Chapter 26: What's going on?.
Qian Sanjiang pondered how to report to the sect leader.
"The Blood Spirit Seven Swords. This kid has clearly made some progress. His killing power is also sufficient. He has achieved this in such a short time. If the sect leader knew, he should be pleased..."
Qian Sanjiang was thinking about how to use Fang Che to give himself a good pat on the back.
In the workplace, you have to eat, not be embarrassed.
After all, there are quite a few offerings.
...
Fang Che sat in the carriage, resting with his eyes closed.
In his mind, he was weighing the several martial artists who 'coincidentally' stopped here to watch the turmoil.
"Wei Zihao is the most suspicious, but it shouldn't be just him. Also, that Qing Ziyue, who looks thin and weak from a distance, is also somewhat suspicious."
"But I don't want to deal with them now. First, it's useless. Second, their families are too close, which could easily bring trouble to us. Third, by keeping them around, when we get to the martial arts academy, we can cause trouble at any time, especially when we want to make a disturbance or pass on a message. We can use them at any time as a natural shield..."
"These can all be used as a last resort. It's too wasteful to deal with them now."
"For resources that can be tortured at any time, they must be cherished."
Fang Che sat with his eyes closed in the carriage, his face calm.
But he was thinking.
"I'm going out this time, and then I'm going to enter the martial arts academy. Once I'm in, I don't know when I'll be able to come out. Ah, I've never been to a martial arts academy in my previous life... I don't know the rules."
"I have Yen Meng following me, and there should be someone else watching me in secret. Whether it's Guardian Hall or the One Heart Sect, they won't let me out of their sight."
"But there will be some inconvenience on this trip. I don't know how Golden Horn Jiao is doing in his cultivation now? I wanted to bring it along, but I don't know if there's a chance now."
Fang Che pondered, looking into the distance.
That was the direction of Hundred Poison Peak.
It was originally on the periphery of the Forest of Ten Thousand Spirits.
The place where he was staying was not very far away, only more than five hundred miles.
"But if Golden Horn Jiao hasn't been cultivated to the point of invisibility, wearing it won't be very useful. There's even the risk of it dispersing when leaving the Extremely Yin place."
In the end, Fang Che gave up on this plan.
There was the Extremely Yin place over there, so let Golden Horn Jiao cultivate for a while longer.
It's better to let it wait for a few more months, or even a year or two, than to risk exposure or dispersal if it hasn't finished cultivating yet!
Fang Che let out a sigh and stopped thinking about it.
Golden Horn Jiao was a backup plan he had prepared for himself early on.
When Yen Meng hadn't appeared, Fang Che had been considering this move.
Because, as a soul, it was very convenient to pass on messages.
Even in the last incident with the Su family, although it was an accident, there was also the idea of sending those guys to Golden Horn Jiao to replenish its body.
He had been waiting for Golden Horn Jiao to transform from form to formless, and when its spiritual cultivation advanced further, it would come to him.
Even now, with Yen Meng by his side, he has not given up on this plan.
But up until now, this plan, which has been itching to be put into action, could only be temporarily shelved.
"Taking things step by step can affect long-term plans. We must not act prematurely just because it's convenient!"
...
Finally, they arrived at the Forest of Ten Thousand Spirits.
The coachman had already returned. As an ordinary person with only a bit of martial strength, driving to this point was already the limit.
And Fang Che only brought it up now: I'll buy this carriage from you, and you can go back on your own.
Fang Che paid double the price.
The coachman readily agreed.
He was just puzzled: If you wanted to buy it, why didn't you do it earlier?
Why wait until now to buy it?
Fang Che certainly wouldn't buy it earlier. He sat comfortably in the carriage, resting and organizing his thoughts; although his thoughts were already clear, he... enjoyed the moment a bit longer.
Because after the coachman left, he would have to drive the carriage himself!
Yen Meng could only ride in the carriage.
The next thing to do, he had to accomplish on his own to count as an achievement.
But Fang Che felt a bit uneasy about the idea of the young master driving while the maidservant rode, so he insisted on driving halfway.
"Get inside and sit down!"
Fang Che said with a stern face, "This young master will drive himself."
"Eh?"
Yen Meng was stunned.
Her round eyes looked puzzledly at Fang Che.
The sun rose from the west, and he suddenly became considerate?
Could it be that he finally realized my unparalleled beauty?
"Once we're out of the Forest of Ten Thousand Spirits, if you haven't improved, I'll sell you to a brothel!"
Fang Che threatened, then picked up the reins. "Go!"
Yen Meng:...
...
Yen Meng sat cross-legged in the carriage, waiting.
