Dark Forest

The one caught in the trap was still howling. Shen Fei walked over and drove his sword through its skull, ending its suffering.

He crouched down, dug out three Demon Crystals with his dagger, wiped them clean, and put them in his bag. Demon Crystals could be exchanged for money or used for cultivation. He couldn't waste them.

Once that was done, he put away the animal trap and checked his surroundings. Having left no traces behind, he continued deeper into the forest.

Bronze-rank Demon Beasts did far too little to help him improve. He needed stronger opponents.

The Dark Forest lay north of Glory City, nearly two days away on foot.

Shen Fei avoided the official trade road. There were too many people and prying eyes, and members of the Sacred Family occasionally used it to escort goods. Running into them would inevitably mean trouble.

He chose a small trail farther west. It passed mostly through barren slopes and thickets, rarely traveled except by the occasional herb gatherer.

He made steady progress over the two-day journey. By day, he traveled; at night, he found a sheltered earthen slope to rest against, setting up warning devices before closing his eyes.

He encountered only two groups of mercenaries on the road. Seeing him alone, carrying a sword and giving off a formidable aura, they didn't approach to talk. They passed him at a distance and went on their way.

On the evening of the second day, the outline of the Dark Forest appeared on the horizon.

It wasn't like the City Guard's records described. Those records said Bronze Demon Beasts dominated the forest's outskirts, with stronger beasts appearing deeper in and Silver Demon Beasts concentrated in the central region.

Yet as Shen Fei stood at the forest's edge and looked inside, he could hear Demon Beasts roaring far in its depths, shaking leaves loose from the trees. A faint smell of blood and rotting leaves drifted through the air, heavier than in any forest he had visited in his previous life.

He didn't enter immediately. He found a secluded cave outside the forest and rested for a night, bringing himself into peak condition. Only at first light the next morning did he shoulder his pack and step into the forest.

On his first day in the forest, Shen Fei discovered that the actual conditions were far harsher than the City Guard's intelligence described.

The trees were much denser than at the outskirts. Thick trunks crowded together, their branches interlacing overhead and blocking almost all daylight. A thick layer of rotting leaves covered the ground, soft underfoot. Every step required care against the sharp thorns and venomous insects concealed beneath.

He ran into a Silver Rank Demon Beast almost every hour.

His first encounter was with a pack of five Silverstripe Wolves, led by a Silver 1-Star wolf. These Demon Beasts excelled at hunting in packs and knew how to coordinate. An ordinary lone Silver 3-Star cultivator would likely come off worse against them.

Shen Fei didn't fight them head-on. He first withdrew behind an old tree and quickly set up three tripwires coated with an anesthetic. Then he deliberately made noise to lure the wolves over.

The lead wolf charged ahead of the others. The moment it leaped into the air, a tripwire caught its forelegs. The anesthetic seeped into its wounds, slowing it for an instant. Shen Fei seized that opening, rushed out, and thrust his sword through its eye, driving the blade straight into its brain.

Seeing their leader killed, the remaining four wolves lunged at him with bloodshot eyes. He maneuvered around the tree trunk, keeping them from surrounding him and aiming every strike at a vital spot. It took half an hour to finish off all five Silverstripe Wolves.

Once it was over, he leaned against the trunk and spent a long while catching his breath.

With his Silver 3-Star cultivation, fighting a single Demon Beast of the same rank wasn't much of a problem. Once their numbers increased, however, it was another matter entirely. None of these five wolves had been particularly high-ranked, yet they had already consumed nearly a fifth of his Soul Force.

If he encountered seven or eight at once, retreat would be his only option.

For the first three days, he stayed along the boundary between the forest's outskirts and its central region.

He killed four Low-Tier Silver-rank Demon Beasts in total: wolves, snakes, and a Shadow Leopard skilled at ambushes. More than half his Soul Force was depleted, and while fighting a Fanged Beast, one of its fangs slashed his right shoulder.

The wound wasn't deep, but it was long, with the flesh peeled back. He found a secluded stream valley, washed the wound with clean water, sprinkled on Golden Wound Medicine, and bound it tightly with a clean strip of cloth.

