Tong Tianxia

Tong Tianxia

Before long, the sound of a broadcast echoed through Pioneer Base in the dead of night.

"...A Level Two Spatial Fluctuation has appeared in Water Continent Demon City..."

"...A medium-scale demon invasion of Demon City is suspected..."

"...All Pioneer teams, please exercise caution when heading out and avoid the affected area..."

One military vehicle after another and several Demonic Helicopters roared as they departed Pioneer Base.

At dawn, Zhou Leng opened his eyes and glanced at the time on his phone.

4:32.

He had stood watch at ten last night and gone to sleep at half past midnight. Now, after only four hours, he had naturally awakened.

He had also slept for four hours the day before.

After breakfast, everyone headed to Wolf Valley again.

As they walked, Xue Chengsong said, "With yesterday's experience, we'll change tactics today and give it our all to kill the Demon Wolves. Killing Demon Wolves will provoke a counterattack, but it's also the minimum objective of Martial Arts Research. I hope everyone is mentally prepared. Feng Wenhao, you'll Participate In The Battle today as well. Remember to dodge more and attack less."

"Got it. My main role is to confuse the Demon Wolves."

The team discussed tactics and various possibilities as they arrived at Wolf Valley.

The team took the initiative to attack the Demon Wolves like a pride of lions hunting, changing from their original half-encirclement into a complete encirclement.

But every Demon Wolf was extremely cunning. The moment it fell into a disadvantageous position, it would break through the encirclement.

Soon, Xue Chengsong decided to use a feigned retreat tactic.

When they encountered the fifth Demon Wolf, the seven pretended to be no match for it and Retreated step by step.

Cui Mingcong and Cao Jiajia even deliberately let the claws slash them, then used healing spray to stop the bleeding and wrapped their wounds in bandages, making themselves look even weaker.

Demon Wolves had always bullied the weak, and this one relentlessly pursued the seven.

After half an hour of fierce fighting, the seven-person team finally revealed its fangs.

"Attack!"

Cui Mingcong charged ahead, launching a frontal assault on the Demon Wolf.

The other six surrounded it All Together.

Fists, palms, and legs imbued with True Qi and strength fell on the Demon Wolf like raindrops.

The Demon Wolf had exhausted a great deal of stamina. Its movements were sluggish, and although it pounced and bit frantically, it could only inflict light injuries on everyone.

Aside from Feng Wenhao, the other six had all reached True Qi Completion, with power extending to their skin.

Every time the six struck the Demon Wolf with their fists and palms, their force pierced through its hide and damaged the flesh beneath.

In only three minutes, the six had seemingly become a pack of wolves, surrounding and tearing into the Demon Wolf.

Ding Yan, Relying On his body's agility, continuously attacked the Demon Wolf's right hind leg and successfully broke it with a Thrusting Kick.

"Its right hind leg is broken!" Ding Yan said, his face filled with delight.

Xue Chengsong, however, said coldly, "Don't let your guard down. A Demon Wolf in this state will certainly counterattack! From now on, reduce your attacks and get ready. Wait until it runs out of stamina, then finish it while it's down!"

"All right!"

Everyone immediately slowed their attacks.

Cao Jiajia had jabbed out the Demon Wolf's left eye with one finger, Cui Mingcong had knocked out three of its teeth, and Zhou Leng and the others had beaten its chest and abdomen until blood seeped through its skin and its internal organs were injured. Blood kept spilling from its mouth.

Its oily green eyes stared fixedly at everyone. It was brimming with savagery and exceptionally ferocious.

Every time Zhou Leng met its gaze, his heart trembled.

But Zhou Leng always sought opportunities to meet its eyes, using them to temper himself.

"Awwooo!" The Demon Wolf suddenly erupted and pounced at Feng Wenhao.

Feng Wenhao cried out in fright and Retreated repeatedly, even forgetting to use his footwork.

Zhou Leng had been prepared for a long time. He sank his qi to his dantian, drew strength from his feet, merged his qi and power, and thrust his right arm forward.

The sixteenth move of the Wave Palm, Heaven Island Falls to Sea, stacked to its utmost limit, made his palm seem like a massive island falling into the sea. It was incomparably fierce as it thunderously struck the Demon Wolf's abdomen in mid-air.

Bang!

The Demon Wolf in mid-air shrieked as it flew sideways and crashed to the ground. Its four limbs struggled, but no matter what it did, it could not stand.

