To Avoid a Death Without a Burial Place, I've Decided

The one who arrived was the Director of the Education Bureau, who had been searching nearby.

He sensed the presence of a human and rushed over.

As soon as he arrived, he saw the White Cat crouching before a dead Patrol Examiner. The examiner's body was mangled and broken; even from a distance, the Director's keen eyesight could make out the irregular bite marks on the corpse.

The White Cat was curiously fiddling with the wristwatch the examiner had given it before dying, having never seen such a technological creation before.

The White Cat had its back to the Director. Seeing its silhouette moving, he thought it was devouring the man, and fury ignited within him.

"To dare eat a human—die!"

The Director struck in anger, sending a Heavenly Stele Palm crashing through the air.

"I didn't—"

The White Cat was terrified and hurriedly dodged.

But a powerful suction suddenly erupted from the center of the massive blood-energy palm. The White Cat couldn't evade in time and was struck squarely.

Fortunately, beasts were thick-skinned, and this White Cat was no ordinary monster, so it wasn't killed outright.

It was sent flying violently, slamming into the ground far away, spitting blood profusely.

"I made a deal with him! I didn't kill him!"

The White Cat roared in fury.

The Director sneered: "Tough, aren't you? You think I'd believe your lies? Die!"

He sensed this cat demon was no simple creature, so he poured in all his strength, aiming for a single lethal blow.

"I never lie!"

The White Cat was enraged—not at the Director's sudden attack, but at something else.

Still, the White Cat was already injured, and the Director's strike worsened its wounds.

"How dare you slander a cat's innocence!"

The White Cat wanted to say more, but seeing the Director strike again with a palm even more terrifying than the last, it dared not linger. The earthen-yellow pearl atop its head blazed with light, shrinking by nearly a third in volume.

The earth shook, mountains shifted!

"Demon, don't flee!"

The Director turned into a streak of light, arriving in an instant, and slammed down that unmatched palm.

The White Cat couldn't dodge; it was struck squarely on the head. With a pained cry, it was carried away by the violently shifting earth veins.

"So the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm's upheaval was your doing!"

The Director wanted to give chase, but the White Cat's trail was already lost.

He frowned deeply. The earth veins had shifted so violently that even he no longer knew where he was.

The young martial artist's corpse had naturally vanished with the surging earth veins.

The Director cursed under his breath: "Damned cat demon!"

The White Cat had taken a direct hit to the head. Though it had used the Earth Dragon Pearl at any cost to forcibly alter the earth veins and escape, it was in dire straits.

Already gravely wounded, it had only worsened after encountering the Director. Then, forcing the Earth Dragon Pearl recklessly and suffering cranial damage, the White Cat now lay in some forest, bleeding from all seven orifices, barely alive.

"Hateful humans! If I get the chance, I'll go to the human world and eat all your fish!"

It spat threats no one could hear, its consciousness fading.

"Huff, huff... no choice, little sister. You have to... survive. Big sister... is going to sleep now."

With that, the White Cat's consciousness sank into boundless darkness.

As its awareness faded, the layer of snow-white fur on its body inexplicably transformed rapidly into black!

The White Cat became a Black Cat.

The Black Cat opened its eyes, its gaze lively, tinged with confusion.

"Meow~"

"Ji Ruo, where is this place?"

Liang Shixian asked quietly.

Ji Ruo raised an eyebrow: "Is this your first time taking the martial exam?"

Liang Shixian was taken aback: "Yeah."

Ji Ruo rolled his eyes: "What a coincidence. Me too."

Liang Shixian: "..."

The earth veins had suddenly surged, mountains shifted, and at their current cultivation level, they could barely make out the changes around them.

The violent earthquake nearly made both of them throw up.

Fortunately, neither of them was seriously injured—they were just lost.

They were currently on a hillside, with no familiar scenery in sight. Ji Ruo kept using [Absolute Sense of Direction] to search for a safe path.

But perhaps because Ji Ruo's strength was too weak, even [Absolute Sense of Direction] couldn't bring him any sense of 'safety.'

Every direction was extremely dangerous!

"Roar!"

At that moment, a massive roar came from afar. The two looked toward the sound and saw a white giant ape, dozens of meters tall, its head piercing through the treetops as it bellowed at the sky.

"Caw~ caw~"

A black bird flew over from another direction, its wingspan unknown, like a massive dark cloud.

A Kui Ox hopping on one leg, a giant fish soaring through the sky.

Liang Shixian trembled, his voice shaking: "Ji, Ji Ruo, what do we do now?"

Liang Shixian was utterly panicked, a complete mess—anywhere he looked, he might spot some demonic beast that only existed in high school legends. Saying he wasn't scared would be a lie.

Having the courage to die didn't mean not fearing death.

