Chapter 488: Southern Ming Flame Bird, Dragon Knight (Combined Chapter, Begging for...)

As they emerged, two large fire-red birds flew out from the scorching magma within the smoking volcano nearby, cutting off Li Changsheng's retreat.

This was a pair of Southern Ming Flame Birds, possessing Concentrated Grade Vermilion Bird Bloodline, and both were at the Elite level.

Without any superfluous chatter, the heroic-looking youth quickly summoned his Demon Pets, not giving the opponent any chance to escape.

The plain-looking youth hurriedly consumed a Soul-Calming Pill, struggling to stabilize his vibrating Consciousness Sea; in his view, even if this Third-rank Royal Beast Master had seen through their ruse, how could he possibly escape the follow-up plans of the two brothers?

Their faces were twisted in a savage grin, wearing expressions of triumph.

In an instant, the heroic-looking youth summoned three Demon Pets—one Leader level and two Elite level—which quickly lunged toward Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng was uncharacteristically serious; these Liu Clan Brothers were vicious in their thinking, and if he were an ordinary Third-rank or Fourth-rank Demon Tamer, he would truly have easily fallen for their trap.

First, they hid a highly venomous Three-Headed Snake inside the corpse's clothing; once someone approached the body, it would launch an attack. If bitten by the Three-Headed Snake, the consequences would be unimaginable, as the snake's toxin could also affect a Demon Tamer's Consciousness Sea.

It was not just the Three-Headed Snake; the two Southern Ming Flame Birds in the volcano were also a crucial link, leaving no path to survival for anyone.

The ruthlessness of their methods and the viciousness of their minds could be seen from this!

The Liu Clan Brothers did this for two reasons: first, to weaken opponents and increase the possibility of the Liu Clan obtaining the inheritance of Flame King Di Zhiyi; second, to loot spoils of war. Everyone who entered the Secret Realm was a genius from a major faction, and the Fire Flame Secret Realm grew a large amount of precious Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure; these people were simply walking treasure vaults.

They understood their own standing very well; since there was almost no hope of obtaining the inheritance of Flame King Di Zhiyi, they might as well kill to seize treasures and take the opportunity to make a big haul.

Thus, they set up what they considered a perfect trap on this essential path, surrounding and killing passing geniuses to make a fortune from the dead, with a high hope of advancing further in a short time.

Unfortunately, they encountered Li Changsheng, who was camouflaging himself as a weakling.

Under the astonished gazes of the Liu Clan Brothers, Aixi's tiger body suddenly surged, instantly growing to fifteen or sixteen meters in length, and her aura shifted from Elite level to Lord level.

Sensing Aixi's aura, the two Southern Ming Flame Birds froze, their eyes showing timidity, yet they still braced themselves to lunge.

Aixi's figure turned rapidly, her massive wings flapping as she turned with extreme agility in the air, easily avoiding the pounce of the two Southern Ming Flame Birds.

Sshhh—

A piercing sound of breaking air rang out; the moment she turned, Aixi's tail, like a steel whip, smashed fiercely into one of the Southern Ming Flame Birds.

Chirp—

Under the immense force, the Southern Ming Flame Bird was sent flying backward uncontrollably, slamming heavily into the hard mountain face, forming a crater and covering the rock with cracks.

At the same time, Li Changsheng summoned Kailan, Round-Rolling, and Adai, easily entangling the opponent's three Demon Pets.

When Li Changsheng and Aixi tore through their disguise, the savage smiles on the Liu Clan Brothers' faces instantly stiffened, especially when Li Changsheng summoned three more Leader-level Demon Pets, their eyes filled with terror.

"You, you are Li Changsheng!"

Even though Li Changsheng had not yet removed the Hundred-Change Thousand-Illusion Mask, the Liu Clan Brothers still recognized him, because the information on Li Changsheng's Demon Pets was truly too impressive.

Before entering the Fire Flame Secret Realm, the Langya Liu Clan had sent them the profiles of troublesome figures they had collected, and Li Changsheng was among them, ranked in second place.

The first place was the Seventh Prince Dou Yuanbiao from the Imperial Family!

They never imagined that Li Changsheng would actually play the pig to eat the tiger; not only was he disguised, but he had also suppressed his aura to the Third-rank level—this was simply baiting people into committing a crime.

If Li Changsheng hadn't been disguised, even if they were given several tiger-sized guts, they wouldn't have dared to provoke him. A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree; this wasn't just talk, especially since Li Changsheng had solid combat records.

Independently confronting five high-level demons and forcefully slaying three of them—such a record was even more exaggerated than defeating a Fifth-tier Beastmaster across ranks.

Before the Liu Clan Brothers could react, Aixi flew up and quickly lunged toward the other Southern Ming Flame Bird.

During this process, Li Changsheng took out a Black Gold Dragon Spear, over ten meters long and as thick as an adult's arm, covered in a large number of runes.

