Rumors were just rumors, and by the time one week passed, I had all but forgotten about the artificial qi. Rather, a new mission of import took priority. Before I knew it, we were all geared up and getting ready to visit Sen Lin Forest.

"All right, gather up!"

Without any hesitation, I followed the direction of Teacher Jiao's voice. Currently, all the first year students in Wu Ling Academy's middle school section had gathered in front of the Western gate of Martial City. There was a garrison of highly trained soldiers stationed at the gate, keeping an eye on the denizens of the forest. Though wild, the magical beasts dwelling within the forest were powerful and extremely dangerous. The soldiers of Martial City were tasked with protecting the city's borders from bestial incursions, and their ranks comprised of the finest martial artists who graduated from various prestigious martial arts academies, especially Wu Ling Academy.

Earlier, we had to leave the academy on boats. Many of the students had not learned proper qigong and had yet to fly over the walls like their high school seniors. It wasn't because they lacked talent, but because they focused on other skills such as physical strengthening techniques or powerful attacks rather than agility.

Besides, the practical combat training in Sen Lin Forest wasn't to test our agility, mobility or qigong, but to give us "genuine" battle experience. Here, having powerful offensive techniques or deadly attacks might grant the students a bigger advantage than those who concentrated on honing their speed and agility.

Ugh, the only attacks I learned were 2 kicks. The rest are just footwork and evasive techniques. Will I really be all right?

Not feeling very confident, I wandered over to join my classmates. Most of them had already excitedly gathered in front of Teacher Jiao, chattering cheerfully to each other. None of them seemed to share my nerves or anxieties. Most likely they were highly confident in the martial arts techniques that they had learned from their respective sects.

"Hey! That little brother over there! Would you like to take a look?"

"?"

Puzzled, I turned around when a voice called out to me. A middle-aged man was waving at me from behind his display of spirit medicine. A vendor, evidently. He had set up a stall right next to the garrison.

Eh?

I shook my head when he beckoned me over. Scratching my head, I wondered why the middle-aged man would set up a stall in a place like this.

"Over here!"

"Weapons for sale! You kids over there! You look like you're going on a mission! Then you'll need this sword!"

"How about food? I've pretty delicious rations that are suitable for a mission in a forest!"

"Armor for sale! Buy one, get one free!"

"?"

I was stunned by the various shouts and calls that didn't just emerge from the middle-aged man alone. It was from everywhere.

Looking around, I saw that it wasn't just him. There were several street stalls set up around the entrance of the city gate. It was like a marketplace, where shopkeepers and stall owners were competing against each other, trying to sell everything from food, water and perishable items to armor, weapons and equipment.

Weird..

Then again, this was quite the popular area, so it was only natural that merchants would set up stalls here to sell necessities and armaments to the soldiers, mercenaries or martial artists who were about to leave Martial City to venture into Sen Lin Forest or travel to other cities. Despite the presence of monsters, Sen Lin Forest remained a popular hunting ground, especially for amateurs.

"You don't have to worry about those stuff."

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Xiao Zhang assured the hundreds of students, all of whom were looking around the stalls animatedly and enthusiastically. A few of them seemed tempted to buy stuff. Not that I blamed them. I would love to buy something too. I had some funds as part of an Experimentalist student's stipend.

"We've already prepared your equipment and necessities. Didn't we distribute them to you earlier? Don't waste your money."

It was true. Before we set out from the academy, each of us were handed weapons and necessities. Even me.

To be honest, I didn't think I would receive anything because I was a One Star Constitution trash who lacked talent and therefore not worth the expenditure and resources. Fortunately for me, Wu Ling Academy was fair to all its students, regardless of their talent. It also helped that the vast majority of first year students already received weapons, armor and equipment from their respective sects, so Wu Ling Academy had plenty of resources leftover to spare for the Experimentalists, who made up a tiny minority. When I was leaving the academy, Teacher Jiao had approached me and given me a short sword. He also gave me a flask of water and rations.

