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Qing Xuanling narrowed her eyes. Although it was daytime, there still wasn't much light, making it difficult for her to clearly discern the attackers' appearances. Qing Ziyi noticed this and swiftly drew several characters in the air.
Soon, multiple spheres of light appeared, fully illuminating the area.
The attackers' identities were immediately revealed. Several humanoid figures covered in deep red fur had appeared at some moment on the branches of the trees surrounding the makeshift camp.
Qing Xuanling's eyes widened slightly as she recognized the demonic beasts. "Dawn Wild Monkeys! I didn't expect we'd encounter a whole pack of them in the outer region of the forest!"
The monkeys began shrieking, pounding their chests with one hand while pointing the spears they held in the other toward the sky. The combined cries of over twenty monkeys were quite intimidating.
Of course, such intimidation only worked on other demonic beasts or cultivators with weak mental fortitude. These shouts didn't even make their pulses quicken.
Qing Ziyi narrowed her eyes as she watched the monkeys and took a step back. "They're only mid-stage beasts, so I won't intervene. Remember—leave one alive so Huayan can attempt to tame it."
Everyone nodded, unconcerned by Qing Ziyi's lack of involvement. They could handle a few demonic beasts, not to mention that Qing Ziyi wasn't necessarily stronger than them.
Qing Xuanling watched the still-shrieking monkeys and smiled. She stomped the ground forcefully, propelling herself toward one of the tree branches.
"Hey, don't rush ahead—!"
She ignored the shouts behind her and attacked the nearest monkey. Its face was fierce, with a protruding snout and sharp fangs. Most strikingly, its fiery red eyes widened as it roared:
"Gwiiirrrk!"
Flames suddenly enveloped its body as it leapt to another branch, easily dodging Qing Xuanling's strike!
She was briefly stunned—it wasn't supposed to be possible for Dawn Wild Monkeys to control fire!
The monkey seized this moment of distraction and launched several fireballs at Qing Xuanling, forcing her to leap to another branch. But unbeknownst to her, dozens of fireballs were already flying toward the very branch she was about to land on!
Qing Xuanling clicked her tongue and channeled Qi into the Buddhist bracelet on her wrist. The deep blue basin glowed intensely as a water membrane enveloped her just moments before the fireballs struck!
A massive cloud of smoke erupted around Qing Xuanling!
"Xuanling!"
Qing Wentian shouted in alarm as he also jumped onto a tree branch, forming hand seals that sent high-speed fire arrows flying. The rubies on his gloves shone brightly.
However, the Dawn Wild Monkeys' mastery of tree-leaping was profound, allowing them to effortlessly dodge the arrows—and even counterattack.
Fortunately, the others intervened at that moment, intercepting the monkeys' assaults.
"Damn monkeys—I swear I'll cut you in half!"
The smoke cloud around Qing Xuanling dissipated, revealing her with only a few black smudges on her tunic. Otherwise, she was completely unharmed—in fact, she seemed even fiercer than before.
She roared in fury, pulling a silk lasso from her storage pouch and flinging it toward the monkey, ensnaring it!
The lasso behaved like a ghost, relentlessly pursuing the monkey even as it leapt to another tree, wrapping around it like a mummy!
Qing Xuanling seized the opportunity, yanking the monkey toward her and stabbing it in the heart. She'd deliberately left a patch of its chest unwrapped for this exact purpose.
She turned toward another monkey and repeated the process with extreme ease.
By then, the others had each taken down two monkeys, wiping out the entire group monkey except for one left alive.
Qing Xuanling sighed, slightly disappointed. "It's true—the difference in strength between large and small demonic beasts is immense. These bastards didn't last at all."
"Rather, you're all too strong," Qing Ziyi sighed as she approached. "These monkeys aren't just strong and fast—they can launch large fireballs. Squadrons from other platoons might have difficulties against them."
Qing Ziyi's gaze changed as she looked at them. Though she'd heard rumors about how formidable these ten youths were, only now did she grasp the true extent of their power.
