Night Raid

Zhang Xing reacted with extreme speed, pulling his spear back and holding it horizontally before him.

Bang!!

Yang Lie's fist slammed into the spear, unleashing terrifying force. The spear crashed viciously into Zhang Xing's chest, breaking several of his ribs. Zhang Xing spat out a spray of blood and fell to the ground.

"Got you!"

Fang Lingxiu gave a soft shout. Her longsword struck Ye Xiong's shield, and she used a secret technique to detonate her Vermillion Bird True Qi.

Ye Xiong instantly felt as though his hands were being scorched by flames. A terrifyingly searing burst of energy exploded inside his body, making him cry out in agony. He had no choice but to release the shield, only to be stabbed by Fang Lingxiu's sword.

With a tap of his foot, Ye Xiong retreated rapidly and decisively surrendered. He knew that Fang Lingxiu had held back with that strike. Otherwise, her sword could have pierced straight through his throat.

In matches this close to real combat, people generally would not kill lightly. But if someone truly was killed, it would at most be considered an accident, and Fang Lingxiu would merely lose her qualification to compete.

"I surrender!"

Liu Zifeng's expression changed slightly. He retreated swiftly, shouted sharply, and chose to surrender at once.

"Surrender!"

Liu Xinxin also surrendered without hesitation.

"So powerful!! Those two contestants are incredibly strong!!"

"Two against five!! That's amazing!!"

"..."

The audience in the Great Arena watched the projection and praised them one after another.

At the center seat of the VIP section.

Zhao Feihe praised, "Old Qian, your nephew is quite strong! At the second level of the Essence Solidification Realm, he can easily defeat someone at the third level. His strength far surpasses that of martial artists at the same level! What excellent potential!"

Qian Ming chuckled. "Then shouldn't your Zhao family sponsor him more?"

Zhao Feihe smiled. "That will depend on his performance!"

In the forest.

After Yang Lie and Fang Lingxiu defeated Liu Zifeng's group of five, they immediately found a hidden place and took turns meditating to recover.

When martial artists used special breathing techniques to meditate and recover, they were also at their most vulnerable. Under normal circumstances, they needed companions to guard them. This was one of the reasons for forming teams.

After recovering, the two set up a crude camp in the forest.

Night fell.

Yang Lie sat beside a campfire, watching in all directions and listening intently. Behind him stood a simple tent, where Fang Lingxiu slept soundly.

"Ferocious beast!!"

Yang Lie suddenly looked up toward the northwest. A lower second-rank Gray Scale Giant Python, seemingly blended into its surroundings, was moving toward them.

"Wake up!! A ferocious beast is attacking!!"

Yang Lie pulled open the tent and shook Fang Lingxiu, who was curled into a ball.

"Let me sleep another five minutes~!"

Fang Lingxiu hugged her blanket and murmured sleepily in a spoiled tone.

Those beast-hunting groups that spent all year fighting in the wilderness were naturally extraordinarily vigilant. Even the slightest disturbance would wake them. Fang Lingxiu was a genius in martial arts, but she had been well protected since childhood and naturally lacked the vigilance of beast-hunting group members.

Only martial artists at the Heaven and Human Realm possessed extraordinary danger perception. Even while asleep, they would jolt awake the instant they sensed danger.

Yang Lie directly picked up a cup of cold water and splashed it over Fang Lingxiu's face, then grabbed her and shook her violently.

"What are you doing?"

Fang Lingxiu, who had been fast asleep, finally opened her eyes and glared fiercely at Yang Lie.

Yang Lie said, "Enemy attack! Ferocious beast!!"

Only then did Fang Lingxiu's expression change. She circulated her true qi to drive away her drowsiness, evaporated the water on her face, and grabbed the refined steel sword at her side.

The two quickly emerged from the tent.

Amid a foul, fishy gale, the Gray Scale Giant Python—over thirty meters long, covered in gray scales, and seemingly fused with its surroundings—suddenly pounced down from a large tree at Yang Lie and Fang Lingxiu.

At almost the same time, two other snake-like ferocious beasts slithered out from the nearby grass and lunged at them.

"Watch yourself!"

Yang Lie circulated his true qi and sprang up like a great serpent. He swung his blade horizontally at the second-rank Gray Scale Giant Python. Although he knew only basic saber techniques, his physical strength was terrifying. His blade light struck the python's head almost instantly.

Although the second-rank Gray Scale Giant Python possessed astonishing defenses, Yang Lie was immensely powerful. With one slash, he forcibly severed its head. Blood sprayed out as its headless body twisted ceaselessly on the ground.

On the other side, Li Lingxiu's longsword flashed repeatedly. Two streaks of sword light swept out, and the two giant snakes became headless corpses that dropped to the ground.

"Looks like we won't be getting any sleep tonight!!"

Li Lingxiu looked helplessly at the three snake corpses on the ground.

Many ferocious beasts possessed incredibly sharp senses of smell and could detect blood from miles away. The scent of blood from these three beasts would most likely attract many more ferocious beasts.

Yang Lie said, "That's the disadvantage of having too few people!"

With a five-person team, two people could handle combat while one guarded the other two as they slept. Only when they encountered a powerful enemy would all five rise to fight together.

"I'm going to sleep for a while!"

Fang Lingxiu wiped her palms over the wet bedding. Mist rose wherever her hands passed, completely evaporating the moisture. She then lay down in the tent and fell into a deep sleep.

About half an hour later, the faint sound of grass being crushed came from the nearby woods.

"Get lost!"

Yang Lie picked up a stone, circulated his true qi, and hurled it into the woods.

A cat-like ferocious beast the size of a leopard was startled and sprang out of the forest. Its eyes gleamed fiercely as it pounced at Yang Lie.

Yang Lie stood quietly before the tent. As the cat-like ferocious beast approached, he suddenly drew his saber. A brilliant streak of blade light flashed, and the beast was immediately split in two and fell to the ground.

Several hours later.

"Wake up, it's your turn to keep watch!"

Yang Lie pushed Fang Lingxiu, who was sleeping soundly inside the tent, and called out loudly.

Fang Lingxiu murmured groggily, "Another five minutes~~!"

"Get up already!!"

Yang Lie grabbed Fang Lingxiu and shook her fiercely. It took quite a while before she finally opened her eyes in a daze.

Yang Lie said, "It's your turn to keep watch!"

"Got it!"

Fang Lingxiu sat blankly for a moment, then instinctively circulated her true qi to dispel her sleepiness.

He actually killed so many ferocious beasts!

When Fang Lingxiu stepped out of the tent, she saw seven or eight ferocious beast corpses scattered outside. Surprise flashed through her eyes. When she turned around, she saw Yang Lie already collapsed inside the tent, fast asleep.

I don't smell bad, do I? Well, sweat is unavoidable! My image is ruined! No, it's already ruined!!

Fang Lingxiu was, after all, a beautiful young girl. Seeing Yang Lie asleep in the tent where she had just been sleeping, all sorts of strange thoughts suddenly filled her mind.

When hunting ferocious beasts in the wilderness, other than insect repellent, perfume was forbidden. It was a lesson countless beast-hunting groups had paid for with their lives. Once someone wore perfume, certain Ferocious Beastmen with powerful senses of smell could lock onto them and make them prey. And when hunting in the forest, one had to guard not only against ferocious beasts and Ferocious Beastmen, but also against humans!!