Six days passed in the blink of an eye.
Yan Tuo said he would raise Lu Yuan's training difficulty another level, and he showed no mercy whatsoever.
On the first day, Lu Yuan's load doubled. On the second, he had to use Piercing Edge three times in a row, with no more than ten breaths between each use. By the third day, Wei Cheng no longer stood inside the ring waiting for him to figure something out. Instead, he grabbed a wooden stick and actively chased Lu Yuan around, beating at him.
After several days, there was barely a spot on Lu Yuan's shoulders or back that did not ache.
The results were equally obvious.
When he had first obtained his First Spirit Ring, he could barely even stop after using Piercing Edge. Now, at the very least, he could force himself to change direction at the peak of his momentum, rather than relying on crashing into trees or bracing his spear's butt against the ground every time to halt himself.
He had also worked out several uses for the Spear Rope he had brought back from the Armory.
The simplest was fastening it to the spear's butt, allowing him to pull it back directly after it left his hand. If he encountered a tree trunk or stone pillar, he could also use the fixed point to change his charging direction.
It was an inconspicuous thing.
But once he was truly inside the forest, it might prove useful.
On the seventh day, before dawn had broken, Lu Yuan had already arrived at Spirit City's North Gate.
Qian Renxue had arrived even earlier than he had.
Today, she wore White-Gold Combat Attire suited for movement. Her golden hair was tied high, and a Short Sword hung at her waist.
Han Yue and Bai Li stood to one side.
There were also two other youths.
One was around ten years old, with a Cyan Feather Hawk Martial Soul and soul power at level eighteen.
The other was slightly older, a level-nineteen Tool Soul Master whose Martial Soul was a short spear.
Both had entered Youth Special Training before Lu Yuan.
Once everyone had arrived, Han Yue spread out a map.
"The original arrangement has changed."
Lu Yuan asked, "Has the mission been canceled?"
"No."
Han Yue pointed to the Old Hunter Camp on the map.
"The Patrol Team withdrew here yesterday. We won't be going deep into Qingshi Valley today. We'll meet up with them first, then confirm the situation along the outskirts."
He lifted his gaze and swept it across the three youths.
"If you discover anything beyond the original report, return immediately."
"And today is not an assessment."
"There are no rankings, and no rewards."
"Anyone who dares leave the team without permission, I'll tie him up and drag him back myself."
The Short-Spear Youth nodded.
The Cyan Feather Hawk Soul Master also put away his previously eager expression.
Lu Yuan merely glanced at Han Yue.
The Eye of Destiny had not appeared.
Yet today was Han Yue's original death point.
"Move out."
The North Gate opened.
The six of them quickly left Spirit City.
There was nothing unusual along the first stretch of road.
After crossing the Stone Bridge, the official road gradually narrowed, while the trees on both sides grew increasingly dense.
The outskirts of Qingshi Valley were originally an area where low-level Spirit Beasts roamed. Under normal circumstances, even if they did not encounter any Spirit Beasts, they should at least have seen droppings, claw marks, or fresh tracks.
Yet after walking for more than half an hour, they had not seen a single living creature.
Han Yue was the first to stop.
He crouched beside a patch of wet mud and brushed aside the fallen leaves covering it.
"There are tracks."
Bai Li walked over and took a look.
"Wind Horn Deer?"
"Mm."
Han Yue reached out and touched the mud.
"They were left not long ago."
Lu Yuan stood beside him and followed the line of tracks with his eyes.
But they did not lead toward Qingshi Valley.
They led south.
"It went toward Spirit City?"
Han Yue rose to his feet.
"Or it may have simply changed where it was active."
"Keep moving."
The group continued onward.
They had not gone far when the bushes to their left suddenly shook violently.
Bai Li raised her hand and gripped her longbow.
Two yellow and one purple Spirit Rings rose beneath her feet.
A layer of cyan feather patterns swiftly surfaced across the Cyan Feather Hawk Soul Master's shoulders and back as well.
The next moment, a grayish-brown Spirit Beast smashed through the bushes and charged out.
It looked like a wild boar enlarged several times over. Two tusks curved outward from its mouth, while several newly scabbed wounds marked its back.
"A hundred-year Tusked Boar."
Han Yue did not make a move.
A Spirit Beast of that age posed no threat to them at all.
Yet the Tusked Boar showed no intention of attacking either.
It did not even look in their direction.
After bursting from the forest, it smashed through several low shrubs and ran wildly south, quickly vanishing into the depths of the woods.
Everyone watched the direction in which it had fled.
The Short-Spear Youth frowned.
"Is something chasing it from behind?"
Bai Li did not immediately lower her bow.
"Wait."
More than ten breaths passed.
There was no further movement in the forest.
The ease on Han Yue's face faded somewhat.
"Stay closer together."
They walked on for another stretch.
A second Spirit Beast appeared.
A Long-Eared Fox that was only several decades old.
It, too, ran south.
Farther ahead came a Red-Backed Wolf of more than two hundred years. Its left hind leg was injured, and it stumbled as it rushed from the forest. After getting back up, it did not stop for even an instant.
Then came the fourth.
The fifth.
More and more appeared.
Spirit Beasts that were several decades old, two hundred years old, even several kinds that normally could never coexist peacefully, were separated by only a dozen or so yards as they fled in the same direction.
There was no fighting.
Nor was there any hunting.
It was as though they had no time to care what else was around them.
Han Yue raised a hand.
"Stop."
The six remained where they were.
Bai Li looked toward the animal trail ahead.
"This isn't a normal migration."
"I know."
Qingshi Valley was already close.
