However, when he looked at the scene, Zhao Ya realized he had been overly suspicious.
He saw three men in the field desperately contending with a giant ape.
This giant ape stood at least two meters tall, with muscles bulging, fur shiny, and a face eerily similar to a human’s, but with white fur around its lips, making it resemble a gnarling ghost, extremely bizarre and terrifying.
Upon seeing this giant ape, Zhao Ya’s expression darkened.
Because he discerned the strength of this giant ape.
At least at the Third Realm, or perhaps the peak of the Third Realm.
Such level of Exotic Beast used to exist only deep in the mountains and forests, rarely appearing before people.
Yet now it appeared merely forty to fifty miles from the Commandery, which was clearly not a good omen.
At this moment, the three men were exhausted, relying solely on one man sporadically drawing a bow and shooting arrows to barely fend off the giant ape’s attack.
But judging from the nearly empty quiver behind the man, it was evident he couldn’t hold on for much longer.
Therefore, fear surfaced on the faces of the three men as they constantly shouted for help.
Confronted with this situation, Zhao Ya naturally couldn’t stand by and watch them die.
He unsheathed the Meteorite Iron Saber, leaped out from behind the tree into the field, and slashed at the giant ape right on the head.
However, the giant ape was not only extremely strong but also extraordinarily agile.
Sensing danger, it rolled away from Zhao Ya’s slash, then roared furiously and swung its fan-sized palm towards him.
Zhao Ya flicked his wrist, and the saber flash struck again, directly targeting the giant ape’s wrist.
Yet the giant ape could even change its moves, retreating its hand just in time to dodge the blade.
But given Zhao Ya’s current expertise in blade techniques, how could it so easily escape?
After the strike missed, the blade’s momentum transitioned from a downward chop to an upward slash.
With a thud.
The giant ape’s chest was cut open, with blood gushing out instantly.
Writhing in pain, the giant ape became even more ferocious, clapping its hands together to slam Zhao Ya’s head.
If that slap landed, not just a head, even a stone would be shattered.
At that moment, an arrow flew in from the side, aiming straight for the giant ape’s left eye.
Both the timing and angle of this shot were executed with extreme precision.
The giant ape didn’t have time to dodge, and its left eye was pierced by the arrow.
At the same time, Zhao Ya’s saber flashed continuously, chopping off both of the giant ape’s palms.
By now, the giant ape realized Zhao Ya was not to be trifled with, so even with both hands severed, it opted not to continue fighting, choosing instead to flee.
But Zhao Ya wouldn’t let it off so easily.
To Zhao Ya, this peak Third Realm Exotic Beast was still manageable, but it posed a tremendous threat to others.
So he quickly chased a few steps and executed a horizontal slash,
The giant ape trembled, and a large head flew off.
Soon after, its massive body thudded to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Zhao Ya pointed the saber tip to the ground, letting the blood drip off the blade, then looked towards the three people in the distance.
At this time, the three had already walked over.
Zhao Ya quietly prepared.
If they dared make any suspicious moves, Zhao Ya wouldn’t mind beheading a few more.
Evidently, the three sensed Zhao Ya’s wariness and thus stood a distance away.
The bow-wielding person first laid down his bow and arrows, and the other two placed down two large slingshots.
Then the three of them spread their hands, indicating they had no weapons.
Only then did the bow-wielder speak, "May I ask if the benefactor is Master Wu of the Dingtai Martial Arts Hall, Young Hero Zhao Ya?"
"You recognize me?" Zhao Ya said flatly.
The bow-wielder exhaled deeply upon hearing this, then smiled, "Is there anyone cultivating martial arts in the Commandery now who wouldn’t recognize you?"
As he spoke, he cupped his hands respectfully, "I am Pan Xuexian, a disciple of the Hundred Steps Martial Arts Hall, and these are my junior brothers Yang Ping and Jiang Zhong."
The two of them also stepped forward in unison to salute Zhao Ya.
Zhao Ya relaxed slightly upon hearing this.
He knew of the Hundred Steps Martial Arts Hall, a place specializing in archery training.
