I Want My Battle Qi

Spending the night in the forest was clearly riskier than staying in the Mountain Cave.

Although returning to the Mountain Cave meant taking a longer route, the gains clearly outweighed the cost. Zi Di also approved of the suggestion.

Thus, on the evening of their departure, the boy and girl returned to the Mountain Cave once more.

The Mountain Cave was quite warm, and neither of them lit a fire.

They drank a little water and ate a large amount of dried meat floss.

Their water supply was dwindling, and it was the most essential resource for survival. Thus, both the boy and girl conserved it as much as possible. However, they had plenty of meat floss, so there was no need to be overly cautious with it.

Both of them tried their best to avoid becoming hungry.

Hunger was full of risks. Remaining hungry for too long would drain their strength. And on this perilous island, exhaustion could place them in a deadly predicament.

Neither of them spoke in the Mountain Cave as they ate in silence.

Looking at the familiar cave walls, Zhen Jin smiled bitterly to himself.

After his earlier conversation with Zi Di, he had gained a clearer understanding of his situation and realized that he had even more to do.

Before this, he had only hoped to survive and escape this strange island safely.

But afterward, he understood that merely escaping himself, or escaping with Zi Di, would still mean failure! He needed to compete for the position of White Sand City Lord, revive his family, work together with Zi Di, and preserve the remnants of the Purple Vine Merchant Guild.

Therefore, while on this island, he also needed to gather as many remaining people as possible, save them whenever he could, and bring them under his command. One key figure among them was Jia Sha.

If Jia Sha was still alive, Zhen Jin should offer him aid and deepen their goodwill.

In short, he needed subordinates.

Without subordinates to help them, he and Zi Di were practically alone. Even if they reached White Sand City, they would have no chance of taking control of a city!

Thus, when they had set out that morning, the boy had held many grand ambitions and long-term plans in his heart.

He had never expected the day's exploration to end like this.

There had been no encouraging progress at all. They had simply turned back and returned dejectedly to where they had begun.

Reality was always cruel.

After dinner, the two began organizing their equipment.

The battle spears had been used many times and needed considerable repair. Such crude equipment had to be fixed promptly, or its power would be greatly reduced.

In fact, even swords needed frequent sharpening and maintenance.

Of course, wooden battle spears required repairs far more often than swords and had much shorter lifespans.

Zhen Jin first used the potion Zi Di handed him to soften the battle spear to a certain degree, then used their only dagger to shave the spearhead sharper.

He multitasked, repairing the battle spear while reviewing his experiences from the day.

"My strength has increased."

Zhen Jin recalled killing the Iron Feather Birds again and again.

At the time, it had felt natural. Looking back and reflecting on it now, he found that he had handled them with increasing ease.

He would not have been capable of such performances before, yet now he had truly accomplished them.

"Was it because my memories returned and I mastered the Hundred Needles Wind Fighting Technique?"

After recovering his memories, Zhen Jin discovered that he was especially fond of thrusting attacks. When he actually used them, they felt exceedingly convenient and natural.

Unlike when he had fought the Fire Poison Bee swarm before, when the memories had just surfaced and he had relied entirely on improvisation,

over the past few days, he had practiced many times in the Mountain Cave. He had become highly proficient in using the Hundred Needles Wind Fighting Technique. Not only had his speed improved, but more importantly, every thrust he made was stable.

Of course, equipment was also crucial.

The first time, he had used a longsword. Though its blade was sharp, it felt awkward and even painful to use.

By comparison, the battle spear was far more suited to bringing out a fighting technique like Hundred Needles Wind.

A battle spear was lighter than a longsword, and its sharp spearhead was closer to a Thrusting Sword.

"But Hundred Needles Wind still needs Battle Qi to truly unleash its power."

At that thought, Zhen Jin faced the old problem once again.

"When will I be able to use Battle Qi?"

Zhen Jin had no confidence at all in the answer to that question.

Battle Qi.

Battle Qi!

It was crucial.

Without Battle Qi, relying only on his flesh and blood, Zhen Jin had no shell, no claws, and no sharp teeth. Usually, it was difficult for him to defeat an Iron-level magical beast. And if there were too many Bronze-level magical beasts, all he could do was run.

If he could use Battle Qi, Zhen Jin's combat power would directly surpass Iron-level magical beasts. Its enhancements to defense, jumping, and more would be of tremendous help against the challenges of survival. Their odds of surviving on this island would greatly increase.

However, Zhen Jin's current situation was somewhat awkward.

There was something wrong with his memories. It seemed that he could only use the Battle Qi hidden within him after the relevant memories surfaced.

Previously, he had hoped that, in a life-or-death crisis, he might instinctively trigger his Battle Qi.

