Chapter 13 DAY 2 THE CHEN CLAN'S TRAP.
Iron Root Forest. Eastern Area.
The sky begins to shift as the crescent of the sun hits the horizon.
Kong Ming wakes up at dawn.
…Like a machine…
He looks across the cave and notices the girl sleeping peacefully there.
He picks up his spatial pouch and proceeds to leave the cave. As he approached the flowing water, he opened his flask.
Splash!
His sleeves were soaked as he began to drink the water.
He began his morning routine exercises, still adjusting to his improved physique. The frail legs are no longer sickly but emit slight traces of muscle. His arms no longer appear fragile, but rather resemble those of a skinny youth.
After his morning workout and breathing exercises, he sharpened his focus for the day...
“Do you start every day like that?”
A voice came from behind as if it were waiting for him to finish.
It was Xing Cai. She approached him and ran her hands through the waterfall.
She cupped her hands to catch the water and used it to wash her face.
“I’m going to show you I’m not useless," she said. With sudden determination.”
Kong Ming shook his head.” Prove it to yourself first.”
The two began walking across the ledge behind the waterfall.
They jumped, barely making it back on stable land.
Kong Ming smiled wryly.
“That cave is difficult for predators to enter, but it’s actually difficult to leave as well.” He thought inwardly.
Kong Ming turned to Xing Cai..
“I’m not very strong, so teaming up with me won’t yield you much benefits..”
She nodded her head..
“That's alright, I don't feel like you’re a bad person.”
Kong Ming frowned. “She’s really not going to let me go?” He thought inwardly…
“How would you know if I’m good? You just met me!”
Kong Ming sat down and opened a map of the Iron Root Forest.
Xing Cai looked at the map with curiosity.
“How did you get this map?” The school didn't let any of us borrow the official maps for the exam.”
Kong Ming raised his chin in pride.
I memorized it and drew the map based on my memory…
”To make an effective strategy, I have to know what tools and resources I have available. And since you’re now part of my team…I hope you don’t plan on being useless.
He gazed at Xing Cai with mild annoyance.
“Can you tell me what your strengths are?”..
She nodded. “Well, I’m actually best at using my leg martial art.”
She demonstrated some fast kicks, and I also have fast kicks and good stamina.
But…
“My main specialty is this…”
She randomly started scanning the area.
Then she grabbed a pointed stick and began drawing marks in the ground.
Xing Cai frantically ran around the area, making markings with her stick.
…“Hualong!”
Kong Ming’s eyes widened..
A spherical barrier appeared around them.
The markings glowed.
It was resonating with the energy of heaven and earth.
Kong Ming glanced at Xing Cai in disbelief.
“You know how to make formations?!…”
She nodded shyly.
This is the first time Kong Ming’s gaze contained an emotion besides annoyance.
Until now, Kong Ming’s silver eyes always contained a glimmer of annoyance. But his demeanor now had a trace of respect.
The barrier slowly faded.
I only know basic formations, but if I’m given time, I can prepare stronger ones.
Kong Ming clenched his fist.
“This improves our chances of survival.
My stamina isn’t the best, so it’s too risky to defeat the demon beast directly..
But I’ve read plenty of books about demon beasts and know a lot of their weaknesses and behavioral habits.”
Xing Cai nodded.
“Should we go to find some beast to hunt?”….
”Why would we do that?” Kong Ming made a weird expression.
“Make your… breath become the battlefield, so all within will dance to your will.”
Xing Cai tilted her head in confusion.
Kong Ming smiled wryly. “How is this girl a formation prodigy?” he thought inwardly.
“It’s simple.”
“We should bring demon beasts to us. Control a terrain that favors us,
A defensive strategy is where formations thrive the most. We should prepare a trap and formation, making it hard for them to press any advantage.”
If done right, we can earn over 30 points without taking too many risks.
“There’s an azure rabbit demon beast nest close by.”
I’m going to count on you to lower the rabbits.
I’ll set the trap using their weakness.
Kong Ming opened his bag and tilted it in front of Xing Cai.
He revealed a bunch of berries in his bag.
Xing Cai picked a berry with her hand.
Are they poisonous?
Kong Ming shook his head.
“They’re azure Moon berries.”
“only Poisonous to certain types of demon beast.
I read that the azure rabbits will die in 15 seconds after consumption, but what’s most important is the smell that attracts them.”
Most rabbits are Rank 1, but some will be Rank 2, and if we’re unlucky…
Kong Ming's face turned solemn.
Our plan might attract its natural predator, a rank 5 Ravenpanda.
“I will rely on you to set a basic illusion formation around the area to prevent other demon beasts from interrupting our plan.”
Xing Cai’s eyes widened. “Brother Ming is truly wise”…
Kong Ming began prepping the area and placing berries.
