As the village chief's son-in-law, how could he possibly be wearing modern battle attire?
"Xue Can, the Xue Can from Chuan Province Martial University who went missing in Jiang City," Cao Ritian immediately deduced the other's identity.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
At this time, no need for further words, all team members summoned their Ancient Spirits, their Spiritual Power mobilized to the max.
"Damn it!"
"Someone actually discovered it."
The village chief and hundreds of villagers' faces turned gloomy, gone was their previously honest and simple appearance. They surreptitiously took out a Fragrance Pouch from their pockets and opened it, and a special fragrance filled the air immediately.
"Pfft——"
Seventy to eighty percent of the hundred team members immediately spewed fresh blood from their mouths, their Spiritual Power rapidly declining, their faces turning pitch black, all of them had eaten earlier.
"Damn it!"
"The food really was poisoned!!!"
One by one, team members clutched their bellies and painfully collapsed to the ground, unable to maintain their form.
Zhu Qing had eaten heartily too, but curiously, he was covered with rising flames and remained unharmed, while team captains like Cao Ritian and Pan Ren hadn't eaten at all.
Luo Yu sneered at the village chief:
"The food was non-toxic, of course, no one could tell, but once you eat the "seasoned" food, then smell this fragrance, it might not necessarily be the same."
The village chief began clapping and let out a bizarre, fiendish laugh, not resembling a human's.
"Good."
"I didn't expect someone would see through my scheme."
"But what of it? You've already suffered heavy losses—gah gah gah."
Luo Yu glanced at the team members lying on the ground and shook his head:
"A bunch of trash, one more or one less doesn't affect this old man's ability to wipe you all out."
The fallen team members almost spat out another mouthful of blood upon hearing this; even faced with the enemy's poison, they still had to endure a blow from their own side, which was heart-wrenching.
The team member with Beautiful Eyes also collapsed in front of Luo Yu, as saintly and merciful as she was before, now equally filled with regret and remorse.
And the shame of those words she had said to Luo Yu.
"So arrogant, you might not realize what situation you're in."
"Guess who's in the other coffin," said the village chief, straightening his hunchback and revealing a sinister, cold sneer on his face.
Hundreds of villagers also crowded around.
"Bang!"
The other coffin lid was directly kicked to pieces by Luo Yu.
"Guess my ass, can't you straight-up look?"
A pure and beautiful campus goddess was lying inside, her slender legs enveloped in black calf socks, her lips moisturized, her Beautiful Eyes tightly shut. It was Bai Xiao'e, head of the Student Union at Chuan Province Martial University, who had gone missing in Jiang City, but now she was caught here, along with Xue Can.
"The missing Bai Xiao'e?" Cao Ritian immediately recognized the person inside the coffin.
Pan Ren quickly pieced things together and responded:
"Could this place be related to the Jiang City massacre?"
With that said, everyone's faces immediately turned ugly.
"How is that possible!"
"Wasn't it said that behind the Jiang City massacre was the weakest First Grade strength, but this is only a Third-Grade Secret Realm."
"We're in trouble," said Cao Ritian, gripping his Qinggang Sword tightly.
The old village chief sinisterly said:
"So what if you've seen through."
"Today!"
"You all will die here!!!"
"Boom!"
Zhu Qing transformed to a burst of fire, shooting out with a flaming hand to grab the village chief by the neck, "Since you have intelligence, then we catch the king first."
"Oh? Is that so, giggle giggle giggle."
The village chief's head eerily spun a full circle on his neck, making Zhu Qing and the others' scalps tingle.
"Pfft——"
A pair of greenish-black claws tore open the flesh of the old village chief's chest and lunged at Zhu Qing.
"Boom!"
Zhu Qing flung his hand, sending what turned out to be just a human skin flying. Meanwhile, a small, greenish-black monster directly hit his chest.
No one expected that such a creature was hidden under the human skin.
Zhu Qing took the blow, his chest heavily struck.
He was sent flying while coughing up blood.
"Cough! Cough!"
Zhu Qing got up patting his chest, his clothes in tatters, revealing a bronze-colored Precious Armor beneath.
"Thank God for the Precious Armor discovered in the last relic, or my heart and lungs would have been gouged out today, damn it!" Zhu Qing was annoyed.
He immediately killed his way back.
"What a pity." The monster that burst forth had claws and black pupils like a water monkey, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly an evolved version of the green corpses from the mountain.
Its strength did not show, but the battle power it displayed was obviously above Third Grade, able to fight equally with Zhu Qing.
"We must annihilate these beasts, or today will not end well!"
Cao Ritian snorted coldly and also charged out with his Qinggang Sword.
"Rip!"
