Chapter 303: Crisis
They hadn’t come here to hunt creatures for money—that was merely incidental. Any gains made within the Lost Land wouldn’t be confiscated by the academy and could be exchanged directly for credits at market price.
After all, training required combat. And spoils from victory always carried some value. Still, creatures that posed no challenge—or were excessively dangerous—were not their targets.
The question was:
Had these subtle vines made them their target?
Xu Zhi hadn’t entered unprepared.
During the past few days of training, she had pretended to learn blade techniques from Ji Muge. Xi Min had noticed and helped her apply for a horizontal saber imbued with a Tenacity trait. It wasn’t as good as her own, but it was serviceable.
Now, Xu Zhi secured the little aberrant plant’s flowerpot to her waist with a strap and retrieved the saber from the bracelet engraved with spatial circuits that the academy had lent her.
The bracelet would have to be returned later—it was only on loan. Some upperclassmen possessed their own spatial Transcendent items and hadn’t borrowed the school’s.
Xu Zhi, as a “poor person,” had accepted it without hesitation.
She hadn’t stored the little aberrant plant inside, though. Living beings couldn’t be placed in spatial storage. She didn’t want to risk an accident.
Even if, strictly speaking, the little aberrant plant barely qualified as “alive.”
Perhaps “half-dead” was more accurate.
The seven of them naturally couldn’t walk in a straight line abreast.
Chu Xiaoyue took the lead without question.
Xu Zhi, Ji Muge, and the [Heart]-attribute senior Su Ran walked in the middle.
Shu Yushan, Qiu Hou, and Tong Zhou brought up the rear.
When Xu Zhi drew her blade, a teammate shot her a questioning look—not asking why she had drawn it, but whether she had detected danger.
Xu Zhi’s gaze shifted toward the vines beside them.
Understanding dawned, and the others raised their guard.
After entering the forest, the environment was no longer silent.
Occasional insect chirps and birdcalls echoed through the air. Aside from that, however, it remained relatively quiet.
Though the vines seemed unusual, no one acted rashly. They had only just entered and were still probing the terrain; this wasn’t the time to initiate a battle.
The vines stretched across this entire stretch of land. Even after several minutes of walking, they had yet to exit their range.
Beyond the vigilance required by the vines, Xu Zhi once again faintly felt that strange comfort creeping in.
As the Transcendent energy inside her “boiled” like a massage coursing through her body, waves of pleasure rolled over her.
She had to keep reminding herself—
This was an illusion.
A temptation from the Lost Land.
She must not give in.
Yet even with constant self-warning, if her thoughts wandered for even a moment, she would slip into:
It feels so good… I want to feel it a little longer…
Fortunately, Xu Zhi always caught herself in time and pulled her mind back.
But something subtle changed.
As she resisted the temptation again and again—gradually even growing accustomed to it, no longer needing frequent reminders to maintain her composure—
Her palm suddenly began to itch.
That was worse than the temptation.
Because the itching came from the exact spot where Midnight had once left its mark.
Why now?
The thought flashed through her mind, and inspiration struck.
She immediately activated the Transcendent circuits of [Lamp], attempting to check the positions of her other kin.
The moment the portion of circuits belonging to [Kin] lit up—
A sharp pain pierced her palm.
Xu Zhi decisively stopped.
But that brief instant was enough.
She confirmed it.
The other kin were inside the Lost Land.
So—Midnight truly had some connection to this place.
A terrible yet exhilarating revelation.
Exhilarating because she now knew the other kin were here, somewhere within this mist-shrouded land.
Terrible because Midnight was likely here as well—and was actively preventing her from contacting them.
She had unearthed the grave buried within Midnight. She had violated Midnight’s rules.
She still didn’t know what kind of backlash awaited her.
With her current strength insufficient, it was best not to provoke such a dangerous existence.
Xu Zhi didn’t attempt contact again.
She could only hope Midnight’s location wasn’t in the shallower layers of the Lost Land. Let her survive this pre-league training safely.
She had no desire to confront something excessively dangerous right now.
Still—
Knowing that Midnight might exist within the Lost Land made its danger far more tangible.
Before, she had only heard rumors.
Now, a place she had personally visited—a place undeniably perilous—was connected to it.
Only then did she truly grasp how dangerous this land might be.
Lost in thought—
Suddenly, Xu Zhi sensed a streak of green lunging toward her.
It was fast, but not faster than her reaction time.
She was about to draw her blade and deal with the small creature when she caught a glimpse of her teammate’s movement from the corner of her eye.
So she deliberately held back.
—Shing.
A flash of cold light.
Shu Yushan’s spear pierced forward, cleanly slicing the small green snake in half at the waist. The remaining force exploded its body apart. With a slight flick of the spear tip, the snake was obliterated—nothing left.
“Junior, be careful. Don’t lose focus,” Shu Yushan said, his tone polite rather than teasing.
Xu Zhi didn’t mention that she could have handled it herself.
Teammates needed opportunities to perform—and save face.
That helped team cohesion.
And allowed her to slack off a little.
Still—
Such a weak snake, probably only around Level Three—Proficient.
How did it dare attack her directly?
The question had just crossed her mind—
When the vines, which had previously only stirred occasionally, suddenly lashed toward Shu Yushan, who had just withdrawn his spear!
Shu Yushan curled his lips in a grin.
Unfazed.
He yanked the spear back with a sharp pull, then swept it horizontally, severing the surging vines from the side. Without stopping, he redirected the residual force into another strike.
His movements weren’t clumsy.
They were nimble.
With each swing, he intercepted the vines attacking from left, right, and above, preventing them from closing in.
The instant he was engaged, the other teammates reacted immediately and rushed to assist.
Of the seven, only Chu Xiaoyue and Xu Zhi remained stationary.
Chu Xiaoyue merely observed the surroundings, offering no immediate aid.
Xu Zhi had already activated [Eyes of Secret], searching for the vines’ true body.
These vines had been present along their entire path.
If they didn’t locate the core entity, cutting the tendrils would be nothing but pointless expenditure.
And the vines attacking them were increasing—almost forming an overwhelming tide.
Xu Zhi didn’t want excessive commotion drawing further trouble.
The moment [Eyes of Secret] opened—
Information flooded into her mind at dozens of times the normal volume.
Fortunately, after her experiences in the Federation world, she had long learned how to process such overwhelming data—filtering out the irrelevant with precision.
Within moments, she found the hidden attacker concealed in the forest.
“Northeast, thirty degrees. Three hundred forty meters.”
She provided exact coordinates.
Her teammates, long accustomed to her precision through training, immediately understood.
Without hesitation—
They charged toward the direction she indicated.
