The Ancient Godly Monarch
Chapter 34: The Dark Forest

The shadows cast by the sun tilted to the west as people in the vast area began to disperse. The preliminary examination had ended, and the nine martial academies had halted their recruitment. There were many who left with dejected expressions on their faces, while the rest who remained started moving towards the Star Emperor Academy and the Royal Academy, which was located in the center of the region.

At this moment, a white-robed young man carrying a long sword on his back began to approach Qin Wentian and the others. Qin Wentian had met this young man before in Sky Harmony City. This was the sword user who summed up the two Astral Soul sword types.

"Luo Huan, Mountain, Master has instructions for all of you to leave." Yu Fei relayed the instructions as she walked over to them.

"Very good. Does Master have any instructions as to who among us more seniors will be chosen to enter the Dark Forest? ”Luo Huan asked. According to the information he received from Janus, Mustang and Janus would be able to bring two senior students of the academy with them.

"You and one more person, but Master didn't reveal who that person was," Yu Fei replied, "Well, anyway, we'll know once we get there."

"Yes, let's go." Luo Huan tilted his head in agreement as he led the others to the gathering point: The Nine Academies Martial Palace. There were a total of 5,000 participants who qualified for the second exam: the training expedition to the Dark Forest. This is a surprising number. But if one were to know the total number of applicants applying to join the nine martial academies, then he would not be so surprised. The number of 5,000 eligible participants is actually one percent of the total number of participants who register.

The Royal Capital and the Martial Palace of the Nine Academies were the gathering point for all the young elites of the Chu Country.

“If you want to be strong, you must be willing to face all kinds of dangers. Let this be your first lesson. Go and enjoy it fully. Direct yourself through baptism of blood. ”An elder from the Royal Academy shouted at them. All the applicants had serious faces. Of course, they understood the fact that, without being covered in blood, without undergoing some real life or death battles, they would never be able to become a real Martial Cultivator.

"The buzz!" Nearby, gusts of wind raged as two demonic beasts flew overhead. Standing on top of one of the flying beasts was a graceful and beautiful figure, which caused the eyes of everyone present to widen.

"really beautiful! This is Mo Qingcheng, he's really coming! "

In this area, according to the established rules, cultivators who were not in the Yuanfu Realm did not have the right to mount a flying savage beast. However, Mo Qingcheng could, simply because no one would question him.

Janus and Orchon felt extremely shocked when they saw that Mo Qingcheng had actually come along with the Mustang. However, they pressed their surprise well and stated, “Because everyone has arrived, let's be on our way. Everyone, start running, we should arrive at the Dark Forest before nightfall. ”

"Little Junior Brother, take care of yourself." Luo Huan smiled as he glanced at Qin Wentian. He continued walking past her, all the way to the front as he led the crowd, The perverted puppy still remained satisfied in his arms, seemingly having no intention to move in the slightest.

"Junior Brother Qin, I will wait for your arrival at the Star Emperor Academy." Mountain patted Qin Wentian on the shoulder while the applicants from all the martial academies continued to form an orderly lineup. The various teachers in charge of each group hovered in the air above the flying savage beasts while all the suitors ran on the ground in the opposite direction.

The Dark Forest enveloped half of the Royal Capital. Obviously, entering from the front was impossible. Doesn't this mean they have to enter through the Royal Palace?

A total of 5,000 people were grouped into nine main camps. Emperor Star Academy camp consists of at least — applicants of only 500—, while the Royal Academy has 800.

Tremors shook the ground as 5,000 applicants ran forward with all their strength, similar to the strength of ten thousand running horses. Their powerful movements caused a raging wind to appear wherever they passed by. Smiles appeared on the faces of the spectators. This group of people will become the future pillars of the Chu State.

"Hey." A young fatty, who was from the Star Academy Emperor Camp, smiled as he greeted Qin Wentian. Although the speed they traveled at could be considered extremely fast, they were cultivators. This speed was still not enough to exhaust them, and thus they could still chat casually.

"What's your name?" Ask the fat boy.

"Qin Wentian's. What about you?"

"Fan Le's. Fan of the usual word, Le of happiness. ”Si fat smile.

Qin Wentian pondered it for a moment. Fan Le was dressed very shabby, with messy hair and a smirk on his face.

"This name suits you well." Qin Wentian laughed

"Hehe." Fan Le's lips curled up in a good smile, as her gaze turned to the young lady flying above the demonic beast in midair, before saying in a low tone, "That's beauty number one." of the Chu Country The word 'beautiful' could not even begin to describe it. Just looking at it would cause my heart to thump. ”

Qin Wentian looked at Fan Le's enchanted expression and could not help but roll his eyes. Still, he had to agree with Fan Le. Mo Qingcheng's beauty was indeed out of this world, comparable to a fairy tale.

“But still, Senior Apprentice Sister Luo Huan is more suited to my taste. That figure, that chest, huehuehue ... "Fan Le had a bad expression on his face and almost salivated when he said that.

"you know Senior Apprentice Sister Luo Huan?" Ask Qin Wentian

"How could I possibly know such a hot baby? All I know about her is that according to the rumors, she is the hottest and most bewitching female demon in our Star Emperor Academy. Who doesn't know about him? But still, my previous thoughts were just my delusions, hehe. ”Fan Le smiled as he turned his head, facing towards Qin Wentian. "But from your premeditated expression, could it be that you already know him ……"

Seeing the misguidedness in Fan Le's gaze, Qin Wentian rolled his eyes as he scolded in a low voice, "Let go!"

