Volume One, Chapter 19: The Hunt for the Giant Python.

After the brief span of half a cup of tea...

Countless helicopters appeared above Tian Village, their deep, resonant roars growing louder and louder. The rotor blades sliced through the air, unleashing deafening noise. Hundreds of heavily armed special forces personnel slid down ropes from the helicopters like ghosts—precise and swift.

Before long, hundreds of military trucks crowded the village entrance, each loaded with large contingents of armed soldiers.

The rescue operation codenamed "Cheetah" was rapid and fierce, deploying hundreds of troops into Tian Village. However, the villagers, observing the sudden arrival of government forces, only felt puzzled but did not stop their work. Those hoeing the fields continued to hoe; those engaged in farm labor remained busy.

They seemed indifferent to the military presence, showing no fear or concern for any threat.

Lu Dalong, the brigade commander responsible for the Ten Thousand Mountains region, swiftly disembarked from a truck and entered the village, noticing the serene and peaceful scene—no signs of any terrifying assault.

At that moment, a commando who had just completed a search approached Lu Dalong and reported, “Sir, there are no traces of any attack nearby.”

“Hm, understood. Could it be that the serpent fled at our approach?” Though puzzled, Lu Dalong refrained from rashly ordering his troops into the forest.

After all, he was familiar with the mountain range—hundreds of kilometers of complex terrain stretching into the horizon, perpetually desolate with no signs of human presence. Morning mists shrouded the area, severely limiting visibility, and the deep mountain forests were home to venomous insects and ferocious beasts. Even soldiers armed to the teeth might not emerge unscathed.

Despite the swift arrival of the Huaxia military in Tian Village, not a single scale of the giant python was found.

“Sir, some traces have been discovered here,” another soldier ran up to report.

“Take me there immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

No sooner had the words left the soldier’s mouth than Lu Dalong hurried after him.

Soon, they arrived at a narrow mountain path, roughly two to three meters wide, overgrown with grass and surrounded by lush greenery.

Upon closer inspection, a long scratch marked the path’s center, resembling the crawl marks of a scaled creature.

Lu Dalong gazed at the trail and squatted down. “Good heavens, this creature must be over a meter long. Just how enormous is this python?”

“The path it’s pressed down on could easily compare to the width of a small car.”

“Commander, what shall our next move be?” a soldier beside him inquired.

Lu Dalong pondered and decided against venturing deeper into the Ten Thousand Mountains. Clapping his hands, he ordered immediately, “Station 500 troops here. Deploy helicopters to search the mountains for any signs of the python. If the signal weakens, return promptly. The rest, fall back.”

“Yes, sir.”

The order was relayed, and after an exhaustive but fruitless search, the troops returned empty-handed.

Meanwhile, online images of the giant python were not removed by the Huaxia authorities, who realized that spiritual energy had revived; the truth might soon be unavoidable.

Rather than conceal it, they preferred the public to accept it swiftly, preparing for the dawn of a new era.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host has gained 108 points of Faith Power,” the system’s voice echoed in Wang Long’s mind.

He returned to his lair by the dragon’s pool, intending to lay low for a while. His personal status bar showed he was close to reaching the level of a Jiaolong.

Elsewhere, in a grand mansion in the magical city of Huadu...

An elderly man with white hair lay on his sickbed, seemingly on the verge of death. Yet, upon seeing the image of the giant python on his computer screen, a spark of will to live flared within him.

This man was Qin Shifang, the most powerful patriarch of the city’s influential Qin family. Though over fifty and frail, his hope was rekindled by the python’s image.

Just moments before, his private physician, Chadley, had informed him that if the python’s image was genuine, its kidney and bile would be invaluable medicinal ingredients.

If ingested, they could restore his failing vitality and revive his withered body functions.

This revelation pulled the once resigned Qin Shifang back from the brink. He immediately posed a challenge to his family’s younger generation: whoever could obtain the python’s bile would become the next head of the Qin family.

News of this challenge electrified the Qin clan. Qin Shifang had nine sons.

His eldest, Qin Yu, was a martial artist, having gained access first to the family’s ancient cultivation manual. Thus, he had embarked earliest on the path of cultivation. Yet even he hesitated when he saw Wang Long’s image.

After all, from the picture, the adversary did not look easy to confront. The other eight sons, though born to concubines, lacked inheritance rights originally.

However, upon hearing their father’s decree, they were all fired with zeal, scrambling to purchase plane and train tickets to the Ten Thousand Mountains.

As the premier family in Huadu, the Qin family found it effortless to uncover information about the livestream, including the identity of the streamer, Qiqi, and her location in the longest and largest mountain range in Huaxia—the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Truly, the financial magnate’s intelligence network was unparalleled, instantly revealing every detail desired.

In the following days, nine teams representing different Qin family factions, unusually united, assembled.

Over five hundred clan members and bodyguards arrived at Tian Village, only to find 500 military personnel already stationed there.

Qin Yu frowned, “Damn it, why are government forces already here? This complicates matters.”

He said this because they had brought prohibited weapons, including guns and even a few grenades—strictly forbidden in Huaxia.

Yet, as the top financial power, they could acquire these arms. Facing heavily armed soldiers, however, the Qin clan members reluctantly stowed their weapons, fearful of detection.

“Let’s bypass them. We’ll enter through the small mountain ridge on the side,” Qin Yu ordered, leading his team to skirt the village.

Though the path was rugged, it at least avoided direct confrontation with the military.

Three days later...

The Qin family’s forces grew weary, their provisions slightly diminished.

Fortunately, as an ancient martial family, most of the 500 were skilled martial artists, well-grounded in combat techniques.