Yuan Chenfeng was counting his gains over this period.
The words he had voiced earlier were indeed not empty; given the current earnings, in little over a month he truly could save up for a significant amount of Meat Field.
Although most were from the Second to Third Realm, there were only a handful of those from the Third Realm.
But that was enough.
As long as he spent more money hiring a few experienced hands in breeding, and set up breeding greenhouses, the future gains would be endless, more than sufficient to sustain the entire Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall.
Thinking of this, Yuan Chenfeng felt an immense satisfaction, as if he could already see his martial arts hall overpowering its rivals and becoming the largest force in the Commandery in the next two to three years.
At that time, I will settle accounts with Lu Dingtai and that Zhao Ya.
Yuan Chenfeng thought viciously.
At that moment, someone came rushing in, flustered.
"Mas...Master, something terrible has happened!"
Yuan Chenfeng frowned; he hated being disturbed while evaluating his profits.
"What terrible thing could have happened? I’m not dead yet, so why are you so flustered?" Yuan Chenfeng scolded angrily.
"Senior...Senior Brother Xia and they...they...." The person was so out of breath from running that he couldn’t speak for a moment.
"What happened to Cunyi?"
"They encountered a group of extremely powerful Exotic Beasts, and have been completely wiped out."
"What?"
Originally calm, Yuan Chenfeng suddenly stood up, his face filled with shock and disbelief.
"How is this possible? You should know that although Cunyi hasn’t broken through to the Fourth Realm, he is considered a skilled expert and was leading so many people. How could they have been wiped out?"
This statement was more of a comfort to himself than to the messenger disciple.
And the messenger disciple was about to cry, "It’s true, the news was brought back by a few Martial Artists who happened to pass by the scene, and they also brought back Senior Brother Xia’s badge!"
"Take me to see them!"
Yuan Chenfeng’s face was ashen, and hurriedly went outside to meet the few people who brought back the news.
It turned out that these people were disciples of the Guangrui Martial Arts Hall, hunting outside the city at that time, not far from where Xia Cunyi and his group met their fate. But they got lucky; upon sensing something was wrong, they immediately hid, hence not discovered by the Ghost-faced Giant Ape.
When Yuan Chenfeng heard that Xia Cunyi’s group was surrounded and killed by the Ghost-faced Giant Ape, his face turned pale instantly.
"How can it be, didn’t Ghost-faced Giant Apes always act alone? How could there be as many as six or seven?" Yuan Chenfeng murmured to himself.
The individuals from Guangrui Martial Arts Hall were also shaken, one of them laughed bitterly, "Not just six or seven gathered together, we also saw a gigantic ape standing four meters tall in the forest, with a strength estimated at least at the peak of the Fourth Realm."
Yuan Chenfeng’s face turned even whiter.
Although emotionally hard to accept the presence of a peak Fourth Realm Exotic Beast, he knew these Martial Artists wouldn’t lie about this kind of matter.
Yuan Chenfeng forced himself to maintain composure and thanked these Martial Artists.
These individuals took their leave.
Then Yuan Chenfeng sat dazedly in his chair, feeling utterly bewildered for a moment.
Though heartbroken over Xia Cunyi’s death, he could barely accept it.
The key issue was that the disciples who had gone with him could not return either.
They were all elite handpicked by Yuan Chenfeng, the foundation of a thriving Martial Arts Hall.
But now, they were all gone.
Suddenly, Yuan Chenfeng seemed to think of something, jumped up, and shouted, "Hurry, quickly go notify Gui Zhi and Zhongbao, tell them to come back immediately."
The first disciple Yu Guizhi and the second disciple Ge Zhongbao were both leading a team hunting outside the city at this time.
Yuan Chenfeng was urgently anxious to send someone to bring them back, fearing something might happen to them.
But no one dared to go despite being called for a long time.
Joke.
Even Xia Cunyi died; one can imagine how dangerous the forests outside the city are.
Although the disciples who stayed behind were not elite, they weren’t fools, so they remained unmoved regardless of Yuan Chenfeng’s calls.
There was no other way.
Yuan Chenfeng could only personally undertake the task.
Just as he prepared to leave, full of sorrow, Yu Guizhi hurried back with several others.
Upon seeing the state of his first disciple, Yuan Chenfeng’s heart sank.
Because Yu Guizhi was covered in blood, with a deep claw mark visible to the bone on her back.
As for the few people returning with her, they were in even worse condition.
One person was even missing an arm.
"Master!" Upon seeing Yuan Chenfeng, Yu Guizhi called out in grief.
"You also encountered the Ghost-faced Giant Ape?" Yuan Chenfeng’s voice trembled.
"Yes, Second Junior Brother and I were just planning to return when we encountered a group of Ghost-faced Giant Apes. The leader was particularly huge and powerful. We were surrounded, and if I hadn’t fought desperately, I wouldn’t have been able to return either."
"And Zhongbao?" Though he had already guessed the outcome, Yuan Chenfeng still asked, holding on to the barest thread of hope.
Yu Guizhi sorrowfully said, "Second Junior Brother was careless and has already perished in the jaws of that giant ape."
Yuan Chenfeng swayed, nearly fainting from the shock.
Someone hurriedly supported him.
"Master, please don’t be too sad, look, Senior Sister has returned safely." A disciple tried to console.
Yet, such words couldn’t ease Yuan Chenfeng’s sorrow.
In a single day, ninety percent of the elite disciples of the Martial Arts Hall had fallen, perished in the forest.
This wasn’t just a blow to the body; it had uprooted the very foundation of the Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall.
"I will fight that giant ape!" Yuan Chenfeng roared in rage, then immediately suffered a fit of anger, spewing a mouthful of blood, and fainted from furious indignation.