Becoming a Demon

A gray fog hung in the air, and a torrential downpour began.

On the third day of the hunting season, it rained heavily again, and countless martial arts disciples dared not slack off.

We had no choice but to continue searching for prey in the pouring rain. To be honest, we had rushed into the mountains without thinking.

The prey in the mountains were all frightened away to deeper depths. But the wolf howl from last night made everyone extremely wary of what lay deep within.

The closer they got, the more the sight of wild beasts, whose true forms they had never seen before, loomed over the hearts of all the participating disciples like a shadow.

Hunting is not confined to designated areas, which means they can choose to venture deep into the mountains or hunt in the vicinity.

Duan Xuan avoided the main examination venues and continued to delve deeper.

After crossing two mountains, his view suddenly opened up.

The mountains ahead were no longer there; instead, there was an incredibly flat plain.

The thick fog prevented him from seeing anything in the field.

Duan Xuan marked the route for his return journey and quickly scrambled down the thorny path.

Along the way, they also hunted down a black sable that was inferior to a sable and an ordinary white sable.

I used the rabbit meat I caught to replenish my strength.

As Duan Xuan walked, he unexpectedly discovered a path worn smooth by the footsteps of many people.

Because of the rain, the footsteps were washed clean, but the trampled thorns still proved that many people had passed through this place.

"It seems that some martial arts school disciples discovered this place long ago!" Duan Xuan didn't think much of it, covered his face, and continued down the path.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the rain intensified and strong winds picked up.

The rain severely impaired Duan Xuan's vision and hearing. Duan Xuan originally wanted to find a place to take shelter from the rain and search again when the rain subsided.

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Suddenly, a heavy rain created a small river, and there were patches of blood floating on it.

Duan Xuan's alarm bells rang loudly. Although he hadn't participated in the martial arts exam, he had been wandering in the jungle for the past three days.

He had already seen through the essence of the exam: in the realm of martial arts, the strong would eliminate the weak, thus selecting the stronger for the imperial court or academy.

Therefore, the imperial court allowed the descendants of bandits and wandering江湖人 (jianghu people) without a fixed force to participate in the competition.

They don't care about standards as long as they can find stronger martial artists.

Because of this lack of rules, the second stage, which was supposed to be about hunting wild beasts, turned into a hunt for martial arts disciples, resulting in extremely heavy casualties.

Those martial arts practitioners who had no fear of the power of martial arts schools became even more emboldened, forcibly abducting and humiliating women, using methods so cruel as to be utterly appalling.

In the early hours of the morning, if he hadn't set up the trap beforehand, the Chen sisters, Chen Jingshu and Chen Jingyun, along with their fellow martial arts students, would probably have met a tragic end.

While hiding himself, Duan Xuan also saw Lin Hu and Liu Mingze.

They were also injured, especially Liu Mingze, who was taller, and had three bloody cuts on his back from being slashed with a knife.

However, he did not see Duan Xu.

Seeing the blood mixed in the water, Duan Xuan felt a lump in his throat.

It would take the blood of at least five disciples to form a river!

Following the direction of the river, Duan Xuan rushed upstream.

Sure enough, before he had run too far, he first took advantage of the wind blowing away the fog to see a collapsed wooden house.

Around the wooden house, a group of strangely dressed people, armed with weapons, were fighting with an old man.

The old man was disheveled, with loose hair and bloodstains on his body, yet he was incredibly excited, and his laughter was exceptionally loud.

Duan Xuan immediately recognized that the old man possessed the strength of a master of internal energy cultivation.

The disciples who fought him came from different martial arts schools, but they were all masters of internal strength.

However, with the old man in such a mad state, their numbers not only failed to give them any advantage, but also became a shackle that hindered their coordinated fighting.

Duan Xuan had no interest in watching and was about to leave when he saw the corner of the thatched hut.

It was as if someone was frantically ramming against the edge with their body. Using the Wolf Skin Technique, Duan Xuan managed to slip past them, deceiving their senses.

Gently parting the thatch, he was surprised to find the person he was looking for—Liu Chunmei!

With a burst of force, Duan Xuan moved inward and crashed into the inside.

