Chapter 102: Chapter 100: Unknown Strongman_1

"Phew... we should really thank Miss Xinfei!"

A student named Shang Jie panted heavily, still in shock after climbing down from the tree.

"Exactly, we didn’t even provoke it. That wild bull pig just went berserk, knocking down a whole line of trees. Whatever got into it!"

Another student named Ling Biao climbed down from another tree, followed by a man and a woman.

The Fond Spirits that followed them, one was the ’Tooth Beetle’, which was heavily indented by bite marks all over its shell.

The other was a ’Blue Lion’ that limped. It was missing a fang, its once majestic appearance now in ruins.

There was also a ’Black Feather Swallow’ circling above, its head entirely barren of feathers, as if singed off by some creature.

There should have been a ’Slingshot Flower’ too.

But Ye Hanjun couldn’t find it. He suspected that it was in poor condition and had already been returned to the contract space.

"Rest here, hurry up and apply medicine to your Fond Spirits!"

Wang Xinfei, who viciously killed the wild bull pig, was in no good condition herself.

If she hadn’t struck the prey ruthlessly again and again, she would’ve been counterattacked by it instead.

How was it possible for Wang Xinfei to transform from a patron who hesitated to kill a red-eye meat-eating rabbit into what she was now in just three days?

Ye Hanjun could see her trying to adjust her breathing.

But the bloodshot eyes and the never-relaxing nerves were obvious signs that adjusting her breathing could only alleviate, not cure, her condition.

Wang Xinfei - she still had a long way to go to become a qualified hunter.

"Miss Xinfei, are we being too aggressive..."

"Our Fond Spirits are injured. If we continue fighting, it could be life-threatening!"

Having received the orders to rest, Ling Biao, Shang Jie, Sun Houbing, and Lin Yue, three men and one woman, all appeared to be relieved. They would have collapsed on the spot if they could.

"Yeah, Miss Xinfei, you’re a horse racing knight. You’re physically stronger than us, you have more stamina, and paired with an armored horse, you’re way more powerful than us."

First, it was Sun Houbing, followed by Ling Biao.

Both of the tall and sturdy men pleaded:

"And us, an E-rank magic apprentice, an F-rank scout, an F-rank singer, an F-rank rope master..."

"All of our Contracted Spirit Fond Spirits are just small achievements. We simply don’t have the ability to keep up with your pace and fight alongside you all the time... "

Shang Jie and Lin Yue on the side was nodding fiercely.

Obviously, what their teammates said echoed their thoughts as well.

Wang Xinfei remained silent, while her armored horse, where she was sitting, was nervously tapping its hooves.

After a while, a hoarse but colder voice came from her:

"If you’re not able to fight, you should’ve hidden in a cave today."

"I provided you with better restoration medicine and a whole day of rest, which should have restored most of your strengths."

"What about you? If I remember correctly, you haven’t slept well these two days..."

Lin Yue hesitated for a bit, then weakly suggested:

"Miss Xinfei, why don’t you take a break as well? Don’t overdo it..."

"The mentor even said that the trial is all about the experience, there’s no need to push ourselves... "

"You all don’t need to worry about me."

Wang Xinfei said coldly:

"I still have the strength for another battle, I’m far from needing to stop."

"I will continue hunting, continue searching for coins."

"We must make it into the top two no matter what."

"If we’re lucky, a sprint towards the first place is not impossible."

"Ah..." the four members of her team appeared worried and wanted to give advice.

However, looking at Wang Xinfei’s determined and indisputable eyes, they swallowed their words.

"Hm?"

The armored horse licked the wound on its hoof, its eyes caught a shadow, and it instinctively turned its head to look at the direction.

"Huh?"

Wang Xinfei suddenly became alert and forcefully cleared the fatigue from her eyes.

Her sharp eyes, like a sword, followed suit.

"It’s you..."

Recognizing the identity of the shadow, Wang Xinfei was stunned.

The fighting spirit which hadn’t reached its peak abruptly halted, then slowly dispersed.

Correspondingly, all her sharpness was concealed under her gaze, no longer intentionally aimed at the shadow.

"Quite coincidental, we met even before reaching the central area of the trial..."

Ye Hanjun looked into Wang Xinfei’s eyes, a cryptic smile on his face.

Clutching the long spear so hard that his knuckles were strained.

This Miss Xinfei seemed to be nearing her limit, both mentally and physically.

He wondered how much longer she could keep it up?

A playful expression, this time he hid it well.

Wang Xinfei furrowed her eyebrows, clearly surprised by Ye Hanjun’s appearance.

"Assistant Han?"

"It’s actually Assistant Han?"

Upon recognizing the figure, Ling Biao, Shang Jie, Sun Houbing, and Lin Yue - their reactions varied from surprise to cheerfulness.

Among them, Lin Yue was the most nimble-minded. After scanning the surroundings and not seeing anyone else, she asked with a puzzled expression:

"Eh? Assistant Han, where are the four people with you?"

"They’re hunting in other places."

Ye Hanjun shook his head and said nonchalantly:

"Your conditions are poor. You should indeed rest properly."

"Right? Even Assistant Han thinks so!"

Hearing that, Lin Yue got excited.

The look in her eyes when she looked at Ye Hanjun contained a mix of admiration.

She then turned to Wang Xinfei with a look of expectation, seemingly wanting to use this point to further persuade her.

"Eh?" Ye Hanjun smiled indifferently, "I just happened to pass by, I didn’t mean to intrude."