His supply of wound medicine was limited-just three bottles in total. He had to budget carefully for every wound, avoiding medicine whenever possible and only sparing a little when he truly couldn't stop the bleeding.

He had barely slept properly during those three days. He spent most nights in trees, waking every four hours to check for movement around him.

His dry rations were disappearing faster than expected. Fierce battles increased his appetite, forcing him to eat an extra half wheat cake each day. Water, at least, wasn't a concern. The forest had plenty of streams, and the water was drinkable after treating it with purification tablets.

On the evening of the third day, he rested beneath a sheltered rock face and took out his map to plan his route again.

Farther in, the Demon Beasts would be stronger, and his chances of encountering Silver Mid-Rank or even high-rank beasts would increase considerably. In his current condition, forcing his way deeper was too risky. But if he kept circling the outskirts, the training would be far less effective.

His fingertip traced across the map before finally stopping at the Rocky Slope.

The terrain there was complex, with plenty of rocks, making it suitable for a running fight. He planned to spend a few days in that area, using the terrain to deal with somewhat higher-ranked Demon Beasts. Once his bottleneck loosened, he would head deeper in.

Having made up his mind, he folded the map, leaned against the rock face, and closed his eyes to rest.

The campfire crackled before him. Its light drove away the night's chill and could scare off most Low-Tier Demon Beasts. He didn't dare fall into a deep sleep, keeping part of his awareness on the sounds around him.

Standing night watch on the city walls in his previous life had taught him to sleep with his eyes open, ready to wake at the slightest rustle of wind or grass. That skill was proving useful in the wilderness.

Early on the fifth day, Shen Fei followed a trail of Demon Beast tracks to the vicinity of the Rocky Slope.

The tracks were huge, their hoofprints sunk deep into the mud. Nearby shrubs had been snapped cleanly in half by an impact. Judging by the traces, this was an Ironclad Rhino.

Ironclad Rhinos were famous for their defense among Silver-rank Demon Beasts. Thick, heavy scales covered their entire bodies, and ordinary blades could leave only a white mark on them. An adult Ironclad Rhino could reach Silver Peak, two minor ranks above his own cultivation.

Normally, the best choice for a Silver 3-Star facing a defensive Demon Beast at Silver Peak was to go around it. A head-on clash offered no advantage whatsoever, and a moment's carelessness could leave him injured by its charge.

But Shen Fei didn't go around it.

He had come here precisely to fight battles like this. In his previous life on the city walls, fighting above his rank had been as common as daily meals. Demon Beasts wouldn't wait until his cultivation was high enough before attacking the city. Often, all he could do was grip his sword, steel himself, and stand against them.

He knew that the gap in cultivation wasn't the only factor deciding victory or defeat. Terrain, timing, and knowledge of a Demon Beast's weaknesses could all make up for an inferior cultivation realm.

He crept along the tracks for roughly a quarter of a kilometer and spotted the Ironclad Rhino in an open patch of woodland.

It was grazing on grass roots with its head lowered. Its body was a size larger than an ordinary water buffalo's, and its dark-gray scales gleamed coldly in the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Every movement sent a faint tremor through the ground.

Shen Fei hid behind a tree and observed it for a long while. Only after confirming there were no other Demon Beasts nearby did he slowly withdraw.

He didn't attack immediately. First, he explored the Rocky Slope to familiarize himself with its terrain, selected several routes suitable for maneuvering, and strung barbed wire between a few large boulders.

Only after everything was ready did he return, pick up a small stone, and throw it at the rhino's flank.

The stone struck its scales with a crisp clink.

The Ironclad Rhino jerked its head up, its bloodshot eyes sweeping toward Shen Fei. It snorted two jets of white vapor, pawed the ground with its hooves, and charged straight at him.

The tremors beneath his feet grew stronger. Shen Fei turned and ran, stepping across the scattered rocks and nimbly weaving around one boulder after another.

The Ironclad Rhino charged at tremendous speed, snapping several slender trees along the way, but it slowed among the tightly packed rocks. Its body was too large to turn easily, and a few waist-high boulders were enough to block its path.

