You Really Have Dual Mastery of Blade and Sword?!

On the chest of the Goblin Lord's corpse were two charred palm prints, the lines of the palms exceptionally clear.

Those were marks seared by the high temperature of Ji Ruo's Iron Sand Palm at the Mastery level.

Strictly speaking, Iron Sand Palm wasn't a set of palm techniques with specific forms.

It was essentially a buff-type state martial skill.

Possessing traits like high temperature, hardness, and strength amplification, once the state was applied, one could strike however they pleased.

It could even be used to slap faces.

"What a shame."

Liang Shixian sighed as he recorded the 'Wild Martial Exam Score': "If we could sell the materials from these Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts, it'd be a considerable sum. Too bad we don't have the time or energy to collect them."

After a night of chaos, the place was littered with corpses, their appearance exceptionally gruesome, the stench of blood extremely thick.

Picking up points was fine, but collecting materials would inevitably take a lot of time. During that time, no one could be sure whether more Monster Beasts or Demonic Beasts would be attracted by the thick blood scent, so they couldn't stay here too long.

"It's fine, we still have six days to stay in the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm. There'll be plenty of chances."

Ji Ruo said cheerfully. There were over two hundred various Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts here, some not yet completely dead. Ji Ruo patiently went to each one, delivering Iron Sand Palms.

He also made sure to greet them first before killing them, which increased the amplification effect of the [Diplomatic Spokesperson] title by five percent.

Liu Neng and Zhang Quan had also mostly gotten used to the blood everywhere. While recording scores, they chatted and laughed with Ji Ruo and Liang Shixian.

Zhang Quan said, "I never dreamed the martial exam could be this easy."

Liu Neng: "Yeah, we get to eat Blood Rice and pick up wild points too. Haha! Wild points, what a fun way to put it! Ji Ruo, we really owe it all to you guys this time!"

Ji Ruo smiled and was about to reply—

The five percent 'safe direction' correction from [Absolute Sense of Direction] suddenly became abnormally blurry.

Ji Ruo froze. A five percent correction wasn't much, but it still had an effect.

Why did it suddenly become so blurry?

"Buzz~ buzz~ buzz~"

Just then, an exceptionally dense buzzing sound rang out. Ji Ruo's face changed drastically.

He saw hundreds of human-head-sized wasps flying densely from afar at incredible speed!

"Stop picking up points, run!"

Ji Ruo roared, then suddenly spun in place, frantically choosing a direction.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Ruo roughly compared the 'feeling' each direction gave him and selected a relatively safe one.

"This way!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Ji Ruo sprinted at full speed.

The other three weren't as quick to react. By the time they did, the human-head-sized wasps had already closed to within a hundred meters.

"Tail-Stinger Demon Bees?!"

Liang Shixian cried out in shock, turned, and ran.

Tail-Stinger Demon Bees were a low-level Demonic Beast. An adult Tail-Stinger Demon Bee averaged a strength of around second to third grade Martial Apprentice.

Though their defense was weak, their mobility was extremely high!

Moreover, these things were also social.

Not only that, as flying Demonic Beasts, their main attack method was launching tail stingers—they had an 'ammo depot' inside their bodies, storing six to nine stingers.

Those stingers were as thick as an adult's little finger and highly venomous.

Unlike ordinary wasps that fed on pollen and nectar, these were omnivorous Demonic Beasts. Liang Shixian was almost certain that these hundreds of Tail-Stinger Demon Bees were attracted by the thick blood scent here!

The four followed behind Ji Ruo, sprinting wildly in a certain direction.

They didn't know what direction it was, but with such a large swarm of Tail-Stinger Demon Bees behind them, turning back was out of the question.

"Don't worry, their target should be the corpses there. They probably won't attack us for now. We just need to run far enough."

Ji Ruo said as he ran, wind howling past his ears. He wasn't sure if the other three could hear him.

