"And that's how we became the damsels in distress and were saved by Jamila here," Sakeem said with a wry, small smile. His skin was as dark as the shadows of the forest, and his jawline was set with the confidence of a man who had stared death in the face and won. Now, he sat comfortably, leaning against a tree with his medieval sword resting nearby and a sturdy green shield—meticulously crafted from the reinforced scales of a Dragon Frog—propped up at his side.
"Yes, we almost met our end that day!" another young man chimed in, his voice filled with a mix of lingering fear and relief. He was shorter than the others, with tawny skin and blond hair that had grown unruly during their weeks in the wild. On his lap lay two long daggers, their blades fashioned from sharp, jagged pieces of salvaged metal and fitted with hand-carved wooden handles. "I truly thought Sakeem was going to take a bullet to the brain. We were saved twice: first by that giant cat's intervention, and then by Jamila's spear!"
The group accompanying Jamila consisted of four men. Three of them, it seemed, had been part of that fateful first encounter in the apartment lobby.
"And it didn't take long for us to realize that she was the strongest cultivator we had ever met... only because she started a day earlier, of course!" Kian added with a playful wink. He was the middle ground of the group—not as hulking as Sakeem, but leaner and more agile, with intelligent yellow eyes that missed nothing. "Okay, okay, jokes aside. The truth is, we owe her our lives several times over."
The soldiers could not help but to smile at that amicable group. It was clear to them, even in that short period, their connection to each other. Lieutenant Costa, a man who had spent his life in the military, recognized that look. It wasn't just friendship; it was the bone-deep trust found only in special forces units or brothers-in-arms who had survived a massacre together.
"You guys are truly impressive," Costa complimented, though his gaze rarely drifted from Jamila. His mind was working at triple speed, absorbing every detail of her story like a sponge. Every word she uttered was a goldmine of intelligence. If he could bring this information back to his superiors, he wouldn't just be a Lieutenant anymore; he'd be the man who gave his country the edge in this new, supernatural war. A promotion is the least I deserve for this, he thought.
"Not many people could have survived three weeks in this hellscape. It explains why you move with the coordination of elite fighters."
The men in the group beamed with pride. Being praised by their peers was one thing, but receiving a compliment from a high-ranking military officer was a different kind of validation. Jamila, however, remained stoic, her expression as calm as a still lake.
"I'm not sure 'impressive' is the right word. We simply did what we had to do," Jamila said, dismissing the praise with a slight wave of her hand. "But fighting wasn't our only challenge. I quickly learned that the city had fractured into three major factions, each clawing for whatever resources were left. There were The Raiders—or Smugglers, as I call them—a bunch of opportunists who thrived on the chaos. Then there were The Sentinels, formed from the remnants of the police and military who, for some reason, refused to touch the cultivation books. And finally, The Truth Seekers—a religious and scientific cult that performed... grotesque experiments."
She paused, her eyes darkening. "We chose to stay independent, like many others. But whether we planned it or not, our group grew. People look for light when everything goes dark."
********
The hardships were endless but it made the bond between the group stronger. At the same time, their cultivation strength grew as they killed the 'mutated animals' and hostile human parties along the way.
Remarkably, Jamila's group had maintained a moral compass. In a world turning savage, they remained human, helping those they could. Their reputation spread through the ruins of the city like wildfire, reaching a peak when they tracked down and executed a notorious mass murderer who had been terrorizing the northern district
With all these facts, the number of people who wanted to join the group grew exponentially. It didn't take long for them to become relevant in the city and by the beginning of the fourth week, they had already surpassed 150 members!
They had secured a defensible base in a northwestern school, turning the classrooms into living quarters and the gymnasium into a training hall. A small, organic society began to take root.
They built barricades, erected watchtowers from scrap metal, and established a strict patrol rotation. Because the school was isolated from other tall buildings, they could see threats—both beast and human—from miles away.
But many other problems arose, one of the worst was food.