Beyond the morning mist, the outlines of mountain walls on both sides faintly emerged.
On the muddy ground leading into the valley, tracks of every size were packed together.
Some had already dried completely.
Others still carried wet mud.
But every single one pointed in the same direction.
Lu Yuan crouched down and examined them for a while.
"It started at least last night."
Qian Renxue stood beside him.
"How many Spirit Beasts?"
"Hard to tell."
Lu Yuan raised his head and looked toward the valley entrance.
"But these tracks definitely weren't left by just one or two groups."
Han Yue also crouched and studied them for a moment.
This time, he did not continue forward.
"It's normal for one or two to leave their territory."
"But for all the Spirit Beasts in the entire outskirts to flee outward together, that isn't normal."
He stood.
"We're going to the Old Hunter Camp."
"We'll meet up with the Patrol Team and return immediately."
No one mentioned practical field training again.
The group quickened its pace.
But before they had gone a hundred yards, Bai Li suddenly raised her hand.
"Stop!"
Her longbow was drawn in an instant.
At the same time, Han Yue released his Martial Soul, and a Short Axe landed in his palm.
"There's blood ahead."
In the woods to their right, a large patch of bushes lay flattened across the ground.
Darkened bloodstains covered the leaves and trunks.
There was a lot of it.
Han Yue gripped his Short Axe and walked at the front.
"You stay here."
He and Bai Li entered the woods one after the other.
Before long, Han Yue's voice came from inside.
"Come over."
His voice was clearly heavier than before.
Qian Renxue went in first.
Lu Yuan followed behind her.
Passing through the fallen bushes, they came upon a small clearing.
A massive Spirit Beast corpse lay across its center.
It was nearly four meters long.
Its entire body was covered in dark-red scales, and two curved long horns grew from either side of its head.
The Short-Spear Youth halted.
"A Red-Armored Rhinoceros?"
Bai Li had already crouched beside the corpse.
She inspected the scales, then looked at the horns.
"At least thirteen hundred years."
Thirteen hundred years.
The patrol report had stated that the strongest Spirit Beast on the outskirts of Qingshi Valley was only four hundred years old.
That number no longer meant anything now.
But even more unsettling than its age were the Red-Armored Rhinoceros's wounds.
There was only one penetrating wound through its entire chest cavity.
It went straight through from the left side to the other.
There was no extensive tearing around the wound, nor had the scales been forcibly clawed apart.
It was as if something had moved too fast for the Red-Armored Rhinoceros to defend itself, piercing straight through its body.
Han Yue crouched down and touched the dried blood.
"It died less than half a day ago."
The Short-Spear Youth instinctively looked around.
"What could kill a thousand-year Red-Armored Rhinoceros in one blow?"
No one answered.
Lu Yuan's attention, however, fell on the ground around the corpse.
The mud near its four legs had been trampled into a mess.
Several hoofprints had sunk exceptionally deep.
Judging by their direction, the Red-Armored Rhinoceros had also been running south before it died.
Just like the Spirit Beasts they had encountered along the way.
Only, it had not escaped.
Lu Yuan looked behind the corpse.
Several yards away, three holes had been left in a thick tree.
Side by side.
Narrow and deep.
"Uncle Han."
Han Yue turned his head.
Lu Yuan pointed his spear tip at the tree.
"Over there."
Han Yue walked over and took a look.
Bai Li followed him over as well.
"Claw marks?"
"Doesn't look like it."
"Made by an impact?"
Han Yue reached out and felt the edges of the holes, then shook his head.
"Doesn't look like that either."
He did not continue investigating.
"Withdraw."
The Short-Spear Youth froze for a moment.
"We're not going to the camp?"
"No."
Han Yue turned to look at the children.
"Thousand-year Spirit Beasts have already appeared on the outskirts, and something is hunting them."
"All the original intelligence is invalid."
"We're returning to Spirit City now."
No one objected.
Qian Renxue turned around at once as well.
Just as they were preparing to leave, a familiar gray color suddenly appeared at the edge of Lu Yuan's vision.
[Han Yue] [Today, Qingshi Valley] [Fate Node: Death]
Lu Yuan slowly tightened his grip on his spear.
It was still there.
Han Yue had already chosen to retreat.
They had not even truly entered Qingshi Valley.
Yet that death node had not changed by a single word.
That meant the danger was not deeper inside.
At the very least, it was not only there.
"Uncle Han."
Han Yue turned back.
But Lu Yuan did not continue speaking.
He suddenly realized that the silence around them was wrong.
Ever since approaching Qingshi Valley, they had been encountering Spirit Beasts fleeing outward.
But ever since they found the Red-Armored Rhinoceros's corpse, not a single one had appeared.
The birds had fallen silent.
Even the insects could no longer be heard.
The entire forest was so quiet that only the rustle of wind through leaves remained.
As if everything in this area that could still run—
Had already run away.
Crack.
A soft snap of a breaking branch suddenly came from behind them.
Han Yue's expression changed drastically.
"Protect them!"
Bai Li turned and drew her bow.
Three Spirit Rings lit up at once.
Han Yue stepped in front of them, Soul Power surging over his Short Axe.
Lu Yuan gripped the Dark Iron Spear tightly.
Qian Renxue had already moved to his side, her hand resting on the short sword at her waist.
Nothing could be seen amid the dense shadows of the trees.
A moment later.
A pair of scarlet vertical pupils opened in the darkness.
Han Yue slowly raised his Short Axe.
Almost at the same time.
Within the treetops on the other side—
A second pair of scarlet vertical pupils lit up as well.
Before you continue