The Beginning!

"Where are we going now?"

Jiang Xueyao asked.

"Xu Yuan, you tell us," Yang Xiaobing said.

"Afei, hand out the pills. Xiaobing, scout ahead and cover our rear. Jiang Xueyao, you're with me up front. Be ready to fight at any moment."

Xu Yuan quickly assigned their roles.

It was only an exam. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have mattered.

But now it was tied to the nightmare-level competition.

That woman who had appeared just now—no, that monster. Merely looking at it had made his heart tighten for no reason.

First, we need to get out of this area!

"Got it."

The others answered together.

Zhao Afei pulled out several gourds, one for each of them, and said quickly:

"Fasting, spirit-replenishing, healing, and detoxifying pills are all in the gourds. I refined every one myself, and they were registered before the exam. You can take them without worry."

Yang Xiaobing drew a talisman and held it upright before her.

A scouting talisman.

Three of its corners turned black. Only the last remained as spotless as new.

"Demon energy has overrun the city to the east, west, and south. Only the north is still relatively safe. Should we head north?"

She asked.

Before she had finished speaking,

the talisman's last corner turned black too.

"We've barely arrived, and the city's already surrounded..." Zhao Afei said, his face deathly pale.

The four of them exchanged looks.

This disaster had been thoroughly covered up. They had no intelligence whatsoever.

All they knew was that a disaster had occurred.

They were groping in the dark.

Which way were they supposed to go now?

"Follow the gunfire."

Xu Yuan spoke up suddenly.

"Huh? Doesn't gunfire mean there's a battle going on? Why would we head straight for it?" Zhao Afei swallowed and asked nervously.

"High-level cultivators and high-level demonic beasts don't use guns to fight. If there's gunfire, it's probably a minor skirmish."

"We need to find soldiers and police who are still holding out and learn what's happening."

Xu Yuan explained.

After years of playing post-apocalyptic survival role-playing games, he had plenty of experience with situations like this.

At that, none of the other three objected.

They held their breath and waited.

Before long, a burst of gunfire rang out from a distant street.

"Let's go!"

Xu Yuan gave the order.

Jiang Xueyao took the lead, Zhao Afei followed, and Yang Xiaobing ran beside Xu Yuan.

The four sprinted several hundred meters and emerged from the alley.

A police car lay overturned in the road.

One officer's body lay in the roadside grass. Another crouched behind the police car with a handgun, firing repeatedly across the street.

Across the road,

a humanoid monster three people tall, its skin gray-white all over, staggered toward the police car.

The handgun rounds struck its body and made its chest jolt again and again, but could not even force it back a step.

"It's a Tree Demon—the exam has a 'demon' in it, everyone!"

Zhao Afei's voice trembled.

"It's fine. The books say it's the weakest kind of demon. It only scouts," Yang Xiaobing added at once.

The monster reached out a claw, ripped a streetlamp from the ground, and swung it at the police car like a club.

Before anyone else could react—

Jiang Xueyao sprang forward. Her sword flashed from its sheath and thrust straight ahead.

It was the first form of the Swallow Song Sword Art, Falling Leaves!

Boom!

Crimson flames became a streak of fire stabbing toward the Tree Demon.

But before the fiery strike could land, an even faster, sharper burst of Sword Qi sliced the Tree Demon into several pieces. Its remains fell to the ground.

Xu Yuan!

Though he had struck later, his sword attack arrived first. Beating Jiang Xueyao to it, he sent a curved arc of Sword Qi through the air and cut the Tree Demon apart!

The Qiong Jia Sword gave +5 sharpness, +3 agility, and +2 strength.

But using it also required a corresponding amount of Spiritual Power.

That strike had stolen the kill, but it had also consumed twenty percent of Xu Yuan's Spiritual Power.

What an astonishing cost!

Jiang Xueyao frowned and explained:

"My sword is fire-aligned, so it naturally counters wood types. It also costs me less Spiritual Power. It would be safer to let me fight."

Xu Yuan seemed not to hear her.

He stared fixedly at the Tree Demon's remains. Only when several glittering golden coin phantoms rose from them did he finally let out a long breath.

My first sale!

The money's in!

To prepare for the nightmare competition later, I ran faster than a rabbit and fought harder than Jiang Xueyao just to snatch this kill.

Did I have it easy?

"Got it. I'll watch out next time." He gave Jiang Xueyao an apologetic nod.

"It's fine." Jiang Xueyao's brow relaxed, and she spoke softly.

Let's see what I got first.

Xu Yuan opened the Qi Refiners' Combat Prep Room. His gold coin count had risen to 21.

One Tree Demon had given him seven gold coins!

Now that's a deal!

He was still tallying his gains when another shadow, more than three meters tall, charged toward them from the dark road opposite.

"I'll take it!"

