Chapter 206: The Mysterious Stone

Senmu Marsh was once known as Crescent Moon Forest. Before the environment on Exile Star had deteriorated so badly, there was a clear, beautiful spring at the heart of this forest, curved like a crescent moon.

Because of this, the forest earned the name “Crescent Moon Forest” and was famed for its breathtaking scenery, as beautiful as a bright full moon.

But as time passed and the dark matter on Exile Star spread, the pollution in Crescent Moon Forest grew worse, creeping in from the edges to the center. The once moonlit beauty vanished, and due to its increasing danger, the forest was renamed Senmu Marsh.

That crescent-shaped spring was sealed away deep within Senmu Marsh, guarded by countless mutant beasts and rarely seen by outsiders.

To reach it, you needed not only incredible luck but also great strength.

Otherwise, just setting foot inside meant being torn to shreds by those mutant beasts. Of every ten teams that entered, at least eight would fail to make it out unharmed, and so Senmu Marsh’s fearsome reputation only grew.

As the group walked and chatted, an hour passed, and they finally arrived at the massive outer gate of Senmu Marsh, built by human hands.

With Longteng’s arrival, other factions soon followed, one after another.

The Senmu Marsh Hunting Tournament wasn’t just a contest between the three giants—Bloodbane, Scarlet Lotus Camp, and Longteng—it was a grand event open to all of Chaos City.

Anyone with a bit of strength came to join in the excitement.

They weren’t here to compete for the position of city lord, but for Senmu Marsh itself.

Deep within the marsh, there were berserk beasts untouched by dark matter—prime sources of food that ordinary people wouldn’t dare hunt alone.

With so many people from Chaos City coming out for this event, others naturally wanted to take advantage of the chaos and try their luck.

Soon, the area outside Senmu Marsh was a sea of people, their voices rising in a clamor that drew countless beastly roars from within the marsh.

“So you really did join another faction, Longteng. Not bad,”

At that moment, Xun Min, walking with the Bloodbane group, spotted Dongfang Ji in Longteng’s ranks. As he brushed past, he deliberately lowered his head and voice, leaving behind a mocking remark.

Dongfang Ji glared, fuming. “What kind of tone is that? Outrageous! He’s getting bolder and bolder—doesn’t even respect me as the young city lord anymore!”

Tang Liangjun muttered, “With all due respect, Xun Min never respected you in the first place.”

Old Tang tried to soothe him, “Don’t get mad, don’t get mad. Just prove you’re better than him when these three days are over. Show him who’s boss.”

Thinking of his plan with Old Tang, Dongfang Ji’s mood improved a little.

He snorted, shooting Xun Min a disdainful look. Fine, he’d wait until the hunt was over to slap that dog’s face.

Xun Min’s expression was dark. Why was Dongfang Ji so calm this time?

But he quickly lost interest in Dongfang Ji, whom he already considered a dead man, and instead turned his attention to Yun Qimu and her group standing not far away.

“Miss Yun, and the people from Molan City—Longteng really has some tricks, managing to recruit them as helpers. Will this affect our plan?” Xun Min whispered to Lin Qiu beside him.

Lin Qiu’s murky, shadowed eyes showed no worry, only growing excitement and a twisted glee. “Don’t worry. Even if that Miss Yun has some life-saving red potion, it won’t save them. Longteng’s people must die. And of course, those Dongfang Ji and his lot you dislike—they’re as good as dead too.”

Seeing Lin Qiu’s confidence, Xun Min’s doubts eased a little, though his face remained gloomy.

His father, Poison Dragon, had instructed him before leaving the city to follow Lin Qiu’s lead and not ask questions unless Lin Qiu volunteered information. So even though he was angry that Lin Qiu wouldn’t reveal the details of his plan to wipe out Longteng and Scarlet Lotus Camp, he kept his mouth shut and held back his temper.

As the initiator of this hunt for the city lord’s seat, Lin Qiu now stepped forward to announce the rules.

“This hunting tournament was my idea. I worked out the rules with Scarlet Lotus Camp’s leader Yi Beimeng and Longteng’s head, Zhong Teng. I’ll announce them now.”

“The Senmu Marsh Hunt will last three days. Whoever earns the most points wins and becomes the lord of Chaos City.”

“How do you earn points? It depends on how many berserk or mutant beasts you hunt—and the level of the berserk beasts. Now, you might ask, with so many berserk beasts and their massive bodies, how do we tally the points?”

Lin Qiu paused, smiling as he basked in the attention of the crowd.

He continued, “According to our observations, all berserk and mutant beasts in Senmu Marsh have a special mark—a crescent-shaped imprint. The higher the level, the larger the crescent mark. After hunting, you don’t need to bring back the whole beast as proof. Just skin the part with the crescent mark and bring it back for scoring.”

“Now, let me explain the point system for different beast levels: F-rank is 1 point, E-rank 2 points, D-rank 4 points, C-rank 12 points, B-rank 48 points, A-rank 240 points, S-rank 1,440 points, SS-rank 10,080 points, SSS-rank 80,640 points, and so on for higher levels.”

“Oh, and there’s one more thing I need to discuss with Leader Yi and Head Zhong Teng.”

Zhong Teng’s sharp, handsome face tensed, his violet eyes wary. “What are you up to now?”

Yi Beimeng, surrounded by the burly men of Scarlet Lotus Camp, looked lazy and amused, the corners of his eyes lifting with a devilish charm. He raised an eyebrow, chuckling, “Let’s hear it.”

Lin Qiu, still the picture of refined politeness, explained in a gentle tone, “Here’s the thing. Not long ago, one of our Bloodbane members was lucky enough to venture deep into Senmu Marsh, all the way to Crescent Spring. There, a rainbow-colored, glassy stone suddenly appeared above the spring. It looked sacred, and several mutant beasts were worshipping it. Clearly, it’s no ordinary object. Before he died, he managed to send me this information via communicator. So, I want to go to Crescent Spring and see for myself.”

“I’m sure everyone’s interested in this mysterious stone. So I propose an extra way to earn points: whoever reaches Crescent Spring first will receive an additional 500,000 points. What do you think?”

The crowd gasped in shock at the number. “Whoa, 500,000? That’s insane!”

“What’s Lin Qiu up to? Trying to get us all to rush into Crescent Spring for the treasure?”

“Come to think of it, our faction has sent teams into the depths of Senmu Marsh before. It’s definitely dangerous, and there is a Crescent Spring, but we never saw any kind of stone there.”

“Lin Qiu wouldn’t lie to us—he must have really found some mysterious stone.”"