Returning to the City, Great Ape King

[Killed one enemy, gained 25 years of Cultivatable Lifespan]

[Killed one enemy, gained 21 years of Cultivatable Lifespan]

[Killed one enemy, gained 29 years of Cultivatable Lifespan]

After Jiang Li had cleared out all the members of Wei Yongchang's hunting teams, a series of notifications had appeared in the Yellow Book.

[Cultivatable Lifespan]: 1879

His Cultivatable Lifespan had actually surged straight toward the two-thousand mark.

Jiang Li put away the Yellow Book, a smile appearing on his face. Once he returned to the city, he could raise his Talent Ability to C-Class.

"Um... Jiang Li, everything is here!"

By now, Chu Dongyang's attitude toward Jiang Li could no longer be called mere politeness. It was complete reverence.

After witnessing Jiang Li kill Wei Yongchang with a single slash, as well as his utterly unblinking way of killing, Chu Dongyang had finally understood that this kid he had once looked down upon was actually a terrifying fiend who could take his life with ease.

Hadn't the director said Jiang Li was still a high school senior?

He had never seen such a terrifying student.

"Mm."

Jiang Li nodded. He slung his own belongings over his back as well, and the group headed toward the transport vehicle.

Inside the transport vehicle, the scar-faced woman was too badly injured, so she rested for the time being.

The others carried all the mutant beast corpses and spoils of war onto the transport vehicle.

"Was this trip really that dangerous?" Wang Hai could not help asking.

"It was alright. I thought it was pretty easy," Jiang Li said with a faint smile.

Wang Hai clicked his tongue. Hunting mutant beasts—when had that ever been easy?

Yet he noticed that Chu Dongyang and the others, who had not taken Jiang Li seriously before, were now constantly watching Jiang Li's expression.

It could even be said that whatever Jiang Li told them to do, Chu Dongyang and the others did.

This left Wang Hai rather puzzled. He could only guess that something must have happened during this hunt.

Once they were back in the transport vehicle, the group began their return journey.

But just then, a tremendous bang suddenly erupted from Nanyang Town behind them.

Then, even the ground began to tremble faintly.

"What happened? Was that an earthquake?"

Wang Hai could not help glancing into the rearview mirror, but that single glance nearly scared the soul out of him.

He slammed the accelerator to the floor, and the transport vehicle's speed shot up.

It was not just Wang Hai. Chu Dongyang and the others were the same.

Jiang Li was the last to look into the rearview mirror. What he saw was dust and smoke billowing through Nanyang Town. Then, a colossal creature leaped up at incredible speed, landed, and began charging wildly across the ground.

Dust and smoke billowed in the wake of that enormous creature.

"What is that?" Jiang Li's pupils contracted. From this distance, it looked like a giant ape with black fur, nearly as tall as a small Western-style building.

"Fifth-grade... a Fifth-grade Beast King!"

"Langjun Mountain's Fifth-grade Beast King—the Great Ape King!"

All Jiang Li could hear in Wang Hai's voice was despair.

Jiang Li's expression changed as well. A Fifth-grade Beast King? That was a terrifying existence even a Fifth-grade Grandmaster could not defeat.

Damn it!

My first time going out to hunt, and I hit the jackpot?

Langjun Mountain lay south of Tianhe Town, right in the heart of a genuinely dangerous zone—a place even the military could do nothing about.

Why had this Beast King, perfectly fine and well, suddenly appeared outside Beihe City?

"No, the Beast King isn't targeting us. It's targeting Beihe City!"

Jiang Li suddenly spoke. "Drive to the side. Make way for it!"

Wang Hai gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands. Hearing Jiang Li's words, he did not move at once.

Because once they veered aside, they would inevitably draw closer to the Great Ape King.

But after taking one look in the rearview mirror and seeing the Great Ape King rapidly closing in, he immediately turned the wheel.

They left the highway and drove straight into the wasteland. The violent jolting made both Jiang Li and Wang Hai extremely uncomfortable.

Even so, Wang Hai did not ease off the accelerator. He only kept turning the wheel, doing everything he could to push forward.

"Old Wang, what are you doing?"

Following the highway, Chu Dongyang saw Wang Hai drive into the wasteland and fall behind, and immediately called out.

Just then, the Great Ape King sped along the highway, passing Wang Hai and the others.

