The Abyssal Mountain Range was located two hundred kiloters east of Shishui City.
It was a place for training and adventure, as famous as the Dead Soul Mountain Range. However, compared to the Dead Soul Mountain Range, the Abyssal Mountain Range was ho to a greater number of Desolate Beasts, though its terrain wasn't as treacherous and rugged. For this reason, the vast majority of Hunters and Martial Artists preferred to hunt Desolate Beasts in the Abyssal Mountain Range.
On this day, no fewer than a hundred people had gathered at the entrance to the Abyssal Mountain Range.
As it turned out...
The final round of the inter-clan martial tournant was not a simple series of duels, but rather an elimination trial based on actual combat. The goal was to select the last four lucky individuals who would enter the Cyan Nether Sword Sect.
"Quiet down, quiet down!"
Hong Tiande's impassive gaze swept over the crowd, his eyes glinting with a sharpness like the edge of a blade. He was relatively satisfied with their quiet response.
He glanced around out of the corner of his eye, confirming that the expert from the Cyan Nether Sword Sect in charge of the tournant had not appeared. Hong Tiande let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. 'Good. The expert from the Cyan Nether Sword Sect in charge of recruitnt disappeared after assigning the task that day. Otherwise, with him here, it would have been inconvenient for to make arrangents for Hong Qi.'
His gaze wandered, landing on the ten youths clustered in the crowd. It lingered for a mont on Hong Yu, and the corner of his mouth curved into a cold, severe arc.
In his eyes, Hong Yu was already a dead man.
Hong Qi was a Death Warrior he had personally trained. Not only was he fearless in the face of death, but more importantly, he had reached the Earth Soul Realm of cultivation half a year ago. Coupled with his mastery of the Assassination Technique, even an expert at the Earth Soul Realm might not escape Hong Qi's fatal blade, let alone soone as insignificant as Hong Yu.
What's more, with Hong Hu providing support, the plan was virtually foolproof.
At this thought, Hong Tiande's expression softened slightly. He announced in a booming voice, "Now, each of you will be given a Jade Order. This order is called a 'Telepathic Sensing Jade Order' and is the key item for recording the points you earn. You must not lose it under any circumstances. If anyone's Jade Order is missing at the end of the final round, it ans you have been eliminated!"
"Elder Hong, if we lose our Jade Order but are unwilling to give up, is there any way around it?"
The one who asked was nad Cao Bo, also one of the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies.
Hong Tiande glanced at him and indifferently uttered a single word that made everyone's nerves tense: "Steal!" After a pause, he continued, "You can even plunder others' Jade Orders when yours isn't lost. As long as you seize another's Jade Order, the points on it will beco yours!"
The expressions of the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies all tightened.
'Seize another's Jade Order, and their points will beco mine?'
Without a doubt, this would be the fastest way to eliminate opponents.
Among the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies present, more than half were likely already entertaining this idea!
"How do we earn points?" Cao Bo asked again.
Hong Tiande said, "By hunting Desolate Beasts. For example, hunting a Tier One Junior Desolate Beast is worth one point, a Middle Level is worth two, and an Advanced is worth three. Of course, if you manage to kill a Tier Two Desolate Beast, that's worth ten points. The final round will last for three days. You must return here on ti three days from now. Anyone late or absent will be considered to have forfeited."
"One more special reminder: since this is a test of actual combat, casualties are inevitable. If anyone is unfortunately injured or killed during the assessnt, it can only be because their skills were inferior. Their respective families are not to hold anyone responsible on these grounds. Otherwise, it will be considered a provocation against the authority of the Cyan Nether Sword Sect!" After a pause, Hong Tiande spoke slowly, "If there are no objections, take your Jade Orders and prepare to set out!"
The Ten Great Celestial Prodigies exchanged glances, then set off, moving swiftly toward the towering, sprawling mountain range before them.
Three days wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. Every second counted.
Hong Tiande watched with narrowed eyes as the figures of the ten youths were swallowed by the tall forest. Only then did he turn to face everyone else at the site and say flatly, "From this mont on, we will guard the entrance to the Abyssal Mountain Range to prevent any experts from the clans from entering to help the participants hunt Desolate Beasts, which would compromise the fairness of the assessnt."
