In the forest where Emrys stayed alone, he decided to finally get up. He stretched, then jumped down from the branch he had been resting on.
His cultivation for now was enough, and it was time to start moving.
With the strength he had built up, he closed his eyes again and sensed his surroundings. Every step on the ground, every chirp from birds, every monster's growl, every rustle of leaves or branches—all of it was sharply clear to him.
Different scents from all over the forest also reached his nose. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes with a smile, and began walking east—as if he already knew exactly where his target was.
King Sauro swallowed when he noticed that Emrys had finally started to move.
Meanwhile, Xin was walking alone through the forest when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring at him.
He stopped and looked behind him, expecting to see someone, but found nothing. He sniffed the air, but sensed no unfamiliar scent.
Except for the giant black spider that was about to drop from above to crush him—but Xin moved faster. With a simple hand gesture, the spider froze just a meter above him.
The spider struggled violently, letting out a high-pitched screech, but Xin's threads held it firmly in place.
He looked up at the monster and smiled. "You almost got me there. What a waste, my spider friend."
The creature screeched again, drooling angrily, but Xin wasn't intimidated. He left it hanging there and continued walking.
When he had moved far enough away, he flicked his finger. The threads tightened instantly, slicing the spider in half. Its bloody body fell to the grass, dead.
On the other side of the forest, Magnus wiped his fists with a white handkerchief as he walked away from the destroyed ground, shattered trees, and scorched or pierced bodies of countless lions.
Rein Flamio was atop one of the tallest trees in the forest, quietly observing the area for a moment.
He then decided to jump down and land on the ground. Prince Warren waited nearby, sitting casually on the body of an enormous serpent whose body was nearly a meter and a half thick.
"Did you find anything?"
Rein began walking away. "Nothing yet, Your Highness."
The prince followed him with his hands in his pockets. "So where now?"
"I'll follow my intuition."
Rein heard the prince sigh deeply. "This is getting boring. We still haven't spotted any of the instructors. I'm starting to wonder if this is even a competition, or if this is just their trick to make us wipe out the monsters in this forest."
In another part of the forest, Dao Daishin was battling a massive bull-like beast over two meters tall with sharp horns and glowing red eyes.
Trees shattered wherever the monster rammed, and many of Dao's teammates had already retreated. Some were injured, others unconscious.
"We can't beat that monster! It's too strong!" one of them shouted while watching from afar.
Beside him, a teammate leaned against a tree, wincing from a broken arm. "If Leader Dao hadn't arrived, we'd all be dead by now."
"Stop talking and rest. Just wait for our healer. They'll be here soon."
Dao, meanwhile, was laughing. His fists and face were bloody, but there was no fear or panic in his expression.
"Well now! Even in the forest I get to meet a beast like you! I like it—keep fighting!"
The bull snorted loudly and charged again, horns aimed straight at Dao. But Dao didn't retreat or dodge.
Instead, he released even more energy from his body. His fists met the monster's horns head-on.
The beast kept pushing forward, swinging its horns toward Dao's neck. But Dao, tougher than steel, blocked every strike with the power of his fists, laughing as the forest shook from the impact of their blows.
Dao's teammates were terrified for his safety.
Each collision between Dao and the monster cracked the ground, sent shockwaves through the trees, and left destruction in every direction.
Until Dao dodged one horn, and as the bull lunged again with a wild swing, he focused all his strength into a single punch. His fist met the horn—and shattered it.
The creature screamed and staggered back, but Dao moved like lightning. He ducked, then delivered a massive uppercut to its jaw.
The force cracked the ground beneath him, and the bull's teeth shattered completely.
The beast shot into the air before crashing to the ground, blood pouring from its mouth, its eyes lifeless.
Dao's men watched in awe and relief at how he defeated the massive beast all by himself.
As long as Dao Daishin remained with them, they believed they had a strong chance of making it back to the academy alive.