Hearts Stirring

I didn't dare waste any more time. Who knew when the Lord-level Tuoshan Deer would return?

I went to a corner two hundred meters from the building, picked up a concrete slab weighing over twenty kilograms, and hurled it with all my strength.

"Bang!"

The slab hit the ground a hundred meters from the entrance, making a tremendous racket that startled the herd inside. A large group of Tuoshan Deer emerged from the building, cautiously checking out the commotion.

"Good!"

The guards inside the building relaxed a little more. Guan Ning's eyes narrowed, and he shot forward in an instant, moving like the wind. In a flash, he slipped through the Beast Soldier perimeter.

"Yoo! Yoo!"

The Intermediate Beast Generals formed the inner defense line. The moment Guan Ning appeared, they spotted him and let out a series of bellows. Only then did the Beast Soldiers behind them notice the uninvited guest and rush to intercept him.

With more than a dozen Beast Generals blocking his way and hundreds of Beast Soldiers closing in from behind, Guan Ning erupted with speed. His adrenaline surged, and he suddenly moved much faster.

The encircling monsters lunged at empty air. Relying on his explosive burst of speed, Guan Ning broke through the Beast Generals' line and reached the three Tuoshan Deer fawns.

"Yoo~~~"

"Yoo! Yoo!"

The three fawns had been born only recently. Even the largest stood less than a meter tall, while the smallest was only fifty centimeters. Two little bumps were visible on their heads; their antlers had yet to grow in.

They were still young, but already had the ferocity of monsters. Seeing the strange newcomer, they excitedly circled around Guan Ning, letting out clear cries.

"Little ones, don't blame me." Watching the lively fawns, Guan Ning felt a brief pang of sympathy. But it vanished in an instant. In a struggle between species, there was no room for mercy.

With the herd closing in behind him, Qingming Sword flashed again and again. The three Tuoshan Deer fawns fell into pools of blood.

"Yoo... Yoo..."

Seeing the three fawns die, the Beast Generals charged at Guan Ning like mad.

Beast General-level monsters had some intelligence. Their leader would never forgive them for the fawns' deaths. Their only hope of earning the Lord's mercy was to capture Guan Ning, the culprit.

Facing the furious Beast Soldiers, Guan Ning didn't dare let his guard down. He grabbed the largest fawn with his left hand and swung it onto his shoulder.

The one-meter-tall Tuoshan Deer weighed nearly two hundred kilograms, slowing Guan Ning down considerably.

He was in constant danger as the herd attacked from all sides, but he still had no intention of abandoning the fawn. He had finally come across such a rare opportunity; how could he give it up so easily?

And though the danger had increased, Guan Ning wasn't particularly worried. Even if an Intermediate Beast General struck him, his combat suit would absorb most of the impact. The rest would hit his body, whose defenses had been greatly enhanced, and wouldn't cause him serious injury. That was what gave him confidence.

Still, he preferred not to get hurt, and did everything he could to dodge. His figure darted through the herd like a flickering flame, elusive and swift. As he evaded the monsters, Qingming Sword showed no mercy.

Pfft, pfft, pfft...

A series of sounds like leather being cut rang out among the Tuoshan Deer. The necks of several deer closest to Guan Ning burst open in vivid sprays of blood.

Guan Ning's face was cold. His body flickered like an illusion as he raced through the dense herd, leaving a trail of blooming blood wherever he went.

The number of Tuoshan Deer dwindled rapidly...

No matter how they attacked the phantom in their midst, they always fell short.

"Whoosh!"

Guan Ning's figure suddenly stopped, appearing at the far end of the herd. Behind him lay twenty or thirty Tuoshan Deer corpses. Not one was still standing.

In just a few short minutes, he had carved his way through the herd all by himself.

"Yoo! Yoo!"

Hearing the herd's frantic cries behind him, Guan Ning felt a little regretful. He had hoped to use this chance to see if his movement and sword techniques could break through, but it hadn't helped at all. He wore a disappointed expression.

He didn't notice that one of the cries was unusually long and carried far away.

"Rumble, rumble..."

Seeing the human who had stolen their fawn break out of the encirclement, the Tuoshan Deer went completely berserk. Eyes bloodshot, they charged at Guan Ning, intent on tearing him apart.

"You've got to be kidding. They're that crazy?"

Guan Ning hadn't expected the herd to go wild. He didn't dare say another word and sprinted at full speed.

"Rumble..."

The herd made a huge racket as it ran, startling many people and monsters.

They were all Elite Training Camp students heading back to the camp. None had expected to run into a scene like this, and they all stopped to watch.

"Who's that? He's so fierce. Why haven't I seen him before?"

"What did he do to make the herd go berserk?"

"Isn't that Guan Ning? I thought Luo Feng was impressive enough, but this guy's even more reckless. I really underestimated him."

"Shit, damn it! Doesn't he know he'll cause a citywide monster disturbance if he does this?"

They all stood watching the commotion. Since Hong was Chinese, all the students at the training camp could speak Chinese.