And indeed, as Ji Ruo said, those Tail-Stinger Demon Bees were targeting the corpses of Monster Beasts and Demonic Beasts everywhere. Though there were hundreds of them, each the size of a human head, their wings couldn't support too much weight.

So when they passed over the corpses, over ninety percent of the Tail-Stinger Demon Bees landed, dividing the work to transport their blood meal.

But over a dozen didn't stop and continued chasing after Ji Ruo and the others.

"Damn! These bastards want fresh meat!"

Ji Ruo glanced back and cursed outright.

Four teenagers running on the ground, even with sixth-grade Martial Apprentice speed, couldn't outpace things flying in the sky.

And when Tail-Stinger Demon Bees got close enough, they would launch their stingers.

The fate of the four teenagers seemed already sealed.

Suddenly, Liang Shixian gritted his teeth, planted his feet, and growled, "I've learned Iron Cloth Shirt. You two go first—I'll hold them off!"

Ji Ruo roared back, "What the hell are you saying? That Iron Cloth Shirt of yours can take this thing's stinger? Run, now!"

But Liang Shixian steadied himself, turned around, and faced the Tail-Stinger Demon Bees head-on. "They can fly, and we have no ranged attacks. If we just keep running, we'll all die under those venomous stingers. We can't all die here, can we? If even one can escape, that's something. Someone has to hold the line. When the exam's over, tell the Class Teacher for me—I don't think I'll be turning in the final assignment."

Hearing this, Ji Ruo gritted his teeth and stopped in his tracks. "Then it's not your turn to hold them off!"

"Why isn't it my turn?" Liang Shixian took a deep breath, and a faint gray tinge spread across his skin—Iron Cloth Shirt at the First Glimpse of the Path level. His gaze was firm as he faced the dozen or so Tail-Stinger Demon Bees. "I am the class monitor, after all!"

As he spoke, the dozen or so Tail-Stinger Demon Bees flew into stinger range, raised the venomous needles under their bodies, and loosed a volley!

"Run!" Liang Shixian bellowed.

Ji Ruo spun and sprinted back, drawing the Standard Issue Sword strapped to his back for the first time. "There's no girl here—who are you showing off for?"

Ji Ruo growled, recalling the description and demonstration of a certain sword technique he'd seen in novels and on TV in his past life. The TV demonstrations weren't real swordplay, but Ji Ruo still remembered the novel's description. And with his [Sword Dao Favor] buff, his insight into the sword was pushed to the limit. It was only at the First Glimpse of the Path level, but that was enough!

In an instant, Ji Ruo comprehended and mastered that sword technique—First Glimpse of the Path!

When Liang Shixian saw Ji Ruo come to his side, he froze, then snarled, "What are you doing back here! Go! I said I'd hold them off!"

"I told you—it's not your turn to hold them off!" Ji Ruo tracked the incoming stingers by sound, his eyes locked on the dozen or so venomous needles shooting toward them. His long sword traced arcane, mysterious trajectories. "Besides, what kind of martial artist fears death and runs away? Arrow-Breaking Style!"

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

That mysterious sword technique formed a Three-Foot Sword Perimeter around Ji Ruo, intercepting every single stinger. Not one broke through his Three-Foot Sword Perimeter!

Seeing this, Liang Shixian instinctively dismissed his Iron Cloth Shirt effect, his jaw dropping. He looked at the sword in Ji Ruo's hand, then at the blade on his back, recalling what Ji Ruo had said earlier. His mouth hung open. "Ji Ruo, you... you really have Dual Mastery of Blade and Sword?!"

This was no Basic Sword Technique taught at school!

And what kind of sword technique was Arrow-Breaking Style? He'd never even heard of it!

Thanks to reader 'Fairy Tale · Xiaoting' for the 500-point coin reward~

Thanks to reader '丿emmmm' for the 100-point coin reward~

On a side note, today's update will be earlier than usual. Whether we get a recommendation on Friday depends mainly on Tuesday's read-through rate, so tomorrow is crucial. Please, dear readers, don't stockpile chapters~