"Nie Li, that guy, actually made me the bait, it's too much!" Lu Piao exclaimed as he saw a horned goat charging straight at him.
He was so scared that he stumbled all over himself, scrambling and crawling backward.
At this time, Du Ze and Nie Li were hiding in the grass, holding crossbows.
"Oh my! The horned goat is terrifying! Shoot, shoot fast!" Lu Piao kept running as the horned goat got closer and closer.
"Lu Piao, that brat, didn't he agree to stand still? The horned goat would obediently enter the trap area. But now he's running off course!" Nie Li frowned.
The trap area consisted of shallow pits no deeper than two fingers; once a horned goat carelessly stepped in while running, it would break its leg, making it much easier to shoot.
Seeing Lu Piao panic and sprint, Du Ze also got nervous and quickly fired three crossbow bolts in succession.
The horned goat was a demonized creature with lightning-fast reflexes when uninjured.
Sensing the bolts coming from behind, it leaped away, and the three bolts whistled past its side.
"What? Missed shots?" Lu Piao was dumbfounded, the sharp horns of the goat were dangerously close.
Nie Li and Du Ze's antics nearly brought him to tears; he felt he'd chosen unfortunate friends.
If those sharp horns struck him, they would surely leave him in agony.
Seeing the horned goat elude the bolts and continue charging toward Lu Piao, Du Ze's palms grew sweaty with anxiety.
Reloading in time seemed impossible, and he could imagine the scene of Lu Piao getting savagely gored.
"Nie Li, what are we going to do..."
Du Ze stopped mid-sentence, immediately fell silent, and didn't dare disturb Nie Li.
Nie Li crouched halfway, his left arm extended, with the crossbow resting on it.
His right hand gripped the trigger, and his eyes focused intensely on the target.
Even his horizontal movements with the crossbow were as steady as if mounted on a stand.
Du Ze couldn't quite describe his feeling at this moment.
Although Nie Li hadn't shot yet, Du Ze had the intuition that it would hit the mark, like a leopard crouched in the grass ready to pounce with chilling authority.
Even though Nie Li's physique wasn't strong enough to be considered a Bronzefighter, his past life experience remained.
His experience, honed through countless battles, was rich and profound, acquired through moments of life and death.
Whether with swords, crossbows, or even a mere piece of iron, in Nie Li's hands, they were deadly.
Even without being a Bronze martial artist, Nie Li could always find numerous ways to defeat one.
It seemed as if the whole world was reduced to just Nie Li.
His focused gaze on the target made him seem like an eagle about to dive down.
Nie Li's young face was determined, and there was a majestic aura to his movements.
Swoosh! Nie Li pulled the trigger, launching a bolt.
The bolt flew like a silver streak, swift as a startled swan.
Nie Li's shot was precisely aimed at the horned goat’s blind spot.
"Hit!" Watching the bolt fly, Du Ze was taken aback.
Nie Li felt like a seasoned hunter.
The horned goat didn’t have the chance to dodge.
With a thud, the bolt struck its hind leg.
With a crash, the horned goat howled and toppled, landing right at Lu Piao's feet, raising clouds of dust.
Lu Piao took deep breaths, overwhelmed with tension, and looked at the still-bleating goat, thinking, "My goodness, that was too close! Thank heavens, my rear is intact."
If Nie Li's shot had been a little slower, he would have been in serious trouble!
If it had been a regular bolt, the injury would hardly affect the demonized horned goat.
It would have stood up quickly.
But their bolts were not ordinary; they were coated with a mix of Black Marsh Grass and Knotroot Grass juice, the horned goat's bane.
The toxin swiftly traveled through the goat's blood into its heart, causing its cries to grow weaker.
"So fast?" Du Ze was amazed.
He didn’t expect Nie Li's concoction to be so potent, rendering the robust horned goat completely defenseless in moments.
Lu Piao was equally surprised.
He was familiar with the horned goat's strength.
Usually, even two Bronze One-star martial artists would struggle to bring one down quickly.
But here was a goat taken out by just one shot?
"That was too thrilling!" Lu Piao thought back to the recent events, his heart still racing.
"If you hadn't run around recklessly, this horned goat wouldn't have posed any threat to you at all!" Nie Li chuckled softly.
"Fine."
Lu Piao's face reddened as he admitted his mistake.
He indeed hadn't followed the plan due to panic when seeing the goat charging.
Looking at the fallen horned goat, Du Ze felt like he was in a dream.
The poise and movements of Nie Li were etched in his mind.
It was the first time in his life that Du Ze admired someone so much! Nie Li's archery skills were masterful, and even with ten years of practice, an average person might not reach his level!
"Let's tidy up, keep the horns, neck fur, demon crystal, and demon spirit. Discard the rest!" Nie Li said swiftly.
The horned goat's demon crystal and spirit were in its head.
The demon crystal was about thumb-sized, something commonly found in demon beasts.
As for the demon spirit, only one in several thousand horned goats would have one, resembling a candle flame.
A horned goat with a demon spirit was significantly stronger than a regular one.
The horned goat was a rather low-level Bronze One-star demon beast, hence its parts weren't highly valued.
A pair of horns could sell for five demon spirit coins, neck fur for three, and the demon crystal for five as well.
Thus, even without a demon spirit, a horned goat could be worth thirteen demon spirit coins.
Taking down a horned goat only took about five minutes.
Could it be that by hunting horned goats this way, the three of them could earn thousands of demon spirit coins in a day?
Du Ze couldn't help but feel excited.
His family was very poor, with an annual income of only two to three thousand demon spirit coins.
