Rat-Head Monster

A 10-millimeter-caliber Gauss Rifle was the standard combat weapon of the Human Alliance's elite soldiers. A single shot could pierce the armor of an ordinary tank.

One hundred Human Alliance elite soldiers armed with Gauss Rifles could easily surround and kill an ordinary Heaven and Human Realm martial arts expert in open plains.

Konghe Star could not mass-produce Gauss Rifles and could only purchase them by consuming precious import quotas and foreign exchange reserves. As a result, Gauss Rifles were scarce. Basically, only powerful Konghe Star clans such as the Four Great Families possessed them, and even they equipped only a small number of elite troops with them.

Yang Lie said, "Mei Xian, I want to learn the Heaven-Grade Martial Art Azure Dragon Fist, the Heaven-Grade External Training Martial Art Heavenly Dragon Vajra Skill, and the Heaven-Grade movement technique Heavenly Dragon Elusive Step."

The martial arts instructors at Tailing No. 1 High School also mastered Heaven-Grade Martial Arts, but they were not proficient in Azure Dragon Fist and knew nothing about the other two martial arts Yang Lie wanted to cultivate.

Zhao Meixian chuckled. "I can help you find instructors. But those proficient in these Heaven-Grade Martial Arts are basically top experts in the Heaven and Human Realm with the potential to advance to the Golden Core Realm. Their tutoring fee is five million an hour. Do you have the money?"

Yang Lie replied righteously, "I don't. You do!"

Zhao Meixian rolled her eyes at him. "This is the first time I've seen someone live off a woman so righteously!"

Yang Lie smiled. "I won't take your benefits for nothing! Give me nine Fourth-Order Serpent Ferocious Beast corpses, nine Third-Order Serpent Ferocious Beast corpses, and two thousand spirit stones. In return, I'll prepare nine bottles of medicine to strengthen Life Essence. Its effects will be ten times those of the medicine you drank before."

Zhao Meixian's eyes lit up, and she said decisively, "Deal!!"

Medicine capable of strengthening Life Essence was exceedingly rare. Even Golden Core Realm experts would fight over such treasures. In comparison, while Ferocious Beast corpses were expensive, anything that could be bought with money was nothing to Zhao Meixian.

"But aren't you asking for far more Ferocious Beast corpses than last time?"

Zhao Meixian looked at Yang Lie suspiciously. She strongly suspected that he had skimmed a huge amount of materials while refining the medicine—this was standard practice among alchemists and medicine refiners.

Generally speaking, an alchemist or medicine refiner who skimmed only two or three portions of ingredients was considered fairly conscientious. Medicine refiners like Yang Lie, who skimmed more than ten portions in one go, were rare.

But even knowing that Yang Lie was skimming materials, Zhao Meixian was willing to let him fool her. Medicine that could improve a martial artist's Life Essence was simply too precious.

Yang Lie said with an upright expression, "If you want the medicine to be effective, naturally it will consume more Ferocious Beast materials. Isn't that common sense?"

Zhao Meixian asked, "When will the medicine be ready?"

"Ten days after the materials are delivered! Once I have them, I still need to leave the city and head into the forest to search for several precious spiritual materials. Only after obtaining them can I begin preparing it!"

"Then go look for the spiritual materials now! I'll help you ask the school for leave! It'll take me some time to buy the Ferocious Beasts as well! As for your martial arts instructors, we'll discuss that after you return."

"Alright!"

After reaching an agreement, Yang Lie quietly slipped out of the villa that very night. Pretending to head outside the city, he actually went straight to hide in an abandoned building within a city slum.

Although Tai Ling City was the Yun Family's stronghold, it also had several massive slums, where life was extremely difficult.

In fact, every major city on Konghe Star had slums. Most of the first citizens of many forward Base Cities had been recruited from those slums.

Three days later, inside the Small World.

"It's finally ripe! A thousand-year Dragon Scale Fruit!"

Yang Lie picked the thousand-year Dragon Scale Fruit and swallowed it in a few bites. An incomparably scorching current instantly spread through his body, strengthening his skin, flesh, bones, internal organs, and brain.

Yang Lie immediately felt an unbearable itching and numbness throughout his body. He could only grit his teeth and endure it.

Ten minutes later, the heat current dissipated.

"The transformation is complete? Have I become a body-refining genius? I'll test it when I get back! This thousand-year Dragon Scale Fruit can be consumed repeatedly, but it costs too much money! Still, with that little rich girl around, she should be more than willing to sponsor me at ten times the cost!"

With a thought, Yang Lie left the Small World and appeared in a hidden mezzanine within an abandoned building.

"Great Lord of Rats! Your most devout servants pray here. Please hear our prayers, accept the sacrifices we offer, and grant us power!"

"..."

One strange prayer after another rang out from outside.

"Lord of Rats? Which Evil God? Or perhaps an Evil God Son or a favored one?"

A trace of solemnity flashed through Yang Lie's eyes.

In the era of the Star Realm, most cults worshiped Evil Gods, because every Evil God possessed unimaginable might. As long as the sacrificial ritual was performed correctly, one could obtain all manner of incredible powers bestowed by an Evil God.

Aside from Evil Gods, Evil God Sons, servant gods of Evil Gods, and top favored ones of Evil Gods also possessed incomparably powerful strength. Thus, many people worshiped them as well.

Yang Lie poked his head out to look and saw nine figures in black robes. Their robes were embroidered with a monster that had four arms, a pair of human legs, and an enormous rat head.

Before the nine black-robed figures stood a roughly forty-centimeter-tall idol with a rat's head and a human body, forged entirely from black crystal.

Beside the nine black-robed figures were three women, tightly bound. Their eyes were filled with fear and despair.

"Huh! That person is Yun Rou!"

Yang Lie took a closer look and found an acquaintance among the three women.

Although Yang Lie and Yun Rou were students in the same advanced class, they had spoken fewer than twice. However, Yun Rou and Yun Haoran were both central figures in the class, which was why Yang Lie remembered her name.

Squeak! Squeak!

A large rat beside Yang Lie suddenly let out a shriek. The next moment, the squeaking cries of rats echoed throughout the entire building.

"Who!!"

The leader kneeling on the ground sprang up at once and abruptly turned toward Yang Lie's location.

Yang Lie also clearly saw the man's appearance. He was an ugly man nearly two meters tall, with facial features squeezed together like a rat's, while his body was packed with muscles, making him look like a muscular brute with a rat's head.

The other eight looked relatively normal. The moment they saw Yang Lie, they drew daggers and claw gloves.

A bunch of poor bastards who can't even get guns. There aren't many of them either. This cult is garbage—I can handle them! I can't beat the lord of Beihe Base City, but can't I beat you little pieces of trash?

The moment Yang Lie saw the cultists' weapons, his spirits rose, and blazing fighting intent filled his eyes!

Qian Ming had explained to Yang Lie that because Konghe Star banned firearms, ordinary cult forces could not get guns in the city at all. Cults capable of obtaining firearms almost certainly had powerful figures backing them and were generally guarded by experts.

As for those cults unable to acquire guns, most were mere trash cults. Any Public Security Bureau squad could easily wipe them out.