Chapter 9: This Is a Bonus Gate
Chapter 9: Chapter 9: This Is a Bonus Gate
「Fang Xiu’s House.」
He was sitting on the sofa, which had been all but destroyed.
Before him, the passage to the Gate World still emanated a faint glow.
’I don’t know how dangerous it is inside. If I just rush in, will I die a quick death?’
Just a moment ago, Fang Xiu had been ready to go in.
But on second thought, he realized it was a bad idea.
He had never entered a Gate World before.
If he barged in so recklessly, what if a Demon Beast was waiting on the other side with its mouth wide open? Wouldn’t that be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den?
’I’ll test it first!’
After a moment’s thought, Fang Xiu spotted a broken chair on the floor.
He picked it up and cautiously extended it into the Gate World.
Then he pulled it back out.
’Hm? Nothing?’
It was different from what he’d imagined.
The chair went in and came out without any additional damage.
’Then I’ll give it a try!’
Just because the chair was fine didn’t necessarily mean a person would be.
But in Fang Xiu’s eyes, it was a risk worth taking.
Taking out his Magic Staff, Fang Xiu no longer hesitated and walked straight into the Gate World.
His vision was filled with a vast expanse of white.
A moment later, everything came into focus.
’This place... The Spiritual Qi is so dense!’
Fang Xiu was already on high alert, ready to strike the moment a Demon Beast appeared.
He’d just Sacrifice it to one of the Deities.
Being punished by a Deity was better than dying here outright.
But upon entering the Gate World, he found none of the Demon Beasts he had expected.
Instead, there was only a grassland.
In the distance was a lake.
And even farther away, a forest.
Everything looked peaceful and serene.
Moreover, the Spiritual Qi was incredibly dense.
Of course, even so, Fang Xiu didn’t let his guard down in the slightest.
A Demon Beast could crawl out at any moment.
’Let’s take a look around!’
Since the immediate surroundings seemed safe, he decided to look around first.
If it was truly free of danger, he might be able to cultivate here.
Based on the density of the Spiritual Qi here, Fang Xiu could reach Level 10 within three days.
After all, since his Awakening, his Spiritual Power had already reached Level 9.
With another boost, he might just touch the barrier to Level 10.
Fang Xiu glanced around and headed toward the lake.
If there was danger, it would surely be hiding in one of two places.
One was the nearby lake, a favorite haunt of Water-type Demon Beasts.
The second was the forest.
Both locations were perfect hiding spots for Demon Beasts.
Fang Xiu didn’t know how large or vast this Gate World was.
But that didn’t matter to him.
As long as he could confirm there were no Demon Beasts in the vicinity, he could cultivate here in peace.
Soon, Fang Xiu reached the vicinity of the lake.
He carefully inspected the surrounding grassland.
’No signs of anything having been trampled!’
Fang Xiu couldn’t just jump into the lake to check.
After all, the danger in the water was many times greater than on land.
And if there were any aquatic creatures capable of coming ashore, Fang Xiu only needed to check if the nearby grass showed any signs of being trampled by Demon Beasts.
That would be enough to determine if there were any around.
After circling the lake, Fang Xiu found no tracks indicating that a Demon Beast had come ashore.
From this, he could draw two conclusions.
One: there were no Demon Beasts in the lake.
Two: there were Demon Beasts in the lake, but they couldn’t come ashore.
Whichever it was, the outcome was the same for Fang Xiu.
He could cultivate on the grassland without worrying about a sudden attack from a water-dwelling Demon Beast.
’Next up is the forest!’
Fang Xiu looked toward the nearby forest.
That was the most dangerous place.
It was very likely he would encounter a powerful Demon Beast the moment he stepped inside.
The forest was different from the lake; Demon Beasts could be hiding on the ground or up in the trees.
He couldn’t rely solely on trampled ground to determine their presence.
After all, they could be in the trees.
Entering the forest, Fang Xiu gripped his Magic Staff tightly.
He had already decided that, no matter the cost, the moment he encountered a Demon Beast, he would immediately Sacrifice it to the Evil Dragon.
He’d just consider it a small snack for it.
However, after entering the forest, Fang Xiu only found that the air was even fresher; he discovered nothing else.
In other words, there were no Demon Beasts here at all.
’This Gate World... has no Demon Beasts?’
Fang Xiu was curious. He carefully checked the ground, the trees, and even the sky.
But he found no trace of Demon Beasts, not even a sign of any regular animals.
’This is practically a bonus stage!’
Fang Xiu had never expected such a bizarre bonus-stage-like gate to appear in his house.
No Demon Beasts and abundant Spiritual Qi—it was the perfect natural place for cultivation.
He searched around carefully once more.
Although he didn’t cover the entire forest, Fang Xiu saw no Demon Beasts anywhere he went.
This meant that if Fang Xiu were to cultivate here, he would be safe for the time being.
As for the grassland, Fang Xiu also did a full sweep and found no hidden beasts or vermin.
This place was practically a paradise.
If all the Gate Worlds that appeared during the Spiritual Energy Revival were like this, without powerful Demon Beasts, then humanity’s strength would have grown rapidly.
Even if Demon Beasts appeared later, they would have had enough power to deal with them.
Unfortunately, when the Gate Worlds appeared, the Demon Beasts came with them.
