Sect Leader's Rise to the top!

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Early next morning, the group headed out on Qiulong's wagon. She pulled the old wagon quickly across the quiet city streets and brought them to the Marketplace. Kai wanted to gear his companions up, both to help increase their survivability, and to also increase their coolness factor.

Kai walked over to the armor vendor and bought two matching sets of [Grade-1] beast armor for Ryu and Old Ren. Mina already had the [Grade-2] armor that Kai had extorted, so she was already decently geared. Kai was surprised by the prices where one set of [Grade-1] battle armor had cost 50 silver coins.

Kai was a little surprised by this since [Grade-1] beast hides would only sell for about 10 to 50 copper coins depending on their quality, yet a set of [Grade-1] armor costs over ten times as much. The margins there were insanely high, making Kai finally realize that he had to change his mindset. If he wanted to make real money, he also had to enter the manufacturing and retail sectors.

Luckily for Kai, everyone already had weapons looted from the Man-hunter raid, so there was no need to buy them new weapons. Old Lao had a [Grade-2] spear that he had covered in a linen-cloth, that he was using as a cane. His body was no longer as frail, but he still kept using it as a cane out of habit.

Ryu had found a [Grade-2] Hook-claw weapon that was connected to a thin but sturdy chain. He had the chain tied around his arm and hidden inconspicuously beneath his sleeve. This would allow him to suddenly throw the hook out without wasting any time and catch his enemies off guard.

Lastly, Mina had the [Grade-2] twin spiked hammers that she used in her fight against the Qin-Family guard.

Kai wasn't too interested in the [Grade-2] weapons because they felt too frail for his current strength. Kai felt that only a weapon at [Grade-3] or above would be able to handle his current strength. For now, he would be better off using his scale-covered fists, enhanced with Wind-Qi. This would be better than any weapon he currently has access to.

When the team was fully equipped and ready to leave, they got back onto the wagon and headed out of the city.

Everyone was surprised by how much faster Qiulong had become. Her rapid growth had shocked everyone including Kai. Before they had left, Kai had taught her the body cultivation manual.

[Primordial Dragon Physique], so he was quite excited to see just how much stronger and faster she would become. Beasts didn't follow the [Mortal-Grade] body stages like humans did and could only evolve by absorbing Qi, however, Qiulong could still benefit from the strength increase as well as the parasites in her body which were now enhancing her current defensive and recovery abilities.

After less than an hour, the group entered the Eastern Swamp at dawn. The sun was slowly rising over the horizon, illuminating the dark swamp and giving it a spooky look. Kai had already grown used to the eerie-looking swamp, however, everyone else was nervous.

Kai unhooked Qiulong from the wagon and left it behind a few shrubs where they would be able to find it later. Kai then leads the group into the Swamp with Qiulong following behind them.

"Everyone should be on high alert. There are two main types of beasts in this swamp. The [Slime-Vine] and the [Fungus-Ape]", Kai spoke quietly, but everyone was still able to hear him".

"The [Slime-Vine] can be quite dangerous if your caught unprepared so be sure to watch out for any suspicious-looking vines hanging from the trees."

"The [Fungus-Ape] are currently beyond your strength. If we encounter any, be sure to retreat immediately. Only when you are all acclimatized to battle, will we start practicing on how to fight [Fungus-Apes] as a group..."

Kai remembered how the Hunter's worked together in groups to bring down the [Fungus-Apes] so he knew it was possible. He had even bought the heavy chains needed to copy their strategy.

When Kai finished his explanation, the group went noiselessly in search of their first prey. Kai had given them pointers but would leave the actual fighting to them. He would only get involved when the situation looked too dangerous.

After a few minutes of walking, Kai spotted a cluster of [Slime-Vine] hanging from a nearby tree. They looked inconspicuous and if not for his [Qi-Detection], he would have probably missed them and walked right into their trap.

Kai looked over to his companions to see if any of them had noticed this yet.

"Wait..." Ryu said nervously as he stopped the group. He has been walking at the front as his role in the team was to be their pathfinder and to inform them of any possible dangers based on what tracks he saw.

"What do you see?" Kai asked curiously while being impressed by Ryu's ability to sense danger.

"That's the thing, I don't see anything...There were tracks from a group of slithering beasts but they disappear here. There is probably an ambush waiting..."

"Good", Kai said as he nodded his head.

"Inspect the area carefully. Probe the vines like I showed you" Kai said as he handed Ryu a rock.

Ryu took the rock with shaky hands and tried to calm his nerves. He threw it as hard as he could at a bunch of vines hanging on a tree, but nothing happened.

He picked up another rock and did the same to the adjacent tree. This time the vines wiggled angrily and shot out of the tree towards the direction of the attack.

Ryu was shocked and taken aback by their sudden movement, which made him fall onto his butt.

Mina reacted quickly and was able to pull Ryu back before the [Slime-Vine] got too close. She then stood her ground between their group and the incoming enemy, fulfilling her role as the guardian. Mina pulled out her twin hammers and deflected their whipping attacks.

Old Lao helped Ryu to stand while brandishing his spear at the vines. He took Mina's right flank and then thrust the long spear at the vines that were getting too close. Old Lao's strength was still lacking, however, he was still able to pierce small holes into the beasts because of the [Grade-2] spear.

Ryu had taken Mina's left flank and threw his claw with precision. It flew into the air and pierced one of the slime Vine. Ryu then pulled back the claw with all his strength, ripping the soft green flesh off the beast along with it.

Kai was sitting on Qiulong's back while carefully watching their fight. Ryu seemed nervous but with his long-ranged weapon, he can still do a lot of damage despite his nerves. Old Lao seemed determined despite his old age and thrust his spear repeatedly with beads of sweat rolling down his brows.

Mina was at the front taking the brunt of the [Slime-Vine] attacks. She had the highest body grade of the three and could also enhance her body with Qi, making her the most powerful. Her spiked hammers not only deflected the vine's attacks but would also rip off small pieces.

After about 10 minutes of intense fighting, the battle ended with the team's victory. Ryu and Old Lao fell to the ground while panting heavily. They had only recently gained a body cultivation manual so they hadn't made any progress yet. Their bodies were currently only slightly better than those of regular mortals.

Mina on the other hand barely seemed out of breath as she cleaned her hammers diligently. With over 15 [Slime-Vine], Mina had killed 10 while Ryu and Old Lao had killed 5 between themselves.

"Good first battle", Kai said as he clapped his hands.. There were a few things that he wanted to correct, but overall their teamwork was good.

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