Chapter 37: The Sea of the Undead

"By the way, what is your current demon power level?" Sang Shi asked again. Ye Yang had no other abilities; his demon power was almost his only weapon. If it were too low, he would be completely useless.

"Hmm... 507," Ye Yang chuckled. This was measured yesterday right before training ended when Wang Feng took him for another test. It had nearly doubled, already surpassing the requirement for Level 3 demon power.

"507? How is that possible?" Sang Shi’s jaw hit the floor. It had taken him two whole years to reach Level 3, and he was considered an elite of the academy. Chen Yun was also stunned; she had been stuck at Level 2 for several years, her demon power consistently hovering around 400. Ye Yang had surpassed her in just seven days.

"Heh, I guess the methods are different," Ye Yang said with a dry laugh. He was trained personally by Wang Feng. Although the first few days were mostly running and physical conditioning, the later days were different. He was beaten to a pulp by Wang Feng almost every day. It wasn't just ordinary physical abuse; Wang Feng used his own Level 5 demon power to stimulate the growth of Ye Yang's, which naturally accelerated the process.

Chen Yun and Sang Shi sighed, looking at Wang Feng with resentment. Why didn't this guy train them like that?

In truth, even if Wang Feng had trained Sang Shi and Chen Yun, they wouldn't have progressed so quickly. Ye Yang’s body was completely different from a normal person’s. His potential demon power was immense, having lain dormant under ice for over twenty years. Once triggered, it surged out like a waterfall.

However, Ye Yang also noticed that growth slowed significantly after passing 500. Of course, this "slowness" was only relative to his previous rate; compared to a normal person, his speed was still like a rocket.

"I’m so envious of you! Hey, now we don't have to worry about the field exercise today at all. We'll breeze through it!" Sang Shi cackled.

"I suggest you don't get too optimistic," Wang Feng said with a look of disdain. "Remember, this kid only has demon power—no special abilities or elemental attributes. Level 3? His demon power meets the standard, but his overall combat capability is still far from it."

"Oh..." The three of them felt deflated. This guy was always pouring cold water on them.

Wang Feng wasn't just being discouraging; he knew Ye Yang’s problems better than anyone. In reality, Ye Yang still lacked the true strength of a Level 3 Hunter. His demon power met the standard, but his special abilities and attributes were light-years behind. If one were to calculate an average, Ye Yang was actually inferior to Chen Yun at the moment.

"Remember, today is not a game; it is not practice. It is a real combat mission, a battle of life and death. Especially since your strength levels are so unbalanced, you must be careful. I will absolutely not help you," Wang Feng sneered. He looked at Ye Yang and said firmly, "Remember, you chose them, you asked them to accompany you on this internship, so you must bring them back! Bring them back completely safe and sound."

"Understood!" Ye Yang gritted his teeth and nodded. He would rather die than let them come to harm, especially Chen Yun.

What Ye Yang didn't know was that Wang Feng had left one thing unsaid. He was the "Thunder Emperor" Wang Feng; with him personally accompanying them on their internship, could it really be simple? Wanting an easy time? Dream on.

The helicopter moved at high speed, arriving at their destination in no time. It was actually the Badaling section outside Juyongguan. The mountain range stretched endlessly, but it was no longer the scenery of the past.

Ye Yang had been to Badaling before; it was once a lush mountain range filled with trees and flowers. Now, the flowers had long withered, most of the trees were dead, and the peaks had become scorched earth. Only a few ancient trees struggled to remain upright, as if fighting the whole world for their own survival.

"Huh? Is this the place?" Sang Shi looked delighted and rubbed his hands together. "I’ve been here with Teacher Ling. We scouted the nests of zombies and monsters nearby. There are quite a few. Ha, I’m very familiar with this place."

"This is it," Wang Feng nodded and jumped out of the helicopter first. The other three hurriedly followed.

***

The pilot was not a Hunter and could not participate in the field exercise, and it was too dangerous to leave him alone. Wang Feng told him to return for now and come back to pick them up once everything was finished.

"Just that mountain range. The internship is simple: climb up and climb back down alive," Wang Feng said with a smile. "I will follow you, but remember, I will not intervene."

Sang Shi and Ye Yang exchanged glances, both seeing the excitement in each other's eyes. They charged out shoulder to shoulder. Ye Yang was truly thrilled; this was his first real combat mission since becoming a Hunter. How much of his demon power could he actually unleash?

The day before they departed, Ye Yang had reviewed the general distribution data of interdimensional creatures. In fact, zombies rarely entered the mountains voluntarily; there was no food there. They mostly gathered where there was human activity, such as outside Northern Beijing, or wandered aimlessly on the roads, attacking any human village they encountered. Mutants operated in a similar way.

However, Sang Shi had said this mountain was a zombie territory with a terrifying number of them, which was unusual. Unless...

"There are predators here, right?" Ye Yang frowned. Only high-level monsters could gather these zombies and form their own territory.

"Exactly! It’s a must. There are usually quite a few predators in a territory like this," Sang Shi nodded. The two behind him immediately gritted their teeth; predators were not something they could handle at their level.

"Leave the predators to me; I’m not afraid of them even without using my magic cannon. Little Yang, you focus on the mutants, and Chen Yun, you provide support."