"As it should be!"
The assembled experts, suspecting nothing, dispersed to set up camp, preparing to stand guard here for three days and three nights.
What no one noticed was that as the Ten Great Celestial Prodigies entered the Abyssal Mountain Range, in a dark corner sowhere within the mountains, a burly figure in black, who had been sitting in a clearing and gnawing on the flesh of a Tier One Advanced Desolate Beast, a Demon Wolf, slowly stood up.
He stretched out his tongue to lick the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth. His two black eyes held a dead aura, unlike that of a living person. His low voice had a cold, tallic hardness. "They should be inside by now! Heh heh, I can't wait to get my hands on him and finish this. It's a sha Young Master Hong Hu instructed to wait until he's hunted so Desolate Beasts and earned so points before I make my move. Fine, I'll let him live for another day or two!"
The man in black slowly bent down, and a series of hair-raising CRUNCH, CRUNCH chewing sounds echoed through the empty woods.
...
A Tiger with Tortured Teeth, a Tier One Middle Level Desolate Beast.
The Tiger with Tortured Teeth was a full five ters long. Its fra was burly, and with every movent, its powerful muscles rippled, exuding a sense of explosive power.
"ROAR!"
The Tiger with Tortured Teeth suddenly leaped into the air, diving toward the youth before it.
Tiger-type Desolate Beasts were most skilled at pouncing strikes—powerful and heavy. This, combined with its steel-like bones and body, made it incredibly formidable, enough to ignore the attacks of an ordinary Essence Realm Martial Artist. Its claws, glinting coldly, were as sharp as knives. Before they even reached him, the tingling WHIR of wind-breaking sound was enough to make one's scalp crawl.
"You wretched beast, watch peel that hide right off you!"
Hong Yu laughed heartily and t it head-on.
The two figures, one large and one small, collided.
"BOOM!"
A punch smashed down, striking the Tiger with Tortured Teeth squarely on its forehead.
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"
The sound of shattering bones ca from the massive tiger's head. The mighty Tier One Middle Level Tiger with Tortured Teeth's eyes rolled back, and it completely lost all signs of life.
"BUZZ!"
The Jade Order in Hong Yu's robes displayed the number of points: Two!
'Those who passed the tournant's qualifying rounds are all experts at the Ninth Layer of the Essence Realm. Their speed at hunting Desolate Beasts is definitely no slower than mine. At this rate, it'll be hard to build a lead in points.' As Hong Yu cleaned up the carcass of the Tiger with Tortured Teeth, his gaze drifted toward the depths of the Abyssal Mountain Range. 'With my strength, I have the ability to survive even if I run into a Tier Two Desolate Beast. Rather than hunting Low Tier Desolate Beasts on the outskirts, I might as well head deeper in.'
Desolate Beasts were extrely territorial. The vast Abyssal Mountain Range was divided into three zones: the outer, central, and inner areas. The outer area was mostly ho to Tier One Low Level and Middle Level Desolate Beasts, the Central Area was for Tier One Advanced Desolate Beasts, and as for the inner area, all the Desolate Beasts there were at least Tier Two. There were even rumors of terrifying existences beyond Tier Two.
Hong Yu's target was precisely the Central Area, where Tier One Advanced Desolate Beasts gathered.
After traveling just over seventy kiloters, Hong Yu suddenly stopped and dropped to the ground, his wary gaze fixed ahead.
"RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!"
The faint sound of low, dense footsteps drifted from up ahead.
Hong Yu's eyes narrowed as he saw what was ahead. "A Silver Moon Wolf Pack?"
The Silver Moon Wolf, a type of pack-dwelling Tier One Advanced Desolate Beast.
This Silver Moon Wolf Pack numbered over forty. Each one had a coat as smooth as the silver moon, and their massive bodies stood two and a half ters tall when upright.
'You'll do!'
A corner of Hong Yu's mouth lifted.
