Chapter 0225: Ironclad Poison Scorpion

Chapter 0225: Ironclad Poison Scorpion

After a day of continuous travel, Qin Yun finally caught sight of the Blue Spirit Star Palace once again.

Under the blazing sun, the Star Palace shimmered with a brilliant blue light, enveloped by a translucent blue energy barrier. The surrounding landscape stretched for miles, a desolate wasteland of jagged, bare mountains. Many tall peaks had been destroyed, leaving giant rocks scattered across the terrain.

Situated in the Cloud Dragon Mountains, the Blue Spirit Star Palace was a prime target for Demon Beasts. Fortunately, its defenses were extremely strong. Demon Beasts were unable to breach the palace's barrier, and any powerful Demon Beasts that approached were swiftly killed.

Nowadays, the Demon Beasts outside the Blue Spirit Star Palace were mostly of the eighth and seventh ranks, with the occasional ninth-rank beast. These Demon Beasts roamed the desolate mountains, lying in wait to ambush any disciples who ventured out.

Over the past few days, several disciples had fallen to these Demon Beasts. Like other martial academies, the Blue Spirit Star Palace required its disciples to pass strict assessments to obtain a pass before going out, ensuring they had sufficient strength.

The desolate mountains surrounding the Blue Spirit Star Palace were teeming with roaming Demon Beasts, making it an ideal location for the initial trial of the Heavenly Prodigy Academy.

Dozens of Martial Warriors, along with two hundred students, arrived at the main gate of the Blue Spirit Star Palace.

The area outside the palace gate reeked of rotting corpses, with pieces of broken Demon Beast flesh and large pits from battles littering the ground.

"This trial might result in death, so think carefully! Even if you manage to get first place, there won't be any rewards, so know your limits and escape if needed," Headmaster Bai said. "If you can't handle the Demon Beasts, as long as you run back to the palace gate, they won't dare to approach."

"If there's no reward, what's the motivation for the trial?" one student asked disappointedly.

Their mission in this trial was to obtain fresh Demon Beast cores. They would use the Demon Core Beads to extract fresh core energy, and the team that extracted the most fresh core energy would be declared the winner.

"There are no material rewards, but there are Xuan points. The team that comes in first will receive 100 million Xuan points each," Headmaster Bai added.

One hundred million Xuan points was a considerable amount for many of the students.

The initial disappointment vanished, replaced by a surge of determination at the prospect of 100 million Xuan points.

"Headmaster, if teams clash, can we fight?" a student asked.

"Such conflicts are inevitable and permitted. If there are casualties, it will be your own grudge to bear. We will not be held responsible," Vice Headmaster Guo Cheng said. He had a hand in setting these rules.

Qin Yun's heart skipped a beat as he glanced at Xiao Yanglong, who wore a cold, sinister smile. It was clear that Xiao Yanglong's team, all at the eighth level of the Martial Body stage, might target them.

"It's morning now. You must return before nightfall," Headmaster Bai said. "It's about time. Head out and make sure to kill as many Demon Beasts as you can."

Fifty teams dispersed immediately, rushing in all directions toward the desolate mountains.

At that moment, the gates of the Blue Spirit Star Palace opened, and the mentors entered.

Inside the gate, they saw a huge plaza with four massive crystal walls, each over ten meters tall, surrounding the area.

Images appeared on the crystal walls, showing Demon Beasts lurking in the cracks of the mountains or beneath giant rocks, waiting for their prey.

Several disciples, clad in blue robes, stood before the crystal walls, eagerly awaiting the upcoming battles between the Heavenly Prodigy Academy teams and the Demon Beasts.

The mentors, including Lan Fengjin, were unaware of this setup. Upon entering, they were all surprised, especially Xiao Yanglong, whose face darkened. If Sun Jinhao and his team attacked Qin Yun's team, it would be clearly visible to everyone present.

"Are these images created using spatial runes?" Lan Fengjin asked, walking up to Yang Shiyue, showing great interest in the runes on the crystal walls.

"Senior Sister, how strong is the overall team from the Heavenly Prodigy Academy?" Xiao Yuelan approached, dressed in a blue battle outfit, her body glistening with sweat as if she had just been through an intense battle.

"I'm a mentor, and your little husband is one of my students," Lan Fengjin said with a low chuckle.

Xiao Yuelan and Yang Shiyue were startled for a moment, then looked at the crystal stone wall with anticipation, hoping to see Qin Yun's figure. They had no idea that Qin Yun and Lan Fengjin were already acquainted, or they would have surely asked more about him.

The elder of the Eastern Palace, Shui Yihui, and Hou Xingfeng walked over, with Xie Wufeng by their side as well. It wasn’t clear how they knew each other.

More and more people arrived at the square, already aware of the affairs of the Heavenly Prodigy Academy, and now eager to see the strength of its disciples.

Many of the newly promoted disciples of the Blue Spirit Star Palace were from the three Xuan-level Martial Academies, and they were now keen to see the level of the outstanding students from these three academies.

……

Qin Yun and his team had no idea that many people were watching their battle with the Demon Beasts, and could even hear their voices.

Qin Yun had a skill for tracking and detecting Demon Beasts, allowing his team to locate their traces first.

