Dangers Lurk Everywhere, Tread Carefully

Huo Hai had no idea that so many people had set their sights on him. What he was thinking about now was how to obtain enough points as quickly as possible. With his streak of perfectionism, Huo Hai would not allow himself to fall short of the points needed to exchange for a Blood Refining Pill.

He glanced back and silently calculated. With so many people, the points should be enough, right? Based on past circumstances, the total number of points shouldn't be less than a hundred thousand. Huo Hai recalled what he had learned from his father. In most cases, the points available in a trial would not be fewer than a hundred thousand.

The harder the trial, the fewer people passed it, but the total points were clearly greater. It was simply that the vast majority of points were concentrated in the hands of a few of the strongest trainees, as well as students with teams of their own. Once one became a trainee, the resources one could obtain would also increase.

Some Lineages even specifically sent people to help certain descendants earn points. These people met the requirements, but they could only spend the rest of their lives serving the Lineage. The He Family, for instance, had such a group.

The Huo Family did not. For one thing, the Huo Family had too few members to gather such a team. For another, the Huo Family revered individual strength and disliked using such methods. It was precisely because of this that, in terms of individual strength alone, the Huo Family was unquestionably number one in the Western Frontier. Seeing that almost everyone had entered, Huo Hai shook his head and hurried into the bounds of South Mountain.

The moment he entered the forest, Huo Hai felt as though he had stepped into another world. It was utterly silent—so silent that it felt somewhat eerie. A sense of danger pressed in from every direction. This was no good place.

"Eh, where did everyone else go? Wait, could they be hiding? It seems this trial allows people to attack one another." Huo Hai suddenly recalled the rule mentioned earlier—that participants could attack other people.

He also remembered what his father had said before: every trial saw quite a few people die in accidents. So long as there was no evidence, no one knew who had done it. Huo Hai's sense of danger grew even stronger. If it were only spirit beasts, he would not have worried too much. But with people added to the mix, it was different. Heaven knew what methods these people would use to deal with him.

"I should hide quickly. It won't be good if someone spots me." After thinking it over, Huo Hai hurriedly concealed himself in a clump of bushes. He had never encountered anything like wilderness survival. He had never even entered a forest before.

Huo Hai was not worried, because many others were just like him—their hiding and tracking abilities were no better. As for those with greater skill, if he ran into them, he could only blame his bad luck. Good thing I have Gu Insects. Otherwise, I'd really suffer.

As he thought, Huo Hai communicated with the Star Gu and released them. When large numbers of Star Gu gathered together, they emitted a crystalline glow. Once they scattered, however, they became far less conspicuous. On the contrary, their glow made them blend more easily into sunlight and moonlight, making them easy to overlook. Under Huo Hai's control, half of the Star Gu flew out.

The other half landed on Huo Hai's clothes, making them look as though they had been made from some special material. Considering Huo Hai's status, no one would find that strange. Before long, the Star Gu sent news back through Little Star.

Huo Hai quickly headed in one direction and spotted something white beneath a rock. "Haha, I found one so quickly. Looks like my luck is pretty good." It was a points card, representing one point.

Huo Hai picked up the card and casually slipped it into his pocket. These cards were extremely thin; even if he put several thousand in his pocket, they would not get in the way. Even ten cards stacked together were not as thick as a single sheet of paper from his past life on Earth. He truly did not know how such thin cards were made, especially with such excellent toughness.

He had only just put away the card when, before he could raise his head, he heard the sound of wind above him. "Not good, someone's attacking! Danger!" Caught in a sudden ambush, Huo Hai's expression changed drastically. For a moment, he did not even react.

He had never fought another person before, and with his Earth soul in the lead, it would have been strange if he could effectively counterattack after being attacked. Huo Hai's reaction was perfectly normal, but that normal reaction had plunged him into danger. His whole body stiffened, and for a moment, he actually could not respond. Damn it, am I going to die here? Huo Hai's mind went blank.

At that moment, the Star Gu automatically began protecting him. Sensing their master's danger, the Star Gu instantly rose from Huo Hai's body. The incoming arrow was not even as fast as the Star Gu. A swarm of Star Gu quickly blocked the space between Huo Hai and the arrow.

The Star Gu linked together like a shield formed from faint light. The arrow shot into the Star Gu as if it had fallen into water, disappearing in an instant. "Hmph, I didn't expect your spiritual power to be so pure. I truly underestimated you."

At that moment, a young man's voice sounded from overhead. Huo Hai turned and looked up. A fellow dressed like a mercenary had been hiding in a tree there all along. Even that card had been deliberately placed there by him.

