Chapter 44: The Shedding in the Cave
"Finally, the Misty Forest is vast. From the outside in, it is divided into three zones: the Outer, Middle, and Core zones."
"We have set up multiple safety outpost towers in the Middle zone. If there is an emergency, you can go to a tower and await rescue."
"Alright, move out! Enter the Misty Forest!"
Zhao Lie took the lead, striding toward the Great Wall not far away.
Up close, the wall was far more oppressive than imagined.
Layers of blue-black giant stones were stacked nearly fifty meters high. The wall face was covered in claw marks and craters, with half-broken beast fangs still embedded in some spots.
Atop the wall, sentinel towers stood like a forest, and artillery turrets were lined up.
Border defense soldiers in military uniforms held energy rifles, their spines straight as rods.
Their sharp gazes swept over every inch of the area outside the wall, their fingers constantly resting on the trigger guards.
At the city gate.
Two armed guards were checking everyone's ID cards one by one.
Behind them, the heavy alloy city gate slowly opened, emitting a muffled creak.
The moment they passed through the gate, a smell mixed with blood, humus, and beast musk hit them in the face.
In the clearing outside the wall, several freshly cleaned beast skeletons were piled in a corner. One could faintly see bones as thick as water buckets, their tips still coagulated with dark red bloodstains.
Further ahead was the edge of the Misty Forest.
Milky white mist rolled like a living creature, wrapping the depths of the forest tightly.
Visibility was compressed to less than five meters, and the originally clear outlines of trees were twisted and deformed in the fog.
Only the low roars of beasts coming from the forest could be heard, each sound tightening one's heart.
"Alright, the military training officially begins now!" Zhao Lie shouted, standing at the front of the group.
"Remember the rules. Good luck!"
As soon as his voice fell, the students rushed into the Misty Forest.
Some formed groups of three or five, while others acted alone, though the latter were in the minority.
Chen Yu and Ling Yue exchanged a glance and walked into the Misty Forest together.
Immediately upon entering, the thick mist enveloped them, reducing visibility to almost nothing.
But for Chen Yu and Ling Yue, who possessed Observation Haki, this mist had almost no effect.
Chen Yu tugged on Ling Yue's wrist.
His Observation Haki had long since spread out, covering the surroundings like an invisible net.
Within a hundred meters, three First Order mid-rank Swift Wolves were chasing a wild hare.
Thirty meters to the front-left was a strange beast camouflaged as a flower. Fifteen meters to the back-right, inside a bush, hid a constrictor snake specialized in ambushes.
"The training lasts three months; we need to find a stable place to stay," Chen Yu suggested.
"Okay." Ling Yue's Observation Haki was no weaker than Chen Yu's.
The two decided to decisively bypass these beasts.
Along the way, Chen Yu could see some surveillance Transponder Snails crawling on tree trunks, broadcasting the training in real-time.
Occasionally, the roars of beasts appeared on the road.
Chen Yu glared, releasing a burst of Conqueror's Haki. Those beasts instantly tucked their tails and fled in disgrace.
As they went deeper, Ling Yue soon locked onto a cave halfway up a mountain.
The entrance was obscured by green vines, and there was no beast aura around it.
Chen Yu specifically cross-checked his Observation Haki perception with Ling Yue's; there were no discrepancies.
But such a good habitat was unoccupied by any beast?
Chen Yu frowned.
"Be careful, it's suspiciously quiet here."
The two pushed aside the vines and walked into the cave.
Ling Yue had just lit a portable glow stone when she noticed a semi-transparent sheet folded in the corner of the cave wall.
The surface was covered in fine silver patterns, cool and smooth to the touch, like something shed by a scaled creature.
It looked like a lizard, not very large, only about ten meters long.
But a faint, lingering pressure remained on it.
"The aura of this shedding…" Chen Yu leaned in to sniff it, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.
Just a shedding was enough to deter Second Order beasts and below… this had to be shed by some high-ranking creature, right?
"This is still the outer perimeter of the forest, right? Why would there be a high-order beast?"
Ling Yue walked out of the depths of the cave. "I checked. This cave doesn't look like a beast has lived in it."
"No food remains, no excrement."
Chen Yu nodded. "Alright, guess we got lucky."
He moved the shed to the cave entrance, using it as an extra natural barrier.
In a cave unknown to them, a pair of scarlet eyes seemed to sense something and snapped open.
