Translator: CinderTL
"This wind!?"
A bone-chilling gale swept through the air.
It was early March, and the average temperature in West Mountain Province had already climbed above 20 degrees Celsius. Yet, at this moment, everyone felt as if they had been plunged into an icy abyss, as if they had stumbled upon the edge of another world.
"Let's go in," Jiang Ye said, taking the first step forward.
Just cold wind. What's there to fear? he thought. On the second level of the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder, I endured the Lingchi torture. This is nothing but a bit of frost.
Seeing Jiang Ye enter the gate, the others followed suit.
Once everyone was inside, the market gate slowly creaked shut with a resounding boom!
Outside, the Shadow Hunt Squad leader turned to his dozen subordinates and said sternly, "Monitor the situation inside at all times. If anything goes wrong, provide immediate assistance!"
"Prioritize containing the Shadow Calamity while ensuring the safety of every examinee!"
"Yes, sir!" the Shadow Hunt Squad members replied in unison.
Jiang Ye stepped through the gate.
The market wasn't dark at all; on the contrary, it was brightly lit.
While this might create more shadows, at least it provided clear visibility, giving humans an advantage.
No matter how sharp human vision might be, it could never match even a fraction of the Shadow Clan's sight in the darkness.
"That's..." Jiang Ye looked up, his expression freezing in surprise.
Above the market, a colossal rift stretched fifty meters long, as if the sky itself had been torn open.
The icy wind surged from that fissure.
"A Stellar Void Passage!" Jiang Ye stared at the rift.
He could see a vibrant, multicolored tunnel within the fissure.
Once a Stellar Void Passage appeared, no means could seal it; they could only wait for it to slowly dissipate.
The entire market was deserted except for the eight examinees.
Half an hour earlier, the Shadow Hunting Bureau had withdrawn all personnel from the area to facilitate the examination.
In that time, how many Shadow Clan beings had emerged from the Stellar Void Passage? No one knew.
"They're coming!" Lin Yushu suddenly hissed, alerting Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye nodded; he had heard the movement too.
Roar! Roar!
The next moment, a series of hoarse, low roars echoed from the darkness.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Shadows were hurtling toward them from all directions of the market!
From above, these shadows resembled a surging tide, their speed astonishing as they converged on Jiang Ye and his group.
In mere seconds, they had covered hundreds of meters.
"Shadow Clan!"
"Twenty, thirty, forty... fifty Shadow Clan!"
Jiang Ye's eyes widened as he scanned the horizon. At least fifty Shadow Clan creatures were charging toward them, their roars shaking the air.
"Roar~!"
The Shadow Clan's howls could shatter minds.
The combined roar of such a massive horde would have instantly rendered ordinary people unconscious.
But the students present were the elite of their respective schools, and they remained unshaken.
"Kill!"
The white-robed, sword-wielding girl had already led three other girls into the fray.
The two male students who arrived later quickly joined the slaughter.
"Let's move too," Jiang Ye barked, knowing the Shadow Clan numbers were limited.
To reach their quota of 1,000 kills within five days, they had to fight fiercely for every kill.
"Kill!"
A golden flash erupted from Jiang Ye's hand—the star weapon Zhang Jianwu had lent him: a golden dagger.
Grasping the dagger, he leaped forward.
Shadow Clan Infants ranging from one to one-and-a-half meters tall are among the weakest of their kind, Jiang Ye thought, his mind as clear as a mirror. He had slaughtered countless such creatures in the Virtual Cosmos. Only those exceeding two meters in height were considered strong among the Infants. Those reaching three meters had already evolved into Juvenile Forms.
Roar!
Several Shadow Clan creatures lunged at Jiang Ye, their forms flickering through the shadows of the surrounding buildings. To their senses, his life force was the weakest among the group.
The weakest one can be devoured easily!
The Shadow Clan communicated through guttural roars.
Roar!!
In the next instant, the Shadow Clan swarmed Jiang Ye. Three of them instantly merged into the shadows behind him, preparing to strike.
Swish!
A golden light flashed, startlingly bright in the darkness.
Jiang Ye swung his blade!
Boom!
The golden dagger unleashed a dazzling golden arc of stellar energy, erupting with a deafening roar.
Splat!
Jet-black blood splattered as the three Shadow Clan warriors who had ambushed Jiang Ye from behind had their throats instantly severed.
Roar! Roar!
The creatures howled in fury, lunging at Jiang Ye with renewed ferocity.
"Truly tenacious," Jiang Ye muttered, his expression icy.
The Shadow Clan possessed extraordinary vitality. Even with their throats slashed, they could continue fighting for a time. A human would have been incapacitated instantly.
"Kill!"
Jiang Ye strode forward, taking the offensive.
Within his Guanyuan Acupoint, streams of pale silver stellar energy surged forth, merging with the golden dagger.
He swung the blade relentlessly, each golden arc blazing as he stabbed at the three Shadow Clan warriors.
Splat!
Splat! Splat!
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Ye had unleashed over a dozen strikes, each drawing forth torrents of pitch-black blood.
He charged forward over ten meters, completely obliterating the three Shadow Clan bodies.
[New achievement triggered: Slay a member of the demonic path!]
A system notification flashed before Jiang Ye's eyes.
But he had no time to check it. Gripping his golden dagger, he transformed into a blur, plunging into the heart of the Shadow Clan swarm.
Sizzling sounds filled the air as golden arcs of light erupted, Jiang Ye relentlessly slaughtering the Shadow Clan warriors.
My stellar energy, Jiang Ye thought, his heart racing with excitement. Combined with a star weapon, its destructive power is overwhelming!
If he had relied solely on his fists, he could still kill these Infant Forms, but it would have taken far longer.
The Shadow Clan possessed formidable vitality, making them notoriously difficult to deal with.
Normally, it would take him several minutes, even ten minutes, to eliminate a single Shadow Clan warrior.
But now? He could harvest the lives of multiple Shadow Clan warriors in just two or three minutes.
His wristband continuously recorded his kill count.
Killed 5.
Killed 6.
Killed 7.
Nearby, the white-robed, sword-wielding girl sensed the massive energy surge emanating from Jiang Ye.
A quick glance from the corner of her eye filled her with shock. "A star weapon? How could this country bumpkin possess such a powerful artifact?"
Star weapons were incredibly rare and expensive, even she didn't own one.
Behind her, the other four girls were equally envious.
A country bumpkin with something so expensive?
At the same time, Lin Yushu was also stunned. "Is that Director Zhang's weapon? He actually lent it to Brother Jiang?"
Envy and jealousy burned within him.
I'm the strongest high school student in Ancheng, yet I don't have such a powerful weapon at my disposal.
The battlefield erupted with fierce combat.
Those who had made it this far were top students from various schools, all possessing formidable strength.
Half an hour later, over fifty Shadow Clan creatures had been slaughtered.
Thwack!
A golden beam pierced through a Shadow Clan creature's skull, sending it collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
Blood splattered.
"Is the first wave over?" Jiang Ye checked his wristband, eagerly checking his kill count.
(End of the Chapter)