《Eye of Evolution》


 Chapter 1

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    ¡°one day, i¡¯ll become a legendary figure in the web novel industry. one of my novels will sell for tens of millions of yuan. i¡¯ll live in a luxurious mansion, marry a beautiful wife who hails from an affluent family, and then reach the pinnacle of success in life!¡±


    in the dim, dark basement, the ceiling lights cast a dappled light onto the floor.


    bai xiaowen was sitting in front of the computer, furiously typing away. in the empty basement, he was working toward his dream career as a famous novelist.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s shadow was his only accompaniment.


    after completing another chapter, bai xiaowen logged into the website easily¡ªseeming like he had done this often¡ªand opened his homepage.


    copy! paste! successfully uploaded!


    ¡°i wonder how many subscribers have i increased by?¡± bai xiaowen clicked on the analytics page with anticipation.


    ¡°i have three new subscribers, so i have over 100 subscribers now¡­ ahem! no matter what, i¡¯m now one step closer to becoming a legendary figure,¡± bai xiaowen consoled himself as he shuffled his fat ass in his chair, the chair¡¯s wooden frame creaking under his weight.


    he threw a glance at the time that was shown at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. bai xiaowen rubbed his tummy, which had a generous layer of belly fat, and felt a pang of hunger.


    ¡°it¡¯s already 11 p.m., i¡¯ll take a stroll at the night market and buy some supper to eat.¡± bai xiaowen pushed open the door to the basement and followed the steps leading out of the run-down place he called his home.


    bai xiaowen was an impressive figure in the past. when he was in high school, he was always the first in class. whenever the results were released, none of his classmates would bother asking who got the first place. instead, they would ask who got the second place. in his three years of high school, the student getting second place was always changing. however, all of them were under bai xiaowen¡¯s shadow.


    unfortunately, after getting into a focal university, bai xiaowen lost his drive and direction in life. he became a geek.


    in the end, he obtained his graduation certificate with much difficulty and encountered numerous obstacles in his search for a job. due to an unexpected turn of events, he joined the web novel industry and became a web novelist.


    bai xiaowen was wandering on the streets like a grizzly bear foraging for food. he did not notice that there was a speck of starlight in the sky that was flying toward him at an increasing speed.


    what were the chances of a person being hit by a meteor? that was hard to say. there was a 50 percent chance of getting hit by the meteor.


    the starlight hit bai xiaowen¡¯s head accurately as if there was a navigator installed in it. in an instant, bai xiaowen only had time to raise his head.


    an eyeball-shaped object crashed into bai xiaowen¡¯s left eye socket.


    bai xiaowen felt the world spin. in the endless darkness, the only thing he could see was a blood-colored eyeball.


    ¨C


    when bai xiaowen regained consciousness, the smell of disinfectant filled his nose. he opened his eyes to an all-white ceiling.


    ¡°this is a hospital? i didn¡¯t die after being hit by a meteor?¡± bai xiaowen thought, feeling a little puzzled. he touched his left eye. ¡°the meteor clearly pierced through my left eye, but my eye is still there. am i dreaming?¡±


    ¡°elder brother, you¡¯re awake!¡±


    a surprised voice sounded. in front of the bed, a girl rubbed her bloodshot eyes and looked at bai xiaowen. a look of joy and disbelief crossed her face. upon seeing that bai xiaowen was awake, she pounced forward and grabbed his arm.


    the girl was about 13 or 14 years old. she was wearing a washed-out blue school uniform. her face was delicate and pretty. she was an adorable-looking girl.


    ¡°you¡­¡± bai xiaowen was a little dumbfounded. he did not expect a beautiful girl to call him brother the moment he woke up. he did not remember having such a sister. with the bai family¡¯s genes, even if he had a sister, it was impossible for her to be so beautiful.


    the adorable girl laughed and cried at the same time. she helped bai xiaowen sit up slowly. ¡°this is fantastic! elder brother, i knew you wouldn¡¯t leave me behind. after elder sister went missing, there were only the two of us left in the family. you can¡¯t leave me behind too!¡± as she said that, she started sobbing.


    bai xiaowen sat up straight and saw a small round mirror on the bedside table. in it, he saw his own reflection.


    ¡°oh my god, that¡¯s me? this¡­ this is such a handsome-looking face!¡±


    the reflection staring back at him had dark eyes, fair skin, and a perfect jawline. he was definitely a handsome youth.


    bai xiaowen was still in a daze. he subconsciously wanted to pinch himself, but both of his hands were held tightly by that cute girl, and he could not break free of her iron grip. when he panicked, countless images appeared in his mind, and bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes rolled back and he fainted.


    that girl immediately shouted and dashed out of the ward. she yelled for a doctor, her voice echoing loudly in the hallway.


    in the empty ward, bai xiaowen gradually regained consciousness. however, this time, he had already figured out what was going on and was no longer in a daze.


    ¡°i have transmigrated¡­ this body that i¡¯ve transmigrated into is called ¡®bai xiaowen¡¯. it¡¯s pronounced the same way as my original name, but it¡¯s written a little differently.¡±


    this was earth from the spiritual energy era!


    in a.d. 2021, a special energy called spiritual particles surged into earth through gaps found in the spiritual realm. the earth became digital under the influence of spiritual particles, and countless species mutated.


    at the same time, groups of creatures from the spiritual realm invaded earth.


    there were zombies that could withstand bullets, dreadclaw monsters that could skim over rooftops and walls and were difficult to aim at, mountain giants that had immense strength and treated tanks as toys, and malicious ghosts that could tear apart souls with a single look.


    most importantly, these monsters were protected by the energy of spiritual particles. hence, the effects of earth¡¯s weapons were greatly reduced, and humans could not deal much damage to them.


    thankfully, spiritual particles had also changed the bodies of humans on earth, opening up a new path of evolution. humans who had successfully evolved were known as awakened!


    an awakened had the strength to fight monsters head-on. after the first generation of awakened grew up, finally, there was a fragile balance between humans and monsters on earth.


    the spiritual energy era began. the year 2021 was known as the first year of the spiritual energy era.


    this year was the 96th year of the spiritual energy era. bai xiaowen traveled to a hundred years later, and he had transmigrated into the body of a high school student called ¡°bai xiaowen¡±. the two memories of his life overlapped like a dream, making him unsure whether this was his real identity and the web novelist bai xiaowen was merely a dream of his, or the vice-versa was true.


    ¡°from now on, i¡¯m bai xiaowen from the 96th year of the spiritual energy era,¡± he thought to himself. admittedly, the life of a web novelist caused bai xiaowen to have a strong mentality. moreover, his soul had successfully fused with this body. thus, he had no problems accepting this identity, not to mention he had become a handsome man. what else was there to be dissatisfied about?


    whether a person was successful depended on aptitude and hard work, in which the former took up seven points while the latter took up three points. one¡¯s appearance made up the other 90 points.


    bai xiaowen picked up the small round mirror and stared at his reflection carefully.


    ¡°tsk tsk, i have broad shoulders, a slender waist, and long legs. this is a model¡¯s figure and a celebrity¡¯s face. it¡¯s hard for me to not become famous in the entertainment industry.¡±


    just as bai xiaowen was staring at himself in the mirror, a string of information flowed into his mind.


    [bai xiaowen]


    [race: humanoid/human]


    [talent: insight]


    [attributes: strength 1.8, agility 2.1, physique 1.7, spirit 4.9]


    [specialty: basic combat level 1, basic machinery (single-handed sword) level 2, basic meditation level 1]


    ¡°this is my personal data in the spiritual energy era. but wait, what¡¯s with the ¡®talent¡¯? from the original host¡¯s memory, this body doesn¡¯t have any talent! also, why did the ¡®spirit¡¯ attribute increase so much all of a sudden? bai xiaowen¡¯s original ¡®spirit¡¯ attribute was only 1.9.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. the new insight talent and the soaring spirit¡­ are probably related to that huge blood-red eyeball!¡±


    as soon as bai xiaowen had a question in his mind, the answer immediately popped up. the speed of his thoughts was so fast that even he was a little surprised. he felt that his brain had also evolved! compared to his previous brain, it was like the difference between a supercar and a hand-guided tractor¡ªsimply put, bai xiaowen had a super brain!


    with just a simple glance, the tables, chairs, and bed cabinets in the ward were all clearly engraved in his mind like photos. even the slight erosion and scratches on them were clearly visible! what was even more terrifying was that bai xiaowen memorized all of this while he was calculating the square for five-digit numbers mentally.


    this observational ability, this memory, this computational ability¡­ not only was this brain much more powerful than what bai xiaowen, who was a third-year student in this time and space, originally had, but it was also a hundred times smarter than bai xiaowen, that web novelist in another time and space. this was definitely a super brain!


    the super brain should also be a perk brought about by the blood-red eyeball.


    bai xiaowen carefully observed his left eye in the mirror. in the depths of his pupil, there was a faint red light circulating. he silently chanted to cancel ¡®insight¡¯, and the red light disappeared.


    ¡°activate the personal attributes panel.¡±


    the transparent page opened in front of bai xiaowen like a page. his race, attributes, talents, and specialties were exactly the same as the data that bai xiaowen had just obtained through his insight ability. this meant that there was no mistake in his insight talent. it was very precise!


    ¡°awesome.¡± bai xiaowen was very excited. in the spiritual energy era, only a small number of people had innate abilities. no matter how trashy one¡¯s talent was, one would receive due attention once their talent was confirmed.


    bai xiaowen felt as if he had obtained his favorite toy. he looked around for items to test his talent, including cabinets, beds, and mirrors. he did not miss a single thing. however, the notifications he received were all: ¡°the target contains negligible spiritual energy. it¡¯s not a spiritual item.¡±


    in the end, bai xiaowen found a used box of bandages that emitted a dim light. his insight gave the results.


    [cotton veil hemostatic bandage (used)]


    [grade: 0]


    [composition: lifeforce 0.71%, disinfectant 0.28%, blood 12%, cotton yarn 86.01%]


    [effect: it can quickly heal wounds and scabs, shortening the duration of bleeding]


    ¡°my talent, insight, can work on items that contain spiritual energy! not only can i identify the effects, but i can also see its composition! i feel like this is much stronger than ordinary detection abilities!¡± bai xiaowen was secretly pleased as he threw the blood-stained bandage back into the trash can.


    however, the moment he threw away the bandage, bai xiaowen suddenly remembered something.


    ¡°the blood on this bandage¡­ is mine? f*ck, which bastard did this to me?¡±

 Chapter 2

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    a series of memories churned.


    the perpetrator was bai xiaowen¡¯s classmate, zhou yi. during the combat class, zhou yi looked for bai xiaowen to practice. nobody knew if it was intentional or not, but zhou yi hit bai xiaowen¡¯s head hard, causing the latter to faint on the spot and bleed profusely. following that, bai xiaowen was sent to the school hospital for emergency treatment.


    bai xiaowen seemed to have survived a calamity, but in fact, the original host had already been killed by zhou yi! otherwise, the web novelist¡ªbai xiaowen¡ªwould not get a chance to be reborn.


    the sound of footsteps interrupted bai xiaowen¡¯s thoughts. then, with a creak, the door to the ward was pushed open.


    the first person to enter was the adorable girl in her school uniform. when bai xiaowen saw her, he felt a sense of closeness to her.


    a string of memories appeared.


    this little beauty was his younger sister, bai xiaojun. she was a 14-year-old girl and was in her third year of junior high at the crimson fire no.1 middle school. the siblings relied on each other and had a deep relationship. this time, bai xiaowen had an accident, so bai xiaojun immediately rushed to the school hospital to take care of him. she did not get a chance to apply for leave from school yet. looking at her slightly red and swollen eyes, bai xiaowen deduced that she must have cried countless times.


    behind bai xiaojun was a man in a white coat. it was mr. qiao, the school doctor she had found.


    ¡°elder brother, why are you up?¡± bai xiaojun was taken aback and quickly helped bai xiaowen up. ¡°quick, lie back on the bed. your injuries are very serious. you have to rest well. i thought i would never see you again¡­¡± at this point, she started to sob again.


    bai xiaowen was unable to persuade her otherwise and could only lie down on the bed. mr. qiao walked over to check on his condition and said, ¡°you¡¯re in good physical condition, so you can be discharged after another day or two of observation. bai xiaowen, i know that being in year three combat class, you have immense pressure, but the training in the actual combat class is very dangerous. you still have to be careful.¡±


    bai xiaowen thanked him, but he was still thinking about zhou yi.


    after mr. qiao left, xiaojun closed the door and sat on bai xiaowen¡¯s bed. ¡°elder brother, you were unconscious for three days! you scared me to death.¡±


    bai xiaowen looked at xiaojun¡¯s haggard face. he could only imagine how frightened bai xiaojun had been for the past three days. according to his memories, the siblings had already lost their parents, and his elder sister had been missing for two years. they relied heavily on one another. if bai xiaowen really died, how could xiaojun, a 14-year-old girl, survive?


    ¡°elder brother, the combat class is too dangerous. why don¡¯t you transfer to the ordinary class?¡± xiaojun persuaded.


    high schools in the spiritual energy era were divided into the normal class and the combat class.


    the students in the normal class were similar to those in another time and space. every day, they would attend classes in the classroom and learn about the spiritual energy era. they would not be tested on their combat ability during the college entrance examination.


    the combat class was different. among the five subjects of the college entrance examination, four were related to combat, machinery, meditation, and actual combat. there was only one subject, called ¡°general knowledge¡±, that tested book knowledge.


    the students in the combat class were very hardworking. every day, they had to spend a lot of time training their physical fitness, improving their basic specialties, and nurturing their actual combat ability. according to the country¡¯s regulations, the high school combat class had a certain rate of disability and mortality every year! one could imagine how dangerous it was.


    if bai xiaowen died in the hospital, it would not cause much of a stir. it was just an accident during an actual combat class. he would only add to that mortality rate in his school, crimson fire no.1 middle school. as long as there was no evidence, no one would pursue the matter. as the perpetrator, zhou yi would at most receive disciplinary action.


    although it was tough for combat students, they could apply to the combat faculty when applying for a university. once they passed the examination, they could enjoy a large amount of resources. they were one step closer to becoming an awakened! this was something that normal students could not compare to.


    students from normal classes could only apply for regular faculties. without a strong financial background and generous resources, they would had no luck with entering the world of awakened. but then again, for students who had a strong financial background, how was it possible that they would not enter the combat classes?


    the status, reputation, and income of awakened far exceeded that of ordinary people, almost forming a privileged class by themselves! this was also caused by the huge threat of monsters in the wilderness during the spiritual energy era.


    after bai xiaowen fused his memories with the original host, he had already figured out these differences. of course, he would not want a transfer to the normal class. with his insight talent and super brain, bai xiaowen was confident that he could have great achievements as an awakened.


    seeing how insistent bai xiaowen was, xiaojun did not try to persuade him again. she sighed gently and said, ¡°elder brother, i know you want to enter the combat faculty at jinghai university and become an awakened. then, you can go to the spiritual realm to find elder sister¡¯s whereabouts. however, don¡¯t give yourself too much pressure. our family is poor, so we can¡¯t afford enhancement potions, nor can we afford enhancement recipes. we can¡¯t compete with other rich candidates.¡±


    the spiritual realm was the birthplace of spiritual particles, and there were countless universes there. killing powerful monsters could drop precious equipment, props, and so on. it could be said to be a huge treasure trove. after the spiritual particles penetrated earth, not only could the spiritual realm monsters descend on earth, but the humans on earth could also enter the spiritual realm through some special methods!


    however, opportunities and danger coexisted in the spiritual realm. without powerful strength, it was almost impossible for them to move about in the spiritual realm. bai xiaowen¡¯s father¡ªbai yuantang¡ªand his elder sister¡ªbai xiaohua¡ªhad gone missing after they arrived at the spiritual realm. the original host, bai xiaowen, had been training hard in the combat class so that he could become an awakened and enter the spiritual realm to search for their whereabouts.


    as the siblings were talking, the door slammed open.


    the two of them looked over at the same time. a burly boy, brimming with muscles, had shoulder-charged the door and stumbled in. when he saw bai xiaowen lying on the hospital bed, the boy grinned and said, ¡°bai xiaowen, i didn¡¯t expect you to be so resilient. you¡¯re still alive even after getting hit on the head.¡±


    ¡°zhou yi?¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s expression darkened. he recognized this boy as the culprit, zhou yi, who had wounded him.


    zhou yi waved his hand. ¡°come on, don¡¯t have such an ugly expression on your face! i didn¡¯t do it on purpose. that¡¯s why i¡¯m here now, to visit you and to apologize.¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s slender eyes narrowed.


    after a short daze, xiaojun suddenly jumped and charged toward zhou yi, pushing him hard. as she pushed, she screamed, ¡°get out, get out!¡±


    however, xiaojun¡¯s push was too weak compared to zhou yi¡¯s strong muscles.


    zhou yi did not move an inch at all. he crossed his arms and leaned against the door. he looked at bai xiaowen and smacked his lips. ¡°your sister is not bad-looking. in a few years, her looks might even be comparable to li shuyi, but she can¡¯t compare with li shuyi in other aspects. for instance, li shuyi can be my first wife, while your sister can only be my maid-concubine¡­¡±


    li shuyi, the campus belle of crimson fire no.1 middle school, was also zhou yi and bai xiaowen¡¯s classmate.


    bai xiaowen remembered this name, and his heart lit up. it seemed that there was a reason why zhou yi was targeting him¡­


    slap!


    a crisp sound interrupted bai xiaowen¡¯s thoughts. xiaojun had raised her hand and slapped zhou yi.


    this slap was nothing to zhou yi, but he felt humiliated by her. zhou yi¡¯s eyes seemed to blaze with sudden rage. his arms, which were wrapped around his chest originally, pushed xiaojun away easily. xiaojun was unsteady on her feet, and she staggered back a few steps.


    zhou yi had been too arrogant and felt that xiaojun was no threat at all. his arms were folded high across his chest as he mocked bai xiaowen, which was why xiaojun managed to slap him. otherwise, with his physical fitness, xiaojun would not have had a chance.


    bai xiaowen was shocked and furious. he immediately stood up to support xiaojun and shouted angrily, ¡°zhou yi! what do you want?¡±


    following behind zhou yi, a girl with long hair whispered, ¡°zhou yi, don¡¯t go overboard. this is the hospital.¡±


    ¡°mind your own business,¡± zhou yi said without turning his head. from the side of her face, one could see that the long-haired girl¡¯s face was pale, and she looked a little embarrassed.


    ¡°xiaoyan?¡± only then did xiaojun notice the girl¡¯s side profile. her eyes widened. ¡°why are you with this b*stard?¡±


    bai xiaowen also recognized this girl.


    wu xiaoyan grew up in the same neighborhood as bai xiaowen. they could be considered childhood sweethearts. before junior high, wu xiaoyan had always considered herself bai xiaowen¡¯s girlfriend and even became close to xiaojun.


    however, after entering high school, bai xiaowen¡¯s sister¡ªbai xiaohua¡ªwent missing. the bai family lost their source of income and was on the decline. as she grew older, wu xiaoyan became a pragmatic person and distanced herself from them.


    if it was the original bai xiaowen who saw wu xiaoyan throwing herself at zhou yi, he might feel upset about it. however, the current bai xiaowen was a fusion of two souls, so he did not have any feelings for wu xiaoyan. after all, he did not have any deep feelings for her in his original memories. he merely threw a glance at wu xiaoyan and turned his gaze back to zhou yi¡¯s face. many thoughts raced through his brain as he said.


    ¡°zhou yi, do you dare to make a move here?¡±


    zhou yi looked a little surprised and narrowed his eyes. ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    bai xiaowen was very clearheaded.


    he said calmly, ¡°in actual combat class, you dared to deal a death blow to me because you knew that there is a mortality rate. as long as you say that you accidentally lost control of yourself, you will at most be punished. before the college entrance examination, you can use your connections to get rid of this taint in your record. however, this is a hospital. if you have the guts to try to kill me, go ahead and do it! before tomorrow, the entire school will know that zhou yi failed to kill his classmate and specially rushed to the hospital to attack him again¡­¡±


    the surprise on zhou yi¡¯s face deepened as if he was reacquainting himself with bai xiaowen. he sized him up. was this still the introverted bai xiaowen who had an inferiority complex?


    however, bai xiaowen was telling the truth. zhou yi would not dare try anything in the hospital.


    on the one hand, a guy who deliberately killed his classmates would definitely be ostracized by his classmates.


    in another time and space, even if the double hammer assassin¡ªma fenghou¡ªwas not shot to death, he would definitely be isolated by others should he continue to stay in school. the same could be said for the master¡¯s degree holder, wu muhao, who poisoned someone to death.


    zhou yi could say that the accident in the actual combat class was a mistake, but if he had beaten up bai xiaowen in the hospital, he would not have been able to explain himself. the school would overturn their conclusion and launch a reinvestigation.


    on the other hand, the mortality rate was for everyday training. the school would never tolerate a private fight that resulted in disability or even death. even if zhou yi¡¯s family was rich, it was inevitable that he would be expelled. if zhou yi was transferred to the public security bureau, there would be a stain on his record for the rest of his life.


    there were only a few months left until the college entrance examination. no matter how foolish zhou yi was, he would not get into a fight in private. although his family was rich, they were not an awakened family. they still had some influence in the crimson fire district, but their influence outside the territory was limited.


    ¡°i didn¡¯t expect this, bai xiaowen!¡± zhou yi sneered. ¡°you¡¯ve become much bolder, but that makes me hate you even more. i¡¯ll repeat myself, what happened in the actual combat class was merely an accident. hmph! i won¡¯t ruin my future for trash like you!¡±


    suppressing the anger coursing through his system, bai xiaowen calmly looked at zhou yi. he inwardly vowed that one day, he would take revenge tenfold or a hundredfold.


    suddenly, a girl¡¯s voice came from the corridor not far away.


    ¡°zhou yi? what are you doing here!¡±

 Chapter 3

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    footsteps sounded hurriedly. a girl with a ponytail and in a tailored white training suit quickly entered the ward with a basket of fruits in her hand.


    ¡°oh, it¡¯s you, shuyi. i¡¯m here to visit bai xiaowen.¡± zhou yi¡¯s originally arrogant face was already filled with smiles. he said eagerly, ¡°although i didn¡¯t injure him on purpose, i¡¯m still at fault. i didn¡¯t expect you to come too. if i had known, we could have come together.¡±


    the ponytailed beauty in the white training suit was the school belle and straight-a student of crimson fire no.1 middle school, li shuyi.


    li shuyi swept a glance at zhou yi and a faint look of disgust flashed across her face. ¡°zhou yi, your basic combat has already reached level 4, am i right?¡±


    zhou yi smiled obsequiously and said, ¡°i¡¯m merely so-so. i can¡¯t compare to you.¡±


    ¡°bai xiaowen¡¯s basic combat skills are only at level 1, how could you have miscalculated and inadvertently hurt him when one of you is level 4 and the other one is level 1?¡± li shuyi questioned.


    zhou yi felt a little awkward to hear that. ¡°shuyi, you also understand that although the probability of such a thing is low, it¡¯s not impossible¡­ i can only say that bai xiaowen and i were a little unlucky.¡±


    ¡°if your father wasn¡¯t the ceo of allomancy pharmaceuticals and donated 10 million yuan to the school, do you think you could still stay in school?¡± li shuyi frowned. ¡°i¡¯ll say this one more time. bai xiaowen and i are just friends. since we were going the same way, we left together after school. that¡¯s all there is.¡±


    although li shuyi was trying to emphasize that they were just friends, anyone could hear the protectiveness in her tone toward bai xiaowen. zhou yi was a little angry and glanced at bai xiaowen.


    although he was wearing a hospital gown, bai xiaowen still had an impeccable appearance. he still looked incredibly handsome. in contrast, zhou yi¡ªwho was dressed in branded clothes¡ªlooked like a crab in its bright shells of armor.


    if it was someone else who was close to li shuyi, zhou yi might not have killed them. however, he had a natural jealousy toward bai xiaowen. furthermore, he knew very well that li shuyi and bai xiaowen were not just friends. they were definitely more than that.


    ¡°is there anything else?¡± li shuyi looked at zhou yi and frowned. ¡°bai xiaowen is a patient. if you want to be considerate of him, don¡¯t agitate him. you should head back to class early.¡±


    zhou yi¡¯s expression changed drastically. in the end, he forced a smile. ¡°shuyi, don¡¯t be angry¡­ all right, i¡¯ll leave now.¡± after li shuyi looked away, he glowered at bai xiaowen warningly.


    wu xiaoyan glanced at bai xiaowen and hesitated for a second. then, she left the hospital with zhou yi. throughout it all, she did not say a word to bai xiaowen.


    only li shuyi and the bai siblings were left in the ward.


    ¡°shuyi, please take a seat!¡± xiaojun sensibly pulled up the high stool and informed bai xiaowen, ¡°shuyi visited you every day while you were unconscious, elder brother.¡±


    xiaojun gestured for li shuyi to sit down, then sensibly walked out of the ward and closed the door.


    ¡°thank you.¡± bai xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief.


    ¡°don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t mention it. actually, this is all my fault,¡± li shuyi said softly.


    when li shuyi was alone with bai xiaowen, she felt a little uneasy. there was a light tinge of crimson in her cheeks.


    memories surfaced in bai xiaowen¡¯s mind.


    to the original host, li shuyi was not shy about her feelings, showing him how much she cared about him. he thought, ¡°having a good outer appearance is all that matters.¡±


    however, in the past, bai xiaowen was introverted and sensitive. bai xiaowen did not take the initiative to pursue li shuyi to avoid others saying that he lived off a woman. despite that, he had a good impression of li shuyi. due to the fusion of his soul and memories, he had inherited this feeling from his predecessor.


    the relationship between the two of them was definitely not just ordinary friends like what li shuyi had just said. to use a fashionable saying, they were more than friends but not yet lovers.


    bai xiaowen had already used insight to observe zhou yi¡¯s personal attributes. now, he activated insight on li shuyi again.


    a message entered bai xiaowen¡¯s mind.


    [li shuyi]


    [race: humanoid/human]


    [talent: battle enthusiast (unactivated)]


    [attributes: strength 4.9, agility 7.7, physique 4.1, spirit 3.5]


    [specialty: basic combat level 5, basic machinery (single-handed sword) level 5, basic meditation level 3]


    ¡°li shuyi¡¯s total attribute is 20.2. she has already reached the awakened threshold!¡± bai xiaowen was shocked inwardly.


    under the influence of the spiritual particles, an ordinary person¡¯s body¡¯s ¡°preliminary digitization¡± was equivalent to opening the path of evolution. humans could strengthen their attribute abilities in various ways. once the sum of the four attributes reached 20 points, they would have to enter the spiritual realm to undergo a test.


    after passing the test, one could ¡°profession change¡± and their body would ¡°completely digitize¡±, becoming a powerful awakened! therefore, 20 points in total attributes was a critical value. humans on earth who had reached the critical value were called quasi-awakened!


    bai xiaowen looked at his attributes again. he was far inferior to li shuyi, and he only had a slight advantage in terms of his spirit. he was far inferior with regard to the first three attributes of his physical fitness (strength, agility, and physique), let alone the difference in his basic specialties.


    even zhou yi¡¯s attributes were no match for li shuyi¡¯s. if the two of them fought, it would be very difficult for zhou yi to last for a minute. moreover, li shuyi¡¯s innate skill ¡°battle enthusiast¡± had yet to be activated, so her potential was far greater than zhou yi¡¯s.


    bai xiaowen had a better understanding of his talent, insight.


    insight was overly powerful!


    before one¡¯s talent awakened, even that person himself would not know if he had talent! however, bai xiaowen, who had the insight talent, could see it directly!


    just based on his insight talent, bai xiaowen was destined to be the most discerning person. he could discover talents with potential and invest a large amount of resources in mass-producing awakened with talent!


    there was a huge difference in whether an awakened had innate abilities or not. in a ¡°guild¡± formed by awakened, awakened with talent were the pillars of the guild. awakened without talent would find it difficult to achieve as much as the former even if they worked twice as hard.


    if any of the major factions were to find out that bai xiaowen had such talent, they would definitely offer him the most generous terms and invite him to join them.


    unfortunately, bai xiaowen did not have the qualifications to convince others. an ordinary third-year student rarely even had the chance to see an awakened, let alone recommend himself in front of the leaders of the large guilds.


    moreover, even if there was a chance to recommend himself, bai xiaowen did not have the guts to do so. every large guild had allies and enemies. if the enemy faction found out, would they attack him? the answer was yes. with how weak bai xiaowen currently was, he would be killed easily if he got involved in the conflict between the awakened factions.


    bai xiaowen made up his mind to disguise his insight talent as an ordinary scouting talent. he could not let anyone know that he could spy on others¡¯ talents.


    li shuyi had always kept a low profile, so she did not know that her quasi-awakened abilities had been discovered by bai xiaowen. she said, ¡°i¡¯ll be leaving school for some time.¡±


    ¡°but it¡¯s almost time for the college entrance exams. are you leaving school now?¡± bai xiaowen asked.


    li shuyi shook her head and said, ¡°i might not take the college entrance examination.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re exempted from exams?¡± bai xiaowen reacted quickly. ¡°congratulations! which university are you going to?¡±


    ¡°jinghai university, which is in this city,¡± li shuyi replied.


    bai xiaowen gave her a thumbs up. ¡°impressive! as expected of the top student in class 17.¡±


    jinghai university was one of the top five focal universities in huaxia1and was ranked in the top 100 universities in the world. li shuyi was admitted early, so she must have been highly regarded by jinghai university because of her quasi-awakened abilities.


    bai xiaowen deduced that li shuyi was probably leaving crimson fire no.1 middle school to enter the spiritual realm and undergo an awakened test. perhaps the next time he saw li shuyi, she would already be a true awakened.


    bai xiaowen could clearly feel the difference between the two of them.


    li shuyi glanced at bai xiaowen and hesitated before saying, ¡°bai xiaowen, i have a favor to ask of you.¡±


    ¡°what is it? tell me,¡± bai xiaowen said.


    ¡°you have to agree first,¡± li shuyi said with a mysterious smile. ¡°otherwise, i won¡¯t say anything.¡±


    ¡°okay.¡± bai xiaowen agreed immediately. he had nothing worthy for li shuyi to scheme against. moreover, li shuyi had a good relationship with him.


    li shuyi said, ¡°in the past, i would go to my family¡¯s pharmaceutical shop to help out after school. after i leave, the shop will be short of people, so i hope that you can replace me and work part-time for a few months there.¡±


    ¡°a part-time job in a pharmacy? that¡¯s a job in high demand, how can it be that you¡¯ll fail to find people for it?¡± bai xiaowen asked subconsciously. seeing li shuyi¡¯s unnatural expression, he quickly understood that li shuyi was helping him on purpose.


    in the spiritual energy era, people who were good at making enhancement potions were called pharmacists. items that contained a large number of spiritual particles could not be processed through machines. they could only be fused by hand with pharmacists, so the production output was low but the price was high. pharmaceutics became a popular subject because of this, and pharmacists were also highly respected.


    the pharmacist profession had always been passed down from master to disciple, so many people racked their brains to enter the pharmaceutics shop in order to become an apprentice. so long as the li family¡¯s pharmaceutics shop posted a notice to recruit part-timers, even university students would fight to do it. how could bai xiaowen, a third-year student, have a chance?


    ¡°we¡¯re short of people¡­ are you willing to go?¡± li shuyi¡¯s fingers curled around the hem of her white training suit nervously.


    ¡°yes, i¡¯m willing to go.¡± bai xiaowen smiled and said solemnly, ¡°thank you.¡±


    li shuyi broke into a smile. ¡°you¡¯re doing me a favor¡­ there¡¯s nothing to thank me for. rest well and recuperate for the next few days. you can report to the shop at any time. i still have something on, so i¡¯ll take my leave first.¡±


    li shuyi walked to the door and suddenly turned around with a smile. ¡°bai xiaowen, i realized that you¡¯ve changed a lot. this is really good. goodbye!¡±


    ¡°i think shuyi is right. you have indeed changed a lot, elder brother.¡± xiaojun, who entered the ward again, said softly, ¡°in the past, whenever shuyi wanted to help you, you kept rejecting her. in the end, both of you were unhappy. also, when i faced that b*stard zhou yi just now, i felt that you were very dependable.¡±


    bai xiaowen was a little dumbfounded. he recalled his past self from another time and space, and he could clearly sense the changes in himself.


    bai xiaowen did not know if it was because the two lives had coincided or because he had the mysterious eye and the super brain, but he noticed that his personality had changed a lot. he had become more confident and calm. in xiaojun¡¯s words, he had become more reliable.


    ¡°this change¡­ doesn¡¯t seem to be a bad thing. i¡¯m still me, but i¡¯m more outstanding!¡± bai xiaowen stopped thinking about this problem and changed his mind. ¡°the pharmacy job that li shuyi recommended might be a good opportunity for me.¡±

 Chapter 4

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    ¡°super divine potion?¡±


    based on the address provided by li shuyi, bai xiaowen found the location of the pharmacy. when he saw the towering building under the huge gilded signboard, he was dumbfounded for a second.


    it was so imposing!


    this shop called super divine potion was located in a prime location at the crossroads. the steps were spotless. there were two poker-faced guards standing on both sides of the towering door. they stood upright, exuding a ferocious aura.


    just from the two fierce guards, one could see the standard of the super divine potion shop. this was definitely not an ordinary shop like li shuyi had said, but a large pharmaceutical trading company, similar to a to-notch jewelry shop in another time and space.


    bai xiaowen walked up the stairs to the door. although they felt a little dubious of his button-down shirt and worn jeans, the two guards did not stop him from entering. their duty was to deal with thieves and troublemakers, not to determine the purchasing power of every guest.


    the spacious hall was resplendent. behind the transparent display window was a tube of liquid medicine of various colors. under the light, it reflected a beautiful and intoxicating light.


    ¡°it¡¯s a little like the layout of a large jewelry mall. however, the price of the potions is much higher than ordinary gold, silver, and jewelry. it¡¯s not surprising that it has such a grandeur.¡± bai xiaowen browsed through the display window as he walked.


    ¡°hello, how can i help you?¡±


    the female salesperson standing behind the display window routinely asked with a polite attitude. to be able to be a salesperson in a shop of this level, she must have undergone strict training. they would not judge people by their appearance or mock customers who were dressed in clothes bought from street stalls.


    ¡°i¡¯m here to apply for a part-time job. this is my student id.¡± bai xiaowen handed over the id. he did not directly mention li shuyi¡¯s name as that would be too superficial. bai xiaowen thought of himself as a man of depth.


    the saleswoman took the student id. she could not help but steal a few more glances at bai xiaowen. ¡°supervisor fan is in charge of the store¡¯s daily affairs. let me bring you to his office.¡±


    bai xiaowen thanked her profusely. he took a look at the female salesperson¡¯s name tag. her name was xu ling. of course, it was bai xiaowen¡¯s good looks that made her take the initiative to lead the way. sometimes, a handsome face was an excellent stepping stone.


    the manager was called fan jianwei. he was a refined-looking young man in his twenties who wore gold-rimmed glasses.


    after understanding bai xiaowen¡¯s purpose in coming, he gestured for bai xiaowen to take a seat.


    ¡°you¡¯re a third-year student? what specialties do you have?¡± fan jianwei stroked his chin with his fingers. ¡°the super divine potion shop will only hire employees who have special skills as only those people are qualified enough to work here.¡±


    ¡°i can identify herbs,¡± bai xiaowen said. he had insight, so he could easily identify herbs.


    ¡°hmph¡­ identifying medicinal herbs¡­¡± fan jianwei murmured. a strange look flickered across his eyes. he shook his head and smiled. ¡°did you know, i also graduated from crimson fire no.1 middle school? on account that you¡¯re my junior, let me give you a piece of advice. i¡¯m not joking when i say that you shouldn¡¯t casually say that you can identify medicinal herbs. i¡¯ve studied in the department of botany at jinghai university for four years, but i still don¡¯t dare to say that i¡¯m 100% accurate in identifying basic medicinal herbs. a basic medicinal herb costs thousands of yuan. if you¡¯re wrong, who will compensate for the damage caused to the shop? your part-time salary won¡¯t be enough to compensate.¡±


    seeing that bai xiaowen was about to say something, fan jianwei raised his hand to stop him and continued, ¡°however, you¡¯re my junior. it¡¯s fate that you came to me, so i¡¯ll help you. here are two appraisal certificates for the potions. fill in the price tag and i¡¯ll judge your handwriting.¡±


    as he spoke, fan jianwei took out a safe from the cabinet on the left and entered the password to open it.


    after the safe was opened, it was divided into two compartments. there was a bottle of potion and an a4 paper in the upper and lower compartment respectively. those a4 papers were the appraisal certificates for the potions.


    the two bottles of potions were a light shade of black and crystal clear like crystals.


    fan jianwei handed bai xiaowen two cards of flexible material and a black pen. ¡°here, copy the name and price of the potion onto the label and then paste it onto the potions. if your handwriting is good, i¡¯ll make you a clerk.¡±


    bai xiaowen took the pen and swept a glance at the two appraisal certificates. with his super brain, he could already understand the contents of the two certificates with a single glance.


    ¡°the stone skin potion is on the upper compartment, and the gargoyle power potion is on the lower compartment. hmm, the price difference between the two is actually so big!¡± bai xiaowen thought as he took the price tag and copied it one by one. his handwriting was passable.


    bai xiaowen quickly filled in the price tag, tore off the thin film on the back of the label, and pasted the label on the outside of the bottle.


    the back of the label was coated with specially made superglue and was usually covered with a thin film. once the film was torn off and the label was pasted on the potion bottle, it was very difficult to tear it off.


    fan jianwei made a sound of acknowledgment. ¡°your handwriting isn¡¯t bad.¡± the smile on fan jianwei¡¯s face became a lot friendlier. he handed an empty suitcase to bai xiaowen and said, ¡°take these two bottles of potions and the appraisal certificates to the front end and hand them to xu ling. then, come back and talk to me about your work¡­ huh? what¡¯s wrong? why are you just standing there?¡±


    bai xiaowen stared fixedly at the two bottles of potions, then at the names written on the label. finally, he glanced at the huge difference in price.


    stone skin potion: 98,000 yuan, gargoyle power potion: 1,280,000 yuan.


    however, bai xiaowen used insight to look at the bottle of potion labeled ¡°stone skin potion¡±. the information displayed was as followed.


    [enhancement potion: gargoyle power]


    [potion grade: grade 1 level 7]


    [purity: 82% (excellent)]


    [components: 5.96% heather, 4.26% devil moss, 2.41% lunar leaves, 3.47% bone powder of the wing of a bloodfang bat, 83.90% water]


    [effect: permanently increases strength by 3 points.]


    the next bottle of potion with the label ¡°gargoyle power potion¡± displayed the information:


    [stone skin potion]


    [potion grade: grade 1 level 2]


    [purity: 78% (good)]


    [composition: stoneroot grass 7.42%, dry leaf grass 3.81%, green radish powder 5.79%, water 82.98%]


    [effect: makes the skin as hard as a rock. increases defense by 10 points and reduces bleeding by 66.7%. lasts for 120 seconds.]


    bai xiaowen had a weird look on his face. the labels of the two bottles of potions had been reversed!


    bai xiaowen had copied the information on the appraisal certificates one by one. this meant that there was something wrong with the appraisal certificates that fan jianwei had given him. the two appraisal certificates had been deliberately swapped!


    bai xiaowen was the one who had filled in the label. if anything went wrong, he would be in deep trouble.


    ¡°why did fan jianwei switch the appraisal documents?¡± bai xiaowen¡¯s mind raced as he came up with several hypotheses. in the end, he eliminated them one by one, leaving only one possibility¡ªgaining personal profit at public expense!


    the original price of the gargoyle power potion was 1.28 million yuan, yet it was sold as a stone skin potion for 98,000 yuan. bai xiaowen was more or less certain that once the potion was put on the shelf, it would be quickly bought by fan jianwei¡¯s accomplices.


    why did fan jianwei ask bai xiaowen to fill in the price tag? the reason was simple. bai xiaowen was a temporary worker with no roots or backer. if the shop found out that something was wrong, fan jianwei would push bai xiaowen out to take the blame. the loss of more than a million yuan would be blamed on bai xiaowen. they would definitely confiscate his assets, and he might even be thrown into jail.


    after figuring out the cause and effect, it was time to think about how to break out of the situation.


    exposing fan jianwei¡¯s trick in front of everyone? that was the stupidest choice. they were the only two people in fan jianwei¡¯s office. moreover, bai xiaowen did not have any solid evidence to prove that fan jianwei had swapped the appraisal certificates. instead, fan jianwei could accuse bai xiaowen of putting on the wrong label. one was an experienced supervisor who graduated from a focal university, while the other was a newcomer who was only a high schooler. it was apparent who the manager would believe.


