4: The Black Forest Incident

The morning sun pierced through the clouds, outlining the massive silhouette of the City of Radiance with a golden edge. In front of the Yun Family's main gate, more than ten sturdy horned horses snorted, their hooves restlessly pawing the ground.

Over twenty young Yun Family disciples had assembled. Their leader was Yun Hao, a cousin about eighteen years old, with a resolute face, and already a Bronze Three Star expert. He sharply scanned the group, his voice steady: "This trip to Black Spring Village is not far, but we must cross the outskirts of the Black Forest. Everyone must stick with the team, no unauthorized actions, and obey my commands!"

"Yes!" the boys and girls responded in unison, their faces filled with excitement and nervousness.

Yun Feng was mixed in with the crowd, carrying a seemingly ordinary backpack, a hundred-refined steel sword at his waist, and wearing tanned leather armor, indistinguishable from the other disciples. He even deliberately made his Aura seem a bit unstable, his eyes showing just the right amount of curiosity and a hint of timidity, perfectly blending into the role of a "normal Yun Family disciple."

The team set off, hooves clattering, leaving the bustling city and plunging into the vast, deep Black Forest outside the city.

At the forest's edge, ancient trees reached the sky, their branches blocking out the sun. The light suddenly dimmed, and the air was filled with the unique scent of soil and humus, mixed with the faint, unknown roars of Yao Beasts from a distance. The young people, experiencing the world outside the city for the first time, involuntarily quieted down, gripping their weapons tightly.

Yun Feng, however, felt exceptionally... comfortable.

The Black Gold Rank Origin deep within his Soul allowed him to perceive his surroundings far beyond ordinary people. He could clearly "hear" the subtle differences in the wind blowing through the leaves, "smell" the faint scent marks left by different Yao Beasts, and even vaguely sense the subtle flow of the Spiritual Vein underground. This forest, which seemed full of dangers to others, was like a backyard he could freely explore in his eyes.

But he still maintained his vigilance, not against Yao Beasts, but against potential "accidents" that might exceed what his current "persona" could handle.

Under Yun Hao's leadership, the team cautiously advanced along a path trodden by previous travelers. Along the way, they mostly encountered low-level wild beasts and scattered Black Iron Rank low-tier Yao Beasts, such as sharp-toothed rats and wind snakes, which were easily dealt with by the guard deacons at the front of the team, serving as practice and learning Material for the young disciples.

Yun Feng also "clumsily" participated in several encirclements. His swordplay seemed uncoordinated, and his strength was controlled "barely," several times "narrowly" repelling the Yao Beast, eliciting gasps from a few closer cousins, who then offered encouraging glances.

"Brother Yun Feng, be careful!" a girl with twin buns named Yun Qiao, the daughter of Yun Feng's second uncle and lively, whispered a reminder.

"Mm, thank you, Qiao'er." Yun Feng nodded, panting, his face appropriately showing a trace of fear and gratitude. In his heart, he secretly chuckled; Yao Beasts of this level, he could wipe out a group with a mere breath.

Halfway through the journey, the team rested briefly in a relatively open clearing in the forest.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

"Roar—!"

A furious roar exploded from the dense forest not far away, the sound wave shaking leaves from the trees. Immediately after, a foul stench assailed them, accompanied by a slight tremor in the ground.

"Stand ready!" Yun Hao's face changed, and he shot up, his long sword instantly unsheathed. The two guard deacons also immediately blocked in front of the young disciples, their expressions grave.

They saw a Yao Beast, as sturdy as an ox, with glossy black fur and a single horn on its forehead, crashing through several small trees, its scarlet eyes fixed on the team. Saliva dripped from its mouth, emitting a nauseating stench.

"It's a Black Rhinoceros Beast! A Bronze Three Star Yao Beast!" a deacon said in a deep voice, with a hint of tension. Black Rhinoceros Beasts were tough-skinned, thick-fleshed, and extremely powerful in their charge, making them very difficult to deal with among Yao Beasts of the same rank.

The young disciples in the team immediately stirred, their faces drained of color. Bronze Three Star! This was beyond the scope of what most of them could handle.

