In one of the forests of the Yanqing District, two shadows were running in the darkness as they dashed in irregular patterns at speeds impossible to follow properly with the naked eye.
The wind no longer whistled and basically howled fiercely as the branches of the trees shivered furiously. Leaves that were barely clinging to the branches near to the top, which were the ones receiving the most wind, simply flew uncontrollably through the air or were barely struggling to hold on.
"Apparently it's going to rain soon."
A male voice that was neither too deep nor too soft and was more on the magnetic side capable of attracting as if by magic broke the natural silence.
"Thankfully more wooden shelters were built." The shadow closely following the first one responded.
The second shadow was clearly thinner and smaller no matter which way you looked at it. Moreover, its voice was soft and ethereal, seeming to merge with nature like a melody coming from the heavens.
These two shadows were naturally Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue, who after having a long conversation where they both became close enough to call each other friends decided to set out to hunt First Order beasts not only for the monster meat or their useful materials for forging and construction, but also to absorb the Soul Power they had gathered so far in order to raise their levels to new heights.
Each had enough confidence in the other to share their experiences, so that from a certain point of view, they could be considered quite close friends and not just a leader and his subordinate.
This was especially true for Shangguan Bing Xue, since it was her life and her background that she usually kept to herself and very few knew about; after all, Bai Zemin's life had been much more normal and simple compared to her life which was marked by political affairs and many other things.
While neither of them said it out loud, in their hearts they knew that they could trust each other considerably. In fact, it was probably that after all they had been through and lived so far, Shangguan Bing Xue could have almost complete trust in Bai Zemin.
"Even then... I'm afraid some unfortunate ones might die." Bai Zemin sighed without stopping his steps.
Shangguan Bing Xue was silent for a moment and then said indifferently, "We have already done all we can. We have even bestowed a lot of mutant beast meat to improve the physique of those who were in malnourished situations or whose bodies had become too weak. Whether they die or not, then we can't be blamed for it."
"Mmh... I guess you're right." He replied calmly.
Just like Shangguan Bing Xue said, they had already done their best.
Each person should be responsible for themselves, Bai Zemin and the other top faction leaders had no obligation to take care of each and every survivor's life. The fact that they were doing what they were doing was already something that should be appreciated.
Approximately 20 minutes later, icy raindrops began to slowly fall from the clouds.
Although the thick crowns of the giant trees basically acted as a protective layer and prevented the vast majority of raindrops from reaching the ground inside the forest, it was simply impossible to stop each small drop from slipping through the leaves and branches.
After some time, a raindrop finally reached Bai Zemin in the middle of his run. Although the weak drop of water was crushed and destroyed by the pressure of the wind due to the high speed at which he was moving, a moment was enough for his skin to feel the coldness of the water falling from the sky.
"This winter, I'm afraid it will be dangerous." Shangguan Bing Xue noted as drops of water gradually began to fall on her hair, face, and armor.
"Forget about this winter, if humanity fails to get used to these freezing nights when we are supposed to be in spring, it will already be a great achievement if 5% manage to survive." Bai Zemin said calmly.
Neither of them said anything else, just concentrating on moving faster while extending their senses as much as possible in search of a Soul Power of sufficient quality to attract them; they were like two hunting dogs instead of humans.
Another proof that humanity could never go back to what it was in the past.
"I found one." Bai Zemin suddenly paused for a moment and pointed forward.
Shangguan Bing Xue's boots slid along the ground until she finally stopped beside him. She looked in the direction he pointed and frowned slightly.
"Deeper into the forest?"
She sounded somewhat worried.
Bai Zemin nodded and reasoned, "That beast is probably trying to complete its last requirements to evolve to Second Order. Give it a try to sense it yourself as well."
Shangguan Bing Xue nodded silently and closed her eyes as she focused her Soul Power to sense the Soul Power of the beings several kilometers in front of her. After several seconds, she opened her eyes again and nodded, "In fact. Even though this beast's Soul Power is thick and rich, it is definitely a First Order existence... I can't feel mortal danger from it."
"Yeah..." Bai Zemin nodded and a faint smile appeared on his face, "Let's go hunt it down. It's probably one of the few we'll be able to hunt before the sun rises."
"Are you sure?" Shangguan Bing Xue frowned slightly and said in a somewhat worried voice, "That's quite close to the central area... I'm worried that there might be some Second Order monsters there."
If it was in the past, she definitely wouldn't let her voice slip out like that. She would probably camouflage everything with coldness and indifference just like she had been doing since a young age when she had no choice. However, after having a heart-to-heart conversation with Bai Zemin, she no longer cared so much about things like this.
"If there are any Second Order beasts.... Then even better:" Bai Zemin smiled faintly, and without waiting for a reply, he dashed into the depths of the forest. His black eyes glittered with fervent desire for battle, he wanted to test how strong he currently was and for that he needed an enemy qualified to take at least one hit from his greatsword; something that a First Order beast could not accomplish.
