The hunt was about to begin! The crowd of Inner Disciples moved to the entrance to the dangerous Demonside Forest. Thirteenth Elder, as well as a group of supporting elders, were controlling the situation.
Wang Li had been sure to scan all the supervising elders for Hua Taixu but didn't see him anywhere. He reasoned that an Elder at Hua Taixu's level was probably dealing with Core Disciples or higher, not the measly Inner Court.
'I have to get stronger. Hopefully, I can use this hunt to reach Qi Foundation.' This only further motivated Wang Li, as he clenched his fist. Even though he knew he could fend off a Qi Foundation expert, he still knew he had to grow stronger.
Just thinking about the mysterious Blue Sky Palace was enough for him to realize he was still weak. But he wouldn't let that intimidate him; he would just work harder.
"I will remind everyone that while killing within the forest is frowned upon it is not strictly prohibited. I only ask you to remember comradery between disciples. On that note, robbing and stealing other disciples demonic cores is permitted." Thirteenth Elder lectured once again, reminding the entire Inner Court of the rules. To Wang Li and Yan Zhou, the hunt seemed very simple.
The objective was to get the demonic cores of Qi Foundation Demonic Beasts. This could be achieved two ways; killing the beasts or stealing them from other disciples.
Both methods were completely acceptable, but of course, the latter required a different spirit of ruthlessness. But this was the Inner Court, who really cared about comradery between disciples? In the face of rewards, bridges would often burn.
Either of those two methods could be completed as individuals or as groups. Although working as an individual would reap more rewards for a single person, it left that individual exposed to ambushes by other groups. Group work was safer, but then the question of splitting rewards came into question.
The hunt was, without a doubt, ruthless. But Wang Li wasn't intimidated in the slightest - instead he diabolically grinned.
This kind of environment was what he thrived in, after all.
He and Yan Zhou had already agreed to work together in partners. They would split the demonic cores fifty-fifty, and if they ever let someone in they would re-negotiate.
"Now that you are all clear on the rules, the hunt shall begin!" Thirteenth Elder swiped his hand, signifying the commencement of the hunt. The entire Inner Court dived into the forest, splitting into their groups and heading in different directions.
Everyone was excited for what was next. They all wanted to return in a month with hundreds of demonic cores and obtain those treasured rewards! Not to mention, alongside the rewards, placing in the top three earned one a substantial amount of points!
"It's begun, let's go!" Wang Li and Yan Zhou immediately zoomed into the forest and quickly moved deeper and deeper, separating themselves from everyone else. Since they were a group of two, it was best to be secluded as much as possible. Wang Li, with his acute senses, picked up that Shen Yi's group was staying relatively close and following them.
Wang Li, grabbing onto Yan Zhou, exploded into an impressive move of turns and curves - leaping onto trees like some kind of crazed monkey. Eventually, Shen Yi's group decided to give up on a direct chase and diverted to their own business.
Relived, Yan Zhou and Wang Li both headed deeper into the forest to find a place to mark as a base.
"Demonic Forest is absolutely huge, but with the entire Inner Court entering, it's inevitable we'll encounter some enemies." Wang Li and Yan Zhou eventually settled down near a river, still at the outskirts of the forest.
"We need to be prepared. Wang Li, you said you feel like you can defeat a Qi Foundation expert right?" Yan Zhou sat down, feeling relatively safe from other disciples. Of course, he was still on guard, this was still Demonside Forest.
"I'm not sure, but I feel fairly confident. I've been training some low-class martial skills but I have yet to take on any Qi Foundation experts." Wang Li and Yan Zhou chatted before Wang Li silenced him.
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He heard a beast arriving.
"A Flaming Season Deer. Still at the Body Transformation level." Wang Li looked off into the distance and saw a deer with shiny all red fur. A flame was lit on the tip of its tail, a tiny ember, and it was simply crossing over the river.
"We still need to head deeper into the Forest for Qi Foundation beasts. Follow me." Wang Li and Yan Zhou quickly sped down the river, searching for beasts and disciples.
Demonic Beasts cultivated similar to humans, divided by cultivation realms. Any beast stuck at Body Transformation was considered a 'Magical Beast', as they lacked a demonic core. Once a beast manages to cultivate a demonic core, the heart of all their cultivation, they enter Qi Foundation and become a ferocious Demonic Beast.
This was similar to humans; Qi Foundation was the true start of a cultivator's journey. Body Transformation simply made the body stronger, but Qi Foundation opened up a cultivator's dantian and allowed them to store Qi within.
