CHAPTER 27: CHAPTER 27: HUNTING SQUAD

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Clang!

After Ye Qingchen slew a beast blocking his path with a single sword strike, he glanced at the jade token in his hand.

Four hundred and thirty-six points.

This score was enough for him to pass the assessment.

But Ye Qingchen felt it was far from enough; he harbored an ambition to become the Newcomer King of this selection tournament!

"Earlier, I wasted a lot of time because of Lu Ming. Although I managed to snatch back some points from them, it’s still far off! If I want to compete for the Newcomer King, I must hunt higher-level beasts!"

With this thought in mind,

Ye Qingchen started dashing rapidly through the forest.

So, he planned to find a Spirit Sea Realm beast.

Spirit Sea Realm!

That was a realm higher than the Qi Refining Realm. Cultivators at this level could already fly and release True Qi. People like Lu Ming and Chu Mingyang were only considered Half-Step Spirit Sea, not truly at that realm yet.

Reaching the Spirit Sea Realm would result in an overwhelming increase in strength.

And if it’s a Spirit Sea Realm beast, its power would be immensely strong, and even a cultivator of the same level would be reluctant to confront it!

But for the sake of competing for Newcomer King, Ye Qingchen naturally wanted to fight for it!

"If I remember correctly, there’s a Sword Patterned Snake Demon of the Spirit Sea Realm hidden in this area!" Ye Qingchen scanned his surroundings with eyes like lightning, recalling what someone had mentioned before.

The number of Spirit Sea Realm beasts is very low.

Once one is slain, points will significantly outpace others.

"Who?"

"Halt!"

At this moment,

a shout suddenly erupted.

In the dense forest, several figures suddenly leaped out, directly blocking Ye Qingchen’s path.

Leading them was a tall, heroic-looking girl. Dressed in a blue tight outfit and wrapped in a fiery red armor, her figure was alluring.

Besides this girl, two boys stood behind her, seemingly centered around her.

"What’s the matter?"

Ye Qingchen frowned.

He did not know them, but they blocked him. Could they be looking for trouble?

"Ahead is the Sword Patterned Snake Demon’s territory!" the girl said coldly. "We’re about to take on this Sword Patterned Snake Demon, and your presence might alert it, affecting our plan!"

"You’re also here to take on the Sword Patterned Snake Demon?" Ye Qingchen hadn’t expected that the demon was already targeted by others, and he frowned. "Sorry, it’s my target too!"

"Do you think you have the capability to take on the Sword Patterned Snake Demon? Get out of here, or don’t blame me for being rude!" At this, a stern-faced boy shouted angrily.

"Yuan Cong, shut up!" the girl snapped. She took a good look at Ye Qingchen, thought for a moment, then said, "Qi Refining Twelfth Layer, making it here, your skills aren’t bad. If you’re willing, join us to hunt the Sword Patterned Snake Demon. If not, we’ll have to force you out!"

Yuan Cong?

The Thunderbolt Hand Yuan Cong, ranked twenty-sixth on the talent ranking?

Glancing at him, indeed, his hands resembled eagle claws, with protruding knuckles, truly astonishing.

Ye Qingchen thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright! But how do we divide the points?"

He only knew the location of this Sword Patterned Snake Demon. If he left now, he wouldn’t know where to find another Spirit Sea Realm beast. If they engaged, they might end up with nothing.

"Points will be distributed according to effort; no problem, right?" the girl said.

"Agreed!"

"I’m Jiang Churan!" the girl nodded at Ye Qingchen and introduced herself, "This is the Thunderbolt Hand Yuan Cong; he’s a bit temperamental, don’t mind him! And this is Angry Vajra Hong Man!"

Ye Qingchen raised an eyebrow.

He hadn’t expected this three-person team to consist entirely of members from the talent ranking.

Jiang Churan was called the ’Cold Light Sword,’ ranked nineteenth.

The Thunderbolt Hand Yuan Cong was ranked twenty-sixth.

Angry Vajra Hong Man was ranked thirtieth.

Hong Man was tall and burly, standing at about two meters, with muscular and sinewy limbs like twisted tree roots. He stood like a wall, but his demeanor was honest and sincere, "Brother, what’s your name?"

"Ye Qingchen!" Ye Qingchen cupped his fists.

"The Life and Death Sword, Ye Qingchen?"

Jiang Churan’s eyes lit up with surprise, evidently not expecting this boy to also be on the talent ranking.

"Life and Death Sword?"

Ye Qingchen raised an eyebrow.

He had heard many people call him that.

"These are nicknames based on our fighting styles or traits!" Sensing Ye Qingchen’s confusion, Jiang Churan explained with a smile, "Okay, we don’t have much time; we need to act quickly..."

However, before she finished, a voice full of sarcasm came from the side, "A kid at Qi Refining Twelfth Layer can make it to the talent ranking? With your skills, how did you manage to kill Chu Mingyang?"

It was Yuan Cong speaking. He looked at Ye Qingchen with hostility.

In this remote place, they hadn’t heard of Ye Qingchen’s victory over Lu Ming. Furthermore, he always considered Jiang Churan as his own, so with Ye Qingchen’s sudden appearance, hostility was inevitable.

"Yuan Cong, shut up!" Jiang Churan seethed with anger: "You’ve gone too far! I’m warning you, if you keep this up, we’ll go our separate ways from now on!"

"Jiang Churan... you!"

Yuan Cong’s face turned grim.

He never expected Jiang Churan to reprimand him for Ye Qingchen.

He glared at Ye Qingchen with venom in his eyes, but eventually, he suppressed it.

"Hmph, even if you’re strong, you’re just at Qi Refining Twelfth Layer! That Snake Demon is a Spirit Sea Realm being. You wanting to show off, let’s see how you’ll embarrass yourself!"

"Okay, we don’t have much time; let’s quickly lure the Sword Patterned Snake Demon out!" Seeing Yuan Cong go silent, Jiang Churan continued, "That Snake Demon is in the Mirror Lake ahead!"

A moment later, they arrived at a large lake.

The lake spanned over a hundred acres, the water surface so calm it was like a mirror.

"Let’s do it!"

Jiang Churan commanded.

Immediately, Hong Man spread the Withered Profound Grass, and upon lighting it, a pungent smoke spread rapidly over the lake surface.

In moments, the entire lake was shrouded in smoke.

"The Sword Patterned Snake Demon is hiding in this Sword Lake! The smoke from the Withered Profound Grass can lure it out!" Jiang Churan explained on the side.

As she finished,

the originally calm lake was suddenly disturbed, and a massive shadow shot out like lightning.

The giant snake was covered in silver scales, mysterious lights continuously coursing over its scales. Coupled with its massive, six to seven zhang long body, it was an utterly intimidating sight!

Sword Patterned Snake Demon!

This was their target for the hunt!