"… this part of the hunt is a race to the Southeast border of Chen Kingdom. It's estimated that you will need to travel for around a month to two in order to reach the border. This time, every rank 2 have to be on their own, but they can pull Eon Energy Master rank 1 if they wish to help.

The one who reaches the place the fastest will win this race."

Qi Huan turned to look at Lu Wan. "Well, do you want to pull me along?"

"Isn't that obvious? Don't slow me down, though."

"We shall see."

As the two talked, the teacher finished his explanation regarding the rule for the second part of the Spring Hunt. He clapped his hand. "Ready? The race begins now!"

The moment the teacher said that, the students rushed into the forest towards the Southeast area. Using their Eon Energy to the fullest, they propelled themselves in order to reach the designated location faster.

"A lot of people seem to be running too fast for their own good," Lu Wan commented. He didn't run at his highest speed as he was matching with Qi Huan. Ye Jiao was also following behind them closely without any intention to stand out.

"They didn't understand the word one month didn't just refer to the distance, but also the challenges."

The three of them evaded every beast using Ye Jiao's keen perception. After eating the fruits, Ye Jiao could sense the beast far better and after a few days training of her energy, she could use them far better. Now, she could even match Lu Wan's speed without any difficulties.

Without fighting, they could travel much faster. In just a week time, they had reached the previous valley where they found the fruit and continued further to the Southeast. After the valley, they still have to cross the forest for a while longer before they could reach gra.s.sland.

"Forest terrain is nothing for people in the Chen Kingdom," Lu Wan remarked when he saw Qi Huan pick up the pace because they were out of the woods. "Most of the areas in our kingdom are nothing but forest, so this is an advantage for us."

Qi Huan nodded. "I know. The challenge to the arena is always filled with the terrain of every kingdom. This will make sure that we won't have too much advantage against one another."

"There's a beast horde in front of us," Ye Jiao suddenly remarked. Her eyes were solemn. "And their number is much more compared to the previous beast horde that the prince gives us."

"Can you estimate their power?"

"Probably, there are several rank 3 beasts there."

Lu Wan and Qi Huan shut their mouths. It was not good news for them if they had to travel across the horde. They turned to look at one another.

"Is there any way to pa.s.s?"

"Haven't you joined the one before?"

Ye Jiao blinked her eyes. "Three years ago, Senior Brother Qi was 9 years old and Senior Brother Lu was 10 years old. I believe that at that time, you haven't even formed your core."

"…"

"Right," Qi Huan smiled bitterly. It was rare for anyone to be able to partic.i.p.ate in two hunts in their lives. After all, the limitation was 17 years old rank 2. Given their talent, they might be able to reach rank 3 first before the three years' limit was up. That way, there was no other chance for them to partic.i.p.ate.

"In the gra.s.sland, I might be able to travel better," Qi Huan added. "Chi Kingdom is mostly filled with gra.s.sland and small forest at some locations aside from the famous lake. The second terrain we have to face is gra.s.sland, right?"

"After the horde, yes."

The three of them sped up a bit before they reached the edge of the forest. Their pupil contracted when they saw the large amount of beasts walking around here and there. There were numerous species and it was no doubt that they would have to find a way to evade them if they didn't want to die.

���There's no limit to their length," Lu Wan looked to the side and frowned. Did they really have to pa.s.s the beasts right away?

Qi Huan pondered. The teachers must have a reason why they have to face the beasts. His eyes dilated when he realized something. "Right, this horde is the most advantageous for the Barbarian Kingdom."

"Barbarian?"

"Their place is filled with nothing but sand and beasts all over the place. Beast horde is extremely common in their area because it's the migration route, so each year there will be two beast horde that they have to face. Children from that kingdom must have been taught how to evade them and face them, which means that this challenge is to give advantage to them," Qi Huan responded.

"But, they still lose to us in terms of gathering core."

"It's the limit of their stamina. Barbarian people mostly rely on their physical power and not Eon Energy. Compared with Eon Energy that you can restore with a few hours of rest, you need a lot of food and sleep to restore your stamina. This makes them unable to fight efficiently unless they were in the large group of people," Qi Huan continued his explanation.

With the limit of five people per group, it would be hard for them to divide the work completely. Besides, cooking required them to stay in one place, so it would take much longer as they have to prepare larger amounts of food.

Ye Jiao nodded in understanding. "I see. You're very knowledgeable, Senior Brother Qi."

"He's a walking encyclopedia," Lu Wan pointed to the young man. "So, do you have any suggestion of how we should pa.s.s these beasts?"

"We can try to divert their attention to one point and create a pa.s.s, but I'm not sure that it's plausible with our current lineup," Qi Huan replied.

"Why?"

"The fastest one is you, Lu Wan, but you will surely be trapped because you didn't use your head."

"…I use my head!"

"You did not."

Lu Wan glared. "I use my head properly! Stop spouting nonsense."

"If you end up making us in trouble, I'll make sure to mince you throroughly."

Ye Jiao's speed might be similar to Lu Wan, but they couldn't use her help. The teachers must be watching somewhere, so they have to use their own power to solve this problem they faced.

"We can try to erase our presence," Ye Jiao spoke up. "When I'm in h.e.l.l Island, I manage to sneak close to the group of wolves by hiding my presence. It's not easy to do them while moving, but we can try."

"it's not a bad idea."

"Can you erase your presence?" Lu Wan frowned and looked over to Qi Huan.

The prince nodded. "I can. I also learn them back in the palace because it's important to travel incognito when it's needed. How about you, Lu Wan?"

"I can, just a bit."

"Then, let's do this."

The three of them masked their presence and tried to make themselves blended with nature. As they ran to the beast, they tried to keep their speed moderate because they were unable to sense each other. It was weird to be able to see the person himself but there was no indication that he was there if they closed their eyes.

Thankfully, each of them had sufficient technique to do this. Their training as an a.s.sa.s.sin was proven to be very suitable. After all, a.s.sa.s.sins have to hide their presence when they did their job most of the time to avoid getting killed.

Slowly, they approached the horde and focused their attention to erase their presence. They walked into the horde and avoided every movement the horde had.

'A tail,' Ye Jiao s.h.i.+fted her position and moved the other way. Her eyes carefully watched her surroundings. This was the first time she ever tried blending with a group of hordes, so she had no choice but to do it carefully.

The three of them advanced slowly as they didn't dare to make reckless movements. However, it was proven to be extremely tiring to hide their presence for hours while keeping up their concentration to evade the beast's movements. Without them knowing, more students started to gather at the edge of the forest with most of them were those at rank 2.

'Slowly to the right,' Lu Wan moved his body. It was at this time he stumbled into a rock and his hand unintentionally slapped a beast's tail. His face paled when he sensed the sudden killing intent. It was increased as other beasts also noticed Lu Wan's presence.

"Sh*t! Run!"

Slas.h.!.+

The moment Lu Wan swung his sword and killed the beast, the hostility directed at him increased by several folds. Not far from him, Ye Jiao felt like cursing her senior brother.

"Senior Brother Lu, you're an idiot!"