"Dark Star?"
Watching the black-robed figure disappear from sight, Lin Sheng chewed on the name.
In his hand, he now held a black star-shaped emblem. The emblem was cool to the touch and felt delicate, made of unknown material. The back of the emblem had a gray star-shaped pattern drawn on it.
"Is this the force Brother belongs to?"
Putting away the emblem, Lin Sheng suppressed his thoughts.
He didn't know much about this Dark Star Organization and had never heard the name before.
However, judging by the strength of the black-robed figure, the Dark Star's power was clearly formidable. As for Lin Miao, his position within it was probably not low, at least not lower than the black-robed figure, otherwise the other party wouldn't have appeared in this remote small County Town.
Facing the black-robed figure's invitation, he only pondered for a moment before choosing to join.
Although the Dark Star Organization was quite mysterious, according to the black-robed figure, it didn't impose many restrictions on its members.
As for the benefits, one could exchange for information and other items within it.
The black-robed figure didn't elaborate on the specifics, only telling him that a dedicated person would contact him in a few days to inform him in detail about the Dark Star's rules and benefits.
Finally, when the black-robed figure left, he didn't forget to remind him not to Cultivate the Ape Embryo Skill, especially the last layer.
Regarding this, Lin Sheng had his own considerations.
In fact, he understood this without the black-robed figure saying it.
With the degree of White Ape's integration, it was naturally impossible to support his cultivation of the Ape Embryo Skill to the Blood Transportation Realm, and even the Forging Tendons Late Stage was extremely difficult, but once he integrated with ape-type exotic beasts of a higher grade, this drawback could be resolved.
"Bloodline..."
Lin Sheng muttered the term that had recently appeared.
He had also asked the black-robed figure what a Bloodline was, but the other party didn't say much.
Even if the other party didn't say, he had his own deductions.
"Perhaps Bloodline is somewhat similar to the changes in the body's meridians and bones after integrating with an exotic beast, after all, integrating with White Ape was considered by the black-robed figure as possessing a trace of extremely faint ape-type exotic beast Bloodline."
"Presumably, Bloodline should be some kind of extreme internal change in the body that is different from ordinary people..."
Lin Sheng's mind flashed with what Tian Hu and Wang Sanyang had mentioned: the peerless Genius named Liu Tianci who once appeared in Lin'an County, who was said to have suddenly enlightened, manifested unusual phenomena in his body, and subsequently his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, far exceeding the mundane.
Could this so-called manifestation of unusual phenomena in the body be related to Bloodlines!?
"Although I don't have a so-called Bloodline, the mountain and sea scroll is enough to level everything."
Shaking his head slightly, he suppressed these thoughts. He understood that he had nothing special about him; his root bones and comprehension were quite ordinary. However, relying on the mountain and sea scroll, he would definitely not be inferior to those with Bloodlines.
The next day.
After Lin Sheng and Lin Hong finished breakfast, they walked towards the Ninth Squad's station.
He had returned in a hurry yesterday. Apart from renting a residence, he spent most of the remaining time cultivating behind closed doors.
Not many people knew he was back.
However, he keenly noticed that the patrols in the town seemed much more frequent than before.
"Is it because of Ma Long?"
He thought to himself as he arrived at the station.
Someone immediately took him to see Wang Sanyang.
In the station's hall, Wang Sanyang looked relieved when he saw Lin Sheng return.
"Lin Sheng, it's good that you're back. I was really worried something had happened to you."
"Did something happen?" Lin Sheng asked, pretending ignorance.
"Something did happen. Ma Long is dead."
"What!! Ma Long is dead?"
Hearing Wang Sanyang's words, Lin Sheng's face showed shock.
"When did this happen? Did he encounter some powerful exotic beast in the mountains!"
He couldn't help but say.
"No, he died in his own home, the night after you left."
Wang Sanyang shook his head slightly and replied.
"It's good that he's dead, saves him from always thinking about you. Ma Long is not like his younger brother Ma Qiang, he's very insidious. If he targets you, you never know when he'll pull a dirty trick."
His tone was quite relaxed, even showing a bit of schadenfreude regarding Ma Long's death.
"Has the killer been caught? Who was it!"
"It's not that easy. Someone who could silently sneak into Ma Long's room and kill him is likely a Forging Tendons Late Stage Martial Artist. Such experts are rare in our Yangping Town."
"A few days ago, the Tang Zhu and Deputy Tang Zhus all went to the County Town for discussions. The person who acted took advantage of that opportunity. But now the Tang Zhus have returned and are investigating this matter. There should be a result."
As he said this, a hint of ruthlessness appeared on Wang Sanyang's face again.
