Chapter 47: The Choice

Near the location of Zhang Wen and Linoah, the battle between the humans and the monstrous beasts continued relentlessly. With the Sea God’s Wrath in hand, Douglas easily broke through the first ring of the beasts’ encirclement. Taller and the others who followed closely behind were also fortunate enough to escape with him. However, just as they thought they had narrowly escaped death, they were suddenly confronted with several mid-tier monsters blocking their path.

Although for Douglas, an eighth-tier expert at the peak of his power, and Taller, who had also reached the eighth-tier level, a few mid-tier beasts posed no real threat, the time wasted in defeating them could prove fatal. After dealing with the beasts blocking their way, Douglas and the others were shocked to find themselves once again surrounded by the monstrous horde!

By the time Douglas used the power of the Sea God’s Wrath to break through the encirclement again, the same scenario repeated itself. They were once again blocked by mid-tier beasts suddenly appearing in their path, only to be surrounded again by the monstrous army.

“We’re all going to die here if this keeps up!” Feeling the dwindling combat energy within the Sea God’s Wrath, Douglas angrily muttered to Taller while dealing with the beasts before him.

“Got it… I understand,” Taller gasped, clenching his teeth tightly, his icy gaze sweeping over Lassie and Seline beside him.

“Alright, now! Charge!” Douglas shouted once more, swinging the Sea God’s Wrath in his hand to unleash its final and most powerful combat energy blade so far.

A massive fan-shaped energy blade instantly carved a bloody path through the beast horde. At the forefront, Douglas exerted all his strength to follow closely behind the blade, charging toward the outermost edge of the encirclement.

Seeing Douglas’s action, Taller naturally refused to be left behind and charged forward immediately after. Lassie, bringing Seline along, desperately kept up behind the two.

Just as in previous attempts, the four managed to break through the encirclement before the beasts could close the gap. As expected, several mid-tier beasts, each with at least sixth-tier combat power, awaited them ahead.

However, this time, unlike previous encounters, Douglas and Taller did not charge forward immediately upon seeing the mid-tier beasts. Instead, they slightly slowed their pace, allowing Lassie and Seline to catch up.

Then, just as the four were nearly upon the mid-tier beasts, Douglas surprisingly veered sideways. Immediately afterward, Taller grabbed Lassie’s arm and forcefully pushed her and Seline toward one of the beasts!

Although Lassie had braced herself as best as she could, she never expected Douglas and Taller to do something so utterly ruthless!

“Ahhh!” As the mid-tier beast’s massive mouth loomed closer, Lassie gritted her teeth and shouted, desperately channeling all her combat energy into a powerful blast aimed at the beast before her.

Boom! Lassie’s psychic wave struck the mid-tier beast, sending it tumbling backward. Seizing the opportunity, Douglas and Taller accelerated again, breaking through the encirclement of the three mid-tier beasts. However, Lassie, having exhausted her energy after releasing the psychic wave, could no longer accelerate. Helplessly, she watched as two other mid-tier beasts rushed forward, cutting her and Seline off once more.

In the blink of an eye, the other beasts surged forward like a tide from behind the two women, quickly surrounding them completely.

“Douglas! Taller! You bastards!” Lassie shouted furiously, slamming her fists into the ground. Then, a pale blue psychic shield rose from her body, enveloping both herself and Seline.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Several small winged beasts slammed repeatedly into Lassie’s psychic shield. Lassie glared angrily in the direction Douglas and Taller had fled, but as she looked, she couldn’t help but feel astonished.

Just a hundred meters away, Douglas and Taller stood side by side. Yet, beside them, several other figures had appeared.

“Zhang Wen? Jina?” Seeing Zhang Wen and the others suddenly appear before him, Taller was greatly shocked, his sprinting feet coming to an abrupt halt.

“Linoah Teacher? How come you’re here?” Douglas, too, was surprised to see Linoah.

“Strange? Is it really that strange for us to be here?” Linoah casually countered.

“Oh, of course not. You must have also broken through the beast horde, right, Linoah Teacher?” Douglas smiled, quickly walking up beside Linoah. Linoah had no students around her, and her combat uniform was extremely dirty and disheveled. To Douglas, this clearly meant that Linoah had also been attacked by a large group of beasts. As for her students, they had naturally been used as bait and abandoned to the monsters.

“Something like that,” Linoah nodded, answering Douglas’s question. But soon, she lifted her head and looked toward Lassie and Seline, who were surrounded by the beast horde not far away.

“Hehe,” Douglas awkwardly chuckled, quietly explaining to Linoah, “Back there during the breakout, Lassie and Seline were surrounded by the beasts. With so many beasts around, we couldn’t save them. Linoah Teacher, we should leave here quickly.”

