Chapter 6

"Nie Li actually made me a decoy, how despicable!" Lu Piao saw a horned sheep charging straight at him and was instantly terrified, rolling and crawling backward in a panic.

At this moment, Du Ze and Nie Li were both hiding in the grass, holding their crossbows.

"My goodness, the horned sheep are terrifying, shoot, shoot quickly!" Seeing the horned sheep getting closer, Lu Piao ran frantically.

"That kid Lu Piao, we agreed that he would stand still, and the horned sheep would definitely enter the trap area obediently. But now he's running, and he's off the mark!" Nie Li frowned. The trap area consisted of small pits no more than two fingers deep. If the horned sheep accidentally stepped on one while running, it would break one of its legs. At that point, a single arrow would be enough to finish it off, making the task much easier.

Seeing Lu Piao running in a panic, Du Ze also became nervous and continuously pulled the trigger. *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh*—three arrows shot out rapidly.

The horned sheep, a demonized creature, reacted extremely quickly when it sensed the three arrows coming from behind. It leaped consecutively, and the arrows whizzed past it.

"What? Missed?" Lu Piao was dumbfounded. The sharp horns of the horned sheep were right in front of him, and Nie Li and Du Ze were pulling such stunts. He felt like crying, regretting his choice of friends! If the sharp horns hit him, his buttocks would be torn apart instantly.

Seeing the horned sheep dodge the arrows and continue charging at Lu Piao without stopping, Du Ze was so nervous that his palms were sweating. By the time he reloaded the crossbow, it would probably be too late. He could already imagine the scene of Lu Piao being brutally gored by the horned sheep.

"Nie Li, what do we do..." Du Ze stopped mid-sentence, not daring to disturb Nie Li.

Nie Li was in a half-squat, his left arm extended horizontally, the crossbow resting on it. His right hand tightly gripped the trigger, his eyes fixed on the sight. Even the horizontal movement of the crossbow was as steady as if it were on a fixed stand.

Du Ze couldn't describe his feeling at that moment. Even before Nie Li shot the arrow, Du Ze had a sense that it would hit its mark. At this moment, Nie Li was like a leopard crouching in the grass, ready to pounce, exuding a formidable aura.

Although Nie Li's body was weak and he wasn't even a Bronze Warrior, his past experience remained. It was a rich experience accumulated through countless battles, some of which were moments of life and death. Whether it was a weapon, a sword, a crossbow, or even a piece of iron, in Nie Li's hands, it became a deadly weapon. Although Nie Li wasn't a Bronze Warrior, he had hundreds of ways to use his rich experience to take down a Bronze or even a Silver Warrior!

The whole world seemed to be left with only Nie Li. The look in his eyes, as he focused on the sight, was like that of a hawk ready to swoop down.

Nie Li's face, still somewhat youthful, was resolute. His every move gave a sense of stability and strength.

*Whoosh!* Nie Li pulled the trigger, and an arrow shot out.

The arrow drew a silver streak, as fast as a flash.

The position where Nie Li shot the arrow was precisely the blind spot of the horned sheep.

"It hit!" Du Ze was startled, and at that moment, Nie Li gave him the impression of a seasoned hunter.

The horned sheep didn't have time to dodge. *Thud!* The arrow struck its hind leg.

*Boom!* The horned sheep fell to the ground, right in front of Lu Piao, raising a cloud of dust.

Lu Piao panted heavily, extremely tense. Looking at the continuously moaning horned sheep, he thought, "My God, that was too intense! My goodness, my buttocks are safe." If Nie Li's arrow had been a bit slower, he would have been gored by the horned sheep!

If it were an ordinary arrow, such a minor injury wouldn't have affected the demonized horned sheep, and it would have quickly gotten up. However, their arrows were special, coated with a mixture of black grass and zoysia grass juice, which was the horned sheep's nemesis.

The poison quickly entered the horned sheep's heart through its bloodstream, and its moans grew weaker.

