Azure Ghost Race

Ning Baichuan had originally wanted to say, "If I tell you not to go out, then don't go out. Why all the questions?"

But the words reached his lips, and he swallowed them back.

His child had grown up and had the right to know the truth.

Kids these days were really hard to raise.

Sighing inwardly, Ning Baichuan said:

"An unidentified life-form has come to Xinyuan City. It preys on people's qi and blood. Several hundred people died today alone."

"Does that mean I can't go to the martial arts hall to cultivate?" Ning Yue asked.

The Thunder Martial Arts Hall had dedicated cultivation rooms, which were far more effective than cultivating at home.

Besides, there were plenty of martial artists there to exchange experiences with.

Every one of them was so pleasant to talk to.

"You can go to school. There are dedicated cultivation rooms there too," Ning Baichuan suggested.

Ning Yue nodded.

That was his only option. The school was close to home, and city guards patrolled the route, making it safer than the way to the Thunder Martial Arts Hall.

The only problem was that the school's cultivation rooms charged by the hour, and the prices were steep.

Then, after his mother transferred him a million yuan,

he felt the school's cultivation rooms weren't all that bad. The price was acceptable after all.

"Woo-la-la! Woo-la-la!"

A martial arts patrol car drove past, and Ning Yue could clearly see there were more patrol cars out today.

This was already the fifth patrol car in an hour.

After spending three days at home like this, Ning Yue could no longer stand the loneliness and boredom, so he decided to go take a look at school.

"Brother Yue..."

On his way to school, Ning Yue ran into Wang Xueqing.

"Xueqing, how is your father doing?"

Ning Yue asked. The last time he had run into Wang Xueqing, there had been too many people around for him to ask more.

"He's completely recovered, and it's all thanks to you, Brother Yue."

Wang Xueqing's gratitude showed as she spoke.

"Thanks to me?" Ning Yue was puzzled.

He had planned to give the Golden Body Pill he had obtained from that simulation to Wang Xueqing's father, but he hadn't given it to him. He had even eaten it himself.

"Of course I have to thank you. If you hadn't told Uncle Lei about my father, it might have taken him a while longer to wake up, and he might even have been left disabled."

Wang Xueqing spoke in a light tone, her face wreathed in smiles.

Thinking back, Ning Yue recalled that he did seem to have told Lei Zhan about Wang Xueqing's father.

He just hadn't expected Lei Zhan to cure Wang Xueqing's father outright.

And Lei Zhan had even let Ning Yue take the credit.

In high spirits, Wang Xueqing began telling Ning Yue about her father.

From her account, Ning Yue learned the gist of what had happened.

It turned out Lei Zhan had paid ten million yuan for a vial of Vitality Creation Liquid and cured Wang Xueqing's father with it.

Of course, Wang Xueqing's father would no longer receive a share of the subsequent proceeds.

Even so, he still owed seven million yuan, which he would have to repay through future hunts.

The two walked along, chatting as they went.

Bonds grew through constant conversation, especially since the two were sworn brother and sister in name.

Although they did not yet share a sibling bond, they were at least on familiar terms.

"Haha... These are your top ten?"

"Xinyuan Martial Arts High School is so useless."

"This is what your top ten looks like?"

As they approached the school, they saw a large crowd gathered around the entrance. Grating voices rang out from within it.

"Brother Yue, it looks like someone's come to challenge our school."

After a moment of confusion, Wang Xueqing understood what was happening.

"Challenge?" Ning Yue had never heard of it.

"Yes. It happens every year around the college entrance exam. The closer it gets, the more third-year students go to other schools to challenge them and improve their own combat skills."

Remembering that Ning Yue used to be known as the Sleep God, Wang Xueqing wasn't surprised he didn't know about it.

Ning Yue nodded.

Not only that, they could also learn about the overall strength of third-year students from other cities.

After all, the college entrance exam was a joint exam for eight cities, so it was far from certain whose hands the championship would fall into.

"But with things the way they are, and the Azure Ghost Race causing trouble, there are still people coming to challenge us. Aren't they afraid of dying on the road?" Hearing the challengers' rude remarks, Wang Xueqing spoke in a low voice.

"The Azure Ghost Race? Can you tell me more?"

Ning Yue realized there were still many things he didn't know, and he wasn't ashamed to ask someone less experienced.

"You don't know? Didn't Uncle Ning and the others tell you? The Azure Ghost Race likes to devour human qi and blood. In the past two days, nearly a thousand people in Xinyuan City have had their qi and blood devoured by them and died, leaving nothing but a human skin behind."

Wang Xueqing was a little surprised.

She had run into Ning Yue on the road, and she knew he had applied to cultivate away from school, so she had thought he knew about it.

Ning Yue nodded. No wonder there had been more and more patrol cars these past few days, and an air of panic had settled over the entire city.

Yet he couldn't find any information online.

Since the Azure Ghost Race liked to devour human qi and blood, the higher a martial artist's realm and the stronger their qi and blood, the more attractive they should be to the Azure Ghost Race.

And since he hadn't heard of any fierce battles in Xinyuan City, that meant those Azure Ghosts weren't at very high realms and didn't dare face high-rank martial artists.

If that was the case, ordinary people and low-rank martial artists were in even greater danger.

"Xueqing, can you tell me more about the Azure Ghost Race?"

Ning Yue glanced at the challengers and saw that they weren't very strong. They weren't even as strong as Wang Xueqing, so he paid them no further attention.

Instead, he was eager to learn about the Azure Ghost Race, an unfamiliar alien race.