Chapter 086 – Establishing Authority - Part 2
Li Yuan’s plan was straightforward. He’d use pressure, not brute force. He had no desire to handle it all on his own. Knowing that he was far stronger than the people around him, he felt perfectly safe.
Whoever targeted Lin Silang almost certainly did so to steal secrets from the tavern’s distillery. If that was the case, Li Yuan needed to make an example of them; otherwise, people would think he and the Ginger Tavern were easy prey, and his growing business could be threatened.
After a quick trip to the inner district and back, Li Yuan soon returned with a contingent of people from the Blood Blade Sect—both outer disciples and associates—plus Qian Da. Accompanying them were Zhou Jia and the hulking blackrock mastiff, Cinder.
They marched down the wide central street of Silver Creek. Li Yuan strode in the middle, carrying the Horse Butcher and a horned beast-bow slung across his back. Zhou Jia followed close by, and the Blood Blade Sect disciples fanned out around them.
At the front, Cinder sniffed the ground, tail wagging warily. Earlier, it had been given Lin Silang’s scent, but the chaotic smells of a bustling town made it tough for the creature to track. It wandered anxiously, stopping every so often with a puzzled whine, as though apologizing for losing the trail.
Li Yuan only grunted, urging the mastiff to keep going. Cinder trotted down a side alley, nose low, searching diligently.
Behind them, the disciples and even Zhou Jia couldn’t help but stare. It was a demonic beast, yet it behaved with the loyalty of a well-trained guard dog. Who had ever seen such a docile demonic beast? Invariably, it must have been raised from a pup to be this obedient.
They continued for a while, but Li Yuan started to worry that wandering through the streets like this was pointless. He could hardly blame Cinder, though. His own Scent Seeking skill couldn’t pick up the trail, either.
He glanced at his status window.
Master Scent Seeking's mastery was at (1/160), and he had 417 stat points available. Since he was having trouble tracking Lin Silang, why not max it out? He tapped the + symbol next to Scent Seeking.
Master Scent Seeking (1/160) ➔ Master Scent Seeking (160/160)
In a flash, 159 stat points were consumed, leaving him at 258 points.