Hidden Enemy

That was right. Fang Howlers were indeed extremely dangerous, but that danger was directed at humans and other large Spirit Beasts. When dealing with insects, large-bodied Spirit Beasts had never had any particularly good methods.

Huo Hai narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the Fang Howler. "Attack." The instant he gave the order, the large number of Star Gu that had already lurked their way over launched their assault on the Fang Howler. In that instant, the beetles' speed reached its limit.

Amid a series of muffled pops, the beetles burrowed into the Fang Howler's body one after another. The Fang Howler was not the kind of Spirit Beast covered in scales and armor. Faced with such an attack, it had no defense at all. Intense pain spread through its entire body in an instant. Never having suffered such grievous injuries before, the Fang Howler let out a howl and raised its head.

"Good chance." Huo Hai narrowed his eyes. This was exactly the chance he had been waiting for—the moment the Fang Howler raised its head. As soon as it did, the Star Gu that had been waiting for a long time shot toward its nose. Gu Insects possessed exceptionally tenacious vitality, so there was no need to worry about them suffocating.

The attack within its nasal cavity brought an even more violent pain surging into its heart. Unfortunately, the injured area was rather special. Even if the Fang Howler wanted to roar, it could not. It had only roared once when it was first injured, and afterward, it did not make much commotion.

Of course, as the Fang Howler struggled without cease, the sharp Bone Spikes all over its body carved streak after streak into the surrounding rocks. Smaller shrubs were directly severed by the Bone Spikes. Empowered by sharp spiritual power, the already razor-sharp Bone Spikes became even more dangerous. Huo Hai felt a chill run through him. If he had charged in himself, would he not have been killed outright?

Its struggle ended there. One Star Gu had already bitten through the Fang Howler's nasal cavity and entered deep into its brain. The instant its brain was injured, the light in the Fang Howler's eyes dimmed.

After struggling weakly a few times, the Fang Howler finally collapsed to the ground. Its chest rose and fell, showing that he was still alive, but he did not have much time left. A large number of Star Gu pounced onto the Fang Howler's body and continuously gnawed at it. Before long, they would eat it clean.

"Finally killed it. This time, the harvest definitely won't be small." Enduring his discomfort, Huo Hai circled around the Fang Howler being devoured and headed deeper inside. The Star Gu had told him earlier that the cards were in here. As for exactly where they were, Huo Hai still had to search for them himself. The Star Gu had a certain degree of intelligence, but they were not even as capable as children and could only convey simple information.

After so much time, Huo Hai had gradually adapted to this sort of situation. Fortunately, this was not a human, so he did not feel nauseated. Habit was a terrifying thing. Huo Hai realized that he had actually begun to adapt to this.

His discomfort with killing was growing fainter and fainter. Deep in his heart, there was instead a trace of excitement. Huo Hai felt cold inside. What was this? This was Killing Syndrome. Good thing it's mild. I didn't personally do it either. Forget it, I'll pay attention in the future. It wouldn't be good if I turned into a madman who only knows how to kill. Huo Hai silently warned himself.

Before long, Huo Hai had turned the Fang Howler's nest upside down. Sure enough, there were cards left here by experts from Imperial City Academy. To place the cards in here so easily without injuring the Fang Howler proved that the person who had done it was no simple figure either.

"Five hundred cards. I got five hundred this time. If I can find three more, the Blood Refining Pills will be settled." Huo Hai thought silently. He glanced at Ji Mu, then put the items away. It was not that he did not want to share them with her.

First, he had been the one who did the work, while Ji Mu had contributed nothing. Second, Ji Mu was not familiar with him; she had only insisted on following along. Finally, Ji Mu would not lack Academy Points. Once she reached Imperial City Academy, she could easily get a large pile of them. It might not compare to the top Lineages of Southern Cloud Kingdom, but it could still rank among the first-rate.

He wondered where else he could find such a powerful Spirit Beast. As Huo Hai thought, he watched the beetles devour the Fang Howler clean. In the end, only several fairly decent Fangs and Bone Spikes remained.

"Ji Mu, do you want these? You happened to lack weapons earlier. I can't carry them all by myself. If you don't want them, I'll have my insects eat them." They could even eat metal; what were a few bones worth?

These Bone Spikes and Fangs had been left behind by a Fang Howler at the Spirit Bone Realm. The bones themselves had been tempered to extraordinary toughness, and their capacity for spiritual power was also excellent. With a little forging, they could become quite good weapons. But after looking at them, Ji Mu still shook her head and said, "I have a weapon. I don't need these." Ji Mu tightened her grip on her shortsword.

Like Huo Hai, the Ji Family had also given Ji Mu a weapon. However, it was not as high-grade as Profound Grade, merely Superior Yellow Grade.

