"We can't wait any longer," Liang Shixian said seriously. "If we do, we'll be in danger."
"But... this place is obviously safe," Liu Neng said hesitantly.
At that, Ji Ruo shook his head slightly.
Did these two usually sleep through every class? How could they know so little?
Even he, a transmigrator, knew the difference between day and night!
Liang Shixian patiently explained, "A place can be safe during the day and dangerous at night. Generally speaking, Monster Beasts are divided into diurnal and nocturnal species. Nocturnal Monster Beasts are usually more aggressive and more ferocious than diurnal ones."
Ji Ruo chimed in at just the right moment. "Besides, we don't know why those Emerald Snakes suddenly stopped chasing us. Even if they got tired, they should've recovered after resting this long. We have to leave and find somewhere else to camp. Otherwise, when night falls, none of us knows what might happen."
Zhang Quan and Liu Neng exchanged glances, seeming uncertain.
"We've already waited this long."
Ji Ruo said seriously, "That's exactly why we need to leave.
"As far as I know, during the Martial Exam, Patrol Examiners never take more than half an hour to come to the rescue. Look at how long we've been waiting!"
"Fine... okay."
The group decided to leave.
But they faced a serious problem. The Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm seemed to have changed, and the methods for finding their bearings that they'd learned at school no longer worked. So, after walking only a short distance, they stopped, stumped by the crucial question of which way to go.
"Uh... so, which way do we go?"
Liu Neng asked weakly.
He'd figured out that Ji Ruo and Liang Shixian were both the studious, top-of-the-class type. Whatever else you could say about them, at least their theoretical knowledge was solid.
What he didn't know was that the moment he asked, Liang Shixian was stumped too.
Honestly, he had no idea which way they should go.
Ji Ruo thought it over, took off one shoe, and tossed it into the air.
As the others stared in stunned silence, Ji Ruo followed the shoe's direction and said,
"This way."
Liang Shixian winced. "Ji Ruo, are you... serious?"
"Of course! Shoe-Tossing Pathfinding leaves it to fate. This is Heaven's arrangement!" Ji Ruo raised his chin. "Unless you have a better idea?"
"Uh..."
The others looked at one another. Liang Shixian sighed. "All right. We'll do it your way."
At the same time—
[Congratulations, young host! You successfully showed the way and unlocked a progress achievement: Gold Medal Tour Guide!] [Acquired trait: Absolute Sense of Direction!] [Absolute Sense of Direction: When choosing a direction, you will receive a certain percentage of correction toward the right way (current correction: 5%; can be increased by repeatedly giving directions, up to 100%).] [Note: Go forth, venture out, bear witness, and make it yours!]
Ji Ruo's eyes lit up.
Nice!
He'd become a tour guide!
"Class monitor, we're heading east, right?"
Liang Shixian's expression turned a little grim. "Go in the direction the toe points."
"Ahem."
Ji Ruo cleared his throat. "Then follow me."
With that, Ji Ruo picked up his shoe, put it back on, and headed off in the direction just to the right of where the toe had originally pointed.
"Just a little to the right. East is this way."
"???"
You call that "a little to the right"? You're practically pointing at the heel! How is that a little?!
But Ji Ruo couldn't help it. The Absolute Sense of Direction he'd just acquired gave him a little correction when he chose a direction. It wasn't very accurate, but at least he had a rough idea of where to go.
"Ahem," Ji Ruo said awkwardly. "It's not like we know which way to go anyway, right? I just thought this Shoe-Tossing Pathfinding thing didn't seem very reliable."
"..."
You knew it wasn't reliable too?!
The others were too exhausted to even complain.
But just as Ji Ruo had said, they didn't actually know which way to go.
"Then let's move. Quit dawdling, or it'll be dark before we get anywhere," Liang Shixian said with a sigh.
Ji Ruo thumped his chest, brimming with confidence. "Don't worry. Just follow me, and we can't go wrong!"
After all, it was a trait granted by the system! The general direction had to be right!
That was what Ji Ruo thought, which was why he was so confident.
But he'd overlooked one thing: his new trait was only 5% accurate. So if the direction he chose was wrong, the feedback he got pointing toward the correct direction would only be five percent of the way there.
Ji Ruo and the others set off. No one knew that they were indeed heading east—but east-southeast, heavily skewed toward the south. Strictly speaking, if you divided directions into ninety-degree sections, then east, south, west, and north would each occupy one quadrant.
And their direction was only five degrees away from the "quadrant" containing south.
"Stay close, everyone. Don't get lost," Ji Ruo called back as he led the way.
"Got it." Liang Shixian felt utterly drained. Ji Ruo seemed completely unreliable, but someone had to lead the group.
He was the class monitor, but he didn't know which way was right either. And now that Ji Ruo had picked a direction, changing it again and again would only leave them standing still—or get them completely lost.
They were already lost anyway, so they might as well grit their teeth and keep going in one direction.
As a top student and class monitor, Liang Shixian knew that although the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm was controlled by humans, the dangers in the area opened for the Martial Exam were, in theory, never beyond what a level-six Martial Apprentice could withstand.
There were four of them, Ji Ruo knew Iron Sand Palm, and Liang Shixian himself wasn't weak either—at least, not for a level-six Martial Apprentice.
In short, as long as they didn't run into a horde of Monster Beasts like the Emerald Snakes from before, they wouldn't be in much danger.
And they still had two people who'd activated their Rescue Devices.
The Patrol Examiners could show up at any moment, so even if they picked a random direction, they didn't need to worry too much.
So Liang Shixian had no objection to Ji Ruo leading the way.
His reasoning was sound. What he didn't know was that the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm had changed—and was no longer the same place it had been for the past thirty-six years.
The group walked for several more hours, until their backs and knees ached and stars danced before their eyes.
They'd already spent so long fleeing from the Emerald Snakes, and the Martial Exam had been underway for nearly a full day.
They hadn't eaten a thing all day and were absolutely starving.
Rubbing his stomach, Ji Ruo muttered, "If only I hadn't tossed those Emerald Snakes away earlier. We could've had some game to eat."
The Martial Exam was a comprehensive test. Candidates could bring weapons, but weren't allowed to bring necessities like food.
Surviving in the wild was also an important part of the exam.
Candidates had to fend for themselves and survive in the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain, which was like a primeval forest, until the exam ended—in other words, for seven days.
Over the years, plenty of candidates had starved to death during the Martial Exam. The Rescue Device could make some simple judgments, but plain old hunger wasn't enough to activate it—or so the teachers said. Ji Ruo couldn't help feeling they were pulling his leg.
Once the Martial Exam began, there was no turning back.
A martial artist had to have the courage to charge ahead without looking back!
"I'm starving!"
Ji Ruo couldn't help complaining.
Since getting the system, he'd triggered three achievements in total, and all of their requirements had been ridiculous. As a result, Ji Ruo had changed his approach.
He treated himself like a little kid—and when a little kid was hungry, he said so.
A younger one might even cry.
"Hold on a little longer," Liang Shixian said. "If we really have to, we can eat grass and dirt. We can't eat fungi or Monster Beasts indiscriminately; we might get poisoned. Let's find somewhere to camp first."
"Whew..."
Ji Ruo sighed and grumbled. But perhaps his desire to eat was so intense that ten minutes later, a blood-red rice paddy appeared before them.
Before you continue