"Are you kidding? Just take a look and you'll know."
Toren Tong handed a storage ring to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper took it, probed inside, and sure enough found it packed with two thousand Black-Armored Bulls.
The shopkeeper looked at Toren, surprised. "Captain Toren, you're amazing! You actually rounded up so many Black-Armored Bulls in a single day!"
"Just lucky, that's all!"
Toren grinned.
"Alright, twenty-eight immortal stones per head. I'll take them all!"
Hearing that, Toren sneered, snatched the storage ring back, and said to the others, "Let's go!"
Yesterday, the shopkeeper lowballed them because there weren't many Iron-Armored Bulls, so it wasn't worth going all the way to Whitecrest City to sell. Now, with two thousand, it's definitely worth the trip.
The shopkeeper panicked and hurriedly called out, "Captain Toren, don't go! I was just joking. How about we stick to thirty immortal stones per head?"
Even at thirty immortal stones per head, if he shipped these two thousand Iron-Armored Bulls to Whitecrest City, he'd make six thousand stones in profit just by flipping them.
"Thirty-one. Take it or leave it. If you won't, we'll just go to Whitecrest City!"
Toren looked back at the shopkeeper, his tone firm, clearly having him over a barrel.
In the end, the shopkeeper agreed—after all, there was still a four-thousand immortal stone profit to be made.
With sixty-two thousand immortal stones in hand, Toren and the hunting squad were all buzzing with excitement.
"Let's find a restaurant and celebrate—my treat!"
Toren waved his hand.
"No rush to celebrate. I think we should head to Whitecrest City first!" Ian Song said, his words loaded with meaning.
"What do you mean, Brother Ian?"
Toren looked at him.
Ian explained, "First, we still have tons of immortal beasts left—no town can handle that volume, and selling in batches would just draw attention. In Whitecrest City, tens of thousands of beasts are no big deal. Plus, Toren, it's time for you to condense your immortal body!"
"Alright!"
Toren Tong thought for a moment and agreed.
It was at least a three-day journey from Julu Town to Whitecrest City.
So, Toren sent someone back to the village with a message, then everyone set off together for Whitecrest City.
"Brother Song, I've thought it over. For the immortal stones we get from selling the beasts this time, you take ninety percent, and we'll split the remaining ten percent. How does that sound?" Toren asked, a little nervously.
After all, catching so many immortal beasts was basically all thanks to Ian Song. The rest of them just put in a bit of effort. Even with only ten percent, they'd still get over a hundred thousand immortal stones.
"I'll just take thirty percent!"
Ian Song said.
"No way, even taking ten percent is already a huge bargain for us!" Toren quickly objected.
"Brother Tong, don't be so formal!"
Ian Song smiled. "It's settled then. No more arguments, or I'll quit!"
"Alright then!"
Hearing Ian's threat, Toren could only agree. Instead of being upset, he felt nothing but gratitude toward Ian.
The Immortal World isn't peaceful at all.
During the three days that followed, Ian and the group ran into eight different bands of bandits.
If Ian hadn't been there, Toren's hunting squad would never have made it to Whitecrest City in one piece. But with Ian leading the way, not a single person was injured.
Finally, on the evening of the third day, the group arrived at Whitecrest City.
Each person paid an entry fee of one immortal stone—a currency in the Immortal World—to get into the city.
Whitecrest City was huge, with a population of over three million. It was ruled by the Nine-Sun Sword Immortal, a Golden Immortal, with two other Golden Immortals serving under him.
Following Ian's advice, they first found a regular inn to stay at. The total cost was over two hundred immortal stones, and even Toren looked pained handing over the money.
That night, Ian met with Toren to discuss their next move: they decided to let fifty people condense their immortal bodies first.
"Brother Song, I don't think everyone can come up with that many immortal stones," Toren said, troubled.
"We'll have enough once we sell the immortal beasts! The stronger the hunting squad gets, the more beasts we'll catch in the future," Ian replied. "Besides, I won't be staying in Giantwild Village for long!"
Toren looked a little disappointed. "True, someone like you wouldn't be stuck in a small place like Giantwild Village."
"Don't worry, Brother Tong. I won't leave until every member of the hunting squad has condensed their immortal body!"
After chatting with Toren for a while longer, Ian left.
The next day.
There were plenty of shops in Whitecrest City that bought immortal beasts.
After some investigation, Ian and the group picked three shops and planned to sell the beasts to them separately.
Everything went smoothly.
In just one hour, they sold all the immortal beasts and received over 1.7 million immortal stones.
Then Toren suggested sending fifty people to the Immortalization Pool to condense their immortal bodies.
Ian didn't go with Toren's group to the Immortalization Pool.
Toren was puzzled by this, but didn't press the issue.
It only took two hours for Toren's group to return, all having successfully condensed their immortal bodies.
Everyone's strength increased by more than twenty percent.
As the saying goes, walls have ears.
When Toren and the others returned to Giantwild Village, it caused an instant sensation. Before this, only the village chief Longsun Tianya had condensed an immortal body. Now, suddenly, fifty people—all from the same hunting squad—had done it.
So even the slowest villagers realized the hunting squad must've scored big.
Soon, villagers started asking around privately, and many even begged to join Toren's hunting squad.
In just a few days, Toren recruited twenty more people—ten were late-stage Human Immortals, and the other ten were peak mid-stage Human Immortals, close to breaking through.
At the same time, word spread quickly about how Ian's squad had hunted thirty thousand immortal beasts.
Because of this, all the villagers in Giantwild Village started looking at Ian Song differently.
"Bang!"
Mara Zhou slammed her beloved cup onto the ground, feeling utterly frustrated. She hadn't expected Ian Song to be not only ridiculously strong but also a master of formations. No wonder he looked down on her squad.
As the news spread, Ian's Prestige points shot up, already reaching over eight thousand. It wouldn't be long before he finished his first System mission.
That day, village chief Longsun Tianya brought the other hunting squad captains to visit Ian Song.
They hoped Ian could lead all the squads on a joint hunt. The captains' attitudes were humble to the extreme—some even seemed a little obsequious.
Toren's squad suddenly having fifty new immortals was enough to make anyone jealous.
"Alright!"
Ian nodded and agreed.
"What?"
Longsun Tianya hadn't expected Ian to agree so quickly. He'd planned to make an emotional appeal, but all his prepared speeches were useless now.
The next day.
More than ten hunting squads—over three thousand people—set out for the valley under Ian's command.
A day later, the squads returned.
This time, their haul was massive—they'd caught five hundred thousand immortal beasts.
The following day.
With the village chief personally overseeing things, a five-hundred-man team set off for Whitecrest City. These were Giantwild Village's elite—over two hundred were late-stage Human Immortals.
Because of their strength, not a single bandit dared to bother them, and they reached Whitecrest City without incident.