"This is the Cherry Blossom Flower Sea!" Yang Ning said as he spread out the Cloud-Mist Information Matrix and determined their location.
Demon Subduing Valley opened every year. As long as one put their mind to it, obtaining a map was no difficult matter.
Yang Ning's group of four had prepared even more thoroughly. Not only did they have a detailed map, they even knew what resources could be found here.
"Get the tank out, quick!" Xun Hu shouted urgently.
Yang Ning did not dare be careless either. He directly pulled out his storage bag, and then, as if he had pressed a Panzer button, a massive tank abruptly appeared before the four of them.
Taiheng's storage bag could store anything within range; there was no need to pick it up first.
The four did not waste time. Xun Hu climbed up first and opened the hatch, and the other three immediately followed him inside.
Then, a plain, rustling sound began surging toward them from all directions!
Cherry Blossom Ladybugs were insects as large as fists that lived in symbiosis with cherry blossom flowers. The flowers used their fragrance to lure animals over, while the Cherry Blossom Ladybugs devoured them. The remaining limbs and the ladybugs' droppings were then absorbed by the flowers.
The good news was that the ladybugs' bite force was not strong. At the Fifth Level of Body Refinement, one could rely on the enhanced defense of the Qi and Blood Field to withstand them head-on.
The bad news was that there were simply too many ladybugs—more than a hundred per square meter. Even someone at the Fifth Level of Body Refinement would not last long.
So unless it was necessary, it was best not to enter the Cherry Blossom Flower Sea, even though Cherry Blossom Ladybugs were worth quite a few points: ten points each.
"How well sealed is this tank?" Xun Hu asked, still shaken. He was only at the Body Tempering Triple Layer. If he got bitten, he would definitely die!
"Don't worry!" Yang Ning said. "Not even water can get in. By the way, do you want these points?"
"We can take them?" Xun Hu was startled. "Aren't we running first?"
"Insects this easy to kill and worth this many points are rare in all of Demon Subduing Valley. It'd be a pity to leave just like that!" Yang Ning said. "Of course, if you want to go, then we'll go!"
"Then let's kill them!" Hearing that they could kill them and earn points, Xun Hu immediately stopped panicking. "These points can be exchanged for Magic Artifacts and pills! We can't let them slip through our fingers!"
"Alright!" Yang Ning nodded. "Then let's drive up to higher ground first!"
The four immediately pedaled the wheels with all their strength, driving the tank to a high point. Yang Ning did not hesitate and directly flipped the flamethrower's switch.
He did not ignite it. Instead, he let the fire oil flow for a while first.
Wherever the pitch-black fire oil went, vast swathes of the flower sea toppled over. The ladybugs that depended on the flowers for their livelihood immediately took offense and swarmed forward, determined to take down the culprit.
Seeing the ladybugs flying over in a sky-shrouding, earth-covering mass, Yang Ning remained unhurried. Only after the dense swarm completely submerged the tank did he ignite the flames!
In an instant, the area turned into a sea of fire. The flames continued spreading downhill along the fire oil, while billowing black smoke rose into the air.
Cherry blossom flowers were plants, after all, and fire naturally restrained them. What was more, this was fire oil that burned for an exceptionally long time. Before long, the flowers began drying out from the heat, then caught fire as well!
The flower sea was suffering so terribly, and the Cherry Blossom Ladybugs within fared no better. Ladybugs scorched by fire and choked by smoke crackled one after another. Before long, the smell of roasted meat began spreading through the air.
The Identity Jade Token seemed to possess some special means of observation. Detecting the deaths of a massive number of ladybugs nearby, it automatically counted the points under Xun Hu's name. At that moment, Team Xun Hu's score began soaring wildly!
"This person is called Yuan Qingming, from the North Sea Yuan Family!" Fang Zhuo introduced him to the Inner Disciples.
On the large screen was a burly young man with bluish-black skin. Though he was only thirteen, he looked thirty. Holding a long spear, he had just skewered a crocodile to death. "His talent is excellent. He has already cultivated to the Peak Fifth Level of Body Refinement. Reaching the Eighth Level of Body Refinement by graduation will be no problem, and he likely has hope of Qi Refining as well! Judging by his performance in actual combat, his will is clearly extraordinary too!"
