Like sweeping away withered leaves and breaking rotten branches.

Seeing that Chen Longshi and his companions refused to retreat, the leader among the bowmen grew cold-eyed. "Ignorant fools. Remove them."

"Yes, chief."

The ice archer stepped back rather than forward, vaulting onto a tree branch. He drew his bow, and a massive arrow of crystalline ice slowly took shape. Meanwhile, a burly man wearing steel claws charged first at Chen Longshi. His clawed hand formed the shape of a dragon's maw, emitting a faint dragon's roar—a renowned bronze-level star technique called "Dragon's Roar Claw."

Born strong and powerful, his comprehension was poor, though he had some insight into body-forging star arts. This "Dragon's Roar Claw" required the cultivation of eighteen star runes, making it a top-tier bronze technique, difficult to master. Yet he spent years honing it until it became second nature—every strike deadly, leaving no room for mercy.

Chen Longshi's gaze was indifferent; only when his opponent came close did he slowly raise his hand, launching a punch like a meteor directly at the strongest point of the dragon maw. Both were star-forged realm warriors, but even within the same rank, gaps persisted. Otherwise, why would this world have the infamous term "genius"?

Unfortunately for them, Chen Longshi was precisely such a genius.

"Meteor" fell instantly into the "dragon maw," force meeting force, neither side yielding. The burly man felt a flash of contempt—daring to clash head-on with him? Unless luck favored Chen Longshi, he would be crippled. But as the meteor actually struck, his expression changed in a heartbeat—a tingling sense of danger made his scalp crawl. Battle-hardened and quick to react, he twisted his body at the last moment, barely avoiding the thunderous attack.

A sharp crack echoed.

It was not Chen Longshi who was crippled, but the burly man. Meteor met dragon maw, crushing through like a battering ram—his arm broke instantly.

"How can he be so strong!" The burly man was filled with disbelief and grief. The force of the meteor shifted, sweeping sideways. With a scream, he was sent flying, crashing to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth. Several ribs were shattered, leaving him unable to fight further.

Chen Longshi, after landing the blow, wasted no time—he charged into the enemy ranks like an ancient general. His spear rose and fell, meeting almost no resistance; all who opposed him were knocked aside or sent flying. His movements were simple and unadorned, every strike defeating an enemy, every blow lethal. One man and one spear, cutting through the crowd with the momentum of an army.

The basic spear technique he practiced was itself a fusion of ancient spear arts.

In antiquity, the spear was a standard weapon, for both infantry and cavalry. Mastering it was essential for soldiers. On ancient battlefields, three deadly spear arts prevailed—one from the Luo family, famed as "even the Great Luo Golden Immortal cannot escape"; another praised by Qi Jiguang as "the greatest spear under heaven"; and the third, created by Marshal Yue, known as "king of spears."

The Luo family spear, also called "Ten Forms, Five Tigers Gate-Cutting Spear," was said to be passed down from the legendary Luo Yi of the Sui-Tang era. Its verses: "First thrust the brow, second the hand, third the shoulder, fourth the elbow, fifth the chest, sixth the knee, seventh the strange python through the crotch, eighth the golden rooster pecking wildly, ninth the silver serpent piercing the throat, tenth the Five Tigers Gate-Cutting Spear, turn the horse and the enemy cannot escape." Its ultimate move was "Turning Horse Spear"—even the Great Luo Golden Immortal could not evade.

The Yang family spear, also called "Pear Blossom Spear," was legendary—"Twenty years of Pear Blossom Spear, undefeated under heaven." Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou, and He Liangchen praised this technique, Qi Jiguang calling it the origin of spear arts and integrating it into his own troops. In his "New Treatise on Effective Military Training: On the Use of Long Weapons," he detailed its marvels: "The Yang family spear is unpredictable, infinitely ingenious, and universally esteemed."

That treatise also recorded: "Yang family spear has feints and realities, surprise and orthodoxy, layers of deception and correctness. Its advance is sharp, its retreat swift, its stance perilous, its rhythm short; unmoving like a mountain, moving like thunder." In combat, it was indeed the greatest spear technique.

The Yue family spear belonged to the Yue family boxing system, said to be created by Marshal Yue Fei, uniquely titled "King of Spears." The military academies were rich in resources; all three spear arts were documented, but each practitioner had their preference. Even with Chen Longshi’s prodigious talent, personal taste played a part.

His chosen spear art leaned toward the Yue family spear—the "King of Spears."

The movements of the Yue spear were unadorned, each designed to defeat the enemy, every strike lethal. Offensively, it included thrusts, jabs, sweeps, flicks; defensively, parries, blocks, frames, covers, slides. The technique integrated offense and defense, executing both in a single action. Defense carried offense, offense contained defense, leaving opponents no chance to counter.

Its deadliest moves were "Desolate Smoke in the Desert" and "Setting Sun Over the Long River."

Each killed with a single thrust—deadly, unrivaled spear arts.

With a master of spear arts rampaging through the enemy ranks, faces turned pale—no one expected such ferocity, especially the force carried by the spear. "We’re all in the star-forged realm—how can the gap be so vast?"

Little did they know, every strike was empowered by his mental force.

Though his mental force was still weak and not at full strength, he didn’t need it all in combat—just the right push at the right moment, and it shifted the tide with minimal effort.

