When Wu Tianxiong's domineering, blood-soaked command slowly echoed over the rocky slope, a silent death hunt aimed at Yellow Class Nine officially began!
Yet Lin Xiao's group, deep within the Black Wind Mountain Range, seemed to know... nothing of the massive threat closing in behind them with unstoppable force.
After that soul-cleansing baptism personally overseen by Lin Xiao, cruel to the extreme, Yellow Class Nine—a fledgling wolf army that had just tasted blood—had completely undergone its ultimate transformation from "students" into "soldiers"!
Like the most precise killing machine programmed in advance, they began frantically clearing every creature in these blood-red mountains that could be called "prey" with a terrifying efficiency beyond comprehension!
Their route of advance was no longer a straight line, but an S-shaped hunting path filled with death and traps, meticulously planned by Lin Xiao according to the terrain of the mountains and the distribution of demonic beasts!
Every advance was accompanied by a flawless ambush worthy of a textbook!
Every strike inevitably claimed the lives of several, or even dozens, of demonic beasts!
Their coordination had reached a terrifying realm bordering on "hearts linked as one"!
Shi Lei's Sharp Shield always appeared in the most dangerous places at the most appropriate moments, raising an absolutely safe steel sky over the companions behind him!
Su Yue's Fangs were like two lethal poisoned blades hidden in the shadows, always launching their deadliest thrusts from the angles least expected by their enemies!
And Monkey's Ghost Shadow brought the words "appearing and vanishing like a ghost" to their utmost extreme! They were the coldest reapers on the battlefield and guardian gods who swept away every worry behind the team!
As for Lin Xiao, he was the absolute core—the brain—of this terrifying killing machine!
He rarely acted personally anymore.
Most of the time, he merely stood quietly at the highest point of the battlefield, calmly overlooking the entire situation with those deep eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.
Every one of his commands was concise to the extreme.
"Advance three zhang, turn left, raise shields!" "Left wing, Triple Starlight, seal their retreat!" "Rear, Trap Number Three, prepare to activate!"
Yet these brief commands, which sounded somewhat inexplicable to anyone else, always sliced through any seemingly powerful beast formation as easily as the most precise surgical scalpel, striking directly at its weakest core!
Under Lin Xiao's almost monstrous tactical command, and with the terrifying execution of Yellow Class Nine's thirty members, honed until they could wield it as easily as their own arms, they had swept away five Ironback Demonic Wolf Pack settlements of over twenty wolves each in just half a day!
One of them had even been a massive wolf pack consisting of forty ordinary demonic wolves and five Second-Order High Grade elite demonic wolves!
Wherever they passed, wolf corpses carpeted the ground and blood flowed into rivers!
The blood stench was so thick it seemed impossible to disperse, even staining the gray clouds above the Black Wind Mountain Range with a faint crimson hue that set hearts trembling!
Their gains were also great enough to drive even an elite Heaven Class team mad!
[System Notification: Team Points +80] [System Notification: Team Points +120] [System Notification: ...][Current Total Team Points: 2740!] [Current Personal Experience: Body Refinement Eighth Level (3450/5000)] [Second-Order Lower Grade Beast Cores Obtained: 78] [Second-Order Mid Grade Beast Cores Obtained: 22] [Second-Order High Grade Beast Cores Obtained: 5] [...]
Listening to the pleasant system notifications continuously ringing in his mind and looking at the mountain of beast cores within the Storage Bag, radiating pure spiritual aura, even Lin Xiao could not help but feel a faint joy called "satisfaction."
However, that joy did not last long.
Because his sensitivity, far surpassing that of ordinary people, and the system's danger warning, which remained at its highest alert, were both sending him an extremely ominous signal.
Too quiet.
Ever since they had taken down that massive wolf pack settlement guarded by five elite demonic wolves half an hour ago, they had not encountered even a single trace of an Ironback Demonic Wolf within a radius of ten li!
It was as if all the demonic wolves in this area had vanished from the face of the earth at the same time!
This utterly abnormal, eerie silence instantly made Lin Xiao's nerves—already sharpened to the utmost by countless life-and-death crises—tense up!
"All personnel, halt! Conceal yourselves on the spot! Monkey, immediately scout every area around us! I want to know exactly what has happened nearby!"
Lin Xiao's voice suddenly turned incomparably grave!
"Yes!"
