Han Ying didn't answer right away. The silence hung in the air, thick with tension.
After a long moment, he seemed to come to a decision. He set his jaw. "Fine," he bit out. "I'll go to the swamp."
His voice was low and dangerous. "If there really is a young spirit serpent there, then your town's debt is cleared. In fact, for a tip this valuable, you'll get a handsome reward."
"But," he paused, his eyes locking onto Zhou Hong with an icy glare, "if you're lying to me... don't expect me to be merciful. I might not kill you to make a point, but you'll wish I had. I'm not a man you want to cross."
Hearing this, Zhou Hong shot up from his chair. "Mr. Han, you have our word! We would never lie to you. We wouldn't gamble with the future of our town!"
"Good. See that you don't," Han Ying nodded curtly. "Get me your fastest horse. I'm heading for the Misty Swamp now."
Fifteen minutes later, Han Ying was thundering out of Huangye Town on a powerful stallion.
The Misty Swamp was a good twenty miles away. Honestly, with his power, Han Ying could have just run the distance. As a warrior of the Qi Martial Realm, his body surging with true qi, a few dozen miles was nothing. But he was cautious. He'd need his strength for whatever lay ahead, so he took the horse.
Finding the swamp wasn't an issue. There was only one road in and out of Huangye Town, and it ran right alongside the swamp's edge.
Pushing the horse hard, he reached the perimeter of the fog-shrouded marshland in no time. He tethered his mount to a thick tree, drew his polished steel sword, and strode into the oppressive mist.
Deep inside the swamp, Luo Zhen was lounging. He was coiled up in a clearing, a bonfire crackling nearby. Next to it lay the picked-clean skeleton of a wild boar.
Ah, that hit the spot. Nothing beats charcoal-grilled boar, he thought, sighing in satisfaction. His massive, serpentine form was a relaxed spiral on the ground. Shame I didn't have any seasoning. A little salt, some chili powder, maybe cumin... now that would have been perfect.
With a contented burp, Luo Zhen pulled up his system map. It was time to figure out his next move.
He'd already stripped this swamp clean. Every useful herb, every resource—he'd found them all, not even bothering to spare plants that were only a few decades old. And for all that work, he'd only scraped together a measly two hundred experience points. This place, to put it bluntly, was tapped out. If he wanted to get stronger, he had to move on.
He looked at the system map, but most of it was obscured by a thick, digital fog. Only his immediate area was visible.
"Well, this is useless," he muttered, his forked tongue flicking the air. "System, how do I see the rest of the map?"
A flat, emotionless voice echoed in his mind. 'Please pay experience points to unlock the corresponding map.'
"It costs XP?" Luo Zhen balked.
'Correct. Unlocking new map data requires payment. The cost is proportional to the size of the cities and the power of the individuals within the selected area.'
"I see... Is that the only way? No free-to-play option?" Luo Zhen was reluctant. Every single point of XP was a step closer to his next breakthrough. The Demonic Qi Realm had four stages—early, middle, late, and peak—and he was still stuck at the very beginning. He needed to save everything he could.
'If you wish to avoid payment, you must explore manually,' the system replied, its tone unchanging. 'However, manual exploration carries the risk of missing critical growth opportunities.'
"Growth opportunities?" Luo Zhen pressed. "What do you mean?"
'New maps may contain data on hidden treasures, spirit veins, or other valuable resources. Once unlocked via payment, their locations will be marked. Without payment, you must find them yourself.'
"Seriously?" This changed everything. Luo Zhen's mind began to race.
After a moment of thought, he asked, "How does the pricing work?"
'County-level maps cost 200 XP. Prefecture-level and Kingdom-level costs are calculated based on the number of territories they contain.'
"Ugh." Luo Zhen grimly pulled up his status. He had exactly 213 XP. Just enough for one county map.
"Fine," he grumbled, feeling the sting of the loss. "Take the 200 points. Open one county map."
'200 experience points have been deducted.'
'Payment successful.'
'System has detected your current location within the Cangshan County territory. Defaulting to unlock the complete Cangshan County map.'
'Cangshan County map successfully unlocked!'
As the system's voice faded, a large chunk of the fog on his mental map dissolved, revealing a detailed, crystal-clear landscape. Luo Zhen could see everything: where the most potent herbs grew, the flow of rivers and streams, and even the power structures within the local towns.
But his eyes were drawn to two things: the resources he could take, and the threats he had to avoid.
This was why he'd spent the points. Wandering blindly into a new territory was a fool's errand. He had no idea what dangers or powerful warriors were out there. Walking in unprepared was just asking for trouble. This way, even though it cost him, he had intel. He could plan. He was in control.
