Killing Intent in the Wilderness, Hidden Schemes
Thirty kilometers outside of Jinling City.
Passing through the towering steel walls, all traces of human civilization are instantly erased.
As far as the eye could see, there was a continuous stretch of abandoned urban ruins. Skyscrapers were Entanglement thick, mutated vines, and the streets were filled with rusty car wrecks. The air was thick with a pungent stench of decay and a faint smell of blood.
This is the perilous wilderness area!
The three-person team moved cautiously through the ruins in a triangular formation.
Leading the way was naturally Xiahou Ying, the strongest among them.
She gripped her long sword, her gaze sharp as she warily scanned every dark corner of her surroundings. But if someone were to observe closely, they would notice a hint of... unease in the eyes of this usually aloof young lady.
Why did you specifically remind me of the location of ' Black Water Pool ' yesterday, brother?
Xiahou Ying's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Just as she was feeling uneasy.
"Roar--!"
A deep roar suddenly came from the ruins of a collapsed shopping mall ahead!
Immediately afterwards, three monsters, each the size of an adult water buffalo and covered in stiff black hair, burst out of the shadows, opened their blood-red maws, and charged at the three of them with a nauseating stench!
[Tier 1 Low-Level Ferocious Beast - Ironclad Hyena]!
"Careful!"
Zhu Hao exclaimed in surprise, instinctively taking half a step back. His face was a little pale, and he seemed somewhat at a loss, clutching a standard-issue short knife in his hand.
"Hmph! A bunch of beasts!"
Xiahou Ying snorted coldly and advanced instead of retreating!
"Clang!"
The longsword was drawn, emitting a clear, ringing sound!
Her internal energy and blood suddenly erupted, and a powerful pressure from the Seventh Level of Blood Nourishing Realm swept out instantly!
She moved with lightning speed, transforming into a black afterimage, and instantly plunged into the hyena pack!
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
The sword flashed, like a plum blossom blooming in the cold winter!
Those Ironclad Hyena, with their thick hides and tough flesh that even ordinary bullets could hardly penetrate, were as fragile as paper under Xiahou Ying's sharp sword energy, their throats instantly severed!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three enormous corpses crashed heavily to the ground, their blood staining the gray cement floor crimson.
Clean! Neat!
It demonstrated an extremely solid foundation in Martial Dao.
"So... so strong!"
Zhu Hao swallowed hard, looking at Xiahou Ying with admiration. "Xiahou, you're amazing! That was Ironclad Hyena, and you took it down in one move?"
Xiahou Ying flicked the blood off her sword, sheathed it, and without even glancing at Zhu Hao, said in her cold and arrogant tone, "Stop flattering me. Just stay alert and don't cause me any trouble."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhu Hao nodded repeatedly, looking completely submissive.
However.
The moment he lowered his head, a shrewdness and indifference flashed in his eyes, which had been somewhat timid, a trait that was completely inconsistent with his demeanor.
[His swordsmanship is indeed excellent.]
[But if we really fight... my blade might not be slower than your sword.]
Zhu Hao subtly touched a miniature communicator in his pocket.
Just as he was leaving the city, he received an encrypted message from that "senior":
"Keep a close eye on that guy named Dongfang Yueming! In the next few days, someone might offer him an 'opportunity'! Once it appears, seize it immediately!"
A glint of greed flashed in Zhu Hao's eyes.
The senior told him:
There are always some mysterious "big shots" who secretly select students from impoverished backgrounds but with decent talent, bestowing upon them precious skills and resources, euphemistically calling it "investment."
Many originally mediocre and poor students have become prominent figures in the school in a short period of time thanks to this "fortuitous opportunity"!
For impoverished young men like Zhu Hao, who yearn to rise above others but whose family circumstances are neither high nor low, those "opportunities" are a fatal temptation!
"The Dongfang Yueming..."
Zhu Hao secretly glanced at the young man in blue who was walking at the back of the group out of the corner of his eye.
During the fight just now, this guy stayed in the back and "drifted along," only using a Yellow Grade fist technique that looked barely at the Minor Accomplishment level to deal with a stray fish that rushed towards him.
The movements are clumsy, and the body's energy and blood are weak.
"Looks like he's just an ordinary Fifth Level of Blood Nourishing."
Zhu Hao secretly assessed the situation, thinking, "If that 'opportunity' appears, I'm 80% confident I can snatch it from him!"
At this moment.
Dongfang Yueming, whom Zhu Hao considered a "fat sheep to be slaughtered," was slowly following behind the two, appearing somewhat tired, but in reality...
[Five hundred meters to the left front, there is a mid-level Tier 1 Bloodthirsty Berserk Boar.]
[Several highly venomous spiders are hiding in the ruins on the right.]
[besides...]
"Um?"
Suddenly, Dongfang Yueming paused almost imperceptibly.
His Divine Sense keenly detected a figure hundreds of meters away!
Xiahou Jing lay lurking in the shadows like Ghost.
