Jungle Strangulation

When Wu Tianxiong's laughter, filled with boundless madness, and his terrifying command, capable of shattering mountains, echoed through the deathly silent mountain hollow, a lightning-fast assault, initiated by the "hunters" against the "prey," officially began!

"Yes!"

Already stirred and their fighting spirit soaring from the shock of Wu Tianxiong's god-like "Empty Hand Catches White Blade," dozens of elite members of the "Heavenly Martial Society" let out a deafening roar the instant they heard the command!

In the next moment, this "luxurious" team, composed of the absolute top geniuses from the entire outer院, showed no further hesitation or reservation!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Dozens of streams of Spiritual Energy, varying in color but all possessing immense power, shot towards the sky simultaneously!

They were like a pack of primordial beasts breaking free from their chains, carrying an invincible aura capable of crushing any enemy before them. They transformed into an unstoppable iron torrent, surging madly towards the deep, unknown valley where Lin Xiao and the others had last disappeared!

On their faces, the same expression was etched: cruelty, excitement, and an innate arrogance and disdain born from absolute power!

In their eyes, this so-called "battle" held no suspense whatsoever!

They were lions! The undisputed kings of the beasts in this weak-eat-strong outer courtyard of Cloud Creek Academy!

And that group of ignorant fools, who dared to provoke this mighty lion first, the trash from Yellow Class Nine, were merely laughable jackals seeking their own demise!

They could already foresee, in the one-sided slaughter that was about to unfold, how miserably those poor "jackals" would be torn to shreds under the iron hooves of their invincible lion legion!

However, they had no idea what kind of "sumptuous" feast of Taotie awaited them in the seemingly peaceful valley of death ahead!

Inside the valley, it was deathly silent.

Only the mournful, cold wind whistling through the trees silently spoke of the inauspiciousness of this place.

"They're here!"

Hiding in an extremely concealed recess in the mountain wall, Lin Xiao clearly "saw" the iron torrent approaching with an unstoppable momentum through the 360-degree, no-dead-angle real-time battlefield radar provided by the "System." A chilling, bone-piercing killing intent flashed through his deep, ancient-well-like eyes!

He could even clearly "see" those young faces filled with arrogance and disdain!

"They came a little faster than I expected."

"It seems my 'welcome gift' truly enraged him completely."

Lin Xiao's lips slowly curved into a sinister and cold arc.

This was the effect he wanted!

A calm Wu Tianxiong, who knew how to strategize, was terrifying; but a Wu Tianxiong blinded by rage, who only knew how to crush with absolute force, posed a significantly reduced threat!

"Since you all want to die so badly..."

"Then I shall grant your wish!"

Lin Xiao slowly raised his right hand and made a cold gesture representing "slaughter" towards the Yellow Class Nine members who had already lurked in every corner of the valley like the most patient hunters—

"Let the feast begin!"

"Rumble!"

The momentum of a team composed of dozens of Heaven Class geniuses, all at Body Refinement Seventh Level or above, charging at full speed was truly terrifying!

They were like human-shaped armored vehicles running at full throttle. Wherever they passed, whether it was the ancient trees as thick as a man's embrace or the incredibly hard black mountain rocks, they were all smashed into dust by the violent Spiritual Energy emanating from them!

However, the moment they stepped into the seemingly calm entrance of the valley of death, something unexpected happened!

"Buzz—!"

A very faint, almost inaudible energy hum sounded without warning at the very front of the team!

Immediately after, under the slightly stunned gazes of everyone, the thick layer of dead leaves and branches on the ground seemed to come alive, and dozens of blood-red rune arrays filled with the aura of death and destruction instantly lit up!

"Not good! It's a trap! All hands on deck!"

Zhao Wuji, at the forefront of the team, his face suddenly changed. Without thinking, he let out a furious roar filled with shock and anger!

However, his warning was ultimately a step too late!

