’Such a crystalline Demon Plant Fruit, flawless and white as jade, was a rare sight even online. Its price must be quite high.’

’If I sold one or two back to the school, I might just be able to move into the residential district.’

’Besides, Demon Plant Fruits more or less contain some toxins that the human body rejects. Unless it’s a last resort or I’m absolutely sure there’s no major issue, it’s better not to eat them directly...’

At that thought, Jiang Qiu averted his gaze and silently started gnawing on the Red Armored Giant Lizard’s head. The tough, chewy texture was much more interesting than the Black Armored Lizard.

It was just a shame. ’How did the Demon Plant’s body wither so quickly? Where did all its vigorous Life Force go?’

’If that were edible too, it would be on par with a High Tier Demon Beast.’

[Low-Quality Body Refining x1]

[Low-Quality Body Refining x1]

[...]

...

「More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye.」

The skies above Qingmu Town remained shrouded in dark clouds, and yellow sand fell like snow.

The teachers in charge of the search emerged one after another from various streets and buildings. Their faces were ashen, and they all hung their heads, occasionally sneaking glances at Zhao Gongzheng’s back.

"Director Zhao, we’ve searched Qingmu Town dozens of times, and we still haven’t found any clues about the Demon Race’s plot today. The Secret Realm has been closed for seventeen days. There’s no chance of survival. We should leave."

Wu Shan stood with his hands in his pockets, his right eye dim and lifeless. The contours of his cheeks were ice-cold, and the collar of his black coat fluttered in the wind.

"Wu Shan, are you going to abandon all of Eighth Middle School’s outstanding students trapped in the Secret Realm?!" Li Ang stepped past Zhao Gongzheng, his eyes furious as he jabbed a finger out, as if thrusting a sharp sword at Wu Shan. "My son is still in there! Nearly a hundred of Eighth Middle School’s best students are in there! The Secret Realm hasn’t even opened yet, and you’re saying we should just leave?!"

"What, you think your son could have survived?" Wu Shan sneered. "This month, three other Outer City High Schools started their training hunts at the same time as us. Nearly ninety percent of their top students all died in their Secret Realms. What did the information they reported to the Martial Education Department say?

They all had hidden High Tier Demon Beasts! Our Gao Yuan City was tricked by the Demon King, the Red Flame Spider Mother!

Could your son defeat a hidden Demon Plant that’s stronger than a normal High Tier Demon Beast? Could he single-handedly wipe out a tide of a thousand Little Demon Beasts?

What do you think your son is, a shooting star streaking across the night sky?!"

His voice crashed down like a great wave, spit flying everywhere. Li Ang clenched his fingers into a fist, the hideous scar on the bridge of his nose twitching. "Even if my son didn’t survive, we have to see his body before we leave! This small Secret Realm has a cycle of twenty-some days at most. Can’t you wait a few more days?"

"Director Li, with the time we’re wasting here, we could have already screened a new batch of outstanding students from the regular classes. If we poured a ton of resources into training them, we might even be able to cultivate a new genius before the college entrance exams..."

The moment he finished speaking, a Gale whipped up Wu Shan’s hair, sending his overcoat billowing back and his loose black pants slapping against his legs.

A chill washed over his face, and the slit of his left eye cracked open.

Li Ang’s tall, straight figure stood there like a mountain, a subtle arc in the airflow forming before him, as if a peak meeting a cold current.

"Wu Shan, when have you ever seriously taught the students in the regular classes? And now you’re telling me this shit? You think just because you happened to teach one Jiang Qiu, you can produce a second?"

The pressure emanating from Li Ang roared like the wind. His gaze was like a cold blade, frightening the other teachers into turning their heads to avoid it. "You stole my son’s first choice, and you think Jiang Qiu is really enough to be your trophy student?

After retiring from the Military Department, how many geniuses have you actually taught!

Jiang Qiu?

According to your logic, he’s already dead in the Secret Realm!"

"Enough."

A deep grunt reverberated, and both men retracted their sharp gazes, turning to Zhao Gongzheng, who stood with his hands behind his back. "The other high schools that encountered similar incidents had the students’ bodies spat out within three days. We’ve already waited seventeen. What’s a few more?

Suppose we leave.

If they manage to walk out of the Secret Realm alive, how are they supposed to cross dozens of miles of wasteland swarming with Demon Beasts to get back to Gao Yuan City?

And if they’re all dead, forget about vying for the title of a prime base for student recruitment; Gao Yuan City will surely be lacking in its cultivation of Martial Artists.

