At one-thirty in the afternoon, west of Rain Alley City, at Wuya's feet.
A business car passed through layer after layer of inspection and slowly drove into the military camp district.
"There are quite a lot of people." Inside the car, Lu Ran looked around and spotted many civilian trainees, including quite a few high school students like themselves.
Thanks to Great Xia's supportive policies, students who came to complete their assignments did not need to pay any fees.
The military would even specially assign a soldier to serve as the team's proctor free of charge.
From another perspective, wasn't this proctor also a bodyguard?
"Is that Gao Zhonglin?" Deng Yutang suddenly spoke from the passenger seat.
Lu Ran turned to look and saw a somewhat chubby teenage boy wearing glasses.
The usually silent Tian Tian rarely spoke up, whispering, "It's him. That really powerful guy."
Gao Zhonglin's rise had been rather similar to Lu Ran's. It could be summed up in one sentence—no one knew where he had popped out from!
In the first assessment, Gao Zhonglin had taken third place on the individual rankings.
In the second assessment, he had shot straight up to second in the entire school!
One had to know that in the two years before revering the gods, Gao Zhonglin had never even entered the school's top fifty.
But after revering the gods—
Ma Tianchuan, Jiang Ruyi, Wu Shanshan, and the rest of them could all step aside!
Three words: the wolf had come!
Though... this little wolf cub was a bit fat.
Still, it did suit the word "greed," didn't it?
"Could he possibly be more impressive than my Brother Lu?" Deng Yutang said casually.
Lu Ran nodded in wholehearted agreement. "Definitely not."
From the back seat, Jiang Ruyi extended a slender jade finger and lightly poked the back of Lu Ran's head. "Be a little more modest."
Lu Ran did not mind. "I'm simply seeking truth from facts!"
As a Greedy Wolf Believer, he made those high-and-mighty academic overlords step aside.
As a Celestial Goat Believer, he made Greedy Wolf Believers step aside!
What did it mean to turn the natural order upside down?
"You can head back. We'll be staying inside for a long time." Deng Yutang looked at the driver. "I'll call you when we come out."
"Alright."
Once the vehicle came to a stop, everyone swiftly got out, retrieved their weapons from the trunk, and headed for the central building to register and queue up.
Besides his weapon, Lu Ran had deliberately brought along a red turban and tied it around his arm.
He was prepared to try the Great Nightmare's teaching of Listening to Sound to Identify Position.
Actually, Lu Ran had also wanted to carry a backpack with some food and water.
But those supplies could not be brought into the Demon Lair.
The various Stone Cities, as well as supply points in the wilderness, all provided food and water, though they had to be exchanged for Magic Crystals.
In one sentence:
Training was free.
Food, drink, and sleep cost money!
Of course, if one dared to camp in the wilderness, eat dog meat, and drink dog blood to get by, the military would not stop them—
Save away.
Just save with your life!
"Instructor Dou!"
"What a coincidence. Teacher Dou is proctoring us again?"
After queuing for quite some time, just as they neared the building entrance, an old acquaintance strode over. They immediately greeted him.
Dou Zhiqiang said, "I'm specifically assigned to Team 98."
Everyone: "..."
Dou Zhiqiang swept his gaze across them. "How long are you planning to stay inside Evil Dog Village this time?"
They looked at one another. Jiang Ruyi was still the one who stepped forward. "Teacher Dou, we'll probably be staying for quite a while.
"Our weapons and Divine Power Beads both need upgrading, and we need to kill many evil demons."
Dou Zhiqiang nodded. "How did your team do in the Fifteen City Defense Mission?"
Jiang Ruyi replied, "first place."
A rare trace of praise appeared on Dou Zhiqiang's face. Then he turned to Lu Ran. "And individually?"
Lu Ran smiled awkwardly. "I regressed. I couldn't get such a high score anymore."
"Heh." Dou Zhiqiang snorted. "You still wanted to score 98?"
"One must always have dreams!" Lu Ran sighed. "This time, I only scored 91.2. I regressed."
The stone-faced instructor was clearly stunned!
