Chapter 172: Chapter 171 Beauty and Beast Squad
To break through to the Ninth Stage Realm in terms of cultivation base, Tang San had a long way to go, but not so with the improvement of his Spiritual Power. With the nurturing of that bit of divine consciousness, his Spiritual Power would only grow stronger. What he needed to do now was to keep increasing the amount of his liquidized Spiritual Power, filling his Sea of Spirit. Once his Sea of Spirit was full, he could proceed to the next step in his cultivation, preparing to rebuild his divine consciousness in the future.
The team from Jiali Academy had a bonfire going, making it clearly visible even from a considerable distance.
Starting a fire in the mountains had its pros and cons, the advantage being that it could drive away some wild animals and mosquitoes, but the downside was that it exposed oneself. Facing a powerful Demon Beast, the beast would not be afraid of fire. Daring to light a fire showed that the other party was very confident in their own strength.
Tang San\'s gaze slowly swept the area, and when he saw a figure, his eyes immediately fixed.
Pretty Girl was still wearing the Jiali Academy uniform today, her long hair put up at the back of her head in a raised bun, revealing her slender, fair neck as she sat by the bonfire, holding a cup and drinking something.
The Golden Lion Dog was sitting two meters away from her, and aside from them, there were four other people by the bonfire. Of all seven people, clearly one was responsible for scouting the surroundings, and since Tang San had not discovered that person yet, he had to be even more cautious and careful.
This guy, actually sitting so close to Pretty Girl, is simply infuriating!
Tang San clearly felt a twinge of jealousy in his heart, wishing he could sit by the bonfire and have dinner with Pretty Girl too!
So he named the team from Jiali Academy in his mind, Beauty and Beast Squad.
Song Junhou, whom Tang San had nicknamed Golden Lion Dog, took out a map from his bosom, spread it out, and pointed, "We are currently in this area, and it will take us about two more days to reach the Winged Tiger Territory."
"Mhm," Pretty Girl nodded, her expression flat, seemingly indifferent to these matters.
Song Junhou smiled and said, "Our goal this time is at least two Winged Tigers, and we\'ll see if we can hunt ones above the Seventh Stage. Every part of a Winged Tiger is valuable, making them the easiest to monetize."
Pretty Girl didn\'t utter a word, continuing to quietly drink her beverage, as if pondering something.
Seeing her somewhat cold attitude, Song Junhou didn\'t say much more, just smiled.
On the other side of the bonfire, a muscular Bear Demon youth said, "Captain, we didn\'t encounter any Demon Beasts all day today, and I\'m getting itching for action. Tomorrow, you should withhold your oppressive presence because with you, the King of the Beasts with the golden bloodline around, the Demon Beasts dare not come close to us."
Upon hearing this, everyone laughed except for Pretty Girl.
The Bear Demon youth\'s comment wasn\'t much of an exaggeration. Monsters with the golden bloodline had a significant deterrent effect on Demon Beasts, and with Song Junhou\'s aura, ordinary Demon Beasts indeed did not dare to approach them.
Song Junhou said, "The main goal is to save time. On the outskirts of the mountains, even if there are Demon Beasts, their levels are quite low, not worth wasting time on, not worth our effort. If you\'re interested, tomorrow I\'ll conceal my bloodline aura, and let everyone get some practice. All spoils will be yours to keep."
"Haha, the captain is quite generous."
They intentionally didn\'t suppress their talking voices, and since Tang San had excellent hearing, he naturally heard them clearly. He couldn\'t help but curl his lips in amusement; the other members were clearly playing up to the Golden Lion Dog, but he was quite pleased with Pretty Girl\'s attitude. It was apparent that she didn\'t feel much closeness to these teammates, which put him at ease. What he feared most were any developments of affection over time, as that would complicate things.
After dinner, the Beauty and Beast Squad prepared to rest. Their equipment was naturally far superior to that of Tang San and his comrades. Each of them had their own personal tent, made from a specially-treated animal hide that insulated well and looked extremely tough. Each tent had unique exits at the top that could only be opened from the inside, allowing them to burst out instantly if there was trouble outside.
They also took turns keeping watch through the night, with only one person on duty at a time. When they began to rest, Tang San finally saw the last member of the Six Demons appear.
This Monster student had been hidden in the shadows all the while and also had the ability to fly. When using its bloodline instinct, it grew a pair of black wings on its back. With the wings folded, it could blend into the night, especially in the shadows, and its aura was very well-concealed. It seemed to be the scout of the group.
Pretty Girl naturally had her own tent, which was white and stood out conspicuously among the others. Under Song Junhou\'s arrangement, the other Monsters\' tents were set up in a circle around Pretty Girl\'s. As the only female in the team, she didn\'t even have to keep watch.
Only when he felt that they were all resting did Tang San quietly leave. He followed the path back to his own camp.
The next morning, they set off again. Cheng Zicheng was still in charge of long-distance scouting, and Tang San reminded her that the other team also had a member with flight capabilities, so she should be careful not to be discovered.
The travel pace for both teams was slower than the previous day because they started encountering Demon Beasts along the way, all of them Fourth Stage or Fifth Stage. The weaker ones lacked the courage to attack them.
According to Cheng Zicheng\'s scouting, the Beauty and Beast Squad encountered even more Monsters than they did, and they also came across a small group of beasts, a colony made up of over twenty baboon Demon Beasts. These Diamond Baboons were quite strong, with the strongest leader possessing Sixth Stage capabilities. But for the Beauty and Beast Squad, this was naturally not much of an issue. Song Junhou, the team captain, showed his prowess by effortlessly defeating the leader and killing most of the Diamond Baboons, yielding considerable gains.
Under the effect of the Fourth Stage Sky Fox\'s Eye, Tang San\'s team only encountered three Demon Beasts on their journey. With their tacit cooperation, they managed to deal with them almost without making any noise.
Cheng Zicheng saw the differing encounters of both sides with her own eyes, and at a mere distance of five kilometers, the situations were worlds apart. She was beginning to believe Du Bai\'s claim that the Heavenly Fox Transformation indeed had a significant effect on increasing the team\'s luck.
That afternoon, Tang San suddenly pulled Du Bai aside and asked in a low voice, "Brother Du Bai, do you feel anything?"
"Feel what?" Du Bai looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"
Tang San said, "Like a premonition of danger or something."
"Not at all!" Du Bai wore a face of surprise, "What danger? I don\'t feel anything."
"Oh. Well, that\'s good," Tang San nodded.
After having lunch, for some reason, he had been feeling uneasy the whole time, yet his divine consciousness had not detected anything. With the Fourth Stage Sky Fox\'s Eye, such a feeling undeniably indicated that some danger was approaching, but why hadn\'t Du Bai felt anything? That was puzzling.
Both he and Du Bai were at the Fourth Stage of the Heavenly Fox Transformation. It was impossible for a crisis to arise without Du Bai sensing it while he did. In terms of cultivation base of the Heavenly Fox Eye, he was supposed to be less adept than Du Bai, yet even if his Spiritual Power was stronger, the difference in sensing danger shouldn\'t be so vast.
Moreover, this feeling of restlessness persisted all afternoon, and it was getting stronger.