Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toads loved water and appeared around streams and places where water seeped through rock crevices. After rain, even more of them would hop out.
Li Ye climbed straight up another mountain peak and landed on a flat patch near its summit. Living water had gathered there, forming a small pool. He walked over to the pool and circled its surface.
The pool water was not stagnant; it flowed downward, forming a stream along the mountainside.
Li Ye walked to the edge of the pool near a rock and stared at the spiral-shaped white foam appearing on the water's surface, the frost-like traces in the rock's cracks, and the slimy spiderweb-like marks beneath his feet.
The corner of his mouth curled up. He crouched before the pool and dipped a finger into the water, stirring up ripples.
Those traces were all signs of Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toads. The white frost in the rock cracks and the slimy web-like marks underfoot meant they had hunted nearby, while the white foam on the pool's surface made it even clearer that the toads themselves were below.
And if there were such signs, there had to be a karst cave nearby, likely housing quite a few Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toads.
Splash!
No sooner had he thought that than the water where he had dipped his finger erupted with a commotion. Li Ye raised his hand with the motion, pulling up a gigantic grey toad that had swallowed half his arm and stood as high as his knee.
"Trying to swallow me? Your mouth isn't big enough!"
Li Ye gave a feral grin. He thrust his palm inside, then hooked it upward, forcibly ripping out a mass of flesh and blood through the toad's back. With a swing of his arm, he casually flung the toad onto the ground.
He rinsed his arm in the pool and looked at the sleeve that had been completely ruined, exposing the skin of his forearm. He shook his head slightly, then looked at the Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toad that had been torn open from the back.
Other than being larger, it was essentially no different from an ordinary toad. But the saliva on its tongue was corrosive. Getting struck by it normally would probably feel awful.
Only someone like him, who had trained a hard-body technique and turned his qi and blood into a hardened membrane, could withstand it.
Yao Leden had previously said that most Martial Arts Students preferred Ironclad Boars because they were the least difficult. The others were not things they could afford to provoke.
He had read all the information on the demons of Dragon Mountain. Those marked with green names were not especially difficult for him, and he did not need to be overly cautious.
"It should be nearby."
Without another glance at the toad, Li Ye followed the living-water stream downward. He soon found a cave entrance on the left. Looking down, he saw only pitch-black darkness.
He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight. Then he pushed off with his feet and jumped down through the entrance, stepping on several bursts of air in midair as though descending stairs before landing easily inside the cave.
It was a karst cave. Water flowed down nearby, and moss covered the surroundings. Compared to the stifling heat of broad daylight, this place was far cooler.
"Croak—"
The dull, distinctive sound of toads came from nearby. Li Ye turned his phone around and saw numerous toads and frogs hopping about. Among them were more than ten grey toads far larger than the rest.
As the strong light shone over them, the Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toads reacted. Their mouths opened, and white-foamed afterimages shot out.
Li Ye shifted aside. With a light spring of his feet, he seemed to skim through low air, swimming through the sky as he swept forward at high speed. His fingers spread open in an instant and slashed ahead.
"Golden Dragon Claw."
Rip!
His fingers became hooked claws, effortlessly tearing a huge gash into the large toad's head.
Thud!
Killing an enemy in one move, Li Ye suddenly leaped to the side. One hand formed a claw as he lunged forward, bringing a whistling gust of wind with him.
"White Tiger Leaps Over the Stream."
With one clawing strike, he tore down from the top of the toad's head as though pressing down a lump of minced meat, ripping the toad cleanly into two halves.
A toad beside it seemed to sense danger. It kicked off with all four limbs, trying to leap away, but just as its body sprang up, Li Ye grabbed one of its legs and swung it straight at the cave wall ahead.
"Golden Palace Suppresses the Underworld."
Bang!
The force was immense, smashing out a dull boom. Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toads were only somewhat tougher than ordinary toads. Their real difficulty lay in their lightning-fast tongues and the corrosive saliva upon them.
But Li Ye could ignore all of that.
The Dragon Gate Technique's Lightness Skill, Swimming Dragon, allowed him to dodge those tongues at incredible speed. And once he got close, it was over.
Golden Dragon Claw was an attack suited to Lightness Skill, White Tiger Leaps Over the Stream emphasized explosive force, while Golden Palace Suppresses the Underworld was pure strength.
These were the three foundational forms of his Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate. There were only three forms, yet they were enough to handle many enemies.
Before long, he had wiped out every eye-catching Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toad. Leaving behind only heaps of minced flesh in the karst cave, he used his Lightness Skill to leap back outside and headed toward a higher mountaintop.
There were many demons for training, but the main ones were three types: the land-dwelling Ironclad Boar, the water-bound Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toad, and one more that was in the sky.
At the mountain peak lived a type of bird called the Hidden Stone Partridge Owl. It was a pigeon-like demon that preferred high places and built nests atop rocky summits.
As long as one found a bare rocky peak, one could discover their traces. This was not difficult for Li Ye. Once he unleashed his Lightness Skill and kicked off with both legs, he quickly found birds nesting inside a bird's nest.
They resembled oversized grey-and-white pigeons, but their long beaks contained sharp teeth. The moment they saw someone approach, they opened their mouths and cried out, unleashing piercing shrieks that made one dizzy and disoriented.
The greatest trait of these demons was their ability to produce howls that left enemies lightheaded before they charged in and attacked with their sharp long beaks.
