Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Raking in Points

The phantom-like cyan light abruptly froze in midair.

To Wu Jun’s astonishment, a streak of Sword Qi, so condensed it seemed tangible, appeared from nowhere and effortlessly swept across the Cyan-faced Fox’s neck.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment. Then, warm liquid splattered across Wu Jun’s face. He stared blankly as the previously ferocious Cyan-faced Fox’s head silently separated from its body. It crashed to the ground, still holding its pouncing posture, and kicked up a cloud of dust. The beast’s eyes still held a lingering glint of bloodthirsty ferocity, though the light within them had completely faded.

Almost simultaneously, a heavy, muffled BANG echoed from Wang Pan’s direction.

Wang Pan was struggling to raise his broadsword, preparing to forcefully block the terrifying pale fireball about to spew from the Cyan Flame Wolf’s jaws. He could already feel the scorching waves of the flames.

Suddenly, a blurry figure cut into the battlefield at breakneck speed. The newcomer swung a longsword, slicing into the Cyan Flame Wolf’s waist as easily as cutting a melon. The wolf, which was even taller and more robust than Wang Pan, barely managed half a whimper before being cleaved in two, never to move again.

The area fell instantly silent. Only the heavy panting of the three people and the faint, distant roars of other beasts echoed through the forest.

Wang Pan, Wu Jun, and Ren Lei stiffly turned their necks. Their gazes bypassed the still-bleeding corpse of the Cyan-faced Fox on the ground and simultaneously landed on the figure who had just appeared.

The young man had already sheathed his sword. He stood tall and straight, wearing a Combat Suit similar in style to theirs, but entirely spotless. His expression was placid, as if he had merely swatted two mosquitoes. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy, casting mottled shadows on his face.

Ren Lei covered her mouth, unable to hold back her rolling tears.

Wang Pan opened his mouth, squeezing out a few words from his dry throat. "Boss... Boss Fang Chen?!"

Fang Chen’s gaze swept over the three shell-shocked students. "Are you alright?" he asked evenly.

Panting heavily, Wang Pan touched the dim Crystal Stone on his chest. "We’re fine. It’s just that... the Spiritual Crystal Stone consumed too much power."

Ren Lei looked at the decapitated Cyan-faced Fox with lingering fear. "Are they... really dead?"

Wu Jun, on the other hand, was much more straightforward. He bowed to Fang Chen. "They’re sliced in half; they’re definitely dead! Thank you, Boss Fang! Thank you, Boss Fang Chen!" His eyes revealed deep relief and reverence.

Looking at Fang Chen, the trio felt as if they had found their pillar of support. The despair from moments ago vanished into thin air in the face of his terrifying, one-strike-one-kill strength, rekindling their hope.

"Boss Fang, you... you’re amazing." Ren Lei stared at Fang Chen’s calm profile. She had wanted to beg him to take them along, but she changed her tune at the last second. She knew she wasn’t well-acquainted with him. The love letter she had gathered the courage to hand him back then was just one of the many declarations of affection buried in his desk. Why should he keep helping her? Saving them once was already a massive favor.

Fang Chen looked at their faces. They were all students from Class Two. Although it was an honors class, they were ultimately just Ordinary Martial Artists who were slightly stronger than regular people; they hadn’t even crossed the threshold of the True Martial Realm. They had only managed to hold their own thanks to their Combat Suits and weapons.

While he could easily speedrun this forest relying on his own strength, the assessment document explicitly stated that rescuing endangered classmates was a significant bonus. Saving three people at once and killing two Demon Beasts would earn him at least a dozen points. Sure enough! His Spiritual Power immediately detected a gaze locking onto him from a distance. Although the person was obscured by branches and leaves, it was likely an observer mingling among the candidates.

"Let’s go. We’ll head out together," Fang Chen said.

"Huh? Boss Fang, really?" Wang Pan, Ren Lei, and Wu Jun could hardly believe their ears.

"There’s strength in numbers, perhaps," Fang Chen said, his tone still flat. "But let me make it clear: it’s dangerous ahead, and time is tight. If anyone drags the team down or disobeys orders..."

Ren Lei immediately interrupted to declare her stance, her tone resolute. "I know! Boss Fang, we understand! No bleeding hearts, and no dragging the team down! We’ll do whatever you tell us to do!"