Although they looted many houses, food was always scarce.Scavenging was becoming a deadly game of diminishing returns. The rooftop gardens they had started wouldn't yield vegetables for weeks. One day, the pantry finally went empty. The scouting parties returned with nothing but bruises and empty bags. Desperate, someone had a bold idea: why not eat the beast's meat?
At first, the suggestion was met with horror. Eat those demons? But one man, a brave soul who had lost everything, volunteered to be the test subject. The group watched him eat the roasted meat of a Dragon Frog with bated breath, waiting for him to keel over.
He didn't die. In fact, he looked better than he had in days.
The regret that followed wasn't because the meat was toxic, but because they realized how much power they had been throwing away. The meat was rich in condensed Qi. It tasted better than any premium steak from the old world and, more importantly, it acted as a catalyst for cultivation.
The meat was immediately rationed for the warriors. It was thanks to a diet of giant snake meat that Jamila had finally shattered the bottleneck and broken through to the Third Stage of Body Tempering.
"...That's why I'm leaving. I have to find my parents. The group is strong enough to stand on its own now," Jamila told the council, her voice echoing in the quiet classroom.
Inside a closed classroom, ten people stood. They were the group's council and were responsible for making important decisions. Naturally, the council was made up of the strongest or most respectable people in the group.
"I'm against it," an older man said, shaking his head. He was only at the First Stage, but his management skills had kept the camp running. "We don't know what the world looks like outside. What if there's nothing left? What if the forest goes on forever?"
"Think clearly about it Jamila, how are you going to get there?" Another woman added, she had known Jamila for a long time and concern was written on her face. "We've been to the end of the city, there are no signs of human life outside! The roads end as if they had never existed, we are on an island in a sea of green."
Jamila stood her ground. As the only Third Stage cultivator, no one in the room—perhaps no one in the city—could physically stop her. And that's exactly why they wanted her to stay.
"They are my parents," she said, her voice dropping to a determined whisper. "I have to know. Even without me, you have nearly twenty Second Stage warriors. Firearms are useless now, so the other factions won't risk a direct assault against a fortified position like this. You'll be safe."
"You're right," another man said, his white tank top straining against his cultivated muscles. "But do you really think these four will let you walk out that door alone?"
Every eye in the room shifted to Sakeem, Kian, and the others.
"No way she's going without us," Sakeem said, leaning back.
"Packs are already made," Kian added.
The short boy with the daggers just nodded, while the fourth man grinned. "Hehe, I've always wanted to see what else is in this forest."
Jamila felt a surge of warmth in her chest. A rare, genuine smile broke across her face. "You men are impossible."
"Fine," the older man sighed, his resistance crumbling. "Go. Find them. We'll keep the fires burning here. We can only pray the forest shows you the same mercy you've shown us."
Jamila thanked the group and left the room, memories of the last weeks flooding her mind.
**********
"At first, we headed east, but after a couple of days, the beasts just kept getting bigger and meaner!" one of Jamila's men laughed, though the memory clearly held a sting. "I'm sure that Buffalo was equivalent to a Fourth Stage Body Cultivator!"
The soldiers gaped. A Fourth Stage? They hadn't even reached the Second Stage yet.
"He's right," Jamila confirmed. "It was stronger than all five of us put together. We retreated and decided to head in the opposite direction. The further we moved away from the heart of the forest, the weaker the animals became. Finding you proves my theory: the danger level increases the deeper you go toward the center."
"Shit!" The soldiers were stunned.
Even before today's tour, they had thought they were strong because they were ahead of most soldiers on Earth. But since they found Jamila's group they were feeling weaker and weaker! Yet, none of them dared to wish upon themselves the cost Jamila had to pay for that.
Lieutenant Costa, however, wasn't feeling discouraged. He was ecstatic. The information was worth more than gold:
Cities survived inside the forest.Monster meat is a source of Qi.Cultivation can be accelerated by diet.There is a "Voice" of a god directing the world.
"Wow..." Costa breathed, his eyes wide. "This changes everything."