This group of E-Class Exotic Beasts is acting strange

Two Martial Artists at the Perfect stage nearly started arguing inside the shelter, but in the end, Han Qingshan backed down.

The groups were adjusted: Old Zhao, a Martial Artist at the Seventh Stage, stayed with Han Qingshan, while Old Ma was reassigned to Shen Yunfei's group.

Lin Feng was assigned to Han Qingshan's group.

"You're coming with me through the main passage." Han Qingshan tossed out the order, his tone flat.

Lin Feng nodded, not asking why.

The main passage had more exotic beasts, which meant more Martial Path Points.

He couldn't ask for more.

That night, the nine of them rested in the shelter.

Before dawn the next day, Han Qingshan roused everyone.

"Move out."

The nine headed north across the wilderness. After nearly three hours of travel, the fissure came into view.

It was more than twice the size of the fissure Lin Feng had visited last time.

The crack spanned nearly fifty meters across the ground, bottomless, with purple light rising from below.

"Two groups, split up." Han Qingshan stood at the fissure's entrance, making a final check of the communication devices.

"If you encounter a Martial Master-level exotic beast, don't linger. Use a signal flare immediately to call for support. The coordinates for the third-layer rendezvous point are already logged in your communicators. Pay attention."

Shen Yunfei led four people, turning left along a side passage.

Han Qingshan led Lin Feng, Old Zhao, and another Martial Artist at the Fifth Stage named Sun Liang, descending through the main passage.

The four entered the fissure.

The light quickly dimmed, and the air turned damp and hot.

Han Qingshan took point, Old Zhao brought up the rear, with Lin Feng and Sun Liang sandwiched in between.

They hadn't gone fifty meters before the first wave of exotic beasts appeared.

Six Shadow Spiders, E-Class, each twice the size of a person, their eight legs covered in barbs, the silk they spat highly corrosive.

Han Qingshan didn't even move.

Old Zhao stepped forward two paces, one blade per spider, finished in six strikes.

Clean and efficient, no wasted motion.

A Martial Artist at the Seventh Stage crushing low-tier E-Class exotic beasts was like slicing vegetables.

[Assisted in killing a teammate's kill, gained Martial Path Points ×60]

"Oh? That works too!"

Lin Feng's eyes lit up. Though the points were fewer than solo kills, getting a free ride without lifting a finger was pure profit.

Lin Feng followed behind, silently noting Old Zhao's blade technique.

This man's style leaned toward brute force—heavy on power, but slow on turning, a broad and sweeping approach.

They pushed deeper.

The further they went, the denser the exotic beasts became.

Cold Crystal Scorpions, Iron-Armored Centipedes, Blood-Claw Giant Lizards... all kinds of E-Class exotic beasts emerged from rock crevices, burrows, and the ceiling, forcing a fight every thirty to fifty meters.

Old Zhao and Sun Liang handled most of the battles.

Han Qingshan never intervened, only observing from the rear.

Lin Feng volunteered, taking on a few waves of stragglers that slipped through.

Once Mountain Splitter was drawn, E-Class exotic beasts couldn't withstand it.

The blade slicing through scales felt so smooth it was addictive. Every swing was enhanced by spirit patterns, maximizing armor penetration.

[Killed E-Class Exotic Beast: Cold Crystal Scorpion ×1, gained Martial Path Points ×50]

[Steel of the Blade: 90/500]

[Killed E-Class Exotic Beast: Iron-Armored Centipede ×1, gained Martial Path Points ×50]

[Steel of the Blade: 91/500]

Sun Liang watched from the side, stunned.

"What's the deal with that blade of yours? You cut through an E-Class beast's armor in one swing?"

"Lucky find."

"Find? The hell kind of luck is that?"

Old Zhao glanced back without a word, but his grip on his blade tightened.

He noticed it—Lin Feng's every strike was deadly precise, almost never needing a second hit.

That precision isn't something a second-stage Martial Artist should have.

By the time the team pushed to the second floor, the Exotic Beasts' strength had clearly jumped a tier.

Three Iron-Spined Black Pythons coiled in the center of the passage, their bodies a full size larger than those in the F-Class Rift.

Old Zhao took two steps forward, about to make his move.

Han Qingshan suddenly patted Lin Feng on the shoulder.

"Your turn."

Lin Feng looked at him.

"All three at once?"

"Yeah."

Old Zhao frowned. "Brother Han, this kid's only a second-stage Martial Artist..."

"Let him go." Han Qingshan cut Old Zhao off, leaning against the rock wall with his arms crossed.

Lin Feng didn't waste words. He drew his blade and walked forward.

