Chapter 31: Drawn into Conflict

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Drawn into Conflict

Name: Ice Feather Ring

Category: Soul Energy Equipment

Value: Rare

Effects:

1. Wearer’s Agility +2, Spirit +2.

2. Cold Resistance +3.

3. Ice-type Soul Power Affinity and Perception +1.

[Consume 1000 Soul Power to upgrade this equipment?]

After killing the Cold Ice Python, Li Heng and Bai Shasha encountered five more Snow Leopards. Once Li Heng’s Soul Power exceeded 1200, he used 100 of it to upgrade the ring he had just acquired.

Remaining Soul Power: 1127.

As for the Longsword and the ring, Li Heng attributed them both to the Cold Ice Python, claiming they were drops from the beast.

The Cold Ice Python’s corpse was too troublesome to carry, so the two tacitly agreed to abandon it. Bai Shasha had no objections regarding the ownership and distribution of the Soul Energy Equipment.

Her only point of frustration was that her current strength was insufficient. She couldn’t be of much help when they encountered Secret Realm Creatures, which left her feeling very defeated.

"Seventh Middle! I suggest you tear up your Teleportation Talismans and get out of here. This place is none of your business!"

"Heh! As if we’re afraid of you! We haven’t settled the score with you for what happened last night!"

(Profanity-laced insults omitted.)

Li Heng and Bai Shasha were walking across the Icefield when they saw two groups of people in a standoff about twenty meters away, in their eleven o’clock direction. Their argument grew more and more heated, eventually devolving into a stream of profanity.

"How boring."

Recognizing them as the same two groups who were arguing and causing trouble last night, Bai Shasha coldly spat out two words.

"It is pretty boring. With all this time, we’d be better off farming some Snow Leopards. Let’s just ignore them and go somewhere else," Li Heng suggested they go around.

With Teleportation Talismans, it was impossible for any real accidents to happen during a group fight in the Secret Realm. At worst, someone might get injured or disabled, and some might even seek compensation after leaving the realm.

Even if some of the students here were Soul Apprentices, they wouldn’t dare kill anyone. With so many witnesses, a death would be impossible to explain away after they got out.

So, wasting stamina and energy like this was truly pointless. Besides, while fighting, they also had to watch out for any passing Secret Realm Creatures to avoid being ambushed.

As soon as the pair had neared the area, people from both sides had drawn their weapons. Wielding ranged weapons was physically demanding, so much so that an arrow suddenly flew into Li Heng’s field of vision...

Huh?!

’Are you kidding me?!’

SWOOSH~

With a swing of his Cyan Blade Longsword, Li Heng sliced the incoming arrow in two.

Originally, Li Heng and Bai Shasha hadn’t wanted to get involved; they didn’t even feel like watching the drama unfold. But this arrow had flown directly toward them.

Li Heng’s gaze sharpened as he looked toward the person with the bow in one of the groups. Bai Shasha strode forward a few steps, her Wolf Claw Curved Saber already in a combat stance.

The sudden arrow, which had coincidentally flown straight at Li Heng, instantly made the atmosphere turn strange.

Both groups quieted down, turning to look where the arrow had flown.

Everyone saw a man and a woman standing not far away, both holding weapons in a combat stance.

"It was a nervous misfire!"

Just as the strange atmosphere reached its peak, a boy in a Fifth Middle School uniform suddenly broke the tension. The longbow he was using for the exam was lowered, and a quiver hung at his waist.

During the earlier shouting match, he had gotten worked up and nocked an arrow. When a fight didn’t break out, he felt that lowering it would make him lose face, so he kept the bowstring drawn.

But after holding the draw for so long, his muscles had grown sore. In a moment of lost concentration, he felt the arrow about to slip, and the boy from Fifth Middle School quickly shifted his aim.

And that led to the scene of Li Heng cutting down the arrow just now.

"Yo! Are the archers from Fifth Middle that awesome? Firing at random passersby?"

The first to react were the students from Seventh Middle School, who were at odds with Fifth Middle. In a situation like this, they were bound to make some sarcastic remarks, hoping to draw the two passersby’s ire toward their rivals.

