Leaderboard

[Demon Beast: Blood Wolf]

Race: Demon

Affinity: Earth

Rank: 1 (Early)

Strength Power: 40

Endurance: 40

Agility: 54

Skill: Bite

Lu Shen's heart quickened as he look at the Bloody Wolf before him.

With his recent mastery of the Golden Body Technique, his body had become as strong as iron. For an early Rank 1 demon beast, defeating it should be an easy task.

The wolf suddenly growled, sensing his presence. Its blood-red eyes locked onto him, and it bared its sharp fangs in warning.

Lu Shen dashed forward, aiming a powerful punch at the beast's body. However, the wolf reacted swiftly, leaping to the side to evade the attack. With a howl, it countered, swiping at him with its deadly claws.

Lu Shen barely managed to duck, feeling the rush of air as the sharp claws whistled past his head.

The wolf rush again, but this time, Lu Shen was ready. He activated his Bloodline Skill, Binding wood.

From the ground, thick roots erupted, roots wrapping around the wolf's legs and locking it in place. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Shen attack, rapid strikes to the beast's body. The force of his blows, combined with his recent increases in power, finally brought the beast down.

With a final, pained howl, the Blood Wolf collapsed.

Lu Shen exhaled sharply, standing over its lifeless body.

"Normal beasts are easy to kill. I should look for stronger prey."

His gaze fell upon the fallen wolf.

"Can I devour it?"

The spirit's voice echoed in his mind. "No. Its rank is too low. Besides, devouring a beast outside the Origin Land may introduce impure energy into your body. You'd be better off selling it for money."

Lu Shen's eyes widened. "Ah, right! I almost forgot... I'm completely broke."

Without hesitation, he stored the Blood Wolf's corpse inside the Origin Bracelets space.

Just as he was about to leave.

Rustle!

A sudden sound from the surrounding forest sent a chill down his spine. He turned, his breath almost choke his throat.

All around him, glowing red eyes emerged from the grass.

A pack of wolves had encircled him, their growls low and looking with red eyes.

They had smelled the scent of blood.

They had come for revenge.

And Lu Shen was trapped.

"Roar!"

With a deafening roar, the largest wolf lunged at Lu Shen, its razor-sharp fangs bared in a deadly growl.

Lu Shen faced the beast head-on, his body moving in a blur of motion. As he fought, he instinctively analyzed the beast's status, realizing that it was far stronger than the others.

[Demon Beast: Bloody Wolf King]

Race: Demon

Affinity: Earth

Rank: 1 (Middle)

Strength Power: 40

Endurance: 40

Agility: 54

Skill: Bloody Strike

[Bloody Strike: The Wolf King's devastating attacks pierce through foes, draining their life force with each bite and increasing its own strength.]

Lu Shen's eyes narrowed.

A middle-rank demon beast… its strength is equal to mine.

"Then I'll just have to go all out."

Summoning his bloodline skills, he channeled his spiritual energy, preparing for an all-out assault.

"Swift!"

A surge of power coursed through him. His speed increased dramatically, his form becoming nothing but a shadow as he rushed toward the Bloody Wolf King.

"Inferno Strike!"

Flames erupted around his fist, his spiritual energy fueling the fire. He swung his burning fist, aiming to end the fight quickly.

The Wolf King, sensing danger, did something unexpected, it grabbed a subordinate wolf and threw it straight into the attack.

"Boom!"

The Inferno Strike incinerated the lesser wolf instantly. However, the Bloody Wolf King remained unscathed, continuing its charge as if nothing had happened.

"Tch, cunning bastard."

The massive wolf snorted, then pounced.

The moment their attacks collided, a shockwave rippled through the battlefield.

Lu Shen felt a searing pain as the wolf's claws swipes across his body, leaving deep, bleeding wounds. Blood trickled from his arms and chest, but he gritted his teeth and stood his ground, refusing to back down.

"Binding wood!"

Vines erupted from the ground, wrapping tightly around the Wolf King's legs and body, holding it in place.

This was his chance!

"Inferno Strike!"

Flames engulfed his fist once more. As the wolf struggled, Lu Shen delivered a devastating blow. The fiery strike burned through flesh and fur, filling the air with the stench of scorched blood.

"Howl!"

The Bloody Wolf King let out a piercing cry, its strength fading. Even with its powerful endurance, it couldn't withstand the relentless assault of Lu Shen's bloodline skills.

With a final, explosive strike, Lu Shen ended it.

The Wolf King let out one last, mournful howl before collapsing, lifeless.

Seeing their leader fall, the remaining wolves hesitated for only a moment, before they turned and fled into the forest.

Lu Shen stood on the blood, his breath heavy, his body aching from battle wounds.

"Do you think running will spare your lives?"

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He rushed after them, slaughtering as many as he could.

Ten Minutes Later…

Lu Shen wiped the sweat and blood from his fist and body.

"These wolves were no match for me."

He sneered.

"Hmph, even with their large numbers, they're still weak and pitiful."

Then a thought crossed his mind.

"I can sell these beasts and earn a fortune."

A smile formed on his lips.

Maybe I can finally buy a real house…

The place he currently lived in was nothing but a run-down slum. Although it had space, it wasn't where he truly wanted to live. His goal was to move into the central area of Azure Cloud Stronghold.

He stored all the wolf corpses into his Origin Bracelet and searched for a place to rest.

After some wandering, he finally found a cave.

"Phew…"

With a sigh of relief, he entered, scanning the interior.

"This must have been the wolves' den."

The cave was empty, making it the perfect resting place.

Sitting down, he channeled his Five Element Refinement Technique, allowing his spiritual energy to recover.

