Evan Chu hadn’t gone far. Seeing the destructive power of this eighth-rank spirit beast with his own eyes left him utterly stunned—half a mountain peak had been blasted away. With that kind of attack, even a hundred people in front of it would be instantly wiped out.
"Boss, let’s go. We shouldn’t stick around—this much commotion is bound to attract other monster beasts."
Goldwing reverted to his beast form, and Evan Chu sat atop him, feeling his hunger for power grow even stronger. With such insane attack strength, and yet not even the strongest here, Evan couldn’t even imagine what the true apex looked like.
"Boss, didn’t you want to know who’s strongest around here? I’ll tell you now. There’s the Horned Demon Flood-Dragon, the Skyfiend Tiger, and the Violet Thunder Fox. Of these three, the Skyfiend Tiger is the most powerful, then the Violet Thunder Fox, and the Horned Demon Flood-Dragon’s strength is about the same as mine. We’ve fought plenty of times and neither of us could win. Its venom is terrifying—if you ever run into it, best stay far away." Goldwing said as he flew.
Evan Chu thought back carefully. That giant serpent he’d fought looked almost exactly as Goldwing described. "Old Gold, I ran into a really fierce monster not long ago—looks just like what you said. Its venom could even corrode stone. Don’t tell me that was the Horned Demon Flood-Dragon!"
"Where did you run into it? That thing is a real nightmare—usually, it’s a fight to the death. Most of the time I just fly away from it. But it can’t talk or take human form, maybe because it’s only a flood-dragon descendant."
At this moment, Evan Chu was certain—the one he’d killed that day was exactly the Horned Demon Flood-Dragon. "Heh, Old Gold, you won’t be seeing it again. I already took care of that thing myself."
Evan could feel Goldwing’s body tremble beneath him—clearly shocked by his words. Good thing Evan was seated firmly; if he’d been thrown off by that jolt, it would’ve been a disaster.
"Boss, you really killed that thing? Its strength is insane—how’d you pull it off? With your current power, it shouldn’t be possible!" Goldwing was full of disbelief at Evan’s claim.
"It did take some effort to kill it. But don’t forget—I have a sacred beast. I might not be able to kill it myself, but my sacred beast sure can. For an eighth-rank monster, that’s just a snack." Evan said this on purpose, to make sure Goldwing stayed intimidated and wouldn’t turn against him.
Sure enough, Evan Chu’s words had the intended effect. "Boss, just who are you? Even sacred beasts call you big brother—seriously amazing!"
Evan Chu just smiled. "You’ll find out when the time is right. For now, just stick with me and your strength will reach heights you can’t even imagine."
Joking and chatting, they soon arrived at the stone forest. Goldwing landed smoothly on the ground. "Boss is back!" someone shouted as soon as they saw Evan return.
Evan Chu hopped off Goldwing’s back, and the group immediately came to greet him. "Boss, we saved some barbecue for you—go eat!" Gus Bullard said.
"Boss, I’ll go say hi to the Skyfiend Tiger and Violet Thunder Fox. If I’m not around and you run into them, you won’t be in danger!" Goldwing said, then shot into the sky and vanished from sight.
The next day, Evan Chu and his group left the stone forest, heading west. They joked and chatted along the way, growing even closer as a team.
Around noon, they came upon a wide river. The current was swift, and the water was littered with monster beast corpses—and human bodies too.
"There’s definitely something going on upstream. Judging by the state of these monster corpses, they took some serious hits. Boss, should we go check it out?" Sterling Yates was the first to speak up.
"I think we’d better not. Look at all those monster corpses—there must be at least twenty, not counting the ones swept away. If they didn’t run into a group like ours, then it had to be an even scarier monster. Going up there could be suicide!" Blake Murong said.
"What about those dead students? I say we should at least take a look—maybe we’ll get some unexpected gains!" Gus Bullard chimed in.
Evan Chu tried asking Luna, the Sword Spirit, in his mind—her spiritual sense could easily see what was happening ahead. But after a long while, she didn’t respond. "Let’s go take a look," Evan decided. "Everyone stay alert, and if anything feels wrong, we retreat immediately."
The group moved slowly along the riverbank, everyone on high alert for any sudden threats.
Nothing happened along the way. After about an hour, Evan Chu told everyone to stop. "Don’t go any farther. The trouble spot is just about a mile ahead. I’ll go check it out—you all wait here for me!"
Evan didn’t care whether they agreed or not. Only Lily Tang and Rhea Yang openly voiced support—the rest were his little brothers, and when the boss spoke, you listened.
With a burst of Wave-Skimming Steps, Evan vanished in a flickering afterimage. "Boss is so fast! What kind of movement art is that?" Blake Murong exclaimed. He’d trained in a speed technique himself, but compared to Evan’s, his own was clearly much slower.
Back when they’d raced Goldwing, running side by side, he hadn’t noticed. Now he realized Evan hadn’t even been trying—his true speed was terrifying.
"Who knows? Best not to ask about his secrets, or you’ll just get frustrated. He’s a total freak!" Rhea Yang snapped, annoyed that Evan was charging off alone without caring about those who worried for him.
"Heh, if Boss wasn’t a freak, how could he be our boss? Anyone who can ride an eighth-rank flying beast as a mount has to be a monster!" Sterling Yates chimed in, thoroughly convinced by Evan’s strength.
Evan dashed forward with Wave-Skimming Steps, wind roaring past his ears, and quickly reached the spot Luna had pointed out.
Earlier, it was Luna who had told Evan in his mind that there was something ahead—maybe a surprise worth checking out, but also plenty of danger.
Evan stopped and carefully surveyed the area about a hundred meters ahead. He saw dozens of students locked in fierce battle with a massive monster beast. One of them Evan recognized—it was Ryan Ouyang, top-ranked in Ordinary Class One, but now he was covered in wounds and blood.
Evan didn’t recognize the monster—it wasn’t one of the high-tier beasts Goldwing had mentioned. But to fight so many people at once, it had to be at least a fifth-rank, maybe even sixth-rank beast.
Evan hid himself in the nearby grass, eager to play the fisherman and reap the rewards.
Waiting felt endless. The monster was covered in spines, looking like a giant porcupine—except much bigger. Its two-meter-long tail was its deadliest weapon; Evan saw many students get injured by that massive tail.
Ryan Ouyang truly deserved his top ranking in Ordinary Class One. Every attack he unleashed crackled with thunder, forcing the beast back several meters—but he just couldn’t hurt it.