Chapter 120: Growing in Battle
Night slowly fell, but the atmosphere in the camp grew even more tense than it had been during the day.
Yun Sheng had just finished packing her gear when a sudden commotion erupted outside the tent.
"Pollutants! Pollutants spotted on the west side of the camp!"
She exchanged a look with Cheng Nian and Li Wen, and they quickly grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the tent.
Beyond the perimeter on the west side of the camp, several short, grayish-brown figures were moving quickly, staying low to the ground.
They were juveniles of the Bone-piercing Vine, along with a few corrosive worms. They weren’t large, and their Level was low, probably between E-level and D-level.
"Everyone, remain calm!"
Qi Yao’s voice came from the direction of the command tent. He stood on high ground, flanked by several High-level Sentinels, his gaze sweeping over the students pouring out of their tents.
"This is a chance for you to get some real practice. High-level Sentinels will guard the perimeter to ensure no Advanced pollutants break through. You will engage them in groups based on your tent assignments. Remember, this is real combat, not a drill. Getting injured is normal, but don’t get yourselves killed."
As his voice faded, the students looked at one another, a mix of nervousness and eagerness on their faces.
Yun Sheng, Cheng Nian, and Li Wen shared a tent, so they were naturally assigned to the same group, responsible for a sector on the southwestern side of the camp.
The three of them hurried toward their designated position.
As they neared the perimeter, the juvenile Bone-piercing Vines had already sensed their presence.
They stopped their slithering movements, raised their sharp, slender vine tips, and let out a threatening HISS HISS at the trio.
"What’s the plan?" Cheng Nian asked, gripping her weapon tightly, a little nervous.
Yun Sheng: "We each take one. I’ve got the left, Cheng Nian the middle, Li Wen the right."
Cheng Nian and Li Wen exchanged a glance and nodded.
Three juvenile Bone-piercing Vines were slithering rapidly toward them along the ground, their vine tips held high, ready to strike at any moment.
Yun Sheng took a deep breath and raised her hand.
A thin needle of spiritual power coalesced in her consciousness. She tried to form three of them at once.
’First one, success.’
’Second one... barely formed.’
’The third one...’
POOF.
The moment the third thin needle left her spiritual landscape, it disintegrated, vanishing into the air like a wisp of smoke.
Yun Sheng frowned. She quickly adjusted, and two thin needles shot out, swiftly piercing the head of the juvenile she was responsible for.
The juvenile twitched once and fell limply to the ground.
At the same time, Cheng Nian and Li Wen also took down their respective targets.
Cheng Nian waved her weapon excitedly. "I got it, haha!"
The three of them continued forward.
Ahead was a corrosive worm, a size larger than the juveniles. Sensing danger, it had already opened its ring of sharp teeth and spat a stream of corrosive mucus at them.
"Look out!"
Li Wen pulled Cheng Nian aside to dodge.
Yun Sheng didn’t retreat. Instead, she tried to mobilize the power within her spiritual landscape that belonged to Bai Ye.
’First try, no response.’
’Second try. The power stirred slightly, but it was like an immovable wall, refusing to budge.’
The corrosive mucus sprayed out again. Yun Sheng dodged awkwardly, but a corner of her clothes was splashed, letting out a wisp of white smoke.
"Yun Sheng!" Cheng Nian cried out in alarm.
Gritting her teeth, Yun Sheng tried a third time.
This time, she stopped trying to "push" the power. Instead, she did as Si Jin had taught in his videos, using her own spiritual power to gently coax and entwine it.
The warm, heavy power finally moved.
A Spirit Barrier unfolded in front of her, as thin as a film of water, looking like it could shatter at any moment.
But it was real, and it really did block the third stream of mucus.
Yun Sheng was stunned.
’She succeeded!’
’Even though it was just a thin layer, even though it only lasted two seconds before shattering, she had succeeded.’
She had no time to celebrate; the fourth stream of mucus was already upon her.
The barrier was broken, and she could only dodge awkwardly again.
"I’ll go!"
Cheng Nian charged forward, slashing her blade at the worm’s flank.
Li Wen attacked at the same time, her spiritual power stabbing into the worm’s mouthparts, causing it to let out a screech.
