Hua Tian Martial Arts Hall, Seventh Grade Martial Artist

Nanhe Town lay in ruins, dust and smoke rising everywhere.

Chu Dongyang and the other three were surrounding and hunting an Eighth-grade Scaled Leopard.

The four of them worked together seamlessly. The Eighth-grade Scaled Leopard was just about to be killed.

On top of an abandoned high-rise several hundred meters away, three figures stood proudly.

Two Eighth Grades and one Seventh Grade.

They wore black martial arts robes, with the words "Hua Tian" embroidered on their chests.

Hua Tian Martial Arts Hall!

"Instructor Li, it seems Jiang Li has already separated from the Heavenly River Martial Arts Hall hunting squad."

A twenty-five- or twenty-six-year-old young man with a crew cut spoke with an amused expression. "Perhaps we won't even need to act. That Jiang Li may already be dead at the claws of mutant beasts."

The other woman, cold and striking in appearance, looked toward Instructor Li. "Should we take care of them as well while we're at it?"

Li Meng was just over thirty, tall and straight-backed, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

"There's no need to stir up extra trouble. There are still two Fifth-grade Grandmasters in Beihe City."

With that, he turned and transformed into a swift shadow, vanishing from the building.

The man and woman behind him exchanged glances, then immediately followed.

In the wilderness between the two towns, after being away from Beihe City for a full day and night, he was already steeped in the aura of a hunter.

He gently placed the Command Flag in the wild grass. Ahead of him, an Eighth-grade Armored Boar was sleeping soundly amid the weeds.

The Armored Boar was listed as one of the ten most terrifying Eighth-grade mutant beasts. Its back was covered in countless sharp spines of varying lengths, while its head was wrapped in a single, immensely thick layer of bone armor.

Aside from being clumsy and heavy, this mutant beast could practically be called invincible. Even packs of Blood Claw Cunning Jackals and Silver-Haired Wolves would not choose such an enemy as their prey.

If an Eighth-grade Martial Artist encountered an Armored Boar, even as part of a team, they could only keep their distance.

Yet Jiang Li now gripped the Black Horizontal Saber, holding his breath.

At this moment, he was like a seasoned hunter—or a mutant beast forged by the law of survival in the wilderness.

Suddenly, Jiang Li's skin turned crimson red, and his feet sank into the soil.

Whoosh!

In an instant, he charged before the Armored Boar, the Black Horizontal Saber in his hand stabbing straight at its eye.

Those grape-sized eyes were one of the Armored Boar's few weaknesses.

But exploiting that weakness was exceedingly difficult.

The Armored Boar jolted awake. Its first reaction was to lower its head, attempting to block Jiang Li's strike with its thick bone armor. At the same time, some of the spines on its body abruptly shot out toward Jiang Li.

The strike hit the Armored Boar's skull, sending sparks flying.

Then Jiang Li's figure flashed and vanished from where he stood.

Though the spines missed, they completely enraged the Armored Boar.

Its over-two-meter-tall body rose up, its pair of dark green eyes radiating bloodthirsty light.

Jiang Li appeared some distance away, his brow slightly furrowed. "Looks like I underestimated the reaction speed of mutant beasts."

"Next time, I should use more Blood Qi and be a little faster."

He was reflecting on the battle and drawing from experience.

Hunting mutant beasts was partly to earn Lifespan, but it was also a way to accumulate real combat experience.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Just then, the Armored Boar suddenly lowered its front half, and another barrage of spines exploded toward him.

Jiang Li vanished once more. Though the spines were fast, with the perfected Phantom Shadow Maze Steps, they had not even brushed the corner of his clothing.

After dodging the spines, Jiang Li actually charged directly at the Armored Boar. This time, he no longer concealed his speed, appearing before it in the blink of an eye.

With a beastly roar, the Armored Boar relied on the bone armor atop its head and rammed straight at Jiang Li.

This time, the Black Horizontal Saber in Jiang Li's hand became a streak of lightning as it slashed down onto the Armored Boar's head.

The Black Horizontal Saber sank completely into its skull. More than that, despite the Armored Boar's ferocious charge, Jiang Li did not retreat even a single step.

"Die!"

Inside Jiang Li's body, his heart seemed to burn like blazing fire.

Second level of the Fire Spirit Breathing Technique!

The Black Horizontal Saber came down again, forcibly cleaving apart the Armored Boar's toughest skull.

