Kari’s face was unsightly now; even with his currently holy appearance, he still exuded an aura of coldness.
He had brought his students out to hunt humans as sacrifices, but several of them had been counter-killed by what he considered the inferior Human Race. This was a very serious teaching accident.
He didn’t dare report back yet because the source of the problem was unclear; reporting rashly would only make him seem incompetent and drag him further into trouble, so he needed to investigate thoroughly.
"Instructor Kari, I don’t understand, how can such an inferior species as humans have the ability to kill so many of our tribe members?"
Rock, as a proud young genius of the Moon God tribe, always held disdain for humans, viewing them as merely livestock. How could they be formidable?
Kari was silent for a moment, glanced at Rock, and said, "Have you forgotten how I taught you about the geniuses among the Human Race?"
Rock squinted his eyes and said, "Are you saying that another... genius has emerged among the Human Race this year?"
Although these Meat-Winged Monsters constantly referred to the humans of Changpan Valley as an inferior race, any Meat-Winged Monster with a bit of insight knew that if humans practiced cultivation, they could surpass them by a long stretch!
The Human Race was inherently a highly gifted species, and in past years there had been many powerful young individuals. Despite being restricted by the moonprint Gu worm, these young people had still honed their strength to near the limit, almost reaching the God Refining stage!
If it weren’t for the moonprint Gu worm, some rare geniuses would have had the strength to explore the Heavenly Connection realm!
However, those with powerful talents were swiftly killed by the Meat-Winged Monsters and taken for research, while the average-talented humans were kept as fodder to select for gifted ones, leaving the rest as sacrifices for the coming-of-age ceremonies of the new generation of Meat-Winged Monsters.
In the past, there were cases where newly matured Meat-Winged Monsters were killed by humans, but this was rare and only occurred when a brilliant young human genius emerged to kill a Meat-Winged Monster. Yet, when this happened, that genius human would be eradicated.
Now, with so many Meat-Winged Monsters suddenly dead, Kari knew for sure that another genius had been born among the Human Race.
"They went that way." Rock pointed in the direction where the footprints led.
Kari’s face darkened, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"Let’s go! Check it out!"
He had to personally eliminate this genius; otherwise, many trainees would fail to complete their sacrificial ritual this year.
Miles away from Changpan Valley lay a gorge with very rugged terrain, easy to defend but hard to attack. Even desolate beasts of the sky would find it challenging to land due to the rocky outcrops extending upwards like spears, forming a natural barrier that could injure unwary flying creatures.
At the bottom of the gorge, many hunters were gathered, their nerves still rattled. Except for Jiang Shan’s group, the other hunters looked terrified. They too had encountered powerful Yellow Springs Spirits but, unlike Xiang Beifei’s team, had fled in panic rather than fight back.
Erha and Xiaohei had secretly protected these hunters, dealing with the pursuing Meat-Winged Monsters. Yet the hunters didn’t know what had killed the monsters, or even that they were dead, and simply ran ahead without pause.
"It was terrifying, I nearly got caught by the Yellow Springs Spirit. If not for a live vine suddenly whipping it away, I would probably be dead," an old man exclaimed, still shaken.
In his view, it was the vine that saved him. Though such plant-type desolate beasts were rare, they weren’t unheard of and, strange as it was, it had indeed saved him.
"Uncle Liang, you’re lucky, but there’s no need to run next time you see those Yellow Springs Spirits; boldly take up your bow and fight! Shoot them dead!" Jiang Chuan laughed heartily.
"Chuan Ergou, why are you speaking nonsense? Can you really shoot that Yellow Springs Spirit dead with a bow and arrow?" The old hunter’s eyes widened. He was the village’s veteran hunter, named Jiang Dongliang, nearly seventy, but still unable to resist joining this Meng Dong hunt.
"Of course, we just encountered eleven Yellow Springs Spirits earlier and shot them all dead. Not to mention, even Xiao Houzi took down two!"
Jiang Chuan rubbed his bowstring with pride; his bow thrummed as he pulled it, showcasing his satisfaction.
"What? You shot eleven Yellow Springs Spirits? Xiao Houzi even shot two? You’re just bragging!" Uncle Liang didn’t believe it and suspiciously glanced at Xiao Houzi.
"It’s true, the forty to fifty of us all joined the battle under Xiao Houzi’s rallying call! Boy, the way those arrows flew was cathartic, nothing has ever been more satisfying! Now we just want to encounter more Yellow Springs Spirits, haven’t killed enough yet!"
The other hunters corroborated, explaining how Xiao Houzi had inspired them to fight back against the Yellow Springs Spirits. Every hunter who participated in that battle was now full of confidence, each sharpening their arrows, ready for another bout with the Meat-Winged Monsters.
This made the other hunters uneasy; one person could lie, but forty-five people, surely they couldn’t all have colluded to bluff? Moreover, Jiang Dahe, who had strongly opposed Xiao Houzi earlier that morning, now came forward to testify, adding credence to their actions.