Beauty Sheep Scheme

Please,

don't break!

Lu Ran called out from the bottom of his heart, "Dame~"

"Don't, don't talk." Jiang Ruyi glared at Lu Ran, embarrassed and annoyed.

Though she still stammered a little, she had at least come back online.

Lu Ran sighed in relief and pushed Beauty Jiang toward the torch-lit path. "Let's go back first."

Just then, their two teammates came to meet them.

"What happened to you two?"

"Are you all right?" Wu Shanshan and Deng Yutang looked at the Jiang-Lu pair with concern.

"We need to regroup, or adjust our tactics," Lu Ran said.

"The divine technique had a huge effect on the class monitor?" Deng Yutang carefully examined Jiang Ruyi and ventured a guess.

"Yep." Lu Ran said helplessly, "Just now, your Class Monitor Jiang nearly ate me—"

"Don't say it!" Jiang Ruyi stomped her foot, both embarrassed and angry.

"Huh?" Wu Shanshan's eyes widened. She had never seen the quiet, refined Beauty Jiang show such a side of herself.

It was pretty fun~

"The two of us together?" Deng Yutang volunteered. "You do your thing, and I'll buff myself with Battle Intent."

Lu Ran spoke gloomily. "You really want to kill me."

Deng Yutang: "."

Battle Intent could dilute the effects of the genuine Divine Technique: Compassionate Sound, making everyone eager to fight and no longer pity their opponents.

The problem was that Lu Ran intended to use Sound of Lamentation.

This divine technique could already awaken the beastly desires in people's hearts. If Battle Intent was added on top of that—

Deng Yutang might well raise his butcher's blade and become a demon on the spot!

"You're all at Mist Realm: Stage One, and your mental resistance is still very low." Lu Ran thought for a moment. "I should roam outside by myself."

Lu Ran had a clear understanding of his role. Within the team, he was the flexible player in the jungle position.

"Wouldn't that be bad?" Wu Shanshan said softly.

"We won't split up. We'll fight normally." Jiang Ruyi held one hand to her forehead, her emotions finally returning to normal.

She raised her head, her pupils meeting Lu Ran's. "When we fight Vicious Hounds, seize the chance to circle behind them and cast quietly, all right?"

The flickering firelight cast shifting shadows across the girl's beautiful face.

Her brows were slightly furrowed, and she seemed quietly wounded, carrying a sense of fragility left behind by mental torment.

Beauty Ruyi was about to shatter,

while Lu Ran was completely numb!

He only felt like a total scumbag—

Who could possibly take this?

"Okay!" Lu Ran nodded decisively.

"Then let's go."

"Let's go, let's go!"

For the sake of rankings and rewards, the Four-Person Group delayed no longer and swiftly set off.

Combat experience was naturally earned bit by bit through killing!

Over the course of their constant battles, Jiang Ruyi gradually adapted to the Vicious Dog Clan's swift movements. Electric light flickered at her fingertips, and the Electric Shackles Talismans she hurled became increasingly accurate.

Once a Vicious Hound was struck, it would be frozen in place, left at the mercy of the slaughterer.

Squad Leader Wu was no less impressive. She fired arrow after arrow, growing ever more composed and skillful.

Deng Yutang was as valiant as ever. Especially with Lu Ran supporting him, he had become even more confident.

And Lu Ran—

was simply not human!

Yes, he was a sheep.

A little fatty sheep that frequently lured Vicious Hounds over to hunt him.

The heartbreaking part was that the little lamb bleated all the way, yet every one that died was a dog.

This move—

was called the Beauty Sheep Scheme.

In ancient times, a peerless demoness bewitched kings and lords; today, a fragrant little fatty sheep brought disaster upon skinny dogs.

After three hours of walking, Lu Ran could no longer speak human language. Whenever he opened his mouth, a "Baa" came out, and everyone he saw looked like a dog.

The team operated efficiently. The Four-Person Group worked hard to bring out their respective strengths, and all of them improved tremendously.

Only two things became stumbling blocks on the team's dog-slaughtering path: one was stamina, and the other was divine power.

"Puff Puff Puff~"

A pitch-black crow descended from the sky and transformed into human form.

The Four-Person Group stopped and turned to look behind them.

"Time's up," Dou Zhiqiang announced.

"So soon?" Deng Yutang untied his sweat-soaked Red Turban and shook his head from side to side.

