He silently sensed his newly acquired spiritual ability, Vortex Guard.
It drew in water energy and condensed it into a spherical vortex wall around him, allowing him to withstand attacks. When the vortex exploded, it transformed into sharp blades that struck back at his opponent.
At the Body Tempering stage, it was only an ability. Judging by his stamina, Luo Zhou could use it three times a day.
If he advanced to the Qi Refining stage, this ability could transform into the Qi Refining characteristic, Water Vortex Energy.
It was one of the nine abilities of the divine art Overturning Rivers and Seas.
Luo Zhou immediately tried it out. As he activated the ability, water energy truly rose around him, swirling into a vortex shield.
It was somewhat like an Qi Refining cultivator condensing energy into a shield, but much weaker and easily shattered.
But when the vortex shield broke, it exploded, turning into sharp blades that struck back at his opponent.
Luo Zhou tested it repeatedly, nodding all the while, quite satisfied. Vortex Guard could be considered his first defensive ability.
During his practice, Luo Zhou felt his soul stir.
The spiritual abilities he had gained from his classmates, Water Avoidance Technique and Water Control Technique, quietly changed.
Water Avoidance Technique transformed into the ability Floating Evasion, while Water Control Technique became Flow Control.
Just like that, he had collected three abilities: Vortex Guard, Floating Evasion, and Flow Control. All were among the nine abilities of Overturning Rivers and Seas.
This filled Luo Zhou with delight!
After sleeping through the night, he got up the next morning with one thought: it felt as if someone had reminded him that he had thirty-one days left!
And four more Woodworm Devils...
After washing up and eating breakfast, he slung two Eyebrow-Level Staffs over his back, hung a short blade at his waist, and carried a long, refined-iron spear in his hand. He arrived at the north gate before the Chen hour.
The official road led straight ahead from the north gate toward Fengtian City, the capital of Ningze Prefecture. But much of the route crossed marshland, making travel difficult.
The academy's Xianya Hall was different from other programs. Aside from the lectures on the first day of each month, students could manage their own schedules.
Cheng Wanli, leader of the Dragon Fang Troop, was already waiting there.
When he saw Luo Zhou arrive, Cheng Wanli gave a slight nod. He no longer had the commanding, overbearing air he'd displayed in front of everyone the night before.
Besides Cheng Wanli, there were two others. One was a slightly plump man with a beaming smile.
His name was Cheng Yubo. At the eighth level of Body Tempering, he was Cheng Wanli's nephew and handled the Dragon Fang Troop's logistics and business dealings.
Beside him stood ten yellow-maned horses, which occasionally whinnied.
"You're here, Xiao Luo!"
"Brother Cheng!"
One of the men was an extremely thin, yellow-faced fellow.
Lu Yue!
Luo Zhou barely registered him and quickly overlooked his presence.
He was a scout responsible for reconnaissance and exploration for the Dragon Fang Troop, and had reached the great completion of Body Tempering.
When he saw Luo Zhou, he gave a slight nod. Luo Zhou smiled back.
After a short while, a burly man arrived, carrying an iron hammer, a saber, a spear, a huge shield, a strongbow, and several other weapons.
Zhang Chuan!
The Dragon Fang Troop's foremost warrior, he had reached the great completion of Body Tempering and was the strongest Body Tempering cultivator around. His strength was extraordinary.
That made five of them.
Cheng Wanli spoke slowly. "Lu Yue spotted a Crocodile Dragon in Baiyang Marsh, about eighty li from here.
"It fits all your criteria, Xiao Zhou.
"Can you do it?"
In public, Luo Zhou was just a reserve member of the troop, ordered around at everyone's whim.
But with only five of them present, everyone treated him with the utmost respect. He was the undisputed heart of the group.
Luo Zhou nodded. "My spiritual sense is full. No problem—I can curse the Crocodile Dragon to death."
They all nodded in turn. "Eighty li. Let's go. It'll take an hour or two!"
Everyone mounted up. Cheng Yubo had prepared ten horses, two for each person, and they set out at once.
Thanks to the horsemanship he had gained from Qiu Jun, Luo Zhou rode with ease, far better than the others.
After they had gone ten li, Lu Yue quietly disappeared. Cheng Yubo took charge of the horses.
