Over the next few days, Lin Yuan made quite a name for himself in the wilderness.
At first, only a few scattered hunters noticed him—a black-haired youth carrying a long spear, traveling alone and specifically targeting monsters at Tier 1, Level 5 or higher.
Later, some people specifically waited at the wilderness entrance to watch him come and go. They discovered that the materials he brought back every day were more numerous and more valuable than the day before.
“What rank is that kid?”
“I heard he’s F-rank lightning.”
“Bullshit. An F-rank can solo a Tier 1, Level 6 rock-armored lizard?”
“I saw it with my own eyes. One strike—just one strike. A flash of lightning, and the lizard’s head went flying.”
Such conversations circulated at the wilderness entrance registration desk for several days.
Lin Yuan didn’t care about any of that.
He only knew that his Ability Point balance had grown again.
【Ability Points: 278】
He was still over two hundred points away from upgrading his lightning ability to Tier 1, Level 4.
As for the mastery of 《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》, he had previously gained 100 points of mastery through combat.
Now, he spent 100 Ability Points to upgrade it from “Novice” to “Practiced.” His spear techniques became noticeably sharper, and the lightning more concentrated when he struck.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
On the afternoon of the fifth day, Lin Yuan went deep into the heart of the wilderness, tracking a wounded Tier 1, Level 7 Wind-patterned Leopard.
The beast was incredibly fast. With a wind ability infused in its legs, it moved like a greenish-gray shadow when it ran.
Lin Yuan chased it for nearly twenty minutes before finally cornering it by a dried-up riverbed.
The Wind-patterned Leopard panted heavily. There was a deep, bone-deep wound on its left hind leg—left over from a previous fight with another monster.
It stared at Lin Yuan, a low, threatening growl rumbling in its throat.
“You run pretty fast.”
Lin Yuan flicked his wrist, the spearhead dipping into a low starting stance for an upward thrust.
The Wind-patterned Leopard struck first. It kicked off the ground, its entire body turning into an afterimage as it pounced. Sharp claws, accompanied by the whistling of wind blades, slashed toward Lin Yuan’s neck.
Lin Yuan didn’t retreat.
His left hand clenched slightly.
The surrounding space distorted for a fleeting moment. The leopard’s speed abruptly slowed—transforming from a blur back into a pouncing leopard, every movement clearly visible.
Lightning exploded at the spearhead.
A single thrust through the throat.
【Killed Tier 1, Level 7 monster Wind-patterned Leopard. Ability Points +42.】
Lin Yuan pulled out the long spear and skillfully began processing the materials.
The leopard’s fur and claws were worth quite a bit, especially the two wind-type cores. One could sell for at least a thousand Huaxia coins.
Just as he finished packing the materials, a noisy commotion drifted from the distance.
There were human screams and the roars of monsters.
Lin Yuan frowned. After a moment’s hesitation, he gripped his spear and headed toward the sound.
About three hundred meters north of the riverbed was a field of jagged rocks.
Currently, three young people were cornered against a large boulder by five Gray-skinned Jackals, looking utterly pathetic.
Two males and one female.
Lin Yuan recognized them at a glance—classmates from Donghai City First High School.
The one in the middle desperately firing fireballs was Zhou Wenjie, Tier 1, Level 1, with a C-rank fire ability.
The girl beside him was Sun Qian, F-rank water ability, unranked. She could only conjure a few water orbs to throw at the pack, which was better than nothing.
The other boy was Qian Lei. He hadn’t even awakened an ability and was holding a short blade with a hand that shook like a sieve.
Among the five Gray-skinned Jackals, two were Tier 1, Level 2, while the remaining three were Tier 1, Level 1.
Zhou Wenjie’s fireballs only managed to scorch the jackals’ fur; they couldn’t deal any fatal damage.
The pack was clearly wearing them down. They weren’t in a hurry to attack, instead steadily tightening the circle, waiting for their prey to exhaust their strength.
“It’s over, it’s over, it’s over...” Qian Lei’s face was deathly pale. “Are we really going to die here?”
