“Bull Demon King?” Murray unconsciously repeated the name.
So that’s the terrifying bull-shaped anomaly everyone fears.
“Speaking of which, Fujiwara Chiyo really had bad luck.” Lina shook her head and said, “Originally, the area she was exploring wasn’t even in the Bull Demon King’s territory.”
“They say she only saw a little fox, chased after it on a whim, and ended up stumbling upon a whole den of Fox Caves.”
“Fox Cave?” someone wondered aloud.
“Why would the Bull Demon King be at the Fox Cave?”
“Right?” Lina spread her hands and started to explain.
“So Fujiwara Chiyo never thought there’d be any troublesome anomalies there. She figured since she was already there, might as well just wipe everything out and be done with it. For her, it was just an easy task, and those little foxes up front really were dealt with by her without much effort.”
“But who’d have thought, just as she was halfway through, the owner of that Fox Cave came home. It was an exceptionally beautiful fox demoness, the Jade-Faced Princess. But she didn’t return alone. She happened to bring back the Bull Demon King.”
“As soon as the Jade-Faced Princess saw what happened, how could she tolerate it? Someone dared to slaughter her kin? You can imagine what happened next. The Bull Demon King charged in right away. His furious rush shook the earth and mountains. His fearsome horns went straight for Fujiwara Chiyo—”
She gestured, mimicking the Bull Demon King’s attack, “In her haste, the High Priest could only barely set up a defense, but just like that, a High Priest who wields Amaterasu’s divine power was sent flying with a single blow. No one knows what kind of immense power that was. It was terrifying—she was gravely wounded on the spot. If Shen Yan hadn’t teleported her out in time, she might really have met her end there.”
Kofman asked curiously, “So was there any investigation into the origin of the Bull Demon King? Where exactly did he come from?”
Lina shook her head and replied, “No one has seen him since. After what happened, who would dare investigate? No one could defeat him, and if you lost your life in the process… it simply wouldn’t be worth it.”
“That’s true,” Fox echoed, “After all, there are so many formidable demons and monsters in Ling Shan. One more like him seems perfectly normal. The High Priest Chiyo just served as a warning for everyone—this bull isn’t to be trifled with.”
“But there’s one thing we can guess,” Lina added, “That Jade-Faced Princess is probably his wife. That’s why the Bull Demon King flew into a rage for her sake.”
“Tsk, talk about bad luck,” Kofman spread his hands.
“Who would’ve thought that just killing a random fox could provoke such a being?”
“In the end, the Bull Demon King was classified as an S-class Anomaly,” Lina glanced at the others, smiling, “He’s still at the top of the high-bounty wanted list, waiting to be dealt with. Anyone here who feels up to it, you’re welcome to give it a try.”
Everyone: “…..”
Courting death leads to death—cough, cough—they weren’t interested in foxes, and certainly not in bulls.
At that moment, Zhou Yu’s eyes suddenly lit up, “So, does that mean the Bull Demon King could become one of this round’s anomaly disruptions?”
The plaza instantly fell silent.
So-called anomaly disruption refers to anomalies that have developed to a certain degree and gained map awareness.
They’re no longer limited to their own map’s boundaries and are very likely to cross over to related maps, interfering with them.
That’s why the academy must promptly clear S-class maps—if those anomalies interfere elsewhere, the consequences would be enormous, even enough to instantly turn an A-class map into S-class.
Everyone was simultaneously startled.
Surely it couldn’t be that coincidental, could it?
If it really were the Bull Demon King who was capable of defeating even an Amaterasu High Priest…
If he appeared, it would be all over.
All the new students at Tianqiong Path Academy this year would likely be wiped out.
Murray’s expression turned a little stiff, and he laughed dryly, “No way, right? Why would an S-class Anomaly show up on an A-class exam?”
That’s not even the same level.
What would he come for?
Besides, anomalies have their own goals—they don’t just cross over for no reason.
“Furthermore,” Murray added, “Shen Yan has already clearly said it’s a C-class disruption. It can’t possibly be the S-class Bull Demon King. And it’s not just that disruptions can happen at will—maps must have strong correlations.”
Maps without connections mean anomalies can’t sense each other, so there’s no way they’d actively go over to interfere.
“The Bull Demon King and his family clearly live in that Fox Cave, at Ji Lei Mountain’s Mo Yun Cave, which has almost no relation to our exam maps. They’re not connected at all to places like Flame Mountain or the Women’s Kingdom.”
Everyone nodded; that made sense.
Just then, Kofman suddenly exclaimed, “Wait, look at the Flame Mountain map—what are they doing?”
They all looked over and saw that, although the raging fires on the Flame Mountain still burned, Su Fu’s group wasn’t trying to put them out or seeking another way forward.
Instead, they were using that extreme heat to forge equipment!
He stared in disbelief, “No way, instead of trying to pass Flame Mountain, they’re actually forging something here?”
