Outside the city, on a rocky riverbank.
It was Zhang Ping's first time leaving the city, and to his surprise, the strongest impression he had along the way was how safe it felt.
He had expected one danger after another. Instead, following Liu Sishan, he had not encountered a single Mutated Beast.
"Sisi, what are we doing here? Weren't we going to do combat training?" Zhang Ping picked up a pebble and turned it over in his hand as he asked.
Liu Sishan had her back to him. Suddenly, a stream of water swept out from her side.
Whoosh!
The pebble in Zhang Ping's hand split in two. Only then did he react, dropping the pieces and retreating quickly.
"To make sure my training works for you, I want you to attack me with everything you've got. I'll strike back when appropriate to test your limits." Liu Sishan turned to face the wary Zhang Ping and spoke slowly.
Zhang Ping frowned. "Sisi, are you sure you won't slip up and cut me in half?"
"Hard to say. You'd better pray I don't." Liu Sishan's tone was flat.
As she spoke, four floating spheres of water appeared around her. They revolved in a circle, ready to become Water Whips and slice through anything nearby.
"Come on."
Liu Sishan beckoned to Zhang Ping.
Dressed in white, she stood perfectly still.
Mist gradually filled the air around her. Refracted light made her look like an immortal from the moon.
Zhang Ping had no idea where to begin. After a moment's thought, he bent down and picked up several pebbles, deciding to throw them to test her defenses.
He flung the pebbles at her.
The water spheres around Liu Sishan flattened into shields and blocked them. Then countless tiny droplets split from the larger spheres and shot toward Zhang Ping like bullets.
This is bad!
Zhang Ping hurried backward. The pebbles in front of him were pierced by the water bullets.
If those bullets struck a person, the consequences would be grim.
At that moment, Zhang Ping realized Liu Sishan was serious.
He took a deep breath, drew the Beauty's Tears Dagger, and closed in on her with Ape Step.
The essence of Ape King Form lay in its footwork.
Its movements were endlessly varied and unpredictable. Once mastered, it made the user difficult to aim at without some kind of mental tracking ability.
Zhang Ping had not mastered Ape Step. He had barely learned the basics.
But Liu Sishan was not going all out either. Otherwise, the water bullets would have been faster and able to track him. At his current strength, he would not have stood a chance.
With Liu Sishan holding back, Zhang Ping used Ape Step to evade the bullets. But as soon as he got close, before he could attack, an enormous palm made of water swept him five meters away.
"Ow!"
Zhang Ping landed on his backside among the pebbles. Pain twisted his face, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
Liu Sishan had no intention of giving him time to recover. Another barrage of water bullets came at him, and he hurriedly rolled aside.
He got up and tried to close the distance again, only for the same thing to happen.
After several attempts, Zhang Ping was panting and drenched in sweat.
"Is that all you've got?" Liu Sishan asked, pausing her assault.
Still gasping, Zhang Ping rolled his eyes. "Sisi, what do you expect from a level-three rookie?"
"But you're performing worse than you did when the Heavenly Fox attacked. It seems... perhaps I... haven't pushed you hard enough." Liu Sishan narrowed her eyes and spoke at an unhurried pace.
Zhang Ping's narrow eyes widened. He had a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough.
The next instant, dozens of thin Water Whips formed.
These Water Whips had no rapid current or high-speed vibration. They were simply whips made of water.
Caught off guard, Zhang Ping took a lash. His hair stood on end, his eyes went wide with pain, and he sucked in a breath as his whole body trembled.
That hurt!
His back burned. When he saw more Water Whips coming, he thrust out one hand. Fire Element energy surged forth and formed a giant flaming palm, blocking every whip.
Zhang Ping flailed, leaped, ducked, and rolled, but several lashes still caught him, leaving him grimacing in pain.
As he fought, he had to cast aside every stray thought and focus entirely on Liu Sishan's attacks.
Gradually, his mind grew clear, and he began to sense the rhythm carried on the wind.
No matter which angle a Water Whip came from, he reacted a step ahead and caught each strike with flame.
Liu Sishan watched him, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. The Water Whips grew faster, and their angles became ever trickier.
One minute later.
Zhang Ping's Fire Element energy ran dry, and he collapsed.
"I can't do this anymore. I'm exhausted."
He glanced at the Water Whips around him, then closed his eyes and spoke helplessly.
But the whips did not fall. They drew back to Liu Sishan's side and became water spheres once more.
Liu Sishan walked over to Zhang Ping. "You're actually very strong. Among Novice Awakened, at least."
His reactions and control over his ability had both been impressive. His only real weakness was a lack of ranged attacks, and he could make up for that in time.
"Of course I know I'm strong for my level. Sisi, if you were the same level as me, could you beat me?" Zhang Ping asked, looking up at her.