"Stop acting, hehe." Fan Le revealed a 'You know that I know' expression in his eyes, causing Qin Wentian to go silent.

"But still, in the Imperial Capital of the State of Chu, geniuses and beautiful women were everywhere. Look there: Autumn Snow of the Royal Academy, a beauty with looks and talent, I heard that she condensed an Astral Soul of the 3rd Heavenly Layer on her first try. ”Fan Le pointed his finger at the crowd of applicants at the Royal Academy, as he explained to Qin Wentian.

"And there's still our Star Emperor Academy. The geniuses here abound like clouds. In front of us, that beautiful boy named Orfon was extremely strong. He was a tier 2 Arterial Circulation Realm cultivator, and had two Astral Souls. ”Fan Le pointed towards a young man who was in front of the line next to Orchon. They seem to be two brothers.

"And look there, at the beautiful woman dressed in black. He was at the 1st level of the Arterial Circulation Realm, possessing two Astral Souls. Not only that, his figure was not bad either. It was just that when compared to Luo Huan, she was a bit awkward. "Fan Le spoke in the tone of an experienced expert.

"But, within our group, do you know who the number one genius in our Star Emperor Academy is?"

"Who?" Qin Wentian asked curiously

"Well, that guy's right in front of you." The flesh on Fan Le's face mashed together, as his smile grew worse.

"Fan Le, are you bragging again?" Another person ran over, smiling when he saw Fan Le. Apparently, this was not the first time Fan Le bragged shamelessly in front of people.

Qin Wentian laughed. This Le Fan is a very interesting person. Even though he likes to boast, his sense of humor is pretty good.

As the sun set, nine large teams of 5,000 people stepped out of the Eastern Heavenly Gate in the Royal Capital.

The Royal Capital was surrounded by the Dark Forest. Ever since the Chu State was formed 3,000 years ago, it had experienced countless violent clashes against the demonic beasts living in the Dark Forest. Hence, the gates and walls separating the Dark Forest from the Royal Capital were all built to be extremely sturdy and tall. They were an extremely majestic sight, similar to the heavenly moat surrounding the city.

After stepping out of the Eastern Heavenly Gate, there was another small town that acted like a buffer zone and connected the Royal Capital to the Dark Forest. In this city, there were many cultivators who came here for training, as well as many risk-takers who came here for pleasure. When they saw 5,000 people from the nine camps of the martial academy approaching, they were all dumbfounded.

"Wow, could it be the applicants of the nine martial academies?"

“There are so many handsome boys and beautiful girls, haha.” The nearby thrill seekers discussed with a smile on their faces.

"Continue forward, make your own camp in the Dark Forest." A clear voice instructed as it floated in the air, causing the applicants to be a little worried. They had to spend many nights in this dangerous Dark Forest and had to take care of their own living necessities, hunting for dangerous existences in the Dark Forest for food.

As night fell, the coalition of nine academies finally arrived at the border of the Dark Forest. Gazing forward at the horizon only revealed an endless sea of ancient trees, as if there was no end in sight. The thick and heavy pressure of demonic Qi seeped into the air.

When everyone stopped their steps, the air suddenly filled with an unusual silence. All the applicants knew that in the following days, they would all face great danger.

The elders from the nine martial academies standing on top of the flying demonic beasts floated in the air, instructing the suitors, "Now, all of you must enter the Dark Forest. Until dawn tomorrow, you should all be at least 10 li away from the forest boundary. Treat the 10 li distance as the specified "safe zone" limit. In the following month, if one of you is found in the safe zone before the exercise ends, you will automatically be considered a failure. Now, you can come in. ”

The safe zone, consisting of a distance of 10 li, could be considered the outer boundary of the dark forest, and hence, was filled with human activities. High-level demonic beasts rarely appeared, so it was much more dangerous.

"Qin Wentian, let's stick together." Fan Le asked.

"true." Qin Wentian nodded, as the nine rows of people who came from the various academy camps all entered the Dark Forest. 5,000 applicants spread out in all four directions after entering. Breaking up into small groups of two to three, they moved forward.

Borrowing the help of the dim starlight, Qin Wentian and Fan Le roamed the Dark Forest. There were some cultivators who were condensed Astral Souls type flames that manifested embers of flames and lit up the area. There were also some people who used precious items such as night illumination pearls to illuminate the path.

“Let's explore a little further before finding a large area to rest that night. We will leave the safe zone before dawn, so it will not be considered to be against the rules. ”Fan Le chanting low voice. Everyone still stumbled in the darkness as they tried to find their way. Fan Le and Qin Wentian both had no choice but to light wood branches with flames made from flint to illuminate their path as they advanced forward.

"Wait, it looks like someone is staring at us." Fan Le suddenly exclaimed in a whisper as they traveled. With his powerful sensory abilities, Qin Wentian had also sensed it before.

In Sky Harmony City, he had killed Ye Mo, Ye Lang and displayed his outstanding talent. How could the Ye Clan avoid him so easily?

It is likely that Qin Wentian was part of the reason why the training expedition was proposed from the very beginning. But at the same time, such training exercises, can allow surviving students to gain real life and death experiences, he said, thus all nine martial academies had absolutely no reason to refuse.

TL Note:

⁇ – Fan Le ( ⁇ – regular, ⁇ – happiness)