Slaying the Withered Leaf Snake

The deeper they went into the forest, the denser the trees became. Branches and leaves interwove like a vast net, slicing the moonlight into scattered silver patches across the ground carpeted with decaying leaves.

The sounds of people gradually thinned out, until only the rustling of wind through the treetops remained, along with the occasional low roar of an unknown Demonic Beast from afar.

Jiang Donghua looked up at the sky and frowned.

"If we go any farther, I'm afraid we won't even be able to see the path."

Liu Yuting tightened her collar, her fingertips absentmindedly brushing the ice crystal pendant at her chest as she said softly,

"There are fewer and fewer people in these woods."

Liu Mingyu looked around and noticed that two or three other groups of students were setting up camp nearby, maintaining a subtle distance from one another.

They were neither close enough to provoke wariness nor far enough to lose the benefit of mutual support.

He nodded toward those groups, and they casually raised their hands in response, tacitly accepting one another as neighbors in this temporary campsite.

"Let's rest here for the night."

Liu Mingyu took a folding tent and thick beast-hide mats from his Storage Ring, setting them up with practiced ease.

"We'll continue exploring after daybreak tomorrow."

Jiang Donghua raised a brow and teased,

"Oh? You came pretty well prepared. You even brought mats?"

Liu Mingyu grinned and lowered his voice.

"People from Black Iron City all have some wilderness survival experience, don't they?"

As Liu Yuting helped secure the tent ropes, she looked up and glared at her brother.

With her brother's half-baked skills and wilderness experience, he really ought to stop bragging.

Before long, a grayish-brown tent had been erected, and the three sat around the campfire.

Jiang Donghua pulled out several pieces of dried rations, broke them into three portions, and handed them to the siblings.

Liu Yuting accepted hers and nibbled at it in small bites, but her gaze kept drifting toward the depths of the forest, as though she were on guard against something.

"What? Afraid a Demonic Beast will sneak up on us?"

Jiang Donghua asked through a mouthful of rations.

Liu Yuting shook her head and said quietly,

"Not a Demonic Beast... I just keep feeling like someone is watching us."

Liu Mingyu's hands paused, and his gaze instantly sharpened.

Without drawing attention to it, he added another log to the fire.

The campfire crackled as Jiang Donghua casually stirred the flames, sending sparks scattering through the night.

He swept his gaze around the campsite and lowered his voice.

"I'll take the first watch tonight. Liu Mingyu, you take the second."

Liu Mingyu nodded, but his eyes could not help drifting toward several students nearby with powerful auras as they organized their gear. Among them was a woman in dark-red leather armor, polishing a pair of blades that gleamed with cold light in the firelight.

"There aren't many people here, but there are quite a few experts."

Jiang Donghua narrowed his eyes.

"Those guys are probably already at the peak of Three-star Dou Master."

Hearing that, Liu Yuting asked softly,

"Then we're safe, right?"

Jiang Donghua grinned and patted the longsword at his waist.

"Don't worry. According to Jia Nan Academy's map, the strongest Demonic Beasts in this area are only around the level of six- or seven-star Dou Zhe. We're still within the red circle. Even if we do run into one, with so many of us here, what's there to fear?"

As the night deepened, the camp fell silent, broken only by the occasional soft crack of the campfire.

Jiang Donghua sat cross-legged beside the fire, Fire-attribute Battle Qi circulating slowly within him as he remained vigilant.

His gaze periodically swept through the surrounding darkness, while his ears caught every sound in the forest.

Unfortunately, neither people nor Demonic Beasts gave Jiang Donghua a chance to show off.

The campfire gradually died down. A few sparks occasionally jumped from the ashes, looking especially lonely in the faint light of dawn.

Jiang Donghua stretched, his bones cracking softly. Though his eyes held a trace of fatigue after keeping watch through the first half of the night, his mind remained alert.

"Looks like I was overthinking it."

He rubbed his temples as Fire-attribute Battle Qi made a full circuit through his body, dispelling the last traces of drowsiness.

Liu Mingyu crawled out of the tent, faint dark circles beneath his eyes. Clearly, he had not relaxed much during the second half of the night either. Looking around, he found that more than half the camp had already emptied, leaving only a few groups of students packing their belongings.

"Those guys couldn't wait to head deeper into the forest the moment it got light."

Liu Mingyu snorted, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.

"Do they really think Demonic Beasts are rabbits waiting around to be caught?"

After packing up the tent, Liu Yuting looked toward the depths of the forest and said softly,

"Brother, shouldn't we get going too?"

Jiang Donghua brushed the dust off his robe and grinned.

"We can't afford to be careless when it comes to making money. Let's go!"

The three cautiously followed a trail left by those who had come before them.

The packed soil and broken grass stems showed that at least three teams had recently passed through this route.

"It's convenient when others have already scouted the way. The footprints are all neat, so there probably wasn't any fighting ahead."

Liu Mingyu used his scabbard to push aside the hanging vines.

Liu Yuting lightly leaped over a section of exposed tree roots, her eyes constantly sweeping both sides.

"We just need to watch for Demonic Beasts lying in ambush in the bushes or tree canopies."

Jiang Donghua suddenly stopped, the tip of his boot touching a pile of yellowed fallen leaves.

The leaves appeared naturally piled up, but the curve along their edges was far too regular. He narrowed his eyes as a passage from the Demonic Beast Compendium flashed through his mind.

"Wait. This looks like a Withered Leaf Snake's camouflage."

Liu Mingyu crouched down and pressed his palm against the ground.

Earth-yellow Battle Qi seeped into the earth through the gaps between his fingers. A moment later, his brow lifted.

"There's a living thing in the pile of dead leaves ahead."

"Can you tell what it is?"

Liu Yuting placed her right hand on her sword hilt, a faint pale-blue glow of Water Attribute Battle Qi spreading around her.

"It's not very big..."

Liu Mingyu closed his eyes, sensing the vibrations coming through the ground.

"It should be a Withered Leaf Snake."

He rose to his feet and brushed the dirt from his hands.

"A little thing at the level of a One-star Dou Zhe. No wonder it didn't dare move when those three teams passed by."

Jiang Donghua grinned at that, crimson Battle Qi flowing across his palm.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

The three drew their swords at once, cold flashes of light crisscrossing through the forest.

The seemingly ordinary pile of dead leaves suddenly trembled violently, and a large earth-yellow snake shot out.

The scales on its triangular head flared in anger, revealing bright orange-red markings beneath. Yet it was clearly backing away, instinctively sensing danger from the Battle Qi wrapped around the three longswords.

"Trying to run?"

Liu Mingyu plunged his sword into the ground, and Earth-yellow Battle Qi instantly raised a half-foot-high earthen wall before them, blocking the Withered Leaf Snake's retreat.

With its escape route cut off, the Withered Leaf Snake suddenly lashed out, its body shooting like an arrow toward Jiang Donghua at the front.

Whoosh!

Three sword lights flashed at once.

Jiang Donghua's Fire-attribute sword qi scorched the snake's head, Liu Yuting's Water-attribute sword qi coiled around its body and slowed it down, while Liu Mingyu's Earth-attribute sword qi precisely struck seven inches below its head.

The Withered Leaf Snake crashed heavily to the ground, twitched twice, and stopped moving.

"Nice teamwork."

Jiang Donghua flicked the blood from his sword and crouched to inspect the snake's corpse.

"The venom sac is intact, and so is the gallbladder. It can fetch twenty gold coins."

Jiang Donghua used his short sword to pry open the Withered Leaf Snake's head. After searching for a moment, he shrugged.

"No magic core."

None of the three were particularly disappointed. Getting one was purely a matter of luck.