33: Second-tier magical beast Crimson Flame Tiger

As the three delved deeper into the trial zone, the surrounding mist gradually thinned, but the silence in the forest became increasingly unsettling.

The dry leaves underfoot made a faint rustling sound.

Jiang Donghua walked at the forefront, his gaze sharply scanning his surroundings, Dou Qi slowly circulating within his body, ready to respond to any sudden situation.

Liu Mingyu followed closely, gripping a long sword in his hand.

Liu Yuting, meanwhile, was in the middle, her ice crystal pendant glowing with a faint blue light under the morning sun.

“Tsk, as expected, everyone who came today isn't someone to be trifled with…”

Jiang Donghua's peripheral vision swept over a few teams in the distance, a silent warning rising in his heart.

Those who dared to enter the trial zone at this critical juncture were all formidable individuals with considerable strength; Four-Star and Five-Star Dou Practitioners were everywhere, and there were even a few Senior Students with profound auras leading teams.

Their team, however, consisted of a Two-Star Dou Practitioner leading two hangers-on who hadn't even become Dou Practitioners, making them stick out like lambs among wolves.

Indeed, they hadn't walked far before several scrutinizing gazes fell upon them.

“Heh, a Two-Star Dou Practitioner? And he's brought two rookies who aren't even Dou Practitioners?”

Not far away, a burly student sneered, his eyes full of disdain, and his companions beside him also scoffed.

“There's a limit to showing off; don't end up not knowing how you died.”

Liu Mingyu's expression changed slightly, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the sword hilt.

Liu Yuting bit her lip and whispered,

“Donghua Ge, how about we…”

“What are you afraid of?”

Jiang Donghua grinned, a hint of wildness flashing in his eyes.

“They're strong, they do their thing; we get ours, there's no conflict.”

He deliberately raised his voice, ensuring everyone around could hear clearly.

“Besides, the trial zone isn't owned by anyone; we can walk however we want. Who are we bothering?”

The burly student frowned, about to retort, but was held back by his companion.

“Forget it, why bother with a few ignorant fellows? They'll have their time to cry later.”

Jiang Donghua shrugged, continuing forward indifferently, knowing that in such a place, danger not only came from Magical Beasts but also potentially from the covetousness of other students.

If they truly encountered something valuable, it was hard to guarantee that no one would harbor ill intentions.

“Mingyu, Yuting, no matter what happens later, don't stray too far from me.”

He whispered a rare serious warning.

The Liu Siblings exchanged glances and nodded silently.

Just then—

“Rustle~”

From the bushes ahead, a sudden unusual rustling sound emerged.

Jiang Donghua's pupils contracted, and he abruptly raised his hand, signaling them to stop.

The three held their breath, staring intently at the swaying shadow.

The next second.

“Roar—!”

A dark figure suddenly darted out, a fishy wind blowing in their faces!

“Swish—”

The Shadow Wolf's wail abruptly ceased, its body crashing to the ground, blood gushing from its mouth, mixed with shattered internal organs. A pitch-black arrow was deeply embedded in its back, the fletching still slightly trembling, clearly having pierced its heart with a single shot.

The three of Jiang Donghua stood frozen. Before they could react, a rustling sound came from the bushes ahead.

“Patter, patter…”

Several figures slowly emerged. Leading them was a slender youth with silver-rimmed eyeglasses on his nose, his eyes behind the lenses calm and sharp.

He held a black short bow in his hand, the bowstring still slightly vibrating, clearly indicating that the arrow just now had come from him.

“Sorry, we've been eyeing this guy for a long time.”

The Eyeglasses Youth pushed up his frames, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable authority.

Behind him followed two men and one woman. One of the tall, burly men carried a Giant Axe on his shoulder and grinned, saying,

“You guys are lucky. If you had taken one more step forward, you might have been ambushed by this beast.”

The other girl crossed her arms, her gaze sweeping over the three of Jiang Donghua, lingering especially on Liu Yuting's ice crystal pendant for a moment, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

Jiang Donghua narrowed his eyes, quickly calculating in his mind.

The Eyeglasses Youth, the Giant Axe Strongman, the mysterious girl, plus a Stern Youth who had remained silent, with twin blades at his waist.

The overall strength of this team was probably far superior to theirs!

Liu Mingyu subconsciously tightened his grip on his short sword and whispered,

“Donghua Ge, we…”

Jiang Donghua raised his hand, signaling him not to act rashly, then grinned, revealing an innocent expression.

“Thank you for your help, otherwise, we might have suffered a great loss.”

The Eyeglasses Youth nodded faintly, his gaze, however, falling on Jiang Donghua, seemingly interested in why a Two-Star Dou Practitioner dared to lead a team deep into the trial zone.

“You're quite bold, daring to come in at a time like this.”

His tone was calm, yet carried a hint of probing.

Jiang Donghua shrugged and smiled,

“Fortune favors the bold, right? Besides, the academy wouldn't really send us to our deaths, would it?”

The Eyeglasses Youth remained noncommittal, merely gently pushing up his eyeglasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light.

“I hope your luck continues to be this good.”

With that, he waved his hand, and the strongman behind him stepped forward, pulling the arrow from the Shadow Wolf's back and casually tossing it to the Eyeglasses Youth.

“Let's go, don't waste time.”

The four turned and left, quickly disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.

Liu Yuting finally let out a sigh of relief and whispered,

“Donghua Ge, they… seem very strong.”

Jiang Donghua stared in the direction they left, a trace of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

“Indeed very strong. That guy with the eyeglasses is at least a Five-Star Dou Practitioner.”