Then they realized what might happen. Their expressions changed, and they hurriedly stopped whatever they were doing and fled the area.

At the same time, inside a building in Hongning Base City, thousands of screens recorded everything happening in City 1001. When the staff on duty saw the herd go berserk, their expressions changed. They pressed a red button, and a shrill alarm rang throughout the entire Elite Training Camp.

The students were surprised when they heard it. But after hearing it sound only once, they relaxed and went back to what they had been doing.

The War God Level instructors, however, all sprang into action.

"Beep!"

Guan Ning was fleeing, but from how relaxed he looked, it was clear the situation wasn't too serious. Suddenly, his Communication Watch rang.

"Huh? It's Senior Brother Chu Qiang. Why is he calling me?" Guan Ning wondered as he answered.

"Guan Ning, what did you do? Why did you make the herd go berserk?" Chu Qiang asked, a trace of alarm on his face.

"What's wrong with the herd going berserk? Senior Brother Chu Qiang, explain!" Guan Ning didn't understand what he meant.

"Damn it, I forgot you just got here." Chu Qiang muttered a curse, though it was unclear who he was cursing. Then he continued, "City 1001 is a hunting ground for the training camp students. Monsters are extremely dense here, and there are especially many Beast General-level monsters."

"If a major monster disturbance breaks out, it can easily trigger an even bigger one. Once, the monsters across an entire city went berserk. It took a Patrol Envoy to step in and quell the disturbance."

Chu Qiang paused for breath, and Guan Ning was even more shocked. A Patrol Envoy—that was a Beyond War God! A Planetary Level martial artist!

Though he could barely scrape by in the universe, on Earth today he was at the very top. Anything that required a Patrol Envoy to intervene was no small matter.

"Senior Brother Chu Qiang, what do I do now?" Guan Ning asked in alarm.

"Scared now, are you?" Chu Qiang teased him. "You don't need to panic. Given the current situation, there's definitely no need for a Patrol Envoy to step in."

"That's good, that's good." Guan Ning patted his chest and sighed in relief.

"Don't celebrate too soon." Seeing Guan Ning's reaction, Chu Qiang couldn't resist bringing him back down to earth. "A Patrol Envoy may not need to step in, but that doesn't mean you're safe. You'd better run for your life."

Guan Ning realized Chu Qiang was right. Things had already spiraled beyond his control, so it would be best to get back as soon as possible.

Guan Ning was grateful for Chu Qiang's kindness. "Thanks, Senior Brother Chu Qiang. When we get back to the training camp, I'll treat you to a big meal."

Then he remembered the two Tuoshan Deer fawn corpses in the department store. It would be a terrible waste to leave them there. "Senior Brother Chu Qiang, I know where there are two recently killed Tuoshan Deer fawns. Would you be interested?"

"What did you say?" Chu Qiang's eyes widened. "Tuoshan Deer fawns? How do you know about them?"

Guan Ning pointed the camera at the corpse on his shoulder and shook it slightly. "I caused the monster disturbance because of this fawn."

"I see!" When he saw the Tuoshan Deer fawn's corpse, Chu Qiang had guessed as much. He hadn't expected Guan Ning really had caused the disturbance for a fawn.

"Tell me where it is. Once I get back to the training camp, I'll give you a Tuoshan Deer in thanks." The disturbance as it stood was no threat to him. He could easily bring both fawns back to the training camp.

With a monster fawn, his strength would improve further. He might even climb to the top of the Black Dragon Ranking. He couldn't help getting excited.

"It's at... Senior Brother Chu Qiang, I'm hanging up." After telling Chu Qiang the location, Guan Ning ended the call. Though he was very tempted by the other Tuoshan Deer fawn, he quickly calmed down. His top priority was to shake off the herd behind him and return safely to the training camp.

"Whoosh!"

Ten minutes later, Guan Ning finally lost the herd. He found a place to tend to the fawn's corpse and himself. The Tuoshan Deer's blood had sprayed everywhere along the way, soaking him from head to toe. He had no idea where his innards had fallen, but the carcass had grown considerably lighter, which was how he had managed to outrun the herd.

He found a pool and washed the blood off himself, reducing the stench considerably. After wrapping up the Tuoshan Deer fawn's corpse, he set off again.

Now that he was moving much faster and the smell of blood had faded, he easily made it out of the city ruins.

On the way, he encountered quite a few training camp students, who eyed the Tuoshan Deer fawn slung over Guan Ning's shoulder with burning greed.

A blond, fair-skinned man shouted, "Who are you? Don't you know what happens when you provoke a monster disturbance?"

"Exactly! We had to leave in a hurry, and we earned far fewer achievement points than usual."

The others chimed in as well, their eyes filled with greed.

"I say that fawn's corpse is just enough to make up for our losses. What do you think?"

With the others backing him, the blond man grew even more smug. He reached out to grab the fawn's corpse on Guan Ning's shoulder.

"I suggest you stop." Guan Ning acted as if he hadn't even noticed the blond man's movement. Pointing at his activated Communication Watch, he spoke calmly.