    ¡°xiaobai, why are you in a daze? you¡¯ve been standing there for a long time.¡± fan jianwei chuckled.


    bai xiaowen raised his head and glanced at fan jianwei. if it were not for his insight, he would never have thought that a seemingly enthusiastic senior would harbor evil intentions and use him as a scapegoat. in an instant, bai xiaowen had a bold idea.


    he stuffed his hands into his pockets and grabbed his phone. he double-clicked the volume button and activated the recording function.


    bai xiaowen smiled and said, ¡°supervisor fan, these two bottles of potions are too similar. do you want to confirm it again? it¡¯ll be terrible if there¡¯s a mistake.¡±


    there was an unnatural expression on fan jianwei¡¯s face. he paused for a second before he smiled. ¡°xiao bai, you¡¯re being overly cautious. since you¡¯re labeling it while copying the information from the appraisal certificate, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem. don¡¯t worry, i was there watching as you labeled it, so there won¡¯t be any mistakes.¡±


    bai xiaowen sighed mentally. ¡°since you¡¯re so stubborn, then don¡¯t blame me for this,¡± he thought. in fact, he gave fan jianwei a way out by hinting that the potions might be swapped. if fan jianwei felt guilty, he could just take back the potions, reappraise them, and fill in the labels.


    it was bai xiaowen¡¯s first time here, so he did not want to openly oppose the supervisor like this. it would be best if everyone could get along peacefully and harmoniously.


    however, fan jianwei did not consider the possibility that bai xiaowen could identify the two vials of potions. of course, it was understandable that fan jianwei looked down on bai xiaowen. after all, bai xiaowen was only a student. he probably could not even recognize a few basic herbs, so how was it possible that he could recognize high-grade potions?


    ¡°all right. i¡¯ll take these over.¡± bai xiaowen placed the two bottles of potions and appraisal certificates into the suitcase and left the office.


    after leaving fan jianwei¡¯s sight, bai xiaowen did not go to the front end. instead, he walked straight into the depths of the pharmacy through the staff passageway.


    at the end of the passage was an iron door. on it was written, ¡°restricted area. employees only.¡±


    bai xiaowen pursed his lips. it was precisely because this was a restricted area that he could meet the important figures in the pharmacy. he pushed open the iron gate and entered the backyard.


    ¡°what are you doing here?¡±


    before bai xiaowen could get a clear look at the layout of the backyard, two guards strode over and stopped him.


    bai xiaowen said calmly, ¡°i¡¯m a new employee. two bottles of potions went wrong so supervisor fan asked me to look for the shop manager.¡±


    the guards sized bai xiaowen up with dubious looks on their faces. bai xiaowen hurriedly opened the briefcase, revealing two bottles of potions and the appraisal documents.


    the two guards¡¯ expressions eased up a little. one of them said, ¡°the store manager is taking a break. come with me. do not make a racket.¡±

 Chapter 5

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    bai xiaowen saw the manager of the super divine potion shop in a spacious office. he was a tall elderly man wearing reading glasses.


    ¡°based on my understanding of fan jianwei, if there¡¯s really a problem with our potions, he would definitely come over personally instead of sending a newcomer so that i¡¯ll owe him one.¡±


    the manager of the super divine potion shop pushed his reading glasses further atop his nose and said in a powerful voice, ¡°tell me, why are you looking for me?¡±


    bai xiaowen said calmly, ¡°there¡¯s nothing wrong with the potions. the problem lies with supervisor fan.¡±


    ¡°oh?¡± the elderly male said.


    bai xiaowen placed the suitcase on the desk and opened it gently. he spun the suitcase in a half circle before pushing it over.


    the elderly store manager frowned and picked up the two bottles of potions. he compared them carefully against the sunlight shining through the window.


    after seeing the price tag, he frowned. obviously, he noticed that the labels had been reversed.


    ¡°tell me what happened. be detailed and leave nothing out.¡± without wasting any time, he went straight to the point.


    ¡°i¡¯m a student from crimson fire no.1 middle school. my classmate, li shuyi, introduced me to this job.¡± bai xiaowen knew that he could not hide anything from this old store manager.


    after explaining his relationship with li shuyi, he told the old store manager everything about meeting fan jianwei.


    the old store manager smiled at the mention of li shuyi.


    ¡°i received a call from miss li half an hour ago. she said that she was going to introduce someone to me. so it¡¯s you.¡±


    the old store manager nodded and retracted his smile. he said solemnly, ¡°i can trust you, but without evidence, fan jianwei won¡¯t admit to this. in fact, he might even push the blame on you.¡±


    a thought came to bai xiaowen. he guessed that fan jianwei should have some backer in the super divine potion shop. otherwise, as the manager, this elderly male could easily fire a supervisor. there was no need for evidence. all he needed was suspicion.


    ¡°i have evidence.¡± bai xiaowen took out an old phone from his trouser pocket and turned on the playback function.


    although the phone was very old, the recording was very clear. fan jianwei¡¯s voice could be heard clearly from the phone, ¡°don¡¯t worry, i was there watching as you labeled it, so there won¡¯t be any mistakes.¡±


    the old manager was a little surprised. ¡°you¡¯re quite smart. with this recording, at least it can prove that it¡¯s not your fault that the label is wrong.¡±


    ¡°i suggest that you carefully check the accounts of the past few months, especially those scrapped potions. supervisor fan is gaining personal profit at public expense. this shouldn¡¯t be a one-time thing or something that he had done accidentally. i suspect that this is a premeditated plot schemed by an organization,¡± bai xiaowen said.


    he was making a last-ditch effort. if he did not nip the problem in the bud, there would be endless trouble in the future. the moment he stepped into the manager¡¯s office, it was equivalent to standing on the opposite side of fan jianwei. fan jianwei had to be taken down once and for all.


    the old store manager pondered for a few seconds before he picked up the office phone on the table. ¡°hecheng, immediately suspend fan jianwei and monitor him. also, notify the assistant store manager, liu jiang, to investigate the sales department¡¯s recent accounts. the scrapped potions from last month haven¡¯t been destroyed yet, right¡­ what? it has already been destroyed? then, investigate this month¡¯s scrapped potions carefully,¡± he instructed.


    after ending the call, the old store manager and bai xiaowen waited for the news.


    it took a long time to check the accounts, but checking the scrapped potions was fast. they would know the results soon enough. very quickly, the other party found something fishy. in january alone, there were seven bottles of scrapped potions with fake labels. their preliminary estimation was that they had made a loss of millions of yuan.


    the old manager looked at the results reported by his capable subordinate, sun hecheng, and frowned.


    fan jianwei¡¯s fraud was not complicated. he deliberately mislabeled the expensive permanent enhancement potions and sold them as inexpensive combat potions. then, his accomplices would pretend to be customers and quickly buy it before reselling it to the black market and earning a profit from the difference in price.


    as for the shortfall in the high-end potions, they would be filled with mislabeled low-grade potions. then, these potions would quickly be scrapped.


    what made the old store manager enraged was that the deputy supervisor¡ªli qing¡ªwho was in charge of dealing with the scrapped potions, had also been bribed by fan jianwei. he had gotten a share in the profit and caused a considerable loss to the super divine potion shop.


    the pharmacist, sun hecheng, was a square-faced middle-aged man. he looked like zhu shimao, the actor from ¡°police catching thieves¡±. he had thick eyebrows and big eyes. he had a righteous look about him. even if he wore the clothes of a traitor, he would still look like a spy from the good side. he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°these worms really have the nerve to do this! master zhang, we can¡¯t let them off easily.¡±


    the old manager slowly said, ¡°liu has gone to check the accounts. we¡¯ll soon know how much they¡¯ve embezzled. when the results are out, hecheng, i want you to write a report and send fan jianwei to the guild enforcement department. let them deal with him. as for deputy supervisor li qing, send him to the judiciary for them to reach a verdict on his punishment.¡±


    sun hecheng made a sound of acknowledgment.


    bai xiaowen was curious. he could not help but ask, ¡°the guild enforcement department? do they have law enforcement powers?¡±


    the old store manager explained, ¡°the super divine potion shop is under the control of the super god guild. fan jianwei is a member of the logistics department of the super god guild. as he committed a crime in the super divine potion shop, he can be dealt with by the super god guild.¡±


    seeing the manager¡¯s matter-of-fact expression, bai xiaowen was shocked. he knew that there were many large and small guilds in the world. the super god guild was one of them in huaxia, but he did not expect the guild to have so much power.


    seeing the change in bai xiaowen¡¯s expression, the old manager knew that bai xiaowen had misunderstood. he waved his hand and smiled. ¡°don¡¯t misunderstand. the guild enforcement department can only deal with internal crimes of members. if it involves the outside world, especially crimes that seriously endanger public safety, the national authorities will also intervene. the guild can¡¯t harbor them.¡±


    bai xiaowen nodded. even so, the power of the guild was not small. it was like a clan in an ancient feudal society.


    however, when he thought about the current situation of the spiritual energy era, bai xiaowen understood that the state was no longer the most powerful in this era. even the state had to make some concessions to maintain the balance so that they could all join hands and resist the threat of the wilderness.


    the store manager then changed his tone and said with a smile, ¡°you¡¯re bai xiaowen, right? miss li¡¯s classmate? hmm, not bad. you actually recognized the difference between the two potions and saw through fan jianwei¡¯s tricks. you dug out vermin for our shop. the younger generations will surpass us in time!¡±


    ¡°you flatter me, elder zhang,¡± bai xiaowen replied humbly.


    the old manager wrote a note, stamped it, and handed it to sun hecheng. ¡°go to the finance department and collect 100,000 yuan as a bonus for student xiao bai.¡±


    this number was beyond bai xiaowen¡¯s expectations. he hurriedly stood up and said politely, ¡°elder zhang, 100,000 yuan is too much.¡±


    bai xiaowen originally thought that it would be good enough to have a prize of 18,000 yuan. there was no need to compare the millions of yuan that fan jianwei had embezzled. the two were different and could not be compared.


    in another time and space, the corrupt officials caught by the anti-corruption bureau often embezzled hundreds of millions of yuan, but the anti-corruption bureau chief¡¯s reward would definitely be very little compared to those amounts. the ancient sword dug up by his family was a priceless treasure. even if he handed it over to the country, he would only be given a 500 yuan reward.


    the old manager was probably willing to pay 100,000 yuan for li shuyi¡¯s sake. otherwise, bai xiaowen, a third-year student, would have been easily dismissed with a few thousand yuan.


    ¡°don¡¯t stand on ceremony. you¡¯ve just arrived at the shop and you¡¯ve already made a great contribution. of course, you have to be rewarded,¡± the old store manager waved his hand and said.


    bai xiaowen was overjoyed to receive a bonus of 100,000 yuan for no reason. however, he did not forget what was important and said, ¡°elder zhang, i¡¯m here to work part-time. can you arrange a job for me?¡±


    sun hecheng was puzzled. ¡°bai xiaowen, you already have a 100,000 yuan bonus. are you still planning to work part-time? being in the third year, your studies must be very stressful.¡±


    bai xiaowen shook his head and said, ¡°the two of you might not know much about my family¡¯s situation. my parents aren¡¯t around, so there¡¯s only my sister and me. although 100,000 yuan is a lot, it¡¯s just a drop in the bucket for us. although working part-time doesn¡¯t earn much, it¡¯s still an extra income¡­ more importantly, working part-time here will allow me to learn a lot of things. it¡¯ll be useful for the rest of my life.¡±


    upon hearing this, the old manager and sun hecheng revealed looks of admiration.


    ¡°you¡¯re young, but you¡¯re very open-minded. how about this? i¡¯ll give you two jobs to choose from. the first is to work as a salesperson in the front-end. the work is easy and the environment is comfortable. it¡¯s 20 yuan an hour. you¡¯ll get a commission if you have outstanding sales results. the second is to do odd jobs in the pharmaceutical department. the work is relatively tough and the environment is poor. it¡¯s 15 yuan an hour,¡± the old manager said in a deep voice.


    sun hecheng was a little surprised. a part-time salesperson was even worse than an intern. he would definitely not get a sales commission. however, when he saw the old manager¡¯s serious expression, sun hecheng wisely decided not to say anything.


    ¡°i choose the second one.¡± bai xiaowen did not hesitate to say. although it was easy to be a salesperson and make a lot of money, he could not learn much. however, it was different in the pharmaceutical department. with his insight and super brain, he could try to learn how to make potions. this was a lucrative industry.


    when he heard that bai xiaowen had chosen to go to the pharmaceutical department, the old manager seemed to have expected this. he nodded and said, ¡°all right, follow master sun there. from now on, after school, come to the shop to work for four hours every day. the timing has to be fixed. if you have something to deal with, you need to take leave in advance. i¡¯ll be frank with you. although you were recommended by miss li, if you don¡¯t do well, you¡¯ll be driven out of the shop.¡±


    bai xiaowen nodded solemnly. ¡°of course.¡±


    his first job in the era of spiritual energy was finally confirmed.


    bai xiaowen recalled everything that had happened that day, and once again, he felt a strong sense of change in himself. not only had he become more confident, but he had also become much more capable. when faced with a difficult problem, just by thinking about it, he could come up with a decision that served him best.


    that night, under sun hecheng¡¯s lead, bai xiaowen worked for four hours at the back end of the pharmaceutical department. basically, he was doing chores like cleaning and mopping.


    there were more than ten pharmacists in the pharmaceutical department. every pharmacist had their own alchemy lab, highlighting the unique and noble status of pharmacists. the old store manager, zhang jing, and his capable subordinate, sun hecheng, were among them. the old store manager was considered the top pharmacist in the store, and sun hecheng was also the backbone of the upper echelons.


    there were more than 100 apprentices who were subordinates, and they were divided into different ranks. the dozen or so who were doing well were promoted from ordinary apprentices to assistants. basically, every pharmacist had a handy assistant. the salaries of these assistants were the same, but they did not need to do chores. in addition, they could learn a lot by being assistants to the pharmacists. they were on a different level from the apprentices in the main hall of the pharmaceutical department.


    bai xiaowen, who had just arrived, was undoubtedly the least experienced and had the lowest status. hence, he could only do odd jobs in the hall.


    however, bai xiaowen did his job diligently. the experienced apprentices took advantage of the situation and pushed the dirty work to the newcomers. bai xiaowen did it without any complaints. as a newcomer, if he did not have any patience and argued with the experienced apprentices easily, he would undoubtedly leave a bad impression on everyone. everyone would think of him as an impetuous person.

 Chapter 6

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    in the crimson fire no.1 middle school, class 17 of the senior year students were having a class meeting.


    the form teacher, xiao jinsheng, was a little bald. he was plump and had a double or triple chin. at this moment, he was tapping the chalk on the blackboard and emphasized patiently.


    ¡°today is february 4th. there are only 123 days left on the countdown to the college entrance examination! the college entrance examination is fiercely competitive! whether you succeed or not depends on this. even without me saying this, you guys should know that you don¡¯t have much time left, so you need to make the most of it!¡±


    ¡°everyone, keep your spirits up and see which aspects of your scores can still increase! combat, machinery, meditation, actual combat, and general knowledge¡­ each of these five subjects has a total of 150 points. you can¡¯t fall behind in any of them! in the examination hall for the college entrance examination, being one point ahead is enough to surpass thousands of other students. you cannot be too careful¡­¡±


    on the stage, xiao jinsheng¡¯s saliva was flying everywhere as he spoke, but the students below the stage were doing their own things. the self-disciplined students took advantage of the class meeting to do some general knowledge mock papers. most of the students were whispering to each other, passing celebrity posters, entertainment magazines, and vulgar novels.


    ¡°did you watch the live broadcast of last night¡¯s competition? team sky vs. team rolling stones.¡±


    ¡°of course, i won¡¯t miss the super cup live broadcast. i¡¯ll watch every match. the rolling stones are too powerful. their post-match statistics are twice as high as sky¡¯s! it would be strange if sky didn¡¯t lose.¡±


    ¡°the key is the mt of the rolling stones, boulder! his large-scale gravity technique leaves no room for the dps of the sky team to deal damage, and the rock armor can absorb a large amount of damage. the five members of the sky team are completely surrounded, so they were easily killed by their opponent.¡±


    ¡°boulder is too strong. the earth guardian is indeed a hero class. i want to change my class to a hero class and become a superstar like boulder!¡±


    ¡°you? keep bragging¡­¡±


    the boys snickered.


    the super cup was a battle between the top awakened teams in the world. the lineup of the awakened teams that could enter the super cup was definitely luxurious. every team member was a well-known celebrity.


    in a lower league than the super cup were domestic professional leagues (a-level) and development leagues (b-level). the influence of the a-level professional leagues was a little weaker than the super cup, but they still got media attention in the country. as for the b-level development league, although it was also a professional competition, its influence was much weaker. generally, only the local state media would reserve a page for them.


    to date, the league system had already formed a perfect industrial chain. it was even more popular than football, basketball, and other competitions in another time and space. it led to a huge market in trillions of dollars worldwide.


    ¡°quiet!¡±


    a few pieces of chalk flew out and accurately hit the head of the boy who had just spoken. the form teacher, xiao jinsheng, glanced at his class sternly. immediately, everyone fell silent.


    ¡°you¡¯re the worst batch i¡¯ve ever had!¡±


    xiao jinsheng was heartbroken. ¡°last year, the admission score for normal universities was 435 points and 520 points for focal universities. according to the results of our class¡¯s last mock exam, there are fewer than ten students who passed the normal universities¡¯ admission score and only two who passed the focal universities¡¯ admission score. the college entrance examination is much stricter than the mock exam. your expected score will definitely drop!¡±


    ¡°students, the college entrance examination is a dividing line. entering a university means that there is a high chance of becoming an awakened, which is a privileged class! if you cannot pass, you can only become a bodyguard, a sparring partner, or a guard. your income is not even 1% or even 0.001% of the awakened! with such a huge gap, is it not worth your attention and efforts?¡±


    the atmosphere in the class began to drop. what xiao jinsheng said was the truth. the college entrance examination now was more important than the college entrance examination in another time and space. for ordinary students without any background, it was a crossroads that would determine their fate.


    ring! ring! ring! the bell broke the silence.


    xiao jinsheng coughed. ¡°i¡¯ve already applied to the school for our class to enter the ¡®buffer zone¡¯. i want to organize an actual field training! you will be in a certain degree of danger if you participate, so students who don¡¯t want to participate can write a report in advance and withdraw from this. however, those who choose to withdraw will be forcefully transferred out of the combat class! school is dismissed!¡±


    as soon as xiao jinsheng left, the class burst into an uproar.


    the buffer zone referred to the buffer zone that was located between the human base city and the wilderness. it was not as dangerous as the wilderness, and the wandering monsters were relatively weak. however, they were only weak in the eyes of the awakened.


    to the senior-year students of class 17, the monsters in the buffer zone were very difficult to deal with. even with a teacher leading the team, it was still quite dangerous. moreover, who knew if there would be powerful monsters in the wilderness that could cross the blockade and enter the buffer zone? it was not unprecedented. something like that had happened before.


    the deaths of the crimson fire no.1 middle school¡¯s combat classmates basically happened in the buffer zone. however, entering the buffer zone to carry out actual combat practice also greatly improved the results of the combat class students. therefore, this kind of actual field training method had always been highly valued. the mortality rate was basically used in the buffer zone.


    bai xiaowen did not move from his seat. his mind was elsewhere, and his eyes were unfocused.


    in fact, bai xiaowen¡¯s brain had four lines of different colors swimming rapidly in a certain trajectory. their trajectories merged into a detailed and complicated diagram.


    finally, after the fifth diagram was completed, bai xiaowen¡¯s spirit could no longer continue and he had no choice but to stop.


    a series of notifications entered his mind:


    ¡°meditation complete. time taken: 132 seconds. mind wideness: level 4. focus: level 5. evaluation: excellent.¡±


    ¡°basic meditation proficiency increased.¡±


    ¡°basic meditation has been upgraded to level 4!¡±


    similar to his personal attributes panel, these notifications were all digitized products of earth and were related to the mysterious spiritual particles. bai xiaowen thought of them as system notifications in a super-large-scale game. as for who controlled the system¡­ that was not within his consideration.


    ¡°phew¡­¡± bai xiaowen heaved a long sigh of relief and stood up.


    ¡°my basic meditation has finally reached level 4. i can get more than 120 out of 150 in the meditation class, and i can even get full marks in the general knowledge class. i¡¯ve improved a lot. my spirit has soared to 4.9, and i have a super brain. it¡¯s not surprising that i¡¯ve improved so much.¡±


    ¡°however, the results of combat, machinery, and actual combat classes have always been limited by one¡¯s physical fitness, so it has always been difficult to improve.¡±


    ¡°special subjects are very dangerous. i have to improve my physical fitness and the results of the other three courses in order to get into a focal university!¡± bai xiaowen clenched his fists in determination.


    bai xiaowen walked out of the school building and saw someone he detested.


    zhou yi was still dressed in branded clothes. he was sitting on a stylish motorcycle with wu xiaoyan on the seat behind his.


    ¡°hello, bai xiaowen.¡± zhou yi chuckled and deliberately clenched his fists, making cracking sounds.


    ¡°what do you want?¡± bai xiaowen furrowed his brows. he felt that it was annoying to have an adolescent brat challenging him.


    ¡°you heard what the form teacher said during the class meeting today, right? there¡¯s going to be an actual field training soon!¡± zhou yi had an inexplicable smile on his face. ¡°that¡¯s a dangerous buffer zone. a sickly person like you is very likely to die.¡±


    ¡°are you threatening me?¡± bai xiaowen narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°pfft, you¡¯re regarding my good intention as ill intention. i¡¯m merely giving you a piece of advice. in order to make sure that you stay alive, it¡¯s best if you write an application to withdraw from the training!¡± zhou yi crossed his arms and glanced sideways at bai xiaowen. ¡°a person like you is not qualified to stay in the combat class at all.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    bai xiaowen flashed a handsome smile, which in zhou yi¡¯s eyes, was a provocative smile.


    ¡°zhou yi, you should pay attention to your studies.¡±


    bai xiaowen strode away without looking at zhou yi and wu xiaoyan.


    a dark look came over zhou yi¡¯s face as he looked at bai xiaowen¡¯s back. he punched the dashboard of the motorcycle and scolded, ¡°the audacity of him! how dare he disrespect me like so?¡±


    wu xiaoyan said, ¡°zhou yi, with your status, why are you arguing with bai xiaowen? he¡¯s not even qualified to compete with you. don¡¯t be angry¡­ think about our goal.¡±


    zhou yi shook his head, his expression still dark. he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°i didn¡¯t want to do anything. i simply wanted to scare this idiot so that he¡¯d back out and leave the combat class. but now, i¡¯ve changed my mind! if he really dares to participate in actual field training, i¡¯ll definitely teach him a lesson.¡±

 Chapter 7

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    at the pharmaceutical department of the super divine potion shop.


    bai xiaowen wiped the glass window meticulously, but his eyes were scanning the medicinal herbs under the window. his left eye glowed slightly red, and information about the medicinal herbs flowed into his mind.


    [silver leaf grass]


    [grade: 1]


    [year: 3 years and 7 months]


    [composition: energy composition (life particles) 12.7%, plant fibers 85.1%, impurities (tough skin tissue, phosphorus, water, etc.) 2.2%]


    ¡°silver leaf grass is the most basic medicinal herb. it grows in dark and damp places. because the leaves contain phosphorus, they emit a weak silver light.¡±


    bai xiaowen recalled the knowledge he had learned in the general knowledge class and used the information obtained by his insight talent to verify it.


    ¡°silver leaf grass contains life particles and is one of the concoctions for the silverlight potion. the effect of the silverlight potion is to restore a certain amount of life, but it¡¯s only at grade 1, so it¡¯s not very useful for awakened.¡±


    bai xiaowen had already worked part-time for a week in the pharmaceutical department of the super divine potion shop. with his insight and super brain, he had memorized the composition of hundreds of herbs and the proportions of each ingredient for various potions.


    however, concocting a potion required more than just mixing a few medicinal ingredients. the sequence, placement time, temperature control, and so on all required rich experience and insight. bai xiaowen was only a part-time apprentice at the bottom of the hierarchy. he was not qualified to be a pharmacist¡¯s assistant and could not enter the concoction room. naturally, he could not see the process of concocting the potion.


    now, the opportunity had come.


    the assistant to sun hecheng, a senior pharmacist in the pharmaceutical department, had successfully passed the assessment and was promoted to a junior pharmacist.


    zheng li, who had just become a pharmacist, needed an assistant, and there was also a vacancy in sun hecheng¡¯s assistant slot. this meant that the pharmaceutical department had two more assistant slots.


    for the past few days, the apprentices in the pharmaceutical department had been restless. unlike bai xiaowen, the other apprentices were more or less university graduates. it was easy for them to find a formal job, so why did they come here to do odd jobs? obviously, they wanted to learn pharmaceuticals.


    becoming an assistant was the first step in learning pharmaceuticals, and also the most important step.


    however, it was not that easy to be an assistant. according to the rules, the applicants had to participate in a strict written test first. then, they had to attend an interview. the pharmacist would choose three candidates who had done well in the written test and interview them at the same time. finally, the pharmacist himself would choose an assistant from among them. the competitive pressure was even more intense than the civil servant examination in another time and space.


    and tonight, at eight o¡¯clock, was the written test time. other than some apprentices who knew that there was no hope, most of them had already signed up. no one was willing to miss this opportunity.


    not far away from bai xiaowen, a group of experienced apprentices were talking to each other at a table.


    ¡°i¡¯m just there to make up the number for the selection process. i don¡¯t have much hope of getting chosen.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. there are more than a hundred people fighting for two spots. the competition is too intense. our chances are not high.¡±


    ¡°i think the most confident candidate is boss,¡± someone said.


    that person was referring to fan renjie. at that moment, he was sitting in the middle of the apprentices. fan renjie had some background in the super divine potion shop and had a domineering influence over the apprentices. he formed his own gang and was the head of all the apprentices who worked in the pharmaceutical department hall. hence, when speaking to him, the apprentices would respectfully address him as boss.


    hearing everyone¡¯s discussion, fan renjie waved his hand and said, ¡°you¡¯re all mistaken. it seems like there are two spots, but there¡¯s actually only one spot.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°why is that?¡±


    bai xiaowen perked up his ears as well.


    fan renjie slowly said, ¡°do you know zheng sen? the one who came two months ago? he¡¯s zheng li¡¯s cousin. it was also zheng li¡¯s recommendation that allowed him to enter our pharmacy. now that zheng li has been promoted to a pharmacist, don¡¯t you think he¡¯ll choose his cousin to be his assistant?¡±


    the surrounding people sighed. when the pharmaceutical department was selecting assistants, the opinion of the pharmacist himself was very important. if zheng li insisted on making a certain apprentice an assistant, the shop would not object. with the zheng cousins having such a close bond, it was more or less guaranteed that zheng sen would become zheng li¡¯s assistant.


    fan renjie said with a hint of disdain, ¡°from the beginning, i didn¡¯t think much of zheng li¡¯s spot. he¡¯s just a pharmacist who has just advanced. how knowledgeable can he be? but master sun is different. he is a high-level pharmacist. he¡¯s knowledgeable and his success rate in pharmaceutical production is ranked in the top three in our department. a great teacher produces a talented disciple. only under master sun¡¯s mentoring can one have one¡¯s day.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. if boss becomes master sun¡¯s assistant, he will probably finish his apprenticeship in less than a year. don¡¯t forget to give guidance and support to us when the time comes.¡± the few apprentices surrounding fan renjie praised him repeatedly, as if fan renjie had been promoted to assistant.


    fan renjie¡¯s face was filled with pride. he looked around. suddenly, he noticed bai xiaowen, who was wiping the display window. he frowned slightly.


    a few days ago, the supervisor fan jianwei, who had just left the pharmacy, mentioned bai xiaowen in a private meeting with him.


    although fan jianwei did not elaborate, fan renjie could roughly guess that fan jianwei¡¯s resignation was related to bai xiaowen.


    the fan family had a strong background in the super god guild. this was also the reason why fan jianwei was not severely punished by the law enforcement department. as a distant relative of fan jianwei, fan renjie was a fawning bootlicker to him.


    after hearing fan jianwei¡¯s ¡°grievance¡±, fan renjie promised to teach bai xiaowen a lesson and chase him out of the super divine potion shop.


    over the past week, fan renjie and his gang had caused a lot of trouble for bai xiaowen. however, bai xiaowen worked tirelessly without complaint, and he did impeccable work. he was even more outstanding than some experienced apprentices. this gave fan renjie no chance to make things difficult for bai xiaowen.


    a plump apprentice followed fan renjie¡¯s gaze and saw bai xiaowen. he looked about and quickly thought of an idea to please his boss. he waved his hand and said, ¡°bai xiaowen, come here! clean up all the potion cabinets on this side.¡±


    the potion cabinet had various compartments for storing medicinal herbs within it. there were more than a thousand compartments, so it was definitely not easy to clean them up.


    bai xiaowen slowly straightened his back and threw away the rag in his hand. he glanced at the plump apprentice.


    ¡°what are you waiting for? get a move on!¡± the plump apprentice shouted loudly. as a member of fan renjie¡¯s small gang, he was already used to ordering new apprentices.


    ¡°why don¡¯t you go instead?¡± bai xiaowen asked.


    the plump apprentice¡¯s face darkened.


    ¡°oh, you are all grown up now! you even dare to rebel!¡± the surrounding people also started to jeer.


    the plump apprentice¡¯s face turned red and he scolded angrily, ¡°who do you think you are? how can you compare to us? i¡¯ve been in this industry for five years. rookie, don¡¯t you know the rules?¡±


    bai xiaowen pursed his lips and sneered. ¡°you¡¯ve been in the industry for five years. it¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t become a pharmacist, but you¡¯re not even an assistant. i really don¡¯t know how you spent your time here.¡±


    as a keyboard warrior, bai xiaowen was a professional when it came to attracting aggro. today was an opportunity. he had already made sufficient preparations, so there was no need to bear their ill-treatment anymore.


    ¡°y-you!¡± the fat apprentice was furious that bai xiaowen had brought that up and rubbed his nose in it.


    fan renjie stood up and stared at bai xiaowen coldly. ¡°bai xiaowen, go and wipe the potion cabinets. i said so.¡±


    bai xiaowen remained unbudging.


    fan renjie¡¯s authority was challenged, so his tone became impolite. ¡°we all have to participate in the assistant examination. we don¡¯t have time tonight. who will do these chores if you don¡¯t do them? even if the supervisor finds out, he¡¯ll think that you¡¯re at fault too!¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡± bai xiaowen smiled playfully. ¡°i¡¯m sorry, i have to take the exam too, so i don¡¯t have time.¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°did i hear that right?¡±


    the few experienced apprentices beside fan renjie all let out shrieks.


    fan renjie mocked, ¡°bai xiaowen, who do you think you are? you¡¯ve only been in the industry for a week, yet you want to be promoted to assistant? dream on! an apprentice who has been in the industry for half a year doesn¡¯t even dare to sign up, yet you want to do so? why don¡¯t you look at yourself in the mirror!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve looked in the mirror before.¡± bai xiaowen pursed his lips. ¡°i¡¯m much more handsome than you.¡±


    ¡°you gigolo¡­¡± fan renjie looked at bai xiaowen¡¯s handsome face and felt a little discouraged, but more than that, he was angry. ¡°just you wait!¡±


    the bell rang at eight o¡¯clock.


    sun hecheng appeared in the lobby of the pharmaceutical department. he had a righteous aura about him. the apprentices had already taken their positions.


    ¡°are all the applicants here? get ready for the exam.¡± sun hecheng said briefly, then added, ¡°pharmacist zheng li has already chosen an assistant, so he won¡¯t be coming to host the assessment. there¡¯s only one assistant slot this time. i¡¯ll choose the top three scorers for the interview. everyone, work hard.¡±


    there was a low murmur of conversations, and then the group of apprentices fell silent.

 Chapter 8

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    the test papers were distributed one by one.


    sun hecheng called over two new apprentices who did not sign up for the selection process and instructed them to take out herb specimens one by one and hang them on the wall above the podium. they also labeled them with numbers. there were a total of 20 sets.


    the wall lamp lit up, illuminating that wall as if it was daytime.


    sun hecheng said in a deep voice, ¡°these 20 medicinal herbs will be the exam questions for today. everyone, write down the names of the medicinal herbs in the corresponding number on the blank test paper. write down in as much detail as possible the initial steps for handling these herbs. each medicinal herb will account for 5 points and the full marks will be 100 points. you have an hour, and your time starts now.¡±


    bai xiaowen narrowed his eyes and looked over. with his insight talent, he had no problem identifying medicinal herbs. there was no way he would make a mistake.


    the initial steps for handling such medicinal herbs referred to the preparatory work that a pharmacist needed to do before concocting a potion. one had to be meticulous in this job. for example, for basic cleaning, there were dozens of different cleaning solutions that corresponded to the various types of medicinal herbs. if the wrong cleaning fluid was used, causing the quality of the medicinal herbs to be damaged, it would definitely affect the success rate of concocting a potion. such an assistant was definitely unqualified.


    in the pharmaceutical department, there was a thick encyclopedia of pharmaceuticals. it was like the oxford dictionary from another time and space. it was an information book for people to consult. the encyclopedia of pharmaceuticals did not record precious formulas, but it recorded a vast number of methods for handling medicinal herbs.


    the thickness of the encyclopedia was intimidating. many apprentices had been in the pharmaceutical department for a few years, but they did not have much knowledge. many people had ambitious ambitions when they first entered the industry, wanting to memorize the entire encyclopedia. however, after a few months, they often found that the speed at which they forgot the knowledge was faster than their learning speed, so they could only give up resentfully.


    bai xiaowen, who had a super-brain, was not one of these people. he flipped through the encyclopedia of pharmaceuticals once and had already imprinted more than a thousand pages of densely packed small words in his mind. his brain had already exceeded the scope of ¡°genius¡± and was almost at the level of a monster. he could see it as a humanoid, self-propelled computer, and it was even a top-notch version of that.


    with a rapid glance, bai xiaowen scanned the 20 medicinal herbs and came to a realization. the person who set the question had put in a lot of effort. the 20 ingredients ranged from easy to difficult. there were ten basic medicinal herbs, and five medicinal herbs were of a slightly more difficult standard. the last five herbs were very rare. if bai xiaowen had not memorized the entire encyclopedia of pharmaceuticals, he would not have been able to answer all the questions.


    fan renjie, who was sitting at the front, wrote down his answers confidently. he was very fast and had already answered the eleventh question.


    ¡°it¡¯s only been 10 minutes and i¡¯m already halfway done. i¡¯m feeling confident that i can score well on this exam.¡± fan renjie thought gleefully. after that, he looked up at the eleventh herb specimen hanging on the wall and frowned slightly. then, his brows relaxed and he became a little excited.


    ¡°the eleventh medicinal herb is a little rare, but i¡¯ve seen it before! this is perfect. if this question is as simple as the first ten questions, how can it widen the gap between the candidates and show who the better-performing candidates are?¡±


    fan renjie quickly wrote down the answer to the eleventh question. although he spent a little more time on the twelfth and thirteenth questions, he managed to write an answer that was more or less complete.


    however, the fourteenth question stumped him.


    in his memory, he seemed to have some impression of the 14th herb, but he could not remember its name. fan renjie was even more uncertain about the method to handle it.


    ¡°it looks like demon moss. should i bake it? no, the edges of the leaves of this medicinal herb are smooth, unlike demon moss which has jagged edges. moreover, the leaves are fat and glossy. the life particles should be hidden in the leaves. if i use the baking method, it will definitely damage its appearance,¡± he mused.


    fan renjie could not make up his mind. he could only write a question mark beside question number 14 before looking at the fifteenth question.


    however, the fifteenth question was also familiar to him, but he could not recall the name of the herb.


    ¡°damn it, why is it so difficult?¡± fan renjie gritted his teeth and looked around. many of the other apprentices looked anxious. some were biting their pens, while others were scratching their ears and cheeks. it seemed that they were all stumped.


    fan renjie was secretly relieved. as long as others did even worse than him, it did not matter if he scored badly.


    fan renjie placed his faith in luck and stared at the last five questions. his face immediately fell. he had never seen the last five medicinal herbs before! perhaps in that thick book of encyclopedia, that was thick that it could be used as a brick, those rare medicinal herbs were recorded, but he was in the midst of an exam, so he could not flip through the encyclopedia to find the answers.


    there was the sound of a stool being pushed back.


    fan renjie was startled, and he looked in the direction of the sound. he immediately frowned.


    it was bai xiaowen who stood up. he strode toward the podium and handed in his paper.


    ¡°he¡¯s so fast?¡± fan renjie¡¯s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. he looked up at the clock on the side. there was still half an hour left before the time was up.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s early submission of the paper had aroused the suspicion of many apprentices.


    ¡°for a newbie who has only entered the industry for a week to hand in his paper so quickly, i¡¯m afraid there¡¯s only one possibility¡­¡± fan renjie sneered mentally. ¡°he probably wasn¡¯t able to answer a single question and handed in a blank paper! hmph, if you knew this would happen, why did you sign up? you¡¯re merely embarrassing yourself.¡±


    at this thought, fan renjie seemed to be in a much better mood. he racked his brains and made guesses. he filled in the empty parts of the test paper and checked it one last time. he only handed in the test paper when the bell rang at nine o¡¯clock.


    sun hecheng collected more than a hundred papers and waved his hand dismissively. ¡°you guys can go ahead and leave. i¡¯ll grade the papers now. there¡¯s no need for you to be impatient for the results.¡±


    the group of apprentices moved the tables and chairs back to their original positions and went to work. however, their attention was clearly not on the work in their hands, but on sun hecheng.


    sun hecheng graded the papers very quickly. many of the papers were thrown away after a glance without being graded at all. clearly, those papers were not even enough to pass.


    fan renjie found a spot closer to sun hecheng and wiped the potion cabinet from time to time. his eyes were fixed on the tip of sun hecheng¡¯s pen. he was secretly nervous. until now, sun hecheng had already graded more than 30 papers. only six papers obtained a passing mark and got scored.


    sun hecheng reached out to grab another test paper that was filled with words. fan renjie¡¯s heart skipped a beat. this was his test paper.


    sun hecheng ticked the first ten questions correctly. as he flipped to the back, his speed of reading slowed down significantly.


    fan renjie was excited. this meant that his test paper was worth grading. he would definitely pass.


    soon, sun hecheng flipped back to the front and scribbled something under fan renjie¡¯s name.


    76 points!


    fan renjie secretly heaved a sigh of relief. this was the highest score so far. he was almost certain that he would be able to enter the interview. as long as he could enter the interview, there was still a lot of room for maneuver. an elder in fan renjie¡¯s family was a retired old man who used to work in this pharmaceutical shop. if he asked the elder to step in, his spot as assistant was more or less guaranteed.


    sun hecheng raised his eyes slightly and noticed fan renjie. he tapped his red pen on the table. ¡°what are you looking at? hurry up and get to work.¡±


    fan renjie hurriedly agreed. he suppressed his excitement and turned to walk to the other side of the potion cabinet. suddenly, he saw bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen was washing the utensils in the cleansing pool with a calm expression. he looked so calm that it was as if he had never signed up for the exam. fan renjie interpreted that calmness in another way.


    ¡°haha, bai xiaowen, so how are you? are you hiding here because you don¡¯t want to be mocked by others?¡±


    bai xiaowen cast a sidelong glance at fan renjie. his thin lips curled into a cold smile.


    ¡°if even i can¡¯t get into the interview, no one else can,¡± bai xiaowen said.


    ¡°oh, you¡¯re still trying to act tough. if you can enter the interview, i¡¯ll write my name backward!¡± fan renjie snorted.


    ¡°how you want to write your name has got nothing to do with me.¡± bai xiaowen scoffed.


    fan renjie snorted. ¡°so how about this? let¡¯s make a bet.¡± fan renjie raised his voice slightly and said, ¡°if you manage to enter the interview round, i¡¯ll quit! if you don¡¯t, you can scram! leave this shop! do you dare to bet?¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes flickered, and he seemed to hesitate for a second. ¡°fine, i¡¯ll take the bet. however, i¡¯m afraid that someone won¡¯t admit to this bet if he loses.¡±


    fan renjie sneered when he saw bai xiaowen¡¯s ¡°cowardice¡±. ¡°buddies, come and be a witness to this. we¡¯re all men. if anyone goes back on their word, they¡¯ll be no better than animals!¡±


    seven or eight apprentices squeezed over and agreed to testify. they were all twenty-year-old youths who did not mind watching the commotion.


    the cleansing pool was relatively far from sun hecheng, and there were two rows of potion cabinets in the middle, so the apprentices dared to behave brazenly.


    after bai xiaowen was done washing the utensils, he left with a basket of test tubes.


    the clock chimed nine-thirty.


    ¡°ahem!¡± a cough came from the podium. sun hecheng stood up with a thin stack of test papers in his hand. ¡°all right, i¡¯ll be announcing the results now,¡± he said.

 Chapter 9

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    all the apprentices stopped what they were doing and rushed to the north podium where sun hecheng was.


    pairs of nervous and expectant eyes stared at the test paper in sun hecheng¡¯s hand.


    ¡°these are the test papers for the candidates who have passed.¡± sun hecheng waved the test papers in his hand and concluded, ¡°the difficulty of this test is very high. the passing rate is less than 10%! next, i will call the names of those who have passed. those whose names i¡¯ve called can come forward and collect your test paper. those who failed can come and collect your papers after that.¡±


    the apprentices whose names were called suppressed the excitement in their hearts and went on stage to take the test papers.


    ¡°how many marks did you get?¡±


    ¡°only 65 marks, i barely passed. what about you?¡±


    ¡°i only got 61 marks¡­¡±


    fan renjie received the test paper with his name written on it. he looked at the bright red ¡°76¡± on the test paper again and felt smug. a few people beside him came over to congratulate him.