This was a very flat wasteland, with no huge rocks nearby, so it seemed impossible for any Demon Beast to be hiding.

Yet, Qin Yun could sense the presence of a Demon Beast!

"Brother Qin, what kind of Demon Beast is this?" Huo Zhong asked in a low voice, holding his long staff and scanning the surroundings.

"Brother Qin, it doesn’t look like there’s a Demon Beast here. Are you sure?" Murong Daren said, though he still took out his weapon.

Qin Yun said seriously, "I’m certain. There really is a Demon Beast here. Everyone, stay alert!"

Xue Ziyeh had taken out her black twin scythes from the start, entering a state of alert. Though she couldn’t sense the Demon Beast herself, she trusted her captain implicitly.

Inside the Blue Spirit Star Palace's square, an image of Qin Yun's team appeared on one of the crystal stone walls. The crowd in the square was also confused about where the Demon Beasts were hiding, as the Spatial Eyes placed here indicated their presence.

Just as everyone was puzzled, Qin Yun suddenly moved, quickly pushing Murong Daren aside.

Murong Daren was thrown far away, and at the same time, a very thin black shadow, like a sword, flew toward them.

"Quickly scatter!" Qin Yun shouted. "There are two Demon Beasts hiding underground!"

Huo Zhong and Xue Ziyeh heard him and quickly spread out. They also saw what had flown toward them—a hook!

The hook was as large as a fist! It was the tail hook of a scorpion!

The tail hook was so large; one could imagine how big the scorpion was.

With a swoosh, a massive scorpion suddenly emerged from the ground, revealing a body over three meters long, with a tail three to four meters long.

What made them truly terrifying was that their tail hooks could fly out at great distances, like they were connected by a chain, darting out dozens of meters swiftly.

Xue Ziyeh’s scythes could also extend in a similar fashion.

Two massive black scorpions emerged from the ground, lunging at Murong Daren and Huo Zhong.

"Brother Qin, how should we fight them?" Murong Daren shouted, waving his fan and releasing several bursts of Diamond Inner Energy, which had little effect on the scorpions.

The poisonous scorpions had thick black carapaces, making them highly resistant to strong inner energy!

Qin Yun said, "It seems only close combat can harm the scorpions, but close combat is too dangerous. The scorpions’ poison is terrifying, and their tail hooks are tricky to deal with."

The scorpions were also incredibly fast, relentlessly pursuing Huo Zhong and Murong Daren.

"No, the scorpions’ tail hooks are too fast. You’re too big to dodge them easily," Qin Yun said, controlling the Spirit Refined Blade to slash at the raised tail hook of one of the scorpions.

"Ziyeh, Murong, attack the venomous scorpion's tail hook and prevent it from launching. I'll go in and see what I can do!"

A moment ago, Qin Yun controlled the Spirit Refined Blade as it flew out and slashed at the tail hook, rendering it immobile. Otherwise, the tail hook would have sporadically shot out as it had before.

"Huo Lao San, get ready to attack the scorpion chasing you!" Qin Yun shouted.

At this point, Murong Daren was at a distance, attacking the scorpion that was pursuing Huo Zhong, specifically targeting its tail hook.

"Alright!" After Huo Zhong prepared himself, he saw Qin Yun dash forward, using the Spirit Refined Blade to perform the Six Forms of Wind Slash on the scorpion's tail.

The moment the sharp Six Forms of Wind Slash was executed, multiple blade shadows appeared, and the blade's energy surged like rolling waves, enveloping the large scorpion.

Swish! Swish!

The refined blade slashed, its cold light cutting into the scorpion's tail, sending sparks flying!

The scorpion's black armor was as tough as steel, yet Qin Yun's Six Forms of Wind Slash managed to sever it.

Huo Zhong also charged in, wielding his long staff, exuding the aura of a wild bull. He roared as he vigorously swung the long staff, delivering a relentless assault on the scorpion's head.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Huo Zhong executed a series of powerful staff techniques, each move pounding the large scorpion into the ground.

Xue Ziyeh and Murong Daren were dealing with the other scorpion.

That scorpion had just tried to launch its hook, but before it could, Xue Ziyeh's sickle severed it, removing the venomous hook. With the hook gone, Xue Ziyeh boldly attacked.

Her sickle, though it looked crude, was razor-sharp. When thrown, it easily cut off all the scorpion's legs, like reaping straw.

The scorpion, now legless, could only lie on the ground, struggling aimlessly and waving its tail without the venomous hook.

Qin Yun and Huo Zhong rushed over and gave it a thorough beating, smashing the ground where the scorpion lay until it stopped moving.

"It's finished. Let's get the Demon Beast core," Qin Yun said with a smile, relieved. It had been a close call, with Murong Daren nearly losing his life.

……

The crowd in the Star Palace plaza erupted in exclamations.

"That was an Iron-armored Scorpion, an eighth-level Demon Beast, taken down by a group of four young warriors at the eighth and seventh levels of the Martial Body stage. And they did it in such a short time."

"Qin Yun's reputation for strength is well-earned."

"The Iron-armored Scorpion is not easy to deal with, but their coordination and individual skills allowed them to quickly dispatch two eighth-level Demon Beasts."