98: Fire Elementalist

The tip of the fangtian halberd swept horizontally.

A sharp, cold glint severed the tendons of the Raging Ape.

It shrieked in pain, jumping about in a frenzy.

Its wrist was a bloody mess, a ghastly sight.

Just as Li Canglan was about to finish off the Raging Ape, a whistling sound of strong wind suddenly came from afar.

Li Canglan turned his head and saw a fireball shooting over from the distance.

Its target was aimed straight at his vitals!

Li Canglan's gaze grew solemn. Was there actually another Ability User hiding in the shadows?

The methods of an Ability User were unpredictable and elusive.

He wasn't entirely certain he could be their match.

In a flash of thought, Li Canglan retreated explosively, immediately putting distance between them.

However, to his surprise, he had misjudged the situation!

The landing spot of that fireball was not his location.

Instead, it was the Raging Ape!

With a loud bang, the Raging Ape's head exploded like a watermelon.

Red and white splatter rained across the ground.

Li Canglan's gaze became wary.

The power of this Ability User's skill was stronger than he had imagined!

He had been inches away from the Raging Ape just moments ago.

If he hadn't dodged, even if the opponent's target was the Raging Ape, Li Canglan likely wouldn't have fared well.

Before long, a few young people who looked to be in their early twenties and dressed very trendily walked out of the forest.

These five were vaguely led by a young woman.

The woman in the lead was wearing a red battle skirt and holding a staff embedded with gems.

Li Canglan's gaze landed on the woman's face.

He wasn't very good at evaluating a woman's looks, but at the very least, this woman appeared quite pretty.

The only flaw was her attitude of looking down at people through her nose.

However, given the status of Ability Users, they were always being fawned over.

Over time, it was inevitable that she would become arrogant.

But Li Canglan wouldn't be swayed by her good looks.

"I hope you can give me an explanation."

"My friend, apologies. This Raging Ape is one of our graduation projects."

A gentle-looking young man standing beside the woman stepped forward and said apologetically to Li Canglan.

These words left Li Canglan speechless.

It looked like these people were likely graduates from some higher institution.

But was his luck really that bad?

To run into someone else's graduation project and have it clash with his own prey?

Even so, that wasn't a reason for them to steal his prey!

Seeing that Li Canglan didn't seem willing to back down, the man continued,

"We didn't intend to steal your prey. Everything that drops from this Raging Ape will belong to you."

This young man's attitude was excellent, leaving Li Canglan unable to find fault.

This wasn't a game.

There was no such thing as the monster belonging to whoever killed it.

In the wild, the rule for all spoils of war was that whoever had the bigger fist owned them!

Although the authorities advocated for compatriots to help one another, in the wild, that couldn't bind anyone.

In this situation, the man's willingness to yield the spoils made his actions all the more commendable.

It made Li Canglan involuntarily think highly of him.

"He's just a lone traveler, why should we give the Raging Ape's corpse to him?"

However, the woman in the red dress was somewhat dissatisfied with the man's actions.

"Any spoils of war should go to the capable. He's just a Martial Artist, what is he worth?"

The woman in the red dress was clearly used to being the center of attention.

She didn't even notice that as soon as she said this, even her teammates' expressions instantly turned ugly.

They could accept the woman in the red dress being arrogant.

They could also accept her causing trouble or insulting the other party.

However, her words had implicitly insulted all Martial Artists!

People who speak without thinking are not welcome anywhere.

If not for her identity as an Ability User, the gentle-mannered man would likely have fallen out with her as well.

"Martial Artists are indeed worth nothing."

Li Canglan laughed and said,

"To grow up while being protected by ungrateful scum like you, these Martial Artists truly lack the ability to judge character."

The woman in the red dress turned livid, and scorching flames faintly gathered on the staff in her hand.

"You have no right to speak arrogantly in front of me!"

As the words fell, she didn't give Li Canglan a chance to speak.

A fireball with a diameter of half a meter instantly brewed and shot out.

It traced a long trail of flames, heading straight for Li Canglan.

Li Canglan had been prepared in his heart and didn't show the slightest bit of contempt.

Although Martial Artists could also use Martial Skills to release elemental attacks—like his Wind Sweeps Ten Thousand Thunders, for example—the power likely couldn't compare to an Ability User who specialized in it!

All signs indicated that this woman in the red dress was likely skilled in fire-attribute abilities.

Therefore, even though Li Canglan possessed Wind Sweeps Ten Thousand Thunders, he didn't choose to meet it head-on.

Instead, he relied on Stepping Wind Steps to shift his position, dodging the fireball by a hair's breadth.

The fireball exploded on the ground, burning all the surrounding weeds to ash.

The gentle-mannered man only then reacted.

He didn't speak up to persuade them otherwise.

Before leaving the academy, the mentor had instructed them to protect Zhu Yufang well.

The leader of their project team had even made everyone promise to obey Zhu Yufang's commands.

He could persuade Zhu Yufang, but since the battle had already begun, there was no need.

The Human Race could afford to lose one Martial Artist, but it could not afford to lose one Ability User!

The five-person squad quickly surrounded Li Canglan in the middle.

Zhu Yufang's gaze was cold.

"A mere ant, and you dare to fight back!"

Li Canglan smiled.

"Since you made the first move, don't blame me for being impolite."

As the words fell, the energy within the Raging Wind Thunder Eagle Martial Artist mark erupted violently.

Executing Stepping Wind Steps, Li Canglan arrived in front of Zhu Yufang in the blink of an eye.

Incidentally, he also cast a teasing smile her way.

Zhu Yufang, furious from embarrassment, raised her staff, and a fire snake spread out, biting toward Li Canglan's throat.

Seeing that he had successfully provoked the opponent, Li Canglan chuckled.

Before the fire snake flew over, he had already dodged to the side, avoiding the fire snake's attack.

Ability Users like Zhu Yufang were usually very well protected.

They might possess great destructive power, but their combat experience could be said to be pitifully low.

Li Canglan could easily provoke her.

Once they lost their reason, such people would only attack mindlessly.

Predictions or combos and the like would all be thrown to the back of their minds.

With a few flashes of movement, Li Canglan arrived at Zhu Yufang's side.

Then, the fangtian halberd slashed down violently.

After replacing Eight Directions Thunderclap, Li Canglan's Thunderbolt Slash no longer had the booming sound of thunder.

However, it was heavy and powerful, with even greater momentum!

The gentle-mannered man and the others seemed to have long anticipated that Li Canglan would prioritize targeting Zhu Yufang.

The staff wielder and the sword wielder rushed over one after another.

However, their speed was clearly a notch slower than Li Canglan's.

Only one tall person among them seemed to have mastered a decent movement Martial Skill.

In an instant, they arrived behind Li Canglan.

Li Canglan's gaze narrowed, but he didn't dodge.

He intended to rely on his thick skin and tough flesh to trade injury for a kill.