Slaughterhouse

"Damn, why are students from four fields all calling for help? They're all being chased by mid-tier beasts?"

"It's only the second day, yet it's turning into a Minor Beast Tide. I thought our area would have the most beasts, that we'd have to search for them ourselves. Who knew they wouldn't even need to look to run into so many?"

"Too bad they don't have a lead student like Brother Jiang. They either run and call for help, waiting for other fields to assist them, or voluntarily withdraw and let the teachers intervene. Now... uh, another field has sent out a distress signal. They can barely save themselves."

The noise around him was deafening, but Jiang Qiu quietly stared at the map projection on his Recording Ring. A vast, jagged gray region was crisscrossed by white lines marking buildings and streets. Four or five green dots were racing from the edges toward the center, each representing a different field.

Those green dots seemed to be moving signal sources, humming as they sent out faint ripples that resonated with their wristbands.

Their paths all converged toward the center, as though they were being hunted by a large ring of powerful beasts from the outskirts.

"Let's go." Jiang Qiu turned and left, like a Wolf King leading the pack. "Don't leave any alive for me. However many you kill are yours. After the Practical Training Hunt, the school will collect the Beast Meat, and we'll split the money."

Everyone froze for a moment before grinning broadly, rolling up their sleeves and quickly following after him.

Judging by the simple map displayed on the Recording Ring, many fields would converge at the Central Plaza indicated by the central streets. There would be many people there—and many beasts as well.

They were going to rescue others, but they were also competing for a performance.

The more beasts one killed, the more one stood out.

Originally, as long as Jiang Qiu could claim "Best Performance," Field No. 8 would receive Martial Spirit Incense quotas equal to their number of students. It had always been divided evenly by default in previous years. They had all pinned their hopes on Jiang Qiu; even if they earned nothing from the beasts, it would still be worth it.

But they were teenagers, after all. Competitiveness was in their nature.

Their blood surged, and all their thoughts condensed into Zhang Shan's spear-shaking roar. "Follow Brother Jiang! Take the highest field kill count and sell for the school's highest buyback price!"

"Yeah—"

Their cries rang through nine streets as sixteen boys and girls raced down the ruined road as if riding galloping horses. The wind whistled around them as they surged like great rivers toward the end of the central street—Central Plaza.

The plaza's nine pillars lay amid shattered stone bricks. The large central fountain had dried up, leaving only withered algae. Towering trees in the green belts blocked out the sky and moon, while shrubs pried open cracks between the inner bricks and kissed the vines hanging down from the branches.

Kill, kill, kill.

Iron-Armored Lizards converged on the plaza like countless rivers flowing into the sea. They streamed endlessly from the surrounding buildings, and looking around, they could even see multiple Red-Armored Great Lizards.

Jiang Qiu and the others had slaughtered their way here, leaving a trail of scattered corpses behind them.

"Holy crap, did every beast in Qingmu Town come here? There have to be over a thousand!" Zhang Shan casually wiped the blood from his cheek, his eyes gleaming as he exclaimed, "There are dozens of Red-Armored Great Lizards too, and they aren't even eating the Iron-Armored Lizards? They're specifically targeting us No.8 Middle School students!"

"One, two, three... six, seven, damn, even Field No. 4—the one we just rescued—has fought its way here. Did the beast riot really spread this quickly? Could this be near the center of a secret realm?"

"Look, Li Juefeng is here too!"

Following a student's pointing finger, Jiang Qiu turned and saw a silver-armored figure weaving through the densest part of the beast tide. He wielded a single spear in his right hand, cutting down beasts within three feet as though mowing grass. With his left hand, he flung short spears, making great lizards fifty paces away crumple to their knees.

The force erupting from within him carried dust and wind. The sharpened spear blade spun like a silver-white crescent moon. With a twist of his waist, the spear's edge became a blade, sweeping out a half-moon afterimage and severing three Iron-Armored Lizards that had leaped at him!

His legs were planted like stakes, dust flying as he shifted his steps. Another short spear he casually drew exploded from his left hand, and the Red-Armored Great Lizard charging behind him abruptly skidded to a halt, its head drooping.

