Chapter 180 - 169: Jiang Hongtao’s Analysis

Chapter 180: Chapter 169: Jiang Hongtao’s Analysis

Three days!

It took roughly the amount of time they’d originally planned. Li Heng’s group of four spent about three days in this forest, strolling, chatting, and ’camping’ along the way.

Although the forest canopy was so dense it blocked out much of the light, making it dim even during the day, they could still clearly tell the difference between day and night.

During the day, the four of them explored the forest. Whether it was a Tier One or Tier Two Soul Beast, they attacked any they encountered. Over these three days, Li Heng had managed to gain about 3,000 Soul Energy Points.

It wasn’t a huge amount, but Li Heng was quite satisfied. After all, within the secret realm, the ways to gain Soul Energy Points were limited, so getting any at all was good. Besides, he could now open an Ancient Dust Continent Dungeon once, so he wasn’t too worried.

When it was time to rest each night, they would choose a spot with a relatively open line of sight, and each person would take turns keeping watch.

To ease the burden of the night watch, Li Heng would release his Ice Luan to help keep guard.

During these three days, the nights passed without any major incidents. Only occasionally would a stray Soul Beast, attracted by the campfire, end up becoming a ’late-night snack’.

"You know, it’s just like back in the thickets. We can hear wolves howling, but we haven’t seen a single wolf-type Soul Beast! It’s so strange!"

Jiang Hongtao was very perceptive. After hearing the occasional howl over the past three days but never seeing so much as a strand of wolf fur, he made this casual remark.

Li Heng, who knew the real reason, didn’t say anything, offering only a smile.

Li Heng wasn’t sure why—perhaps he’d used up all his luck in the Dungeons—but over the past three days, the other three members of his team had all, to some extent, acquired Soul Energy Items from their kills.

Bao Yaoyao had the best luck. She got a ’pig-type’ Soul Energy Pet Egg. However, she immediately stuffed it into her Space Stone, her expression darker than ink.

"I can accept any other pet, even an insect or a snake! But not a pig-type Soul Beast! I already don’t have enough to eat, so why should I have to share my food with it?! And second, it’s because of my nickname. Don’t ask about my nickname! If you ask, I’ll punch you!"

After getting the pig-type Soul Energy Pet Egg, Bao Yaoyao immediately asked if anyone wanted it. The other three all shook their heads, since she had killed the beast herself.

Seeing that none of her teammates wanted it, Bao Yaoyao stuffed it into her Space Stone and immediately began to explain. After she finished, she pouted, still clearly unhappy.

Finally, she declared that she would just sell the pig-type Soul Energy Pet Egg. With the credits or Alliance Coins she earned, she’d treat the three of them to a good meal.

The other three just responded with a smile, not daring to ask any more questions, though it was true that they were all immediately curious about Bao Yaoyao’s old nickname.

Over the course of the three days, besides the rewards they each got from Soul Beasts, they also encountered some other new students.

Most of the new students were very polite. Some groups even took the initiative to share information and food with Li Heng’s party of four.

But they also ran into one or two more arrogant new students who, upon seeing Li Heng, challenged him to a duel to see the strength of the new student representative.

Of course, the ’dueling process’ was always over in a matter of seconds. To save himself the trouble, whenever a student challenged him, Li Heng would talk them out of it right away.

"I’m a Soul Warrior."

And so, those one or two arrogant new students would act as if they had never made the challenge, immediately changing the subject and becoming much more polite to Li Heng.

And so, the group of four’s three days in the forest ended up being a relatively stress-free ’camping trip’, truly feeling more like a spring outing.

It wasn’t until they had finished exploring the forest and were about to leave that it really sank in that they weren’t just there to have fun.

As they were about to leave the forest, the dim view was replaced by streaks of light. Having grown somewhat accustomed to the gloom, everyone found the light a bit dazzling.

But without a doubt, the appearance of these rays of light meant that their journey through the forest was over, and they were heading to a new area.

It also meant that they had completed the journey of roughly two hundred li. Now they had to keep moving forward, and ahead of them was the area where Tier Three Soul Beasts roamed!

The path ahead had to be traveled, and it was fraught with uncertainty!

"Let’s move! We have to go sooner or later anyway! But I suggest we make it a quick trip. It’s only two hundred li round-trip from here. If we push ourselves and travel through the night without resting, we should be able to do it in a day without much issue."

About to step beyond the two-hundred-li mark and enter the region where they might encounter Tier Three Soul Beasts, Li Heng thought for a moment and decided it was better to be cautious and make it a quick trip.

Bao Yaoyao said, "I have no problem with that! To be honest... I get scared just seeing a Tier Three Soul Beast! No, I get scared just thinking about them!"

Bai Shasha said, "You decide."

Jiang Hongtao, however, fell silent and didn’t reply to Li Heng immediately.

Seeing him like this, the other three grew curious and pressed him for an answer.

Faced with their questions, Jiang Hongtao furrowed his brow and, after a short while, finally spoke.

"Actually, I’ve had this thought for a while. Tell me... how are we supposed to know when we’ve traveled three hundred li? We haven’t seen any landmarks or anything along the way."

Hm?

Hearing Jiang Hongtao’s words, the other three all perked up. They fixed their gazes on him, eager to hear what he would say next.

Seeing all his teammates’ eyes on him, Jiang Hongtao didn’t keep them in suspense and continued.

"Of course! I’m not sure if the school set up a checkpoint or something at the three-hundred-li mark. And we can also estimate our travel distance. But I just have this feeling... something isn’t right!"

"Like what?" Bao Yaoyao pressed.

"The fifteen days they gave us is way too much! Even for ordinary people resting normally, seven days would be enough to finish the journey. Even accounting for Soul Beasts as obstacles, it should still take a Soul Pupil about seven days. They also allow teams of four, which is perfect for new students like us—who are mostly in the Soul Pupil Realm—to handle a single Tier Two Soul Beast. That means within the first two hundred li, four days should have been more than enough, no matter how slowly we traveled. So fifteen days is far too long. It’s as if..."

"It’s as if all this extra time was specifically set aside for the next one hundred li! So personally, I think not being able to determine the exact distance is a minor issue. It doesn’t matter if we estimate and walk a little extra. But later on... something is definitely waiting for us."

Jiang Hongtao was very calm as he said this, and he made sure to emphasize his main point.

After Jiang Hongtao finished, the other three were silent for a moment before they all turned their gazes to Li Heng.

After all, Li Heng was the core of the team. At a critical moment like this, they were waiting for him to make the decision.

And Li Heng, fittingly, sank into deep thought...