"Hmm.." I stared at the rations. They looked pretty bulky and heavy, meant to be stored in my backpack. I didn't intend to bring a backpack along as it would impede my movements, and the weight of the rations would just get in my way. "Thanks, but I probably don't need the rations. I'll stick to the group and eat when I return. Since you taught me footwork techniques, I want to stay as light as possible, and not get burdened by too much luggage."

Teacher Jiao looked at me, concerned. "Are you sure? If you get lost, you'll need to have something on hand to eat. You know that monster and demonic beasts are not edible, right? They're poisonous. You should take some with you."

I laughed at that. "I know demonic beast meat is poisonous. I read about it. But it's not like I plan to stray away from the group and hunt them. I'm more concerned about being too slow and clumsy to evade the magical beasts' attacks than starving to death."

Teacher Jiao hesitated for a moment, and then he finally nodded.

"If you say so. Make sure you stay close. We shouldn't be in the forest for too long, so if you get hungry, just look for me. Don't wander off by yourself."

"Yes, Teacher Jiao."

Back to the present, I was following that instruction somewhat loosely, making sure Teacher Jiao was in sight no matter where I went. If anything happened, I would run to him for help. Additionally, I had Zhu Jiao watching over me, which while annoying, helped to allay Teacher Jiao's worries. I wasn't pleased with that, but I knew it was for my own good.

"All right! Let's go in!"

After Xiao Zhang spoke to the commander of the garrison, the latter issued an order to his men to open the gates for us. With the gates open, Xiao Zhang then led us outside and toward the forest. As I stepped outside the gates, I was disorientated by the sheer difference between the city interior and the forest. The hustle and bustle of the stall owners, customers, mercenaries and martial artists were gone, replaced by gloom and silence. The trees blotted out a lot of the sunlight, the shadows cast by their tall, thick trunks emanating a menacing atmosphere.

The foliage was dense, and the moment we stepped into the forest, we weren't able to see more than ten or eleven students away. The rest of our cohort had disappeared into the clustered greenery, their voices swallowed up by the leaves or other ambient sounds. Having already anticipated this, Xiao Zhang had given orders for us to stay within our class. Following Teacher Jiao, class 1-4 bashed through the forest and proceeded in rows of three or four, staying on high alert for any sign of monsters. We were slightly spread out in a staggered formation, not too tightly packed to be an easy target for monsters, but not too far away to lose track of each other's location.

Of course I stayed at the back. Since I had mostly learned evasive techniques and very little in the way of offensive techniques, it made no sense for me to be in the vanguard. I was only there to leech off experience points from my classmates' victories.

That said, nothing seemed to happen. We continued to walk for about thirty minutes, but there were no signs of monsters or anything. The forest also seemed to stretch on forever, the verdant wilderness extending for miles beyond and blocking most of our sight.

The forest was not our eventual destination, though. From what I remembered, our final goal was to reach the ruins located deep within the heart of Sen Lin Forest. Such ruins often served in the past as vast armories, ancient treasuries that preserved and protected countless amounts of treasures, martial arts techniques, spirit pills (though I'm pretty sure whatever spirit medicine they had would have expired or rotted away by now), spirit weapons, armor and all sorts of mystical equipment. There were even tools that allowed their new owners to summon magical beasts or dangerous demons to do their bidding.

But even after walking for so long, there was no sign of ruins – not even the smallest ones. Just nothing but an endless stretch of vegetation.

"Be careful."

Ban Zhang spoke up from the front. As always, our class representative took responsibility by assuming the role of vanguard. He had forged ahead to ensure that our class didn't walk headlong into danger.

I glanced up and saw that the trees ahead were thinning. The class was now stepping into what looked like a huge clearing. The illumination was getting better, without the canopies to block the sunlight out. The space was much wider, while trees up to ten meters tall stood in a circle like silent sentinels. The vast clearing probably expanded for a couple of hundred meters, covered entirely by a carpet of soft, green grass.

About time. I was getting claustrophobia just from bashing through thick foliage.

Just when I thought that, the claustrophobia was replaced by astonishment when something launched from the crevices of the walls and hurled themselves at us. I caught a glimpse of something black and filthy, a ball of matted fur with a raw, pink tail trailing the rolling body.