To be honest, Ji Ruo was scared too.

But he still analyzed calmly: "Our situation right now is probably like a newbie stumbling into a high-level map. We can't fight, we can't run. There's only one option left!"

"What option?"

Ji Ruo pointed at the ground and said, "I think the feng shui here is pretty good. How about we dig our graves first?"

Liang Shixian: "???"

What the hell, 'feng shui is pretty good'?!

Liang Shixian was about to say something else when he saw Ji Ruo already bending down and starting to dig.

"...Ji Ruo, can you be serious for once!"

"Remember how we dodged the Spider Queen before? The martial exam ends in four days, and then we'll be teleported out. We're sixth-level Martial Apprentices—lying around without food or water for a few days won't kill us. Hide, hold out for four days. That's the only plan I can think of."

"Uh, well..."

"Stop talking, dig!" Ji Ruo said sternly.

This map was way too high-level—even Dual Mastery of Blade and Sword couldn't handle it!

Every direction held lethal danger, and Ji Ruo didn't dare run around recklessly.

The only option was to dig a hole, bury himself, activate [Camouflage], and wait for the martial exam to end.

Liang Shixian opened his mouth to say something, but another roar from a powerful demonic beast in the distance made him flinch. He didn't dare argue anymore and bent down to dig alongside Ji Ruo.

Ji Ruo said, "Let's dig the grave first and lie in it. If something unexpected happens, at least we won't die without a place to be buried, right?"

Liang Shixian: "..."

Cloud City, Grade 12 Class 4.

The martial exam had reached its third day.

The atmosphere in the classroom was still heavy.

Those two classmates still hadn't returned.

The hope of survival was already very slim.

"Classmates," the homeroom teacher Li Bindao said in a heavy voice, "Ji Ruo and Liang Shixian haven't come back yet. Everyone should know what that means. Although I don't want to accept this outcome either, the Education Department has sent word that they've found some Patrol Examiners.

The Patrol Examiners... have suffered heavy casualties."

The implication was that two sixth-level Martial Apprentice students were likely in grave danger too.

"Four days from now, our school will hold a memorial service at Flag Raising Square. I hope all of you can attend," Li Bindao said, his expression low. "The departed are gone. Don't be too sad, classmates—your paths are still long. The higher-ups have decided to abolish the secret realm martial exam system. A new exam system is still being discussed. All of you will have to take the martial exam again. This time, it will be safe. Please pull yourselves together and prepare for the new exam."

"Teacher, I... I want to drop out. I'm not taking the exam anymore."

A female student spoke quietly, her voice tinged with tears: "I don't want to take the martial exam anymore."

Li Bindao paused, instinctively trying to persuade her: "Zhang Miaoyi, the teacher hopes you can hold on a little longer. Your talent is quite good. Once you open your energy channels in the future, you're sure to become a strong martial artist."

"But teacher, didn't the Patrol Examiners die too?" Zhang Miaoyi suddenly burst into loud sobs. "Teacher, I'm scared. I don't want to die. I want to go home. I'm not taking the martial exam anymore. Wuwuwuwu."

"Zhang—"

Li Bindao wanted to say more.

Suddenly, Zhang Miaoyi's crying seemed to be a signal. More than half the students in the class started weeping.

"Teacher, I'm afraid of dying!"

"I don't want to be a martial artist anymore!"

"I'm not taking the exam either!"

They were just a group of kids, not yet fully out of school, already facing life and death—fearing death was only human nature.

Although Great Xia revered martial arts in every household, and every student received martial arts education from a young age...

But these kids had only ever killed chickens and ducks!

Some students had witnessed with their own eyes during the Martial Exam how peers were torn apart and devoured by demonic beasts. That horrifying scene had left an indelible psychological scar in their hearts.

Fear had taken root in them. Their Martial Dao was shrouded in gloom, and they had lost the courage to charge forward without hesitation.

"Everyone, think it over again. After all, this is a major life decision."

Li Bindao suddenly let out a sigh, his tone listless. "Teacher understands. I'll report this to the school. Anyone who no longer wishes to take the Martial Exam or continue studying the Martial Dao can compile a list and give it to me. The Martial Dao is about charging forward without hesitation—it's the courage to do what you know is impossible even when it seems hopeless. Teacher won't force you. If you want to give up, then give up."

The students began to sign their names.

Grade 12 Class 4 had forty-six students in total. Two were absent, thirty-six had signed out of the exam, and in the end, only eight students were still hesitating.

Li Bindao sighed again, saying only one sentence: "In four days, the school-wide memorial service. Everyone, remember to come. Ji Ruo and Liang Shixian..."

He slowly walked out of the classroom, as if he had aged decades in an instant. Even as a martial artist, his back was no longer straight.