Each had displayed incredible methods to eliminate the Dawn Wild Monkeys. Qing Wentian, for instance, chose to barrage them with arrows until one hit—a wasteful but effective tactic.
Most astonishing was the Qi reserves required for such a method. Though she shared Qing Wentian's cultivation level, Qing Ziyi doubted she could replicate his approach—she simply lacked sufficient Qi.
The others were no less impressive. Qing Tanwei literally sank a tree into the ground to knock the monkeys off their perches, while Qing Huayan and Qing Rannuan teamed up to create water tentacles that captured several monkeys.
The rest employed equally surprising techniques—but what shocked Qing Ziyi most was Qing Xuanling.
'I didn't expect she'd finally start using artifacts—and not just one, but two high-grade ones!'
Qing Ziyi's mouth went dry. When she'd first met Qing Xuanling, she was just a girl with a mortal-grade sword. Now, mere months later, she wielded two high-grade artifacts—not to mention her sword, which appeared to be a masterpiece by a master refiner.
Qing Ziyi couldn't help but wonder if she'd lose to Qing Xuanling in a direct fight. She quickly shook off the thought, focusing elsewhere to avoid sinking into discouragement.
"Huayan, how's the taming going?" Qing Ziyi turned to Qing Huayan—who was… beating the surviving Dawn Wild Monkey.
Nearby lay the pitiful sight of the monkey whimpering as it endured dozens of blows, tears streaming down its face as it cried for help.
"Oh, almost done! This guy's just a bit tough!" Qing Huayan grinned, punching the monkey's face harder. "I'll succeed once this little one runs out of tears!"
Everyone watched her "taming method" in disbelief. Calling it crude was an understatement—they doubted it would work at all.
But Qing Huayan ignored their expressions and kept hitting the wailing monkey until its face was puffier than a pig's.
Satisfied, she knelt before the monkey and placed her hands on its forehead. "This is the truly crucial step…"
Qing Huayan whispered as she controlled her divine sense, sending it into the monkey's divine sea. At first, she met resistance—but the monkey's mental defenses were too weakened by the beating, crumbling easily under her assault.
Her divine sense began forming runes in the monkey's divine sea, which gradually coalesced into a large golden seal that seamlessly integrated into the monkey's divine sea upon completion.
Qing Huayan opened her eyes and looked at the monkey, which now gazed at her with fear and reverence.
"Success?" Qing Wentian approached curiously. "It must be—if not, I'll feel awful for this poor creature!"
"Of course I it succeeded," Qing Huayan rolled her eyes. "And don't pity these beasts—trust me. I'm the one who loves animals most here, but we can't show mercy to beasts that bare their fangs at us. It should be grateful for these extra hours of life."
Qing Ziyi stepped closer, intrigued. "You didn't permanently tame it? Aren't you keeping it?"
"I wish I could, but my divine sense isn't strong enough to control such a rebellious beast forever. Though docile now, it'll break free and attack the moment I'm distracted. But we have enough time to make it lead us to its lair—and find out why they can use fire…"
Qing Huayan eyed the monkey with keen interest, making it tremble miserably.
"You think it's strange too?" Qing Xuanling approached, eyeing the monkey warily. "I've never heard of Dawn Wild Monkeys controlling fire. This must be a recent mutation, which could mean…"
"Treasures," Qing Huayan finished for her. "And quite an interesting one, given it granted over twenty monkeys fire control."
Qing Ziyi watched the two girls, now grinning broadly…
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Stop daydreaming and get to work. We'll be able to catch up with the platoon as soon as we finish this mission."
Both girls laughed. Qing Huayan snapped out of her fantasy and spoke softly to the monkey: "Could you show me where you sleep every night?"
The monkey blinked, looking conflicted for a moment—but its hesitation vanished the instant it met Qing Huayan's eyes. As if hypnotized, it stood and walked in a specific direction.
"Come on—it says the lair's less than an hour's walk."
The others exchanged glances and followed Qing Huayan and the monkey.