Preparation

Red Stone City

In a corner of the town, there was a small courtyard that looked like it hasn't been maintained for a long time. The boundary looked severely damaged, there were various places where the bricks were beginning to fall apart. The door looked like it was from an ancient era, reeking of old age and ...wine.

If you went closer to the door, you would hear loud sounds coming out of there. Behind the walls, there was a boy trying to lift a stone of roughly his size. He was gripping it with both hands, his feet were planted strongly on the ground, and he was sweating enough to water the grass beneath him. But despite that, the stone didn't budge an inch!

"Dammit! When is this thing gonna move? I have been promoted recently but still, I can't handle this thing."

The boy was obviously Han Feng. He was training as usual in order to improve his almost insignificant strength. The stone was what his father used to train with.

His father said that only after reaching 9th Layer Body Refining, one could lift the stone. Still, Han Feng didn't believe in that as the stone looked very small. He had lifted things twice the size.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm his somewhat agitated emotions. While looking at the stone, he could remember his father smiling at him, just as he used to, when he drilled him in the same courtyard.

"I should eat something and then head back to the forest. I hope that the traps I set yesterday would fetch me something good. Today, I am going to hunt a magical beast myself." he murmured while rubbing his stomach. All the exercise made him hungry.

Today, Han Feng wanted to hunt a Magical Beast himself. After entering the Bone Refining Realm, his strength is good enough to deliver some serious damage to low-level beasts.

"Huff. Although I couldn't lift the damned stone, now at least I am a little more accustomed to this new strength. It's time to go to the forest. But before that, I should eat something."

Han Feng quickly washed away the sweat and after changing his clothes to clean ones, he made his way towards the food stall.

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Meanwhile in Jiang Clan.

In the main hall, there was a big throne in the center. On the central throne, Jiang Long was sitting with his eyes half-closed. His aura was suppressing each and everyone present beside him. There was no expression on his face but from the sheer ferocity of the expressions of others present there, one could easily guess that something was terribly wrong.

In the center of the hall, Jiang Han was standing in a very poor state. His clothes didn't look any better than a beggar's, his face still had injuries, there were bruises on various parts of his body as well, and even his standing posture was completely off.

"What did you find?"

Jiang Long glanced at his injuries and then asked. His voice was calm, but those who knew him could easily guess he was angry. Jiang Long was known for hiding shortcomings, but now the Elder was beaten to this state. The calmness was there just because of his extreme control over his emotions.

"My Lord, This time the goal of the Fleeting Cloud Sect is not small by any means, but it's the opposite. They have found a Grade-6 Array inside the Chaotic Forest..."Elder Yun explained the whole matter from beginning to end.

As soon as he finished telling everything, everyone started clamoring.

"Grade-6 Array! Patriarch, we must obtain it." said one of the Elders present there.

"Yes! This is a huge opportunity for our clan to rule Red Stone City." Added another.

"This is not the domain of Fleeting Cloud Sect! How could they injure Elder Jun?" Said a burly man angrily.

"My Lord! let us butcher them all and control that array." said another old man.

"My Lord, other clans also must have found out about this. After all almost every clan sends its troops inside the forest to hunt for resources. We must hurry." Said another Elder.

Everybody was clearly shaken by the news.

"Quiet." Jiang Long finally spoke.

Then he continued-

"Grade 6 Array, huh. It's not just about the Array but rather why it was laid there..."

"It's very important for us, as well as the Fleeting Cloud Sect and any other clan. So their reinforcements must be coming soon and probably even their Sect Master will appear."

"Powerhouse above the Divine Tribulation Realm doesn't interfere easily under normal conditions, so unless there is war, only Divine Tribulation level powerhouse will participate this time."

"The Fleeting Cloud Sect is far stronger than Jiang Clan, but it's another story when compared to the combined strength of the whole Red Stone City. So, even If other clans don't know anything yet, they must know about it soon. The pie is too big to be consumed alone. It's better to share it."

"Elder Hai, take Elder Han for treatment then mobilize our scouts. I want to know about everyone leaving and entering the forest and keep an eye on the people from Fleeting Cloud Sect. Also, contact our spies in other clans. Find out if there are any signs of suspicious activities."

"Dismissed," Jiang Long said then quickly left the hall. Now he must make a proper plan and also contact the upper hierarchy of the clan. The news was far too important and must be discussed with the Grand Elders so that the decision can be made quickly and efficiently.

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City Gate, Outside the City.

Han Feng left the city and moved towards the forest. He was eager to check the traps that he set before. So he made his way towards the locations he laid them down.

The traps were specially designed for trapping Flaming Rabbit.

He started looking for the traps. After checking one by one, he could only find one Rabbit trapped inside. Other traps were either broken or empty.

"I forgot! Although these traps are very good at trapping small animals but against bigger ones they are completely useless. And the trapped rabbit is not gonna just wait for me there, other monsters can easily eat them after destroying the traps." Han Feng patted his head. He didn't think of this at that time. He thought that all he had to do was put the traps and the next day collect his loot.

"Okay, I guess I will just remember it next time." He then put the Flaming Rabbit in his space ring and moved deep inside the forest. Because today his goal was to hunt a magical beast himself.