Another ten li later, Lu Yue returned.
"Captain, no one's following us!"
He could actually keep up with the galloping yellow-maned horses on foot. His speed was astonishing.
They nodded and continued on.
They passed groups of travelers along the way, each party silently going on its way.
After following the official road for seventy li, they left it.
There were small paths beyond the road, but they had become so muddy and treacherous that they were difficult to travel. They relied entirely on Lu Yue to lead the way.
Before long, a vast marsh stretched ahead, thick with reeds in every direction.
This was Baiyang Marsh, a great wetland spanning a full hundred li.
They stopped, and Cheng Wanli took out five pills, one for each of them.
They were Spirit Yang Pills. Each one was equivalent to ten bowls of Spirit Grain Porridge and was an excellent aid for Body Tempering.
They swallowed the pills and silently refined them, replenishing the vital energy and stamina they had spent on the journey.
Lu Yue said, "We're here. The beast's hunting ground is only another three to five li ahead."
Luo Zhou nodded. "Lead the way, Brother Lu. Captain, the rest of you wait for our signal."
Cheng Wanli nodded and stopped there. He and Cheng Yubo and Zhang Chuan began chopping down trees to make a simple handcart.
Bringing a cart along would have made them slow, so they couldn't have arrived this quickly. It might also have attracted the attention of anyone tracking or watching them.
Cheng Wanli was skilled at making things. He carried wheels, cart shafts, and nails with him, so putting together a cart was as easy as child's play.
Luo Zhou followed Lu Yue into the marsh.
There were no paths left to follow. The ground was a quagmire, riddled with mud pits and traps.
As a former scout, Lu Yue moved with ease.
Luo Zhou kept pace behind him without falling behind at all.
He used the Water Avoidance Technique and Consecutive Swift Steps he had gained from his classmates to keep up.
After another five li, they reached a stretch of densely packed reeds.
"This is the place. That beast hunts within a ten-li radius of here. It's killed a lot of poor treasure seekers.
"Xiao Zhou, it's up to you!"
"Don't worry, Brother Lu! I'll curse it to death!"
"Good. I'm heading back. Once you've finished cursing it, blow the whistle to summon us."
With that, Lu Yue returned.
Luo Zhou smiled and activated Rapid Recovery, restoring the strength he had spent on the journey.
Then he used his Listening ability to listen in every direction.
Lu Yue had already returned and was no longer within sensing range.
Curse Masters were mysterious and unfathomable. Luo Zhou didn't dare spy on them.
The Crocodile Dragon was in a pool three li away. It had already sensed him and was silently, stealthily approaching.
The Crocodile Dragon had eaten at least eleven people here. They had all become Dead Spirits, telling Luo Zhou of their misfortunes.
All eleven had been poor treasure seekers, searching Baiyang Marsh for lotus roots, bird eggs, and anything else they could sell, to earn a living and support their families.
If they found a spiritual material, even an inferior one, it would be enough to support a family for three to five years.
So they came in an endless stream, fully aware of the danger but still venturing into Baiyang Marsh in search of treasure.
In the end, the Crocodile Dragon attacked and killed them all.
The Crocodile Dragon was one of the three dragons around Green Ridge City, a terrifying draconic creature resembling a crocodile.
They lived in the great marshes on land, each establishing its own hunting ground and lying in wait in the swamps, appearing and vanishing without a trace.
Once a Crocodile Dragon reached adulthood, it was the equivalent of a Qi Refining cultivator and naturally generated Water Tide Energy.
Unless a Qi Refining cultivator could shatter its water-energy shield, weapons containing no True Essence were completely useless against it.
The Rainy Night Devil was a Crocodile Dragon that had become a spirit. It had already left the marsh and gone to live in the sea.
Crocodile Dragons were vicious, but every part of them was a treasure!
Their scales could be used to refine weapons, their hides made into clothes, their meat was delicious, their blood a powerful tonic, and their bones could be soaked in wine...
A single Crocodile Dragon was practically a walking vault!
Luo Zhou smiled. What inheritance from his parents? He didn't have a damn thing.
That so-called inheritance was the Broken Spirit he'd earned from hunting dragons after joining the Dragon Fang Troop, once he had mastered the Dragon-Slaying Thrust.