"Watch out!" Xiao Zhang shouted. "Those are Demonic Rats! They are not that strong or dangerous, but they always come in packs and possess incredibly swift speed and reflexes. Don't underestimate them!"

The Demonic Rats screeched as they slashed at us. I dodged a ball of matted fur, my feet gradually getting used to the footwork techniques that Teacher Jiao taught me a month ago. The Demonic Rat hit the grass, and then sprang up, standing on two feet. Sharp claws curved from its paws, and crimson eyes shone ravenously from deep within its dirty-gray fur. Their muscles bristled visibly beneath their dark fur, rippling with raw power.

"Hah! Small fries! These things are not match for me!"

At the front, Qi Fu Ren was sneering as he slammed his fist on the ground and unleashed his Thunder Break. Electricity blasted off the earth and electrocuted a huge pack of shrieking Demonic Rats. The stink of burned flesh began to fill the clearing as the rat monsters shuddered and danced about in a frenzy of spasms.

"Would you look at that?! My Thunder Break has been perfected!"

Nobody was paying much attention to the crowing Qi Fu Ren, however. They were too busily fighting for their lives. Zhu Jiao stepped up and pulverized a lunging Demonic Rat with a single punch, then whirled around to kick another into oblivion. In the distance, Bai Ning Xue was waltzing across the clearing, deftly evading every lunge, charge or pounce from her rat-like opponents. With a flick of her hand, she launched a long-distance bolt of lightning that split off into a web and bounced from Demonic Rat to Demonic Rat, sending them into their death spasms.

"That's..isn't that an advanced White Tiger Sect technique?"

"Yeah..that's the Living Lightning technique! I thought you'll only be able to learn that when you reach the Qi Essence Stage!"

"Bai Ning Xue is really amazing.."

"Is she even human?"

Most of our classmates stared at her. A few of them seemed to have recognized the techniques, being fellow disciples of the White Tiger Sect, and they were offering context to those other classmates who didn't know how incredible of a feat Bai Ning Xue was pulling right now. Even Qi Fu Ren was dumbstruck at having his thunder stolen from right under his nose. He clenched his fists and watched Bai Ning Xue closely.

I understood how he felt. Qi Fu Ren had set out to impress Bai Ning Xue, but not only did she remain oblivious, she even ended up impressing him instead.

As for me..never mind impressing people. I was more worried over whether I was pissing people off with my incompetence or something.

On one hand, the Demonic Rats couldn't touch me because of my footwork. While I still couldn't perfectly execute any of the footwork techniques that Teacher Jiao had shown me last month, I had managed to at least achieve a modicum of success. Additionally, I had already mastered Shadow Steps, which was more than enough to evade enemies of this level. Combining what I learned from Teacher Jiao with my mastery of Shadow Steps, I was able to dodge, evade and escape whatever Demonic Rat that lunged at me.

But I can't keep dodging forever..

It was unfortunate, but I wasn't here to play tag with the monsters. I was here to earn combat experience and "level up" if that term was appropriate. To do so, I needed to at least try and fight a Demonic Rat properly.

How did Teacher Jiao do it again?

I tried to recall that fourth footwork technique, Flow. If I could master that, I could turn it into a form of attack, disrupt my opponent's rhythm and deliver a counterattack.

The Demonic Rat screeched as it closed in on me, its jaws wide open. I could see a mouth full of slobbering fangs.

For a moment, I froze. It was only natural. This was my first time fighting. I didn't expect a monster to be so horrifying, so..grotesque. I could almost feel the creature's fetid breath on my face. Stumbling back, I aborted my attempt to attack and reverted back to escaping by concentrating the flow of qi into my feet..

"Fei Wu! Are you all right?"

Just as I sidestepped and vanished from the Demonic Rat's field of view, Zhu Jiao suddenly appeared and pulverized the creature. Blood splattered the trees and grass, and I inadvertently used my footwork to escape the red fluids from staining my uniform.

"..eh? Hey! That's an interesting move!"

Zhu Jiao blinked as he stared at me. I merely waved his praise away.

"Thanks. But you're no slouch yourself."

