High Martial Arts 2077: I Rely on Beast Taming to Cultivate While Lying Down

Chapter 98 Doomsday - Jiangbei Alliance! The Immortal-Demon Dungeon Opens!

"Is there a demon tide lately? Why are there so many demon corpses along the way? All sorts of them."

Zhang Yan was pressed against the car window, her nose close to the glass, a very childish gesture.

There was no fear in her voice, only pure curiosity.

I spent over ten years within the high walls of the base city! Each training session was protected by a mentor.

This is my first experience in my life! Although there are rescue measures in the buffer city, it is still quite dangerous and exciting.

It felt like I was a grown-up, going on my first long trip.

Su Chen turned her head and looked out the car window.

The road surface of the national highway is a dark grayish-brown color, and where the wheels have rolled over it, a slightly lighter layer of gravel is exposed underneath.

On both sides are rolling Gobi deserts, with weathered rock pillars standing scattered about.

The sandstorm was fierce!

A persistent, dull gust of wind, carrying fine sand, kept pounding against the car windows.

Visibility was low, only about 200 meters; beyond that, the area was swallowed up by grayish-yellow sand and dust.

The sky was indistinguishable between blue and gray, only a chaotic, dim light obscured by sand and dust.

The roadbed of the national highway is about half a meter higher than the Gobi Desert on both sides, and there is a drainage ditch every few tens of meters that is half covered by wind and sand.

The demon corpses were scattered on the sand outside the drainage ditch, most of them highly decomposed and oozing pus.

There was a black-striped python, seven or eight meters long, with half of its body buried in the sand, the exposed part already dried out.

A little further away was a Shadow Spider, its eight long legs curled up under its abdomen, its abdominal cavity completely shriveled up, leaving only its shell.

When the wind blew, several spider legs swayed gently in the wind, as if they were twitching.

Further away...

"Not just demons," Su Chen said calmly, yet with a peculiar undertone, "but also human bones!"

These remains are not concentrated in one place, but scattered along both sides of the national highway, stretching from nearby areas into the depths of the sandstorm.

Human skeletons are not numerous, but each one is remarkably striking.

"This road is, after all, a main thoroughfare."

Zhou Chengjie leaned forward from the front row, following Su Chen's gaze to the skeletons by the roadside, and said calmly, "Some of these corpses are city guards stationed on the national highway, but most are probably from adventure groups that joined the battle..."

"But no one's claiming the body? I wonder what's going on..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the school bus suddenly jolted.

Su Chen glanced out the window and saw a skeleton half-buried in the rubble where the tires had rolled over.

The carriage was quiet for a moment.

Su Chen quietly looked out the window as they passed another guard post.

Two three-story buildings stand side by side on a low hill.

The building has a standard military architectural structure, square and with sharp angles.

Each building has three floors, and each floor has four narrow windows and special firing ports.

A small signal receiver was mounted on the roof, its antenna swaying slightly in the wind.

On the west wall of the building to the east, there is a scorch mark nearly two meters wide, running from the corner to the second-floor window sill.

And this is only part of it; there are countless other traces of battle.

As they got closer, Su Chen noticed someone on the rooftop.

Five! They were all wearing the standard khaki windproof cloaks of the city guards, standing on the edge of the rooftop.

One of them was holding a long-barreled rifle, with the butt resting on his shoulder and the muzzle pointing downwards.

The other person held up a pair of binoculars, looked in the direction of the school bus for a few seconds, and then put it down.

The flag bearer next to him waved the signal flag in his hand.

Safety signal—No problems ahead!

The school bus did not slow down and drove smoothly past the guard post.

A sentry post every three kilometers, with a team of five people.

A station is set up every fifteen kilometers, with a squadron of fifty people stationed there.

Fifty kilometers away, a small fortress—a transit point! The number of personnel stationed there will be determined based on the monster situation in the area.

At this moment, the school bus had already traveled nearly 80 kilometers out of Jiangling Base City.

Further ahead is a small fortress.

Su Chen looked up and looked ahead.

The terrain ahead gradually rises, and the national highway climbs up the gentle slope.

On the high ground atop the slope, the outline of the small fortress was already clearly visible.

It doesn't occupy a large area, probably only 40,000 to 50,000 square meters, but its overall structure is much more robust than the sentry post we just visited.

The fortress walls were seven or eight meters high, made of thick reinforced concrete panels, and covered with welding marks and repaired steel plates.

The most conspicuous thing is the signal tower inside the wall!

Nearly 100 meters high, it pierces straight into the sky from inside the fortress.