It was all thanks to the physiognomy and people-reading skills he had gained from Qiu Jun, along with the Woodworm Devils' memories and experience.
He had found the Dragon Fang Troop after its Qi Refining cultivators left and Cheng Wanli had given up hope, then helped rebuild it.
The reason he had established the Dragon Fang Troop was simple: Luo Zhou was still young.
How to find Crocodile Dragons, how to transport them after killing them, how to sell them, how to protect the wealth from those sales, how to keep the secret of killing them...
There were too many things he couldn't handle by himself. He had to rely on others!
The other four weren't at the Qi Refining stage. They couldn't kill a Crocodile Dragon at all, so they had to depend on Luo Zhou and his Dragon-Slaying Thrust.
The Crocodile Dragon had already crept within a one-li radius.
During that time, Luo Zhou had finished communicating with the eleven Dead Spirits.
He now knew everything about the man-eating Crocodile Dragon: its size, how much energy it could control, how many teeth it had, and all its habits and quirks.
He smiled, took out an Eyebrow-Level Staff, removed its disguise, and brought out the Dragon-Slaying Thrust. Then he stood there, waiting in silence.
A moment later, the Crocodile Dragon was only ten zhang away, but it didn't move.
A ferocious beast could still be incredibly cunning. It was watching Luo Zhou.
Luo Zhou smiled and waited patiently, pretending to be a treasure seeker searching for spiritual materials.
The Crocodile Dragon watched him for a full quarter of an hour before finally relaxing. This human could be eaten!
It swam over stealthily. Though Luo Zhou was merely a human child, the beast attacked in silence, just as a lion would pounce on a rabbit.
Luo Zhou waited silently. His Dragon-Slaying Thrust couldn't work unless the Crocodile Dragon came within one zhang.
This was, in truth, a game for the brave!
At a distance of ten feet, the Crocodile Dragon would reach him in the blink of an eye!
An enemy closing in. A split-second. A fatal strike. One would die, and one would live!
There would be no second chance, no possibility of escape. He hadn't even activated Vortex Guard; that little bit of defense would be meaningless in a fight to the death.
Suddenly, the boy smiled!
The Crocodile Dragon had entered within one zhang, but it hadn't chosen to lunge and bite at once!
In that instant, the outcome of life and death was decided!
Luo Zhou raised the Dragon-Slaying Thrust and made a throwing motion.
Four Bulls' Strength erupted. He threw, and his Keen Dharma Eye locked onto the Crocodile Dragon's right eye!
The Dragon-Slaying Thrust flew. The one-zhang distance seemed not to exist at all; the attack could neither be dodged nor blocked.
In a flash, the Dragon-Slaying Thrust struck the Crocodile Dragon's right eye.
Its Water Tide shield appeared, shattered, and the thrust pierced its eye and entered its brain, shattering it...
Luo Zhou spun around and used Flying Pounce to leap three zhang away, dodging the Crocodile Dragon's final convulsive thrash.
He watched the Crocodile Dragon's last writhing rolls. Its brain had been completely shattered, yet unlike a human, its head had not burst apart.
Luo Zhou waited silently. A quarter of an hour later, the Crocodile Dragon stopped moving altogether. It was dead!
But Luo Zhou didn't rush over. He threw his waist saber at it to make sure it was truly dead.
Only then did he approach. He picked up the refined-iron spear and repeatedly stabbed through its eyes, crocodile jaws, nose, and ears...
He covered up the traces left by the Dragon-Slaying Thrust!
With blood flowing from all seven orifices and its brain shattered, it had clearly died from his curse!
When the Dragon Fang Troop had formed, Luo Zhou had claimed to be a Curse Master. Every time, he said he had cursed the Crocodile Dragon to death, leaving it bleeding from all seven orifices.
Curse Masters had existed since ancient times. Everyone accepted them as a matter of course.
Even if someone noticed something amiss, they pretended not to. They couldn't advance to the Qi Refining stage or kill Crocodile Dragons, so they could only rely on Luo Zhou to do it.
Once he had finished, Luo Zhou took out a bone whistle and blew. The sound carried into the distance, and a whistle immediately answered from the other side.
The other four members of the Dragon Fang Troop were overjoyed. They had successfully killed another Crocodile Dragon. They were rich!
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