Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Breaking the Desperate Straits, Slaying the Demon Plant

[Ancient Martial Spear (Mastery)]

[Features: Momentum like Thunder, Azure Dragon Probing the Moon]

[Mastery Points: 0/10]

A single thrust shot out like a bolt of black thunder. A storm trailed in its wake, the projected Strength shattering the back armor of the Iron Armor Lizards in its path and sending them flying. From above, it looked as if a slender black missile had torn through an anthill.

The spear skewed the Red Armored Giant Lizard that was about to bite down on Liu Zili, lodging in its skull and dragging it over ten meters away.

BOOM! Dust billowed as Jiang Qiu arrived a moment later. He stomped on the Red Armored Giant Lizard’s head, yanked out his spearhead with a sharp tug, and let out a heavy breath.

Without pausing, he charged back into the fray. His black figure weaved like lightning around Liu Zili, Wang Guanjia, Zhang Shan, and the other students from Site 8 whom he recognized.

As he charged, a sweep of his spear created a three-meter-long crescent arc of wind. Any Iron Armor Lizard that touched the afterimage of his weapon fell in waves. Even when a Red Armored Giant Lizard ducked to hide, it was sliced in half—armor and all—with a sickening tear.

In the span of just seven or eight breaths, a huge gap had been cleared in the encircling black tide of Demon Beasts. Exhausted, Liu Zili and the others collapsed to their knees, gasping for air.

"Hahh... Hahh..."

Jiang Qiu slowed his pace. Beads of sweat rolled down the bridge of his nose and his cheeks. The blood-and-grime-stained shirt across his chest was soaked through, steaming in the cool air.

’Killing these Low Tier and Middle Tier Demon Beasts won’t improve my Ancient Martial Spear Technique anymore. I’ve already used up half the Qi Blood I just replenished. I can’t survive by just mindlessly killing.’

’I have to grasp the core of the problem to break this stalemate.’

’Our general studies class taught that Red Armored Giant Lizards feed on Black Armored Lizards and other Low Tier Demon Beasts. But this situation is completely different. They aren’t eating the Black Armored Lizards at all; they’re only focused on biting humans.’

’For something like this to happen, some special entity must be controlling these low-intelligence Demon Beasts.’

’And the only thing on this field capable of controlling Demon Beasts is probably that Demon Plant, which is comparable to a High Tier Demon Beast!’

At this thought, Jiang Qiu’s cold gaze, sharp as a blade, cut toward the distance. The ten-meter-tall Demon Plant had already drawn more than ten roots from underground. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! It smashed a large swath of Demon Beasts and students to death, splattering blood and gore everywhere.

Meanwhile, a figure in Silver Armor was leaping between the lashing roots like a tightrope walker on a high cliff. At some point, most of his silver Chest Armor had been shattered and his helmet cracked. All that remained was a head of black hair flying about in a frenzy.

His speed as he fled, spear in hand, grew slower and slower, while the roots whipped faster and faster...

BANG!

During a leap, a root as thick as a bowl seized the opportunity and lashed him across the abdomen. He instantly bent double like a shrimp, spitting up bloody foam, before being slammed into the ground like a spiked ping-pong ball, kicking up a three-foot-high cloud of yellow-black soil.

The sharp crack of his Silver Armor shattering was audible even from a hundred meters away.

"Ah! Don’t tell me Li Juefeng is dead?! The teachers didn’t make it into the Secret Realm! No one can defeat the Demon Plant, and the thousand-plus Demon Beasts will devour us sooner or later!"

"Even Li Juefeng was completely powerless against it! That Demon Plant really is on par with a High Tier Demon Beast—it might even be approaching the level of a Top Tier Demon Beast!"

"What do we do? What do we do?! I don’t want to die... I don’t want to die..."

The moment Li Juefeng fell, the surviving students began to falter against the encirclement of Demon Beasts, their eyes dimming with despair.

Hundreds of Demon Beasts had died, but over a thousand still remained. As for the students, with just over twenty dead, they had already lost a quarter of their number.

Who could have predicted a Demon Beast rampage on the second day of the practical training hunt, getting chased all the way to the Central Square? And who could have known the Secret Realm would open so suddenly that even the teachers were cut off, leaving them with no one to protect them?

If they had known, they wouldn’t have prepared only one or two vials of Blood Boiling Liquid, which they had already used up during the initial rampage.

If they had known, they would have brought a spare spear shaft instead of having to resort to their fists.

If they had known, they might have taken out a loan for a full set of Light Armor, and maybe they would have lasted longer...

"Screee..."