The tower is a truss structure made up of countless steel beams, which become thinner as it goes up, until only a pointed cone remains at the top.

Just as Su Chen was staring at the cell tower in a daze, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He took out his phone and glanced at it.

The screen displayed a message from my mom.

He opened the message.

"Son! Next Monday is your birthday. I heard from your homeroom teacher that you went out for some training today. Will you be back next Monday?"

The message was sent ten minutes ago, and I'm only receiving it now.

Su Chen stared at the words on the screen, remaining silent for a moment...

Life is good!

He himself has forgotten.

From last week's practical assessment to the mini-test, and then to the strength assessment, my mind was filled with nothing but the Shadowless Step, the Overlord Body Technique, the Mountain-Splitting Fist, and the activation of new acupoints...

A slight smile played on his lips as he leaned back in his chair and began typing: "I probably can't go back. We've only just set off. This training trip will last at least three days, maybe five or six. We'll have weekly tests when we get back."

After sending the message, he put his phone down and looked up at the luggage rack.

Little Purple!

It was a gift that Mom and Dad prepared in advance for this birthday.

Little Purple was still curled up on the luggage rack, with a small tuft of silvery-white fur hanging down.

This silly dog ​​was still half asleep when it was dragged out of its kennel this morning, but now it's sleeping soundly, completely undisturbed.

These past few days have been quite a struggle for Zhang Yan and her team, but the results have been truly remarkable!

"This is a good opportunity to put it to the test in real combat."

Su Chen looked away, glanced at the timestamp of the message on his phone screen, and muttered, "Looks like the signal was interfered with the whole way."

Zhang Yan leaned out from the back seat: "Is the signal being interfered with?"

"Yeah! My mom sent me a message ten minutes ago, and I only received it when I got to this area." Su Chen tilted the phone screen towards her and pointed to the timestamp in the upper right corner.

Zhang Yan glanced at the numbers on the screen and immediately frowned: "Wow! It takes two kilometers to receive a message? That's not good!"

Her expression became unusually serious: "The only time I truly remember it was the invasion by the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord twelve years ago!"

Su Chen did not respond.

He turned his head and looked out the car window at the national highway.

Before the end of the world, people often said, "To get rich, build roads first."

After the apocalypse, this saying was changed by one word: "To survive, build roads first!"

If a base city loses its transportation, signal, and connection with the outside world, there is a high probability that something serious is about to happen.

They were either overwhelmed by the beast tide or targeted by the Abyss Church and silently wiped off the map!

This has happened more than once since the apocalypse.

Since the establishment of the Federation, more than ten base cities have been massacred. Before they were completely destroyed, without exception, their communications were cut off first, then their transportation was cut off, and finally... their lives were cut off.

Zhang Yan had obviously thought of the same thing.

She turned around and gently nudged Lin Xiyue, who was sitting next to her, with her elbow: "Sister Xiyue, do you still remember the scene twelve years ago when the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord invaded Beicheng, when all the signals were cut off and the whole city was in chaos?"

Lin Xiyue nodded gently: "Yes... I was in kindergarten in the eastern part of the city back then."

Zhang Yan paused for a moment, then said, "The North City suffered the most damage back then, and the East City was also affected. Did you see that... that mountain mentioned online?"

Lin Xiyue pursed her lips and after a while spoke: "Yes! I saw the scene of the mountain of ten thousand corpses with my own eyes."

Zhang Yan was shocked. She hesitated for a moment, but her curiosity overwhelmed her: "What does it look like?"

"It's similar to the pictures online. Countless arms... Seeing it in person... the scene is even more horrifying!"

Lin Xiyue stopped there and did not continue her description.

Her fingers unconsciously gripped the hem of her dress.

But Zhang Yan, being a carefree person, didn't notice this detail; her attention was completely drawn to the words "mountain of corpses."

"Ugh~ It was pretty scary anyway. Luckily I was in the south of the city at the time."

She leaned back in her chair, her expression serious, and said, "I heard that this incident has resulted in the loss of more than 60% of the total population in the north of the city! The loss of the younger generation is even greater, exceeding 90%."

"Even now, there's a talent gap in the north of the city. Of our graduating class this year, fewer than ten students from the north can make it into the top 100 of their grade, right?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiyue looked at Su Chen.

In the front row, Wang Yichuan was silent for a moment before saying, "Brother Chen was in the north of the city back then."

Zhang Yan suddenly looked at Su Chen in the front seat and exclaimed in shock, "You're actually from the north of the city? I thought you always lived in Development Zone No. 7 in the east district!"

"What were you doing when the disaster struck?"

Su Chen did not turn around.

