Dark clouds roiled above Qingmu Town. A vast gale kicked up yellow dust like snow. The teachers from Eighth Middle School stared, eyes wide, at the empty Central Square.

"Gone in an instant?"

"Why did the Secret Realm absorb everyone so quickly this time?"

"That’s not right. I was within range, so how come I wasn’t taken in?"

Anxious chatter spread across the square as more and more teachers gathered, surveying the collapsed stone pillars and the canopy of trees overhead.

"What do we do? Several thousand Demon Beasts trapped with fewer than a hundred students... It’ll be... it’ll be incredibly difficult to save them."

"The flow of time in the Secret Realm is different from ours out here. Who knows when it will open again? And getting experts on Secret Realms here will take a long time to arrange."

"Worst of all, that Demon Plant—the one even Director Zhao couldn’t detect—seemed to have entered the Secret Realm too. Something isn’t right about this..."

The normally composed teachers were now as frantic as ants on a hot pan. They grasped at each other’s colorful Martial Artist Spirit Charms, trying to contact the Secret Realm hidden in another dimension, but it was like trying to grip a bar of soap with oily hands—they just couldn’t get a hold of it.

This training hunt had gathered all of Eighth Middle School’s top talent. Every single outstanding student was participating, including Li Juefeng!

After being "eaten" by the Secret Realm, the students were like lambs to the slaughter. They were facing certain death!

If that many students die, how will Eighth Middle School have any decent students left for the college entrance exams?

An entire generation will be lost!

The Martial Education Department will hold us responsible!

This isn’t just a loss for Eighth Middle School; it’s a loss for Gao Yuan City and the entire Northwest Province!

"That’s enough! First, report this emergency to the school and the Martial Education Department."

His voice boomed like a great bell as Zhao Gongzheng strode into the square, fists clenched. A dangerous glint hid behind the lenses of his glasses. "The training hunt is officially over. Clear out the remaining Demon Beasts in Qingmu Town. It’s possible we’ve been set up by the Demon Race, so intensify all reconnaissance efforts."

"Yes, sir."

Dozens of teachers accepted their orders and dispersed. Zhao Gongzheng exhaled a frustrated breath, his fists slowly unclenching. ’So the Demon Plant escaped my detection by slipping into the Secret Realm?’

’Having a certain degree of control over a Secret Realm is a hallmark of the Demon King Red Flame Spider Mother. Only a few of her special offspring inherit this ability. Does this mean she planted one of her special offspring here in advance?!’

Li Ang strode over, the hideous scar on the bridge of his nose twitching. His eyes bulged with fury as he spat, "The Red Flame Spider Mother is supposed to be leading the Demon Race’s assault on Tianshan City! Why would she spare the effort to screw with us!"

He’d gone through so much trouble to get the principal’s approval for the Qiang Su Fragrance as a reward, all to help his son achieve a breakthrough and master Huajin.

And now, thanks to a potential scheme by the Demon King Red Flame Spider Mother, his son was facing thousands of Demon Beasts, not to mention that mysterious and unpredictable Demon Plant!

A hopeless situation!

Rage shot to his Celestial Spirit Acupoint. He crushed a black spider spinning a web on a nearby bush and snarled through gritted teeth, "Goddammit!"

"..."

Zhao Gongzheng remained silent, his gaze heavy as he stared into the empty air at the center of the square. The spectral image of the Demon Plant reflected in his eyes slowly faded away.

’To get the Demon Plant into the Secret Realm so stealthily, the Red Flame Spider Mother must have paid some other price, and even planned this for a long time,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, how could I have failed to detect a mere larva?’

...

Inside the Secret Realm, the wind whipped against Jiang Qiu’s face as he leaped into mid-air. Holding his breath, he stretched out his left hand. The three White Jade Fruits hanging among the Demon Plant’s branches grew larger in his vision, getting closer and closer.

The recent slaughter had consumed most of his Qi Blood, and with no Blood Boiling Liquid to replenish it, his strength would eventually run out.

’Even if I kill a dozen more Demon Beasts and my Ancient Martial Spear Technique breaks through to the next level, I won’t have the strength to use it. There’s no way I can kill all several thousand of them!’

’If I can’t kill all the Demon Beasts, I’ll be the one who dies in the end!’

’Only by eating the Demon Plant’s fruit and absorbing the immense power it contains will I have a chance to survive to the very end!’

’I have to get that Demon Plant Fruit!’

At this thought, his left hand drew level with Li Juefeng’s. He was about to pull ahead...

VMM—SWISH—

Suddenly, the sound of something tearing through the air exploded. A bone-deep chill shot down Jiang Qiu’s spine as a thick green arc swept toward him. His pupils instantly dilated.

He instinctively threw up his arms to block. His blood surged, and a bronze light flared around him.

