If Lin Yao’er was just ordinarily surprised to see a huge Imperial Purple Gold Card, then the sight of the shopping list Yun Sheng had compiled for her left her thoroughly shocked.
A Purple Gold Card with one hundred thousand gold coins was still explainable, since although Yun Sheng’s identity and background were still unclear, with her miraculous medical skills and alchemy prowess, she would have no trouble with food and clothes anywhere and possessing a considerable fortune was to be expected.
But what’s the deal with this shopping list?
"Five hundred blank Magic Memory Light Axes, ten baskets each of tomatoes, cabbages, eggs, and rocks, ten letter writers and storytellers each, five thousand sheets of rice paper, and a good quantity of fine brushes with Beast Blood Ink," this was the peculiar and bizarre shopping list Yun Sheng had given Lin Yao’er.
Having grown up in Daoye Mountain, Lin Yao’er was very familiar with various connections in the city. Being sharp and cautious, although she did not understand Yun Sheng’s strange list, she still managed to purchase everything at the lowest prices before nightfall.
That night, Yun Sheng kept all the storytellers and letter writers working overnight, and as soon as day broke the next day, they all went out.
For two days and nights, while the three members of the Huangteng Hunting Soldier Team were in seclusion and intense training, Yun Sheng was nowhere to be seen.
Not until noon the day after next, the spirited three members of Huangteng and a very drowsy Yun Sheng gathered together.
"Today’s battle is of critical importance to us at Huangteng. But one thing, ’it’s not alarming to lack fuel when there are still greens on the mountain’, no one should act recklessly during the competition, especially be mindful of Yun Sheng’s safety," Feng Kuo asserted his authority as the team leader, never having been so serious before even when facing tough missions.
Because he understood that what they were facing was the Heihu Hunters Team, which was several times more ferocious than Demon Beasts.
"Yes! Boss Feng," the remaining three responded in unison.
Wenren Xu winked at Yun Sheng, implying in his words whether Yun Sheng had placed all her money on this, to which Yun Sheng nodded with a smirk.
The four of them got ready and left the inn, heading towards the Hunter Soldier Arena.
Along the way, whether it was onlookers or others competing on the same day, all the approaching hunters nodded amiably, leaving them all utterly baffled.
When did the people of the Huangteng Hunting Soldier Team become so popular?
"Huangteng, we believe in you!"
"Huangteng, stay strong, and may you strike the Heihu mob from Hou Qin so hard they won’t even recognize their parents!"
"Huangteng, the dignity of the Great Zhou hunters rests in your hands now!"
Eventually, some old hunters simply came over to cheer for Huangteng.
"Tell me, it’s only been a few days in seclusion, could this young master have gotten more handsome? How come there’s a crowd giving me the side-eye? It sure is a bit embarrassing," Wenren Xu almost pulled out a mirror to admire himself and, considering he believed himself handsome, receiving seductive glances and kisses from female hunters was normal, but suddenly, even some old men showing kindness was downright peculiar.
"It has nothing to do with your looks. The answer is here," Mu Nanyan had an extra piece of paper in her hand, handed to her by a Hunter Soldier just now.
"Heihu Hunting Soldier Team, Beast Hunter Soldiers, the common enemy of the Great Zhou Hunters!" After a bold headline, there was a piece of promotional paper written like a legendary novel, narrating with indelible beast blood ink all sorts of "misdeeds" of the four members of the Heihu Hunting Soldier Team since their debut.
Since their arrival at the Daoye Mountain Arena, from causing injuries and deaths in every match to the Hei brothers’ childhood mischiefs of stealing chickens and dogs, and deceiving and exploiting the old, weak, women, and children, the paper vividly detailed everything big and small.
The writer of this document had a powerful pen, describing the events so realistically that after reading this page, any human would gnash their teeth in hatred towards Heihu, and any beast would roar at them.
"That’s not all, I also heard that in taverns, inns, and even markets, storytellers are talking about various deeds of Heihu. Some say that this time Heihu from Hou Qin came to Daoye Mountain seems to be for appraisal, but actually, it’s to eliminate dissent. They are the dark hand sent by Hou Qin to strangle the backbone of the Great Zhou Hunters," Feng Kuo also uncovered some new information.
Combined with Heihu’s brutal behavior these days, all the rumors mingled together, inciting extreme aversion among everyone on Daoye Mountain from Hunter Soldiers to ordinary civilians.
On the other hand, these rumors that came from nowhere had also boosted the betting odds between Huangteng and Heihu Hunter Soldier Team in the external betting sites, predicting that Heihu Hunter Soldier Team would be ruthlessly murderous in the arena.
The original odds of one to five were brutally raised to one to seven.
This phenomenon of betting odds starkly different from public support was also a first in the history of the Arena.
This even grabbed the attention of the Hunter Soldier Union. Since the formation of Hunting Soldier Guard City, no Hunter Soldier Team had ever drawn so much hatred.
The more people detested Heihu, the more they supported Huangteng.
Surrounded almost with a hero’s welcome, Huangteng was escorted into the arena, except Yun Sheng, the other three were somewhat puzzled, but soon everyone put this aside as the competition was about to start, and their minds had to be focused on the competition.
Similar to Huangteng, during the past few days, Heihu had also undergone closed training.
In Hei Da’s view, Huangteng was more troublesome than the Jungle Tiger; although the opposing side had an apparent weakness in the "Doll Summoner," the combination of Feng Kuo and Wenren Xu, and Mu Nanyan’s magic support, were all significant threats.
They conducted detailed analysis against these three, fully exposing the weaknesses of Feng Kuo, Wenren Xu, and Mu Nanyan.
But despite anyone’s efforts, no one researched Yun Sheng, firstly because she was too young, and secondly, there was no data to study; Yun Sheng had never been on a Hunter Soldier mission, and since entering the arena, she had not made a move, thus inevitably becoming a research blind spot.
After thorough study, the four brothers were determined to defeat Huangteng. Just when they arrived at the arena, they sensed that something was off, wondering why everyone on the way was glaring at them as if they had stolen their wives and abducted their children.
"Big brother, do you feel that everyone around is kind of strange, as if they all want to tear us into pieces?" Hei Si, being a Summoner, had the sharpest observation skills and understood people’s emotions the best.
He pondered that if gazes were knives, the four brothers would have been filled with holes by now.
"You’re overthinking it, they’re just insignificant people," Hei Da was unconcerned. Just as they were about to enter the Arena, he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his head, feeling something hit his forehead.