"Tch!" Lin Tianheng shook his head. "A barbarian from beyond the pale, placing bets on both sides. He has no future."
"Hehe." Fang Zhuo smiled awkwardly. Just as he was about to continue his introduction, the image suddenly shifted and became filled with flames and black smoke!
"What is this?" Fang Zhuo froze and hurriedly called out.
"This is Team Xun Hu from the first year. They set fire to the Cherry Blossom Flower Sea and killed a massive number of Cherry Blossom Ladybugs. Their points shot up all at once!" someone replied.
"Hm?" Fang Zhuo was stunned. Setting fire to kill Cherry Blossom Ladybugs? That could be done?
And Team Xun Hu—wasn't that Yang Ning's team?
He knew why his lord had brought so many Inner Disciples here to watch the Demon Subduing Valley trial. Wasn't it to ensure that Yang Ning emerged from Demon Subduing Valley alive, thereby preserving his life?
He just had not expected them to make themselves known so quickly.
"What is that thing?" Fang Zhuo enlarged the footage, only to see that the four members of Team Xun Hu were nowhere in the fire. There was only a round, three-tiered fortress!
"Uh..." The staff below had no idea either. Who had ever seen a tank?
"Maybe it's a mobile fortress? I saw the four of them climb inside just now, and then this fortress started moving!"
The corners of Fang Zhuo's mouth twitched. A mobile fortress?
Before his words had even faded, the fortress really did begin moving, and it was not slow.
Moreover, wherever the fortress went, thick smoke and roaring flames followed. As vast numbers of ladybugs were killed, Team Xun Hu's points continued rising rapidly!
Everyone else had only just entered. Even someone as fast as Yuan Qingming had only killed one crocodile and earned two hundred points. Yet Team Xun Hu had already farmed fifty thousand points!
"Fuck!" Fang Zhuo suddenly realized the ladybugs had been assigned too many points. Who could have imagined that these insects, nearly unsolvable for second-year students, could be killed like this?
"This is..." Ming Yuxiu blinked. He had never seen this thing before either!
He turned to Li Yuan, an Inner Disciple highly skilled in artifact refining. Li Yuan shook his head. "Th-this thing, I've never seen it either!"
"Are we sure this isn't cheating?" Wang Yi asked. "The trial is meant to test strength and the results of one's studies. If they're driving this thing, doesn't that go against the trial's original purpose?"
"Th-this probably doesn't count," Fang Zhuo said after thinking about it. "The results of artifact refining count as results too. If they made this thing themselves, then it should..."
Seeing Lin Tianheng's face darken as though he was about to start cursing, Fang Zhuo hurriedly shut his mouth.
But before Lin Tianheng could speak, Ming Yuxiu slapped the table. "Did we come all this way and waste cultivation time for this? Notify them immediately to put out that fire and leave the Cherry Blossom Flower Sea!!"
"Uh, yes!" Fang Zhuo hurriedly had someone send Xun Hu a message. Still, Yang Ning really was clever!
Leaving aside the mobile fortress, just the trick of setting fires alone had never been used by anyone in all the years the Demon Subduing Valley trial had been held!
"What about that fortress?" Fang Zhuo asked again.
"Didn't you say it was their artifact-refining creation?" Ming Yuxiu said. "We can't exactly forbid them from using weapons they made themselves, can we?"
Lin Tianheng turned to look at Ming Yunxiu. He found this child seemed somewhat strange. They had never had much contact to begin with, yet Ming Yunxiu had inexplicably dragged him here to watch some Demon Subduing Valley trial.
It was like a student from Qingbei University watching an elementary school math exam.
And now Ming Yunxiu kept saying inexplicable things.
"My lord, this Team Xun Hu was on Wei Daocheng's ship back then!" Seeing Lin Tianheng's puzzled expression, Wang Yi hurriedly reminded him in a low voice.
"Who is Wei Daocheng?" Lin Tianheng asked in return. It was not that his memory was poor; he simply could not be bothered to remember minor characters.
"The ship we encountered three months ago while pursuing Tuo Buchuan!"
"Oh?" Lin Tianheng paused, then remembered.
"This Demon Subduing Valley..." Lin Tianheng pointed at the image before him.
Wang Yi nodded. "That's right. I arranged it!"
Lin Tianheng frowned, his expression turning grave.
Before you continue