Rise of the Midnight King - Rise of the Midnight King – Chapter 69

A short time before, Bao bi was watching the scene with contemplation. He naturally wanted to help the girls, but even if he was confident in his strength, he could see the senior girl being overwhelmed and didn’t think he could do much better. Maybe, if he could lead them away from the girls, he could escape the monsters on his own, but the beasts seem dead set on the girls.

“Why are they so determined to attack the girls behind her?” Bao bi muttered out loud.

“It’s because she has a beast attractant on her.” A voice came from the side.

Bao bi hadn’t realized another boy was crouching nearby, but when the two glanced at each other, there was instant recognition.

“You’re that boy…”

“You! Bao bi!” He wore an ugly expression on his face. “And the name is Qi Xue!”

“Right… Qi Xue… what did you mean about beast attractant?”

Qi Xue blinked for a second, and then he pulled out a bottle from his pocket. “This is a special potion my family makes. As soon as it’s exposed to the air, it becomes an attractant for most spirit beasts. One of the girls must have accidentally encountered some. This is my family’s special recipe, so I recognize its effects anywhere.”

Bao bi’s eyes narrowed. “How would have gotten on one of them?”

Seeing Bao bi’s darkening expression, Qi Xue felt a strange panic in his heart. He wondered why. Bao bi was just some kid in the same age group. Even though he had been defeated by Bao bi in the tournament, he still felt that he had failed to show his true strength. As far as he was concerned, Bao bi was merely a stepping stone he had to defeat on his path of cultivation, so why would he be intimidated by that glare?

“It’s not me!” He still ended up responding a bit more hastily than he intended. “We naturally sell these potions to others. They’re supposed to be used as a lifesaver. In the event you’re being chased but a spirit beast, you can toss a bottle and break it, and then the monster will be distracted by the smell as you get away.”

Bao bi’s severe expression relaxed. “So, someone threw it and accidentally splashed on the girls?”

“It’s possible…” Qi Xue glanced away awkwardly.

The part he didn’t mention was that the potions were very expensive, and it was unlikely that anyone at their level would obtain one, except for himself, of course. He only knew of one other person who had a vial, and that was because his family had gifted them a vial in hopes of forming a positive relationship. His family hoped that the tournament top boy would look after Qi Xue in the future, so they presented Xie Mingyu with a vial.

Of course, Xie Mingyu had taken the gift and not even looked twice at Qi Xue, which had irritated him greatly, but he was hardly in a position to argue against one of the top contenders for the inner disciple position. He hadn’t even thought about it again until he noticed several spirit beasts moving peculiarly and tracked them back to this scene. At that point, he recalled the vial.

However, he couldn’t imagine a situation where Xie Mingyu would desperately need to throw the vial to preserve his life, not imagining he’d be so clumsy as to throw it in the direction of a passing girl. This led to him predicting that Xie Mingyu had done it intentionally. Of course, Qi Xue had been warned countless times to never apply the medicine to himself or others, because it would send every spirit beast in a several Li radius charging toward them. His only conclusion was that these girls must have done something to upset Xie Mingyu. In this case, he didn’t want to be involved anymore.

Just as he was about to turn away, he overheard Bao bi and answered on instinct, and as he held out the potion, Bao bi suddenly snatched it from his hands. His face grew shocked at first and then started to twist into rage.

“Do you want to be the hero?” Bao bi asked before he could open his mouth.

“Y- huh?”

“I’ll be the distraction. I’ll use the vial to send the beasts after me. Then, you can come in and protect the girls. Okay?”

Bao bi naturally just wanted to protect these people. Most of them were young and innocent, and even in Bao bi’s previous life, the industry he lived in forced him to constantly stand up for the rights of the ladies around him. At first, Qi Xue thought that he was trying to trick him, but he couldn’t see any deceit in Bao Bi’s eyes. He was about to continue to protest, but then Bao bi took a few steps back and popped open the vial of liquid. He then proceeded to pour it all over his body.

Qi Xue couldn’t help but feel goosebumps all over. This potion lasted for twenty-four hours. It also only needed a few drops to work effectively. Throwing the entire bottle was only done as a lifesaving method, as it would be a waste of the potion otherwise. However, Bao bi deposited the entire bottle over him. It was the equivalent of painting a giant bullseye on his back.

Bao bi began to run off, seemingly attempting to run around the perimeter to lure the spirit monsters away. QI Xue could only watch as he ran off in stunned silence. This guy was suicidal! Qi Xue didn’t know whether he wanted to save the girls, but he did know that he wanted to be as far away from Bao bi as possible, and if Bao bi was luring the monsters away from the girls, then the safest place in the dungeon at the moment would be right next to them!

