Chapter 262: Chapter 237 Golden Martial Hunter_1
The task brief stated that this Liu Boguang had been relentlessly pursued and seriously injured repeatedly by the Golden Martial Hunters under the command of King Ming. Despite his injuries, he managed to recover rapidly each time and continued to commit crimes.
Many Golden Martial Hunters from the Mansion of King Ming were unable to kill him, hence the request was escalated to King Ming’s bodyguards.
The task rewards came in two categories - if Liu Boguang was not a Martial Spirit, just an average Martial Cultivator, the reward would be ten Meritorious Points for his death. If he was a Martial Spirit, the reward would skyrocket to fifty Meritorious Points.
"We are not sure yet, but since Youlin City is located just outside the Ghost Mountain Range, we accepted the task as it was on our way," commented Wang Guangyao.
"Alright, I’ll join you," Lu Yan said after a pause, nodding his head.
Both of these tasks posed no danger to him.
The most formidable demonic creature in the Ghost Ancient Battlefield is usually at the fourth mastery level. Even if a fifth or sixth-level master appears, Lu Yan had nothing to fear.
As for Liu Boguang, his cultivation level was also at the fourth level. Even if he was a Martial Spirit, he was not a threat.
He could accept these tasks, test the waters, and familiarize himself with the task hall’s procedures.
Smiles spread across the faces of Wang Guangyao and Li Chengkong.
Wang Guangyao said, "Come on, let me introduce you to the other two members. They are two great beauties."
Lu Yan followed Wang Guangyao and Li Chengkong to one side of the hall where he saw two tall and stunning women.
Both women looked young, with beautiful features, and were likely in their twenties.
Lu Yan recognized one of them - Zhang Ling’er, a member of the Hidden Dragon Camp.
However, the other woman was unfamiliar to him as he had never seen her before.
Zhang Ling’er introduced the second woman as Zhang Ke, another member of the Hidden Dragon Camp, who usually kept a low profile, either training hard or executing tasks outside, rarely seen by others.
Lu Yan did not think much about it.
After discussing, the five of them changed into new clothes and immediately embarked on their journey to Youlin City.
When executing tasks, they naturally couldn’t continue wearing the uniform of King Ming’s bodyguards. It was too conspicuous. All they needed was their official token.
Youlin City lay within the boundary of Mingzhou, located to the north, tens of thousands of miles from the Mansion of King Ming.
However, all five of them possessed astonishing speed and arrived at Youlin City in just a few days.
On the journey, they shared their cultivation levels with each other.
Among the group, Wang Guangyao boasted the highest cultivation level - a fourth level master. His inner strength reached nine stages, and his mastery of Top Martial Arts was not weak either. His combat ability was formidable, capable of battling sixth-level masters, crossing two levels.
Of course, this referred only to average sixth-level masters. Innate Martial Bodies and Acquired Martial Bodies were not included.
As for Li Chengkong, Zhang Ling’er, and Zhang Ke, they were all third-level masters.
Li Chengkong and Zhang Ling’er were Innate Martial Bodies with inner strength naturally surpassed five stages.
And Zhang Ke was an Internal God-man.
Lu Yan also claimed to have the cultivation level of a third-level master, but his inner strength was said to have reached eleven stages.
Upon entering Youlin City, an elderly man with gray hair greeted them, leading a group of over a dozen people.
"I am Tu Yu, the Golden Martial Hunter. I’m honored to meet you all." The old man greeted with a fist salute.
Aside from King Ming’s bodyguards, the Forbidden Guard Army and King Ming’s army, each major city under King Ming’s rule had Martial Hunters.
However, their combined strength fell far short of King Ming’s bodyguards, the Forbidden Guard Army, and King Ming’s army.
Martial Hunters under King Ming’s command were divided into four ranks.
They were the Bronze Martial Hunter, Silver Martial Hunter, Golden Martial Hunter, and the Purple Martial Hunter.
The Bronze Martial Hunter generally consisted of Limit Breaking Warriors.
Most Silver Martial Hunters were Martial Marquis.
And almost all Golden Martial Hunters existed at the master level but were very limited in number.
As for Purple Martial Hunters, they were even rarer. There were only a handful of them in the entire Martial Hunter system under King Ming, all at the True Body Realm.
As for their status, Martial Hunters were regarded as inferior to King Ming’s bodyguards, hence Tu Yu addressed them with great respect.
Behind Tu Yu stood four Golden Martial Hunters, while the rest were Silver Martial Hunters.
For a city like Youlin City, their Martial Hunter force could not possibly be this strong. In actuality, Tu Yu and the others had chased their target here from other cities.
"Captain Tu, have there been any traces of Liu Boguang?" Wang Guangyao asked.
"After being pursued and severely injured by us in Sanxi City, Liu Boguang fled all the way to Youlin City and has remained elusive ever since. This man is adept at disguising himself and blending into crowds. He has remained quiet in recent times." Tu Yu explained.
"Could he have already left Youlin City?" Zhang Ling’er asked.
"There’s that possibility, but it’s unlikely. Liu Boguang is incredibly audacious. Every time he arrives at a city, he tirelessly attempts to assault the most beautiful women in the city. He will not leave unless he succeeds, as if deliberately challenging us, the Martial Hunters, with his audacious deeds."
"Therefore, my guess is that after arriving in Youlin City, he will not leave so easily. Most likely, he is hiding and recovering from his injuries. Once he has fully recovered, he will surely eye the women within the city." Tu Yu explained.
"Is Liu Boguang indeed a Martial Spirit?" Wang Guangyao asked.
"There’s a 50% chance because on several occasions during our pursuit, I dealt him serious injuries, some of which were quite severe. However, even when injured, he was always able to escape, and not long afterward, he was back to full vitality as if nothing had happened. Ordinary Martial Cultivators don’t possess such recovery skills, do they?"
