Chapter 102: Chapter 101: King Niu: Have You Ever Seen Me in My Prime?

The next morning, after eating roasted High Tier Demon Beast meat, Jiang Qiu stepped out of the grand hotel and glanced at the Fourth Middle School’s base across the way. The few students who had been watching the luggage yesterday were pacing back and forth in their room; the others hadn’t returned.

"Let’s go."

He waved, and the group of eighty-three, carrying long spears, set off in the opposite direction from the previous few days. After about ten minutes, their pace gradually slowed. The outlines of the houses on both sides of the road became distinct, and buildings a hundred meters away were faintly visible. He twitched his nose and caught a sour scent.

THUD, THUD, THUD...

The heavier their footsteps became, the thicker the purple mist grew. Li Si shivered, clutching his long spear tightly as he scanned the path ahead.

’No wonder the students from Fourth Middle School had a sudden score increase...’

Jiang Qiu muttered to himself, his vertical pupils reflecting faint yellow nests drawing closer from the distance. The glow was paler than an egg yolk, and the nests were clustered together like ants.

They were all Little Demon Beasts that had just reached the Low Tier Demon Beast rank—so weak an Iron Armor Lizard could eat them for a snack. One kick could kill any of them.

Moreover, in this mist, visibility was less than a hundred meters. Other high schools would probably have to search step by step, wandering back and forth, but his [Flood Dragon Tong] could see everything. It was perfectly clear where every nest was located.

As this thought crossed his mind, Jiang Qiu grabbed his long spear, twirled it in a flourish, and pointed it deep into the purple mist. His gaze was like a sword. "Follow me into that building in a moment. If we encounter any Demon Beasts, kill them fast!"

"Alright!"

...

With a BANG, Jiang Qiu’s long spear blasted open the iron door to the basement. He burst inside, the large searchlight in his hand shattering the darkness. The other students flinched, then charged in with their long spears, their eyes widening. "A mutated spider nest?"

Following the startled cry, a humming vibration filled the dripping basement. In the wide area illuminated by the searchlight, shadowy black "crabs" scurried about. Their eight green eyes looked like a dense swarm of fireflies skimming across the ground.

They surged toward the intruders with a KLAK-KLAK-KLAK, their strange, hissing cries washing over them like a tide.

Thrust!

Qian Cheng abruptly stabbed a mutated spider to death. His heart pounded as if a great fire was boiling his blood. A sharp glint shone in his eyes, and the hum of spears already filled his ears.

These were one of the weakest types of Low Tier Demon Beasts; a single stab was all it took.

’This is my chance to get into Northwest Martial University!’

At that thought, he, like the other students, charged into the tide of mutated spiders. Their Ancient Martial Spear Skills were clean and efficient. In an instant, green blood splattered everywhere. The eighty-plus students who charged in were all splattered with it, looking exactly like wolves tearing through a flock of sheep.

[Points +1]

[Points +1]

[Points +1]

[...]

Every student’s point count was soaring. Under Jiang Qiu’s leadership, they cleared out three or four mutated spider nests in a row. Even if a student was affected by some minor poison, a single gulp of a pre-purchased, ordinary antidote would have them back on their feet, full of vigor.

Faced with Demon Beasts that even those in the Copper Skin Realm could kill with ease, points poured in like a waterfall!

"Brother Jiang, holy shit, I made it into the top ten thousand!"

"Exactly ten thousand! Exactly ten thousand!"

"If we can keep this pace up every day, we’re a shoo-in for Northwest Martial University! Brother Jiang, you’re incredible, leading us from one mutated spider nest to the next!"

After the boisterous slaughter ended, the ecstatic students from Eighth Middle School casually wiped the green blood from their faces. Some of them opened the projections on their college entrance exam bracelets and started jumping up and down, their eyes practically glowing.

Jiang Qiu took a deep breath, pulling his gaze away from his own exam bracelet. His blood surged with excitement. ’Our team rank has climbed to twentieth. If we keep killing like this, could we even reach the standard of the top ten high schools in the provincial capital?’

’I don’t know what kind of Secret Realm has appeared in this purple mist to attract so many mutated spiders. These are basically free points.’

’Is it really true that fortune favors the bold?’

Just as he was thinking this, his [Flood Dragon Tong] activated. All the buildings turned grayscale, and the purple mist became like a filter over everything. At the edge of his vision, he could faintly see several hundred orange-yellow figures leaping and struggling, seemingly dancing around a dense, orange-yellow flame...

’A dense, orange-yellow flame?’

’That’s a fucking Top Tier Demon Beast!’

’And it looks familiar... Could it be that bastard, King Niu?!’

