Chapter 94: Strange Little Town
As Huang Xiaolong walked towards the group, all the students turned their heads, looking over to his direction with complex emotions evident in their eyes. After all, Huang Xiaolong had advanced to the Seventh Order and requested for a class advancement test. Yesterday, not long after Huang Xiaolong returned to Tianxuan Mansion, the news had spread throughout the Cosmic Star Academy.
Once again, Huang Xiaolong had become the center of attention in Cosmic Star Academy.
Ye Yong walked out from the group of students towards Huang Xiaolong, and laughed when he came before Huang Xiaolong, “Xiaolong, I didn’t expect since we last meet, not even three months had passed and you have already broken through to the Seventh Order!”
“I was lucky.” Huang Xiaolong said.
Lucky? Ye Yong shook his head. If being lucky could allow one to advance into the Seventh Order, then the majority of people in the Martial Spirit World would not be stuck in the Fourth Order, Fifth Order, or the Sixth Order for their entire lives.
Breaking through to the Seventh Order required more than luck.
At this time, from some distance away, Lu Kai arrived, accompanied by a team of palace guards.
Arriving at the square, Lu Kai did not feel it was strange seeing Xiaolong’s presence; apparently, he too had heard about Huang Xiaolong’s breakthrough and his request for the assessment.
Looking at Huang Xiaolong, Lu Kai felt complicated.
Once both of them passed this class advancement test, they would be promoted to the Second Year’s Class Six, becoming classmates.
“Let’s compete again in this assessment, what do you think?” Lu Kai looked at Huang Xiaolong, and baited, “A bet of three hundred thousand gold coins!”
“Three hundred thousand? Very well, what are we competing in?” Somebody wanted to gift him three hundred thousand gold coins, so of course Huang Xiaolong would not refuse.
“Since the assessment this time is to kill bandits, then we shall compete and see who kills the most bandits.” Lu Kai said in a sullen voice. He lost to Huang Xiaolong during the Academy competition; however, killing bandits did not solely rely on strength, and Lu Kai did not think he would lose to Xiaolong in killing more bandits.
Huang Xiaolong nodded, indicating he agreed with Lu Kai’s proposal.
Shortly after that, all students were gathered and the Second Year Class Six’s teacher was also a beautiful female teacher called Chen Feirong. Chen Feirong was a different type compared to Xiong Meiqi; while the latter was cold with an arrogant bearing, Chen Feirong was like a fresh, gentle white lily. Her every move was soft and gentle and a smile graced her face as she spoke, giving a calm feeling.
This time, the task of killing bandits near the border was led by her.
Chen Feirong smiled at Huang Xiaolong and Lu Kai when she came to the square. Both Huang Xiaolong and Lu Kai were ‘celebrities’ of the Academy, and of course she could recognize them both.
Yesterday, Principal Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu called her over to the Principal’s room and with a deadpan, somber face, they emphasized that no matter what, she must ensure the safety of Huang Xiaolong and Lu Kai during this trip.
And due to this very reason, other than her leading the team, there were two other Tenth Order teachers accompanying them.
“Since everyone is here, let’s depart!” Chen Feirong ordered.
A little over one hour later, the group had left the Royal City area, heading in the direction of one of the borders area.
Half a month had passed.
“Everyone be alert. The small towns in this area are frequent places the bandits appear. Although these bandits’ strength is not very high, they always come out in large numbers amassing close to a hundred people at a time and they are extremely cruel. When you come across them, all of you must not display any mercy!” Standing before the desolate entrance of a small town, Chen Feirong reminded the students of this warning.
After traveling for two weeks, they finally reached the destination point– the junction between the Luo Tong Kingdom and the Baolong Kingdom.
According to Chen Feirong, these bandits came from the Baolong Kingdom, sneaking past to the Luo Tong Kingdom’s army patrol to the Luo Tong Kingdom’s border towns, killing, robbing, and kidnapping people. Once these bandits had robbed a place, they would quickly retreat back into the Baolong Kingdom’s territory, causing a huge headache for the border soldiers.
After Chen Feirong warned the students, she led them into the desolate looking little town.
