Chapter 41

In the Northern Flame Kingdom, there are numerous demonic beasts, which can be roughly divided into nine levels from low to high, ranging from level one to level nine. Among them, level one demonic beasts are comparable to human body tempering stage one to three experts, level two demonic beasts are comparable to body tempering stage four to six experts, level three demonic beasts are comparable to body tempering stage seven to nine experts, and so on. According to legend, demonic beasts that surpass level nine can transform into human form and possess extremely formidable strength.

"If that's the case, let's go to the level two area," Lin Tian said.

Su Shu thought for a moment and replied, "That works."

Their cultivation levels had already surpassed body tempering stage three, so staying in the level one area would be meaningless.

"Let's go."

Su Shu stood up and immediately headed forward.

After walking for a short distance, a fierce roar sounded. From behind an old tree, a wild beast about half a zhang tall, resembling a cat, slowly emerged. Its eyes were bright red and green, and its fur was grayish-brown.

"Red-Green Cat, a level one demonic beast, comparable to a body tempering stage two expert," Su Shu said.

As she was explaining, the Red-Green Cat let out a roar and pounced over.

Lin Tian dodged, and his longsword unsheathed, he slashed down. He was now a body tempering stage six expert, and even a body tempering stage seven expert would not be his match, let alone a mere Red-Green Cat, which he killed on the spot.

"The beast core is inside the skull, dig it out," Su Shu said.

Lin Tian nodded and used his longsword to cut open the Red-Green Cat's head. Amidst the bloody mess, he indeed saw a ball-shaped object about the size of a baby's fist, faintly glowing in the blood.

"This is the beast core?"

Lin Tian murmured.

From this object, he felt a dense aura of heaven and earth, as well as some peculiar power fluctuations, seemingly related to the Red-Green Cat itself.

Seeing his slightly puzzled expression, Su Shu explained, "The beast core is the essence of the demonic beast, condensed with a vast amount of heaven and earth aura and blood essence. Of course, this kind of thing generally cannot be used directly for cultivation."

"Why not?"

Lin Tian was curious.

"How should I know?" Su Shu rolled her eyes and said, "Probably because the physiques of demons and humans are incompatible."

Lin Tian responded with an "oh" and did not delve further, putting the beast core into a small cloth bag he had prepared.

"Let's go. Just a reminder, since we are directly crossing the level one area to reach the level two area, we will definitely encounter many demonic beasts along the way," Su Shu said as she walked forward. "I'll take the lead, and you will serve as my bodyguard along the way, okay?"

Lin Tian: "Sure."

This girl, calling herself "senior sister" all the time, was really getting into it.

In the next hour or so, the two quickly crossed the level one demonic beast area. Although they encountered many demonic beasts along the way, all of them were killed by Lin Tian's sword. By now, Lin Tian's small cloth bag contained over a dozen beast cores.

"Roar!"

Upon reaching the level two area, the roars of demonic beasts were even stronger, and the demonic aura was more intense.

"Let's go."

Su Shu said.

Lin Tian nodded, and the two directly entered the level two area.

Qingfeng Ridge was extremely vast. Although 300 people from the Nine Yang Martial Academy had entered, it was not easy to encounter anyone after they dispersed. There were no visible academy students around, but demonic beasts were abundant. Just a few steps in, demonic beasts appeared on all sides.

"Level two demonic beast Green Flame Colt, comparable to body tempering stage four."

"Level two demonic beast Spirit Leap Leopard, comparable to body tempering stage four."

"Level two demonic beast Rainbow Rock Dog, comparable to body tempering stage five."

Su Shu introduced them one by one.

"You seem quite familiar with these guys."

Lin Tian said.

Su Shu was speechless: "This is common knowledge. If you have time, you should read the books in the academy about demonic beasts, from level one to level nine. Any demonic beast that exists is recorded in detail."

"Are there such books?"

Lin Tian was surprised.

"Of course, the Beast Codex. You can go to the Treasure Exchange Pavilion and take a look. Anyone can read it."

Su Shu said.

Lin Tian nodded. At that moment, three demonic beasts pounced over.

Lin Tian swung his sword, and with a "puff," the Spirit Leap Leopard that approached first was cut in half. Then, he moved his feet, becoming agile, and instantly reached the other two demonic beasts, striking with both his fist and sword.

"Bang!"

"Puff!"

With two cries, the Green Flame Colt and Rainbow Rock Dog fell in a pool of blood.

Lin Tian squatted down, used his longsword to cut open the heads of the three demonic beasts, and took out three beast cores, placing them in the small cloth bag.

"Relatively weak."

Lin Tian said.

Demonic beasts comparable to body tempering stage four were not much of a challenge for him now.

He and Su Shu then headed deeper into the level two area.

"Roar!"

"Growl!"

As they advanced, the level two area occasionally echoed with the cries of demonic beasts. Soon, they reached the edge of the level two area.

"Beyond here is the level three area."

