Chapter 35: Liang Xiaole

After extracting the black panther's magic core, Jian Chen and Tie Ta continued their journey to hunt magical beasts. For ordinary academies, hunting first-stage magical beasts with strength below the Saint level was an incredibly arduous task, fraught with the constant risk of death. However, in the eyes of Jian Chen and Tie Ta, it was merely a form of entertainment. The second area had become their golden hunting ground for magic cores.

The day passed quickly, and night fell. Jian Chen and Tie Ta sat on a cleared patch of ground, with a torch between them. The bright flames flickered in the dark night, distorting their shadows, making them look like a devil with bared fangs and outstretched claws.

The surroundings were pitch black, and beyond the range of the torchlight, it was so dark that one could not see their hand in front of their face. The night was not peaceful; from the distant forest, the roars and howls of magical beasts could be heard, sending shivers down one's spine. If a timid person were to spend the night in such an environment, they would likely be frightened to death.

Tie Ta turned over a large piece of unknown magical beast meat on the grill. By the light of the torch, it was clear that both Jian Chen and Tie Ta's clothes were tattered and stained with blood. The blood was from the magical beasts, and the tatters were from the thorns.

"Changyang Xiangtian, you are truly amazing. I never thought your rusty iron staff would be so powerful. Almost all the magical beasts we killed today were taken down by you alone. Only the small snake at the beginning was killed by me," Tie Ta said with admiration.

Jian Chen smiled faintly and replied, "I just happened to seize the right moment. If you hadn't wounded those magical beasts so badly, it would have been much harder for me to kill them."

Tie Ta chuckled, finding some comfort, and continued, "Changyang Xiangtian, can you tell me why you always manage to detect the approach of magical beasts in advance?" Tie Ta's face was full of curiosity, a question he had been holding back for a whole day, and now he finally found the right moment to ask.

Jian Chen did not hide anything, pointing to his ears and head, and said, "Use these and these."

Tie Ta followed Jian Chen's gesture, pointing to his own ears and head, and asked curiously, "Do you mean you rely on your ears to listen and your head to think?"

"Half right!" Jian Chen, holding the tip of his iron staff, began to sharpen it on a large rock he had moved to his feet, and answered nonchalantly, "Besides listening with your ears, you also need to use your spirit to sense the surroundings. However, the latter method is still too difficult for you at your current level."

"Ah!" Tie Ta nodded, seemingly understanding, and then his face showed a thoughtful expression.

Jian Chen placed the almost sharpened iron staff beside him, unfastened his spatial waist belt, and said, "Tie Ta, let's check our harvest for today." As he spoke, he shook the spatial waist belt, pouring out all the magic cores inside.

One by one, the magic cores rolled out of the spatial waist belt, gradually piling up into a small mountain about a foot high in front of Jian Chen.

Tie Ta followed suit, unfastening his spatial waist belt and pouring out all the magic cores, which also formed a small mountain about a foot high.

"I have a total of forty-eight," Jian Chen said with a satisfied smile. The harvest of the day was undoubtedly very significant.

"I have a total of forty-nine, one more than you," Tie Ta said excitedly. Such a large number of magic cores was something he had never seen before. He had never imagined that he would one day possess so many magic cores, even though they were all first-stage. For Tie Ta, who came from a commoner's family, this was a tremendous wealth.

"Having such a rich harvest on the first day is already quite good. I wonder if the number of magic cores we have can make us the ones who contribute the most. After all, the reward is very generous—a fourth-stage magic core and a spatial ring," Jian Chen was also moved by the rich reward, especially the fourth-stage magic core, whose energy was much purer than that of a first-stage magic core.

At this moment, Jian Chen's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he said in a low voice, "Quickly put the magic cores away, someone is coming." As he spoke, he quickly put the magic cores on the ground into his spatial waist belt and hung it back on his waist.

Tie Ta's actions were also quick. As soon as he heard Jian Chen's warning, he started to hurriedly collect the magic cores on the ground. By the time Jian Chen had finished, Tie Ta had also put all the magic cores into his waist belt.

After both of them had put the magic cores into their spatial waist belts, they waited for a few breaths. Then, the grass in the distance began to sway slightly. With a "rustling" sound, a slender figure emerged from the grass. When he saw Jian Chen and Tie Ta standing by the fire, he was clearly taken aback, and then let out a cry full of surprise and joy, as if a drowning woman had grabbed a lifeline, and ran over in a disordered manner.

"I finally found someone, I finally found someone. Please save me, don't leave me alone. I'm so scared, I'm really so scared. Those magical beasts are going to eat me..." The man's voice was very panicked and full of fear, but it was also very delicate.

