"Hey, Chen Zhenghe, why don't we head inside and have a look?"
Someone glanced at the vine-covered city hall and suggested it, sounding hesitant.
Jiang Yu also studied the building, which had been abandoned for who knew how long.
Thick plant roots could clearly be seen winding around most of the floors of the dilapidated city hall.
"There aren't any demons inside. What are you afraid of?"
When Chen Zhenghe said that, the others clearly no longer trusted him.
Feeling the skeptical looks all around him, Chen Zhenghe finally snapped.
He immediately took out a blood-red compass and held it carefully in his palm.
"This was a birthday gift from an uncle of mine. It's called a demon-detecting compass!"
"This little beauty can detect demonic auras within a certain range."
As he spoke, Chen Zhenghe poured magic energy into it, and the needle on the blood-red compass began to turn.
But it soon stopped, and the compass's crimson color faded considerably.
"Let's go. There aren't any demons inside."
Chen Zhenghe spoke with a smug expression.
Then he led the way into city hall.
"Brother Jiang, should we follow them this time?"
Mo Fan trusted Jiang Yu more than that compass.
"No rush."
Jiang Yu remained as calm as ever.
The other members of his team did not move either.
Liao Mingxuan and Xu Dalong gave them contemptuous looks.
"Afraid of this, afraid of that. Why even become mages?"
"Exactly. So the Pearl Institute trains nothing but cowards!"
After mocking them, the two followed Song Xia and Jingjing inside.
Before long.
Jiang Yu sat in a chair Zhuo Jian had brought over.
As for what he was listening to...
Naturally, Zhuo Jian wanted advice on how to pick up girls.
"Brother Jiang, you've got to have some secret technique. Otherwise, why would both the campus belle Mu and Mu Nujiao fall for you?"
Zhuo Jian asked in a lowered voice.
Mo Fan also leaned closer, eager to listen.
Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue, Mu Nujiao, and Ai Tutu were playing with Little Black.
In their eyes, this little black dragon did not look remotely like a terrifying commander-level demon. It was simply born adorable!
"Ahem."
Seeing Zhuo Jian's thirsty-for-knowledge expression, Jiang Yu slowly said:
"Don't make the first move, don't turn anyone down. Good girls are afraid of persistent suitors, and bad girls are afraid of relentless attention. That's all I'm saying."
Zhuo Jian listened as though he had received a priceless revelation, then immediately took out a little notebook to write it down.
He was a man determined to win over a hundred girls!
Mo Fan quietly repeated those words to himself as well.
"Aah! Aah! Aah!"
The familiar screams instantly drew the Pearl Institute students' attention back to city hall.
The enormous green vines winding around the entire building had come alive!
Those vines writhed like living snakes, constantly tightening their coils. The sight was horrifying.
"What's that?"
Ai Tutu asked in surprise.
Plants could move? And they looked so frightening!
She had barely finished speaking.
"Flame Dragon of the Burning Heavens!"
Scorching lava surged out of the ground, filling the air with the searing breath of sulfur.
From within the lava, a dragon of crimson molten rock swiftly took shape!
Then it plunged viciously beneath city hall, where the underground parking garage lay.
That was also where the plant demon's true body was hiding!
"Roooar!"
An earth-shaking roar rang out.
The enormous plant roots clinging to city hall instantly withered.
Their green turned a dry, lifeless black.
A dark silhouette fluttered overhead.
Seeing that its food's aura had vanished, the Bonewing Giant Lizard immediately beat its wings and flew toward the next hunting ground.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Institute students rushed out of the building.
Once they saw daylight again, they stood there in a daze.
"Chen Zhenghe, you..."
Liao Mingxuan was already too furious to speak.
They had trusted him twice and been let down twice.
They had nearly died!
With a team leader this useless, he genuinely wanted to strangle him.
Song Xia and Jingjing sat on the ground, questioning their lives.
What had happened to the supposed strength of the Imperial Institute students?
In the end, Jiang Yu had saved them both times.
Chen Zhenghe's expression was grim too. He roared furiously:
"Is this all my fucking fault?"
"My Abyssal Dire Wolf died too! Do you have any idea how hard it is to raise a warrior-level creature?"