Wang Pan and Wu Jun nodded vigorously.

"Do you need to rest?" Fang Chen asked.

"No, no!" the three replied in unison, terrified he might change his mind.

"Alright, let’s go then." As Fang Chen walked, he brought up a topic seemingly by chance. "By the way, during the fight just now, I stumbled upon this plant." He took a few Water Mist Fruits out of his bag. "I think I read in a miscellaneous journal that if you mix its juice with water and sprinkle it on your Combat Suit, it can temporarily resist flames."

He demonstrated on the spot, scooping water from a small puddle to mix with the fruit before sprinkling the pale blue juice onto his sleeve.

Wang Pan was pleasantly surprised. "There’s a method like that? That will save a lot of Spiritual Crystal Stones when dealing with Cyan Flame Wolves!"

"Yes. Have you seen this fruit around before?"

Wu Jun thought hard. "I think... I have a vague impression of it, but I didn’t pay attention at the time! Let’s go gather some now!"

"Yeah, we can gather some more," Fang Chen nodded.

The group began keeping an eye out for Water Mist Fruits as they moved. Along the way, they encountered several waves of classmates being chased miserably by Demon Beasts, whom Fang Chen saved in passing. Soon, about a dozen people had gathered around him, forming a small team.

In the crowd, Fang Chen spotted Yang Fan, who had transferred from Seventh Middle School with him.

Yang Fan looked at Fang Chen with a complicated expression. "Thank you, Fang Chen. But... I won’t give up on Xia Chu. I..." He wanted to say something more, but realized he had absolutely no leverage against the other boy; his words sounded pale and weak.

Fang Chen hadn’t intended to bother with him, but he still replied indifferently, "Figure out a way to break through to the True Martial Realm first."

Yang Fan’s face turned white. He clenched his fists and said no more.

At that moment, the others in the team began chattering excitedly about the effectiveness of the Water Mist Fruit.

"Wow! It really works! I didn’t activate my Spiritual Crystal Stone just now, and the sparks didn’t burn me at all!"

"This is great! Following Boss Fang was definitely the right choice!"

"Boss Fang is awesome! Now we don’t have to be afraid of those fire-breathing beasts!"

"If we’d known this method earlier, we wouldn’t have been in such a sorry state!"

Fang Chen was about to signal everyone to keep moving when a boy from Class One named Zeng Lei stepped forward, holding a peculiar plant with a sponge-like top.

"Boss Fang Chen, I found this over there." Zeng Lei handed the plant over.

Fang Chen took a look. It was none other than the Purifying Sponge Grass.

"This is called Purifying Sponge Grass," Zeng Lei continued. "If you hold this top section in your mouth and breathe through it, it can filter poisonous gas and even help detoxify. My family runs a clinic, and I once saw it recorded in an ancient text."

Hearing this, the crowd was overjoyed. "Really? It can even protect against poison?"

Zeng Lei nodded firmly. "Yes, that’s what the records say."

"Perfect, this saves me from having to make up an excuse," Fang Chen thought with a secret chuckle.

On the surface, he remained impassive. "Good. Currently, the most troublesome Demon Beasts we’ve encountered are of four main types: two rely on speed and strength, one breathes fire, and one emits poison. Now, we have temporary countermeasures for both fire and poison."

"Exactly, I just discovered this too," Zeng Lei chimed in. "We can gather more of these two plants now."

Fang Chen shot him a glance. "This guy probably noticed it ages ago," he thought. "He kept it hidden because he didn’t want others to get to it first, probably planning to use his classmates’ lives to buy himself a chance to escape."

He didn’t really care, though. Such was human nature.

"Alright, our team has grown, so gathering will be easier," Fang Chen said. "Let’s go. We have those terrifying shadow monsters behind us, which we can’t fight head-on. We can only go deeper into the forest and see if we can push through."

While he said this, he was scheming inwardly. "I remember there’s a small Demon Beast gathering spot just a few hundred meters ahead. I’ll feign being unable to win later, pretend to get lost, and ’accidentally’ stumble onto the path with the Mind-Bending Demon Wood. Then, I’ll chop down the tree and complete the hidden quest!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.