    ¡°impressive, boss. you can get so many marks despite it being such a difficult paper.¡±


    ¡°lousy students like us can only look up to him.¡±


    ¡°boss should have gotten first place with this score, right?¡±


    fan renjie grinned from ear to ear and said, ¡°we have to wait and see. who knows? maybe there¡¯ll be someone who scored higher than me.¡±


    as the number of test papers in sun hecheng¡¯s hands decreased, the apprentices who were not called became increasingly nervous and uneasy. finally, the last test paper in sun hecheng¡¯s hand was distributed, and sighs sounded in the hall.


    fan renjie glanced at bai xiaowen and confirmed that he did not get the test paper. he was very proud of himself. he looked at bai xiaowen¡¯s calm expression and snorted. ¡°let¡¯s see how long you can pretend,¡± he thought.


    fan renjie raised his voice and said to sun hecheng on stage, ¡°master sun, can you reveal which three people entered the interview?¡±


    everyone pricked up their ears.


    sun hecheng pondered for a few seconds and waved his hand. ¡°not three. there¡¯s only one.¡±


    ¡°what? only one person entered the interview?¡± all the apprentices were confused.


    sun hecheng explained, ¡°the top three students in this exam have a huge disparity in score, so i think there¡¯s no need to select three candidates and interview them. the first place in this written test will, without a doubt, be promoted to an assistant. there¡¯s no need to waste time.¡±


    fan renjie was so excited that his heart was pounding wildly. after asking around, he realized that nobody had scored higher than him.


    however, he still wanted sun hecheng to confirm his guess. thus, he asked, ¡°master sun, who got first? how many points did he obtain?¡±


    sun hecheng glanced at fan renjie. of course, he could see the anticipation on the latter¡¯s face. he nodded and smiled. ¡°your name is fan renjie, right? you scored 76 points. that¡¯s not bad. if you work harder in the future, you will have better opportunities.¡±


    ¡°what¡­ what do you mean?¡± fan renjie was dumbfounded. he seemed to have sensed something amiss from sun hecheng¡¯s words.


    sun hecheng announced loudly, ¡°the person who got first place in the written test is bai xiaowen. he scored full marks of 100 points.¡± he lamented, ¡°in fact, the answers that bai xiaowen had written can be considered perfect. his paper can be taken as an answer booklet. even if it was me, i don¡¯t think i can fare better than him¡­¡±


    sun hecheng paused for a moment to give everyone time to recover from their shock. then, he continued, ¡°i¡¯ll leave bai xiaowen¡¯s paper on the podium. you can compare it with your own. bai xiaowen, come with me.¡±


    the hall exploded into uproar.


    amidst the chaotic discussion, fan renjie¡¯s face turned pale. his brain seemed to have crashed just like how computer systems did. one thought kept repeating over and over in his mind. ¡°bai xiaowen scored full marks. bai xiaowen scored full marks¡­¡±


    ¡°he actually scored 24 points higher than me¡­¡± fan renjie muttered to himself.


    bai xiaowen glanced at him. ¡°do you think the gap between us is only 24 points?¡±


    ¡°you¡­¡± fan renjie widened his eyes and retorted, ¡°don¡¯t you know how to count?¡±


    bai xiaowen snorted sarcastically. he smiled and said a classic line that all top scorers would say, ¡°remember, you scored 76 points because that¡¯s as far as your ability goes. i scored 100 points because the maximum points are only 100 points.¡±


    bai xiaowen stood up and followed sun hecheng to the pharmaceutical room. as the door closed, a group of apprentices¡ªespecially those from fan renjie¡¯s gang¡ªfelt disappointed. the people within the room were in a completely different league from those outside the room.


    in the alchemy lab.


    ¡°bai xiaowen, you¡¯ve been doing very well recently. yesterday, the store manager even praised you for being composed and able to endure hardships. you¡¯ll be able to do well in life.¡± sun hecheng smiled and gestured for bai xiaowen to sit down.


    as the higher-ups in the store, the store manager and sun hecheng were completely aware of the internal politics happening in the store. however, they remained silent and turned a blind eye to it. however, this was a normal circumstance in the workplace. which newcomer would not be bullied?


    the store manager and sun hecheng thought that bai xiaowen, who was in his third year of high school, would lose his temper and start a conflict with the experienced apprentices. however, it turned out that their worries were unnecessary. bai xiaowen¡¯s performance was beyond their expectations, which made them think even more highly of bai xiaowen.


    a bashful smile appeared on bai xiaowen¡¯s face. it was the same expression that a typical immature high school student would have when being praised by a senior. bai xiaowen cursed inwardly. he felt that it was shameful for him to act cute.


    ¡°i have a question,¡± sun hecheng said. ¡°you¡¯ve only been in the pharmaceutical department for a week. you probably haven¡¯t seen the herbs for the last five questions, nor have you actually handled them, right? how did you answer those questions?¡±


    bai xiaowen thought for a moment. he did not mention that he had memorized the encyclopedia of pharmaceuticals within a week. after all, that would be shocking news.


    ¡°my father taught me some concoction basics when i was young. i taught myself the rest,¡± bai xiaowen lied.


    sun hecheng smiled and said, ¡°so it¡¯s because of your family background. what¡¯s your father¡¯s name and where does he work now?¡± he thought that bai xiaowen¡¯s father was one of his peers in the pharmaceutical industry.


    ¡°his name is bai yuantang, and he has been missing for many years.¡± bai xiaowen was telling the truth.


    sun hecheng was filled with respect. in his heart, his impression of bai xiaowen was that he was a strong young man who would constantly toughen himself despite the great changes in his life.


    ¡°what a pity¡­¡± sun hecheng sighed. ¡°no wonder you were able to identify the stone skin potion and the gargoyle power potion and see through fan jianwei¡¯s tricks. it turns out that you have such a good foundation.¡±


    ¡°thank you for your compliment, master sun. did i pass your test?¡± bai xiaowen asked. he was still a little nervous. after all, his situation was different from most apprentices.


    sun hecheng thought for a moment and said, ¡°your situation is rather special. you¡¯re a high school student who hasn¡¯t become a legal adult yet, so you can¡¯t sign a contract. moreover, you cannot work from nine to five. frankly speaking, it¡¯s not appropriate to take you in as an assistant.¡±


    fortunately, sun hecheng did reject bai xiaowen. he added, ¡°however, your written test result is really remarkable. it¡¯s rare to have an assistant who has a solid foundation and a calm temperament¡­ therefore, i¡¯ll give you a chance to try.¡±


    bai xiaowen nodded. ¡°please go ahead, master sun.¡±


    ¡°every day after you end school, i¡¯ll write down a list of potions that i want to concoct the next day. you¡¯ll prepare the herbs for me in advance,¡± sun hecheng said solemnly. ¡°this is an assistant¡¯s six-hour workload under normal circumstances. you have to complete it the night before. if you can¡¯t do it, i can only find someone else to replace you.¡±


    ¡°no problem,¡± bai xiaowen agreed without hesitation. if he could not finish the job within four hours, he would work night shifts. bai xiaowen refused to give up this opportunity.


    ¡°in addition, i¡¯ll prepare some more complicated potions at night. sometimes, i will need you to deliver the herbs. that will take up extra time as you will need to do the preparations for the herbs. you have to be mentally prepared,¡± sun hecheng reminded.


    ¡°thank you, master sun. i will be able to do it.¡± bai xiaowen was a little grateful. sun hecheng was taking care of him by adjusting his work arrangements.


    the difficulty of concocting potions was different. some simple potions could be completed by sun hecheng alone without the help of an assistant. however, some potions that had very strict requirements for fire control and timing could not do so. pharmacists needed to constantly monitor the reaction of the concoction. usually, even a delay of 0.5 seconds would lead to failure in concoction!


    complicated potions were even more precise than precision surgery. that was why they required an assistant to deliver the herbs and tools. sun hecheng was going to prepare the simple potion during the day and only do the complicated potion at night when bai xiaowen was around. of course, he was doing that to be considerate of bai xiaowen. he knew that the latter would have homework.


    sun hecheng smiled, seeing how grateful bai xiaowen was, and waved his hand dismissively. ¡°it¡¯s getting late. you can go back first today. work will officially begin tomorrow.¡±


    bai xiaowen walked out of the concoction room. although the apprentices in the hall did not come over because of their pride, the way they looked at bai xiaowen had changed a lot. many of them were convinced.


    they had all seen bai xiaowen¡¯s perfect score, so they had to admit defeat.


    fan renjie shrunk his neck and hid far away. the few members of the small group beside him were also busy with their own things and no longer surrounded him.


    if the hearts of the people were scattered, it would not be easy for the leader to lead the team anymore.


    fan renjie¡¯s heart was filled with sorrow. he was terrified that bai xiaowen would bring up the bet, so he could only hide behind the potion cabinets and hope that bai xiaowen would not notice him.


    bai xiaowen glanced at him and walked over. ¡°clean up all the potion cabinets here.¡±


    looking at the thousands of grids, fan renjie felt dizzy. ¡°you¡­¡±


    bai xiaowen interrupted calmly, ¡°why? do you want to clean up the potion cabinets, or do you want to resign? hurry up and do your job, or i¡¯ll change my mind.¡±


    everyone looked at the two of them in shock.


    as a newcomer and a high school student, bai xiaowen actually dared to order fan renjie around. even if bai xiaowen had already been promoted to assistant, his behavior was still unreasonable.


    with fan renjie¡¯s temper, the two of them would definitely have a conflict. there would be a good show to watch.


    unexpectedly, fan renjie shrunk his head and walked past bai xiaowen to clean up the potion cabinets.


    everyone was shocked.


    the news of the bet quietly spread among the crowd, and only then did the apprentices come to a realization.


    after bai xiaowen left the concoction room, sun hecheng made a call.


    ¡°hello, miss li.¡±


    ¡°yes, the exam is over. bai xiaowen actually got first place.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. i¡¯m surprised too. i¡¯ve already agreed to let him be my assistant.¡±


    ¡°yes, miss, you don¡¯t have to thank me. he¡¯s very talented and hardworking. he relied on his own ability to pass the test.¡±


    sun hecheng paused for a few seconds before saying in a concerned tone, ¡°miss, you have to be careful when you go to the spiritual realm to undergo the test. you should set off only when you¡¯re fully prepared. master zhang and i are looking forward to your return as an awakened.¡±

 Chapter 10

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    two days after the assistant selection examination, the stir in the pharmaceutical department gradually settled down.


    meanwhile, in sun hecheng¡¯s personal production alchemy lab.


    in the evening, the clock struck half-past nine.


    sun hecheng sealed two potions that he had just concocted and stored them in the safe. beside him, bai xiaowen was cleaning up the mess made by concocting potions.


    ¡°you¡¯re doing great,¡± sun hecheng complimented.


    it was a sincere and heartfelt compliment. he thought that bai xiaowen would need some time to get used to this workload, but in just two days, he and bai xiaowen had developed an unspoken, tacit understanding.


    no matter how complicated the potion was, as long as he had previously concocted it once, during the second time they were concocting it, bai xiaowen would be able to prepare all the ingredients at the right time and place them at a location where sun hecheng could easily reach them.


    he had good work performance, and he did not seem like a newbie at all. on the contrary, he was like an experienced assistant who had partnered with sun hecheng for many years.


    sun hecheng recalled his previous assistant, zheng li. zheng li had been his assistant for five years before he was capable enough to be promoted to pharmacist. he was considered an experienced assistant, but compared to bai xiaowen, he was still lacking a little. he was not able to react as quickly in difficult situations.


    bai xiaowen smiled shyly. ¡°master sun, you can go back first. i¡¯ll prepare the herbs for tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to stay up too late. just prepare and wash the herbs that i¡¯ll be using tomorrow morning. i¡¯ll put aside some time and prepare the herbs for the afternoon and evening,¡± sun hecheng said. he did not forget that bai xiaowen was still a third-year student.


    after sun hecheng left, bai xiaowen closed the door to the alchemy room and began to process the medicinal herbs for the next day. however, he did not only do the preparations for the next morning. instead, he prepared the herbs that were going to be used for the entire day. his speed was very fast.


    compared to the other assistants, bai xiaowen¡¯s biggest advantage was that he could memorize the encyclopedia of pharmaceuticals. he did not need to look through the encyclopedia to learn how to deal with the herbs. this way, bai xiaowen could make thorough arrangements before dealing with all the herbs. some herbs made a deadly combination if they were mixed together, so he had to handle those herbs separately. he would wash those herbs that could be placed together at one time. that would save him a lot of valuable time.


    in just an hour, bai xiaowen had finished pre-processing the herbs for the next day and was ready to concoct the potion.


    bai xiaowen turned to look at the experiment table. he was a little excited.


    ¡°whether i can make a comeback depends on this!¡± he thought.


    bai xiaowen carefully collected the scrap materials one by one. then, he used evaporation, extraction, screening, and various other methods to process them!


    under normal circumstances, this waste would be thrown directly into the trash can. this was because different medicinal powders were mixed together, and the composition ratio was difficult to determine. it could not be used to concoct a new potion.


    however, with bai xiaowen¡¯s insight, he could clearly see the composition of the mixture and which herbs it contained. combined with the knowledge bai xiaowen had learned in the pharmaceutical encyclopedia, he could use the most suitable method to separate it.


    bai xiaowen separated the waste and extracted the medicinal powder. he did that in order to concoct a potion! he wanted to concoct an enhancement potion that he could consume!


    bai xiaowen did not want to steal the herbs in the store. the pharmaceutical department had strict rules, not to mention that it was against bai xiaowen¡¯s conscience to do something like that. if he used waste materials, he would not have to worry about using it.


    in the end, piles of medicinal powder of different colors were successfully separated!


    bai xiaowen heaved a long sigh of relief and closed his eyes. ten seconds later, he opened his eyes again. his gaze instantly became sharp, and his left eye emitted a red glow.


    bai xiaowen stood up and walked to the counter as if he was following a special trajectory. his movements were mechanical and precise, looking like a robot executing a precise procedure.


    if sun hecheng were here, he would definitely be taken aback by this sight. bai xiaowen¡¯s actions were a perfect copy of his concoction process!


    what kind of powerful memory was this? being able to speed read or having a photographic memory was nothing compared to this!


    half an hour later, bai xiaowen sat on a chair, looking incredibly tired. there was a potion placed on the test tube rack in front of him that emitted an intoxicating red glow.


    [enhancement potion: power of ruby]


    [potion grade: grade 1 level 8]


    [purity: 67% (qualified)]


    [components: iron thread vine 2.56%, floating pollen 4.41%, full moon leaf 4.72%, crystalized dragon bone powder 7.81%, water 80.50%]


    [effect: permanently increases strength by 3 points.]


    ¡°strengthening potion: power of ruby! drinking this will allow one to permanently increase his strength by 4 points. if it¡¯s placed at the front end of the shop to sell, it can be sold for at least 2 million yuan! although the purity is a little low, this is made of unqualified potions. it¡¯s normal for there to be many impurities.¡±


    bai xiaowen closed his eyes as pride welled up in his heart.


    who could turn a pile of residue into a treasure and concoct an enhancement potion worth millions of yuan? only he could do that! even a senior pharmacist would not be able to do it if he did not have insight!


    two messages entered bai xiaowen¡¯s mind.


    ¡°sub-class: pharmacist activated. current level: pharmacist level 1.¡±


    ¡°spirit attribute has increased by 3 points.¡±


    the two notifications snapped bai xiaowen out of his daze and he opened his eyes. he opened his personal interface and found that there was an additional ¡°class¡± column. there was only one sub-class: pharmacist level 1.


    bai xiaowen knew that pharmacists were divided into 10 levels.


    levels 1 to 3 were junior pharmacists, levels 4 to 6 were intermediate pharmacists, and levels 7 to 10 were senior pharmacists. as he got promoted in level, he needed to concoct a large number of potions to increase his proficiency in concocting potions. the higher the grade of the potion, his proficiency and speed will increase too.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s spirit had reached 7.9, which was higher than his strength, agility, and physique combined!


    ¡°should i drink this enhancement potion now?¡± he pondered.


    bai xiaowen felt a little conflicted. from what he understood, enhancement potions could quickly increase a person¡¯s attributes, but there were also many side effects.


    enhancement potions would cause such intense pain that one¡¯s body would feel as though it was tearing apart. those with weak mental willpower would directly fall into a coma, resulting in the potion effect being negated despite them having already drunk it.


    moreover, as the number of times he took the enhancement potion increased, the intensity of the pain would be doubled. for example, if the pain from the first potion was 1, then the second bottle would be 2, the third bottle would be 4¡­ and so on.


    therefore, the first bottle of enhancement potion had the highest success rate. of course, he had to choose high-level potions as much as possible in order to increase his attributes to the greatest extent. fortunately, this potion, which had the power of ruby effect, had reached level 8, so it would be very effective.


    however, the pain brought by a high-level enhancement potion was even more intense than a low-level potion. if he insisted on maximizing his attributes, he would be a goner if he failed.


    ¡°forget it! i can¡¯t be afraid now. if i want to obtain strength, i have to pay the price! my spirit attribute is as high as 7.9, so i should be able to withstand a level 8 enhancement potion!¡±


    according to the way things worked here, those who had a higher spirit attribute would have a higher tolerance with regard to enhancement potions. moreover, among the four major attributes, only the sspirit attribute did not have a potion that could increase its value. if one wanted to increase their spirit attribute, one needed to rely on meditation and a special kind of food.


    bai xiaowen picked up the test tube and gulped down the potion.


    a warm current flowed into bai xiaowen¡¯s body, and he could feel that his muscles were stretching and becoming more resilient. there was even a slight tearing sound.


    what followed was intense pain.


    ¡°oh my goodness, this isn¡¯t something that someone can casually drink. my strength is only 1.8. after drinking this potion, my strength will increase by one to two times. having such a huge leap in strength attribute means that i will definitely suffer,¡± bai xiaowen thought.


    he was in such excruciating pain that sweat was coming off him in buckets. he was so thoroughly drenched with sweat that he looked very much like someone who had just stepped out of a lake. bai xiaowen was on the verge of fainting, but he gritted his teeth in determination, refusing to give in to the pain and pass out.


    fortunately, the pain disappeared almost as quickly as it came. half an hour later, the pain passed, and bai xiaowen finally managed to catch a breath.


    another notification popped up.


    ¡°you have consumed an enhancement potion: power of ruby.¡±


    ¡°your basic strength has increased by 2.7 points. your current strength is 4.5 points!¡±


    bai xiaowen clenched his fist and swung it about in the small alchemy lab.


    ¡°good lord, i feel like i can kill a cow!¡± he said.


    he was not joking. having a strength value of 4.5 meant that he was four and a half times stronger than an average man in another time and space! if he underwent weight training, he could easily kill a cow.


    however, the increase in his strength also brought about some side effects. bai xiaowen stumbled as he walked and knocked over two chairs in a row. having read the manual for the potion, bai xiaowen learned that the side effect of consuming that potion meant that he would not be able to control his strength temporarily. however, he knew that he would be able to adapt quickly to it. after all, in the spiritual energy era, a human¡¯s memory and adaptability were very powerful.


    bai xiaowen felt that it was a pity that the potion¡¯s purity was not high. it was only 67%, which limited the effectiveness of the potion. as a result, bai xiaowen¡¯s strength only increased by 2.7, which was a far cry from the expected 4 points of strength.


    he thought, ¡°i¡¯ll put the strength-type enhancement potion aside for the time being. next, i have to learn how to make agility-type and physique-type enhancement potions to increase my agility and physique attributes. although the pain will increase greatly, my spirit is very high. i should be able to withstand the pain for one or two bottles of enhancement potions.¡±


    ¡°i have to do my best and ensure that my attributes exceed the 20-point threshold as soon as possible. that way, the world of the awakened will not be far from me.¡±

 Chapter 11

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    crimson fire no.1 middle school¡¯s junior high and senior high were adjacent to one another.


    when the bell rang for the end of school in the morning, a large number of middle school students in blue uniforms rushed to the canteen like packs of famished wild dogs.


    at the end of the crowd, a pretty girl walked slowly with her head lowered.


    ¡°xiaojun!¡±


    a familiar voice sounded, and the girl suddenly looked up.


    bai xiaowen stood at the entrance of the canteen with a perfect smile on his face, revealing a row of perfect pearly white teeth.


    from time to time, middle school girls who were running to the entrance of the canteen saw a handsome youth standing there. they slowed down in a bid to care for their image, wanting to appear demure in front of him. they walked into the canteen daintily and even secretly turned their heads to take a look at him.


    ¡°elder brother!¡±


    bai xiaojun quickened her pace and ran over to bai xiaowen with a hint of surprise on her face. she wrapped her arms around bai xiaowen¡¯s arm and asked, ¡°why are you here?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m here to see you.¡± bai xiaowen held up the thermos in his hand and said with a smile, ¡°i brought you some delicious food to nourish your body.¡±


    for the past two weeks, bai xiaowen had been very busy.


    a week ago, he was busy studying the pharmaceutical encyclopedia and dealing with heavy chores. after he was promoted to assistant, he had to familiarize himself with the chores of an assistant. he worked in the pharmaceutical room until midnight every day and did not have the time to take care of his sister.


    now that bai xiaowen was able to do his job as an assistant with ease, he finally had the time.


    the two of them walked to the canteen together and sat down in a corner.


    ¡°elder brother, take a seat. i¡¯ll go get you some food,¡± xiaojun said.


    ¡°wait a minute.¡±


    bai xiaowen stopped her and made her sit down before opening the thermos.


    immediately, a mouth-watering fragrance filled the air.


    ¡°wow, it smells so good! what dish is this?¡± xiaojun¡¯s dark eyes widened.


    the rice in the thermos container had a shiny white luster. just the sight of it made one¡¯s teeth drool, making one want to eat it heartily. that was not counting the smell of the greasy braised pork belly that could whet one¡¯s appetite, the exquisite knife skills that could transform fruits into the shape of a crabapple, and the piping hot soup¡ªamber-colored like aged wine¡ªwith shrimps floating on the soup surface.


    ¨C


    because of the aroma, people from the surrounding tables cast glances over.


    ¡°good lord! stone-skinned braised pork, a platter of cliff dragon fruit, special krill broth, and king of rice!¡± a teacher at the neighboring table who was a foodie saw this and immediately whispered to the person next to him, ¡°are all students so rich nowadays? from the looks of it, this spread should have cost him thousands of yuan.¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    xiaojun was about to start eating, but when she heard this, she stopped eating.


    ¡°elder brother, is today a special day? why did you buy such expensive dishes?¡± xiaojun asked softly.


    bai xiaowen smiled and said, ¡°it¡¯s not just today. from now on, we¡¯ll have b-grade strengthening recipes for every meal.¡±


    ¡°huh? this costs a lot of money! the 100,000 yuan bonus you received will be gone in no time.¡± xiaojun was very sensible. she gulped and did a mental calculation.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. just eat. i have plenty of ways to earn money,¡± bai xiaowen reassured.


    after coming to the spiritual energy era, bai xiaowen gradually adapted to his new identity. he understood what kind of abilities he had and had the confidence to match them.


    with his insight and super brain, it was easy for bai xiaowen to earn money. not to mention anything else, just his ability to purify and make potions from scrap was profitable.


    when he had just gotten the 100,000 yuan prize money, bai xiaowen had a discussion with his sister. both of them decided that the money would be their rainy-day fund.


    but now, bai xiaowen, who had a deeper understanding of his abilities, no longer cared about the 100,000 yuan.


    as long as he was willing, he could easily get his hands on a million yuan or even ten million yuan! if it were not for the fact that recipe ingredients in a-grade and above could not be bought with money, he would definitely choose a better and more expensive a-grade recipe.


    this was the confidence of a super genius.


    after bai xiaowen¡¯s repeated assurances, xiaojun finally raised her chopsticks in relief. ¡°all right, then i¡¯ll eat first!¡±


    the food was devoured very quickly.


    xiaojun patted her belly in satisfaction and said, ¡°the food is absolutely divine.¡±


    ¡°remember to work out. this b-grade recipe contains a lot of spiritual particles. only by undergoing lots of training can you absorb them and convert them into your attribute values,¡± bai xiaowen instructed.


    there were usually three ways to increase one¡¯s attributes.


    the first method was to train. one who chose to use this method would have slow improvement. unless he had extraordinary talent, it would be very difficult for him to have any achievements.


    the second method was using enhancement potions. this method worked quickly, but the failure rate was also high. one had to have a strong mental will to withstand it. bai xiaowen had already scanned xiaojun¡¯s attributes. her spirit attribute was very low, so she would not be able to withstand the pain brought about by the enhancement potions.


    the third was the enhancement recipes. there were many such recipes. some focused on increasing strength, some focused on strengthening physique, and some focused on the development of the spirit attribute. however, no matter the kind of recipe, it required the person to train diligently and absorb it.


    the enhancement recipe that the siblings had eaten today belonged to a relatively balanced category. the stone-skinned braised pork would help the person build strength, while the cliff dragon fruit would increase one¡¯s spirit attribute. the secret krill broth focused on increasing one¡¯s agility, and the king of rice increased one¡¯s physique.


    xiaojun was 14 years old now and she would have growth spurts and puberty changes. it was a critical time for her to lay the foundations of good health. hence, bai xiaowen had taken great pains in choosing the most suitable recipe for her.


    after dinner, bai xiaowen sent xiaojun back to the classroom and walked back to the high school while holding the thermos.


    after walking along a shady, tree-lined path, a girl with long hair suddenly stopped bai xiaowen.


    it was wu xiaoyan.


    ¡°is there anything i can help you with?¡± bai xiaowen asked.


    to be honest, bai xiaowen did not hate wu xiaoyan, nor did he have a good impression of her. wu xiaoyan was pursuing zhou yi because she hoped to form a connection with the zhou family, which was a family of higher status. it was a realistic choice. it was neither right nor wrong.


    bai xiaowen did not care whether wu xiaoyan could fulfill her wish and become the young mistress of the zhou family.


    wu xiaoyan looked around. seeing that no one was around, she lowered her voice and said, with a hint of reproach in her voice, ¡°bai xiaowen, there are only three days left until the actual field training. you haven¡¯t written your withdrawal application yet?¡±


    ¡°why should i withdraw from this training?¡± bai xiaowen frowned.


    wu xiaoyan said, ¡°it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know how dangerous the buffer zone is! do you think zhou yi is simply scaring you?¡±


    wu xiaoyan sighed. ¡°bai xiaowen, i¡¯d advise you to give up. don¡¯t try to compare yourself to zhou yi in every matter. to put it bluntly, you¡¯re not qualified enough to be compared with him.¡±


    ¡°in terms of family, the zhou family is an upper-class family in the crimson fire district!¡±


    ¡°in terms of wealth, the allomancy pharmaceuticals¡¯ annual profits are hundreds of millions of yuan.¡±


    ¡°in terms of strength, zhou yi¡¯s overall attributes have already exceeded 15 points. he¡¯s close to a quasi-awakened!¡±


    wu xiaoyan listed three comparisons that she found convincing. she concluded, ¡°bai xiaowen, we grew up in the same neighborhood. you should know your place. a normal class suits you more. after graduation, you can be a white-collar worker. that¡¯s not bad too.¡±


    after a pause, wu xiaoyan continued, ¡°it¡¯s not easy to find a job now. as long as you¡¯re willing to give up and stop opposing zhou yi, i can help you find a job in the pharmaceutical industry.¡±


    a strange smile appeared on bai xiaowen¡¯s face.


    ¡°me? opposing zhou yi?¡±


    bai xiaowen shook his head with a smile and walked past wu xiaoyan.


    they brushed past each other.


    ¡°thanks for the reminder,¡± he said.

 Chapter 12

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    wu xiaoyan¡¯s desire to climb up the social ladder had nothing to do with bai xiaowan.


    bai xiaowen felt that wu xiaoyan was either pitiful, hateful, or both. in conclusion, both of them had nothing in common and were not on the same path.


    regardless of whether wu xiaoyan could marry into the zhou family, even if she got her wish and became the young mistress of the zhou family, she would not be able to keep a philanderer like zhou yi in check.


    after all, zhou yi was probably playing around with wu xiaoyan and not serious about her.


    wu xiaoyan was probably aware of that too. from what bai xiaowen knew of her, she was no simple woman.


    both people were willing parties in that relationship, so bai xiaowen could not be bothered to interfere. as for her offer of helping him to enter allomancy pharmaceuticals¡­ no matter how he looked at it, such charity from her seemed a little queer.


    ¡°forget it, i won¡¯t think about it anymore. in three days will be the week-long actual field training. class 17 will have to go to the buffer zone to fight mutated beasts. i have to make full use of these three days. apart from concocting enhancement potions to increase my attribute points, i also have to improve on my combat specialty,¡± he thought.


    in the afternoon.


    bai xiaowen walked into the training room.


    ¡°ho!¡±


    ¡°ha!¡±


    bai xiaowen executed his basic combat moves one after another. each of his punches and kicks was accompanied by the sound of the wind. though he exuded an imposing aura, his movements were a little stiff.


    following bai xiaowen¡¯s actions, the spiritual particles contained in the b-grade enhancement food that he had eaten in the afternoon also started to spread out in his body, slowly strengthening his physique.


    after finishing a set of basic combat moves, bai xiaowen was sweating profusely.


    he thought, ¡°i¡¯ve only done one set of basic combat action 1, yet i¡¯m already sweating all over. i¡¯ve used up at least a quarter of my stamina. my physique attributes is still too low!¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s physique increased from 1.7 to 2.1 when he first transmigrated, but it was still considered weak.


    a notification entered his mind:


    ¡°basic combat moves completed. strength: 4, precision: 2, continuity: 2. evaluation: good.¡±


    ¡°basic combat proficiency increased.¡±


    ¡°basic combat has been upgraded to level 2!¡±


    bai xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief. he had finally raised his basic combat to level 2.


    he thought, ¡°my strength is 4.5, so the ¡®strength¡¯ of my attacks is very strong! however, ¡®precision¡¯ and ¡®continuity¡¯ are so much lousier. this is because i¡¯m being dragged down by agility! otherwise, with my level 2 basic combat specialty, the evaluation for a combat move with a 4.5 strength should be excellent, no matter what. the proficiency that i would have obtained would have doubled!¡±


    combat specialties could only be improved through the accumulation of proficiency. the higher the evaluation of each training, the more proficiency one would obtain and the faster one would improve.


    as for the evaluation of training, it was determined entirely by one¡¯s attributes. therefore, the higher one¡¯s attributes were, the faster one¡¯s combat specialty would increase. this was an indisputable fact.


    in the past, bai xiaowen only had a strength of 1.8 and an agility of 2.1. the combat moves that he practiced, be it in terms of strength, precision, or continuity, rarely reached 2. hence, his evaluation often failed and he did not obtain any proficiency!


    his physique was originally only 1.7. with such poor physical fitness, there was no way he could train for a long time. this further hindered the upgrade of his combat specialty. after staying in the high school combat class for three years, his basic combat was still stuck at level 1.


    and now, after a few days of practice, his basic combat skills had already reached level 2. this was all thanks to the enhancement potion¡ªpower of ruby¡ªwhich had significantly increased his strength.


    ¡°master sun made simple combat potions during the day and complicated enhancements potions at night. this decision that he made has both advantages and disadvantages for me. on one hand, i need to learn the enhancement potion formula to increase my attributes. however, on the other hand, since it¡¯s so close to the date of my field training, i also need some combat potions to increase my combat strength!¡±


    potions were divided into two types: enhancement potions and combat potions.


    enhancement potions were generally of very high grades. they were also complicated to make and expensive. for example, the gargoyle power potion and the power of ruby were both enhancement potions that could permanently increase one¡¯s strength. however, the side effects were very severe and the chances of failure were very high.


    as for combat potions, they were relatively cheap and easy to concoct. an example would be the stone skin potion that bai xiaowen had seen previously. that was a combat potion. after consuming it, one could increase his defense and reduce bleeding, but it only lasted for 120 seconds.


    as long as one did not use those extremely high-grade combat potions that far exceeded one¡¯s strength, generally speaking, they would not fail in getting its effects. an exception would be if they bought fake medicine.


    bai xiaowen made a few preparations and took a deep breath. ¡°all right¡­ now, i¡¯ll give it a try. basic combat action 2! although the stamina consumed will be twice that of basic combat action 1, as long as i pass the evaluation, my proficiency will increase exponentially.¡±


    at 9 p.m..


    in sun hecheng¡¯s exclusive alchemy lab in the super divine potion shop.


    ¡°you¡¯re very efficient today, to be able to complete your tasks ahead of time.¡±


    sun hecheng chuckled and added, ¡°with you around, my success rate in concocting high-level potions has increased by at least 10%! i even received praise from the store manager during yesterday¡¯s pharmaceutical department meeting. so tell me, how should i reward you?¡±


    increasing the success rate by 10% meant that not only did it increase the output by 10%, but it also prevented the wastage of 10% of the materials. this meant that bai xiaowen had increased the output of a high-level pharmacist like sun hecheng by 20%.


    it was only natural that sun hecheng wanted to reward bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen shook his head. ¡°master sun, let¡¯s not talk about the rewards first. i have something to tell you. all i ask is that you won¡¯t be angry after hearing it.¡±


    ¡°what is it? tell me,¡± sun hecheng said.


    ¡°you know that i¡¯m in the combat class. recently, the form teacher has organized an actual field training for a week. students in the combat class are required to participate. therefore, i want to take a week off¡­¡±


    he had just become an assistant and had gotten familiar with his work, yet he was asking to take off from work. this was indeed a subject that he found hard to bring up.


    however, bai xiaowen did not want to be kicked out of the combat class. only the students of the combat class were qualified to enroll in the combat faculty of a focal university. bai xiaowen did not want to lose this qualification.


    sun hecheng frowned and muttered, ¡°you have indeed placed me in a difficult situation¡­¡±


    bai xiaowen sighed. ¡°why don¡¯t you choose another assistant to replace me?¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s words were sincere. after he got into university, he was not sure if he would continue to work in the super divine potion shop. it was only a matter of time before he left the assistant position in the pharmaceutical department.


    sun hecheng thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, ¡°forget it. when i chose you as my assistant, i already knew that such a day would come. don¡¯t worry and just go for the field training. i can make simple potions by myself. as for complicated potions, i can get zheng li to help me for some time. when your actual field training is over, you can come back and continue working.¡±


    although sun hecheng had only been partnered with bai xiaowen for a week, he had already gained a deep understanding of how well they worked together. if bai xiaowen¡¯s abilities were average, he could have changed his partner. however, bai xiaowen was outstanding, so sun hecheng could not give up on this partner.


    ¡°thank you so much!¡± bai xiaowen thanked him profusely.


    ¡°you¡¯re welcome. also, you still have to be rewarded.¡± their mission for the day had been completed very early, so sun hecheng was in high spirits. ¡°these days, you¡¯ve been assisting me in making complicated potions, but i doubt you can understand anything from it yet. since i have time today, i¡¯ll concoct some simple potions and give you some pointers. how¡¯s this for a reward?¡±


    bai xiaowen was elated and thanked him again.


    although bai xiao had an abnormal memory and could ¡°copy¡± sun hecheng¡¯s concoction process and even use it to concoct high-level strengthening potions, he knew most of the steps but did not know the reason behind them.


    for example, he had to add 15 milliliters of distilled water halfway through the concoction process. this step seemed ordinary, so why must he add water, and why must it be 15 milliliters? bai xiaowen had no idea the kind of complicated proportional formula there was.


    besides, sun hecheng took the initiative to teach bai xiaowen so that he could understand the profundities of making potions. pharmaceutics was profound and it was impossible to learn it just by looking at it. hence, he was very delighted to hear sun hecheng¡¯s words.


    the teaching began.


    during the concoction process, sun hecheng explained the principles behind each step to bai xiaowen in detail.


    ¡°look, the beaker is boiling. under the influence of the kerrilla vine powder, the bull¡¯s blood inside has already turned dark blue. at this point, you can add the golden orange pollen. be sure to take note of the amount. there¡¯s a formula here. the ratio of golden orange pollen is related to the amount of the bull¡¯s blood crystal and kerra vine powder. you can¡¯t put too much or too little¡­¡±


    sun hecheng carefully shook the golden orange pollen that he had already measured out into the beaker.


    in just two seconds, the liquid in the beaker turned from blue to golden.


    sun hecheng checked on the potion before adding two more rounds of distilled water and slowly cooled it. he carefully looked at the concentration and transparency of the liquid in the beaker and nodded. ¡°all right, this brutal bull¡¯s strength combat potion is successfully concocted. the purity of the potion won¡¯t be lower than 85%. it¡¯s a high-quality product.¡±


    bai xiaowen had insight, so he was able to see more clearly.


    [brutal bull¡¯s strength]


    [potion grade: grade 1 level 3]


    [purity: 82% (excellent)]


    [composition: barbaric bull blood 13.84%, kerrilla vine powder 1.77%, golden orange pollen 4.74%, water 79.65%]


    [effect: increases strength by 6 points for 120 seconds.]


    bai xiaowen was secretly impressed. sun hecheng could tell the purity of the potion based on his experience alone. this was definitely a result of having concocted countless bottles of potion. it was almost comparable to his insight talent.


    the combat potion only had temporary strengthening effects. it was mainly used in combat situations where one needed to have explosive power because survival was impossible. although it could not permanently increase one¡¯s strength like the enhancement potions, the combat potion¡¯s enhancement effect was very high and was often favored by awakened.


    of course, there were also restrictions on the use of combat potions. they could only be consumed once in a battle. this was also the reason why the price of combat potions was relatively low. other than the purchasers sent by large guilds, no one would buy combat potions in large quantities. even the awakened who often roamed the wilderness would not do so.


    ¡°how much did you learn just now?¡± sun hecheng asked.


    ¡°can i try?¡± bai xiaowen asked cautiously.


    ¡°haha, of course. the ingredients for the brutal bull¡¯s strength potion are nothing.¡± sun hecheng smiled and said, ¡°however, if you want to use more expensive ingredients to practice, you have to sign a stricter commercial contract with the shop.¡±


    every assistant who became a pharmacist had to use a large amount of medicinal herbs to practice. once they became a pharmacist and were poached by other shops, the shop would suffer a huge loss. therefore, if the assistant wanted to be nurtured, he had to sign a contract with the shop. if he left before the period stated in the contract, he had to pay a considerable penalty.


    bai xiaowen nodded. one set of medicinal herbs was enough for him.

 Chapter 13

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    bai xiaowen sat on the bar stool and closed his eyes for a minute. after going through sun hecheng¡¯s concoction steps in his mind, he opened his eyes and began concocting.


    however, bai xiaowen did not completely ¡°copy¡± sun hecheng¡¯s steps.


    although the success rate of ¡°copying¡± was high, bai xiaowen had to understand this process in order to learn.


    now that he had a teacher like sun hecheng by his side to guide him, if he tried to concoct potions through his own understanding, he would have more chances to discover problems.


    sun hecheng nodded slightly as he watched bai xiaowen weigh the medicinal herbs methodically and carry out the initial preparations. he realized that bai xiaowen was very talented. he had only demonstrated it once, but when bai xiaowen was concoting the potion, he managed to remember every step. even the proportion formula and the weighing of the medicinal herbs were all done very well.


    while sun hecheng was in awe, he was also reminded of bai xiaowen¡¯s previous performance. as an assistant, bai xiaowen had memorized every step of the process without making any mistakes, regardless of the formula.


    bai xiaowen was smart, cautious, and pragmatic.


    a teenager who had all these traits was a natural born pharmacist.


    sun hecheng felt a strong desire to cherish such talent.


    after bai xiaowen successfully concocted the brutal bull¡¯s strength potion, the admiration that he felt turned into shock.


    ¡°master sun, i have succeeded.¡±


    bai xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief. he was surprised that he had succeeded in the concoction process just from following his understanding of it.


    however, this was a relatively low-grade combat potion, so the process was relatively simple. if it was a complicated enhancement potion, it was basically impossible for bai xiaowen to successfully concoct it with his own understanding. he had to copy every move that sun hecheng made.


    ¡°have you concocted the brutal bull¡¯s strength potion before?¡± sun hecheng suppressed his surprise and asked.


    ¡°no,¡± bai xiaowen replied.


    ¡°you succeeded on your first try¡­¡± sun hecheng smiled bitterly. ¡°this is the first time i¡¯ve encountered such a situation. i really don¡¯t know what to say.¡±


    bai xiaowen chuckled. ¡°master, you taught me well.¡±


    ¡°bai xiaowen, have you ever thought about becoming a full-time pharmacist?¡± sun hecheng had a serious expression. coupled with his thick eyebrows and square face, he looked like a secret agent from those underground organizations. his look was like a still from a war drama.


    bai xiaowen shook his head. ¡°i want to be an awakened. i¡¯m willing to learn pharmaceutics, but it won¡¯t be my main occupation.¡±


    upon hearing that, sun hecheng sighed. he was a little disappointed. ¡°what¡¯s so good about being an awakened? being a pharmacist is the best career choice. if you can be as capable as our store manager, countless awakened will beg for your help. it¡¯s a waste of talent for you to become an awakened.¡±


    bai xiaowen smiled and said, ¡°master sun, i¡¯m only a high school student now. it won¡¯t be too late to consider becoming a full-time pharmacist after i finish university.¡±


    sun hecheng suddenly recalled bai xiaowen¡¯s age.


    he thought, ¡°oh, i almost forgot. he¡¯s only 17 years old and hasn¡¯t reached adulthood yet¡­¡±


    sun hecheng could not help but think, ¡°how old was i when i first successfully concocted a potion?¡±


    at this thought, sun hecheng felt a little disheartened.


    ¡°what a pity. if you¡¯re willing to be a full-time pharmacist, the shop will immediately sign a contract with you. with your intelligence, it won¡¯t be long before you can have your own alchemy lab like zheng li,¡± sun hecheng remarked.


    bai xiaowen shook his head and chuckled. ¡°i still think it¡¯s better to be a part-time assistant under you.¡±


    if he had just transmigrated, bai xiaowen might have been ecstatic over a pharmacist contract. however, after half a month, bai xiaowen had a clear understanding of his abilities.


    the awakened world, especially the abundant and mysterious spiritual realm with countless planes and hidden secrets, was the path that bai xiaowen ought to take. compared to how exciting the life of an awakened was, the 10-square-meter alchemy lab was too small. what was the point of spending his life in such a small room even if he could earn a lot of money?


    bai xiaowen had had enough of being a geek in his previous life and staying cooped up in his room in his previous life. in this life, he wanted to live his life to the fullest and be successful!


    sun hecheng poured the liquid from the beaker into a bottle and carefully sealed it before handing it to bai xiaowen.


