Teaming Up to Enter the Mountains and Encountering Danger

July 5, Yulan Calendar 9996.

The summer break for both the fourth and fifth years began simultaneously. Akes stood at the academy gate, looking at the people beside him—Yale and Reynolds were following him, George was preparing to return to the Yulan Empire, and Linley intended to act alone.

"Are you really not coming with us?" Akes asked Linley.

Linley shook his head: "I want to wander around on my own."

Akes nodded.

"Alright then, see you when school starts."

"See you when school starts."

The two said a simple goodbye, and Linley turned and walked in the other direction. Bebe poked his head out from his shoulder and waved a small claw at Akes.

Akes waved back.

"Let's go." He turned to look at Yale and Reynolds, "Are you ready?"

"Ready!" Reynolds jumped up excitedly, "Magical Beast Mountain Range! Here I come!"

Yale glanced at him: "You're at the peak of the third rank; don't hold us back once we're inside."

"So what if I'm at the peak of the third rank? Didn't Third Brother go in when he was fourth rank?"

"Can you compare yourself to Third Brother?"

"You—"

Akes raised a hand to interrupt them: "Stop arguing, let's go."

The three shouldered their packs and headed toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

On the evening of the first day, the three arrived at the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Akes found a hidden cave to use as a campsite. The cave was small, just enough to fit three people, and the entrance was covered by vines, making it difficult to spot.

"We'll rest here tonight," he said. "We'll start heading deeper tomorrow."

Reynolds looked around: "Who found this cave?"

"I saw it when we passed by earlier." Akes set down his pack, "Did you bring food?"

"I did." Yale took dry rations and jerky out of his backpack, "Enough for three days."

Akes nodded: "We'll hunt for some game on the road tomorrow; we should replenish our supplies whenever we can."

The three ate a simple meal and took turns keeping watch.

The night was very quiet, with the occasional roar of a magical beast echoing from afar. It was Reynolds's first time spending the night in the wild, so he was a bit nervous, staring outside the entire time he was on watch.

"Relax," Akes said. "The magical beasts on the outskirts don't dare approach the firelight."

"What if one does?"

"I'm here."

Reynolds looked at him and felt much more at ease.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, the three continued to head deeper.

Most of the magical beasts on the outskirts were second or third rank, and the occasional one that didn't know any better was dealt with by Akes with a casual wave of his hand.

"Third Brother, you make this look so easy," Reynolds said enviously. "When will I be able to do that?"

"Cultivate well, it won't be long."

Yale walked beside them, vigilantly observing his surroundings. Although his strength wasn't equal to Akes's, his alertness was high; after all, he came from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce and had been trained in this since he was young.

After walking for the better part of the day, Akes stopped in his tracks.

"There's movement ahead."

The two stopped immediately and pricked up their ears.

A low, rumbling roar came from the distance, sounding like a pack of wolves. The sound grew closer and more frequent.

"It's a pack of Wind Gale Magic Wolves," Akes frowned. "And there are quite a few."

Wind Gale Magic Wolves were fourth-rank magical beasts, wind-attributed, fast, and fierce in their attacks. A single one wasn't hard to deal with, but when they appeared in packs, even sixth-rank magical beasts would give them a wide berth.

"What do we do?" Yale asked.

"Retreat first," Akes decided immediately. "We'll go around them."

Just as the three turned around, roars erupted from behind them as well.

Another pack of Wind Gale Magic Wolves was flanking them from the rear.

"We're surrounded," Akes said in a low voice.

Reynolds's face turned pale: "How many are there?"

Akes swept his gaze across them: "A dozen or so in front, a dozen or so behind. About thirty in total."

"Thirty of them..." Yale gritted his teeth. "Third Brother, can we take them?"

Akes quickly assessed the situation. Thirty Wind Gale Magic Wolves, and with Yale and Reynolds—neither of whom had even reached the fourth rank—a direct confrontation was far too dangerous.

"We can't," he said. "I'll hold them off; you two retreat first."

"No way!" Yale immediately objected. "How are you supposed to hold them off alone?"

"I have a way." Akes raised his right hand, and a milky-white flame rose from his palm. "Head east. There's an open clearing there that's harder to flank. I'll block them, then come find you."

"Third Brother—"

"Enough talk." Akes cut him off. "If you don't leave now, it'll be too late."

The howling of the pack grew closer, and the silhouettes of the lead wolves were already visible. Their glowing green eyes were fixed on them, saliva dripping from their jaws.

Yale gritted his teeth and grabbed Reynolds. "Let's go!"

The two turned and ran.

Akes stood his ground, watching the approaching pack. Only after the two had run several dozen meters did he begin to act.

Fallen Heart Flame, full power.

