The Clown

The newcomer was naturally Lu Su.

After leaving the cave, the lingering aura of Mukade inside it meant there were no other Centipede demons at the mountaintop.

Thus, Lu Su could only return to the mountainside to continue farming materials.

But just as he returned to the mountainside, he saw a tree collapse in the distance from midair.

If Lu Su had been inside the woods, he might not have noticed what was happening so far away.

By the time he rode Pidgeot to the scene, he saw Du Heng shove Jiang Nanxi out.

But this was no time for nonsense.

The monster had already lunged at Jiang Nanxi, who had fallen to the ground.

"Yoriichi!" Lu Su's gaze sharpened as he summoned Tsugikuni Yoriichi.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The Katana in Tsugikuni Yoriichi's hand rapidly blocked the monster's incoming claws.

Only then did Lu Su have time to look at Du Heng.

"Du Heng, it would've been one thing if you chose not to save them, but you actually tried to use Jiang Nanxi as a shield?" Lu Su asked with a frown.

In his eyes, it would have been understandable even if Du Heng had run away on his own. But he should never have turned on a classmate.

Hearing Lu Su's words, Du Heng became somewhat hysterical. "It's their honor to die in place of a future Hall of Fame Card Master like me! Lu Su, stay out of this!"

Lu Su sighed. He ignored Du Heng, who had already become crazed, and slowly descended beside Jiang Nanxi, pulling her to her feet. "Are you all right?"

Jiang Nanxi shook her head. Other than being shoved to the ground by Du Heng, she had not suffered any other injuries.

Thinking of Du Heng, Jiang Nanxi turned back and looked at him coldly. "I'll tell my father what happened here."

Lu Su said nothing. How Du Heng would be dealt with was Jiang Nanxi's business. Besides, if it had been up to him, Du Heng's fate probably would not have been pleasant.

Du Heng was instantly drenched in cold sweat upon hearing Jiang Nanxi's words. His legs gave out beneath him, and he dropped to his knees. "Jiang Nanxi, I was wrong! I'll kowtow to you! Please don't tell your father!"

As he spoke, Du Heng began kowtowing on the ground.

Du Heng's family was merely an ordinary middle-class household, while Jiang Nanxi's father was a Gold Grade Card Master in the association.

If Jiang Nanxi told her father what had happened here, Du Heng's fate would likely be grim.

After all, the Card Master Association expressly forbade registered Card Masters from killing one another.

Jiang Nanxi showed no reaction and merely turned back to watch the battle.

At this moment, Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the monster stood in a standoff, neither daring to make a rash move.

But in the end, the monster, having lost its mind, lost patience first and charged at Tsugikuni Yoriichi.

"So fast." Lu Su's expression at the edge of the battlefield turned grave. This was the strongest monster he had seen since coming to this world.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi barely dodged the monster's attack, but several bloody gashes were still carved into his forearm.

"Yoriichi, use the Markings." Lu Su frowned.

There was no time to drag this out any longer. Lin Yue's condition on the ground was clearly not good, and the longer this went on, the more dangerous it became.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi took a deep breath upon hearing this. The reddish-brown Markings on his forehead seemed to expand slightly.

Feeling his Spiritual Power consumption suddenly surge, Lu Su's face turned pale.

Fortunately, it was still within what he could endure.

The next instant, Tsugikuni Yoriichi vanished from where he stood. When he appeared again, he was already before the monster.

The monster clearly had not reacted to Tsugikuni Yoriichi's suddenly explosive speed.

The blade carried blazing firelight as it instantly swept across the monster's body.

The monster froze in place, utterly motionless.

"Slash!" The next moment, the monster split into several pieces.

Its largest remaining upper body fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Jiang Nanxi stared at the scene in shock. Was this the true strength of Lu Su's card?

Tsugikuni Yoriichi's sudden burst of power made Jiang Nanxi realize that Lu Su had not used his full strength at all during the previous ranking test.

Meanwhile, Du Heng's heart was filled with jealousy and resentment. Why? Him again? It's always him!

Du Heng found it hard to accept. Lu Su's current performance showed that he had not used his full strength even when fighting Du Heng a few days ago, making Du Heng's harsh words seem like those of a clown.

Though in Lu Su's eyes, Du Heng had looked like a clown from the start.

Ignoring what the two were thinking, Lu Su frowned as he walked over to Tsugikuni Yoriichi. The Flesh Demon tangled around the monster's body was slowly dissipating.

The Flesh Demon covering its face also gradually receded, revealing a familiar face beneath.

The moment Lu Su saw the face beneath the Flesh Demon, his pupils suddenly contracted.

It was Old Wang, whom the students of the advanced class had seen when they entered the secret realm.

Silently shifting his body to block the view of the two behind him, Lu Su asked softly, "How did you end up like this?"

At the final moment of his life, Old Wang seemed to regain a little of his sanity.

Blood continuously spilled from his mouth as he spoke in broken fragments. "I... I don't want... don't want to die."

"My... my mother is still waiting for me in the hospital..."

Tears continuously slid down Old Wang's ruined face. "Save me..."

"I... I'm sorry, Captain..."

"Spirit..."

Before he could finish, Old Wang gradually dissipated into the air, just like a card dying.

All that remained in place was a card flickering with a scarlet glow.

Seeing Old Wang's reaction, Lu Su could not help frowning. "Spirit?"

"The Spirit Summoning Society?"

Silently committing the information to memory, Lu Su bent down and picked up the card from the ground.

Black Iron Grade Flesh Demon (Gold).

Lu Su was startled when he saw the material in his hand.

He had initially thought that Old Wang had left behind his card, but he had not expected it to be something like the materials condensed after demons died.

And it was actually gold. Lu Su had never seen a gold material before; even on trading websites, Black Iron Grade gold materials were rare.

Just as Lu Su was still considering Old Wang's words, Jiang Nanxi walked over. "What's wrong? What did that demon just say?"

Thanks to her father, Jiang Nanxi knew that some demons in secret realms possessed great intelligence, and some could even speak human language.

She had also taken Old Wang for one of those highly intelligent demons.

Lu Su was silent for a moment before ultimately deciding not to tell Jiang Nanxi about his discovery. "Nothing. He just told me to kill him quickly."

Then Lu Su changed the subject. "There should be monitoring stations in secret realms like this, right? I'll go to one and check the situation first, then leave the secret realm to seek help."

"Oh, and Yoriichi will stay here to guard you for now."

Jiang Nanxi nodded. She thought Lu Su was worried about Centipede demons.

But she did not know that while Lu Su was indeed worried about Centipede demons, he was also wary of Du Heng, who had looked utterly lost after Jiang Nanxi said she would tell her father what happened here.

Lu Su naturally would not underestimate Human Heart. With lunatics like this, who knew whether he would lose his mind and do something after Lu Su left?

Summoning Pidgeot, Lu Su hurried toward the foot of the mountain.

Upon arriving at the monitoring station, Lu Su finally understood why Old Wang had said he was sorry, Captain.

Before him was a headless corpse with a massive hole punched through its chest.

With no time to think further, Lu Su immediately left the secret realm.