The three Iron-Spined Black Pythons rose up simultaneously, hissing and flicking their tongues, their auras locking onto Lin Feng.

The one on the left moved first.

Its tail swept across, carrying a fierce gust of wind.

Lin Feng ducked low. The tail grazed over his head, sending broken stones clattering down.

He stomped hard, launching himself to the python's flank. Mountain Splitter slashed diagonally, cutting into the gap between scales.

Pfft!

A half-foot-deep wound, dark red blood spraying out.

The python, stung by the pain, twisted to coil around him.

Lin Feng didn't get tangled up. He stepped on the python's body to spring away, landing right in front of the second python's head.

The starting stance of Mountain-Breaking Slash unfolded midair.

His blade momentum dropped, his whole body falling with it, all his power concentrated on the tip.

The second python raised its head to spit venom.

Too late.

Mountain Splitter came down from directly above, piercing through the python's brain and nailing into the ground.

The python's body twitched twice, then went limp.

The third python attacked from behind, lunging with its jaws wide open.

Lin Feng gripped the blade handle still embedded in the earth, twisted his body to the side. The python's jaws snapped shut right where he'd been standing, biting a mouthful of gravel.

He seized the moment to pull out his blade and swung it backhand.

The edge cut from the python's lower jaw to its throat, leaving a half-meter-long gash.

The python shrieked and recoiled. Lin Feng chased after it, landing two more strikes.

The first python was still bleeding and struggling. He circled back and drove the blade into its eye.

Less than a minute had passed.

All three Iron-Spined Black Pythons were dead.

[Killed E-Class Exotic Beast: Iron-Spined Black Python ×3, gained Martial Path Points ×150]

[Steel of the Blade: 94/500]

Sun Liang's mouth hung open.

"Sixty seconds? Three E-Class?"

Old Zhao's expression turned complicated.

He was a seventh-stage Martial Artist. Facing three Iron-Spined Black Pythons, he could definitely handle them—but finishing in sixty seconds? No way.

Han Qingshan straightened up from the wall and walked over to Lin Feng.

"Your combat ability far exceeds your realm."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"That wasn't a compliment." Han Qingshan glanced at the python corpses on the ground. "There's a move in your blade technique—when you slash downward, it carries a force that drags toward the earth. What martial skill is that?"

"Something I figured out on my own."

Han Qingshan stared at him for three seconds, then didn't press further.

"Let's go. The third floor is close."

The four of them pushed forward.

When they reached the transition zone between the second and third floors, Lin Feng noticed something off.

The ground beneath their feet began to soften, carrying a faint warmth.

It was almost identical to the situation on the third floor of the F-Class Rift last time.

But this was a D-Class Rift.

"Vice Captain Han." Lin Feng stopped walking.

"What's wrong?"

"The ground temperature is off."

Han Qingshan crouched down, pressed his palm against the ground, and stood up two seconds later.

His expression shifted.

"This isn't normal geothermal activity from an E-Class Exotic Beast."

Old Zhao sensed it too, frowning as he looked around.

"The temperature on the third floor shouldn't be this high. The records say it's a constant eighteen degrees, but now it's at least thirty-five or more."

Sun Liang crouched nearby, poking at the mucus with his dagger. He brought his nose close, sniffed, and immediately recoiled.

"I recognize this smell. It's exactly the same as the nest of those Mutated Rock-Armored Beasts we ran into last time."

Han Qingshan was silent for a few seconds, then picked up his communicator.

"Shen Yunfei, come in."

After a crackle of static, Shen Yunfei's voice came through.

"Copy."

"Is the ground temperature normal on your end?"

Two seconds of silence on the communicator.

"No. The side passage started heating up on the second floor, and the rock walls are seeping fluid."

Han Qingshan and Lin Feng exchanged a glance.

Both passages were heating up at the same time.

"What do you think?" Han Qingshan asked Lin Feng.

Lin Feng crouched down, pinched up a bit of the mucus, and rubbed it between his fingers.

Scalding.

"I encountered a similar situation in an F-Class Rift last time."

"What situation?"

"A nest."

Han Qingshan's hand moved to his blade.

"The reason this Rift mutated might not be natural expansion." Lin Feng stood up and flicked the mucus off.

"Something from inside stretched it open."

Before his words faded, the ground beneath them shook violently.

Everyone drew their blades at once.

The tremors came from deep underground, low in frequency—thump, thump, drawing closer and closer.

It felt like something massive was moving beneath the soil.

Heading their way.

Suddenly, Shen Yunfei's voice exploded from the communicator.

"Han Qingshan! The side passage collapsed! A large exotic beast has burrowed out from underground!"