Shangguan Bing Xue rolled her eyes and muttered a few words under her breath before hurriedly pursuing.
Both of them disappeared in a matter of a few blinks.
* * *
The central area of the forest was completely different from the outer perimeter and the inner perimeter.
The weeds in this place grew wildly, reaching up to two meters in height at worst, and the toughness of those fine grasses that in the past could be cut casually had reached a point where even a kitchen knife would probably break before it could chop them in two.
The number of trees was much smaller in comparison, however, their heights were at least 50% higher and their trunks were so wide that even if twenty adults joined hands to try to go all the way around them, they would not necessarily be able to succeed in the feat.
Along the way, the duo of Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue was attacked by some mutant plants that could only survive by camouflaging themselves with the environment. These plants were not even First Order existences, so even though they were sometimes forced to stop as these plants sometimes got entangled in their feet, it was not a challenge for two monsters like them to destroy them and then continue on their way.
Approximately 5 minutes later, just as they approached the area where the beast Bai Zemin had sensed was, a thunderous explosion shook the surrounding.
Bai Zemin's face changed slightly but soon returned to normal.
On the other hand, Shangguan Bing Xue stopped abruptly and her beautiful fairy-like face turned slightly pale as she felt the power contained behind the shockwave.
"That was the clash between two Second Orders!" She exclaimed in shock and apprehension.
Shangguan Bing Xue had experienced firsthand how powerful Second Order creatures were. Even she, who was frighteningly powerful among First Order beings, could not fight against the Archaic Bear back then.
After absorbing a tiny bit of the Second Order Archaic Bear's Soul Power, Shangguan Bing Xue naturally understood a little more about the Soul Power of this kind of terrifying existences. Therefore, she was able to quite accurately distinguish between the Soul Power of a First Order being and a Second Order being.
Just based on the power contained in the previous shockwave, she was almost completely certain that two Second Order beings were fighting two or three kilometers ahead.
"What do we do?" she looked at Bai Zemin waiting for an answer but was surprised to see a sly smile on his face. "What are you planning to do?" She asked a little apprehensive.
"You know, sometimes even we can make mistakes." He replied mysteriously and then said with a hint of confusion, "That beast we sensed earlier is actually already a Second Order creature."
Shangguan Bing Xue gasped when she heard this. If what he said was true, then didn't that mean there were three Second Order beasts up ahead?!
Bai Zemin looked at her and said calmly, "It's very likely that this beast we confused earlier is barely level 50, recently advancing to Second Order, or..."
"Or what?" She pressed on.
"Or otherwise, that beast must be a kind that uses cunning to attack since its overall strength actually isn't very high." He reasoned chillingly.
"Cunning or not cunning, Second Order is Second Order." Shangguan Bing Xue shook her head and pointed out, "If your guess is correct, then there must be at least three Second Order beasts fighting up ahead there. Just one Archaic Bear was enough to bring us to the edge of the abyss once, let alone what three similar beings can do. We should back off."
"Back off?" Bai Zemin chuckled and a glint of cunning shone in his black eyes, "Why don't we better go and kill them all?"
"Bai Zemin... You're stupid or mentally-" Shangguan Bing Xue scowled at him but just as she was speaking suddenly thought of something and her blue eyes lit up, "You... Really what a despicable person."
Bai Zemin shook his head and said with a determined look, "This is the law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest. I don't know about you, but I plan to survive until the end regardless of what I need to do."
"Well, it's not that I don't like that way of thinking." Shangguan Bing Xue giggled softly and looked at him sideways, "Let's go then?"
Bai Zemin did not reply. His body transformed into a whirlwind, crossing dozens of meters in an instant, being followed by her closely.
In just a few blinks of an eye, the distance between them and the battlefield was closing closer and closer.
Boom!
Booom!
BANG!
The closer they got, the louder the explosions became and the earth shook harder. It was as if two mythological beasts were fighting for supremacy in the middle of the mutant forest.
Instead of moving closer, after reaching a distance where they could already make out the flashes of light coming from the distance in front of them caused by the skills of the beasts fighting each other, Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue jumped swiftly between the branches of the trees and in a matter of seconds soared several hundred meters high.
Standing on the top of a tree, Bai Zemin's dark cloak danced fiercely and uncontrollably as his hair became disorderly due to the strong wind from the heights after losing the natural protection of the forest.
Shangguan Bing Xue was no different. Her silver hair danced uncontrollably, giving her always neat appearance a wilder and more seductive look than usual.
However, neither she nor he seemed to care about any of this. Both of their startled eyes focused on the battle scene unfolding about a kilometer ahead.
* * * * * * *
Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3