“If we’re working together, we will need to kill about 42 rabbits.“
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
I already killed a rank two fox.
I will need about 18 points to pass.
I’m not interested in becoming a top scorer.
As long as I can avoid dying or
getting kicked out of Iron Root Martial School.
That would be enough.
One more thing….
Xing Cai turned to look at Kong Ming.
Make sure not to scream like last time! It will attract more demon beasts.
Xing Cai turned red from embarrassment.
”R-right!”
Kong Ming handed Xing Cai a cloth covered with the fragrance of berries…
“Once the formations are ready, follow the path until you see a moss-covered boulder.
Turn left, and the nest should be 500 steps east. ”
“Do you understand the plan?”
Xing Cai nodded. Her eyes glimmered with confidence….
“Good!”
Let's move!
Meanwhile, in Northern Iron Root Forest
A group of masked men can be seen running through the forest.
What’s strange is that the men weren’t traveling alone but on top of spirit demon beasts.
One of the men pointed ahead.
“Captain, we're approaching the eastern ridge of the forest.”
The burly masked man in the lead shook his head.
”very good…”
“Get things set up here before we set the bait…”
“Do you have any information on the Kong brothers' location?” The leader asked.
A masked man reported cupping his hands…
”Kong Tian has been located, but the younger one hasn’t.”
“Dammit!”
The leader bellowed.
We don’t have more time to look for the younger one..
The longer we are in the forest, the higher the chance we have of being caught during this mission.
Head instructor Fang is already on the war path due to someone sending bandits in broad daylight…
We need to be extra careful.
No witnesses.
No Evidence.
Understand?!
Yes senior! The masked men all cupped their hands respectfully.
One masked man stepped forward…
“If we can’t find the younger brother, how are we going to get Kong Tian to the eastern ridge?….”
Bushes began to rustle…
“Leave getting Kong Tian to the eastern ridge to me.”
A young, beautiful woman approached the group of masked men.
She had red hair with a beauty mark on her cheek.
Her elegant robes flowed in the wind…
“Young Lady Chen!”
The group of men immediately bowed on one knee..
She nodded…
“Have all the preparations been made?”
The leader of the group nodded..
“Yes, if everything goes according to plan, it should look like a random death caused by hunting a demon beast…”
Accidents happen all the time while hunting demon beasts…
Chen Yue smiled…
“Did you take care of the instructors in the area?”…
“Yeah they all have been led away from here using our Chen family’s young disciples as distractions….”
She nodded in approval..
“I’ll get Kong Tian to show, make sure you guys are in position!…”
The wind began to pick up..
____________
The rustle of leaves drowned the noise of birds in the forest.
Somewhere in the Northern section of Iron Root forest….there are faint sounds of fighting.
Haaawl!!
A black clothed, black hair youth can be seen fighting a large Yin-bear. The bear stood an imposing 3 meters tall with claws that could slash even the Heavens.
Kong Tian seemed at a slight disadvantage.
The bear wasn’t able to do harm to Kong Tian, but his fist technique wasn’t able to damage the bear through its thick hide.
“I should have studied weapon art before this test.”Kong Tian thought inwardly.
The bear stood opposite him, cautiously observing Kong Tian's next move.
“This bear is at the peak of Mortal rank 9, and I’m struggling with my spirit apprentice cultivation.”
Wait…spirit apprentice! Kong Tian had a revelation. He wasn't even using his spiritual qi effectively.
He unclenched his fist into an open palm.
He began circulating the spirit qi in his dantian through the meridians in his arm.
The spiritual energy began to concentrate in his hand, increasing his power.
With Kong Tian's palm coated in spiritual energy, he charged again towards the Yin-bear.
The Yin-bear was fearless as it moved to slash Kong Tian into pieces. He noticed that the black-clothed youth had disappeared.
In the sky, Kong Tian struck down using a chopping motion, with his hand enhanced with spiritual qi…
His hand was as sharp as a blade…
Kong Tian's hand split the bear in two, cutting it in half…
Kong Tian's face remained cold and indifferent as the blood sprayed from the bear's wound, as its lifeless corpse collapsed.
“Why won’t the feeling from before return?” Kong Tian Pondered…
”I fought dozens of demon beasts, but none of those encounters made my blood boil like the fight with those bandits.”
“Do I have to find a spirit beast to push my limits?”
Most spirit level demon beasts are deeper in the forest, past the area designated for the exam.
“Snap!…” “Snap…”
There were sounds of several twigs snapping in the distance.
Kong Tian turned his head in the direction of the noise. He didn’t call out.
He simply waited for the approacher to reveal themselves.
He slowly began circulating his spiritual qi to take action at a moment's notice.
The silhouette began to form. It was the form of a curvy woman.
“The rumors of brother Kong’s prowess is well deserved…”
The woman said with an alluring expression.
