Buildings on either side of the road leaned against each other like prostrated giants. On the broken concrete walls, spiders in their webs clung low against the wind. Gray clouds blanketed the sky. Down the long, straight street, a young man in black-patterned silver armor ambled forward. The steel spear resting in his left hand slowly cut through the air, a red tassel at the base of its double-edged head flaring like a flame.
Li Juefeng?!
Standing silently behind Jiang Qiu, Wang Guanjia's pupils constricted. Blood rushed to his head, and the fist clenching his spear shaft trembled. A chill shot down his spine.
The Light Armor, covering nearly every vulnerable point on his body, made him look like some legendary young general of old. His sharp eyes were level and steady, his gaze as cold as a tiger stalking the hills of Nangang.
'His presence is even more oppressive than it was two years ago...'
THUD.
His hard black boot came down on the Red Armored Giant Lizard's head. With a WET RIP, he yanked out the black Short Spear buried in its flesh. A few drops of blood spattered onto his silver Knee Guards before sliding off.
He thrust the Short Spear behind him. With a CLICK, like a sword returning to its scabbard, it slid into a quiver-like alloy case on his back, leaving four spear shafts neatly arranged in a row.
He glanced at the street littered with Demon Beast corpses, then turned his icy gaze on them. "Who killed all these Demon Beasts?"
His gaze swept over them with the disdain of a warhorse for a cotton field. Seeing that all the students were looking at a single, unarmored youth, his brow dipped slightly. "You?"
The twenty-some students from the two sites pursed their lips, their brows furrowed as they silently watched the young man in the black shirt. He alone stood before the crowd, standing out like a crane among chickens.
'Such a fierce commotion must have been from someone killing Demon Beasts. To slaughter so many in such a short time... that's no ordinary person.'
"I did."
Jiang Qiu raised his gaze, his eyes like mirrors on still water. Li Juefeng tilted his chin up, his eyes like a river gull spotting a carp. Their gazes met, yet seemed to miss, one looking up and the other down.
After sizing each other up for a moment, Li Juefeng's brow sharpened like the edge of a sword. His eyes were like a Cold Spear under the moon.
'Over a hundred outstanding students bow their heads when they see me.'
'I am the peak of the eight sites at Eighth Middle School.'
'But just because Wusu Fragrance is absent for her Body Refining, I'm not the top pick for this training hunt?'
'You'd better be a genius, too.'
At this thought, Li Juefeng snorted lightly. "You're Jiang Qiu?"
"Yes."
Jiang Qiu's gaze burned like a blazing fire. Blood dripped from his spearhead, DRIP... DRIP..., while his simple black shirt swayed in the wind.
'Even though his Short Spears can instantly pierce a Red Armored Giant Lizard's head, and his arm strength isn't far from the Steel Bone Realm... His ability to snipe Demon Beasts gives him a clear advantage. What follows will undoubtedly be a massacre on his part.'
'But at least for now, my kill count is definitely far higher than his.'
'How could I just hand over the reward for "Best Performance"?'
'On the Martial Path, one must fight for every opportunity!'
"There was originally a Demon Plant in Qingmu Town. Yesterday, its main body suddenly disappeared. Whoever finds the Demon Plant first and picks its fruit gets the Qiang Su Fragrance."
Li Juefeng turned and strode away, the four spear shafts on his back angled toward the sky. He radiated an effortless authority, and as he left, the crushing pressure on everyone's hearts receded like the tide.
"The Demon Plant disappeared?"
Jiang Qiu's brow tightened. The reflection of the abandoned Red Armored Giant Lizard on the road appeared in his eyes as the silver-armored figure gradually vanished down the street.
'In terms of speed, how could a single spear compete with four Short Spears? How could a cautious, first-person approach compete with an omniscient, god-like perspective?'
'He even knows the Demon Plant disappeared. He must have learned everything before he came.'
'If the "Best Performance" is being decided by the Demon Plant's fruit, that decision probably came from his father, Li Ang...'
"Damn, Li Juefeng is as intimidating as ever. During the last martial arts exchange for top students, just looking at him from a distance felt like seeing a ferocious tiger."
The bald student clicked his tongue and sighed, then turned to Jiang Qiu. "Brother Jiang, you're amazing. You didn't even flinch in front of Li Juefeng. It looks like he takes you seriously, too. I've never seen him look anyone straight in the eye before."