As he meditated, he noticed something different.

His energy flowed more smoothly, and his recovery was faster. Even more shocking,

His cultivation was progressing at an incredible rate.

"This… this must be because of my near-death battle."

----

Somewhere in the Wilderness.

"This is my 20th kill."

Feng Yue wiped the blood from her hands, her eyes filled with curiosity.

She thought of Lu Shen.

"I wonder what he's doing…"

She had taken quite an interest in him, not only because of his rapid strength increase but because… he was different.

Unlike most people, Lu Shen didn't bow before the strong. Their long conversations on the bus had given her a glimpse into his unusual mindset.

She could even consider him a friend.

Her first real friend.

Feng Yue opened the leaderboard out of curiosity.

[Leaderboard Rankings]

1st Lu Shen - 650 Points

2nd Feng Yue - 200 Points

3rd Wang Mei - 100 Points

4th Tangsu Ming - 70 Points

5th Chen Liang - 50 Points

6th Liu Fang - 30 Points

7th Wang Xiang - 25 Points

8th Liang Wei - 15 Points

9th Ye Tian - 14 Points

10th Zhao Yun - 13 Points

Feng Yue's eyes widened.

"I knew it!"

Her expression was complicated.

"Just how did he manage to achieve this much in such a short time?"

Even she found it hard to believe. Lu Shen had already killed 60 Rank 1 demons, She acknowledged Lu Shen's strength, however, even for Feng Yue, it was hard to believe that he was strong enough to kill around 60 rank one demons. Each kill of a rank one demon grants 100 points, whereas normal beasts only give 10 points.

Her hands clenched into fists.

"I can't fall behind."

She wouldn't let herself be overshadowed.

She had a point to prove, not only to Lu Shen, but to everyone who doubted her.

With renewed determination, she ventured deeper into the wilderness.

Meanwhile…

In another part of the wilderness, a group of four students rested when one suddenly ran toward their captain.

"Boss, something bad happened!"

Tangsu Ming, the leader of the group, frowned.

"Speak quickly."

The lackey hesitated before saying:

"Boss, you should check the leaderboard."

Tangsu Ming's face twisted.

When he saw his name in 4th place, only 70 points and his blood boiled.

"FOURTH PLACE?! UNACCEPTABLE!"

He gritted his teeth in rage.

"There's no way that trash Lu Shen is in first place! He must have cheated!"

His other lackey, Liang, tried to calm him.

"Boss, it's just one competition"

"Shut up, Liang!"

"You think this is about one competition, Liang? This is about dominance."

Tangsu Ming's voice was cold, unwavering. His eyes burned with fury.

"I won't rest until I prove that I am the strongest, the most formidable. Only then will the top universities take me seriously."

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

"Now, gather our things. We're leaving."

Liang and the others hurried to obey, knowing that their leader is anger. They knew, one wrong move, and they'd be the ones suffering his wrath.

Just as they finished packing, Tangsu Ming's gaze darkened.

"Send a message to the others, to find out where Lu Shen is."

He exhaled slowly, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper.

"If possible… kill him."

----

The sudden shift in rankings sent ripples across the top ten participants.

Wang Mei, who had secured third place, glanced at the leaderboard, her brows furrowing.

"Lu Shen…? Who is he?" she murmured, tapping her chin.

His 650 points stood in stark contrast to the rest. Such a rapid accumulation was unheard of. She had never even heard of him before.

"For someone so unknown to dominate the competition… he must be incredibly strong."

A curiosity and admiration sparked in her eyes.

As for ranking top in this low level stronghold is very easy but even so she can't do as Lu Shen to kill many demon beast in short time.

Meanwhile, Chen Liang, in fifth place, was far from pleased.

"Humph. Who is he to take first place?" he scoffed, crossing his arms in irritation.

Liu Fang, in sixth place, had a more direct reaction.

She turned to her teammates, her voice sharp.

"Find out who the hell this Lu Shen is."

In the Monitoring Room.

Inside the academy's monitoring room, teachers observed the rankings, their screens displaying live student progress.

Teacher Lu Lu, head of Class A, leaned back with a satisfied smile as she eyed the leaderboard.

"I have high hopes for Wang Mei" she remarked, throwing a sharp glance at Teacher Tang.

"She's always been a standout student. It wouldn't surprise me if she ended up at the top."

Beside her, Teacher Tang merely shrugged, unfazed by her provocative tone.

"Maybe in the past, your class dominated the rankings… but not this time."

His eyes flickered toward Feng Yue's progress. He spoke with confidence.

"Let's not forget Feng Yue. She's a force to be reckoned with. And then there's Tangsu Ming. You all know he comes from the Tang Clan."

Lu Lu scoffed.

"Hmph. We'll see."

Across the room, two teachers from Classes C and D whispered among themselves, amused by the exchange.

"They always fight. Sometimes I wonder if they're a couple" one muttered.

"Same. They compete over everything" the other agreed, shaking his head.

A knowing smirk formed on Class C's teacher's lips.

"I heard they went to the same university and ended up working at the same academy. That can't be a coincidence, right?"

The two shared a chuckle, watching the continued two rival competing.

At the center of the room, Supervisor Lin sat watching the live student rankings when his eyes suddenly widened.

"Lu Shen… 300… 400… 650 points?!"

His gaze snapped to the other teachers as he pointed at the name on the screen.

"Who is mentoring this student?"

Teacher Tang nodded solemnly.

"Lu Shen is one of mine."

Even he was caught off guard by the results. He knew Lu Shen had awakened a top-grade bloodline, but this kind of progress was unprecedented.