Chapter 134: Nine-Ring Mountain (First Translation)
"Nine-Ring Mountain is here!"
Ke Bei gazed at the massive mountain range not far away, speaking softly to Luo Ling, who stood gracefully by his side.
"Roar—"
"Awoo—"
Hearing the continuous roars of fierce beasts echoing in her ears, Luo Ling felt a slight tightening in her chest, and her small hand, held tightly within Ke Bei's palm, gave a slight squeeze. Luo Ling possessed a proud and strong-willed personality; before entering the Jiujiang Genius Training Camp, she had often ventured into the wilderness alone to hunt fierce beasts and zombies. Yet, standing before Nine-Ring Mountain now, she could not suppress a nervous flutter in her heart.
A whole mountain range filled with fierce beasts—heaven knew how many monsters lay hidden within! The mere thought that she and Ke Bei were tasked with obliterating every single one of them made her scalp tingle.
"Don't worry, just leave it to me."
Holding Luo Ling's delicate hand, Ke Bei gave her a reassuring smile and gently tapped the tip of her nose. Knowing that she was feeling somewhat tense, he offered a soft word of comfort.
"Mm."
Luo Ling nodded obediently. Knowing that Ke Bei was right by her side filled her heart with a deep sense of security. As she looked up at Ke Bei, who was steadfastly gazing at the gigantic mountain range, a faint, beautiful smile bloomed across her exquisite face.
"Let's go!"
Ke Bei intertwined his fingers with Luo Ling's small hand and walked slowly toward the foot of Nine-Ring Mountain.
"Roar!"
"Awoo—"
As the two of them drew closer to Nine-Ring Mountain, the roars of the fierce beasts grew increasingly clear. The moment their figures appeared at the base of the mountain, a horde of low-level fierce beasts known as "Red-Haired Scorpion-Tailed Lions" came charging toward them with ferocious growls.
Since the Red-Haired Scorpion-Tailed Lions were merely low-level beasts, Luo Ling felt not a shred of panic despite numbering in the tens of thousands. With their low-tier strength, these creatures posed zero threat to her. However, slaughtering tens of thousands of them would undoubtedly consume a considerable amount of time.
"Let me handle this."
Seeing Luo Ling's eager expression, Ke Bei smiled faintly and took a slow step forward. Clearing the entire mountain range of beasts would take quite a while, and moreover, slaughtering these low-level creatures served no purpose for Luo Ling. While general-tier beasts could serve as practical combat training for her, low-level beasts were completely useless for her cultivation; killing them would be nothing more than a waste of time.
"Roar!"
The horde of Red-Haired Scorpion-Tailed Lions let out a roar and surged forward en masse.
Standing in front of Luo Ling, Ke Bei calmly watched the incoming low-level beasts. The Nine Yang Divine Skill internal energy within his Dantian, which had already transformed into a golden liquid, began to flow steadily. Under the control of his mind, the potent internal energy rapidly circulated along a specific meridian path. At the same time, Ke Bei slowly raised his palm. Accompanied by a resounding, bell-like dragon roar, a massive golden dragon erupted outward from his palm.
"Dragon in the Meadow!"
Ke Bei let out a low shout. Amidst the echoing roar of a dragon, the golden dragon soared fiercely toward the low-level Red-Haired Scorpion-Tailed Lions that had just plunged down from Nine-Ring Mountain.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Wherever the golden dragon passed, the internal organs of every single fierce beast were instantly shattered. Tens of thousands of beasts charged down from above, while the golden dragon roared upward to meet them; the beasts had no time to evade, and the very instant they collided with the golden dragon, their bodies ruptured and disintegrated entirely!
Tens of thousands of low-level fierce beasts were obliterated by a single palm strike from Ke Bei!
Although low-level beasts possessed weak strength, the sheer efficiency of such a slaughter was terrifying to behold. Luo Ling's dark, beautiful eyes widened into perfect circles. It was at this exact moment that she realized Ke Bei had completely held back his true strength during the Azure Dragon Ranking tournament!
Otherwise, with such formidable palm power, who beneath the God of War realm could possibly hope to block it?
With all the low-level beasts eradicated by a single palm, the foot of Nine-Ring Mountain temporarily fell silent. Ke Bei glanced up at the mountain forest, which was still trembling slightly; he knew the commotion here would undoubtedly alert the general-tier beasts residing higher up. General-tier beasts possessed intelligence, and he believed it wouldn't be long before they led massive hordes of intermediate and advanced beasts to launch a counter-attack.
A faint, cold smile played at the corners of Ke Bei's lips. Given his current strength, even if he were surrounded by an endless army of fierce beasts, he would not feel the slightest trace of fear. In fact, if the beasts didn't gather together, hunting them down one by one would only be more troublesome.
Therefore, upon sensing that the beasts on Nine-Ring Mountain were grouping up to charge down, Ke Bei felt no urge to dodge. Instead, taking advantage of this brief lull, he turned to the astonished Luo Ling and gave her a brief introduction to the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
"Would you like to cultivate it? I can teach you, though it doesn't seem very suited for girls."
Ke Bei gently ruffled Luo Ling's purple hair and said with a smile.
"I can learn it too?"
Luo Ling's sparkling, expressive eyes widened instantly, her dark pupils glistening with a soft, starry radiance.
"Ahem, well, I'm not entirely sure, but we can give it a try."
Ke Bei touched his nose, gave a couple of dry coughs, and spoke slowly.
