Chapter 4: He Didn't Cheat

"I recognize all of the other names because they're all top prodigies, but where did this Fang Che come from?"

The same question was on everyone's mind.

The old man with the white beard was looking on with furrowed brows as he mused, "Setting that aside for now, how has he jumped straight from thirty-nine to ninety-one points? And his points were going up in increments of two at a time, which means that he's been slaying fifth-tier demon beasts this entire time.

“How has he managed to slay twenty-six fifth-tier demon beasts in a row? He could've encountered a pack, but how has he been able to slay those demon beasts so easily? If he hasn't enrolled for warrior academy yet, then at the very most, he's most likely only a Warrior Master. Do any of you know any Warrior Master capable of this?"

Everyone shook their heads. In their minds, one had to at least be a Grandmaster to accomplish such a feat.

"Could it be that he's cheating?"

"Surely not, he would've already been reported if he were caught cheating."

In the forest, two black-robed figures were watching the unfolding scene up ahead in a speechless manner.

There was a canyon in the distance, and countless Blood Tooth Demon Wolves were rushing into it in a frenzy.

Some of them had even activated their innate abilities to enhance their speed, resembling moths rushing into a flame.

Inside the canyon was a stick of incense that had been set alight to release a peculiar aroma.

Several giant rocks had been moved to the entrance of the valley, and as a result, the path had been artificially narrowed to the point that only a single demon wolf could get through at a time.

The cunning beneficiary to all of this was waiting at the entrance of the valley, wielding a wind steel sword.

He was using a stick of spirit beast captivation incense to lure in the Blood Tooth Demon Wolves before cutting them down as soon as they entered the canyon.

Somehow, his sword drew no blood, but he was able to instantly slay each passing demon wolf before efficiently extracting their blood and inner core to be placed onto his badge.

The lifeless carcass was kicked off a cliff, following which another demon wolf arrived, and the process repeated itself over and over again.

Everything was being carried out with such an incredible degree of proficiency that it was as if the hunter had been doing this every day for several decades.

The two warrior academy instructors were stunned into silence, and only after a long while did one of them return to their senses before asking, "Is this cheating?"

"I don't think so," the other instructor replied.

"How's this not cheating?"

"Because he's done everything through his own power. He's made things very easy for himself, but he hasn't broken any rules."

The two of them fell silent again.

Fang Che had created a point-farming factory for himself.

Other prodigies of the same cultivation base would have to endure a grueling battle just to take down a single Blood Tooth Demon Wolf of this caliber, yet he was harvesting the lives of these wolves with ridiculous ease.

But it was all within the rules!

Fan Tiantiao was also watching in an astonished manner, and he murmured to himself, "Holy shit, I ain't never seen anything like this before!"

"He's a genius!" Qian Sanjiang exclaimed.

***

The cliff was only around two hundred to three hundred meters tall, but it was filled with dense mist, making it impossible to see the bottom, where a pile of demon wolf carcasses currently laid.

The blood seeping out of the carcasses instantly vanished upon making contact with the ground, and the bodies were rapidly decaying.

After their blood ran dry, the energy in their bones and flesh continued to seep into the ground, resulting in bodies that were severely decayed, but covered in suits of fur that were still relatively vibrant, given their recent passing.

Unless one were to inspect these bodies closely, they would be completely oblivious to their strange condition, merely assuming that they were normal recently deceased demon wolves.

The same thing was happening throughout this entire area. Any living being that died here had all of their energy funneled toward a certain direction, but no one noticed.

While killing the demon wolves, Fang Che was constantly inspecting his surroundings, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong.

However, just like before, he couldn't find anything.

What is the problem?

***

Buried several thousand feet beneath the earth was a broken body that was long dead, but wasn't displaying any signs of decomposition.

Countless tiny streams of blood and energy were constantly converging toward it from all directions, and while it wasn't displaying much physical change, it was slowly accumulating an aura of blood and death around it.

