Chapter 20 : Time is Never Enough

Underneath the gleaming moon, twenty individuals, including Ye Kuang, Ye Ji, Ye Bo, Lin You, Lin Fei, Zhang Buqun, Zhang Qing, and Zhang Ta, were feverishly washing their sweat-soaked shirts, thin trousers, and socks.

Their faces were distorted, their expressions fierce, as if confronting a deadly enemy.

“I’d rather engage in three hundred rounds of combat with a nefarious martial artist than face these.” Ye Kuang’s nose was held by a wooden clip, his robust hands trembling as they scrubbed the clothes.

The beautiful Lin You’s lips were also trembling. The others were no different.

Only a select few, like Zhang Buqun with his unfortunate upbringing, remained unperturbed. Even Zhang Qing, a hardened assassin, had wide-open eyes, his spirit visibly shaken. Still, no one even thought about giving up.

Over the course of two short months, they had noticed their growth. They’d made considerable advancements in their cultivation, martial skills, combat awareness and knowledge accumulation.

This rate of improvement was unheard of for them. As such, despite the grumbles, no one considered backing out.

In the Endless Wilderness, strength was paramount. Without it, life could end at any moment.

Each of the twenty individuals had experienced this, their childhood companions vanishing unexpectedly. When inquiries were made, they found their friends had been reduced to ashes.

Witnessing death firsthand often highlighted the reality that mortality was not a distant concept.

Days passed, and each person continued to grow stronger amid the hustle and bustle of their fulfilling routines.

On one crisp spring morning, a chilly breeze wafted in from the window. Zhang Shen, seated cross-legged, experienced a surge in his aura. It swirled around him, constrained within a one-meter radius. At a certain moment, his aura underwent a metamorphosis, elevating to a new level.

The Strongest Physical Body System

Host: Zhang Shen

Physical Level: Innate Stage 1st Layer

Progress: 60%

Cultivation: Acquired Stage 9th Layer

Progress: 0.1%

Technique Progress: Bright Moon Technique 9th Layer (5% Progress)

Martial Art Progress: Innate mid-grade Cultivation Concealment Technique (50% Progress) (Expandable)

Completed Techniques: (Expandable)

Evaluation: What’s there to see? Don’t you already have some sense of your chances of success?

“I’ve become slightly stronger.” Zhang Shen felt a profound sense of achievement.

He wasn’t interested in continuously reviewing his martial arts progress on the display. Ever since he perfected his initial set of martial arts, he had been practicing several more. It was quite a mix, not forming a complete system, but merely supplementing Zhang Shen’s original techniques.

“The primary aim is to gain experience points,” he said. “Of course, enhancing my foundation is also very meaningful to me.”

It was about more than just making it easier to instruct the descendants of the two families. 

Zhang Shen steadied his energy, and his aura, once at the Acuired 9th Layer, returned to the 7th Layer. Nevertheless, it was slightly stronger than before.

“Almost half a year has passed, it would be unusual not to have made some progress,” he mused.

Upon pushing open his room door, he noticed that quite a few students were already up for their morning exercises.

“Very good, these are all positive changes I’ve brought about.”

Zhang Shen nodded. As a teacher, one should indeed possess this positive guidance capability. Next time when disciplining them, he considered using a little less force.

In the morning, Zhang Shen sat at the top of the class, discussing some of the obstacles they would encounter after reaching different Acquired Layers, along with their solutions. These were secrets that various families kept to themselves, they were the safeguards of their strength.

At that time, Zhang Si from the intelligence department hurried over. After waiting outside for a moment, Zhang Si heard the conversation inside coming to an end.

“Study on your own for now,” Zhang Shen instructed. “If you encounter any questions, try to contemplate them yourself first. If you’re still stuck, come ask me in the afternoon.”

Zhang Shen heard Zhang Si’s footsteps from afar. He felt puzzled about why would someone from the family’s intelligence department come over at this time. Consequently, he stopped his lecture and stepped out.

Zhang Si was a seasoned man from the reception desk of the intelligence department. He wouldn’t wander without a significant matter at hand.

“What brings you here? Is there an issue?” he asked.

“Indeed, a major event has occurred,” Zhang Si replied.

“Do tell.”

The two moved away from the students and the two-story building.

“The Seven Cities Tournament has been moved up.”

Zhang Shen furrowed his brows. Near Hongyuan City, there was only one low-level spiritual vein. Although it was merely a low-level spiritual vein, it served as an essential source of spirit stones for the surrounding seven cities.

In the Endless Wilderness, where earth veins lay shattered, spirit veins and spirit stones were extremely scarce.

Every year, to fight for the scant spirit stones that emerged from this vein, the seven cities engaged in ruthless battles. Yet, nobody wanted their family’s elite combat power to be wasted in such strife. Consequently, it was agreed that the younger generation from each family would compete for the quota.

In Hongyuan City, only those who qualified to enter the advanced classes each year were allowed to participate. They could go back only up to two terms at most.

“Usually, each city’s shares were determined during the summertime. Why has it been moved up this much this time?” Zhang Shen asked, puzzled.

After mining the spirit stones, the seven cities used to seal the mine, allowing time for the spirit vein to recover. If they opened it ahead of schedule, the spirit vein wouldn’t have recovered fully, which would significantly reduce the amount of spirit stones that could be mined.

“The beast tide,” Zhang Si said gravely. “Recently, there have been reports of large migrating spiritual beast herds. This situation is abnormal and according to past records, this signals the beginning of a demon tide.”

That made sense, Zhang Shen realized.

Every twenty years, the dramatically increasing number of spiritual beasts would initiate attacks on human cities, seeking more living space. Each attack was a trial of life and death for the cities. If they failed, the city walls could be breached, leading to the city’s and its inhabitants’ annihilation.

“Although we don’t know exactly when the beast tide will hit, none of the cities, including ours, want to sit idly by until it begins. Nobody knows whether the beast tide will occur before summer. Mining spirit stones in advance is a way to garner more resources. Young Master Shen, this time’s Seven Cities Tournament will be more dangerous than before. Please give serious consideration to those who will participate.”

After a lengthy conversation, Zhang Si finally left, leaving Zhang Shen alone with a grave expression on his face.

“The beast tide,” he pondered, “even Innate experts might not be able to escape unscathed. Once surrounded, even those with the ability to fly won’t be able to flee. If one decided to leave before the beast tide, their survival was guaranteed, but that also meant giving up everything in the Endless Wilderness. Without a foundation here, a family would struggle to survive.”

He reflected on the descriptions of the human territories beyond the Endless Wilderness in the family records.

The competition there seemed much fiercer than in the Endless Wilderness. Without a True Core expert in place, a faction could barely survive in human territories. Unless one chose to be a despicable rogue cultivator, then there was a high chance of living until the end of one’s lifespan. Even if one joined a faction, one would find it hard to protect oneself.

Conflict was everywhere.

“Damn it!” Zhang Shen seethed, smashing a massive rock next to him with a slap. “They gave me too little time.”

If only Zhang Shen had been given an additional ten to twenty years for peaceful development, there would have been nothing to fear on the fringes of the Endless Wilderness.

“No other way, I have to start preparing early.”

Zhang Shen thought of a few treasures he had stored in his bag. Initially meant for future use, he had no choice but to use them. As for the idea of abandoning his family and fleeing alone, he extinguished this thought as soon as it arose.

“Even if it comes to the worst case, I am determined to protect my family.”