Actually, I was annoyed that he stole my kill. I had that creature well in hand..I was just a little hesitant to kill a live creature. I'm sure readers would call me weak and pathetic, but let's be real here. Up to now, I had yet to kill a single living creature. Of course I would feel queasy about it. Just thinking about slaying the Demonic Rat had me all queasy.

"Be careful. And stay close."

"Come on..at least let me have some fun.."

I gestured toward the short sword I was holding my right hand. Zhu Jiao glanced at it, and then laughed.

"Right. Go get them!"

Unlike me, Zhu Jiao was clad in armor. He was using gigantic gauntlets to crush his enemies, finely crafted gauntlets with Spirit Engravings. All my classmates had received high-quality, exquisite weapons forged by the best smiths in Martial City, acquired by their masters of their respective sects.

Except me, of course. I had no master, being an Experimentalist. Using the academy resources, Teacher Jiao could only get me a cheap sword with no Spirit Engravings whatsoever. Not that I minded. The moment I found a suitable weapon in the ruins, I would ditch this sword for that. I could get a little sentimental, but I had to be practical. No use hanging onto a sword that wasn't going to last.

While Zhu Jiao was distracted by another swarm of Demonic Rats, I found one that had split off from the rest of the pack to prey on the vulnerable. Noticing that I was the weakest in class, the Demonic Rat had chosen me as its next target, and launched at me in blinding speed.

I swallowed and steeled myself. Using Evade, I got behind the Demonic Rat. Without thinking, I slashed and stabbed it in the back, severing its spine and causing it to collapse with a shrill cry.

"SQQQQUEEEEEEEE!"

The Demonic Rat let out a shrill cry and writhed about. I grabbed my sword with both hands and twisted it, driving it deeper. I must have pierced something vital, for the Demonic Rat stopped shrieking and fell limply, minor death throes still wracking its body. I plunged the sword deeper, splattering some of the blood on my face, and then yanked it out.

What a mess..and the stink..it was unbearable.

"Ugh..bleah!"

I turned away and forced myself to stop the nausea. I felt like throwing up. Thankfully, it seemed that I wasn't the only one. As I wiped my mouth, I noticed that there were more than one classmate who were looking pretty green at the gills. Particularly the girls. Most of them had stopped fighting and were backing away, looking pretty sick.

Like Principal Xiao said, actual combat is very different from training..it's a lot messier and disgusting..

Still trying to contain my revulsion, I turned back toward the battle. More of the Demonic Rats were coming, but their numbers were visibly reduced. They weren't going to wait for me to recover. Already one of them was charging at me.

I stepped to the side, and then stabbed it as it went past me. The Demonic Rat emitted another cry before it collapsed, foul fluids spilling from its wound. It thrashed about and turned to bite me defiantly, but I mercilessly beheaded it.

"Ugh.."

I still felt sick, but the nausea was under control now. No..I was getting used to killing. After the initial kill, my body was acclimatizing, my mind adapting. I was becoming numb to the slaughter that was taking place around me.

And it seemed that most of my classmates were experiencing something similar. Ban Zhang, who was looking very pale earlier, was now methodically hacking and slashing away at the Demonic Rats with his sword. A few of the girls had mustered the courage and stepped back into combat once more.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that the real purpose of this training exercise wasn't just to level up with practical combat experience. It was also to get us used to killing..to taking the life of a living thing. The Demonic Rats weren't particularly dangerous, so they were perfect for us to get used to the idea that it was kill or be killed, and to slowly eliminate our qualms of slaughtering another living being.

Not bad.. I pushed my glasses up as I surveyed the area, and then sighed. But..I'm still not sure I can stomach this..

Well, at least I no longer felt like I was going to throw up.

Before I knew it, the Demonic Rats were eradicated. I had killed another two or three in the meantime, but when I glanced up to look for another opponent, I noticed that it was all silent. There was no other sound other than the panting or heaving of my classmates.

"Good job! You all did well!"

Xiao Zhang applauded our efforts, stepping out of the shadows and nodding in approval. He even gave me a surprised look, unable to hide how he was impressed by even me. He hadn't said anything to me directly, but from what I could tell, he wasn't pleased with my lack of progress with Heaven and Earth Formula and all but written me off. I guess putting in the effort was worth it, except that I didn't do it to earn that old bastard's recognition. But it still felt good nonetheless.