The waist-thick green vine lashed out, striking him like a sledgehammer smashing a walnut in mid-air.

With a deafening BANG, Jiang Qiu was sent flying fifty meters. He crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and forming a crater. The spear, knocked from his grip, spun end over end and stabbed into the earth beside him, quivering and humming.

HUFF... HAH... HUFF... HAH...

His chest heaved, expelling the built-up heat from his body. He grabbed the leaning spear with his right hand and pulled himself up. An angry red welt was indented into the skin of his forearms, the bronze light around them extinguished like a snuffed candle. A cold wind chilled the sweat on his brow.

Jiang Qiu’s gaze darkened as he watched the Demon Plant’s roots tear themselves from the ground to chase after Li Juefeng, who was leaping away like a frightened flea.

’Demon Plants are part of the Demon Race, so of course they can attack,’ he thought, ’but I never expected its explosive power to be so high. It reacted in an instant, and one lash from that vine pushed me to my body’s limit.’

’Without any more Qi Blood for replenishment, any further fighting will mean burning through my own life force and martial potential.’

’It seems a mortal body truly has its limits...’

"Jiang Qiu!"

A sudden, delicate cry, like that of a startled bird, made Jiang Qiu instinctively turn his head. A crimson glass bottle flew through the air from fifty paces away, landing in his palm with a soft thud.

"Blood Boiling Liquid?!"

Jiang Qiu’s pupils constricted. He saw Liu Zili surrounded by a dozen Iron Armor Lizards. Her clothes were torn in several places, revealing bloody gashes beneath. Her movements were sluggish; she had to pause and gasp for breath after every spear thrust, her body bent in exhaustion.

’She’s struggling that much, and she still hasn’t used her Blood Boiling Liquid?’

For some reason, his heart clenched. Gritting his teeth, Jiang Qiu popped the bottle’s stopper and downed the contents in one gulp. His heart felt as if it had been set ablaze once more!

He yanked his spear from the ground and, in a fluid reverse-grip thrust, pierced through the Red Armored Giant Lizard that had opened its massive jaws to bite him from behind.

He pulled the spear free with a sickening squelch. Crimson blood ran down the shaft and coated his palm, hot and sticky.

[Real Combat Drill x1]

[Ancient Martial Spear (Proficient)]

[965/1000]

’I just need to kill a few more Demon Beasts,’ he thought. ’Then my Ancient Martial Spear Technique will break through to the Mastery level, I’ll comprehend my own Huajin, and I’ll be able to slay High Tier Demon Beasts!’

With that thought, Jiang Qiu shot up from his crouched position. The barren earth scattered beneath his feet as man and spear charged forward, his dark jade eyes reflecting the image of the girl fighting, her spear moving like a dancer’s partner.

Any Demon Beast that stood in his way died.

[Real Combat Drill x1]

[Real Combat Drill x1]

[...]

THUD...

An Iron Armor Lizard collapsed. The butt of Liu Zili’s spear dug into the barren ground, and she slumped forward, her torso leaning against the blood-slicked shaft. Her bright, almond-shaped eyes were half-lidded, and a cloudy puff of air escaped her lips. ’Blood Boiling Liquid is so expensive,’ she murmured. ’If only I could have afforded two doses...’

’Jiang Qiu is a genius. He might be able to hold on until the end, until the Secret Realm opens again. When he gets out, he’ll be the first person from the Shantytown to earn the ’Best Performance’ award.’

’I just scraped by and barely got the chance to be considered an outstanding student. The spear head I was issued is worth more than my parents could earn in half a lifetime.’

’Dying in battle against Demon Beasts is the fate of most people in the Northwest Province. It’s my fate, too.’

’After I die, I won’t be able to practice martial arts anymore. I won’t be able to trail behind Jiang Qiu and wait for the day he finally succeeds...’

"HIIISSS—"

Her train of thought was shattered by the grotesque shriek of a Red Armored Giant Lizard.

Her cool eyes reflected a cavernous, bloody maw opening wide, as if to devour the world itself. Bits of flesh caught between its fangs slid down its black-skinned lips, and a putrid stench washed over her.

She swayed and brought her spear upright, only to be sent flying by a swipe from the beast’s claws. Her heart fluttered like a candle flame in a gale.

’Maybe if it bites my head first, the pain won’t last long...’

Before that final thought could even fade, in the split second that her small torso was about to be engulfed by those massive jaws...

SWISH—

A cold light flashed, and a Double Arc Blade Spear Head shot into her line of sight. Like a bolt of black lightning, it pierced straight through the Red Armored Giant Lizard’s head, dragging the massive, crocodile-like corpse sideways as it flew past.

The beast’s fangs and the gust of wind from its passage sliced off a few strands of hair from Liu Zili’s temple. Stunned, she turned her head to look...