***

At White Cloud Warrior Academy.

Everyone was looking on with flabbergasted expressions as Fang Che's points quota shot through the roof, spiking all the way to 201 before pausing again, only to continue climbing to 299, where it finally stopped.

At this point, the second-place Qiu Yunshang was still only at seventy-seven points.

The difference was night and day!

After that, Fang Che didn't earn any further points.

The old man with the white beard was the assistant dean of the academy, and he finally ordered, "It looks like he's done. Find out how he earned all those points so quickly!"

Before long, all of the inner cores were delivered, and there was a small mountain of them.

"All of them belong to Blood Tooth Demon Wolves!"

Everyone was stunned into silence.

Right at this moment, a report was delivered, revealing that Fang Che had used spirit beast captivation incense, something that presented an irresistible allure to this species of demon wolves.

Everyone stared at each other in astonishment.

You can do that?

"What do we do?"

"We can't do anything!" the assistant dean yelled in frustration. "He didn't cheat, so we have to accept it! I wanna see exactly who this brat is once he gets to the academy!"

With that, he stormed away with his hands clasped behind his back.

Upon returning to his study, he received a message.

"Assistant Dean, a secret report has just arrived."

"Bring it to me."

A short while later, the assistant dean stood in his study, looking at a piece of paper in his hand.

On the piece of paper was an extremely concise message that was rapidly fading away: "Keep a close eye on Fang Che."

***

Fang Che had ceased his killing spree after reaching 299 points.

There was still some incense left, drawing in Blood Tooth Demon Wolves from far and wide, but he saw no point in continuing the slaughter.

Those who earned in excess of two hundred points would receive full scholarships and be exempt from the entrance examination, so there was no reason for him to continue.

Furthermore, this place was making him feel constantly on-edge, and he didn't want to stay here for even a moment longer than necessary.

Even the sound of his own heartbeat was unsettling to him here, and that was a very foreboding feeling.

There had to have been immense danger afoot, so it was time to leave.

***

Wei Zihao was in luck. He had discovered a spirit ginseng while hunting for demon beasts, but it was guarded by a peak sixth-tier demon beast.

Wei Zihao was unable to slay the beast on his own, so he had recruited around a dozen aspiring warriors to kill the beast together under the promise of a reward.

No one else had noticed the spirit ginseng, and Wei Zihao was ecstatic.

He would give everyone the promised reward, then leave the sixth-tier demon beast behind for them to fight over the points, and he would be able to sneak away with the spirit ginseng.

At this point, the demon beast was already riddled with wounds, and all of the aspiring warriors were ecstatic as they prepared to make the final push.

Right at this moment, a black shadow raced over the sky above, then quickly doubled back.

It was none other than Fang Che, and he was standing on the branch of a large tree, looking down at the unfolding scene below with an intrigued expression.

Wei Zihao was ecstatic.

"Brother Fang, please help us slay this demon beast! I'll be sure to reward you for your efforts!"

"Alright, I'll take that Blood Spirit Ginseng as a reward then," Fang Che replied with a smile.

"Blood Spirit Ginseng?"

Kang Zijian immediately retreated out of the fray upon hearing this.

"What's this Blood Spirit Ginseng?"

Everyone else also quickly stopped what they were doing to ask the same question.

"Aren't we fighting a demon beast? What's this spirit ginseng got to do with it?"

“......”

Wei Zihao's eyes were wide with shock, and he looked as if he had just swallowed a fly.

Never had he imagined that the invitation he had extended toward Fang Che on a whim would cause him so much trouble!

How could he just point out the spirit ginseng like that? Is he an idiot?!

He turned to Fang Che with a furious look in his eyes.

Fang Che looked back at him with an innocent expression as he asked, "Aren't you doing all of this for that Blood Spirit Ginseng? I thought that was the whole point of this battle. It really is quite a fine specimen! It's already turning red, so it'll definitely be able to improve the consumer's aptitude by at least one stage."