"But make sure you don't lower your guard. Keep this up! I'm sure you guys will grow at a remarkable rate if you continue performing like this."

Despite the cautionary tone, Xiao Zhang sounded pleased. He then gestured toward the Demonic Rats' carcasses. Right before our eyes, the corpses of our defeated enemies were disappearing and fading away, leaving magic cores behind.

"Don't forget to collect the monster cores! They will net you quite a lot of money!"

"Yes, sir!"

At the sound of that, the class immediately began picking up the monster cores. With the battle done, the tension had eased and the students were eagerly chattering once more, smiling as if they had just completed a game rather than prevail in a life-or-death battle.

"That was fun!"

"Yeah! It felt like a game, didn't it?"

"I wonder if I actually leveled up?"

"Who knows? It would be great if we could make a breakthrough with this experience.."

After picking up the monster cores, we proceeded from there. We encountered a few more monsters as we descended, the species growing stronger according to the level we were in. Despite our success in the following battles, we still had to watch out for traps.

"Don't be too reckless. Sen Lin Forest is full of traps that were set up by Ancients eons ago, to catch unwary intruders off guard and kill them."

Xiao Zhang warned us not to be too complacent. More than once, we were forced to stop when spears suddenly jutted out of the ground, or a boulder came rolling out of nowhere from a hill. With our bodies clad in defensive qi, the spears couldn't pierce us, and Zhu Jiao simply smashed the incoming boulder into smithereens with his gauntlets.

"Even though the traps so far aren't anything serious, there are certain traps that are lethal even against martial artists. The deeper we are within a forest, the more advanced and deadly the trap will be. That's why you shouldn't let your guard down."

"Yes~"

"On the other hand, the more dangerous the traps, the chances of a ruin being nearby would be proportionately higher. The Ancients who built and left behind the ruins had especially concentrated on building dense clusters of sophisticated traps near their ruins to protect their treasure, after all."

"I can't wait to see what kind of treasure we'll find in the ruins!" Feng Tian Yong exclaimed excitedly, followed by excited chatter from the rest of our classmates.

Xiao Zhang smiled indulgently, and left to check on the other classes. Even without him, class 1-4 advanced steadily under Teacher Jiao's guidance.

Before we knew it, we had reached the twentieth sector while fighting battle after battle. Xiao Zhang reappeared to compliment us.

"Not bad! To actually reach this far in Sen Lin Forest on your first try!"

When we stared at him blankly, he quickly explained.

"We've reached the twenty-kilometer mark. Normally middle school first year students would stop at the fifteen kilometer mark before reaching their limits, but your batch is so talented that you've crossed an additional five kilometers before I realized it!"

So exploring twenty kilometers deep into Sen Lin Forest was considered a big achievement. Yay. Should I be celebrating?

By the way, Sen Lin Forest stretched for hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers across the Middle Continent. I didn't know why Xiao Zhang was making such a big deal over us covering a mere twenty kilometers, an astronomically miniscule fraction of the total area.

"Even though you don't have much experience, and this is your first time exploring the forest, for you to actually reach twenty kilometers in one go..your talent is really remarkable! All of you! Once again, I am impressed!" Xiao Zhang chuckled as he stroked his long beard. "It was really worth accepting all of you into my academy!"

For once, he no longer looked at me as if I was trash. I guessed I had finally proven myself in combat.

"It is all because Principal Xiao has been guiding us."

Ban Zhang bowed respectfully. As always, he spoke as if he was representing the class. Well, he wasn't wrong.

All this while, Xiao Zhang had been leading all the students from every class, guiding us past the particularly dangerous traps and warning us of ambushes from demonic monsters. If he hadn't been around to chaperon us, we would never have been able to descend so far in such a short time.

"Let's finish clearing the twenty kilometer mark, and then we'll call it a day. But be careful..from this point on, not only will there be new species of magical beasts appearing, all these various species will be cooperating to attack us. Do not let your guard down and get complacent just because it had been easy so far! Let's do it!"

