Li Biao immediately led the team to search for prey. After walking a few hundred meters, they heard the sound of a fight nearby.

  Li Biao frowned slightly and led the team in the opposite direction of the sound.

  "We need to speed up our leveling. There are more teams nearby, which makes it retively safe, but the bck apes are scarce," Li Biao said to Yuan Zhu.

  After changing routes, it wasn't long before they noticed something unusual in a certain area ahead. The ground was charred bck, and the surrounding vegetation bore obvious traces of fire.

  The five quickly rushed over.

  In addition to the scorch marks, the ground had a clearly sunken area.

  Chen Yueling walked to a nearby short tree, touched it, and the branch immediately snapped, scattering ashes. "The heat here must have been intense. Even trees several meters away from the battle site were burned to ashes."

  Li Biao crouched down, grabbed a pinch of the ash-den soil, and crushed it in his hand. "The heat from the fmes reached the level of the Gray Pins' underground fires..."

  Hua Ziyan said seriously, "The intensity of the fmes partly comes from equipment and partly from strength and mental power. Whoever did this either has extremely powerful fme-reted gear or immense strength and mental power."

  "Who could achieve this level? In Zone 18, besides the Fire God of the Jiangzhong branch of the War God Hall, is there anyone else?"

  Li Biao stood up, scanned the scorched surroundings, and shook his head. "The Jiangzhong branch members of the War God Hall are all at the Gray Pins, preparing to kill that King-tier boss. The Fire God wouldn't come here."

  "Could it be the wanted criminal, Evil Fme?" Hua Ziyan frowned.

  "Evil Fme?" Li Biao thought for a moment, pondered briefly, then shook his head. "That guy was st spotted in Nanjing City. There's no way he could've traveled this far in such a short time."

  "Maybe it's an expert from the civilian ranks. There are hidden talents everywhere among the popuce... Anyway, let's keep moving."

  As they progressed, Li Biao's team killed three bck apes. But by the afternoon, they came across another scorched area.

  "It's the same person." Chen Yueling narrowed her eyes slightly. "They've used high-intensity fire twice in a single day."

  Li Biao nodded but refrained from commenting, urging the team forward.

  However, these charred areas became increasingly frequent—encountered roughly every half an hour.

  By four or five in the afternoon, the team reached an elite valley, only to find a vast expanse of scorched earth at the valley's entrance.

  The ground was in utter disarray, bare soil marred with rge craters.

  "What the... Is that guy a pyromaniac, setting fires everywhere?" Hua Ziyan frowned deeply, clearly irritated. "Everywhere we go, it's just ruins left by them. Even the bck apes have been driven away."

  Though wild beasts wouldn't decrease in number due to being hunted, the powerful bck apes wouldn't linger in barren wastends.

  The efficiency of the Fierce Tiger Squad's hunting was far below expectations.

  Even the elite valley they had pinned their hopes on was a bust.

  Li Biao pursed his lips and exhaled heavily through his nose,"Forget it. Let's check the next elite valley."

  By evening, they reached another valley, only to find it in the same state.

  The entrance was scorched bck, the interior completely devastated, with no sign of the elite bck apes or treasure chests.

  "This... Even this pce has been cleared out by them?" Li Biao's eyes widened. "What's their deal? Can't they leave something for the rest of us?"

  "Exactly! They're already this strong, yet instead of hunting warlord bosses, they're sweeping up elites?" Chen Yueling said angrily, her face stern.

  "Today we've only killed five bck apes... Our poor efficiency is all thanks to that person."

  ———

  Meanwhile, the Falcon Squad had just finished a grueling battle against a level 28 Armored Monitor Lizard and was urgently regrouping.

  The Armored Monitor Lizard was one of the most challenging beasts to deal with in King's Valley.

  These creatures, typically 1.8 to 3.2 meters long, were incredibly agile, covered in spike-like metallic scales, and their saliva contained potent paralyzing venom.

  One Armored Monitor Lizard could easily kill a simirly leveled bck ape.

  Although all five members of Falcon Squad were top-tier experts, their levels were still low—only at first-tier professions. During the battle, Qin Yong, who acted as the tank, sustained severe injuries.

  Xu Xiaoxiao tended to Qin Yong's wounds while Tian Feng and the others kept watch.

  "Captain, can Jiang Kai really survive here?" Liu Yan asked, her brows furrowed as she scanned the surroundings.

  "Did we pursue the wrong target?" Bai Lingzhi added. "I can't believe he made it this far. Ghost Banshees were already tough enough, let alone the Armored Monitor Lizards."

  "Captain, our supplies and medicine are running low," Xu Xiaoxiao reported.

  After six days and nights of tracking, all five members of the team—even those uninjured—were visibly exhausted.

  Initially, they thought they could kill Jiang Kai within three days, possibly even one. But six days had passed, and not only had they failed to find Jiang Kai, but they were also in a dire situation.

  Shortages in supplies, team members in poor condition, and increasingly powerful beasts nearby... After hesitating several times, Tian Feng finally sighed deeply and said, "Once Qin Yong recovers, we'll head back."

  Just then, Liu Yan gasped softly. "Captain, there's a monitor lizard."

  Tian Feng's eyes widened as he saw a lizard emerge leisurely from behind the rocks. His mind buzzed with panic.

  "Damn it, these lizards have incredibly sharp senses. They found us so quickly."

  "This area is no longer safe. Fight while retreating."

  ———

  Three days ter, at dawn, Jiang Kai crawled out of a hidden cave and stretched zily.

  He had a good night's sleep.

  After ten days of hunting, Jiang Kai's level had risen to 10.

  His stats were now: Strength 40, Constitution 44, Agility 66, Mental Power 66.

  This didn't include the bonuses from his Chasing Nine Tributions & unidentified gloves.

  Now capable of performing nine to ten consecutive fire attacks, his hunting efficiency had greatly improved.

  With his Ignite ability, Jiang Kai focused primarily on elite bck apes. Over this period, he visited all 32 elite valleys marked on his info card.

  Unfortunately, some valleys had already been cleared by others. He managed to kill 19 elite bck apes himself.

  Adding over 200 regur bck apes killed along the way, Jiang Kai had reached level 10 two days ago.

  Since all the elite valleys had been scouted, it would take time for them to repopute with apes and treasure chests.

  "19 treasure chests, filled with ores, equipment, and medicine. They should sell for a decent sum."

  After some thought, Jiang Kai decided to head back and sell his loot.

  "After a good sleep, I'm full of energy. Today's another great day!" Looking at the beautiful scenery outside the cave and thinking about making money, Jiang Kai was in a fantastic mood.

  Feeling energized and in top condition, Jiang Kai sped up his pace.

  By around 3 PM, he had reached the safety zone lined with camps.

  From all directions, teams were returning. Most of them looked fatigued, with some carrying stretchers for the wounded.

  Just as Jiang Kai was about to enter the safety zone, someone nearby shouted in surprise.

  "Jiang Kai! We've been searching so hard for you."

  Startled, Jiang Kai turned to see five strangers gring at him with fiery eyes.

  Embzoned on their chests were the words: "Bck Tortoise Guild—Falcon Squad."

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