"You don’t have to listen to me, you should discuss with your team leader."

"Good luck, I’m going back."

As his words fell, Ye Hanjun waved his hand, leaving a gradually fading silhouette that soon disappeared into the jungle.

The five members of the third team fell into a brief silence.

After a while, Shang Jie tentatively asked:

"If I remember rightly... Assistant Han is the leader of the sixth team."

"Looking at his appearance, there doesn’t seem to be any damage on him."

"Do you think he has brought extra clothes, or has he not been injured at all in these past three days?"

"That can’t be possible..." Lin Yue shrank her neck, with a touch of awe in her voice: "If it’s the latter, the gap is just too big..."

"Hard to say, we can’t see through him at all!"

Ling Biao sat up and sighed:

"Don’t forget, he’s about the same age as us, also at the initial first rank, yet he is the first assistant the Canghai Pavilion has accepted, breaking the rules after so many years."

"Now, he is wandering alone in the trial field, looking very casual, as if he were sightseeing."

"And we, with so many eyes, didn’t even see his Contracted Spirit Fond Spirits."

"I think there are only a few possibilities that are close to the truth, his Contracted Spirit Fond Spirits might be good at lurking, and with our observational powers, we can’t find it."

"But doesn’t this assumption conflict with the mentor’s remark that the Contracted Spirit Fond Spirits are ’weak’" Lin Yue voiced her confusion.

"Hey, better not guess anymore about him..."

Sun Houbing scratched his head, sincerely saying:

"He has numerous mysterious halos around him."

"The more we unravel it, the deeper he seems to be."

"Miss Xinfei, I think, we don’t need to compete with him for first place."

"We have no idea if we can beat Liu Xin and Li Jingming’s teams, It’s rash to aim higher, in the end, Miss Xinfei you’ll be the one who gets hurt..."

Ling Biao, Lin Yue, Shang Jie, seemed to have been struck in the heart by his words, and eagerly agreed.

Meanwhile, Wang Xinfei, who had been sitting on her armored horse with her back to the four of them, showed a trace of bewilderment on her fair face.

She lowered her head, looked at her cracking palm, then at the dented Silver Armor, paused for a moment, and finally gently said:

"This Wild Bull Pig, figure out how to drag it away, let’s have it for dinner tonight."

"I... will also rest for a short two hours."

"After two hours, I will go out to hunt, continuing to hone my survival skills."

"At that time, you all stay together in the cave, if you encounter a danger you can’t cope with, I allow you to use a signal fire to seek support from the mentor."

"Great!" Lin Yue happily exclaimed.

Ling Biao, Shang Jie, Sun Houbing also showed smiles, their tension gradually easing.

...

Elsewhere.

Ye Hanjun, who had departed, walked steadily on the muddy road, calm and composed.

The afternoon sun passed through dappled tree shadows, shining on his black cloak.

Accompanied by the glimmer of golden spots, his back, as firm as a mountain, seemed progressively taller in this barren land.

"Roar!"

A Dwarf Elephant thundered in, Ye Hanjun’s eyes hardened, and contract imprints lit up on his left wrist.

The opponent’s rank, Great Completion in Clay Body.

This kind of thick-skinned, robust, Spirit with no obvious weaknesses, is the kind of enemy he least wants to encounter at this stage.

To kill it with a dagger, or to let Huazhu beat it to death, would be both hard and thankless.

Therefore, Ye Hanjun gave a few commands, playing with the Dwarf Elephant along with Huazhu.

When it charged fiercely and hit a particularly thick tree, Huazhu was recalled by Ye Hanjun who quickly ran away.

Running swiftly through the dense shrubbery along a steeper path.

After a full ten minutes, Ye Hanjun stopped, leaning against a rock, panting heavily.

"Master, I believe we still had a chance to kill it."

"With a little bit of strategy, we could have used the slope to make it fall, as long as we could make it tumble, we would have the chance to kill it more quickly."

"Do you think, I care about the Dwarf Elephant?"

A mysterious smile tugged at the corner of Ye Hanjun’s mouth.

Then, this smile faded, his Super Spirituality activated 100%, spreading to 300 meters around him, he glanced over again and again, inspecting over and over.

After a while, Ye Hanjun nodded, rested his chin in his right hand and asked himself in a soft voice:

"Who could it be...?"

"From the first encounter near the third team, I sensed a fluctuating gaze, spying on me from the dark depths..."

"When I left, he, or she, or it... seemed to have followed me for a distance..."

"What?!"

Huazhu’s scorpion tail silently rose behind her, immediately going into combat stance.

"Don’t panic, when we escaped from the Dwarf Elephant, that gaze didn’t follow, instead turned back to the location of the third team."

Ye Hanjun, with a thoughtful look on his face, weighed all the possibilities in his heart, and slowly said:

"I can confirm that this murky aura cannot possibly be any of the assistants, or Dong Xuan, or Zhi Zhengqing."

"’He’ didn’t have any killing intent, no malice, he was more like an emotionless observer, silently watching me for a while, then quietly leaving."

"To mask everyone’s senses, and spy on the Master like a shadow, this person, or beast, must be powerful..."

The stern expression on Huazhu’s face said it all about the unease in her heart.

"That’s right."

Ye Hanjun nodded lightly, a faint smile appearing on his face:

"My guess is, it should be at the third rank."

"Not an assistant, not a mentor, another powerful being with an unknown identity is lurking within the trial field."

"This trial is getting more and more interesting..."

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PS: 100 Chapters, a blink of 300k words, just marking the moment~