Chapter 21

Zhang Ruochen rode a gazelle horse, carrying an iron wire bow, and charged into King Mountain with a trail of dust.

King Mountain was originally a hunting ground for the royal family. The mountain was extremely high, with waterfalls, cliffs, deep valleys, and dense forests. The beasts in the mountain were almost all first-rank beasts, with only a few second-rank beasts.

Forty-three young warriors entered King Mountain, like a handful of sand thrown into the sea. Before long, everyone disappeared into the forest.

"Whoosh!"

A white shadow flashed through the half-human-tall thorny grass, instantly crossing a sixty-meter open space and rushing into the distant forest.

The speed of that white shadow was astonishing. If it weren't for someone who had practiced martial arts, they wouldn't be able to see its appearance clearly.

Zhang Ruochen, of course, could see clearly. It was a beast that looked very much like a rabbit.

The Ghost Shadow Rabbit, a first-rank beast, was extremely fast, with very sharp teeth and claws, but its defense was very weak.

Its strength was equivalent to that of a martial artist at the early stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, and its speed was equivalent to that of a martial artist at the Lesser Apex stage of the Yellow Apex Realm.

"It's just a Ghost Shadow Rabbit, not worth wasting a Thunder Arrow on it." Zhang Ruochen had already drawn the iron wire bow into a crescent moon shape, but then he shook his head and didn't shoot the arrow.

The higher the rank of the beast killed, the better the score.

Among first-rank beasts, the Ghost Shadow Rabbit was only considered a lower-class beast. Wasting a Thunder Arrow on a first-rank lower-class beast, Zhang Ruochen thought it wasn't worth it.

"Whoosh!"

In another direction, a sound of breaking wind was heard.

A Thunder Arrow, emitting a lightning-like glow, accurately hit the head of the Ghost Shadow Rabbit.

"Puff!"

The head of the Ghost Shadow Rabbit was pierced by the Thunder Arrow, and the lightning spirit crystal embedded in the arrowhead immediately exploded, turning into a fist-sized ball of electricity. The ball of electricity split, turning into streams of electricity.

The Ghost Shadow Rabbit died instantly, falling under a tree.

The Sixth Prince rode his gazelle horse over, without dismounting, bent his waist, leaned his body toward the ground, and grabbed the Thunder Arrow embedded in the Ghost Shadow Rabbit's head, lifting the rabbit up.

"Ninth Brother, it's your first time participating in the King Mountain hunt. What? You're afraid to kill a beast? As a man, you should have the courage." The Sixth Prince held the Ghost Shadow Rabbit, a mocking smile on his face.

In his view, Zhang Ruochen might really be a martial arts genius, but since it was his first time participating in the hunt, being timid was quite normal.

Fighting and killing were two different things.

The "King Mountain Hunt" section of the year-end assessment was not only to test the strength of the martial artists but also to test their courage.

If one couldn't even kill a beast, what good was their martial arts cultivation?

The Sixth Prince, eighteen years old, had reached the peak of the Lesser Apex stage.

Zhang Ruochen said, "I just didn't want to waste a Thunder Arrow!"

The Sixth Prince's eyes narrowed, and he sneered, "If you think that way, you're making a big mistake. The number of beasts in King Mountain is very limited. Not everyone can use five Thunder Arrows to kill five beasts."

After saying this, the Sixth Prince spurred his horse and disappeared into the forest.

"King Mountain isn't very large, and the number of beasts is definitely not many. I need to hurry."

Zhang Ruochen rode his gazelle horse in another direction.

In half an hour, Zhang Ruochen encountered three Ghost Shadow Rabbits, but he didn't shoot any Thunder Arrows, continuing to search for other beasts.

"Moo!"

A deafening moo came from Zhang Ruochen's left side.

Zhang Ruochen's heart leaped with joy, and he immediately followed the sound, quickly finding three massive wild oxen by a stream.

The wild ox, a first-rank lower-class beast, had strength comparable to a martial artist at the late stage of the Yellow Apex Realm and defense comparable to a martial artist at the Lesser Apex stage of the Yellow Apex Realm.

"One ox's strength" referred to the strength of a wild ox.

However, someone had already arrived at the stream before Zhang Ruochen. She stood opposite the three wild oxen.

Ninth Princess Zhang Yuxi, wearing a royal phoenix robe, sat on her gazelle horse, her jet-black hair reaching down to her waist, and she gave a charming smile, looking at Zhang Ruochen and saying, "Ninth Brother, you're a bit late. These three wild oxen are mine!"

"Moo!"

The three wild oxen, with red eyes, stomped their iron hooves on the ground, sparks flying as they hit the rocks.

"Boom!"

The three wild oxen charged at the Ninth Princess simultaneously.

The Ninth Princess drew three Thunder Arrows, placed them on the bowstring, and drew the iron wire bow to a full moon shape.

"Whoosh!"

The three Thunder Arrows flew out simultaneously, hitting the foreheads of the three wild oxen, piercing seven inches deep into their hides.

Electricity burst from the arrowheads, and the three wild oxen died instantly, falling heavily into the stream, splashing up large waves of water.

The Ninth Princess put away her iron wire bow, looked at Zhang Ruochen standing in the distance, and smiled, saying, "Sister's 'Three-Part Return to Origin Arrow Technique' is a lower-grade human-level martial skill, and I have completely mastered it. Ninth Brother, what do you think?"

Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed as he stared at the water behind the Ninth Princess, and he shouted, "Be careful!"

The Ninth Princess also sensed the danger, turned around, and saw a giant beast, twice the size of a wild ox, rushing out of the stream.

It had a hide like metal and two sharp horns on its head, charging at the Ninth Princess.

"Boom!"

