Chapter 3: Violence (Part 2)

Guo Shier stood up, and the little scorpions surrounding him climbed back onto the back of the Dark-Wing Demon Scorpion.
Guo Shier walked slowly back to the camp, where he saw Sun Min’er, Peng Yuanwang, and Lan Hu fighting, with Eagle Demon and Zhou Xiaoling guiding them. The cultivation of a Great Symbol Warrior differed from that of a Great Symbol Mage—it required constant stimulation of one’s own potential. In the mid-to-high-level continents, Symbol Warriors did not need to use symbol engravings; by inheriting the Path of Illusory Symbols, they could obtain appropriate symbols. This was an advantage of the mid-to-high-level continents, far surpassing those in the lower levels.
This was also one of the reasons why there were few Great Symbol Warriors in the lower levels. Eagle Demon had only gone through the Path of Illusory Symbols once but advanced from a junior master to a senior master. In fact, his strength had already reached that of a senior master, but without proper inheritance and the right symbols, he remained at the junior master level.
Guo Shier stood quietly aside, watching.
Then Zhou Xiaoling shouted, “No good! Big Beard, you’re not a woman… How embarrassing! Are you fighting or dancing? Use some strength!”
Eagle Demon crossed his arms and watched with a smile.
“Wangwang! Don’t dodge! Attack!”
Zhou Xiaoling acted like a coach, giving instructions as she trained the three of them: “Sis Lan! Take him down!”
Guo Shier broke into cold sweat hearing this. Sun Min’er’s face turned red and white from the insults. He understood that Zhou Xiaoling was right, so he gritted his teeth and continued. All three were drenched in sweat.
The three fought chaotically, each having to guard against the other two—sometimes two attacking one, sometimes fighting separately. The chaos left Guo Shier dizzy. The advantage of this training method was that it demanded high alertness; one had to guard against both direct attacks and their partner, requiring intense concentration.
Zhou Xiaoling, excited by the fight, couldn’t help but shout, “I’m coming! Be careful, haha!”
Eagle Demon kept shaking his head. Guo Shier asked, “Uncle Eagle Demon, why are you shaking your head?”
Eagle Demon replied, “Dingding is too strong. Even if the three of them work together, they might not be able to beat her. Dingding joining in is just to vent her anger.”
Guo Shier laughed, “Not necessarily. At least Big Beard and the others gained experience and know how to deal with senior masters now.”
Eagle Demon nodded. “Hmm, true. It’s a lesson.”
Zhou Xiaoling quickly made the three of them cry out in pain. Lan Hu screamed, “Dingding, are you really going to hit them…?”

Sun Min’er took a punch right to her eye socket, which immediately turned black and swollen. The guy let out a scream and rushed at her desperately, trying to hug Zhou Xiaoling, but she punched him in the other eye. Guo Shier laughed heartily. With swollen eyes like a panda, Sun Min’er kept charging forward, screaming.

Zhou Xiaoling sneered, “Not calm enough!” She kicked Sun Min’er away and turned to attack Peng Yuanwang, shouting, “Lie down for me!”

Lan Hu screamed and attacked from the side, trying to stop Zhou Xiaoling.

Eagle Demon said, “Hu Zi, Wang Wang, Xiao Lan Zi, use the talismans!”

Zhou Xiaoling yelled, “Too slow! Faster! Even faster!”

Peng Yuanwang was knocked around wildly, screaming, “Ding Ding, I have no grudges against you… Why keep hitting me…?” Before he could finish, Zhou Xiaoling slapped him away. She said happily, “I enjoy it!” Then she turned to attack Lan Hu.

Lan Hu turned and ran. She was smart—Zhou Xiaoling wasn’t guiding them; she was just venting her anger, with the three of them as her targets. She cried, “Ding Ding, sister, I won’t fight anymore!”

Zhou Xiaoling stopped reluctantly, saying, “So useless. I still haven’t had my fill.”

With swollen eyes like a panda, Sun Min’er said helplessly, “Sigh, Ding Ding, you’re too cruel. How can I face people now…?”

Zhou Xiaoling glared and asked, “Whose brother are you?”

Scared, Sun Min’er blurted out, “You’re my brother… You’re my brother… Isn’t that enough?”

Guo Shier laughed loudly. Zhou Xiaoling, angry, raised her hand to hit her, and Sun Min’er fled in panic, shouting, “Don’t hit! Don’t hit… You’re my mother…”

Even Eagle Demon couldn’t help laughing—this guy really didn’t know when to shut up. Zhou Xiaoling said, “Nonsense! I… uh, if you dare talk nonsense again, I’ll kill you!” She couldn’t help calling herself “mother” during fights, but not usually.

Seeing that Zhou Xiaoling wasn’t chasing her anymore, Sun Min’er finally breathed a sigh of relief. She said, “Sigh, you advanced masters are too fierce. You’re bullying us! No good, I need to level up!”

Peng Yuanwang said, “I want to level up too… Sigh, we’re too weak!” Being chased and beaten by a little girl was truly humiliating. The two were greatly motivated and vowed to work hard to level up soon.

Zhou Xiaoling smiled and said, “Work hard then… I’m about to become acrazy teacher!”

Sun Min’er sat down on the ground, looking at Zhou Xiaoling helplessly. She said, “Ding Ding, please… give me some confidence to catch up. This is too demoralizing!”

Zhou Xiaoling raised her head and said proudly, “In this world, one not only needs to work hard but also has to have potential—both are essential. Hehe, that’s exactly what I am!” A proud expression appeared on her face.