"No," Liu Sishan answered honestly. "Before I became an Intermediate Awakened, I only had defensive techniques. I developed real combat strength afterward."
"How long did that take?" Zhang Ping pressed.
"One year," Liu Sishan replied.
"No way!" Zhang Ping exclaimed.
She had gone from Novice Awakened to Intermediate Awakened in just one year?
"Why not?" Liu Sishan said. "The rate of advancement varies greatly between abilities."
Her ability let her store water elemental energy by drinking water. Unlike most people, who could suffer water intoxication from drinking too much, she only gained more energy. As long as she released it in time, she could keep drinking and training her ability without stopping.
Abilities grew stronger with use.
Compared with abilities that had demanding activation conditions, hers was easy to use. If she was willing to practice, she could advance quickly.
Of course, her extraordinary potential had also played a part.
Without it, she could never have advanced so fast.
After resting there for ten minutes.
Liu Sishan told Zhang Ping to get up and led him onward.
"Sisi, where are we going now?" Zhang Ping asked as he ate a compressed energy bar.
"Do you know why Mingzhu City was built here?" Liu Sishan asked.
"Why?" Zhang Ping genuinely did not know.
"The Changsha River lies to the east of Mingzhu City, Salt Mountain Valley to the south, large iron deposits ten kilometers to the west, and the Endless Mountains to the north. A city built here has ready access to water, salt, iron, meat, and other resources," Liu Sishan explained.
"So we're heading south?" Zhang Ping looked up at the sun and made his guess.
Liu Sishan nodded. "The Investigation Team and patrols regularly clear Mutated Beasts from the road to Salt Mountain Valley. Most of the beasts there are low-level, so they're ideal for you to practice on."
"Now?" Zhang Ping's eyes widened.
"We'll rest at a camp for half a day, then move at night," Liu Sishan replied.
"That's good. That's good." Zhang Ping sighed in relief.
He was in terrible shape. His Fire Element energy was gone, and most of his stamina had been spent. Forget Mutated Beasts—even an ordinary wild animal might be too much for him right now.
Salt Mountain Valley was the name of a place.
It was a valley containing vast deposits of salt.
The walk from Mingzhu City to Salt Mountain Valley took about two hours.
Sometimes salt carriers could not return to Mingzhu City in time, so they rested near the valley. Over time, camps sprang up.
The problem was that spending the night in the wilderness was dangerous.
Wild animals and Mutated Beasts often attacked after dark, causing most of the salt carriers' deaths and injuries.
Later, some adventurers spotted an opportunity and built better, safer camps near Salt Mountain Valley.
Guests could stay for a night by paying a small number of Pearl City Coins. Awakened stood watch after dark and drove away wild animals and Mutated Beasts.
The lodging was inexpensive and relatively safe.
Salt carriers gradually got into the habit of spending their nights in these camps.
In Salt Mountain Valley, running a camp slowly became a decent business.
Two hours later.
Zhang Ping and Liu Sishan arrived at a camp.
Built atop a small hill, it had a large pit dug into its center. Flames roared within it, making it look a little like a tiny volcano.
Many tents stood around the fire. Guests could rest in one by taking the corresponding numbered token.
Their tent was close to the fire, so Zhang Ping sat beside it and absorbed the flames to recover his strength quickly.
"Can you eat flames you create yourself?" Liu Sishan asked thoughtfully when she saw him.
Zhang Ping paused, then tried it. "I can, but there's still some energy loss. That does give me a new idea, though!"
The Fire Eater's main ability was to restore his stamina by consuming flames.
Only when his stamina was full would the fire be stored in his body as Fire Element energy. That meant whenever he was tired, he could release his stored energy as flames, then eat them to restore his stamina.
Could that be the Fire Eater's real purpose?
Zhang Ping turned the thought over in his mind.
Many Awakened did not truly understand what their abilities were for.
They trained and used their abilities according to their own understanding. Even if that understanding was wrong, continued use would gradually shape the ability around their habits.
As a result, most Awakened never considered whether their abilities might work differently from what they imagined.
"Since absorbing flames restores your stamina, don't sit around. Do five hundred push-ups first."
While Zhang Ping pondered, Liu Sishan had also grasped the Fire Eater's true purpose.
With the Fire Eater,
Zhang Ping could focus on strengthening his body.
He had no need to worry about running out of stamina. As long as he had fire, he could keep training.
"Sisi, five hundred is hardly anything. I'll start with five thousand, just to warm up."
Zhang Ping grinned, then gave himself the order in his mind and began exercising.
Training beside the fire, he could consume flames while doing push-ups. He barely felt tired at all.
After finishing five thousand push-ups, Zhang Ping began doing frog jumps around the fire.
It was broad daylight.
The salt carriers had all gone out to search for deposits, so no one was around to disturb him.
Apart from the crackle of the fire, the only sound in the camp was Zhang Ping's breathing.