Howl!

The breeze lingering on the faces of Lin Yuan and Chen Ming. They both slowly fluttered their eyes open, glinting against the evening sunlight. Lin Yuan slowly stood up, concentrating his mind on his aperture. The beast essence was replenished fully. And same for Chen Ming.

"Let’s move forward, Chen Ming," Lin Yuan glinted, his voice cutting through the evening breeze.

Chen Ming groaned, standing up and followed Lin Yuan further into the forest. As they covered a Li distance, Lin Yuan found plenty of spirit herbs glimmering under the sunlight.

*Li = 500 meters.

"Luck is under our ass, Lin Yuan," Chen Ming shuddered, sprinting towards the Spirit herbs. He deliberately opened the storage bag, snatching handfuls of herbs every time in it. Lin Yuan crouched beside Chen Ming and aided with collecting herbs.

"Now we only need three Rank 2 beast cores to bag this win," Lin Yuan grinned, putting a bunch of herbs into the storage bag.

Lin Yuan and Chen Ming filled the medium-sized storage bag with Spirit herbs. Practically, they completed half of the trial before Day 1 completed.

After a few hours of walking, Lin Yuan and Chen Ming found four Rank 1 beasts. They killed them instantly, effortlessly. The darkness crawled across the Blackwood Ravine forest. The waxing crescent moon hung above, glittering a faint white light on the forest.

Lin Yuan and Chen Ming lit a campfire, digging two Y-shaped wooden stakes into the ground on either side of the crackling flames. They balanced a sturdy green log across the stands, creating a spit to roast their seasoned meat. An hour ago, Lin Yuan killed two Rank 1 Rabbit beasts. Lin Yuan skewered the dressed rabbit beast onto a sturdy green log and balanced it across the stands, slowly rotating the meat to roast it over the heat. Chen Ming sat on the stone beside the camp fire, watching the sizzling of rabbit outer skin under heat.

After a few minutes, Lin Yuan took the green log with well-roasted rabbit meat aside and kept on a cloth. And then he skewered the other rabbit beast onto a sturdy green log and balanced it across the stands, twirling the meat to roast. Thick, white smoke oozing out from the roasted rabbit meat. Lin Yuan and Chen Ming enjoyed the meal of Rabbit meat, chomping small pieces of the toasted rabbit meat.

BURP!

Lin Yuan stood up and burped loudly. Under a wide-spreaded oak tree, Chen Ming laid two blankets down — setup for taking a nap. Lin Yuan unhurriedly walked towards Chen Ming.

Shine!

Suddenly, a spark shimmering from the branches of the oak tree. Lin Yuan flabbergasted, taking a staggered step backward.

"Chen Ming, Get away fast!!" Lin Yuan yelled, his eyes filled with fear. He saw the bat lunging towards Chen Ming from the tree. It was twice larger than the normal bat, thick blood drooling out from its mouth. It is a Bloodhound Bat.

Chen Ming managed to dodge the attack, but a few drops of blood sloshed on Chen Ming’s cheeks, causing a rot spreading on the face sluggishly. Lin Yuan dashed instantly towards Chen Ming, his right palm aiming on the bat.

"Shell Strike," A beam of light pierced through the bat’s chest, viscous blood dripping from the wound. But the bat’s body spasmed in a grotesque way, healing the wound instantly. Lin Yuan’s eyes widened in sheer panic and fear.

’What the fuck is wrong with this bat?’ Lin Yuan thought frantically, dodging the blood needles unleashed from the Bloodhound bat’s mouth. ’Is this beast a Rank 4? Fuck, I can’t sense the aura of its core! Why? Why? Wh–’

BAM!

The Bat jumped up-straight to a few meters high, and incontinently plummeted down with an immense speed onto Chen Ming. Even if Lin Yuan alerts Chen Ming; he can’t dodge the attack incoming with that speed. Even though he dodged, the manipulated blood around the bat along with the sheer impact will leave many wounds on Chen Ming.

"NO!!!" Lin Yuan shouted, dashing fastly using his agility gained from the cultivation of the Rank 2 rabbit beast.

When the Bloodhound Bat was inches away from Chen Ming, a crackling arrow of dense light struck the Bloodhound bat, and slammed into the oak tree’s trunk. The sheer impact of slam shook the entire oak tree, a shower of small wood fragments and leaves tumbled down. Chen Ming jolted his head onto Lin Yuan. But it was not Lin Yuan... he doesn’t have that much potential in the ’Shell Strike’ attack.

