55: Behind the volcano

The men were trying to snatch Hou Fatty’s scoreboard, but Hou Fatty refused to give in, gripping the scoreboard tightly.

"Let go, or I'll kill you."

One of the men warned Hou Fatty with a cold gaze.

"Your grandpa Pangzi isn't easily scared. Do you really think you'd let me go if I let go?"

"If it weren't for your numbers, Grandpa Pangzi wouldn't be afraid of you at all."

Hou Fatty’s tone was exceptionally firm, as if he embraced death.

The man raised his knife, ready to kill Li Changkong.

But before his long knife could fall, a ball of water completely enveloped him.

Immediately after, he felt his body become somewhat uncontrollable.

Then, under the manipulation of the water ball, he was slammed heavily into a distant giant tree.

Although this didn't directly kill him, it was certainly a severe injury.

The small group quickly huddled together, looking around, seemingly trying to find the culprit.

Li Changkong also stopped hiding at this moment and walked out from behind a large tree.

"If you let him go, I might consider giving you a way out, then quickly scram!"

Li Changkong looked at the several people in front of him, his tone tinged with impatience.

"Hahaha, have you been driven crazy by some monster? You, alone, are considering letting us go?"

The leading mage on the opposite side burst into laughter.

Black Flame had already been summoned by Li Changkong, and its target was precisely that mage.

...

In the blink of an eye, only a pile of equipment remained.

The little fatty, who had been sitting on the ground, sprang up instantly.

"If you hadn't come, I would have prepared my ultimate move."

"I didn't expect your strength to be quite good. Even if it doesn't reach 50% of mine, it's at least one or two percent."

Upon seeing Li Changkong arrive, Hou Fatty immediately started talking tough.

"With that mouth of yours, you probably couldn't even defeat a level 60 boss."

Looking at Hou Fatty, Li Changkong shook his head helplessly.

After Hou Fatty’s explanation, Li Changkong finally understood what had happened.

Thinking about it carefully, Hou Fatty was truly unlucky.

He had originally intended to find a team, but due to his low strength, he couldn't find one for a long time.

Finally, a team reluctantly took him in, but they constantly made him lure monsters to the front.

As soon as a monster appeared, he would act as a meat shield.

By now, he had already been beaten black and blue by those monsters along the way.

But who knew they would betray him? After arriving here, they actually wanted him to hand over his score points for them to redistribute.

In Hou Fatty’s view, these points were hard-earned, so he naturally wasn't willing to hand them over.

"Today, your grandpa Pangzi owes you a favor."

"If you ever face any difficulties in the future, I will come to your aid immediately."

Hou Fatty patted Li Changkong’s shoulder, speaking with great bravado.

Li Changkong didn't pay much attention to his words, instead rechecking his score.

This time, he had gained another 1,500 points, bringing his total to 10,000.

If it weren't for these two unexpected windfalls, it would have been difficult for Li Changkong to reach 10,000 points.

His goal for this novice competition was the championship itself.

Now that he had 10,000 points, he still didn't know if he could win the championship.

Inside the Secret Realm, one couldn't see the score rankings.

Meanwhile, the students outside who could see the score rankings stared with wide eyes, unable to believe what they saw.

The second-place score had just reached 5,000, and Li Changkong’s had already increased to 10,000.

In recent years' freshman competitions, there had never been such a large gap between first and second place.

"Then I thank you very much."

"What are you planning to do next? Do you want to follow me, or continue on your own?"

Li Changkong looked at Hou Fatty and continued to ask.

"I'm just worried that something might happen to you on the way, so I might as well just follow you."

"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, no one will be able to harm you."

Hou Fatty puffed out his chest and said proudly.

"By the way, what exactly is your profession? Why do you feel so weak?"

Li Changkong looked at Hou Fatty, asking curiously.

"My profession is a hidden profession."

Hou Fatty became even more arrogant upon hearing this.

"What?"

Li Changkong had never seen a hidden profession before.

"Treasure Hunter!"

Hou Fatty's words were resounding, but they left Li Changkong stunned.

"What kind of bizarre skill is this? What kind of bizarre profession is this?"

Li Changkong was very curious.

"As long as there's treasure within ten kilometers, I can basically detect it and quickly get there."

"The reason I was able to pass that assessment before was actually thanks to this skill."

Hou Fatty gave a wry smile and continued.

The name Treasure Hunter sounds like a life profession, but it is not.

However, in terms of combat, it is indeed not that proficient.

In a Secret Realm like this, Hou Fatty's skills would truly show their power.

Dungeons are always linear, meaning they are straightforward, and the treasures within them are all left at the end.

But Secret Realms are different; there are many treasures within Secret Realms.

The quality of these treasures naturally varies, with good ones worth tens of millions, and even bad ones worth hundreds of thousands of chinese yuan.

"Just try to cause me less trouble on the way, that's all."

Li Changkong joked, then continued on his way.

Following Li Changkong’s previous plan, he soon arrived at the other side of the volcano.

On the back of the volcano were various sizes of caves.

These cave entrances varied in size; the large ones could even fit several adults walking side-by-side.

The smaller caves were like mouse holes, only suitable for mice to live in.

"These caves are a bit strange; they don't look like they were naturally eroded by wind."

"It seems no one has been here yet."

Hou Fatty stepped forward and began to examine them carefully.

Although Hou Fatty had a rough appearance, his mind was extremely meticulous.

"These caves in front of us should lead to the core of this volcano."

"The temperature of this volcano is a bit too high; why don't we retreat first?"

Hou Fatty continued to ask.

"Since we're already here, aren't you going to show off your skills?"

Li Changkong had no intention of retreating and looked at Hou Fatty.

"Of course, no problem, but what treasures are in this place?"