The arrow, a phantom Azure Dragon condensed from Qi Blood, shot through the purple mist and vanished in the blink of an eye. A muffled buzz, faint as a mosquito’s hum yet strangely thrilling, drifted back.

Azure Dragon Chasing Shadow possessed the arcing properties of Curved Light Arrow and used Aim to lock onto its target. At present, it only required a tenth of his Qi Blood to generate more destructive power than the Black Flood Dragon Breaking Sky he’d used to kill the One-eyed Owl. Moreover, hitting or missing was a matter of a single thought.

’I probably hit it, but it was too far. I didn’t break through its defenses.’

Jiang Qiu retracted the Black Flood Dragon bow into his Storage Ring. The cold, dark green light in his slitted pupils dissipated with the wind, and the grayscale world before him bled back into the colors of steel and concrete.

’I only caught a glimpse of its aura. I’m not sure if it was King Niu. If it was... did that bastard really show up after saying we’d meet in a month?’

"Good that you came." Jiang Qiu clenched his fists, a resilient, vicious light glinting in his eyes. ’The outskirts of the Kunlun City ruins are covered with temporary bases for the exam groups. You’re not getting out. Sooner or later, I’ll kill you.’

’As the student leader of Eighth Middle School, I can’t just abandon Liu Zili and the others to go off on my own. But the exam lasts a month. That’s plenty of time.’

With that, Jiang Qiu turned and went downstairs. He gathered his classmates, led them out of the large hotel, and strode toward the Secret Realm-affected area on the other side.

They had just left South City Square.

"Brother Jiang, those look like people from Fourth Middle School?"

Following Zhang Shan’s pointing finger, Jiang Qiu saw several students from Fourth Middle School standing guard at the entrance of a small hotel with a collapsed corner, each shouldering a long spear. They glanced over, then snorted and looked away.

Their position was opposite the large hotel, with the two groups occupying the north and south ends of South City Square, respectively. They faced each other from a distance. Looking back across the several-hundred-meter-wide plaza, one could just make out the steps before the large hotel’s lobby.

"Let’s go. Everyone from their building has gone to hunt Demon Beasts. Those guys are probably just guarding the luggage."

The phantom image of a slitted pupil flickered in Jiang Qiu’s eyes. He waved his hand and led the team forward.

Zhang Shan paused, surprised. "Brother Jiang, how did you know that?"

"Just a guess."

...

BANG! SWISH! STAB!

An unceasing clamor of clashing metal erupted from the vine-covered buildings, accompanied by bizarre hisses and shrieks.

Students from Fourth Middle School swarmed into the buildings along the road like locusts. They went in groups of four or five for smaller buildings and by the dozens, even hundreds, for the taller ones. They poured into basements, burrowed into storage rooms, and scoured cold-storage units, slaughtering any Demon Beasts they found nesting.

For a time, Fourth Middle School had completely taken over the outer edges of this Secret Realm-affected area. Jiang Qiu and his group ambled down the street, their eyes scanning their surroundings as his brows furrowed slightly.

"Brother Jiang, they’ve taken over the entire outer area. What are we supposed to do?"

Zhang Shan’s thick eyebrows shot up as he took a deep, frustrated breath.

The group from Fourth Middle School was clearly stronger. With over a thousand people and several Steel Bone Realm students leading them, they were more than capable of heading deeper to rack up kills.

Yet here they were, clogging up the outermost area to hunt Low Tier Demon Beasts. Only occasionally could one hear the clang of battle against a Middle Tier Demon Beast.

"Follow me. We’re going deeper."

Jiang Qiu glanced at the Fourth Middle students moving in and out of the buildings on either side. He casually summoned his long spear, and his slitted pupils reappeared. The world within his sight became a stark grayscale, dotted with flickering flames of life force—some clustered, some scattered, some near, some far. The distribution of all living things within a thousand-meter radius was seared into his mind.

’Being able to see where the Demon Beasts are is far better than searching building by building, floor by floor.’

’It’s not as if there aren’t any Low Tier Demon Beasts deeper in for the Copper Skin Realm students to hunt.’

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

Zhang Shan, Li Si, and the other students tightened their grips on their long spears. Taking a deep breath, they followed behind Jiang Qiu with burning determination in their eyes, striding into a street even more overgrown with thick vines.

"Just a handful of them, led by a student who doesn’t even wear Armor, and they’re heading deeper?" Zhang Heng, clad in Red Armor, glanced at them from a distance and snorted. "So ambitious. Let’s hope they don’t get eliminated on the very first day."