Sun Min’er snapped, “Guo Shier isn’t any worse than you! She’s younger than you and specializes in spells! Her spell-wielding skills are even stronger than yours!”

Zhou Xiaoling dismissed her with disdain, “Idiot, you have no vision! Between spell-wielding and spell-casting, at the level of Grand Sage… there’s hardly any difference. In some aspects, a Grand Sage in spell-wielding is even a bit stronger than one in spell-casting!”

Sun Min’er was left speechless. She couldn’t argue—this was widely accepted: spell-wielding was stronger in close combat, while spell-casting was stronger in long-range battles.

Guo Shier said, “Hu Zi, you should compare yourself to others, not to Dingding. The two of you aren’t comparable… Upgrade as soon as possible. Once you do, we can enter the Dark Mist Area, where we can train even faster!”

Sun Min’er refused to admit defeat, muttering, “I’m not going to compete with that little girl…”

Zhou Xiaoling had exceptionally sharp ears—as a high-level Grand Spell-Warrior, she could hear any slightest noise around her. She smiled at Sun Min’er and asked, “What did you say?” Sun Min’er covered her head and said, “I didn’t say anything…” Suddenly, she looked up and asked, “Shier, do you still have that spell pill?”

Guo Shier was surprised, “You’re not injured? Why do you need a spell pill?”

Sun Min’er pointed at her eyes and said, “I’m injured!”

Guo Shier replied, “This kind of bruise will fade in a few hours… You’re a Grand Spell-Warrior! You’re not an ordinary person.”

Sun Min’er frowned and said, “It looks ugly!”

Guo Shier ignored her and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, we need to hurry.”

Eagle Demon said, “This is my first time… I really long for the Advanced Continent. Their conditions are simply too good, but those professionals there don’t cherish them at all. If I had such good conditions, I would have already reached Sage level.”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “If you were in the same environment as them, you might not be stronger than them!”

Eagle Demon retorted, “How is that possible?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “If you grew up on the Advanced Continent, your efforts wouldn’t be as hard as they are on the Lower Continent. Only those who’ve suffered hardships would envy their conditions.”

Eagle Demon said, “That makes sense.”

Sun Min’er declared, “Dingding, from now on, I’ll call you Violent Dingding!”

Zhou Xiaoling laughed and said, “Great! Next time I train you, I’ll definitely be even more violent, hehe.”

Sun Min’er collapsed weakly on the ground, sighing deeply, “Sigh! Life… it’s so difficult…”
Zhou Xiaoling said with a smile, “Life is so wonderful…”
Guo Shier said, “Enough, stop chatting… Hm? Not good!” He suddenly turned around, staring into the distance. Eagle Demon asked, “Shier, what happened?”
Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn. Guo Shier said, “Someone is hunting my Giant Nest Dragon! Get ready to fight—I’ve already summoned the Giant Nest Dragon back!”
The Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion crawled over, and Guo Shier jumped onto its back, saying, “I’ll go check first!”
Eagle Demon said, “I’ll go with you!”
Zhou Xiaoling flew onto the scorpion’s back and said, “You just control the talisman beast; Eagle Demon Uncle and I will protect you!”
Guo Shier said, “Xuan Ai, you take command of the others and make sure no one attacks us from behind!” With that, he drove the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion to race along the riverbank.
Soon, Guo Shier heard the roar of the Giant Nest Dragon. Filled with fear and anger, knowing the dragon had suffered some damage, he said, “Who could it be? Why attack my Giant Nest Dragon?”
Zhou Xiaoling said, “There are all kinds of people here, and it’s hard to tell your Giant Nest Dragon is a Spirit Beast.”
Guo Shier also knew that whether it was an insect talisman or an animal talisman, the Spirit Beasts he released were different from ordinary ones—almost indistinguishable from real ones—and he didn’t understand why. But he cherished his Spirit Beasts very much and certainly didn’t want them to be hurt.
Just then, the three heard explosions and the roars of the Giant Nest Dragon. Guo Shier was frantic and urged the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion to speed up. Soon, he saw faint shadows moving in the blood mist. He shouted, “Stop!” Unfortunately, he hadn’t reached his voice-changing stage yet, so his shout lacked any deterrent power.
Eagle Demon glanced at Guo Shier, let out a long howl, then roared, “Stop!”
Guo Shier immediately recalled his Giant Nest Dragon. The dragon had been injured, but not too badly. As long as it was brought back in time to rest within the talisman, it should recover quickly.
Seeing the Giant Nest Dragon disappear suddenly, the attackers realized it was a Spirit Beast, not a mutated talisman beast from the wild.
There were about a dozen shadowy figures moving. Guo Shier narrowed his eyes and whispered, “So many people! Be careful!”

The group slowly gathered around. Guo Shier looked them over briefly and was filled with horror—they were all advanced masters. Eagle Demon said softly, “There are eleven in total, all advanced masters… How did they gather here? Hmm, no—there are two I can’t see through; they must be at a level above Grand Master.”
Zhou Xiaoling also wore a serious expression. The opponents had many skilled fighters whose strength could already rival that of Saint Masters, and the three of them were clearly not strong enough.
Realizing the situation was bad, Guo Shier said, “If things go wrong, let’s leave! Don’t fight head-on!”
Three people stepped forward from the opposite side—all strong young men dressed in gorgeous uniforms of the same color and style. Zhou Xiaoling’s expression changed, and she whispered, “Be careful. These are disciples of a super-large sect; they’re very difficult to deal with… Let me handle this first.”
Zhou Xiaoling stepped forward a few steps and demanded, “Why are you attacking our Spirit Beast?”