"I estimate its intestines are ruined." Cao Jiajia glanced at the Demon Wolf, then carefully examined Zhou Leng.

"Judging from the trajectory of that Demon Wolf's flight, I probably would've needed to stomp it with all my strength to achieve that. But my True Qi isn't that dense, so I couldn't have injured its internal organs so severely." Cui Mingcong looked at his thick arm and suddenly felt that it was not much use.

Feng Wenhao had narrowly escaped death and was still shaken.

Zhou Leng said, "That Demon Wolf had actually been observing us the entire time, intending to use Feng Wenhao as its breakthrough point. I had been preparing in secret. Without that preparation, this palm strike couldn't have produced this effect."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Feng Wenhao asked, his face aggrieved.

Xue Chengsong said with a laugh, "You couldn't tell yourself?"

Feng Wenhao gave an awkward smile. The fact that he had managed to dodge in advance meant he had sensed something to some extent.

Zhou Leng said, "Captain, go ahead."

Xue Chengsong cupped his fists toward everyone and said, "Thank you, my Teammates, for giving me this opportunity. I will remember this assistance."

After saying that, Xue Chengsong circled around behind the Demon Wolf. While it could not get up, he attacked repeatedly, then aimed at its head and slammed down punch after punch, brutally beating the Demon Wolf until it breathed its last.

Xue Chengsong took out a Battle Merit Token to mark the Demon Wolf's aura and sent its location. He also recorded a video as evidence, keeping it on file to prevent accidents.

When the time came, the nearest military or Pioneer team transport vehicle would come to take it away.

"Let's go. Leave this place."

The team immediately withdrew.

"It went even more smoothly than I imagined. I thought it would take at least five days before we could hunt a Demon Wolf." Xue Chengsong revealed a smile.

"Yeah. I didn't expect this newcomer, Zhou Leng, to be no worse than a veteran—he's even stronger than most veterans." Cui Mingcong sighed.

"It's everyone's effort together. A lone tree can't make a forest." Zhou Leng said.

"Let's find a place to rest and take some supplements."

Feng Wenhao asked, "How much can this Demon Wolf sell for?"

Ding Yan said, "A Qi Nourishing Stage Demon Wolf costs around fifty to sixty thousand. Each of us should get about eight thousand."

The contract stipulated that hunting proceeds were to be distributed normally, so Xue Chengsong could not take more either.

Feng Wenhao said, "That's quite a lot. It's a shame this place is too dangerous. Otherwise, it would practically be a vault."

"A vault? You're thinking too much. Wolf Valley is specially Used For Martial Arts Research. Since no experts come here to snatch the prey, it's easy. In a normal hunt, with only Qi Nourishing Stage cultivators like us, whether we could survive a day would be a problem."

"At the very least, you'd need to advance to the Blood Circulation Stage to hunt normally. Even then, you would have to form a team with several others, and it would still be extremely dangerous. I heard that many Qi and Blood Realm experts spend a year rushing around hunting, only to use more than half the money they earn on treating their injuries."

"Only a small number of top experts can travel alone through Demon City."

The team stopped and took turns recovering their True Qi and standing guard.

Not far away, Guo Xiaohao and Liu Teng watched the seven and chatted in low voices.

Liu Teng said, "I didn't expect the most outstanding one to be an ordinary student. The four of them—Cui Mingcong and the others—are all top students from their respective middle schools. Their grades are all within the top five thousand, so they can all enter Martial University."

Guo Xiaohao said, "You were there during the sparring back then. Didn't you think Zhou Leng was Very Strong?"

"He is strong, but he needs to grow and gain experience. You saw his battles with the Demon Wolves over the past two days. In just these two days, he already looks the part."

"Yeah, this Kid's improvement is really fast. On the first day he fought the Demon Wolves, he was often half a beat slow, his teamwork was inadequate, and his Moves became distorted. Aside from knowing how to dodge, he wasn't outstanding. In today's final battle, though, he grew extremely quickly. In some aspects, he was even stronger than those four top students."

"A future Xiantian Grandmaster."

"Who is a future Xiantian Grandmaster?" a sharp voice rang out behind the two.

The two froze for a moment. Before they could even strike, a hand appeared on each of their shoulders.

Terrifying power erupted and instantly sealed the qi and blood meridians of both men.

