26: Chapter 26: Tracks of the Thunderhorn Rhinoceros are Discovered

"Isn't that a contradiction?" Xia Qinger asked, puzzled.

"Well, perhaps it was my way of phrasing it. I should say, your method of protection has little to do with your combat strength," Chen Xing said.

"Why?" Xia Qinger didn't understand what she was doing wrong.

"Your so-called protection is simply enveloping your allies in light, using healing radiance to mend their wounds. But you've never thought about how to kill the opponent. That is what's fatal, do you understand?" Chen Xing explained.

"Kill the opponent?" Xia Qinger's heart stirred as she suddenly understood.

"If you only know how to protect but don't think about how to deal with the enemy, do you think the enemy will stop hurting you just because of your protection?" Chen Xing continued.

"Strictly speaking, you aren't protecting anyone; you are the one being protected. To escape this predicament, you must be ruthless. Hide your gentleness and reveal your claws."

"If you ask me, the best protection is to kill the opponent directly and eliminate the source of the trouble!" Chen Xing stated bluntly.

Xia Qinger fell into deep thought, remaining silent for a long time.

Having lived two lives, Chen Xing possessed some basic experience.

A moment later, it seemed an agreement had been reached, and the two sides began to negotiate.

Lu Xuan was willing to provide protection, but he wouldn't let others push him around. This was understandable.

After settling the terms, the group set off, heading deep into the Northwest Hunting Zone.

"Hello, I'm Cheng Feng. Can we get to know each other?" Halfway through, the man responsible for scouting in Lu Xuan's team approached.

"Me?" Chen Xing asked.

Cheng Feng nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to ask, brother, how did you do it?"

Chen Xing was surprised. "Do what?"

Cheng Feng explained, "My ability is the D-class Wind Spirit. Wherever the wind goes, nothing can hide. I detected the four of them just now, but... I didn't detect you."

When the five of them emerged together, Lu Xuan and the others were startled. Hadn't they agreed on four people? Where did this extra one come from?

At the time, Lu Xuan and his group thought it was a trick and almost started a fight. Fortunately, Li Tan explained quickly.

"Oh, that. It might have been my Magical Artifact working," Chen Xing said with a slight smile.

"Magical Artifact?" Cheng Feng scanned him from head to toe, finding nothing special about him other than his good looks.

"My clothes are a Magical Artifact. As long as I wish, I can conceal my aura. I was worried you might be tricking us when we arrived, so I activated it in advance," Chen Xing explained.

"I see. You really are wealthy, brother. I've never seen a Magical Artifact like this!" Cheng Feng realized, nodding with a smile.

"What's the big deal? Doesn't everyone have one?" Lu Xuan crossed his arms, sounding somewhat disdainful.

"Huh?"

He scanned Chen Xing again, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "The fabric on you is quite nice. Where did you buy it? Can you introduce me? I'll have someone custom-make a few pieces for me later."

Chen Xing looked down and tugged at a corner of his clothes. "This? Sure, but it's a bit expensive. If you want it custom-made, I expect..."

Lu Xuan waved his hand. "Money is no object. Let's exchange contact info later. You're a decent guy; I like the look of you!"

Chen Xing chuckled and said nothing.

The children of great families were indeed different. While others were struggling for money and cultivation resources, they treated the daily grind of earning a living as entertainment and a trial.

Of course, he seemed to be doing the same now, though the Exchange Competition at the end of the year was a source of great pressure.

Ye Jianxing wanted him, a new Ability User, to participate in such a high-level competition and fight against seniors who had been cultivating for several years—that was one thing.

The key was that Teacher Ye said he had to at least bring back a decent rank.

Me?

"In six months, I wonder if I can break through the shackles of the major Realm and charge into the Divine Sea Realm?" Chen Xing pondered.

It was important to note that the gap between a major Realm and a minor Realm was entirely different and much harder to overcome.

"The other three major academies—Shengyuan, Zhenyan, and the strongest, Niliu Academy—have many experts. When I actually get to the competition, I'll probably run into these brothers."

A short while ago, he had asked Little Xia and learned that the three of them were actually from the neighboring Shengyuan Academy. They just wanted to get away from home and gain some experience.

They were actually quite outstanding students of Shengyuan Academy and would definitely participate in the Exchange Competition when the time came.

"Looking at it this way, I still don't have enough time. In half a year, I'm not the only one getting stronger; others will be cultivating too," Chen Xing mused.

Although he was several minor Realms ahead of others, he still felt it wasn't enough—at least not enough for the Exchange Competition.

The seniors would be enough of a handful. If he ran into an A-class, or even the legendary S-class, he would basically be doomed to defeat.

After marching for a long time, they left the tropical rainforest and reached the plains.

Whoosh!

Soon after, Zhou Chen, who was in charge of scouting, returned from the distance. He spoke with Li Tan and produced an object.

Li Tan looked surprised and turned back to look at Chen Xing.

"Little brother, it seems there's good news."

"What is it?" Chen Xing asked.

"Take a look at this first," Li Tan said, walking toward him.

Chen Xing looked closely. It was something resembling a horn, but it was very damaged, appearing to be just the very tip.

However, he could feel a faint power of lightning still lingering on it.

"Thunder-Horned Rhino?" Chen Xing was delighted. Rumor had it that Thunder-Horned Rhinos would use lightning to break off their horns periodically and then grow new ones.

"Yeah, looking at the lightning aura on this, it seems it was shed not long ago. That means they haven't gone far!" Li Tan said.

"It's only noon; we can catch up," Lu Wu added in agreement.

Primarily, Chen Xing had helped him once not long ago, and he didn't want to owe the other party anything. He wanted to help so he could feel right with himself.

"Hehe, how about that? Not only is my nose sharp, but my eyes aren't bad either!" Zhou Chen laughed.

"Okay, let's catch up then." Chen Xing nodded. Having not used his full strength for so many days, his hands were starting to itch for action.

Thunder-Horned Rhinos lived in herds, often numbering twenty to thirty, and at least fifteen or more. They were not to be underestimated.

However, with Lu Xuan's group of "bodyguards" present, they could share much of the pressure.

More importantly, although Ye Jianxing required ten horns from Thunder-Horned Rhinos, he hadn't specified what level they had to be.

In other words, even if they were just ten Thunder-Horned Rhinos at the first stage of the Light Opening Realm, Chen Xing could complete the task.

"There's no way Teacher didn't think of this. It means he doesn't care about the horns at all; he just wants to temper me," Chen Xing thought.

After all, Thunder-Horned Rhinos were a herd. Even if he wanted to take a single horn, he would be attacked by the group. This was by no means an easy feat.

If he could complete the task, it would solve a major problem for the Exchange Competition—being ganged up on.

Chen Xing was an S-class Esper. When the time came, he would inevitably be besieged by experts from the other three academies. Ye Jianxing gave him this task to let him learn how to deal with similar emergencies in advance.

When he encountered it again in the Exchange Competition, he would know how to respond.

"Teacher really has put a lot of thought into this." Thinking of this, Chen Xing quickened his pace.