"Brother, you’re incredible! Save one for me!" Zhang Liyuanqing, behind him, was stirred, abandoning his plan to conserve energy and rushing in with sword drawn. But a figure darted ahead of him—Jiang Yuner, shouting excitedly, charged into the fray, with Ji Yao quickly following, worried she might be hurt. Nie Renxiong sighed; he wanted to join the charge but ended up last. "Fine, I’ll just hold the line for you reckless bunch."

A sharp whistle sounded.

At a critical moment, a meter-long icy arrow pierced the air. The leader on the tree, unable to hold back, unleashed his long-prepared star technique, aiming straight at Chen Longshi. But the arrow was intercepted—a small, gleaming throwing knife, shaped like a willow leaf, floated swiftly through the air, striking the arrow head-on less than ten meters from its release.

A crackling sound echoed; invisible chill spread instantly.

Stung by his own cold, the ice archer shuddered and retreated. Yet the knife stubbornly kept flying toward him—he raised his hand, conjuring an ice wall, which was repeatedly pierced. Alarmed, he dared not hesitate, mustering all his star force to form walls at an incredible speed, finally stopping the deadly knife.

And the distance—barely fifty meters away.

Looking back, the ground was littered with groaning enemies—none left standing.

"You... don’t get cocky!" The ice archer’s face showed fear; he had underestimated their fighting power. "Just wait, our Monster-Slaying Society is far bigger than this!"

"Still mouthing off? Watch me knock him flat," Jiang Yuner was itching for action, but Chen Longshi stopped her.

"No need to chase. The Star Spirit Fruit Tree is more important."

That man’s movement was agile, and his strange ice talent made pursuit difficult. Besides, this was just a test—there was a chance they might work together in the future, so it was impossible to go all out.

"What should we do with these people?" Nie Renxiong looked at the defeated men.

Ji Yao said, "What else? Take their food and water, let them send for rescue."

"No, you can’t take ours—"

"Shut up. Leaving you your star cores is mercy enough. Keep complaining, and we’ll take those too," barked Nie Renxiong. Luckily, they didn’t lack star cores—whether for graduation or ranking, it didn’t matter.

The defeated foes fell silent, reluctantly activating their star disks to send rescue signals.

The team collected a bounty of food and tools, then turned toward the source of the star force disturbance. Crossing a mountain ridge, they came upon a towering cliff. To the east, the mountain range soared into the clouds, the peaks draped in ribbons of iridescent light, shifting ceaselessly. Under the aurora’s glow, snow lingered on the summit, ice rocks piled high.

Chen Longshi stood spear in hand at the cliff edge, gazing out into the night. All he saw was endless mist, no borders in sight. The wind howled at his ears, like raging tides sweeping the clouds, rolling forth—a boundless sea of clouds.

From here, the source of the star force disturbance was finally in view.

Below the cliff, a dozen Star Spirit Fruit Trees grew along the sheer rock face, their branches stretching into the valley. The leaves shimmered, and several peculiar fruits at their tips were especially striking, madly absorbing star force as they awaited the moment of ripening.

Many had already laid ambush nearby, but none acted.

First, the fruits were not yet ripe. Second, some had already arrived in the valley.

From afar, it looked like a native tribe. At the small stone trough and bend below the cliff, dozens of primitive triangular wooden tents were set up, covered with dry grass and vines. Arrow towers stood atop the cliff, with barricades at the entrance. A giant banner fluttered in the tribe, emblazoned with the Red Giant Tribe’s totem—a golden blazing sun pierced by a golden spear (inspired by the Malter family crest), showing the Red Giants’ civilization was not simple.

The fire pits in the tribe burned bright, and even at night, patrols moved constantly. Unlike humans, the Red Giants were all tall—the shortest over two meters, many between three and four meters. Just seeing them from afar was oppressive.

No wonder this area was called the Red Earth Zone.

They hid in a corner, observing the valley below. There were about 125 Red Giants, not a small number. No women or children were present, only adult males—proof this was not their main settlement, but likely a team sent specifically to harvest the Star Spirit Fruit Trees.

Such a sizeable grove meant every harvest was a substantial gain. It made sense to station a permanent guard here.

"Looks like the fruit will ripen tonight. Too bad so many have noticed this place," Zhang Liyuanqing said regretfully.

Ji Yao raised her binoculars, watching from the shadows. "We’re not the only candidates in this secret realm. At twelve o’clock, that group hiding is the local Nine-Headed Bird Consortium’s dimensional exploration team from Chuzhou. On the right, in the narrow passage, another group is getting restless—none familiar faces. At nine o’clock in the woods, there’s a team of examinees—oh, the archer who escaped is among them. Wait, another group is arriving..."

Everyone turned to look. A temporary expedition team of candidates crossed into the Red Earth Zone, ambitious and eager. Twenty-five strong, they were another formidable force.

"What now?"

Chen Longshi pondered a moment. "Hold our positions. Others will be more impatient than us. Ji Yao, keep a close eye on the canyon below—I have a feeling it’s not as simple as it looks."

"Understood."

Time slipped by. The star force waves from the Star Spirit Fruits grew stronger. The Red Giant tribe mobilized completely, gathered around the fire pit, singing and dancing in a celebration, with harvesting tools ready.

The tension in the shadows only intensified.

"They’re coming!"

At Chen Longshi’s low shout, the wind suddenly sharpened, whistling fiercely.