Ambushed

Amid an air of peace, groups of people slowly gathered. After briefly meeting in the forest, they scattered once more. From high above, one could see several teams converging on the same place.

The center of that convergence was precisely where Huo Hai and his companion were. Oblivious to it all, Huo Hai continued searching for cards. After several days, the cards in his possession had nearly reached a thousand. If this continued, once he entered Imperial City Academy, he would certainly earn enough points to exchange for Blood Refining Pills.

Of course, that was still not enough. As his cards increased, Huo Hai's ambitions grew as well. It was not only Blood Refining Pills—he would need Bone Tempering Pills in the future too. Two hundred pills, at one hundred academy points each, came to a total of twenty thousand points.

"Twenty thousand points... I wonder how many I can get. I'll do my best. If I can collect them all this time, life at the academy will be much easier afterward." Huo Hai silently pondered. This was the most perfect method of cultivation for Foundation Establishment.

If he wanted to become a High Person, what did a little pain matter? Had he not endured it once already? He only needed to do it two more times. Two times—at that thought, Huo Hai shuddered from head to toe. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he truly did not want to try it again. Huo Hai even wondered whether hell held pain this terrible. This was simply asking for suffering.

But what could he do about it? For a bright future, what did suffering a little pain now matter? Huo Hai did not want to spend some future day living forever in regret. Without the spirit to stake everything on a single throw, he could never reach the pinnacle.

"Eh? Why are there so few cards today?" That afternoon, Huo Hai felt something was strange. There were simply too few cards. Under normal circumstances, there would never be only this many. He had been continuously pushing deeper into the mountains and forest.

No one could possibly have advanced this deeply so quickly. At that moment, Ji Mu suddenly pointed at a broken branch on the ground. "Look. This trace wasn't left by a spirit beast—it was made by people. It seems someone passed through here before us, and there were quite a few of them." Huo Hai knew nothing about such matters. He was woefully inexperienced in this regard.

Huo Hai did not doubt Ji Mu's words, because she had no reason to deceive him. More importantly, such a lie was not something one would use lightly. How could she know he genuinely could not tell? At that moment, a faint unease rose within Huo Hai.

Why did he feel uneasy? Huo Hai's eyes suddenly lit up. "Right. These past few days, the Star Gu have never reported anyone nearby. If there really were people—and so many of them—there was no reason they should have gone unnoticed. What is going on? Have those people always remained outside my surveillance range? But why? Are they avoiding me?"

Thinking of them avoiding him, Huo Hai seemed to realize something. Why would they avoid him? How did they know his movements? Thinking back over the past few days, after entering the depths of the forest, the Star Gu had indeed never reported discovering anyone.

Huo Hai had not noticed at first, but now that he thought about it, something seemed seriously wrong. Southern Mountain was only so large, while his scouting range was not small. How could he have failed to encounter even a single person? That was absolutely impossible.

The most likely explanation was that they were planning something. Could they be plotting against him? Damn it, what exactly was going on? The unease in Huo Hai's heart grew heavier. After closing his eyes to think for a while, he finally made up his mind. "Expand the search range, especially behind us." Huo Hai finally decided to fully investigate the surroundings.

This time, even if they found cards, Huo Hai would not make a move. Some of the Star Gu separated from the main group and began flying outward. As Gu Insects, they emitted a peculiar pressure that only insects possessed.

Sensing that aura, the other insects lowered their banners and silenced their drums. Even creatures that fed on insects did not dare attack them. The Star Gu traveled without obstruction, swiftly expanding their range across a vast area.

The search might not have been particularly detailed, but the range was large enough. Finally, when Huo Hai expanded it to three times its original size, the Star Gu sent back word of humans. "Humans found. No, that's not right—not one person, but a team. Wait, there are others in different places too. So many teams... what are they doing?"

Huo Hai received information from the Star Gu one after another. From those simple reports, he quickly discovered that several teams had gathered around him. Without showing any reaction, Huo Hai continued following his usual routine and searching for point cards.

As time passed, Huo Hai finally realized something was wrong. Those teams were slowly closing in on him. Faintly, they had formed an enormous encirclement. Quite a few people were also scouting the surroundings, likely using the same method Ji Mu had used—analyzing the traces he left behind to completely track his movements.

He simply did not know why they were being so cautious and did not dare approach him. Whenever he moved in one direction, they avoided it. Yet in directions where he did not move, they gradually drew closer. Did that phenomenon not prove the problem by itself?