Yun Hao gripped his sword hilt, his eyes resolute: "Uncle Li, Uncle Zhang, the three of us will be the main attackers. Everyone else, form a defensive formation and look for opportunities to interfere!"

Just as the tension mounted, no one noticed that Yun Feng, at the end of the team, his gaze flickered slightly. His Divine Sense had already thoroughly scanned the Black Rhinoceros Beast, inside and out.

"Its left foreleg has an old, unhealed injury, causing a slight delay in its exertion... The third cervical vertebra is a relatively weak point in its defense..." Vast combat experience and knowledge naturally emerged with his Black Gold Rank Divine Soul.

He couldn't expose his strength, but that didn't mean he couldn't "help."

Just as the Black Rhinoceros Beast pawed its hooves, about to charge, Yun Feng's foot seemed to "trip" on a protruding tree root. With an "ouch," he stumbled forward, and the refined steel long sword in his hand "slipped" out!

The long sword traced a "hasty" and "powerless" arc, neither aiming for the Black Rhinoceros Beast's eyes nor its throat, but instead, perfectly, with the hilt first, the flat of the blade struck an inconspicuous, hard stone half-buried in the dirt directly in the Black Rhinoceros Beast's charging path.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound!

The blade of the refined steel long sword precisely struck the stone, and the immense recoil instantly broke the long sword into two pieces! But that clever force was transmitted through the stone to the ground, causing a barely perceptible tremor.

The Black Rhinoceros Beast, just about to exert force for its charge, happened to step its left foreleg onto the ground that had been slightly loosened by the clever force. A sudden, piercing soreness shot through its old injury, and its charging momentum instantly stalled. Its massive body lost balance, and it crashed sideways to the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust!

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone.

The menacing Black Rhinoceros Beast... fell over by itself?

Yun Hao and the two deacons reacted extremely quickly; although they didn't understand why, a fleeting battle opportunity was at hand!

"Attack!"

The three immediately lunged forward, blades flashing. Seizing the moment the Black Rhinoceros Beast struggled to get up, they attacked its relatively soft belly and neck with all their might!

"Pfft!"

The sound of sharp blades piercing flesh rang out, and blood spurted.

The Black Rhinoceros Beast let out a painful wail, struggled a few times, but ultimately couldn't stand up again, its Aura rapidly weakening.

The battle ended as suddenly as it began.

Everyone looked at the fallen Black Rhinoceros Beast, then at Yun Feng, who was still on the ground, looking "shaken" at the broken sword in his hand, their expressions quite varied.

"Yun Feng, are you alright?" Yun Hao quickly walked over and helped him up, his tone complex. He clearly saw that the "accidental" fall, and the broken sword cleverly striking the stone, seemed to... indirectly cause the Black Rhinoceros Beast's loss of balance?

"N-no, I'm fine..." Yun Feng's face was pale (this time from stifling laughter), looking at the broken sword in his hand with an "annoyed" and "fearful" expression, "Brother Hao, I'm sorry, I'm too useless, I couldn't even hold my sword steady... and I broke it..."

Yun Hao patted his shoulder, comforting him: "It's not your fault, that beast suddenly appeared. You... have good luck." He truly couldn't attribute the Black Rhinoceros Beast's fall to Yun Feng's strength, only to an incredible coincidence and luck.

"Brother Yun Feng, you scared me to death!" Yun Qiao ran over, still shaken.

The other disciples also gathered around, their gazes towards Yun Feng filled with sympathy and... a strange sense of relief. Although the process was dangerous, the outcome was good.

A deacon inspected the Black Rhinoceros Beast's corpse, then looked at the broken sword and the stone, frowning slightly. In the end, he just shook his head and whispered to Yun Hao: "It was indeed a coincidence. That force and angle didn't seem intentional. This young man... his luck is indeed unusual."

Yun Hao nodded, no longer thinking about it, and instructed everyone to process the Yao Beast Materials.

Yun Feng silently picked up the other half of the broken sword, his heart unperturbed. Hiding his achievements and fame, this was the essence of putting on a show. He glanced deeper into the Black Forest; after this small interlude, the team's atmosphere was noticeably more tense.

He knew that this training expedition might not be as peaceful as he had anticipated. And his "luck" might have to continue to be "good."