Black Vatican

After the annual assessment, Tian Lan Magic High School divided the students into classes as well.

"Congratulations, everyone, on entering the advanced class!"

Their homeroom teacher was still Xue Sheng. After all, Class Four had swept the top three spots in the school, so Xue Sheng had received a promotion and a raise.

Mo Fan took first place, Lin Lan second, and Mu Bai third. The school provided Star Dust Magic Tools for cultivation, and everyone had one month of usage time.

"Hey, Wang Dafu, how much are you paying for One-Eyed Demon Wolf bones now?"

Lin Lan called Wang Dafu to check the market rates. The prices from his previous demon hunts had fluctuated several times, since certain materials could sometimes become scarce.

"Right now? Around 230,000 for a full set. I don't know what's been going on lately, but One-Eyed Demon Wolves and Giant-Eyed Stinky Rats have been wandering around Bocheng nonstop. Lots of teams have formed up to hunt them, so the price has dropped. But don't worry, I'll give you 250,000."

Wang Dafu had previously promised to give Lin Lan an extra ten percent, and he had never gone back on his word.

"Alright. Come to the Demon Hunting Hall tonight for the transaction."

With that, Lin Lan hung up.

"Demons gathering? Looks like the Black Vatican has started making its move."

A strange glint flashed through Lin Lan's eyes. The main cause of the Bocheng disaster had been the Giant-Eyed Stinky Rats tunneling through the passage between Bocheng and the wilderness. He would give the Black Vatican a little excitement of his own.

The wilderness outside Bocheng.

Looking into the distance, mountains surrounded the land, endless green covering their slopes. A few white clouds hung in the blue sky, while the grass and trees in the forest shone with a soft jade-green hue. Wildflowers carpeted the ground, swaying in the wind as though embracing the vast blue heavens.

Without human interference, the wilderness of this magical world was like a primeval forest. Dense leaves blocked out the sunlight, and mottled shadows of trees swayed in the breeze. All that could be heard were insects chirping, birds calling, and demons howling. The narrow trails left behind by demons served as paths through the wild.

After walking for a long while, Lin Lan came upon a pool of water. His reflection appeared on its surface, bright white light flashing through his eyes as he began to control his magic.

Not far away, a One-Eyed Demon Wolf spotted him before he noticed it. The wolf lunged straight at him, jaws wide open as it tried to bite him in half, kicking up dust from the ground.

"Sky Flash—Lightning Seal—Frenzied Charge."

Lightning surged into the One-Eyed Demon Wolf's body before it could reach him.

"Bang!"

The One-Eyed Demon Wolf instantly turned into charred blackened flesh and collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Mind Control—Void Grip."

Lin Lan followed up with a Void Grip just in case. During his last hunt, a dying One-Eyed Demon Wolf had suddenly sprung up and attacked him. Fortunately, Lin Lan had activated Phasing beforehand; otherwise, even if he had survived, he would have been crippled. He was much more cautious now.

The One-Eyed Demon Wolf weighed five hundred jin, and his current Mind Control was just enough to lift it. Lin Lan slammed the corpse heavily into the ground, only stepping forward to dissect it after making sure it was truly dead.

"250,000 in the bag."

Lin Lan put the bones into his Storage space, unable to help sighing at how easy it truly was to make money in this world—as long as one had the strength.

"I still need to buy a Soul Vessel to collect soul essences and remnants. Every time I kill a demon and its valuable soul essence doesn't drop, it hurts."

Lin Lan looked at the One-Eyed Demon Wolf's corpse and pondered.

The most valuable thing about demons was actually their soul essences. A single servant-level soul essence could sell for over four million. Since Lin Lan killed demons every day, he felt as though he had already lost several small fortunes.

After walking for a long time and killing another two One-Eyed Demon Wolves along the way, Lin Lan decided to head back.

But when he reached the area near Bocheng, he made a new discovery. There was a large hole in the distance, beside which stood two people and five creatures with ape-like faces, ugly appearances, and humanoid forms. The stench of rotting flesh filled the air, making Lin Lan want to vomit.

