Zhang Hao smiled faintly and didn't explain. Liu Jie, Murong Longcheng, Mo Qing, and the others didn't ask further.
Zhang Hao glanced at the students from the smaller Colleges and found that at this moment, only a little over fifty of them remained, nearly half their number gone.
What followed would be even more perilous. If the people from Tianwu Academy didn't provide shelter, very few of these people would definitely survive.
Looking at the people from the smaller Colleges, each one staring at him with terrified eyes, Zhang Hao faintly instructed the students from Tianwu Academy beside him, "Try your best to look after them."
Given Zhang Hao's position in Tianwu Academy at this moment, no one dared to ignore his words. Each one nodded, indicating their agreement.
The students from the smaller Colleges all looked at Zhang Hao with grateful expressions in their eyes.
They traveled for another half a day. During this half-day, they still encountered many Ferocious Beasts, Demonic Beasts, and even Wang Beasts. However, they were all easily cleared away by Zhang Hao and the others.
"Howl!"
Liu Jie's expression changed, and he said, "That's the sound of a demonic wolf."
"Demonic wolf?"
Zhang Hao looked at Liu Jie with slight surprise, his eyes full of inquiry.
Liu Jie quickly explained to Zhang Hao, "These demonic wolves were originally distributed in the West Wind Kingdom. They are cunning, move like the wind, and are cruel and vicious. They are pack animals."
Zhang Hao looked at Liu Jie and asked, "How many do you think there are at most in a pack of demonic wolves?"
Liu Jie pondered for a moment and said to Zhang Hao, "Under normal circumstances, there are usually around a thousand at most."
A thousand? Zhang Hao scoffed. A thousand demonic wolves were just fodder for these more than a hundred Martial Kings.
A moment later, a thousand demonic wolves appeared before everyone, a dark mass.
Both sides faced off, filled with a chilling aura.
"Howl!"
Suddenly, a black demonic wolf couldn't hold back and pounced towards some students from the smaller Colleges who were closest.
"Vile beast!"
The student was also very displeased to see the demonic wolf dare to provoke him. He slashed the demonic wolf with his sword. The demonic wolf grunted in pain, rolled on the ground, then got back up and glared fiercely at the student.
"Huh!"
The student felt very surprised. He hadn't expected that his single sword strike wouldn't kill the demonic wolf.
"Die!"
A Martial King nearby made a move, continuously slashing over a dozen times before finally killing the demonic wolf.
Zhang Hao was a bit surprised. He truly hadn't expected that it would take a Martial King so many slashes to kill just one demonic wolf. Its defense was simply too strong.
Liu Jie seemed to have anticipated this and wasn't too surprised. He just said to Zhang Hao, "Zhang Hao, this is normal. Because the demonic wolves here have been influenced by this fierce and malevolent energy for years, their bodies have already mutated. Their defense, in particular, is more than ten times stronger. That's why, even though there are only a thousand demonic wolves at the Great Martial Master level, they dare to challenge us."
Suddenly, a cold Black-Clad Youth walked up to Zhang Hao, looked at him, and said, "Do you dare to compete with me to see who can kill more demonic wolves?"
"Oh!"
Zhang Hao looked at the cold Black-Clad Youth with slight surprise. This cold Black-Clad Youth was precisely the sword-carrying youth he had seen on the flying boat. At this moment, the Black-Clad Youth was full of fighting spirit.
"Martial King Eighth Heaven?"
Zhang Hao was slightly startled after sensing the opponent's cultivation. This cultivation was indeed worthy of being one of the top experts in the Inner Courtyard back then.
Zhang Hao's eyes shifted, and he smiled as he asked the Black-Clad Youth, "May I know your name?"
The Black-Clad Youth said coldly, "Shi Lei!"
Zhang Hao nodded. This name was quite interesting, both stone.
"Zhang Hao!"
The Black-Clad Youth nodded slightly, acknowledging the introduction.
"A competition is fine, but there should be some stakes, right? Otherwise, it's meaningless." Zhang Hao said to Shi Lei with a smile.
Shi Lei frowned slightly and said, "What stakes do you require?"
Zhang Hao smiled faintly and said, "It's simple. Whoever wins, this time in the assessment area, we listen to them? How about that?"
Shi Lei frowned slightly, then quickly nodded and said, "Alright!"
Zhang Hao smiled at Mo Qing, Liu Jie, and the others, saying, "You can count our respective scores for us."
Liu Jie nodded and said, "No problem."
Not far away, the girl in the green dress and the White-robed Youth also watched Zhang Hao and Shi Lei's competition with interest.
"Chu Wei, who do you think will win?" the girl in the green dress asked curiously.
Chu Wei pondered for a moment and said, "I think Shi Lei has a higher chance of winning. As you know, once Shi Lei draws his sword, I don't even have a slight chance of winning. Qingchen, what do you think?"
Fu Qingchen nodded and said, "I think so too. Shi Lei is the strongest among us three in terms of cultivation. He shouldn't lose to a junior. Otherwise, wouldn't we Seniors and Senior Apprentice Brothers lose face?"
Chu Wei chuckled freely and teased, "Qingchen, you're only nineteen. Why do you keep calling them juniors? Anyone who doesn't know would think you're almost seventy or eighty."
Fu Qingchen chuckled and said, "I started studying earlier by a few years, so the air of a Senior must still be maintained."
At this moment, Zhang Hao and Shi Lei made their moves simultaneously.
When experts make a move, it is indeed like lightning and flint.
Shi Lei drew his long sword.
"One Sword's Light Chills the Nine Provinces' Snow!"
With this sword strike, over twenty demonic wolves were instantly killed. The sword energy did not dissipate there but continued forward, killing over a dozen more demonic wolves.
Liu Jie was dumbfounded and muttered, "Is this the true strength of the Demonic Sword Shi Lei?"
For the right to speak in the assessment area later, Zhang Hao's expression turned serious, and he didn't hold back.
The Blood God Blade was drawn.
"Astonishing Cold Glimpse!"
A bloody slash erupted and surged forth. Wherever it passed, under the rampant blade light, the demonic wolves exploded and died.
Zhang Hao's speed in hunting demonic wolves was actually no less than Shi Lei's.
The number of kills on both sides was very close. Of course, Zhang Hao also held back. The Hundred Blade Slash consumed too much stamina, so he didn't use it. Otherwise, his speed could have been even faster.
Those demonic wolves were scared stiff by Zhang Hao's killing. The Wolf King, as the only Wang Beast among this pack of demonic wolves, also knew they had provoked someone they shouldn't have. At this moment, it had already decided to retreat.
Zhang Hao and Shi Lei also knew that the pack of demonic wolves was about to retreat. The time to decide the winner was with this final move.
"Demonic Sword Thirsts to Drink the World's Blood!"
A chilling aura emanated from Shi Lei's entire body. The students who were slightly closer felt suffocated by the pressure of that chilling aura.
Chu Wei said in great surprise, "This is the first time I've seen Shi Lei use this move. It seems he's serious."
As countless sword energies crushed down, the surrounding packs of demonic wolves fell in swathes, and howls of agony rose from all directions.
Zhang Hao's speed was also not slow. He let out a furious roar.
"Cold Blade Ice Heart!"
Using the same move with Zhang Hao's current Martial King Eighth Heaven cultivation, its power increased considerably. The surrounding temperature instantly dropped by over a hundred degrees.