To leverage his physical advantages, he had specifically commissioned this Dragon Spear from Dean Ning Wei, which possessed certain armor-piercing and penetrating capabilities.

If he were to replace Aixi with a young Red Dragon, Li Changsheng felt he could even guest-star as a Dragon Knight from another world.

In the sky, the Southern Ming Flame Bird, its body wreathed in red-and-white flames, used the power of a flame burst to barely avoid Aixi's pounce.

Pfft—

But the moment the Southern Ming Flame Bird completed its evasion, Li Changsheng slightly lifted his hands, the Black Gold Dragon Spear shifted direction, and with the help of Aixi's momentum, it pierced directly through the Southern Ming Flame Bird's chest, protruding from the other side.

This strike left the Southern Ming Flame Bird severely wounded, and it was unable to break free from the restraint of the Black Gold Dragon Spear, because Li Changsheng's strength was far greater than its own, his hands gripping the Dragon Spear as steady as Mount Tai.

Before the Southern Ming Flame Bird could struggle free, Aixi turned her body, and under its gaze of extreme terror, her sharp fangs pierced through its slender neck.

Chirp—Crack!

Aixi pulled with her head, and the Southern Ming Flame Bird's fragile neck was bitten clean through; its shrill scream came to an abrupt end, and it lost its life right there.

At the same time, the heroic-looking youth could no longer endure it and spat out a mouthful of blood; like his brother, his Consciousness Sea had also suffered a shock.

By this time, the heroic-looking youth's three Demon Pets were already in dire straits, possessing only the power to parry with no ability to fight back.

"Go, run!"

The heroic-looking youth pushed his brother away; he knew very well that in the current situation, they could at most save one person, and he resolutely gave the hope of life to his brother.

Unexpectedly, the plain-looking youth said nothing at all, hurriedly mounting the severely wounded Southern Ming Flame Bird to flee without a hint of hesitation.

The heroic-looking youth was left speechless, sighing softly as he forcibly suppressed the vibration in his Consciousness Sea, ignoring his worsening injuries to prepare to summon more Demon Pets, wanting to stall for time for his brother.

Just at this moment, Kailan successfully bound a Xi-rat with Burrowing Vines, and Adai immediately swung a claw; the Xi-rat's exceptionally tough fur was like paper, pierced directly by the giant claw, dead beyond a doubt.

Pfft—

The heroic-looking youth, who was about to continue summoning, spat blood again, forcibly interrupting the summon, his expression listless and withered.

It was also at this moment that Aixi rushed in front of the heroic-looking youth.

Li Changsheng's gaze was like a sword, instantly thrusting out the Black Gold Dragon Spear; the heroic-looking youth had no time to react before his neck was pierced through, blood gushing out like a fountain.

He gripped the Dragon Spear tightly, his eyes wide open, his mouth moved, and finally, he slumped limply to the ground, lifeless.

"Brother!"

After the heroic-looking youth fell, the plain-looking youth, who had only run a few hundred meters, was clearly panicked.

Ironically, the plain-looking youth did not feel much anger at his own brother being killed, but was mainly filled with fear of death.

They were biological brothers, less than a year apart in age, but compared to his elder brother, he was much more ordinary, suppressed in every aspect; parents, friends, and clansmen always praised his brother, never him. Over time, he had instead become filled with jealousy toward his own brother, though he had never shown it.

After killing the heroic-looking youth, Aixi flapped her wings, like a Gale, turning into a cyan Residual Shadow, chasing the plain-looking youth at high speed.

Although the Southern Ming Flame Bird was fast, how could it compare to Aixi? In terms of speed, the two differed by more than double.

"Faster, faster!"

Hearing the sound coming from behind, the ordinary youth's expression changed drastically, and his heart grew increasingly anxious and uneasy; yet no matter how he urged the South Bright Flame Bird, not only could he not widen the distance, but the gap was instead closing.

In the span of just a few breaths, the distance between the two was reduced to only a little over ten meters.

Li Zhangsheng held the Black Gold Dragon Spear at an angle and, utilizing Aixi's momentum, thrust it toward the ordinary youth's back.

*Sss—*

Before the ordinary youth could even react, a sharp pain surged from his chest; he stared blankly down at the spear tip protruding from his body, his eyes filled with regret.

His mouth moved, wanting to speak, but he could not utter a single word.

Originally, with his brothers' abilities, coupled with their planning and sneak attacks, few could have escaped them.

Unfortunately, they happened to encounter Li Zhangsheng; it was a matter of timing and fate!

After pulling out the Black Gold Dragon Spear, the ordinary youth fell from the back of the South Bright Flame Bird and ultimately crashed into a pile of flesh and blood.

It was not that the South Bright Flame Bird did not want to save its master, but it was currently suffering from a backlash and was completely powerless to help.

Soon, the South Bright Flame Bird followed in the ordinary youth's footsteps, and its corpse was collected by Li Zhangsheng.

