Chapter 866: Competitors!

Several figures tore across the snowy landscape at astonishing speed, each one whistling through the air. They gave off such powerful energy that they looked like burning meteors falling from the sky as they rushed toward the Frostmane Lion.

There were only nine Monarch-class Frost Beasts in the entire Frostbound Heavenly Range, and each one was worth a full one thousand hunting points. With a target that valuable right in front of them, the geniuses nearby were never going to stand aside and let someone else take it.

Li Yun was the closest of everyone heading toward the area, and after only a few breaths he became the first to reach the Frostmane Lion.

"ROAR!"

The huge lion sensed him immediately and let out a furious roar. It was far stronger than the Frostfur Ape King that Li Yun had killed earlier, so its senses were naturally much sharper.

The young man in white robes looked small and unimpressive next to its enormous body, yet the lion instinctively felt something terrifying hidden inside him. The power within Li Yun felt like a volcano that could erupt at any moment.

"Fast Sword!"

Li Yun had no intention of wasting time. His sword moved the moment he came within range, and a brilliant streak of Sword Qi flashed through the falling snow and shot straight at the Frostmane Lion.

"Don’t even think about keeping it for yourself!"

Before the lion could react, a sharp shout rang out from the side. A massive emerald war lance came whistling through the air and slammed directly into Li Yun’s Sword Qi. The two attacks met with a bang, and sword light and green energy burst outward, sending snow flying in every direction.

Right after that, a huge young man strode into view. He was more than two meters tall, with broad shoulders and a heavily muscled frame. His body looked as solid as an iron tower, and a wild, aggressive aura hung around him. He reached out, caught the emerald war lance in one hand, and laughed loudly.

"Li Yun, I think you’d better leave this Frostmane Lion to me."

Li Yun glanced at him but did not answer right away. Before the burly young man could say anything more, another cold voice spoke up.

"Duan Tieshan, you really do dream big."

A gloomy-looking young man in dark gray robes appeared from another direction. His expression was cold, and his narrow eyes made him look almost sinister.

"This Frostmane Lion is obviously mine," he said.

The burly young man, Duan Tieshan, frowned. However, before the two of them could go on arguing, two more voices came from the distance.

"Mo Yuchen, you seem to think a little too highly of yourself."

Two figures arrived together, one dressed in deep blue robes and the other in violet. They did not look alike, but strangely enough, their expressions, their movements, and even the rhythm of their speech were very similar. The youth in blue was named Lan Qingfeng, and the youth in violet was called Bin Zhaoyang.

Duan Tieshan and Mo Yuchen both grew more serious the moment they saw them.

"Lan Qingfeng and Bin Zhaoyang."

These two were well known throughout the Celestial Prodigy Camp, where Lan Qingfeng was ranked twenty-seventh and Bin Zhaoyang was ranked twenty-eighth. They were not related by blood, but they were closer than many real brothers.

More importantly, they had trained and fought side by side for years, and their coordination was exceptional. When they worked together, they were strong enough to challenge geniuses ranked in the top twenty.

Of course, Duan Tieshan and Mo Yuchen were not weak either. Duan Tieshan was ranked twenty-fifth in the Celestial Prodigy Camp, and Mo Yuchen was ranked twenty-third. Without that kind of strength, neither of them would have dared to charge at a Monarch-class Frost Beast while knowing that other top geniuses were close by.

And now Li Yun was here as well. His cultivation had only recently reached the 6th level of Heavenly Core Realm, but none of the four were foolish enough to treat him as an ordinary cultivator at that level. His recent achievements had already shown how dangerous that assumption could be.

"Bin Zhaoyang, why are the two of you getting involved?" Mo Yuchen said with a cold snort. "There’s only one Frostmane Lion here, but there are two of you."

His lips curled into a faint sneer. "If you actually manage to kill it, which one of you gets the thousand points?"

Lan Qingfeng laughed. "Don’t bother trying to turn us against each other. A cheap trick like that won’t work."

Then he shifted his gaze to Li Yun.

"You’re right about one thing, though. There’s only one Monarch-class Frost Beast, and five of us have shown up for it." His smile took on a deeper meaning. "If all five of us fight at once, things will get messier than they need to be, so I suggest we cut down the numbers first."

His eyes settled squarely on Li Yun. "Why don’t the four of us get rid of Li Yun before we decide who gets the Frostmane Lion?"

Duan Tieshan and Mo Yuchen were both stunned for a moment, but understanding soon showed in their eyes. A fight between four sides was naturally easier to handle than a fight between five.

Besides, if the four of them ended up locked in battle while Li Yun was left alone, he could simply wait for everyone else to wear themselves out and then snatch the Frostmane Lion at the last moment. None of them wanted to be the fool who did all the work while Li Yun walked away with the reward.

"Fine," Duan Tieshan said with a grin. "I’m in."

Mo Yuchen nodded as well. "Then we’ll deal with him first."

The two of them turned toward Li Yun at once, and powerful auras burst from their bodies and pressed down on him.

At the same time, Lan Qingfeng and Bin Zhaoyang released their own cultivation. Their energies quickly wove together, and the combined pressure was already on par with that of an ordinary cultivator at the 4th level of Spirit Manifestation Realm.

Li Yun looked calmly at the four of them.

"So you plan to gang up on me?" he asked, without a trace of fear in his voice. "If I remember correctly, I don’t have a grudge with any of you. Why pick me first?"