Training in the Hunting Grounds

The night passed without incident.

Lin Chuan did his duty as a night watchman, and did it better than anyone else. Every half hour, he activated his Tenseigan and scanned the area with the widest field of vision.

He had calculated it carefully. Even with cultivation strengthening their bodies, a child under ten would need more than half an hour to reach him from two kilometers away. And that was assuming they knew where he was and came straight toward him. Moving through the forest was nothing like traveling along a flat road, so half an hour was more than enough for Lin Chuan to spot anyone approaching.

As for Spirit Beasts, the three of them had already checked the area when choosing their campsite. There were no signs of Spirit Beast activity nearby, making it relatively safe. Besides, no Spirit Beast could escape Lin Chuan's sight.

When the sun rose the next morning, Lin Chuan woke the other two, who had slept soundly. Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi were sore all over, but they followed Lin Chuan and set off once more, heading deeper into the Hunting Grounds to face another day of grueling battles!

Compared to when they had first entered the forest, Lin Chuan could now clearly feel the dangers lurking around them. Before, he had needed to deliberately search for Spirit Beasts with his Byakugan. Now, he didn't even need to look for them—once he activated his Byakugan, he could always spot several Spirit Beasts within a kilometer.

"Let's go. Our goal today is thirty Spirit Beasts at the third level of Qi Refining!" Lin Chuan led the two of them in one direction.

Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi stared at Lin Chuan in horror, cold sweat running down their fair little faces. They knew just how terrifying a goal of thirty Spirit Beasts was.

They didn't even need to guess that they would be the ones expected to accomplish it. Lin Chuan wouldn't lift a finger. Yesterday, they had worked themselves to the bone and killed only a dozen or so Spirit Beasts. And now, the target had doubled.

"Lin Chuan, don't you think our target is a little too high? We're reaching for the stars!" Qin Lang said with a troubled expression.

Bu Lianshi nodded vigorously beside him. Thirty Spirit Beasts at the third level of Qi Refining—how long would it take them to kill that many? Just thinking about it was terrifying.

Other groups might worry about not finding suitable Spirit Beasts to hunt, but their group had no such concern. Whatever kind of Spirit Beast they wanted, all they had to do was ask, and Lin Chuan would find one for them in minutes. Male or female, take your pick. Just name the type.

"I think it's fine. How about we switch to Spirit Beasts at the fourth level of Qi Refining? Then you'd only have to kill five!" Lin Chuan said nonchalantly as he searched for nearby Spirit Beasts with his Byakugan.

"Then we'll stick with thirty Spirit Beasts at the third level of Qi Refining!" Qin Lang hurriedly said, afraid Lin Chuan would tell them to hunt Spirit Beasts at the fifth level next.

"Good. Let's go. I've already found six targets for you. You'd better work hard from here on out. Just thinking about it gets me excited! Hahaha!" Lin Chuan laughed, then led the two kids, whose faces looked utterly hopeless, toward a certain direction. A Spirit Beast was already there, "waiting" to be slaughtered.

Although Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi said they didn't want to do it, they understood in their hearts that Lin Chuan was doing it for their sake. They would never find an opportunity to practice like this out in the world.

They had plenty of Spirit Beasts to practice their combat skills against, as well as a powerful person watching over them. This was the kind of treatment only the core disciples of great clans could enjoy. Yet here, Lin Chuan had given them the same opportunity.

He might seem completely unreliable, and it might look like he was just slacking off, but for the two of them, this chance was incredibly rare. Lin Chuan had given them everything the children of the nobility were supposed to have, and he even pointed out the flaws in their fighting techniques and gave them the most suitable training.

Time passed as they fought. Along the way, Lin Chuan did little besides activate his Byakugan to check the surroundings and find suitable Spirit Beasts, then watch Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi fight.

If only I had a bag of sunflower seeds. Then it would be perfect! Lin Chuan thought. Watching the show while cracking sunflower seeds—what a harmonious and meaningful life.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten to cultivate, either. The Mystic Yellow Art circulated continuously through his meridians, while Natural Energy from the outside world poured into his body through the acupoints all over him, cycling again and again before gathering in his dantian.

The results might not seem obvious, but Lin Chuan knew he was already progressing far faster than most people. The Hunting Grounds had much richer spiritual energy than the outside world, and cultivation here was more effective than at home. There was no way he would waste that time.

By noon, Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi had completed more than half of their hunting task. Even they were surprised by their pace. Without realizing it, they had grown so much. The Spirit Beasts they had struggled to handle yesterday had become easy prey when the two worked together today.

Neither of them has ordinary talent, Lin Chuan thought. He had observed them cultivating before, and the speed at which spiritual energy entered their bodies was many times faster than that of ordinary people. They weren't quite at his level, but they weren't far off.

They must have at least Heaven-grade Spirit Roots. I wonder why the Lin Clan never noticed their talent—or were they deliberately hiding something? Those two kids are probably both more than they seem. Lin Chuan sprawled beneath the bright, sunlit shade of the trees, turning his head to watch the two figures fighting.

It just feels like being assigned to the same group as them wasn't a coincidence. And considering Lin Chuan's identity in the past, there's probably a lot I still don't know! Lin Chuan thought.

For lunch, Lin Chuan had planned to throw together another halfhearted meal, but Qin Lang firmly opposed him, declaring he'd rather die than eat Lin Chuan's cooking again. In the end, the arduous task fell to Bu Lianshi.

They still have enough energy to protest my cooking. Looks like today's task is far too easy! Lin Chuan thought, then began considering what tasks he should add that afternoon to keep tormenting them.

After lunch and a brief rest, the three set off once more to hunt Spirit Beasts. Lin Chuan had already decided on their next task: find other groups with members at the third level of Qi Refining and have Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi fight them.

That afternoon, Lin Chuan sat bored beside them, watching them fight while cultivating and yawning. He idly toyed with the Spirit Cores Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi had obtained from the Spirit Beasts. They were crystal-clear, like actual crystals, and contained pure spiritual energy.

Suddenly, an outrageous idea popped into Lin Chuan's head as he stared at the Spirit Core in his hand. "Can you... eat this thing?"

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Chuan decided it probably wouldn't cause any problems. He casually picked out a Spirit Core from a Spirit Beast at the first level of Qi Refining, tossed it into his mouth, and crunched it up. By the time Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi heard the strange sound and looked over, it was already too late.