Li Zhangsheng began to loot the spoils of war, obtaining a total of three Space Rings; the Liu Clan Brothers had terrible luck, as they had only just killed one person before being counter-killed by Li Zhangsheng—if they had waited a while longer, he believed their harvest would have been even greater.

First and foremost, Li Zhangsheng did not check the spoils, but instead went to the corpse wearing the Yuanling Academy uniform.

This corpse was unrecognizable, and Li Zhangsheng could not identify the identity from the facial features, but judging by the height and build, it was very likely one of Xu Xiangzhi, Qian Zhi, or Zhou Xiang.

"I hope it isn't Xu Xiangzhi!"

Li Zhangsheng thought to himself and began to check the three Space Rings, looking for an Identity Token belonging to this corpse.

Soon, Li Zhangsheng reached a conclusion: this was the corpse of the third-year student Zhou Xiang!

Without hesitation, Li Zhangsheng placed Zhou Xiang's corpse into a crystal coffin; this crystal coffin came from the Moon Elf Royal Family and could effectively prevent the corpse from decaying.

Li Zhangsheng put the crystal coffin into the Space Ring that belonged to Zhou Xiang; he planned to hand this Space Ring to Xu Wenhua after returning, and then have him pass it on to Zhou Xiang's relatives.

He might not be a good person, but he had his own principles in his heart.

Li Zhangsheng did not immediately check the spoils, but began to clean up the battlefield, eliminating the traces of the fight.

Not long after, Li Zhangsheng found a secluded spot and began to check the spoils.

Among this batch of Demon Pet corpses, what Li Zhangsheng valued most were the two South Bright Flame Bird corpses; with his purification rate and previous stock, he had a chance to further advance the Crowned Flame Bird's Vermilion Bird Bloodline to reach the same level as the Phoenix Bloodline, and he wondered if its species would improve once again when that time came.

Without hesitation, Li Zhangsheng took out all the items from the two Space Rings obtained from the Liu Clan Brothers.

A small mountain composed of various treasures appeared, messily piled up in front of Li Zhangsheng.

Following the old rule, Li Zhangsheng picked out the Liu Clan Brothers' personal belongings and Identity Tokens, and ordered the Crowned Flame Bird to destroy them.

Among this batch of items, the Soul Crystals, Demon Cores, and materials went without saying; for Li Zhangsheng, they were another significant gain.

However, he valued the treasures that could improve his strength even more; there were only three treasures that caught his eye: a bottle of Alchemical Pill, a piece of crystal, and a Jade Slip.

Li Zhangsheng opened the bottle stopper and poured out a golden Alchemical Pill; a refreshing fragrance permeated the air.

"This is a Burning Spirit Pill!"

The one who spoke was Kailan; she had recently become obsessed with the way of Alchemical Pills and could identify the vast majority of them.

Li Zhangsheng looked at Kailan and asked, "What is its use?"

"It can burn Mental Power, allowing your Mental Power intensity to increase greatly in a short period of time, but afterward, your Mental Power will regress significantly, and there is even a possibility of dropping a rank!"

Simply put, this is an Alchemical Pill used for life-or-death situations, only the target is the Monster Tamer.

If the Mental Power intensity increases greatly, the Monster Tamer's Instant Movement distance will become much further, and they can cast more Secret Techniques, and so on.

Corresponding to this are the side effects of the Burning Spirit Pill; unless one encounters a life-threatening crisis, no one would use it easily.

As for why the Liu Clan Brothers did not use the Burning Spirit Pill, it was mainly because they were caught off guard by Li Zhangsheng and were killed by him before they could even use it.

Li Zhangsheng solemnly put away the Burning Spirit Pill; he naturally hoped he would never have to use it in his life, but who could predict the future?

The second item was a milky-white crystal-like treasure; Li Zhangsheng was very familiar with this, because it was another Elemental Crystal, only this time what he obtained was a Light Element Crystal.

He did not know any Monster Tamer who possessed a Light Elf, so this Light Element Crystal could only be kept in his Space Ring; if he could not find a 'fated person', he would have to take it to an auction.

Li Zhangsheng was not short on Soul Crystals, so he was naturally keen on bartering, taking what he needed.

At this moment, Li Zhangsheng picked up the Jade Slip and immersed his consciousness into it.

The next moment, images and scenes flooded into his mind frantically.

In the span of a few breaths, Li Zhangsheng opened his eyes, revealing a look of surprise.

"No wonder the Liu Clan Brothers were able to gather in such a short time; I originally thought it was just a coincidence, but I didn't expect it to be because of this Secret Technique. I wonder if others in the Langya Liu Clan know this Secret Technique?"

Li Zhangsheng muttered to himself; although this Secret Technique had no lethality and could not boost a Demon Pet's combat power, its utility was immense, especially in a place like the Fire Flame Secret Realm—it could definitely be described as adding wings to a tiger.

(End of this chapter)