Yun Sheng steadied herself, and in the instant the worm was distracted, she formed two thin needles at once, precisely piercing the center of its forehead.
The worm struggled for a moment before collapsing with a thud.
The three of them stood in place, panting heavily.
Cheng Nian turned to Yun Sheng, her eyes wide as saucers. "That thing just now... was that a barrier? Since when can you make a barrier?"
Li Wen was also in shock. "Yun Sheng, you... you blocked the mucus just now! Even though you didn’t block the last two times, you really blocked it the first time!"
Yun Sheng looked down at her hands, her fingertips still trembling slightly.
"I’m not very good at it yet,"
she said softly, but what she was really thinking was, ’I can finally start trying to use that stolen, powerful energy.’
’I have to take this opportunity to practice as much as I can!’
In the distance, a few more low-level pollutants were slithering their way.
Cheng Nian gripped her weapon and grinned. "Perfect. More practice!"
Li Wen smiled too. "Come on, let’s not just stand here."
Yun Sheng looked up, her gaze falling on the dark figures slowly approaching.
The three of them quickly got into formation.
"Three juvenile Bone-piercing Vines on the left, two corrosive worms on the right, and a Split Ridge Lizard cub in the middle," Li Wen quickly called out the targets. "An interesting configuration. A low-level mix-and-match."
Cheng Nian tightened her grip on her weapon. "How do we split them?"
"Cheng Nian and I will take the left and right. Yun Sheng, you take the middle." Li Wen looked at Yun Sheng. "That Split Ridge Lizard cub might be a low Level, but its hide is thick. Your thin needle..."
"I can take it," Yun Sheng cut her off, her gaze locked on the grayish-black cub. "Let’s see."
The three of them moved at once.
Cheng Nian charged to the right, a flash of her blade striking at the nearest corrosive worm.
Li Wen, in perfect sync, thrust her spiritual power into the other worm’s mouthparts, preventing it from spitting mucus.
Yun Sheng stood her ground, not moving.
She was waiting.
The Split Ridge Lizard cub seemed to sense something. It stopped in its tracks and let out a low, threatening growl at her.
Its scales hadn’t fully hardened yet, but they were already much tougher than a Bone-piercing Vine’s.
Yun Sheng raised her hand. Two thin needles formed at once—one aimed at its eye, the other at the gland under its throat.
The first needle grazed its eyelid and slid off.
The Split Ridge Lizard roared in pain and charged at her.
Yun Sheng didn’t back down.
She tried to summon that warm, heavy power, raising a barrier in front of herself.
This time, the barrier was a little thicker than before.
The Split Ridge Lizard crashed into it and was blocked by the barrier for one second.
Just one second. It was enough for Yun Sheng to form another thin needle.
For the second needle, she adjusted her angle, no longer trying to force it through the scales, but stabbing into its open mouthparts.
"HISS!"
The Split Ridge Lizard cub let out a pained shriek and staggered.
The third needle followed close behind, piercing the gland under its throat.
The cub collapsed with a thud, twitched a couple of times, and then went still.
Yun Sheng gasped for breath, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
’She did it!’
’By herself, she had single-handedly killed a Split Ridge Lizard cub!’
"Yun Sheng!" Cheng Nian’s voice came from the right. "I’m done over here! How about you?"
Yun Sheng turned to look. Cheng Nian was standing on the corpse of a corrosive worm, waving at her with an excited grin.
Li Wen had also dealt with her target and was walking quickly toward her.
"You..." Li Wen’s pupils widened slightly as she saw the Split Ridge Lizard cub at Yun Sheng’s feet. "You killed it by yourself?"
Yun Sheng nodded, still panting.
Li Wen was silent for two seconds, then suddenly broke into a smile. "Not bad, Yun Sheng. At this rate of improvement, you’re going to scare the life out of all those people who called you useless."
Cheng Nian ran over, and her eyes went wide as saucers when she saw the Split Ridge Lizard’s corpse.
"Holy shit! Yun Sheng, are you using a cheat or something?!"
The corners of Yun Sheng’s mouth curved into a smile. She was about to say something when her expression suddenly changed.
In the distance, another wave of pollutants had appeared.
There were more of them than before, and several were noticeably larger as they moved toward the camp.