    ¡°take it as a memento,¡± sun hecheng said with a smile.


    bai xiaowen accepted the bottle of potion. actually, the first potion that he had concocted was the enhancement potion that he had consumed a long time ago. of course, bai xiaowen would not tell sun hecheng about it.


    ¡°i don¡¯t have a lot of work to do these few days, so i have a lot of free time. read through this book first. if you don¡¯t understand anything, you can come and ask me anytime.¡± sun hecheng pulled out a thick book from his drawer and handed it to bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen took the book and thanked sun hecheng sincerely. this pharmacist who looked like an underground party member was indeed a good person.


    ¨C


    three days passed quickly.


    in the past three days, bai xiaowen had learned the prescriptions for another two potions. one of them was an enhancement potion to increase one¡¯s strength, ¡°gargoyle power¡±, while the other was an enhancement potion to increase one¡¯s agility, ¡°speed of the velociraptor¡±!


    bai xiaowen collected the residue of the herbs and successfully made two bottles of speed of the velociraptor.


    bai xiaowen consumed a bottle and with his 7.9 points of spirit, he managed to withstand the side effects of the potion. the second enhancement was successful. his agility increased by 2.1, doubling to 4.2! however, he could vaguely feel that he was at his limit. if he were to undergo the third enhancement, the failure rate would definitely be above 90%!


    his total attributes had reached 18.7, so he was less than two points away from the awakened¡¯s threshold.


    bai xiaowen also used this opportunity to level up his basic combat to level 3.


    the only shortcoming was that bai xiaowen¡¯s physique had not been strengthened. his physique was only at 2.1, which meant that bai xiaowen¡¯s physical fitness was very poor and his resistance to attacks was very weak.


    bai xiaowen did not think that having a total of 18.7 in attributes was impressive. that was because his spirit alone had a high value of 7.9. frankly speaking, spirit was far inferior to strength, agility, and physique in actual combat.


    ¡°attention, all students of class 17. get into the buses now. we¡¯ll leave in 15 minutes!¡± the voice of the plump form teacher, xiao jinsheng, came from the loudspeaker and interrupted bai xiaowen¡¯s thoughts.


    the students walked toward the two buses.


    bai xiaowen saw zhou yi. beside him was wu xiaoyan, who was standing beside him as usual.


    zhou yi lagged behind the other students and made a throat-cutting gesture at bai xiaowen. wu xiaoyan¡¯s face turned pale as she urged zhou yi to board the bus.


    ¡°he¡¯s such an idiot.¡± bai xiaowen recalled the trauma of being chased and bitten by a dog when he was young.


    dogs that bite did not bark. zhou yi¡¯s threats and intimidation were not only meaningless but also made people more vigilant.


    however, in zhou yi¡¯s eyes, bai xiaowen was probably a rookie who could be killed easily. hence, he looked down upon bai xiaowen.


    ¡°the last time i used insight in the hospital, i saw that zhou yi¡¯s total attributes were 15.5! his spirit is very low and his agility is mediocre, but his strength and physique attributes are very high. in addition to our difference in combat skills, i don¡¯t have much of an advantage against him.¡±


    ¡°however, i¡¯ve already been reborn. i¡¯m no longer a rookie that he can casually kill ¡®by accident¡¯. if he really has any ill intentions toward me, i won¡¯t hold back either,¡± thought bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen took out his old phone and sent bai xiaojun a text message before boarding the bus.

 Chapter 14

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    three hours later, the bus drove out of jinghai base city and entered the desolate and dilapidated buffer zone.


    under the lead of eight teachers, all the students of class 17 got off the bus and quickly lined up.


    ¡°all of you will be splitting into groups.¡± the form teacher, xiao jinsheng, coughed. ¡°we plan to split you guys into eight groups. each group will have four students, and you will be led by a teacher. now, we will allow you to freely form your own groups. those who don¡¯t have a group will be assigned one by me.¡±


    the eight teachers¡ªincluding xiao jinsheng¡ªwere all teachers who taught combat, machinery, and other classes. they were very strong and had basically reached the highest limit for non-awakened. bai xiaowen knew this because of his insight.


    take form teacher xiao jinsheng for example. his total attributes were 20.5, having basic combat level 5 (maximum), basic machinery (single-handed sword) level 5, and basic throw level 5.


    unfortunately, xiao jinsheng had never been able to pass the awakened test. in fact, he was not the only one. the other seven teachers were in the same situation, and they were stuck at the quasi-awakened threshold.


    the awakened test was carried out in the spiritual realm. quests would be automatically generated for them.


    if he failed the first time, the difficulty of the second test would increase greatly. if he also failed the second time, the difficulty of the third test would increase to a terrifying level, and so on.


    xiao jinsheng had failed twice. when he entered the spiritual realm for the third time and saw the despairing test mission, he immediately chose to withdraw. from then on, he gave up on advancing to an awakened and found a job as a teacher at crimson fire no.1 middle school where he taught for more than 20 years.


    the scene was chaotic. the students of class 17 called out to their friends and deskmates whom they had close ties with and quickly formed teams of four.


    bai xiaowen wanted to join a team with members that he was familiar with, but when he turned to look at the few classmates he was more or less familiar with, he noticed that they maintained an indifferent attitude toward him, and they even glanced in zhou yi¡¯s direction. he instantly understood what was happening.


    these students were not fools. they did not have a deep relationship with bai xiaowen, so they were unwilling to offend zhou yi for his sake.


    bai xiaowen fell silent. he did not want to embarrass himself by approaching them and asking if he could join their group.


    ¡°there are still four students who don¡¯t have a team?¡± xiao jinsheng nodded and said, ¡°all right then. zhou yi, wu xiaoyan, jiang wen, and bai xiaowen, you¡¯ll be on the same team. i¡¯ll lead this team.¡±


    zhou yi grinned. ¡°i have no objections.¡±


    bai xiaowen remained silent. it was obvious that only the four of them were left. whether they agreed or not, they had no choice but to become one team.


    ¡°all right, the one-week actual field combat training begins now. the eight teams have their own destinations. within a week, you need to clear the area of all monsters before you can return. i hope that all students can improve from this training.¡± xiao jinsheng waved his hand outward and barked, ¡°prepare and set off!¡±


    bai xiaowen opened his tactical backpack, took out a steel crossbow, and hung it on his waist. he tied a machete diagonally behind his back and tightened his pants. both the steel crossbow and the machete were mechanized and mass-produced weapons. they did not contain any psionic particles, so their lethality could not compare to psionic equipment.


    such equipment was either handmade by blacksmiths or dropped from monsters. machine assembly lines could not produce it. of course, psionic equipment was also quite expensive.


    after bai xiaowen was done, jiang wen approached him with a shy smile. ¡°hello, bai xiaowen.¡±


    jiang wen had fair skin and an oval-shaped face. although her beauty was not in the same league as li shuyi, she was still considered a pretty girl. when the students were splitting into teams, many boys had invited her to join their team, but for some reason, she rejected all of them.


    ¡°hello, jiang wen. we¡¯ll be teammates for the next week.¡±


    when bai xiaowen saw the shy smile on jiang wen¡¯s face, he instantly understood and smiled brightly at her. she was another girl who had fallen for his charms.


    the boys who had just been rejected by jiang wen looked over with resentment-filled eyes.


    ¡°it¡¯s really unfortunate to have a weak teammate like you.¡± zhou yi saw that bai xiaowen was flirting with girls again and was displeased. he walked over with wu xiaoyan in tow and looked at bai xiaowen provocatively. ¡°i hope you won¡¯t be a burden to our team.¡±


    ¡°mind your own business.¡± bai xiaowen could not take it anymore.


    ¡°you¡­¡± zhou yi was infuriated.


    ¡°that¡¯s enough, stop arguing! it¡¯s time to set off!¡± a plump figure approached them. xiao jinsheng had a rusty iron sword hanging from his waist and a row of steel flying daggers in his back. he was dressed in red, making him look like a mighty crab.


    ¡°open the map. our destination is area 8, called the plague rat cave!¡±


    xiao jinsheng¡¯s stubby finger suddenly swiped across the map. ¡°we have to trek 13 kilometers on foot. we will inevitably encounter some monsters along the way. however, the monsters wandering in the buffer zone are less threatening. the four of you will turn to practice. in any case, we have to reach the plague rat cave before dark!¡±


    the eight teams spread out in different directions like eight arrowheads in the vast plains and wasteland.


    ¨C


    ¡°jiang wen, mutated cockroaches are the weakest type of monsters. don¡¯t be frightened by their appearance!¡±


    xiao jinsheng shouted, ¡°in the actual combat test for the college entrance examination, there are monsters that are even more disgusting than mutated cockroaches. do you want to score zero in the actual combat class? hurry up and go!¡±


    a mutated cockroach was a cockroach that had been magnified dozens of times. its shell was shiny, and it had long tentacles and sharp appendages. its hideous appearance was definitely the natural enemy of girls.


    bai xiaowen looked at jiang wen sympathetically. xiao jinsheng had ordered them to take turns battling monsters, and jiang wen was ranked third. fortunately, she encountered a lone mutated cockroach.


    jiang wen¡¯s oval face turned even paler after she heard xiao jinsheng urging her. she screamed and kept pulling the trigger of the steel crossbow, shooting continuously at the mutated cockroach.


    thud! thud! thud! the mutated cockroach was forced to retreat. sparks even flew from its black shell.


    ¡°weakness! their weakness is their eye! where are you aiming at?¡± xiao jinsheng roared, ¡°do you think you¡¯re holding spiritual equipment? come on, you¡¯re only holding a mass-produced ordinary steel crossbow. if you don¡¯t attack their weakness, you won¡¯t be able to kill even the weakest mutated beast!¡±


    soon, jiang wen¡¯s crossbow missed its target. the mutated cockroach was unharmed. it waved its limbs and charged at jiang wen.


    jiang wen¡¯s mind went blank when she saw the ugly mutated cockroach charging at her.


    despite seeing that the mutated cockroach was about to pounce on jiang wen¡¯s legs, no one stepped in to help. zhou yi and wu xiaoyan looked like they were watching a show. bai xiaowen sighed inwardly and pulled out a machete from his back. he aimed at the gap between the mutated cockroach¡¯s neck and carapace and slashed.


    with a clang, sparks flew everywhere.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s attack missed its target. however, bai xiaowen was strong enough to smash the mutated cockroach into the ground.


    bai xiaowen swung his machete again. this time, he slash through the gap between the mutated cockroach¡¯s head and carapace. he decapitated it cleanly and then kicked the disgusting headless body away.


    even if the mutated cockroach did not have a head, it would not die immediately. however, without the ability to eat, it could not survive for long.


    bai xiaowen received a notification.


    ¡°the battle is over. strength: 4, precision: 2, continuity: 3, evaluation: good.¡±


    ¡°your proficiency in basic machinery (single-handed sword) has increased.¡±


    ¡°basic machinery (single-handed sword) has been upgraded to level 3!¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s single-handed sword skill had been stuck at level 2 for a long time. he had been practicing for a long time but had not gotten a breakthrough. he did not expect to get a breakthrough after killing a mutated cockroach.


    through actual combat training in the wild, the increase in proficiency was indeed astonishing. it was much better than dull training.


    jiang wen was filled with gratitude. ¡°bai xiaowen, thank you so much.¡±


    bai xiaowen waved his hand. ¡°you¡¯re welcome.¡±


    ¡°tsk, you¡¯re a busybody.¡± zhou yi, who was not far away, pursed his lips.


    wu xiaoyan whispered, ¡°but bai xiaowen¡¯s attacks seemed very powerful earlier.¡±


    zhou yi said disdainfully, ¡°what¡¯s the use? it¡¯s just a cockroach. i can crush it with one stomp.¡±


    xiao jinsheng coughed and concluded, ¡°all right, jiang wen, i¡¯ll let it go this time. you must know that the opportunity for actual combat is hard to come by! let¡¯s continue!¡±


    along the way, the five of them encountered some wandering monsters. there were buck-toothed, bloodthirsty carnivorous rabbits, fragile skeletons who had crawled out of graves and infected with undead aura, and the famous plague rats. xiao jinsheng and bai xiaowen took turns to train their skills.


    jiang wen¡¯s performance was much better than the first time and she received xiao jinsheng¡¯s praise.


    before dark, the team finally arrived at area 8, in front of the plague rat cave.

 Chapter 15

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    the entrance to the plague rat cave was sealed by a pile of rocks. the grass was lush. if not for the satellite positioning, it would have been difficult for the group to find it.


    ¡°mr. xiao, why is the entrance sealed?¡± wu xiaoyan asked.


    xiao jinsheng replied, ¡°it might be the work of plague rats. they¡¯re quite smart. regardless, let¡¯s rest for an hour and eat something before going in. we¡¯ll be spending the next few days in this cave. you have to be mentally prepared.¡±


    jiang wen and wu xiaoyan¡¯s faces turned pale.


    xiao jinsheng lit a bonfire and the five of them sat down around it.


    bai xiaowen removed his tactical backpack and heaved a long sigh of relief. he rubbed his sore arms and calves.


    zhou yi scoffed. ¡°you can¡¯t even handle a 13-kilometer trek?¡± he did not let go of any opportunity to attack bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s physique attribute of 2.1 was not the lowest in the combat class. of course, it was much weaker than zhou yi¡¯s physique attribute of 4.9.


    the other two girls, wu xiaoyan and jiang wen, were equally exhausted. with the trio serving as a foil to him, zhou yi appeared to be able to handle the trek with skill and ease.


    bai xiaowen could not be bothered to answer zhou yi. he barbecued some dry rations on the bonfire and ate them with water to slowly recover his strength.


    the form teacher, xiao jinsheng, was deep in thought. zhou yi was originally a top student in class 17, so it was not surprising for him to have such a performance. however, bai xiaowen¡¯s performance today was a little beyond xiao jinsheng¡¯s expectations.


    unlike zhou yi, xiao jinsheng had been observing the four students he led and evaluating their strength.


    originally, it was destined that bai xiaowen would not be able to enter university with such low attributes. however, his performance today gave xiao jinsheng quite a surprise. according to xiao jinsheng¡¯s estimation, bai xiaowen¡¯s strength and agility had increased by a lot. with these two attributes as the foundation, it was actually very easy to improve his combat and machinery skills.


    of course, xiao jinsheng also noticed that bai xiaowen¡¯s physique was weak.


    an hour passed, and the four students¡¯ stamina had almost recovered.


    xiao jinsheng waved his hand, and the five of them began to clear the stones. however, the degree of sealing in the cave was a little beyond their expectations. dozens of stones of different sizes blocked the passage within five meters of the entrance.


    ¡°these stinky rats are quite strong,¡± zhou yi said resentfully. he picked up a stone the size of a millstone and threw it five meters away.


    half an hour later, the stones that sealed the entrance of the cave were cleared. under xiao jinsheng¡¯s lead, the four students stepped into the rat cave.


    under the influence of the spiritual particles, plague rats were dozens of times larger than ordinary rats and were half the height of a human. the cave they dug was also quite spacious, and the interior was a completely different world. after walking for dozens of steps, the space in front of them became much wider, enough to accommodate five people walking side by side.


    there was a faint stench in the air. this group of plague rats had sealed up the cave. that meant that they had eaten, drank, and pooped in the cave. but that was inevitable. after all, no one could demand a nest of rats to improve their personal hygiene and keep their cave clean.


    the place was dark. there were only some mutated mosses, weeds, and other plants that emitted a weak light. fortunately, the five of them had prepared safety helmets with searchlights in advance to illuminate the path.


    hiss!


    a black shadow lunged at wu xiaoyan from the side.


    wu xiaoyan screamed and took two steps back. the shadow crashed into the wall on the other side of the room. then, it shot forward and continued to pounce on wu xiaoyan.


    in a split second, bai xiaowen had already caught sight of the black shadow. it was a large rat! its entire body was covered in green fur, and its eyes emitted an oily green glow like a wolf¡¯s. it had two sharp teeth and sharp black claws.


    ¡°don¡¯t panic!¡± xiao jinsheng shouted in a deep voice. ¡°it¡¯s just a plague rat, zhou yi!¡±


    zhou yi took off the two-handed sword from his back and agreed excitedly before slashing.


    zhou yi¡¯s basic machinery had already reached level 3, and he had also chosen the two-handed sword type. this slash was powerful and heavy. on their way to the plague rat cave, three plague rats had already died under his sword.


    however, this plague rat was clearly different from the three other rats that had died previously. it squeaked and suddenly accelerated, darting out from under zhou yi¡¯s sword and knocking into zhou yi¡¯s lower abdomen.


    hiss!


    the plague rat swung its sharp claws just beneath zhou yi¡¯s ribcage. instantly, blood spurted out.


    zhou yi cried out in pain and staggered back. he did not have much actual combat experience. upon feeling pain, he panicked and held out his sword in front of him to defend himself.


    bai xiaowen cast insight and immediately received information about the plague rat.


    [zombie rat]


    [race: spectre/corpse demon]


    [attributes: strength 3.8, agility 6.5, physique 4.1, spirit 0.2]


    [skill 1: plague claw: enemies who are injured by zombie rat¡¯s claws and bite will be poisoned.]


    [skill 2: rigid skin: zombie rats don¡¯t feel pain and can¡¯t bleed. their fur will greatly increase their defense.]


    bai xiaowen thought, ¡°this is not an ordinary plague rat, but a zombie rat! it has such high attributes, all of which are higher than that of a plague rat. only its spirit is low. it sacrificed its spirit in order to bring about a comprehensive increase in the other attributes!¡±


    bai xiaowen focused his attention on the zombie rat.


    a line of small words appeared behind the zombie rat¡¯s name:


    [if a plague rat is under the influence of a mysterious item, it will lose its mind. it is no longer a wild beast, but an even more terrifying undead predator.]


    at this moment, xiao jinsheng shouted, ¡°be careful. there¡¯s something seriously wrong about this rat! bai xiaowen, you should attack too!¡±


    xiao jinsheng shot out two throwing knives. having a level 5 in basic throw was indeed extraordinary. it accurately struck the zombie rat, and one of the throwing knives even hit its neck.


    however, the zombie rat did not feel pain, nor did it have any vital points. with the knives in its body, it ran about wildly. only a trace of black blood seeped out of its wound.


    seeing that he was in a dire situation, zhou yi tried his best to move backward and dodge the rat. he waved his two-handed sword hard in a wide arc, making an impenetrable shield that protected his lower body to prevent himself from being injured again.


    the zombie rat could not charge through zhou yi¡¯s shield of spinning knives, and it got slashed instead. it squeaked and turned around to pounce on jiang wen!


    bai xiaowen had already arrived, but he did not use his machete. instead, he charged forward empty-handed and clenched his hands into fists, smashing them down onto the rat. it was as if he was doing a smackdown on a volleyball.


    the zombie rat¡¯s target was jiang wen. at that moment, it had leaped into the air so it did not have any room to dodge bai xiaowen¡¯s attack. even though it had an agility of 6.5, it was completely useless.


    this was a good opportunity for bai xiaowen. zombie rats had the passive ability of stiff skin, so they were very resistant to sharp weapons and would not bleed! that was why bai xiaowen chose to use blunt force.


    with a thud, the zombie rat fell to the ground. because of the huge impact, it stopped moving for a moment.


    this moment of hesitation doomed it to death!


    swoosh!


    xiao jinsheng rushed over and slashed down with his rusty iron sword.


    the zombie rat¡¯s body was cut in half, and black blood slowly seeped out of the wound.


    ¡°what the f*ck is this?¡± zhou yi cursed.

 Chapter 16

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    although the zombie rat was already killed, the students¡¯ had grim expressions.


    wu xiaoyan poured the antidote over zhou yi¡¯s wound.


    xiao jinsheng squatted in front of the rat¡¯s corpse and observed it. jiang wen and bai xiaowen stood beside him.


    ¡°this plague rat is much stronger than ordinary individuals, especially its agility and defense. it¡¯s almost doubled in these aspects.¡± xiao jinsheng frowned before adding, ¡°most importantly, a normal plague rat wouldn¡¯t attack so viciously as this rat did.¡±


    in the end, they could only successfully kill the rat by relying on the rusty iron sword in xiao jinsheng¡¯s hand.


    this rusty iron sword was a type of spiritual equipment. it looked to be a low-quality item but in terms of destructive power, it was much stronger than a weapon made of steel. it could split a zombie rat with such stiff skin in half.


    xiao jinsheng turned the zombie rat¡¯s head over. under the searchlight, he could see that its eyes were white, and its hairless skin had gone a sickly white and emitted a sickly luster.


    ¡°it must have been affected by something, so it got mutated.¡± bai xiaowen let out a cough.


    ¡°secondary mutation?¡± xiao jinsheng frowned. he stood up and looked into the dark depths of the plague rat cave.


    ¡°if the cave is full of monsters who have undergone secondary mutation, then we absolutely cannot go any deeper.¡±


    the thick layer of fat on xiao jinsheng¡¯s face trembled slightly as he said solemnly, ¡°i¡¯ll report the situation here to the school and ask the school to send an awakened to deal with it.¡±


    after zhou yi¡¯s wound was bandaged, he shouted indignantly, ¡°it can¡¯t be that bad, right? that rat isn¡¯t that powerful either. i was ambushed by it earlier, so i wasn¡¯t aware of how powerful it was. if i encounter another one, i¡¯ll be able to kill it.¡±


    bai xiaowen snickered.


    xiao jinsheng shook his head and said, ¡°even if you can kill one in a one-on-one battle, what¡¯s the point? in this plague rat cave, there are probably hundreds of plague rats. most of the time, they appear in groups. once more than three appear, our team will suffer casualties.¡±


    zhou yi stopped speaking and turned to glare at bai xiaowen. he felt humiliated.


    ¡°mr. xiao, why don¡¯t we head back? only one day has passed for the week-long actual field training. we can still go to other areas to train for the other days,¡± bai xiaowen suggested, ignoring zhou yi.


    ¡°okay.¡±


    the five of them came in high spirits and returned in low spirits. they returned the way they came.


    when they reached the entrance of the cave, jiang wen¡ªwho was at the front¡ªsuddenly exclaimed, ¡°why is there light?¡±


    all of them went forward to take a look and their hearts skipped a beat. the original entrance of the cave was actually covered in a hazy milky-white halo. it looked very strange in the dead of night.


    zhou yi tentatively took two steps forward and his expression changed. ¡°mr. xiao, it¡¯s impossible for us to pass through here!¡±


    ¡°how can it be?¡± xiao jinsheng¡¯s expression changed drastically as he quickly walked forward.


    the hazy white light was like an invisible barrier that blocked the entrance of the cave. try as they might, they could not pass through the barrier and advance at all.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡± zhou yi felt that he was very unlucky to be in such a situation. strange things had been happening since the start of this actual field training. things were not going well at all.


    ¡°this is a type of enchantment spell.¡±


    xiao jinsheng exhaled and said slowly, ¡°someone cast a barrier to block the entrance. we can¡¯t get out before the energy of the barrier dissipates.¡±


    ¡°who is it? why are they doing this?¡± jiang wen asked fearfully.


    xiao jinsheng replied, ¡°i don¡¯t know either, but i¡¯m afraid the other party doesn¡¯t have any good intentions. furthermore, he¡¯s powerful! to be able to cast spells, he must be as strong as an awakened. we won¡¯t be able to defeat him in a fight.¡±


    ¡°then what should we do?¡± zhou yi shouted. ¡°ask the school for help, mr. xiao! we can¡¯t die here.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll send a distress signal now. however, even if the awakened sent by the school set off immediately, it will take some time for them to arrive. during this period, all of you must hide and turn off the searchlights. don¡¯t attract the enemy¡¯s attention.¡±


    xiao jinsheng classified the person who cast the barrier as an enemy. he led the four students into the depths of the plague rat cave in the dark.


    bai xiaowen frowned slightly and felt that something was amiss. he did not think someone who had the strength of an awakened would target them, who were too weak to be a threat to him.


    when bai xiaowen recalled the information he had gotten about the zombie rat through his insight, a possibility came to him.


    ¡°mr. xiao, i think¡­ the other party isn¡¯t here for us.¡±


    bai xiaowen quickly walked to xiao jinsheng¡¯s side. ¡°if the enemy is here for us, there¡¯s no need to spend so much effort. there will be plenty of opportunities along the way.¡±


    xiao jinsheng frowned. ¡°if he¡¯s not here for us, then why did he come to this godforsaken cave?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m guessing that it should be related to the abnormal changes in the plague rat cave,¡± bai xiaowen said. ¡°why did the plague rats undergo such a huge change? to be able to cause the plague rats in the entire cave to mutate, if it¡¯s a treasure, it must be very impressive. it will make even awakened jealous. also, don¡¯t you think that there¡¯s something amiss with the stones blocking the cave entrance? it looks more like it¡¯s done by a human rather than plague rats.¡±


    ¡°you mean that an awakened discovered the abnormal situation here and rushed over to investigate?¡± xiao jinsheng frowned. ¡°but why did he seal the entrance?¡±


    ¡°the other party saw that the stones at the entrance of the cave had been moved away, and he saw the footprints at the entrance. he must have guessed that we have entered the cave and are currently still inside. to prevent us from obtaining that treasure and taking it away, he sealed the cave.¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s analysis was reasonable and well-founded. at this moment, xiao jinsheng also felt that there was something strange with those stones at the entrance of the cave.


    ¡°then what should we do?¡± xiao jinsheng asked.


    ¡°since they aren¡¯t here for us, we should go back to the cave and wait for help,¡± wu xiaoyan said in a low voice.


    bai xiaowen shook his head. ¡°we still have to follow mr. xiao¡¯s instructions and hide first. try not to be discovered. according to mr. xiao, the other party has the strength of an awakened. it¡¯ll be easy as pie for him to kill the five of us. i can¡¯t rule out the possibility that the other party will kill us to permanently silence us.¡±


    ¡°hmph, after analyzing for so long, you¡¯re still telling us to hide. then what you said is no different from what mr. xiao said,¡± zhou yi said disdainfully.


    ¡°zhou yi, that¡¯s enough. bai xiaowen¡¯s analysis has at least given us some confidence. we won¡¯t be so flustered,¡± said xiao jinsheng.


    he composed himself and added after some thought, ¡°now, we can¡¯t wander around like headless flies. let¡¯s find a secluded place to hide first so that we don¡¯t bump into that person. it¡¯s best if we can get through this peacefully and safely.¡±


    the five of them moved forward quietly. upon reaching a fork, they chose a remote narrow path.


    after walking for more than a hundred meters and making two turns, everyone¡¯s vision suddenly widened and they entered a basement.


    the basement was ten meters square and quite spacious. after arriving here, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.


    zhou yi cursed in a low voice, ¡°these damn rats are really good at digging holes. what¡¯s the use of digging such a big basement?¡±


    bai xiaowen turned on the searchlight and observed the basement carefully.


    ¡°what are you doing? turn off the lights!¡± zhou yi growled.


    bai xiaowen shone the light on the wall of the basement and touched it. his expression changed slightly. ¡°this is bad. we have to leave this place. now!¡±

 Chapter 17

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    jiang wen asked curiously.


    ¡°when i first entered this basement, i felt that something was a little off. don¡¯t you think that this basement is a little too spacious compared to the other places in the cave?¡±


    bai xiaowen turned off the searchlight and said softly, ¡°because this basement wasn¡¯t dug out by the plague rats. mr. xiao, you said that you¡¯ve been to this plague rat cave before. do you know of this basement?¡±


    ¡°my memory is a little fuzzy regarding that¡­ the last time i came here was several years ago, but i don¡¯t think that there was a basement back then,¡± xiao jinsheng said as he recalled the previous time he was here.


    ¡°from the marks on the walls, i can tell that this basement has been excavated for less than a year. if there are indeed ¡®abnormal areas¡¯ in the plague rat cave, this newly excavated basement is undoubtedly one of them! the awakened will be trying to find the treasure that caused the plague rats here to mutate. sooner or later, that person who sealed the cave entrance will find this place!¡± bai xiaowen said in a low voice.


    ¡°in other words, hiding here is equivalent to signing our own death warrant!¡± xiao jinsheng took a deep breath. ¡°bai xiaowen, that¡¯s a great analysis. let¡¯s quicken our pace and leave this place.¡±


    the atmosphere became even more tense.


    suddenly, bai xiaowen gestured for everyone to stop.


    ¡®there¡¯s someone nearby. his footsteps are light,¡± he remarked.


    xiao jinsheng looked at bai xiaowen in surprise. what he did not know was that bai xiaowen¡¯s spirit was as high as 7.9, so he had already surpassed some low-level awakened. that was the reason why he had a strange perception ability.


    jiang wen was so frightened that her face turned ashen white. she whimpered softly, ¡°is it that person?¡±


    ¡°shh¡­ let¡¯s not make any noise for the time being. hopefully, that person is just passing by and won¡¯t head this way.¡± bai xiaowen patted jiang wen¡¯s shoulder.


    the five of them squatted down. even zhou yi, who was the most defiant out of them all, did not question bai xiaowen at this juncture. along the way, bai xiaowen¡¯s analysis had earned him discourse power in the team.


    bai xiaowen leaned against the wall and carefully searched the ground.


    before switching off the searchlights earlier, bai xiaowen caught a glimpse of something black on the ground. it looked like a bundle of clothes. he had an exceptional memory, so even though it was just a casual glance, he could recall most of it.


    under the current circumstances, the more information they had, the more confident they would be in escaping with their lives intact. bai xiaowen was certain that the black object that looked very much like a piece of clothing was related to the person who was responsible for digging out the basement.


    ¡°i can touch it, but it feels like something is wrong,¡± thought bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen touched the clothing, but they had a strange feel. they felt like rough linen.


    this was abnormal, and bai xiaowen quickly found a questionable point.


    linen clothes were uncomfortable to wear. it was a product that had been eliminated hundreds of years ago. no shop would sell such material in the jinghai base city.


    bai xiaowen continued to feel the material, and a strange expression appeared on his face.


    he touched the hem of the sleeve and felt upward. he touched a cold and dry palm.


    it was a dead man¡¯s palm.


    this was not a bundle of clothes, but a dead person wearing linen clothes!


    bai xiaowen was very frightened, he broke out in a cold sweat. he calmed himself down and continued to feel about it while trying to figure out who this person was.


    judging from the strange linen clothes, this person was probably not a human from earth.


    he should be¡­ a human from the spiritual realm!


    the spiritual realm was vast and boundless, and it included many layers of other dimensional planes within it.


    humans existed in multiple planes of existence. of course, humans from the spiritual realm were very different from humans on earth. based on bai xiaowen¡¯s understanding, they were kind of like non-playing characters (npcs) in role-playing games.


    after figuring out the identity of this human, bai xiaowen fell into deep thought.


    ¡°after this human from the spiritual realm entered earth, why did he take the risk to pass the wilderness blockade and enter the buffer zone, just to hide in this dark and smelly rat hole?¡±


    as he was pondering over it, bai xiaowen suddenly perked up. he found a roll of sheepskin in the victim¡¯s other hand.


    ¡°sheepskin scroll, linen clothing¡­ the dimensional world that this human hailed from should have a background similar to medieval europe!¡±


    suddenly, footsteps sounded. it was accompanied by the sound of an armor rhythmically clinking as that person stepped on the leaves.


    the five of them held their breaths.


    bai xiaowen sighed inwardly. he could tell that the footsteps were getting closer and closer. it was obvious that the person was heading in their direction. from the clinking sound of armor, bai xiaowen immediately pictured a tall and mighty knight wearing heavy armor in his mind.


    the other party walked toward them without any hesitation. it was obvious that he did not take the five people in the basement seriously.


    ¡°he¡¯s discovered us! run!¡± zhou yi shouted in despair and rushed out.


    the others also rushed out of the basement. if they were cornered in the basement, they would be trapped and be sitting ducks.


    bai xiaowen held onto the sheepskin scroll and ran as fast as he could.


    the sound of footsteps also became hurried. it was obvious that the enemy had also increased their speed and was chasing after them.


    ¡°nolite!¡±


    a majestic female voice bellowed, and a beam of light shot out. with a loud bang, a thin sword struck the rock wall in front of the five of them and pierced into its sheath! bai xiaowen had his eyes wide open in shock at this move.


    this move was countless times stronger than xiao jinsheng¡¯s basic throw, which was already at its maximum level. if that move was aimed at them, that sword would probably pierce through them all like a stick of candied hawthorn.


    in the next second, a tall female knight wearing dark blue armor and a light purple cape on her back appeared, and she was chasing after them. the distance between her and the five people in front of her was rapidly shrinking.


    the female knight had no intention of hiding her tracks. the armor on her body, the sword at her waist, and the cloak on her back were all emitting colorful halos of different colors. with so many types of spiritual equipment, just in terms of appearance, those weapons seemed much more powerful than xiao jinsheng¡¯s shabby old iron sword.


    ¡°she¡¯s not the same race as us!¡±


    ¡°did she just speak english?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t understand what she said!¡±


    the students were dumbfounded.


    ¡°at this point, who cares? split up and flee!¡± xiao jinsheng roared at the top of his lungs.


    even though the female knight shouted ¡°stop¡± and threatened them, the five of them still ran with all their might. they were like five rabbits with arrows in their butts, running for their lives and entering different forks in the path.


    the female knight shouted out a series of berating words. compared to the english language, it was a little cryptic and incomprehensible.


    ¡°this female knight¡­ is not a human from earth! she speaks ancient latin, a common language in medieval europe!¡±


    as bai xiaowen ran, he felt shocked. combined with the linen cloth and sheepskin scroll on the deceased, bai xiaowen was almost certain that the female knight and the deceased both came from the spiritual realm. furthermore, they came from the same plane of existence!


    based on bai xiaowen¡¯s understanding, planes of existence were like a ¡°duplicate¡± of a game. the spiritual realm was a huge game world formed by countless ¡°duplicates¡± of it.


    the most unbelievable thing was that the dimensional worlds that the awakened had already explored were inextricably linked to civilizations from certain eras on earth.


    the background of almost every dimensional world could be found in a similar ¡°blueprint¡± in earth¡¯s history!


    some dimensional worlds were related to the ancient egyptian pharaoh dynasty where witchcraft and mummies danced together.


    other dimensional worlds were like medieval europe where swords and magic intertwined.


    while there were some dimensional worlds that had modern city streets filled with combat and violence.


    all of these dimensional worlds were relatively normal.


    what did an ¡°abnormal¡± plane of existence look like?


    it would be the prehistoric era of the ancient earth, whereby different species of dinosaurs dominated the land, sky, and sea.


    another example would be in the ancient greek mythological era, where heroes who descended from greek gods and goddesses roamed the land with their incredible powers.


    lastly, in the ancient cultivation era, there were swordsmen who stood atop flying swords and roamed the continents. there were also immortal heroes who slayed demons and devils. these were also abnormal places of existence.


    so far, none of the dimensional worlds that had been discovered were completely unfamiliar and incomprehensible to the humans on earth. they could more or less find some shadows in the long history of earth.


    the languages used by these worlds were ancient egyptian hieroglyphics, chinese, latin, ancient hebrew¡­ most of the languages were ancient languages that had been widely spread on earth.


    many experts tried to explain this, but their explanations lacked validation and were purely conjectures. the only ones who had the ability to find the ¡°answer¡± were the awakened who were fearless and explored the various plane worlds!


    it was obvious that this armored female knight came from the spiritual realm, a realm of swords and magic! the background of the realm was similar to earth¡¯s medieval europe.

 Chapter 18

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    it had to be said that xiao jinsheng¡¯s order to split up and escape was very correct. although the female knight was powerful, she could only choose one target to pursue.


    ¡°phew¡­ looks like i¡¯m not the first target. i think she went to look for the form teacher,¡± bai xiaowen thought. he heaved a sigh of relief and mourned for the fat form teacher for a second. ¡°however, since she¡¯s a knight from medieval europe, she should believe in the way of knights. it¡¯s unlikely that she will kill indiscriminately, right?¡±


    bai xiaowen dashed into another basement on the other side of the fork. compared to the man-made basement, this basement was much narrower and shorter. its walls were uneven.


    ¡°this should be the basement excavated by the plague rats,¡± bai xiaowen thought.


    just as that thought flashed through his mind, a gust of wind blew, and a black shadow pounced toward his face! in the dim light, he could only see a pair of green eyes.


    ¡°zombie rat!¡±


    bai xiaowen did not care about his image at all. he rolled on the ground to dodge the zombie rat¡¯s pounce. however, the zombie rat¡¯s agility exceeded 6 points. it leaped onto the rock wall and skillfully changed its direction before continuing to pounce on bai xiaowen!


    the zombie rat pounced on bai xiaowen¡¯s back. its claws slashed out, lancing its nails across bai xiaowen¡¯s back and tearing his clothes apart. fortunately, the machete strapped to his back blocked the rat¡¯s attack. otherwise, with bai xiaowen¡¯s weak physique, he would have been injured.


    at this critical moment, bai xiaowen¡¯s mind was clear. he gritted his teeth and endured the burning pain in his back. he stomped on the ground, using all the 4.5 strength he had. cracks even appeared on his military boots. it was obvious how mighty this stomp was!


    bang!


    bai xiaowen slammed his body against the rock wall.


    the rat on his back was almost flattened by the force of the collision. though it had stiff skin, it was useless against this kind of blunt impact.


    bai xiaowen was also having a hard time. he almost passed out. fortunately, he had a high spirit attribute, so he was able to endure the pain. he sat leaning against the rock wall. the zombie rat¡¯s corpse was very close to him, but bai xiaowen had no intention of moving it.


    ¡°the battle is over. strength: 5, precision: 3, continuity: 3, evaluation: good.¡±


    ¡°your basic specialty: combat proficiency increased.¡±


    bai xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that his combat proficiency had increased by a large margin. he had performed exceptionally well when he killed the zombie rat just now, so all his evaluations had exceeded his usual training standards.


    in the digitalized spiritual energy era, the explosive power of life was not to be underestimated.


    bai xiaowen turned on the searchlight and began to identify the sheepskin scroll.


    the danger was not over yet though. the real terror was the female knight from the spiritual realm. bai xiaowen had to obtain more information about her, including her motive, the source of the plague rat cave¡¯s mutation, and so on. only then would he have a better chance of escaping!


    the words on the sheepskin scroll were written in ancient latin. they were scribbled and several pages were missing.


    old latin, like mandarin, was part of the curriculum for ordinary classes.


    bai xiaowen had learned latin when he was still in his first year of high school. with his perverse memory, he could still recall a lot of latin words after sifting through his memories. of course, he struggled with grammar, sentence structures, and so on. fortunately, he could still understand the language by guessing.


    bai xiaowen flipped through the pages of the sheepskin scroll and slowly sorted out the information.


    it was a diary with a line of words written on the title page.


    ¡°i, margaux, am honored to become the servant of the lionheart empire¡¯s chief royal alchemist, lord falca. i swear to the lord of light that i will always be loyal to my master.¡±


    only upon reading this sentence did bai xiaowen know the identity of the linen-robed deceased in the basement. it turned out that he was a servant named margaux.


    ¡°9th july, light calendar year 1152.¡±


    ¡°master is losing his temper more and more often lately. his majesty seems to trust the new alchemist more. he doesn¡¯t care about the alchemy results that master has presented. this month, two servants have already been beaten to death by master with the punishment whip. i don¡¯t want to be the third.¡±


    ¡°11th august, light calendar year 1152.¡±


    ¡°today, we went to the north county monastery to pray. this is the third time this month. master seems to have become much more pious recently.¡±


    ¡°master¡¯s temper has also improved. he hasn¡¯t flared up for the past month. this must be the blessing of the lord of light. praise the lord of light!¡±


    ¡°20th september, light calendar year 1152.¡±


    ¡°unbelievable! master is actually willing to take me in as an apprentice. what a rare opportunity! praise master!¡±


    ¡°21st september, light calendar year 1152.¡±


    ¡°master told me his plan, and he wants me to join him. if i refused to do so, he threatened that he would silence me. heavens, i would rather not have heard of this crazy plan. he actually wants to steal the soul stone sealed by the north county monastery!¡±


    ¡°that evil soul stone is strictly guarded by the nuns in the north county monastery. those terrifying nuns have broken all previous secular ties. they give up on money, pleasure, kinship, and love, and devote their bodies and minds to the lord of light. these nuns are unreasonable lunatics. anyone who dares to approach the soul stone will be mercilessly purified by them!¡±


    many pages of the journal were missing. based on some scattered descriptions, bai xiaowen speculated that the ¡°evil soul stone¡± should have been obtained by the royal alchemist, falca, and his servant, margaux.


    it seemed that those nuns were not as terrifying as margaux had described.


    bai xiaowen continued to flip through the journal and found a relatively complete page.


