Xiang Ning exhaled hot air and the dried blood on his skin slowly dripped off due to his raised body temperature, much to the shock of the other soldier. It wasn’t just him—even the netizens online could tell something was wrong with Xiang Ning. Everyone who saw him felt a chill! 

The Simian Sage had initially wanted to smash Xiang Ning to his death, but to its surprise, it sensed the mad determination in him along with his sudden surge of strength. Even the effects of the Sovereign’s Throne had been elevated. There was a royal blood lineage present in both beasts and humans alike; some were royal since the moment of their birth. And in the eyes of the Simian Sage, Xiang Ning was a royal member of the human race. 

“Look, Xiang Ning and the Simian Sage are having a staredown!” 

“I can tell that the Simian Sage initially planned to rage and unleash destruction!” 

“What happened to Xiang Ning that even the Simian Sage grew wary of him?” 

“Unless he has.…”

“What’s this! This shouldn’t be his job, he’s a minor!” 

The soldier next to Xiang Ning had the best view. He saw the twisted expression on his face and the scabs on his body bursting open once again, bleeding fresh blood. He knew that the youth was basically ruining his own future doing this and yelled, “What’s in us that you see worth saving? We don’t even know you, why’re you risking your life for us? Even if you survive this, your life’s been shortened! You shouldn’t do this, at least not now!” 

Xiang Ning gritted his teeth in pain, stunned by the sudden outburst. Risking his life? He wasn’t doing that at all; he had Refresh, so what was there to be afraid of? But he couldn’t say that, so all he said was, “I’ll be fine. Calm down, brother. Also, don’t follow me, that beast is quite strong.” 

“YOU!” The soldier was furious. 

Xiang Ning thought the soldier had taken his words as an insult, that he thought he was implying that the soldier was weak. Since that wasn’t what he meant, he hurriedly explained, “Brother, don’t be mistaken, I didn’t say you’re too weak—just look, there are so many more people trapped there, waiting for you to save them!” 

The soldier looked at Xiang Ning’s smile, wanting to punch him in the face. What the hell? I’m not as strong as you, but you didn’t have to say it like that! No, this isn’t the time to talk.… 

“Don’t worry, I’m really fine! I’ll come back alive!” After saying that, Xiang Ning raised the Devourer and roared, activating Taunt, Keen Observation, and Combat Instinct. This was a rare beast that should provide a great opportunity for him to improve himself... as long as he didn’t get himself killed. After all, although it was a great punching bag, it was also a powerful punching bag that might kill him if he wasn’t careful. He didn’t dare underestimate it. 

When he turned on Taunt, all the beasts that had heard him angrily roared back, but none dared step forward. His Fury Points rose quickly, but Xiang Ning ignored them all, turning to the soldier and saying, “What’re you looking at? Go rescue those people and leave this place.” Then he killed his way toward the Simian Sage, who was currently uprooting trees in a rage. 

Watching him leave, the soldier clenched his jaw and turned to leave. 

“Shadowmist Ghost Step!” With his elevated status and beyond peak condition, Xiang Ning turned into an illusory figure. The Simian Sage suddenly uprooted a tree that would need five people hugging it to cover its circumference and swung it at Xiang Ning like a club. It was even as fast as Xiang Ning. 

With the Devourer braced before his chest, Xiang Ning was thrown up into the air like a cannonball; even the Devourer was chipped. 

No one had expected such a sudden collision. It had all happened too fast. 

But that was all anticipated by Keen Observation. He coincidentally landed on a tier four Iron Tank. A gray goo slithered out of the blade’s chipped portion and Xiang Ning stabbed the blade into the Iron Tank. When he pulled it out again, the Devourer had returned to its original state. Such was the ruthlessness of a bioweapon. 

As if nothing had happened, he raised his sword and aimed at the Simian Sage. 

The netizens let out a chorus of gasps and curses. Especially the people calling him Teacher Xiang Ning—they went wild. They were the students of Marsh City. 

“Teacher Xiang Ning is number one in the world.” 

“Record this! Another lesson-worthy fight!” 

“Look at his timing! His power! If I hadn’t been watching with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it!” 

“I can’t believe he killed a tier four Beast General so casually, it doesn’t feel like a tier four at all! As if it was just one of the tier one beasts I kill!”

“Which tier one beast of yours grows to that size?” 

Far away within North Star City, in a conference room, Uncle Zhao furrowed his brow as he watched Xiang Ning onscreen. “There it is again, that breathing technique that amplifies his abilities. What exactly is it?” 

“Old Zhao, based on my investigation, although we can’t identify the breathing technique, it likely forcefully elevates a human being’s abilities but at a great cost. Based on my understanding, it functions in levels. He’s already activated it to the seventh level. I estimate that if he forces open the eighth, ninth, and even tenth level, he’ll turn into a vegetable and sustain irreparable damage.” 

“What’s going on in Hang City? Can’t we send a Sect Master there?” 

“We have no choice. You know what happened at Hang City, he can’t leave.” 

“The Shura! Seven Deadly Sins! Ugh!” Uncle Zhao shook his head in exasperation. Watching Xiang Ning onscreen, he believed Xiang Ning wouldn’t open the eighth or ninth level, because he still needed to take care of his sister. He didn’t believe the boy would abandon her. 

Yes, he wouldn’t abandon her, but that was irrelevant to Xiang Ning. 

“Mountain-Splitting Slash!” 

Xiang Ning barely dodged the Simian Sage’s powerful fist by the skin of his teeth. Even through a screen, the audience could see that his bones would shatter upon impact. 

The moment Xiang Ning dodged, he slashed toward the Simian Sage’s right flank with the Devourer in a two-handed grip, drawing blood. The Devourer received a taste of a delicious dish it had never tasted in its lifetime and its powerful yearning seeped into Xiang Ning, who slashed, lunged, and hacked with all his might. He caused huge damage in the limited window he had, and when the Simian Sage wanted to squash him to death with a fatal hug, he took that opportunity to bring four Hunter Mk. 4 knives to replace his position. The Simian Sage stabbed the blades into itself with its sheer force. 

But they were just Mk. 4 knives against a tier six Simian Sage, so they merely broke the beast’s skin and shattered. 

MC activated God Mode