Joining Forces

After leaving Ji Yun to rest at the Supply Base, Ji Shan returned to Jiangnan Base City and went straight to the Limit Dojo, where he found the manager in charge of battle record evaluations. Under the supervision of the Jiangnan Base City Supervisor, he passed the strength assessment.

In less than three days, he was back at the Supply Base.

Now Ji Shan was a bona fide War God–ranked powerhouse. Regardless of the specific tier, stepping into this circle meant standing at the pinnacle of humanity.

He had already learned that Ji Yun had entered the Wilderness Zone alone, heading for Vanke Dream City, which they had passed before. Vanke Dream City only had a few Lord-rank monsters and was fairly safe; with Ji Yun's strength, as long as he was careful, there wouldn't be any danger.

Over here.

Ji Yun found a residence in Vanke Dream City, planning to practice against high-rank Beast Generals.

It was winter now, and the weather was cold, reaching minus four or five degrees. But for Ji Yun, who had lived in Kyoto Base City, this was nothing to worry about.

Early in the morning, Ji Yun lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out at the desolate city.

To the southeast, there was the lair of an Iron Armored Dragon.

This was the core area of Vanke Dream City. Originally a Carrefour supermarket, it was now occupied by a high-rank Lord monster. Under this high-rank Lord were two low-rank Lords, a large number of Beast Generals, and countless Beast Soldier-rank monsters. It was the overlord of the surrounding twenty or thirty li.

But the closer to the core area, the more high-rank monsters there were, including plenty of high-rank Beast Generals—enough for Ji Yun to hone his skills.

Ji Yun's training at this stage began.

Five days later.

On the first floor of a large warehouse, several massive pig-type monsters roared as they continuously besieged a young human in the center. The roars echoed endlessly within the warehouse, and shelves had long been smashed to pieces. The monsters were completely frenzied, attacking wildly!

These monsters were at least mid-rank Beast Generals, and two were even Bloodthirsty Tanks, ranked second among their kind!

The young human held only a single spear. As he swung it, the spear stirred up gusts of wind, and the sharp wind blades even cut through the scales of several pig-type monsters. The spear tip flickered as swiftly as a falcon, leaving a few blurred afterimages in its wake.

The spear technique Ji Yun used emphasized lightness and speed in motion, yet the thrusts were heavy and powerful. He had developed it by combining insights from the Fierce Wind spear technique with eighteen years of his own spear experience. Though it still had flaws, only those without martial arts experience would fail to see through it.

Keeping the Wind Motion footwork flowing under his feet, Ji Yun had yet to unleash his full power, merely using his natural physical strength to tangle with the monsters.

These monsters were not unintelligent. They gradually figured out Ji Yun's pattern of movement. With a roar, their formation instantly became orderly, and they charged at him together. The immense force even tore through the air, echoing in the empty warehouse.

Ji Yun's eyes sharpened. The Wind Lifter in his hand moved instantly. At that moment, the howl of the wind mixed with the explosive sound of air bursting. The spearhead spun, carrying a wild dance of wind, and in an instant, it sliced through the necks of several mid-rank Beast Generals. The spear tip, without losing any speed, shot toward the two high-rank Beast General Bloodthirsty Tanks.

"Pfft."

The spearhead plunged into one monster's skull. The other Bloodthirsty Tank panicked. Having just seen its companion killed, it roared and fled toward the core area of Vanke Dream City, where two low-rank Lord Fire-Scaled Three-Trident Pigs lurked.

These monsters had all been lured out by Ji Yun from deeper in the core area, so he naturally knew there were terrifying beings inside.

"This one's no good, just a mid-rank Beast General, not worth much." Among the dead monsters, Ji Yun picked three and carefully cut out their valuable materials, stuffing them into his backpack.

Beast General–rank monsters were naturally massive, and Ji Yun had collected quite thoroughly. Over five days, his backpack was full, and he had even discarded some mid-rank Beast General materials that were relatively less valuable.

"Time to pull out!"

Ji Yun knew that if he delayed any longer, he might face a low-rank Lord at full strength. He couldn't contend with that kind of power yet, especially since this Lord was the top-ranked pig-type monster, the Fire-Scaled Three-Trident Pig.

Quickly harvesting the materials, Ji Yun turned and dashed out, sprinting toward the outer area. In no time, he had vanished without a trace.

"Roar!"

The Bloodthirsty Tank that had fled returned, leading a giant beast. Its terrifying aura silenced all the monsters in the vicinity. This beast, as if wreathed in flames, was a sight to make anyone's heart tremble. Its entire body was covered in fiery red scales, without a single blemish! Most striking of all was its massive head, bearing three tall, curved horns pointing forward!

This was the Fire-Scaled Three-Trident Pig!

The Lord monster circled the area, but finding no trace of Ji Yun, its savage eyes burned with fury. It smashed through several residential buildings in succession until a chilling dragon roar came from deep within the core area, forcing it to retreat.

Ji Yun leaped between buildings, moving swiftly. Many monsters couldn't react in time before losing track of him. Soon, he reached the outer area, planning to return to the Supply Base to sell the materials and then decide his next move.

But trouble came looking for him.

On a distant residential building, the walls were covered in moss and vines. But now, coiled among the moss and vines was a massive python, as thick as a human waist and over twenty meters long. Its body was marked with nearly parallel black stripes, and the closer to the head, the thicker the stripes became!

At the very front of the massive python, the body split into two triangular snake heads. On the foreheads of both heads, there were slight bulges.

The python flicked its forked crimson tongue, its aura faintly locking onto Ji Yun, who was heading in its direction.

Suddenly, it shot out like an arrow from a bow, opening its mouth to swallow Ji Yun whole.