    ¡°6th april, light calendar year 1153.¡±


    ¡°this is the third time we are on the run. those crazy nuns actually persuaded his majesty to send powerful royal knights to hunt us down! although the lionheart empire is huge, there¡¯s no place for us to stay anymore.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s destined that we leave our hometown and head south toward a port city called walterlund. my master plans to find a ship there and cross the ocean to get to the new continent. he swore that he¡¯d never return to the lionheart empire before he mastered the power of the evil soul stone and reached the pinnacle of alchemy.¡±


    ¡°30th may, light calendar year 1153.¡±


    ¡°during this seemingly endless pursuit and escape, i gradually discovered the changes in master. his skin became paler and paler day by day, looking like a vampire that crawled out of a tomb. it is beyond terrifying. however, master¡¯s strength also increased day by day. he became faster and stronger. is this the power brought about by the evil soul stone?¡±


    ¡°2nd june, light calendar year 1153.¡±


    ¡°praise be to the lord of light! just as my master and i were cornered by the royal knights, a spatial rift appeared like a miracle! no matter what kind of world was on the other side of the rift, we have no other choice but to enter it.¡±


    ¡°finally, we can be rid of this eternal pursuit. however, i seem to have heard the angry and indignant roar of the royal knight who followed us.¡±

 Chapter 19

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    bai xiaowen continued to read the diary. the latter content was about margaux and his master falca after they came to earth.


    ¡°12th june, light calendar year 1153.¡±


    ¡°hunger, thirst, exhaustion¡­ in this dimensional space called ¡®earth¡¯, my master and i trekked for ten days before we finally saw people.¡±


    ¡°heavens, why are there so many towering palaces? any one of them is even more majestic than the palace of the lionheart empire. this dimensional space called earth has a civilization that far surpasses the aaron dimension where lionheart empire is located.¡±


    ¡°my master and i sneaked into earth¡¯s human cities and tried to exchange some gold coins for earth¡¯s currency to buy supplies. but what¡¯s an ¡®online banking account¡¯? what¡¯s ¡®online payment¡¯? why do i need identification and an ¡®account¡¯ just to exchange gold coins?¡±


    ¡°maybe it¡¯s because our attire is a little different, so many people look at us as if we¡¯re crazy. if it were anyone else, they would be just like us and have this stench. after all, we have gone without washing, bathing, or changing clothes for several months.¡±


    ¡°13th june, light calendar year 1153.¡±


    ¡®someone took pity on us and gave us some coins. praise be to the lord of the light! master and i will at last not have to go hungry.¡¯


    ¡°but master is the chief royal alchemist, so his pride won¡¯t allow him to be a beggar. a new plan had been hatched in his near-insane mind, and as before, he told me about it.¡±


    ¡°goodness! master is intending to rob a bank in such a powerful plane like earth!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m doing what i can to stop him. i don¡¯t want to be hunted down again. i¡¯d rather be a beggar than a fugitive.¡±


    ¡°maybe our argument was a little too loud, so it attracted the patrol officers. damn it, i don¡¯t understand a word of what they¡¯re saying. even the well-read master is the same.¡±


    ¡°the patrol officer obviously noticed our anomaly. he took out a black box and loudly chanted a mysterious incantation.¡±


    ¡°we have no choice but to use a lower-grade invisibility potion to escape from the patrol officers¡¯ sight and escape from the human city.¡±


    the corners of bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes twitched.


    after a long while, he finally said, ¡°ignorance is scary.¡¯


    first, margaux¡¯s problem of exchanging gold coins. after passing through the spatial rift, if that duo¡¯s first stop was at a horrendous capitalist country, it would be very easy for them to exchange gold coins. the control of such a federal government over its citizens was weak, to begin with, and it had been even worse since the spiritual energy era. for the sake of benefits, many powerful guilds dared to resist the government.


    even if they approached a civilian, as long as that civilian was sure that the gold coins were authentic, he would probably be happy to exchange them for some local currency. the spiritual realm¡¯s gold coins were of great collection value and very valuable, not to mention the gold and silver from the spiritual realm that were used to forge the gold coins were something so invaluable that even awakened needed.


    the most important thing was that the master and servant were speaking old latin. in a capitalist country where english was the official language, it was not difficult to find a few people who understood old latin, so they would have no problems in communication.


    unfortunately, the first stop of this master-servant duo was huaxia. in terms of state machinery, huaxia could be said to be the best in the world. although the awakened guild had certain privileges, they definitely did not dare to go against the state machinery.


    as for language¡­ mandarin was a hellishly difficult language. just the poem ¡°lion-eating poet in the stone den¡±1alone was enough to make countless foreigners cry out in frustration. foreigners might argue that the poem was written in classical mandarin so that did not count. however, modern-day mandarin was also equally difficult.


    an example would be as followed.


    this is a conversation where xiao ding gave her superior from work a monetary gift. there would be a pun on the word mandarin word ¡°meaning¡± which had several meanings to it. it could be considered as ¡°meaning¡±, ¡°small gesture¡±, ¡°inadequate¡±, ¡°no big deal¡±, or ¡°interesting¡±.


    superior: ¡°what do you mean by this?¡±


    xiao ding: ¡°i don¡¯t mean anything. it¡¯s just a small gesture.¡±


    superior: ¡°it¡¯s not very nice of you to do this.¡±


    xiao ding: ¡°it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    superior: ¡°you¡¯re a really interesting person.¡±


    xiao ding: ¡°actually, i don¡¯t mean anything else by this.¡±


    superior: ¡°oh really? in that case, i¡¯m a little embarrassed.¡±


    xiao ding: ¡°i¡¯m the one who¡¯s embarrassed!¡±


    question! what do the ¡°meanings¡± in the above-mentioned conversation mean?


    ¨C


    bai xiaowen¡¯s train of thought was a little far-fetched, and he easily digressed. it was an inevitable side effect of having a super brain.


    actually, it took bai xiaowen less than 0.1 seconds to process all these words.


    bai xiaowen mocked them even more when he read that part about the patrol officers.


    ¡°a black box? i guess she¡¯s referring to a walkie-talkie. as for the mysterious incantation¡­ i think everyone knows it to be law enforcement jargon,¡± he thought.


    ¨C


    ¡°21st june, light calendar year 1153.¡±


    ¡°master and i roamed the wilderness while trying to learn the language of earthlings. i must admit that it is incredibly difficult.¡±


    ¡°2nd july, light calendar year 1153.¡±


    ¡°my nightmare has come true again! that royal knight named gloria is as crazy as a fly chasing after poop. she¡¯s so relentless in her pursuit of us! i can¡¯t believe that she actually came to earth! master¡¯s soul perception potion can¡¯t be wrong. the moment gloria stepped onto earth, we already knew that she had arrived.¡±


    ¡°master is tired of the endless escape. he wants to hold a forbidden ritual and completely absorb the power of the soul stone!¡±


    ¡°master said that as long as the seal on the soul stone is completely undone, he can easily kill gloria. it¡¯ll be as easy as crushing an ant!¡±


    ¡°is the soul stone really that magical? for a moment, i even had a bold idea¡­¡± there was a line that crossed out the rest of the words, making it tough to make out the words that were written there.


    ¡°4th july, light calendar year 1153.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯ve chosen an underground cave as our hiding place.¡±


    ¡°it is evident that our presence was very unwelcome to the original owner of the cave, a group of plague rats. they attacked us. master could easily have crushed them, but he didn¡¯t. yes, he needed these rats as the ingredients for a forbidden ritual.¡±


    ¡°after some effort, master captured the leader of the plague rats. the other plague rats finally submitted to the master¡¯s power and stopped attacking. we used a large number of rocks to seal the original hole to avoid being tracked by the outside world.¡±


    ¡°the rat cave is a little too narrow for us. we can¡¯t even set up a ceremonial venue. under master¡¯s orders, i¡ªwho is so thin that i¡¯m almost skin and bones¡ªbegin to dig with great difficulty.¡±


    ¡°damn it, why do i have to do all this dirty work? is it because he¡¯s the master and i¡¯m the servant? what if i have more power?¡±


    ¡°ambition and desire sprout in my heart like weeds¡­¡±


    the two lines recorded margaux¡¯s ambition. bai xiaowen had to spend a lot of effort to recognize them. he could tell that margaux was on the verge of a mental breakdown. as for his master, falca, he must have gone crazy.


    at this point, the diary was missing a large number of dates. there were only occasional records. obviously, the author of the diary, mr. margaux, had been working miserably for those days, so he did not have the habit of persisting in writing his daily diary entries.


    ¡°hmm¡­ i can roughly guess what¡¯s going to happen next,¡± bai xiaowen muttered to himself as he continued to flip through the pages. soon, he reached the last page of the sheepskin diary.

 Chapter 20

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    unexpectedly, the last page of the diary was written in blood.


    there was only one line of words on it:


    ¡°falca, the devil has cursed your soul¡­¡±


    bai xiaowen put away the sheepskin scroll.


    ¡°in the end, internal strife still happened, but it seems that falca won. he had killed this man who was his servant, apprentice, and partner. however, what exactly is the evil soul stone that¡¯s mentioned in the journal? it must be a great treasure to make a chief royal alchemist go crazy.¡±


    after deciphering the contents written on the sheepskin scroll, bai xiaowen understood the whole story. according to his speculation, the female knight who had just chased after him should be the royal knight, gloria, mentioned in the log.


    to be able to make the chief royal alchemist flee at the mere sight of her, gloria¡¯s strength was undoubtedly powerful.


    ¡°i wonder how falca¡¯s forbidden ritual went. did it work?¡±


    bai xiaowen thought of the zombie rats that filled the entire cave. ¡°the zombie rats were also affected by the evil soul stone, which caused them to mutate. in that case, regardless of whether the ritual was successful or not, the power of the soul stone has spread. the cave is sealed now. i¡¯m still not powerful enough. if i encounter more than three zombie rats, i¡¯ll almost certainly die¡­¡± he thought.


    ¡°every moment now is dangerous. hiding isn¡¯t a good choice¡­ i have to take the initiative to break out of this situation!¡±


    bai xiaowen stood up abruptly. his eyes seemed to blaze with flames of fire.


    ¨C


    plague rat cave, at the corner of the corridor.


    zhou yi and wu xiaoyan¡¯s faces were pale as they pressed their bodies tight against the wall.


    after making a turn in the corridor, the female knight stood only about 20 meters away! her dark blue armor emitted a light, and a dense glow flowed on her cloak. despite being in such a dark and smelly cave, it was still spotless.


    xiao jinsheng and jiang wen had already been captured by her, and they were lying on the ground. from the looks of it, they had suffered a little when they were captured.


    ¡°what should we do?¡± wu xiaoyan asked. there was a nervous tremor in her voice, and she sounded completely different from usual. ¡°mr. xiao and jiang wen have been caught!¡±


    ¡°keep your voice down!¡± zhou yi berated fiercely. ¡°we¡¯re already lucky that we¡¯re not caught! how can we even be capable of caring about the lives of others?¡±


    suddenly, a familiar boy¡¯s voice sounded. he spoke in an obscure language.


    ¡°it¡¯s bai xiaowen!¡± wu xiaoyan looked at him in shock. ¡°is he crazy? why did he show up?¡±


    zhou yi also leaned over to take a look. bai xiaowen was standing tall and fearless in front of the powerful knight. he was not afraid at all and slowly spat out words. he was actually negotiating with her!


    ¡°when did this kid become so proficient in these strange languages¡­¡± zhou yu murmured.


    in the female knight¡¯s ears, bai xiaowen¡¯s ancient latin was really bad. when he spoke to her, he only said one word at a time, and he could not even form a sentence. he knew nothing about grammar, tense, and structure.


    however, she could more or less understand what he was trying to say.


    ¡°hello,¡± bai xiaowen said as he tried to recall the contents of the latin textbook. ¡°don¡¯t attack me. i can help you find¡­ what you want.¡±


    the female knight slowly lowered her hand and lifted her visor. she asked curiously, ¡°what do you know?¡±


    ¡°i know a lot,¡± bai xiaowen said. ¡°for example, you are gloria, a royal knight of the lionheart empire. you came here to retrieve the lost soul stone of the north county monastery¡­¡±


    though bai xiaowen was not 100% sure that the female knight was gloria as described in the log, he was at least 80% to 90% sure. as he looked at the female knight¡¯s reaction, he said some of the contents in margaux¡¯s log. seeing the female knight nod slightly, the suspicion on his face gradually disappeared.


    ¡°do you know where falca is?¡± the suspicion on gloria¡¯s face suddenly turned into wariness. ¡°are you in cahoots with them?¡±


    bai xiaowen chuckled bitterly. ¡°oh please, i¡¯m so weak. do you think that i pose a threat to you?¡±


    gloria sized up bai xiaowen and nodded slightly, acknowledging his harmlessness.


    following that, she asked, ¡°you have a way to find the soul stone?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m 80% sure that i can find falca,¡± bai xiaowen said. ¡°i can go with you, but you have to open the barrier at the entrance and let my teacher and classmates go.¡±


    gloria nodded happily. ¡°i have no intention of committing too many murders. if you can help me get the soul stone, i will leave immediately.¡±


    bai xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief. it was not difficult to communicate with this female royal knight named gloria, so most of his nervousness was dispelled.


    ¡°bai xiaowen, what are you saying to this person? can she understand you?¡± xiao jinsheng asked softly.


    bai xiaowen smiled. ¡°mr. xiao, i¡¯ve already convinced the other party. you¡¯re safe now. of course, the premise is that i can help her complete her mission¡­ mr. xiao, you and the other students should find a chance to slip away.¡±


    jiang wen was staring at him gratefully. the same could be said for xiao jinsheng. his expression was grateful, with a hint of worry.


    ¡°you want to go with her? no way! it¡¯s too dangerous,¡± jiang wen said worriedly.


    ¡°this is the only way. mr. xiao, lend me your sword,¡± bai xiaowen said.


    xiao jinsheng hesitated for a moment before handing over the old iron sword.


    bai xiaowen had already used insight to scan the sword¡¯s attributes.


    [rusted iron sword]


    [quality: rough]


    [equipment spot: one-handed]


    [equipment requirement: none]


    [attribute: attack power 1-3]


    [durability: 8/10]


    [description: this sword was once a classic piece of equipment made by a qualified blacksmith.]


    bai xiaowen waved that sword a few times. although the iron sword was rusty, it was still spiritual equipment with an attack power of 1 to 3.


    in comparison, bai xiaowen¡¯s machete looked pretty good, but it did not have any attack power, durability, or other attributes. this was the difference between spiritual equipment and machine-made mass-produced weapons.


    when gloria saw the iron sword in bai xiaowen¡¯s hand, there was a questioning look in her eyes. bai xiaowen quickly explained, ¡°there are too many rats in the cave. i¡¯m taking this to protect myself.¡±


    gloria was obviously not interested in the scrap metal in bai xiaowen¡¯s hands. to her, bai xiaowen¡¯s combat power could be disregarded. even if he had such rough-quality equipment with him, there was not much difference. it was like comparing 0.1 and 0.11.


    gloria snorted softly. ¡°no one can touch a finger of yours if you follow me.¡± she suddenly pulled out the rapier at her waist and threw it out! forty meters away, a zombie rat was struck and sent flying four or five meters away. with a thud, it was nailed to the rock wall. the rapier¡¯s hilt was still trembling slightly.


    the threat was obvious. she was indirectly warning him not to try anything funny.


    bai xiaowen was clear about that. he lowered his head and walked forward. earlier, he secretly used his insight to observe gloria¡¯s strength, but he found nothing. other than her name, all additional information on her was empty. there was only a string of question marks!


    bai xiaowen speculated that this should be due to their massive difference in strength. gloria¡¯s strength was much more powerful than ordinary awakened.


    gloria followed closely behind. seeing their figures disappear, jiang wen and xiao jinsheng heaved a sigh of relief, but they were also secretly worried.


    behind the corner, zhou yi and wu xiaoyan watched the scene with their mouths agape.


    ¡°this guy was actually able to persuade that female knight to leave? what exactly did he say?¡± zhou yi inwardly rejoiced, but he was also a little angry. ¡°hmph, he goes around scamming everyone with that pretty face of his! it¡¯s best if that female knight stabs him to death!¡±


    wu xiaoyan whispered, ¡°but bai xiaowen saved us, after all¡­¡±


    ¡°what nonsense! do i need him to save me?¡± zhou yi almost jumped up in anger. ¡°i kept myself hidden very well, why would i need him to save me?¡±


    wu xiaoyan kept her mouth shut as she watched bai xiaowen disappear into the distance. for some reason, she felt uneasy, as if she had missed out on hundreds of millions of yuan.

 Chapter 21

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    bai xiaowen and gloria walked in the tunnel one after another. the zombie rats they encountered along the way were all killed effortlessly by gloria.


    bai xiaowen felt a little regretful. these rats were all top-grade sandbags for training his proficiency. however, he knew that he had no room to bargain and could only walk with his head lowered.


    ¡°we have reached.¡±


    bai xiaowen stood at the entrance of a basement and said.


    ¡°this is the room where you guys were hiding in the beginning, right?¡± gloria said doubtfully. ¡°i¡¯ve already searched the room. there¡¯s nothing except the body of a servant. falca isn¡¯t here either.¡±


    bai xiaowen turned on the searchlight and walked into the basement again.


    ¡°of course, falca isn¡¯t in this basement. that¡¯s because he¡¯s hiding in a more hidden chamber that is only a wall away from this basement! am i right, lord falca, the former chief royal alchemist of the lionheart empire?¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s raised voice reverberated in the basement. although he was not familiar with old latin and his tone was a little strange, the meaning was clear.


    bai xiaowen could even feel that his ancient latin was improving rapidly in just ten minutes. was this a benefit of having a super brain?


    gloria frowned and looked at the empty basement. just as she was about to ask bai xiaowen, she suddenly heard a muffled roar!


    a wall in the basement cracked open without warning, and a stone door slowly opened. then, a skinny black shadow slowly walked out of the stone door.


    this skinny black shadow had messy hair, and his black robe was already covered in stains, giving off an unbearable stench. the man with disheveled hair had cold and sharp eyes, making one shudder in fear.


    ¡°how did you know that i was in the hidden chamber?¡± he asked.


    it was evident this man was falca. his speech was slow but powerful, and he did not look like he had gone crazy at all.


    ¡°logically speaking, you and mr. margaux are master and servant, and you¡¯re also friends who fled together. you can be considered to be from the same hometown on earth. in this dark cave, if the two of you were to dig a basement to live in, you would most likely stay close to one another so you¡¯ll be able to find comfort in each other. it¡¯s only right that your residences are very close.¡±


    ¡°your feelings for mr. margaux are quite contradictory. he had betrayed you, so he had it coming. however, after his death, you¡¯ll be truly alone. therefore, you left his corpse in his room next door and even restrained these crazy rats from devouring and destroying it. your feelings are very deep for him. therefore, i felt even more certain that you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°from a security point of view, mr. margaux needs to keep watch for you. that¡¯s why when you are digging the rooms, you will make sure that his room is set next to the hidden chamber where you will be performing the ritual. in conclusion, it was a mere deduce of mine that your secret chamber is near margaux¡¯s room. i didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d come out after i played a small trick. i originally thought that i would have to spend some effort to find the switch or something¡­¡±


    ¡°margaux¡­ that lowly servant. that¡¯s right, he betrayed me! that¡¯s why i killed him!¡± falca snarled.


    there seemed to be confusion and confusion in falca¡¯s cold and sharp eyes. then, he roared in a low voice, ¡°anyone who betrays me deserves to die! margaux, gloria, that insidious tolkien, as well as tyburn iii¡ªthat ruler who failed to recognize my talent¡ªmust all die!¡±


    seeing that falca was about to go berserk, bai xiaowen quickly hid behind gloria and secretly cast insight.


    in the end, bai xiaowen saw a string of question marks. other than the name, there was no way to know how high his attributes were! it was exactly the same situation as gloria earlier!


    bai xiaowen thought to himself.


    ¡°good lord, did falca¡¯s ritual succeed? if that¡¯s the case, gloria¡ªwho is so powerful that she forced him to wander the streets like a stray dog¡ªwould not have victory within her grasp¡­ that¡¯s good, mr. falca. i¡¯m not afraid of your increase in strength, but i¡¯m afraid that you¡¯re too weak!¡±


    gloria took a step forward and pulled out a large sword from under her cloak!


    ¡°traitor falca! i, gloria, the leader of the honorable knights, have been ordered by his majesty to kill you on sight and retrieve the soul stone! accept your due punishment!¡±


    after shouting her grand lines, gloria took a step forward and slashed heavily!


    falca said sinisterly, ¡°gloria, currently, i have already obtained the power of the soul stone. i¡¯m way different from before!¡± he flung out a whip that emitted crackling sounds and thin tendrils of lightning from it. with that, he began to meet her attack head-on.


    the two powerful, question mark-level bosses fought fiercely. however, bai xiaowen was not in the mood to watch their battle. he shuffled in small steps along the edge of the basement and sneaked into the entrance of the hidden chamber behind falca.


    gloria ignored him. her target was falca, not a small fry like bai xiaowen. it did not matter what kind of strange actions he did. falca, on the other hand, roared continuously. he wanted to rush back, but he was blocked by gloria¡¯s heavy sword and could not escape.


    seeing falca¡¯s reaction, bai xiaowen was even more certain.


    ¡°that¡¯s right! that soul stone must not be on falca but in his hidden chamber!¡±


    falca smashed through the wall in an imposing manner. it was obvious that his strength had increased greatly so he was bursting with self-confidence. falca jumped out and faced gloria head-on. the tattered robe that he wore did not even have a pocket, so how could the soul stone be on him? even if he had a pocket, it might be shattered in an intense battle.


    therefore, bai xiaowen guessed that the soul stone must have been placed in the hidden chamber. falca¡¯s craziness and anxiousness confirmed this point.


    that soul stone was definitely an extremely valuable spiritual treasure. how could bai xiaowen not be tempted? he took the initiative to bring gloria to falca because he wanted to reap the benefits while the two powerful figures were fighting.


    of course, this required him to act according to the situation.


    if falca¡¯s strength was too weak, the outcome of the battle would be decided very quickly, and they would not be able to enter a stalemate. but now, gloria and falca were in a deadlock, and she could not free up her hands. it could be said that this was bai xiaowen¡¯s best chance to obtain the soul stone! of course, he would not let this chance pass him by.


    oil lamps hung on the walls of the dark hidden chamber, but it was pretty hard to see what the inside of the hidden chamber looked like.


    ¡°where is the soul stone?¡± bai xiaowen thought.


    he scanned every corner of the dark chamber. he tapped everywhere and listened carefully. suddenly, his eyes lit up as he found an inconspicuous switch in the innermost corner.


    bai xiaowen turned the switch and a narrow tunnel that was only one meter wide and as tall as a person appeared. bai xiaowen shone a searchlight into the tunnel. it was pitch-black inside, and there were only two spots of green light. they were glowing so brightly that one¡¯s heart would pound in fear at the sight of it.


    bai xiaowen suddenly remembered something and quickly turned to run.


    the sound of a gust of wind was heard as a powerful force struck bai xiaowen from behind. bai xiaowen¡¯s body was sent tumbling several times, and he looked extremely disheveled.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s waist was almost broken from the impact. he grunted at the pain. enduring the pain, he rolled onto the ground. this wise move saved his life. just as he rolled away, a black shadow pounced on his original position, sending stone chips flying!


    it was an adult-sized zombie rat!

 Chapter 22

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    ¡°f*ck¡­¡±


    bai xiaowen took a deep breath. he felt a pang of regret. he recalled a portion that he had read from margaux¡¯s diary.


    ¡°after some effort, master captured the leader of the plague rats¡­¡±


    bai xiaowen thought, ¡°i knew that falca captured the plague rat leader, and there was a high probability that he transformed it into a stronger zombie rat, but i ignored it! greed indeed makes a smart person a fool.¡±


    he gritted his teeth as he forced himself up. then, he used insight.


    [blacktooth (elite creature)]


    [race: spectre/corpse demon]


    [attributes: strength 4.5, agility 10.4, physique 5.1, spirit 2.7]


    [skill 1: plague claw: omitted]


    [skill 2: stiffened skin: omitted]


    [skill 3: infectious bite: ???]


    bai xiaowen felt a wave of dizziness hit him. this elite zombie rat¡ªblacktooth¡ªwas terrifyingly strong, comparable to an awakened!


    though its strength and physique were relatively low, it still exceeded the ordinary standards of zombie rats. it was definitely stronger than bai xiaowen. as for agility, what did having an agility of 10.4 mean? it meant that blacktooth was so powerful that even awakened beginners were inferior to it!


    not to mention that there was also an unexplored skill called infectious bite!


    bai xiaowen gritted his teeth and stood up. he gripped his rusty iron sword tightly. just by looking at his 10 points of agility, he knew that he could not escape. the odds were against him. if he wanted to live, he had to fight to the death.


    after blacktooth missed, it paused and arched its body to accumulate strength. then, it pounced forward like a gust of wind!


    although bai xiaowen was mentally prepared, his reaction was slower than blacktooth, and he could not keep up with its pace. bai xiaowen was pressed against the wall by the elite zombie rat! then, blacktooth bit down hard on bai xiaowen¡¯s neck.


    fortunately, bai xiaowen was not weak. he struggled and moved away a little. there was a loud cracking sound as the rat bit down on his shoulder, sending a sharp pain vibrating through his bones.


    bai xiaowen screamed in pain. he pushed blacktooth away and stumbled toward the secret passage. his left arm hung limply. clearly, that rat¡¯s bite had broken his bone!


    ¡°is this the ¡®infectious bite¡¯ skill?¡± bai xiaowen¡¯s wound was numb. it was obvious that the wound had become infected. the infection could be seen rapidly spreading from its origin, and he had a total loss of feeling on one side of his body. meanwhile, blacktooth was still chasing after him relentlessly. it leaped over bai xiaowen¡¯s head and blocked the entrance of the tunnel!


    bai xiaowen did not know if it was an illusion, but he could sense a hint of mockery in the zombie rat¡¯s black eyes. this monster had a 2.7 spirit, while ordinary zombie rats only had a 0.2 spirit. it even had some intelligence and did not forget to play with its prey before killing it.


    ¡°f*ck you!¡±


    bai xiaowen roared and gulped down a bottle of potion. this was the combat potion he had prepared¡ªbrutal bull¡¯s strength!


    bai xiaowen felt as if his heart had been set on fire, and an astonishing amount of energy surged through his body. bai xiaowen¡¯s strength temporarily increased by close to 6 points! instantly, his total strength had exceeded 10 points!


    bai xiaowen was like a mad bull as he slammed his shoulder into blacktooth. blacktooth was caught off guard and crashed into the narrow tunnel!


    this narrow tunnel was only as tall as a person and less than a meter wide. it could only allow one person to pass through.


    in other words, blacktooth¡¯s agility of 10.4 points would be reduced by more than half! bai xiaowen¡¯s strength, which had been temporarily enhanced to more than 10 points, gave him an overwhelming advantage in this battle!


    this was the opportunity that bai xiaowen had been waiting for to turn the tables on blacktooth.


    bai xiaowen crouched down and blocked blacktooth with all his might. he raised his rusty iron sword and swung it wildly in every direction.


    his sword sank into blacktooth¡¯s flesh, and black blood splattered.


    after a round of vicious chopping, the elite zombie rat blacktooth had already turned into a pile of meat paste. it was almost impossible to tell that it was a rat¡¯s corpse. having more than 10 points of strength, even blacktooth¡¯s hardened skin could not withstand this kind of kitchen knife-like chopping.


    bai xiaowen panted heavily and put away his rusty iron sword. fortunately, he had gotten this sword from his form teacher, xiao jinsheng. otherwise, he might not have been able to kill this elite zombie rat.


    a notification came.


    ¡°the battle is over. strength: 10, precision: 2, continuity: 4, evaluation: outstanding.¡±


    ¡°you killed elite zombie rat: blacktooth.¡±


    ¡°your proficiency in basic machinery (single-handed sword) has increased.¡±


    ¡°basic machinery (single-handed sword) has been upgraded to level 4!¡±


    suddenly, a faint white light shot out from the elite zombie rat blacktooth¡¯s corpse. then, the white light gathered and condensed into a slightly illusory small treasure chest.


    ¡°this is¡­ a loot treasure chest?¡±


    bai xiaowen was taken aback. after killing powerful monsters, spoils of war¡ªtreasure chests¡ªwould appear. bai xiaowen was no stranger to this. there were many awakened who live-streamed their adventures in the spiritual realm, and such treasure chests had appeared before.


    bai xiaowen did not expect that a treasure chest would drop after killing that zombie rat. however, it was not strange when he thought about how the zombie rat¡¯s strength was comparable to a beginner awakened.


    bai xiaowen placed his hand on the treasure chest and mentally ordered it to open.


    a notification came.


    ¡°elite zombie rat: blacktooth¡¯s treasure chest is about to open. calculating rewards¡­¡±


    ¡°the strength ratio of the enemy and you is 2.378:1.¡±


    ¡°battle score: a (outstanding). you have three chances to draw spoils of war cards, and you won¡¯t draw blank cards.¡±


    the treasure chest disappeared, and six silver ¡°trophy cards¡± appeared in front of bai xiaowen.


    ¡°i¡¯ve actually gotten an a-rank battle score!¡± bai xiaowen was elated.


    battle scores were used to measure the overall score of an awakened battle. it was usually determined by the ratio of strength between the person and his opponent. the higher the score, the more opportunities he had to draw spoils.


    for example, the six spoils of war cards in front of him represented all the six possible items that the elite zombie rat blacktooth could drop.


    bai xiaowen, who had an a-rank score, could draw three times. if it was a b-rank, he could only draw twice. he could only draw once for c-rank and below.


    if it was an s-rank (perfect) score, it would be terrifying. he could draw five times! he could see all the triumph cards that blacktooth had hidden in its underpants if it wore underpants.


    however, s-rank scores were just a legend. in fact, it was very difficult to score in a-rank battles as that meant that the difference in strength between both parties was huge!


    for example, this elite zombie rat was comparable to a primary awakened in all aspects and was more than twice as strong as bai xiaowen. if bai xiaowen had not knocked it into the narrow tunnel, he would definitely have died.


    the back of the six spoils of war cards flashed with silver light. every card was very tempting.


    bai xiaowen did not think too much about it. he could not use logic to judge such draws which were usually left up to luck. he reached out and tapped on the three cards in the middle.


    the three cards that bai xiaowen had not chosen turned into spiritual particles and dissipated. the remaining three cards were flipped over.


    the first card had a drawing of a dagger, the second card had a drawing of a cape, and the third card had a drawing of a small test tube containing a black liquid.


    bai xiaowen was overjoyed when he saw the blue text below the dagger. a blue weapon meant that it was an elite grade weapon! just this elite grade weapon alone ensured that he would profit greatly from this drawing of cards.


    spiritual equipment could be roughly divided into four levels according to its quality. it could be easily distinguished by the color of the equipment name. these four levels were: normal (white), elite (blue), hero (gold), and lord (dark gold).


    as for the crude (gray) inferior equipment, no awakened would take a fancy to it at all. it was trash that only ordinary people would consider as treasure.


    there was even rarer and higher-quality equipment above dark gold equipment, but that was beyond bai xiaowen¡¯s understanding.


    bai xiaowen retracted his thoughts and checked the notification.


    ¡°you have obtained a weapon: fang dagger.¡±


    ¡°you have obtained equipment: dirty cloak.¡±


    ¡°you have obtained an item: rotten blood.¡±


    the attributes of the fang dagger were as follows:


    [fang dagger (bind on pickup)]


    [quality: elite (blue)]


    [equipment spot: one-handed]


    [equipment requirement: agility 4 points]


    [attributes: attack power 3-8; agility +1]


    [durability: 31/35]


    [description: this is a small and powerful bloodletting tool.]


    the last piece of equipment was of white quality.


    [dirty cloak (bind on pickup)]


    [quality: normal (white)]


    [equipment spot: back]


    [equipment requirement: none]


    [attributes: armor +2; evasion rate increased by 3% (common attributes of all cloak equipment)]


    [durability: 18/20]


    [description: when you wear it, it¡¯s best not to think about the fact that it was stripped from a rat.]


    ¡°as expected of an elite-grade dagger! it¡¯s much stronger than mr. xiao¡¯s iron sword! the additional attack power has increased by three times, and the speed of the dagger is much faster than a single-handed sword! not to mention the precious attribute of +1 agility,¡± bai xiaowen thought.


    the other cloak was not bad. it did not have any additional attributes, but it could increase the wearer¡¯s resistance to attacks by 2 points of defense and 3% of dodging. one could not expect too much from it as it was only white-quality equipment, after all.


    unfortunately, these two pieces of equipment were ¡°bound on pickup¡± and could not be traded with others. of course, based on bai xiaowen¡¯s understanding, most pieces of equipment had this kind of ¡°bind on pickup¡± characteristic.


    if he could obtain equipment with good attributes that could be ¡°bind on equipped¡±, he would be able to make a small fortune. there were countless quasi-awakened who would not hesitate to sell everything they owned to buy equipment that would allow them to easily pass the spiritual realm test.


    the most amazing equipment was those types of equipment that had no binding restrictions. those equipments could be treated as family heirlooms and passed down from generation to generation.


    bai xiaowen looked at the item on the third card. this bottle of rotten blood was a bottle of black blood that was in a semi-congealed state. its potion grade was grade 1 level 3. when applied to a weapon, the user¡¯s attack would carry a corrosive toxin that reduced the enemy¡¯s combat ability.


    bai xiaowen wore dirty cloak. however, when he equipped fang dagger, he received a notification that the +1 agility bonus was not effective. the reason was that bai xiaowen was not an awakened yet.


    despite that, bai xiaowen did not feel too dejected. even if the attribute bonus did not take effect, the fang dagger¡¯s attack speed and attack power were still very powerful.


    bai xiaowen put the rotten blood into his tactical backpack and was about to leave when he suddenly saw a dim light under blacktooth¡¯s corpse. it disappeared in a flash.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes widened in shock. he crouched down and pulled out a translucent gray bead that was emitting a dim glow.

 Chapter 23

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    in the tunnel of the hidden chamber.


    bai xiaowen picked up the gray bead.


    notification: ¡°you have obtained an unknown soul stone. this item will definitely drop. it is not included in the list of spoils of war.¡±


    ¡°soul stone! it¡¯s actually in the stomach of this elite zombie rat. i really didn¡¯t expect it!¡± bai xiaowen exclaimed.


    he was pleasantly surprised. no wonder he could not find the soul stone in the hidden chamber.


    bai xiaowen tried to check the attributes of the soul stone, but all he got was a string of notifications.


    ¡°the soul stone has been sealed by a powerful force.¡±


    ¡°the energy of the soul stone has been exhausted.¡±


    ¡°please remove the seal and charge it before checking its attributes.¡±


    needless to say, the energy of the soul stone had been absorbed by falca.


    bai xiaowen had rejoiced too soon. he sighed as he put away the soul stone. suddenly, a dim light flashed across the surface of the soul stone, and a weak singing voice seemed to echo in bai xiaowen¡¯s ears.


    ¡°oh?¡±


    bai xiaowen picked up the soul stone again and examined it closely.


    the singing voice was indistinct, but the melody had an indescribable beauty that made one want to listen carefully.


    all of a sudden, there was a loud boom, and the tune ended. terrifying wails of vengeful spirits and vengeful ghosts rose and fell, attacking bai xiaowen¡¯s mind!


    ¡°damn it, it really is an ¡®evil¡¯ soul stone!¡± bai xiaowen cursed.


    thankfully, he had been mentally prepared. otherwise, he would have been caught off guard by the sudden change in the beautiful and terrifying voice.


    the wailing continued, and an illusory image of a banshee appeared on the surface of the soul stone. her pale lips opened and closed, and she let out a banshee howl. her red eyes stared intently into bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes as she tried to erode his spirit step by step.


    however, bai xiaowen¡¯s spirit was as high as 7.9, which was even higher than ordinary awakened! this meant that bai xiaowen¡¯s resistance to spirit-type attacks had exceeded the banshee¡¯s expectations. more importantly, the energy of the soul stone had been exhausted, so the power of the banshee¡¯s howl had been greatly reduced.


    a red light flashed in bai xiaowen¡¯s left eye, and his normal eye suddenly turned into a blood-red eyeball!


    the blood-colored eyeball was filled with a majestic aura as it stared at the banshee illusion on the surface of the soul stone impassively.


    ¡°no!¡±


    the banshee let out a sharp cry and suddenly retreated into the soul stone. her vitality had already been greatly damaged.


    at the same time, falca¡ªwho was fighting fiercely¡ªlet out a miserable roar. his originally agile steps became much slower, and his attacks were not as fierce as before.


    gloria, the female royal knight who had been through hundreds of battles, would naturally grab hold of this opportunity. she stepped forward with her left foot and swung her twohanded sword with ease, cutting a gorgeous arc through the air.


    this was her combat skill called sword arc slash!


    there was a horrible gurgling noise.


    blood spurted from falca¡¯s chest. the fight drained most of his energy, and he was already exhausted. gloria had dealt him such a heavy blow that he sustained a serious injury. if gloria had not wanted to capture him alive and interrogate him about the whereabouts of the soul stone, that move earlier would have been enough to kill falca.


    falca was breathing heavily, his chest heaving. the madness in falca¡¯s eyes gradually disappeared. he looked in the direction of the hidden chamber begrudgingly.


    ¡°hand over the soul stone!¡± gloria shouted sternly.


    falca smirked. ¡°gloria, the soul stone is not with me.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re lying!¡± gloria pointed the tip of her sword at falca¡¯s throat.


    ¡°i¡¯m not lying,¡± falca said laboriously. ¡°i suggest you go to my lab and find your partner¡­ hehe, if you¡¯re even a second late, he¡¯ll take the soul stone away.¡±


    gloria snorted. she grabbed falca¡¯s collar with her left hand, which had spiked gauntlets covering her fists, and walked straight into the hidden chamber.


    in falca¡¯s hidden chamber.


    bai xiaowen shook his head. the blood-red eyeball vanished, and his left eye returned to normal. when the blood-red eyeball appeared just now, his thoughts seemed to have stagnated. he did not know what had happened, nor did he understand why the banshee had retreated. bai xiaowen could only attribute it to the banshee¡¯s lack of energy.


    he thought, ¡°phew¡­ in margaux¡¯s journal, he kept saying that this is an evil soul stone. he was indeed telling the truth. fortunately, i immediately got my guard up when the song started.¡±


    prompt information:


    ¡°you have passed the spirit test of the soul stone and obtained a reward.¡±


    ¡°your basic spirit has increased by 2 points.¡±


    a simple notification caused bai xiaowen¡¯s expression to change drastically.


    the reason was simple. bai xiaowen¡¯s total attributes had already reached 18.7. now that it had increased by 2 points, his total attributes had reached 20.7!


    the next second, another notification came.


    ¡°your basic attributes are strength 4.5, agility 4.2, physique 2.1, spirit 9.9, total attributes 20.7. you have reached the awakened threshold.¡±


    ¡°your basic attributes have been locked. you can¡¯t raise them again before the awakened test.¡±


    ¡°please enter the spiritual realm within a week of earth time and undergo the awakened test. if you fail to do that, you¡¯ll be deemed to have failed the test. the difficulty of the next test will increase by 50%.¡±


    bai xiaowen composed himself and sighed inwardly.


    ¡°i originally wanted to allocate the last two attribute points to physique¡­ if it really doesn¡¯t work, strength and agility will do too! but it just had to be added to my spirit¡­ my spirit is already close to 10 points. when i first enter the spiritual realm without any skills, its effect is far less than strength, agility, and physique!¡± he complained inwardly.


    strength increased physical damage dealt to enemies. his punches and kicks would be full of power.


    agility would increase one¡¯s attack speed and movement speed. that was also useful. just by looking at the elite zombie rat, which had a 10.4 agility and could attack bai xiaowen to the point where he could barely fight back, one could see how terrifyingly agile it was.


    after entering the spiritual realm, one¡¯s physique would be ¡°completely digitized¡±. it would become the basic attribute that determined one¡¯s ¡°health¡±! hence, the higher one¡¯s physique attribute was, the higher one¡¯s health points (hp) would be. that was used to denote the life level of all creatures. when a person¡¯s health fell to zero or below, his life would have come to an end.


    therefore, a high physique could increase the margin of error. it was a crucial attribute for all those who underwent the awakened test.


    as for spirit¡­ it determined the power of spells and his recovery speed. the question was, did bai xiaowen have any active skills? no! that meant that his 9.9 spirit was practically useless!


    in other words, bai xiaowen¡¯s ¡°effective combat attribute¡± was only 10.8, which was about half of the other quasi-awakened. it was obvious how challenging the awakened test would be for him, especially with such a high elimination rate.


    bai xiaowen took a deep breath and shook his head.


    ¡°i won¡¯t think too much about it first. there¡¯s always a way out. i¡¯ll think of a way to pass the awakened test after i enter the spiritual realm. now, gloria or falca should be coming soon. i¡¯d better retreat first.¡±


    of course, bai xiaowen would not go back the way he came. if he did that, he would only face gloria head-on. he followed this tunnel and walked even deeper.


    indeed, bai xiaowen firmly believed that the other end of the tunnel would lead to the outside world.


    this was not a blind guess, but a conclusion deduced from known information.


    margaux¡¯s journal described that they had sealed the entrance to the cave with stones and lived in it for a long time. they could not have been hiding in the rat hole all this time, could they?


    putting aside the fact that they had to eat and drink, if they had to relieve themselves, they had to find a place with clear mountains, clear water, and air circulation to avoid polluting the air in the basement that they had painstakingly dug.


    therefore, there must be another hidden exit that only the master and servant knew about.


    according to the universal law¡ªwhen in danger, the leader would retreat first¡ªit could be determined that the tunnel leading to the outside world was in falca¡¯s hidden chamber, which was the tunnel where elite zombie rat blacktooth was hiding.


    ¡°stop right there!¡± the female knight¡¯s shout came faintly from the entrance of the tunnel.


