"Hmm, it looks like you guys are determined. Then, without wasting any time, we will start the first challenge, which is survival"
"The challenge is to reach the top of the mountain, to the sect's gates. It may sound simple, but let me tell you, there are thousands of beasts roaming on this mountain. The weakest has the strength of a Second Level Body Refinement Realm Cultivator, and the strongest has the strength of a Ninth Level Blood Refinement Realm Cultivator. It's not just the beasts you need to worry about"
"You have 3 days to reach the mountain top, which is 200 kilometers from here"
"Then, I'll see you again at the next level; the test officially begins now!"
As soon as the elder spoke, everyone rushed up the mountain. Given the circumstances, everyone wants to reach the mountain top as soon as possible to avoid those monstrous beasts.
Instead of following them and rushing, Ron took a few steps back and observed the mountain. Instead of jumping in and finding his way through the mountain trees, it would be better for him to have an overview of everything and create a map in his mind.
Once he had a clear idea of which route to take, he got himself ready to jump in. But he noticed that other than himself, there was one more person who hadn't directly started racing. It was the girl with the highest cultivation, Ayesha. She had beautiful black hair, which curled up at the ends, chubby cheeks, and ink-black pupils, which were mesmerizing.
Ayesha also noticed Ron and smiled at him; she waved her hand and disappeared from there. Ron shrugged and followed suit.
In fact, if Ron made a beeline for it, he could reach the summit of the mountain in a day. But then he remembered what the elder had said: there are beasts with body refinement cultivation here; wouldn't he be able to sell their corpses to Alexa for points if he killed them?
Ron excitedly started looking out for any beasts as he climbed, but luck wasn't on his side as he didn't find a trace of them!
"Damn, why am I so unlucky?"
Ironic as it is, Ron was disappointed that there was no beast attacking him while there was an unfortunate fellow who already encountered one!
"Aaahhh….."
Many of the students heard loud screams nearby; almost all of them started distancing themselves from that location. Instead, Ron dashed there with glee. He skillfully navigated himself in between the thick forest trees as he ran towards the screams.
When he was almost there, he heard wild growling. When the beast appeared in his vision, he saw a large beast that resembled a humped hyena, and he sensed that its strength was almost in the realm of third-level body refinement, despite the fact that its size had grown to the size of an elephant. It kept attacking a young man, who was covered in blood, with its claws. The young man tried to resist the attacks with his sword by dodging and hiding behind the trees.
Ron silently took out his sword from the storage, silently waited to look for an opening, and as soon as he saw one, he jumped high in the air towards the beast and stabbed it in the neck. The sword was quite wide, so it almost covered one-fourth of the neck.
The beast instantly cried out in pain; it wasn't able to howl as there was a sword piercing its neck. It tried to shake off Ron by wildly swinging its body. It tried to ram against the trees. Ron was slowly getting injured, but he hung onto the sword and took a chance to twist and thrust it even deeper.
The beast struggled for a while, and as it exhaustedly tried to escape, it fell down with a thud, taking Ron under its body.
There was silence for a while, and then the young man who was attacked slowly came out of the woods while holding his injured arm. He thought that Ron had sacrificed himself to help him.
"I will not forget your help, friend-d"
The beast raised its head slowly, giving the young man the creeps as he prepared to attack it. But he then saw Ron under its neck, slowly lifting the beast's head, and then he threw it off.
"You're still alive!"
"What? You want me dead?"
Ron shook his head at the silly young man and touched the beast's fur to appraise it.
[Yellow Barb Jackal: 15 points]
'What? All that effort for just 15 points? Hah, well, it's better than nothing, I guess. When I get the chance, I must earn money and get a lot of those fish'
Ron sent the beast's corpse to his storage and then sold it for points. The young man was surprised to find that Ron had a spatial tool, but then nodded in understanding, as he felt that Ron might be from a rich family.
'Status'
[ Ron Rogers (SilverSurfer) ]
[ Cultivation: Third Level Body Refinement Realm (Low Level D Rank)]
[ Vitality: 1.2]
[ Focus: LOCKED ]
[ Skills: - ]
[ Storage: Tag Change Token]
[ Points: 591 ]
[ Task Progress: System Node placed - Time remaining 108 days ]
"Hello, my name is Dixie Liang, and thanks for saving me!"
"Dixie???"
Ron wanted to laugh out loud when he heard that name but held himself back. Just then, his sharp ears picked up noises from some distance away. He dashed off to that location, not knowing if it was another beast, which meant more points!
"Hey! You didn't even tell me your name!"