172: Chapter 172 Exploring the Land of Monsters

Lin Tian officially moved to No. 7 Fish Pond.

The day he left Team 6, Ma Gang personally escorted him to the border of Team 7's territory, while Chen Lang followed behind helping to carry his luggage, chattering all the way, saying, "Captain Lin, come back and visit when you have time."

The members of Team 7 were already waiting on the shore, six people in total, standing in a neat row.

There was no defiance or testing in the eyes of these people as they looked at Lin Tian—they had seen every battle on the arena.

They had nothing to say about having a captain who was proficient in two sword techniques, could defend against Chen Ying's palm blades, and possessed speed that didn't lose to the successor of Qingxia Peak.

Lin Tian met with the team members, spoke a few words, and then moved into the bamboo house of the Team 7 captain.

Life as a captain wasn't drastically different from being a guard.

Every morning, he patrolled the fish pond, checked the cages, arranged the team's rotation, and handled the various minor tasks of the team.

After finishing official business, he would return to the bamboo house to Cultivate, practice sword techniques by the lake, and go into the water to practice movement techniques and the breathing technique.

His days were even more disciplined than when he was a guard.

After a half-month adjustment period, the operation of Team 7 was completely smooth.

A month passed, and his various martial arts were progressing steadily.

At the end of the month, when the Disciple brought the wooden basin, there were two Treasure Fish swimming inside.

The two three-year-old silvery-white Treasure Fish flicked their tails in the clear water.

Lin Tian squatted beside the wooden basin, stewed the fish soup until it was thick and white like milk, and drank it along with the fish; the Internal Energy in his Dantian increased by a large margin compared to before.

Previously it was one per month, now it was two per month; his cultivation speed had doubled.

Two months passed in a flash.

Lin Tian had completely adapted to the identity of a captain.

Under his management, Team 7 was orderly, and the team members gradually grew accustomed to this young captain who didn't talk much but was reliable in his actions.

That evening, he was sitting cross-legged on the open space in front of the bamboo house, closing his eyes and introspecting.

The numbers on the proficiency panel appeared in his mind line by line.

The Purple Qi Diagram had already broken through to the Major Achievement Realm.

The Xiaguang Sword Technique was firmly at the Major Achievement Realm.

Cloud Shadow Step, Flying Knife in the Sleeve, Meteor Arrow Technique, Great Strength Vajra Palm, and Thunderclap Sword Technique were all progressing steadily at the Proficient Realm.

Dragon Roar Iron Shirt had also advanced a long way in the Proficient Realm.

The Divine Turtle Breathing Technique and White Dragon in the Waves had both stepped into the Proficient Realm.

Three Cultivation Techniques had entered the Proficient Realm, three martial arts had broken through to Major Achievement, and his Foundation at the Late Stage of the fourth rank was built deep and stable.

He was just preparing to continue circulating the Purple Qi Diagram when a rush of footsteps came from the other side of the gravel path.

A Disciple trotted to the front of the bamboo house, cupped his hands to deliver a message, his voice tinged with nervousness: "Captain Lin, Field Master Zhou has summoned all captains to go to the bamboo building immediately for a meeting."

In the main hall of the bamboo building, all ten captains were present, lined up on both sides.

Field Master Zhou stood behind a long table, with two gray-haired Elders standing beside him, both with fifth-rank cultivation.

The blue smoke in the copper incense burner rose in curls, swaying left and right, blown by the lake wind pouring in from the window.

Field Master Zhou spoke, getting straight to the point: "You were all present for that large-scale Vicious Beast attack two months ago.

The coordination between the Black-Armored Lizard and the White Bird was not something that could be achieved by the instinct of wild beasts.

I suspect that a Beast King has appeared in the nearby mountains and forests, or someone is secretly driving the Vicious Beasts.

I called you here today to pick five people from you ten captains, led by the two Elders, to go deep into the Taixuan Mountain Range to investigate clearly.

Five go, five stay behind.

Volunteers please."