    ¡°it seems that the royal knights are indeed much more skilled. falca, you¡¯re such a noob and so lousy at battling!¡± bai xiaowen muttered.


    falca was so lousy at fighting, yet he was so overconfident in his abilities.


    bai xiaowen cursed silently. if falca was the victor, it would be more advantageous for bai xiaowen. after all, bai xiaowen was holding onto the soul stone, which was a weakness and an achilles heel for falca. moreover, he knew falca better than gloria did.


    after bai xiaowen checked and confirmed that he could enter the spiritual realm at any time, he became much calmer.


    behind a low bush, bai xiaowen pushed open the stone cover that was covered by weeds and crawled out of the tunnel. he was in no hurry to leave. instead, he stood dozens of meters away and waited.


    boom!


    half a minute later, the female royal knight¡ªgloria¡ªappeared. her angry attack sent the stone slab flying ten meters high, exploding into countless rocks in the air.


    ¡°what a grand entrance,¡± bai xiaowen commented and pursed his lips.


    ¡°hand over the soul stone¡­ this is your last chance!¡± gloria warned. she dragged falca¡ªwho was looking very much like he was on the brink of death¡ªwith her left hand, while she pointed the sword at bai xiaowen with her right hand.


    they were about 30 meters apart. for the powerful female royal knight, she could easily catch up to bai xiaowen in a few breaths.


    although gloria was a little angry, she was not nervous. the difference in their strength was obvious. looking at the endless wilderness that surrounded them, she knew that it was impossible for the cunning earthling to escape.


    ¡°let me ask you a question.¡± bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes scanned her bosom which was covered by the impenetrable steel armor. ¡°miss gloria, is your chest at least a c-cup?¡± he asked.


    even though gloria did not understand the word ¡°cup¡±, she could still tell that bai xiaowen was taking liberties with her. with a cold face, she stabbed the huge sword into the ground with one hand and pulled out a thin rapier from her waist.


    ¡°go to hell!¡± she roared.


    a stream of light shot out.


    there was a faint smile on bai xiaowen¡¯s face, but his body glowed and turned into specks of light that dissipated. the stream of light charged toward bai xiaowen, but it only passed through the phantom image or an illusion of him.


    bai xiaowen took one last look at the plague rat cave.


    ¡°mr. xiao, jiang wen¡­ i¡¯ve tried my best to stall for time as long as it¡¯s within my capabilities. you are on your own now. good luck,¡± he murmured.


    gloria¡¯s angry and indignant roar echoed in the empty field.


    ¡°despicable earthling, i swear on the glory of the royal knights that even if i have to chase you to the ends of the earth, i will make sure that you are brought to justice for what you¡¯ve done!¡±

 Chapter 24

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    the moment he chose to enter the spiritual realm, an indescribable feeling arose in bai xiaowen¡¯s heart. it was as if everything around him had stopped moving.


    in the silence, an emotionless notification sounded:


    ¡°matching plane dimension¡­ matching successful!¡±


    ¡°character data scanned. entering the plane dimension¡­¡±


    ¡°emperor tyburn, who unified the entire aaron continent, has been in deep slumber for more than 300 years¡­¡±


    ¡°the lionheart empire is on a decline amidst serious internal or external threats¡­¡±


    ¡°the country has been torn apart by the war with the high elves¡­¡±


    ¡°the resistance of the vikings in the north consumes the empire¡¯s vitality¡­¡±


    ¡°the resurrection of the dragon has sounded the horn of destruction!¡±


    ¡°the warriors of the kings have returned at the end of the era¡­¡±


    bai xiaowen woke up in the cold wind. he realized that he was sleeping in a small wooden house with wind leaking out on three sides. through the gaps in the wooden house, he could vaguely see the white snow outside.


    ¡°aaron world? lionheart empire? it can¡¯t be that coincidental¡­ i actually crashed into the aaron world?¡± he said in disbelief.


    bai xiaowen flipped over and got up. he suddenly realized that the bone in his left arm which had been broken by the elite zombie rat blacktooth¡¯s bite, had completely healed. there was not even a scar left.


    when entering and exiting the spiritual realm, one¡¯s body would be completely repaired by spiritual particles and return to its optimal state. this had already been confirmed by many awakened streamers.


    a series of notifications appeared in bai xiaowen¡¯s mind.


    ¡°welcome to the aaron dimension. you¡¯re here to carry out the test mission for the awakened class advancement.¡±


    ¡°during the mission, your body will be completely digitized. if you fail the mission, your body will return to normal.¡±


    ¡°your basic attributes have been optimized. current attribute values are strength 5, agility 5, physique 2, spirit 10.¡±


    ¡°your health points and attack and defense abilities have been digitized. the temporary spatial storage has been activated. please open your personal interface to take a look.¡±


    bai xiaowen activated his personal interface.


    the personal attributes of an awakened were only rounded. after decimal points, their attributes would be rounded up. this was the so-called ¡°optimization.¡± the result of optimization was a good thing for bai xiaowen. his original 4.5 strength and agility had become 5 points, which was equivalent to adding 1 combat attribute point out of thin air!


    of course, his physique had decreased from 2.1 to 2 points. that was a small loss, but it was not a major issue.


    bai xiaowen had 20 health points, which meant that his physique was multiplied by 10. his basic defense was also only 2 points, which was the same as his physique attribute.


    the importance of the physique attribute was reflected here. raising one¡¯s physique could increase one¡¯s survivability.


    however, with ¡°dirty cloak¡± on his back, bai xiaowen¡¯s back defense increased by 2 points and his dodging ability increased by 3%. this gave bai xiaowen¡¯s fragile body some protection.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s attack power was not bad. 5 points of strength gave him 5 points of basic attack power. coupled with the 3-8 attack power of the fang dagger, he had a total attack power of 8-13.


    bai xiaowen quickly assessed his combat ability and sighed to himself.


    if there was an opponent with similar attack power as bai xiaowen, he would only need two to three strikes to kill bai xiaowen. moreover, it was a ¡°non-vital¡± attack. if there was a critical hit¡­ he would be dead and pushed out of the spiritual realm.


    in addition, bai xiaowen¡¯s combat and machinery skills were very mediocre. he was at basic combat level 3 and basic machinery level 4, while the other quasi-awakened had already trained to the maximum level long ago.


    bai xiaowen also tried to open the temporary spatial storage. it was about one cubic meter in size, and he could adjust its length, width, and height at will. however, the storage space would not change. right now, there was only a gray soul stone, a rusty iron sword, and a bottle of rotten blood in the storage space. it looked very empty.


    bai xiaowen closed his interface.


    the notification continued to come:


    ¡°mission system activated.¡±


    ¡°based on your attributes (spirit specialty), the class advancement quest has been generated.¡±


    ¡°class advancement quest 1 (optional): join the northern territory mage academy and learn any spell specialization. difficulty: b.¡±


    ¡°class advancement quest 2 (optional): enter lord barov¡¯s residence in walterlund city, come into contact with chief mage seren, and learn the dragon language, draconic. mission difficulty: a-.¡±


    ¡°class advancement quest 3 (optional): unlock the seal of the soul stone and inject energy into it. mission difficulty: s-.¡±


    bai xiaowen stared at the notification and fell into deep thought.


    ¡°i can¡¯t believe that the spiritual realm test is actually a multiple-choice question, and i¡¯m allowed to choose one out of three. these three quests represent three different classes.¡±


    classes determined how much an awakened¡¯s attributes would increase every time they leveled up. hence, it was very important.


    according to the potential, classes could be divided into standard, elite, and hero.


    standard classes were also called normal classes. their stat growth was average. these awakened could deal with ordinary monsters of the same level, but if they encountered elite monsters, it would be a bitter battle. their prospects for survival were uncertain at best. the number of awakened with standard classes was also the highest.


    the overall attribute growth of an elite class was about 50% higher than that of a standard class. an awakened who had changed their class to an elite one would be a core member of any large guild. if they dealt with it carefully, they had a high chance of winning against an elite monster alone.


    as for the hero class, as the name suggested, those who could successfully change their class to that were all hero-level figures. they were powerful enough to become the core of a large guild! the awakened who had hero class were the main force fighting against the commander-level monsters.


    an awakened team that was crusading against commander-level monsters had to be led by an awakened who had a hero class and who was also a ¡°tank-type¡±. otherwise, they would not be able to form a team at all. after all, no one was willing to die in vain.


    bai xiaowen had three class advancement quests in front of him. the first one had a b-level difficulty. he had to join the northern mage academy and learn any specialization there. according to bai xiaowen¡¯s understanding, the class that one obtained after completing this quest was probably the most common and standard class ¨C mages.


    the second quest¡¯s difficulty was a-. there were two main difficulties.


    first of all, it was easier said than done for a commoner to enter the walterlund lord¡¯s residence. furthermore, learning draconic was not something that could be done in a short period of time. one had to be capable enough to make up a reason for such a long stay in the residence.


    secondly, it would be even more difficult to build a good relationship with the chief mage, seren. bai xiaowen knew that it was impossible for seren to praise him as soon as he saw him and say, ¡°all right! i can tell that you¡¯re a man destined for great things! i¡¯ll leave the responsibility of saving the world to you¡­¡±


    if he wanted to learn draconic, he had to give gifts. it was unrealistic to expect that a poor commoner would be able to offer a gift that tempted the chief mage, seren. moreover, he did not know seren¡¯s character. if he got cheated by seren instead, or the plan backfired on him, it would be going for wool but coming home shorn.


    of course, the class allocated for such a difficult quest would be good. at the very least, it would be an elite class that leaned toward elite mages who could cast spells with draconic.

 Chapter 25

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    the third quest seemed ordinary. it seemed like all he had to do was undo the seal on the soul stone and inject energy into it. however, it had an s- difficulty rating!


    who set up the seal on the soul stone?


    it was the lionheart empire¡¯s chief royal alchemist, falca.


    bai xiaowen recalled margaux¡¯s diary and confirmed this.


    of course, the soul stone had been sealed before. the seal was set up by the nuns in the north county monastery. after falca stole the soul stone, he held a forbidden ritual in the plague rat cave to undo the original seal and absorb the energy of the soul stone before sealing it again.


    even though falca¡¯s profession was alchemy and his combat ability was weak, the seal he set was definitely not something that could be easily broken by any tom, dick, or harry. the person who could undo the seal definitely had to be as strong as falca.


    however, there was another problem. the person who could undo the seal would surely recognize that this was the lost soul stone of the north county monastery.


    if he were to report it to the north county monastery, bai xiaowen would either be greeted by a group of fanatical nuns or a woman who was in a rage. that was right, he was referring to gloria, the female royal knight. if he had known that he would come to the aaron dimension, he would not have made such an indecent and totally inappropriate remark toward her earlier. bai xiaowen sighed.


    if the other party kept the soul stone for himself, then bai xiaowen knew the fate that awaited him. he would either be thrown into the river to feed the fish or wet cement would be poured into him before he was sunk into the sea.


    besides, even if he could undo the seal, how could he inject energy into it?


    ¡°this is such a difficult quest.¡±


    bai xiaowen muttered to himself as he locked onto the third quest, hovering his finger about the word ¡°choose¡± and pressing ¡°confirmed¡±! no venture no gain. one had to take risks to achieve something. as long as he succeeded in the s- class advancement quest, he would definitely have a hero class! furthermore, this quest had appeared because he had obtained the soul stone. without the soul stone, he would not be given this option at all!


    possessing the soul stone was equivalent to him having an advantage over all other quasi-awakened! he would be a fool not to choose this option!


    of course, he might also be a fool by choosing this option.


    ¡°you have chosen the class advancement quest.¡±


    ¡°class advancement quest: black soul stone activated.¡±


    ¡°quest objective: unseal the soul stone and fill it with soul energy. time limit: 10 days. quest scope: lionheart empire¡¯s northern territory.¡±


    ¡°if you fail to complete the quest, you can return at any time when you¡¯re not in a combat state.¡±


    in bai xiaowen¡¯s field of vision, a string of numbers began to jump rapidly. it was the ten-day countdown to the end of the quest.


    although the spiritual realm was relatively dangerous, if the awakened was careful, his survival rate was still very high. if they discovered that the quest was too difficult, they could abandon the quest. as long as they were not in a combat state, they could leave the spiritual realm.


    of course, this also meant that their spiritual realm expedition was fruitless. abandoning the quest and not being able to advance would bring great losses to those quasi-awakened. even for those powerful and experienced awakened, abandoning a quest was equivalent to wasting a ¡°ticket¡± to the spiritual realm and an opportunity to increase their strength.


    therefore, unless there was no other choice, very few people were willing to give up on the quest.


    bai xiaowen pushed open the door of the wooden house. the moment he opened the door, the light from the spiritual particles circled around his body.


    ¡°your appearance has been adjusted. your language has automatically transformed into the common language of the aaron world.¡±


    ¡°please pay attention to your words. if you expose your identity as a non-aaron world native, you will have to bear the consequences.¡±


    bai xiaowen paused for a moment before replying, ¡°show me my adjusted appearance.¡± as expected, this sentence was spoken fluently in ancient latin.


    an illusory mirror appeared before bai xiaowen.


    he had blond hair and blue eyes, and his facial features were well-defined. he was a typical handsome nordic man.


    ¡°do you have to make me look so handsome? i want to be more ordinary, please?¡± bai xiaowen pleaded mentally.


    notification: ¡°every time you enter a different world, your appearance will be adjusted according to your original appearance. it won¡¯t increase or decrease, so it won¡¯t affect the awakened¡¯s charm attribute.¡±


    ¡°in other words, my original appearance was 100 points, so no matter how my looks change, it will still be 100 points?¡± bai xiaowen stroked his chin shamelessly. ¡°being too handsome is also a concern. oh right, why is there a charm attribute? i thought there were only four basic attributes.¡±


    notification: ¡°luck, charm, and will are hidden stats. they will not be displayed.¡±


    pedestrians in groups of twos and threes had already brushed past bai xiaowen. occasionally, someone would turn to glance at bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen put away his relaxed thoughts.


    ¡°the first thing i have to do is find a place where i can easily gather information on the place and figure out the current situation in the aaron world,¡± he thought.


    only by gathering enough information could bai xiaowen make use of his intelligence and analyze the most promising way to complete the quest. previously, in the plague rat cave, he managed to snatch the soul stone by pitting gloria and falca against each other. this was all because of good intelligence gathering. otherwise, with how small and weak he was, the two bosses could blow him away with one breath.


    this was a human town. where was a place with the most plentiful and vulgar gossip? needless to say, it would be a tavern. without much effort, bai xiaowen found a tavern with a banner of a wild mare.


    he pushed the door open and entered, bringing with him a cold wind as he entered.


    inside the tavern, flames danced in the fireplace, a bard played a flute, and a few drinkers sat on a row of benches beside him. the interior was as warm as spring, and it was a different world from the cold outside.


    ¡°welcome, guest from afar.¡± the tavern owner was a short and burly old man with a messy beard.


    ¡°how do you know i¡¯m not a local?¡± bai xiaowen asked.


    ¡°haha, old hunter knows everyone in elu city!¡± the tavern owner smiled proudly and pushed a glass of ale over. ¡°this will repel the cold¡ªthe first glass is free. if you want the second glass, please prepare your gold coins! hahahaha!¡±


    bai xiaowen, who was penniless, immediately took a liking to this forthright old hunter. he slowly sipped his ale as he chatted with old hunter. he obtained a lot of useful information from the other party.


    the aaron continent had been ruled by the lionheart empire for more than 300 years.


    this was the north of the aaron continent. it was a remote area and was the home of the vikings. 300 years ago, the talented and strategic founding emperor¡ªtyburn¡ªconquered the north and unified the aaron continent. however, today, the vikings are dissatisfied with the empire¡¯s rule. they organized a resistance unit and even once attacked and overtook the capital of the north, north county. moreover, they even killed the great lord of the north appointed by the empire.


    having to face internal and external threats, the empire hurriedly made peace with their enemy, the high elves. they freed up their hands and sent the great general, general alinath, to enter the north to destroy the rebellion army.


    at one point, alinath had achieved glorious results and expelled the rebel army from the capital, north county, restoring the empire¡¯s nominal rule over the northern territory. the wife of the former great lord, gladys, succeeded him in his title and took over north county. however, the territories in the northern territory that had tasted the sweetness of resistance began to spontaneously help the rebellion army in battle.


    ¡°at present, the imperial army and the rebellion army have formed two camps in the northern territory. if i look at lionheart empire from a broader perspective¡­ the empire is having a confrontation with the high elves. however, that¡¯s not something that i ought to be bothered with. i only need to pay attention to the northern territory,¡± thought bai xiaowen.


    as he listened to old hunter¡¯s ramblings, bai xiaowen gradually gained an understanding of the situation in the aaron world, and his plan gradually became clearer.

 Chapter 26

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    in the current northern territory, the two opposing forces¡ªthe imperial army and the resistance army¡ªwere intertwined in daily battles. small-scale battles broke out every day.


    there were nine major cities in the north of the lionheart empire


    the imperial army was well-equipped and well-trained. they occupied north county, walterlund, and other large cities. north county was the capital of the northern territory, while walterlund city was a port city functioning as a key connecting link to the empire. after occupying these two places, the imperial army had justification and endless reinforcements to fight the resistance army.


    the resistance army was not to be trifled with. ursok, the supreme leader of the resistance army, was the lord of sharp helmet city. the resistance army operated in sharp helmet city, which was its base. it received wide support in the north.


    as for the other neutral territories in the north, ever since the lords of the respective cities tasted the sweetness of not having to pay taxes to the north county lord, they were unwilling to let the empire regain its rule in the north and began to secretly help the rebellion army.


    of course, in order to avoid becoming the main target of the imperial army, the suzerains still pretended to maintain a neutral stance.


    within the various territories, the disputes regarding the imperial army and the resistance had never subsided.


    some people thought that the empire was too cowardly in front of the high elves and would sacrifice the northern territory¡¯s interests in order to retain sovereignty over the nation. such a rotten regime had to be overthrown. as long as ursok became the new lord of the northern territory, he would definitely be able to protect the northern territory.


    there were also people who thought that the empire making peace with the high elves was merely a makeshift measure. after taking a breather, they would launch a counterattack against the high elves and chase the group of sharp-eared people back to the saimu islands. the civil war initiated by the ursok resistance had exhausted the empire¡¯s vitality and given the high elves an opportunity that could be exploited.


    after the minstrel played for a while, he put down the flute and started to play the accordion.


    it was obvious that this minstrel was in favor of the imperial army. the song he sang was ¡°ursok the king killer¡±.


    ¨C


    ¡°expel the rebel army and find your true self. rebuild our homes with blood and armor.¡±


    ¡°overthrow ursok, the king slayer! your death is less pitiful than the death of a dog!¡±


    ¨C


    bai xiaowen swept his gaze across the tavern and looked at everyone¡¯s reactions.


    following that, he stood up abruptly and kicked the stool away.


    ¡°shut up! stop your slander, you slave to the imperial court!¡±


    that¡¯s right, bai xiaowen was shouting at the minstrel who played the accordion.


    the singing stopped, and everyone focused on the two people confronting each other.


    the minstrel was tall and thin, and he glared at bai xiaowen with his pale blue eyes. ¡°what are you trying to do? it¡¯s my freedom to sing whatever song i want. i don¡¯t need a pauper like you who can¡¯t even afford to pay for alcohol to interfere.¡±


    ¡°with that scratchy voice of yours, i could care less about what you sing, but you¡¯ve insulted the great leader of the vikings!¡± bai xiaowen took two steps forward and stared into the minstrel¡¯s eyes. ¡°if i hear another word insulting ursok from your mouth, i¡¯ll beat the shit out of you,¡± he threatened.


    the surrounding customers whistled. the two burly men sitting at the corner table, who had been drinking with their heads lowered, also stopped drinking and turned around.


    the minstrel¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment.


    ¡°you¡¯re humiliating me. i want to fight you!¡± he yelled.


    bai xiaowen rolled up his sleeves without hesitation. ¡°come on!¡±


    both men drew their daggers.


    ¡°hey, hey, relax, my buddies.¡± old hunter waved his hand and shouted, ¡°vikings don¡¯t aim their weapons at their compatriots. you should settle your quarrels in another way. don¡¯t use weapons or magic. just see whose fists are stronger. what do you think?¡±


    the minstrel retracted his dagger and snorted. ¡°i don¡¯t think this rude fellow is my compatriot, but for old hunter¡¯s sake, i will agree to teach him a lesson with only my fists.¡±


    as he spoke, he threw out a money pouch. the coins inside clinked loudly.


    ¡°i bet this amount of money that i can take you down, you pauper!¡± he snarled.


    bai xiaowen took out the fang dagger and stabbed it into the counter. he remarked arrogantly, ¡°defeat me and it¡¯s yours.¡±


    the elite-grade weapon, fang dagger, reflected a cold light in the fireplace. there were some people who were good at recognizing such treasures. hence, the moment they saw the fang dagger, their eyes lit up and they let out low exclamations.


    a hint of greed flashed across the minstrel¡¯s eyes. he roared and pounced toward bai xiaowen, throwing a tentative jab at the latter¡¯s chest.


    bai xiaowen did not dodge at all. instead, he charged forward and met his opponent¡¯s fist head-on with his chest! bai xiaowen¡¯s body swayed slightly, but his arms wrapped around the minstrel¡¯s waist.


    thud, thud, thud¡­


    bai xiaowen pushed the minstrel to the corner of the room like an enraged bull, knocking over countless tables and chairs along the way.


    after pushing the minstrel into a corner, the other party had no room to dodge and could only try to disregard his injuries and punch bai xiaowen repeatedly.


    bai xiaowen had taken three punches from the minstrel. including the first punch, his hp had been deducted by 14 points, and it was now at a rather dangerous figure. however, bai xiaowen¡¯s punches were merciless.


    the minstrel was unable to hold out. he clutched his head and sprawled in the corner, without the strength to get up.


    bai xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief. he was also in a sorry state. his face was pale, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. originally, he had a total of 20 hp, but more than half had been deducted. currently, he was left with only 6 hp.


    he glanced at the minstrel and summarized all that he had learned in this battle.


    he thought to himself, ¡°hmph, this is an easy fight. although your agility is as high as 8 points, your strength is only 3 points, and your physique is only 2 points like mine! the moment i closed in on your figure, you had already lost!¡±


    once a person who had an agility specialty was closed in and trapped in a narrow corner, it would be equivalent to half of his strength being crippled. bai xiaowen had previously killed the elite zombie rat blacktooth. this time, he had defeated the minstrel by executing his strategy well.


    with a victorious smile, bai xiaowen walked back to the counter amidst the cheers. he picked up the minstrel¡¯s money bag and poured out a pile of copper coins, along with a few shiny silver coins.


    ¡°i¡¯ll treat all the viking brothers in the tavern to a drink. everything will be on my tab.¡± bai xiaowen smiled at old hunter. ¡°if there¡¯s any money left, it¡¯ll be used as compensation for knocking over the tables and chairs.¡±


    ¡°whoo-hoo!¡±


    the atmosphere in the tavern became even more lively. a group of viking men who looked a little drunk pushed themselves up while holding on to the table, raising their glasses at bai xiaowen with laughter. the unlucky minstrel shrunk into a corner. no one paid him any attention.


    old hunter smiled and said, ¡°what a forthright young man. are you going to use all the money you won to treat everyone?¡±


    ¡°vikings are one united people. i came all the way from warm walterlund to here without a single copper coin on me. if i didn¡¯t have the hospitable vikings who helped me along the way, i wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach elu city,¡± bai xiaowen said.


    the viking drinkers were filled with respect for bai xiaowen. in their hearts, they labeled him as a hothead.


    the two burly men sitting in the corner looked at each other.


    ¡°hey, buddy, would you like to join us for a drink?¡± one of the men, who was wearing finely patterned chain armor and carrying a large sword on his back, extended an invitation to bai xiaowen.

 Chapter 27

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    at the table in the corner, the three of them sat opposite each other.


    one of the burly guys carried a large sword on his back, while the other carried a shield. they were clearly different from the other customers who were watching the show. they had fierce expressions and robust figures. the wear and tear of the sword and shield on their back was enough to show that the two of them had been on the battlefield and had seen blood.


    the three of them exchanged names.


    the sword-wielding one was called ralph, and the shield-wielding one was called loga. as for bai xiaowen, he gave himself an appropriate name at the last minute¡ªdior skelboom.


    bai xiaowen looked at ralph and loga¡¯s stats with his insight and was secretly shocked. loga was a level-3 warrior with a total stats of close to 40, while ralph was even stronger. there was actually an elite affix behind his name, and he was a level-3 champion swordsman!


    ¡°dior, what made you leave your hometown and come to this remote village? i remember that walterlund is a rich city,¡± ralph said in a deep voice.


    bai xiaowen continued to reply like a hothead. ¡°the northern territory is waiting to be liberated! i left the warm walterlund to participate in the battle to liberate the northern territory!¡±


    ¡°well said!¡± beside ralph, the younger loga praised.


    ¡°that¡¯s right, my brother. the northern territory belongs to us vikings. we¡¯re going to chase those damned supporters of the empire out!¡± ralph said in a low voice. ¡°if you want to join the ursok resistance, we¡¯re happy to open our arms to you¡ªbut the resistance needs strong warriors.¡±


    loga nodded. ¡°you need to prove yourself. a fight in the tavern doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡±


    hearing this, bai xiaowen deliberately revealed a look of shock. ¡°you¡¯re members of the ursok resistance? then why did you watch a contemptible person like him insult the great vikings leader?¡±


    ¡°shh¡­¡± ralph said in a low voice, ¡°we were sent here on a special mission by lord ursok. even though elu city doesn¡¯t have any prejudice against the resistance army, we still have to be careful. the dragon won¡¯t care about the barking of a wild dog. likewise, lord ursok won¡¯t care about a down-and-out minstrel¡¯s comments about him. however, we are still very grateful for your righteous words. from you, we can see the hope of the northern territory.¡±


    bai xiaowen thought to himself.


    ¡°tsk, i was aware long ago that you two are part of the resistance army! when you listened to the song ¡®ursok the king killer¡¯, the frequency of your drinking increased by 30%. the one holding the shield clenched his fist and unclenched it five times. it was as if his father had been insulted¡­ the only possibility is that you two are rebels!¡±


    however, on the surface, bai xiaowen still had an excited and agitated expression.


    ¡°i¡¯m willing to join the ursok resistance. i¡¯ve long wanted to kick the butts of those slaves to the empire!¡±


    ralph nodded in satisfaction. ¡°don¡¯t be anxious, brother. as long as you prove that you¡¯re a good warrior, i¡¯ll definitely bring you along when i return to sharp helmet city.¡±


    ¡°how can i prove it?¡± bai xiaowen asked eagerly.


    ralph and loga exchanged a glance with one another.


    ¡°brother, there¡¯s a small stronghold of those empire supporters in the col 15 miles northwest of elu city. as long as you bring back a name tag of theirs, we¡¯ll recognize you as a brave warrior.¡±


    ¨C


    bai xiaowen left the wild mare tavern and headed northwest of the elu city.


    while walking, bai xiaowen opened the quest log to check the status and details of all currently active quests.


    [subquest: proof of allegiance]


    [quest objective: kill an imperial soldier, bring back his nameplate, and hand it to resistance warrior ralph.]


    [quest reward: unknown.]


    [quest duration: 48 hours.]


    [quest difficulty: c+]


    bai xiaowen closed his quest log.


    he thought, ¡°if i want to do it, i have to do it big! this quest has to be completed successfully to gain ralph¡¯s trust. only then can i get back into the main story quest of the northern territory war and meet the upper echelons of the northern resistance as soon as possible.¡±


    bai xiaowen had chosen to join the resistance camp after careful consideration. there were two main reasons for that.


    on one hand, the imperial army could not accommodate him.


    everything that bai xiaowen did was to complete the class advancement quest: black soul stone. the north county monastery and the royal knights were all factions of the empire. with the soul stone in his possession, he would be courting death if he joined the empire¡¯s army.


    on the other hand, the resistance army should be more friendly to newcomers with potential.


    think about it. within the northern territory, the resistance army could still compete with the empire army. however, the entire aaron continent belonged to the empire. joining the resistance army meant fighting against the lionheart empire, a behemoth! the manpower and influence of the lionheart empire were almost ten times that of the resistance army in the northern territory.


    with such a small capital, the leader of the rebellion army would definitely be in urgent need of talents. be it the entry threshold or the speed of promotion, it was not something the old and rigid empire could compare to.


    ursok, the leader of the resistance, was a lord after all. he should have capable people under him who could undo the seal of the soul stone. as long as he attained a certain status in the resistance, there would be some progress in terms of the class advancement quest.


    the only difficulty was the time limit.


    the class advancement quest had to be completed within 10 days. this meant that bai xiaowen could not use the usual method to advance. he had to think of a way for the higher-ups of the resistance to notice him as soon as possible.


    ¡°there are so few people in this small stronghold.¡±


    an hour later, bai xiaowen arrived at the col ralph had mentioned by taking bus service 11. he saw a small group of imperial soldiers. there were only a total of four people.


    bai xiaowen recalled that in the medieval wars in europe, the number of soldiers participating in the war was indeed not high. a battle involving dozens of people was considered a small scale, and a battle involving hundreds of people was considered a local war. in an all-out war between the two territories, the number of soldiers participating in the war on both sides might not even exceed a thousand.


    among the four imperial soldiers in front of him, three of them were wearing linen clothes and were relatively thin. they had been busy feeding the horses and chopping firewood. clearly, they were auxiliary soldiers. the other person was much stronger and was wearing thin chain armor. he was sitting in a tent to rest. he should be the leader of a small team and part of the imperial standing army.


    bai xiaowen used insight to observe the strength of these people.


    the total attributes of the three auxiliary soldiers were around 15 points respectively. their combat strength was about the same as the minstrel in the tavern. they should be farmers who had just been recruited into the imperial army.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s main focus was the attributes of the chain-armored leader.


    [bjorn/challenge level 2]


    [race: humanoid/human]


    [class: giant hammer warrior level 2]


    [attributes: strength 9, agility 6, physique 10, spirit 4]


    [skill 1: heavy strike: raise the two-handed warhammer and strike the enemy, causing 150% actual damage.]


    [skill 2: intimidation: intimidate the enemy. the enemy must pass a will test. otherwise, they will turn around and escape. duration: 3 seconds.]


    bai xiaowen frowned. putting aside the fact that his combat strength was only equivalent to that of an auxiliary soldier, even if he had the power of a normal quasi-awakened, he would be doomed if he rushed forward rashly. as long as bjorn used his intimidation skill and he could not pass the will test, he would be surrounded and beaten to death by three auxiliary soldiers.


    ¡°if i confront them head-on, i¡¯ll definitely be beaten!¡±


    bai xiaowen pondered for a moment before turning around and quietly leaving his observation point. he found a river nearby.


    ¡°indeed, it makes sense to read more¡­ in a novel i read before, there¡¯s a scene where the weak protagonist kills enemies with a brilliant plan. i can use that plan¡­¡±


    bai xiaowen hid among the branches of a tree located between the col and river.


    around two hours later, when bai xiaowen¡¯s legs were starting to feel numb, what bai xiaowen was waiting to see finally happened at the campsite.


    an auxiliary soldier carrying a water bag staggered toward the river.

 Chapter 28

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    bai xiaowen watched as the auxiliary soldier walked to the river to draw water. then, he carried the bulging water bag and returned at an even slower speed. when the auxiliary soldier passed under the tree where bai xiaowen was on the way back, bai xiaowen suddenly jumped.


    before the auxiliary soldier could react, he was slashed by the sharp fang dagger!


    the auxiliary soldier made a choking, gurgling sound, his eyes bright with fear. following that, he fell back hard on the ground.


    prompt information:


    ¡°your attack has struck the vital point of the empire¡¯s auxiliary soldier, miao lan, causing 11 points of damage (ignoring defense).¡±


    ¡°the damage value of your vital strike has exceeded 1/3 of the target¡¯s hp.¡±


    ¡°imperial auxiliary soldier miao lan is dead.¡±


    bai xiaowen took a deep breath. the feeling of killing someone for the first time was actually not that bad. this was the spiritual realm. in the eyes of the awakened, they were just npcs in the game.


    in addition, bai xiaowen had trained with plague rats and other mutated monsters on earth. he did not have any psychological barriers, be it when he saw blood or when he slit someone¡¯s throat.


    after the death of the auxiliary soldier, bai xiaowen¡¯s machinery specialty had also increased by a large margin. the use of daggers was also included in the machinery specialty of the single-handed sword type.


    above the auxiliary soldier¡¯s corpse, a slightly illusory small treasure chest was revealed. from the looks of it, this small treasure chest was slightly inferior to the treasure chest that bai xiaowen had gotten when he killed the elite zombie rat.


    bai xiaowen placed his hand on the treasure chest and mentally ordered it to open.


    this time, the evaluation score of his battle was c (qualified) because the auxiliary soldier was relatively weak. if bai xiaowen had not ended the battle cleanly, the evaluation score might have dropped to d (poor) or even e (extremely poor).


    there was only one chance to draw the spoils of war card in the c-rank battle rating. fortunately, there would definitely be something dropped and no blank cards would appear. however, in a d-rank battle, there was a 1/3 chance of drawing a blank card, while the e-rank rating was the worst. the possibility of a bye was as high as 2/3.


    bai xiaowen randomly chose one of the four bronze cards.


    ¡°you have obtained the imperial army auxiliary soldier¡¯s name badge.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s it? there¡¯s nothing else?¡± bai xiaowen was a little stunned, but he soon came back to his senses.


    ¡°if i take this auxiliary soldier nametag back to those two men, it can be considered that i have completed the mission assigned to me. from this point of view, for a newbie, this spoil of war is considered very useful. however, what i want is not only to complete the mission but to do it exceedingly well!¡± bai xiaowen thought.


    he put the auxiliary soldier¡¯s name tag into his temporary spatial storage and looked in the direction of the camp.


    ¡°this place is about two kilometers away from the imperial military camp. in another 20 minutes, they will notice that the auxiliary soldier who fetched water hasn¡¯t returned¡­¡± bai xiaowen stripped the clothes off the auxiliary soldier and then took off his clothes.


    of course, bai xiaowen did not have a strange fetish or any sexual attraction to a dead body. he put his clothes on the auxiliary soldier¡¯s corpse and then wore the auxiliary soldier¡¯s clothes. then, he wiped some blood on his face and neck and messed up the surrounding snow to disguise the traces of an intense battle.


    bai xiaowen lay on top of the auxiliary soldier¡¯s corpse, pretending that he had perished together with the soldier. then, he waited.


    not long after, there was a slight tremor from the ground.


    ¡°there are two of them.¡± bai xiaowen could clearly sense his opponents with his 10 points of spirit. he could even tell that the footsteps of these two people were slightly weak, similar to the strength of the dead auxiliary soldiers. they should be the other two auxiliary soldiers in the camp.


    as for that giant hammer warrior, he had a higher status, so he should have stayed in the tent. he would not personally search for an auxiliary soldier who had yet to return.


    ¡°very good¡­ the most ideal situation has occurred. i can carry out the plan!¡± bai xiaowen remained silent.


    the two auxiliary soldiers saw the two ¡°corpses¡± that overlapped and perished together from afar. after a cry of surprise, they ran over at the same time.


    if there was only one dead auxiliary soldier, the two of them would have to think about whether the attacker was still nearby. but now that the attacker was also down, it meant that there was no danger nearby.


    however, what the two of them did not expect was that the danger came from the ¡°corpse¡± on the ground.


    just as one of the auxiliary soldiers was about to flip over bai xiaowen¡¯s body, thinking that this was his comrade, and bring his corpse back to the camp, bai xiaowen suddenly opened his eyes and launched another vicious stab!


    the auxiliary soldier collapsed.


    the last auxiliary soldier cried out in alarm, but bai xiaowen had already leaped up and pounced on him.


    the two of them were about the same level of cultivation, but bai xiaowen had been planning this for a long time. furthermore, he had just killed two people, so he was full of fighting spirit. the auxiliary soldier did not know how powerful bai xiaowen was, so he did not want to fight. he only wanted to escape.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s agility was boosted by the fang dagger to 6 points. he easily caught up to the last auxiliary soldier and stabbed him to death.


    at this point, the three auxiliary soldiers in the imperial military camp were completely wiped out.


    unfortunately, these two auxiliary soldiers did not drop any treasure chests. it seemed that not every kill would be rewarded with loot.


    bai xiaowen removed dirty cloak from the first auxiliary soldier¡¯s corpse. he took a deep breath and stuffed the cloak into his temporary spatial storage instead of changing back into his clothes.


    after pondering for a bit, he took out the bottle of ¡°rotten blood¡± that he had obtained from the zombie rat blacktooth from the storage space and smeared it on the fang dagger.


    bai xiaowen raised his head to look at the sky. the dark sky was full of fluttering snowflakes, making it appear even more gloomy.


    ¡°the visibility is just right.¡±


    bai xiaowen muttered under his breath. then, he stumbled toward the campsite in the linen uniform of the auxiliary troop, behaving as if there was a terrifying enemy chasing after him.


    bai xiaowen put on a very realistic act. he even started his performance before he reached the camp. reality proved that he was right to be cautious because seeing that the three auxiliary soldiers did not return at the same time, bjorn¡ªwho felt unaccustomed to the empty stronghold¡ªhad already left the camp.


    ¡°help!¡±


    bai xiaowen shouted in a hoarse voice as he limped in the direction of the giant hammer warrior.


    the giant hammer warrior bjorn was bewildered and shouted, ¡°why are you the only one left?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re dead, they¡¯re all dead!¡± bai xiaowen was afraid that his voice would be recognized, so he kept speaking in a hoarse voice. ¡°rebels, it¡¯s the rebellion army!¡±


    when he reached bjorn, bai xiaowen slipped and fell toward the giant hammer warrior.


    bjorn¡¯s attention was not on bai xiaowen. instead, he was staring at the end of the path. when he saw bai xiaowen fall, he subconsciously helped him up and said, ¡°i¡¯ll stop them. go to the other camps and inform them of the attack by the rebellion army¡­¡±


    however, in the next second, a poisoned dagger stabbed into bjorn¡¯s vitals!

 Chapter 29

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    bjorn roared with anger and pain. he shook his arm vigorously! bai xiaowen felt a powerful force surging toward him and he stumbled backward. his back crashed into the stone wall beside the path.


    prompt information:


    ¡°your vital strike hit the imperial army¡¯s giant hammer warrior bjorn, causing 11 points of damage (ignoring defense) and inflicting a heavy bleeding effect.¡±


    ¡°the corrosive poison has taken effect. all of bjorn¡¯s attributes have decreased by 2 points for 120 seconds.¡±


    ¡°you took 6 concussion damage.¡±


    ¡°this guy¡­ his damage is so high! just the recoil alone deducted 6 hp from me!¡± bai xiaowen thought.


    he was secretly shocked. he looked at bjorn, who was like a wounded animal mad with rage and blood lust and became on guard.


    it was also a vital attack, so why did bjornn not die immediately like the auxiliary soldiers?


    bai xiaowen noticed the reason.


    an important prerequisite for an attack to be considered a fatal one was the damage dealt, which had to account for more than 1/3 of the target¡¯s maximum hp! clearly, bjorn¡ªwho had 10 physique points¡ªhad 100 hp. although bai xiaowen¡¯s attack was ruthless, it only dealt 11 points of damage! it was still far from one-third.


    bjorn¡¯s pain triggered his ferocity. he roared and swung his hammers at bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen sprinted away.


    although his strength had decreased by 2 points, bjorn¡¯s remaining strength was still 7 points. it was not a problem for him to overpower and defeat bai xiaowen. as long as bjorn¡¯s two-handed warhammer hit bai xiaowen, the latter would probably lose his remaining 14 hp, let alone the fact that bjorn was well-equipped.


    however, bjornn was bleeding heavily, and he was losing hp every second! as long as he did not have a chance to bandage and heal his wound, the longer the battle dragged on, the more beneficial it would be for bai xiaowen.


    fortunately, bai xiaowen had poisoned the dagger in advance, reducing bjornen¡¯s attributes by 2 points and decreasing his agility to 4 points. otherwise, bai xiaowen would have been in trouble.


    this was the fastest bai xiaowen had ever run in his life. anyone who was in his position, being chased by a burly man wielding a heavy hammer, would also unleash 120% of their life force and sprint. fortunately, the notifications kept coming in, giving bai xiaowen the confidence to drag the battle out.


    ¡°bjorn lost 5 hp.¡±


    ¡°bjorn lost 7 hp.¡±


    ¡°bjorn lost 4 hp.¡±


    ¨C


    and when bjorn tried to bandage his wound, bai xiaowen would keep following him about. this made bjorn roar repeatedly in anger, and he had no choice but to stop bandaging and chase after bai xiaowen. his strength also drained.


    finally, with a plop, bjorn fell to the ground.


    bai xiaowen received a series of notifications.


    ¡°bjorn lost 2 hp.¡±


    ¡°the imperial army¡¯s giant hammer warrior bjorn has died. the battle is over.¡±


    ¡°your basic combat specialty has been raised to level 4, and your basic machinery (single-handed sword) specialty has been raised to level 5!¡±


    ¡°basic machinery (single-handed sword) has reached the maximum level. do you want to evolve it?¡±


    bai xiaowen chose yes without hesitation and received another notification. ¡°you have obtained the advanced machinery (single-handed sword) specialty. current level: level 1.¡±


    bai xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief. with a flick of his finger, the dagger spun around his fingertip. he could feel that his control over the dagger had become even more refined.


    it was only now did bai xiaowen finally caught up to the other quasi-awakened who were participating in the test. the other quasi-awakened were usually well-prepared. they would only enter the spiritual realm to accept the test when they reached the maximum level of all their basic skills. therefore, once they entered the spiritual realm, their special skills would be upgraded and turned into advanced specialties.