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Before the "Heavenly Martial Society" members behind him could even react to what was happening, those dozens of blood-red rune arrays detonated simultaneously!

Puffs of dark green smoke, filled with corrosive poison, erupted like the breath of death spewing from the depths of hell, instantly engulfing an area within a hundred zhang!

"Ah—! My eyes! My eyes hurt so much!" "Cough, cough, cough! This... this smoke is poisonous! Everyone quickly... quickly hold your breath!" "Damn it! My Spiritual Energy... my Spiritual Energy is actually... actually being suppressed! What... what the hell is this thing?!"

In an instant, shrill screams and angry roars erupted one after another!

Those dozen or so "Heavenly Martial Society" members at the front, caught off guard, were instantly ensnared!

They felt as if they had instantly fallen into a terrifying quagmire filled with sulfuric acid and aqua regia!

The dark green poisonous mist not only corroded their skin and eyes but also carried an extremely bizarre paralyzing and suppressing effect. It frantically entered their bodies through their mouths and noses, causing their once potent Spiritual Energy to become incredibly sluggish and difficult to circulate in an instant!

This was precisely the high-grade Second-Order Talisman [Miasma Swamp] that Lin Xiao had exchanged from the Talisman Pavilion of the Merit Hall with his "extravagant" crazy purchases, a bottom-of-the-barrel item worth a staggering five hundred Merit Points per piece!

This sudden, "luxurious" saturation bombardment of talismans instantly shattered the "Heavenly Martial Society's" once unstoppable charge, throwing them into disarray and chaos!

However, this was merely the "appetizer" that Lin Xiao had prepared for them!

Just as their formation fell into momentary chaos due to the sudden eruption of the [Miasma Swamp]--

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Dozens more piercing, deadly sounds, sharper and more lethal than the ones used in the sneak attack on Wu Tianxiong, rained down from the depths of the dense forests on both sides of the valley like a storm of pear blossoms!

This time, it wasn't a single giant crossbow bolt, but a full salvo from thirty [Armor-Piercing Heavy Crossbows] that the members of the "Ghost Shadow" squad had already positioned in the best firing spots!

The hundred-plus specially made armor-piercing arrows, each capable of easily piercing three feet of steel plate, streaked across the air in arcs of death. Like the merciless scythes wielded by the Grim Reaper, they brutally harvested the members of the "Heavenly Martial Society" who were writhing in agony from poisoning and had their defenses reduced to their lowest point!

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"...

A series of muffled thuds of blades entering flesh rang out densely!

Blood spurted skyward like a fountain of cheap wine!

"Ah--!" "My leg! My leg is broken!" "Help... Help me! There... there's an ambush!"

Piercing screams filled with endless fear and despair instantly replaced the previous arrogant roars of charge, becoming the sole melody in this valley of death!

In just one exchange!

They hadn't even seen the enemy's shadow!

The "Heavenly Martial Society," this elite force composed of the top geniuses from the outer academy, had already paid the tragic price of three members shot dead on the spot and seven severely wounded, completely losing their combat effectiveness!

This... this was simply a complete nightmare!

"Bastards! Hold the line! These are just some low-class sneak attacks! Use your Spiritual Energy to blast through this poisonous fog!"

Just as everyone was terrified to their core and thrown into disarray by this sudden hellish scene, a thunderous roar filled with boundless rage finally erupted from the rear of the formation!

It was Wu Tianxiong!

A golden Spiritual Energy, as brilliant and scorching as the sun, erupted from his burly, iron-tower-like physique!

"Break!"

He roared and punched through the air!

"Rumble--!"

A colossal fist shadow, condensed from pure golden Spiritual Energy, appeared out of nowhere like a small sun. It smashed into the dark green poisonous fog that covered a hundred-zhang radius with terrifying heat capable of burning mountains and boiling seas!

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

A series of violent evaporation sounds, like boiling oil poured onto ice and snow, rang out!