The milky-white flames surged from his body, forming a wall of fire around him. The wall was three meters high and half a meter thick, blocking the pack from advancing.

Wind Gale Magic Wolves excelled in speed, but they possessed an innate fear of fire. The lead wolf stopped in its tracks, hesitating.

However, the wolves behind did not stop; they circled around from both sides, attempting to break through the fire wall.

Akes raised both hands, and two fire serpents shot from his palms, striking the wolves on the flanks. The flames exploded, and several Wind Gale Magic Wolves went flying backward with miserable shrieks.

More wolves lunged forward.

The fire barrier shook violently under their assault. Akes gritted his teeth, holding it steady as his internal mana drained rapidly.

Hold on, he told himself. Just a little longer.

Thirty breaths.

Sixty breaths.

Ninety breaths.

The light of the fire barrier began to dim. Akes's mana was nearing exhaustion, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Just then—

[Ding—Host detected in mortal danger. Emergency Sign-in triggered.]

[Sign in?]

Akes shouted in his mind: Sign in!

[Sign-in successful.]

[Reward obtained: Protective Jade Pendant (from a certain cultivation world). Automatically generates a defensive shield capable of blocking one fatal attack. Duration: thirty breaths.]

A cyan jade pendant appeared out of thin air in Akes's palm. He had no time to examine it closely and crushed it immediately.

A warm, gentle light surged from the fragments, forming a translucent defensive shield around him. The shield was sturdier than the fire barrier; the wolves' attacks could not shake it in the slightest.

Akes let out a sigh of relief, turned, and ran.

Thirty breaths was enough for him to get far away.

Half an hour later, Akes found Yale and Reynolds in an open clearing.

The two were hiding behind a large boulder, and they both stood up the moment they saw him.

"Third Brother!" Reynolds rushed over. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Akes waved his hand. "The pack didn't follow."

Yale looked him over. "Are you really okay? You don't look so good."

"Just a bit of mana exhaustion. I'll be fine after a rest." Akes found a rock and sat down. "What about you two?"

"We're fine," Yale said. "We ran fast enough."

Reynolds sat down beside them, patting his chest. "Following Third Brother, our lives are tough!"

Yale rolled his eyes at him. "Your life is tough; we were almost dragged down by you."

"How did I drag you down?"

"If it weren't for waiting for you, Third Brother would have run long ago."

"You—"

Akes raised a hand to stop them. "Alright, enough arguing. Rest for now; we'll head deeper tomorrow."

The two exchanged a look and fell silent.

As night fell, the three found a concealed spot to set up camp. Akes sat cross-legged and began to meditate to recover his mana. Yale and Reynolds took turns keeping watch.

The next day, the three continued deeper into the forest.

Having learned their lesson from the day before, they were even more cautious. Akes took the lead, constantly alert to the movements around them. Yale and Reynolds followed closely behind, not daring to stray far.

Over the next few days, they hunted some level four and level five magical beasts on the outskirts. Akes was responsible for the main damage output, while Yale and Reynolds provided support from the sidelines. Although they couldn't contribute much, both of them worked very hard.

On the tenth day, Akes decided to return.

The trio's packs were filled with magic cores—over a dozen level four cores and five level five cores. Along the way, Reynolds excitedly calculated how many gold coins they could exchange them for.

"One level four is two hundred gold coins, one level five is five hundred, adding it all up..."

"Stop calculating, wait until we get back," Yale interrupted him.

"I'm just counting!"

Three days later, the three of them returned to Fenlai City.

George had already returned to the academy, but Linley had not yet come back. Akes processed the magic cores, exchanged them for over two thousand gold coins, and gave half to Yale and Reynolds.

"Why give this to us?" Yale declined, "You were the one who killed them."

"You both put in the effort," Akes said, "Take it."

Unable to refuse any longer, the two had no choice but to accept.

That night, the three of them had a good meal at Wald. Reynolds drank until his face was flushed red, then draped his arm around Akes's neck and said, "Third brother, take me with you again in the future!"

"Alright."

"It's a deal!"

"It's a deal."

Yale laughed from the side, "You should focus on breaking through to level four first."

"Almost there, almost there!"

Back in the dormitory, Akes lay on his bed, reflecting on the experiences of the past ten days.

The siege by thirty Wind Gale Magic Wolves, the life-saving grace of the Protective Jade Pendant, and the progress made by his two brothers. Although it was perilous, the harvest was significant.

[Ding--Detected that this month's check-in opportunity has refreshed.]

[Do you wish to check in?]

Akes recited silently in his heart: Check in.

[Check-in successful.]

[Obtained reward: Gate of Eternal Life Pill ×3--Can rapidly recover injuries, effective for both internal and external wounds.]

Three pale green pills appeared out of thin air. Akes took a glance at them before tucking them into his robes.