His gaze swept across the map of Cangshan County and immediately landed on two blinking red icons. One was a small, humanoid shape right in the middle of the county seat. The other was a glowing beast-head icon located in a massive mountain range that bordered the town.
"System, what's with the red icons?" he asked.
'Red icons signify threats,' the system explained. 'The human figure indicates a warrior or faction at the Qi Martial Realm or higher. The beast head indicates a demonic beast at the Demonic Qi Realm or higher.'
So they updated the threat indicators, Luo Zhen noted. It used to be just a simple red dot. The system was evolving along with him.
'Additionally,' the system continued, 'a treasure chest icon signifies the location of buried treasure, such as the resting place of a fallen master or a hidden cache of items.'
"Treasure chest?" Luo Zhen's head snapped up. He scanned the entire map again, his focus intense, but found nothing. "System, I don't see any treasure chests in Cangshan County."
'That was merely an example,' the voice replied, as dry as ever. 'It was to inform you that all map icons have significance.'
"Right," Luo Zhen flicked his tongue, a little disappointed. He clicked on the little red figure in the county seat, and a text box popped up.
Faction Name: Cangshan Brotherhood
Territory: Cangshan County, Mingyue Prefecture, Dongyue Kingdom
Strength: Three warriors at the Qi Martial Realm.
Three of them? Luo Zhen was surprised. A tiny county like this had three warriors at that level? The town was more dangerous than he thought.
He dismissed the thought and focused on the other red icon—the beast head. Actually, there were two beast heads in the mountains, but their red glow was faint, suggesting they weren't a major threat to him. And a threat, he mused, was a two-way street. If they were a minor threat to him, he was a major threat to them.
He clicked on the icon.
Location Name: Duankong Mountain Range
Territory: Cangshan County, Mingyue Prefecture, Dongyue Kingdom
Strength: Two Demonic Qi Realm beasts from opposing factions.
"Opposing factions?" A slow grin spread across Luo Zhen's serpentine face. "So, they're not allies. They might even be enemies. Perfect."
The Duankong Mountain Range was a massive chain that stretched for hundreds of miles, dominating the county. It was the perfect new hunting ground. And if its two strongest residents were already at each other's throats? Well, a little chaos was always good for business.
Wait a second... the mountain range itself is glowing faintly, he noticed. Curious, he clicked on the terrain itself.
Mountain Range Name: Duankong Mountain Range
Grade: Low-grade Yuan Qi Mountain Range
System Tip: Mountain ranges are graded based on their concentration of ambient energy. From lowest to highest: Yuan Qi, Spirit Vein, Sacred Vein. Each grade is further divided into low, mid, high, and supreme.
Just as he was processing this, a prickle of instinct shot through him. A presence. Something powerful was closing in, and fast.
Hsssss. Luo Zhen's tongue darted out. He snapped the system map shut and coiled his body, ready for a fight.
Seconds later, the dense foliage rustled, and a man stepped into the clearing. He wore a wide, conical hat that shadowed his face, and a longsword was strapped to his hip.
Luo Zhen's eyes narrowed, and the system instantly provided the man's data.
Name: Han Ying
Race: Human
Realm: Mid-Stage Qi Martial Realm
Skills: Unknown (Target's realm is higher than yours)
Affiliation: Cangshan Brotherhood
Luo Zhen tensed. Mid-stage Qi Martial Realm—a full step above him. And from the Cangshan Brotherhood, no less. This was not a social call.
Why is an expert from the Brotherhood all the way out here? he wondered, his gaze locked on the intruder. Is he looking for me?
Across the clearing, Han Ying froze, his eyes widening at the sight of the colossal black python. Then, as he took in the details—the twenty-meter length, the shimmering black scales, the vivid crimson line running from head to tail—shock gave way to pure elation. It was a perfect match for the description Zhou Hong had given him. This had to be the spirit serpent.
Sensing that the creature's aura wasn't overwhelmingly strong, Han Ying felt a surge of confidence.
After a few seconds of observation, a predatory grin spread across his face. Without another word, he stomped his foot, and the ground cracked. He exploded into motion, a blur of speed closing the distance in a heartbeat. Mid-air, he drew his sword, and the blade flared to life, blazing with a white-hot energy.
But Luo Zhen was ready. With a fluid twist of his massive body, he whipped his tail around, sending it crashing toward the swordsman like a battering ram.
CLANG!
The energy-infused sword met the python's tail in a deafening shriek of metal on scale. Sparks flew like a forge hammer striking an anvil. The force of the impact sent Han Ying staggering backward, his feet digging into the dirt as he struggled to stay upright.
Luo Zhen felt a jarring, numbing shock travel up his tail, but his body was incredibly durable. The blow had stung, but it hadn't done any real damage. The fight had just begun.