Tong Tianxia

Before long, broadcasts echoed through the Pioneer Base in the dead of night.

"...Level-two spatial fluctuations have appeared in Water Continent Demon City..."

"...A medium-scale demon incursion into Demon City is suspected..."

"...All pioneer teams are requested to travel with caution and avoid the affected areas..."

Military vehicles and demonized helicopters roared as they departed the Pioneer Base.

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

4:32.

He had stood watch at ten last night, gone to sleep at half past midnight, and now woke naturally after four hours.

He had slept four hours yesterday as well.

After breakfast, everyone headed for Wolf Valley again.

As they walked, Xue Chengsong said, "With yesterday's experience, we'll change tactics today and focus on killing demon wolves. Killing demon wolves will invite counterattacks, but it's also the minimum objective of the Martial Arts Field Study. I hope everyone is mentally prepared. Feng Wenhao, you'll be joining the fight today too. Remember to evade more and attack less."

"Got it. I'll mainly distract the demon wolves."

The team discussed tactics and every possible contingency as they made their way to Wolf Valley.

Like a pride of lions hunting, the squad took the initiative and attacked the demon wolves, shifting from a half-encirclement to a full encirclement.

But every demon wolf was exceptionally cunning. The moment one fell into a disadvantage, it would break through the encirclement.

Very quickly, Xue Chengsong decided to use a feigned-defeat tactic.

When they encountered the fifth demon wolf, the seven of them pretended to be outmatched and retreated step by step.

Cui Mingcong and Cao Jiajia even deliberately let themselves be scratched by its claws. They then used healing spray to stop the bleeding and wrapped themselves in bandages, making themselves look even weaker.

Demon wolves had always preyed on the weak, and this one pursued the seven relentlessly.

After half an hour of bitter fighting, the seven-person squad finally bared its fangs.

"Go!"

Cui Mingcong took the lead, charging the demon wolf head-on.

The other six closed in from all sides.

Fists, palms, and legs carrying true qi and force rained down upon the demon wolf.

The demon wolf had exhausted tremendous stamina. Its movements had slowed, and though it pounced and bit madly, it could at most inflict light injuries on them.

Other than Feng Wenhao, the remaining six had all reached the peak of true qi, their force reaching their skin.

Every time the six struck the demon wolf with a fist or palm, their force penetrated its hide and damaged the flesh and blood beneath.

In just three minutes, the six seemed to become a wolf pack themselves, surrounding and tearing into the demon wolf.

Relying on his nimble body, Ding Yan repeatedly attacked the demon wolf's right hind leg, successfully breaking it with a Poking Kick.

"His right hind leg is broken!" Ding Yan's face was full of delight.

But Xue Chengsong said coldly, "Don't let your guard down. At a time like this, the demon wolf will definitely counterattack! From now on, reduce your attacks and prepare yourselves. Once its strength fails, strike while it's sick and take its life!"

"Alright!"

Everyone immediately slowed their attacks.

Cao Jiajia had blinded the demon wolf's left eye with a finger strike, 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. It kept vomiting blood.

Its green eyes fixed viciously on everyone, brimming with wildness and ferocity.

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

Yet Zhou Leng kept looking for chances to meet its eyes, using it to temper himself.

"Awooo!" The demon wolf suddenly sprang up and lunged at Feng Wenhao.

Feng Wenhao cried out in fright and retreated again and again, even forgetting to use his footwork.

Zhou Leng had prepared for this long ago. His qi sank into his dantian, force rose from his feet, and qi and force converged as his right arm thrust forward.

The sixteenth move of the Wave-Stacking Palm, "Island Descends into the Sea," stacked to the utmost limit, made his palm seem like a great island crashing into the sea. It was incomparably fierce as it struck the airborne demon wolf squarely in the abdomen.

Bang!

The demon wolf screamed as it flew sideways through the air. It fell to the ground, its limbs twitching, yet it could not rise no matter what.

"Its intestines are probably ruined." Cao Jiajia looked at the demon wolf, then carefully examined Zhou Leng.

"Judging from the path it flew, I'd probably have to put everything into a single kick to send it flying like that. But my true qi isn't dense enough—I couldn't damage that many of its internal organs." Cui Mingcong looked at his thick arms and suddenly felt they were not much use.

Feng Wenhao had survived a calamity, but his soul had yet to return to his body.

Zhou Leng said, "That demon wolf had actually been watching us all along. It wanted to use Feng Wenhao as a breakthrough point. I'd been preparing in secret. Without that preparation, this palm strike wouldn't have had that effect."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Feng Wenhao looked deeply aggrieved.

Xue Chengsong smiled. "You couldn't see it yourself?"

Feng Wenhao gave an awkward smile. Since he had managed to dodge in advance, he had sensed something, more or less.

Zhou Leng said, "Captain, go ahead."

Xue Chengsong clasped his fists toward everyone. "Thank you, teammates, for making this possible. I will remember this help in my heart."

With that, Xue Chengsong circled behind the demon wolf. While it could not rise, he attacked it continuously, then aimed at its head and smashed down with punch after punch, beating it to death alive.

Xue Chengsong took out his Merit Badge to mark the demon wolf's aura, sent its location, and recorded a video as evidence in case of any mishap.

When the time came, the nearest military or pioneer-team transport vehicle would come collect it.

"Go. Leave this place."

The team immediately withdrew.

"It went even more smoothly than I imagined. I thought we'd need at least five days before we could hunt a demon wolf." Xue Chengsong smiled.

