CHAPTER 140: CHAPTER 138: MARTIAL MOUSE, BIG BROTHER (5K)

The Hunting Ground is actually the neutral area located between the territories occupied by the Demon Clan and the Heavenly Realm.

Under the joint effort of the Heavenly Immortal Venerables from both sides, a large number of small Secret Realms have been integrated into it. The space within is vast, large enough to accommodate a great number of cultivators in battle.

At the entrance to the Hunting Ground, there are cultivators specially assigned to take registrations. After recording your cultivation and name, they give you a Token that records your war merits. All merits can be exchanged for treasures at the Bita Immortal City treasury—even the local cultivators of this Great Thousand Worlds are treated the same, without discrimination.

This has led to the Hunting Ground being extremely popular in this area, attracting the vast majority of Loose Cultivators. After all, this is the stronghold of the Myriad Beasts Sect. The rule set by the eldest senior brother, Wudao Tian, forbidding fighting within the city, is very strict, and no one dares to disobey it.

"Senior Brother, are you sure you want only your Spiritual Beasts to enter?" the Myriad Beasts Sect disciple responsible for registration asked Chen Jiuge with some surprise.

"Certain," Chen Jiuge replied, glancing at Ming Yujing and Bali behind him with a smile.

"Then I’ll put their War Merit Tokens under your name."

"Alright."

Within a few minutes, the War Merit Tokens were delivered to Chen Jiuge. Standing at the vortex-like entrance, Chen Jiuge reminded them again, "Safety first."

"Got it."

...

Returning to his cave mansion, Chen Jiuge became more troubled the more he thought about it. He went to the small Secret Realm to check on the several dozen variants he had cultivated over the past ten years.

These were variants of the Light Spiritual Mouse, a supporting Spiritual Beast that can sense danger. Among them, surprisingly, existed a ferocious Spiritual Beast Bloodline—the Martial Mouse Bloodline.

As the name suggests, the Martial Mouse is born with the attributes of a Weapon Master. The more Martial Arts Techniques they master and the higher their skill proficiency, the more rapidly their cultivation also increases. They are an extremely rare type of Spiritual Beast, said to have been active during the Ancient Times.

This batch of Martial Mice was cultivated following the arrival of Spiritual Beasts from Jin Yuanbao ten years ago. Their strength was mostly at the Nascent Soul level. The strongest ones had reached Divinity Transformation, with the leader at the peak of Divinity Transformation. Their powerful skills made them outstanding among their peers in terms of martial strength.

Aside from the leader and some newly cultivated Martial Mice, there were about fifteen others suitable for sale.

"Yuanbao, come over. I have a batch of precious Martial Mice I want to sell," Chen Jiuge said, taking out the Communication Stone Jin Yuanbao had left him.

"Senior Brother, what kind of Spiritual Beast did you just mention?"

"Martial Mouse."

"Martial what?"

"Martial Mouse."

"...What kind of mouse?"

"Martial Mouse! Hurry up. If you don’t come, I’ll sell them to another trade association," Chen Jiuge said, his patience wearing thin.

"Sorry, sorry! Senior Brother Chen, you really have Martial Mice? How did you manage to get such a rare Spiritual Beast?" Jin Yuanbao realized he might have still underestimated Chen Jiuge. Despite holding him in high regard, it seemed it wasn’t high enough.

Chen Jiuge couldn’t be bothered with this joker. Ever since Jin Yuanbao discovered Chen Jiuge could cultivate powerful Spiritual Beasts, he had completely abandoned his tasks from the City Lord Mansion. Instead, he focused on managing the Jin Family’s trade association in Bibo Immortal City. His performance improved by leaps and bounds, and his passion for business grew. He constantly considered himself a commercial prodigy. If he were to carelessly perish in the Hunting Ground, it would be a massive loss for the Jin Family.

...

"Is this the Martial Mouse?" Jin Yuanbao approached the leader, which held a long staff, circling it for a closer look.

Watching the Martial Mouse, a prominent vein throbbing on its forehead from frustration, Chen Jiuge had repeatedly warned that Martial Mice had bad tempers. However, Jin Yuanbao didn’t care and argued, "A merchant must carefully observe every product."

Then, seeing Jin Yuanbao running for his life with his head in his hands, besieged by a group of Martial Mice, Chen Jiuge felt helpless. Despite being at the Returning to Void cultivation level, Jin Yuanbao was reluctant to harm the Martial Mice and ended up taking all their attacks to avoid injuring them.

An hour later, looking at Jin Yuanbao, whose skin was only slightly reddened, Chen Jiuge narrowed his eyes. This Jin Yuanbao’s physical prowess is probably not bad either.

"Senior Brother, you really are a genius! The Beast Breeding World would definitely suffer a great loss without you. I’ll surely get a good price for this batch of Martial Mice. But for now, they need to be fostered here. I need to contact some people first," Jin Yuanbao said, giving a big thumbs-up and laying on the flattery thick.

Chen Jiuge waved his hand modestly. "Just sell them quickly. And for the new Spiritual Beasts, double my order. I’m planning to expand the number of Spiritual Beasts. Also, keep an eye out for a small Secret Realm for me; this one is getting a bit too small."

"Sure, no problem. Wait for my good news, Senior Brother," Jin Yuanbao readily agreed.

...

On the third day, Jin Yuanbao arrived with a small Secret Realm and his cousin, Jin Xiao.

"You?" Jin Xiao still had a cold demeanor.

"Brother Jin, long time no see," Chen Jiuge greeted politely.

"Senior Brother, my cousin is here to see the Martial Mice," Jin Yuanbao reminded him.

Chen Jiuge understood. Truly worthy of you, you unscrupulous merchant, to make your first customer a family member.

Inside the small Secret Realm, after seeing the Martial Mice, Jin Xiao expressed his wish to understand them better.

Meanwhile, Jin Yuanbao pulled Chen Jiuge aside. "Senior Brother, I brought the small Secret Realm you asked for. It’s ten times larger than this one and has more abundant Spiritual Energy. The best part is that you can activate and merge it immediately just by infusing Spiritual Energy. It’s very convenient."

"Thank you, Yuanbao. How many Top Grade Spiritual Stones?" Chen Jiuge was surprised at the speed.

"Not expensive at all. You’re family, Senior Brother—ten million Top Grade Spiritual Stones will do," Jin Yuanbao said with his signature sly smile.

Ten million Top Grade Spiritual Stones was indeed not expensive. After all, even a decent Seventh Rank Spiritual Beast would cost one hundred thousand Top Grade Spiritual Stones. Earning it back wouldn’t be a big deal given his own abilities.