Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 149 Here it comes!

Dragon Claw Peak Secret Realm.

Tall and straight spruce and fir trees present a deep dark green color, while larch, camphor pine, willow, maple and other tree species are naturally scattered in batches, and their leaves emit bright yellow and red colors in autumn.

The layers of color, seemingly chaotic yet naturally harmonious, paint the rolling mountains and forests with vibrant autumn hues.

At the end of September, it was a time of clear skies and crisp autumn air, with the sky a clear, bright blue and the wind howling through the mountains carrying a chilly, desolate feel.

The vibrant autumn colors covering the mountains make the autumn forests visually exceptionally rich.

Standing on high ground overlooking the mountains, Gao Wu felt the vastness and splendor of nature in the most direct way, and felt the endless, boundless, and profound grandeur.

The scenery in the north is all very similar, and although Ankyo is far from the Dongjiang River, the autumn scenery of the mountains is exactly the same.

When Gao Wu was a child, he often went to the mountains to play, and he had seen this kind of autumn scenery many times. At that time, he was carefree and only thought about catching birds and rabbits, and he didn't care about the scenery.

Looking at the familiar autumn scenery of the mountains again, Gao Wu couldn't help but feel emotional. The mountains were as they were, but everything else had changed.

Seeing Gao Wu lost in thought, looking dejected, Song Mingyue wondered what was wrong. She asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"Seeing the magnificent mountains and rivers, one cannot help but feel a surge of pride."

Gao Wu quickly cheered up. The past was the past, and there was no need to dwell on it. Now, all he needed to do was kill more monsters, accumulate enough points, and take first place.

He used his Yin Spirit to look around. There were some wild beasts, but very few strange beasts that showed signs of source energy.

"Do you want to be number one or move forward?" he said to Song Mingyue.

Song Mingyue nodded, she had no objection to it.

Whether they are mythical beasts or alien races, they all must follow basic natural laws. The more powerful a life form is, the greater its energy consumption.

Situations like hundreds or thousands of strange beasts living together could never occur naturally. Due to their limited range, powerful beasts living together simply couldn't obtain enough food.

Survival was a problem, let alone how to reproduce and grow into a large tribe.

Based on current explorations of other worlds, it appears that the alien races there, due to their limited technology, can only live in small groups, with a social structure resembling that of tribes.

With her and Gao Wu's strength, they wouldn't have much of a problem even if they entered another world.

Gao Wu turned around and looked behind him. He could vaguely see specks of spiritual light among the mountains, which were the freshmen of martial arts scattered everywhere.

Although it is called a trial, a relatively safe area will actually be defined.

Many warriors and martial artists had already entered the secret realm to search and inspect the trial area to prevent the appearance of overly powerful beasts that could cause massive casualties.

After all, there are more than 10,000 new students, making it dozens of times larger than the preliminary round of the Qilin Cup.

The trials are meant to train the students, not to send them to their deaths.

Of course, injuries and even death are unavoidable. After all, with so many people hunting over such a large area, anything can happen.

Gao Wu was also afraid of being targeted by the demon god's followers, so he stayed away from the main group and wandered deep into the secret realm with Song Mingyue.

The Dragon Claw Peak Secret Realm is too vast; unless someone has implanted a locator on him, it would be impossible to find him accurately in such a wide-ranging mountain forest.

In fact, due to the interference from the source force, even having a locator is useless.

Gao Wu glanced behind him again. He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Perhaps this sudden intuition came from the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra?

Instead, the open space ahead made him feel quite comfortable. Since that was the case, he didn't think about it any further.

Gao Wu observed the terrain, then discussed the route with Song Mingyue using a map.

The closer they get to the entrance to the other world, the more strange beasts they encounter. They still need to travel about two hundred kilometers to reach the entrance.

At their speed, they should reach their destination in two days. Their supplies should last ten days. A three-day hunt followed by a return trip would complete the seven-day trial...

As night deepened, the student teams that had entered the secret realm for trials had already found a place to camp.

The weather was already a bit chilly at the end of September, especially in the mountains, where the temperature was around ten degrees Celsius.

The freshmen, in groups of ten, set up their tents and gathered around the fire to prepare some hot food. As the aroma of the food spread, the boys and girls all showed joy.

After a long day of work, we were exhausted even though we didn't achieve much.

Warm and cozy by the fire, and with hot food to replenish their energy, the boys and girls felt alive again.

For most of them, it was their first time spending time outdoors, and this unique experience was very novel to them. They were all excited and kept talking about it...

Two hundred meters away, behind a large pine tree, a middle-aged man was sizing up the group of teenagers.

Seeing them chatting and laughing, the man grinned, revealing his white teeth. In his eyes, they were a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and killing such tender lives was particularly satisfying.