Her big eyes kept rolling, and her pretty face was speechless.
Because Fang Che had left her and the carriage in the forest and went hunting monsters by himself.
"How can he be so careless? He just left such a delicate beauty like me in the forest. And it seems like he only has the cultivation of a Third-Rank Martial Practitioner. Isn't he afraid that when he comes back, I'll have turned into a pile of gnawed bones?"
"He really doesn't cherish beauty at all."
"His heart is too big!"
Although complaining in her heart, she had to put on a frightened and uneasy look on her face, curled up in the carriage, not daring to move.
She could only pray in her heart.
Please, let no fierce beast come.
Otherwise, she would really be exposed.
...
Fang Che moved through the dense forest like a ghost, leaving no sound as he passed.
His target was the monsters in the forest. Monsters below the sixth rank!
A first-rank monster, one hundred cores for one academy point; second-rank, fifty cores for one point; third-rank, ten cores for one point; fourth-rank, two cores for one point; fifth-rank, one core for two points; and a sixth-rank monster, one core for twenty points.
However, a sixth-rank monster was basically equivalent to the combat power of a Martial Master of the fifth rank.
As for seventh rank... cough, I don't want to think about it.
If one appeared, he would have to be prepared to become dung.
Fang Che's target was not first-, second-, or third-rank monsters.
That was too slow.
So, from the beginning, he headed straight for the depths of the jungle.
For the first and second-rank monsters that were startled in the jungle, Fang Che didn't even bother.
But the deeper he went, the more he felt something was wrong.
But he couldn't pinpoint it.
In front of a dense bush, amidst thick grass, Fang Che suddenly stopped.
Looking at the bushes, looking at the grass, looking at the surrounding trees, the feeling of "something's not right" became stronger.
But he couldn't say exactly what was wrong.
He couldn't help but ponder.
If there is a feeling, there must be a situation. But where was this situation?
He focused his mind and looked at each blade of grass, each bush, and each tree.
The strange thing was the environment, but what was wrong with the environment?
After looking for a long time, a thought suddenly struck him. He remembered the two people who robbed the road.
Because of those two people, Fang Che paid special attention to the environment.
At that time, the two of them were standing under thick trees with shining leaves and lush foliage.
Looking at the surroundings now, although the shrubs were growing vigorously, whether it was the trees or the grass, the leaves were very thin. They didn't seem to be malnourished, but they couldn't be considered nutrient-rich either.
The shrubs were very thin, but the tree bark was mottled, showing signs of age.
All the trees nearby were the same—unlike the situation when they first entered the jungle, where there were several trees that could be hugged by several people together. Here, there were almost no trees larger than those that could be hugged.
However, judging from the mottling of the tree bark, the age of these trees was clearly much older than that of those outside.
In the shrubbery, there were some rotting animal carcasses.
Fang Che turned them over. They were all thoroughly rotten, but the color of the fur was still somewhat vivid.
Fang Che pondered for a long time, then looked around at the surroundings. Sunlight streamed in, creating dappled spots of light.
"This forest is strange. Normally, the trees deep in the jungle, where few people tread, should be especially thriving. But this vast area is just the opposite. Could it be because of the geology?"
There was no sense of imminent danger, just a kind of inexplicable silence.
Standing here, he could clearly hear his own heartbeat. There was a faint sense of unease, but it wasn't very pronounced.
Other than that, there was nothing unusual.
No discovery.
Fang Che sighed.
Let's focus on the points first. These anomalies... we'll think about them slowly. But, they must not be ignored.
...
In the darkness.
A strange snake with skin that was almost indistinguishable from its surroundings suddenly emerged silently. Its long body coiled, and it swiftly swallowed two second-level little fox demons nearby.
While enjoying its meal, a sword light suddenly fell, firmly nailing it to the ground.
The strange snake's body convulsed, writhing violently and causing the nearby trees to sway and topple.
However, the sword had already killed the strange snake.
After a moment, the sword was pulled out and transformed into a magnificent swan.
With a "pu" sound, the head of the strange snake was directly chopped off.
Blood splattered.
Fang Che dripped the snake blood onto a nameplate, then placed the extracted core of the strange snake into it.
A halo appeared on the nameplate.
Both the core and the blood disappeared simultaneously.
Several lines of text appeared.
Bibo City, Fang Che.
Points, 0.5.
This strange snake is undoubtedly a fourth-rank demon beast.
"Just fourth-rank."
Fang Che was somewhat dissatisfied. He immediately got up and walked into the jungle.
In a quarter of an hour, Fang Che's points changed to 3.
...