He had already comprehended his own Transformative Force in the Ancient Martial Arts Spear Technique and had even applied it to short spears. He was like a kingfisher darting into a stream to snatch fry—fast and precise.

For a moment, the students from every field shouted loud enough to break through the din of battle.

"With Li Juefeng holding one street, let's keep killing!"

"The beasts rioted early, but that's also an opportunity to train ourselves! Kill as many Black-Armored Lizards as you can, and kill the Red-Armored Great Lizards if you can!"

"They may have thousands of them, but students from every field are here!"

As the shout fell, dust suddenly exploded. A figure launched into the air from the broad road of the central street and, in an instant, lunged at a Red-Armored Great Lizard standing like a tiger among wolves!

Boom!

The figure crashed into it like a bullet smashing into a steel cannonball. The overwhelming visual impact stunned the surrounding students into staring dumbly.

Holy shit!

That Red-Armored Great Lizard's outer armor had been pierced through?

A genius who had already mastered the use of Subtle Force!

The impact was like an iron needle piercing concrete, shaking everyone once more. They watched as the black-clad youth stepped on the Red-Armored Great Lizard's neck and pulled his spearhead free from its hard black skull.

With a deafening boom as he bent his knees, the black-clad youth crushed the bricks beneath his feet and shot out like a cannonball. The Iron-Armored Lizards he passed were like weeds touching a blade, sliced in two with a crack.

"H-how is he so strong? Who is he? Why have I never seen someone like him before?"

"It's normal that you haven't. He's Jiang Qiu, the top choice who only became an Outstanding Student this month."

"Holy crap, so that top choice really is this fierce? I was wondering how anyone could possibly be qualified to replace Li Juefeng!"

"He's clearly no weaker than Li Juefeng. Maybe... maybe he's even a third stronger!"

As Jiang Qiu began charging and killing, the people from Field No. 8 also joined the battle. Their spear techniques were broad and forceful, like carp swimming upstream, their momentum blowing away the spiders' webs strung across the bushes.

At that moment, Li Juefeng alone guarded a main street leading directly to Central Plaza. Not a single beast crossed his line, and the corpses had piled into a hill.

Jiang Qiu flashed through the battlefield at the plaza's edge, Red-Armored Great Lizards and Iron-Armored Lizards falling one after another. Students from the other fields gradually turned their spearheads toward the various streets and charged out in reverse.

Central Plaza had become a slaughterhouse.

[Field No. 1: Li Juefeng]

[Kill Count: 31]

[]

[Kill Count: 62]

[]

As the kill counts rose, the teachers scattered across the rooftops of nearby high-rises showed looks of amazement. "As expected of Director Li's child. Despite arriving a day late, he's already slain over a hundred beasts in succession, including six mid-tier ones. He's certain to claim the top spot."

"Haha, that full suit of silver armor was crafted from mid-tier beast materials, and those four short spears were made from the tail stingers of high-tier beasts. Naturally, he kills with ease."

"Indeed. Li Juefeng entered the Iron Flesh Realm early and has already integrated the Transformative Force of the Ancient Martial Arts Spear Technique into his spears. If he obtains the Spear Spirit Incense, he'll definitely advance even further in his comprehension of Transformative Force."

More than forty teachers conversed loudly. A moment later, someone spoke up in surprise, "Something's wrong. How is Li Juefeng's kill count growing so fast, yet he's still in second place? Jiang Qiu isn't slow either?!"

"Look, that kid Jiang Qiu has excellent explosive power. He leaps twenty or thirty paces at a time, and with a flick of his spear tip, he kills a beast. He can even break through a great lizard's red armor. The more he kills, the fiercer he gets!"

Everyone turned their gazes toward the lush border of the plaza, where students like black beans were tangled together with the ant-like beast tide.

Yet Jiang Qiu moved like a black dragon lashing its tail. Wherever his spear's shadow swept, beasts were flung away and beheaded. That terrifying impact was like a train hitting watermelons.

More and more teachers noticed the sight and clicked their tongues in amazement. Even Li Ang, standing with his arms crossed atop the tallest building, slowly lowered his gaze. "Jiang Qiu's explosive power is quite good."

But he was not much of a threat.

Did killing many beasts necessarily mean "Best Performance"?

I don't think so.