A man wearing an iron mask slowly walked up in front of them.

The mask was covered in holes and mottled with rust.

A dark-red "T" was carved into the mask's forehead.

He wore a black priest's robe and spread his arms apart. Like the iron mask, both his hands were mottled with rust on the surface, yet they were made of flesh and blood.

On closer inspection, the rust-covered mask seemed like skin as well. It was not a pure metal mask.

The instant the two saw the iron-masked man, utter despair surged into their eyes.

The Demon Worshipping Cult's Corrosion Priest.

The Demon Worshipping Cult was the collective name for the forces of all races that had submitted to Other Races' demons. It was further divided into many factions.

The Corrosion Sanctuary was one of them.

The Corrosion Priest was a core force of the Corrosion Sanctuary.

Every Corrosion Priest was a top Qi and Blood Realm cultivator, at least equivalent to a martial artist in the Vitality Stage.

Every Corrosion Priest possessed an extraordinary ability and could almost crush martial artists of the same realm.

"From your heartbeats, I can hear the leaping of corrosion. You can become believers of corrosion, or you can die."

Guo Xiaohao smiled and blinked, indicating his acceptance, then moved his lips.

"Agreed." The Corrosion Priest's voice seemed mixed with the scraping of raw iron. He pointed at Guo Xiaohao with one finger and released part of the seal.

"Run..." Guo Xiaohao used what little strength he had and shouted loudly.

"What loathsome courage..." The Corrosion Priest reached toward Guo Xiaohao's heart. His five sharp, rust-covered fingers pierced through his chest and pulled out his throbbing, bloodied heart.

The iron mask suddenly split open vertically. The two sides of the opening were covered with densely packed, serrated fangs.

The Corrosion Priest swallowed the heart in one bite, then turned to look toward the team where Zhou Leng was.

The instant they heard Guo Xiaohao's shout, everyone on the team rose and fled.

Xue Chengsong growled, "Quick, run with all your strength! Abandon your backpacks. Staying alive is what matters!"

"It's a Corrosion Priest." Zhou Leng recognized the enemy at a glance, unconcealed disgust flashing in his eyes.

At the mention of that name, everyone's legs went weak, but they gritted their teeth and fled.

"Oh, it's a group of children. That person said I can't kill children... But he didn't see..." The Corrosion Priest muttered as he dug out Liu Teng's heart.

"It's been so long since I've seen such lively children..." The Corrosion Priest transformed into an afterimage and rapidly chased after them.

Xue Chengsong turned his head and gritted his teeth. "Scatter and leave it to luck! Otherwise, none of us will escape."

The seven immediately ran in different directions.

They had taken only three steps when an ear-piercing sound rang out. Everyone felt as if their hearts had been squeezed. Their qi and blood suddenly stopped, their bodies stiffened, and they fell to the ground.

Zhou Leng turned his head and saw that the Corrosion Priest had already stopped in front of them. The Priest rubbed his fingertips together, producing a teeth-aching scraping sound.

Blood flowed from his fingertips to his wrists and dripped down.

Everyone felt as if they were trapped in a quagmire, unable to move.

"Do you want to... No, no, no. You should all receive the grace of my god, immerse yourselves in rot and deep rust, and chant the name of the god. Who should I start with?"

The vertical opening on the Corrosion Priest's face closed, and he slowly walked around the seven.

He stopped in front of Zhou Leng.

"I sense an extraordinary aura from you. You will receive the god's favor and bathe in divine grace together with us."

The Corrosion Priest extended his left hand, grabbed Zhou Leng by the neck, and gently lifted him up.

Zhou Leng's entire body was powerless, and he struggled to breathe.

Zhou Leng stared straight at the Corrosion Priest. There was no fear in his eyes, only loathing.

"That look—what a good child. I will take you back to the Sanctuary. The Bishop will be very, very pleased. As for you..."

The Corrosion Priest swept his gaze over the other six. The opening in his mask spread wide as he reached toward Feng Wenhao.

"Hm?" A low voice rang out from behind.

The Corrosion Priest's body trembled, and he released Zhou Leng.

"Cough, cough..." Zhou Leng fell to the ground and gulped in air.

"Greetings, respected Lord Tong Tianxia." The Corrosion Priest turned around and saluted the person who had arrived.

Zhou Leng looked over, a trace of astonishment flashing across his face.