"He committed murder so brazenly on our Zhenshan Tower's territory. No matter who is behind it, someone has to give an explanation."
A moment later, Lin Sheng walked out of the hall.
Ma Long's death did cause a considerable stir in the Hunting Beast Hall, but this matter clearly wouldn't be traced back to him, after all, in people's eyes, what could a Body Tempering Martial Artist do?
But this didn't mean he could relax his vigilance. Although no one would suspect him now.
He still had to make some preparations.
When talking with the black-robed figure yesterday, he took the opportunity to ask some questions, including how to determine a person's martial arts Realm.
After all, the black-robed figure had only met him twice briefly, yet he understood his cultivation Realm and even the Cultivation Technique he practiced to about 80-90%.
He had to be wary of such methods, otherwise there might be a possibility of exposure in the future.
From the black-robed figure, he learned that it was difficult for ordinary Martial Artists to determine a person's cultivation Realm without personally engaging in combat.
Even Forging Tendons Martial Artists could only roughly sense the strength of the opponent's Qi and blood through physical contact, thereby vaguely determining their martial arts Realm.
However, after breaking through to the Blood Transportation Realm, the five senses are greatly enhanced, and the perception of Qi and blood is more sensitive.
Blood Transportation Warriors don't need physical contact; they can see the Qi and blood situation of ordinary Martial Artists at a glance, and even roughly determine what type of martial arts technique the opponent Cultivates through the movement of Qi and blood.
Lin Sheng wasn't worried about revealing his Realm in front of Tian Hu and others, but facing a Blood Transportation Warrior, that was uncertain.
Therefore, he had to find a way to solve this problem. His cultivation would continuously improve, and once exposed, it would always be a hidden danger.
As for how to solve this problem, he already had arrangements.
Returning to the Hunting Beast Hall, tasks were quickly assigned.
Walking around the Ninth Squad, Lin Sheng noticed some new faces, all newly recruited hunters for the Ninth Squad.
"Lin Tou, you're back!"
Suddenly, a voice filled with surprise sounded from the side. Without turning his head, Lin Sheng knew who it was.
"Xiao Shi, go notify Lao Zhou and the others, there's a task."
Looking at Xiao Shi, who was running towards him with a cheerful face, Lin Sheng smiled and spoke.
"Okay, I'll go right away. Also, our small team has new recruits. I'll bring them over later for Lin Tou to see."
Xiao Shi replied excitedly, and finished speaking, he was already jogging away.
"New recruits?"
Lin Sheng wasn't surprised. Many new recruits had been recruited into the Ninth Squad now, and it was normal for him, as one of the Ninth Squad's squad leaders, to be assigned new recruits.
Not long after, Xiao Shi ran back, followed by several people.
Two of them were old team members from before, and the remaining three were undoubtedly new recruits.
Lin Sheng felt somewhat familiar with two of the three new recruits, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
"This is our squad leader, Lin Sheng. You can call him Lin Tou from now on."
Facing the three new recruits, Xiao Shi cleared his throat and spoke.
The three immediately bowed to Lin Sheng, and respectfully shouted in unison.
"Lin Tou."
"Mm."
Lin Sheng responded indifferently, his gaze falling on two of them.
"Are you two from the Slaughterhouse?"
"Yes, Lin Tou, we used to work with you and also cultivated together. It's just that your talent is extraordinary, and you were brought into the Hunting Beast Hall early."
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, the two quickly replied, their faces full of smiles.
Seeing that the other party still remembered them, the two were overjoyed. After all, they were from the same place, and perhaps the other party would take care of them more.
When they learned that their squad leader was Lin Sheng, the two were both surprised and delighted.
They were surprised that in such a short time, the other party had already entered the Body Tempering Realm and even became a squad leader in the Hunting Beast Hall. The contrast was quite significant.
Their joy was naturally due to the connection between them. With the talent Lin Sheng displayed, his future was definitely promising. If they could seize this opportunity to cling to his coattails, then their days in the Hunting Beast Hall would definitely be much better.
At this moment, they only regretted why they didn't befriend Lin Sheng earlier and instead kept circling around Wu Gang.
"How many people from the Slaughterhouse successfully entered the Hunting Beast Hall this time?" Not paying attention to the two's reactions, Lin Sheng continued to ask.
By now, he had remembered the two. These two were among the older individuals in the Slaughterhouse, and they usually formed a small group with the person named Wu Gang.
"Reporting to the captain, a total of fifteen people from the Slaughterhouse entered the Hunting Beast Hall this time, and three of them were assigned to the Ninth Squad."