"Although he hasn’t displayed his Martial Spirit power in front of us, I still think it’s possible that he is a Martial Spirit." Tu Yu revealed.
"If Liu Boguang is indeed a Martial Spirit, then he has surely recovered from his injuries by now and could strike at any moment. Captain Tu, do you know who the most beautiful women are in Youlin City? We should split up, lay in wait, and capture Liu Boguang when he makes his move. If he appears, we will signal with a flare arrow, gather together and kill him," Lu Yan suggested.
"Your thoughts align with mine, only we were short on manpower, and lacked strong warriors. If we split up, we would be easily defeated by Liu Boguang individually. It’s fortunate you’ve arrived," Tu Yu revealed.
They were already prepared. They immediately shared the details of the most beautiful women in Youlin City.
Youlin City was renowned for its four great beauties, four women acclaimed for their beauty, and all of them were potential targets of Liu Boguang.
After a brief discussion, they made their final decision.
Wang Guangyao went alone to lurk near one of the beauties.
Lu Yan and Li Chengkong banded together and hid near another beauty.
Zhang Ling’er and Zhang Ke formed a team, while Tu Yu led a group of the strongest Martial Hunters.
After the division of tasks, they were off. Each person assumed a disguise and secretly infiltrated the area to set up the trap, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
A day, two days, three days...
For five consecutive days, there was no action.
At night, under the faint moonlight, two figures appeared inside a strange and decrepit room.
One was a skinny middle-aged man with a stern face.
This man was none other than the Flower-picking Thief, Liu Boguang.
The other person, wrapped in a black robe, hid his face within the depths of his hood, making it impossible to discern his appearance.
"Relax, this place is hidden. It’s just us here, there’s no need to continue hiding."
Liu Boguang chuckled.
The other figure then removed his hood revealing an old, white-haired face.
It was surprisingly the Golden Martial Hunter, Tu Yu.
"Has the King Ming’s bodyguard arrived yet?" Liu Boguang asked.
"They’re here, and they’re from the Hidden Dragon Camp," replied Tu Yu.
"Hidden Dragon Camp? Hehe, isn’t that even better, how are their cultivation levels?" Liu Boguang inquired.
"There are five of them in total, one of them is at the Fourth-level Master. The other four are Third-level Masters. But don’t underestimate them. They’re from the Hidden Dragon Camp; their power cannot be measured by ordinary standards. Although Wang Guangyao is only at the Fourth-level Master level, he has mastered nine types of inner strength, comparable to a Sixth-level Master," explained Tu Yu.
It is typically confidential information regarding members of Hidden Dragon Camp.
But Tu Yu, who had served in the Mansion of King Ming as a Martial Hunter for over a hundred years, had vast connections and was familiar with some of the members of the Hidden Dragon Camp.
He did not know everything, but he knew a small portion.
"Good, very good. We can totally handle them, hehe. Let them have a one-way trip," Liu Boguang snickered.
"What’s your plan?" Tu Yu asked.
"Our men are lurking in the ancient battlefield of Ghost Mountain Range. In a couple of days, we will lead them there and trap them. Your contributions will be remembered by the Holy Sect," Liu Boguang responded.
Tu Yu’s eyes flickered with a strong murderous intent.
He was aging, his life hanging by a thread.
But he didn’t want to die. He wanted to keep on living.
On the seventh day, deep in the night.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden a loud arrow pierced through the night sky.
"They have shown themselves, over to the east. That’s where Tu Yu’s ambush was set," Lu Yan whispered, and he and Li Chengkong immediately started to the eastern part of the city.
On their way, they ran into Wang Guangyao, Zhang Ling’er, and Zhang Ke who were also rushing over.
The five of them teamed up and instantly headed east, encountering a few Martial Hunters.
These men were quite evidently waiting for them.
"Masters, Liu Boguang has appeared. We were unable to keep him here. He has escaped the city gates towards the east. Master Tu and his team are already in pursuit," one of the Martial Hunters informed him.
"Let’s go!" shouted Wang Guangyao as he dashed ahead, large in stature but incredibly fast.
It appeared he was also practicing high-level speed-based martial arts.
Master level martial artists cultivating high-tier martial arts did not pose much difficulty. As such, members of the Hidden Dragon Camp, in addition to their primary martial arts, would also learn several top-ranked martial arts to enhance their abilities.
Especially the top-speed martial arts, which most of them would cultivate as a subsidiary.
Lu Yan and the others followed Wang Guangyao closely.
Running at full strength, they rapidly closed the distance. Not long after, the figures of Tu Yu and his team appeared ahead of them.
They increased their pace and caught up.
All five Golden Martial Hunters were chased sequentially, three of whom fell behind, leaving only Tu Yu and another one chasing Liu Boguang from up close.
Lu Yan and the others surpassed the three hunters who fell behind and ran after Tu Yu.
Shortly afterwards, they were caught up with the rest.
"Masters, Liu Boguang is right in front, but he is extremely fast. We are about to lose him," Tu Yu informed them.
"Leave it to us," declared Wang Guangyao, and stride ahead he surpassed Tu Yu.
Lu Yan and the others also proceeded forward.
From the distance, they could vaguely see a figure sprinting rapidly which rushed into a forest.
"He is planning to enter Ghost Mountain Range," noted Li Chengkong.
"Let’s follow him," Wang Guangyao stated. In a few strides, they narrowed the gap between them and Liu Boguang.
Lu Yan did not attempt to get ahead, rather he was simply keeping up with the group without falling behind.
After some time, they were only about a kilometer away from Liu Boguang.
"My turn," Lu Yan drew his bow and sent an arrow, infused with eleven types of inner strength, flying.