Lin Yuan also tilted his head backward because the light arrow unleashed from his back. A six-feet tall middle-aged man stood on the large rock. His white-hair was whipping against the gust of night wind. A furry three-tailed fox lingered gracefully from his left shoulder to right shoulder. A light looking like a bow in his left hand flickered once before vanishing into the thin air.

The white-haired man’s name was Luo Zhen, a Spirit Beast Realm - Mid Stage Cultivator, strongest assistant of Mo Qinghe, and also a Nine-Tailed Beast holder. He descended slowly down from the rock, and passed through Lin Yuan towards the Bloodhound bat. As Luo Zhen approached near bat; it began to spasm and tried to self explode. But Luo Zhen sensed the danger. Immediately he extended his left hand straight, a shimmering bow formed in his wrist. And then he stretched the glittering bow-string and released, launching another light beam towards the Bloodhound bat. Along with the light beam, Lin Yuan rushed towards Chen Ming, and activated the Shell Guard right away. Lin Yuan followed his instinct like the white-haired man ordered him to save Chen Ming.

BOOM!

The light beam blasted the head of the Bloodhound bat into hundreds of pulpy chunks of flesh. They sloshed around the ground, oak tree and on the shield guard. The headless Bloodhunt bat was dead, slowly slid down from the trunk of the oak tree.

"Are you okay, brats?" Luo Zhen asked, discerning the frantic faces of Lin Yuan and Chen Ming. "Humph... Pardon! I am Luo Zhen, assistant of Mo Qinghe, a Spirit Beast Realm - Mid Stage Cultivator."

"This is my beast," Luo Zhen smiled, darting his head towards the Three-tailed Fox on his right shoulder.

"We are fine... master Luo Zhen. You defeated it in time," Chen Ming frowned, placing his hand on the spreading rot on his right cheek. "What’s wrong with that beast? Is it Rank 4?"

"No..." Luo Zhen muttered frantically, watching the corpse of the bat. "It was a Demonic core beast. You both are really lucky, the beast was just a second stage evolution of Bloodhound beasts. But, the question is how a Demonic core beast appeared in this forest without any demonic path cultivator?"

"Humph! Never mind. I came here to save Mo Qinghe’s disciples, and I have done it," Luo Zhen patted Lin Yuan and Chen Ming on the back. "The spreading rot can be healed by Spirit Herbs... Crush them into a pulp and place it on the wound; it will heal soon. Walk a few paces to the right, and you will find another oak tree. Rest there! All the best for the remaining two days of your trial, brats!"

Lin Yuan and Chen Ming frenziedly marched to the path Luo Zhen instructed.

’I need to report this incident soon to master Mo Qinghe,’ Luo Zhen grunted, rushing towards the academy. ’Something is off in this forest!’

****

"A Demonic beast..." Lin Yuan murmured, laying down on the flat ground.

"Leave about that beast, Lin Yuan," Chen Ming sneered, crushing down a handful of spirit herbs into pulp beside Lin Yuan. "Let’s take some rest, we still need three more Rank 2 beast cores to win this trial."

Chen Ming spoke those words outside, but there was a fearful chill crawling inside his pondering heart with a single thought: If master Luo Zhen is a second late, I will be doomed!

He placed the spirit herbs’ pulp on the cheek, where the rot is bruising his face. And slowly laid down on the ground. Lin Yuan and Chen Ming both had scary thoughts, before shutting their eyes: How was a second stage Demonic Beast that strong?

****

Day 2 of the Second Trial.

"Walk fast, Lian Nichang," Yun He scolded, her voice lingering along with the morning breeze in the Blackwood Ravine forest. "You are as slow as a snail."

"I just woke up, Yun He," Lian Nichang muttered, taking a dull step forward. "I need some time to be hyperactive like you!"

WHOOSH!

A dark mist slashed from the right side, Lian Nichang dodged it because he was halted in dizziness. Yun He and Lian Nichang jerked their heads towards the left side. There was a brownish swamp, and a pair of violet eyes slowly opened within the swamp mist. The creature’s black-scaled body crawled silently from the shadows, muddy darkness dripping from its claws as cold killing intent spread across the forest. It was Shadow Mire Beast, a Rank 3 beast born from the dark swamp. The Shadow Mire Beast has a lean, low body similar to a panther mixed with a swamp reptile. Its entire body is covered in dark-black scales layered with muddy shadow-like fur that constantly releases faint black mist.

The Shadow Mire Beast slowly opened its jaw to attack again!