Chapter 51: Extremely High Rookie Death Rate

Just as Lin Li finished speaking, he heard the man with the crew cut address him.

"Young man, the wilderness is far more dangerous than you imagine. Going out into the wilds alone is an extremely risky thing to do.

Take it from someone with experience, let me give you a piece of advice: you should head back to the safe zone right away and find a few people to team up with.

Otherwise, when you run into trouble, you’ll be all alone. No one will hear you scream."

’I’m hunting Mutant Beasts for the Magical Little Tree right now. Teaming up with other Exotic Beast Hunters is out of the question...’ Lin Li muttered to himself.

He knew the crew-cut man’s warning came from a good place. And as a matter of principle, Lin Li always responded to such kindness.

"Thanks for the warning. I did some research before coming out. As long as I don’t go too deep into the wilderness and I’m careful around here, I should be fine," Lin Li said, smiling at the well-intentioned man.

The words had barely left his mouth when the bald man standing behind the crew-cut man let out a sneer and taunted Lin Li.

"Kid, you seriously underestimate how dangerous the wilderness is. Do you have any idea what the annual death rate is for new Exotic Beast Hunters like you, who think they can go it alone in the wilds?"

The death rate for new Exotic Beast Hunters who ventured into the wilds alone? Lin Li honestly had no idea.

He looked at the bald man who was taunting him and asked with some curiosity, "I don’t. Is the death rate really high?"

"Extremely high. According to the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild’s official statistics, out of every hundred new Exotic Beast Hunters who enter the wilderness alone...

...about seventy percent are killed. Twenty-five percent manage to struggle back to the safe zone with serious injuries. Only five percent of those rookies make it back unscathed."

The bald man recited a set of cold, terrifying statistics for Lin Li.

Then, the woman with the chin-length bob added.

"And that data is from the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild’s report last year. The mortality rate is likely even higher this year.

Because so far, the Exotic Beast Hunter Guild has already reported way more deaths of new, solo Exotic Beast Hunters than they had at this time last year."

’That’s a crazy high death rate! But how can those people possibly compare to me? I’ve got a cheat...’ Lin Li muttered inwardly.

Seeing Lin Li’s unconcerned expression, the three Exotic Beast Hunters knew their words had gone in one ear and out the other.

"Kid, think about your family. You only get one life, and when it’s gone, it’s gone," the crew-cut man continued to plead.

"Captain, stop trying. Guys like him won’t turn back until they hit a brick wall. It’s pointless to persuade him. Let’s just go," the bald man said.

"Sigh... Well, kid, just be careful," the crew-cut man sighed, before leading his two teammates away.

As they walked away, they passed the spot where the gray wolf Mutant Beast had died. Seeing a pool of blood on the grass, they couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled, though they didn’t dwell on it.

The small interruption didn’t affect Lin Li’s mood. After a while, he finished his roasted meat and doused the campfire with water.

Then, he packed up his things, picked up the Spiritual Longsword that was leaning against a large tree, and resumed his search for Mutant Beasts.

This time, Lin Li pushed a good deal deeper into the wilderness, expanding his range of activity.

As for why he dared to expand his hunting grounds, it was, of course, because he was now a Tier Two Cultivator. Plus, having acquired a new Superpower gave him a great deal more confidence.

...

"CAW, CAW, CAW..."

The sun was about to set, painting a beautiful sunset across the sky as a few crows flew overhead.

"SWOOSH..."

A crescent of cyan Wind Blade shot out at extreme speed, slaying a Luhua Chicken Beast at the Tier One Middle Stage.

Gazing at the felled Luhua Chicken Beast, Lin Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered, "Thirteen."

After breaking through to become a Tier Two Initial Stage Cultivator, Lin Li found hunting Tier One Mutant Beasts effortless, so long as they weren’t at the Tier One Peak.

In fact, in just under four hours this afternoon, he had hunted more Mutant Beasts than ever before, setting a new personal record.

After stashing the dead Luhua Chicken Beast on the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li glanced at the sky and decided to call it a day. The hunt could resume tomorrow.

"You two, go! I’ll hold it back."

"Captain, I’m staying behind to help you hold it off!"

"Captain, we go together or not at all! You’re injured, you can’t hold it off on your own. Let’s stay and fight it with everything we’ve got..."

Just as Lin Li was preparing to head back, he suddenly heard shouting in the distance. The voices sounded somewhat familiar.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Li took off running in the direction of the voices.

...

A Leopard Beast—two and a half meters long, 1.3 meters tall, covered in intricate patterns, with powerful, agile limbs—stared coldly at the three humans before it.

It flicked its tongue out to lick its lips, thinking to itself that it would feast well tonight.

The three people in a standoff with the Leopard Beast were none other than the three Exotic Beast Hunters Lin Li had met by the stream earlier that day.

The three Exotic Beast Hunters were in a perilous situation. Their leader, the crew-cut man, had sustained a severe injury to his back,

and blood was steadily flowing from the wound. Judging by the injury, it was caused by a swipe from the Mutant Beast’s claws.

And that was exactly what had happened. Exhausted after a full afternoon of work, the three Exotic Beast Hunters had been preparing to return to the city.

But as they were passing through a patch of thick, flourishing grass, they were ambushed by the Leopard Beast hiding within.

The pouncing Leopard Beast had aimed for the neck of the crew-cut man—the strongest of the three Exotic Beast Hunters—intending to kill him in a single blow.

But the crew-cut man was experienced, after all. In that life-or-death crisis, he reacted with extreme speed, instantly ducking to evade.

Though he dodged the fatal blow, the Leopard Beast’s razor-sharp claws raked viciously across his back. In an instant, his skin was torn open, and blood began to pour out.

After an afternoon of hunting, the three Exotic Beast Hunters had already expended a great deal of their stamina and Spiritual Energy.

If their leader hadn’t been wounded in the Leopard Beast’s surprise attack, the three of them might have been able to fend off the ferocious beast with their remaining stamina and Spiritual Energy.

But now, with their leader’s back seriously injured and bleeding uncontrollably, his combat effectiveness was greatly diminished.

In this situation, the chances of these three weakened Exotic Beast Hunters fending off a Leopard Beast that was in peak condition were clearly slim.

...