You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

Even in his prime, Lin Yue wasn't confident he could handle the Ascetic; now that he had taken an arrow, his strength had obviously declined, and he had even less hope of succeeding.

He would likely just get killed if he tried to fight.

Moreover, even if he killed the Ascetic here, it would only cut off this single opportunity, not truly kill him.

There was no need to risk it.

"Benefactor, this humble monk has been watching this White-striped Silver Fox for half a month."

Holding the Iron Embryo Bow, another arrow already set on the string, the Ascetic walked emotionlessly toward Lin Yue and said, "Benefactor, to snatch like this seems somewhat improper, doesn't it?"

"Heh, Ascetic, you really are overbearing. Is this Beiyuan Mountain your territory?" Lin Yue, hiding behind a tree, retorted with a cold laugh, "Just because you found it first, it's yours? Thinking of snatching it and then using such a shameless excuse, isn't that disgusting?"

During this speech, his fingertips pinched the arrow on his shoulder and subtly moved it, breaking off the part protruding from his shoulder to avoid hindering his movement.

"Among the Great Cultivators, this humble monk has never seen the benefactor before. Who are you?"

The Ascetic stopped in his tracks and slowly began to draw the bowstring. "Just now, benefactor executed the Ultimate Killing Skill twice; can your body still hold up? Why not hand over the White-striped Silver Fox, and this humble monk will spare you. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a pity to have your opportunity cut off?"

"Hand over the White-striped Silver Fox and you'll let me go?"

While speaking, Lin Yue also slowly moved around the tree, careful not to expose himself to the opponent's arrows.

"Naturally," replied the Ascetic.

"Alright, then catch."

The next moment, a bulging bag was flung from behind the tree, cascading down toward the Ascetic.

The Ascetic didn't believe it, but as he looked up, he saw a flash of cold light from a Flying Knife that instantly penetrated the bulging bag in midair!

Then—

"Bang!"

The bag burst open, and a large amount of white powder exploded outward, quickly diffusing through the surroundings.

"You dare deceive me!"

The Ascetic's face grew cold. Ignoring the white powder, he prepared to shoot, only to see a shockingly fast figure sweeping through the woods, rapidly distancing itself.

He could only try to fire an arrow in that direction, but the opponent was too fast; his arrow merely grazed the other's arm, doing no real damage!

In an instant, he was covered by the powder drifting down from the air.

Even as he immediately held his breath and dashed out at top speed, his body still got coated with a lot of white powder. He quickly jumped up and spun, throwing off the powder from his body.

But he still felt waves of dizziness and a burning pain on his skin.

"Actually poisonous?"

The Ascetic's face grew even colder as he pulled out two bottles of Detoxification Pills and swallowed them hastily. With this delay, he could only abandon the idea of further pursuit.

He understood that he could never catch up to the other with his speed.

"Tomorrow, when I return to Beiyuan Village, I really want to see what kind of person you are."

...

"Good thing I grabbed the White-striped Silver Fox first."

By a secluded riverbank, Lin Yue furrowed his eyebrows and treated his wound, then washed off the bloody scent from his body as the pain from the wound induced a tingling sensation that began to rapidly heal.

This injury was naturally not much for him, probably healing in just a few days.

And as for this grudge over one arrow, he could only take note.

There would be time for revenge later.

"Fortunately, the Ascetic didn't know I was the Seventeenth Prince, otherwise he would surely have fought to the death to kill me and cut off my chance."

Lin Yue felt somewhat relieved that he had concealed his identity when coming here.

Otherwise, even if he had brought followers, other rival Princes and Princesses would also try to cut off his opportunity.

Although most of the Princes and Princesses hadn't really made a move against him, that was because he was still under protection and had Duke Heng shielding him, preventing them from directly taking his life.

But with such a good opportunity in Beiyuan Mountain, those Princes and Princesses, upon knowing, would certainly not let him off.

"The Human Ancestor was right — if there are no sufficient external threats, humans love nothing more than to fight amongst themselves."

Lin Yue shook his head slightly.

Since the era of Ancient Clans when Human Ancestor passed down Martial Arts, life for the Human Clan had only just begun to improve when internal strife within the Clans started.

Not to mention, now that the Divine Emperor had unified the land and without the threat from Eternal Night, over thirteen hundred years of peace had intensified internal strife to the fiercest level.

"Fortunately, after I go out this time, I will break through the Three Talents Heaven Barrier and then I will have some ability to protect myself."

Lin Yue found a particularly hidden large tree nearby, scattered some insect-repellent powder around, and then lay down on a thick tree trunk.

"Tomorrow morning, when I return to Beiyuan Village, I can exchange this White-striped Silver Fox into big money, completing a total of ten thousand."

"By tomorrow night, I'll be able to deal with that ghoul… I really want to see what great opportunity lies within its pouch."

"And also… that essence of power brought back by the Divine Emperor from Eternal Night, originating from the primal beginning… what is it, exactly?"

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Lin Yue slowly drifted into sleep.