Sitting on a large tree branch, gnawing on dry rations, Fang Che felt a bit heavy-hearted.
"The points are indeed not easy to obtain."
Only three points for six fourth-level demon beasts.
This was because Fang Che had rich experience in the martial arts world and was quite clear about the habits of demon beasts. He could quickly judge where the demon beasts were hiding based on the environment, which led to this situation.
From this, it could be seen that these one hundred points were definitely not easy to earn.
"I need to find a group of demon beasts."
"Why is it that this entire area, hundreds of miles in diameter, has malnourished trees and grass? What is the reason for this?"
Fang Che leaped down from the tree.
Several hours later.
Fang Che, covered in blood, returned to the carriage. Ye Meng was trembling inside the carriage: "M-master... you're back?"
"Look at how timid you are."
Fang Che snorted, took off his dirty clothes, changed into clean ones, and threw the dirty ones into Ye Meng's arms. "Wash them when you get a chance."
"Yes."
After three full hours of fierce battles, Fang Che obtained twenty-one points.
One hundred points seemed out of reach.
He drove the carriage forward for dozens of miles.
Then, he stopped again, got off the carriage with his sword, and, under Ye Meng's gaze, swiftly entered the jungle, disappearing in an instant.
Ye Meng noticed that before entering the jungle, Fang Che paused for a moment, as if deliberately observing the trees by the roadside.
Unable to contain her curiosity: What's so interesting about the trees?
...
In the dense forest, one could almost see agile young men shuttling back and forth.
Some were still engaged in fierce battles.
Fang Che quickly passed everyone, his body like a sharp arrow, entering the edge of the forbidden area.
Here, there would surely be higher-level demon beasts.
Sure enough, in a canyon, Fang Che found a surprise.
A group of fifth-rank Bloodfang Wolf demons.
There were more than a hundred Bloodfang Wolves in the group, and that was just what he could see.
"I'm going to earn nearly two hundred points!"
Fang Che became excited.
The next step was how to eliminate them.
After all, the Bloodfang Wolves would not just stand there foolishly and let themselves be killed.
Moreover, a group of fifth-rank Bloodfang Wolves had considerable combat power, and there must be a Wolf King among them!
These wolves, their fur is not shiny, and they don't look very well-nourished. They must be very hungry, right?
He observed for a moment.
The surrounding trees and grass were still the same. They were alive, but malnourished, as if the land only ensured that these plants were alive—the most basic form of survival.
Other than that, there was nothing else provided.
Some trees had animal carcasses underneath, but the leaves were not lush and shiny. It seemed that the dead demon beast carcasses did not provide any additional nutrients to these plants.
After observing for a while, Fang Che quietly retreated.
After a moment, he returned, holding a bag of powdered medicine.
...
In a hall of the White Cloud Martial Academy.
A group of faculty members were staring at a large virtual screen in front of them.
Beside them were two pillars piled with colorful spirit crystals, emitting a dazzling light. The pure energy supported the light curtain.
On the light curtain, there were countless names, with the number of points displayed after each name.
"There seem to be quite a few applicants this year."
A professor from the martial academy looked at the long list with interest. "With ten thousand spots, we still couldn't accommodate everyone. There are still those who didn't make the list."
Another sighed and said, "Let's just hope that the ten thousandth person doesn't have more than thirty points."
The others all had wry smiles.
Because the list beyond the ten thousand names was not displayed, it was impossible to know who would be admitted.
"The most we've ever admitted in a year is eight thousand two hundred. There's still a long way to go from ten thousand. Don't worry, it won't exceed that."
"Yeah, the last person on the list still has zero points, and it's already been a day."
"You're right. From nine thousand two hundred downwards, they all have zero points. And there are quite a few above that who have less than one point."
An old man with grayish-white beard looked up at the scrolling list and asked, "Are the top hundred fixed?"
"Not yet. But for the top ten, someone has already reached fifty points."
"Oh? Let me see."
Everyone looked at the top ten names on the left.
Qiu Yunshang: 62 points.
Ding Jieran: 49 points.
Xie Gongping: 48 points.
Huo Churan: 47 points.
Mo Ganyun: 43 points.
Fang Che: 39 points.
Ximen Xuri: 38 points.
...
While everyone was watching, Fang Che's score suddenly jumped twice, instantly changing to forty-three, tying with Mo Ganyun. Then it jumped again to forty-five, forty-seven, forty-nine... all the way up to ninety-one, ranking first.
There was only a short moment to catch their breath.
Then it stopped.
Everyone was suddenly dumbfounded.
What... just happened?
...
After several revisions, it took a few minutes.
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