Compared to Deng Yutang, who still wanted more, Lu Ran felt as though a burden had been lifted. He sat down directly on the ground.

Jiang Ruyi turned to look at him, her expression somewhat worried. "Are you okay?"

Along the way, Lu Ran had been both the tactical engine and the roaming jungle position that drew the enemy in. Without a doubt, he had worked the hardest and was the most exhausted.

Lu Ran waved a hand, too tired to speak.

Honestly, he could no longer tell whether he was exhausted or simply drained.

Even though divine power was abundant in the Demon Lair, Lu Ran could not recover fast enough.

Sound of Lamentation was indeed a beginner divine technique, but Lu Ran was also a newbie. Both his divine power reserves and absorption speed were low.

And as the group ventured deeper, they encountered Vicious Hounds more and more frequently. Throughout the latter half of the journey, Lu Ran's divine power had remained in a depleted state.

He had to use up whatever little he absorbed. The agony of "energy running dry" tortured Lu Ran terribly!

As a result, Lu Ran's steps grew increasingly unsteady.

Yet for the sake of his ranking, he could not bear to absorb Magic Crystals.

Sigh.

Who wasn't a slave to points?

If only he had a Divine Power Bead.

Lu Ran had never craved this kind of endurance magic treasure as desperately as he did today.

"Team 98, return to the city with me. Immediately!" The Iron-Faced Instructor showed no mercy at all, unwilling even to give them time to rest as he turned and left.

"Lu Ran?" Jiang Ruyi walked over and bent down, extending her hand.

Seeing the instructor stride away, Lu Ran could only raise his hand and take the girl's palm.

Tender and soft.

Mm. Just as soft as his legs were right now.

The road back to the city was fairly peaceful, since they had slaughtered their way through it already.

There were still some wandering Vicious Hounds, but Dou Zhiqiang dealt with them all and did not let the students make a move.

After walking for a very, very long time, they finally returned to Evil Dog Village.

Looking at the majestic Stone City, its torches swaying in the distance, Lu Ran had no mind left to imagine any epic background music.

At that moment, he stared miserably at the hundred-meter-tall stone pillar.

Only then did he remember that to truly leave the Demon Lair, he still had to climb a Spiral Staircase more than thirty stories high!

"Brother Lu, hang in there." Deng Yutang slung Lu Ran's arm over his shoulder, his voice as sonorous and powerful as ever.

Lu Ran felt deeply ashamed. As a Mist Realm: Second Stage believer, he was actually in worse shape than believers at Mist Realm: Stage One.

This was the price of excessive casting and overtaxing his body.

Not until 2:47 in the afternoon did they finally leave the Demon Lair and return to the military camp.

The sky remained overcast, with a light rain falling.

The bedraggled Four-Person Group walked out of the enormous building directly beneath the god Wuya, bathing in the pouring drizzle and filled with countless emotions.

Jiang Ruyi and Wu Shanshan's clothes were disheveled, and they looked quite battered.

Deng Yutang in the top lane and Lu Ran in the jungle position, meanwhile, had turned into two "blood people."

Because of the team's special tactics, Lu Ran and Deng Yutang had killed the most dogs at close range. The blood staining their bodies kept streaming away with the rainwater.

When the Four-Person Group appeared, a bus parked some distance away immediately began to shake.

The classmates waiting inside shouted noisily and crowded toward the windows to look.

"They're out! Someone's out!"

"See? I told you I was right! I said it was Wu Shanshan and Jiang Ruyi's team!"

"How far did they go to only come back now? It's almost three!"

Qian Hao's chubby face was flushed red. Trembling as he stared out the window, he seemed to be trying with all his might to endure something.

"The class monitor finally came out! I'm dying here, I need to pee."

He was Lu Ran's classmate. On the day they paid respects to the gods, Qian Hao had even offered advice from below the stage, telling Lu Ran to burn a few more paper effigies.

As for why Qian Hao was holding it in so desperately—

because beneath Wuya's feet was a military restricted area!

No one was allowed to enter or leave freely, so the students naturally had to move as a group.

Each bus held forty people. Before Lu Ran's team emerged, the first nine buses had already departed.

Only this final bus remained, with four empty seats inside, waiting for the last team to return.

Even worse, this final batch of students had all been locked inside the bus. The doors were tightly shut, and they were not allowed to move around.