“That’s right! Those two women won’t last long. Hurry up and run! Otherwise, once the beasts finish them off, none of us will be able to escape!” Taller glanced anxiously at the massive horde of beasts behind him, urging them forward.

“Oh, I see. If you’re in such a hurry, you go ahead. Zhang Wen and I still have something to take care of. We can’t leave until we finish it,” for some reason, Linoah’s tone suddenly carried a sharp, mocking edge.

“Linoah Teacher, at a time like this, you’re still thinking about the badges?” Douglas completely missed the implication in Linoah’s words and instead chuckled bitterly, trying to persuade her.

“Badges?” A sly, Zhang Wen-like smile appeared on Linoah’s lips. “When did I ever say I was interested in the badges?”

“Then what else could you possibly have to do?” Douglas blinked in confusion.

“Of course there’s something else. For example… saving people.”

“Saving people? Linoah Teacher, you’re not joking, are you?” Douglas’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Of course not,” Linoah casually smiled and nodded.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Douglas chuckled bitterly again. “Linoah, I understand your intentions. Unfortunately, with this many beasts, courage alone won’t be enough. Even if the native stone veins here could boost your psychic abilities by one tier, it still wouldn’t be enough to deal with so many beasts. If I still had sufficient combat energy reserves in the Sea God’s Wrath, I might attempt it. But now… Linoah, I advise you to give up. Once you’re caught by the beasts, it’s all over.”

“Is that so? Maybe. But, Professor Douglas, who exactly told you that it was me who was going to go save them?” Linoah’s smile became even more charming.

“What? Not you? Then who else?” Douglas was stunned again.

“Of course, it’s me,” Zhang Wen also smiled slightly and stepped forward to stand before the group.

“You?” This time, not only Douglas but even Taller couldn’t help but laugh.

“Haha! Linoah Teacher, this isn’t the time to be making jokes. You really intend to send this seventh-tier weakling to fight those beasts? Come on! Mr. Zhang, wanting to save people isn’t a bad thing, but don’t go getting yourself killed over it!”

“Yeah. There are always some people who like to play the fool. Nothing can be done about that,” Zhang Wen smiled and shook his head.

“Exactly! You understand this principle, so…” Douglas laughed heartily, nodding in agreement, thinking that Zhang Wen’s “fool” referred to himself. But before his laughter had even died down, Douglas was shocked to see Zhang Wen actually walking toward the beasts!

“What… what are you doing?” Douglas shouted in astonishment.

“Saving people, of course. Are you really that much of a fool?” Zhang Wen smiled without turning his head, quickly approaching the edge of the beast encirclement.

In the center of the beast horde, Lassie still maintained her wobbling psychic shield. Although she couldn’t hear Zhang Wen and Douglas’s conversation due to the heavy rain, seeing Zhang Wen approach the beasts, she naturally couldn’t miss his intentions.

“Mr. Zhang, I appreciate your good intentions. But you’re no match for these beasts. Please leave quickly,” Lassie turned around and calmly said to Zhang Wen.

However, just as Lassie finished speaking, she was shocked to see that all the beasts surrounding her and Seline had suddenly reacted as if facing a deadly enemy, their fur standing on end. The low growls that had echoed outside the psychic shield ceased abruptly. The only sound in the air now was the beasts’ heavy breathing.

“What… what is this…?” Lassie stared in shock as all the beasts slowly turned, seemingly ignoring her and Seline entirely, and began moving toward Zhang Wen.

The change in Zhang Wen’s situation also caught the attention of Douglas and Taller’s group. They stared in stunned silence at Zhang Wen, who stood calmly amidst the encircling beasts.

Soon, the beasts’ patience was exhausted in the tense atmosphere. Several mid-tier beasts took deep breaths and slowly approached Zhang Wen. Then, as they approached to within about five meters of Zhang Wen, three beasts suddenly accelerated, scattering in different directions before leaping toward him.

As the beasts leapt, Zhang Wen also moved. He first shifted to the left, then suddenly accelerated forward without warning. In the instant he crossed paths with the beast coming straight at him, the sharp crystal dagger reappeared in Zhang Wen’s hand.

Hiss! A sound like tearing paper rang out as Zhang Wen passed the first beast. Then, the second and third beasts arrived from both sides, attacking Zhang Wen head-on. Zhang Wen, now lacking the support of the first beast’s body, slightly tilted his body forward while raising both hands. The two beasts leapt over Zhang Wen’s head. Two overlapping hissing sounds rang out again.

