180: Chapter 180 Tensions Rise! Who Will Win the Sixth-Tier Thunderhorn Rhinoceros?

Night Crow was very frustrated.

Crouching in the shadows of a black rock wall on the outer edge of the mine entrance, staring at the massive silhouette of the Thunder Horn Rhino in the distance, he felt he should have checked his horoscope before leaving the house today.

Tier 4 · Peak, sixth on the heavenly pride ranking.

The youngest Core Disciple of the Shadow Academy's assassination system.

These three labels were enough to make peers look up to him at any martial arts academy in the Federation.

Yet at this moment, Night Crow's mentality was being tortured to the point of collapse.

The story had to start from the beginning.

He had been stuck at a Bottleneck for half a year.

To achieve a Breakthrough, the simplest method was to obtain the qualification to Cultivate the Shadow Academy's secret art, [Shadow Kill].

But the school's treasure wasn't given just because you were a Genius; you had to exchange it with merit points.

To scrape together that number, he had spent over three months.

Hunting high-tier Source Beasts, reselling Materials, doing dark web missions—he had tried every method to farm merit points.

He had finally managed to accumulate the merit points, just one step away from his goal.

Instructor Ying Wuhen returned from the south.

Night Crow didn't know what his head instructor had been doing in the south, only that on the afternoon she returned, she had a cold face and, without a word, dragged the entire school out for a practical combat assessment.

Her strikes were ruthless; usually, training resulted in nothing more than a bone fracture, but that day, she aimed directly for vital points.

Night Crow's left rib still ached faintly even now.

But to him, this wasn't the most fatal part.

The most fatal part was that after Instructor Ying Wuhen returned, she immediately changed the exchange rules!

The exchange rate for Source Beast Materials for merit points was cut in half.

The threshold for exchanging for the secret art library increased by thirty percent.

Overnight, his three months of accumulation was effectively halved.

The gap, which had been just one step away from being filled, was forced back to the starting line.

Night Crow wanted to curse at what kind of madness this woman was having.

But he couldn't beat her.

Instructor Ying Wuhen was the type of person who, if you cursed at her, would make you "accidentally disappear" in the assassination training grounds for three days.

Under this double blow, he ended up appearing in this godforsaken Source Abyss No. 7.

The Tier 6 Thunder Horn Rhino was his target.

A complete Tier 6 Peak Thunder-element Source Beast Material, even at the devalued rate under the new rules, could fill all his gaps in one go.

It would even leave him with enough extra money to exchange for a few bottles of high-tier healing potions.

He contacted his father and spent a large sum to hire two Tier 6 instructors from the Shadow Academy to assist him.

With the three of them working together to assassinate a Tier 6 Peak Source Beast, while risky, it was not impossible.

The Shadow Academy's assassination system was inherently a model for overcoming the strong while being weak.

The plan was perfect.

The only problem was...

He was not the only one eyeing this Thunder Horn Rhino.

Night Crow's gaze swept from behind the rock wall to the other group in the center of the basin.

The Hunter Association.

The man leading them, with sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes, wore a six-star hunter badge on his shoulder.

Tier 6 Diamond strength.

Behind him followed four guards, two five-star and two four-star, all experts with an Aura as steady as a mountain.

Their strength was far superior to his own.

Which damn Young Lord from a big Family had run to the border to gild their resume and steal his monster?

His side had two Tier 6s, plus himself, a Tier 4 · Peak...

In terms of high-end combat power, the advantage was his.

As for the low-end...

I am an assassin!

Assassins never fight head-on; being seen by you already counts as a loss...

That Thunder Horn Rhino hadn't moved.

Its Source Energy fluctuations rose and fell, and the electric arcs on its horn flared and receded, looking just like a thunder bomb ready to explode at any moment.

Whoever goes first will be the one to take that hit.

The three parties were just deadlocked like this.

...

Now, Young Master Gu Lingfeng was equally frustrated.

He hadn't been frustrated before meeting Night Crow's group.

To be precise, he was in a state of extreme excitement at that time.

So excited that he didn't even pay much attention to the terrifying Source Energy pressure of the Thunder Horn Rhino.

The reason was simple.

Two hours ago, he had received a reply from Commander Huangfu Jing.

"Young Master Gu Lingfeng, can you be more mature? How is your strength lately? Can you put more effort into your Cultivate?!"

A normal person, even a parrot that had just learned to speak, could read the central idea of "You are very childish, stop bothering me, get lost and go Cultivate" between the lines.

But how could Young Master Gu Lingfeng be a normal person?

He was a severe romantic fool.

In his eyes, this screen full of Song typeface text immediately transformed into a supreme holy decree radiating pink bubbles!