"Besides the two of us, Wu Gang was also assigned to the Ninth Squad. Originally, he was also supposed to be in your small squad, but he later swapped with this brother next to him and went to another squad."
"Wu Gang?"
Wu Gang?
A tall figure immediately appeared in Lin Sheng's mind.
He really didn't expect Wu Gang to also be assigned to the Ninth Squad, but it was just a slight surprise, nothing more. He didn't even bother to ask why the other party applied to switch squads.
"Alright, since you've joined the Ninth Squad, I assume someone has already told you what you need to know. Just be careful after entering the mountains."
Lin Sheng instructed the three, and without further ado, he led them towards Yangping Mountain.
Actually, his task wasn't urgent and didn't need to be completed immediately, but Lin Sheng was in such a hurry to enter the mountains for his own reasons.
He lowered his head and looked at the inconspicuous mark on his chest through his loose clothing.
Since the second mark had appeared, returning to Yangping Mountain now, he naturally had to find a way to activate it as soon as possible.
In addition, he also needed to start collecting information about ape-type exotic beasts to prepare for the Ape Embryo Skill.
As for the Ya Gang in the County Town, the problem wasn't big. After all, no matter how insidious the Ya Gang was, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble on the Zhenshan Tower's territory.
Just as Lin Sheng was leading the team into Yangping Mountain to hunt.
On the other side, in Waguan Street, Lin'an County, at the Ya Gang's station.
"Hasn't Liu Yuanshan returned yet?"
Meng Hongsheng sat in the center of the main hall, his expression somewhat gloomy, looking at the few Ya Gang members below him.
"Reporting to the Gang Leader, the Second Master still hasn't sent back any news, and Wang Laojiu and the others who went out with him also haven't been found."
The few Ya Gang members replied hesitantly.
"Useless, Liu Yuanshan, that idiot."
Hearing this, Meng Hongsheng frowned tightly.
He didn't expect that in just one night, most of his Ya Gang's assets were gone just like that.
Most of the people Liu Yuanshan took out were Body Tempering Martial Artists, considered the backbone of the Ya Gang. Now, they had disappeared without any news.
Clearly, something had happened to this group.
Meng Hongsheng clenched his fist. If Liu Yuanshan were here, he would definitely teach him a severe lesson.
Although he had backers, the people in the Ya Gang were also people he had painstakingly built up. Losing most of them at once meant he had good self-control, otherwise he would have already lost control and killed people.
"What about that kid's information? Bring it to me."
He glanced at the few people bowing their heads below the hall and spoke coldly.
Soon, someone presented the intelligence about Lin Sheng.
"Someone from Zhenshan Tower?"
After flipping through two pages, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Hunting Beast Hall Squad Leader?"
Seeing the latest news on the last page, his brows furrowed even tighter.
He didn't know what he was thinking, his eyes flickered, and finally, he waved his hand.
"All of you, withdraw."
"Then, Gang Leader, what about the Second Master's matter..."
"I will handle this matter myself. You don't need to ask."
"Yes, Gang Leader."
Watching his subordinates retreat, Meng Hongsheng also quickly left the station and headed towards the inner city.
Not long after, he arrived at a residence in the city.
The residence was luxuriously decorated and covered a vast area.
A plaque with red background and gold characters hanging above the main gate read "Chen Family."
It was indeed the Chen Family of Lin'an.
Led by the butler, Meng Hongsheng quickly entered the courtyard.
"Little Meng, why have you come? Is there any news from the Sun Family or the Zhou Family?"
In the side courtyard, an old man with a grizzled beard dressed in brocade robes, his back to Meng Hongsheng, held a fishing rod and spoke indifferently.
This person was Chen Wantian, the head of the Chen Family, and also one of the few Blood Transportation Warriors in Lin'an County.
Although he looked quite old, appearing to be in his seventies, his actual age was only a little over 50.
The reason for his aged appearance was due to the special Cultivation Technique he practiced, but it did not affect his combat strength in the slightest.
"Reporting to the Family Head, it's not about the Zhou Family or the Sun Family. Since the White Elephant Martial Hall was annihilated, these two families have been very obedient and have already eagerly agreed to our terms. This subordinate came for other matters."
Meng Hongsheng bowed respectfully and said.
"Oh, what is it?" the old man said indifferently.
"It's about my subordinates. The night before last, my elite subordinates went to track a hunter from the Zhenshan Tower's Hunting Beast Hall. Most of them were killed or injured, and there has been no news since. And that hunter was only in the Body Tempering Realm. This subordinate suspects that people from the Hunting Beast Hall took action and is worried that Zhenshan Tower might have discovered something, so I specially came to report to the Family Head."