.

Twenty taels of silver?

Zhao Feng took the silver and nodded in thanks.

After advancing to the second level of martial arts, his monthly allowance had doubled.

But he understood that twenty taels of silver a month was enough for an ordinary family to live without worry.

However, for a martial arts practitioner, it was just a drop in the bucket.

Some precious herbs used to accelerate cultivation and break through realms could cost thousands of taels of silver.

The wealthy family descendants could casually take one or two precious herbs, which would be equivalent to the income of ordinary descendants for decades.

"Twenty taels of silver..."

Zhao Feng took a deep breath, pocketed the only twenty taels of silver he had, and left the Zhao family territory, heading for the market in Yuyang City.

In the past, he would have given the allowance to his parents immediately to help with household expenses.

But this time, he did not do so; instead, he left alone with the twenty taels of silver.

Soon, Zhao Feng entered the largest trading market in Yuyang City.

At a weapon shop in the city.

"Shopkeeper, how much is this 'Heavy Iron Bow'?"

Zhao Feng had been selecting for a long time in the weapon shop and finally settled on this heavy iron bow.

"Heavy Iron Bow, strong penetration, effective killing range of 150 meters, fixed price, twenty taels of silver."

The shopkeeper smiled politely.

He noticed the "Zhao family" emblem on Zhao Feng's clothes.

In Yuyang City, the Zhao family, along with the Xin and Qiu families, were known as the three major families, with overwhelming power within a thousand miles of Yuyang City.

"Twenty taels of silver?"

Zhao Feng frowned and said in a deep voice, "Can you give me a discount?"

The shopkeeper smiled slightly, "How about this, I'll give you the lowest price, eighteen taels of silver."

"Fifteen taels! I'm short on cash, but I'll pay you back double when I have the money."

Zhao Feng said straightforwardly, his eyes filled with sincerity.

"Fifteen taels? That's too little, there's no profit margin..."

The shopkeeper looked a bit hesitant but, perhaps seeing Zhao Feng's sincerity, bit his lip, "Alright, since this shop is also an asset of the Zhao family, I hope you keep your word."

"Thank you."

Zhao Feng showed a hint of gratitude.

He hadn't expected that this shop was actually an asset of the Zhao family.

Soon, Zhao Feng bought the heavy iron bow for fifteen taels of silver.

Then, he used the remaining five taels of silver to buy several dozen arrows, a bottle of poison, and some dry rations.

This left Zhao Feng with no money at all.

"It shouldn't fail..."

Zhao Feng muttered to himself and immediately ran out of Yuyang City.

Whoosh!

As soon as he left Yuyang City, Zhao Feng used the *Drifting Lingdu* light body technique to travel, moving much faster than a wild horse.

Using the time to travel, he further comprehended and cultivated the *Drifting Lingdu*.

Two hours later, Zhao Feng finally arrived at his planned destination—the Transcendent Cloud Forest.

The "Transcendent Cloud Forest" was the largest primeval forest in Xiangyun Kingdom, spanning several neighboring countries.

As the largest forest in the surrounding countries, the "Transcendent Cloud Forest" was home to many dangerous wild beasts, and deeper areas often had traces of higher-level "ferocious beasts."

Ferocious beasts were not like ordinary wild beasts; they were influenced by the elemental energy of heaven and earth, gradually becoming demonic and mutated, with terrifying strength.

Some powerful ferocious beasts could destroy entire villages, and only true martial artists could fight them.

Zhao Feng did not come to the Transcendent Cloud Forest to find ferocious beasts; he wasn't that reckless.

His goal was simple: to hunt for money!

In the Transcendent Cloud Forest, the pelts and parts of some powerful wild beasts were very valuable.

For example, hunting an adult brown bear could earn him two or three hundred taels of silver.

However, the combat strength of an adult brown bear far exceeded that of an ordinary second-level martial artist, and only a third-level martial artist had a good chance of victory.

Of course, Zhao Feng's target was not large wild beasts like brown bears.

"Large wild beasts, though valuable, are too heavy and bulky to carry many at once."

Zhao Feng had already made his plan and entered the Transcendent Cloud Forest.

Whoosh!

His figure flickered, and he leaped onto a tree branch like a light swallow, then used the momentum to fly.

A moment later, Zhao Feng leaped to the top of an ancient tree over a hundred meters tall.

This ancient tree was much taller than the surrounding trees, giving a panoramic view.

If he hadn't cultivated the *Drifting Lingdu*, being at such a height would have made Zhao Feng feel terrified.

Standing on the hundred-meter-tall ancient tree, Zhao Feng's left eye began to scan the surrounding forest.

Whoosh!

In the next instant, his left eye entered an incredibly powerful super vision, allowing him to see clearly even the ants on a tree within a radius of five or six miles.

Zhao Feng first needed to determine if there were any dangerous wild beasts or ferocious beasts nearby.

After a while, Zhao Feng had a clear understanding of the situation within a radius of five or six miles.

There were at least twenty wild beasts that could pose a threat to him, and one of them was nearby, but there were no ferocious beasts.

"It's starting."

Zhao Feng took a deep breath and slowly drew the heavy iron bow in his hand.

Twang!

The bowstring vibrated, and the arrow shot through the air, piercing a four- to five-meter-long golden-spotted venomous snake at a distance of a hundred meters.

Hiss!

The golden-spotted venomous snake leaped up, hissing menacingly.

However, Zhao Feng's arrow was extremely accurate, hitting the snake's vital point.

The golden-spotted venomous snake struggled briefly and then died.

"Golden-striped snake, with lethal venom, can pose a life-threatening danger to a third-level martial artist."

Zhao Feng breathed a slight sigh of relief, his palms sweating.

If it had come to a direct confrontation, the golden-striped snake's speed and lethal venom could have cost him his life.

However, Zhao Feng's gain was also significant.

The skin, fangs, and gallbladder of the golden-striped snake were very valuable.

Just hunting this golden-striped snake could earn Zhao Feng three or four hundred taels of silver, more valuable than ordinary wild beasts.

After killing the "golden-striped snake," Zhao Feng used his left eye to search for a new target.

Screech!

At one moment, Zhao Feng heard a sharp screech in the air.

An iron-beaked eagle, with a wingspan of about a meter, flashed with a silver light, soaring over the deep forest and easily killing a wolf that was as strong as a second-level martial artist.

Zhao Feng's expression turned serious. The iron-beaked eagle, known as the "iron-beaked hawk," was famous in the Transcendent Cloud Forest, with combat strength surpassing that of an ordinary second-level martial artist. In the sky, it had almost no natural enemies.

"The iron-beaked hawk flies fast, has iron-like feathers, and strong defense, almost entering the category of ferocious beasts. Killing one is worth at least seven or eight hundred taels of silver."

Thinking of this, Zhao Feng pushed his left eye to its limit and locked onto the iron-beaked hawk.

This time, he even took out an arrow coated with poison.

Squeak~

Zhao Feng drew the heavy iron bow to its full extent...