Chapter 1453

Dark-golden Lei Ting tore through the sky, wind rushing past Xu Jingming's ears.

He raised his right hand, and the smart bracer projected a semi-transparent light screen.

It updated in real time the scoring rankings of the Beast Hunt Competition.

【Beast Hunt Competition remaining participants: 310,142

Rank 1, Louis (Slaygod Martial Temple): 8417 points

Rank 2, Kate (Slaygod Martial Temple): 8203 points

Rank 3287, Xu Jingming (Eternal Star Alliance): 3621 points

......】

"Over three thousandth place......"

Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

This ranking was much lower than he had expected.

Just now, in that battle, he eliminated nearly forty elite fighters from the Slaygod Martial Temple in one go.

Yet on the scoring rankings, his position had only risen by a few hundred.

"Eliminating so many, yet the point gain is so minimal."

Xu Jingming's gaze grew solemn, and he quickly understood the reason.

The Beast Hunt Competition had only been open for a little over ten days.

At this stage, the vast majority of participants were still exploring and adapting to the Blood Refining Star's environment.

Even the elites of the Slaygod Martial Temple had killed only a limited number of beasts; each carried few points to begin with.

Defeating them naturally yielded little in points.

"It seems eliminating other contestants early on brings minimal returns—and carries the risk of being eliminated."

Xu Jingming pondered silently.

Most Slaygod Martial Temple contestants followed the martial path.

Elementalists were rare, and their spiritual energy was generally unremarkable.

Only in that recent battle had he been able to approach undetected.

If it had been a team with a Star Level Nine elementalist present,

his demonic energy avatar would have been locked onto the moment it entered their spiritual perception range—possibly even drawing targeted ambushes.

"I can't afford to take such risks again.

For me, hunting beasts is the safest way to accumulate points and source points."

Xu Jingming quickly clarified his next plan of action:

"Eliminating other contestants offers disproportionate risk and reward.

From now on, avoid direct confrontations with other teams whenever possible—beasts always take priority over eliminating contestants.

However...... if I encounter another team besieging a high-point beast,

I can use the speed advantage of my Lei Ting Wings to strike for the final blow.

This is far safer and more efficient than initiating open combat.

As for eliminating other contestants, I'll wait until the final month."

The Beast Hunt Competition lasts a full year; steady development in the early phase.

Accumulate sufficient strength and resources, then unleash power in the later stage—that is wisdom.

He had the system's point allocation; source points could be instantly converted into combat power.

The longer the time passed, the greater his advantage would become.

"Also... the demonic energy avatar's self-destruction was an unexpected boon."

Recalling that moment, Xu Jingming's thoughts stirred.

The explosive power at the moment of detonation even surpassed his current T4 combat technique, 'Lei Guang Annihilation Cannon'.

"The avatar can be reformed—losing it isn't a loss.

Using self-destruction as a last-resort tactic to reverse battle conditions or create chaos is indeed viable."

After establishing self-destruction as his trump card, Xu Jingming flared his Lei Ting Wings again.

His form instantly became a dark-golden phantom, streaking toward the region where beast auras were especially intense.

From now on, he would devote the vast majority of his energy to hunting beasts.

Meanwhile, deep within a dense forest shrouded in grayish miasma on another part of the Blood Refining Star:

"Pant... pant... Damn it! What the hell was that thing!"

A disheveled figure stumbled frantically between massive ancient trees.

He wore the standard uniform of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

Now it was badly torn, caked with mud and a thick, dark-green viscous fluid.

His entire body was riddled with puncture wounds, drenched in blood.

Through the wounds, one could see his damaged internal organs—deeply gruesome.

Any ordinary person would have died long ago, but he was a Star Level cultivator, still able to move.

His name was Karl, a Star Level Six martial artist, a squad leader of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance.

Just half an hour ago, his four team members

had been excited over discovering a small group of Ironback Rhinos, preparing to hunt them.

They were a decent-point Star Mid-level beast.

Yet as the hunt began, sudden disaster struck.

His four teammates were successively killed by an unknown creature.

And throughout the entire process, he hadn't even seen what the opponent looked like!

Even more terrifying was that the first-aid badge was utterly useless against this unknown creature!

Although he barely escaped, he had a premonition—it wasn't that the creature couldn't kill him, but that it was playing with him!

Sssssss~~~~

A sound, as if some creature was swiftly darting through the forest, rang out.

"It's coming!"

Karl's face turned pale.

Although he could hear the sound, his field of vision and spiritual sense detected nothing at all!

He even suspected the sound itself was deliberately fabricated by the opponent.

Just as he gritted his teeth against his wounds, trying to flee again,

A spike, completely blended into the dim surroundings,

flashed with a chilling, dark luster—and appeared out of thin air without warning!

It then aimed straight at Karl's head and stabbed down with brutal force!

"Hum—!"

A soft, milky-white glow instantly erupted from inside Karl's damaged battle suit!

The first-aid badge issued for the Beast Hunt Competition automatically activated the moment it detected a lethal threat!

A resilient energy shield formed in an instant, attempting to shield Karl within.

This shield, in theory, could withstand a full-force strike from a Star Peak beast.

Yet—

"Plosch!"

A soft sound, like a hot knife slicing through solidified grease.

It pierced straight through the shield, precisely stabbing into Karl's occiput, then exiting through his forehead!

The shock and confusion on Karl's face had not even time to turn to fear before his pupils fully dilated and dimmed.

In the final instant of his consciousness fading, he saw only a strange spike, stained with red and white matter, slowly withdrawing from before his eyes.

The headless corpse lost all support and crashed to the ground with a thud.

Only then did the attacker seem to materialize from nothingness.

It was a creature resembling a mantis, yet standing over three meters tall!

Its entire body was covered in dark, non-reflective armor that seemed to absorb light, with menacing barbs growing along its torso and joints.

Most striking were its forelimbs—not scythe-like as in a mantis, but spikes.

The very spike that had pierced Karl's skull was this one.

Void Reaver! Bloodline-class beast!

Naturally attuned to spatial laws.

It also possesses the ability to bypass first-aid badges and kill outright—extremely dangerous!

Even among the countless beasts of Blood Refining Star, its bloodline ranks among the absolute top tier.

"Yin Ci, don't kill too many."

Suddenly, a demonic voice echoed through the space.

"Don't worry—humanity hasn't held this competition for the first time.

They have a death quota; the number I've killed is still within their limit.

Far from drawing attention."

The Void Reaver's cold voice replied.

"You'd better rein in yourself!

The Demon Emperor is coming this time—you must wait until the human prodigies have all gathered before striking.

You cannot let humanity detect you prematurely."

The voice in the void spoke again.

"I understand."

The Void Reaver's impatient voice replied.

Then it opened its monstrous maw and swallowed the corpse on the ground whole.

The grotesque, terrifying figure slowly vanished into the void.