One could well imagine how miserable those thirty-six students were.

"I want to see just how many dogs they killed!"

"Look at all that blood on their school uniforms. If they went on TV, it'd need to be censored. It can't be a small number."

"Did they really walk for a full three hours? Without stopping for even a moment?"

Qian Hao wore a mournful expression, his legs squeezed together as he muttered softly, "I need to pee."

Smack!

A hand landed on Qian Hao's shoulder.

Qian Hao's face reddened further. His entire body shuddered, and he squeezed his legs even tighter.

He turned his head, ready to curse, but when he saw who it was, Qian Hao wisely swallowed the words already at his lips.

The school year's First Place—Ma Tianchuan!

The youth was tall and slender, wearing rimless glasses and looking gentle and scholarly.

Standing in the aisle, he bent over with one hand braced on Qian Hao's shoulder and craned his head toward the window.

Just in time, he saw Wu Shanshan take out a handful of Magic Crystals from her pocket beneath the rain canopy and place them on the table.

The Soldier responsible for recording immediately began counting them, while the students inside the bus erupted into chatter.

"Damn, I thought there'd be a lot more. What a waste of emotion!"

"So few? Only seven or eight Magic Crystals?"

"That can't be right—ha! Class Monitor Jiang has some too!"

Under the students' gazes, Jiang Ruyi also took out nearly ten Magic Crystals from her pocket and placed them on the table.

"Together, that's around twenty? That's a pretty good result."

"Hmph, my Brother Ma brought back thirty-one Magic Crystals."

"They're two girls. Don't expect too much. It's their first time killing evil demons; it's already good enough that they dared to make a move—Wo Cao!"

A wave of shocked cries erupted from inside the bus.

Deng Yutang, covered from head to toe in blood, also took out a handful of Magic Crystals from his pocket and tossed them onto the table.

"Uh..." Qian Hao felt the hand on his shoulder suddenly clench.

Ma Tianchuan's face darkened like still water. For the first time in two full years, he felt that First Place was no longer secure.

And what happened next made Ma Tianchuan's eyes widen even further!

Because the final Celestial Goat Believer also took a handful of Magic Crystals from his pocket and tossed them onto the table!

The stone hanging over Ma Tianchuan's heart fell completely to the ground.

There was no chance.

What tied neck and neck?

The other side was clearly far ahead!

"Is this for real?" After a brief silence, the bus completely exploded.

"How could there be more Magic Crystals?"

"As expected of second and third in the school year, these two girls went completely berserk killing!"

"Who said not to expect too much from girls? Let me tell you, women's hearts are the cruelest!"

"Isn't that way too many Magic Crystals? Did this team cheat?"

Yeah, how could that be possible?

Ma Tianchuan found it equally unbelievable.

The mission lasted only three hours. He and his three teammates had obtained thirty-one Magic Crystals, meaning they killed a Vicious Hound in less than six minutes on average!

For newbie beginners, that level of efficiency was already terrifying.

But Class Monitor Jiang and Squad Leader Wu's team had actually produced forty Magic Crystals?

Was this team really that strong?

Indeed, Wu Shanshan was a believer of the Second-Class God Asha, while Jiang Ruyi was a believer of the Third-Rate God Jade Talisman.

As a Fifth Grade God—Red Turban Believer, Deng Yutang was quite capable. He would not drag them down.

But Lu Ran...

As a Celestial Goat Believer, how could he possibly not be dead weight?

Ma Tianchuan frowned deeply. He had heard of Lu Ran's brilliant record—driving a Third-Rate God, the Prison Devil Believers, back step by step.

Could it be that this Lambkin was truly special, unlike the other Celestial Goat Believers?

Judging from the bloodstains on Lu Ran, that seemed to be the case.

"Ma—Big Bro Ma! Big Bro Ma?"

"What?" Ma Tianchuan still pressed a hand on Qian Hao's shoulder as he leaned forward to look out the car window, without lowering his head.

Qian Hao was practically in tears, his fat face buried against the front seat's backrest. "Stop squeezing! If you squeeze again... if you squeeze again, I'm gonna piss myself!"

Ma Tianchuan: ???

Thanks to Saint Da Meng, who vanished after turning around, for the 100,000 reward. Boss, you're so generous—thank you for the support!

May your dreams come true soon, and may everything go smoothly for you! Ura~!