Gazing remotely in the direction of the Misty Forest, it let out a worried roar. "Roar…"
Meanwhile, in the District 7 Command Center, several huge screens were broadcasting the dynamics of Awakeners in various zones in real-time.
In front of the screens, various personnel were whispering.
"Look at Lin Yan. Not only did he find a tree hollow, but he also set up ice prism traps around it. Cautious enough."
"Xia Wanqing is okay too, just a bit rough."
"She used brute force to chop down all the bushes within twenty meters. The view is clear, but the noise was too loud. She had already attracted two First Order beasts earlier. Luckily, her Strength-Strength Fruit is strong enough to beat them back."
"Jiang Qingye and Li Mufeng teamed up. They chose a high rock platform. Li Mufeng transforms into a Pteranodon to scout periodically. They're the most stable group so far."
"Chen Chen is smart, too. He knows how to unite everyone and has directly built a camp. Good cohesion."
A white-haired old man sipped hot tea, speaking with emotion. "Only these few kids know to find a place to rest first."
"Every year we say military training is a battle of endurance, but some people just won't listen."
"There's still a group of kids thinking about killing more beasts to hoard tags. They'll understand in less than three days—in a three-month training, 'surviving' is the fundamental goal."
Someone else agreed, "The core of the training is to show strength, yes, but character and mindset are also important parts of the assessment."
Amidst the conversations of these Awakener Academy recruitment tutors and school teachers, time passed quickly.
The next morning, the mist dispersed slightly.
Chen Yu watched Ling Yue organizing dry branches and said,
"I'll go find some food and water nearby. Wait in the cave. Call me if anything happens."
Ling Yue nodded. "Don't go too deep. Stay safe."
Chen Yu walked out of the cave, instantly spreading his Observation Haki. He quickly locked onto a target in the southeast direction.
A Second Order Low-rank Split-Earth Pig.
This beast was the size of a small cow, its skin as hard as iron armor. Two tusks glinted with cold light as it lowered its head to gnaw on roots, completely unaware of the danger.
Chen Yu exerted force under his feet, shooting out like an arrow. His right hand drew Ace, slashing precisely at its neck.
By the time the Split-Earth Pig noticed, it was too late. The sword qi sliced open its body without obstruction.
Giving only a short, abrupt howl, its massive body crashed to the ground, blood seeping from the wound.
Both were Apprentices (Second Order equivalent), yet Chen Yu instantly killed it.
Chen Yu bent down and plucked a small metal tag from behind the Split-Earth Pig's ear.
"This should be the tag."
He casually hefted the Split-Earth Pig onto his shoulder, moving as easily as if he were carrying a bag of cotton.
The low-ranked beasts along the way smelled the residual Second Order beast aura on him and shrank into the grass, not daring to even poke their heads out.
After finding a river, Chen Yu cleaned the Split-Earth Pig before carrying it back to the cave.
When he returned, Ling Yue was using the paw pads on her hands to repel a ball of water.
"What are you doing?" Chen Yu paused.
"I create ice first, then simply repel the clean water out of it. Now we have water."
Ling Yue demonstrated. "I can already use two abilities simultaneously to a small degree."
"Impressive," Chen Yu gave a thumbs up, then controlled flames to ignite the dry wood.
He set up the Split-Earth Pig to roast.
Ling Yue's eyes curved into crescents. "It feels like an elementary school field trip!"
"You guys in the Capital have these kinds of activities?"
Chen Yu asked while processing the pork. "Here in Lanjian, out of ten field trips, nine run into beasts."
"And then they got banned."
"Ah? That's so pitiful."
The cozy atmosphere between the two was completely different from the others, who were in deep trouble.
"How can this be…" Li Mufeng, transformed into a Pteranodon, had a look of lingering fear on his face. "Why is there a Third Order beast?!"
If he hadn't run fast, he would have died there.
Lying on his back, Jiang Qingye's arm was bleeding profusely, his aura of life faint.
"Qingye, don't die!" Li Mufeng flapped his wings with all his might, flying toward a nearby outpost tower.
(To be Continued)
ONE PIECE MANGA SPOILERS
Link is mentioned in Comment.
SEE Chapter 1167 RAW
https :- cubari.moe/read/imgur/OS0f2IX/1/1/
100 Power Stone= Extra Chapter Release