Extreme Cold Syndrome

Xian Wu slowly pulled back his hood. Everyone was surprised to see that his short black hair had turned silver-white.

"What happened?" Nie Li cupped Xian Wu's chin and carefully examined the bruises on his face as he asked.

Xian Wu recounted everything that had happened the previous night, when he had gone berserk while practicing the Seven Star Divine Curse.

As he told them what had happened, everyone's hearts tightened with worry.

Only after they learned that Vice Dean Ye Sheng had saved him did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"So your silver hair and bruises were both caused by practicing the Seven Star Divine Curse last night?" Zhang Ming asked in surprise.

With Xian Wu's experience as a warning, he definitely wouldn't practice Soul Force at night from now on.

"I understand." Nie Li folded his arms across his chest and furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment.

"Stand still. I'll see if the Guidance Technique can heal you." As he spoke, Nie Li pressed a hand against the bruise on Xian Wu's cheek and slowly infused it with Soul Force.

Xian Wu felt a cool sensation on his face, as if Nie Li were applying face cream.

"Nice, Nie Li! You're amazing!" Seeing the bruises on Xian Wu's face gradually disappear, Lu Piao clapped and cheered.

"They really... disappeared?" Xian Wu turned to Zhu Jun Xiang.

Zhu Jun Xiang nodded excitedly. "Big brother, they're gone!"

"I'm doing just fine." Xian Wu rolled his eyes, then turned back and asked, "Nie Li, what's wrong with me?"

"Extreme Cold Syndrome." Nie Li rubbed his temples.

Before Xian Wu could ask anything else, the bell for class rang unexpectedly.

Everyone returned to their seats.

Xian Wu tied his black face covering back on and pulled up his hood, hiding himself away.

Time was a strange thing. Sometimes a day felt like a year, and sometimes the hours seemed to fly by.

Take the last two classes of the afternoon, history and geography. They were so damn boring that everyone was nodding off.

Most of the students silently began practicing the Seven Star Divine Curse.

Shen Xiu explained the Seven Star Divine Curse to the class, but Xian Wu regrettably missed the lesson.

After the third class, though, Xian Wu asked Nie Li to explain it to him.

Xian Wu found that Nie Li's explanation was basically the same as Ye Ziyun's.

That meant Ye Ziyun hadn't harmed him.

So what was going on?

If there was nothing wrong with the Soul Force cultivation method, then what was the problem?

Was he not supposed to practice Soul Force at night?

Was something wrong with his constitution?

No matter how hard Xian Wu racked his brains, he couldn't figure out which it was.

Still, he thought his constitution was the most likely cause.

He was a transmigrator who had brought his entire body along, so it made sense that he might not be used to the local environment.

Perhaps Nie Li, having been reborn, would know how to solve it. When they had some free time, he'd have a proper discussion with him.

After what felt like two years, the dull cultural classes finally ended, and the students in the junior martial arts class were at last set free.

Xian Wu, Nie Li, Lu Piao, and Du Ze left the classroom together, looking like four punk delinquents.

The most imposing of them was undoubtedly Xian Wu, cloaked in his cape. He hadn't earned the nickname "Pants-Stripping Fiend" for nothing.

Once he put on that black cape, everyone steered clear of him.

Academy Street was as lively as ever, with vendors calling out one after another.

The most eye-catching stall sold armor and was almost completely surrounded by new students.

But aside from Shen Yue, that hapless fool, no one could afford the bronze gauntlets, which cost sixty thousand Demon Spirit Coins.

When he tried to give the pair of Bronze Grade Wind Snow Gauntlets to Ye Ziyun, however, she rejected him without the slightest hesitation.

Xian Wu and the others nearly died laughing.

Would the City Lord's daughter really care about some lousy Bronze Grade gauntlets? Even the toilets in Ye Ziyun's house were Silver Grade.

"Hey, Brother Wu, your old flame's here," Lu Piao said with a cheeky grin, draping an arm around Xian Wu's neck.

Xian Wu turned and saw Xiao Ning'er walking toward them with graceful steps.

"Don't talk nonsense. What old flame? Call her sister-in-law!" Xian Wu shamelessly played along.

Lu Piao was left speechless. Was Xian Wu really trying to reach for the moon?

As she passed the four friends standing by the roadside with their arms around one another, Xiao Ning'er shot Xian Wu a fierce glare, then drifted away like a cloud.

Long after Xiao Ning'er had gone, Lu Piao finally snapped out of his daze. "Was... was she looking at me just now?"

"Looking at you? Only if Xiao Ning'er's gone blind," Du Ze teased.

These noble brats spent all day thinking about women. That was bad enough on its own, but they'd even dragged Xian Wu into it.

Lu Piao thought, Xian Wu's always been like that.

"All right, stop fooling around. We've got more important things to do." Seeing Lu Piao and Du Ze bickering as usual, Nie Li chuckled.

"We'll split into two groups. Lu Piao and Xian Wu, go sell the three light crossbows and eight bundles of a hundred bolts. Each crossbow should fetch one hundred and sixty Demon Spirit Coins, and each bundle of bolts thirty. Don't let those unscrupulous merchants cheat you."

Nie Li paused, then continued, "After you're done, meet us at the entrance to the Trial Grounds."

"Got it. Leave it to me." Lu Piao thumped his chest and cheered, "Come on, Brother Wu. Your buddy's taking you to get something tasty!"

Du Ze and Nie Li exchanged a knowing smile. Lu Piao was such a glutton.

Three quarters of an hour later, the four met at the entrance to the Trial Grounds.

After having their identities verified by the guards, they took signal flares and entered the Trial Grounds.

Their target was a Bronze Grade demon beast called a horned sheep.

Their instructor had taught them about this beast in class. It had a berserk combat skill that could multiply its strength for a short time.

It was extremely dangerous.

Moving through the sparse woods, they soon spotted a flock of horned sheep.

They were grazing in a clearing among the trees. Some lowered their heads to chew on the grass, while others raised their necks, ears pricked as they kept watch.

After observing the flock in secret, the four slipped back into the dense bushes.

"Here's the plan: one of us needs to lure the horned sheep into the trap area. Who's going?" Nie Li asked, looking at Du Ze.

Du Ze looked at Lu Piao, and Lu Piao looked at Xian Wu.

"I'll go," Xian Wu said with a shrug.

Nie Li nodded. "Don't be afraid. Just lure the horned sheep into the trap area, and I promise they won't hurt you."

"Don't worry!" Lu Piao patted the light crossbow in his hand, his face brimming with baffling confidence.

Xian Wu swallowed. He wasn't afraid of the horned sheep. He was a little afraid of Lu Piao.

"I have only one request: if you miss the horned sheep, that's fine, but don't shoot me. At worst, the horned sheep will leave me badly injured. If you hit me with a bolt, I'll be dead." Xian Wu looked mournful.

The most hateful thing in the world was having useless teammates.

"Go on, don't worry," Nie Li said, patting Xian Wu on the shoulder.

Xian Wu gave a bitter smile. Why did it feel like they were sending him to his death?