Li Heng remained silent, his gaze still fixed on them, but he raised his Cyan Blade Longsword slightly. The meaning was obvious: he needed a better explanation.

’On the surface, I’m acting cold, but I really don’t want to waste time here. Wouldn’t it be better to go find some mobs to farm, earn more Soul Power, and get some gear?’

’But Bai Shasha is here, and I’m her teammate—her male teammate.’

’Even though it was an accident, if I don’t demand an explanation for a targeted attack like this, my image in the flat-chested loli’s eyes will plummet. At the very least, I’ll seem like a coward.’

’I’m not trying to hit on Bai Shasha, but this is a matter of face for most guys. And besides, I want to leave a good impression on her.’

’Plus, this could affect team morale.’

As for the arrow itself, Li Heng wasn’t truly angry. It wasn’t because he had been shot at, but because the arrow’s flight speed was, in his opinion, ridiculously slow. It wasn’t even as fast as the Cold Ice Python’s tail whip and had no chance of hurting him.

At most, he was just a little annoyed.

"Students from Thirteenth Middle School! This was a misunderstanding. Our archer had a nervous misfire. To express our apologies, please accept this Snow Leopard Fang."

Seeing the tense atmosphere, a girl immediately stepped out from the crowd. She walked up to Li Heng and Bai Shasha to apologize, pulling a Snow Leopard Fang from her pocket.

After hearing the girl’s apology and seeing her sincerity, Bai Shasha simply lowered her Wolf Claw Curved Saber, dropping her combat stance. She didn’t say anything, but shifted her gaze to Li Heng.

As Bai Shasha’s gaze shifted, the apologetic girl’s eyes also turned to Li Heng.

"Apology accepted. I believe it was a misunderstanding."

Li Heng hadn’t wanted to fight in the first place. Furthermore, the female student apologizing was very sincere and quite beautiful, so he decided to take the olive branch. He was about to accept the Snow Leopard Fang from her and then go somewhere else to farm Soul Power.

But just as Li Heng was about to take the Snow Leopard Fang, he was interrupted.

"Brother from Thirteenth Middle! I’m on pretty good terms with Wang Zhipeng. How about, for Zhipeng’s sake... and since this misunderstanding has been cleared up, we just let this go... What do you say, brother?"

A boy who was about 190 centimeters tall quickly ran to the girl’s side. He covered her right hand, which was holding the Snow Leopard Fang, and spoke to Li Heng with a smile.

"Yo! Has Fifth Middle School completely lost all face? You’re taking back something you offered as an apology?"

The students from Seventh Middle School saw what Fifth Middle had done—first accidentally shooting a passerby, then taking back the apology gift. They jeered, continuing to stir up trouble between the two passersby and Fifth Middle.

At this point, Bai Shasha’s expression had already soured. She stared coldly at the 190-centimeter-tall boy before her without saying a word.

"When this pretty young lady came over to apologize with a gift, I believed it was a misunderstanding. But now that you’ve said that, I think I understand. You don’t want it to be a misunderstanding. And also... I don’t know this Wang Zhipeng you mentioned!"

Li Heng considered himself a fairly good-tempered person, but now he was starting to get angry.

It wasn’t because the taunts from Seventh Middle were working, but because the actions of Fifth Middle had genuinely annoyed him.

It was one thing for the person who made the mistake not to apologize themselves. It was even acceptable to have a pretty female student apologize on their behalf with a Soul Energy Item.

But to take back the gift after offering it? That was just wrong!

If they had offered nothing but a sincere apology from the start, Li Heng wouldn’t have minded. He would have gladly accepted and left with Bai Shasha.

But since they had already made their gesture, and were now suddenly going back on it...

...Li Heng really wanted to hear an explanation.

Besides, as for that Wang Zhipeng, Li Heng remembered he was the one who got first place in the placement exam, but he really didn’t know the guy, nor did he see any reason why he should.

And he sure as hell wasn’t going to give a damn about his "face"!