But they were equally useless against Li Ye.
He leaped onto the rocky summit, his hands flying. His left hand grabbed one bird and crushed it into a bloody pulp with a hard squeeze, while his right hand tore another bird into several pieces.
These birds had to be dealt with swiftly. If he was even slightly too slow and let them fly away, catching them again would be difficult.
Soon, feathers swirled and flesh splattered. Nothing remained in the bird's nest.
He exhaled, casually shook the blood from his hands, and smiled.
"Interesting. Ironclad Boars test one's patience, strength, and martial arts power. Whirlpool Saliva Grey Toads test one's knowledge of demon traces and reaction speed. Hidden Stone Partridge Owls test one's Lightness Skill and ability to finish things quickly."
They truly were meant for training. They tested a person's martial strength, while their overall danger was worlds apart from the Five Plagues Ghost. Even the little demons he had encountered in the city would be more harmful than these if they developed further.
No wonder Fu Chuxue had not joined. For someone at the Eight Dragon Gate, who also seemed to practice breakthrough martial arts like he did, this kind of training was indeed unnecessary unless it was for resources.
But for Li Ye, this was excellent news. It meant no one was competing with him.
These demons were his qi-and-blood rations!
Li Ye kicked off again, bursting out airwaves as he headed elsewhere.
Kill a few more and save up some points.
Li Ye wanted to exchange for more Nutrient Solution, but the demons he caught were in for a world of suffering.
Ordinary Martial Arts Students, even those at the Three Dragon Gate or Fourth Dragon Gate, had many things to consider when facing a demon.
To deal with a demon alone during training, they needed to determine whether it was isolated, whether they had a suitable weapon, search for its traces, and work out a method of attack.
No matter what, taking down a single demon would take at least tens of minutes.
For someone like Li Ye, it was less like hunting and more like confirming his place in the ecosystem. Like a fierce tiger entering the grasslands, he killed whatever he saw. Not a single demon could escape his fingers.
After clearing out most of the three basic demon types, Li Ye turned his attention toward the rarer demons and began wrecking havoc!
Rock Dwelling Ground Snakes were serpents that lived beneath rocks or within crevices and excelled at hiding. Li Ye simply smashed open the rocks and tore their bodies apart.
There was no need to search deliberately. Whenever he saw something that looked roughly right, he destroyed it first.
Pine Needle Demon Locusts resembled resin wrapped around tree bark and were likewise difficult to spot. Li Ye tore them apart along with the trees.
Rock Armor Mountain Monkeys were similar to Ironclad Boars, possessing hardness comparable to solid iron. They lived in sloped mountain rocks and caves. Li Ye smashed open gaps in the mountain and dragged the monkeys out, tearing them into fragments.
Steel Needle Spiders, the kind that lurked in shrubbery, were swept away together with the entire thicket, leaving only wreckage behind.
Any demon he encountered was unable to escape.
The Barracks personnel responsible for surveillance were left with splitting headaches.
One staff member pointed at the screen and shouted, "We can't keep this up! Forget a whole day—we won't even last the afternoon. What's with this guy? He's killing everything. Is he broke out of his mind?"
Not only were the three major demon types deliberately released into the area being killed, but even the demons naturally allowed to develop within the region were being found and eliminated by this student.
And he was not searching for little clues. He simply broke everything apart with brute force. As long as he thought something looked suspicious, not a single place was spared.
The reason those demons were allowed to develop was, first, that ecological forces prevented them from multiplying unchecked. Second, they were useful to the ecosystem.
Rock Armor Mountain Monkeys, for instance, could clear loose rocks from mountainsides and prevent landslides.
Rock Dwelling Ground Snakes were food for Hidden Stone Partridge Owls, and after death, they had a chance of combining with stone to form high-quality mineral veins.
As long as their numbers were controlled, these naturally occurring demons were not only harmless but beneficial.
Moreover, they were difficult to find. Letting Martial Arts Students train here would normally do no more than control their numbers. Who would have thought this student would turn the place upside down, leaving only the earthworms unsplit in half?
What was he trying to do?
Was he broke out of his mind?
That couldn't be right. Could someone who had trained to this level really be poor?
"A talent!"
The officer drawn over by the shouting had eyes that lit up. "Poor is good—being a little poor is good! Poor means he hasn't received anyone's support. If no one has sponsored him, doesn't that make him a wild genius? Good, good, good! Then we can sponsor him!"
"Something's happening!"
At that moment, another staff member cried out in alarm. Everyone turned to look. It was not the student cutting through everything like rotten wood, but the burly two-meter-tall student. He had reached the edge of the area near a mined mountainside when he was suddenly attacked and sent flying backward.
Yet nothing appeared on the monitor.
But that alone made the issue clear!
"Mobile unit!"
The officer shouted and was the first to head out.
"That student is getting close too!"
"Use drones to stop them and make them withdraw!"
The officer paused and turned to glare fiercely at the staff, but he said nothing.
Insufficiently thorough inspections could happen. No one could be blamed; there were always demons that suddenly appeared.
That was why they were here to monitor the area. If an unexpected situation occurred, they could provide support at any moment.
Just as the officer stepped out the door, the staff cried out again, "It's—it's gone!"
He turned around and saw that on one of the screens, viewed from the main camera angle, a lizard-like creature had been split into two and lay on the ground.
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