Crack! The three beasts leapt simultaneously and landed simultaneously. Upon landing, two of them had their abdomens sliced open, while the third had a massive gash along its right side. In the brief moment of crossing paths, all three mid-tier beasts were wiped out.

“What… what just happened?” The completely颠覆ing combat technique left Douglas and Taller stunned and speechless.

(Note: “颠覆ing” seems to be a typo or incorrect use of a Chinese character. If the intended word is “upending,” “overturning,” or another term, please clarify. Otherwise, the translation retains the original phrasing as provided.)

Corrected version assuming “颠覆ing” was intended to be “upending”:

“What… what just happened?” The completely upending combat technique left Douglas and Taller stunned and speechless.

Zhang Wen had defeated three mid-tier beasts in a single exchange without nearly using any combat energy! Remember, those were mid-tier beasts! Earlier, even with the Sea God’s Wrath’s assistance, Douglas had to give his all to defeat just one.

However, the shock Zhang Wen delivered to Douglas and Taller that night was far from over.

After Zhang Wen instantly wiped out the three mid-tier beasts, the already agitated beast horde could no longer contain themselves. With the howls of several other mid-tier beasts, the horde surged forward like a tidal wave, rushing toward Zhang Wen.

Hundreds of beasts flew and charged from every direction,疯狂ly rushing at Zhang Wen. At this moment, not even Douglas and Taller, let alone Lassie, who had just begun to regain a little confidence in Zhang Wen, could help but feel despair.

Yet, just as everyone was certain that Zhang Wen had no chance of withstanding such an attack, a brilliant blue flame suddenly erupted from his body.

Every beast that touched the blue flame was thrown backward as if struck by a heavy blow, howling in pain. In the blink of an eye, the beasts that had charged so fiercely toward Zhang Wen rained down around him. Without hesitation, Zhang Wen charged forward, lightly flicking the crystal dagger in his right hand.

A thin, bright combat energy line, like a thread, appeared in front of Zhang Wen and suddenly snapped forward like a laser beam. The last few beasts blocking Zhang Wen’s path were instantly split cleanly in two as the thread passed over them.

“Let’s go!” Reaching Lassie and Seline, Zhang Wen grabbed Lassie and, before the other beasts could surge forward again, flew skyward with the two of them.

“Ten… tenth tier?!” Seeing Zhang Wen floating in midair, Douglas nearly dropped his jaw in shock.

Taller, however, was in a panic. Only now did he remember why he had felt so strange when he first saw Zhang Wen and Linoah.

According to the information provided by Went, Zhang Wen and Linoah shouldn’t have been here at all! Yet they were here, which could only mean one thing: Went had been discovered and had betrayed him. The mere thought of the consequences if Zhang Wen reported his cheating to Governor Temiso made Taller break out in cold sweat.

“Alright,” a short while later, Zhang Wen had already returned with Lassie and Seline to the group.

“Hehe. Mr. Zhang, I’ll remember this life-saving favor. If I ever get the chance, I’ll definitely repay you,” Lassie thanked Zhang Wen as soon as she touched the ground.

“Thank you,” Seline also spoke in her ethereal voice.

“Uh-huh. You’re safe now. What are your plans next? Given the current situation, I think this year’s survival competition probably won’t continue,” Linoah shrugged at Lassie.

“That’s right. This situation is really strange. Even if we return to the town now, we can’t guarantee we won’t encounter large groups of beasts along the way. So, we’d like to travel with you. Also, we’d like to ask you to help find the students who got separated from us earlier. That part is up to you,” Lassie said cheerfully as she took off her badge and handed it to Linoah.

“And what about you two?” Linoah looked at the others after receiving the badges from Lassie and Seline.

“I’ll go with you,” Douglas stated first.

“As for me… I plan to search nearby for the students who got separated and then head back to the town. Since Zhang Wen just dealt a heavy blow to the beasts around here, there probably aren’t many left. I should be able to handle it,” Taller hesitated slightly before saying.

“Then you’ll definitely stay with him, right?” Linoah asked Jina with a half-smile.

“No! I’m going with you guys,” Jina firmly replied, surprising Linoah. “Taller, it’s okay if I go with them, right? I’m so fed up! I never want to see those beasts again.”

“Whatever,” Taller impatiently waved his hand. He was already in a terrible mood and had no patience for Jina’s little temper tantrums.

“Great, then it’s settled. Let’s each go our separate ways and search around for the students who ran off. There are no more large groups of beasts around, and I believe everyone can handle individual beasts,” Zhang Wen looked around at everyone.

“Of course!” Lassie nodded without hesitation, then pulled Seline and chose a random direction to head into the jungle.

