Long Xuanye's gaze shifted slightly.
As expected, the system's reward proved that if he ever exposed himself, he would be as good as dead.
"Choice One."
Long Xuanye repeated the words silently in his mind.
Without the slightest hesitation, he used the shadows between the trees and the morning mist as cover, retreating like a ghost until he soundlessly vanished into the depths of the forest.
After searching for a while, he found a cave hidden beneath vines at the foot of an inconspicuous cliff.
It became his temporary shelter.
Time passed, and half a month slipped by in the blink of an eye.
Long Xuanye gradually adapted to life in the forest.
Hunting, cultivating, evading pursuit.
The Knight Temple's search parties were like dogged pests, repeatedly sweeping the forest's outskirts and leaving him no chance to approach Odin Town.
But just as he had expected, this endless pursuit had instead become a "cash cow" for the system's missions.
[Choice triggered: Evade the Knight Temple's search...]
[Choice completed. Reward distributed.]
Prompts like these sounded almost every day or two.
That day, Long Xuanye sat cross-legged inside the cave and summoned the system panel, which he hadn't examined closely in quite some time.
[Host: Long Xuanye]
[External Spirit Power: 198]
[Innate Inner Spiritual Power: 98]
[Skills: Instantaneous Movement Steps (Mastery Level), Basic Swordsmanship (Complete), Stealth (Grandmaster), Trap Setting (Mastery Level)...]
He was only one step away from the threshold for becoming a second-rank knight.
But his Inner Spiritual Power was stuck fast at 98 points, and he couldn't make any further progress.
The system had become increasingly stingy with the Inner Spiritual Power rewards for later choice missions, reducing them from 1 point to 0.5, and even 0.1.
The last mission hadn't given him any Inner Spiritual Power at all, only proficiency in some basic knight skills.
Long Xuanye understood that every point of Inner Spiritual Power represented a tremendous increase in talent. The system wouldn't let him acquire it so easily anymore.
Still, half a month of arduous training and real combat had completely transformed his fighting ability.
His current combat strength was approaching the third rank, and he could even be called invincible among those below it.
But where did he go from here?
Without the Knight Temple's teachings, he couldn't continue cultivating. He couldn't even awaken his Inner Spiritual Power.
His External Spirit Power would soon reach its limit, too!
When that happened, even the system's missions wouldn't be able to help him improve!
As Long Xuanye pondered, the familiar transparent screen lit up once more.
This time, however, the choices were completely different from before.
[Choice One: Explore deeper into the Monster Forest Central Area. Reward: Innate Inner Spiritual Power +1.]
[Choice Two: Remain in the safe area and continue hunting. Reward: Heavy Slash Knight Technique proficiency +100.]
Long Xuanye's eyes narrowed.
His gaze locked firmly onto the first choice.
Venture deeper into the central area of the Monster Forest.
The reward: +1 Innate Inner Spiritual Power.
With 198 External Spirit Power, he was already at the limit for a second-rank knight. Combined with his Mastery Level Instantaneous Movement Steps, the risks of the central area were not beyond what he could handle.
More importantly, there was that one point of Innate Inner Spiritual Power.
For the past few days, no matter how many missions he completed, his Inner Spiritual Power had remained stuck at 98, without budging.
He could feel that he had hit a bottleneck.
Opportunities to receive a reward like this from the system were few and far between.
If the reward were +2, helping him break through the 99-point barrier and reach the legendary hundred-point realm, he wouldn't dare go.
A reward like that would surely come with a trap that meant certain death.
But this time, it was only +1.
It would raise his talent to 99.
"Let's do it!"
Long Xuanye made up his mind.
"I choose One."
Without a moment's hesitation, he gripped the Short Blade he had picked up and turned. His figure became a streak of Flowing Light blending into the shadows as he headed deeper into the forest.
At the same time.
Deep in the Monster Forest Central Area.
A petite figure was fleeing for her life. Her white dress was smeared with dirt and blood, leaving her in a wretched state.
Saint Cai'er.
A deep claw mark on her left arm exposed bone, and blood kept seeping from it, staining her entire sleeve red.
Close behind her, a hulking Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf pursued relentlessly. Drool dripped from its fangs, and its beastly eyes gleamed with cruelty and mockery.
This was the Reincarnation Saintess's trial.
It was meant to awaken the potential sleeping within her in the face of utter desperation.
But she was only a girl of about ten, after all.
She had been fleeing for two hours straight. Her Spiritual Power was long depleted, and her strength was at its limit.
The Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf's distinctive, foul stench was right behind her neck.
Every time it pounced, a gale that could tear through the air swept past, and she barely managed to dodge.
I can't go on...
Saint Cai'er's vision kept darkening, and her stumbling steps grew ever more unsteady. Only her most primitive instinct to survive kept her moving.
Despair surged through her like a tide.
"It hurts so much..."
A thought even crossed her mind: what if she just stopped?
At least then, this endless chase would be over.
Just as the Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf gathered its strength again, braced its hind legs against the ground, and prepared to launch its fatal strike, Saint Cai'er tripped and fell heavily to the ground.
She struggled to look back and saw its bloody maw rapidly filling her vision.
The girl's pupils shrank with terror.
She closed her eyes in despair.
"Roar—!"
The expected pain never came. Instead, she heard a shrill beastly howl.
Saint Cai'er opened her eyes.
A Black Shadow, swift as lightning, darted toward her in an instant, using Mysterious Footwork.
Squelch.
The Worn Short Blade in the youth's hand pierced the Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf's soft neck with pinpoint accuracy.
Blood gushed out.
The figure turned to the side, revealing a handsome, serene face. It was Long Xuanye, who had ventured deep into the forest.
Saint Cai'er froze.
She could see that her rescuer was a Strange Youth about her own age.
She instinctively opened her mouth, but could only let out a hoarse "uh-uh" sound.
She raised her still-functioning right hand and pointed behind herself, signaling for him to run.
She didn't want to drag this complete stranger into danger.
But that slight movement tugged at the wound on her left arm.
"Hiss..."
A wave of pain struck. Saint Cai'er sucked in a sharp breath, her body going limp as she collapsed helplessly toward the ground again.
"Awooo!"
The Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf's pain sent it into a complete frenzy. It abandoned its prey and fixed its blood-red eyes on Long Xuanye. Its massive body became a Blood-colored Afterimage as it pounced.
Long Xuanye's eyes narrowed.
As he dodged the wolf's claws, he reached back with his other arm and pulled Saint Cai'er, who had collapsed on the ground, behind him.
Instantaneous Movement Steps—activated again!
Holding the girl, he glided several meters backward like a ghost, putting a safe distance between them.
The Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf's attack missed, sending it into an even greater rage. It was about to pounce again.
But Long Xuanye gave it no chance.
He gripped the Short Blade in reverse and channeled Spiritual Power into its tip.
He threw it.
The Short Blade became a streak of Flowing Light, flying precisely through the Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolf's open mouth and piercing its brain.
"Thud."
The enormous wolf's corpse crashed to the ground. It twitched twice, then lay still.
Long Xuanye's chest rose and fell slightly, and his breathing was somewhat ragged.
Yet a trace of delight flashed in his eyes.
The system's prompt had already appeared.
Before you continue