He took the Long Spear he had purchased a few days ago from the Profound Celestial Tower, his eyes shining with a fanatic gleam, like a beggar who had just found a mountain of gold. When he was young, he had heard stories of a single person fighting a pack of wolves alone. Back then, he had idolized that powerful figure. Now that he had such strength himself, how could he not be thrilled?
"SWOOSH!"
Hong Yu took a step out from the tall grass.
The movent instantly caught the attention of the Silver Moon Wolf Pack ahead. Amidst howls of "AWOOOO," the forty-plus Silver Moon Wolves turned and charged toward Hong Yu.
"Excellent timing! This is a perfect chance to test out my Seven-Star Step and Destruction!"
Hong Yu let out a great laugh, his presence formidable.
The Silver Moon Wolves were incredibly fast. On top of that, wolves were a species that excelled at coordinated attacks. As the forty-plus adult Silver Moon Wolves sprinted, they ford a unique formation. From the front, back, left, and right, they seed to have cut off all of Hong Yu's escape routes, forcing him into a head-on battle.
Imagine the shock and terror of watching forty-plus giant wolves, each over a ter tall, charging at you all at once.
"Vicious beasts, this formation is comparable to a military battle array. Co on, then! Watch use my Seven-Star Step to break your formation!"
Hong Yu shot up, his legs suddenly bursting with power as he moved, and his speed surged once again.
"ROAR!"
Two Silver Moon Wolves attacked from the left and right, their massive, sharp claws swiping at Hong Yu's shoulders.
The eyes of these two beasts glinted with excitent and a Bloodthirsty light; they had often killed their prey with just such a swipe!
As he saw the claws descend, Hong Yu's lips tightened and he dropped into a crouch.
"SWISH!"
His body traced a strange trajectory, dodging the attacks of the two Silver Moon Wolves. At the sa ti, using the Seven-Star Step, Hong Yu spun around, his feet treading the Seven-Star pattern. The Long Spear in his hand shot out horizontally. With a flick of his wrist, the cold-glinting spear tip erupted in a dazzling flurry of afterimages. With two soft sounds, "PFFT," "PFFT," the Long Spear pierced through the hearts of both Silver Moon Wolves.
The bloodthirsty and triumphant looks of a successful attack still lingered in the two beasts' eyes as all life drained from them.
"AWOOOO!"
Seeing their companions killed in an instant only provoked the ferocious nature of the remaining Silver Moon Wolves. The forty-plus beasts launched an even more frenzied retaliation.
Using the Seven-Star Step, Hong Yu moved effortlessly through the wolf pack. Sotis his Long Spear would shoot out, sotis he'd use it as a great staff to smash down, and other tis he'd strike out with a Little Thunderbolt Palm or a Rising Dragon Fist. Almost every attack struck a Silver Moon Wolf's vital point, taking its life.
With this frenzied slaughter, Hong Yu's points climbed rapidly.
His understanding and use of his newest Martial Skills—the Little Thunderbolt Palm, Rising Dragon Fist, Seven-Star Step, and Destruction—grew increasingly proficient and integrated. In particular, the Seven-Star Step and Destruction, which were already at the Mastery Realm, were gradually advancing toward the Realm of Perfection.
"BOOM!"
A thrust of his spear pierced through the last Silver Moon Wolf's head.
The battle was finally over!
The ground was littered with the corpses of the Silver Moon Wolves. The thick, pungent stench of blood was so foul it made one want to vomit.
"BUZZ!"
On the Jade Order, the points had astonishingly changed to one hundred thirty-one!
"Hunting a Desolate Beast Group really is the fastest way to get points."
Hong Yu pumped his fist in excitent. The battle had been incredibly fruitful. Not only had he earned a high number of points, but he had also practiced his Seven-Star Step and Destruction until they were even more proficient, raising his combat power in the process. Hong Yu rubbed his nose. The sll of blood was simply too pungent. Besides, the scent could easily attract powerful Desolate Beasts, so it wasn't wise to linger.
However, just as Hong Yu was about to turn and leave, a voice filled with ecstasy and excitent suddenly ca from behind him, imdiately followed by the sharp sound of two objects breaking the wind...
"Fate really does bring enemies together! Hong Yu, let's see who can save you this ti!"
User Comments
0 comments from readers