I have to stay alive!

At this moment, Zeal braced up and dashed off. He knew he would encounter many challenges today. It was better he prepared than taken unaware. As Zeal ran forward, he could understand that the tree around him arranged themselves in three rows; this attachment was beautiful, but Zeal didn't come here to appreciate beauty. Zeal understood this Ashura forest was unique. He didn't know where the Old Man uprooted it from, but he believed there wouldn't be a second of it in the Jankao universe. Now that Zeal had the liberty of visual acuity, he had begun to do more by understanding measurements. He understood that the distance between each role was 1.7 meters. At the same time, the terrain was not exactly smooth. Zeal had been very observant since he understood things. That's why he could precisely understand the emotional complexities of people, including his mother. He was gifted and level-headed. If he had any problem, it would be that he was too weak. At this moment, Zeal noticed the noise his feet produced as he raced forward. He saw many dead leaves; they spread like carpet on the ground. He didn't want to think of it, but he couldn't help the situation.

After he ran some distance in this terrain, something flew toward Karl Zeal with the speed of light. The pressure and cold aura this thing carried were severe. Zeal wondered what could have this serious pressure and killing intent. In any case, he wasn't about to be skewered by what he didn't know. He had decided to survive, and nothing could change that. In fact, this pressure appeared as though they were black rain descending with incredible speed at Zeal. Even though they threatened Zeal by their occurrence, he focused his mind as he circulated more energy into his body; he saw that the black rain was like needles, and they naturally patterned themselves into several black and brown sets. Of course, he couldn't be sure if they were needles, but he wouldn't stick around to find out either.

"Just what the hell are these things!?" Karl Zeal cursed. Ever since he entered this forbidden Ashura forest, all he had faced was a near-death experience. If he had his way, he would throw that Old Man inside to feel the same pain as himself. In any case, he had to survive first.

Karl Zeal activated a rapid thinking process; he needed to find out in the shortest amount of time if those killing needles had patterns. At the very least, that would lengthen his life. If he couldn't deduce that, he was already a goner.

"Be cheerful, Zeal!" Zeal courageously advised himself. Anyway, what else could he do other than say a few flowery words to himself!

To Zeal's dismay, he could not perceive any pattern from the shooting needles; he blanched in fear. But even though his brain was afraid, his mind never wanted to succumb to death without giving his all. Zeal suddenly thought of something as he lunged forward. In fact, he needed to bet everything on this ill-conceived skill—he decided on the face of death. He launched himself into the air a few times as he used it as a springboard, moving irregularly. Zeal was surprised that he could make the air solidify somewhat at his feet. But he knew this was not the time to admire himself; he could die any moment if he fooled around. At this moment, he changed his movement quickly as he laid himself in a pronate position with his hands stretched to sixty degrees from his body. Then Zeal forced himself to rotate forward amidst gravity and weight. In fact, he barely propelled himself forward, but it was enough as he repeated it a few times before escaping the showers of irregular shooting needles. Zeal knew that even if he succeeded, it wouldn't do much because he had little momentum. In any case, he only wanted to survive for now.

As Zeal arrived at a new area, the needles landed heavily on his previous position. He breathed out a sigh of relief. He was grateful those pushes were enough to guard him to a new location without mishap. Zeal felt aggrieved for the pain Sou Long had continuously caused him. The needles fell rapidly without any form of noise. However, Zeal managed to compete with the speed. As they fell irregularly, a few of these needles lunged themselves before Zeal; they wanted to block off his path, but he managed to propel the air before him to push them off. Zeal had noticed that as he constantly confronted death, his mind had positioned him to think of survival. In fact, many stunts he performed very well were a fluke. Zeal understood that (on an ordinary day) he wouldn't be lucky to perform these tricks without active training. But he didn't mind. Any experience he gained on this death training would forever remain with him. That was, of course, if he didn't die.

"I must survive." Zeal reconfirmed his determination.

At this moment, on top of the large tree which Zeal could not see—stood black and brown porcupines. These animals stood at the large canopy of the tree leaves. It was their territory, and they wouldn't allow any fool to run wild. The animal and plants here all had high spiritual awareness and intelligence. Yet they couldn't be bothered to interact with humans. They even wanted to kill them immediately they discern them. Zeal had finally left their territory; they could rest assured.

Zeal finally left the territory with ten brown spines on his body. His arm had three black pines; his shoulders had two black pines each, much to his discomfort. In any case, there was nothing he could do other than sit with crossed legs and attend to his enigmatic pain. Although blindfolded, he began to pull out the long needle-like hairs shot by the porcupines with unfathomable courage. However, he still cried in pain, albeit cautiously. He didn't want to awaken another enemy in his current condition. Regardless, it was an act of courage that a child of his age shouldn't have. But what could Zeal do? Life forced him. After removing the irritating pines, Zeal began to cultivate to recover his strength and health.

This Ashura forest divided itself into territories, and free zones existed in-between these boundaries. Zeal often wondered if it was Man-made or natural because he always felt something was odd, after all. He knew that if the forest didn't have these free zones, he would have died long ago. At this moment, Zeal cultivated himself in the Porcupine's free zone. So he wasn't bothered if other animals would attack him because other animals instinctively feared these Porcupines. Who wouldn't avoid a near-invisible enemy? After all, the only thing that could deal with them would be divine speed and flight. The Porcupines occupied a higher ground and could deal with the enemy from above. So they were impossible enemies, and no one had enjoyed their lives enough to challenge them. In fact, they were one of the most difficult kings to handle. After all, they specialize in both number and projectile attacks. They were also incredibly decisive and cunning, effortlessly meandering away in the face of danger. In fact, regardless of all the trouble, Zeal cultivated peacefully for another two days and recovered his lost strength and stamina.

Two days later, Zeal, who sat crossed legs, opened his eyes and heaved a sigh of relief. He almost died. This situation had been reoccurring that it almost looked like he was living closer to death's door. What should he do? He thought.

"I'm almost healed from the brutality of those crazy creatures just now. When I survive and have the chance to revisit, I must punish and cook your meats." Zeal muttered angrily; he looked ahead, still seated, he thought: 'according to the old thing temperament, this journey could only get tougher; there is no way around it. However…' Zeal appraised his body carefully, 'I think I've become stronger, flexible, and faster. However, I need to strengthen my overall strength if I hope to leave here alive.' Zeal sighed with slight disappointment. After that, his eyes shone with great determination. Anyway, who (the hell) wanted to stay here; he had to make it alive to prove that Old thing wrong. He could never get rid of him even if he wanted to. He must return, and this time he wouldn't be merciful to the old thing.