He confirmed, "Ninety-one points for Fifteen City Defense?"
Lu Ran shook his head. "Not 91 points. It was 91.2."
In just two sentences, you deducted 0.2 points from me. Could I stand for that?
Dou Zhiqiang: "..."
Jiang Ruyi smoothly added, "Teacher Dou, Lu Ran performed very well.
"On this Night of the Fifteenth, he was still first.
"He ranked first overall among the five county-level cities under Cloud City's jurisdiction, including Cloud City itself."
At that, Dou Zhiqiang's expression became quite splendid.
Come to think of it, it was rather amusing.
When the four-person group had been in the car, Jiang Ruyi had told Lu Ran to be more modest.
Yet when faced with an outsider's doubts—
Jiang Ruyi not only spoke up to defend him; she even seemed a little prouder than Lu Ran himself?
After several full seconds, Dou Zhiqiang turned and left. "Follow me!"
They did not dare delay and immediately followed close behind the instructor.
Lu Ran secretly glanced at Jiang Ruyi and whispered, "Be a little more modest."
Jiang Ruyi: "..."
Unlike the previous assessment—
After leading them into the Demon Lair this time, Dou Zhiqiang headed directly to the South City Gate.
Then he transformed into a crow once more, leaving the stage to the young people.
"South Gate." Lu Ran gripped the Xiaguang Saber tightly and gazed toward the torch-lit path.
Jiang Ruyi said, "There seem to be fewer trainees here?"
"Isn't that exactly what we want?" Deng Yutang weighed the Red Tasseled Spear in his hand, brimming with fighting spirit.
Having already experienced one Night of the Fifteenth, everyone was full of confidence now.
Even Tian Tian was not particularly worried.
"Grr..." A canine hunting growl suddenly came from the right front.
Deng Yutang reacted with remarkable speed, carrying the Tianchen Spear as he strode forward.
It was clear enough: there truly were not many human trainees in this direction.
They were still within the city gate's range, yet evil demons were already attacking.
"Mist Realm, probably Second to Third Stage?" Deng Yutang called out in a low voice.
Lu Ran's voice came from behind him. "Let Class Monitor Jiang try out her new divine art. Let's see its power."
"Fine." Deng Yutang halted, though he remained at the very front of the group.
Jiang Ruyi had no objection. At her naturally lowered hand, her fingertips lightly traced something.
"Woof!" The Vicious Hound was incredibly fast.
Jiang Ruyi's divine art was ready and waiting to be unleashed, but she did not attack at once.
They already had quite extensive experience slaughtering Vicious Hounds.
The Vicious Dog Clan was fast and had excellent reflexes. To kill one in a single strike, they needed to seize an opportunity rather than blindly unleash attacks.
Deng Yutang's body was taut, his legs slightly bent as he clenched the Tianchen Spear.
"Woof!!"
The Vicious Hound closed in. Judging that the distance was sufficient, it immediately leaped forward.
Its bloody mouth opened wide, sharp tusks tearing straight toward Deng Yutang.
"Yutang, fall back!" Jiang Ruyi flicked two fingers forward.
Deng Yutang decisively jumped backward. At the same instant, a thin fiery serpent brushed past him.
As the flaming rune flew through the air, an illusory White Jade Stone Slab appeared, bearing the fire serpent as it charged straight at the Vicious Hound.
Divine art—Exploding Flame Talisman!
"Woof!!"
The Vicious Hound's dog eyes widened. Its airborne body twisted wildly, but it had nowhere to borrow force from.
Skinny Dog, you dared to jump?
If you dared to jump, you dared to get instantly killed!
Boom!
As the Vicious Hound struggled and twisted, the Exploding Flame Talisman failed to hit its Dog Head, but it struck the hound's body solidly.
In an instant—
Firelight exploded, and airwaves surged!
Chunks of flesh splattered in every direction as blood rained down.
"Whine... whine~~~"
The Vicious Hound was blasted straight back, its cries echoing across the wilderness in utter misery.
"Die!" Deng Yutang stamped the ground and lunged forward.