Skin after skin was torn apart, and hundreds of monsters with split bellies and chests surged out, their sheer numbers making one's hair stand on end. It was the first time anyone had witnessed such a terrifying scene, of parasite monsters wearing human skin.
"Clang clang clang!"
Zhu Qing was ensnared by a monster transformed from the old village chief.
Cao Ritian, with one slash of his sword, ensured death or injury, but with so many enemies, even Pan Ren, Song Bida, and team leaders like Yuan Guangyi who displayed peak Third Grade combat power did not dare to charge too far in case of the many wounded lying around.
"Roar!"
The old village chief, roasted by the purplish-black flames, had scales which turned red, and it howled to the sky.
Massive waves of green corpses rushed down from the mountain, the so-called Mountain Lord's barrier completely ineffective at this time.
"Damn, how many people have died?!" Zhu Qing's rugged face showed a look of shock.
Cao Ritian's face turned extremely ugly as well.
They hadn't expected the creatures in this Secret Realm to be this cunning and intelligent, and in such vast numbers.
"This is going to exhaust us to death!" Yuan Guangyi, wielding a large saber, struck down several Green Scale Monsters in front of him, sending up countless sparks.
"These cursed beasts are too tough, just like zombies," cursed Song Bida.
"Is it possible they are zombies?"
A carefree voice carried over.
"What time is it to be making jokes!" Song Bida, grinding his teeth, felt his head buzzing. Now was not the time to flee; with so many people here, not fleeing would likely result in being exhausted to death, as the army of green corpses from the mountain was already charging down.
The Martial University students fighting glanced toward the direction of the voice.
They saw Xia Luo standing in front of two coffins, not summoning Ancient Spirits nor wielding any weapon. At most, he covered his fists and feet with a thin layer of Spiritual Power, and with a few punches and kicks, he sent the attacking Green Scale Monsters flying to the side, looking entirely at ease as he watched the team member with beautiful eyes lying on the ground.
"Sigh—"
"Even though it's said that a saint should be killed first in perilous times, you also talked back to me."
"But who calls Luo Yu a kindhearted lord?"
"I'll spare your life."
The voice grated on the nerves; the team member with Beautiful Eyes didn't dare to retort. Right now, he was scared to death, relying entirely on Luo Yu to fend off the monsters to stay alive.
At first, he thought Luo Yu definitely wouldn't be able to hold off, that he'd be killed after a few blows, given the ferocity of the monsters.
Even with his own Spiritual Power, he would have had to fend them off desperately.
But then he found that no matter how many monsters besieged him, this guy was as leisurely as if strolling through his own courtyard, casually sending them flying. That strength was...
The team member with Beautiful Eyes then realized: "You... you've been feigning weakness."
"Bullshit!"
Luo Yu glanced at him sideways: "Luo Yu doesn't show off like you young people, jingling loudly with a few coins in his pocket when meeting strangers."
"Besides, I've said I'm strong. Who of you believed me?"
The team member with Beautiful Eyes found himself at a loss for words, realizing this might be a terrifying force to reckon with, after all, this was a person who came alone and was appointed as the overall team leader.
They probably all underestimated this young man on his first trip to the Secret Realm.
"Please, lend us your aid," the team member with Beautiful Eyes begged softly.
"Louder!" Luo Yu said.
"Please help us, they can't hold on much longer," the team member with Beautiful Eyes saw that aside from where he was, which was safe and sound, everywhere else, even those who were team leaders, the other team members were starting to show signs of exhaustion and injuries.
Luo Yu snorted: "Haven't you asked for help yet? You were so resistant before when I offered advice; you'd be less injured otherwise."
"We... we were wrong, blind to your strength," the team member with Beautiful Eyes changed his attitude.
"Louder!"
"We were wrong." The team member with Beautiful Eyes shouted at the top of his lungs, startling everyone on the battlefield.
"Enough, enough. Who calls Xia Luo a kindhearted lord who can't bear to see the people of Great Xia suffer?" Luo Yu shook his head.
In fact, he had been paying close attention to the surrounding battle. If there had been any casualties, he would have intervened long ago.
In truth, these Martial University Students were indeed formidable in battle, managing to form a defensive formation and support each other through adversity despite sudden changes and seventy percent of them being wounded.
"Brother Xia, please help us!"
Zhu Qing, Cao Ritian, and others immediately called out.
They weren't fools; the reason they had tried to recruit Luo Yu to their team was that they thought he might be a master with hidden combat power.
"No longer 'Little Brother Xia'?"
Luo Yu smiled.
"Boom!"
Green brilliance burst from his body, shooting to the sky and exploding above, transforming into a falling rain of vibrant light...