A sudden chill washed over Jiang Qiu’s mind. He shook his head, his killing intent as sharp as a spear point. "Keep up with me! Don’t fall behind!"

THUD, THUD, THUD.

The heavy, muffled footsteps were swallowed by the purple mist as soon as they sounded. The Eighth Middle School students strode to keep up with Jiang Qiu, their eyes glinting with rising anticipation. "Brother Jiang, have you sensed another mutated spider nest?"

They licked their lips, their blood pulsing through their veins like it was shot from a pressure washer. In their eyes, the back of the young man leading them was like the dawn breaking through the night, bringing light to the world.

But just as they thought they were about to turn into a building or an underground parking garage, a fierce, cold wind howled toward them from the front. Everyone’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt. Their Armor shuddered, and their pupils contracted!

BANG!

A bull-headed figure as tall as a two-story building stood in the middle of an open space. For a hundred meters around it, the purple mist recoiled from its aura like steam from a fire. Hundreds of students lay strewn about its feet, and with a single punch, it sent a student in Red Armor flying.

"King Niu?!"

Sun Yongsheng’s mouth twitched, and his heart pounded wildly. The reflection of King Niu’s back in his eyes was like a Demon rising from Hell, like a mountain blocking their path.

He glanced at the figure in red armor that had just been sent flying. A few red fragments were scattered on the ground. Zhang Heng was on his hands and knees spitting up blood, his long spear stuck upside down in the concrete floor.

Around them, several hundred students from Fourth Middle School and a large number of students from other high schools were lying on the ground. Most were gasping for breath, their chests heaving, but they lacked the strength in their arms to push themselves up.

At least three students from Inner City High Schools were already down. And the entire student body of Fourth Middle School, led by four Optimizers from Sanliang City, had been completely wiped out!

CRACK—

The sound of knuckles cracking erupted from Jiang Qiu’s left hand. With his right, he pressed down, and the point of his Double Arc Blade Spear Head sank two inches into the concrete with a KCHUNK.

"King Niu."

He glared furiously. The towering figure of King Niu turned toward him, its huge, bloodshot eyes filled with killing intent. The wound on its left shoulder had already healed, and now it faintly gleamed with a metallic luster.

"Run... run..."

Zhang Heng’s terrified eyes trembled. The words had barely escaped his lips and traveled three meters when a thunderous explosion rang in his ears.

BANG!

King Niu’s six-meter-tall frame was like a hill struck by a missile. Sparks flew as it blocked with both arms. With a THUD, it took a Half-Step back. Jiang Qiu’s Double Arc Blade Spear Head was already pressing down on its arms with immense force.

"Haha, I was waiting here on Lord Spider Mother’s orders, and I really did find you! This time, I will kill you and seize the chance to break through the Transformation Barrier again!"

King Niu grinned, pushed with immense force, and with a BOOM, tossed Jiang Qiu aside as easily as if cracking a walnut.

In that instant, a black shadow flew in a straight line. A BANG echoed from a hundred meters away as Jiang Qiu’s back shattered a crumbling concrete wall. Dust and purple mist churned together, obscuring his figure.

At that moment, the Eighth Middle School students stared in horror, their eyes wide enough to split. The many Fourth Middle School students lying on the ground were filled with despair and hatred. They watched as King Niu slowly retracted its fist, its lips curling into a smirk. "You thought that just because you wounded my arm when I was heavily injured, you could fight me? Have you ever seen me at my peak?!

In the battle at Dongqi Lake, I escaped from over ten top Non-commissioned Officers who tried to surround and kill me. You think a novice like you, who’s barely entered the Steel Bone Realm, can trade blows with me?

Moo-hahaha—"

King Niu threw its head back and laughed, the very dust at its feet trembling.

But suddenly, a chilling intent pressed down as if from the heavens. Its heart skipped a beat, its laughter died, and its blood ran cold.

It looked down. The young man’s figure was walking out of the dust cloud from the collapsed wall. His posture was ramrod straight, his hair fluttering. The blade of his spear flipped over in his hand. In an instant, his killing intent condensed in his vertical pupils, looking as if it could form an Ice Cone and pierce its throat.

’[Flood Dragon Tong]?!’

’Lord Zhu Li!’

King Niu’s pupils dilated. It shuddered, like a wild rabbit looking up at a fierce tiger.

Behind the Human Race whelp, who wasn’t even as tall as its waist, the phantom of a Flood Dragon appeared. To its own mongrel bloodline, which had evolved bit by bit, this was an abyssal pressure!

A whisper like a clap of thunder sounded: "My Flood Dragon Jade Sinews are almost fully formed. Why don’t you help me with the final step."