Finishing blows were his specialty!
Although Deng Yutang's ambitions did not lie here—
The current makeup of the four-person group forced him to regard Jiang Ruyi and Lu Ran as the absolute core.
Only after Deng Yutang ended the Vicious Hound's life did Jiang Ruyi turn to Lu Ran and raise an eyebrow slightly.
"Satisfied?"
"Mhm, mhm!" Lu Ran nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of admiration.
As expected of a noble Law Master!
At merely Mist Realm: Third Stage, she already possessed such damage output.
And Jade Talisman Sect Believers were known as late stage fighters. One could imagine just how terrifying Beauty Jiang would become in the future!
Lu Ran took the opportunity to say, "If the four of us want to upgrade our equipment, we'll need to kill a thousand Mist Realm Vicious Hounds.
"And that's only to upgrade the Stream Grade Divine Power Beads.
"We still have the weapons rewarded by the school. That'll require another thousand Mist Realm Vicious Hounds. At this rate—
"Who knows how long we'll have to keep killing?"
Jiang Ruyi pondered. "You want to challenge Stream Realm Vicious Hounds?"
The exchange ratio between Stream Realm Magic Crystals and Mist Realm Magic Crystals was one to ten.
Two thousand Mist Realm Vicious Hounds could be converted into two hundred Stream Realm Vicious Hounds.
Lu Ran nodded. "Stream Realm Vicious Hounds have no Defense Technique. They're still flesh and blood bodies. Blades and spears can kill them, and Jade Talismans can blast them apart."
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Ruyi still chose to play it safe. "No rush. We'll first kill evil demons nearby.
"Once Yutang and Tian Tian both advance to Mist Realm: Third Stage, we'll head for the next Stone City."
Upon hearing Goddess Jiang's decision, Tian Tian immediately agreed. "I'm about to advance too, and I've already memorized the divine art matched to the next stage.
"After advancing, I'll be able to summon lotus buds from the ground and imprison evil demons."
Lu Ran and the others had personally seen the technique Earth Sprout Lotus before. On the Night of the Fifteenth, their leader Zhang Feng had used this art to trap evil demons.
With this technique's aid, the team would naturally be like a tiger with wings!
When facing attacks from two Vicious Hounds again, Tian Tian would be able to forcibly take one of them offline!
"I'm close too!" Without waiting for anyone to ask, Deng Yutang answered first, then added, "Believe me, I'm even more anxious than you are."
That was indeed true!
Because at Mist Realm: Third Stage, Red Turban Believers could learn an exceptionally powerful divine art—Red Turban Soul!
Once he possessed this art, Deng Yutang could escape his current awkward position.
On the smaller scale, the divine art Red Turban Soul was Deng Yutang's confidence in defeating the strong while weak.
On the larger scale—
Red Turban Soul—
Was the capital Red Turban Believers relied upon to offend their superiors!
This art allowed Red Turban Believers to activate Berserk Mode, causing every attribute of their body to skyrocket for a short period of time!
The boost was especially considerable!
That was also why Jiang Ruyi insisted on waiting for Deng Yutang to advance before challenging Stream Realm Vicious Hounds.
Among believers throughout the world, who did not know the might of Red Turban Soul?
"Alright, alright, I believe you." Lu Ran said with a smile. "Then we'll advance first."
Before his words had even faded, Lu Ran's body stiffened.
He vaguely felt as though something invisible had quietly merged into his body.
"Lu Ran?" Jiang Ruyi was attentive and perceptive. She noticed something unusual about him. "What's wrong?"
Lu Ran's gaze turned somewhat vacant as a bizarre scene surfaced in his mind.
It was a world shrouded in mist, with evil statues standing thick amid layer upon layer of fog.
The soul of the Vicious Hound that had just been slaughtered drifted into the "Evil Sculpture Garden" and was sucked into an enormous Vicious Hound statue.
Ha, Immortal Sheep!
Ever since our last meeting, you've stopped pretending, haven't you?
Stay calm.
I'll go seize its soul right away!
Before you continue