"Oh, the trash from before couldn't even pique my interest, but this thing is amusing!"
Lin Tian looked at the Earthen Brick Stone Statue in front of him, an unconscious smile appearing on his face.
Lin Tian looked at the slight hesitation on the faces of the two people nearby and the trembling appearance of the cannon fodder further away, and the contempt in his heart deepened.
Both my elder brother Lin Ao and I possess peak Thunder Spiritual Roots. Aside from Shangguan Changqing, neither of us needs to pay attention to any Student of this session; they are merely stepping stones for us.
"Senior Student Lin Tian... this monster, we are not its match."
"Haha, Junior Students, don't panic. I, your Senior Student, have my own arrangements. Just do as I say and don't worry."
"But..."
The person speaking recalled the first Rank One Evil Creature they encountered not long ago; Senior Student Lin Tian had said the same thing then.
Yet that Mud Beast had genuinely killed two people... Although Lin Tian eventually struck and killed the Mud Beast, when everyone was crying for help, he remained motionless, simply observing the creature.
Seeing that the others were not moving, Lin Tian directly drew his long sword. Although Lin Tian had not yet opened his aperture and stepped into Rank One, relying on his Family's secret technique, he was temporarily able to borrow the Thunder Spiritual Power within his body and attach it to the sword.
"Everyone, there is no need to worry. I swear by the Thunder Blade in my hand that I will definitely slay this Evil Creature."
"You only need to boldly provoke it; leave the rest to me."
Seeing the brightly shining Thunder Blade, the few Students were furious but dared not speak, afraid that resistance would invite another round of beating.
Heavens, why did they ever board this pirate ship? Now they were tied down as cannon fodder... The few Students had no choice but to draw their Mortal weapons and step forward to probe. When the previously hard iron touched the Earthen Brick Stone Statue in front of them, it surprisingly pierced right through!
Before the Student could move again, the parts that had pierced in merged with the statue, making it impossible to pull out!
"This is bad!"
The cannon fodder cursed inwardly. The moment they let go, the stone arm of the Earthen Brick Stone Statue swept violently across in the next instant. Several people couldn't dodge in time and were directly swept to the ground. The sound of cracking bones followed, and one by one, they lay on the ground emitting miserable screams.
Lin Tian chuckled, "Slow movements, not bad, not bad. Brother Wu, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Mhm."
Wu Ze, standing beside Lin Tian, nodded slightly, then took out a longbow from his storage ring and aimed it at the Earthen Brick Stone Statue.
A faint blue fluorescence was smeared on the arrowhead. It was a liquid made from the blood of a Rank One Evil Creature, the Cold Qi Rat, which could cause the temperature at the target spot to drop sharply and slow down movement.
The Earthen Brick Stone Statue's movement speed was already slow, and now that it had been shot in the limbs by these sharp arrows, it was moving as slow as a snail, unable even to chase the Students crawling desperately on the ground.
Seeing that the situation was almost handled, Lin Tian prepared to finish it off with the Thunder Blade in his hand.
Just as Lin Tian was about to strike, take the Earthen Brick Stone Statue's core, and put on a show, a black figure suddenly rushed out from behind the crowd!
"What?"
Before anyone could react, the black figure rushed behind the statue. He was holding a strange weapon; the handle was wrapped in thick black fur, while the blade was broken in half, the tip replaced by some kind of milky white and dark green Materials, which did not look sharp.
What was most eye-catching was the black cloak draped over his body. A foul odor emanated from the cloak, and judging by the texture, it seemed to be made of the same Materials as the sword handle.
But none of that was the key point.
Just as the Earthen Brick Stone Statue was immobilized, its limbs locked by the freezing liquid, this person suddenly attacked, quickly smashing the core located on the statue's back!
Watching the massive statue collapse violently, a wisp of black Qi emerged, signifying that this Rank One Evil Creature was completely dead.
As for the core, it was naturally pocketed by Gu Yuan, who had launched the sudden attack.
Although it was damaged, the Earth Dao Spiritual Power inside was still abundant. With a little polishing, it would be a fine treasure.
After the statue completely turned to dust, Gu Yuan rose from the pile of dirt and looked at the bewildered crowd.
Gu Yuan didn't intend to say much and turned to leave, but he was stopped by Lin Tian.
"Hey, you bastard!"
"You think you can just walk away after snatching the spoils?"
"Spoils?"
Gu Yuan sneered, looking at Lin Tian, who was pointing at him.
"This place is the Death Prison. Naturally, Evil Creatures are for those capable enough to enjoy first. I saw you standing there like a puppet, and after watching for a while, I got annoyed, so I couldn't help but kill this thing."
"You!"
When had Lin Tian ever been questioned back like this? Fury instantly surged in his heart.
"Don't block my way. If you aren't leaving, I still have to go."
"Brat, do you dare tell me your name!"
"My name?"
Gu Yuan sneered. He was about to state his name, but a female voice suddenly rang out from behind him, answering for Gu Yuan.
"A-Yuan? Is that you, Gu Yuan!"
The person speaking was Xiao Mei. Gu Yuan naturally saw Xiao Mei, but he ignored her, instead smiling as he looked towards Lin Tian.
"Gu Yuan...?"
Lin Tian seemed to be recalling something nearby, while Li Shubo quietly reminded him, "He seems to be the top scorer on this month's literary ranking list."
"The literary ranking list?"
