Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Such was human nature. Betrayal had been a dilemma since the dawn of time. Xiang Ning didn’t dwell on it. This time, the rescue mission had greatly benefited his team anyway. Killing a tier two beast had lifted his team to the eighth position, and upon checking the numbers, he felt relieved. The increasing numbers also meant that Lu Shiyu and the rest were fine. Fang Rou and Xiang Ning looked at each other and smiled.

However, it was late. The two of them chose a small building as a shelter. This was a piece of cleared land and wasn’t suited for hiding, but the reinforcement team that had arrived had radiated strong enough auras to scare away beasts for the moment. Tonight, this place would be much safer than other places.

“I’ll keep watch first,” Xiang Ning offered. Although they were scared, beasts could still be curious. If the first watch was peaceful, then the second should have no problems.

Fang Rou didn’t refuse, staring at him. He awkwardly scratched his head and asked, “Did I become more handsome or something?”

“Ptui!” Fang Rou glared at him in disgust. “You’re disgusting! I’ve seen so many more better-looking dudes they could form a line from Qiling to Hanwu Academy!”

The schools were situated in the east and west sections of the city.

“But I’m the one in front of the line,” chuckled Xiang Ning. She hit him.

“Alright, alright, in all seriousness, I think your cultivation has improved again.” Fang Rou was perplexed by it. His previous improvements could be explained away by the recovery fluid, but what about now? No tier one martial artist could wield blades at more than three hundred meters per second!

“Uh… How do I put this.…” Xiang Ning was also unsure of his answer and started forming a story. He would tell a few jokes, maybe, but ultimately, he would never tell the truth about his system

Fang Rou stared at him for a long time. “Fine, that’s your secret. Forget I asked.” It was true, too. As a child from a martial family, they took secret martial skills and techniques seriously. Every secret must be guarded with care; she was only asking out of curiosity.

“My master gave me a technique to cultivate my mental power, including strengthening my telekinesis.” Xiang Ning decided to go with a very common excuse. While it was old fashioned, it was still useful.

“You have a master?” asked Fang Rou, perplexed. So this guy really was a prodigy? She had never believed it when people called him a prodigy, because she knew he’d relied on himself to improve. But today, his performance had shocked her, because mental power couldn’t be improved so quickly!

Xiang Ning solemnly asked her, “What kind of person do you think I am?”

Fang Rou told him what she thought.

He replied, “You’re right, I am a prodigy unlike any other!”

“Heh! But that person must be a master among masters to be able to train you! And one who specializes in mental power, at that!” Fang Rou had always dreamed of getting stronger.

“You’re absolutely right! Powerful indeed!” Xiang Ning quickly formed an imaginary master. Now he could blame all of his improvements on this mysterious yet powerful master.

Fang Rou believed him.

“Alright, it’s been a long day. Get some rest,“ said Xiang Ning.

“Hmph, have you forgotten about my afternoon nap in the tree?” She glared at him, still angry that he had abandoned her in the hole.

Xiang Ning was speechless, then pointed at the moon in the sky. “Look, what’s that?”

Fang Rou paused, then looked up. There wasn’t anything there. Did a beast fly past them? “What is it? A beast?” she asked.

“Look at the moon, it’s so bright today,” replied Xiang Ning.

Fang Rou had no response for that.

Upon her insistence, Xiang Ning slept. When he woke to take the second watch, he felt around for his pills and secretly swallowed one. Instantly, he felt his body strengthen by ten percent. It not only resolved his thirst and hunger, but also increased his healing speed. It was only natural that a healthy body would heal faster. He looked at the sleeping Fang Rou, thought for a moment, then quietly leaned forward. He fished out a pill and slowly opened her mouth, plopping it inside.

The pill instantly melted, upon which she swallowed and opened her eyes. “What did you make me eat?”

Xiang Ning was almost scared to death as he stared into her eyes. “Nothing, it’s just something to recover your strength.”

She took a deep breath, turned around, then fell asleep again. Xiang Ning exhaled deeply. He was already sprouting cold sweat! He clapped his hands and whispered, “Not bad. I think I’ll do that again.”

His heartbeat quickened again.…

By the sixth day, eleven teams had been eliminated. These were either unlucky or weaker teams. Their resources had been exhausted and had to rely on themselves for food!

Xiang Ning and Fang Rou had mostly recovered after a night’s sleep—especially Xiang Ning, who had swallowed more pills.

“When we separated, Zimo and the rest ran west. Let’s head that way,” he suggested.

“No problem. I believe they’re doing fine. It’s been a night and the numbers are still rising,” grinned Fang Rou.

He nodded. Last night, their points on the leaderboard had still been steadily rising. They could break four million today! However, he started growing uncomfortable following the day’s events.