"What level of demonic beast is that?"
The entire sky had been set ablaze!
Lou Mengyu seized the opportunity to break free from Qin Yang's demonic grasp. She quickly pulled out new clothes from her qiankun ring and dressed herself.
Lou Mengyu glared at Qin Yang and said, "Did you know I wasn't poisoned?"
"Of course... I didn't know!" Qin Yang quickly corrected himself.
At that moment, a white lightning bolt flashed across the horizon like a thunder dragon, striking directly at the fire phoenix.
The fire phoenix let out an enraged cry, spewing flames that stretched ten miles. The temperature in the world surged violently.
The flames were powerful, but the caster of the thunder dragon clearly held the advantage. In moments, the outcome was decided - the once-mighty fire phoenix was struck down by the thunder dragon!
Phoenix feathers scattered like fiery rain.
Upon closer inspection, similar scenes unfolded across the distant horizon. Human cultivators had already engaged in full-scale battle with the demonic beasts.
Meanwhile, birds scattered through the mountain forests as wild beasts fled. One after another, demonic beasts surged forth from the Hundred Thousand Mountains - the tide of demonic beasts had arrived!
"What are you two doing here?"
Martial Heaven's sudden appearance startled both Lou Mengyu and Qin Yang.
Lou Mengyu's face paled visibly, though she managed to suppress a gasp of relief.
"We were perfectly fine in Wanshan City," Qin Yang said. "You're the one who brought us back here."
Martial Heaven glanced at Qin Yang. "I didn't bring you back. I brought Lou Mengyu. This demonic beast tide is unlike any before—it's too violent, nearly beyond control. Since she came with me, I naturally must take responsibility for her."
Qin Yang's face darkened with frustration. Responsibility? he thought. Does that mean no one cares about my survival?
"There's another change," Martial Heaven continued. "The assessment period has been reduced to one month, with multiple zones established. Your group will be stationed in the Qinling Mountains of the northwest."
"Why?" Qin Yang demanded.
Martial Heaven had no time to explain. Another wave of monstrous pressure surged through the air. Overwhelmed by his duties, he vanished in a flash.
This pressure came from distant battles, but even so... the mere force of it made breathing difficult. If such a tide were to approach...
"The Qinling Mountains?" Lou Mengyu murmured, glancing at Qin Yang.
"Why are you looking at me?" Qin Yang felt utterly perplexed.
"Among the Eight Divine Clans, the Qin Family is the only one that refuses to dominate the secret realm and instead resides outside it. Their dwelling place lies within Mount Qin."
"Uh..." Qin Yang scratched his head awkwardly, quickly changing the subject: "We shouldn't delay. Let's hurry! The Northern Hunter Rankings competition has already begun!"
Upon returning to the Thousand Hidden Sect, Lou Mengyu found the entire sect in disarray.
The Thousand Bamboo Peak's training field, once bustling with activity, now lay deserted and in disarray.
No, not entirely deserted - two figures remained.
One was Elder Wu, the other Jin Wanshan.
Jin Wanshan was engaged in a peculiar ritual: taking a bite from a peach on the left plate, discarding it, then biting into a banana from the right plate before tossing it aside. The sight alone was enough to make one want to punch him.
"Where has everyone gone?" Lou Mengyu asked.
Jin Wanshan blinked. "Which group do you mean?"
"How many groups could there be?" Lou Mengyu frowned.
Jin Wanshan pondered for a moment before making a three with his fingers.
"The Thousand Hidden Sect might be dissolved on the spot, never to exist again. That's the first wave."
"The maids and butlers of those young masters and mistresses have all gone to fight. As for the location, it's definitely different from where we took our assessment. That's the second wave."
"The remaining third wave? That's where Gongsun Ming and the others went, and where we're headed too—the Qinling Mountains."
At this point, Jin Wanshan wiped his mouth and pulled out a peculiar magical artifact from his qiankun ring. "We should hurry. There are already over three hundred names on the Northern Hunter Rankings."
"What? Over three hundred?" Qin Yang's eyes widened. "Is this cheating? People have already killed mythic beasts before the competition even started? And there's three hundred of them?"
Jin Wanshan sighed helplessly. "There's nothing we can do about it. Maybe they just happened to be fighting mythic beasts when the rankings started counting."
"Do we really have to go hunt mythic beasts in the Qinling Mountains?" Qin Yang's eyes darted around.
"Of course we do!" Lou Mengyu spoke up.
"That's a must," Jin Wanshan agreed in unison.
Lou Mengyu wanted to search for the Qin Family's former residence, while Jin Wanshan was driven purely by academy regulations. The academy wouldn't arbitrarily establish hunting zones; they must have set this area aside because other regions contained demonic beasts beyond their students' capabilities.
"Alright, alright, let's hurry over then," Qin Yang acquiesced. He eyed the peculiar artifact in Jin Wanshan's hand and asked, "What's that? How do you know the rankings on the Demon Hunter List?"
Jin Wanshan raised the artifact, shaped like a seven-pored heart. When activated with true qi, it projected a magical array screen.
"This is a special artifact designed by the Heavenly Secrets Sect. It allows everyone to see their rankings," Jin Wanshan explained.
"Thirteen points? What does that mean?" Qin Yang frowned. "Does that mean killing thirteen demonic beasts? Is this just about slaughtering chickens?"
"Nangong Ling... A young prodigy from the Nangong Clan of the Eight Divine Clans. His archery skills are peerless. He was previously at the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm; I wonder if he's now reached the Qi Sea Realm." Lou Mengyu seemed to recognize this name.
Jin Wanshan added from the side, "Monster beasts are categorized into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, Zongshi-level, star-level... and so on. Low-grade corresponds to the Qi Refining Realm, earning one point per kill. Mid-grade corresponds to the Qi Gathering Realm, earning two points per kill, and so forth..."
"Is Nangong Ling in the Qinling Mountains?" Qin Yang suddenly asked. He couldn't suppress his eagerness to learn this archery technique.
Jin Wanshan shook his head. "He should be in another area." Activating the Heavenly Secrets Sect's magical artifact, he checked the formation screen where Nangong Ling's name was marked with a location.
"Qin River Forest."
"Seems nearby," Qin Yang nodded. "You two go to the Qinling Mountains. I'll be away for a few days."
The two immediately guessed what Qin Yang intended.
"Is that 'returning the enemy's own methods against them' technique truly that miraculous? You're going to learn it secretly, aren't you?"
Lou Mengyu also looked at Qin Yang with a peculiar expression.
Qin Yang made a hushing sound. "Keep it low-profile..."
Jin Wanshan and Lou Mengyu exchanged glances. You? Low-profile? How did the Thousand Hidden Sect end up in this state? Don't you have any idea?
"Regardless, our strength won't suffer from a few days' delay. We'll accompany you!" Jin Wanshan declared with brotherly loyalty.
Qin Yang considered for a moment. "Very well. Pills are best enjoyed while still warm. Let's go together!"
"Oh, show me where Gongsun Ming and Lou Qinru rank," Qin Yang added.
Jin Wanshan activated the artifact again, searching until he found them at the bottom. "One with one point, the other with two."
Qin Yang laughed heartily, immediately removing both names from his list of opponents.