“Shut up!” Zhou Wenjie gritted his teeth and threw another fireball. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
His energy was nearly depleted, and the power of his fireballs was getting weaker and weaker.
Right then, a Tier 1, Level 2 jackal suddenly pounced at Sun Qian from the side.
Sun Qian screamed. In her panic, the water orb in her hand slipped, hitting the wolf like a splash of water to the face.
The jackal’s bloody maw lunged straight for her neck—
A bolt of lightning streaked in from the distance.
It wasn’t a metaphor; it literally flew through the air.
A long spear wrapped in arcs of electricity tore through the sky, accurately piercing the jackal’s skull and pinning it to the ground.
Lightning exploded. The jackal twitched a few times and went still.
Immediately after, a black-haired youth leaped from behind the rocks, landing next to the spear. He pulled it out and swung it in a horizontal sweep.
The shaft, carrying lightning, struck the waist of another pouncing jackal, sending it flying. It crashed against a rock and slid down, unable to get back up.
Five seconds.
Two Tier 1, Level 2 jackals—one dead, one crippled.
The remaining three Tier 1, Level 1 jackals were startled by this sudden turn of events. They tucked their tails between their legs, hesitating between attacking or fleeing.
Lin Yuan gave them no chance to hesitate.
The spear thrust forward, and three flashes of lightning lit up almost simultaneously.
A bloody hole appeared in each of the three jackals’ throats. They collapsed to the ground before they could even let out a whimper.
The entire process took less than ten seconds.
The expressions of Zhou Wenjie and the other two froze on their faces.
They naturally recognized Lin Yuan—the F-rank lightning “trash” who had been mocked by the whole school on Awakening Day.
Zhou Wenjie himself had joined Zhao Tianyu in jeering, making sarcastic remarks about “mobile lightbulbs” and the like.
And now, this “mobile lightbulb” was standing among five monster corpses, his spear pointing diagonally at the ground, blood still dripping from the tip.
“Lin... Lin Yuan?” Sun Qian spoke, her voice filled with disbelief.
Lin Yuan glanced at her and nodded. Then he crouched down to inspect the jackal corpses for any valuable materials.
Zhou Wenjie’s expression was a sight to behold—first shock.
“You call this an F-rank ability user?”
Zhou Wenjie grumbled inwardly, his shock eventually turning into a complex sense of embarrassment.
He opened his mouth to say something, but it felt like a stone was lodged in his throat.
Finally, Qian Lei broke the silence, his voice trembling with the relief of surviving a disaster. “Th-thank you, Lin Yuan. If it wasn’t for you... we...”
“It’s fine.” Lin Yuan didn’t even look up as he picked out two decent-quality cores from the jackal corpses and put them in his storage bag.
“What are you guys doing this deep? With your levels, the outskirts should have been enough.”
Zhou Wenjie’s face flushed bright red.
What could he say?
That he wanted to chase Sun Qian, so he bragged about being able to take her deep into the wilderness to hunt high-level monsters?
That he didn’t expect to actually run into a pack of jackals?
“We... we misjudged the situation.” Zhou Wenjie squeezed out the words with difficulty.
Lin Yuan didn’t respond. He stood up, brushed the dust off his hands, and glanced at the three of them.
Zhou Wenjie thought he would mock them back, throw the words he had said on Awakening Day right back in his face, and humiliate him from a position of superiority.
He had even braced himself for the ridicule—after all, if it were him, he definitely would have done it.
But Lin Yuan only said one thing: “Walk east for twenty minutes and you’ll be back in the outer zone. There aren’t many monsters on the way. Be careful.”
With that, he shouldered his spear and turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Zhou Wenjie suddenly called out to him, his expression struggling for a long time.
Ultimately, he lowered his head and spoke in a muffled voice. “About Awakening Day... I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things.”
Lin Yuan’s footsteps paused for a moment. He didn’t turn around, simply waving a hand.
Then his figure disappeared behind the jagged rocks.
Only after walking a few hundred meters did Lin Yuan’s expression shift slightly.
Rate on N.U.