Thanks to the badges worn by the students participating in the survival competition, Zhang Wen and the others didn’t waste much time searching. Perhaps because Douglas’s group had drawn most of the beasts’ attention, although most of the scattered students had sustained some injuries, the majority survived the beasts’ attacks. Only Moore, the student dragged into the forest by the beasts, met an unfortunate fate.

According to imperial tradition, Taller and several students from Moore’s academy stayed behind to handle the deceased student’s remains. Meanwhile, Zhang Wen and the others, after a night of battle, continued urgently following Linoah’s guidance toward the direction where Karite had moved.

Perhaps Agate couldn’t bear to let his sister travel so far in the pouring rain, but the badge representing Karite finally stopped moving after rushing all night.

Zhang Wen一度suspected that perhaps Agate had discovered the badge on Karite and discarded it, but Linoah firmly assured Zhang Wen that this was not the case. Because the survival competition badges themselves were tools containing native stone components, highly sensitive to psychic fluctuations. When worn on someone’s body, the fluctuations they emitted were distinctly different from when they were discarded.

“I see,” Zhang Wen nodded slightly after hearing Linoah’s explanation. After a moment’s thought, he asked again, “How far are we from Karite now?”

“About thirty kilometers,” Linoah carefully sensed before replying.

“Hmm… I think we should set up camp and rest for now.”

“Rest?” Linoah frowned.

“Yeah. Rest. In our current condition, even if we catch up, we won’t be able to do anything about Agate. So, we should wait a bit,” Zhang Wen said, stretching his arms. After奔波 half the night, even Zhang Wen, who practiced the Spring Water Technique, felt somewhat exhausted.

(Note: “奔波” has been translated as “rushing around” to convey the sense of frantic or tiring movement.)

Final English translation:

“Yeah. Rest. In our current condition, even if we catch up, we won’t be able to do anything about Agate. So, we should wait a bit,” Zhang Wen said, stretching his arms. After rushing around half the night, even Zhang Wen, who practiced the Spring Water Technique, felt somewhat exhausted.

“Alright,” Linoah thought for a moment and could only agree with Zhang Wen’s suggestion. However, she soon furrowed her brows in confusion again, “Wait? What are we waiting for?”

“Hmm! Who knows?” Zhang Wen’s lips curved upward again.

After traveling all night, Zhang Wen and the others were already exhausted. As soon as they returned to camp, the group from Tempest Academy didn’t bother with formalities and immediately went into their tents. The camp quickly fell silent again.

Zhang Wen also returned to his tent on the far right of the camp. However, unlike most people, Zhang Wen didn’t immediately fall asleep upon entering his tent. Instead, he adjusted his breathing and began practicing the Spring Water Technique. For Zhang Wen, practicing the Spring Water Technique was also an excellent way to rest.

However, after entering the practice state, Zhang Wen was greatly surprised.

Since entering the second level of the Spring Water Technique, every time Zhang Wen practiced, he would enter a state of emptiness and mystery. In this state, his five senses became ten times more acute than usual! He could clearly sense every movement within a dozen meters around him. Even the sound of wind rustling leaves could be heard clearly. Many times, Zhang Wen couldn’t help but jokingly mock himself, saying that after entering the Spring Water Technique practice state, he was practically a human radar.

On this native stone vein, Zhang Wen’s combat energy was enhanced several times over. This had made Zhang Wen somewhat expectant, wondering if his “human radar” detection radius would also expand after entering the practice state. However, when the practice truly began, Zhang Wen was shocked to find that not only did his five senses not become more acute, but they were actually less sensitive than when he wasn’t practicing!

Moreover, Zhang Wen experienced a strange feeling. If he had to describe it, it was as if the previously clear and pure world had suddenly been filled with opaque mucus, making everything around him seem hazy and indistinct.

Startled, Zhang Wen hastily stopped practicing, and his five senses immediately returned to normal. But when he calmed down and began practicing again, that hazy feeling remained unchanged.

What was going on? Was the native stone negatively affecting the cultivation of the Spring Water Technique? Or had the practice entered another realm that he had not yet mastered, after being greatly enhanced by the native stone? Or was it the psychic energy released by the “Soul姬” mentioned by Linoah that was interfering with the cultivation of the Spring Water Technique?

As these stray thoughts arose in his mind, Zhang Wen could no longer maintain the calm and empty state required for his practice and had to open his eyes. The moment his eyes opened, the sensation of being submerged in mucus that he had felt during practice instantly receded like a retreating tide.

“Hmm?” Just as Zhang Wen was about to carefully investigate what was wrong with his Spring Water Technique practice, he suddenly sat up in alarm.