Chapter 70 The Real Genius

  Confirmed that the other party did not intend to give any substantial compensation, Hu Gao didn't want to waste his time anymore. He turned around and walked towards Lin Fei's corpse, then pulled out a wooden box from his arms. Without avoiding suspicion, he directly opened it to take a look. A thick fire attribute elemental force suddenly burst forth, indeed the Black Fire Lotus.

  "Huh, what is this thing? It's emitting a faint black flame all over its body, shaped like a lotus flower... Could this be the Black Fire Lotus? Doesn't look that great though..."

  Zhou Longqi stepped forward, staring at the Black Fire Lotus and examining it carefully. His interest suddenly lost, he turned to the two old men and said, "Didn't they say that the Black Fire Lotus is a good thing? You two also said that the Black Fire Lotus would be very helpful to me, but looking at it now, I don't feel anything."

  Two old men suddenly had black lines popping up on their heads, what kind of feeling do you want when looking at something?

  Hu Gao couldn't help but take a few more glances at Zhou Longqi. What a freak, every year there are some, and this year is especially many! Want to feel it? See a flower and have a hormone explosion?

  "This is indeed the Black Fire Lotus..."

  Hú Gāo simply replied, then put away the Black Fire Lotus and turned to search the five corpses again. Unfortunately, what made Hú Gāo disappointed was that apart from some wealth, not even a single Wind Thunder Pearl was found.

  As a fellow member of the Demon-Slaying Castle, Lin Fei was one rank higher than Qi Hong, so why was he so poor?

  I think staying won't get me any benefits, so Hu Gao turned around and was about to leave. Zhou Longqi seemed to have a pretty good background this week, but he didn't show the slightest interest. No matter how good your background is, it has nothing to do with me.

  "Hey guys, where are you planning to go?"

  Zhou Longqi saw Hu Gao was about to leave and hastily followed him out.

  "Of course I'm going to Flame Valley, what are you following me for?"

  Hu Gao smiled faintly and asked, although he liked Zhou Longqi's temperament, but now rushing to Huoyan Valley, he didn't want to bring a burden with him.

  Zhou Longqi's cultivation was not weak, but his combat power was really a bit embarrassing.

  "Flame Valley? We're on the same road, I'm also heading to Flame Valley. Why don't we travel together?" As soon as Zhou Longqi heard the three words "Flame Valley", a hint of excitement appeared on his face.

  "Alright."

  Hu Gao helplessly sighed and didn't bother wasting his breath anymore, nodding in agreement, "Mm, let's hurry along together then."

  Anyway, Zhou Longqi also has two condensed shadow ninth-stage warriors protecting him by his side, and it seems that he still has companions in the Flame Valley, so he probably doesn't need to protect himself.

  Alas, a genius with four-stage totems and yuan force cultivation that had reached the eighth stage of the Condensed Shadow Realm actually needed someone's protection. Hu Gao thought this guy was truly an oddball.

  However, he was alone all the way and felt a bit dull and bored. Zhou Longqi following him was just right to relieve his boredom.

  The two quickly got on the same page, Zhou Longqi's words opened and couldn't stop, constantly talking about this and that, which also gave Hu Gao a clearer understanding of the Dragon City Zhou family.

  At first, he didn't take the Zhou family to heart, but now after hearing what Zhou Longqi said, the Zhou family seems to be a more powerful force than the Ning City Hu family. It is said that their family master's cultivation has reached the level of transformation, and some of the elders in charge have all reached the explosive yuan boundary.

  But Zhou Longqi, a totem of such a high level, in the Zhou family was just an ordinary direct descendant, and not even considered a true genius. According to him, the true young geniuses in the Zhou family, at his age, had already reached the threshold of breaking through to the Tongti realm, or were about to break through.

  "This is a real genius, I reckon it can be compared with Hu Family's Hu Wushuang and Lang Family's Lang Ting."

  Hu Gao couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, thinking of the two geniuses he was about to face, while the seemingly talented guy beside him was just an ordinary young master in the Zhou family, far inferior to him.

  "Hu Gao, how about it, our Zhou family is impressive, right? You haven't even said where you're from yet." Zhou Longqi chuckled and said, but Hu Gao keenly discovered that Zhou Longqi seemed to have no strong sense of belonging towards the Zhou family he mentioned, and in the depths of his eyes, there was a hint of disdain and... coldness.

  Hu Gao was taken aback for a moment, his mind slightly puzzled, but then he shook his head and smiled, saying: "The Zhou family is indeed very powerful, but you're a bit weak, I thought you were a genius before, fourteen years old with eighth-grade Yuan force cultivation in the Condensed Shadow Realm, but your combat power is pitifully weak."

  As he said this, Hu felt distinctly that the two old men behind him seemed to pause for a moment.

  "Kidding! I was just too lazy to lift a hand, if I had gone all out, those bandits would have been beaten to the point of pissing their pants, no need for you to intervene."

  Zhou Longqi let out a hearty laugh and said with an air of superiority.