The strange screech of the Demon Plant’s stalks rubbing together echoed under the gray sky. Embedded in the earth and rock, Li Juefeng’s eyes were half-closed, a harsh ringing filling his ears.

The towering Demon Plant raised its dozen or so green roots, which looked like giant green pythons, all raising their heads to look down on him with contempt.

At the top of the main stalk, surrounded by the roots, hung three White Jade Fruits, still clustered together on a branch.

’Father said that was the hidden criterion for the "Best Performance" award this year,’ he thought. ’It’s what the most outstanding student should achieve. I was supposed to be the one to claim it.’

’But now... even if I were fully recovered, I couldn’t possibly defeat that so-called Demon Plant.’

’The tip of my spear, infused with a mere hint of Huajin, could barely pierce one of its roots. Yet its first strike shattered my Chest Armor and helmet, throwing my Qi Blood into turmoil. Its second strike left me lying on the ground with broken bones and ruptured lungs...’

His thoughts began to fade like cotton in a flame. Scarlet blood seeped from under his eyelids, blurring his vision.

The dozen or so emerald-green roots rose high into the air like the Grim Reaper’s whips. The cold wind carried the stench of blood, and the shouts of his classmates were drowned out.

’If I had fully comprehended Huajin—the most domineering kind of Huajin, my very own Huajin—how could I be waiting here to die?’

’It’s a shame. I haven’t lost in so long that my bottleneck has grown too deep. I’ve never tried the legendary Qiang Su Fragrance, the one said to enlighten one’s Spear Dao... I just can’t break through...’

With this final thought, his eyelids began to drift shut. Just as his vision was about to be consumed by the blackish-red blood...

BOOM! 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

VMMMM—

Following the explosion not far away, the clear, high-pitched hum of a spear suddenly sliced through the haze of his closing vision. A black silhouette, with spearhead leading and body taking the form of a dragon, charged upward against the grain with the force of thunder. He was aiming straight for the spot on the Demon Plant’s crown near the fruit—where its core was located!

Shock struck Li Juefeng’s pupils like a mallet on a drum. The blood in his heart, which had grown cold, began to pound once more.

’It’s him! The student who surpassed me as the top candidate in this training hunt, the one with the highest kill count!’

’He’s not dead?!’

At that moment, every student who heard the sound of the leap looked up just in time to see the black silhouette flash through the air. Surging Strength radiated from the spear’s tip, bearing down like a gale and forcing the Demon Plant’s leaves and branches to bend.

Some recognized the figure as the demon-slaying prodigy from Qingmu Town, the one with explosive power.

Some recognized the silhouette as the leader of Site 8, the top candidate who fought without a single piece of armor.

Some had heard the rumors: he was the rising star who, in less than a month, had gone from being an ordinary student to a name known by every teacher.

He was called...

"Jiang Qiu."

Liu Zili bit her lip as she uttered his name, her bright eyes glistening. She could only stare as the black figure traced the image of a dragon in the air, pursued by a dozen roots, and pierced through the top of the Demon Plant.

The moment the cold light flashed, the Demon Plant’s dozen roots froze. A hole as wide as a man’s waist had been punched straight through it, offering a clear view of Jiang Qiu’s retreating figure.

BOOM—

The delayed Huajin erupted, instantly expanding the hole and blasting that section of the plant into splinters and ash!

CRASH... RUMBLE...

The roots and main stalk slammed into the ground, kicking up clouds of soil like a collapsing green skyscraper. The three White Jade Fruits fell with a few soft thuds and rolled a short distance away.

"ROAR-HISSS—"

"HISS-YAAA—"

Almost at the exact instant the Demon Plant fell, the thousands of Iron Armor Lizards and Red Armored Giant Lizards on the field let out strange cries. They shrieked as if they were fierce ghosts being fried in oil, as if their very souls were being ripped from their throats.

THUD. THUD. THUD...

One after another, the Demon Beasts toppled over like a receding tide. Their Life Force dissipated along with the Demon Plant’s, drifting away into the air.

The remaining students leaned on their spears, their faces pale and their eyes wide with shock. But in the chaos, no one noticed...

Thump.

The three connected White Jade Fruits rolled to a stop about ten meters away.

Skitter~

Suddenly, a tiny purple spider, smaller than a fingernail, crawled out from the underside of the fruit. Its eight purplish-black eyes reflected the silhouette of the nearest student.

Claw marks on that student’s back were caked with dried blood. The hem of his clothes, torn to ribbons, fluttered in the wind. His slanted, wolf-like eyes always seemed to hold a trace of resentment...