The highly toxic miasma formed by the Second-Order High Grade Talisman [Miasma Swamp], which was enough to give even a Body Refinement Seventh Level cultivator a headache, couldn't even last for a single breath in front of this domineering golden fist shadow. It was forcefully evaporated into nothingness by the terrifying supreme Yang and supreme rigidity of the heat!

The power of a single punch, to this extent!

However, when the poisonous fog completely dissipated, revealing the bloody scene below like hell on earth, even with Wu Tianxiong's composure, the sharp eyes of a falcon couldn't help but shrink fiercely!

On the previously flat ground in front of them, the area was now a complete mess!

Ten already cold corpses lay scattered in pools of blood, their deaths incredibly tragic!

And around them lay more than twenty companions who, though not dead, were also severely wounded and groaning in pain!

In just one round of traps and ambushes!

Their "Heavenly Martial Society," an elite team of no more than sixty people, had instantly lost half its members!

This... this could no longer be called a "battle"!

This was clearly a premeditated, one-sided bloody massacre!

"Lin! Xiao!"

Looking at the tragic scene before him, which would drive any normal person mad, Wu Tianxiong could no longer maintain his pride and calmness as the "Number One Person in the Outer Academy"!

An unprecedented rage, almost enough to completely consume his sanity, erupted from his chest!

He raised his head fiercely, his eyes, already filled with terrifying bloodshot veins, locked onto the deep and silent jungle directly ahead like two unsheathed peerless ferocious weapons!

He knew that the damned culprit was hiding there!

"Get out here!!!"

His roar, filled with endless killing intent, echoed through the valley of death like rolling thunder!

However, his response was not Lin Xiao's figure, but--

"Swoosh!"

A faint, almost imperceptible sound of air being pierced, more subtle and harder to guard against than any previous one!

And a black lightning bolt so fast that even an afterimage couldn't be seen!

"Pfft!"

An extremely muffled sound of a blade entering flesh rang out without warning from behind a "Heavenly Martial Society" member who was already disoriented by the tragic deaths of his comrades!

The expression on that member's face instantly froze.

He lowered his head with difficulty, looking with a look of disbelief and horror at the half-black dagger, stained with crimson blood, protruding from his chest!

"Uh..."

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but a chillingly destructive force from the dagger instantly shredded all his vitality!

His body crashed to the ground.

In the reflection of his lifeless pupils, the last image was a face like death, wearing a ferocious ghost mask, its eyes as cold and devoid of emotion as ice!

"An… an attack!"

Only then did a companion standing beside him react to the sudden close-quarters assassination, letting out a terrified, distorted roar!

However, his roar had barely begun—

"Pfft!"

The same sound echoed from his throat!

A blade, also pitch black, like the fangs of a poisonous snake, silently severed all his voice and all his life!

The battle entered its second, and most bloody and brutal, stage—a jungle slaughter!

Under Lin Xiao's command, the "Fangs" and "Ghost Shadow" squads, who had been lurking like phantoms in the valley for a long time, finally bared their eager, life-taking fangs!

They were like a pack of vengeful spirits crawled from hell itself. Using the complex terrain of the valley for cover, they launched surprise attacks from the blind spots of the terrified "Heavenly Martial Society" members in unpredictable, bizarre ways. Then, with their blades, already coated with a deadly poison that sealed blood, they mercilessly harvested one life after another!

"Ah—! Help! They're… they're among us!" "Don't panic! Everyone back-to-back! Form a defensive formation!" "Damn it! My leg! There's a trap under my foot!"

For a time, the entire "Heavenly Martial Society" contingent descended into unprecedented chaos!

They were like plump sheep targeted by dozens of bloodthirsty jungle wolves. No matter how they struggled or roared in anger, they couldn't escape the shadows of death constantly attacking from all directions!

This wasn't a battle between equals at all!

This was clearly a symphony of death personally composed for them by Lin Xiao!

And he was the sole conductor of this bloody feast!