His heart was accelerating, and his cheeks were burning.

"Commander Huangfu Jing... she actually started asking me to be mature!"

"What kind of signal is this?!"

"This means she has started to seriously consider accepting my pursuit!"

"Maturity is a prerequisite for a man to be entrusted with a lifelong commitment and to build a Family!"

"She is hinting to me that I can no longer act like a child who only knows how to play around!"

"She is using the perspective of a 'supportive wife' to advise me in advance to take on the responsibilities of a husband and father after the future marriage between the Gu Family and the Huangfu Family!"

"She wants me to become a mature man who can stand tall and be someone she can rely on!"

Young Master Gu Lingfeng was trembling with excitement, his eyes slightly reddened.

"And... and she actually took the initiative to ask about my strength! She never asked before!"

"She only ever cared about missions, comrades, and the Federation!"

"Now she cares about me! This means that in her heart, I am no longer an insignificant suitor!"

Young Master Gu Lingfeng instantly constructed a complete logical loop in his head:

Commander Huangfu Jing caring about his strength meant she was starting to care about his growth, which meant she was already considering marrying him...

She was waiting for him to be worthy of her.

"I understand."

Young Master Gu Lingfeng clenched his fists, flames of near-madness igniting in his eyes.

"Commander Huangfu Jing, I will not let you down."

So he came.

To hunt this Tier 6 Thunder Horn Rhino.

Not just to Breakthrough to Tier 6 Peak!

More importantly, he wanted to use the Thunder Horn Rhino's horn core to craft a "Purple Lightning Phoenix Feather Shield" for Commander Huangfu Jing.

The Qixi Festival was almost here.

A custom-made Tier 6 defensive armament, combined with her terrifying armament talent...

It could express his feelings without making Commander Huangfu Jing feel like he was making a big fuss.

At that time, he would hold the Phoenix Feather Shield, kneel on one knee...

Perfect.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng felt he was simply a Genius of love.

"Wait..."

Just as Young Master Gu Lingfeng was immersed in the romantic blockbuster he was directing, his gaze swept toward the shadows at the edge of the basin.

Three extremely faint Aura fluctuations.

Ordinary people wouldn't be able to detect them at all, but Young Master Gu Lingfeng was Tier 6.

Moreover, although the three people's concealment techniques were clever, they carried a scent that made him extremely uncomfortable.

It was those guys from the Shadow Academy who couldn't see the light again.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng's expression darkened.

He hated these night-walkers who kept company with darkness the most; each one of them was gloomy, like mushrooms that had never seen the sun.

He took a step forward, releasing his Aura as a Tier 6 expert without reservation.

"You things hiding your heads and showing your tails, get out here!"

The area behind the rock wall was silent for two seconds.

Then, a tall and handsome figure walked out from the shadows.

It was Night Crow.

He was followed by two Tier 6 instructors, and the three of them stood in a triangular formation.

Young Master Gu Lingfeng didn't wait for the other party to speak; he lifted his chin slightly, revealing the arrogance of a Young Lord of the Gu Family.

"This Thunder Horn Rhino belongs to my Hunter Association. If you're sensible, get lost now. Otherwise... I don't mind letting you stay in this Gobi Desert forever."

Night Crow stared at Young Master Gu Lingfeng with hostile eyes.

"Border exotic beasts are ownerless; it depends on one's ability."

His voice was dry and hoarse, devoid of any emotion.

"Although the Hunter Association is powerful, this is the Western Frontier Source Abyss, not your backyard."

Young Master Gu Lingfeng looked down at this young punk.

Why was he just as annoying as that one in Jiangcheng yesterday?

The Tier 6 Source Energy pressure was released without concealment, and the scorched earth beneath his feet began to crack.

"Kid, I'll count to three; take your people and leave. The Gu Family's prey is not something you academy types can touch."

The Auras of both sides collided, causing the surrounding gravel to bounce up, and the scorched black ground made cracking sounds.

Night Crow didn't move.

But the figures of the two instructors behind him slowly blurred.

3v5, combined with the Shadow Academy's assassination tactics...

It was not necessarily impossible to fight.

Furthermore, there was still a violent Tier 6 Thunder Horn Rhino nearby.

At this moment, the young instructor with a cold face lowered his head and whispered.

"This person is Young Master Gu Lingfeng. Son of the Hunter Association president, a Tier 6 Earth-element Awakened."

Night Crow raised his head, his black eyes calm and without any ripples.

"So it is Young Master Gu."

"Young Master Gu has come from afar, so you should be a guest. But in the border hunting grounds, there is no such thing as first come, first served."

"If you insist on using your status to suppress people, then I will have to let Instructor Ying Wuhen talk to President Gu."