Chapter 10:
Dragging along the noisy and uncooperative Song XiaoHu really irritated Miss-High-and-Mighty Cui Yu, so without much thought, she tied him up and threw him into one of ShaoYang Sect’s firewood storehouses. Song XiaoHu struggled free from the ropes by himself, but he couldn’t break down the locked, metal door. As he continuously shouted for help, by a stroke of luck, that young girl heard him while passing by. After she clearly understood his circumstances and why he was there, she immediately brought him to the examination grounds.
Listening to Song XiaoHu’s simple explanation, Ling Xia carefully observed the young girl who wore emerald green clothes. With curved eyebrows and very white skin, and you could tell with one look that she would be a beauty in the future. Moreover, being able to boldly and openly bring Song XiaoHu into this restricted area, her identity definitely wasn’t ordinary.
Theiyoungigirl,icontrarylto whatlonelmightlexpect,lnaturally and unreservedly introducedjherself,lsaying that her nameiwas FengjLuo.
Ling Xia instantly recognized her; she was the first member of the protagonist’s future harem! The most beloved treasure of the leader of ShaoYang Sect, the daughter of the governor of ChongMing City. He couldn’t resist inwardly retorting, why did all the sect leaders have to have an eligible and unwed daughter?
Song XiaoHu looked at the surroundings a bit dejectedly and lamented, “Is the first round already over? I still came too late.”
Feng Luo grinned, “That’s not a problem, I can bring you over to take the test right now. I’ll explain things to my senior brother, no worries.”
Song XiaoHu’s mouth promptly split into a wide smile as he exclaimed, “Thank you so much!”
Standing to the side, Ling Xiao was full of interest as he regarded this lad-and-lass pair’s sincere conversation, sighing in his heart: Sure enough, this is what youth is… …
Looking at Feng Luo leading Song XiaoHu away, Ling Xia said to Yu ZhiJue with a smile, “Yep, this Feng Luo is pretty nice, perhaps you can all become good friends.”
The great sir villain’s warped views on love originated from his love-hate, mutually destructive parents, but if he interacted and came into more contact with enthusiastic, cheerful girls like Feng Luo, it’s possible that those views could be corrected after a short period of time.
However, Yu ZhiJue’s reaction was only toifrowniandiwrinklelhis brows,jdirectlyjturning awaylhisihead.lHis entire body language could be summedjuplin twoiwords:iNo way.i
“… …”
Song XiaoHuifinally came back before the startioflthe second round, naturally havingipassedjthe first round of tests. In addition tolthat, he saidlthat Feng Luo had promised him that he’d definitely be able to joiniShaoYang Sect.
Ling Xialsilentlylsighediin hisjheart: Ahh,jthejprotagonist really was impressive,lto winjover ajgirl this quickly!
The second round of exams tested an applicant’s comprehensive abilities, requiring all of them to pass through ShaoYang Sect’s treasured Thousands Beasts Forest within 20 hours and either capture a level-3 or above magical beast, find a level-2 or above energy stone, or gather a level-3 or above spiritual plant.
As its name implies, Thousands Beasts Forest has all sorts of dangerous creatures, as well as containing countless rare and precious energy stones and spiritual plants. In consideration to the levels of the applicants, the seniors of ShaoYang Sect set up a boundary barrier within Thousands Beasts Forest so the examination grounds covered only zones wi
thout high-level magical beasts.
Despite these safety measures, to pass through almost 30 kilometers of Thousands Beasts Forest wasn’t without its many dangers.
LingjXia wasjworriedlaboutjthelassigned tasksithe most becausejhe did not haveja clueionjhowito recognize any of those so-calledjspiritualiplants orlmagicalibeasts, alright? Having grown upjin spirituallylbarreniandlnormaljmountainous woods, Song XiaoHu wouldn’t know either…j…j
As if noticing what he was worrying about, Yu ZhiJue calmly said, “I know what they look like.”