Having long since carved "absolute obedience" into their very bones, the members of Yellow Class Nine did not hesitate in the slightest. Like the best-trained special forces soldiers, they instantly found cover and perfectly blended their bodies and auras into the surrounding rocks, grass, and trees!
Monkey, meanwhile, vanished into the depths of the dense forest after only a few flickers, like a wisp of true green smoke.
A quarter of an hour later.
When Monkey's figure reappeared before Lin Xiao like a ghost, his face, normally carrying a somewhat carefree smile, was now filled with unprecedented gravity and horror!
"Chief Instructor!"
He lowered his voice, but there was still an uncontrollable tremor in it!
"We... we seem to have been... surrounded!"
"What?!"
Upon hearing this news, even Shi Lei and Su Yue, who had already prepared themselves mentally, could not help but have their expressions change sharply!
"Explain clearly!" Lin Xiao's gaze instantly turned sharp as a blade!
"I... I found a large number of traces of human activity in Wolf Valley, five li behind us—the place we just cleared out!" Monkey's breathing became hurried. "And judging from the incomparably domineering blade marks and the scorching Spiritual Energy residue left at the scene, the other side's strength is absolutely far above ours!"
"Not only that!" A deep lingering fear appeared on Monkey's face. "I also discovered that on both the left and right sides of our route forward, there are two groups of unknown numbers but extremely powerful auras closing in on us in a fan-shaped formation!"
"They... they want to trap us alive in this valley!"
Boom!
Monkey's words exploded in the hearts of every Yellow Class Nine member like a heavy bomb!
They had been surrounded?!
And by three mysterious groups far stronger than them?!
An enormous, invisible shadow called "death" instantly descended over everyone's hearts!
Yet just as everyone felt their limbs turn cold and their scalps go numb, Lin Xiao, their pillar of support, showed not the slightest fear or panic after hearing Monkey's report. Instead, the corner of his mouth slowly curved into a grim smile filled with coldness and cruelty!
"Heavenly Martial Society..."
He slowly spoke those three words.
Though there was no evidence, he had nearly instantly guessed the identities of those who had come!
In the entire outer academy, who besides the Heavenly Martial Society—hailed as the "number one force of the outer academy"—possessed such strength, such motive, and such an overbearing style of action?!
"They finally came."
Lin Xiao slowly rose to his feet. His deep gaze looked toward the unknown region beyond the valley, shrouded in mist. There was not the slightest despair of being "prey" in his eyes; instead, blazing battle intent capable of setting even the heavens aflame burned within them!
"Since you want to play a game of 'cat and mouse' so badly..."
"Then I, Lin Xiao, will play with you properly today!"
"Let us see who the true hunter is!"
"And who is the pitiful prey about to be ruthlessly torn apart..."
He suddenly turned around. His eyes, bright as stars in a cold night, slowly swept across the twenty-nine young faces before him, equally filled with determination and battle intent. His voice was icy, yet filled with unquestionable force!
"Pass down my orders!"
"All personnel, discard all unnecessary burdens!"
"Sharp Shield squad, polish your heavy shields until they shine! Build up your strength to its limit!"
"Fangs squad, coat your blades with the fiercest poison! Push your speed to its utmost limit!"
"Ghost Shadow squad, set your traps in every corner of this valley! Hide your figures in a void that not even ghosts or gods can discover!"
"Today, we are not leaving!"
"Right here, we will prepare for this 'number one figure of the outer academy' who has come from afar a gift he will never forget for the rest of his life..."
"A super grand gift!"
At the same time.
In a mountain hollow less than three li away from Lin Xiao's group.
Wu Tianxiong sat comfortably atop a massive rock that his subordinates had temporarily cleared.
At his feet lay a vicious wolf corpse, even larger than any elite demonic wolf Lin Xiao's group had encountered before!
It was none other than the Ironback Wolf King that had ruled the Black Wind Mountain Range for several years, its strength having reached Third-Order Lower Grade!
Yet this terrifying existence, enough to make any B-rank mission team despair, had now become a cold corpse.
Its head had been forcibly blasted apart in an incomparably domineering and brutal manner!
Behind Wu Tianxiong, Zhao Wuji and several dozen equally powerful elite members of the Heavenly Martial Society surrounded him with fanatical expressions, as though worshipping an undefeated god of war!
"President, the flanking teams on the left and right wings are already in position."
Zhao Wuji stepped forward and reported respectfully, his face filled with cruel delight. "In half an hour at most, we will completely seal off every retreat route for those damned Yellow Class trash!"
"Mm."