Only then did Jian Chen and Tie Ta realize that this person was actually a girl. By the light of the torch, they could vaguely see that the girl was wearing the uniform of the Kagas Academy, but the uniform had been torn by the thorns in the forest, leaving her almost unclothed, and even exposing her white undergarments. Her clothes were also covered in mud, indicating that she had fallen many times.

The girl's face was covered in dirt, making it impossible to see her features clearly. However, her long cheeks were now streaked with clear tears, and her watery eyes looked at Jian Chen with a plea, appearing very pitiful and helpless.

"Sit down first," Jian Chen tried to make his tone as gentle as possible. He had already guessed the girl's situation. In such an environment, even some men who had not experienced much would feel terrified, let alone a girl.

Seeing that the person was a delicate girl, Tie Ta also relaxed his guard, gently putting down the axe in his hand and staring at the girl with curiosity.

Jian Chen looked at the girl calmly and asked, "Can you tell me your name?"

"I... I'm Liang Xiaole," the girl answered timidly, her eyes darting around, filled with fear, and some hidden worry and fear.

"Why are you alone in the forest, a girl with such a small heart? The sounds of the forest alone scared you so much," Tie Ta asked in a gruff voice.

Liang Xiaole glanced at Tie Ta timidly and said in a low voice, "I was originally with a few friends, but we encountered a magical beast. It was very powerful, and we couldn't defeat it even together. Several of us were injured, and I got separated from the group while fleeing."

Hearing this, Tie Ta sneered and muttered to himself, "A few people couldn't even handle a first-stage magical beast. They are really useless. Today, Changyang Xiangtian and I killed nearly a hundred magical beasts."

"Rumble!"

At this moment, a strange sound suddenly came from Liang Xiaole's stomach. Jian Chen and Tie Ta's eyes immediately focused on the source of the sound, which was Liang Xiaole's stomach, now making a continuous "rumbling" sound.

"Are you hungry?" Jian Chen smiled.

"Yes!" Liang Xiaole nodded shyly, her voice as soft as a whisper, and said, "I haven't eaten for two meals." As she spoke, her eyes kept glancing at the golden, sizzling magical beast meat on the grill, her nose greedily sniffing the faint aroma. The more she did this, the louder her stomach rumbled, almost sounding like thunder to Jian Chen and Tie Ta.

Jian Chen smiled and picked up the wooden stick with the magical beast meat, tearing off a large piece without fear of the heat, and offered it to Liang Xiaole, saying, "Here, take it and eat. Be careful, it's hot."

Liang Xiaole rubbed her hands and then used the tattered corner of her clothes to wipe them, carefully taking the magical beast meat. She didn't care about the scalding heat and started to eat greedily.

Liang Xiaole must have been very hungry, as she quickly finished the large piece of magical beast meat and looked at the remaining piece with longing.

Jian Chen smiled and tore off another large piece, offering it to Liang Xiaole, saying, "Here, take it and eat."

Liang Xiaole hesitated for a moment, then looked at Jian Chen and Tie Ta and said in a soft voice, "I'm done. What will you eat?"

Tie Ta chuckled and said, "Don't worry, we still have a large one. Look under that tree." As he spoke, he pointed in the direction.

Liang Xiaole followed Tie Ta's finger and saw a large, unknown magical beast lying under a nearby tree, one of its legs already missing, and there were still fresh bloodstains on the ground.

Looking at the dead magical beast, Liang Xiaole swallowed hard and said, "You guys are really amazing. Two people can kill a first-stage magical beast."

"Ha... What's the big deal," Tie Ta said nonchalantly.

Time passed quietly, and soon Jian Chen and Tie Ta had finished eating and were preparing to rest.

"Hey, where am I going to sleep?" Liang Xiaole asked, looking troubled.

Jian Chen pointed to a nearby tree and said, "Go up the tree to rest. That way, even if magical beasts attack at night, you won't be harmed."

"Ah, magical beasts will attack at night?" Hearing this, Liang Xiaole's face turned pale, her eyes filled with fear, and her body trembled.

"What about you? Where will you go? Please don't leave me alone. If you do, I'll definitely be eaten by those ferocious magical beasts," Liang Xiaole asked, her face tense as she stared at Jian Chen and Tie Ta, afraid they would leave her behind.

Jian Chen sighed inwardly. He had no idea what to do with the timid Liang Xiaole. Girls from noble families, who had grown up in a sheltered environment, often panicked when faced with danger.

"Don't worry, we won't go far. We'll rest under that tree," Jian Chen said.

Hearing this, Liang Xiaole felt a bit relieved, but the fear in her heart still lingered.

"This damned academy, this damned dean, why did they make everyone participate in such an activity? Isn't this just a way to kill people?" Thinking about the cause of her current predicament, Liang Xiaole couldn't help but curse, her voice tinged with a hint of crying.