No wonder Pan Xuexian’s archery was so outstanding, able to hold his ground against such a giant ape.
"How did you three end up here and encounter this giant ape?" Zhao Ya asked.
Pan Xuexian sighed, "To be honest, I came out this time to hunt some small Exotic Beasts to make some money and support the Martial Arts Hall."
"But we unexpectedly encountered a rather rare Exotic Beast, a Rock Sheep, shortly after leaving the city. The three of us were blinded by greed and followed it here. In the end, we didn’t catch the Rock Sheep but ran into this beast. If not for your timely rescue, we would have died here today."
This gratitude was heartfelt.
Earlier, Pan Xuexian genuinely thought he was doomed.
After all, he had just broken through the Third Realm that year, and although proficient in archery, dealing with a peak Third Realm giant ape was a fool’s errand.
Yet Zhao Ya appeared out of nowhere and dispatched the giant ape like it was nothing.
Only then did Pan Xuexian realize the rumors were true.
This young man, who had just broken through the Fourth Realm, truly had terrifying strength.
After hearing Pan Xuexian’s words, Zhao Ya didn’t know what to say.
Lately, hunting Exotic Beasts has become a craze in the Commandery, with many seeking wealth through them.
Initially, it was just some First or Second Realm Little Martial Artist, but gradually even some larger Martial Arts Halls started getting involved.
The Hundred Steps Martial Arts Hall wasn’t very strong, barely a medium-sized hall, and practicing archery was extremely costly, so going out to hunt to support the household was understandable.
But the appearance of the giant ape left Zhao Ya with a heavy heart.
Previously, the beasts outside the city were mostly First and Second Realm ones; Third Realm were rare, and peak Third Realm were nonexistent.
Yet the appearance of the giant ape shattered this notion.
Moreover, Zhao Ya had a premonition that such level of Exotic Beasts would become more frequent in the future.
"Be more cautious in the future. It’s fine to make some money, but don’t throw your life into it," Zhao Ya advised.
The three profusely expressed their gratitude and then hurriedly left.
After they left, Zhao Ya walked over to the giant ape’s corpse, using the Meteorite Iron Saber to cut it open, trying to see if there was a Meat Field inside.
As expected, there was none.
For fierce beasts like this giant ape, the chance of finding a Meat Field was astonishingly low.
But Zhao Ya didn’t give up, instead searching carefully.
He remembered the day in the Earth Cave when the woman instructed someone to cut open a Giant-winged Blood Bat to extract a pearl.
Yet after searching for a long time, he found nothing.
Zhao Ya sighed.
It seemed that such pearls might only be found in Fifth Realm Exotic Beasts.
By now, the giant ape’s corpse was chopped into pieces.
But most of it was useless.
Because except for some organs that could be used in medicine, the blood and flesh of Exotic Beasts were often poisonous, and the Qi Blood contained would dissipate after death, becoming worthless trash.
Only the Meat Field extracted from Exotic Beasts could be used to cultivate clean and non-toxic jerky.
Yet Zhao Ya always felt the Meat Field seemed like some sort of mutation within the Exotic Beasts.
Similar to bezoar or dog treasure.
Though he wasn’t sure if this speculation was accurate.
Not finding anything of value, Zhao Ya abandoned the giant ape’s corpse and returned to the Commandery.
In the evening.
After finishing practice, Zhao Ya went into a special room to conduct experiments.
He opened the bag containing the cobra and, before it could react, grabbed its head.
With a slight force, the cobra’s mouth opened, revealing two sharp fangs.
Zhao Ya pressed these fangs against the rim of a clean cup and applied gentle pressure.
Clear, translucent venom streamed into the cup.
After repeating this four or five times, the venom was extracted, and the cobra wilted.
Zhao Ya tossed it back into the bag and sealed it, then pulled out a centipede and repeated the process to extract its venom.
For others, such a task would be terrifying, given that a single bite could be fatal if not careful.
But Zhao Ya performed it effortlessly, without any hesitation.
These venomous creatures had no dignity in his hands.
After all, with his innate immunity to a hundred poisons and constant practice, his actions were impeccably skilled.