Xiao Zhang spoke with a vitality and enthusiasm of a man half his age. I had no idea how he still had so much energy.

We moved on, and encountered a few more monsters. This time, we encountered a pack of Silverback Wolves, working in conjunction with Bad Badgers.

Oh, I know these monsters!

It seemed that all that time spent reading in the library had paid off. I had been researching and reading up on the various species of magical beasts present in this timeline, glancing through an encyclopedia to increase my knowledge regarding this new world. Even though that took some time away from my martial arts training, all that reading was worth it.

"What the..?!"

I heard a classmate shout when his sword bounced off the armored fur of a Silverback Wolf. Nearby, Zhu Jiao cursed when his punch failed to pulverize one.

"These guys are tough!" he shouted. I pushed my glasses up as I offered an explanation.

"If I remember, the weakness of a Silverback Wolf is its stomach. Attacking its back would be ineffective because the fur there is armored, and thus impervious to most weapons unless you have massive amounts of qi and strength..."

"How do you know that?" Zhu Jiao demanded. Despite his doubt, he twisted around and punched a Silverback Wolf from below. The magical beast howled as it burst apart from the sheer force. Zhu Jiao's eyes widened. "Hey! You're right!"

"I told you, didn't I? That knowledge is power. This is why I go to the library everyday to read!"

"Ha ha!" Zhu Jiao chuckled as he shook his head wryly. "As expected of Fei Wu. This is why you're among the smartest people in class."

"I wish." I snorted, but wasn't able to come up with a better retort. For now, I should focus on the battle. I couldn't afford to get distracted.

Using my footwork, I managed to lead the Silverback Wolf on a wild goose chase. As it impatiently growled and pounced on me, I suddenly spun around and slid under it while swinging my sword up.

In a single movement, I eviscerated the Silverback Wolf's soft belly. Blood and guts spilled on me as I slid past, causing me to retch, but I swallowed, wiped the disgusting fluids off my face, and rose to my feet. Turning around, I finished off the fatally wounded Silverback Wolf.

"Phew.."

That was dangerous. Silverback Wolves were actually pretty strong creatures, possessing both raw power and cunning intellect. That I managed to provoke a Silverback Wolf into lunging at me and exposing its vulnerable underbelly was sheer luck. Or me being smarter than the cunning Silverback Wolf in this regard.

"Whoa!"

I turned around when I heard the cry. It seemed that Qing Xin Xia had been cornered and was trying to fight off a pack of Silverback Wolves. She had stayed behind to help heal the wounded. Despite our efforts, it wasn't as if the class was carrying out perfect kills and emerging from the battles totally unscathed. We always had casualties and wounded, and it fell to Qing Xin Xia and the other disciples of the Green Dragon Sect to heal the classmates who were injured.

The Silverback Wolves seemed to have notice this, for they were seizing the opening and attacking the class where it was most vulnerable.

"Tch.."

I clicked my tongue and got ready to use Advance to charge toward the Silverback Wolves. Before, I could, however, a golden blast of qi slammed into the Silverback Wolf I was aiming at, almost tearing it in half from sheer force.

"Get away from them!"

Zhu Jiao was shouting. With a stomp, he conjured a row of stalagmites that pierced the soft underbellies of the Silverback Wolves.

"T..thank you."

Qing Xin Xia stared up at her savior gratefully, her eyes sparkling. Zhu Jiao seemed to notice her affection and he chuckled embarrassedly.

"No, it's nothing much.."

I had always suspected, but this confirmed my thoughts. Qing Xin Xia obviously had a crush on Zhu Jiao for a long time. The way she looked at him was..yeah, the way a woman looked at a man. Full of affection and longing.

"Ahem."

"Whoa!"

"Ah?!"

Both Zhu Jiao and Qing Xin Xia jumped when Bai Ning Xue cleared her throat. I was also a little taken aback. When did she appear?

"Are you all right, Xin Xia?"

"Ah..yes. That's right. Thanks to Classmate Jiao.."

"Speaking of which, Jiao, let's go. We've to make sure there are no other magical beasts left in the area."

Bai Ning Xue turned away and said without looking at him. Zhu Jiao looked a little startled, but he grinned sh-->>

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