    ¡°phew, i survived the battle. i¡¯ll open a treasure chest to calm myself down!¡±


    the treasure chest left behind by bjorn after his death was clearly of a higher grade. even the eight spoils of war cards that he summoned had silver light flickering on the back. they were quite high-end.


    bai xiaowen had killed bjorn and obtained an a-rank evaluation. he could draw three spoils of war.


    prompt information:


    ¡°you have obtained the imperial army¡¯s giant hammer warrior¡¯s name tag.¡±


    ¡°you have obtained equipment: steel two-handed warhammer.¡±


    ¡°you have obtained a skill book: heavy strike.¡±


    bai xiaowen felt a tinge of regret. what he was most interested in was the well-made chain armor on bjorn¡¯s body. as a weakling who only had a physique of 2 points, a set of high-quality chain armor would undoubtedly give bai xiaowen greater survivability.


    unfortunately, he did not manage to draw that.


    could he remove it directly from bjorn¡¯s corpse? he could not do that. once the superior equipment that did not belong to the ¡°legal¡± spoils of war was stripped from the original owner¡¯s body, it would turn into spiritual particles and dissipate. it was impossible for bai xiaowen to take advantage of this opportunity to benefit himself.


    as for why the linen clothes that had just been stripped off the auxiliary soldiers did not disappear¡­ it was because the linen clothes were not equipment.


    in the spiritual realm, awakened had to have ¡°ownership¡± of equipment before they could use it! this ¡°ownership¡± meant that they could bring it out of this world. for example, the steel two-handed warhammer that bai xiaowen had just drawn had ¡°ownership¡±. as long as he successfully changed his class and passed the test, bai xiaowen could bring the warhammer back to earth.


    without ¡°ownership,¡± awakened would not be able to enjoy the attack, defense, and any additional attributes of the equipment.


    a sharp sword that did not belong to him was inferior to xiao jinsheng¡¯s rusty iron sword. at least the rusty iron sword still had 1 to 3 attack power.


    toward this, the pundits¡¯ explanation was that the spiritual particles in an awakened¡¯s body could not resonate with ¡°illegal¡± equipment, so they naturally could not unleash their power. as for the lottery, mission rewards, and so on, it was the process of ¡°legalizing¡± the equipment and transferring ownership to the awakened.


    in addition, items on earth could not be brought into the spiritual realm unless they contained a large number of spiritual particles.


    for example, bai xiaowen could bring the dagger, capes, and blood that dropped from the elite zombie rat blacktooth to the spiritual realm, but he could not bring his machete, tactical backpack, water bottle, steel crossbow, and so on into the spiritual realm.


    bai xiaowen glanced at the steel two-handed warhammer. it had a requirement for the user to have 8 points of strength and 8 points of physique. he had no choice but to put the warhammer into his storage space.


    ¡°i hate to bind on pickup,¡± bai xiaowen muttered before looking at the skill book.


    [one-star skill book: heavy strike: teaches you the heavy strike skill. after accumulating power for a short period of time, the next attack will cause 150% damage. requirement: 5 points of strength.]


    bai xiaowen was not interested in this skill book at all. if it was a spell, he would definitely be willing to learn it. however, it was just a warrior skill. it did not match his class.


    after resting for a while, bai xiaowen rushed to the empty stronghold and began to pillage and plunder it. he had gained a lot from this trip.


    lionheart empire coins: 3 gold, 24 silver, 11 bronze (lionheart empire coins are valued at 100 base, which is 1 gold = 100 silver = 10,000 copper)


    a warhorse (unable to be brought out of this world).


    a military map of the northern territory.


    bai xiaowen also made good use of the other miscellaneous wooden buckets and bedrolls. he boiled a pot of hot soup and rested for two hours by the bonfire.


    it had to be said that the awakened¡¯s ¡°completely digitized¡± body was indeed very strong. bai xiaowen felt that he did not need to sleep at all. after resting for a period of time, not only was his hp full, but even his physical fitness had completely recovered. he was in his best state.


    ¡°after an awakened¡¯s body is digitized¡­ they are no longer normal humans.¡±


    bai xiaowen clicked his tongue and lamented mentally.

 Chapter 30

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    among the items plundered in the camp, the military map was the most important to bai xiaowen.


    a closer look at the map gave bai xiaowen a more comprehensive understanding of the distribution of territories in the north.


    north county, the capital of the northern territory, was in the northwest. it was the military camp of great general alinath.


    in contrast, sharp helmet city was in the northeast, where the leader of the resistance¡ªursok¡ªwas.


    bai xiaowen was in elu city, which happened to be in the middle of north county and sharp helmet city.


    as for the port city, walterlund, it was to the south and located near the mediterranean sea.


    bai xiaowen did not analyze the general situation too much. to him, the most important thing on this military map was the imperial military camp near elu city. it was marked with black dots and the number of troops.


    this map was originally used by the imperial army to communicate with each other. however, when it fell into bai xiaowen¡¯s hands, it became a death warrant for the imperial army camp near elu city.


    after a brief rest, bai xiaowen once again embarked on his journey.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s battle prowess had increased significantly after his combat specialty had evolved. during the 48-hour mission period, bai xiaowen had taken down three imperial strongholds. his achievements were astonishing.


    among the imperial soldiers killed, there were a total of eight auxiliary soldiers and three regular soldiers, including two chain-armored giant hammer warriors and a studded-armored archer.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s basic combat specialty had finally reached level 5, and it had become an advanced combat specialty (level 1).


    of the eight auxiliary soldiers, only two had dropped treasure chests, and bai xiaowen had only drawn two imperial auxiliary soldier name tags. among the three regular soldiers, the second chain-armored giant hammer warrior that bai xiaowen had killed had not dropped any gear or items at all. on the other hand, the archer had dropped a bronze treasure chest, which bai xiaowen had looted on the spot.


    because he had gotten an a-rank battle evaluation, bai xiaowen was given three chances to draw. bai xiaowen rubbed his hands before he clicked on one of them.


    prompt information:


    ¡°you have obtained the imperial army archer¡¯s name tag.¡±


    ¡°f*ck¡­ the probability of these stupid name tags appearing is a little high. as long as a treasure chest appears, a name tag will definitely drop,¡± bai xiaowen cursed. a name tag would not increase his combat power at all. however, the more name tags he had, the higher the evaluation when he went back to report on having completed the task. hence, it was not completely useless.


    he flipped open the second card. it was a scroll.


    ¡°you have obtained a specialty scroll for shooting. using the scroll will allow you to obtain advanced machinery (shooting) specialty level 1.¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes lit up. while undertaking the awakened test, his basic attributes were locked. thus, the only things that could increase his combat power were skill books and specialty scrolls. however, bai xiaowen felt that it was a bit of a pity that he did not have any long-range equipment.


    however, when he flipped open the third card, bai xiaowen was overjoyed.


    ¡°you have obtained a white birch bow and an iron quiver.¡±


    ¡°a weakling like me would be courting death if i rushed up to a muscular man like the giant hammer warrior and fought hand-to-hand. hiding in a corner and shooting at my target would greatly increase my safety.¡±


    bai xiaowen immediately activated his shooting specialty scroll. instantly, streams of information flowed into his mind. from the basic shooting posture all the way to the key to an accurate aim, all this knowledge was imprinted into his body and turned into an instinct.


    it was as if bai xiaowen had been infused with divine arts. he instantly went from a rookie who could not draw a bow to an experienced archer. he checked his combat specialty, and below level 1 advanced machinery (single-handed sword), there was another row, level 1 advanced machinery (shooting).


    ¡°cool.¡±


    bai xiaowen then checked the bow¡¯s attributes.


    [white birch bow (bind on pickup)]


    [quality: normal (white)]


    [equipment spot: hands]


    [equipment requirement: strength 4, agility 5]


    [attribute: attack power 2-5]


    [durability: 18/20]


    [description: a standard equipment that strong archers of the lionheart empire use.]


    there was also a matching quiver at the back.


    [iron quiver (bind on pickup)]


    [quality: normal (white)]


    [equipment spot: none]


    [equipment requirement: none]


    [attribute: attack power 1; quantity of iron arrows 20]


    [durability: none]


    [description: automatically restores 1 iron arrow every 10 seconds.]


    bai xiaowen carried the bow and quiver behind his cape, and he had a fang dagger at his waist. he felt that his combat strength was much stronger than when he first entered the spiritual realm.


    ¡°the time limit for the mission is only 48 hours. i don¡¯t have enough time to take down more imperial strongholds. i have to report back immediately.¡± bai xiaowen walked toward elu city.


    ¨C


    wild horse tavern.


    bai xiaowen found ralph and loga¡¯s room and knocked before entering.


    four name tags were placed in front of ralph.


    ¡°you killed two regular soldiers of the imperial army, a chain-armored hammer warrior, and a studded-armored archer?¡± ralph flipped through two of the name tags and said in disbelief, ¡°brother, you took down at least two imperial army strongholds! i have to say, your performance impressed me.¡±


    in comparison, the two auxiliary soldier badges were not worth mentioning.


    bai xiaowen wanted to add that he had actually taken down three imperial strongholds, but looking at ralph, it was obvious that he only recognized name tags.


    loga walked over and punched bai xiaowen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°you¡¯ve proven yourself. welcome to the northern resistance army. for ursok!¡±


    bai xiaowen received a notification.


    ¡°subquest: proof of allegiance completed. completion evaluation: excellent.¡±


    ¡°reputation system activated.¡±


    ¡°reputation in the northern territory rebellion army activated. current reputation level: respect.¡±


    ¡°reputation in the empire¡¯s expeditionary force has been activated. current reputation level: hostile.¡±


    ¡°your affinity with resistance warrior: champion swordsman ralph has increased to an acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°affinity with resistance warrior: shield warrior loga has increased to friend.¡±


    bai xiaowen checked the rules of reputation and affinity.


    reputation was for factions. as one¡¯s reputation increased, it got from ¡°neutral¡± to ¡°friendly¡±, ¡°respect¡±, ¡°reverence¡±, and finally, to ¡°worship¡±. if one¡¯s reputation decreased, it would become ¡°hostile¡± and then ¡°hatred¡±.


    affinity was only for individuals. they began from ¡°ordinary¡± to become ¡°acquaintances¡±, ¡°friends¡±, ¡°good friends¡±, and ¡°best friends¡±. if affinity decreased, they would become ¡°hostile¡± and ¡°hatred¡±.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s mission had been completed beyond his expectations, so he gained a lot of reputation points as soon as he joined the resistance army. if he only eliminated one imperial stronghold, his reputation points would probably only reach friendly. if he only took one auxiliary soldier¡¯s name tag to report, his evaluation would be even lower, and his reputation points might only be neutral.


    it was impossible for his relationship with the two resistance soldiers to be at the level of acquaintances and friends.


    in addition, as the champion swordsman of the elite class, ralph¡¯s affinity increase would not be as much as loga¡¯s. from this, bai xiaowen deduced that the stronger and higher the status of the person, the harder it was to increase his affinity.


    from this, it could be seen how tricky it would be for him to find walterlund¡¯s chief mage¡ªseren¡ªto learn draconic. he would definitely be ordered around by seren and had to do all kinds of missions to build a good relationship with seren. the slow speed at which his affinity increased was enough to drive any quasi-awakened crazy.


    bai xiaowen also found a detailed rule, which was that the hidden attribute charm would affect the speed at which one¡¯s affinity and faction reputation increased.


    ¡°there¡¯s no time for you to continue standing there, my brother.¡± ralph¡¯s deep voice sounded again. ¡°lord ursok gave us an important mission. now, you¡¯ve proven yourself and are qualified to participate in this glorious mission!¡±

 Chapter 31

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    bai xiaowen was elated, and he thought to himself, ¡°i have been waiting for you to say that!¡±


    before the fight in the tavern, bai xiaowen had already guessed that these two strong men had important missions. otherwise, they would not have suppressed their anger and watched that weak minstrel slander their leader.


    in the conversation that ensued after that, the two of them shared that information with bai xiaowen. after bai xiaowen received confirmation of his guess, he made up his mind.


    in order to gain reputation points with the resistance army, he had to take part in an important mission. it would be best if he could attract the attention of the higher-ups. therefore, when he completed the first mission given by them, which was to prove his allegiance, bai xiaowen tried his best to destroy three imperial strongholds in one go.


    this way, bai xiaowen finally achieved his goal and was qualified to participate in this important mission.


    bai xiaowen accepted their invitation without hesitation. ¡°it will be an honor if i can join you guys. ralph, who are we going to kill this time?¡±


    ralph nodded in satisfaction. ¡°we received reliable news that the imperial envoy who¡¯s from north county will arrive at elu city tomorrow. our mission is to assassinate him outside elu city!¡±


    loga said, ¡°if the imperial envoy dies in elu city¡¯s territory, elu city will have to bear the wrath of the empire. this is something that the lord of elu city would definitely not want to see. the city guards of elu city will definitely stop us. therefore, we have to complete the mission before the imperial envoy meets up with the city guards of elu city!¡±


    prompt information:


    ¡°subquest: new mission initiated. difficulty: a-.¡±


    ¡°quest objective: assassinate the imperial envoy, elliot.¡±


    ¡°quest duration: 8 hours.¡±


    ¡°failure condition: the imperial envoy elliot enters elu city or completes contact with the city guards of elu city.¡±


    bai xiaowen nodded. ¡°i¡¯ll send that damned imperial slave to meet their lord of light.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not ¡®you¡¯, but ¡®we¡¯!¡± loga patted bai xiaowen¡¯s shoulder with a smile. ¡°the imperial envoy has close to 20 guards with him. although most of them are auxiliary soldiers who don¡¯t have much combat power, you can¡¯t deal with them alone.¡±


    ralph said, ¡°the imperial envoy¡¯s team will be camping in white stone valley tonight. we¡¯ll set off now! we must complete the mission. for ursok!¡±


    ¡°for ursok!¡± loga raised his fist and roared. bai xiaowen quickly followed suit and raised his fist, baring his teeth in a ferocious manner.


    ¨C


    at night, in white stone valley.


    ¡°hey, did you see that?¡± loga whispered.


    ralph, who was also hiding in the darkness, nodded slightly. ¡°their defense is very tight. there are auxiliary soldiers standing guard in every direction. it won¡¯t be easy to launch a surprise attack.¡±


    bai xiaowen observed the imperial envoy sitting beside the bonfire. he was a young aristocrat, and his every move exuded the elegant etiquette that he had cultivated since he was young. however, bai xiaowen¡¯s insight allowed him to see that this envoy¡¯s combat strength was very weak, similar to that of an auxiliary soldier.


    however, there were four regular soldiers of the imperial army sitting beside imperial envoy elliot! two of them were giant hammer warriors, one was a shield warrior, and one was a powerful archer.


    these four regular soldiers had a challenge level of level 2. if bai xiaowen was alone, he would want to be as far away from them as possible.


    however, he had the two muscular men beside him¡ªralph and loga. loga was a level 3 warrior, so it would not be a problem for him to take on two soldiers by himself. ralph was also an elite class champion swordsman. if he worked together with loga, they would be able to wipe out this team even without bai xiaowen¡¯s help.


    ¡°but that¡¯s the problem¡­¡± bai xiaowen frowned.


    this quest had a difficulty of a-! in the class advancement quest 2, learning draconic also had a difficulty of a-. if this was a quest that bai xiaowen could easily complete because he had such powerful backers, the difficulty would not exceed c. how could it be classified as a-?


    bai xiaowen was deeply puzzled. he thought for a moment and activated his insight. he began to probe the enemy¡¯s strength one by one, starting with the members of the imperial envoy.


    the envoy was still a weakling, and there was nothing special about the four regular soldiers. however, when bai xiaowen detected a cloaked, normal-looking servant not far from the envoy, he shuddered and almost jumped up!


    [leila red leaf (elite)/challenge level 5]


    [race: humanoid/elf]


    [class: sword dancer level 3]


    [attributes: strength 14, agility 21, physique 16, spirit 9]


    [skill: ???]


    ¡°there¡¯s indeed a problem!¡± bai xiaowen gritted his teeth. he did not expect the imperial envoy to be accompanied by an extraordinary elven b*tch. this female elf named leila red leaf had a challenge level of 5 and was stronger than ralph.


    feeling a little startled, bai xiaowen used his insight to look at all the remaining auxiliary soldiers. only then did he heave a sigh of relief¡ªthere were no other powerful figures hidden among the remaining auxiliary soldiers.


    their situation was not that dire yet. they still had a chance of completing their mission successfully.


    on the other side, ralph and loga were discussing the battle plan. they waved for bai xiaowen to go over.


    ¡°there are more enemies. we need a bait to divert some of their attention,¡± ralph said. ¡°the remaining two people will launch a surprise attack while the camp is empty. this way, we will definitely be able to kill that cowardly man who works for the empire!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll be the bait.¡±


    loga hesitated for a second before saying, ¡°ralph is the most powerful of us. we need him around to launch a powerful and forceful attack on the enemy, so he has to stay.¡±


    being the bait was undoubtedly very dangerous. moreover, he had a low possibility of making a contribution to this mission. therefore, it was a tiring chore and one that no one wanted to do.


    ralph shook his head and said, ¡°brother, i¡¯ve fought alongside you for so long that i¡¯m already used to having your shield protecting my back.¡±


    how could bai xiaowen not understand what ralph meant? he continued to behave like a hothead and said in a low voice, ¡°i¡¯ll be the bait and lure the enemy away. no one is more suitable than me.¡±


    loga was still a little hesitant, but ralph had already nodded heavily. ¡°all right, my brother. everything we¡¯re doing is for the liberation of the north!¡±


    this sentence dispelled loga¡¯s hesitation.


    bai xiaowen said in a low voice, ¡°i¡¯ll go get ready. wait for my signal to make a move.¡± with that, he walked around the col and left stealthily.


    ralph and loga waited patiently.


    ten minutes passed.


    half an hour passed.


    an hour passed.


    bai xiaowen was still nowhere to be seen.


    ralph frowned and said, ¡°what happened? did he run away?¡±


    swoosh!


    with the sound of a bow, an auxiliary soldier who was standing guard at the entrance of the valley staggered half a step back. he covered his arrow wound and shouted shrilly.


    ¡°enemy attack!¡±


    swoosh!


    another arrow hit the injured auxiliary soldier. the arrow hit that soldier¡¯s heart accurately, and the auxiliary soldier fell to the ground dead.


    the enemy camp was in chaos. after inspecting the condition of the auxiliary soldier who was shot to death, the envoy team responded. two regular soldiers of the imperial army led five auxiliary soldiers to search for traces of the attacker.


    this arrangement was very reasonable. evidently, there was only one attacker. looking at the archery skills of the other party, it could be seen that he was not invincible. two imperial regular soldiers and five auxiliary soldiers were enough to pull out the rat that had sneaked up on them and kill it.


    if they ignored the attack, they would not be able to rest peacefully for the entire night.


    looking at the half-empty camp, ralph patted loga¡¯s shoulder heavily. ¡°it¡¯s done. let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 32

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    ¡°i need to improve my shooting accuracy.¡±


    bai xiaowen crouched down and began to reflect on his actions.


    ¡°the first arrow was aimed at his heart, but it hit his stomach. the second arrow hit his heart purely by chance. i didn¡¯t have time to aim properly!¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s advanced machinery (shooting) was at level 1, which meant that he was slightly more proficient in using long-range weapons. however, he was still far from being able to shoot accurately.


    bai xiaowen was not angry that ralph sent him to be the bait. on the contrary, after knowing that there was a female elf sword dancer who was comparable to ralph or even stronger in the enemy¡¯s camp, bai xiaowen was eagerly looking forward to being the bait.


    ¡°ralph, i¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be that easy for you to take most of the credit for this,¡± he said aloud.


    bai xiaowen only ran for about 30 meters before coming to a stop under a large tree.


    bai xiaowen grabbed onto a vine that was hanging down from the branch of the tree and began to climb up the tree. in no time at all, he successfully climbed up the tree and quickly pulled up the vine.


    it took bai xiaowen nearly an hour to prepare the vine.


    after a short while, two soldiers led a few auxiliary soldiers and came to below the tree. without stopping, they spread out in the forest in front of them and searched for bai xiaowen.


    after these people left, bai xiaowen slid down the tree by holding on to that long vine and silently landed on the ground.


    at this moment, in the camp, the imperial envoy elliot¡¯s guards were already engaged in a huge battle with ralph and loga.


    the strength of the two vikings was abnormally strong. ralph waved his two-handed large sword in the crowd and attacked the soldiers indiscriminately. loga¡¯s sword and shield filled his gap, and the corpses of the auxiliary soldiers of the imperial army fell around them.


    however, the imperial envoy¡¯s guards were not to be trifled with.


    although they realized that their soldiers had been tricked into leaving their vantage ground, the remaining two regular soldiers of the empire did not panic. as they rushed to meet the vikings head-on, they shouted for the auxiliary soldiers to fight back. beside elliot, the female elf in a cloak¡ªleila red leaf¡ªrotated her wrists and pulled out two exquisitely crafted short swords. she took one step forward and arrived beside loga.


    she swung the short sword horizontally and vertically!


    with a cross slash, a bloody cross wound appeared on loga¡¯s chest, and his hp decreased by more than 20 points!


    ¡°sh*t!¡± loga roared in pain.


    ralph also realized that something was wrong. he did not expect that other than the four soldiers of the empire¡¯s regular army, this escort team had such a strong fighter.


    however, in the current situation, there was no turning back.


    ¡°for the north!¡±


    ¡°for freedom!¡±


    the vikings roared their slogans, and ralph even unleashed a heavy strike with his sword, killing an empire¡¯s strong archer! the other empire¡¯s soldiers retreated one after another, and the two vikings attacked the elf sword dancer.


    even though she had an elite class, leila red leaf still felt immense pressure under the tacit cooperation of this pair of good friends.


    the imperial envoy¡ªelliot¡ªwhose face had turned pale from fright, quickly gave an order when he saw that they were in a dire situation.


    retreat!


    this camp was only 30 miles away from elu city. as long as they entered the patrol area of the city guards, they would be safe. the lord of elu city would definitely not dare to risk angering the empire by letting the envoy die in elu city¡¯s territory.


    wave after wave of attacks frightened elliot. he instinctively wanted to find a safe haven.


    ¡°coward!¡± leila red leaf scolded angrily. under the joint attack of ralph and his companion, she could only rely on her agile footsteps to dodge and could not unleash her combat strength at all. if elliot had been fearless and sent out his shield warriors to assist her, they could have been in a stalemate. when the search team returned, these two ambushers would have been the ones to run!


    seeing that his target wanted to escape, ralph refused to allow that to happen. he abandoned the female elf and pounced over. with a slash of his sword, he killed an auxiliary soldier beside elliot. his head flew more than two meters high and rolled to elliot¡¯s feet.


    such a gory scene dispelled elliot¡¯s last bit of hesitation. he ordered loudly, ¡°laila red leaf, stall these two rebels. i will go to elu city to mobilize reinforcements!¡±


    leila red leaf exhaled and took two consecutive steps on the rock wall. she jumped over ralph¡¯s head like an acrobat and blocked him from getting closer to elliot. her two swords were like a whirlwind, leaving two deep wounds on ralph¡¯s body.


    ralph, who was at a disadvantage in agility, could not disregard the female elf and chase after the imperial envoy. he could only turn around and engage in a battle with her.


    loga rushed over to help. the two of them planned to deal with this elf first before chasing after elliot.


    elliot and the other remaining shield-bearer mounted their horses under the cover of a few auxiliary soldiers and quickly galloped toward elu city.


    ¨C


    after bai xiaowen evaded the search team, he did not go and spectate the battle. instead, he walked straight back. on the small path between the camp and elu city that everyone would inevitably have to cross in order to go to elu city, he used a tree vine to pull up a trip wire and happily prepared to wait for them to fall from their horses.


    he thought to himself, ¡°after i took the initiative to act as bait and lured away half of the imperial army¡¯s forces, ralph and loga suddenly launched a surprise attack. their strength is basically equivalent to the remaining forces of the imperial army, provided that the sword dancer, leila red leaf, takes action.¡±


    ¡°the imperial envoy elliot is worried about his situation. he¡¯s worried that a third wave of ambushers will appear. he will definitely think that the camp is no longer safe and want to escape back to elu city!¡±


    ¡°of course, the fastest way is to ride a horse. moreover, that powerful sword dancer will definitely stay behind to hold back the champion swordsman, ralph. this way, what will happen next is very clear¡­ there are no more than three people coming from the camp. one of them will be the imperial envoy, elliot, and he will be with one or two regular soldiers of the imperial army!¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s brain worked extremely fast, almost comparable to a supercomputer. in fact, he had already thought of a plan when luring the enemy earlier. during the boring wait, he even predicted the horses¡¯ speed, route, and other parameters and calculated the few times that elliot might appear.


    ¡°oh, he¡¯s here.¡± bai xiaowen crouched down in the shadows and retrieved the white birch bow.


    thud, thud, thud.


    the sound of horses galloping could be heard. the two riders collided with the trip wire almost at the same time! the large rocks used to secure the tree vines were pushed a few meters away by the strong impact.


    the riders on the horse were thrown more than ten meters away and rolled on the ground.


    if this kind of traffic accident happened to an ordinary person, they would probably be paralyzed. even if elliot and the imperial army¡¯s physique was stronger than ordinary people, they would still faint from such an impact.


    bai xiaowen did not go forward. instead, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow.


    ¡°antagonists die from talking too much,¡± bai xiaowen murmured.


    with that, he fired arrows at the people on the ground. they looked like porcupines with so many arrows sticking out of them. bai xiaowen was quite accurate with his shots when it came to shooting fixed targets at close range.


    prompt information:


    ¡°you killed the imperial fighter scola.¡±


    ¡°you killed the imperial envoy, baron elliot olsif.¡±


    ¡°subquest: assassinate the imperial envoy completed. completion evaluation: c (qualified).¡±


    ¡°your reputation in the northern resistance army has increased greatly. current reputation level: reverence.¡±


    ¡°your reputation in the empire¡¯s expeditionary army has decreased greatly. current reputation level: hatred.¡±


    ¡°special prompt: lord gladys¡¯s affinity toward you has decreased greatly. current affinity level: hatred.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 33

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    there were a lot of notifications, including that loga¡¯s affinity had increased to that of a good friend, and ralph¡¯s affinity had increased to that of a friend.


    ¡°lord gladys? isn¡¯t she the widow of the former northern territory lord, the one whose husband was killed by ursok?¡± bai xiaowen was taken aback. ¡°me killing elliot doesn¡¯t affect her at all¡­ okay fine, i guess her stance on the war is the opposite of mine. however, even the great general alinath hasn¡¯t expressed his stance on this matter. why is she kicking up such a fuss? and she even has hatred toward me. women are really petty.¡±


    ¡°maybe this widow has an affair with elliot,¡± bai xiaowen thought for a second.


    ¡°all right, time to open the treasure chest.¡±


    the battle evaluation this time was not high. it was only c, which was just enough to pass. there was only one chance to draw.


    furthermore, the warrior had died a grievous death. he did not leave behind anything for bai xiaowen, let alone a treasure chest.


    ¡°the combined strength of the two of them is two to three times that of mine. if i manage to kill them without incurring any injuries, i should at least be given an a, right?¡± bai xiaowen raised his middle finger at the sky. ¡°is the rating system broken?¡±


    after venting some of his frustration, bai xiaowen finally figured out some of the rules of the evaluation system. in addition to calculating the strength of both parties, the evaluation rules seemed to be more inclined to a more direct style of killing, like stabbing the opponent. bai xiaowen¡¯s method of killing the enemy, which was equivalent to hitting a fixed target, was not recognized, so the evaluation was not high.


    ¡°this evaluation method is clearly bullying brain workers.¡± bai xiaowen opened the imperial envoy elliot¡¯s treasure chest.


    as expected of a baron, elliot¡¯s treasure chest was worthy of his status. a total of 12 gorgeous silver cards flickered with silver light. they were high-end and impressive.


    the most aggravating fact was that he could only draw once. fortunately, he would not get a bye.


    bai xiaowen rubbed his hands and silently prayed for some divine power to watch over him and give him blessings before opening one of the spoils of war cards.


    the other cards turned into light and dissipated, and the chosen card turned over.


    ¡°you have obtained an item: panty with words.¡±


    bai xiaowen was appalled, and he stood there, not moving a muscle.


    under the gentle light, a white panty-like item landed in bai xiaowen¡¯s hand.


    ¡°you panty maniac!¡± he chided.


    bai xiaowen kicked the hedgehog-like man, elliot, before spreading out the white panty to identify the latin words on it.


    there was not much space on the female panty, so there was only one sentence written on it.


    ¡°my heart will go on, gloria.¡±


    bai xiaowen sucked in a deep breath. he thought, ¡°erm¡­ perhaps, she has the same name as the other gloria?¡± bai xiaowen¡¯s heart shuddered within him. ¡°gloria, that question mark-level boss, had an affair with elliot? then are gladys and gloria from the same family? anyway, their names are very similar. then the question is, are gladys and gloria mother and daughter or sisters?¡±


    ¡°elliot, you damned winner of life, i¡¯m so glad that you¡¯ve died!¡±


    these random thoughts occupied bai xiaowen¡¯s mind for 0.1 seconds before he returned to normal.


    ¡°i¡¯ll go back, find ralph, and see if i can get some items from that female elf. that way, i can be compensated for my losses¡­ hmm, the battle should be over. i¡¯ll meet ralph and the others at the agreed place.¡±


    bai xiaowen thought for a moment and knew that ralph and selina would not stay in the camp and fight the female elf to the death. their target was gone, so what was the point of fighting? if the city guards were sent here as reinforcements, they would be goners.


    an hour later, bai xiaowen met the two viking men at the agreed location.


    both of them were injured. ralph¡¯s injuries were slightly less severe than his partner¡¯s. however, the good news was that neither of their injuries prevented them from continuing on their journey.


    regarding the fact that bai xiaowen had killed elliot and obtained the credit, loga was rather open-minded. he gave bai xiaowen a thumbs up and said that if it were not for him, he and ralph would have disgraced ursok. as for ralph, although he looked a little depressed, he sincerely congratulated bai xiaowen.


    the three of them rode to sharp helmet city to report back to the resistance army. along the way, they did not encounter the city guards of elu city. nothing unexpected happened along the way.


    after a day of riding, bai xiaowen finally saw the tall spire of the lord¡¯s mansion in sharp helmet city.


    ¡°when can i see ursok?¡±


    bai xiaowen asked ralph anxiously.


    ralph acted as if he understood. ¡°relax, dior. i understand your excitement. any viking will find it difficult to calm down when they meet a great leader. i¡¯ve already asked the chief steward of the lord¡¯s mansion, grimma, and she told me that it¡¯s lunchtime now. have some patience, he will see you soon.¡±


    as they were talking, the side door to the lord¡¯s residence opened and chief steward grimma walked out.


    ¡°ralph, loga, lord ursok has ordered you to bring your new brother along to dine with him.¡±


    ralph and loga looked excited.


    ¡°oh my gosh! eating with lord ursok is an honor worth remembering for the rest of my life,¡± loga muttered.


    ralph¡¯s expression was relatively calm, but his slightly trembling hands still betrayed his excitement.


    the three of them followed grimma into the hall of the lord¡¯s residence. bai xiaowen secretly cast insight on grimma. he was inwardly shocked because he only received a name, and the rest were all question marks.


    it was another question mark level boss. if ursok¡¯s chief steward was already so powerful, one could imagine ursok¡¯s strength.


    bai xiaowen also felt the limitations of his insight talent. he concluded that he could only detect the strength of people below level 3 (including level 3). those who were much stronger than him were all question marks and could not be determined.


    with this understanding, bai xiaowen did not even bother to use insight when he saw ursok and his trusted subordinates eating together in the lord¡¯s hall. after all, they would all be question-mark-level bosses.


    ¡°welcome, warriors of the north.¡±


    ursok, who was sitting in the lord¡¯s seat, was wearing a black cloak and looked to be in his forties or fifties. he had a dignified aura around him. he held a wine glass and greeted bai xiaowen and the other two. ¡°i see the wounds on your bodies. these are the medallions of a warrior. rest. you¡¯re home.¡±


    ¡°great ursok, we have good news¡­¡± ralph told ursok about the assassination of the imperial envoy.


    ralph did not take all the credit for himself. he told the truth about bai xiaowen¡¯s contributions.


    while ralph was speaking, bai xiaowen carefully observed the appearance, clothes, and temperament of ursok and his subordinates. he secretly analyzed their personalities, classes, and other information.


    the banquet table in the lord¡¯s hall was divided into two rows.


    ursok¡¯s left was occupied by a middle-aged man in a black robe with pale skin. what caught bai xiaowen¡¯s attention was the small wand beside his hand.


    it was obvious that this was ursok¡¯s chief mage.


    the row on the right was filled with vikings. the first man on the right was about the same height as yao ming, a very tall basketball player from another time and space. this man was burly with corded muscles. he looked extremely muscular, like a human tank. bai xiaowen wondered what kind of tragedy would happen if this person appeared in the nba tournament. he could probably trample so many robinsons that they could circle the earth.


    this burly man¡¯s name was taggart, and his other attributes were all question marks.


    suddenly, ursok¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°welcome, new brother. you were brave in the white stone valley battle and are a true viking warrior. sharp helmet city is your home now. if you have any requests, feel free to ask. grimma will help you make the necessary arrangements.¡±

 Chapter 34

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    everyone¡¯s hearts warmed at the concern that their leader was showing them.


    bai xiaowen pretended to be flattered, but his heart was filled with disdain.


    ¡°by getting the chief stewart, grimma, to make arrangements for me¡­ this is considered a mission reward? by giving me a lousy name tag, a bed in sharp helmet city¡¯s military camp, and a number of pots and pans? impossible, i won¡¯t let go of such a good opportunity!¡±


    bai xiaowen had a grave expression, and he began to speak passionately.


    ¡°there¡¯s no need to make any arrangements, lord ursok. i¡¯ve left the warm walterlund to come here so that the northern territory can be liberated as soon as possible! to me, a comfortable life is just a poison that corrodes my fighting spirit. what i want is to have greater strength, devote myself to the freedom and liberation of the vikings.¡±


    the people in the hall had different expressions. young people like loga and muscular viking men on the right were filled with respect as if they had seen a role model of morality. on the left, those subordinates well versed in literature had strange expressions.


    ursok coughed. ¡°young warrior, you still have a long way to go. don¡¯t be in a hurry to pursue power. you need to wait for the right opportunity.¡±


    ¡°in fact, lord ursok¡­ i¡¯ve encountered an opportunity now. it¡¯s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!¡±


    bai xiaowen pulled out the soul stone in front of everyone in the hall.


    ¡°i risked my life to obtain this soul stone. it will bestow me with great power and help our cause!¡± bai xiaowen said loudly. ¡°however, it has been sealed. my lord, i beg you to help me undo the seal on the soul stone!¡±


    bai xiaowen had chosen this moment to take out the soul stone after much deliberation.


    firstly, it was impossible for ursok and his subordinates to report to the north county monastery or the empire knights. the two were on opposing sides.


    secondly, bai xiaowen was a new warrior who had just made a great contribution. in order to win over everyone¡¯s hearts, no matter what, ursok would not do something like take this soul stone from him. it was impossible for an ambitious person like ursok to not understand the principle of ¡°selling the sizzle but not the steak¡±. if he took bai xiaowen¡¯s soul stone for himself, who would dare to join the resistance army in the north in the future?


    the mages in the left row looked at the soul stone in shock, and then they started whispering to each other.


    ursok glanced at the soul stone.


    ¡°kevin!¡± ursok looked at the first black-robed mage on the left. ¡°take a look at this stone.¡±


    the black-robed mage kevin nodded and extended his hand to bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen shook his head. the soul stone was in his palm, and he had no intention of handing it to kevin. ¡°master kevin, i will show it to you.¡±


    although he was not afraid of being robbed, bai xiaowen was worried that the black-robed mage kevin would be tempted by it and use his mana to replace it with a fake one. then, he would say that it was an ordinary stone. if that was the case, bai xiaowen could not do anything about it, and he could not complain about it to anyone either.


    kevin¡¯s pale face showed slight displeasure, but he still faithfully followed ursok¡¯s orders. he closed his eyes slightly and released his spirit to sense the soul stone.


    ¡°my lord, he¡¯s right. this is a soul stone. it¡¯s now sealed by a rather powerful force.¡± kevin opened his eyes and said, ¡°i can sense many wills of the dead from this soul stone. if one can fully utilize the power of this soul stone, that person can surely become a powerful summoning necromancer.¡±


    the people in the hall frowned slightly. obviously, to normal people, necromancers who controlled corpses and skeletons were synonymous with cold and gloom. others kept a respectful distance from such people.


    however, the vikings advocated power and did not have much prejudice against necromancers. if it was someone from the empire who believed in the lord of light, they would probably have a more intense reaction. they might even shout and demand to kill.


    ursok asked, ¡°young man, are you really willing to give up the honor of being a warrior and choose the disgusting necromancer as your class?¡±


    bai xiaowen said without hesitation, ¡°my talent is more suitable to be a mage than a warrior. no matter what power it is, as long as it helps the vikings¡¯ freedom and the independence of the northern territory, i will pursue it. i won¡¯t hesitate to make any sacrifices!¡±


    bai xiaowen spoke passionately, and the group of viking men nodded repeatedly.


    kevin¡¯s eyes seemed to scan bai xiaowen once before he said, ¡°my lord, this young man¡¯s physique is relatively weak, but he has a powerful spirit. he is indeed more suitable to be a long-range spellcaster.¡±


    ursok nodded. ¡°it seems that i have no reason to stop him then. kevin, you¡¯re the strongest mage in my territory. can you help him undo the seal of the soul stone?¡±


    bai xiaowen immediately looked at kevin.


    bai xiaowen had to admit that he had reached a crucial step of the s- class advancement quest, so he was very nervous.


    he was worried that kevin would decline to help him. if that was the case, the other mages would also refuse to help him. then he would have failed in this route of helping the resistance army.


    thankfully, kevin did not refuse. instead, he said straightforwardly, ¡°no problem.¡±


    ¡°phew.¡± bai xiaowen heaved a sigh of relief and quickly thanked him. ¡°thank you, master kevin.¡± he handed the soul stone to kevin with peace of mind. now, he was not afraid that kevin would swap this soul stone.


    ¡°but¡­¡± kevin¡¯s words made bai xiaowen¡¯s heart skip a beat.


    all bai xiaowen wanted to do was beat this sickly man to death! he was infuriated with how this man kept saying ¡°but¡±. whenever someone said that there would not be any good news.


    ¡°but what?¡± bai xiaowen asked cooperatively.


    kevin swept his gaze across the hall, cupped his hands at ursok, and took his leave. then, he said to bai xiaowen, ¡°follow me.¡±


    the two of them passed through the corridor and came to a study room. there were bookshelves against the wall and a laboratory table with many utensils.


    ¡°make yourself comfortable. this is my lab.¡±


    kevin played with the soul stone in his hand and said slowly, ¡°you must have stolen this from falca.¡±


    ¡°how did you know?¡±


    ¡°hehe, every spellcaster has a unique aura. falca¡¯s spiritual energy is on the seal of this stone, and i¡¯ve met falca once before. i heard that falca stole the sealed soul stone from the north county monastery and was chased by royal knights. he even escaped to another plane. i didn¡¯t expect that this soul stone would end up in your hands.¡± kevin sighed.


    ¡°it has nothing to do with falca now. it¡¯s mine,¡± bai xiaowen emphasized.


    ¡°relax, relax.¡± kevin waved his hand. ¡°i don¡¯t have any ties with falca, and i won¡¯t tell on those b*tches residing in the north county monastery. it¡¯s just that i heard yesterday about the arrest of falca, so i just wanted to have a casual chat with you¡­ all right, let¡¯s get back to the main topic.¡±


    kevin took a scroll from the bookshelf and gently unfolded it. a stream of energy light enshrouded the scroll. he placed the soul stone in the center of the scroll. as he unsealed it, he said, ¡°it¡¯s not difficult to unseal it, but the energy of this soul stone of yours seems to have dried up. if you want to obtain power, unsealing it is not enough.¡±


    bai xiaowen was overjoyed, but he composed himself and asked calmly, ¡°master kevin, can you help me charge it with energy?¡±


    kevin shook his head. ¡°the hunger of the soul stone is not something that ordinary energy can satisfy. it must devour souls. the stronger the soul, the more it meets the requirements. i can¡¯t help you with this. however, i can point you to a place.¡±


    bai xiaowen was very cooperative. ¡°what place?¡±


    kevin slowly operated the scroll. after the energy light dissipated and turned into a piece of scrap paper, he picked up the soul stone and handed it to bai xiaowen. then, he said, ¡°that place is 150 miles north of sharp helmet city. it¡¯s a forgotten graveyard where powerful ancient viking warriors are buried. the souls there definitely meet the requirements of the soul stone.¡±


    prompt information:


    ¡°you learned about the frozen tomb from sharp helmet city¡¯s chief mage, kevin.¡±


    ¡°quest progress updated.¡±


    ¡± s- class advancement quest: black soul stone. current progress: remove seal 1/1. charge 0/100.¡±


    bai xiaowen took the soul stone thoughtfully and asked, ¡°master kevin, i¡¯ll go to that ancient tomb to collect soul energy. is there anything you need my help with?¡±


    kevin smiled and said, ¡°me? there¡¯s no need. i¡¯m not interested in necromancy. i¡¯ll remind you one last time. you have to head to the ancient tomb as soon as possible.¡±

 Chapter 35

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    the class advancement quest was progressing very smoothly. next, he only needed to go to the frozen tomb and collect 100 points of soul energy to complete the class advancement quest. he could almost see the hero class waving at him.


    however, bai xiaowen¡¯s reaction was abnormal. he did not race against time to complete the mission like before. instead, he entered the wolf heart tavern in sharp helmet city.


    for three consecutive days, bai xiaowen squandered the money he had plundered from the imperial army¡¯s stronghold. he spent his days drunk and became buddies with a group of viking men. he became the most popular person in the tavern.


    he had ten days of deadline, but eight days had already passed. despite that, bai xiaowen continued to do things his own way, not worried about the approaching deadline at all.


    on the night of the eighth day.


    bai xiaowen sat in front of the bonfire as usual and drank the northern mead with the two resistance soldiers. he spoke slowly in a drunken slur.


    a scrawny man quietly made his way through the crowd to bai xiaowen¡¯s side.