Kong Tian's eyes narrowed. I’ve seen this woman before somewhere.
The woman gave a polite bow.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chen Yue. I'm the young miss of the Chen clan. Daughter of Chen Wei.”
Kong Tian’s expression remained unchanged…
“Has he never heard of me?” She thought inwardly
Chen Yue is used to getting a reaction from people after revealing her background, but this dark reaper in front of her seems like a transient being..
Unfettered from worldly affairs…
“Can I help you with something?”
Kong Tian said in a neither warm nor cold tone.
She smiled wryly…
”Whether it’s this brat or Kai.
Both of them have rice for brains. What kind of man uses such a tone with a beauty like me present.”
She composed herself..
She said, feigning concern…
”You didn’t hear? There’s been an accident…
Several students from group D were injured or killed by a spirit beast in the eastern area. There are usually never beasts of that level in the eastern woods..
But it must have wandered out of its territory. Isn’t your brother in group D?..
I heard he was seen in the eastern ridge area, but…but….it doesn’t look good.
I was making my way to inform the instructors, but I thought I should tell you..
It is not likely the instructors will…
Whoosh!
A black blur ran past her before she could even finish her sentence.
Chen Yue smiled. “That cripple is really all he cares about.”
She looked at Kong Tian's parting figure and sneered…
“We can't have some random brat interrupting the plans of the Chen clan..”
_______
Several hours later… as the sky began to turn crimson, ready to set on another long day.
Crakack!...Crackak!..
A red light lit up the sky like a crimson fairy departing from the earth…
“Another brat is requesting a rescue.”
A tall, muscular man sat on a cliff overlooking the forest.
He sighed.
“That’s the 15th rescue today, and it’s only day two!”..
Head instructor Fang! An instructor approached, cupping his fist.
“What is it now?”..
The instructor explained.
“We’ve received reports of strange activity from the demon beast in Iron Root Forest.”
Senior Fang’s eyes narrowed.
“Strange?”..
“When did you begin to notice this strange behavior?”
The guy looked at his scroll.
“Around this morning, mainly in the South East region.”
Send some more instructors to watch the students in that area and investigate.
We shouldn’t cancel the annual hunt unless it’s serious. If it’s a spirit beast territory dispute or a spirit warrior beast making a move, I’ll step in.
Let the exam continue as planned..
_____
Elsewhere….
a waterfall in the distance can be spotted…
Feint Sounds of water splashing can be heard, and a beautiful young lady can be seen washing her legs in her underclothes.
Eh.. ee…
She winced.
The lady can be seen making a slight grimace as she washes the blood from a wound on her leg.
She’s injured.
“Big sis, are you okay?” A concerned voice can be heard; it was a short girl in a green and white martial dress.
The young lady finished wrapping her legs while sitting on a rock near the waterfall..
“I’ll be fine. We already have enough points to stay in the academy. So let’s head back.”
The short girl nodded.
“Returning on our own allows us to keep the points we earned, it’s much better than staying out here injured and getting disqualified for needing someone to rescue us.”
Most demon beasts in the southern part of the Iron Root Forest are mortal rank 3 to mortal rank 6.”
Why in the seven heavens was there a twin-fanged iron wolf?!?
Rank 8 demon beasts and higher usually form nests in the northern territory. The heavens are truly unjust.”
The short girl sighed.
The tall young lady began to walk with clear signs of discomfort on her face.
“Big Sis. You’re clearly not fit to walk. Let's find a place to rest for the night, and we can head back to the entrance in the morning.”
The short woman said.. Concern is clear in her eyes.
“Uhmum,” the tall young lady nodded, and they traveled to a nearby cave.
Sit here, big sis. I’ll go in and make sure the cave is safe.
“Be careful..” the tall girl grabbed her arm as she reminded her companion..
The cave was dark with a faint trace of wind within. Along the jagged areas of the cavern, a faint blue glowing moss and mushrooms illuminated the inner walls.
The girl's eyes widened. As she saw the appearance of a creature… it was too dark to see clearly, but the glowing silver stripes on its fur glowed, showing its presence in the cave.
Suddenly, a light beneath her feet glowed.
Aaaaaah!
The sound of her friends screaming startled the girl waiting outside the cave, but when he glanced in the cave, there was no one there…
She vanished..
_____
Iron Root Forest Eastern ridge.
The trees rustled as a chilly wind crept through the forest, announcing the departure of the sun.
Whoosh!
A black clothed youth with eyes like the abyss in the night sky quickly approached the rocky gorge of the eastern ridge. He noticed a black shirt covered in blood in the valley and quickly descended from the cliff.
A slight panic was in his eyes as he approached the black robe on the ground that resembled his brothers.
After reaching the black robe, Kong Tian picked it up and examined it closely….
This isn’t Ming’er’s robe…it’s…. It's a trap!…