Su Shu said solemnly.

At this point, she could not help but worry.

Standing at the edge of the level two area, Lin Tian looked toward the level three area and could indeed feel a much stronger demonic aura. The ancient trees in the level three area were also more lush.

"Let's go. If it's really dangerous, we can just train at the edge of the level three area." Lin Tian said, "In terms of points, a level three demonic beast's beast core is worth dozens of level two demonic beast cores."

Su Shu was somewhat helpless but eventually nodded and followed Lin Tian into the level three area.

The ancient trees in the level three area were very lush, but there were few thorns.

After walking about a hundred zhang, they suddenly stopped at the same time.

From behind a giant tree ahead, a demonic wolf covered in blood-red fur emerged, standing about a zhang tall, with eyes that were oily green, giving a bloodthirsty impression.

"Level three demonic beast Blood Wolf, comparable to body tempering stage seven. It is extremely sensitive to the smell of blood and can detect it from hundreds of zhang away," Su Shu said with a serious expression.

"Body tempering stage seven, not bad, let's give it a try."

Lin Tian said.

He had fought human body tempering stage seven experts before but had never battled a demonic beast comparable to that level.

"Don't move!"

At that moment, Su Shu held him back.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Tian was puzzled. It was just a level comparable to body tempering stage seven, which should not make Su Shu so cautious, considering she was also at body tempering stage seven.

Su Shu said, "Blood Wolves are rare pack animals, usually acting in groups, so..."

As she spoke, Lin Tian saw more Blood Wolves emerging from ahead, their green eyes appearing particularly sinister in the dim forest. He roughly counted and felt his heart tighten. Including the first one, there were over thirty Blood Wolves, enough to devour them alive.

"Run!"

Su Shu said.

Lin Tian nodded without hesitation and immediately fled with Su Shu in another direction.

Over thirty Blood Wolves, each comparable to a body tempering stage seven expert, were no joke.

"Growl!"

Seeing Lin Tian and Su Shu flee, the over thirty Blood Wolves bared their fangs and roared in unison, then started running, making a "whoosh" sound, moving extremely fast.

Lin Tian and Su Shu ran through the old forest. Both of their cultivation levels were strong, moving like two spirit leopards, but even so, the Blood Wolves behind them did not fall far behind.

"Fire Fist!"

While running, Lin Tian turned and punched, instantly creating eighteen fire fists that flew toward the back.

He did not expect this punch to kill the Blood Wolves; that was clearly impossible. He just wanted to disrupt their speed and vision.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The fire fists hit the old trees behind, causing loud explosions and a burning smell. For a moment, the actions of the over thirty Blood Wolves were indeed hindered, and the distance between them and the two people was significantly increased.

"Nice!"

Su Shu praised.

The two ran for a while longer and finally felt no more presence of the Blood Wolves, safely escaping.

In the dim old forest, the two walked slowly, extremely cautious.

"Someone is following us."

Lin Tian suddenly said.

Su Shu frowned; she also felt it. "Those who can enter Qingfeng Ridge are generally academy students. If they are following us, they must want to抢夺兽核." The Nine Yang Martial Academy holds an external academy ranking trial every year, and during such trials, it is not uncommon for academy students to compete for beast cores.

"Just for the beast cores?"

Lin Tian murmured.

His soul power was extremely strong, and his perception was naturally very keen. At this moment, he clearly sensed a killing aura!

Just for the beast cores, it seemed unnecessary to carry such a killing aura.

"Follow me."

He pulled Su Shu and headed in another direction.

Suddenly being held by Lin Tian, Su Shu was first stunned, then her cheeks turned red: "You guy!"

Growing up, this was the first time she had been held by a man, making her both embarrassed and angry. However, she also knew the current situation and did not struggle.

Soon, the area ahead became more open. Stopping here, Lin Tian turned around and coldly looked back.

"Come out!"

He said.

Su Shu stood beside him, following his gaze.

"Heh!"

A cold laugh echoed, and five people emerged from behind several old trees.

Su Shu's face tightened: "Mo Ning, Mo Zhong, Mo Gu, Mo Fei, Mo Qian, what do you want!"

She was Mu Qing's disciple and had been practicing in the Nine Yang Martial Academy for over a year, so she naturally knew these five people. They were from the previous two sessions of the external academy, all at the body tempering stage seven level. Most importantly, all five were from the Mo family, which made Su Shu frown, sensing a bad omen.

"All surnamed Mo?"

Lin Tian narrowed his eyes.

He was not stupid and instantly guessed many things. Over a month ago, during the third round of the academy's assessment, he had killed Mo Sen of the Mo family. Now, the appearance of five people from the Mo family clearly was not to greet him; he could feel the killing aura from them.

"Lin family's wild kid, you were just a wimp not long ago, but now you have the nerve to kill a disciple of the Mo family!" Mo Ning said coldly, taking a step forward. "Do you even know how to write the word 'death'!"