That massive body, those cold golden eyes—it did not even glance at Wang Hai's transport truck.

"It worked!"

"Quick, clear a path for the Beast King!"

Wang Hai roared as he watched the Great Ape King reach the rear of the second transport truck.

Unfortunately, the Great Ape King was too fast. Facing the medium-sized truck, it merely smashed the vehicle in half with a single punch, then violently sent it flying.

The mutant beasts' blood and organs splattered across the highway, while the cab was crushed into a heap of scrap metal.

Chu Dongyang's Off-road Vehicle was fast enough to escape this calamity. It veered into the wilderness and avoided being flattened into an iron pancake by the Great Ape King.

"Old Jia!"

Old Wang stared at the mangled wreckage behind them, tears welling in the corners of his eyes.

Jiang Li fell silent as well. A fifth-grade Beast King was a true monster, capable of sweeping aside everything in its path.

"The Great Ape King's target is Beihe City. Can we contact Beihe City?" Jiang Li had already found the crux of the problem.

"No. The signal in the wilderness is very weak—it's hard to contact the city." Wang Hai wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and replied.

Jiang Li suddenly thought of something. He took out his phone, opened Divine Martial Connect, and sent Yun Fei the news about the Great Ape King.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He had received Yun Fei's reply.

Sure enough, Divine Martial Connect used specialized military satellite communications, ignoring signal range altogether.

"Just now, a demonic creature attacked Lin Lingfei. It has been severely wounded by Vice Principal Lin and Senior Zhang and has just escaped beyond the city walls."

"The fifth-grade Beast King came to support that demonic creature. You've done very well. I'll report this later and put you down for merit!"

Jiang Li sucked in a cold breath upon receiving the message.

"A demonic creature attacked Lin Lingfei?"

He looked ahead at Beihe City, which was drawing ever closer.

All of a sudden, a piercing eagle cry rang out from afar, followed by the Great Ape King's furious roar.

Before Jiang Li's eyes, a golden divine bird with a wingspan of nearly ten meters soared through the sky. On its back stood a man, his entire body drenched in blood.

"So this is a demon?"

Jiang Li looked at the golden divine eagle, but he quickly realized something was wrong.

Though the divine eagle was imposing and lifelike, it was not a creature of flesh and blood. It resembled his Command Flag more—a manifestation formed from an ability.

So the demon was not the divine eagle, but the man riding atop it.

Just then, a long shout rang out. "Demon, you will not escape!"

As the voice fell, a terrifying blade light descended like a thunderbolt, forcibly cleaving the divine eagle apart. The man atop it spat blood and fell, crashing to the ground.

Behind him, Lin Jinwei held a Guan Dao one-handed with his lone arm. He wore azure armor patterned with lightning, thunderbolts swirling around him, while the phantom of a qilin emerged behind his back.

Peak Fifth-grade Grandmaster!

Seeing the man fall, he became a streak of lightning, his blade seeming to carry the divine thunder of the nine heavens as it struck toward the man.

Just then, a massive figure appeared above the man.

That terrifying body was like a small mountain. With a beastly roar, it used its broad arm to shield the man.

The Guan Dao sank deep into the Great Ape King's arm. Scalding blood gushed forth, and the Great Ape King howled in pain as it violently shook its arm.

Even Lin Jinwei was sent flying over a hundred meters by that terrifying strength before landing.

The Great Ape King licked its wound with its crimson tongue, then abruptly rose to its feet and let out a roar. Its fists hammered against its chest, producing a sound like war drums.

The man also seemed to have been granted a reprieve. Facing Lin Jinwei, icy killing intent shone from his eagle-like pupils.

"Kill him!"

Hearing this, the Great Ape King gave a low roar and leaped up without hesitation, charging at Lin Jinwei.

By then, Wang Hai, Chu Dongyang, and the others had stopped. They lay hidden in the wilderness, watching that inhuman battle from afar.

Jiang Li's attention was focused more on the man called a demon.

After thinking for a moment, he took out his phone and sent Yun Fei a message.

"What grade is that demonic creature?"

Not long after, Yun Fei replied.

"Seems to be sixth-grade. What are you planning?"

"A severely wounded sixth-grade..." Jiang Li pondered, a thought beginning to stir restlessly within him.