He casually yanked his spear from the carapace of a Red Armored Giant Lizard and headed off alone toward another high-rise to continue his hunt.

’Thirty days is plenty of time to hunt a lot of Demon Beasts. First, we’ll clear out the periphery, then we’ll move deeper...’

Ten-some minutes later, he was still wandering through an empty high-rise. Just then, a monstrous cry that rent the sky echoed from the depths: "AWOOO—"

’A High Tier Demon Beast?!’

Zhang Heng’s eyes widened, and the Qi Blood in his body flared up like oil catching fire. With a CRASH, he burst through a third-floor window. As he landed amidst a shower of shattered glass, he and the numerous other students from Fourth Middle School looked up, their fists burning with anticipation.

"It must be that bunch from the Outer City! They’ve run into a High Tier Demon Beast!"

"Zhang Heng, should we charge in?"

Amidst the noisy chatter, a female student named Ye Shu walked up to Zhang Heng, her gaze intense.

A Low Tier Demon Beast is worth only 1 point, and a Middle Tier one is worth 10, but a High Tier Demon Beast is worth 500 points. They were the ultimate prize that Optimizers from every city fought over.

The more kills, the more points. But high-quality kills brought in even more points, and that was the key to a high ranking.

Who would want to miss an opportunity like that?

"That Outer City High School only has one ordinary student from the top talent program. Their leader is some weirdo who doesn’t even wear Armor. There’s no way they can handle a High Tier Demon Beast. Let’s go ’help’..."

Ye Shu’s proudly raised chin froze. The shrill, bizarre howl abruptly cut off, as if the Demon Beast’s windpipe had been punctured by a steel rod and was now just leaking air.

She pursed her lips, shaking her head with a sigh. "It died too quickly. An examiner must have been nearby. One of them was probably about to die, so the examiner stepped in and killed the High Tier Demon Beast.

"What a waste of points from a High Tier Demon Beast," Zhang Heng sighed. He turned and waved to the others. "Nothing to see here. Let’s get back to hunting. Once we’ve cleared out the periphery, we’ll head deeper to find our own High Tier Demon Beasts!"

"It takes half an hour just to find one small nest of Low Tier Demon Beasts. This is so boring. We’ve barely seen any Middle Tier ones either."

"Let’s just listen to Zhang Heng for now. Come on, let’s hunt..."

Spears in hand, the students dispersed once again, fanning out into the buildings on a new street to search for scattered nests of Low Tier Demon Beasts.

A few minutes later, a buzzing whimper drifted from even deeper within the city. Though it sounded distant and weak, as if its energy had faded, the resentful anguish in the High Tier Demon Beast’s cry was still as heavy as steel.

A tremor went through Ye Shu’s heart. "Another High Tier Demon Beast died? So soon?"

Zhang Heng’s expression darkened, but he remained silent. His grip on the spear tightened, his knuckles making a scraping sound on the shaft as veins bulged on the back of his hand.

...

[Slaughter Drill x1]

[Flood Dragon Jade Sinews (Developing)]

[Qi Blood Points: 26/100]

Jiang Qiu casually pulled his spear from the neck armor of a High Tier Demon Beast—a Red-Eyed Rat. Blood bloomed like a flower, splattering across his already flecked face.

’Killing Low Tier Demon Beasts doesn’t trigger a Slaughter Drill. Killing ten Middle Tier Demon Beasts counts as one Slaughter Drill and gives one Qi Blood Point, while killing one High Tier Demon Beast gives five Qi Blood Points.’

’As long as I kill enough Middle and High Tier Demon Beasts, I can break through to the Jade Sinew Realm right here.’

With this in mind, he let out a slow breath and turned to his dumbfounded classmates. His shout was crisp and clear. "There shouldn’t be any more High Tier Demon Beasts for three or four thousand meters around here. You’ll go where I tell you.

Students from grounds one, two, and three, go with Li Juefeng over there. Find the underground parking garage.

Sun Yongsheng, you take the students from grounds four, five, six, and seven and head into that large hospital.

Both places have Middle Tier Demon Beasts, as well as hundreds of Low Tier ones. Li Juefeng, Sun Yongsheng, look after your classmates. Don’t try to solo the Middle Tier Demon Beasts.

All students from ground eight, you’re with me! We’re going to raid the Red Armored Giant Lizard nest in the department store. There are dozens of them!"