Chapter 124

Too bad, I can't join you afterward.

Otherwise, I could've seen Jingming in his full glory...

Song Qiuyun silently sighed in her heart.

Before entering Devil University, she never imagined she'd one day fall so far behind someone her own age.

But once we get back to school, I can ask Sister Chuaxuan about the situation.

After making her decision, exhausted and worn out, Song Qiuyun let out a yawn:

"Jingming, I'm going to sleep now."

Saying this, she gently lay down on the blanket spread on the ground and fell into deep sleep.

Meanwhile, after training for over two hours using the top-tier ability cultivation method, Xu Jingming closed his eyes slightly and slipped into light sleep.

Early the next morning, Xu Jingming and Song Qiuyun resumed their journey.

They moved quickly; by seven in the evening, only three more hours of travel remained to reach the Devil Cave's center.

"Night's coming. Let's find a place to rest and continue tomorrow."

Xu Jingming glanced at the sky and said.

The pitch-black night is when ferocious beasts are most active.

Some high-grade ferocious beasts choose this time to emerge from the depths of the Devil Cave and begin hunting.

Thus, the danger level in the Devil Cave at night is far higher than during the day—unsuitable for continued travel.

On the other hand, he'd been sprinting all day, constantly slaying beasts and needed rest.

"Alright." Song Qiuyun nodded obediently.

Hum—

Xu Jingming lightly tapped his smart bracelet, and a map projected into the air.

Since the outer regions of the Devil Cave have been explored by the most ability users, every terrain feature and beast distribution across the map is marked.

If they wanted to rest, the safest place would be a cave.

"Huh, there's a pond nearby!"

Xu Jingming's eyes suddenly lit up.

Water sources in the wilderness are where ferocious beasts gather most densely.

During his time in Yangcheng Wilderness, he'd always liked to lie in wait beside water sources.

That way, ferocious beasts would keep coming to him, one after another, for him to kill.

"This place isn't far. Before dark, we can still hunt one more wave of beasts."

"Qiuyun, let's go."

Xu Jingming hurriedly led Song Qiuyun toward the pond.

But when they arrived near the water, they were greatly disappointed.

There was indeed a clear pond, but not a single beast was drinking nearby!

"What's going on? There can't be zero beasts at a water source."

Hidden behind tall trees, Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

Roar—

At that moment, a massive second-rank Arm-Knife Tiger emerged from the opposite forest.

Its eyes scanned the surroundings, stepping cautiously toward the pond.

As it reached the water's edge and lowered its head to drink—

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!...

Dozens of water arrows shot from within the pond!

The second-rank Arm-Knife Tiger had no time to react—its body was instantly pierced through, leaving dozens of bloody holes.

It barely managed a mournful roar before collapsing on the spot, life extinguished.

Splash—

The clear pond churned violently as a colossal crocodile, the size of a small car, swam out of the water!

It reached the shore, opened its bloodied maw, and began feasting on the slain Arm-Knife Tiger.

"No wonder so few beasts dare come here to drink.

It turns out a terrifying creature like the Source Water Giant Crocodile dwells here..."

Xu Jingming suddenly understood.

The Source Water Giant Crocodile is an amphibious beast, but spends most of its time active underwater.

Most are around second or third rank.

But this one was different—it had reached fourth-rank lower tier!

And it had mastered a talent skill similar to a barrage of water arrows.

"It's a fourth-rank beast!"

Song Qiuyun also sensed the beast's rank, her expression shifting slightly:

"Fourth-rank beasts appear even in the outer Devil Cave! Jingming, let's go!"

Fourth-rank beasts have powerful perception—they might already have detected us!

Song Qiuyun immediately grabbed Xu Jingming's arm to pull him away, but found him

"No need to rush; although fourth-rank ferocious beasts are strong, they're not impossible to deal with."

Xu Jingming's expression was relaxed.

During his time in the Yangcheng Wilderness, he had killed more than one fourth-rank ferocious beast.

"Hm?"

Song Qiuyun blinked in surprise.

If this were another upper-second-rank psychic, she would have assumed the person was boasting.

But she knew Xu Jingming's nature—he rarely lied.

"Is it the exclusive combat technique Master Yang taught you?"

Song Qiuyun's beautiful eyes glimmered slightly.

Since learning the source of the ferocious beast aura on Xu Jingming, she had specifically researched this technique of the Weapons Academy's dean.

She knew it was a body-strengthening combat technique.

But that meant Xu Jingming would have to engage the fourth-rank ferocious beast in direct combat.

Direct combat...

Song Qiuyun glanced at the massive crocodile far away—its mouth bristling with sharp teeth, its body covered in scales, its enormous form radiating a bloodthirsty aura.

Then she looked at Xu Jingming, clad only in his combat suit, and couldn't help feeling worried.

Just as she was considering whether to lend him her protective talisman.

Xu Jingming shook his head and smiled.

"The body-strengthening technique Master taught me is excellent, but still insufficient against a fourth-rank ferocious beast."

He spoke the truth.

Currently, the most efficient technique he had for killing fourth-rank ferocious beasts was only one: the S-rank 'Heavenly Thunder Art!'

"Not that body-strengthening technique?"

Song Qiuyun blinked her clear, large eyes, puzzled.

But Xu Jingming closed his eyes slightly, focusing all his mental energy, summoning his Purple Thunder Divine Lightning!

Crackling—

Lightning flickered erratically across Xu Jingming's body.

At the same time, a low rumble of thunder echoed from the sky!

The crocodile by the pool seemed to sense something, stopped eating, and looked up in alarm.

"Is it going to rain?"

Song Qiuyun hadn't noticed anything unusual and instinctively looked up.

But she saw the sky beneath the sunset—slightly orange-red, yet not a single cloud in sight.

Just as she was confused, Xu Jingming's deep voice suddenly sounded beside her ear:

"Heavenly Thunder Art!"

At that exact moment, the orange-red sky suddenly brightened!

The next instant,

in Song Qiuyun's stunned gaze,

a blue-purple thunderbolt, as thick as a water barrel, descended with a world-ending pressure, splitting heaven and earth!

CRACKLE!!

The deafening thunder roared as the lightning struck the crocodile directly!

The fourth-rank Source-Water Crocodile was covered in dense, overlapping scales.

These scales formed armor with defensive strength comparable to C-rank alloy!

And it was non-conductive! Non-thermal!

Simply breaking through this scale armor had left countless elemental psychics scratching their heads.

Yet under this lightning strike,

The thick scales, as if made of paper, were pierced instantly, and its entire body turned charblack.

Immediately, the massive body was swallowed by torrents of lightning, then crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom.

Until its final moment, it never even discovered where its enemy was—thus losing its life utterly...

【Ding~~, slain one Fourth-Rank Lower Source-Water Giant Crocodile, Ability Points +213.】

Hearing the system's chime in his mind, Xu Jingming, the instigator, slightly curled his lips.