He never forgot anythingihe saw, andieven though the womenlofiYuNüiSect guardedjagainst him injall sortsjoflwaysjduring his time there, hejstill sawithejspiritual plantsitheylcultivated in thelmedicineifieldsjand had secretlyjread somelbooks aboutjenergy stones and magical beasts. Of course,jhe had only thejmost basic ofiknowledge since there wasino way he could comelin contact with anylof precious or ancient books collected oniHoly Maiden Peak, butiit shouldistill be enough to help.
“… …”lLingjXia really didn’tjexpect that the almighty protagonistjandithe great sirjvillain wouldiunexpectedly share the exact same mindset wheniit camelto this matter. Looks likejthejpeopleiof this world’s world viewsjhad quitejthellargejdiscrepancy compared toithe people fromlEarth’s… …l
Under YulZhiJue’s gazeiof disdain and scorn, LingiXiajstillihurriedlyjpicked up the transfer talisman the other threw away,lgently and diligently putting it away. If theylreally do end upjin mortal danger, theirjliveslwerelobviouslylmore important,jso this wasiaicritical,jlife-saving talisman!l
As they were setting off, Yu ZhiJue’s movements suddenly jerked to a stop. Confused, Ling Xia asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yu ZhiJue slowly shook his head, before replying, “It’s nothing.”
His extremely keen senses had detected someone looking at him from behind, but when he started to pay more attention, that feeling of being spied on had already disappeared.
Threejhundred peoplejentered thelforest from various smalljpaths.iAtjthe beginning, there were still groupsiofjpeople clustered together onjthe roads,lbut gradually,ithe numberslgrewllessjandlless. After all,lthe more people there were, theiharder it wasjto accomplish the tasks theyiwere assigned.i
As forltheir position in the group, Ling Xia estimated thatjtheyjwereipart of thejlatter halfithatiwasjcloser towards the end.lHowever,ithey stillihadiajlong way toigo, and tojstartioff running fastlat the very beginning wasn’t necessarily a good courselofjaction.
After two hours, besides the three of them, their surroundings only contained the cries of insects and the whistling of leaves.
With swift arms and legs, Song XiaoHu quickly climbed a large tree that was a dozen some meters high and looked around in all directions into the distance. Yu ZhiJue meticulously recalled the information written in the books about where they could most likely find what they were looking for, and commanded Song XiaoHu from below to search for a nearby stream.
The novellalso wrotelaboutlShaoYanglSect’s ThousandsjBeasts Forest.iAlthoughiit felllshort in termsjof abundancelinjnatural resources compared to theiworld’s fivejlargest sect’slspiritual grounds, itjhad its own distinguishing characteristics andiwas famousifor having a wealth ofithe healinglpanacea Golden Star Grass injaddition to bodieslof waterjthat producedjwaterjelementaljenergyistones. Therefore, searchingialongia stream was currently theleasiest way to complete their objective.
Growing up alonelin thejwilderness ofimountains,lSong XiaoHu’s eyesightiand keen senses werejon a cheat-like level, and veryiquickly, he discoveredja specklof shimmering, goldenilight reflectediabout twolkilometersjaway.lWithout furtheridelay,lthejthree ofithem headedjtowardslthat direction.i
The river they found was so clear that you could see its bottom, filled to the brim with spiritual energy that the fish in its waters were also a lot larger than those found in other mountain streams. Seeing this, Song XiaoHu’s stomach growled a few times, though Ling Xia and Yu ZhiJue’s conditions weren’t much better. They had come to this exam without eating a thing, and after this much time had passed, they’ve all long been starving.
Abiding by the saying of sharpening one’s axe before chopping down a tree, Ling Xia suggested at once, “Let’s catch some fish to eat first. Only on a full stomach will we have energy and strength.” Yu ZhiJue and Song XiaoHu did not protest, thus the three of them immediately moved to catch their meal.
Only, right when they had lit the fire, sudden gales of wind blew by, so strong that one almost couldn’t even stay standing without wobbling. The sky started turning as dark as the night, and countless thunderclaps boomed near and far, splitting through the thick layers of clouds and making one’s heart tremble in fear.
