— You...? — Bai Yunsheng asked quietly, looking at his partner.
— What a coincidence, isn't it? — Li Yuhua said with an awkward smile.
The girl's blue eyes met Bai Yunsheng's indifferent gaze, and, lowering his gaze slightly, Bai Yunsheng noticed that the bracelet on her wrist was also glowing blue.
— So, you're my partner for this trial... — Bai Yunsheng said with a sigh, standing up and extending his hand.
Li Yuhua was surprised by his action, but quickly composed herself and, smiling, took his hand, rising from the ground.
— So... What is our plan? — she asked, waiting for him to make a suggestion.
— Let's just survey the area first. There's no rush! — Bai Yunsheng replied indifferently, heading off in the direction his eyes led him. Li Yuhua followed him.
***
For the next few hours, they simply strolled along the outskirts of Mount Wangmei, exploring the forest and cliffs around them.
All this time, Li Yuhua tried to strike up a conversation with him, but he simply ignored her.
At one point, Bai Yunsheng sensed a strange energy.
— What's that smell? — he asked quietly, frowning.
— I don't know, but it smells nice! — Li Yuhua replied, smiling.
Seeing her reaction, Bai Yunsheng sighed and looked up at the sky.
"Everything is happening too fast... I can't even comprehend how different it is from the book... Li Yuhua in the novel almost never smiles, earning her the nickname "Cold Princess!"
"Did I do something wrong to cause such a change in her character?" Bai Yunsheng wondered, looking up at the clouds drifting across the sky. A gentle breeze tickled his face. From the forest, he could hear the life of spiritual beasts, and from Mount Wangmei, a faint Dao energy emanated.
Dao energy!?
Bai Yunsheng looked toward Mount Wangmei and concentrated.
"Mount Wangmei is a place full of minerals with spiritual Yin energy. It's a source of power for spiritual beasts and their cultivation. So where did this human cultivation energy come from!?" — Bai Yunsheng thought to himself and headed toward the source of this energy.
Li Yuhua hurried after him, and although Bai Yunsheng couldn't see it, Li Yuhua herself was smiling mysteriously.
***
Zhou Yulong stood atop a tree, surveying the surrounding area.
When the participants were separated for the second stage of the martial arts tournament, he expected to be matched with the same partner as in his past life, and he was right.
— Aside from a couple of weak spirit beasts, there's no one nearby... — he said, looking at his partner.
— Excellent, I just finished creating a couple of talismans! — replied a young man with chestnut-colored hair tied in a bun and brown eyes.
He skillfully waved his pen across the papers, inscribing various symbols and seals.
"Yao Ren is the calligrapher Na Lixin's apprentice. In my past life, he and I went through the second and third stages of the martial arts tournament together, and then went our separate ways."
"A few years later, when I mastered my master's swordsmanship and began wandering the world, we met and formed a team."
"In the future, he will become known throughout the world as the 'Heir of the Immortal,' and his skills in calligraphy, seal-making, and laws will be widely renowned!"
While Zhou Yulong was recalling Yao Ren from the past, he didn't notice the boy handing him several talismans.
— Here! This stage will be difficult, so we need to think about safety! — Yao Ren said with a gentle smile.
Zhou Yulong thought for a moment, then accepted his gift.
— Let's go! We need to get at least two bracelets to proceed! — Zhou Yulong replied and jumped down from the tree. Yao Ren followed suit.
As they walked, a small conversation ensued. They discussed their skills, the lives they had led, and how much they admired their masters. Yao Ren described some of his adventures with Na Lixin, and Zhou Yulong recounted his experiences in the sect.
The conversation was lengthy. Each shared something from their lives. This continued until nightfall.
To their surprise, no one had attacked them during this entire time, and finding a small cave, the pair settled in.
Zhou Yulong brought firewood for the fire, and Yao Ren carved several symbols on stones, turning them into a bed, pillows, and blankets.
— Wow... — Zhou Yulong whistled.
— My master taught me this. One day, he realized that long journeys required a lot of expense, so to save money, he created several techniques for turning stones into furniture! — Yao Ren explained.
Zhou Yulong chuckled. For a moment, he was overcome with nostalgia for his past life, where they had also sat around a fire, Yao Ren had created beds, and talked for hours about Na Lixin's deeds.
