Chapter 24 – Promise
The Northern Spiritual Field is located at the northwestern side of the Northern Spiritual Realm. It is approximately a day away from the Northern Spiritual Academy. This vast territory could be considered as the most popular place within the Northern Spiritual Realm. Although the Northern Spiritual Field is filled with many dangers, the higher the risk, the higher the rewards. To obtain these rewards, many individuals would let their successors take their position before entering the Northern Spiritual Field. Some individuals would be able to obtain the rewards, but some would be buried under the rotten leaves.
Heading towards the Northern Spiritual Field for training was considered a rather significant event in the Northern Spiritual Academy. Almost half of the Heaven Class students would participate. As they would quietly train inside the Academy, they knew that they needed real combat the most.
And only real combat would toughen a person’s mind. This is an essential thing required on the path of becoming strong.
Not only was the Northern Spiritual Field filled with a variety of Spiritual Beasts, there were also a diverse group of disreputable individuals, including some notorious characters.
Compared to the bloody and ruthless characters, the Northern Spiritual Academy’s students were like a sheep. Even though they weren’t weak, but they would not be a decent opponent for these ruthless individuals if a fight really happened.
Therefore, the Northern Spiritual Academy also sent out a powerful guard force in order to protect the students. The East Branch’s Teacher Mo and the West Branch’s Teacher Xi would also follow. These two individuals were genuine powerhouses at the Spirit Stage. There shouldn’t be many souls that would dare harbor evil intentions in front of two Spirit Stage powerhouses.
In the early morning, the Northern Spiritual Academy’s Field Training Team began to leave. However, they only reached the outskirts of the Northern Spiritual Field when it was sunset. Since it was getting darker, they set up their camp when they got there.
As the darkness enveloped the place, a campfire rose from the camp. It was evident that many of the Northern Spiritual Academy’s students would not come to such a place. Thus, many of them were excited and a lively atmosphere surrounded the camp. This lively atmosphere made others stare at them in the darkness. A majority of them were Adventurers and they knew that these individuals were hot-headed individuals from the Northern Spiritual Academy. They only pouted in the darkness as they walked away.
In their eyes, these student goody-two-shoes would probably be trembling in fear when they face a vicious Spiritual Beast.
Mu Chen sat cross-legged beside the campfire. He stared at the darkness outside of the camp. In the far distance, there were a variety of bloody roars echoing from beasts.
This scene was somewhat familiar to him.
But only the atmosphere was much less brutal and bloody compared to his memories of the Spiritual Road.
Mu Chen trembled for a moment. Then, a slender hand suddenly extended from behind and patted his shoulder.
When the hand landed on Mu Chen’s shoulder, his black eyes instantly turned cold. His entire body tensed up like a jaguar coming in for its prey. His hand shot out and clenched the hand tightly.
“Ouch.”
A cry of pain rang out. Only then did Mu Chen recover and he turned around to look at Tang Qian’Er, who was behind him. The coldness within his eyes quickly disappeared as he touched his head awkwardly and let go of the hand.
“What are you doing? It hurts.” Tang Qian’Er angrily complained at Mu Chen as she sat down beside him and rubbed her wrist.
“Sorry.” Mu Chen let out a bitter laugh. The one year trial in the Spiritual Road made his body remain alert instinctively. This vigilant instinct was always suppressed by him when he returned to the Northern Spiritual Realm. However, he returned back to a familiar environment again, so he actually awakened this vigilance again.
“What is it?”
Tang Qian’Er pouted, but her eyes remained fixed on Mu Chen. After all, girls are always quite attentive. She felt a cold chill when Mu Chen gripped her wrist earlier. If she did not let out a sound of pain, Mu Chen might have directly crushed her wrist.
Mu Chen stared at the campfire in front of him and was silent for a moment. He said: “If someone did the same action as you earlier in the Spiritual Road to me, perhaps I would have killed him. Because if I don’t kill him, I might be the one that will be killed.”
Tang Qian’Er froze for a moment and she stared at the calm boy. When he said the word “kill”, his face did not change much. It was as if he was accustomed to it.