"So fast?" Du Ze was amazed. He didn't expect the effect of the potion Nie Li prepared to be so powerful. In a short time, a robust horned sheep had completely lost its resistance.

Lu Piao was also surprised. He knew the strength of these horned sheep. Two one-star Bronze Warriors working together would take a long time to bring one down. But the horned sheep was taken down by a single small arrow?

"That was too dangerous!" Lu Piao still felt a chill when he thought about it.

"If you hadn't run around, this horned sheep wouldn't have posed any threat to you!" Nie Li said with a faint smile.

"Alright." Lu Piao blushed, admitting that he hadn't followed the plan. He had panicked when he saw the horned sheep charging at him.

Looking at the fallen horned sheep, Du Ze still felt as if he were in a dream. Nie Li's expression and actions were deeply etched in his mind, making him deeply impressed. It was the first time in his life that Du Ze had admired someone so much! Nie Li's archery skills were truly masterful. An ordinary person might not reach Nie Li's level even after ten years of practice!

"Quick, let's clean up. We only need the horns, the fur on the neck, the demon crystal, and the demon spirit. Leave the rest!" Nie Li said quickly. The demon crystal and demon spirit of the horned sheep were in its head. The demon crystal was a small crystal about the size of a thumb, and most demon beasts had one. As for the demon spirit, only one or two out of ten thousand horned sheep had one. The shape of the demon spirit was like a flame from a candle.

A horned sheep with a demon spirit was much stronger than an ordinary one.

The horned sheep was a relatively low-level one-star Bronze demon beast, so its various parts were relatively cheap. A pair of horns could sell for five demon spirit coins, the fur on the neck for three demon spirit coins, and the demon crystal for five demon spirit coins.

In total, even without the demon spirit, a single horned sheep could earn thirteen demon spirit coins.

They had only spent about five minutes killing this horned sheep. If they continued to hunt horned sheep like this, wouldn't they earn thousands of demon spirit coins in a day?

Du Ze couldn't help but feel excited. His family was very poor, and their annual income was only about two to three thousand demon spirit coins. To allow Du Ze to enter Saint Lantian Academy, his family had even borrowed a lot of money from relatives and friends. Du Ze was their family's hope! If he hunted horned sheep with Nie Li, he could pay for his own tuition in the future!

Nie Li smiled slightly and said, "We need to hurry, no rest tonight!"

"Okay!" Du Ze said excitedly. Although they hadn't yet reached the one-star Bronze Warrior level, their bodies were already very strong, and staying up all night was no big deal for them.

Lu Piao couldn't help but groan. These two guys were money-obsessed, willing to stay up all night for money! Although he was resentful, he had no choice, as he had already joined their group.

The three of them worked closely together, continuously hunting horned sheep. After every few dozen, Lu Piao would take the items to sell them.

In one night, Nie Li and his group hunted over 120 horned sheep, earning a total of 1,400 demon spirit coins. Dividing it equally, each of them received over 400 demon spirit coins.

This amount was already very impressive for a student who hadn't yet reached the Bronze level. Even for a Bronze Warrior, earning 20 to 30 demon spirit coins a day was already a lot.

For seven consecutive days, they continued to hunt horned sheep at night, and their earnings reached over 10,000 demon spirit coins. For them, this was a huge sum of money.

The students of Saint Lantian Academy were very puzzled. Recently, the number of horned sheep in the trial area had sharply decreased. Previously, they could easily encounter one, often in groups. Now, it took a long time to find one. Could it be that a large demon beast like a spotted tiger had entered and hunted the horned sheep? Saint Lantian Academy even sent mentors to investigate, but they found nothing.

On the eighth night, Nie Li and his group were still hunting horned sheep in the dark.

It was pitch black, already the third watch of the night.

Lu Piao yawned repeatedly and said, "Nie Li, I can't hold on anymore. I'll sleep in the tree for a while!" After seven days of continuous hunting, he was exhausted.

Not just Lu Piao, Du Ze was also struggling to keep up.

