Boom!
With a deafening roar, the river churned violently as a massive figure surged out of the water. Shaped like a dragon with four legs and a single horn, it was a flood dragon.
Bang!
The flood dragon’s enormous body slammed heavily onto the shore. A gruesome wound marred its neck, blood pouring out, leaving it on the brink of death. Its massive eyes locked onto a burly man standing by the water’s edge, holding a black long sword, his aura sharp and overwhelming.
The Sword Demon!
John recognized the figure. He was one of the participants from Forest City, and his strength was comparable to that of a nine-star expert.
Whizz!
A cold gleam shot through the air, piercing straight into the flood dragon’s body. Its scales shattered as blood splattered everywhere.
“Roar!”
The flood dragon let out a mournful cry before it fell dead.
This sight sent a shiver down Cand-Dragon’s spine.
The flood dragon was an eight-star magical beast, and yet it was so easily slain by this person. His strength was not to be underestimated.
The Sword Demon had also noticed John and the others. His brow furrowed slightly as he glanced at Ice Talker. Without saying a word, he waved his hand, collecting the flood dragon’s corpse, and turned to leave.
The group let out a collective sigh of relief. They weren’t afraid of him, but if they engaged, their strength would be exposed.
John watched the Sword Demon’s departing figure and asked in confusion, “Is he also an Overseer?”
Ice Talker nodded. “Of the seven participants from Forest City in this assessment, one is an Overseer, and their strength is not to be taken lightly.”
“John, do you think they will disrupt our plan?” Sini asked with concern.
“They don’t seem interested in making a move against us,” John replied, shaking his head and speaking calmly.
The Sword Demon vanished from sight, and John withdrew his gaze. “Let’s go, into the river to find the flood dragon.”
He leaped into the water first, followed closely by the others.
The river’s currents were strong and deep, its bottom obscured by the dark water. The depth was likely several thousand meters.
Not only was there the flood dragon here, but other magical beasts as well.
Whoosh!
The water churned as a large dark shadow approached—a massive black fish, roaring as it lunged toward them.
John immediately became alert. His United Sword appeared in his hand, and with a swift movement, he slashed through the water, sending a sharp sword beam racing toward the fish.
Whoosh…
Blood splattered. The black fish, a six-star magical beast, was instantly killed by his sword.
Sini hurried forward and retrieved the magic core from the fish’s body, letting the corpse sink to the riverbed.
Immediately, a blood mist spread, and the black fish’s corpse was engulfed by a dark shadow. In the blink of an eye, its bones were completely gone.
Then, the dark shadow let out a howling roar and charged toward John and the others.
It was a group of piranhas!
Ice Talker’s expression changed slightly as he made a dangerous gesture to John.
Seven-star and eight-star magical beasts were not particularly terrifying; what was truly frightening were magical beasts that appeared in groups.
And this group of piranhas was all at the seven-star level.
John remained completely unperturbed. With a thought, several dozen wooden barrels appeared in front of him and were hurled toward the piranhas below.
He then gestured for the others to immediately charge toward the surface of the water.
Bang! Bang!
The wooden barrels were instantly crushed by the piranhas, and Holy Spirit True Water surged out, mixing with the river water and flowing toward the city.
The group of piranhas, however, continued to chase after John and his companions.
Fortunately, they had already broken through the surface of the water.
“Return of Ten Thousand Swords!” John shouted furiously, and countless sword beams flickered, falling toward the water’s surface.
Swish, swish…
The river churned as if it were being pelted by raindrops, and the water was soon filled with the bodies of piranhas.
Sini’s face lit up with excitement. “At this rate of hunting, there’s no doubt we’ll make it into the top fifty.”
In the King Selection, securing a spot in the top fifty earned them a place in the second round.
As the sword beams dissipated, the water’s surface was littered with the bodies of the piranhas. About the size of a person, with spikes on their backs, sharp beaks, and terrifying fangs, their faces were contorted with grotesque expressions.
The group immediately began collecting the piranha bodies and gathering their magic cores.
…
Forest City, City Lord’s Manor.
Great Bear stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching as images flickered before him—scenes of the King Selection participants in the forests, hunting magical beasts.
“My lord!” At this moment, a soldier entered and bowed respectfully, standing to the side.
Great Bear withdrew his gaze, glanced at the soldier, and asked in a low voice, “Did you find out anything?”
The soldier stepped forward and replied respectfully, “In the area under Forest King’s jurisdiction, two high-level cities were destroyed: Golden Tiger City and Luna City. Two months ago, Lords Butcher and Mountain Ghost went to Golden Tiger City, but they suddenly lost contact. They were likely destroyed along with the city. The person responsible for the attack was a human representative from Dragon Ascending City.”
“Dragon Ascending City?” Great Bear frowned. With a wave of his hand, the scene in front of him changed, showing John and his group retrieving the piranha corpses.
His frown deepened as he asked, “What about Luna City?”
Compared to Golden Tiger City, he was more concerned about what happened in Luna City.
The soldier continued, “My lord, Luna City also fell about two months ago. It mysteriously vanished, and almost everyone in the city was slaughtered. Only one survivor, a prisoner from The Heaven prison, sent word. According to him, the Dragon Ascending City’s Thunderstrike had been planning a rebellion, and when Lord Yuehua learned of it, fearing the news would leak, he decided to massacre the entire city to prevent it from spreading.”
