Today is the last day of the sect entrance exam. Many felt happy, others sad, that they could only kill one or two beasts, while Yu Zhou hasn't killed a beast—not that he is weak; simply, the beasts here are too strong.
He couldn't help but remember the time he had lived in the village, his parents. A single tear escaped his eyes as he recalled the war, where his mom had protected him by hiding him in the forest... his dad beheaded by a clan head. The flame arousing from their village and how he had starved all alone, Before being saved by a hunter, that old man, he couldn't help but smile upon remembering that old man at home.
"Hey weakling," a voice called out, snapping him back. "What are you doing, zoning out in the middle of the forest? At this rate you are nothing but beast food." Which evoked laughter among others following him.
"Nothing of your concern," he spat, clenching his fist on his bow. Despite being fellow candidates, Gu Yan was bent on making life difficult for him.
"Hehehe, seems like the weakling thinks himself a big shot," raising his two hands forward to his followers. "Guys, since he said it's none of my concern, if he could kill a beast that means I wouldn't worry about him—since it's my responsibility to take care of other weak candidates," Gu said, leaning on a small rock.
"Yeah, that's it! If you could kill a few beasts we wouldn't bother with you again. As you can see, I killed 5 Shengling Tier-1 stage beasts." Gang Lang, one of his lackeys, added while raising five silver cores proudly.
Sensing no reply from Yu Zhou, he decided to leave, flinging his robe backward and striding away. "Let's go, guys, and not bother ourselves with a clown."
Yu Zhou exhaled slowly, loosening his grip on the bowstring.
I almost couldn't control the urge.
A sharp explosion suddenly echoed from nearby.
Yu Zhou's body froze. His instinct screamed danger. His fingers brushed the bowstring, but he felt like going. His eyes darted through the dense forest, hoping to catch some strange movement, ears straining to catch the faintest rustle.
The silence only made his unease grow. After a brief struggle, he gave in to the urge and moved cautiously toward the source of the sound.
Upon reaching the source of the sound, he found an injured animal struggling to stand up.
He froze. A dragon? He had only heard of them in legend.
Moving cautiously toward the dragon, hand placed on his bow.
Its scales shimmered faintly, yet it gave off no aura. No spiritual energy. Seemed strange.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the dragon's body twisted and reshaped itself. Before Yu Zhou stood a young man.
He quickly fired an arrow in reaction to the dragon's transformation.
The arrow shot straight toward the young man but, inexplicably, stopped mere inches from his chest before falling flat to the ground.
Yu Zhou's eyes widened. What kind of power is this?
"Human, I meant no harm. Here, keep this sa—" the man stuttered, coughing out blood, handing him an orb. "Safe."
"Hey, what is this?" Holding the orb like a treasure. "What is this? Why is it so cold, like it's drained of energy?"
"Hey! Hey, what happened to you?" Shaking the man, but got no response.
"Fool. If you had conserved your energy instead of talking, you might still make it."
Whatever. Looks like fate is on my side, because I believe whatever this is, it's anything but ordinary. Shaking it harder. But why is there no spiritual energy in this?
Yu Zhou held the orb like it weighed a ton, though it felt light in his hand. Its surface was icy, as if it had absorbed all warmth from the world. He turned it over, inspecting every inch, every faint shimmer, but nothing moved except the faintest vibration against his palm.
"What? Why does it react to me?" he murmured under his breath, tightening his grip. "He's dead, right? There should be nothing left."
His brow furrowed, his heart pounding. "What... I seem to sense a calling from it".
If I put it in my mouth and swallow it, that shouldn't be bad, right? he contemplated, placing a hand on his chin.
No, forget it.
That old man was still at home, waiting for the results of the exam. Pass or fail, he had given Yu Zhou one rule: come back alive.
He couldn't risk his life over a single orb. Heaven only knew what it was that a dragon had to die because of.
Hmm, what about the body? Should I burn it or bury it?
He turned back to look at it, the orb still clenched in his hand.
"What?" He staggered backward, shock rippling through his body.
The body... It was just here a moment ago.
"Did it disappear, or am I seeing things?"
He rubbed his eyes, his breathing uneven.
I'm sure it was here.
Yu Zhou swallowed hard.
Looks like mysterious things are bound to happen.
"What's that?" His expression changed. "A Shengling Tier-2 beast is coming this way. I need to hide before I become its meal."
But before he could move, the beast lunged toward him.
No... I can't die here.
With no other choice, he swallowed the orb, hoping for a miracle.
A tremendous change began to occur in his body. His skin hardened, and though the beast tore at him, it couldn't land a single scratch.
The beast, now enraged at being unable to tear apart the unconscious weak human, lashed out wildly, aiming for the head. Its claws swiped across the body, but no mark appeared.
Frustrated, it finally swiped the human aside in a powerful motion, flinging him far away toward the mountain.