Chapter 65: Po Jun
The fierce beast tide came and went quickly. At the edge of Black Wind Ridge, only a few low-level demon beasts remained, along with corpses scattered across the ground.
Of course, these corpses included not only demon beasts but also humans, and the scene was extremely bloody. Just from these bodies alone, one could see the tragic and fierce nature of this beast tide.
And this was merely a small beast tide. If a large beast tide were to come, one could only imagine what kind of scene would unfold.
At the edge of Black Wind Ridge, there were still quite a few disciples of Cloud Sea Sect, though most were outer sect disciples, fighting against ordinary demon beasts, trying to hunt some to train themselves while also obtaining beast cores.
"Haha, it's a spirit beast! Po Jun, control it, and I'll kill it!"
At this moment, a hearty voice rang out, the laughter very loud.
In a certain spot, two outer sect disciples of Cloud Sea Sect stood together. In front of them was actually a spirit beast—a Unicorn Rhinoceros.
Between the two men and the Unicorn Rhinoceros, the ground was covered with demon beast corpses, the smell of blood extremely thick. But the two standing there didn't even glance at them.
"The Unicorn Rhinoceros has strong defenses. Can you kill it?" asked the young man named Po Jun. He was on the thinner side, calm and composed, his eyes fixed on the Unicorn Rhinoceros with a hint of coldness.
"Don't worry, Po Jun. You don't trust my strength?"
The burly young man grinned, very confident.
"I only trust myself," Po Jun said coldly and indifferently. But at the same time, two vines shot out from his body, incredibly fast, instantly wrapping around the Unicorn Rhinoceros's body.
"Roar..." The Unicorn Rhinoceros thrashed wildly, its body shaking, and Po Jun's body was jolted along with it. But his eyes remained cold, his hands steady. The vines clinging to the Unicorn Rhinoceros sprouted branches, binding it tighter and tighter.
"Now!" Po Jun shouted. He didn't need to call out; the burly young man beside him had already moved.
He stomped heavily on the ground, sending dust flying, as if the earth itself trembled.
His fierce fists smashed out with overwhelming force. With a single punch, the Unicorn Rhinoceros let out a mournful cry and was killed instantly.
"Po Jun, see? Cooperating with me isn't a bad idea, right?" the burly young man grinned.
By now, Po Jun had walked forward, pulling out a dagger to extract the demon beast's core.
"Once you reach the Spirit Martial Realm, it's different. Even your martial soul can materialize," Lin Feng remarked, watching Po Jun use the vines—clearly a martial soul, somewhat similar to Mo Xie's, though naturally far less powerful.
"I didn't expect this guy's strength to improve so fast."
A smile appeared on Lin Feng's face as he strode toward the two men who were extracting the core.
"Who's there?"
Suddenly, Po Jun spun around, a sharp aura bursting forth, surging straight at Lin Feng. At the same time, two vines shot toward Lin Feng like arrows.
"Oh?"
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow, surprised by Po Jun's strong defensive instincts and his immediate attack.
He stepped forward, and a sharp, piercing sword aura erupted from Lin Feng, rushing straight at Po Jun, suffocating.
"Po Jun, stop! He's a friend of mine."
The burly young man turned around and quickly shouted.
The vines instantly retracted, and Po Jun's aura vanished. However, his right foot stepped back slightly, sinking into the ground as he stared at Lin Feng.
"This guy... is strong!"
"Haha, Lin Feng, you've finally shown up! I've come looking for you over a dozen times and never found you. I thought you weren't planning to return to the sect."
It turned out that the burly man was Lin Feng's friend, Han Man.
"I just got back not long ago," Lin Feng replied with a smile. "Han Man, you can even kill a spirit beast now. Your strength has improved fast."
When Lin Feng had returned to Yangzhou City, Han Man was still at the Eighth Layer of Qi Martial Realm. In such a short time, Han Man had already reached the Spirit Martial Realm. This truly surprised Lin Feng, but he was also happy for him.
"Heh, I had some opportunities and broke into the Spirit Martial Realm." Han Man scratched his head and grinned. "By the way, Lin Feng, what about you? You used to be much stronger than me. I wonder how you're doing now."
"Not bad," Lin Feng said casually, glancing at Po Jun beside Han Man. This man was ice-cold, calm, and reacted incredibly fast, giving off a dangerous feeling. If this man had ill intentions, it would be a disaster for Han Man.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce you. Lin Feng, this is Po Jun. His strength is insane, but he keeps a low profile. He's way better than those top-ranked outer sect disciples."
Han Man introduced with a smile.
"Po Jun, this is Lin Feng, my good brother. From now on, you guys are friends too."
"I'll take out the core first."
Po Jun said coldly, turning around and crouching down to cut open the Unicorn Rhinoceros's flesh with his dagger.
"Lin Feng, don't mind him. Po Jun is just cold by nature."
Lin Feng smiled indifferently. He wasn't familiar with Po Jun, so whether they interacted or not didn't matter. Why care about his attitude?
"Han Man, everyone else has left. Why are you two still here?"
"Of course, it's for the sect competition. Only a few people who want to hunt beast cores are still here at a time like this. Me and Po Jun are two of them. While everyone else is gone, we're grabbing as many cores as we can."
"Aren't you going to participate in the sect competition and enter the inner sect?"
Lin Feng was taken aback and asked.
"Of course I am. We should still make it in time, heh heh." Han Man wore that carefree smile again, leaving Lin Feng speechless. This guy was completely carefree, but that also meant he was simple-hearted, without any cunning, and easy to get along with.
"Po Jun, are you done? Otherwise, we might really miss it."
Han Man looked at Po Jun.
"Done. Let's go."
Po Jun nodded, putting away the extracted cores.
"Lin Feng, you're coming too, right? Let's go together." Han Man pulled Lin Feng along and asked, "Lin Feng, how strong are you now?"
Lin Feng thought for a moment, then shook his head. He really couldn't say how strong he was. Maybe... he could try fighting someone at the Third Layer of Spirit Martial Realm.
"You're keeping it a mystery, huh? If you go all out, could you take down a Unicorn Rhinoceros?" Han Man pressed.
"Go all out against a Unicorn Rhinoceros?" Po Jun, hearing this, shook his head inwardly. Lin Feng's strength was definitely at the Spirit Martial Realm. That sharp sword aura earlier had made him feel suffocated. If they fought, he was sure he would lose—at least, without using all his trump cards.
A Unicorn Rhinoceros, despite its strong defenses, would be no problem for Lin Feng to kill with that powerful sword intent he had released.
"I should be able to handle it," Lin Feng said, rubbing his nose. Handle a Unicorn Rhinoceros? One casual move would be enough. Did he need to go all out?
"Heh, just as I thought, you've reached the Spirit Martial Realm too. This time, the three of us will definitely take the inner sect spots. From now on, we'll make our mark together in Cloud Sea Sect." Han Man laughed heartily. Three Spirit Martial Realm cultivators—they would definitely do well.
"Making our mark together? Then who leads?" Po Jun asked casually, finding Han Man's idea naive.
"Naturally, Lin Feng. His talent is definitely better than mine. Even if he's a bit weaker now, he'll surpass me later. And he's loyal—he saved my life. Whatever he says, I'll listen." Han Man said without a care.
"And what about me?" Po Jun asked.
"You can barely beat me. Since I listen to Lin Feng, you naturally listen to him too." Han Man's logic was very simple, leaving Lin Feng dumbfounded. This guy's thinking was really naive. Po Jun was far more complicated than he imagined. There was no way he would listen to Lin Feng.