"So this is the Black Vatican!"

Killing intent flashed through Lin Lan's eyes. He slowly advanced toward the two men, already beginning to control his magic.

"Sky Flash—Lightning Seal—Frenzied Charge."

Bright white currents shot out from the forest and streaked toward the two Black Vatican members.

"Earth Wave—Shift."

The tall, thin Black Vatican member reacted in time and used Earth Element Magic to move out of the attack's range. The other, shorter member was instantly electrocuted into a charred corpse and fell to the ground. Two Black Beast Demons turned into pools of black sludge when their master died.

"Damn it! Get the hell out here!"

The tall, thin Black Vatican member roared into the forest. If he had not noticed movement in the woods beforehand and prepared to cast magic while he was about to send the Black Beast Demons over to investigate, he would have been finished too.

"What? Feeling lucky to have survived?"

Lin Lan stepped out of the forest, a faint movement in his eyes as a disdainful smile curled across his lips.

"Your lightning has a spirit seed!"

"Impressive, truly impressive. Who sent you? The Arbitration Council, or the military?"

The tall, thin Black Vatican member caught sight of the violent lightning power still lingering on the dead, short, fat member's body. That attack's terrifying destructive force and piercing power were definitely not ordinary lightning.

The urge to flee had already risen in his heart. A monster like this had to be an agent sent by either the Arbitration Council or the military, and he stared at Lin Lan without blinking.

"Whether I have one isn't important. Whether I'm from either of them isn't important. Your heads are important, though, because they're worth money."

Lin Lan's eyes were filled with killing intent. How could he possibly let those scum of the Black Vatican go?

"Black Beast Demons, attack!"

Hearing this, the tall, thin Black Vatican member stopped wasting words and directly ordered the remaining three Black Beast Demons to pounce on Lin Lan.

"Mind Control—Phantom Claw."

Lin Lan used Mind Control to seize one of the Black Beast Demons, then dodged to the right, evading the attacks of the other two.

"Earth Wave—Sinkhole."

Seizing the moment, the tall, thin Black Vatican member directly cast the third-tier beginner Earth magic. A sly, triumphant smile appeared in his eyes.

The ground beneath Lin Lan began turning into a swamp-like mire, trapping his feet. The Black Beast Demons lunged fiercely, their claws about to slash open Lin Lan's throat.

"Phasing."

In an instant, Lin Lan used Phasing. His body turned into a phantom, and a bright white light shone from his eyes.

"Sky Flash—Lightning Seal—Python Mark."

With a wave of his hand, lightning crashed down upon the Black Beast Demons, and Lin Lan walked out of the sinkhole.

"Ahhh—"

The three Black Beast Demons let out human-like screams, their voices hoarse and miserable. They had once been humans, but they no longer deserved sympathy. Soon, they melted into foul-smelling black sludge.

"Y-you... what kind of magic is that?!"

The tall, thin Black Vatican member's pupils dilated in terror, and his whole body trembled. He had never seen such a skill before. A Spirit Seed was one thing, but with such an absurdly overpowered invincible skill, how was he supposed to fight?

"Alright. It's time for you to go."

"Lightning Seal—Frenzied Charge."

Lin Lan's voice was ice-cold, like a demon who had crawled out of hell to take their lives.

"Wait... don't..."

"Ahhh..."

Before the tall, thin Black Vatican member could finish speaking, lightning shocked him into heart-rending screams of agony. He even forgot to use magic.

Lin Lan walked over and looked at the two charred corpses on the ground. Several puddles of sludge still gave off a rotten stench. Raising his eyes, he looked again at the large hole.

"Forget it. I'm not going in. I don't know what's happening inside yet."

With that, Lin Lan left. Killing two Black Vatican members had merely been a matter of convenience to him, though he still needed to deal with the aftermath.

After returning to Bocheng, Lin Lan took out his phone and made a call.

"Hello, Teacher Tang Yue? I just killed a few people."

This chapter felt a little short, but it was too late. I need to rest and write more tomorrow.