4: Chapter 4 Eagles and Ants

"Ding! Combat has caused the level-up effect to double; Realm increased by 3%!"

"Ding! Combat has caused the level-up effect to double; Realm increased by 3%!"

"Ding! Combat has caused the level-up effect to double; Realm increased by 4%!"

...

Jiang Ling forged ahead, slaughtering mutated beasts incessantly. Soon, his Rank broke through to Level 6.

"Ding! Combat has caused the level-up effect to double; Realm increased by 5%!"

"Ding! Your level has reached Level 6 (1.785%)!"

Upon reaching Level 6, Jiang Ling's basic attributes were once again enhanced.

host: Jiang Ling

Rank: Level 6 (1.785%)

Strength: 30 (X10)

Agility: 32 (X10)

Vitality: 36 (X10)

Defense: 17 (X10)

Mental Energy: 35 (X10)

Supernatural Ability: World-Ending Divine Thunder (SSS-Rank)

Martial Skills: Basic Fist Technique (Great Perfection), Basic Leg Technique (Great Perfection), Basic Saber Technique (Great Perfection)

"Damn, the effect of the tenfold amplification is even stronger now!"

Jiang Ling felt a surge of excitement as he looked at his increased attributes.

The tenfold enhancement was applied on top of his basic attributes; if a basic attribute increased by 5 points, his overall attribute would increase by 50 points!

This was simply terrifying!

As expected of the Chaos Sacred Body!

Having reached Level 6, it became even easier for Jiang Ling to continue hunting mutated beasts.

As long as a mutated beast hadn't reached Level 10, killing it was effortless for him.

By noon, his Rank increased again, reaching Level 7!

His confidence bolstered, Jiang Ling continued forward, striving to reach Level 10 today!

He hadn't walked far when he saw four or five people walking toward him, and the two parties came face-to-face.

Jiang Ling gripped his steel saber with one hand and narrowed his eyes slightly, preparing for combat.

In school, the teachers had once said that in a Secret Realm, besides being careful of mutated beasts and foreign races, one must also be wary of other Martial Artists.

There are no legal constraints within a Secret Realm; the evils of human nature will erupt in concentration here.

"Oh? Isn't this the great top student, Jiang Ling?"

"Why are you hunting mutated beasts in the Secret Realm alone? Has the Jiang Family not sent any experts to protect you?"

"I just saw your younger brother, Jiang Ting; he has two Third-Tier Martial Artists following him at all times!"

To Jiang Ling's surprise, the other party had no intention of attacking upon seeing him; instead, they greeted him warmly.

However, this greeting was filled entirely with ridicule and schadenfreude.

Jiang Ling was taken aback, but looking closely, he realized the speaker was actually his classmate, Yang He.

Yang He's grades in class were decent, ranking in the top ten, but the gap between him and Jiang Ling was immense.

Jiang Ling was always first in class, and his lead over the second-place student was a literal chasm, leaving them with no hope of catching up, only able to look up in despair.

Precisely because of this, Jiang Ling was the target of much jealousy and resentment in class.

The higher the melody, the fewer who can join in; the tree that stands out in the forest will be the first destroyed by the wind!

It was the same everywhere!

Because of his excellence, Jiang Ling had been marginalized and targeted quite a bit at school!

This Yang He liked to suck up to Jiang Ting and was close to him, so he naturally belonged to the group targeting Jiang Ling.

"A piece of Trash who awakened an F-Rank Supernatural Ability—would the Jiang Family send people to protect him?"

"Stop joking!"

"For someone like this, even eating is a waste of food."

"I heard that the Jiang Family has already kicked him out!"

Another boy beside Yang He also spoke up mockingly.

This boy was named Dong Cheng, and he was a bird of a feather with Yang He.

"Sigh! How tragic!"

"The former top student of our No. 1 High School has actually fallen to such a state. I can't bear to watch!"

"The former darling of the teachers ended up Awakening an F-Rank. Although I'm not great, I at least awakened a C-Rank!"

Yang He continued his mockery and ridicule with a smug expression, seemingly trying to reclaim all the humiliation of being suppressed by Jiang Ling over the years.

"Why are you guys saying that about Jiang Ling? This is too much!"

A girl in the group said indignantly, "For a Genius like Jiang Ling to awaken an F-Rank is already painful enough!"

"You're still gloating—do you even consider yourselves classmates?"

"Zhao Nan, we aren't gloating; we're just lamenting for the great Genius Jiang!" Yang He giggled. "How can one not sigh when a former Genius falls to this?"

"Say... Great Genius Jiang, you probably don't have the money to sign up for training classes now, right?"

"Since we're classmates after all, we'll take you along. We'll cover your fee!"

...

"No need!"

Jiang Ling's face was indifferent.

"Being with you all will only slow me down!"

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Yang He and Dong Cheng immediately snorted. "My dear Great Genius, still so arrogant?"

"Look at your own status now!"

"No matter how strong your martial talent is, an F-Rank Supernatural Ability dooms you to be a mediocre nobody for the rest of your life!"

Jiang Ling curled his lip, too lazy to waste more words on Yang He and the others. He adjusted the straps of his backpack and walked away on his own.

"You..."

Yang He and Dong Cheng were instantly fuming with rage.

From beginning to end, Jiang Ling had maintained an attitude of complete disregard toward them, like an eagle in the sky disdainful of talking to ants.

This left them feeling extremely stifled.

"What's he acting so tough for?"

"Does he really think he's still that Genius the whole school looked up to!"

Dong Cheng spat at Jiang Ling's receding back.

"Ignore him, let's continue!"

"Someone like him is destined to be finished in this life!"

"He actually dares to come to the Secret Realm alone to hunt mutated beasts; it's a toss-up whether he can even survive today!"

Zhao Nan looked in the direction Jiang Ling had left, feeling a pang of heartache.

For a Genius like Jiang Ling to fall to the bottom in a single day and be kicked out of his Family, he must be suffering terribly!

They walked along the path Jiang Ling had come from, looking for suitable mutated beasts to practice on. Before long, they suddenly smelled a strong scent of blood.

"Something's wrong!"

They immediately went on alert, creeping forward step by step.

Soon, they saw a mess of traces ahead, clearly the result of a great battle.

"Someone fought here. Was it against mutated beasts?"

They carefully parted the bushes and looked ahead, discovering the corpses of three Sabertooth Tigers.

"Are those Sabertooth Tiger corpses?"

"And three of them?"

"Who was so bold?"

"Hunting three Sabertooth Tigers at once?"

"Why didn't they take the corpses?"

"Wait? The Sabertooth Tigers' teeth were dug out and taken!"

"This is a big shot!"

"Sabertooth Tigers this large could sell for at least tens of thousands at a big hotel, yet they were discarded like worn-out shoes, with only the teeth taken!"

...

"Could it be... Jiang Ling?"

Zhao Nan remembered that Jiang Ling had just come from this direction and couldn't help but speak up.

"How is that possible?"

Yang He immediately denied it. "Jiang Ling is a Trash with an F-Rank ability and he's all alone. How could he possibly kill three Sabertooth Tigers?"

"These three Sabertooth Tigers are all Level 6 mutated beasts!"

"Even a First-Tier Martial Artist wouldn't find it easy to take them down."

...

"But I just saw Sabertooth Tiger teeth in Jiang Ling's backpack!"

Zhao Nan said.