With a loud crash, the Armored Boar's corpse toppled to the ground, beast blood spreading across the earth.

Jiang Li let out a breath, put away the Black Horizontal Saber, and exerted force with both hands to lift the Armored Boar, which weighed several thousand jin. Then, moving as swiftly as if he had wings, he headed toward a cave.

He had discovered this cave when he killed a Scaled Leopard. It had been the beast's lair.

At this moment, the cave contained quite a few Beast Cores: twenty-nine Ninth Grade ones, thirteen Eighth Grade ones, as well as some valuable, portable materials.

The Cultivatable Lifespan in the Yellow Book had already reached 1,479, an all-time high.

The Lifespan he needed to repay in over two months had also been settled.

He collected the Armored Boar's spines, then conveniently started a fire to roast some meat.

Although he still had some compressed rations on him, they tasted like chewing wax.

Very soon, a roasted pork leg sizzling with oil appeared before Jiang Li.

He feasted heartily, looking less like a cautious hunter and more like someone on a sightseeing holiday.

He had thoroughly cleared out all the mutant beasts in the surrounding area, so Jiang Li was not worried about exposing himself.

The wilderness between the two towns was vast. Moreover, mutant beasts possessed territorial instincts, and few would suddenly intrude upon another beast's territory.

He had killed so many mutant beasts in a single day that he had effectively cleared the nearby area.

Even if there were any, Jiang Li was not concerned. The Command Flag was beside the barbecue rack. As long as he did not use it to boost his Blood Qi Value, it did not consume much of his stamina or mental energy.

Suddenly, Jiang Li's eyes shifted slightly, and the corner of his gaze flicked toward the Black Horizontal Saber at his side.

Within the Command Flag's sensing range, three figures were rushing toward him at tremendous speed.

Moreover, the young man and woman among the three had already drawn their weapons.

Jiang Li also saw the words "Hua Tian" on their bodies. He remembered correctly—before Luo Tianji transferred schools, he had cultivated at Hua Tian Martial Arts Hall.

A distance of eighty meters was nearly the blink of an eye for the three of them.

Yet Jiang Li pretended not to notice. When the two figures had already reached him, the spear-wielding man had unleashed a martial skill.

Wild winds actually swirled around the spear as it viciously stabbed toward Jiang Li.

Boom!

But when the spear struck, it only blasted a small pit into the ground. Jiang Li was nowhere to be seen.

"Liu Yu, be careful!" A startled, furious cry rang out.

At that moment, Jiang Li was already behind Liu Yu, the Black Horizontal Saber in his hand.

One slash sealed his throat!

Jiang Li lightly flicked the Black Horizontal Saber, shaking the blood from its blade.

"Sending an Eighth-grade Martial Artist after me? Luo Wenhao is truly stingy."

As he spoke, the crew-cut young man behind him collapsed, dead.

"You're courting death!"

The woman roared and stepped forward. Firelight flared across the longsword in her hand as she lunged fiercely at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li stared calmly at the woman. Behind her, a figure vanished.

Just as the Black Horizontal Saber was about to slice across the woman's throat, a longsword blocked it.

For a moment, sparks flew everywhere, and only then did the woman react, stumbling backward in panic.

She clutched her neck, a chill running down her spine. If Instructor Li had not acted, she would have died.

Hadn't they said Jiang Li's Blood Qi Value was only 1.09? And that he had no background to speak of.

How could he possibly be this strong!?

Instructor Li was equally surprised. One student had already died, and that gave him quite the headache.

"Eighth Grade Peak?"

Jiang Li suddenly spoke, looking at the man who had blocked his strike one-handed with a sword.

A faint smile appeared on his face, while his skin turned crimson as though it had caught fire.

The Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art?

Instructor Li's gaze was icy. He was not surprised. In an instant, he circulated his cultivation technique, his Blood Qi soaring as a powerful pressure radiated from his body.

"Hua Tian Martial Arts Hall, Seventh Grade, Li Shanjun!"

He had thought that after hearing those nine short words, Jiang Li's face would show terror and shock.

But instead, Jiang Li's smile grew even wider.

"Seventh Grade? Then I can... use my full strength!"

With that, the Heavenly River Crimson Blood Art was fully activated. At the same time, a Great Sun Silhouette emerged behind him, and his Blood Qi surged wildly.

Fourth level of the Fire Spirit Breathing Technique!