The ten captains were silent for a moment, then Captain Jiang He of Team 1 from Chixia Peak was the first to step out: "I'll go."

With someone taking the lead, the others followed one after another.

Field Master Zhou looked at them one by one, and finally named five people: Captain Jiang He of Team 1, Captain Liu Yun of Team 3, Captain Meng Ping of Team 5, and two other veteran captains.

When he named the last person, his gaze fell on Lin Tian.

Lin Tian took a step forward and cupped his hands: "I'll go."

When the sun reached the top of their heads, the seven people set off from Yunhai Fishery.

The two Elders walked in the very front.

Both fifth-rank experts were Transcendent Martial Artists, their auras as calm as an abyss.

The five captains followed behind, passing through the dense forest they had come from, and advanced all the way deep along the ridgeline of the Taixuan Mountain Range.

In the first few days, the Vicious Beasts they encountered on the road were just ordinary stock—Early Stage fourth-rank Iron-Backed Gray Wolves and mid-stage fourth-rank Red Flame Tigers, which the seven of them dealt with casually.

A few days later, the surrounding mountains and forests had completely changed their appearance.

Ancient trees towered, blocking the sun, thick vines hung down from the canopy, and the ground was covered with thick rotten leaves, soft like walking on cotton batting when stepped upon.

Lin Tian utilized his Cloud Shadow Step while hurrying along, the tips of his feet lightly tapping on the moss-covered rocks, his purple shadow flickering and shifting between the tree shadows.

This movement technique had already been practiced to the peak of the Proficient Realm, just one step away from Major Achievement.

If he could break through during this operation, just his speed alone would be enough to wrestle with a Martial Artist who had just entered the fifth rank.

After walking for a few more days, the seven of them stopped in a deep mountain forest to rest.

The two Elders leaned against a giant rock to close their eyes and rest, and the few captains each found a tree root to sit down, drink water, and eat dry rations.

Lin Tian sat cross-legged under an ancient pine that required several people to embrace, preparing to adjust his breathing and circulate his Qi.

The earth shook violently.

It wasn't the continuous shaking of an earthquake, but rather something incredibly heavy burrowing under the soil beneath their feet.

Immediately afterward, the dense forest in front exploded with a boom.

An ironwood tree as thick as a bowl was snapped in half.

Amidst the flying wood chips, a behemoth rushed out.

A Black-Armored Lizard—the same species as the Black-Armored Lizard that attacked the fishery two months ago, but its body was a full circle larger, over five meters long from head to tail.

Its entire body of scales shone with a dark, gloomy luster in the dim forest, and its two eyes were as large as copper bells, filled with primitive brutality in their amber vertical pupils.

As soon as it appeared, it lashed its thick tail.

Several nearby trees as thick as a bowl were snapped in half, and the broken trunks, along with flying branches and leaves, smashed toward the group.

The five captains leaped into the air simultaneously, each using their movement techniques to dodge.

Lin Tian unfolded his Cloud Shadow Step, his figure swayed, narrowly avoiding a broken log flying past his shoulder.

The two Elders were already enraged.

One gray-haired Elder stepped forward and slapped out with his palm.

The palm wind turned into a visible wave of Qi that slammed into the Black-Armored Lizard's side ribs, making a loud sound like metal colliding when it hit the scales.

The other Elder approached from the left, his right hand forming a claw.

The Internal Energy condensed between his five fingers glowed with a dark light, and he clawed toward the back of the Black-Armored Lizard's neck.

The Black-Armored Lizard felt the pain and let out a heaven-shaking roar, suddenly turning its head.

Opening its big mouth, a thick cluster of black mist surged out from the depths of its throat, spreading with the wind, instantly shrouding the surrounding tens of meters of forest.

Where the black mist passed, the fallen leaves on the ground made a hissing sound of corrosion, quickly becoming charred and curled.

A vine touched by the black mist turned into a pool of viscous black liquid in the blink of an eye.

The Elder slapped away the incoming black mist with a palm, then his expression changed drastically, and he shouted sternly: "Bad! Retreat quickly! This black mist is poisonous!"