Ji Yun was caught off guard. He had been focused on traveling and had let his guard down, thinking he was already at the outskirts of Vanke Dream City. He never expected to find a mutated Double-Headed Black-Line Snake here—one that was already growing horns, on the verge of becoming a dragon.

In an instant, Ji Yun twisted his body in midair, his arm muscles bulging as he let out a roar.

"Bang!"

3.2 times his own strength erupted violently, colliding with the snake's head. The impact sent a mouthful of blood spilling from Ji Yun's lips, but he used the force to propel himself away from the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake.

Ji Yun leaned against a broken wall, catching his breath, and forced the blood he wanted to spit back down. A fierce determination surged within him.

"Damn it. If I don't kill this beast today, I'm not going back."

Suppressing the blood in his chest, Ji Yun leaped up and charged at the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake again.

But the commotion from Ji Yun's clash with the snake seemed to have alerted a small team.

Ji Yun quickly reached the corner of a residential building. Peering around it, he saw the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake locked in battle with three men a few dozen meters away. Judging by their appearance, they seemed to be from West Asia or South Asia. Their hair was slightly curly, and their skin was a bit dark.

The three men were led by a bald, burly man wielding a dark gold staff over three meters long.

The staff in his hands was impenetrable. Whenever the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake's triangular heads hissed and lunged at him, the staff would swiftly smash into them. Even if it didn't hit the heads, it would shove the snake back. Sometimes, a quick "nodding" thrust of the staff would make the snake hiss in fury!

The other two each held a square shield in one hand and a massive curved blade in the other. The pair closed in together, coordinating their assault with exquisite skill.

"Damn, how did someone come to poach my prey?"

Ji Yun cursed inwardly. Just now, though he had taken a beating, the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake had definitely been injured as well. A strike close to the power of a low-level War God had smashed into the snake's head, sending a tremendous shock through the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake.

Ji Yun also lunged out abruptly, smashing his spear into the snake's tail and knocking the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake back a distance. At the same time, he shouted, "Don't steal my kill!"

The Double-Headed Black-Line Snake writhed in pain, nearly mad with rage. The icy pupils of its two massive serpent heads sent chills down one's spine as it repeatedly opened its bloody maws to bite. Under the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake's assault, the three people also retreated swiftly and began talking to communicate. Hearing their conversation, Ji Yun realized—they were Indians!

"Let's cooperate, split it half and half," the bald, burly man said in awkward Chinese. Just then, the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake turned and found Ji Yun, the true culprit who had wounded it, and charged at him with a hissing roar.

Before Ji Yun could strike with his spear, a heavy hammer slammed into one of the snake's heads beside him, halting its momentum slightly. Immediately after, two people appeared behind him—Luo Feng and Gao Feng from the Fire Hammer Squad, whom he had encountered earlier.

Luo Feng nodded at Ji Yun, already gripping a black flying knife in his hand, and flung it out like lightning!

The flying knife turned into a streak of cold light shooting toward the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake's left head. As a creature on the verge of becoming a flood dragon, the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake possessed high intelligence. Seeing the sudden human toss a flying knife, it quickly dodged with its left head—after all, a snake's head could move with incredible speed!

But it didn't know that Ji Yun, upon seeing Luo Feng's flying knife leave his hand, let out a cold laugh and instantly thrust his spear several times, sealing off the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake's escape routes. Ji Yun knew the moment he saw Luo Feng that solo hunting was impossible. A High-Level War General Psychic Master was no weaker than Ji Yun himself, and Luo Feng even had teammates.

When the flying knife was still about a meter from the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake, it shifted its trajectory by the slightest fraction in an instant. That tiny change sent the knife straight toward one eye of the snake's left head.

At the same time, Ji Yun's spear landed exactly where the head would have dodged. In other words, this Double-Headed Black-Line Snake would either be stabbed by Ji Yun or have its eye pierced by the flying knife!

The Double-Headed Black-Line Snake reacted with astonishing speed. In that incredibly brief instant, not only did its nerves respond, but it also managed to execute a dodge! Of course, because the time was so short, this was the snake's limit under extreme pressure.

"Pfft!" The flying knife struck the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake's mouth area, piercing through the upper jaw of the left head and exiting through its scales.

"Hiss—" The Double-Headed Black-Line Snake turned both heads furiously toward Ji Yun and Luo Feng. Its left head's mouth now had a massive hole, with dark green blood streaming out continuously.

The bald, burly man with the long staff let out a hearty shout, then stepped back while calling out in awkward Mandarin, "Team up? Split half and half?" His gaze shifted between Ji Yun and Luo Feng beside him.

Clearly, he assumed the two were a team. The seamless coordination between Ji Yun and Luo Feng just now could easily make an outsider think they were partners.

Luo Feng looked at Ji Yun, as if asking something. He also sensed an indescribable force around Ji Yun, a feeling reminiscent of the thunder he had encountered the day he comprehended his blade technique.

Ji Yun gave a slight nod and said, "Agreed."

The three Indians across from them included a thermal weapon martial artist and a High-Level War General—not an easy team to deal with. Besides, he had a Psychic Master by his side; cooperation was unavoidable.

"Haha," Gao Feng beside them grinned and made an OK gesture. He knew clearly that he was only there for support and couldn't afford to cause trouble for Ji Yun and Luo Feng.

The three Indians and Ji Yun's group of three—these two parties instantly decided to join forces. The bald, burly man's strength earned their recognition, while Ji Yun's ability to fight the Double-Headed Black-Line Snake solo and Luo Feng's flying knife power also gained the Indians' acknowledgment! Only by being strong enough could one earn others' respect.