Urban Martial Saint

Xiliang Mountain consists of over a hundred mountain ranges, stretching hundreds of miles. Due to its high altitude, the peaks are snow-capped year-round. As the snow melts into water, it flows downward, irrigating the entire mountain range, thereby creating a rich forest with an abundance of wildlife—essentially a complete ecosystem.

However, because of the high altitude, the vegetation on Xiliang Mountain changes rapidly as the elevation increases. The lower areas are warm and humid, where the evergreen broadleaf forests grow lush and form an evergreen broadleaf forest zone. As the altitude rises, the temperature drops, and these warmth-loving forests gradually decrease until they disappear, replaced by cold-resistant coniferous trees, forming a coniferous forest zone above two thousand meters. Higher up, where heat is insufficient, trees struggle to grow and are replaced by shrubs, creating a shrubland zone. Above four thousand five hundred meters is the alpine meadow zone, and beyond that, the alpine cold desert zone, and finally the permanent snow zone.

When Ye Qing stayed at the military district last night, he had already heard from the people there about the place. On Xiliang Mountain, the most terrifying thing is not the fierce beasts like tigers and wolves, but rather something called Long-toothed Rats.

It is said that these Long-toothed Rats are social animals, slightly smaller than regular mice, but their teeth are exceptionally long, especially their two front incisors, which are much longer than those of ordinary rats. Due to the length of their teeth, these Long-toothed Rats must find ways to grind them. Since they live above an altitude of three thousand meters, where the forest is already sparse and dominated by shrubs, traditional methods of gnawing on wood are less effective. As a result, these Long-toothed Rats, unable to grind their overly long teeth, become particularly irritable. Combined with their large numbers, they frequently attack nearby animals, from ferocious beasts like tigers and wolves to small creatures like wild rabbits and squirrels. They are considered the fiercest beasts on Xiliang Mountain. In the past, many who ventured into the mountains were attacked by Long-toothed Rats, their bones shredded to pieces!

Ye Qing and his group had driven only a short distance from the base of Xiliang Mountain before the road ended, forcing them to abandon their vehicle and proceed on foot, following a mountain path into Xiliang Mountain.

Handsome Fatty Wang gathered a total of eleven people for this trip, and including himself, Ye Qing, and Old Chen, that made a total of fourteen people. Not knowing what situations they might encounter in the mountains, Handsome Fatty Wang made sure everyone carried the necessary equipment to be prepared for emergencies. Thus, the fourteen individuals were fully equipped as they journeyed along the mountain path, heading towards the central part of Xiliang Mountain.

The mountain path was rugged, but it was manageable for the group. Ye Qing still had significant physical strength, and although his Inner Strength was no longer present, he was still fueled by other forces within him. Walking the mountain path was no problem. Handsome Fatty Wang and the others were accustomed to such terrain from years of experience, making traversing these mountains hardly a challenge. Surprisingly, Old Chen, despite his age, walked the mountain path with more energy than expected, chattering along the way, showing more vitality than some of the younger members.

After about two hours of trekking along the mountain path, they finally crossed two mountains. According to Zhou Yue's introduction, once they crossed these two mountains, they would be within the dangerous area of Xiliang Mountain, a place where wild beasts might start to appear.

Gazing at the looming third mountain ahead, Ye Qing called for everyone to take a break on the spot and have lunch. During the meal, Ye Qing unfurled a map and, together with Handsome Fatty Wang, studied it carefully. The mountain they aimed to reach had been marked on the map by Ye Qing. From their current position, they still had at least thirty more peaks to cross. At their current pace, it would take them at least another week to reach the mountain, despite the one or two hundred mile distance. Traversing mountains considerably lengthened the journey since it was time-consuming, after all.

After lunch, Ye Qing called everyone to get up and announced loudly, "Alright, everyone, we are now truly entering Xiliang Mountain. This third mountain might have wild beasts. So, be vigilant. Don't get separated, and if we encounter any wild beasts, don't panic. By working together, there is nothing to fear!"

Everyone nodded. They had faced all sorts of situations while tomb raiding. They were not afraid of wild beasts.

Old Chen scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly, "Hey, Young Ye, I... I'm always a coward. If I really see any wild beast, I can't promise I won't panic. If I do get scared and suddenly run, I might cause chaos, and that would be irresponsible of me. So, perhaps I should just stay behind and wait for you guys. What do you think?"