  He just happened to hit Zhou's weak spot, Zhou Longqi had a fourth-order totem, and his cultivation was not weak either. He had always been competing with the young masters of the Zhou family, and after being beaten many times, he also gained rich combat experience. However, his own totem had always been in an unstable state, only having an empty shell without any real combat power. Against Lin Fei, a ninth-order warrior in the Condensed Shadow Realm, he clearly felt that he could knock him down with one punch, but somehow couldn't muster up the strength.

  Due to a special totem, I've been ostracized in the Zhou family, but as soon as I step outside, I immediately become someone else's prey. How ironic!

  People like myself, who are otherwise useless, may actually be of great use to that Demon-Slaying Castle. What a wonderful thing!

  But one's own future is fundamentally uncertain, when can one have the power to grasp their own future?

  Like Hu Gao, one move is enough to kill a ninth-level martial artist of the Condensation Realm, how majestic...

  He didn't realize Zhou Longqi's suffering, Hu Gao rolled his eyes and ignored him. Although he was more certain that Zhou Longqi had hidden his strength for some reason, this had nothing to do with him, and he didn't waste his brain thinking about these things. Anyway, Zhou Longqi wasn't his enemy now.

  Moreover, he suddenly felt that having Zhou Longqi, who was hard to figure out, following him around seemed somewhat inappropriate... Later on, when there's a chance, it would be better if they parted ways.

  "Hu Gao, in another half month's time, the Kui Long Martial Arts Institute will start recruiting disciples. Will you go to participate in the assessment then?"

  Zhou Longqi asked enthusiastically.

  "Kuang Long Wu Yuan? Hmm, let's see about that later, I haven't decided yet."

  Hu Gaobrow slightly raised an eyebrow, this Crazy Dragon Martial Academy is the largest academy in Longhua Country, similar to a sect. Every year, it recruits new disciples in various cities, but its threshold is very high. Before the age of 18, one's cultivation must reach the Seventh Stage of Condensing Shadow Realm to be eligible for the assessment. Only after passing the subsequent assessment can one truly become a disciple of Crazy Dragon Martial Academy.

  And its pass rate has never exceeded 20% in a year, with a relatively high elimination rate.

  Hu Gao didn't know much about the Crazy Dragon Martial Academy, and he felt that his current life was still pretty good. He didn't think it was necessary to change his living environment for now. After all, he had a way to improve his cultivation, and it was quite fast too. Even if he didn't go to the Crazy Dragon Martial Academy, it wouldn't be a big deal.

  "You still haven't made up your mind? Haha, I've already decided to go to the Crazy Dragon Martial Academy. Although I'm not a genius, I believe that with my character, I'll definitely be able to easily enter the Crazy Dragon Martial Academy."

  Zhou Longqi looked very confident.

  Hu Gao didn't bother to reason with him anymore, he could feel that Zhou Longqi's character wasn't fake, at most there were some false things in his words, but Hu Gao still had no interest in interrupting, he wasn't a person good at fabricating lies.

  Then Hu Gao's subsequent conversation with Zhou Longqi was perfunctory, but the latter was tireless, talking non-stop with great enthusiasm.

  "Right ahead is Flame Valley..."

  At last, after more than half a watch, Hu Gao pointed at the fiery red valley in front of him and said.

  The trees around him have become sparse, the ground is mostly sand and rocks, and the air temperature has risen significantly, reaching over 40 degrees Celsius, as if a heat wave is approaching, and the temperature gets higher as he moves forward.

  The shadows around him, however, were growing in number. Hu Gao could now see several hundred to a thousand people, and he estimated that the total number of people rushing towards Flame Valley would not be less than ten thousand. This was quite astonishing to Hu Gao, who had not expected the Black Fire Lotus to have such great allure.

  Dimly, Hu Gaofeng saw in the high sky ahead a cluster of fiery red light, and he didn't know what it was.

  "Unexpectedly arrived at Flame Valley so quickly, didn't they say there were many Black Fire Lilies around Flame Valley? How come I haven't encountered a single one..."

  Zhou Longqi said with some surprise.

  "Luck is also a kind of strength. People like you who have real power but no combat power will naturally not encounter it."

  "I think it's a good omen for me to have met Hu Gao."

  "It's also lucky to be able to encounter the Demon-Slaying Castle heist, I've encountered it once before, haha!"

  Hú Gāo smiled and walked straight towards the valley in front of him.

  What? Is Hu Gao also...

  This time, Zhou Longqi misunderstood, he thought Hu Gao was also an Awakened one like him, that's why they were targeted by the Demon Suppression Castle.

  It seems that when Hu Gao killed Lin Feng and his gang, he didn't use Yuan Power, but only used physical strength.

  Is Hu Gao finding another way to become stronger? Yes! Body refinement, Hu Gao is body refinement!

  The rapid growth of Yuan Li can refine a stronger physique! Isn't this the path that suits one's own development?

  Zhou Longqi's eyes lit up as he watched Hu Gao's back, and he smiled knowingly before following after him.

  Hú Gāo, thank you so much!