Tianlei stepped forward, and she immediately seized his hand.
Together, they leaped.
It was the longest controlled fall Tianlei had ever experienced. Darkness swallowed them whole. After nearly ten seconds of weightlessness, the sky snapped back into existence beneath his feet.
The moment he landed, his breath caught.
Living in a civilized environment had dulled his senses. He'd forgotten how overwhelming the natural world could be. Even the Beast Hall's chambers couldn't compare.
"This should be the outer region," The feather lady said. "Not sure there are many beasts here."
The Great Di Forest was divided into four regions: the outer region, inner region, central plateau, and the Beast Mountains. The outer region housed only lingering low-grade beasts.
"Huh. Guess we should get moving. Just hope we don't encounter a powerful magical beast."
Something struck Tianlei's chest hard. His spirit core suddenly reacted to an unseen presence.
He clutched his chest.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think it is just my spirit core," Tianlei replied.
"Huh, and I thought I was walking with a weakling. Forming a spirit core at soldier-class level quite formidable. Even fools like Bai Kun can't match that."
"You know him?"
"Anyone with the name Bai tells you everything. Rich. Powerful. Arrogant. Foolish. What about you? What about your family?"
She kicked over some stones, sending them flying but when they hit, there was no sound.
Tianlei regained his posture, his chest heaving, but he managed to control his breath just enough to steady himself.
"If I told you I come from an immortal family, would you believe me?"
She glanced at him for a second.
"And if I told you I came from the Demon Guardian Angel Palace, would you believe me?"
Tianlei chuckled. Surely everyone who came to Golden Earth Academy came from a wealthy, powerful organization or family.
"Halt."
Tianlei raised his hand.
"We've been walking for about a minute, and yet we haven't seen any kind of beast. Isn't that strange?"
"Well, this is the outer region, it consists mostly of weak ones."
"Exactly. Countless weak beasts, and not even a bird in the sky."
"What is going on?"
Tianlei waved his hand through the air. The air was there, present but it refused to move, as though the world itself had been paused mid-breath.
"The air exists," he said slowly, his gaze shifting from tree to tree, "but there's also spiritual energy mixed into it."
If this were his spirit core reacting, it made no sense. There was no way he should have sensed something like this when even the Feather Lady, a nine-star Soldier-class master, hadn't reacted yet.
"Only a spirit beast could perform this kind of technique," the Feather Lady said, already nocking an arrow and drawing the bowstring back, her posture taut and ready.
"This level of environmental control isn't something cultivators can easily replicate."
"Could we be inside the trap of a powerful magical beast?" Tianlei asked, lowering his voice.
She nodded slightly, eyes never leaving the forest ahead. "This is the outer region. The terrain and spiritual density don't favor true overlord beasts."
Her brows furrowed. "If anything, this should be the ability of a weaker but specialized type of beast, like—"
She stopped.
The air to her right rippled, subtle but unmistakable.
Tianlei felt it too and turned sharply. "Prepare."
"Black Tortoise Armor," he commanded under his breath.
A black liquid surged up from his feet, flowing over his body like living ink before hardening into thick metallic armor layered with interlocking hexagonal plates, dense and heavy, each plate etched faintly with defensive runes. A meter-long black blade formed in his grip, its weight settling naturally into his palm.
It felt seamless, as though the weapon were an extension of the armor itself. The academy truly spared no expense. Even if Tianlei saved for years, he would never afford equipment of this grade.
A shrill cry echoed through the trees.
"Feather Lady, watch out!" Tianlei shouted.
A shadow burst from the forest, moving too fast to track clearly. Tianlei caught only fragments of long, sickle-shaped arms flashing through the air and a horned silhouette lunging forward.
The Feather Lady twisted, but the thing reached her first. It collided with her body and vanished like mist dispersing in sunlight.
"What?" Tianlei barely had time to react.
Something slammed into his back with terrifying force. Pain exploded along his spine as he was thrown forward, his vision flashing white.
The Feather Lady spun and released her arrow in a single smooth motion. The arrow screamed through the air and struck something solid, blasting the creature backward into a tree. The trunk cracked and shattered on impact, wood exploding outward.
Tianlei hit the ground hard. He forced himself up, leaning heavily on his sword as the pain surged through his back in violent waves. His vision swam.
He clutched his chest and coughed, blood splattering onto the dirt.
Then he coughed again.
"Brother Tianlei—are you—"
Her voice reached him muffled and distorted, ringing painfully in his ears. He shook his head, forcing clarity, and pushed himself upright.
The Feather Lady had already nocked another arrow, her aim locked onto the shattered tree.
But the creature was gone.
"Are you alright?" she asked without lowering her bow.
Tianlei nodded, though the pain hadn't faded. "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know," she replied, eyes narrowing. "But it specializes in stealth and illusions. I couldn't see its true form clearly, but it had—"
"Sickle-shaped hands and a horned head," Tianlei finished.
Her expression darkened. "A Hell Minotaur."
She stomped her foot into the ground. Her killing intent erupted outward, violent and oppressive, the wind spiraling around her like a forming storm. Branches trembled, leaves rattled, yet the air beyond her seemed frozen, resisting motion.