"Got it!" Ye Yang nodded. Even with mutants, he wasn't entirely confident, given his past experience of nearly being beaten to death. He turned to look at Chen Yun, and the girl’s face was pale.

"Don't be afraid. With Sang Shi and me taking the lead, you only need to support us," Ye Yang said with a smile. He subconsciously reached out and held the girl's soft hand. Chen Yun froze, her face turning crimson instantly, but she did not pull away.

"Is there a chance? Hehe..." Was Ye Yang unintentional? No, no, no—he was absolutely doing it on purpose. A girl’s psychological defenses were at their lowest during a crisis. He couldn't help but want to take advantage of the situation. Even though it was just holding hands, her skin was so soft... tsk tsk.

"Dammit!" An angry shout interrupted Ye Yang’s wandering thoughts. Sang Shi gritted his teeth and said, "Little Yang, can you stop calling me 'Sang Shi' (Zombie)? I told you to call me 'Stone'!"

"Uh..." Ye Yang felt awkward. Actually, he did that on purpose too; the name "Sang Shi" was just too funny, and he couldn't help but tease him. This commotion even made Chen Yun giggle, and she kept pestering Sang Shi about the origin of his name.

"Fine, I won't call you Sang Shi, and you stop calling me 'Little Yang.' Call me 'Leaf' instead," Ye Yang smiled. "Little Yang"? That name was too easy to associate with "Little Sheep." Back in college, some jerk used to call him "Pleasant Goat."

"Are you two very free?" A cold voice sounded from behind. They didn't need to look to know it was Wang Feng.

"If you think this battle will be easy, I don't mind increasing the difficulty. How about you stay here for seven days before coming back?" Wang Feng sneered.

"No... no, we’re actually very scared. We’re just telling jokes to ward off the fear," Ye Yang and Sang Shi shook their heads violently. Just joking? Staying in a zombie territory for a week? Even if they weren't bitten to death, they’d be disgusted to death.

"I sense something," Chen Yun’s sudden scream drew Ye Yang’s attention. A sense? The girl was of the perception type—what had she found?

Just as Chen Yun finished speaking, a series of low growls and roars drifted from the valley. A scattered sound of footsteps emerged, and a disgusting, nightmarish zombie rounded the cliff face.

***

"Roar..." The zombie went mad as soon as it saw the three of them. Though its gait was unsteady, its speed was not slow at all. It lunged forward with a gaping, blood-stained maw.

"I'll take it!" Sang Shi and Ye Yang roared simultaneously. Two figures lunged forward rapidly. The gleaming gauntlets struck the zombie’s head first; with a boom, the skull was shattered into pieces without suspense, splattering blood and brain matter all over the ground.

The blade light arrived. Ye Yang locked his mind tightly onto the movements from the combat footage he had watched earlier. A flash of a blade sparked, slashing diagonally from the lower right to the upper left, cutting the zombie directly in two. The blade light did not stop there, however; it exploded with a boom, sending several phantom blade shadows spiraling out.

In an instant—merely an instant—the zombie was shredded to pieces. With a few thuds, it collapsed to the ground, its limbs and torso no longer distinguishable.

"Yeah!" Ye Yang was so excited he almost let out a howl to the sky. Although he had only practiced for a few days and learned the simplest techniques, he had executed them with great proficiency. After this strike, Chen Yun and Sang Shi couldn't help but cheer.

"Idiot," Wang Feng rolled his eyes. "I gave you that footage so you wouldn't use it to show off. You have demon power, yet you waste it performing high-difficulty moves on a dead zombie. You'd better find a way to deal with those ones... there are quite a lot of them."

Following Wang Feng’s gesture, the three of them turned their heads, and Ye Yang immediately gasped. Was this a zombie territory? He had originally thought it would be similar to the zombies that attacked the small village—he had managed to hack a path through then without any demon power, let alone now.

But he was completely wrong. There weren't just hundreds or thousands of zombies in front of him; they covered the mountains and plains, seemingly infinite. They swarmed down from the valley and the mountain peaks in a dense, suffocating mass. The earth even began to tremble. It was a tide—a sea of zombies!

Chen Yun was completely dumbfounded. The girl had even less combat experience than Ye Yang; how could she have seen such a scene? Sang Shi, however, appeared quite composed. He pulled the two of them and turned to run.

"Don't fight them head-on! Find a chance to climb up the mountain. Zombies are slow at climbing; it’s hard for them to catch us. Besides, these guys aren't strong—don't be afraid!"

Ye Yang snapped out of his trance. That’s right, Wang Feng said to climb up the mountain and come back down alive; he didn't say they had to kill all the zombies. That would be impossible anyway—there were simply too many.

"Chen Yun, lay down frost barriers at any time to interfere with the zombies' pursuit. Leaf, provide cover! I’ll blaze a trail in front!"

As soon as Sang Shi finished speaking, he let out a sharp cry and lunged forward. Ye Yang nodded repeatedly. He had originally thought this guy was just a talkative brat, but he didn't expect his field experience to be so solid or his command to be so appropriate.

"Are we... just going to ignore Commander Wang?" Chen Yun’s question caught Ye Yang’s attention. He turned his head abruptly, but his nose was instantly crooked with rage. Wang Feng had somehow climbed to the top of an ancient, towering tree and was watching them with a relaxed expression.

"Dammit! Let him go to hell!" Ye Yang gritted his teeth, grabbed Chen Yun, and ran.