"Yeah. I never expected Zhou Leng, a rookie, to be no worse than a veteran—he's even stronger than most veterans." Cui Mingcong sighed.

"It was everyone's joint effort. A single tree does not 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 can get roughly eight thousand."

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

Feng Wenhao said, "That's quite a lot. Too bad this place is so dangerous. Otherwise, it would practically be a vault of gold."

"A vault of gold? You're dreaming. Wolf Valley is specifically for Martial Arts Field Study. No experts come here to compete for prey, so it seems easy. If this were normal hunting, with people at our Qi-Nourishing Stage, whether we could survive even one day would be a question."

"You need to at least advance to the Blood-Circulating Stage before you can hunt normally, and even then, you have to form a team. Even so, it's extremely dangerous. I heard that many Blood Qi Realm experts spend a year hunting tirelessly, only to use more than half their earnings on healing injuries."

"Only a few top experts can travel through Demon City alone."

The team stopped, taking turns recovering true qi and standing guard.

Not far away, Guo Xiaohao and Liu Teng watched the seven and spoke quietly.

Liu Teng said, "Who would've thought that the most outstanding one would actually be an ordinary student? Cui Mingcong and those four are all top students from their respective high schools. Their rankings are all within the top five thousand, and they can all enter Martial University."

Guo Xiaohao said, "You were there when they sparred. Didn't you think Zhou Leng was very strong?"

"He is strong, but he needs to grow and gain experience. You saw his fights with the demon wolves these past two days too. In only two days, he's already looking the part."

"Yeah, that kid is improving unbelievably fast. On the first day he fought demon wolves, he was often half a beat too slow, his coordination was off, and his moves became distorted. Other than knowing how to dodge, he wasn't impressive. But in today's final battle, he grew tremendously. In some areas, he was even stronger than those four top students."

"A future Innate grandmaster."

"Who is the future Innate grandmaster?" A sharp voice sounded behind them.

The two froze. Before they could act, a hand appeared on each of their shoulders.

Terrifying force burst forth, instantly sealing their qi, blood, and meridians.

A man wearing an iron mask slowly walked before them.

The mask was riddled with holes and covered in mottled rust.

A dark-red letter "T" was carved into its forehead.

He wore a black priest's robe, his arms spread apart. Like his iron mask, both hands were covered in mottled rust, yet they were flesh and blood.

On closer inspection, even the rusty mask seemed like skin rather than a mere metal mask.

The instant they saw the iron-masked man, absolute despair surged into their eyes.

The Demon-Worshiping Cult. A Rust Priest.

The Demon-Worshiping Cult was the collective name for forces from all races that had defected to the alien demons. It was further divided into many factions.

The Rust Sanctuary was one of them.

Rust Priests were the backbone of the Rust Sanctuary.

Every Rust Priest was a top Blood Qi Realm cultivator, at least equivalent to a Force-Generating Stage martial artist.

Every Rust Priest possessed strange abilities and could nearly crush martial artists of the same realm.

"From your heartbeats, I hear the pulse of rust. You may become believers of rust, or you may die."

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

"You may." The Rust Priest's voice seemed mixed with the grating of raw iron. He pointed at Guo Xiaohao, lifting part of the seal.

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

"Disgusting courage..." The Rust Priest grabbed at Guo Xiaohao's heart. His sharp, rusted five fingers pierced through Guo Xiaohao's chest and pulled out his pulsing, bleeding heart.

The iron mask suddenly split open vertically, the two sides of the slit lined with dense, sawlike fangs.

The Rust Priest swallowed the heart in one bite, then turned to look toward Zhou Leng's squad.

The instant they heard Guo Xiaohao shout, everyone in the team rose and fled.

Xue Chengsong roared, "Quick! Run with everything you have! Throw away your packs—staying alive comes first!"

"It's a Rust Priest." Zhou Leng recognized the enemy at a glance, undisguised disgust flashing through his eyes.

At the mention of that name, everyone's legs went weak. Gritting their teeth, they fled in all directions.

"Oh, a group of children. That person said children cannot be killed... But he didn't see..." The Rust Priest muttered as he dug out Liu Teng's heart.

"I haven't seen children this lively in a long time..." The Rust Priest turned into an afterimage and shot after them.

Xue Chengsong turned to look and gritted his teeth. "Split up! Trust your luck! Otherwise, none of us will escape!"

The seven immediately ran in different directions.

They had only taken three steps when a piercing sound rang out. Everyone felt as if their hearts had been gripped, their qi and blood abruptly stagnating. Their bodies stiffened, and they fell to the ground.

Zhou Leng turned his head and saw that the Rust Priest had already stopped before them. His fingertips rubbed together, producing a grating sound that made their teeth ache.

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

Everyone seemed trapped in a swamp, unable to move.

"Would you... No, no, no. You should all receive the grace of my god, dwell amid rot and deep rust, and chant the god's name. Who should begin?"

The vertical slit on the Rust Priest's face closed as he slowly walked around the seven.

He stopped before Zhou Leng.

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

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

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

Zhou Leng stared straight at the Rust Priest, without fear—only hatred.

"That look. What a good child. I'll take you back to the sanctuary. The bishop will be very, very pleased. As for the rest of you..."

The Rust Priest swept his gaze over the other six. The slit in his mask opened, and he reached for Feng Wenhao.

"Hmm?" A deep voice sounded from behind.

The Rust Priest's body shuddered, and he released Zhou Leng.

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

"Greetings, respected Lord Tong Tianxia." The Rust Priest turned around and bowed to the newcomer.

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