“Thunderstrike?” Great Bear was surprised, a murderous intent spreading as he coldly stared at John and his group in the screen.
The soldier spoke again, “I suspect that Golden Tiger City must have noticed something and sent people to investigate, but there’s been no news yet.”
Great Bear nodded slightly, his gaze shifting to Ice Talker who was with John. He felt that these people didn’t seem to be aligned with Thunderstrike.
Moreover, what hidden cards did Thunderstrike have to dare oppose him?
“By the way, where is Thunderstrike?” he suddenly asked, turning to the soldier.
The soldier shook his head. “The lords of the high-level cities are powerful, all being Overseers themselves, and they cannot be monitored.”
A thought crossed Great Bear’s mind. His mental energy expanded, sweeping through the entire Forest City.
“Hmm?” he exclaimed in surprise, raising his hand. A new image appeared in the air.
In the image, two women—one tall and one small—were wandering the bustling streets of Forest City.
It was Tracy and Spoorate.
Great Bear’s eyes widened in shock, his gaze fixed on Spoorate in the image, his voice slightly trembling, “Where did this little girl come from?”
“Little girl?” The soldier stepped forward, looking at the image in the air. He hurriedly said, “My lord, these two are also from Dragon Ascending City, and seem to have a close relationship with that human.”
“Also from Dragon Ascending City?” Great Bear muttered softly, his eyes glued to the image, his brow furrowing deeply.
The soldier was puzzled. He didn’t notice anything particularly unusual about the two women and asked, “My lord, should we detain these two for now?”
Great Bear shook his head slightly, closing the image of the two women. He turned his gaze back to the screen showing John and his group hunting magical beasts in the forest.
At this moment, they had arrived at another river and were fighting a powerful eight-star magical beast together.
“These people are hiding their strength!” he said coldly, his eyes fixed on Sini.
When Golden Tiger City was destroyed, Dragon Ascending City had not intervened. Butcher and Mountain Ghost, both eight-star experts, had met with some kind of mishap, which meant that one of them was definitely hiding something strong.
He remembered receiving word from Golden Tiger City that they had captured an Overseer from The Heaven law enforcement, which was why he had sent Butcher and Mountain Ghost to investigate.
If he wasn’t mistaken, that Overseer from The Heaven law enforcement was Sini. He vaguely sensed an immense power of The Heaven’s laws emanating from her.
“Should we inform Lord Sword Demon and eliminate these humans?” the soldier asked from the side.
Great Bear thought for a moment, then shook his head, declining. “Leave them for now. You may leave.”
The soldier bowed respectfully and retreated.
Once again, the image of Tracy and Spoorate appeared in front of Great Bear.
At this moment, the two women were arguing, and when Great Bear saw this scene, a cruel smile slowly appeared on his face.
However, the smile quickly faded, and his expression became solemn.
“It really is Spoorate. But why is she here? Did Thunderstrike discover something?” he murmured, a cold murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
“It seems that the contents of this assessment need to change,” he said, stroking his chin while furrowing his brows in thought.
He had absolute confidence in his own strength and was not afraid of Thunderstrike’s plots and schemes, but he also had vulnerabilities, fears of being used by others.
The power of laws surged around him as his form shifted, turning into a somewhat weathered middle-aged man. With a movement, he appeared on the bustling street.
“Don’t run!” Spoorate’s voice echoed as she chased after Tracy, who had stolen her food.
As Spoorate zipped past the middle-aged man that Great Bear had transformed into, she felt a strange sensation arise in her heart.
She stopped, turned around, but the man had mysteriously vanished.
“What’s going on? Was it just my imagination?” The little girl frowned, a feeling of unease settling in her chest, as though something was missing.
“Spoorate, what’s wrong?” Tracy, noticing Spoorate had stopped chasing, turned back and asked in confusion.
Spoorate glanced around and said, “Tracy, did you notice a middle-aged man just now?”
“Middle-aged man?” Tracy was confused. The street was busy, with many people passing by, so she hadn’t paid attention to anyone in particular.
“Never mind, it must have been my imagination.” Spoorate shook her head, no longer dwelling on the matter. A mischievous gleam flickered in her eyes as she suddenly snatched Tracy’s candied hawthorn skewer.
“You tricked me!” Tracy finally realized what was happening and chased after her.
On the rooftop of a nearby tavern, Great Bear silently observed the scene. A black bracelet appeared in his hand, and he gently stroked it. The bracelet was engraved with flame runes.
“It really is Spoorate… Why is she here?” he murmured softly, feeling that Thunderstrike likely didn’t know about this.
And from Spoorate’s behavior, it seemed that John and his group had no ill intentions toward her.
“Could it really just be a coincidence?” For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether to feel pleased or worried.
He continued watching Spoorate’s figure disappear down the street. After standing for a long while, he finally returned to the City Lord’s Manor.
…
In the forest, the sounds of battle echoed, interspersed with angry shouts.
It was the third day, and by evening, the first round of the assessment would end. Those who did not make it into the top fifty in terms of points would be eliminated.
The competitors had become frantic, no longer focusing solely on hunting magical beasts. Instead, they had shifted their attention to other adventurers from different cities, killing them to steal their magic cores—this was the fastest way to gain points.