After a moment, he finally spoke, "She goes to kindergarten in the north of the city."

"Wasn't the northern city completely breached back then? How...how did you survive?"

Su Chen remained silent for a moment.

I tried to recall as many images as possible, but there were none.

Clearly, the traumatic images from back then triggered the brain's protective mechanisms.

"Back then... a group of three-faced demons stormed into our kindergarten's shelter." His tone was calm, as if he were narrating a history unrelated to himself. "There was a teacher, whom I've always called Aunt Zhou since then, who saved me."

Zhang Yan's eyes widened suddenly.

Three-faced demon!

This is a unique demonic creature of the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord, his forbidden experimental subject.

Each one has at least the strength of a beginner-level warrior!

A group of three-faced demons simultaneously stormed into a kindergarten shelter—this was the closest Zhang Yan could imagine to a scene that was almost like hell.

"What's your teacher's skill level?" Her voice was filled with undisguised shock. "Could something have happened to him?"

"Nothing happened. But he must have been injured. He encountered danger in the wild three years ago." Su Chen didn't continue.

Zhang Yan opened her mouth, wanting to ask more questions.

But just as the words were about to come out, he felt his sleeve being gently tugged. It was Lin Xiyue!

A group of three-faced monsters... a kindergarten refuge... a teacher... when these fragments are pieced together, it's clearly not a pleasant sight!

Zhang Yan's lips moved, as if she wanted to say something to make amends, but she had no idea what to say.

"I fainted at the time, so I don't remember anything at all. My parents told me what happened after that." Su Chen's voice remained calm, and he even chuckled softly.

Zhang Yan swallowed.

A wave of embarrassment and guilt washed over her, making her ears burn.

She was silent for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "You're really tough! And now you're so powerful. Once you have the strength, you'll definitely get your revenge!"

Su Chen smiled.

The Thousand-Faced Demon Lord already possessed the strength of the eighth realm, the Heavenly Martial Realm, twelve years ago.

Having survived eight years since the apocalypse, he is still alive and has not been executed!

It's difficult to punish him!

Moreover, the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord is still a mid-to-high-level member of the Abyss Church, having disappeared without a trace all these years.

A madman who once slaughtered half of the base city has actually stayed quietly in the shadows for twelve years without causing any big trouble. It's obvious what he's up to!

Zhang Yan clearly realized that her words had been too flippant.

She shrank back into her seat, unsure where to look.

After a while, she finally found a new topic that she thought was somewhat appropriate: "Eight years into the post-apocalyptic chaos, the strongest force in our Jiangling City area is the Jiangbei Alliance. After the base city was established, most of the Jiangbei Alliance members settled in the north of the city, and geniuses have emerged one after another."

Fifteen years ago, our Jiangling City had a total of 37 students admitted to the nine top universities, more than half of whom were from the northern part of the city.

""

"Back then, we were much stronger than Qingshan City!"

When she mentioned the number "37", her tone carried an undisguised longing.

After all, that year's glorious record remains an unsurpassed peak in the entire history of martial arts education in Jiangling City!

However... no one in the carriage responded.

Zhang Yan coughed lightly and could only continue, her voice noticeably weaker: "I heard that many teachers at our No. 1 High School are members of the Jiangbei Tongmenghui. Lei Yi, the homeroom teacher of Class 5, seems to be one, and a high-ranking one at that."

In the back row, Zhou Chengjie put down the map in his hand and took over the conversation: "Teacher Lei Yi is indeed from the Jiangbei Alliance."

But when the apocalypse first broke out, he was only eleven years old and should have been just an ordinary, low-level member. The higher-ups on the school board, however, were indeed likely high-ranking members of the Jiangbei Alliance.

When Zhang Yan heard someone respond, she immediately perked up.

She turned around and peeked her head in Zhou Chengjie's direction: "I heard that when the Federal Spirit Army took over Jiangling City, several leaders of the Jiangbei Alliance disagreed and even wanted to resist! But luckily, a war didn't break out in the end, otherwise we might be refugees in Qingshan City or other base cities."

At this point, her eyes darted around, and she lowered her voice: "By the way, there's a saying that the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord was a member of the Jiangbei Alliance, and that he was forced out back then."

The voice just fell.

"Snapped!"

A large punch landed precisely on Zhang Yan's head.

The force wasn't strong, but it produced a dull thud.

Su Chen withdrew her hand, glaring at her with a cursing expression: "Are you stupid! Can't you see nobody wants to talk about this?"

His tone was dismissive, but he didn't seem genuinely angry: "Besides, the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord is a taboo, a plague god. No one will openly admit that he's from Jiangling City or Qingshan City."