"Come out and face us, coward."
The air compressed violently at the tip of her arrow.
Tianlei's spirit core reacted in response. A surge of demon Qi rushed through his veins, his body temperature spiking as pressure built in his chest. He clenched his teeth, steadying his breathing.
Then he heard it.
A shrill screech, faint but distinct, slicing through the chaos.
Since the forced bonding of his Destiny Star, his senses—especially his hearing—had expanded beyond normal limits.
A slow smile curved his lips.
He focused, then pointed sharply to his left. "Feather Lady. Kill it."
She turned instantly and fired.
The arrow tore through the air, the wind howling around it as it collided with a sickle-shaped arm. The shockwave blasted outward, sending both Tianlei and the Feather Lady stumbling backward.
This time, the creature didn't vanish.
Its true form emerged fully: a thin, bull-like body with small horns protruding from its head, sinewy limbs ending in long, curved blades of hardened flesh. It stared down at its wounded arm, blood dripping steadily from the shallow cut.
It let out a low grunt, then roared releasing a deafening and furious sound as it launched itself straight at Tianlei.
Tianlei raised his black sword and thrust forward. The blade met resistance, then tore cleanly through the creature's arm, sinking into its chest. The unexpected ease shocked him.
"Asshole," he hissed.
The Feather Lady compressed air around another arrow and released it.
The arrow flew—then struck an invisible barrier and shattered.
The Hell Minotaur Tianlei had stabbed disintegrated into dust.
"An illusion," Tianlei realized.
The fallen arrow clattered uselessly to the ground. The air warped, and another Hell Minotaur slowly materialized, blood already dripping from a wound in its abdomen.
"This one's real," the Feather Lady said coldly.
The Hell Minotaur roared and leapt into the air. Its sickle-shaped arms glowed crimson as it crossed them, releasing two crescent waves of energy that tore through the forest toward her.
She raised her bow horizontally like a shield. The waves collided and detonated, the explosion hurling her backward through the air.
The creature landed and immediately charged Tianlei.
Tianlei hurled his sword forward. The blade struck its arm, but the Hell Minotaur lifted its foot and drove it into Tianlei's torso, sending him flying again.
It stomped the ground, its chest swelling as it roared. The frozen air shattered outward, motion returning violently to the forest as trees swayed and branches snapped back into place.
"A level two," Tianlei coughed, blood seeping from his lips.
The Feather Lady rose unsteadily, jaw clenched. Even among Soldier-class masters, a level-two Hell Minotaur was no easy opponent.
"Just a level two, yet you dare act so arrogant."
Several arrows floated out from her quiver, suspended before her like a deadly constellation.
She pointed forward. They shot out simultaneously.
The Hell Minotaur crossed its arms, releasing shockwaves that shattered some arrows, but others pierced through its defenses.
Tianlei seized the opening. He lunged forward, leaping high and driving his black sword down into the creature's shoulder. The blade sank deep, biting into flesh and bone.
The Hell Minotaur screeched and retaliated, sweeping its arm sideways. The strike ripped through Tianlei's armor, tearing apart two hexagonal plates from his chest down his side.
It followed with a brutal knee to his stomach, then raised its other arm to sever his head.
An arrow roared through the air and pierced straight through its eye.
The creature staggered backward, clawing uselessly at the embedded shaft. Taking advantage, Tianlei slashed into its thigh, carving deep.
Exhaustion finally caught up with him. He dropped to his knees, barely holding himself upright as the sword remained lodged in the Hell Minotaur's leg.
The Feather Lady staggered as well, breathing heavily as she tightened her grip on her bow.
The Hell Minotaur slammed its arm downward, knocking the sword free, though the arrow remained buried in its eye. Its skin flushed crimson, murderous intent erupting outward like a tidal wave and crushing into them both, pinning them in place.
"It forcibly promoted itself to level three," the Feather Lady growled, muscles trembling as she fought the pressure.
The Hell Minotaur stepped closer, its remaining eye locking onto Tianlei. It lowered its body and thrust its arm forward.
The blade tore through Tianlei's armor and flesh, lifting him off the ground.
"Brother Tianlei!" the Feather Lady screamed.
She clenched her fists. Silver light burst from her storage ring as her Talon Hawk emerged, wings beating violently. The wind reversed, slamming the Hell Minotaur's killing intent back into itself.
It stumbled and released Tianlei.
For a brief moment, Tianlei felt death brush past him, a devilish whisper echoing inside his mind.
Kill them. Kill them.
The Feather Lady compressed the wind at the tip of her arrow and fired.
The arrow pierced the Hell Minotaur's chest. It let out a monstrous roar.
She rushed forward and caught Tianlei before he collapsed.
"You're bleeding. We need to leave—now."
She activated her storage ring to teleport, but nothing happened.
"This space is sealed… but how?"
Her eyes snapped toward the forest.
Three more Hell Minotaurs emerged from the trees, each radiating a different aura. The strongest among them stood at Advanced Stage level two.
"Fuck… no."
Veins burst from the ground, coiling tightly around their waists. A surge of healing vitality flooded their bodies, restoring Tianlei's breath, then dragged them downward, pulling both of them beneath the earth.