Li Biao immediately led his team to hunt for prey. After walking just a few hundred meters, they heard the sounds of a fight nearby.

Li Biao frowned slightly and led the team in the opposite direction of the noise.

"We need to speed up our leveling. There are quite a few teams nearby, so it's relatively safe, but there are fewer black apes," Li Biao said to Yuan Zhu.

After changing their route, it wasn't long before they noticed something unusual in the area ahead. The ground was charred black, and the surrounding vegetation showed clear signs of being burned.

The five of them quickly headed over.

Apart from the burn marks, there was a noticeable depression in the ground.

Chen Yueling walked to the side and touched a short tree, which immediately broke, dropping a lot of ash. "The heat here was intense. These trees are several meters away from the battle site, yet they've been burned to ashes!"

Li Biao crouched down, pinched a small handful of ash, and crushed it in his hand. "The heat of the flames reached the level of the underground fires in the Ash Plains..."

Hua Ziyan said seriously, "Part of the flame's heat comes from equipment, and part is influenced by strength and mental power. Whoever did this either has extremely powerful fire equipment or possesses immense strength and mental power."

"Who else in the Eighteenth District could achieve this level, besides the Fire God from the River City branch of the War God Temple?"

Li Biao stood up, scanning the charred surroundings, and shook his head. "The people from the River City War God Temple branch are all in the Ash Plains, preparing to kill that king-level BOSS. The Fire God wouldn't come here."

"Could it be the wanted criminal, Evil Fire?" Hua Ziyan frowned.

"Evil Fire?" Li Biao thought for a moment, then shook his head after some consideration. "The last time that guy appeared was in Nanjing City. He couldn't have traveled this far in such a short time."

"Maybe it's some expert from the civilian world. There are hidden talents everywhere... Anyway, let's keep moving."

Along the way, Li Biao's team killed three black apes, but by the afternoon, they found another charred area.

"It's that guy again!" Chen Yueling squinted slightly. "That guy used high-intensity flames twice in one day!"

Li Biao nodded, not commenting, and continued on their way.

However, such charred areas became more frequent, almost appearing every half hour.

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By four or five in the afternoon, the team reached an elite valley, only to find a large area of scorched earth at the entrance.

The ground was a mess, with large pits scattered across the bare surface.

"Damn, is that guy an arsonist, setting fires everywhere?" Hua Ziyan frowned deeply, clearly displeased. "Everywhere is ruined by that guy, even the black apes have been driven elsewhere."

Although the beasts wouldn't decrease in number from being killed, the Mighty Black Apes wouldn't stay in a barren place.

On this journey, the Tiger Squad's hunting efficiency was far below expectations.

Even the elite valley they had high hopes for was gone!

Li Biao pursed his lips, exhaling heavily through his nose. "Forget it, let's check the next elite valley."

By evening, the team reached another valley, only to find it in the same condition as before.

The area in front of the valley was a charred mess, and the valley itself was the same. The elite black apes and treasure chests were long gone.

"This... even here has been cleared by him?" Li Biao's eyes widened. "What is that guy trying to do, doesn't he leave any room for others?"

"Exactly, he's already so strong, why not go after the warlord leaders instead of sweeping the elites?" Chen Yueling said angrily, her face stern.

"Today, we've only killed five black apes... This efficiency is all thanks to that guy!"

Meanwhile, the Falcon Squad had just narrowly defeated a level 28 Iron Armored Lizard Dragon and was in urgent need of rest.

The Iron Armored Lizard Dragon is one of the toughest beasts to deal with in King's Valley.

They typically range from 1.8 to 3.2 meters in length, are exceptionally agile, covered in spiked armor comparable to metal, and their saliva contains a potent paralyzing toxin.

An Iron Armored Lizard Dragon can easily kill a Mighty Black Ape of the same age.

Although all five members of the Falcon Squad are top-notch experts, their levels are still low, all being first-tier professions. During the battle with the Iron Armored Lizard Dragon, Qin Yong, who acted as the tank, was severely injured.

Xu Xiaoxiao was helping Qin Yong with his injuries, while Tian Feng and the others kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings.

"Captain, can Jiang Kai survive here?" Liu Yan asked, her brow furrowed as she kept watch.

"Could we have gone in the wrong direction?" Bai Lingzhi added. "I don't believe he could make it here. The Ghost Banshee is already hard enough to deal with, let alone the Iron Armored Lizard Dragon."

"Captain, we're running low on medicine and supplies," Xu Xiaoxiao reported.

After six days and nights of tracking, the five-member team, even those uninjured, showed clear signs of fatigue on their faces.

Initially, they thought they could find and kill Jiang Kai within three days, maybe even in a day. But six days had passed, and they hadn't found Jiang Kai, instead finding themselves in an awkward situation.

With insufficient supplies, team members in poor condition, and the surrounding beasts growing stronger... After a series of setbacks, Tian Feng hesitated several times, took a deep breath, and said, "Once Qin Yong recovers, we'll head back."

Just then, Liu Yan exclaimed softly, "Captain, there's a lizard dragon!"

Tian Feng's eyes widened as he watched the lizard dragon slowly crawl out from behind a rock, his mind buzzing.

"Damn, the lizard dragon's sense of smell is too keen. It found us so quickly!"

"This place is not safe for long. We need to fight and retreat!"

...

Three days later, at dawn, Jiang Kai emerged from a hidden cave, stretching widely.

He had a good night's sleep.

After ten days of hunting, Jiang Kai's level had risen to 10.

His strength reached 40, physique 44, agility 66, and mental strength 66.

This didn't include the attribute bonuses from the unidentified gloves of Nine Tribulations Chasing Death.

Now he could use flame attacks nine to ten times in a row, further improving his hunting efficiency.

With the ignition effect, Jiang Kai's main targets were the elite black apes. During this time, he had visited all 32 elite valleys marked on the information card.

Unfortunately, some elite valleys had already been cleared by others, and he himself only managed to kill 19 elite black apes.

Including the roughly 200 ordinary black apes he killed along the way, Jiang Kai had reached level 10 the day before yesterday.

He had visited all the elite valleys on the information card, and it would take some time for new black apes and treasure chests to appear in the elite valleys.

"19 chests, filled with a lot of ores, quite a bit of equipment, and medicine. They should fetch some money."

After some thought, Jiang Kai decided to head back and sell his loot.

"After a good night's sleep, I'm full of energy today!" Looking at the beautiful scenery outside the cave and thinking about the money he could make, Jiang Kai felt particularly cheerful.

In high spirits and fully energized, Jiang Kai picked up his pace.

By around three in the afternoon, he could already see the safe zone filled with camps.

From all directions, many teams were also returning, most of them looking exhausted, with some teams even carrying stretchers with injured members.

Just as Jiang Kai was about to reach the safe zone, someone suddenly exclaimed beside him.

"Jiang Kai! We've been looking for you everywhere!"

Jiang Kai turned his head in surprise and saw five strangers glaring at him with eyes full of anger.

On their chests were the words "Basalt—Falcon Squad"!