He was toying with an exquisite jade bottle in his hand, which contained a powder that emitted a pungent, sweet-smelling odor—[Beast-Luring Powder].
"The blood food that the young master ordered looks to be of good quality."
Xiahou Jing's sinister eyes were fixed on Dongfang Yueming, who was walking at the back of the group, and a cruel sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.
"It's time to send him some 'ripening agent'."
He flicked his finger, and a wisp of wind stirred up the powder in the jade bottle, silently drifting it towards the path the three-person team was bound to take.
"This ' Wind Blade Wolf ' is inherently ferocious and cannot withstand the stimulation of this Beast-Luring Powder."
"Once the herd of beasts appears, those two troublesome fellows will naturally be held back. As for this kid..."
A calculating glint flashed in Xiahou Jing's eyes. With a swift movement, he transformed into a gray shadow and dashed ahead towards a hidden cave.
"Everyone be careful!"
Xiahou Ying, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped, held her long sword horizontally in front of her chest, and a solemn expression appeared on her cool face.
"What's wrong, Xiahou?" Zhu Hao gripped the short knife in his hand and nervously looked around.
"Awooo--!!!"
Just then, a piercing wolf howl suddenly erupted from the ruins ahead!
Immediately afterwards, the earth began to tremble slightly!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Dozens of bluish-gray figures, like arrows released from a bow, sprang out from behind the dilapidated buildings and abandoned cars, bringing with them a nauseating stench, and surrounded the three of them!
[Tier 1 Intermediate Ferocious Beast - Wind Blade Wolf]!
They were the size of oxen, with hair as sharp as steel needles, and pairs of scarlet eyes stared intently at the three of them, occasionally spitting out visible wind blades from their mouths!
"Oh no! It's a pack of wolves!"
Zhu Hao was shocked and his face turned deathly pale!
They might be able to handle one or two Wind Blade Wolf. But dozens of them—even Xiahou Ying, at the Seventh Level of Blood Nourishing, would be impossible for her to escape unscathed!
"Form ranks! Don't panic!"
Xiahou Ying let out a shout, and her internal energy and blood erupted, unleashing the powerful pressure of the Seventh Level of Blood Nourishing! Her figure moved like lightning, transforming into a black afterimage, and instantly rushed into the wolf pack!
"Swish! Swish! Swish!"
The sword flashed, like a plum blossom blooming in the cold winter!
Dongfang Yueming, who was walking at the back, narrowed his eyes slightly.
[Beast-Luring Powder?]
[It seems the ' Rat ' lurking in the shadows intends to use this pack of Wind Blade Wolf to scatter us.]
He showed no abnormality, merely using his Yellow Grade Minor Accomplishment True Yang Fist to "barely" parry several Wind Blade Wolf that pounced on him.
"Damn it! Too many!"
Xiahou Ying shattered two wind blades with a single sword strike, only to discover that the wolf pack seemed to have been provoked and was becoming increasingly frenzied!
"Dongfang! Zhu Hao! Don't scatter!"
However, under the wolf pack's onslaught, the three's formation was instantly torn apart!
While struggling to repel the Ferocious Beast, Dongfang Yueming was naturally forced towards the ruined canyon on one side by the wolf pack's offensive.
[Since you want to separate us, let's see what tricks you're up to.]
After all, the fact that the other side needed to use a herd of beasts to disperse them meant that either they didn't have the intention to kill for the time being, or their own strength was insufficient.
He fought his way back and forth until he finally disappeared into a narrow canyon and hid in a secluded cave.
"Huff... huff..."
Inside the cave, the light was dim.
Dongfang Yueming leaned against the rock wall and calmed his breathing.
Sudden.
His gaze fell on a flat stone platform in the center of the cave.
There, quietly sat an antique-style leather storage bag!
The storage bag was half-open, revealing a jade slip that emitted a shimmering luster, as well as several exquisite jade bottles inside.
"Um?"
Dongfang Yueming raised an eyebrow slightly.
[How could there be a storage bag that looked like it had just been put down in this deserted cave in the middle of nowhere?]
[Cultivation techniques? Elixirs?]
He did not act rashly, and immediately became alert.
[If it was placed by the person who was following us before, what was their purpose?]
As he stared at the storage bag, his mind racing.
"Whoosh!"
A sharp, piercing sound suddenly came from behind him!
Dongfang Yueming reacted extremely quickly, his figure suddenly One Flash to the side!
"Zheng--!"
A gleaming sword slashed fiercely at the stone platform, just past the hem of his clothes, sending sparks flying!
"You dodged pretty quickly, Dongfang."
A cold, mocking voice echoed in the dark cave.
Dongfang Yueming turned his head.
At the cave entrance, a familiar figure walked in, carrying a long, narrow sword and grinning maliciously.
The kind, timid, chubby guy who used to be— Zhu Hao!
At this moment, he had shed his previous cowardice, his blood and energy surged, his grip on the knife was steady and skillful, and his eyes gleamed with a greedy light like a hungry wolf!