Huo Hai glared fiercely at him. "Why did you attack me?"

"Hmph, why? Of course, it's to reduce the competition. Great Lineage descendants like you are our greatest rivals. If you don't die, how can we enter Imperial City Academy?" Imperial City Academy was a place people longed for.

Unfortunately, it had always been controlled by the great Lineages. For ordinary people, getting in was harder than ascending to heaven. In every aspect—resources and training alike—they could not compare with these people, nor did they have their numbers. If they did not kill them, how could they ever rise to prominence?

"Hmph, consider yourself unlucky to have run into me, brat. You've never killed anyone before, have you? Too bad—you're going to die today. You should feel honored to die beneath my Spirit-Breaking Arrow. Each one costs ten Spirit Stones. Of course, ten Spirit Stones probably mean nothing to people like you." Only then did Huo Hai realize that all this nonsense was meant to stall for time.

While speaking, the young man moved swiftly. He had already opened a case and carefully taken an arrow from within. The arrow was crystalline from end to end, giving off a faint glow, with a special runic formation upon it.

Huo Hai had heard of the Spirit-Breaking Arrow's great reputation. It was specially designed to break spiritual power defenses and was an assassination weapon for Earth-grade Spirit Masters. He had not expected to encounter one here today. Before Huo Hai could speak, the young mercenary drew his bow and fired.

The arrow transformed into a streak of light. It was as though he could already see Huo Hai pierced through by the sharp arrow, sprawled on the ground and wailing. Being able to torment and kill even one descendant of a great Lineage was one of life's greatest pleasures. There was no one around anyway. As long as he destroyed the corpse and erased the traces, no one would know he had done it. Perhaps some spirit beast had eaten him.

Huo Hai had no time to speak. In his panic, he ordered all the surrounding Star Gu to come protect him. The scattered Star Gu gathered once more, forming the shape of a shield. With Huo Hai directing them, the shield was denser this time and looked even better.

Yet none of that could conceal the Star Gu's formidable power. In the blink of an eye, the arrow struck the shield, then vanished soundlessly just as before. Only Chu Yuntian knew that the arrow had not vanished—it had been eaten by the Star Gu. Star Gu had enormous appetites. They could eat anything, digest it rapidly, and even use it to increase their own strength.

"How is that possible?" The young man's smile froze on his face. He had never imagined that the Spirit-Breaking Arrow he had spent ten Spirit Stones on—nearly a third of his entire fortune—would prove useless and even disappear.

If not for avoiding discovery, he truly would not have been willing to use a Spirit-Breaking Arrow. After one use, even if it was recovered, it had to wait an entire day before it could be used again. If it was damaged, it might never be usable again.

But why had it completely disappeared on his very first use? "You—you bastard! Where did you hide my Spirit-Breaking Arrow?" The young mercenary's eyes turned red with anxiety. Whatever his previous thoughts had been, he was still young, and his composure was not deep enough. Otherwise, he would not have set a trap so close to the exit.

Huo Hai had been attacked twice in a row, and both attacks had been meant to kill him. His fury had been completely stirred. If he had not released his Star Gu in advance, if the Star Gu had not been smart enough to automatically protect their master—

he would have lost his life today. That bastard still dared speak to him like this. Did he really think Huo Hai did not dare kill? "Little Star, destroy this guy." Huo Hai's Killing Intent surged.

As if realizing something was wrong, the young mercenary suddenly drew another arrow and poured a large amount of spiritual power into it, preparing to kill Huo Hai first.

Unfortunately, before he could even draw the bowstring, the Star Gu had arrived. They rammed fiercely into the young mercenary's body, instantly punching a hole through him. Injured by the insects, the young mercenary felt a burst of intense pain. But then, the Star Gu suddenly bit into his body and began moving into him, eating as they advanced.

The excruciating pain made the young mercenary tremble all over, sweat pouring from his body as he fell to the ground and wailed without end. Huo Hai turned a deaf ear and ordered the Star Gu to continue attacking. If someone dared lay hands on him, they had to be prepared to pay the price of being killed by him.

Before long, the young mercenary swallowed his last breath amid his wails, because the Star Gu had already bitten through his internal organs. The Star Gu ate quickly. If they could gnaw through an arrow so fast, would human flesh not be even easier?

Because the Star Gu moved too quickly, the young man's body began to shrivel. A moment later, his body had become nothing more than a sheet of skin. In the end, even that sheet of skin swiftly disappeared.