Jiang Xueyao gave a sharp cry and leaped to meet it.

Her sword moved—

Swish!

Xu Yuan darted past her and struck first, sending out another curved arc of Sword Qi that sliced the Tree Demon into several pieces.

The Swallow Song Sword Art's third form, Arc Dance!

Another twenty percent of his Spiritual Power vanished.

The coins rose, shining brilliantly.

Their illusory glow seemed to bring Xu Yuan's face to life.

Seven more gold coins!

That makes 28 in total!

Now I have money.

What can I buy?

Could I get a shoulder-fired rocket launcher with unlimited ammo?

Xu Yuan was still fantasizing when he felt an icy stare and came to his senses.

He had stolen another kill.

But this isn't a game. You don't even get experience for killing them.

"Sorry. I moved without thinking just now. The next one's definitely yours."

He opened his gourd, took out a spirit-replenishing pill, and explained while chewing it.

Jiang Xueyao looked at him, then at the monster's remains. Amusement replaced her usual indifference.

So he wants to compete with me at this.

That's more interesting than fighting head-on.

Fine, then.

Let's see who kills more!

The corner of Jiang Xueyao's mouth lifted slightly. The dull exam suddenly seemed worth looking forward to.

Zhao Afei strode forward then, steeled himself, and greeted the officer:

"Officer, sir, are you all right?"

There was no helping it.

That fierce man and woman were fighting over the chance to battle monsters.

They had no regard for their lives!

Yang Xiaobing had not attacked, but she held talismans in both hands, ready to cover them at any moment. She paid no attention to anything else.

Someone normal has to step up and take charge, right?

"Who are you?" the officer asked.

"We're a team of cultivators sent to provide support. What's the situation?"

Zhao Afei asked.

"Demonic beasts have been getting into the city a lot lately. I don't know why, but this year they've gone mad," the officer said with a sigh.

Zhao Afei began wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

The officer only thought recent events were unusual. He had no idea that the massacre of the entire city had already begun in silence!

Which meant—

Right now was the beginning of the whole disaster!

"By the way, let me see your identification."

The officer spoke.

"Of course. Just a moment." Zhao Afei grew nervous and looked back.

Jiang Xueyao held her sword, utterly composed.

Xu Yuan stared into the distance as though he had heard nothing at all. Who knew what he was thinking?

Yang Xiaobing, however, had already collected herself. She gave Zhao Afei a discreet nod.

With her hands behind her back, she swiftly folded a talisman into shape and channeled Spiritual Power into it.

Turn Talisman into Object!

Talismans could imitate anything. They were the finest support in battle.

A dim spiritual glow spread across the paper as it quickly transformed into an identification badge inset with a spirit stone. It bore a number, an identity, and an affiliation.

Zhao Afei took the badge and handed it to the officer, then glanced at Yang Xiaobing.

Yang Xiaobing signaled that it was fine.

If she said it was fine, then it was fine.

After all, talisman arts were her specialty. She had even received direct admission offers from Nine Luminaries and Luofu.

The officer examined the badge, and his manner grew warmer. He asked:

"By the way, do you need more firepower?"

Zhao Afei shook his head.

"No need. We cultivators don't need—"

Xu Yuan snapped back to attention, clapped a hand over Zhao Afei's mouth, and pulled him behind him. Then he smiled and said:

"We could definitely use more firepower. Thank you for your support. Where should we return the weapons when we're done?"

"Use them for now," the officer said. "Come find me at the East City Police Station later."

He opened the police car's trunk.

Several tactical vests, grenades, handguns, and a submachine gun tumbled out of the overturned trunk and onto the ground.

Most of the students taking the exam had yet to awaken their Spiritual Power.

Combat skills supplemented with firearms—

that was how most students approached the exam.

Of course,

students who had already reached the Qi Refining Realm could do without them.

"Hey, why are we using this stuff—"

Zhao Afei broke off.

Yang Xiaobing had already picked up a tactical vest and was putting it on.

Xu Yuan was checking the guns and ammunition.

"Don't get overconfident. If we can save Spiritual Power, we should save as much as possible."

Xu Yuan kept his voice low.

He put away the submachine gun, then went to pick up the pistol and box of bullets from the ground.

"Xu Yuan is right," Yang Xiaobing whispered. "We're only low-level cultivators. We need to save our Spiritual Power for when it matters."

Zhao Afei curled his lip and casually picked up a gun.

You haven't opened the gourd to see what's inside.

My family wanted me to score well on the exam, so the alchemy materials they gave me... You wouldn't believe it.

I don't need these things ordinary people use.

Look at Jiang Xueyao. She's standing off to the side with her sword in her arms, her eyes on the darkness all around, just waiting to kill the enemy.

She has no interest in guns or anything like that.

Now that's how a cultivator should carry herself!

(End of chapter)