Huo Hai did not care. He casually picked out two Fangs, waved them in his hands a few times, and felt quite satisfied. With a thought, he had the Star Gu begin eating, devouring all the remaining Fangs. A Spirit Beast at the Spirit Bone Realm was treasure from head to toe.

Though the dagger was powerful, Huo Hai was not skilled at close combat. He was not even particularly skilled at fighting in general. Rather than use a dagger that did not suit him, it was better to use these Fangs. The Fangs were very long, like short swords. For someone who had barely fought before, the longer the weapon, the better—an inch longer, an inch stronger.

After tidying up, Huo Hai brought Ji Mu and once again set off on the road in search of point cards. Yet not long after the two left, two young men came over. As they walked, they carefully observed their surroundings.

"Third Brother, look! There are traces of battle here. Look at these rocks, and these trees too—they're broken in so many places. Could that kid really be so formidable? What do you think they ran into?" If Huo Hai had been here, he would have recognized these two as two of the people who had followed He Wang before. Unexpectedly, the two of them had been following behind all along.

Because of Huo Hai, these people had been scared out of their wits and did not dare approach at all. They could only rely on their own judgment to trail far behind, merely ensuring they did not lose track of him. From time to time, they also sent back messages reporting everything about Huo Hai.

"I don't know, but judging from the traces, those two should have come through here. I don't know what this thing was either, but such a terrifying fellow actually fought a great battle." Third Brother spoke softly as he examined the surroundings.

"Third Brother, do you think we can really avenge them? That guy is too strong. With just one wave of his hand, all our people died. If I faced him head-on, I'm afraid I wouldn't even have the courage to stand up." The young man spoke with a gloomy face. So many of their people had been killed, yet they did not even dare seek revenge. It was truly too humiliating.

"Hmph, what do you know? Of course we have to take revenge. We can't just let this go. Are you going to ignore the matter of him killing Eldest Brother? What we're doing now is following him. Once we have enough strength, we'll take revenge."

The young man's expression became even more bitter. How could he not want to avenge them? But how could they possibly do it? "Third Brother, it's not that I don't want to avenge Eldest Brother. It's just that kid is too terrifying. Look at this trace—was that something we could deal with?"

Third Brother shook his head. "We can't deal with it, but that doesn't mean others can't either. Third Young Master has already gone to contact other people. Such a dangerous fellow absolutely cannot be allowed to run wild. Otherwise, no one else will get any points. After walking all this way, have you seen any point cards? That kid's scouting ability is extremely strong, so we can't get close."

Huo Hai would probably never have imagined that it was because he had left behind no cards that they had exposed the reason for his scouting ability. These two had been following from far away all along, while Huo Hai's Star Gu could not range that far from him, so they had not been discovered.

"Third Brother, that's not what I mean. With so many people together, no one would kill him. He's the Huo Family's young master. At most, they can suppress him a little and keep him from going too far. If we want revenge, won't we still have to do it ourselves?"

"Hmph, who told you others wouldn't dare kill him? The Huo Family's rise over these years has already aroused the vigilance and dissatisfaction of many Lineages. Coupled with the Huo Family's sparse bloodline, as long as Huo Hai is killed, the Huo Family will be in huge trouble. Besides, even if the others cannot succeed then, we'll act personally. By then, that kid will be gravely injured, and killing him will be much easier."

At that point, Third Brother's expression suddenly changed. He stared fixedly at a footprint on the ground, his eyes opening wide.

The young man found it strange and asked softly, "Third Brother, what's wrong? Why are you so shocked? Isn't it just a footprint? Who knows what Spirit Beast left it behind?" His words finally snapped Third Brother awake.

Smack! Third Brother fiercely slapped him. "I tell you to learn more, but you refuse to learn. Do you know what kind of footprint this is? This belongs to a Fang Howler—an adult Fang Howler. There aren't many in all of Southern Mountain. This thing's strength has reached the Spirit Bone Realm. That kid could even kill something like this, and he could make the corpse disappear somewhere in such a short time. What do you think that means?" Third Brother rebuked him in frustration, as though iron had failed to become steel. At this rate, he would be dying a miserable death sooner or later.

After receiving that slap, the anger rising in the young man's heart seemed to have cold water poured over it by Third Brother's words. Killing an adult Fang Howler—what kind of ability was that? It meant Huo Hai possessed the formidable cultivation of the Spirit Bone Realm.

This was an extremely serious matter. The two exchanged glances, unable to conceal the shock in their hearts. It was not that he had lacked the ability to keep them alive earlier—he had deliberately shown weakness. The depth of that kid's scheming was frightening.

"No, we have to send this news back quickly. That kid's amnesia is probably fake too. What deep scheming. What a Huo Family. To protect their young master, they actually resorted to such methods." Third Brother's heart was filled with shock, and in an instant, he had thought of so much. Beside him, the other young man also sensed that something was wrong.

The two exchanged a glance and began moving. They left behind information and a signal where they were, waiting for the people behind them to discover it.