Wu Tianxiong responded indifferently. He did not even lift an eyelid, merely leisurely wiping his broad palms, stained with a trace of wolf blood, with a pristine white silk handkerchief.
It was as though, in his eyes, Yellow Class Nine—the team that had shaken the entire outer academy—was nothing more than a swarm of ants he could crush at will.
"Pass down the order."
He spoke faintly, his voice filled with an innate arrogance and disdain.
"Tell the left and right wings to slow their advance."
"I want to slowly admire the exquisite expressions of despair and helplessness on these pitiful 'prey' once they discover they have fallen into a hopeless situation."
"Yes!" Zhao Wuji revealed an equally savage smile.
However, at that moment.
A sudden change erupted!
Whoosh—!
A shrill sound of something tearing through the air, sharp enough to pierce eardrums, suddenly rang out from the dense forest above their heads without warning!
Then, beneath everyone's horrified gazes, a massive black crossbow bolt radiating a heart-palpitating aura of death broke through layer after layer of branches!
At a terrifying speed beyond the limits of human vision, it shot viciously toward the head of Wu Tianxiong, who sat upon the boulder as though still completely defenseless!
This arrow came too fast! Too suddenly! And too lethally!
The terrifying force contained within it, enough to pierce gold and stone, even caused the air around it to release a violent wail beneath the strain!
"President! Watch out!"
Zhao Wuji's pupils instantly contracted into the most dangerous needlepoints! Without a second thought, he moved to block this fatal strike for Wu Tianxiong!
But how could his speed possibly compare to that death-dealing crossbow bolt that had been gathering force for so long?!
It was over!
Those two despairing words surfaced in the hearts of every Heavenly Martial Society member present!
Yet at the very instant that terrifying crossbow bolt, capable of instantly killing even a Body Refinement Eighth Level cultivator, was about to strike Wu Tianxiong between the brows, Wu Tianxiong—who had remained calm and composed as though he had long since cast life and death aside—finally moved!
He did not stand, did not dodge, and did not make even the slightest unnecessary motion!
He merely slowly raised his right hand.
Then, with two fingers that appeared entirely ordinary.
He casually pinched at that death lightning bolt rushing toward him!
Clang—!
A crisp, pleasant sound like gold and jade colliding rang out!
Then, a scene that would make everyone present lose their courage and haunt them for the rest of their lives appeared!
That terrifying crossbow bolt, capable of piercing through mountains, stopped abruptly less than half an inch before Wu Tianxiong's brow!
Its arrowhead was firmly caught between Wu Tianxiong's two jade-like fingers, whose skin had not suffered the slightest injury!
It was as though it was not a death-dealing crossbow bolt capable of instantly killing a Body Refinement Eighth Level expert at all, but merely a powerless embroidery needle that could be casually plucked away!
Silence.
The entire mountain hollow fell into deathly stillness once more.
Every Heavenly Martial Society member stood frozen in place as if they had collectively been struck by a petrification spell, staring at the domineering figure still seated calmly upon the boulder with gazes filled with fanatical worship, as though looking upon a god!
Empty hand...
No, Empty Hand Catches White Blade?!
No! This... this had completely surpassed the boundaries of what they understood as "martial arts"!
This was simply a miracle!
Only Wu Tianxiong slowly lowered the specially made crossbow bolt, which he had already crushed completely into a lump of scrap metal, and slowly rose to his feet.
For the first time, his face—always bearing arrogance and disdain—became incomparably grave.
Like the sharpest peerless divine weapon, his gaze slowly shot toward the direction from which the bolt had come, piercing through layer upon layer of dense forest. It was as though it collided fiercely in midair with another pair of deep eyes, equally filled with coldness and battle intent, several li away!
"Heh heh..."
"Heh heh hahahaha!"
After that brief confrontation of gazes, Wu Tianxiong finally could no longer restrain himself and threw back his head in wild laughter, filled with boundless madness and excitement!
"Good! Good! Good!"
"What a bold and reckless Lin Xiao!"
"What an unprecedented 'meeting gift'!"
"It seems I, Wu Tianxiong, have truly found a treasure today!"
He suddenly reined in his laughter, and unprecedentedly terrifying battle intent erupted from his hawk-sharp eyes!
"Pass down my orders!"
"All personnel, abandon the encirclement tactics!"
"Converge upon my central force at the fastest possible speed!"
"Today, I will personally crush this arrogant young wolf that has bared its laughable fangs..."
"Completely!"
Before you continue