Making his decision, he managed to race forward just as the creatures were starting to peel. In the end, only one creature remained in front of the barrier. As it attacked outright, Qi Xue managed to block it just in time to save Dian Ai. Qi Xue’s strength was physical, so this kind of up-close fighting was his specialty, yet he only had to strike the creature once before it sniffed the air and then began running in the direction of Bao bi.

He turned to look at Dian Ai, and he couldn’t help but hold his breath. He was a young man just at the age where he started to notice girls, and Dian Ai was a beauty among women, not to mention an up-and-coming genius. Even being on the same list as her was already a blessing beyond his expectations, but now he had saved her life, he definitely would choose this moment to get to know her better.

While this was happening, Bao bi had crested a hill, attempting to lead the monsters out of the valley and away from the girls. Once he had attracted a good group of them, he’d then try to shake them. He reckoned with his movement techniques, he had a good chance of losing them. That’s what he was expecting, yet as soon as he crested the hill, he saw a massive dust cloud. He squinted, realizing that the cloud seemed to be moving, and specifically moving toward him. He glanced behind him, and he could already see that most of the enemies at seemingly all ceased to attack. The exception was Tian Mei, who had seemingly fought through and attempted to lead them back into the forest. A line of bodies showed her incredibly vicious battle.

However, Bao bi didn’t have the time to worry about her. Every monster in sight had seemingly stopped what it was doing, and they were all staring his way. Although Bao bi was always someone who kept his cool and was confident, even he couldn’t help but feel a coldness seep through his spine at the number of creatures staring at him. Those staring at him all broke into a run, and Bao bi started to flee at the same time.

He picked the direction with the least number of monsters, which turned out to be the direction of the forest, following in the steps of Tian Mei. The werewolf creatures were incredibly quick and two set to interrupt Bao bi. He chucked out the kunai knife and it slammed into the throat of one of the werewolves. He then pulled out his spear and drove it into the other. He barely snatched the knife and the spear before disappearing into the forest.

Had any of his fellow cultivators been paying attention at that moment, their mouths might have fallen open. After All, Bao bi was a mortal origin cultivator in the 1^st tier. These werewolves were far stronger than he should be. Even Tian Mei could barely fight them back, and only after using a forbidden technique was she able to kill them indiscriminately, yet Bao bi had just blasted through two of them without stopping.

Bao bi didn’t notice such things though. He had hunted countless spiritual beasts with Liao An, and Liao An had never given him a weapon that couldn’t pierce the level of any monster they might face. The kunai blade Jiang Bo handed him was also somewhat special, but neither of them had realized how special since it looked like a fairly standard throwing knife.

As Qi Xue was helping Dian Ai up, a giddy feeling in his heart, the ground started shaking, and he couldn’t help but turn just in time to see a flood of monsters rushing into the valley. There weren’t just werewolves, but there were also Murderous Vermin, Cold-blooded Serpents, Boney Hogs, and an Enraged Brute. Most of these were creatures that were on the list that Qi Xue had been given, and as soon as he saw the flood, he froze solid.

“Ahhh!” Su Fan regained consciousness as well just in time to see countless profound beasts barreling their way, resulting in her fainting.

All three of them likely should have died right there, but the monsters passed right by them. Every single one plunged into the forest without even glancing in their direction. Qi Xue could only stand there and shake. As for Dian Ai, her legs nearly gave out, and it was only by clinging to Qi Xue that she didn’t fall. Of course, she hadn’t seen Bao bi leading them into the forest, just the flood of creatures that followed. From her place behind Qi Xue, he appeared to have placed himself in front of her, protecting her with his body from the myriad of beasts this dungeon could throw on it.

In truth, if she could see more than his back, she would have noticed he was completely white, frozen in sheer terror. Fortunately, this disaster had passed right by them. The same couldn’t be said for Tian Mei. Her ponytail had come undone and her red hair hung loosely around her shoulders like a lion mane. The light in her eyes slowly faded as the energy she had stored began to run out. They became dull. The state she had activated was something known as a bloodline power. It was an innate technique that came from her family. It functioned similarly to a berserker mode, granting temporary great power at an extreme cost.

She had never used the power before, so she had very little control of it. She had acted without thought, attacking werewolf after werewolf. She had ended up fighting through their blockade and then racing into the forest, beginning a cat-and-mouse game where she managed to kill nearly half the pact. Such a final stand could be considered quite admirable, and even the werewolf pack was much warier of her now.