Zhang Yan covered the spot where she had been hit, pouted, and her aggrieved expression was exactly the same as before.

"Some people say that the Thousand-Faced Demon Lord is from the Qingshan City area. After losing the competition, he fled to our Jiangling City and became enemies with our Jiangbei Alliance... He's just very curious."

Su Chen leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and sneered, "Habby! When you're really capable, go ask him face-to-face. Grab a small whip or a big iron rod or something. He has so many clones anyway, if you can't catch his main body, can't you catch his clones?"

"You might have already met him."

Zhang Yan's body visibly trembled. She instinctively shrank closer to Lin Xiyue, but still stubbornly insisted, "Hmph! Trying to scare me! Just wait, I'll definitely become that powerful!"

"You have to have dreams!"

As she spoke, her confidence slowly returned: "Didn't you also dream that the four of us would get into the same top university?"

Wang Yichuan put down the book in his hand and glanced at Su Chen.

Lin Xiyue's beautiful eyes lit up, showing some curiosity about this matter.

Su Chen used words to fool Zhang Yan at the time, but he didn't tell Lin Xiyue or Wang Yichuan about it in person.

Wang Yichuan mentioned his dream of attending Tianshan University at the dinner table the Sunday before last, while Lin Xiyue wanted to go to Jiangnan University.

Su Chen rubbed the back of his head, avoiding Wang Yichuan and Lin Xiyue's gaze, and turned his attention back to Zhang Yan, his tone somewhat speechless: "Is this considered a dream? Your only weakness right now is you, you good-for-nothing! Get back to training!"

"I absolutely dominated the game last night! 928!!"

"That's your forte. It takes real skill to achieve this level of performance even in a weaker sport. Can't you learn from me?"

Zhang Yan, annoyed by his retort, puffed out her cheeks and muttered defiantly, "Just you wait! Fortune changes every thirty years, don't underestimate a young woman's potential!"

Su Chen didn't reply.

The carriage fell silent again, with only the low rumble of the school bus engine and the whistling wind outside the window.

[Pet Energy Points: 389]

[Technology related to Wind and Thunder Fierce Dog:]

③ Pet Armaments: Wind and Thunder Wings, Heavenly Thunder Claws ④ Master Technology: Heavenly Thunder Gauntlets, Gale Boots

"Now, with the spiritual energy produced by the Abyss Converter, I can accumulate over sixty energy points every day while only using one learning machine!"

"This time, I'm definitely going to complete Zhang Yan's 'Mission Two: Immense Strength,' there's a reward of two hundred!"

"Especially the dungeon quests! We're definitely going to squeeze as much profit as possible this time."

"Last time I got seven or eight hundred."

"Won't it cost one or two thousand this time?"

"Based on the current progress, we can indeed obtain a Master technology!"

"The cheapest Swift Boots cost 800 energy points, and building a structure costs 1000 energy points, so it's only 1800 in total. No problem!"

Su Chen still had some expectations.

He felt that Master Technology should be similar to a magical artifact.

Spiritual artifacts can generally only be used after reaching the Acupoint Opening Realm, and with the spiritual power of the early Acupoint Opening Realm, the number of times they can be used is extremely limited.

Su Chen was curious about what additional functions his Master Technology would have compared to a spirit weapon.

"It's only a matter of a few days, we'll know the results sooner or later!!!"

Keep up the good work!

As for Xiao Zi's evolution path, the most expensive one costs a whopping 6000 pet energy points! That's still quite a long way off...

An hour later.

The national highway gradually narrows, and the Gobi Desert on both sides is slowly being replaced by low hills.

The sandstorm subsided significantly in this section, and the visibility improved.

On the horizon ahead, the outline of the ruins known as "Buffer City Sixteen" finally came into view.

We're almost there!

【Ding--】

[High concentration of celestial and demonic energy fluctuations detected...]

[Detection indicates that Master and Pet are about to enter a special training area...]

[A large number of demonic units have been detected in the nearby area...]

[Meets the requirements for creating a copy.]

Ok? ? ?

Su Chen remembered that during the weekly exam, he entered the Wutou Mountain area and waited for about ten minutes before the communicator announced the start of the exam, which triggered the instance.

now...

It was triggered when we were still two or three kilometers away from the buffer city!

"Is it celestial or demonic energy?"

"Within the buffer city, most of the demons are evolved from native creatures of Blue Star. Yet they're classified as celestial/demonic energy fluctuations?"

"Could it be that the apocalyptic evolution of Earth's native flora and fauna is related to the realm of immortals and demons?"

"That's interesting!"