But the battle with the Monkey-Tailed Brown Bear had made him completely understand that this hope was nothing but a fantasy!

Zhen Jin did not even know whether his true cultivation level was Silver-level or Gold-level.

Moreover, even if the relevant memories surfaced, the special environment he was in would still be an important determining factor.

This island prohibited low-level supernatural powers.

Zi Di's Black Iron-level magic could not be used. Low-level Magic Items had all failed as well. Even high-level Magic Items had their effects greatly reduced.

From the guards, Zi Di had learned that Bronze-level and Iron-level Battle Qi were suppressed by the environment in the same way.

Even if Zhen Jin could remember how to use it, could Silver-level—or perhaps Gold-level—Battle Qi be activated in such an environment?

That was absolutely a problem.

Zhen Jin could not help shaking his head slightly, as if trying to throw those worries out of his mind.

"There's no use thinking too much about it. It'll only make me more frustrated."

"At least now, even without Battle Qi, I could still defeat the Fire Poison Bee swarm with difficulty if I faced it again."

After carefully assessing the strength of both sides, Zhen Jin reached this conclusion. It offered him some comfort.

In fact, when he had resisted the Fire Poison Bee swarm beside the campfire, he had already come close to succeeding. He had only been chased down by the last small group of Fire Poison Bees.

Now, Zhen Jin's strength had indeed improved somewhat. Defeating that original Fire Poison Bee swarm was very possible.

Yet the current situation was far more complicated than dealing with the Fire Poison Bee swarm back then.

This island was far too strange. The prohibition against Battle Qi and magic left the boy and girl constrained at every turn. Even the terrain could undergo mutations, making it all the more mysterious and unpredictable.

If possible, Zhen Jin would rather face a Fire Poison Bee swarm than what he faced now: the vastness of nature itself.

He had no idea where to begin.

Thump, thump, thump.

Zi Di lowered her head and repeatedly pounded the bottom of a hemispherical pit with a strip-shaped stone.

Inside the dug-out pit were materials she had gathered throughout the day. Most were leaves, with a small portion being grass roots. They had been torn apart as much as possible, then mashed beneath the stone until they became a lump of paste.

Then, the girl took out a bottle of Medicinal Powder from the small leather pouch at her waist.

She poured it out with great care, using only the tiniest amount.

That tiny amount of Medicinal Powder, upon touching the paste at the bottom of the pit, caused it to dissolve rapidly into a pool of thick, dark red liquid.

The girl immediately inserted a branch and stirred it continuously.

After stirring for a while, she stopped and observed quietly. Once the upper layer of liquid began to harden, she used the branch to break open that dry, solid layer, revealing the liquid underneath, then continued stirring.

Each time she broke open a layer, the exposed liquid beneath was brighter in color than before and seemed clearer as well. Whenever Zi Di resumed stirring, she switched to another clean branch.

After breaking open layer after layer of hard shell, the final liquid was no longer dark red, but instead became a translucent pink.

After reaching that point, Zi Di seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She no longer broke open the surface as it gradually hardened, instead allowing the entire liquid to solidify.

By the next day, the bright pink liquid in the pit had completely dried.

Zi Di crushed the pink mass thoroughly, turning it into a pile of fine pink powder.

She then used broad leaves to divide and wrap the powder, making one delicate little medicine packet after another.

She handed several of the packets to Zhen Jin and explained, "This Medicinal Powder can leave marks. Its bright pink color will be highly visible in the forest. Whether scattered on tree trunks or rocks, it will remain there for a long time. Even heavy rain won't wash it away for several days."

Without question, this was good stuff.

Although magic was prohibited here, these potions relied solely on material properties.

Zi Di's potion-making skill had not reached the master level, but this ingenuity impressed Zhen Jin.

After breakfast, the two set out again.

After a full night's rest, their physical and mental states were both excellent.

They also had dry powder now, making it easier to leave markers.

At the same time, their battle spears had been replenished. Although the total number had not increased, their proportions had been adjusted.

There were more long spears and fewer Short Spears.

Originally, the boy and girl had believed that long spears would be inconvenient while moving through the Rainforest. But after the terrain mutated, the woods became relatively open. The trees were tall and straight, with branches stretching across, but they did not interfere as much as expected.

And during their exploration, long spears proved more useful.

For example, when Zhen Jin used a long spear to flush out danger, the longer shaft gave the boy more time to react even if a disturbed venomous snake struck back.

Besides that, during the night, the two had also discussed the markings on the beast-hide map.

On their second departure, they changed their previous strategy. Rather than searching around the Mountain Cave, they focused entirely on heading in one direction!

The direction they had chosen vaguely seemed to be the direction from which they had come. They had barely identified it at night by using the stars in the sky.

Neither of them was certain, but in their view, this direction was the most likely one.