What about the mission?
Did they just forget about it?
In the image, Su Fu was manipulating the flames, precisely controlling their temperature and movement.
Spiraling, contracting, then erupting again and again.
Above the flames, George was sweating profusely, gripping his forging hammer, striking again and again with perfect precision, clearly the main force in the forging.
With each blow, the metal let out a deep hum, as if answering the call of the craftsman.
“Is that… George Hermann?” someone recognized him.
“The special recruit craftsman this year, Hephaestus’s chosen, the God of Forging.”
Under his hands, as the hammer rose and fell, the mass of golden-red metal slowly elongated, deformed, and finally took the shape of a streamlined shell.
That was a craftsman’s ability: mind guiding matter, forging as willed.
Soon, within the all-consuming flames, the outline of their creation grew clear—it was the prototype of a small Flying Device.
Everyone: “……”
“Damn,” Kofman was first to react, “They’re actually pulling this off—building a Flying Device right here? And the key is, even the materials are taken from the anomaly map itself…”
The others’ gazes shifted; so, not spending a cent, they just get a Flying Device for free?
But thinking it through, is there a problem?
Not at all.
It’s just waste not, want not.
But the real question: who would think of this during the exam, and actually dare to try it?
And who could control the blazing fires of the Flame Mountain?
Other examinees facing this map had already hit a dead end.
But Su Fu?
She turned the tables, snatching up every possible resource, not worrying about passing for the moment—just take everything that can be taken!
Fox suddenly realized, “Maybe she’s planning to use materials from the Flame Mountain to build a Flying Device to cross it?”
There was a moment of silence, but it made sense.
“That’s actually a great idea,” Kofman’s eyes lit up.
“A Flying Device forged from Flame Mountain’s materials would naturally withstand the high heat, perfect for crossing it.”
Everyone accepted this train of thought.
As the saying goes, every poison has its antidote within seven steps—how to cross the Flame Mountain?
The answer is in the mountain itself.
Their reactions were quick: use the environment to overcome the environment, a brilliant strategy.
That way, the Flying Device would have exceptional heat resistance, easily withstanding the extreme temperatures.
Mission: cleared.
Everyone felt a little embarrassed—they’d just assumed the group was taking advantage.
How shameful.
The examinees were clearly doing their best to solve the challenge.
Standing before the newly completed Flying Device, Su Fu and the others were surprised by how well it turned out.
The entire craft had a streamlined form, its engine compartments at either side of the hull neatly integrated with the body—highly symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing.
“So beautiful,” Yi Congling softly praised, “It’s perfect.”
Su Fu was very satisfied too.
The outer shell was forged from the remnants of the Eight Trigram Furnace, reforged by divine fire, making it sturdy beyond compare and giving it excellent divine conductivity and self-repair abilities.
Even in extreme environments, it could adapt to temperature and stay stable.
For example, in normal conditions, the Flying Device’s body was a muted dark blue-green, but if you looked closely you could see faint red patterns along its surface.
Once fired up and running at full power, the hull would blaze vivid crimson, like a living flame.
The core engine used Fire Spirit Marrow, providing stable energy in any environment.
The propulsion system beneath was made from Solar Gold—lightweight yet strong, generating tremendous thrust when heated.
Every component used only the best minerals.
All in all, it was a combat-grade Flying Device, far exceeding expectations!
Su Fu stepped close, trailing her fingertips over the hull’s cool, smooth surface.
There was only one step left.
Spirit Imbuement.
She channeled divine power into the Flying Device, activating the force of creation.
Spirit Imbuement is the process of infusing one’s divine power into an object, granting it spirit.
She’d performed Spirit Imbuement on the Snow Mountain and the Heavenly Palace before, but strictly speaking, those weren’t true imbuements—more like awakenings.
Those had existed so long they already possessed consciousness, just slumbering.
But this was different; this Flying Device was personally imbued by her.
If an object has spirit, its nature follows: a carriage soul loves to run, a sword spirit thirsts for edge, a bottle spirit delights in storing.
Su Fu could feel her divine power rapidly draining; the depth and scope of imbuement was directly proportional to the power consumed.
She was not stingy—she needed the Flying Device to have enough spirit to reach its full potential.
As the divine power flowed in, the Flying Device suddenly shuddered.
The patterns on its body flared bright red, as if a flame had burst forth in the dark.
Soon, the engine compartments rumbled deeply, as if responding, affectionately entwining Su Fu’s consciousness—
“……”
‘Spirit Imbuement complete.’ Su Fu withdrew her power.
“It worked!” George shouted in excitement, thinking Su Fu was forging a master-slave bond with the artifact.
Actually, that’s what everyone thought.
The Flying Device started up, floating in midair, circling gently around Su Fu.
They assumed she was controlling its transformation with divine power.
Su Fu considered, and since it had spirit, it needed a name.
“Let’s call you… Huohuo?”