Third Circle Layer

The group moved swiftly while the area was temporarily clear of monsters.

The monster density around here wasn't particularly high.

Although the river drew many monsters to drink water, under Bai Yang's superhuman senses, the entire squad managed to avoid combat as much as possible.

Soon, Emerald Lake Compound came into view.

This was originally a gated community with dozens of mid-rise buildings, lacking a central plaza that would create large open spaces.

So no monsters had made it their lair—perfect for a human squad like theirs.

Bai Yang led the group to a residential building slightly east of center.

This position made it less vulnerable to aerial attacks while still offering a broad view of the city from the windows.

Inside the building lurked some weak low-level monsters.

Bai Yang began scanning the entire structure with his Psychokinesis to root out any hidden threats.

The Blood Brake Squad handled the cleanup themselves, fighting their way floor by floor.

The building had twelve stories, and they cleared it quickly.

The group decided to bunk on the seventh floor, heading to the rooftop only when they needed to scout the surroundings.

Bai Yang gazed at the distant skyline, frowning slightly. The environment here was truly eerie.

In his past life, he had lived in Magic City for a time.

Now, the temperature was at least four or five degrees lower than before.

The thick, impenetrable cloud cover overhead looked unnatural, barely letting any sunlight through.

The entire city was shrouded in gray, as if the fog permeated everything, even limiting ground-level visibility.

Monster roars and bird cries rang out everywhere, and the thunderous stampede of tens of thousands of beasts was countless beyond counting.

This didn't seem like a simple phenomenon caused by monster gatherings—at least not something monsters below Planetary Level could pull off.

Many suspected a King-Level Monster lurked in Magic City, and not without reason.

The Blood Brake Squad had visited Magic City many times, but this was their first attempt to push deep into the urban core.

Bai Yang asked everyone to share their thoughts and experiences.

As expected, An Zhengxin was the strongest and most experienced. He said, "Master, the biggest difference between the city center and the suburbs, besides the possible King-Level Monster, is the scale of the beast hordes."

Bai Yang asked, "How so?"

"The heart of Magic City's downtown is cut through by the Huangpu River, in an area once called Lujiazui. If a King-Level Monster exists, it's likely there.

For sea monsters, that's also the best and most comfortable spot—they don't usually stray far from the shore."

Bai Yang nodded. "That makes sense. That's why only War General Level martial artists dare to adventure in Magic City. Otherwise, with a King-Level Monster's perception range, they'd never leave alive."

An Zhengxin continued, "Around that area, there are at least twenty beast hordes of over ten thousand individuals, nesting nearby.

And within each horde, there are at least two or three High-Level Lord monsters.

I call this zone the 'Second Circle.'"

He drew a large circle on the map with his pen.

Bai Yang glanced at it and found the depiction reasonable.

"For now, our target is the 'Third Circle Layer'—the domain of beast hordes numbering hundreds to thousands.

The leaders of such hordes are mostly Mid-Level Lords. Even if a High-Level Lord appears, it's usually a lone straggler, not too dangerous."

Bai Yang silently praised An Zhengxin's wealth of experience.

This reasoning was solid. In the original story, the Iron Armored Dragon Luo Feng encountered in the suburbs was in a weakened state after laying eggs—a special case.

The area they were in back then was at best the Fourth or even Fifth Circle Layer, with vastly different danger levels.

"Lone monsters wander everywhere, but these large hordes have fixed territories and don't move around.

With Master's perception and detection abilities, if we run into a dangerous group, we just avoid them and move on.

From our compound heading east, following the city roads for about ten kilometers, we'll reach it. At our speed, that's easy."

Bai Yang made the call. "Good, settled then. The Blood Brake Squad truly are elites."

The group decided to rest for the night and set out at dawn the next day.

The other squad members began setting traps and mapping the surrounding terrain at their base.

Bai Yang hadn't planned on returning anytime soon when he came here.

He might even stay until February next year, then head straight to the War God Camp.

His goal was to push the Monster Body into its second stage during this time.

That way, once he transformed, he could go head-to-head with anyone below Planetary Level.

Even though at this point, his cultivation would be forcibly promoted to mid-level War God, going to the "War God Camp" afterward seemed to break the rules.

But Hong probably wouldn't care about something like that.

Hong had seen that movement technique video of his back then, which was why he ordered the recruitment.

Judging from Inspector Liu's subsequent attitude, his name still carried some weight.

This world's number one truly had a broad vision and magnanimity.

He went down the stairs and walked out of the building.

Taking a light breath, he began to exert himself, attempting to trigger the transformation.

His entire body instantly started trembling, muscles swelling a full size, bones lengthening with loud cracks.

But just like before, he felt he had accumulated quite a bit, yet still lacked that final push.

After a few minutes of this struggle, the changes in his body gradually subsided.

Bai Yang calculated carefully—no matter what, after devouring another three to five Lord Level monsters, he would definitely succeed.

By then, his strength would be forcibly pushed into the initial War God realm, allowing him to enter the War God Palace.

His heart raced with excitement, leaving him without any sleep.

He simply drew the Mount Hua Sword and began practicing his swordsmanship on his own.

This precious blade, ever since it came into his hands, had yet to be unsheathed and taste blood.

By now, his swordsmanship had reached a new level, far surpassing the so-called S-Rank Sword Technique.

The silver-white sword in his hand could be controlled freely and effortlessly.

Its inherent light-and-shadow effects could also be turned off at will, so as not to disturb the surroundings.

He continued until dawn the next day before sheathing his sword.

Time to set out!

An Zhengxin and the others, realizing their master hadn't slept all night, dared not delay any further.

After breakfast, they immediately set off, heading toward the city center.

Along the way, Bai Yang focused entirely on searching for target monsters.

All other minor beasts were handled by the squad members.

They were lucky today—they didn't encounter any flying monsters again.

As for the ground-based beasts in the current area, they posed no threat at all.

The group moved at an incredible speed, covering ground in just over an hour before entering the [Third Circle Layer] region.

Bai Yang felt all sorts of astonishing tremors from the distant ground—the sound of countless beast herds trampling back and forth!