He didn't know why others worshipped the Qilin King; he became a believer simply because it allowed him to kill with impunity.

Thirty years of rigorous martial arts training is all for the sake of being able to vent one's emotions at will and experience the exhilaration of controlling life and death.

It's utterly ridiculous that a powerful martial artist should have the same rights as ordinary people. What's the point of all that hard work and training if it's just to protect complete strangers? Is he out of his mind?!

The middle-aged man observed for a while and, finding nothing unusual, quietly entered the camp.

As a high-ranking warrior, his cultivation was far superior to that of the children. Until he stood behind the group, no one noticed an outsider had entered.

It wasn't until the person sitting opposite sensed something was wrong and looked up that they saw the middle-aged man in black. The boy was immediately shocked, but before he could even cry out, the middle-aged man had already drawn his long sword and slashed horizontally, blood spurting out...

The middle-aged man sat among the corpses and took a satisfied breath; he liked the smell of fresh blood. He even picked up a lunchbox and ate all the food inside.

He knew that a large number of martial arts academy teachers were with him, but the dense forest was a natural barrier; more than 10,000 people thrown inside would not be visible at all.

Even if teachers patrol, they can't possibly cover every corner. He had observed for a long time and had seen two teachers quietly patrol past, and they might not return for at least two hours.

There's nothing to be afraid of if they come back; it's just another killing spree.

The middle-aged man slowly enjoyed his food before piling the corpses up in a certain order and placing a specially made statue on top. He then knelt before the statue and silently recited a prayer.

"Damn it!" A chilling shout came from behind the middle-aged man. Startled, the man hurriedly got up and drew his sword. A handsome man in combat gear was already approaching at high speed.

With a flick of his hand, he deflected the sword from the middle-aged man's hand, then pressed his palm against the man's chest, the invisible source force like a heavy hammer piercing straight into his internal organs.

With a muffled thud, the middle-aged man suffered severe damage to his internal organs, and his tall body immediately went limp.

The handsome man grabbed the middle-aged man by the chest and said, "Tell me honestly how many people came this time and how they contacted each other, and I might spare your life."

The middle-aged man glanced at the other man with bloodshot eyes, then scoffed disdainfully. Having killed so many, he had no chance of survival. At this point, a stubborn death might offer a chance to enter the world of the Gods…

"That's tough enough." The handsome man was Zhang Yunyi from the Supervision Department. He saw through the other man's thoughts—a desperate attempt to throw caution to the wind? Dream on. He softened his tone and said to the man, "Don't worry, you won't die for now. Someone will take good care of you. I hope your bones are as hard as your mouth..."

As Zhang Yunyi spoke, he injected the other person with a Blood Dragon Agent, which could stimulate blood and qi and activate vitality in a short period of time.

Several inspectors from the Ministry of Supervision quickly gathered around. Seeing the horrific scene, they were all filled with rage, which was directed at the middle-aged man…

In fact, there were many such followers of the demon god. Fortunately, most of them were stopped, but even so, it still caused a considerable number of casualties.

The intelligence was quickly gathered and brought to the attention of An Ziru, who was in charge of the operation.

An Ziru's expression was somewhat grim. She had anticipated some casualties, but the large number of dead and wounded on the first night was still hard for her to accept.

An Ziru handed the intelligence to martial arts masters Li Xuanyang and Lu Yuan, saying, "The other side is very arrogant and is directly provoking us."

Lu Yuan's expression also turned grave after reviewing the compiled information: "They've gone mad on just the first day. How could so many demon god followers have gathered in Beizhou?"

It should be noted that samurai are generally treated with preferential treatment, and apart from those with extreme temperaments, it is rare for samurai to worship demons.

On the contrary, martial artists, for various reasons, may choose to take extreme paths.

The sudden appearance of so many warrior-level demon god followers was hard for Lu Yuan to believe.

Li Xuanyang remained calm. He had spent his entire life in the military, fighting and killing on the Aurora Icefield, and had witnessed countless deaths and bloodshed. He didn't care about double-digit casualties at all.

It's not that he's cold-blooded; it's just that war is cruel.

He calmly said, "In recent years, the integration between the two worlds has accelerated, and many martial arts masters in various places have become corrupt and degenerate. The followers of the demon god have spread rapidly like a virus."

"It's actually a good thing that they're willing to show themselves this time. We can wipe them out all at once and temporarily curb the expansion of the demon god's followers."

Lu Yuan asked, "I heard that the chief priest of the Qilin King in the Northern State is named Sima Shou. He was originally a martial arts master in the Central State, but he fell out with the alliance because of a certain matter and joined the Demonic Sect in a fit of anger."

The followers of the Demon God are extremely secretive, and all related information is classified. Lu Yuan knows some things, but he is not certain.