    ¡°dior, i¡¯ve found the information that you want.¡±


    bai xiaowen laughed heartily as he waved goodbye to his drinking buddies. then, he followed the skinny man to his room.


    after closing the door, bai xiaowen¡¯s drunken expression vanished.


    ¡°go ahead and tell me.¡± bai xiaowen took out the money bag filled with jingling coins and threw it on the table. ¡°as long as your information is detailed enough, these are all yours.¡±


    the skinny man nicknamed ¡°mole¡± swallowed his saliva. he was one of the most famous intelligence peddlers in sharp helmet city.


    ¡°yesterday, a group of people dressed in strange clothes sneaked into sharp helmet city. everyone was covered tightly. my men pretended to be patrolmen and went over to interrogate them,¡± mole said. ¡°i followed your plan and asked them if they were vampires. in the end¡­ they gave a very agitated reaction, seeming as if i had hurled an unforgivable insult at them.¡±


    ¡°them?¡± bai xiaowen repeated.


    ¡°that¡¯s right. they¡¯re all women. they¡¯re all covered up from head to toe. not even an inch of their skin is exposed. even a fool can tell that this is a group of nuns.¡± mole revealed a lecherous look.


    ¡°okay.¡± bai xiaowen pursed his lips and gestured to the money bag on the table. ¡°it¡¯s yours. mole, i hope you can abide by your professional ethics and keep your mouth shut.¡±


    mole immediately put on a serious expression. ¡°of course, dior. i swear on my grandfather¡¯s beard that i keep the information of every client a secret.¡±


    of course, bai xiaowen would not think that an information peddler would uphold his promise. he was only tight-lipped if the other party did not pay a high enough price. bai xiaowen waved his hand and stepped out of the room separately from mole.


    bai xiaowen went straight to the stables and held onto the reins of one of the horses. his actions were swift and decisive, completely different from his previous indolence.


    ten minutes later, bai xiaowen disappeared into the snowy land north of sharp helmet city.


    ¨C


    at frozen tomb.


    this was a huge and desolate graveyard. there were broken tombstones everywhere. in the thin fog, a few skeletons could be vaguely seen wandering in the distance.


    piercing cold wind blew.


    bai xiaowen cast insight on one of the skeletons.


    [skeleton warrior]


    [race: spectre/bone race]


    [attributes: strength 5, agility 4, physique 5, spirit 1]


    [skill 1: empty skeleton: skeleton warriors are immune to bleeding and have a 10% chance of dodging small piercing damage.]


    ¡°its total attributes are also 15. it only has one passive defense skill. this skeleton warrior should be the weakest. it¡¯s only equivalent to the zombie rats we encountered in the plague rat cave.¡±


    bai xiaowen pursed his lips. he had tragically discovered that he might not be a match for the skeleton warrior if he confronted it head-on.


    his strength was equal to the skeleton warrior, and his agility was higher by 2 points, but the most important physique was lower by 3 points! this meant that they had a difference of 30 points of hp and 3 points of basic armor.


    he had no choice but to resort to tricks.


    bai xiaowen crouched down and hid behind a tombstone. he aimed an arrow at a wandering skeleton warrior.


    swoosh! he missed.


    the corners of bai xiaowen¡¯s lips twitched. a long-distance moving target was much more difficult than a fixed target.


    the air-piercing sound alerted the skeleton warrior. it increased the frequency of its wandering, looking left and right for the source of the attack.


    bai xiaowen could only continue shooting patiently. the second arrow hit its target and alerted the skeleton warrior to his location.


    a thick skeleton charged over with a broken shield and short sword. bai xiaowen noticed that its explosive speed was actually quite fast. an ordinary rookie would definitely panic.


    however, bai xiaowen had a strong mental fortitude. he had already calculated that with the skeleton warrior¡¯s running speed and the distance between them, it would be enough for him to shoot two more arrows before the skeleton warrior rushed over.


    both arrows hit their target accurately.


    seeing that the skeleton warrior had lost more than half of its hp, bai xiaowen threw away the white birch bow and took out a small dagger.


    in order to prevent the skeleton warrior¡¯s 10% dodging ability from taking effect, bai xiaowen did not use the most common stabbing method of a dagger. instead, he slashed at it.


    after two slashes, the skeleton warrior¡¯s hp bar was emptied, and it fell to the ground with a crash. the soul flames in its two deep eyes slowly extinguished. however, before it fell, the tattered short sword in its hand successfully left a wound on bai xiaowen¡¯s body, and his hp was deducted by 5 points.


    the corners of bai xiaowen¡¯s mouth twitched. 5 hp was one-fourth of his total hp. if he had been slashed by the skeleton warrior twice, he would have lost more than half of his hp. if he suffered a critical hit or a vital attack, he would be dead.


    ¡°it¡¯s so hard to recharge the energy of the soul stone.¡± bai xiaowen touched the soul stone tied to his waist and sighed.


    an invisible wisp of cold energy floated over, and bai xiaowen received another notification.


    ¡°do you want to absorb the soul energy of the skeleton warrior?¡±


    bai xiaowen did not hesitate to choose no. he picked up the white birch bow and crouched down as he walked through the broken tombstones to find his next target.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s two specialties, advanced shooting and advanced machinery (single-handed sword), were slowly increasing in proficiency.


    however, bai xiaowen ignored all the soul energy that floated out after killing the skeleton warriors.


    suddenly, the soul stone vibrated.


    an image of a banshee appeared on the surface of the soul stone.


    ¡°why don¡¯t you want to absorb all that soul energy? we¡¯re very hungry and need to eat!¡±


    her voice was very weak.


    bai xiaowen was taken aback at first. he looked around before realizing that the voice was coming from the soul stone.


    ¡°who are you?¡± bai xiaowen frowned. ¡°i¡¯ve seen you before, at the plague rat cave¡­ when i just got the soul stone.¡± he remembered that this banshee had tried to confuse his mind.


    however, what bai xiaowen did not know was that the mysterious blood-red eyeball in his left eye had caused the banshee in front of him to suffer a huge loss. as a result, the banshee¡¯s gaze was still a little evasive, and she did not dare to look into bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°my name is delifa. i used to be a countess. now, i¡¯m the spokesperson for the will of the dead in the soul stone.¡±


    bai xiaowen was not intimidated by her words. he knew very well that be it the banshee delifa or the countess delifa, they were only empty shells and did not pose much of a threat to him. therefore, he spoke in a relaxed tone.


    ¡°ah, so it¡¯s miss delifa. what brought you out? haven¡¯t you been hiding in the soul stone ever since you failed to control me last time?¡±

 Chapter 36

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    ¡°your excellency, the previous offense was a misunderstanding. moreover, i was also punished. my consciousness was almost scattered, and i¡¯ve only recovered some of my strength now.¡±


    bai xiaowen finally realized that the banshee delifa¡¯s failure last time was not because of her lack of energy, but because she had been retaliated against by him. after thinking about it, the only thing that could retaliate against delifa and made her afraid to recklessly use her mental attacks on him was the mysterious blood-red eyeball.


    ¡°why did you come out this time?¡± bai xiaowen felt more confident after coming to that conclusion.


    ¡°we need soul energy. what i don¡¯t understand is why you aren¡¯t willing to absorb the soul flames of these skeletons.¡± the banshee delifa said helplessly,¡± you can only complete your class change after absorbing enough soul energy. ¡±


    delifa had been spying on bai xiaowen in the soul stone, so she was aware that bai xiaowen was going to change his class.


    bai xiaowen shook his head and said, ¡°these low-level skeleton warriors should have the worst soul energy. i want to change my class, so of course i have to absorb stronger soul energy.¡±


    the banshee delifa said hesitantly, ¡°forgive me for being blunt. although you have a powerful will hidden in you, you are a little weak. killing a large number of low-level skeleton warriors is already a difficult task for you.¡±


    bai xiaowen smiled and said, ¡°no, you don¡¯t understand. someone will help me to complete this quest.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s impossible. i¡¯ve been watching your actions. before we set off, you didn¡¯t ask anyone to help you,¡± the banshee delifa said with certainty.


    ¡°you don¡¯t need to know this. now, go back into the soul stone,¡± bai xiaowen said. he could sense that this banshee seemed to be afraid of him. to be exact, she was afraid of his left eye.


    delifa was still feeling very bewildered as her image slowly disappeared from the surface of the soul stone.


    bai xiaowen walked deeper into the desolate graveyard. soon, he saw a new type of monster, also from the bone race.


    [skeleton archer/challenge level 1]


    [race: spectre/bone race]


    [class: archer level 1]


    [attributes: strength 6, agility 7, physique 6, spirit 1]


    [skill 1: empty skeleton (omitted)]


    compared to the skeleton warrior, the skeleton archer¡¯s attributes were superior in all aspects to bai xiaowen¡¯s. moreover, its combat method had changed from close combat to long-range shooting. the threat had more than doubled! this was also why the skeleton warrior did not have a challenge level, but the skeleton archer¡¯s challenge level was level 1.


    bai xiaojing quietly continued on his way. he did not attack the skeleton archer. fortunately, the spirit of the undead creatures was relatively low, so bai xiaowen would not be discovered if he was careful.


    after walking a few hundred meters deeper into the graveyard, bai xiaowen saw new undead monsters. there were skeleton warriors in tattered armor, tall and strong skeletons, and a plump abomination that seemed to have been stitched up. the challenge level had also increased from level 1 to level 2 and 3.


    at the entrance of a deep tomb, bai xiaowen even saw a monster wearing heavy armor and riding a skeletal warhorse. after using insight, he only received the name ¡°terror knight (elite)¡±. the rest were all question marks!


    ¡°the deeper i go into the cemetery, the more powerful the monsters are.¡± bai xiaowen did not dare to continue walking. he sat down in a corner beside a tombstone.


    ¡°master kevin, since you¡¯re here, why don¡¯t you show yourself?¡± bai xiaowen said to the empty cemetery.


    the surroundings were silent.


    ¡°i know you¡¯re here. if you don¡¯t show up, i¡¯ll break the soul stone.¡± bai xiaowen acted like he was about to smash it.


    ¡°how did you know i was here?¡±


    with a deep voice, kevin¡¯s figure appeared at the top of a tombstone not far away. he was still wearing a black robe and holding a small wand.


    ¡°i guessed.¡± bai xiaowen lied through his teeth.


    ¡°hmph. although i don¡¯t know how you managed to see through me, forget it. that¡¯s not the point.¡± compared to how he behaved when he was at lord ursok¡¯s residence, kevin¡¯s voice was a little more sinister, as if he could not be bothered to pretend anymore. he said in a low voice, ¡°you actually waited for three days. you¡¯re very patient. now, hand over the soul stone and i can spare your life.¡±


    bai xiaowen stood up. there was no fear on his face as he said, ¡°master kevin, only a child will believe these words. both of us know very well that you won¡¯t let me off.¡±


    since kevin wanted to take away the soul stone, how could he spare bai xiaowen¡¯s life and allow him to go back to sharp helmet city to complain to lord ursok?


    with bai xiaowen¡¯s revered reputation in the resistance, his words could attract the attention of the higher-ups of the resistance. they could even reach the ears of ursok.


    even though kevin was the chief mage and had a high status, snatching the treasure of a resistance soldier with a high reputation would still be intolerable to others. it was almost equivalent to betraying the resistance army.


    even if ursok wanted to protect kevin, he had to consider the damage to the image of the resistance army after this matter spread. he had to punish kevin severely.


    that was why kevin did not make a move when bai xiaowen was still in sharp helmet city. instead, he lured bai xiaowen to the frozen tomb¡ªwhich was located in such a wilderness¡ªso that he could quietly kill him and steal his treasure.


    kevin nodded slightly. ¡°you¡¯re not stupid. that¡¯s right, i¡¯ll take your life today. obey me and you can suffer less.¡±


    bai xiaowen chuckled. ¡°master kevin, i¡¯m indeed far from being your match. however, i can destroy the soul stone in advance so that you won¡¯t get anything.¡±


    kevin shouted coldly, ¡°if you dare to do this, i swear i¡¯ll extract your soul and torture you for eternity!¡±


    this sentence was enough to prove that kevin¡¯s previous words of being ¡°not interested in necromancy¡± were pure lies.


    of course, bai xiaowen was not willing to smash his class advancement tool too. he turned around and said, ¡°master kevin, i have a condition. as long as you agree, i can offer you the soul stone with both hands.¡±


    ¡°what condition?¡± kevin said warily. ¡°it¡¯s impossible for me to spare your life.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t have such a request,¡± bai xiaowen said. ¡°my condition is that from the moment i hand over the soul stone to you, you are not allowed to do anything to me within a day. also, you have to ensure my safety. after a day, you can do whatever you want to me.¡±


    kevin narrowed his eyes. ¡°what¡¯s in it for you to live another day?¡±


    kevin had been paying close attention to bai xiaowen¡¯s abnormal behavior over the past few days, and his curiosity was growing day by day. driven by curiosity, kevin really wanted to figure out what bai xiaowen was thinking.


    ¡°every day counts,¡± bai xiaowen said insincerely.


    ¡°i can promise you that. now, give me the soul stone.¡± kevin agreed after frowning slightly.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, i can¡¯t believe such a superficial promise. you have to swear to the gods!¡± bai xiaowen said solemnly.


    almost everyone in the aaron world had faith. the people of the empire believed in the lord of light, the vikings in the north believed in the god of war, the elves believed in the three goddesses, the mages believed in the god of magic, and the dark creatures believed in the devils, and so on. making an oath to the gods was not something treated as casually as earthlings did.

 Chapter 37

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    kevin seemed a little hesitant. he had indeed made up his mind to go back on his word earlier.


    ¡°if you can¡¯t even agree to this small request, we can only part ways. you can forget about getting anything!¡± bai xiaowen made his stand clear.


    ¡°i can postpone killing you for a day, but i¡¯m not obligated to protect you. therefore, i can¡¯t agree to the second condition you mentioned,¡± kevin said.


    ¡°no, as an archmage, it¡¯s too easy for you to kill me, especially in a place like this!¡± bai xiaowen would not fall for his words. ¡°you can¡¯t do anything to me within a day. additionally, you have to guarantee my safety and swear to your god.¡±


    bai xiaowen was telling the truth, and kevin understood that.


    ¡°all right, i agree to your request and swear to the god of magic, but the time limit is only 12 hours! and during the agreement period, you have to stay in this cemetery.¡± kevin was mainly worried that bai xiaowen would escape to sharp helmet city during the safe period of the agreement. if that happened, he would not be able to stop him.


    ¡°sure.¡± bai xiaowen snickered inwardly.


    after the two of them swore to the heavens, bai xiaowen also received a notification.


    ¡°you have reached an agreement with kevin, the chief mage of the lionheart empire¡¯s northern rebellion army.¡±


    ¡°you are not to destroy the soul stone and hand it to kevin. during the agreement, you are not to leave the frozen tomb.¡±


    ¡°during the agreement, kevin is not allowed to do anything harmful to you and has to ensure your safety.¡±


    ¡°if you violate the agreement, you will be repelled by spiritual particles and will never be able to enter the spiritual realm again. if kevin violates the agreement, he will be despised by the god of magic and lose his ability to cast spells for life.¡±


    ¡°the agreement is until noon tomorrow.¡±


    bai xiaowen carefully reviewed the contents of the agreement without missing anything.


    ¡°it¡¯s yours.¡± bai xiaowen handed over the soul stone.


    kevin was very cautious. with a light wave of his wand, an invisible force carried the soul stone over in front of him. then, he sized it up repeatedly.


    after much appraisal, he concluded that there was no problem with the soul stone. furthermore, with bai xiaowen¡¯s abilities, it was impossible for him to create a fake one to deceive him.


    ¡°i¡¯m very curious about your thoughts. i really want to pry open your head and take a good look.¡± even though he had obtained the soul stone, kevin¡¯s brows were still tightly furrowed. bai xiaowen¡¯s behavior was a little abnormal.


    ¡°master kevin, you¡¯ll have to wait 12 hours before you can pry open my head.¡± bai xiaowen was finally relieved. from the moment kevin signed the agreement, he was truly safe.


    bai xiaowen walked out from a secluded corner and dusted himself off.


    ¡°what are you doing? why aren¡¯t you hiding?¡± kevin was a little surprised.


    ¡°with the chief mage of sharp helmet city as my bodyguard, why should i hide?¡± bai xiaowen waved at the terror knight not far away from the other side of the mausoleum. ¡°hey, friend over there, hello.¡±


    heavenly neigh¡ª


    the skeletal warhorse under the terror knight neighed before charging at bai xiaowen at lightning speed!


    ¡°d*mn it!¡±


    kevin suddenly thought of the contents of their agreement. he had to ensure bai xiaowen¡¯s safety within 12 hours! with bai xiaowen¡¯s small body, if he was attacked by the terror knight, he would probably not even be left with a complete corpse.


    kevin reacted and suddenly waved his hand to cast a magic shield on bai xiaowen. then, he threw an ice spear and accurately hit the terror knight.


    to be able to hit the terror knight under the high-speed charge and forcefully interrupt the other party¡¯s charge, it was evident that kevin had remarkable control over his spells.


    as bai xiaowen and the terror knight were in battle mode, he could see the other party¡¯s health bar clearly. after kevin¡¯s ice spear attacked the terror knight, the latter¡¯s health bar suddenly dropped by 1/3, and its speed was much slower.


    it was also a question mark-level boss in bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes, but kevin¡¯s level of strength clearly exceeded the terror knight by several times. the tip of his wand released a string of fine icicles that hit the terror knight like a machine gun, shattering it into pieces.


    this was actually within bai xiaowen¡¯s expectations. how could an elite terror knight be compared to the chief mage of sharp helmet city?


    ¡°are you courting death?¡± kevin said angrily.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry, master kevin. you¡¯re so strong. dealing with these undead monsters is nothing to you,¡± bai xiaowen teased. ¡°i¡¯m going to die in 12 hours anyway. i must have a good time before i die, right?¡±


    bai xiaowen walked deeper into the cemetery. this time, he was not sneaking around. instead, he paced around with his hands behind his back, as if he was a leader inspecting the place. he was just short of putting two words on his forehead: attack me.


    another two skeleton warriors and a stitched abomination were attracted by bai xiaowen. they staggered toward bai xiaowen.


    kevin was so angry that he wanted to curse. he could only continue to cast spells and follow behind bai xiaowen to save his ass. he wanted to cast binding spells on bai xiaowen more than once, but the content of the agreement stipulated that ¡°no unfavorable actions are allowed¡±. restricting freedom was definitely one of the unfavorable actions.


    however, the enraged kevin did not completely lose his mind. he took out the soul stone and absorbed the soul fire of the dead monster. as he watched the soul stone gradually turn from gray to black with the increase in energy points, his depressed mood finally eased a little.


    ¡°let¡¯s see how i¡¯ll deal with you after noon tomorrow!¡± kevin gritted his teeth. he had already come up with a hundred ways to torture bai xiaowen¡¯s soul.


    twenty minutes later, kevin was slightly out of breath.


    forty minutes later, kevin¡¯s face was even paler.


    an hour later.


    ¡°my spirit energy is about to run out.¡±


    after killing a powerful death knight, kevin finally could not take it anymore. his face had turned from pale to ashen-white.


    bai xiaowen said smoothly, ¡°all right, let¡¯s take a rest. by the way, master kevin, is the energy required for the soul stone full?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s already full since a long time ago.¡± kevin looked at bai xiaowen warily. ¡°what do you want to do? according to the agreement, the soul stone is mine!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry, i¡¯m not going to take the soul stone.¡± bai xiaowen sat in the cold snow and took a sip of mead and a bite of bread to replenish his energy. he looked at the sky in the south and said, ¡°it¡¯s about time. they¡¯re coming.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s coming?¡±


    as soon as kevin asked that question, there was a commotion in the south of the frozen tomb. accompanied by the low roars of the skeleton warriors, streaks of scorching light tore through the sky.


    kevin stood up with a whoosh. ¡°who are those people? the helpers you found?¡±


    bai xiaowen shook his head. ¡°no, they are warrior nuns from the north county monastery.¡±


    ¡°damn it, how did they find this place?¡± kevin was a little anxious.


    without a doubt, the north county monastery was part of the imperial army¡¯s camp and had an opposing relationship with the resistance army that kevin was in. when the two sides met, they would not waste words and would directly take out their knives. furthermore, the soul stone sealed in the north county monastery was now in kevin¡¯s hands.


    bai xiaowen snapped his fingers. ¡°based on the speed of the enemy¡¯s advance, the enemy should be here within an hour. therefore, we have one hour of q&a session.¡±


    kevin stared at bai xiaowen and seized the time to recover his spirit. he did have doubts about bai xiaowen¡¯s abnormal behavior and felt like he had fallen into a trap.


    ¡°master kevin, let me ask you first. you¡¯ve actually been eyeing this soul stone for a long time, right?¡±

 Chapter 38

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    kevin was noncommittal.


    bai xiaowen continued his analysis.


    ¡°i noticed it when i was in lord ursok¡¯s hall. when i took out the soul stone, your breathing rate slowed down by 50%. it was obvious that you were in an excited state at that time. you even took two deep breaths to calm your breathing.¡±


    ¡°therefore, when you were appraising the soul stone, i was guarded against you as i didn¡¯t want you switching it. instead, i insisted on keeping it in my hands. it was only after you publicly announced the authenticity of the soul stone that i handed it to you to unseal.¡±


    ¡°later, after you unsealed the soul stone, you even kindly guided me on how to charge the soul stone. i originally thought that you asked me to go to the frozen tomb because you had some missions for me to do, but you said that you didn¡¯t. after hearing that, i¡¯m more than 90% sure that you are after my soul stone and deliberately let me leave sharp helmet city to come to such a desolate and remote place so that you can snatch it!¡±


    in fact, there was one more thing. the difficulty of bai xiaowen¡¯s class advancement quest was s-. how could it be so easy? kevin¡¯s greed was definitely one of the difficulties of the class advancement quest. of course, this was ¡°off-site information¡± and bai xiaowen would not say it out loud.


    kevin took a deep breath and the corner of his mouth twitched. ¡°good analysis and your observation skills are very sharp. i¡¯ve somewhat underestimated your intelligence, dior skelboom. however, i¡¯m very curious. you knew that this was a trap, so why did you still barge into it?¡±


    bai xiaowen pursed his lips.


    ¡°master kevin, you must have tampered with the soul stone to be able to pinpoint my exact location, right?¡± bai xiaowen asked.


    kevin nodded slightly. ¡°an arcane beacon, a very simple little spell.¡±


    ¡°since you¡¯re able to locate the soul stone, have you ever thought that there¡¯s someone else who can do the same?¡± bai xiaowen asked.


    kevin frowned. ¡°you mean¡­ the north county monastery?¡±


    bai xiaowen nodded.


    in fact, bai xiaowen had long guessed that the north county monastery could locate the soul stone.


    as the former chief alchemist of the royal family, falca¡¯s ability to disguise himself was definitely not weak. why was he still being chased to the extent that he had to move frequently? why was it that when he arrived on earth, royal knight gloria could still cross worlds to chase after him and accurately find the plague rat cave when she was unfamiliar with the place?


    this obviously could not be explained by the factor of luck.


    bai xiaowen deliberately stayed in sharp helmet city for three days. after the combat nuns were in position, he began to head to the frozen tomb to lure them over.


    of course, the purpose of luring them here was not to kill these nuns but to increase the number of people who knew about the location of the soul stone.


    as long as these nuns were in the know, kevin would not dare to make a move on bai xiaowen. as the opposing faction, the nuns would obviously not help kevin to cover up. on the contrary, they would be delighted to see this powerful chief mage being held accountable by the resistance army, so much so that he had to leave the resistance faction dejectedly.


    ¡°master kevin, i¡¯m afraid the upcoming battle will be very dangerous,¡± bai xiaowen said with a smile. ¡°you¡¯ll definitely be fine facing those nuns, but with my small body, i¡¯m afraid i won¡¯t even be able to withstand a single move from them. if i die, you¡¯ll lose the ability to cast spells¡­¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t need you to remind me.¡± kevin had a very sulky expression.


    ¡°i¡¯m just making a suggestion,¡± bai xiaowen said with a smile. ¡°look, the soul stone¡¯s energy is also full. can you return it to me? after absorbing the power of the soul stone, my strength will increase significantly. at the very least, i¡¯ll have some confidence in staying alive.¡±


    ¡°so that¡¯s your goal.¡± kevin snorted. he finally understood why bai xiaowen was luring monsters everywhere and deliberately walking into the depths of the cemetery. it was to force him to take action and kill high-level undead monsters to replenish the high-quality soul energy of the soul stone!


    thinking of this, kevin was a little surprised. if this was all planned, bai xiaowen was too scheming.


    however, after the shock, what followed was anger.


    kevin said coldly, ¡°put away your suggestion. i have a better idea¡­ which is to kill everyone who gets in the way! do those b*tches from the north county monastery think that they can obstruct my plan? dior skelboom, you¡¯re too naive!¡±


    the nuns of the north county monastery advanced very quickly. the scorching holy light and loud explosions were gradually approaching.


    kevin and xiaowen climbed up a tall mausoleum building and hid behind a tall tombstone. from this angle, the two of them could already see a group of five cloaked figures.


    bai xiaowen hid behind kevin and whispered, ¡°master kevin, one last question¡ªhow powerful are you compared to the commander of the honorable knights?¡±


    ¡°what?¡± kevin was shocked.


    among the five cloaked figures, the person at the front slowly pulled off her cloak, revealing luxurious dark blue armor and a golden cloak. the light of the equipment that was deliberately restrained radiated out, and a powerful aura surged as she breathed.


    she was the leader of the lionheart empire¡¯s honorable knights, royal knight gloria!


    ¡°it¡¯s very close. i can feel the vague coordinates of the evil soul stone!¡± gloria said. ¡°continue to push forward!¡±


    ¡°the damned rebels have no fear of the light. they must have come here to recharge the evil soul stone!¡± a nun snapped. ¡°the light will purify the fallen!¡±


    kevin, who was hiding behind the tombstone, also recognized gloria. his expression became even darker. he gritted his teeth and asked, ¡°d*mn it, how did you know that gloria was among these b*tches?¡±


    bai xiaowen whispered, ¡°master kevin, have you forgotten? you told me yourself that falca has been escorted back to the country. gloria is in charge of the soul stone mission. when she hears about the soul stone, she will definitely come.¡±


    bai xiaowen was 90% confident, but after activating insight, he directly detected gloria¡¯s name.


    if it was just a few warrior nuns, kevin was confident that he could kill them all. however, with gloria, the situation was completely different.


    gloria had forced falca into hiding and he even had to escape to earth! even if falca absorbed the energy of the soul stone and his strength increased greatly, he would only be able to last a few more rounds in gloria¡¯s hands.


    fortunately, bai xiaowen¡¯s image had changed drastically. he was no longer bai xiaowen, a student from earth. instead, he was dior skelboom, a handsome nordic man. gloria would definitely not be able to recognize him.


    kevin¡¯s mood was a little heavy.


    did he really have to return the soul stone?


    a strong sense of unwillingness filled the air. kevin snorted. ¡°i¡¯m in the dark now, and they¡¯re out in the open. how will we know if we don¡¯t try!¡±

 Chapter 39

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    kevin turned to look at bai xiaowen. staring at him coldly, he warned, ¡°behave yourself and don¡¯t get any funny ideas! if i fail to cast the spell because of your interference, i¡¯d rather break my oath and kill you first!¡±


    bai xiaowen waved his hands. ¡°master kevin, don¡¯t worry. i have a bottom line. we¡¯re in the same boat now. it won¡¯t do either of us any good if the boat capsizes.¡±


    ¡°as if you had a bottom line!¡± kevin thought angrily.


    he snorted and waved his wand. one obscure syllable after another came out of his mouth. as he moved, waves of mana surged around his body.


    bai xiaowen hid at the side and watched the show, but he was also a little nervous.


    in bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes, kevin and gloria were incredibly powerful. he could not detect the strength of the two of them and could only make guesses based on their statuses. he estimated that their strength was about the same. kevi behaving as if he was facing a great enemy also proved this point.


    according to the script designed by bai xiaowen, kevin had to protect himself¡ªa burden whose combat power was basically zero¡ªwhile gloria had the help of four warrior nuns! there should be no chance of winning this battle. kevin¡¯s best choice was to return the soul stone to bai xiaowen so that he could increase his strength before trying to escape.


    however, kevin had the advantage of making the first move while hiding in the dark. he was going all out and preparing his ultimate move. if he could severely injure gloria, there was a possibility of wiping out the entire team.


    ¡°if only i had insight and could see their strength,¡± bai xiaowen thought to himself.


    not far away, gloria was leading four warrior nuns to advance. suddenly, her expression changed as she felt a powerful threat!


    ¡°be careful!¡±


    gloria only had time to say these two words. after all, she was a knight and did not have a strong perception. if it was a mage of the same strength, he would have long sensed the abnormal change in the magic energy.


    beside the tombstone, kevin pointed his wand. the powerful magical energy made his black robe flutter in the wind. he was full of momentum!


    ¡°dragon breath!¡±


    behind kevin, a huge dragon-head phantom suddenly rose. the dragon¡¯s mouth opened, and a huge cone-shaped flame poured out, enveloping gloria and the other four nuns!


    bai xiaowen, who was hiding behind kevin, felt as if his hair had been burnt. it was enough to see how terrifying kevin¡¯s move was!


    the raging flames lasted for a full ten seconds before slowly extinguishing. the originally frozen ground was charred black.


    bai xiaowen looked over and saw the corpses of three warrior nuns lying on the charred ground.


    gloria half-knelt on the ground. in front of her was a two-handed sword. crack! the middle part of the two-handed sword was gradually filled with cracks and then broke.


    it was this sword that blocked most of the dragon breath damage for gloria.


    in a hurry, gloria could only protect herself and had no time to care about others. fortunately, a warrior nun hid behind her and also survived.


    however, the surviving warrior nuns were in a sorry state. their tightly wrapped nun robes were torn and burned by the flames, revealing a large area of their naked bodies.


    ¡°it¡¯s settled!¡± bai xiaowen finally calmed down. he could see that gloria¡¯s strength was still there. she had a slight chance of winning against kevin, who had just used his ultimate move.


    kevin was panting and his face was extremely gloomy. even a rookie like bai xiaowen could tell who had the highest chance of winning, much less the powerful chief mage.


    kevin¡¯s original goal was to kill gloria in a surprise attack, or at least severely injure her. only then could he win. but now, all of this was in vain.


    gloria slowly stood up and pulled out the rapier at her waist. the half-naked warrior nun behind her also stood up. both of their eyes were gleaming with hatred.


    kevin took a deep breath and slapped the soul stone into bai xiaowen¡¯s hand. ¡°go and hide! i¡¯ll call for reinforcements. watch what you say when they arrive!¡± he cast a slow landing spell on himself and floated down from the top of the tomb.


    as soon as he landed, kevin raised his wand to the sky.


    arcana technique waymark!


    a blue laser shot into the sky and hit kevin¡¯s head. it was extremely dazzling.


    bai xiaowen snuck down from the top of the tomb, pushed open the dilapidated tomb¡¯s door, and ran along the tomb¡¯s passageway.


    prompt information:


    ¡°quest progress: unsealing 1/1, charging 100%.¡±


    ¡°class advancement quest: black soul stone completed. evaluation: perfect.¡±


    ¡°do you want to change your class?¡±


    after bai xiaowen clicked ¡°confirm¡±, the soul stone, which had already turned pitch-black, instantly shot out a large number of black specks of light that surged into bai xiaowen¡¯s body.


    ¡°the soul energy of the black soul stone is resonating with you¡­¡±


    ¡°soul resonance requires 600 seconds.¡±


    bai xiaowen cursed under his breath.


    ¡°i¡¯m afraid this is the aftereffect of completing the s- class advancement quest!¡±


    if bai xiaowen was the one who collected the soul fire needed to recharge the soul stone, he would have been able to complete his job transition in an instant. there was no need for him to spend so much time resonating with his soul.


    bai xiaowen sensed danger. he suddenly rolled forward and dashed into a large tomb. he ran along the mottled wooden stairs.


    with a clang, the two short swords struck empty air. then, a slender and graceful figure quietly walked out from the shadows.


    ¡°so it¡¯s you¡­ you actually disguised yourself as a warrior nun!¡±


    bai xiaowen¡¯s pupils constricted slightly. the person who had appeared was actually the guard of the imperial envoy elliot whom he had killed¡ªleila red leaf the sword dancer who was a level 3 elite!


    leila red leaf was also in a sorry state. there were burn marks all over her body, and her snow-white thighs were faintly visible. yes, she was the one who hid behind gloria and the only surviving warrior nun.


    ¡°murderer, i will take off your head and offer it to lady gladys!¡± leila red leaf was filled with hatred toward bai xiaowen.


    bai xiaowen quickly realized that leila red leaf¡¯s appearance here was no coincidence.


    on one hand, this was the aftereffect of bai xiaowen using tricks to complete the a- mission, ¡°assassinate the imperial envoy¡±. if he had chosen to fight head-on and killed leila red leaf and the imperial envoy¡ªelliot¡ªthere would have been no follow-up to this.


    however, bai xiaowen did not have the strength to fight head-on. with his 20 hp, he would only be cannon fodder in a head-on battle.


    on the other hand, if bai xiaowen did not stay in sharp helmet city and immediately headed north after learning that he had to go to frozen tomb to complete the black soul stone¡¯s recharge mission, leila red leaf would not have the ability to investigate his whereabouts, let alone take revenge. with the vikings¡¯ aversion to the elves, even if leila red leaf simply asked around for directions, she might have been lured to the lord¡¯s residence.


    however, bai xiaowen had waited for three days for the appearance of the warrior nuns and gloria. this gave leila red leaf enough time to meet up with gloria and the others!

 Chapter 40

    translator: atlas studios editor: atlas studios


    bai xiaowen quickly cast insight on leila red leaf.


    the female elf sword dancer was severely injured by kevin¡¯s dragon breath and was in a bad state. all her attributes had been halved. it was precisely because of this that bai xiaowen could predict danger in advance and avoid her attack.


    if she had been in her peak condition, bai xiaowen would not have been able to react in time and would have been captured.


    however, even though all her attributes had been halved, leila red leaf¡¯s attributes were still completely superior to bai xiaowen¡¯s. this was also the reason why she was so confident in coming alone. she had never taken bai xiaowen¡¯s strength seriously.


    bai xiaowen looked down from above and removed the white birch bow to shoot an arrow. however, the accuracy and strength of this arrow were bad. leila red leaf revealed a mocking sneer and walked forward without changing the frequency of her footsteps. she turned her body slightly and dodged.


    bai xiaowen broke into a run. his agility was as high as 6 points, so he was extremely fast. the moment he turned around, he disappeared at the corner of another corridor.


    leila red leaf sneered. although all her attributes had been halved, her agility was still more than 10 points. she could easily catch up to bai xiaowen. however, for the sake of caution, leila red leaf did not give chase at full speed as she wanted to guard against bai xiaowen¡¯s sneak attack.


    after chasing for a few hundred meters along the tunnel, leila red leaf did not see bai xiaowen. instead, she saw a steel two-handed war hammer thrown to the ground. after taking a few more steps, she saw a quiver bag and a messy pile of arrows.


    ¡°that weak human has thrown away all his weapons in order to escape?¡±


    this thought flashed through leila red leaf¡¯s mind. she increased her speed slightly, but she was still on guard.


    after turning a corner, leila red leaf saw a white birch bow thrown on the ground. the bowstring was broken. she no longer had any scruples and chased after bai xiaowen at full speed.


    following his footprints, leila red leaf arrived at a main burial chamber. inside was a row of rusted iron bookshelves. the books placed on them had already been destroyed. leila red leaf was relieved that there was only one entrance to the main burial chamber. in other words, bai xiaowen had courted death by running into a dead end.


    leila red leaf searched carefully and saw a corner of a gray cloak behind the iron shelf.


    ¡°hmph, you will reveal such an obvious flaw? obviously not!¡± leila red leaf¡¯s heart was filled with disdain. she had seen this kind of diversion many times. she did not look at the gray cloak at all. instead, she lit a torch and carefully searched the other parts of the tomb.


    there was a large iron urn in the corner. the lid of the urn seemed to have been lifted, revealing a crack. through the crack, one could vaguely see a trace of linen.


    leila red leaf was certain that the weak human was hiding in the big urn. in order not to suffocate to death, he even secretly pushed open the lid of the big urn to reveal a crack. she sneered and quietly stepped forward. she suddenly slapped the lid of the urn with both hands and covered the crack tightly.


    she wanted to suffocate this human to death in a large urn.


    however, the moment she covered the big urn, a gust of wind suddenly swept past leila red leaf¡¯s back. before she could scream, she felt a pain in her back and was stabbed by a dagger.


    what exactly happened?


    earlier, leila red leaf reached out to cover the big urn. above her head, bai xiaowen¡ªwho had removed all his clothes¡ªjumped down lightly. in midair, he stabbed the back of leila red leaf with a dagger.


    however, bai xiaowen did not calculate the speed of his fall in advance, resulting in the dagger stabbing at the back of her heart. however, the error was not a big deal. he had still stabbed her at a vital spot. furthermore, this strike borrowed the impact of his fall to deal her with a critical hit!


    after bai xiaowen was hit, he abandoned his dagger and quickly retreated. leila red leaf, who was experienced in combat, was suddenly ambushed. her first reaction was to stab backward with her short sword and counterattack!


    a gash appeared on bai xiaowen¡¯s chest.


    prompt information:


    ¡°your attack hit elf sword dancer leila red leaf¡¯s vital point, causing 14 points of damage (critical hit) and inflicting a heavy bleeding effect.¡±


    ¡°corrosive poison has taken effect. all attributes of leila red leaf have decreased by 2 points for 120 seconds.¡±


    ¡°leila red leaf¡¯s injuries have worsened. she has fallen into a seriously injured state for 120 seconds: unable to move.¡±


    ¡°you have received 12 points of laceration damage, with an additional light bleeding effect.¡±


    ¡°f*ck!¡±


    bai xiaowen was startled. feeling terribly frightened, he ran over to the iron bookshelf, pulled the dirty cloak that he had taken off earlier, and wrapped it around his chest twice.


    after all, bai xiaowen had twice the physique of an ordinary person. the light bleeding effect finally stopped after bai xiaowen was bandaged. the ¡°-1¡± that floated above his head disappeared after a while. he only had 2 health points left.


    bai xiaowen felt that he was about to run out of energy. he sat on the ground and stared into leila red leaf¡¯s eyes through the iron bookshelf.


    bai xiaowen¡¯s cursing earlier had three meanings.


    firstly, he did not expect leila red leaf¡¯s defense to be so high. under normal circumstances, a critical hit and a vital attack would deduct at least 20 hp, but leila red leaf only lost 14 points.


    secondly, leila red leaf could actually counterattack immediately when she was seriously injured.


    thirdly, leila red leaf had such terrifying attack power. all her attributes had been halved, but when she stabbed him, probably only the tip of the sword had entered bai xiaowen¡¯s body. however, it still severely injured bai xiaowen, who had already retreated. if he had been a little slower in bandaging, he might have really died.


    although leila red leaf could not move, she was still conscious. she gritted her teeth and took out a piece of bandage. she pulled out the dagger from her back with difficulty. as blood spurted out, she tried her best to press the bandage on the wound on the back of her heart and slowly bandage it.


    ¡°no way! she can do this?¡± bai xiaowen¡¯s eyes widened. he had thought that leila red leaf would die from excessive blood loss.


    bai xiaowen really wanted to go over and interfere or attack leila red leaf again. however, looking at his weak body that only had 2 hp left, he wisely chose to give up. although leila red leaf only had less than 1/5 hp left, she still had more than 30 hp!


    before bai xiaowen could even kill leila red leaf, he would be finished with one hit. and leila red leaf¡¯s agility¡­ after being weakened twice, it was still as high as 8 points!


    ¡°leila red leaf lost 5 health points.¡±


    ¡°leila red leaf lost 3 health points.¡±


    ¡°leila red leaf lost 1 health points.¡±


    bai xiaowen was speechless as he watched leila red leaf successfully bandage her wound. the severe bleeding had turned into light bleeding, and the light bleeding had turned into no bleeding. this way, it was impossible for her to die from excessive loss of blood.


    ¡°despicable human¡­ when i recover my mobility, i¡¯ll definitely cut you into pieces!¡± leila red leaf gasped and cursed. bai xiaowen noticed that other than her chest being a little small, the female elf¡¯s figure was still very good. her long legs were quite eye-catching under the cover of the tattered nun¡¯s uniform.


    bai xiaowen could not help but whistle. of course, he was not foolish. on the contrary, he was confident.


    ¡°five, four, three, two, one¡­¡± bai xiaowen counted down.


    600 seconds of soul resonance time was up!


    notification: ¡°soul resonance complete. class change initiated. please choose your class!¡±