A fault in our Martial Arts education will only allow the Demon Race, led by Commander-in-Chief Red Flame Spider Mother, to break through our city gates again in the future."

His words settled the matter. No one replied. Wu Shan took a deep breath and exhaled, leaning against a crumbling wall with his arms crossed. His intense right eye was like a piece of black jade that had fallen into a muddy swamp.

’Aside from First Middle School, which has a Secret Realm Expert on-site, ninety percent of the other high schools’ top students are dead.’

’And now, just because the Secret Realm is late to open, we’re stuck here waiting for a sliver of faint hope.’

’What’s the point?

Are we just here to collect the bodies of Jiang Qiu and the others?

Anyone can collect bodies!’

BZZZT...

Suddenly, a subtle ripple vibrated through the air. A clear, bright voice, like a young eagle piercing the clouds, called out, "I think the Secret Realm is opening! Get up, get up..."

At that moment, Wu Shan’s heart trembled. He, along with Li Ang and the forty-odd teachers standing like wooden posts at the street entrance, turned to look at the Central Square. Vague, shadowy figures of students and Demon Beast corpses began to appear with the ripples.

BZZZT...

Another wave pulsed out. Wu Shan’s back shot off the crumbling wall. Li Ang took two steps forward. A sharp glint flashed across the surface of Zhao Gongzheng’s gray-lensed glasses.

BZZZT...

The stench of Demon Beasts settled over the area. Between the broken bricks and shattered pillars that had already been cleaned, a mountain of corpses solidified. The withered yellow body of the Demon Plant pushed aside the covering of leaves and branches, and as the leaves fell away, dozens of teenage boys and girls with ruddy cheeks stepped out of the afterimage. At their head was Jiang Qiu, holding three White Jade Fruits still attached to their branch.

"Good."

Wu Shan’s mouth twitched slightly, and his chest hammered twice. ’Even though we had that conflict a month ago, and I pushed him into the crucible as the lead student out of spite... I have to admit, if Jiang Qiu were gone, I wouldn’t have a single student worth mentioning in my entire teaching career. Li Ang was right. In all my years at Eighth Middle School, the most brilliant person I’ve ever met is Jiang Qiu.’

’The greatest value of my entire teaching career is riding on him...’

"Excellent," Li Ang said, his gaze passing over Jiang Qiu to land on Li Juefeng’s bloodstained, aloof face. He let out a soft, turbid breath. "As long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"To survive a situation like that... very good, very good indeed..."

The corners of Director Zhao’s mouth turned up high, smoothing out a third of the wrinkles on his face. His glasses frame trembled slightly in shock.

"Director Zhao, the Demon Beasts that entered the Secret Realm with us are all dead, and we have the Demon Plant’s fruits here. Should we turn them in for collection now?"

Meeting the gazes of the crowd, which flared up like kindling flames, Jiang Qiu raised the Demon Plant Fruits that looked as if they were carved from White Jade, his own eyes burning with intensity.

’There’s no day or night in the Secret Realm, but it didn’t feel like that long. We just ate when we were hungry, got hungry after we ate, and just like that, dozens of meals of Red Armored Giant Lizard were gone.’

’But many of the students who only had external injuries have now recovered. They borrowed unbroken spear shafts from each other to practice their spear techniques.’

’It’s a shame that practicing my spear skills no longer improves my Mastery Level Ancient Martial Spear. I just stood to the side, giving a few pointers whenever someone asked for guidance. Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the ripples of the Secret Realm started to appear...’

Recalling all this, the corners of Jiang Qiu’s mouth curled up, and he licked the inside of his lip.

’I’ve already done a rough calculation. A total of over two thousand Demon Beasts were killed. A single Black Armored Lizard is worth over twenty thousand. Based on the percentage for my kill count, I should be able to earn a lot of money.’

’And these three Demon Plant Fruits... even if the school buys them back at a low price, they should be worth a million, right?’

’With that, I can get a better quality spear shaft, stock up on three or four bottles of Blood Boiling Liquid, and buy a big wooden tub for medicinal baths for my family. I’ll save the rest and buy a house in the Inner City someday...’

TAP. TAP.

A broad palm patted him gently on the shoulder. He looked up to meet Director Zhao’s gaze, which burned with relief. "Haha, no need to rush. The important thing is that you all made it back alive. We can sort out the Demon Beast reclamation business after we get back to school.

As for this Demon Plant Fruit, it seems a little different from when I first observed it..."