Before Ye Qing could respond, Handsome Fatty Wang immediately chimed in, "It's fine; we know what we're doing. If you get scared and run, we definitely won't be thrown into disarray by you. But you better watch out. If you run off into the mountains, you might get surrounded and eaten by tigers or leopards, and then we won't be able to save you!"

Old Chen was very reluctant to go into the mountains, but after Handsome Fatty Wang had tolerated his chatter for days, he seized the opportunity and wasn't about to let Old Chen leave, insisting he stayed with the group.

In truth, Ye Qing also wanted to uncover the true nature of Old Chen. Bringing him along this time was partly for this reason. Since Old Chen was already there, Ye Qing wouldn't let him go back. He intended to use the treacherous mountain environment to test Old Chen, to see if he truly had any capabilities.

Ye Qing smiled at Old Chen and said, "Alright, stop with the nonsense. We're already here; there's no turning back. Since you came by choice, we should see it through to the end, otherwise people will look down on us!"

Old Chen protested anxiously, "But when did I volunteer to come? You clearly dragged me along!"

"What a joke. Weren't you the one who volunteered to come along? Fatty, isn't that right?" Ye Qing glanced at Fat Wang, who immediately said, "Yes, exactly. When we left, this old guy knelt on the ground, crying and begging us to take him along. Now he wants to deny it, but that's not gonna fly!"

"When did I kneel on the ground, crying and begging to come along?" Old Chen looked aggrieved.

"Oh, so you still won't admit it? If you don't believe me, ask them, see if I'm right!" Fat Wang pointed to the group beside them.

Old Chen opened his mouth but ultimately closed it. Those people were all with Fat Wang, and if he asked them, the answer would be the same. Now everyone was standing against him; whatever he said would be useless. He had no choice but to obey.

"Alright, we're pretty generous with you. Look how much we're carrying; you've got so little on you!" Fat Wang chuckled, "I'm carrying three items and you've only got one—can't argue against that, can you?"

"Come on, you make it sound so good, but how heavy are your three items compared to my one?" Old Chen forcefully lifted the bag next to him filled with various tools, "Come on, let's swap if you're willing?"

"Ahem, swap what? Respect your elders, how can I let you carry so much and I only carry one item? That's not right!" Fat Wang laughed and darted off with three bags filled with clothes, not giving Old Chen a chance to swap.

The bag Old Chen carried was packed with metal tools, and was incredibly heavy. Fat Wang's bag contained a few clothes, practically weightless; no way he would swap with Old Chen.

Old Chen looked at Ye Qing, who simply picked up the bag next to him and ran off, not giving Old Chen a chance to speak. The rest of the people also hurried up the mountain, leaving Old Chen alone. He glanced at the lush woods surrounding him, not daring to linger, quickly grabbing his bag and chasing after them.

After climbing a little over a thousand meters in altitude, everyone noticed that this mountain differed significantly from the previous two. The woods here were noticeably quieter. On the previous mountain, there was birdsong and fragrance, with small animals appearing—quite delightful. But on this mountain, there wasn't even a single small animal in sight; not even a bird call was heard, giving the forest an exceptionally eerie feeling.

To avoid Old Chen, Fat Wang had stayed at the forefront. But after walking through the woods for a while, he too felt something was off. He quietly retreated, walked over to Ye Qing, and whispered, "Young Ye, something's not right."

Ye Qing slowly nodded without speaking, but his brows furrowed slightly. Amidst the greenery, he had caught a faint but distinct odor. Years of jungle trekking told him that there must be a fierce beast around, which explains the complete silence surrounding them.

"Everyone, be careful!" Fat Wang turned and called to the group, "Pair up in twos, watch each other's backs, and whatever you do, don't spread out!"

Everyone, experienced as they were, had already sensed something was off and had long found partners to watch each other's backs. The last person, Old Chen, upon hearing Fat Wang's words, hurriedly ran over, "Young Ye, let's pair up. I'll look after you!"

Ye Qing glanced at Old Chen—this old fellow was clever indeed. Knowing that sticking close to Ye Qing would be the safest, he ran over to team up. Saying he'd look after Ye Qing, when in truth, he just wanted Ye Qing to protect him.

Ye Qing didn't refuse; pairing Old Chen with anyone else would be irresponsible to that person. Keeping him by his side wasn't a bad idea. Plus, if there really was danger, Ye Qing could seize the opportunity to test Old Chen, see if he was hiding any skills.

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