The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and the Six Meridians Divine Sword had been obtained from a drawn reward package, making them somewhat different from the other martial arts he practiced. While other martial arts had been directly imprinted deep into his mind, the manuals for the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and the Six Meridians Divine Sword did not vanish after he learned them; right now, two yellowed ancient books were still resting inside his robe.
Because of this, Ke Bei suspected that these two martial arts could be passed on to others, though he couldn't be certain, since no one else possessed internal energy like his.
"Hehe, once we finish this mission and return to the Jiujiang Genius Training Camp, we can try it out."
"Mm."
Luo Ling nodded slowly, her expression turning tense as she stared fixedly at the massive Nine-Ring Mountain range, remaining constantly alert to any movement from above.
Boom!
Boom!
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble slightly.
"They're here!"
A cold smile surfaced at the corner of Ke Bei's mouth. General-tier beasts possessed intelligence; under their command, these monsters did not roar aloud. Instead, they silently surged down from all directions, instantly encircling Ke Bei and Luo Ling in an inescapable sea of beasts.
"Ke Bei..."
Luo Ling glanced at the dense, boundless ocean of fierce beasts, her heart fluttering slightly as her body instinctively pressed closer to Ke Bei.
Although she had frequently hunted fierce beasts and zombies in the wilderness before, she was encountering a spectacle of this scale for the very first time. Having millions upon millions of monsters surrounding her was a sight genuinely chilling to the bone!
At this moment, Luo Ling finally understood why those invincible beings of the Mortal Shedding realm dared not accept this S-rank mission. It wasn't because they lacked the strength; it was simply because they didn't want to waste their time!
With millions or even tens of millions of fierce beasts, no matter how strong one's individual might was, how long would it take to slaughter every single one of them?
The second stage of the Azure Dragon Ranking tournament only lasted for a month. If someone accepted an S-rank mission, they would be lucky to complete one or two within that month. And how many contribution points could completing one or two S-rank missions yield? In that same amount of time, they could easily complete forty or fifty A-rank missions, earning far more points than they ever would from two S-rank missions.
"Linger, take care of yourself. I'm going to slaughter these beasts!"
Ke Bei clenched his fists abruptly, and the internal energy of the Nine Yang Divine Skill surged forth overwhelmingly. Emanating a towering battle intent, he took a step forward.
Luo Ling gazed at Ke Bei's retreating back and took a slight, sharp breath. The "Mystic Ice Battle Armor" technique was instantly activated, and a layer of crystalline armor materialized over her body in a flash.
"Human, die!"
At the exact moment Ke Bei stepped forward, the general-tier beasts let out human speech, and millions of fierce beasts roared in unison.
The roars shook the heavens, and the earth trembled violently!
An endless horde of fierce beasts charged frantically toward Ke Bei!
"Haha, all of you bastards, go to hell!"
Ke Bei stomped fiercely onto the ground, unleashing a torrent of Nine Yang Divine Skill internal energy. Golden dragons erupted wildly from his palms one after another.
In a single instant, Ke Bei unleashed twenty-nine palm strikes. With his mastery-level Nine Yang Divine Skill internal energy, he could effortlessly hurl out the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms at will. Twenty-nine golden dragons roared as they slammed toward the beasts surging in from all directions, violently colliding with the wave-like tide of monsters.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Wherever the golden dragons passed, whether they were low-level beasts, intermediate beasts, advanced beasts, or even general-tier beasts, all of them were instantly blasted into oblivion!
Centered around Ke Bei, all fierce beasts within a radius of five hundred meters were annihilated in a split second, turning the ground into a river of blood! The corpses of the beasts piled up like mountains, transforming the entire base of Nine-Ring Mountain into a realm of Shura purgatory.
"Roar!"
"Awoo!"
Countless fierce beasts raised their heads and howled, their piercing shrieks echoing across the sky. The beasts in the rear, their eyes glowing with a bloodthirsty light, trampled over the corpses of their own kind and charged toward Ke Bei once more.
The number of beasts Ke Bei had slaughtered in that single moment likely exceeded one hundred thousand. However, as one of the top eighteen strongholds of the beast race within human territory, no one truly knew how many monsters were hidden away inside Nine-Ring Mountain.
"Don't leave a ten-meter radius around me!"
Gazing at the endless sea of beasts charging toward them like a tidal wave, Ke Bei lightly tapped the ground with his toes, instantly appearing in front of Luo Ling. He spoke in a deep, solemn voice tinged with gravity.
Had Luo Ling not been present, Ke Bei could have completely let loose for an unbridled slaughter; protected by his Indestructible Vajra Body, these bloodthirsty monsters wouldn't have been able to scratch him in the slightest!
However, with Luo Ling by his side, he could not allow any beast to get close!
Boom, boom, boom!
The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms struck out without a moment's pause. Accompanied by continuous dragon roars, golden dragons soared forward to meet the surging tide of beasts. Yet, there were simply too many monsters; while the golden dragons were like powerful sea-dragons stirring up massive waves, they still could not entirely halt the relentless advance of the beast army!
Five hundred meters!
Four hundred meters!
Two hundred meters!
............
Every single step the beast horde pushed forward left behind tens of thousands of corpses. Yet, driven by the general-tier beasts in the rear, these creatures showed no concept of fear, continuing their mad rush toward Ke Bei.
"Roar!"
"Awoo—"
The beasts kept pouring down from Nine-Ring Mountain without end. Ke Bei had long lost count of how many he had killed; the beast tide seemed as infinite and boundless as the ocean itself.
Viewed from the sky, a radius of seven to eight kilometers centered entirely around Ke Bei was filled with a dense, unbroken mass of fierce beasts!