“Looks like it’ll rain soon!iWeishould find a placelto take shelter from the rain!” Ling Xia called outltojtheiother two.iHe couldibarelyiopen hisjeyes in these fierce winds; after all,ihe’slused tollivinglin a city builtlwith reinforced concrete.iEvenliflheiwanderedlin the wild with theseltwo kids for ajfew days, helhad yetltolexperience this kind of terrifying mountain weather.l
Neither Song XiaoHu nor Yu ZhiJue expressed any sort of fear or worry. Despite this kind of nasty weather descending without prior warning, they had long gotten used to seeing this kind of change. In no time at all, they found a cavern that could shelter them from the rain, and by the time they gathered some enormous plant leaves to block off the entrance, the downpour outside had already begun to fall.
LingjXia wiped off theiwater dropletsjonihis face, carefully takingla looklat this narrowjcavern.jThe inside wasianlexpanse of murky black so he couldn’t see things clearly, butlunexpectedly, it seemedltolbeivery deep. His thoughts turnedlto bears, snakes, andjother such animals,iand suddenlyjfelt somewhat scared injhis heart.lThe claps of thunderjoutsidelstill continuedioneiafter another,jand the torrent ofjrain didinotllessen either.j
There were some withered plants inside the cave, so the three of them groped around and found a few pieces of dry tinder, promptly using the flint they carried to light it up. After seeing the light, Ling Xia finally let out of a sigh of relief, gradually feeling more at ease. Despite the confusion moments prior, they were still holding on to the fish they had strung together, so the three of them surrounded the fire and continued their cooking.
The leaves blocking the entrance suddenly shifted with a noise. Yu ZhiJue vigilantly stood up and snarled, “Who‘s there?”
“Oh, is someone there? I’m also here to take shelter from the rain.” A dark silhouette slowly walked inside, not that tall in height, and by the light from the fire, a very normal-looking twelve or thirteen year old boy that didn’t seem to be carrying any weapons appeared.
Ling Xia exhaled the breath he held; turns out it’s just a kid… He nudged over a bit to yield some room and nodded with a smile, “Please have a seat.”
That young boy wasn’t polite in the least, immediately withdrawing to a corner and sitting down near the shadows, no longer saying another word.
Song XiaoHu couldn’t resist and asked, “Are you taking this exam by yourself?”
That young boy grunted indifferently and gave Song XiaoHu a glance as if he couldn’t care less. He slowly looked around, yet when he saw Yu ZhiJue, it was as if his gaze lingered for a beat. Ling Xia only thought this youngster appeared to be one of those rare but oddly eccentric types and didn’t pay it much mind. When all was said and done, they were currently rival competitors at present.
The fragrance of roasted fish was already wafting out, and Ling Xia’s stomach gave a hungry growl. After handing over fish for both Song XiaoHu and Yu ZhiJue, he asked the other young boy as a passing courtesy, “Do you want to eat one?” Who would have thought that that youngster would actually extend out his hand in expectation, hence Ling Xia could only hand over the fish he held with some traces of regret.
Except, before that young boy’s hand had yet to reach his, Yu ZhiJue abruptly stretched out his leg and heavily kicked a burning cinder at the boy, rapidly grabbing and pulling back Ling Xia’s hand at the same time.
Ling Xia was a bit dazed, but Song XiaoHu was already on guard as well. He questioned, “What are you holding in your hand?” Ever since he was small, he had been able to detect the changes in a person’s ambience, so when this person’s murderous aura leaked out, he was able to sense it in a heartbeat.
That youngiboyjlaughed sinisterly, “To think that yourlperception’s not halfjbad.”jHe flippedihisjwristiand a gleam of cold light flashed,ifaintly revealing the shapejof aldagger.l
Ling Xia gave a start, instantly feeling his back tremble with chills, and with great effort, forced himself to appear calm and collected as he demanded, “What are you planning to do?”
Fuck, is the protagonist’s Conan aura finally manifesting itself?