"Sima Shou didn't act on a whim; he was seriously injured and beyond medical help, which led him down the evil path. He even killed his entire family as a blood sacrifice to obtain the blessing of the demon god. He was an extremely selfish and ruthless creature who was willing to sacrifice his life to survive."

"I see." Lu Yuan nodded, acknowledging that the military's information was more accurate.

However, these are all details; why Sima Shou chose the Demon God is completely unimportant.

Lu Yuan asked, "Is there a bishop of the Qilin King in the Northern Continent?"

"Probably not." Li Xuanyang shook his head. "Beizhou used to be mainly populated by followers of the White Crow King. The Qilin King only emerged in the last two years, so we have very little information about him."

"Sima Shou is afraid of death and would never dare to enter the secret realm and fight head-on."

He said, "The Qilin King is said to be able to control all beasts and is skilled at modifying life. His divine power is so great that he can even create mechanical life. The mechanical knights he creates are extremely powerful, and in terms of combat strength alone, they are comparable to our generation."

Lu Yuan said, "This group of demon god followers is killing indiscriminately, most likely trying to use blood sacrifice to draw in divine power and summon alien life forms such as mechanical knights or phantom killers..."

Li Xuanyang slammed his hand on the heavy bio-armor embedded in his chest: "Without a template like the Mechanical Knight, we couldn't create a god-level bio-armor. If they don't come this time, fine; if they do, we'll wipe them out!"

Although the demon god's power is strong, the amount of power that can be projected into the secret realm is limited. If these powerful life forms, such as the high-level mechanical knights, can be dealt a severe blow to the Qilin Cult, it will be a significant achievement.

Although the trial is dangerous, it is an opportunity to take the initiative and fight. If we miss this opportunity, we can only passively wait for the Qilin Sect to attack.

Li Xuanyang was genuinely afraid that the Qilin Sect wouldn't dare to come...

Gao Wu didn't know what happened next, but through the Yin God's distant gaze, he could vaguely see a layer of blood-red color shrouding the area above, which made him feel very oppressed.

Something must have happened, but we don't know what it is.

Gao Wu had originally planned to venture deeper into the entrance to the other world with Song Mingyue, but now he dared not go any further.

Should he go back or stay and observe the situation for now? Gao Wu hesitated for a moment, just then he saw a blazing divine light appear in the distant night sky.

This was not seen through the spirits of the underworld, but rather as divine light seen with his own eyes.

Song Mingyue saw it too, and she looked surprised: "What's that?"

"It's a battle between powerful individuals; something's happened." Gao Wu tried to observe with his Yin Spirit, but the distance was too great, and his Yin Spirit couldn't see as clearly as his eyes.

Streaks of lightning flashed, tearing through the night. And the flashes grew more numerous and intense, indicating a fierce battle between countless powerful beings.

Even from such a distance, Gao Wu and Song Mingyue could sense the terrifying power released from the lightning.

Both of them turned serious.

About a minute and a half later, Gao Wu and Song Mingyue both heard the deep yet sharp roar.

“It’s about 100 kilometers away from us…” Gao Wu made the assessment.

Due to differences in source energy and air conditions, sound travels about three times faster in the secret realm than in the real world.

Gao Wu looked at Song Mingyue: "What are your thoughts?"

Song Mingyue slowly shook her head: "I have no idea. This level of battle is beyond our control. Let's protect ourselves first and not cause trouble for the strong."

"Ha, you're so smart."

Gao Wu thought it made perfect sense, and his desire to go back was somewhat impulsive, which was indeed not very rational.

Even if he's physically strong, Song Mingyue can't compare. It's best to just watch this fight from afar.

The divine light in the sky flashed for less than two minutes before suddenly bursting into a burst of intense flames, illuminating the night sky.

"The battle is over?" Gao Wu's heart tightened when he saw this scene. Such a violent impact of source energy was terrifying, looking like hundreds or thousands of kilograms of explosives exploding.

Even from such a distance, he could feel the destructive aura emanating from the source energy.

"Luckily I didn't go too close..."

Gao Wu muttered to himself, but his eyes were fixed on the rapidly dimming light in the distance.

Song Mingyue glanced at Gao Wu. The light that had illuminated the night sky dissipated, but the light in Gao Wu's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

She knew that Gao Wu was actually very tough at heart and loved adventure. Fortunately, he was rational enough to control his instincts.

This kind of battle between strong people is too intense. Fortunately, we are far away!
Just as Song Mingyue was feeling relieved, she heard a sharp shriek in the night sky, as if something was approaching at high speed...

Her expression changed slightly: "Oh no!"

Gao Wu, however, exclaimed excitedly, "It looks like they're coming straight for us!"

(End of this chapter)