No wonder he had not seen anyone else along the way. No wonder the point cards had become fewer and fewer. No wonder Ji Mu had often said she saw traces of human activity. So that was it. So that was how it was. Huo Hai finally understood.

His eyes narrowed slightly as Huo Hai said calmly, "We're surrounded." It was as though he were speaking to himself.

"What? What did you say? Wait, you said we're surrounded? Who are they?" Ji Mu did not doubt Huo Hai's words in the slightest. Anyone capable of easily finding so many point cards certainly did not have ordinary scouting abilities.

Huo Hai narrowed his eyes, undisguised ferocity flashing through them. "I don't know, but there are many people. At least five teams are surrounding us. They're very far away. If you hadn't just mentioned signs of a large group moving through here, I really wouldn't have thought of it. These people clearly planned this in advance. I just don't know who their target is."

Huo Hai gave Ji Mu a meaningful glance. When the two had first met, Ji Mu had been pursued and hunted.

Who knew whether this was arranged by He Wang? But that did not seem right either. Though He Wang was the third young master of the He Family, he did not have the authority to mobilize so many people. Southern Mountain was currently entirely sealed off.

Anyone not participating in the trial who dared approach risked being killed, let alone daring to venture into the forest. The only possibility was that these people had reached some sort of agreement. He did not know whether they had come for him or for Ji Mu.

But after thinking it over, they should have come for Ji Mu. He himself had always kept a low profile. Apparently, before losing his memories, he had been a kindly fellow who had not offended anyone. It was exceedingly rare for anyone to come looking for trouble with him. Ji Mu, however, did not think so.

"They should be coming for you." Seeing Huo Hai's disbelief, Ji Mu continued, "Your combat ability, your scouting ability, and the cards on you now are all things they want. You don't think that everyone who passes Imperial City Academy's trials does so purely through their own abilities, do you? Many obtain their cards by plundering others during the later stages."

After Ji Mu explained, Huo Hai understood. Most who joined Imperial City Academy came from great families; commoners rarely had such opportunities. Many participated every year, but few truly succeeded. In every trial, many people never emerged again.

No one really knew what happened to them. But considering that even some from great families died during the trials, it was clear enough what went on. Huo Hai inwardly sighed. His father had actually felt at ease letting him participate in such a trial alone.

"Then what do we do? They haven't fully closed the encirclement yet, and there are huge gaps between them. If we hurry and run now, escaping will be easy." Huo Hai thought for a moment before speaking to Ji Mu. He did not want to come face-to-face with anyone.

Ji Mu looked at Huo Hai meaningfully, then spread her hands. "If that's how you think, there's nothing to be done. These people are like that. If you don't show them your strength, they'll only grow more arrogant. You can hide now, but what about later? Do you plan to never leave Southern Mountain Forest? And once you reach the academy, where will you hide?"

That was right. If he could not leave Southern Mountain before the trial ended, it would count as failure. If he hid now, they would certainly think he feared them. If it were him, he would probably become even more arrogant too.

Then, during the final days, they would surely lie in ambush at the exit and prevent him from leaving. Even if he could leave early, what about after reaching the academy? Having cooperated once, these people could easily form an alliance. At the very least, forming an alliance against him would be simple. Where would he hide then?

Once a person hid once, it was easy for it to become a habit. Habits were terrifying things. If he avoided them today, would he avoid even more people tomorrow? Was he avoiding danger? No, they were not dangerous at all.

Huo Hai suddenly realized that he still held deep resistance toward killing. He did not want to meet them face-to-face because, deep down, he did not wish to slaughter too much. He resisted killing. He was running away—running from his own heart.

If this continued, how could he possibly become strong? He would forever remain like an ordinary person, incapable of becoming a true powerhouse. "Hmph, how could that be possible? I'm a peerless expert destined to make the entire Heavenly Spirit Continent tremble beneath my might. How could such a tiny difficulty stump me? I will overcome this obstacle. I will become a genuine expert."

Huo Hai's eyes grew brighter and brighter, while his bearing began to change. He became sharp, fierce, and impossible to look at directly.

"Come. We'll continue deeper in. This time, we'll increase our speed. I want to see who dares stand in my way. The moment we find them, leave none alive." Huo Hai's tone changed, and even his speed increased considerably.