Phoenix Lake was over three hundred *li* from Yellow Sand City, to the southwest. In reality, although Hu and his group said they were heading toward Phoenix Lake, they had no intention of getting within a hundred *li* of it.
A so-called forbidden land was no re joke. Forget a team like theirs, whose strongest mber was only at the Profound Level; even a supre expert at the Celestial Level leading a group of Earth Level Martial Artists wouldn’t dare to venture in rashly. Anyone who dared to go deep into Phoenix Lake was a lunatic with a death wish!
There were only two outcos: either you died, or you struck it rich!
Hu was no lunatic, and neither was anyone else in the group. Thus, they were only traveling in the *direction* of Phoenix Lake.
None of them were weak. In fact, to ordinary people, anyone who had entered the ranked levels was worthy of reverence, let alone a group like theirs where the weakest was a seventh-stage Yellow Level. Of course, at this mont, the one unanimously considered the weakest was Qin Li.
"Hu, you’re all carrying such heavy backpacks. Don’t you have those storage pouches or rings that can hold a lot of things?" Qin Li recalled Hu ntioning the vessel brought back from Phoenix Lake. ’It must be so kind of spatial storage device,’ he thought. ’That ans such things do exist on this continent.’
Hu scratched his head. Before he could speak, Bu Yunyan scoffed, "Storage Pouch? You’ve been reading too many fantasy stories, haven’t you? Where would we find sothing like that!"
The ever-silent Cold Beauty, Leng Yao, suddenly spoke up. "Who says they don’t exist? It’s just that people of our status aren’t qualified to even see them." As she spoke, an imperceptible flicker of sadness crossed her eyes.
Hu said with a smile, "That’s right. Only truly important figures can possess those things. Aside from that cup, I’ve never seen any other storage device!"
Qin Li smiled, then asked, "By the way, Martial Artists are divided into the four levels of Celestial, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. But are there Martial Artists who have broken through the Celestial Level?"
Hu was stunned for a mont, his expression turning serious. He said in a low voice, "Of course there are! I can say with absolute certainty that they exist! The Celestial Essence Continent is vast. There are ancient, mysterious Sects and families that people at our level can’t even begin to approach or comprehend. We and they... we’re not people of the sa world!" As Hu said this, he let out a rare sigh.
He then continued, "Do you know why I’m so sure? When I was very young, my family was very poor. My parents were ordinary farrs, tilling the fields in a mountain village. Then one day, an old man happened to pass by and stayed at our house for a night. When he saw , he was overjoyed and said I was a promising seedling, perfectly suited for martial arts. He wanted to take with him. I was my parents’ only son, so of course they were unwilling. No matter how the old man tried to persuade them, they didn’t agree. But later, that old man ended up staying at our ho. He stayed for half a year! He took as his disciple, and in that ti, he taught a Primordial Power Heart thod and combat techniques, and he told many stories... After half a year, my master left and never ca back. It wasn’t until much later, after I joined the Hunter Guild and started earning money, that I gradually understood that the stories my master told were about things that ordinary people like us could never co into contact with! It’s a pity... I missed such a great opportunity! And now, I can only be an ordinary Martial Artist."
Everyone was quite surprised after hearing Hu’s story, as it was the first ti any of them had heard it. Bu Yunyan muttered to herself, "No wonder a kid from a poor family like you has such advanced combat techniques. That explains it..."
A strange light flickered in Leng Yao’s eyes. She looked like she wanted to say sothing but held back, not opening her mouth.
Qin Li, however, had been listening with rapt attention. "It would be great if I could go see that world for myself soday!" he said, full of longing.
Bu Yunyan shot him down, "You? In your dreams. Don’t even think about it in this lifeti!"
Hu shook his head, dispelling the mories, and said with a smile, "A person’s life is really just fate. No matter what, aren’t we all living pretty freely right now? It’s no use thinking too much about it! Younger Brother Qin, we’ll find a place to make camp in a bit. You and Yunyan can just stay behind and keep watch. The rest of us will scout around and see if we can hunt so ga."
Qin Li nodded. In the eyes of the others, he was soone who needed protection. In reality, when it ca to wilderness survival, very few people could surpass him.
The sun was now setting in the west. As the group walked through the deep, old forest, the light had grown dim. Only scattered rays of sunlight pierced through, creating dappled golden patches on the ground.
The sll of old, dead branches and decaying leaves filled the Forest, a faint scent of rot mixed with the fresh air that was, surprisingly, quite refreshing.
Suddenly, the sound of flowing water ca from up ahead. Hu said, "Alright, we’ll pitch the tents when we get to the river!"
Clearly, this wasn’t the group’s first ti here.
Hu looked at Qin Li and explained, "Tomorrow, we can go to a few places to look for Spirit Beast cubs and Spirit Beast Eggs. This part of the mountain forest isn’t too dangerous, though Spirit Beasts do appear occasionally."
The group first set up the tents. There were three in total: one for Bu Yunyan and Leng Yao, one for Hu and Qin Li, and one for Li Jian and He Laosan. These people were all old hands at this; the tents were pitched before Qin Li even had a chance to help.
Then, leaving Bu Yunyan and Qin Li behind, the others dispersed to hunt and scout the surroundings.
When buying his weapon, Qin Li had also bought a set of fishing gear to carry with him. In his previous life, Qin Li had been an avid angler, so even though Bu Yunyan had mocked him at the ti for not focusing on proper business, he had stuck to his guns. ’If I can catch a few fish, we can improve our als, can’t we?’
Watching Qin Li skillfully dig up earthworms from a clump of grass and then sit contentedly by the river to fish, Bu Yunyan stared wide-eyed. Surprisingly, she didn’t mock him. Instead, she set up a stove, started a fire to boil water, and asked quietly, "Qin Li, before... I an... how have you managed all these years?"
Qin Li paused, then smiled. "Just like this, I suppose." In his heart, however, he was thinking, ’Right now, if I just had a cigarette, it would be perfect.’
Bu Yunyan said, "I just feel like you’re not much like a teenager. It’s hard to imagine that a child from your kind of family could be so nimble at doing things that only poor kids would do."
Qin Li just smiled faintly without answering Bu Yunyan. Suddenly, he felt a heavy tug on his line and said with a laugh, "We’ve got fish!" He yanked the rod upwards. The tough fishing line went taut, then snapped with a sharp SNAP! The imnse force nearly sent the unprepared Qin Li tumbling over. Imdiately after, the calm river surface began to churn violently. A black monster over a ter long shot out with a WHOOSH, bringing with it a foul, fishy stench. It let out a piercing shriek and lunged straight at Qin Li!
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