Ninety percent of the human world was destroyed by these Demon Beasts.
Even now, vast numbers of Demon Beasts still existed outside the safe zones.
They were endless.
Whenever a new Gate World opened, countless Demon Beasts would scramble to enter this world.
Fortunately, the Gate World that had suddenly appeared in Fang Xiu’s house had no Demon Beasts.
Otherwise, forget about just his villa; the entire city would probably have become uninhabitable.
Everyone in the city would have had to move.
"Phew, I’ll cultivate right here!"
Fang Xiu found a large Rock.
From here, he could watch for any strange noises in the surrounding grass.
It was also a fair distance from both the forest and the lake.
Even though he had already checked them, Fang Xiu remained extremely cautious.
His teacher had said in class that one should never rely on luck inside a Gate World.
Even if there were no Demon Beasts at the moment, one must remain on high alert.
Because you never knew when a Demon Beast might suddenly appear beside you.
Many Awakened didn’t die in head-on combat with Demon Beasts.
Those who died from accidents or a lack of vigilance accounted for more than half of all fatalities.
While powerful Demon Beasts would attack head-on, the ones lurking in the shadows were the truly fatal threats.
Fang Xiu had always remembered those words.
’If I cultivate here, I can still react even if danger appears!’
Fang Xiu looked around and nodded slightly.
He then sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate.
This so-called Cultivation was actually very simple; it was a basic part of the school curriculum.
It was said to have been developed by a powerful expert who adapted it from the Inner Family Heart Method of Martial Arts.
By using different breathing rhythms, one could draw the surrounding Spiritual Qi into the body.
Combined with the Breathing Heart Method and by circulating it through several meridians, one could successfully absorb Spiritual Qi and convert it into one’s own Spiritual Power.
This simple Cultivation Technique had become as common as calisthenics, a mandatory subject in every school.
Of course, before one’s Awakening, one could only sense the presence of Spiritual Qi in the world.
It was impossible to actually absorb it into the body.
However, the body was constantly being cleansed by the Spiritual Qi.
Depending on an individual’s constitution, the amount of Spiritual Power they could passively absorb also varied.
This was what led to the later differences in strength.
’So this is what it feels like to absorb Spiritual Qi?’
This was Fang Xiu’s first time truly cultivating.
Before, he had only practiced the Inner Power Heart Method.
After his Awakening, Fang Xiu was finally able to cultivate.
None of this was difficult for him.
Gradually, Fang Xiu entered a state of cultivation.
It was a miraculous feeling. Even while cultivating, he was still aware of his surroundings.
In other words, if danger approached, Fang Xiu would still be able to detect it.
Even more, in his cultivation state, he could not only perceive everything in front of him but also felt as if he had "eyes" on his back, giving him a complete view of his surroundings.
Fang Xiu could sense the slightest rustle of grass in the wind.
’This feeling is amazing!’
Thinking this to himself, Fang Xiu began to cultivate earnestly.
「Meanwhile, elsewhere.」
The testing at school had ended.
Lu Yu’Er hurried out of the school.
She took out her phone and made a call.
"Hey, where are you? Come pick me up!"
Lu Yu’Er said irritably.
Then she hung up.
The person on the other end was bewildered. ’When did my goddess become so short-tempered?’
Still, he set off immediately.
Before long, he found Lu Yu’Er at their usual spot.
"Goddess, isn’t today Awakening Day? What’s wrong?"
A young man with yellow hair drove up to Lu Yu’Er’s side.
Seeing her unhappy expression, he asked curiously.
"Yu Boyuan, help me kill someone. An Awakened!"
Lu Yu’Er didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"Oh? Who provoked my goddess?"
Yu Boyuan was taken aback. This wasn’t how Lu Yu’Er usually acted.
Normally, even if someone bullied her, she would just have them taught a small lesson.
What was going on today? She was so irritable, and she even wanted to kill an Awakened.
"Just tell me if you’ll do it or not."
Lu Yu’Er didn’t answer, just shot back the question angrily.
"I’ll do it. But Goddess, you have to tell me who I’m supposed to kill!"
Yu Boyuan said helplessly.
Hearing this, Lu Yu’Er thought for a moment before telling Yu Boyuan what had happened today.
"You’re telling me you want me to kill an SSS Level Awakened? Are you crazy, or am I?"
After hearing what Lu Yu’Er said, Yu Boyuan was completely stunned.
He had originally thought she wanted him to kill some ordinary Awakened.
He never imagined Lu Yu’Er would ask him to kill an SSS Level!
’Is that someone you can just kill casually?’
"You don’t dare?"
Lu Yu’Er sneered, hearing the tone in Yu Boyuan’s voice.
"It’s not that I don’t dare, but... that’s an SSS Level! Killing one would definitely trigger a major investigation!"
Yu Boyuan was hesitant.
Killing an SSS Level Awakened with such high growth potential would have severe consequences.
"Haven’t you always wanted me? Kill him, and I’ll go to a hotel with you!"
Lu Yu’Er said directly, seeing Yu Boyuan was still hesitating.
Hearing this, Yu Boyuan froze.
GULP!
He stared at the beautiful and fiery Lu Yu’Er, swallowed hard, and forced out a single word: "Kill!"