Lin Tian remained disdainful after hearing this. That list was only for poor scholars. He never expected to see the top scorer today, who indeed looked utterly impoverished.
Even the clothes he was wearing were tattered... However, his skill seemed decent.
"Haha, fine then. You're called Gu Yuan, right? I see your skill is remarkable, and exceptional people naturally have their pride. I won't fuss over these trivial matters with you."
"All I need is for you to..."
Lin Tian hadn't finished speaking when he saw Gu Yuan walking away immediately. Lin Tian's entire face instantly darkened.
When had he ever been ignored like this?
"I never said you could leave!"
With that, Lin Tian clenched the Thunder Blade tightly, strode forward, and loudly declared, "You, Junior Student, are terribly impolite. Let your Senior Student teach you a lesson."
As the Thunder Blade struck, everyone held their breath. Everyone had witnessed the might of the Thunder Blade; though it was not a Dao technique, it surpassed one!
The Mud Beast encountered earlier was easily pierced by this technique!
And Gu Yuan was merely a Mortal; how could he possibly withstand it... But in the next moment, Gu Yuan, with his back to Lin Tian, actually used the strange weapon in his hand to block the Thunder Blade with a backhand parry!
The light flickering on the Thunder Blade could not penetrate the strange milky-white blade and could only flash around it.
"This... How is this possible!"
Lin Tian immediately felt something was wrong. He gathered the Spiritual Power in his body, wanting to increase the output, but how could Gu Yuan give Lin Tian such an opportunity?
Gu Yuan suddenly shook the weapon, and relying on the strength of the wolf fang, he directly shattered the Mortal weapon in Lin Tian's hand!
"How can a mere imitation be compared to a Magic Treasure!"
That Rotten Wolf fang, no matter what, was a genuine Rank One Magic Treasure prototype, far beyond what Mortal iron could compare to.
Lin Tian's pupils constricted. He seemed unable to accept the fact that his invincible Thunder Blade couldn't even force the opponent to dodge.
In the next moment, a punch shot straight toward his face, sending Lin Tian flying backward. Several teeth fell to the ground, followed by the sound of Lin Tian letting out low growls as he lay on the dirt.
"What, are you unconvinced?"
"If you're unconvinced, you can try again. The outcome won't change no matter how many times you try."
Gu Yuan was also puzzled.
Where did these small fry come from, and why were they so arrogant?
Sure enough, some guys ought to disappear in the Death Prison.
Lin Tian struggled to stand up with the support of the two people beside him. Seeing his bloodshot, round eyes, he looked somewhat similar to the deceased Lin Ao, who had died with grievances.
Recalling Lin Ao's tragic state, the corner of Gu Yuan's mouth involuntarily curved upwards.
To Lin Tian, this appearance was naked provocation!
"Brother Lin Tian, wait a moment."
"Mhm..."
"The weapon in his hand is strange. That last blow was completely blocked by the thing in his hand. I'm afraid... he just had a major harvest not long ago!"
Li Shubo whispered.
Hailing from a merchant Family, Li Shubo had followed his father to procure goods since childhood and had seen many Magic Treasures.
Although the weapon in Gu Yuan's hand looked unremarkable, it genuinely emitted Spiritual Power fluctuations!
Even if it wasn't a Magic Treasure, it was a prototype!
For something like that, destroying a Mortal weapon was simply too easy.
Lin Tian was already incapable of listening to anything. Seeing this situation, Wu Ze, who was nearby, had no choice but to knock Lin Tian unconscious with a palm strike, then looked at Gu Yuan with a wary expression.
Seeing that these two knew what was good for them, Gu Yuan stopped making things difficult.
He turned his head and prepared to continue walking deeper, gathering the Evil Qi from this place along the way without rushing to absorb it.
Although this Earthen Brick Stone Statue was several times stronger than the Rotten Wolf, the Evil Qi in its body was less than half that of the Rotten Wolf.
The method of collection was simple: let the Evil Qi wrap around the cloak on his back. This cloak was made from the fur of the two Rotten Wolves he killed later. Although the smell was equally awful, it was very practical.
Seeing Gu Yuan about to leave, the cannon fodder, excluding Lin Tian and his two companions, rushed forward. Some guys with broken legs even scrambled and crawled toward Gu Yuan.
"Senior Student Gu Yuan, please, take us with you!"
"Yes... yes, if we stay here, we will surely die. Please take us."
Even the group of protected women behind them showed expressions of longing. They had previously attached themselves to Lin Tian because his strength was outstanding, and the probability of surviving with him was higher.
But now that someone capable of easily defeating Lin Tian had appeared, everyone naturally wanted to defect.
After all, this was the Death Prison. If they couldn't leave alive, everything else was pointless.
Even if it meant offending Lin Tian, everyone wanted to pledge allegiance to Gu Yuan, because the weapon in Gu Yuan's hand was simply too powerful—even the Thunder Blade couldn't do anything to him!
Watching Xiao Mei and the others flock toward Gu Yuan, Wu Ze and his companion were practically exploding with rage.
They pointed at the crowd and yelled "ungrateful wretches," but the women ignored them, all turning expectant gazes toward Gu Yuan.
Especially Xiao Mei, who naturally walked up to Gu Yuan's side, intending to take his hand.
But who would have thought that in the next moment, Gu Yuan suddenly sneered, "You want to follow me? Of course, that's fine. I won't let any of you become cannon fodder."
"But... you'll have to pay a protection fee!"