Chapter 29 - 25: Lucky Ye, Hand of God!

Chapter 29: Chapter 25: Lucky Ye, Hand of God!

Day Nine in the Five Springs Mountain Secret Realm. Weather: Sunny.

As the first stage of the exam drew to a close, a large number of students had already gathered at the foot of the mountain in the center of Five Springs Mountain. The students were clearly divided, forming several groups as well as a few lone wolves.

The groups varied in size; the larger ones had over a dozen people, while the smaller ones consisted of only two or three. The size of each group was inversely proportional to its average power. The higher the average power of the group, the fewer the members. The lower the average power, the more members it had.

As for those who refused to form teams, they were, without exception, students from the Heavenly Dao Class. They possessed absolute confidence in their own strength and needed no assistance from others.

Since the second stage of the exam had not yet begun, the smaller peak at the center of Five Springs Mountain remained closed, shrouded by a massive mountain-protecting barrier. The examinees could only gather outside the barrier at the base, waiting for the second stage to commence.

Over the course of nine days, the 305 twelfth-grade examinees from Luocheng First High School had dwindled to just 98. Nearly two-thirds had been eliminated.

Among those eliminated was even a student from the Heavenly Dao Class. It wasn’t that his Cultivation was lacking, but rather that he had been sheltered too well since childhood. Upon arriving in the Five Springs Mountain Secret Realm, various factors prevented him from unleashing his full power, leading to his regrettable elimination.

Such cases were not isolated incidents among the over two hundred eliminated students. The real Cultivation Realm was infinitely more cruel than the students could ever imagine...

In a forest five kilometers from the foot of Five Springs Mountain.

A girl with delicate features, wearing her hair in a ponytail, sat bored on the back of a tamed Giant-toothed Snow Leopard. Swinging her dainty bare feet, she murmured to herself, "What is Lu up to? I’ve been wandering around forever and haven’t run into him. Don’t tell me he found a place to hide and just never came out?

"But looking at the points ranking on my wristwatch, he has enough points now. It seems I don’t need to go deliver Demon Fiends to him.

"In that case, I’ll just go wait for him at the foot of the mountain."

With that thought, Mu Xiaoye patted the head of the Giant-toothed Snow Leopard beneath her and commanded, "Snow Leopard, let’s go!"

"ROAR!"

Deafened slightly by the beast’s sudden, thunderous roar, Mu Xiaoye covered her ears and couldn’t help but yell, "Snow Leopard, shut up! If you startle me like that again, I’m going to beat you!"

Hearing that Mu Xiaoye was going to hit it, the Giant-toothed Snow Leopard instinctively recalled the unpleasant memories from three days ago, and its entire body violently shuddered.

Life was hard, and the snow leopard could only sigh.

To avoid a beating, the Giant-toothed Snow Leopard had no choice but to turn its head and flash Mu Xiaoye the most flattering, sycophantic smile it could muster.

"MEOW~"

Seeing the Giant-toothed Snow Leopard act so obedient, Mu Xiaoye happily rubbed its fluffy head. "That’s more like it. Let’s go."

The Giant-toothed Snow Leopard nodded, then carried Mu Xiaoye and bounded toward the foot of the mountain.

Along the way, with a Qi Cultivation Seventh Level Giant-toothed Snow Leopard clearing the path, other Demon Fiends in the vicinity didn’t dare approach, only watching the human and leopard depart from a distance.

In the exact same mock exam, some struggled with every step, avoiding Demon Fiends like the plague. Others, however, took a leisurely stroll, bossing the Demon Fiends around. Sometimes, the disparity between people was greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen had arrived at a location ten kilometers from the mountain’s central base.

During his journey, Lu Chen had taken the time to accumulate his score to 45 points. The vast majority of these came from that pack of Blood Amber Demon Wolves.

It was just that hunting Demon Fiends in reality didn’t yield any experience points in the game. Otherwise, Lu Chen’s experience would definitely not be at its current level.

In addition, during this time, Lu Chen had also tested a theory he had been unable to confirm. That was: if his real-life self was injured, could he heal by using his in-game character, thereby achieving a sort of ’Undying Body’?

For example, if his real-life self was battling a Demon Fiend, and his in-game character furiously consumed Elixirs to restore Spiritual Power, would his real-life self’s Spiritual Power also begin to recover in tandem with his in-game status?