Afterwards, they left the cave to hunt several spirit beasts for dinner.
Walking carefully among the trees, they noticed something unusual.
As night fell, the entire forest glowed bright blue. The mushrooms on the trees gave off a faint aroma, not too pungent, but not too weak either, just a pleasant scent. Blue fireflies emerged from the surface, illuminating the already beautiful forest. And from the water group of huge jellyfishes floated among the trees, gliding past the boy.
— Beautiful... — Yao Ren whispered softly, admiring the view. Zhou Yulong said nothing.
One of the jellyfish flew up to them and looked at Yao Ren. Although it had no eyes, they clearly felt the creature's gaze on them.
Up close, the jellyfish was the size of Yao Ren's head, and its tentacles were long, making it seem only a head shorter than the boy.
Yao Ren slowly raised his hand and carefully touched the jellyfish. It, in turn, extended a tentacle, enveloping the boy's hand.
At that moment, Yao Ren felt as if his soul was connected to this jellyfish, and all he said was:
— Your name is Langtian... — he whispered softly and smiled tenderly. The jellyfish seemed to like the nickname and circled around the boy.
The other jellyfish flew away, but Lantian remained with his new friends.
They continued walking. Yao Ren played adorably with his new friend, and watching them, Zhou Yulong missed his mouse, Heping.
After some time, Zhou Yulong and Yao Ren managed to kill a large Spiritual Bull.
Yao Ren placed the carcass in the spatial storage, and the duo headed back to their base.
— This thing is quite useful... How much did you get it for? — Zhou Yulong asked his partner.
— Not much. Just 57 Spiritual Stones! There were small spatial bags for 35 Spiritual Stones and large ones for 100 Spiritual Stones.
— Master wanted to buy me a large bag since it was my birthday, but I didn't want to spend so many stones, and he didn't want to give me a small bag, so we agreed on a medium-sized spatial bag.
While Yao Ren was explaining this, Zhou Yulong felt something approaching and, looking toward the source of the sensation, saw two young girls running toward them.
Their faces expressed panic and fear, and a huge crowd of spiritual beasts was chasing them.
— Help us, please! — one of them screamed in panic, running toward Zhou Yulong and Yao Ren.
— No-no-no-no, don't come near us! — the boys screamed in panic and began to run away.
Lantian the Jellyfish didn't understand what was happening, but she flew after Yao Ren, thinking it was some kind of game of tag.
***
The game of tag continued for several hours until the boys and girls reached Yao Zhen and Zhou Yulong's base. The spirit beasts, tired from such a long chase, dispersed and left the humans alone while they caught their breath.
— Why the hell were so many spirit beasts chasing you? And why the hell were you running in our direction? — Zhou Yulong asked the girls, breathing heavily and irritably.
— Where else were we supposed to run!? And by the way, you, as true men, should have protected us and defeated those monsters! — said a girl with golden hair and golden eyes, puffing out her cheeks. She was dressed in luxurious clothes.
The girl next to her, presumably her partner in this trial, sighed and bowed to the boys.
— I apologize for getting you into trouble, and I apologize for my partner! — said a girl with short black hair and dark eyes, dressed in the white robes of some obscure sect and a cape.
— No need to apologize... — Yao Ren began to get nervous, but Zhou Yulong interrupted him.
— You're Zhang Yong, ranked 10th, aren't you!? — he asked, looking at the girl with golden hair and eyes.
The girl chuckled and, crossing her arms, turned away from him, apparently offended by his earlier outburst.
— Hey, answer when spoken to! — Zhou Yulong lost his temper, even though he knew it was true.
The girl continued to ignore him. Her friend sighed wearily, and Yao Ren smiled tenderly and looked at her.
— By the way, what's your name? Mine is Yao Ren, and yours? — he asked with a sweet smile.
The short-haired girl blushed slightly and whispered shyly,
— Qin Li-Na... — she replied quietly, looking away as Zhou Yulong and Zhang Yong quarreled in the background.
Yao Ren nodded and, looking at Zhang Yong and Zhou Yulong, cleared his throat.
— Okay, let's not quarrel and just eat!
Taking his space bag, Yao Ren pulled out the carcass of a spirit ox and began butchering it. The short-haired girl decided to help him while Zhou Yulong and Zhang Yong squabbled in the background...
To be continued...