To get Du Ze into Saint Orchid Academy, his family even borrowed a lot of money from relatives and friends.
Du Ze was their hope! If he could hunt horned goats with Nie Li, he could afford his own tuition fees!
Nie Li smiled faintly, "Let's hurry up. We won't rest tonight!"
"Okay!" Du Ze replied eagerly.
Although they hadn’t reached the Bronze One-star martial artist stage, their bodies were already quite strong.
An all-nighter was nothing to them.
Lu Piao couldn't help but groan.
These two were money-hungry, valuing earnings over sleep! Though he was a bit resentful, what could he do? After all, he’d joined the duo's escapades.
With tight cooperation, the three of them continued to hunt horned goats, selling the goods every fifty kills or so through Lu Piao.
In one night, the three of them hunted over 120 horned goats and earned more than 1,400 demon spirit coins, each of them pocketing over 400 coins.
For someone not yet a Bronze-level student, this was remarkable.
Even a Bronze martial artist would find earning 20 to 30 demon spirit coins a day impressive.
For seven consecutive days, they attended classes during the day and hunted horned goats at trial grounds at night, accumulating over 10,000 demon spirit coins.
This was an immense fortune for them.
Students at Saint Orchid Academy were puzzled.
Recently, the horned goat numbers in the trial grounds dropped significantly, whereas previously they could be found in abundance.
Now, it took a while to find even one.
Some wondered if a giant demon beast, like a striped tiger, had come in to hunt them? The academy even dispatched instructors to investigate but found nothing.
On the eighth night, Nie Li and his friends continued their hunt for horned goats under the dark night sky.
The night was pitch black, and it was already the third watch.
Lu Piao yawned, saying, "Nie Li, I can't hold on anymore, I'm going to sleep in the trees for a bit!" After seven days of non-stop hunting, he was exhausted.
Not only Lu Piao, but Du Ze was also feeling fatigued.
"Nie Li, I need to sleep too," Du Ze said.
His eyelids were heavy, and even an iron man would struggle to stay awake for seven days.
"Go ahead and rest. We'll pause tomorrow night. I have other plans," Nie Li said.
They already had over 16,000 demon spirit coins; that was their first significant gain.
Next, they could do many things and didn’t have to keep hunting goats.
Lu Piao and Du Ze climbed into the high tree branches and immediately fell into a deep sleep, their young faces still showing fatigue.
Though they were very mature for their age, they were still just teenagers.
Nie Li moved through the woods, with a bright moon overhead and the sounds of insects filling the air around him, making the night seem even quieter.
It was safe here, with no large demon beasts around.
Suddenly, Nie Li heard strange noises far away in the woods and saw a figure in the distance.
"Who could be here in the trial grounds so late?" Nie Li wondered, heading deeper into the forest.
After moving a few hundred meters, he concealed himself in the woods, looking out at a clearing bathed in moonlight.
There, under the bright moon, stood a tall and elegant figure.
Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and she wore a snug leather coat, emitting a gentle azure glow—an aura of soul force!
Although not yet at Bronze level, she was likely very close to reaching Bronze One-star soon!
Using the light of her soul force, Nie Li's gaze settled on her face.
Her eyes were gently closed, with long lashes fluttering, elegant brows, flawless white skin tinged with a healthy pink, and lips full and enticing.
She and Ye Ziyun were beauties of different sorts.
Ye Ziyun was serene and elegant like a beautiful violet, while she was enchanting and a bit cold, like a rose with thorns.
"Xiao Ning'er, so it's her!" Nie Li was surprised.
Xiao Ning'er was even more dedicated than he thought, practicing her demon spirit powers so late at night, probably close to reaching Bronze One-star.
In his past life, after reaching Bronze One-star, Xiao Ning'er fell seriously ill for over two years, causing a significant setback in her cultivation.
Though she managed to recover some ground through hard work, she was plagued by chronic illness ever after.
Yet, despite her illness, she was always as radiant as a star in the eyes of others, a testament to her determination.
Seeing Xiao Ning'er training so late, Nie Li realized she was diligent but also reckless with her health!
Thinking it over, Nie Li walked directly toward Xiao Ning'er.
"Who is it?" Xiao Ning'er opened her eyes, her voice commanding, pulling out a sharp dagger and looking at Nie Li warily, her face showing a hint of coldness.
Under the bright moonlight, her deep, captivating eyes held an inexplicable allure.
Although she was only thirteen, she was definitely a young beauty, with the snug leather clothing slightly accentuating her figure, a rare feature at her age.
"It's me, Nie Li," Nie Li said.
Though he hadn’t spoken to Xiao Ning'er before, they were classmates and somewhat familiar with each other.
Xiao Ning'er lowered her dagger but remained cautious and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Nie Li smiled calmly, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm practicing my soul force," Xiao Ning'er replied, looking at Nie Li under the bright moon.
He was rather dashing, unlike some who were unpleasant to look at.
Nie Li shrugged, "Just taking a stroll."
"You're lying. Don't think I don’t know; you've been hunting horned goats these days," Xiao Ning'er said.
She had noticed Nie Li and his friends but never approached them.
What puzzled her was how their arrows, coated with something peculiar, could bring down a horned goat in one shot.
But she didn't intend to dig into others' secrets.
"So, you knew all along," Nie Li looked at Xiao Ning'er.
Her pouting lips were alluring, but his heart already had Ye Ziyun, so he only admired Xiao Ning'er's beauty and hard work.
Despite being able to rely on her beauty alone to achieve high status, she chose to earn respect through her abilities.
Unfortunately, her methods were misguided.
Thinking this, Nie Li walked straight toward Xiao Ning'er.