Jiang Qiu smiled silently without a word. The students from Site 5 murmured softly, their gazes toward him like fireflies lit within paper lanterns.
He waved his hand, signaling Zhang Shan and the others to clean up the Demon Beast remains scattered on the road. Seemingly lost in thought, he looked at the bald student. "Where did you guys run into so many Demon Beasts?"
"Uh, ever since we were ambushed by a few Red Armored Giant Lizards last night, several classmates were forced to [Withdraw]. After we moved to a new place to rest, we were ambushed again this morning by Iron Armor Lizards and Red Armored Giant Lizards."
Thinking of this, the bald student sighed helplessly, his gaze as murky as mud.
'This Qingmu Town is seriously difficult. Encountering a Middle Tier of Demon Beast on the very first night is rare in the entire history of these training hunts. I thought we just had bad luck.'
'But then, while we were running, we bumped into Xie Kuang and someone else from Site 8. They were also being chased by Red Armored Giant Lizards.'
'Come to think of it, this Central Street is the area closest to the Secret Realm Center. Shouldn't there be even more Demon Beasts here?'
'For Jiang Qiu to be able to set up camp here with the students from Site 8... he's a real monster!'
'But with that explosive power he just showed, I'd believe it if you told me he could kill a Red Armored Giant Lizard with one hand.'
"Hmm..." Jiang Qiu raised a brow and muttered to himself, "More Demon Beasts on the outskirts than on Central Street? This prime location isn't so great after all..."
'But the number of Demon Beasts is a secondary concern now. Since Li Juefeng said the "Best Performance" will be decided by the Demon Plant's fruit, the priority should be finding that Demon Plant.'
'After all, the value of Qiang Su Fragrance can't be measured in millions of Xia Coins. Its effect of enhancing one's comprehension of the Spear Dao makes even veteran Martial Artists drool. Anyone who practices the spear must fight for it!'
'Besides, it's a precious Martial Arts Resource that doesn't circulate on the open market.'
'If I miss this chance, it'll be hard to ever find another.'
At this thought, Jiang Qiu's gaze focused. He bid farewell to the bald student and his group from Site 5, then led the students of Site 8 to drag away the twenty-plus Demon Beast corpses.
As he was mentally speculating on the Demon Plant's location, an energetic voice spoke up beside him.
"Brother Jiang, if we want to find the Demon Plant, we'll probably have to go to the center of the Secret Realm," Zhang Shan said, clutching the claws of two Iron Armor Lizards in his left hand. He stared ahead, a bright light reflecting in his eyes. "The Demon Race and their kind all love Secret Realms. Demon Plants are surely no exception."
"Yeah, Brother Jiang! Demon Plants are created through Demonization because of the appearance of Secret Realms. It definitely likes Secret Realms. As long as we get close to the Secret Realm Center, kill the Demon Plant, and snatch its fruit, we can beat Li Juefeng!"
Li Si, who was dragging two Iron Armor Lizards, shouted this out, then laughed sheepishly. "But Demon Plants vary in strength. Many are even stronger than a High Tier Demon Beast. You have to be careful, Brother Jiang. I can't be of much help..."
"Are you saying you don't trust Brother Jiang? He fought a Red Armored Giant Lizard bare-handed! Even if we run into a Demon Plant on par with a High Tier Demon Beast, it's not like we can't give it a shot!" Zhang Shan said, puffing out his chest, his words full of fire. "As long as we find the Demon Plant, I don't see why the 'Best Performance' award can't go to our Brother Jiang!"
Jiang Qiu smiled but said nothing.
'A Demon Plant isn't that easy to find. The word Li Juefeng used was "disappeared"...'
'But speaking of which, Demon Plants bear fruit. Do vines bear fruit?'
His gaze drifted to the green vines covering the surface of the ruined building, where a few new shoots swayed in the wind.
'The entire Qingmu Town is covered in this type of plant. It can't be the main body of the Demon Plant, just some ordinary plants that have undergone a bit of Demonization.'
'But it's precisely because of these plants that finding the Demon Plant is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It's purely down to luck...'
DING...
A vibration from his left wrist interrupted Jiang Qiu's thoughts and brought the entire team to a halt. He frowned and looked down, but before he could see where the [Distress] signal was coming from...
DING...
DING...
DING...