“Then the Spiritual Road seems to be quite terrifying.” Tang Qian’Er muttered. In their eyes, the Spiritual Road was quite mysterious. It is said that many individuals who left the Spiritual Road would not talk about that matter. However, the people that came out of the Spiritual Road were all extremely powerful. Thus, it made many young boys and girls like Tang Qian’Er to yearn for that place.
However, as naïve individuals, they did not know that they must walk out from this insane place to obtain an abnormal strength.
Mu Chen gently smiled and muttered to himself: “At that place, everybody is considered a competitor. They are all extremely cruel competitors as well. There are a few crazy individuals, who would smile peacefully towards you, yet they would plunge a dagger into your chest in the next moment.
“Therefore, trust is something rare at that place. However, if you are able to find it, it will be something that you will cherish for the rest of your life.”
Mu Chen quietly breathed out. His face looked gentle as he recalled the girl with silver hair. She was a crazy person that even he felt troubled about. During the half a year when she chased him, Mu Chen fought with her three times. He won twice, but for the last time, the girl reversed the situation and a black long sword, which was like a ghost in the night sky, stopped at his throat.
It was obvious that she won that time completely. She only needed to gently stab at him and he would have remained in the Spiritual Road forever.
However, she did not stab at him. In the darkness, her glass-like eyes stared at him for a long time. Then, she slowly retracted her sword and said in a low voice: “I won’t kill you. You should come with me.”
At that moment, Mu Chen was stunned for a while. Then, he asked the question he wanted to know since six months ago: “Why did you chase after me for so long? If I didn’t save you, you would have died a long time ago.”
When he first met her, she was caught in a dangerous situation. Five cunning crazy individuals wanted to kill her. Originally, Mu Chen did not plan on helping her, but maybe because those individuals were annoying or perhaps it was the sadness that appeared in her glass-like eyes, he gave in.
He saved her, yet he also got into trouble with the five of them. For a week after that, Mu Chen brought the injured her as they escaped. However, Mu Chen gradually defeated the five troublesome individuals in the following ten days after that. He killed three of them and the remaining two gave up.
But just when he finally got rid of the five troublesome individuals, he could not relax at all. The girl, who had never spoken a single word to him, pulled out her sword and pursued him for half a year.
When the girl heard Mu Chen’s question, she seemed to ponder for a moment. Then, she hesitated before he heard the answer, which nearly made Mu Chen puke out blood: “I don’t want to have a good opinion of you. I only wanted to focus on my training. If I have a favorable opinion of you, I will be distracted.”
“You’re crazy.”
At that moment, Mu Chen could not endure it and blurted out these words.
“Then, what are you doing now?” Mu Chen powerlessly asked.
“I planned on killing you before, but it feels like I can’t do it.”
The girl considered this seriously. Faint moonlight illuminated the beautiful face that would eventually cause a disaster. She frowned and said: “It feels that I still have a favorable opinion of you after these six months.”
Mu Chen wordlessly stared at the sky. They had hunted each other for half a year now, yet you actually say that you have a favorable opinion of me?
“I did not kill you just now, so you owe me your life. Therefore, you will form a team with me. I’ll kill you when I don’t have a favorable opinion of you.”
“Are you trying to raise a dog?”
“If I don’t kill you by then, I’ll let you go.”
Mu Chen shook his head helplessly. He turned around and said: “I’m not interested.”
“I can protect you from all the backstabs. As long as you do not harm me, I will protect you whether it is in the Spiritual Road or in the Great Thousand World.” The girl hesitated for a moment before she gently said towards Mu Chen, who turned around.
Mu Chen’s footsteps stopped. The girl’s gentle voice seemed to penetrate the space and directly hit his heart. It made his eyes become warmer.
“You usually do not speak, yet I never thought that it would be so touching when you do.”
Mu Chen turned around and smiled. He let out a sigh and he stretched out a hand towards her as he walked over.
“Then, let’s cooperate happily.”
The girl’s face, which always remained calm and emotionless, suddenly let out a faint smile. At that moment, her beauty actually made the moonlight lusterless.
Afterwards, she stretched out her cold hand and gently shook Mu Chen’s hand.
This is my promise to you.