In the quiet little town, the streets were empty with not even the shadow of a person; the doors of every store and house were shut tightly as the silence became eery in the students’ minds. Occasionally, black smoke could be seen rising from some random buildings.
A while later, Chen Feirong split the students into three teams led by her and the other two teachers. Each group had roughly twenty-something students. Each team would act separately and regroup at the town entrance; whichever group found the bandits was to release the signal to inform the others of their position.
Both Lu Kai and Huang Xiaolong were arranged into the same team led by Chen Feirong.
The students followed Chen Feirong from behind as they continued onward along the streets. One hour later, they still had yet to see any bandits. The whole town was blanketed in an atmosphere of desolation, hopelessness, and something else, something strange.
“Strange, where did the people in this small town go? Why can’t we find even one person?” Ye Yong who was on the same team as Huang Xiaolong frowned and asked out loud.
“Could everyone have died? If that is the case, where are the bodies?” Lu Kai interjected.
Not only there were people, there weren’t any corpses either. There were no traces of fighting or blood splatters as if all the people in the small town had vanished into thin air.
Huang Xiaolong’s brows creased into a furrow.
However, the group continued onward, and when the team came to the north side of the small town, suddenly, Xiaolong stopped. This is...? The smell of blood! Yes, this is the smell of blood!
The smell of blood was extremely light, but Huang Xiaolong could clearly smell it and he was not wrong in his judgment. Ever since he broke through to the Seventh Order and his martial spirits evolved for the second time, his hearing ability and sense of smell had improved exponentially.
Lu Kai and Ye Yong noticed Huang Xiaolong’s sudden reaction and were doubtful in their hearts. And at this point, without warning, Huang Xiaolong’s silhouette dashed forward, shocking the rest of the team.
“Huang Xiaolong!!” Chen Feirong cried out. She, Lu Kai, and everyone else also sped up.
Not long after Huang Xiaolong’s abrupt sprint, up ahead on the same street, he saw two middle-aged men in peculiar clothing. The two middle-aged men looked up when they saw Huang Xiaolong as well as Chen Feirong, and twenty over people at the back and they panicked. Turning around, they wanted to run.
Prior to this, Chen Feirong had described the characteristics of the bandits’ clothing to them; from the way these two middle-aged men were dressed and their hasty retreat, there was no doubt they are part of the Baolong Kingdom’s bandits that came across the border.
“Want to escape?” Watching their actions, Huang Xiaolong let out a cold smirk. In an instant, his martial spirit’s Phantom Shadow ability was initiated, and in a flash, he had crossed the ten-meter distance between him and the two men. Close to him, Huang Xiaolong swung his blades, and a cold, sharp light slit across one of the men’s throat. Huang Xiaolong also punched the other man, sending him flying, but keeping him alive.
Huang Xiaolong came to the spot where the man landed, and his voice was filled with iciness as he questioned him: “Talk. Where are the town’s people?”
That middle-aged man was terribly frightened and he cried out, “Don’t kill me! I’ll talk! The town’s people were herded to the square up ahead!” He pointed to a direction in front.
However, just as he finished speaking, Huang Xiaolong pointed a finger at his forehead, and it pierced through the temple.
Huang Xiaolong’s silhouette flashed again in the direction the man had pointed.
And at this point, Chen Feirong and the students arrived and seeing the two lifeless bodies, she ordered to Ye Yong: “Quick, release the signal to notify the other two teams!”
“Yes, Teacher!” Ye Yong answered, quickly taking out a smoke ball and crushing it towards the sky. In less than a second, a blue colored light shot up the sky.
Moments later, Huang Xiaolong had rushed to the aforementioned square and came before an open space that could accommodate a few thousand people, and bodies were strewn everywhere. Some of these bodies had all four limbs cut off, some were headless, and some had their intestines dug out.
These bodies were what used to be the town’s people.
The smell of blood curdled in the air.
And on the square, some hundreds of bandits were gripping sharp blades in the midst of their massacre of the town’s people. Mournful wails resounded in the square. This group of bandits actually numbered close to three hundred!