"And now you're blaming me? If you're so capable, go challenge Jiang Yu yourselves!"
He shouted until his voice was raw.
Hearing this, the Imperial Institute students immediately frowned.
Every one of them came from a prominent family. Why should they put up with his temper?
"Pah! Someone like you deserves to be team leader? You think I'm afraid of you?"
Xu Dalong spat toward him, then walked over to Jiang Yu.
Most of the others did the same.
Watching this, Chen Zhenghe's eyes reddened. He clenched his fists, digging his nails into his flesh.
But then, suddenly.
He remembered the task his older brother had entrusted to him.
So Chen Zhenghe forcibly suppressed the anger inside him.
"Fine, Jiang Yu. I concede. You can be team leader from now on."
He said it with his head lowered, as though following the crowd.
But Jiang Yu did not even acknowledge Chen Zhenghe.
He was looking at a dark green seed Little Black had just brought back.
Merely approaching it, he could feel a refreshing vitality that soothed both body and soul.
"Mu Nujiao, this soul-grade plant seed is yours."
Jiang Yu handed it to her.
Mu Nujiao accepted it, looked up at Jiang Yu, then lowered her eyes to the immensely valuable seed in her hand.
She had thought Jiang Yu would grow distant from her after getting together with Mu Ningxue.
She had never expected...
In short, Mu Nujiao felt a comforting warmth in her heart.
Zhuo Jian watched thoughtfully. Three women...
Another evening arrived.
With Jiang Yu leading them, the training team quickly cleared the reconnaissance sites in Jinlin City.
They discovered that the number of demons in Jinlin City was simply staggering!
It was nothing like the information supplied by the Hunter Union.
Now, inside an enormous cave, Mo Fan was complaining about precisely that.
"Is it possible that all the hunters who ran into dense concentrations of demons died?"
"Only a few survivors brought information back, so the Hunter Union misjudged things."
"After all, not everyone has Captain Jiang Yu's combat strength."
Peng Liang adjusted his black-framed glasses as he spoke.
After this day, Jiang Yu had thoroughly won them over.
Most of the others nodded too.
In a corner, Liao Mingxuan, Xu Dalong, and Chen Zhenghe sat together.
They listened to everyone praising Jiang Yu.
The more they heard, the more bitter they felt.
Liao Mingxuan, already hot-tempered, finally sneered:
"Hmph. Is Jiang Yu really so strong that you have to lick his boots like this?"
"Oh? I wonder how our great Wind mage ended up with that scar on his wrist."
Hearing someone disparage Jiang Yu, Mo Fan mocked him without hesitation.
The scar on Liao Mingxuan's wrist had been caused by a plant demon.
But under the parasite's influence, Liao Mingxuan's face flushed red, and he snapped in exasperation:
"I said it already! No matter how strong Jiang Yu is, he's still a commoner, a bootlicker! Understand?"
"Jiang Yu's just lucky. But can his luck last forever?"
At this, Liao Mingxuan looked toward Mu Ningxue, whose skin was flawless as jade and whose beauty seemed almost otherworldly, and sneered:
"For example, our great beauty Mu has long been engaged to the Zhou family. That's an established clan!"
"What could Jiang Yu possibly do about it? No matter how strong he is, he's only a little intermediate mage."
"Do you think the Zhou family lacks Super-tier elders?"
The moment those words left his mouth.
Jiang Yu was not the first to react.
Instead, Chen Zhenghe sprang up and seized Liao Mingxuan tightly by the collar.
"What did you say?"
Liao Mingxuan seemed to have lost himself in his agitation and spoke without restraint:
"You useless dog. You only have an older brother to rely on."
"I said the Imperial Capital's Young Master Zhou Youhong is engaged to her."
"Ask her yourself if you don't believe me!"
Chen Zhenghe turned toward Mu Ningxue.
Mu Ningxue sat beside Jiang Yu, her long, fair legs drawn up, her head lowered without a word.
Chen Zhenghe lost his reason too. He raised his fist and swung at Liao Mingxuan.
The two began fighting.
Mu Ningxue did not look at them. Her beautiful ice-blue eyes turned toward Jiang Yu.
She was waiting for his response...
Before you continue