That said, a half dozen werewolves remained. Although they had been attracted by the monster repellent, that didn’t mean they lost all sense. They recognized that Tian Mei was the greatest threat to their hunt, so they sought to defeat her first and then finish off the others later. Despite being called beasts, profound beasts had intelligence, and the further they went along their cultivation, the greater that intelligence became. There were even some types who could speak upon reaching Mortal Maturation or higher. This group thus singled out and surrounded Tian Mei, buying their time until her bloodline power gave out.

As the power left her body, she knew that she’d be dead any moment. She had been prepared for that from the beginning. Even if she managed to kill all the werewolves, she knew the technique would leave her as weak as a kitten for weeks. How could she survive in this dungeon the remaining twenty-four hours unable to move? Since she failed to kill them all, the werewolves would tear her apart, which was why she summoned up all of her remaining strength to stay on her feet as long as possible. She felt like as long as she didn’t fall, they wouldn’t pounce, and she could cling to life a moment longer.

She was far too exhausted to notice a low rumbling sound coming from the distance. The werewolves did, and they all turned to look in a certain direction, suddenly becoming wary. The first thing they heard though was a voice. It seemed to be repeating a single word, and as it grew closer, the word became clearer.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”  Bao bi raced into the forest clearing where Tian Mei was making her final stand, and as soon as he noticed her, he yelled. “Run!”

Tian Mei blinked. Her mind was in no state to even be able to process his words. She only vaguely recognized him as one of the younger boys who joined the Xaoi sect. Tian Mei’s sister hated men, and Tian Mei picked up on some of her sister’s tendencies, so she also looked down on men. Yet, in her rattled state, she couldn’t help but feel sad that someone else would die in this trap. At least, she wouldn’t end up dying alone. Her heart felt some sadness, but also some relief knowing that.

Yet, the werewolves never attacked, and when Tian Mei glanced up, feeling a bit confused, she realized that all of the werewolves surrounding her had seemingly disappeared. Werewolves actually were a bit smarter than other profound beasts, and while they were similarly attracted to Bao bi’s scent, they also could sense what was following behind him, and thus they weren’t so foolish as to run in front of a stampede.

Bao bi didn’t mind the werewolves who weren’t chasing him, but when he noticed Tian Mei seemed to be frozen there, he ran over to her and then picked her up. She didn’t even realize what was going on until she was over his shoulder, her butt in the air. It wasn’t even some kind of romantic princess carry but like a sack of potatoes.

“H-hey! What do you think you’re doing?” She demanded, although her voice had little force to it.

Bao bi immediately started running, and it was only when they reached the edge of the clearing that several dozen profound beasts came bursting out the other side, and for the first time, Tian Mei realized why he was running. Her face turned white, and she let out a scream. Cultivators could be said to have iron wills, but these were still young teens, and a massive hoard of creatures would be enough to make even soldier’s quake.

“Go faster! Go faster! Go Faster!” She started crying and hitting him.

Thus, Bao bi continued running while being hit on the back by a panicky red-head. They weren’t the only cultivators on the first level of the tower. A few others heard a girl screaming, and a guy carrying her, and they began to step forward assuming the worst. Yet, moments later, a growing stampede of beasts appeared, and they all ran the other way.

A fair distance in front of them, a girl struck the ground, spitting out a mouth full of blood. Her face was covered in bruises and cuts, and she looked like she had been through a great ordeal. She was surrounded by half a dozen guys, all looking at her with sneers on their faces. If Bao bi saw her face, he’d recognize her immediately. It was none other than Qi Liqui.

“What is the meaning of this?” She demanded. “We’re in the same clan. Are you really so desperate to steal points from your fellow sect sisters?”

“Are we?” The one in charge stepped forward, causing a flash of fear to appear in Qi Liqui’s eyes. “Rumor has it that you have been fraternizing with the enemy. I’ve heard you’ve been mooning after a light cultivator!”

Qi Liqui’s mouth fell open. She was shocked at the accusation. Why would she ever deal with one of those sanctimonious types? Light cultivators were diametrically opposed to cultivators like herself. She could only assume that someone was slandering her name.

“That’s not true! I would never! Gong Ning, your source is wrong!” She shot back.

“That’ll be seen.” He didn’t seem to care. “First, although your cultivation isn’t too high, we’ll each take a hundred strokes from you. Once you’re used up, we’ll string up your ruined body and see if he’s willing to stay in hiding.”

“Hehe… he’ll finally know what it’s like having some jammed where he doesn’t want it!” One of the guys declared, causing everyone else to stop and look at him.

He was the one Bao bi had met in Disciple ‘s End Valley and who was pierced in the rear end. Naturally, he still wanted revenge for that, and piercing a girl Bao bi fancied was a suitable start to that vengeance. Of course, he wouldn’t be truly happy until Bao bi was dead.

It was at that moment, a distant rumbling sounded out, and it quickly began to grow.