That was exactly what Shen Fei wanted.

He darted back and forth among the rocks, deliberately drawing the rhino toward the area where he had laid the wire. Enraged, the Ironclad Rhino kept its head down and charged blindly ahead, failing to notice the thin wires underfoot.

With several soft tearing sounds, the barbs sliced the skin on the rhino's legs. Though they couldn't pierce its thick armor, they still caused pain and slowed it further.

Shen Fei seized the opportunity, circled to the rhino's side, and swung his sword at its flank.

With a clang, the blade bounced back, leaving only a shallow white mark on its scales.

As tough as expected.

He didn't linger in the fight, retreating immediately after that single strike. By the time the rhino swung its head at him, he had already stepped onto a rock and leaped to the top of another boulder.

The battle lasted nearly an hour.

Thick armor covered the Ironclad Rhino's entire body. Attacking it head-on was courting death. Shen Fei kept circling it, wearing down its stamina while repeatedly thrusting his sword tip at vulnerable spots such as its eyes and nose, provoking its rage and forcing it to charge again and again.

Several rocks on the Rocky Slope were smashed apart. Once, the rhino's sharp horn grazed Shen Fei's waist, tearing his outer garment and nearly catching him squarely. Cold sweat broke out all over him, but his movements never faltered.

He was waiting-waiting for the rhino's stamina to drop, for its movements to slow, and for an opening to appear.

The Ironclad Rhino had only one weakness on its entire body: the gap at the joint of its right foreleg, where no thick armor covered it. The spot was tiny, normally half-hidden beneath its scales, and appeared only for an instant when it lifted its leg to step forward.

To hit that spot, he had to wait until it had nearly exhausted its strength and could no longer move quickly enough.

After another quarter of an hour, the rhino's breathing grew increasingly labored, and the force of its charges visibly weakened.

Shen Fei knew the moment had come.

He deliberately offered an opening, pretending to slip and slowing by half a step. Seeing this, the rhino abruptly raised its right foreleg and stamped down at him.

Now.

Shen Fei ducked aside and thrust his sword through the opening beneath the raised leg, driving it precisely into the gap in the right foreleg's joint.

He put every ounce of strength into the thrust, driving the entire sword in.

The Ironclad Rhino let out a deafening scream. Its enormous body swayed, then crashed to the ground. The earth shook beneath it, and a cloud of dust rose.

Shen Fei's sword hand was trembling-not from fear, but from the physical strain of pushing his Soul Force to its limit. His arms ached so badly he could barely raise them, his chest heaved, and every breath burned with pain.

Bracing himself on his sword, he sat on the ground for a long while before slowly recovering.

Only after resting enough to regain his strength did he stand, walk to the rhino's corpse, pry open its scales with his dagger, and cut out the Demon Crystal inside.

The Silver Peak Demon Crystal was a size larger than an ordinary Silver Demon Crystal, heavy in his palm and brimming with Spiritual Power. This one was worth ten ordinary Silver Demon Crystals.

He put the Demon Crystal away and checked his injuries. The fierce movements had reopened his right shoulder wound a little, staining the cloth with blood. A large bruise covered the side of his waist where the horn had grazed him, painful at the slightest touch.

These injuries were nothing. On the city walls in his previous life, he had fought with wounds ten times worse.

He found a clean water source, treated his wounds again, and replaced the bandages with fresh cloth. Then he leaned against a rock, closed his eyes, and slowly circulated the Soul Force within his body.

A warm current flowed slowly through his meridians, far more sluggishly than usual. After all, he had exhausted himself badly. Yet as his Soul Force passed near his dantian, he suddenly sensed something different.

A tiny crack had appeared in the invisible barrier between Silver 3-Star and Silver Rank 4-Star.

It was faint, easy to miss without careful attention. But it was unmistakably there.

Shen Fei opened his eyes, a faint gleam flashing within them.

While cultivating in the city, he had spent three whole months without budging his bottleneck in the slightest. Yet after just five days in the forest and a few hard-fought battles, it was already showing signs of loosening.