Chapter 82 - Recovery

It was hypocritical of me to try and save Sheng Yin when I killed off almost all of the Gang family. Then again, did I care? Would I repent for what I did? No, I was not a good man and I knew it from the start. Still, I chose to save Sheng Yin today

She brought trouble to me, but there was no apparent hostility in her actions. If I always went on killing everyone, what fun would there be in this mortal life?

I stepped upon a tree root and looked left and right. My spirit sense was giving me a vague outline of a person walking in this area. I was quite near the city right now. I didn't stop but kept a distance away from that person. Now was not the time for any fighting.

My figure was shadowy in this forest. I sometimes appeared from between the trees then disappeared in a flash. However, I couldn't keep going at such speed for a long time. As I slowed down, I finally saw the city walls. I was there, just a few minutes more. 

I saw someone.

'Tch, not another trouble damn i- Oh.'

It was actually Chunu. She also saw me and rapidly came running in my direction. Surprise turned into worry in a matter of three seconds. ''What happened, big brother?'' She asked. Her gaze stayed on my wounds but the girl I was carrying quickly caught her attention.

''We got into some trouble, quick she needs immediate treatment!'' I said.

''You are hurt!'' She came to my side and tried touching my left shoulder.

''Don't, ow!''

''Sorry… Is it broken?''

I shook my head and began running. We shouldn't remain here. My sister looked around and followed me. She was more alert now. Although we talked only occasionally, she was my sibling after all. Here in this mortal world, although we were competing, she still cared about me.

I had asked her about this competition and she was actually not interested in the heavenly throne. Still, she did want to reach the upper realms as quickly as possible.

On the way, I noticed that Chunu was carrying a beast tail with her. She seemed to have already hunted for something. I asked her about it while we ran towards the city and learned that it was a low-rank 1 beast, Kakuwa Jackal. Another speedy beast.

Chunu offered to carry Sheng Yin midway but I refused. There was blood all over Sheng Yin's body but I felt little trouble with her weight on my shoulder since I wasn't running speedily at the moment. She had already become unconscious by then.

There was the same elder at the city gates waiting for any practitioner coming from the north. When he saw us, especially me, he immediately came forward. His eyes examined the body I was carrying and they turned wide seeing Sheng Yin's state.

''What happened?'' He asked but his voice had more agitation and urgency than Chunu's. I looked fine in his gaze and he was more worried about Sheng Yin whose blood was dropping on the ground, even now.

The elder's name was Er Gamu. Upon hearing the account of what went in the forest from me, his expression hardened. First Sky Martial House had a prestigious name in Xuahour. Known to train beast hunters and exceptional practitioners, that was the whole reason thousands came to enter this House every year.

However, their assessments were known to be extremely dangerous.

There had been cases of practitioners dying in the last assessment. That was usually because of their own stupidity. Sheng Yin also fell into that category. However, by now I could guess that this young lady had quite a background.

It wasn't the fault of the Martial House if we looked at the facts, yet they would be getting in trouble with whoever was behind Sheng Yin if anything severe happened to her. Like a permanent handicap, for example.

The elder called some men and Sheng Yin was placed into a stretcher and taken to the medicinal hall of the city. They were prepared from the start, it meant they were expecting injured test takers. Maybe not Sheng Yin but definitely some low-ranked practitioners.

'She will live but I don't know how advanced the medicines and surgery of this world are. Maybe there are some magical methods… there has to be,' I thought.

Zuifan's memories contained some ridiculous methods and if things such as Qi and acupunctures existed, then the existence of voodoo doctors was also a possibility.

Chunu had already shown the tail of the Kakuwa jackal to the elder and got his approval. When I took out the ears of the Purple Lightning Tiger from my bag though, the elder's eyes nearly popped out.

Well, he could go head to head with that demon beast and even kill it as a rank-six Meridian Opening practitioner. Yet, that was his own limit and a Viscera Purifying practitioner was not (and should not) be at that level. Killing a Purple Lightning Tiger was like killing a Meridian Opening stage practitioner.

''You pass…'' the elder paused and added, ''Come meet me after your wounds are healed.''

Of course, there would be some investigation. They would most likely ask me lots of questions. For now, I got in and that was what mattered.

Taking the beast's ears, elder Gamu then told me to also treat myself. A few practitioners who smelled of herbs came with a similar stretcher. But I could walk on my own so I refused their help. This dislocated shoulder would hurt when relocating. I wondered if there were any pain-relieving medicines with them.

When I asked the practitioners about it, they said yes, to my surprise. Actually, for them, it was common to have such medicines.

We entered the city from the northern gate along with another two practitioners who had just come. I was planning to go to the medicinal hall as well but one of the alchemists told me that there was a healing chamber in the Martial House.

The city's medicinal hall charged a sky-high amount of money and he assumed that I wouldn't be able to afford it.

He was right. I only had a few hundred gold kins with me. It wasn't enough, apparently. My shoulder had swollen badly and the pain increased with time, blood was jammed. My expression twitched from time to time and Chunu kept asking if she could do something to help.

Reaching the Martial House, the alchemist Xian Luur, led me to this Healing Chamber. They asked me for my trainee token but I wasn't given such a thing. Xian Luur vouched for me.

It was noon and three more practitioners had passed the assessment before us. I saw them waiting patiently at the meadow before the dorms. Another elder was with them.

''You don't have to join them. Elder Gamu has given me special permission,'' said Xian Luur. However, he told Chunu, who was still with us, to go there instead.

Scanning the meadow with my gaze one last time, I didn't see Feng Yi or Ling'er. There was still lots of time left for the third assessment to finish, maybe they were… ow, still searching for a beast. With this thought, I entered this dome-shaped building.

…

Two weeks later, at the training grounds of First Sky Martial House.

Bodies aligned together in ten rows, a hundred practitioners stood straight before a rank 9 Visera Purifying senior trainee. I was behind Lingling on the second column. My sister was three rows away from us.

Button-berry trees grew around this training ground, their violet flowers giving a relaxing scent to us. The sun was covered by white clouds at the moment and no one knew when its light would pierce through that atmospheric clothing.

''By now, you must have understood what it takes to remain as a trainee of the First Sky Martial House,'' said the man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was a little short but bulkier than all of us. Wearing a black robe, he stood there imposingly.

''Consider the earlier assessment as tutorials because from now on you will be hunting at least one beast a month,'' he sternly added.

For the past 14 days, it was nothing but training, newbie training that I completely skipped due to my injured condition. I was fully healed by the tenth day, thanks to the miraculous medicines provided by the Healing Chamber's alchemists. There were doctors as well and their knowledge of the human body surprised me.

I was a Viscera Purifying practitioner so that training was not anything difficult for me, although Chunu said I would have been exhausted by the end of it had I gone through what she and other practitioners did.

The number one complainer, however, was not here. She couldn't pass the last assessment. That day was her worst luck, actually, she roamed the forest and found not one demon beast. Unhindered and tired, she walked up to the forest's edges until the sunset. I couldn't know if it was true or was she just lying to hide her incapability.

Whatever happened, the three of us got in while she alone could not. Someone else also wasn't able to pass the assessment even though she had killed a rank 2 demon beast.

Indeed, Sheng Yin was still recovering and by now the probation period had ended. The hundred of us were taken in.. Those who did not pass have to wait for next year's assessment.