Chapter 32: The Search

[Spiritual Power +9]
[Spiritual Power: 67]
Fang Qingyun glanced at Little Black. Even with his cooperation, Little Black was still seriously wounded at this moment.

"I remember..."

Fang Qingyun hesitated, then pressed the Demon’s Eye against Little Black’s body.

Buzz!

A strange force was drawn out of his body. Under this force, Little Black’s wounds gradually began to heal.

That was spiritual power!

Fang Qingyun’s eyes lit up.

Spiritual power could be used like this? Or perhaps, this was a peculiarity of summoned beasts?

Little Black was born from Fang Qingyun’s spiritual power, so naturally, his spiritual power could heal it as well. He simply didn’t know how to use spiritual power properly.

Now, it was all automatic.

When Fang Qingyun’s spiritual power was depleted, Little Black’s injuries had mostly healed. After a while, as Fang Qingyun’s spiritual power recovered, so would Little Black.

"Compared to the Black Lion, your combat power is far inferior." Fang Qingyun looked at Little Black, shaking his head.

A single Black Lion could take down a giant beast on its own.

Little Black, even with his help, could only slay the giant beast at the cost of serious injuries.

If the Black Lion was truly at the demon level, Little Black was perhaps only half-demon, half-monster.

Its strength relied entirely on its size, power, and reckless bravery!

Sometimes, the most savage methods were also the most effective.

"Once we get out, I must find a way to enhance Little Black’s combat strength."

If there was no way…

Fang Qingyun glanced at the system.

[Summoned Beast: Dragon Blood Lion (+)]

Little Black’s name was Dragon Blood Lion. This addition—could it mean it could evolve?

Fang Qingyun dared not try!

To put it bluntly, he didn’t have enough Origin Points. Who knew how many it would take to upgrade Little Black’s level?

It probably wouldn’t be cheap!

If he had countless Origin Points, Fang Qingyun would have tried adding points long ago.

Next, Fang Qingyun removed all the teeth from the two giant beasts. He also detached their claws to use as weapons.

The longest claw, combining the finger bones and the sharp nail, was nearly a meter long—enough to handle the upcoming battles.

"Let’s go, Little Black. There’s probably nothing else to gain around here."

Fang Qingyun mounted Little Black and headed into the distance.

How many had he slain in this area?

Twenty or thirty half-demon, half-monsters, and two true demons.

If he kept killing, he’d soon wipe out the whole population here.

As for the bodies of the two demons, he left them where they fell.

When other demons ate them, they’d have a chance to evolve.

After encountering two demons in succession, Fang Qingyun realized that the true demons within the secret realm were likely deliberately placed by those in charge.

Since that was the case, he needn’t worry about half-demons evolving into full demons.

Now his focus was on searching for Zhao Junhong.

If, in the process, he could slay more half-demon, half-monsters and gain spiritual power, all the better.

...

"Whoosh!"

With a sharp sound, a monstrous bird with a wingspan over two meters was pinned to a tree and killed.

Zhao Junhong was panting heavily.

A savage wound crossed his chest, blood streaming, and his shoulder had been pierced by a sharp object.

He paid no attention to his injuries, instead leaning against a tree and watching his surroundings warily.

His body was taut, ready to attack at any moment.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

A burst of applause rang out.

Under Zhao Junhong’s vigilant gaze, a young man emerged, looking at him with great interest.

"Not bad—you’re really quite impressive!"

"Who are you?" Zhao Junhong frowned.

In the wild, let alone a stranger, even classmates from his own class—aside from Fang Qingyun—he wouldn’t trust.

"My name is Zhou Yi!"

The youth eyed Zhao Junhong with interest. "What’s your name?"

"Zhao Junhong," Zhao Junhong replied, then said, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now."

"What’s the rush?"

Zhou Yi smiled, waving his hand. "I’m quite interested in you. Originally, entering the Aoki District’s college entrance exam, I thought only Li Fei, Wang Henshui, Luo Yuxin, and that woman could be my rivals. I didn’t expect someone who could make me feel a bit of pressure."

Heh, you’re really something!

Judging by that sly face, he was certainly no ordinary person!

Zhou Yi said, "Well, are you interested in joining me?"

Zhao Junhong’s lips curled in a faint smile. "No interest."

"Sigh!" Zhou Yi sighed softly. "Is that so? What a shame. Won’t you reconsider? If you follow me, do you know how many resources you could gain? I could guide your cultivation. To be blunt, I am your greatest opportunity."

Whether you’re the greatest opportunity, I don’t know. But as for being blunt, I absolutely believe it.

Damn it, since you appeared, you haven’t stopped talking about yourself.

Blunt? If you replaced that with ‘heh heh,’ it would be even more fitting.

Zhao Junhong continued to shake his head, keeping a wary eye on Zhou Yi as he slowly retreated.

If he wasn’t so badly wounded...

"Sigh!" Zhou Yi sighed again. "Since that’s the case, forget it. These are my gifts to you."

Swish!

He darted to the side.

With two piercing screeches, two monkeys half a meter long were flung to the ground, convulsed twice, then died.

Zhou Yi dusted off his hands, his expression calm.

Zhao Junhong’s breath caught.

Two half-demon, half-monsters, both adept at speed, were slain by the young man in just a few breaths.

Was he a true martial artist?

...

Seemingly reading Zhao Junhong’s thoughts, Zhou Yi absorbed two points of spiritual power from the monkeys as he said, "I’m not a martial artist yet. Those who’ve become martial artists aren’t permitted into the secret realm."

"Farewell!"

"If you change your mind, you can come find me any time."

Zhou Yi turned his back to Zhao Junhong, waved elegantly, and was about to leave.

Suddenly!

"Screech, screech, screech!"

Sharp cries erupted.

Zhou Yi’s expression grew grave.

The sound was just like that from the monkey demons he’d killed.

The difference was, there were far more voices now.

It felt like there were at least ten.

He was wrong!

As the branches shook, twelve to thirteen monkey demons appeared.

But the branches behind them shook even more violently.

The screeches grew denser.

By the looks of it, at least twenty more monkey demons were lurking.

Zhou Yi turned, about to speak to Zhao Junhong, but was startled to find he was already gone.

In the distance, a figure was fleeing at great speed.

"..."

Zhou Yi wanted to curse, but now was the time to run.

Otherwise, he’d be torn apart by the monkey demons!

No matter how strong, he couldn’t fight dozens of demons.

Not even a true martial artist could!

Swish!

Zhou Yi pushed off with his feet and shot out like lightning, heading in Zhao Junhong’s direction.

"Damn you!"

Catching Zhou Yi in his peripheral vision, Zhao Junhong couldn’t help but shout, "Why are you following me?"

Zhou Yi smiled slightly. "Running with you, I can protect you better."

I need your protection?

What nonsense!

You just want someone to share the firepower.

Zhao Junhong was so angry his nose nearly twisted. He almost burst out with curses.

Zhou Yi had slain monkey demons; those behind were surely after him.

Now, sticking close behind, wasn’t he just bringing trouble?

Zhao Junhong gritted his teeth. "If I weren’t injured, I’d show you why the flower is so red!"

"Screech, screech, screech!"

The screeches echoed.

A swarm of monkey demons chased the two, at least thirty by rough estimate.