"Nie Li, I'm going to sleep too," Du Ze said, his eyes drooping. Seven days straight, even an iron man would be worn out!

"You can sleep for a while. We'll take a break tomorrow night. I have other plans!" Nie Li said. They had accumulated over 16,000 demon spirit coins, their first big sum of money. With this, they could do many things and didn't necessarily need to continue hunting horned sheep.

Lu Piao and Du Ze climbed up a tall tree and immediately fell asleep, their young faces showing signs of fatigue. Although they were very mature for their age, they were still just teenagers.

Nie Li moved through the forest, the moonlight hanging in the sky, and the sounds of insects in the jungle made the surroundings even quieter.

There were no large demon beasts here, so it was very safe.

At this moment, Nie Li suddenly heard some strange sounds. In the distant jungle, there seemed to be a figure.

"Who could it be, still in the trial area at this hour?" Nie Li frowned and moved deeper into the jungle. After advancing a few hundred meters, he hid in a grove and looked at the moonlit clearing. In the moonlight, a slender and graceful figure stood, her hair reaching her shoulders, wearing a fitted leather jacket, and emitting a faint green glow.

This was the glow of soul power!

Although she hadn't yet reached the Bronze level, she was about to advance to one-star Bronze!

With the help of the soul power glow, Nie Li focused on her face. Her eyes were slightly closed, her long lashes trembling slightly, her eyebrows fine and long, her flawless skin glowing with a healthy pink, and her full lips were tender and inviting. She and Ye Ziyun were two different kinds of beauty. Ye Ziyun was calm and elegant, like a beautiful violet, while she was alluring and sexy, with a touch of coldness, like a rose with thorns.

"Xiao Ning'er, I didn't expect it to be her!" Nie Li was slightly surprised. Xiao Ning'er was more diligent than he had imagined, practicing demon spirits in the middle of the night. She was probably about to reach the one-star Bronze level.

Thinking back to his past life, after Xiao Ning'er advanced to one-star Bronze, she fell ill for over two years, her cultivation regressing. Although she later managed to retrain herself through hard work, she was said to have been plagued by illness ever since. However, despite her illness, she always shone like a star in the eyes of others, a strong woman.

Thinking about Xiao Ning'er practicing demon spirits in the middle of the night, Nie Li suddenly understood a lot. Xiao Ning'er was indeed very hardworking, but she was also risking her life!

After some thought, Nie Li walked straight toward Xiao Ning'er.

"Who's there!" Xiao Ning'er suddenly opened her eyes, shouted, and took out a sharp short sword, looking at Nie Li with a hint of coldness.

In the moonlight, her deep, piercing eyes had an indescribable charm.

Although she was only thirteen, she was already a beautiful young girl. Her fitted leather jacket accentuated her slightly protruding chest, which was impressive for her age.

"It's me, Nie Li!" Nie Li said. Although he hadn't spoken to Xiao Ning'er before, they were classmates and had some familiarity.

Xiao Ning'er put down her short sword but still looked at Nie Li guardedly and asked, "Why are you here?"

Nie Li smiled faintly and said, "Why are you here?"

"I'm practicing soul power!" Xiao Ning'er looked at Nie Li in the moonlight. Nie Li had a sharp gaze and a hint of heroism, not as repulsive as some people.

Nie Li shrugged and said, "I'm just wandering around."

"You're lying. Don't think I don't know, you've been hunting horned sheep for the past few days." Xiao Ning'er said. She had noticed Nie Li and his group early on but hadn't approached them. What puzzled her was that Nie Li's group's arrows were coated with something that could bring down a horned sheep with a single shot, but she wouldn't ask about others' secrets.

"So you knew all along." Nie Li looked at Xiao Ning'er. When she pouted, her full lips were incredibly charming. However, he already had Ye Ziyun in his heart and only admired Xiao Ning'er for her beauty and hard work. With her beauty, she could have stood at a high position without effort, but she chose to rely on her own strength to make everyone look at her with respect.

Unfortunately, she was using the wrong method.