This allows Qi Foundation experts to use all sorts of powerful magical skills, cultivation methods, and release unfathomable strength. The divide between the Ninth Level of Body Transformation and First Level of Qi Foundation was often seen as unsurpassable.
This was why Yan Zhou found it so difficult to believe that Wang Li could fend off a Qi Foundation expert at the Seventh Level. It was nearly impossible!
"Quiet. I hear something." Wang Li made a hushing noise as the stopped leaping from tree to tree, hearing heavy footsteps shaking the earth. Yan Zhou could also roughly hear them, and they both looked at each other and nodded.
Their first target showed up. Wang Li quickly vanished into higher in the treetops.
"THUMP! THUMP!" Out of the bushes stormed a flaming boar, fire blazing all over its body. It was huge, much larger than a tiger, with two huge nostrils. The fire surrounding it seemed to carry its own sort of fierce heat, threatening to burn down the whole forest. It held two small horns that had yet to protrude completely, overshadowed by its massive body. Based on its furious expression and constant stomping on the earth, it wasn't happy.
"Skyblazing Forest Boar! First Level Qi Foundation Beast!" Yan Zhou murmured out, unsheathing his recently acquired blade. The silver steel seemed to catch a hint of the sun that was hidden underneath the cover of the tree.
They had the element of surprise on it and had to only wait for the boar to come to them.
In actuality, a lot of Demonic Beasts at the same level were stronger than humans. Being raised in dangerous environments with their inherit aggressive nature, Demonic Beasts were often violent with extremely tough bodies. Not to mention Demonic Beasts had begun to unlock hints of their long-lost bloodlines - unlocking unique abilities.
For example, the Skyblazing Forest Boar had the special ability to shoot out fire in all directions - similar to a porcupine. This was used in case an enemy avoided its lethal charge. Just the fire shot out was enough to burn a Body Transformation expert to dust.
It had only one weakness, its snout.
They still had to be careful. Luckily, the boar had yet to figure out their location and came closer to the tree. Wang Li high in a nearby tree, completely concealing himself.
Back in the Chaotic Province, he used to hide in the forests and plains to wait for Demonic Beasts to leave their nests. He had long ago mastered the element of stealth and nearly seemed invisible hidden within the treetops.
Unfortunately, Yan Zhou didn't have that same level of stealth.
"SNORT! SNORT!" The boar sucked in air with its massive nostrils and sniffed the presence of a human hiding in the tree in front of it. Using its impressive intelligence, it began to do a flaming charge onto the tree Yan Zhou was at.
"Damnit!" Yan Zhou knew that if the boar charged into the tree, the entire tree would snap in half and he would fall with it. All he could do was jump and engage in battle!
But just as he was about to jump, he saw a shadow descend onto the boar from higher in the treetops. It was Wang Li!
"SNORT!" Wang Li directly jumped down from the treetop, dropkicking the Skyblazing Boar right on the nose! Wailing in anger, fire flaring up around it, the boar stumbled backward as it tried to search for who attacked it.
Taking advantage of the boar's disorientation, Wang Li prepared his second attack.
"Mountain Shaking Fist!" Wang Li's fist extended back, gathering all of his strength, and then directly slammed onto the boar's nose - releasing a rumbling sound. This was one of the many low-class martial skills he mastered and he found it extremely effective.
The boar was sent flying nearly 10 meters backward, slamming into another tree in the forest. Its snout was its weakness, and Wang Li's fist had caused its brain to shake so much it directly passed out.
This meant Wang Li won! Yan Zhou watched this from atop his tree, shocked. He quickly jumped down and dashed to the beast, properly killing it with his sword.
"Wang Li, how'd you do that!" Yan Zhou's surprise was written all over his face - Wang Li had taken out the Skyblazing Boar all by himself! Even he wouldn't have succeeded as smoothly as Wang Li!
"Haha. Brother, it was only a small surprise attack, don't praise me too much." Returning to his usual humility, Wang Li meekly laughed and went to extract the Demonic Core at the Boar's forehead.
It was a brilliant bright red pearl, small enough to fit snuggly within his hand. He could feel the blazing heat hidden within it and grinned.
Thinking back to when Hua Taixu had given him a Demonic Core to eat, he felt the impulse to eat this one as well. But he remembered the mission, and put the thought aside - they needed all the Demonic Cores they could get. And with that, he threw it into a big brown bag they had been provided.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhou sat there astonished.
Suddenly he felt like he was the one holding Wang Li back...