Chapter 43: A Great Harvest
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In a rocky area on the edge of the exam grounds, a horde of lizards the size of grown men were running around in a panic.
Every few moments, explosions of crimson flames burst through the air, accompanied by pained screeches and the acrid smell of burning flesh.
The blasts came from a cave carved into the stone, where fire lit up the darkness in violent flashes.
Inside, a young man with long black hair tied back and almond colored eyes moved with steady steps, a smile on his face, as jets of crimson flames shot out from his hands.
The beasts didn't stand a chance.
Each of his strikes burned down entire groups of the creatures, reducing them to piles of ash and scorched bones.
Agonized cries bounced off the cavern walls, mixing with the constant crackle of the flames.
The young man didn't pause for even a moment.
Every time a new lizard crawled out from the shadows, it was met with a wave of fire so intense it didn't even have time to react.
It was a one sided slaughter, and the ground beneath him was already littered with blackened remains and ash.
Soon the number of lizards decreased, until only one remained.
This one was slightly larger than the others, and along with its size, its strength was on a different level too.
It was wounded and panting, its fierce gaze fixed on the human who had invaded its territory.
"Oh? So you've finally decided to stop hiding," said Zhu Rong,
glancing at the battered creature before him, beaten down by the countless explosive attacks he had hurled at it.
Unlike the others, this one had fled deeper into the cave when it couldn't withstand his attacks, sending out its underlings to buy time.
The lizard had assumed this small human would be overwhelmed by the swarm of beasts, but who would've guessed the other side wouldn't back down, charging into the middle of the horde and slaughtering them with powerful strikes.
The lizard chief hadn't even made it very far before Zhu Rong had already caught up to it and cornered it.
Skrreeeeekk!
Hearing the taunt, the lizard was enraged and made one final desperate attempt.
A layer of yellowish light coated its body as it whipped its tail, launching a barrage of high speed rock projectiles toward Zhu Rong.
As if he had expected this, Zhu Rong channeled spiritual Qi into his legs and dashed forward, deflecting the projectiles with rapid, fluid movements.
In no time, he reached the lizard, which had barely finished its attack and was caught off guard, unable to react in time.
"Got ya!" he muttered, as his fist lit up with fire Qi and shot upward toward the lizard's jaw.
An explosion erupted the moment his fist connected with the beast's hide, and the area where the creature's head had been was completely incinerated.
Its body was blasted back and crashed to the ground, lifeless.
"Tch, guess I'll need a few more months to toughen up my body," he said, shaking the hand he'd used to strike the beast.
Although most of the explosion's impact had hit the lizard, the recoil still reached him.
With his body not yet fully tempered, he couldn't avoid taking a bit of damage.
That said, aside from some soreness, his arm was holding up just fine.
He didn't pay it much mind and stepped over to the beast's large corpse.
"The effects are small, but noticeable at my current level," he murmured, quickly assessing the damage his attacks had done to the beast.
He had excellent control over spiritual Qi, better than many experts at the third stage of the Mortal Realm, where one truly began refining their QI control.
This was because, in his previous life, he'd spent years honing small, intricate aspects of his cultivation after he was no longer able to advance.
He had trained his body to a decent extent too, but given the short time he'd had, it hadn't grown that tough yet.
So for now, he could only reinforce it with his sharp Qi control, and the results spoke for themselves.
Not only had he managed to overpower all the first grade lizards here, but he'd also taken down their leader, a second stage lizard at the early phase.
Thanks to his superior mastery over spiritual Qi and his cultivation technique, he could unleash a strength far beyond his current stage, something only a handful of truly talented individuals could manage.
And now that his former deformity was gone, his Qi control was even smoother and stronger, letting him perform all of these feats without causing internal damage to himself.
If he'd tried something like this back in his old life, he would've landed himself in bed for a month, recovering from the internal injuries.
Without wasting time, he let his Qi flow into his hand and pierced the beast's abdomen.
"And with this, I should be good," he muttered as he pulled out a dark brown sphere from the creature's body.
The mission he had taken was to retrieve three first grade beast cores, the same mission he'd once taken in his past life.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he saw it, since the mission draws were random,
there was no reason he should've gotten the same one, even after being reborn, back in time.
That said, unlike in his past life, where attempting to complete the mission had landed him in the hospital, this time he managed to finish it with relative ease.
Judging by the number of corpses around him, he had successfully cleared his task, and all the extra beast cores would just count as bonus points for the exam.
But he had other plans for them.
Which is why he decided to keep them for himself, especially this second stage core.
"Hmm, there should still be a few hours before the trial ends…
Let's see if I can hunt down some beasts of other elements.," he muttered to himself, walking out of the cave as he picked a direction and set off.
He needed other sources to create new elemental cores, and the stronger the source, the easier it would be to refine a new elemental core.
With these Earth element cores, he was confident he could successfully condense an Earth Elemental Core in his dantian,
but he figured he might as well take the chance to gather other resources too.
After all, it wasn't every day one had access to a low risk hunting ground like this.
He spent the next hour moving around different parts of the test area.
Even though, in his past life, it hadn't taken long before he was disqualified, he'd still managed to scout out a few places, so he already had a rough idea of where certain types of creatures liked to lurk.
Although this test area was only open to second year students, it was by no means small.
It was big enough to fit at least ten Qingjun Academies inside it, and with such diversity, the number of possible missions available in this place was no joke.
The fact that he hadn't run into a single student in several hours spoke volumes about how vast this place really was.
He explored several spots, and before long, in about an hour, he'd already wiped out multiple beasts, collecting beast cores of different types.
"Hmm… I don't think I can fit any more of these in here," he muttered, glancing inside his bag where dozens of different cores sat piled up.
He still had some time left before the test ended, but with his space running out, he figured it was about time to start heading back.
His loot today had been abundant, and with the cores he now had on hand, he could probably condense at least three more elemental cores.
He could already feel the anticipation of experiencing the surge in power that would come once those cores were fully refined.
With that, he'd have the strength of four cultivators within his body, and considering the purity of the Qi inside those cores, his total strength would surpass even that.
As things stood, he was capable of dealing with beasts one stage above his own.
But once he condensed these new cores, he was certain he'd be able to challenge peak second stage beasts without issue.
The thought alone lifted his mood, and as he stood up, just about ready to start heading back,
when all of a sudden, he turned his head, a frown forming on his brow.
"Hmm? that was…"
He was sure he'd just picked up a strange fluctuation of energy, and just as he debated whether to head toward it,
the sounds of commotion and a few sharp cries reached his ears, confirming that he hadn't imagined it.
"I wonder who that is," he thought to himself, before kicking off the ground and dashing in that direction with swift, silent steps.