The Ninth Princess's gazelle horse let out a mournful neigh, its bones broken, and a bowl-sized blood hole was pierced in its body by the horns, falling heavily to the ground.

The sudden change left the Ninth Princess unprepared, and she fell to the ground with the gazelle horse.

The Ninth Princess was terrified, rolled on the ground, and immediately tried to stand up.

Suddenly, a huge shadow appeared above her head, and the giant beast, with its iron hooves, stomped down on her.

If she were stepped on by this beast, her body would be crushed.

"Bang!"

A Thunder Arrow flew from a distance, hitting the neck of the giant beast, causing its body to shift slightly.

Its iron hooves narrowly missed the Ninth Princess, landing on the ground beside her, creating two half-foot deep holes.

"Truly a first-rank medium beast! Ironhide Ox, its defense is too strong; the Thunder Arrow couldn't even pierce its hide!"

Not only was the Ironhide Ox's defense strong, but Zhang Ruochen was also too far away, and the impact of the Thunder Arrow was reduced.

Zhang Ruochen stood up from his gazelle horse, kicked off with his legs, and shot forward toward the stream.

The strength of the Ironhide Ox was equivalent to a martial artist at the middle stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, and its defense was comparable to a martial artist at the Greater Apex stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, making it one of the more formidable first-rank medium beasts.

"Moo!"

The Ironhide Ox, enraged by Zhang Ruochen's arrow, lifted its iron hooves and stomped down on the Ninth Princess again.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Ruochen, hovering four meters in the air, drew a Thunder Arrow, drew his bow, and shot it.

"Puff!"

The Thunder Arrow accurately shot into the Ironhide Ox's mouth, and the lightning spirit crystal exploded in its throat, turning into a ball of electricity that shredded its throat.

The Ironhide Ox took two steps back, blood gushing from its mouth, in great pain.

"Bang!"

The Ironhide Ox finally fell heavily to the ground with a loud thud.

The Ninth Princess let out a long sigh of relief, her legs trembling as she stood up. It had been a close call, and if Zhang Ruochen hadn't shot the Ironhide Ox, she might have been killed by its iron hooves.

Zhang Ruochen walked over, looked at the Ninth Princess, and asked, "Are you okay?"

The Ninth Princess shook her head slightly and said, "If you hadn't arrived in time, something really bad would have happened. Ninth Brother, how is your archery so powerful? The Ironhide Ox is a first-rank medium beast, with defense comparable to a martial artist at the Greater Apex stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, and you killed it with just two arrows!"

Zhang Ruochen looked at the corpse of the Ironhide Ox on the ground and said, "Whether it's a beast or a human, they all have weaknesses. As long as you attack their weaknesses, you can kill them even if you're not as strong as they are."

The greatest advantage of humans is their high intelligence, allowing them to use weapons and analyze the weaknesses of beasts.

Therefore, human martial artists can kill beasts that are stronger than themselves.

If the Ironhide Ox hadn't caught the Ninth Princess off guard, with her strength, she would have had a chance to kill it and wouldn't have ended up in such a predicament.

The Ninth Princess slung her iron wire bow over her shoulder and put away the quiver with only two Thunder Arrows left, saying, "Each of our Thunder Arrows has a special mark. The guards will naturally come to collect the prey, so we don't need to carry it out ourselves. Let's go!"

Saying this, the Ninth Princess walked toward Zhang Ruochen's gazelle horse.

Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and asked, "What are you doing?"

The Ninth Princess's lips curled into a smile, and she said, "My gazelle horse is seriously injured. Now, I can only ride your gazelle horse. Ninth Brother, you wouldn't let your sister walk, would you?"

The Ninth Princess wore a tight-fitting royal phoenix robe, outlining her beautiful, curvaceous figure, with a full, round bust and a slender waist, her skin as white as jade, emitting a faint fragrance.

She lightly pressed her hand on the back of the gazelle horse, and her body sprang up gracefully, landing on the horse's back.

"Ninth Brother, hurry up! If we don't leave soon, the beasts will be hunted by others!" The Ninth Princess blinked her eyes and extended a delicate hand, making an inviting gesture.

In the end, Zhang Ruochen walked over, held the Ninth Princess's delicate hand, and used it for leverage, flipping up and landing on the gazelle horse.

The two of them rode together, charging deeper into King Mountain.

"With our strength, if we can cooperate, we can kill a first-rank medium beast." The Ninth Princess's eyes showed a hint of anticipation. Even just killing one first-rank medium beast would ensure a good score in the King Mountain hunt.

The scoring system for the King Mountain hunt was: one first-rank superior beast = five first-rank medium beasts

One first-rank medium beast = five first-rank lower beasts.

In other words, although Zhang Ruochen had only killed one Ironhide Ox, it was equivalent to killing five first-rank lower beasts.

Not everyone could kill a first-rank medium beast. At least, one needed to be at the middle stage of the Yellow Apex Realm to do so.

Moreover, first-rank medium beasts were very fast and had formidable defenses. Even with middle-stage cultivation, killing a first-rank medium beast was not easy.

Although Zhang Ruochen was only at the peak of the Lesser Apex stage, his strength was already greater than many middle-stage martial artists, which is why he was able to successfully kill the Ironhide Ox.

Zhang Ruochen's eyes were sharp, and he said, "It would be great if we could kill a first-rank superior beast!"

"How is that possible? Each first-rank superior beast has the overall strength of a martial artist at the Great Perfection stage of the Yellow Apex Realm. If we really encountered one, it would be a disaster, and we would find it hard to escape!"

The Ninth Princess added, "In the past ten years of the year-end assessment, only the Seventh Prince has successfully killed a first-rank superior beast. As for this year's year-end assessment, no one has the strength to kill a first-rank superior beast."