7 Path of the Lilies

"Uh…. My head hurts," Lin Cai held her head as she looked around. Seeing the lush trees made her wonder where they were.     

"That's because you drink too much," Lu Wan shrugged. He was tasked to take care of this annoying senior sister once she woke up. Because of that, he didn't sleep at all until now. "Here's some water."     

"Thank you."     

Lu Wan sighed and leaned against the tree behind him. "We're on the way to the east, to a village that I forget the name. Anyway, we can take a rest for now."     

Lin Cai put the bottle down. Mu Xin and Wang Jun were sleeping not far from her while Qin Zheng was sitting near the fire, cooking meat. Ye Jiao and Qi Huan were nowhere to be seen.     

"Qin Zheng."     

"What is it?" Qin Zheng asked without turning around. He was busy cooking and disliked getting disturbed by another person.     

"Where are Qi Huan and Ye Jiao?"     

"Qi Huan is hunting, and Ye Jiao helps him to take care of the beast's body. We're going to stay in this area for the time being."     

"Why?" Lin Cai frowned. Even though the next village was quite far from here, it would only take them a day or two to reach it. There was no need to purposely delay their journey.     

Qin Zheng glanced at Lin Cai. "Qi Huan has just made a breakthrough to rank 4. He needs to fight a lot."     

"Can't he fight in the academy?"     

"He'll kill other students if he fights there," Qin Zheng explained in the simplest way.     

Hearing Qin Zheng's words, Lin Cai recalled that both Qin Zheng and Qi Huan never spar with other students in the academy. Qin Zheng would only spar with Ye Jiao because she could fare in front of him even without holding back. There was no need for the array to activate because Ye Jiao could definitely hold on.     

On the other hand, Qi Huan didn't really have anyone to spar with. He could spar with Ye Jiao, but he chose not to because she has been tormented by a certain someone almost every day.     

Both of them specialized in killing their opponent in the shortest time possible. If they spar, there was a high chance that they might kill their sparring partner. It would be a great disaster if it occurred in the academy.     

"Right," Lin Cai rubbed her forehead. She looked at Qin Zheng for a moment before her eyes widened. "Y-you… when did you break through to late stage? You're still middle stage not long ago!"     

"In the cave."     

"I DIDN'T SEE IT!"     

Qin Zheng just smirked and proceeded to continue tending on his meat. He couldn't be bothered to tell Lin Cai that he was concealing it by not leaking his aura at all. That way, no one would be able to find out that he had advanced another stage. Though, it seemed that she had realized since he no longer covered it.     

Lin Ca's face darkened. "I really wish to hit you, Qin Zheng."     

"You won't be able to."     

Lin Cai: "…" why did I get such an annoying junior brother?     

Lu Wan yawned and closed his eyes. In any case, he didn't want to be bothered with them again. He felt tired after walking a long time, and now, it was time for him to rest.     

A few minutes later, Qi Huan and Ye Jiao returned. Blood stained part of their clothes, which was clearly the result of their hunts.     

"How is it?"     

"I hunt a few rank 4 beasts," Qi Huan replied. "I might need to do this for a few more days. Do you mind waiting a bit more before returning?"     

"Not at all," Qin Zheng shook his head. "I need to go to the next city too and visit the Forging Master Association to renew my badge."     

Ye Jiao's eyes lit up. "Is there any Rune Master Association?"     

"There is but not in this area. Rune Masters are pretty rare in the mountains. There are only some branches, and each of them is guarded tightly. You might want to reconsider before getting your badge in this place," Qin Zheng explained and picked the meat up from the fire. "Have some food."     

"Thank you!" Ye Jiao accepted the offer without any restrain and sat down. Qi Huan also sat beside her and took the other pieces of meat while Qin Zheng put a slice of different meat on top of the fire to cook it.     

Qi Huan glanced at the others. "Are we going to stop in the next city?"     

"Nope, I'll pass it. It's not really a safe city."     

"Got it."     

When the others woke up, they ate and then departed in the east direction. For the next few days, they spent the time by staying in the forest. Aside from Qi Huan, the others were also hunting the rank 4 beasts by cooperating together. This way, they would also train their battle skill outside the academy.     

"It has been a few days," Lu Wan sighed and sat down. "When will we reach the city?"     

"The next city is around a day's travel from here," Lin Cai yawned. "I'm getting tired of staying in the forest for a long time."     

Ye Jiao laughed lightly. She liked to stay in the forest more because she had gotten used to the atmosphere in this place. It was far more relaxing compared to the time when she was in the dark cave.     

"There's something," Qin Zheng suddenly stopped.     

"What?"     

"There's a fight nearby," Ye Jiao explained better. Her eyes were turned to their right. The sound might be a bit faint, but she could sense the Eon Energy ripple. It must be around 1000-2000 meters on the right.     

"Let's check it out."     

"Wait, since when did we become busybodies?" Lu Wan wanted to protest, but the others were already dashed to that location. He grunted and sprinted to follow after the others. Even though he was unwilling, he still felt that he had to do this.     

For Eon Energy Master Rank 3, 1 kilometer was a distance they could travel in mere seconds. It didn't take long for them to arrive by the scene.     

"Die!"     

"AAAAAGHHH!"     

They could see a group of people in Wang Luo Academy's uniform fight against a rank 5 beast in front of them. They looked battered, but not a single one of them gave up.     

"Should we intrude and help?" Lin Cai pointed to the group.     

Mu Xin frowned. "They're from Wang Luo Academy."     

"Even if they're from Wang Luo Academy, it's rare to see rank 5 beast roaming in this area," Qin Zheng glanced behind the beast. There was a rocky wall with a plant hanging there. He turned to look at Lu Wan. "Lu Wan, that plant over there is Hundred Petals Flower, right?"     

"Hundreds Petal Flower?" Lu Wan's eyes lit up instantly when he heard the name. He glanced up and looked at the colorful flower at the top of the rock wall. His eyes shone in astonishment. "Yes! That's correct."     

"Then it seems, we need to wait until they finish before helping out," Qin Zheng made his decision.