Chapter 9: Wilderness Training
Jing Wuji had the highest overall score in the entire school, so his allocated time with the Stardust Magic Tool was a full month.
He had to admit—that Tang Yue's background was not ordinary. After all, he'd held a knife to Mu Zhuoyun's neck, and yet the whole incident had been quietly swept under the rug. He didn't even receive a punishment.
When he first got the Stardust Magic Tool, Jing Wuji was full of anticipation. But in practice, aside from making the pendant around his neck glow a bit, it had almost no effect on him.
He could even sense a sort of disdain coming from his pendant—something like, "It's edible but unnecessary."
Since arriving in this world, Jing Wuji has tried every day to communicate with the pendant. After witnessing its miraculous powers twice, he knew it wasn't ordinary.
By now, he had finally learned to roughly understand the emotions or meanings it conveyed.
Since the Stardust Magic Tool didn't do much for him, Jing Wuji decided to lend it to someone who could benefit—Mo Fan.
Mo Fan immediately jumped on him, half-jokingly shouting, "Brother Wuji, you're amazing! I'm gonna marry you!"
Jing Wuji almost threw him out on the spot—but somehow managed to restrain himself.
A few days later…
"Jing Wuji, after this quarter's training, we're going on a wilderness expedition," Mo Fan whispered, sharing the news he had picked up.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. I went to see Miss Tang Yue about something the other night. She told me," Mo Fan said seriously.
Over the past few days, Jing Wuji had already sensed something was off with Mo Fan—for one, the Stardust Magic Tool he had lent him was nowhere to be seen. But since Mo Fan hadn't said anything, he didn't bother asking.
The upcoming expedition would start with the elite class. If nothing went wrong, they might encounter actual monsters. Right now, the others didn't know about it yet—they'd probably be informed halfway through the quarter.
Jing Wuji looked out the window. For the first time, a ripple stirred in his usually calm and distant gaze.
This would be the first true test of his strength.
…
A quarter passed in the blink of an eye. The 100 students from the elite class boarded a bus bound for Xuefeng Mountain Outpost.
The Xuefeng Mountain Outpost was a critical link between the Hunter Alliance and Bo City's supply lines—a small but vital stronghold nestled in a mountain valley, right at the edge of Bo City's safe zone. Beyond it lay the untamed wilderness.
The 100 students were divided into five teams of twenty, each led by one teacher and accompanied by two instructors.
Jing Wuji, Mo Fan, and Mo Fan's childhood friend Zhang Xiaohou were placed in the same group.
Their lead instructor was Luo Yunbo, a dark-skinned, muscular man. The assistant instructor was Pan Lijun, a fit and healthy-looking woman with a bronze complexion.
…
After a half-day journey, the bus finally reached their destination—the Xuefeng Mountain Outpost.
The moment they arrived at the gate, Jing Wuji felt a surge of magical energy that made his heart skip a beat.
A man not wearing a uniform leaned casually against the stone gate, playing with fire in his hand. The flame seemed almost alive, twisting and forming shapes at his command.
The source of that intense magic—was him. And beyond that, he emitted an overwhelming, nearly imperceptible aura of power.
Had Jing Wuji not been highly attuned to such energies, he wouldn't have sensed it at all.
"Yo, Boss Zhan Kong—what brings you on duty here today?" Luo Yunbo greeted the man cheerfully.
"Heard a bunch of high school girls were coming through. Thought I'd drop by for a look," Zhan Kong replied with a teasing grin.
"Wow, he's so handsome!"
"So manly! Way better than the boys at school."
The girls in the class started chattering excitedly, clearly smitten.
"Tch, so what if he killed a few monsters? What's the big deal?"
"Yeah, just wait—I'll kill one later and show you all."
Some of the boys in the class muttered bitterly.
Without a word, Jing Wuji grabbed Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou and walked off. Staying around these greenhouse flowers would get them all killed sooner or later. They didn't even have the basic respect a strong mage deserved.
"Ooh? Interesting," Zhan Kong murmured, watching Jing Wuji drag the two away.
Passing through the stone gate, they were greeted by a cacophony of shouting. Hunters had set up stalls, selling all kinds of items needed for mage combat and training.
"Hey, Jing Wuji, what are you doing?" Mo Fan asked, confused as he was dragged along.
"Yeah, Wuji-ge, why are you so anxious to pull us away?" Zhang Xiaohou echoed.
"I don't want to die because of those idiots," Jing Wuji said calmly. "That guy earlier is at least a mid-tier mage—maybe stronger—and they showed no respect. People who talk big but panic the moment they see a real monster will just be dead weight. From now on, unless I say otherwise, conserve your strength. Don't use magic unless necessary. If something happens, you won't be able to escape."
With that explanation, he effectively assumed command of the trio.
"Alright, let's browse for a bit. We'll regroup at the plaza in ten minutes," Jing Wuji said nonchalantly, clearly not taking the upcoming assessment too seriously.
"Well… alright then."
Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou had no choice but to go along with it.
As they wandered through the market, surrounded by the constant cries of vendors, Jing Wuji arrived at the stall he was looking for—one selling Magic Slaying Tools.
"How much for the demon-slaying gear?" Jing Wuji asked.
"Ah, you've come to the right place, young man! Our demon-slaying set is just 1.2 million. It packs the power of a full-force strike from a Warrior-class monster. What do you think?" the shopkeeper said with a bright smile.
"Not worth it."
Jing Wuji turned and walked away.
He already knew this stuff was expensive, but not that expensive—and the quality here was subpar.
After a bit more walking, Jing Wuji arrived at the central plaza. Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were already in line, and the rest of the students had assembled as well.
Jing Wuji hadn't been standing there long when a squad of uniformed military mages marched out and stood before the group.
At the front was none other than Zhan Kong, the same man they'd seen at the stone gate. He still had that relaxed, lazy demeanor—hard to believe he was a true powerhouse.
"I'm your chief instructor—Zhan Kong. Consider yourselves lucky, because this is the first training expedition I've ever led," he said casually.
The students all looked shocked. None of them had expected that the guy on gate duty would turn out to be their commanding officer.
They glanced around at each other in silence.
"Don't worry," Zhan Kong said with a warm smile, "Since you're my first batch, I'll give you some special treatment—help you all pass the expedition smoothly."
But to Jing Wuji, that smile looked anything but sincere.
"I trust you're all Bo City's finest young mages—capable of completing this training mission… which will be very simple."
"I've received a bounty mission—one of the lowest-difficulty ones. If even one of you completes it, all 100 of you will pass this wilderness training with an A grade," Zhan Kong said, smiling with absolute sincerity.
Jing Wuji and Mo Fan exchanged a glance.
They both had the same thought: This is not going to be simple.
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