Liu Chunmei and Wang Qingyan were untying each other's ropes when they were both stunned when someone rushed in.

The six people stared at each other, stunned for a full second.

"Brother Duan? It's you!" Liu Chunmei was both surprised and delighted.

"No need for further explanation, Brother Zhao has already told me the whole story. I'm here specifically to rescue you two."

While Wang Qingyan was still in a daze, Duan Xuan quickly got up and tore off the ropes binding their feet and hands.

Liu Chunmei turned around and comforted her young mistress, saying, "Don't be afraid, Miss. I told you Brother Zhao would have a way."

This is my other elder brother, Duan Xuan. He's a martial artist specializing in internal energy. With him here, we don't need to worry anymore.

"But those martial arts disciples outside are also masters of internal energy; they're no match for the crazed Ma Jiancheng!"

It turns out that just a day earlier, Ma Jiancheng rescued the two of them, but in doing so, he also exposed his location.

Some martial arts school disciples were quite curious as to why such a solitary person would live in seclusion in the mountains, so they quietly crept up to him.

However, Ma Jiancheng suffered a qi deviation during his training, and his inner demons surged. He tried his best to step into another level, and he decided to eat Liu Chunmei and Wang Qingyan raw as a great tonic.

Just then, the group of martial arts disciples outside seemed to have discovered something extraordinary and began to fight them.

After listening to the two of them talking at once, Duan Xuan felt that something was wrong. It was true that there were times when one's qi would be out of balance during practice.

But it wouldn't lead to demonic possession, unless the person went astray from the very beginning and wasn't practicing any proper martial arts techniques...

Liu Chunmei pulled Wang Qingyan along, trying to escape through the opening Duan Xuan had made.

At that moment, Duan Xuan blocked his way with his hand.

Try your best to make a slight movement, pushing Liu Chunmei back an inch.

The next moment, a blood-stained, withered wooden fist shoved in from the outside.

With an attack and a defense, their forces collided, and with a deafening boom, the thatched hut crumbled to pieces.

Duan Xuan's palm failed to stop the guy's fist from moving forward, and it quickly pressed down, unleashing a second burst of force.

The entire thatched hut was uprooted.

"Ah!" Wang Qingyan was startled by the scene before her.

The disciples who had been trying to hold their own were now all dead.

Their bones were broken, their limbs were torn off, and their deaths were extremely tragic.

Ma Jiancheng's eyes were bloodshot, and blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth. He had just gone through a great battle, but his energy and blood were not weakened at all. Instead, they were infinitely close to the pinnacle of perfection.

"This person has completely lost his mind. He's running in this direction!" Duan Xuan pointed to the right rear, which was the direction he had come from.

Without hesitation, Liu Chunmei took Wang Qingyan's hand and ran away through the mud.

Duan Xuan got into position, letting Ma Jiancheng see that the Yin essence he was about to harvest had escaped. He shouted and was about to give chase.

Duan Xuan blocked his way from both sides, preventing him from jumping out.

Ma Jiancheng's momentum surged again, and he unleashed a flurry of punches and claws.

The crimson energy, like a demonic poison, stung Duan Xuan's skin painfully.

Duan Xuan kept one hand forward while his right hand reached towards his buttocks.

Just as Ma Jiancheng was about to break through Duan Xuan's defense with a series of punches and succeed, Duan Xuan pulled out a bag of powder.

*Whoosh!* The powder was tossed in, and Ma Jiancheng immediately felt a surge of thirst: "Qi and Blood Powder? It's actually Qi and Blood Powder!"

He opened his mouth wide to absorb the red powder, but as soon as he put it in his mouth, Ma Jiancheng's eyes and mouth immediately burned.

"Ah, it's chili peppers!"

This pain is so intense that even a martial artist with internal strength would scream in agony if they had chili peppers in their eyes.

By the time he used the rainwater to get rid of the spiciness, Duan Xuan and the other two had already run quite far.

"You little brat, you dare try to fool your grandpa? I'll kill you!"

The rain was getting heavier and showed no signs of stopping.

Liu Chunmei and Fang Qingyan were women who had never practiced martial arts and had poor physical strength.

It also consumes a lot of energy; as you run, you gradually lose your strength.