Liu Mingyu gasped.

“Five-Star?! Then why would they target a First-Tier Shadow Wolf?”

“With their strength, even a peak Dou Practitioner would definitely not fare well.”

“To come here to hunt Shadow Wolves that are only three or four stars is a bit overly cautious, isn't it?”

Time passed quickly, the scorching sun high in the sky.

“Gulp—”

Liu Mingyu took a gulp of water, chewing on his dry rations for a long time before finally managing to swallow them, unable to resist complaining,

“What's going on? We've been walking for most of the day and haven't even found a single Magical Beast hair!”

Liu Yuting took small bites of her flatbread, her ice crystal pendant shimmering in the sunlight, and whispered,

“It seems Donghua Ge was right. The academy did clear out most of the high-tier Magical Beasts, but the remaining ones have all been snatched up by those experts.”

Jiang Donghua leaned against an ancient tree, a blade of grass in his mouth, his gaze sharply scanning his surroundings.

Logically, even if the academy cleared out the high-tier Magical Beasts, the number of low-tier Magical Beasts shouldn't be this scarce.

Yet, along the way, the Magical Beast carcasses they encountered were few and far between.

Moreover, each one was killed with a single, clean blow, clearly hunted by extremely powerful teams.

“Tsk, it seems like we came all this way for nothing today.”

He spat out the grass stem, clapped his hands, and stood up.

Liu Mingyu sighed.

“How about we go back? Going further in probably won't yield any benefits either.”

Jiang Donghua narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the depths of the forest.

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly grinned.

“No rush. Since we're here, we can't go back empty-handed.”

Liu Yuting blinked.

“Donghua Ge, you're not still thinking of going further in, are you?”

Jiang Donghua mysteriously lowered his voice.

“Think about it, why do all those experts go deep inside? The Magical Beasts on the periphery have all been killed, but no one has returned from the deep. What does that mean?”

Liu Mingyu was stunned.

“It means… there are still prey in the deep?”

Jiang Donghua snapped his fingers.

“Exactly! And, it's very likely a big one!”

The Liu Siblings exchanged glances, Liu Yuting hesitated.

“But even those experts haven't returned, what about us?”

A hint of cunning flashed in Jiang Donghua's eyes.

“We're not competing with them. We'll watch from afar. If there's an opportunity, we'll go for it; if not, we'll retreat.”

He paused, then lowered his voice.

“Besides, don't you find it strange? So many high-tier Magical Beasts suddenly appeared in the trial zone, and the academy urgently cleared them out, yet those experts seemed to know something in advance, heading straight for the deep!”

Liu Mingyu's pupils contracted.

“You mean, they know the inside story?”

Jiang Donghua smiled meaningfully.

“Let's go, follow them and see. Maybe we can pick up some treasures!”

The three packed their belongings and once again headed towards the depths of the forest.

However, they hadn't gone far when a violent energy fluctuation suddenly erupted from the dense forest ahead!

“Boom—!”

The ground trembled slightly, followed by a deafening roar that echoed through the sky!

Jiang Donghua's expression changed.

“This commotion, it's at least a Second-Tier Magical Beast!”

Liu Yuting nervously clutched her brother's sleeve.

“Should we still go over?”

A glint of excitement flashed in Jiang Donghua's eyes.

“Of course! How can we miss such excitement?”

He flashed, taking the lead and darting towards the source of the sound. The Liu Siblings exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and followed.

When they pushed aside the last clump of bushes, the sight before them instantly froze the three in place.

“Roar—!”

A massive Crimson Flame Demonic Tiger was roaring furiously, its body engulfed in raging flames.

And opposite it, was none other than the team with the Eyeglasses Youth from before!

Only, at this moment, their situation was not optimistic.

The Eyeglasses Youth's short bow was already broken, a trace of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.

The Giant Axe Strongman was half-kneeling on the ground, a hideous claw mark on his chest.

The Stern Youth, meanwhile, protected the girl, his twin blades crossed, barely fending off the Demonic Tiger's attacks.

“Damn it, why did this beast suddenly go berserk?!”

The Giant Axe Strongman gritted his teeth and roared.

The Eyeglasses Youth wiped away the blood from his mouth, his gaze solemn.

“Something's wrong, its eyes are black!”

Just as he was pondering, the Crimson Flame Demonic Tiger suddenly threw its head back and let out an earth-shattering roar, the flames around its body surged violently, transforming into a sea of fire that swept towards them!

“Not good! Retreat quickly!”

The Eyeglasses Youth shouted sharply.

However, it was already too late.

The sea of fire instantly engulfed the entire area, the scorching high temperature distorting the air!

“Run!”

Without a word, Jiang Donghua grabbed The Liu Siblings by the back of their collars, one in each hand, and his Dou Qi instantly erupted!

“Yellow Rank High-Tier Dou Technique — Roaming Cloud Steps!”

The airflow beneath their feet suddenly swirled, and the three shot backward like arrows from a bow!

Liu Yuting gasped, almost biting her tongue, and Liu Mingyu stumbled, almost falling.

“Donghua Ge! You?!”

“Stop talking nonsense! Fighting head-on with a Dou Master-level? Dream on!”

Jiang Donghua didn't look back, wind at his heels, running faster than a rabbit.

“You two, hold on!”

“I'm going to call for backup!”

His shout was full of vigor, his voice echoing through the forest, even overpowering the Crimson Flame Demonic Tiger's roar.

The four of the Eyeglasses Youth, who were originally struggling to hold on, almost spat blood when they suddenly heard this loud shout.