If possible, this would undoubtedly open the door to a whole new world for him. It could spawn many special tactics exclusive to him alone.

After conducting some tests, Lu Chen was astonished to find that this idea was actually viable! Although his real-life self and his in-game self existed in different dimensions, in a sense, they shared the exact same body.

This discovery reaffirmed another crucial fact for Lu Chen: his in-game character absolutely could not afford any mishaps. The moment his in-game self died, his real-life self would die along with it.

He thought to himself, "It seems my previous theory was correct. I’ll need to be even more careful in the game from now on...

"And becoming an Alchemy Master has become exceptionally important for my in-game character.

"Whether because of the utmost safety it provides within the Cyan Cloud Sect, or the massive amount of Elixirs it can yield.

"Becoming a disciple of Danyang Peak is nothing but beneficial to me.

"It’s just that this Alchemy Skill... is way too difficult to get an entry-level grasp on!

"Forget it, forget it. I won’t think about it anymore. I’ll see if I can rub off some of Yezi’s luck once I meet up with her."

At dusk, after a half-day’s journey.

Lu Chen finally emerged from the dense forest and arrived at the location for the second stage of the exam.

"Lu! Over here!"

"ROAR!"

"Snow Leopard, shut up!"

Lu Chen walked over curiously, watching Mu Xiaoye unceremoniously slap the Giant-toothed Snow Leopard beside her across the face.

"Is this your newly tamed pet?" he asked.

Mu Xiaoye hopped down from the creature, put her hands on her hips, and said proudly, "Yep! My big cat is pretty cool, right?"

Looking at the Giant-toothed Snow Leopard that had been disciplined into total submission, Lu Chen couldn’t help but marvel at Mu Xiaoye’s dominance. To be able to tame a Qi Cultivation Seventh Level Demon Fiend to such a degree proved that her power was far above this creature’s.

However, Lu Chen didn’t care how she had subdued it. Right now, he just wanted her to do something crucial for him.

"Ye, come here. I want to borrow something from you," he said.

"Borrow what?"

"Borrow a bit of your luck."

Hearing this, Mu Xiaoye tilted her head in thought before walking over to his side. Under his surprised gaze, she lifted his right hand and gently blew a puff of air onto it.

"There! This young lady has lent her luck... to you!"

Watching this scene from a distance, Chen Hua was so jealous that he bit down on his collar, his eyes full of hostility as he glared at Lu Chen.

Although he sensed a murderous gaze, Lu Chen didn’t pay it any mind. All of his attention was already focused entirely on the game screen.

A moment later, he stared in disbelief at the Pill Furnace glowing with golden light in the game, completely stunned.

Wait a minute, so this path of Alchemy... really just depended entirely on luck!

[You have successfully refined a batch of Qi Gathering Pills. You have unlocked a new Skill... Basic Alchemy Skill]

[Basic Alchemy Skill: entry-level 1/1000]

[Effect: A foundational alchemy technique that slightly increases the success rate of alchemy]

Although Mu Xiaoye didn’t understand what game Lu Chen was playing, she knew that golden light flashing in a game usually meant something good. She looked smugly at his complex expression and gloated, "How about that? My luck is pretty great, right?"

Lu Chen looked at her, unsure of what to say for a moment. People always said that relying on luck wouldn’t get you far, but from childhood until now, Mu Xiaoye had seemingly always been synonymous with good fortune. She had relied on luck for eighteen years; who was to say she couldn’t keep relying on it to get through the rest of her days?

With a lucky charm like her by his side, he could completely hand over any future tasks that required luck to her.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen said sincerely, "Yezi, you really did me a huge favor this time. After the exams are over, I’ll treat you to a meal. You can order whatever you want."

"Really?!"

"Yeah."

"Hehe, you said it! Then I’m not going to worry about losing weight this time. I’ll eat you out of house and home!"

"Nothing too expensive."

"Blegh, I’m going to order the most expensive things just to make you mad."

Just as Lu Chen and Mu Xiaoye were bickering, the barrier surrounding Five Springs Mountain gradually vanished...

The second stage of the mock exam had officially begun!

PS: Daily request for continued reading, monthly tickets, and collections!