Demonic Beasts were always more powerful than humans in the same realm. Of course, the realms of the Demonic Beast were different from the human cultivation system, but there was some mapping between the two.
Third Tier Demonic Beast, the group wanted to hunt, was equivalent to Qi Force Opening Realm. Demonic Beast Ranks were also divided into four. Namely, Low, Intermediate, High, Pinnacle.
The forest the group entered was a Duke Rank III place. It also meant the stronger Demonic Beast in the forest was the Fifth Tier Demonic Beast Pinnacle rank existence. But it would seldom go out to hunt small humans, and disciples were more than aware to walk into the beast's den. So long as they weren't at the core of the forest, they would be safe. There were also seals around the core area that kept monsters and humans outside. Only on special occasions would those seals be opened.
"Junior Brother Tian, why have we accepted this quest?" the strongest of the group, Lin Feng asked. The reward was good for the quest, but they didn't need it. The piece of an ingot was only enough to forge a dagger or short sword, but they were all using spears. Tian Huang even had a Baron Grade spear gifted by their master, his grandfather.
"After I visited my Granduncle yesterday morning, I happened to see Ezio talking with Elder Solon." Tian Huang started to explain, but when he mentioned Ezio's name, his face wrinkled. "The bastard was over the moon, so I decided to sneak up on them. Elder Solon offered a Baron Grade Weapon for the little bastard."
"What, seriously?" asked Lin Feng.
"Gifting away a Baron Tier Weapon just like that." said skinny guy, Xiao Meng.
"Yes, I was surprised too. But the little bastard didn't like the weapons Elder Solon had, and asked for a dagger. As you know, there is no Martial Art in the sect that uses a dagger as a weapon. That is why Elder Solon didn't have any."
"So, Elder Solon asked the little bastard to ask Elder Jie for his Pristine Iron ingot, but you wanted to get it first so the little bastard couldn't have a Baron Grade dagger?" asked a tall, robust young, Tian Yan. He was Tian Huang's cousin but from a side family.
"Yes, just like Senior Brother Tian said. I went to Elder Jie for his piece of Pristine Iron, but he said he would trade it with me for Third Tier Demonic Beast blood," answered Tian Huang with a sinister smile.
"It is actually a very good offer," said the fat, short one, Tang Zexian. "We only need to deliver the blood, even though it is the most expensive part, we can still keep the rest of the parts for ourselves."
"Yes, also we will be preventing that little bastard from acquiring a Baron Grade weapon." Tian Huang chimed in.
"Also we will get some merit points while doing so. It is really a good offer."
"That is not all of it." Tian Huang's words cut out the celebration of three and all looked at him. "I asked my grandfather to put the quest in the Management Hall as soon as possible."
"Why would you want to do that? What if others come to steal our prize?" asked Tang Zexian.
"Yes, we should hurry and kill it, before others come."
"Easy, Senior Brothers. The reason why I asked my grandfather to do that is, to let Ezio fall into our trap. There is no other group that can be formed in time to threaten to steal our prize. But Ezio is different. He is an arrogant bastard, when he learns that I will steal his prize, he will run down to the forest, then we will kill him." Tian Huang explained with an evil smile.
"Junior Brother is wise."
"Yes, Junior Brother Tian is so crafty."
While the group was celebrating their scheme, Ezio was listening to them from the top of a tree. He understood their scheme as soon as he heard Elder Jie, that is why he left in the middle of the night and waited for them ahead. The group would check their back all the time, but they would never check their front, as they would never guess Ezio was ahead of them.
But what Ezio didn't know was that Tian Huang guessed he could have left in the middle of the night. That is why he asked the fatty guard if anybody else left the sect for this particular quest. But to Ezio's luck, Fatty didn't inform him.
After a brief discussion, the group started to walk in the forest. The group was strong. Four of them were at the Qi Force Opening Realm and one at Qi Vortex Creation; Tian Huang was almost at the Qi Force Opening Realm as well. Their group could easily walk in and leave the forest as long as they didn't walk too deep inside.
Tracing the Demonic Beast was a skill all the disciples in the sect learned when they were young. Elders would often bring the disciples to the forest to teach them. A Group of five and their shadow soon traced the Fire Tiger in the forest and approached its den.
The further they walked, the sparser the tree became. The ground was scorched, and the trees were nothing but charcoal. In the middle of all of this was a cave. The heat could be felt from a hundred meters. The group approached the cave and threw the Alchemical Bomb they have prepared earlier.
It wasn't wise to walk into the Demonic Beasts' dens. Most of the time there would be holes in every direction, and the beast could sneak up on them. The other reason would be the number of Demonic Beasts in the cave could exceed the information they had acquired.
The group was strong enough to fight against a Third Tier Demonic Beast, but if there were more of them, they would run without looking back.
Den Buster, was an alchemical bomb that could release a gas that can force every Demonic Beast in the den to walk out. The smell was powerful and threatening.
After the Den Buster was thrown, with a mighty roar, the cave started to shake. It was good news for the group because the roar was single, which also meant, the Fire Tiger was alone.
Ezio hid behind a tree and watched from afar. The tiger was too strong for him, and even a stray attack could kill him. Tian Huang did the same, as he wasn't stronger than Ezio.
After a mere few seconds, a three meters tall giant ball of fire dashed out of the cave. It was a white tiger, with red straps. His body was on fire that was cracking the air. It was hot even for Ezio who was hiding 100 meters away.
The tiger looked at the four and roared toward the insolent pest disturbing its slumber. The Tiger opened its mouth and fire started to gather at the tip. The group was ready for the fight, and as soon as the tiger left the cave, they surrounded it from 4 corners.
Their Force Signiums started to appear at the top of their heads. Lin Feng, the strongest of the group, was at the High Layer of the Qi Force Opening Realm. His force Signium was a spear piercing a waterfall.
Force Signiums would allow their users to use their characteristics. A Spear shaped Force Signiums would help its user to use a spear. Since what Tian Xu had mastered was Spear Art, all of his students would try to acquire Spear-shaped Force Signiums. But looking for Force Signiums wasn't walking in the park either. Enduring the pressure while selecting a Signium when the endless galaxy was pressuring your every cell with unexplainable force was easier said than done.
Because he was able to acquire spear-shaped Force Signiums from the second layer, Tian Xu accepted Lin Feng as a disciple. His Signium allowed him to master spear arts much easier than a person with a different type of Signium.
Force Signiums were complicated most of the time. A waterfall image should be able to give the ability to use the element of water to some degree, but the Force Signiums Lin Feng has chosen were in actual fact allowed him to use sharp characteristics. The waterfall was just an image.
By combining his first martial arts and Sinium, Lin Feng was able to create sharp attacks with his spear as well.
Tian Yan, on the other hand, was better than Lin Feng. His first Force Signium was a bear on fire. Force Signium he had chosen would give Tian Yan the ability to control the fire element and strength of a bear. Even though he was only at the Qi Force Opening Realm, the Middle Layer, his Force Signium was from the third curtain, making him better than Lin Feng overall. But because of the difference in cultivation levels, he was a tad weaker.
The other two both had a pair of spear Force Signiums without extra ability, only increasing their aptitude to learn spear arts tremendously.
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