Summit of the Old Gods

"Keep close, pick up the pace!" the Iron-faced Instructor ordered loudly, leading the four of them straight to the West City Gate.

Lu Ran admired the scene greatly, looking around as they moved forward.

These stone houses, towers, city walls, and other buildings were naturally constructed by the human battalion.

It's said that in the early 1980s, when the Human Clan's soldiers fought their way into the Demon Cave, the casualties were extremely heavy!

It was a tragic chapter drenched in blood and tears.

Eventually, amidst a sea of blood and mountains of corpses, a small, battered outpost was established.

It stood like a boat wavering in a tempest, resisting wave after wave of assaults from the Evil Demon·Evil Dog.

And that outpost was the infamous Evil Dog Village, which is also the grand Stone City that Lu Ran was in at the moment.

Decades have passed, the small village was gone, the high walls were built, but the name "Evil Dog Village" had endured.

"It's now 10:03 PM," Dou Zhiqiang announced as the team reached the city gate, "in three hours, I will lead you out of Evil Dog Village.

You can explore inside the city, it's relatively safe.

If you want to hunt Evil Dogs outside the city, you can search around the city walls or follow the paths marked by torches; do not leave the lit areas.

Now, you may go about freely."

As his words fell, a surge of energy swirled around Dou Zhiqiang.

"Flap, flap~"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the instructor transformed into a crow and soared high into the sky.

Lu Ran looked on with even greater envy.

Following the black crow's silhouette, he saw the starry night sky twinkling beautifully.

And in the direction from which they had come, a giant towering stone pillar seemed to have poked a hole through the night sky a hundred meters above.

The sight was extraordinarily eerie!

"Let's head out," Wu Shanshan suggested first.

Team rankings were based on the killing of Evil Dogs.

The accompanying instructor was like an exam proctor, documenting each person's performance.

"Let's go!" Deng Yutang was thrilled, striding with large steps towards the city gate.

"Deng Yutang, shouldn't you shout first?" Wu Shanshan followed.

Deng Yutang refused, "There are other classmates around."

A person's mental willpower can, of course, impact their combat strength.

Everyone came from the modern city to this torch-flickering night in Stone City—who wouldn't feel daunted?

Not to mention the roaming Evil Dogs in the village!

"You..." Wu Shanshan was anxious but couldn't say it outright; she subconsciously glanced at Lu Ran.

Lu Ran, however, showed no fear—where was there any sign of backing down?

"What is it?" Lu Ran happened to catch the girl's eye and couldn't help feeling puzzled.

"No, nothing," Wu Shanshan shook her head repeatedly.

Jiang Ruyi furrowed her brow, her keen mind sensing something afoot.

However, now was not the time to address this; she patted Lu Ran's shoulder, "Let's go, we should head further out, time is tight."

"Oh," Lu Ran immediately quickened his pace.

Starting from the West City Gate, more than twenty torch-lit paths stretched out like fire serpents slithering into the vast, barren wilderness.

After observing for a moment, they chose an untouched path to avoid clashing with other student squads.

As they marched, they could hear fierce barking echoing through the night!

"Over there!" Deng Yutang, raising his Heavenly Star Spear, asked, "Is that it?"

"Yes!" Jiang Ruyi held her sword in one hand, while her other hand hung naturally down, her fingertips tinged with Divine Power, lightly tracing something.

The quality of Divine Techniques varied just like Divine Power levels, categorized using terms such as mist, stream, river, sea, etc.

Jiang Ruyi's Divine Technique·Electric Restriction Talisman was of the lowest grade, mist-grade, meaning the talisman couldn't last long or enchant a weapon.

Therefore, she could only draw them on the spot.

Compared to Jiang, Wu's spellcasting was much quicker.

Wu Shanshan had already unslung her Hunting Bow, holding the bowstring between two fingers; in the moment she drew back her bow, an arrow made of misty water took shape.

"Swoosh~"

The blue water arrow sped forward, aiming straight for the Evil Dog exposed on the barren hill.

"Arf!" With a bark, the Evil Dog swiftly dodged.

Unexpectedly, it didn't rush to attack but kept barking incessantly.

Jiang Ruyi's face tensed, "Does it have a partner?"

The group looked around cautiously; Lu Ran suddenly spoke up, "Left front, that small mound!"

Sure enough, another Evil Dog stuck its head out.

Members of the Evil Demon Clan·Evil Dog were pitch-black, resembling slender dog breeds.

They could be over 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder, with a slender body, head, legs, tail...

In short, slender all over!

"Here they come!" Deng Yutang gripped his Heavenly Star Spear firmly.

Their location was close to the Human Clan's main camp.

The fact that these two Evil Dogs had made it through the defensive walls to appear here meant that the soldiers had deliberately let them in for the students to practice against.

Therefore, the two Evil Dogs were certainly weak, presumed to be mist-grade novices, just like the students.

But even the weakest of the Evil Demons delivered a massive psychological shock to everyone!

The terrifying speed of the Evil Dogs, their fierce eyes, and the violent aura that hit them head-on...

Watching thousands of videos online was nothing compared to facing an Evil Demon in person!

"Ha!" Deng Yutang roared, no longer holding back.

Divine Technique·Red Cloth Order!

Instantly, the spirit of the four-person squad soared, their desire to fight drove back the fear in their hearts, racing to their minds.

"Don't move!" Jiang Ruyi flicked her slender fingers forward, sending a bolt of electricity flying.

A little thunder-snake skimmed past Lu and Deng, and as it flew forward, an ethereal jade tablet intermittently appeared, bearing the lightning runes, thrusting towards the Evil Dog.