Chapter 9: This is a jackpot gate!
Inside Fang Xiu's home.
At the moment, he was sitting on the sofa, which was practically destroyed.
In front of Fang Xiu, the passage to the Gate World was still emitting a faint glow.
"I have no idea how dangerous it is inside. If I just rush in blindly, won't I die in a heartbeat?"
Just a moment ago, Fang Xiu had actually been planning to go in.
But on second thought, it didn't seem wise.
He had never stepped foot inside a Gate World before.
If he just plunged in like that, what if a beast was waiting for him on the other side with its jaws wide open? Wouldn't that be walking straight into a tiger's mouth?
"Let's test the waters first!"
After a moment of thought, Fang Xiu spotted a broken chair on the floor.
He picked it up and tentatively thrust it into the Gate World.
Then he pulled it back out.
"Huh? Nothing?"
It wasn't quite what he had imagined.
The chair had gone in and come back out without sustaining any further damage.
"Then let's give it a try!"
Since the chair was fine, even though that didn't guarantee it would be safe for a person...
In Fang Xiu's eyes, it was definitely worth a shot.
Drawing his staff, Fang Xiu hesitated no longer and walked straight into the Gate World.
A vast expanse of whiteness filled his vision.
A moment later, things finally came into focus.
"This place... such dense spiritual energy!"
Fang Xiu had already raised his guard, intending to strike immediately if any beast appeared.
He would just sacrifice the beast to whichever deity came to mind.
Being punished by a deity was still better than dying right here on the spot.
However, once he entered the Gate World, there were no beasts to be found, contrary to what Fang Xiu had imagined.
Instead, all he saw was a vast grassland.
In the distance, there was a lake.
Farther away lay a forest.
It looked completely peaceful.
Moreover, the spiritual energy was extraordinarily dense.
Even so, Fang Xiu did not let his guard down in the slightest.
A beast could crawl out at any given moment.
"Let's take a look around!"
Since there didn't seem to be any immediate danger nearby, he would check things out first.
If it truly turned out to be completely safe, he might even be able to cultivate here.
Given the density of the spiritual energy in this place, Fang Xiu could reach level ten within three days.
After all, his spiritual power had already reached level nine right after awakening.
Pushing it just a little further might allow him to touch the barrier of level ten.
Fang Xiu glanced around and headed in the direction of the lake.
If there was any danger, it would definitely be hiding in one of two places.
First was the nearby lake; water-type beasts loved those the most.
As for the second, it was the forest.
Both of these locations were prime hiding spots for beasts.
Fang Xiu had no idea how large or vast this Gate World was.
But that didn't matter to him at all.
As long as he could confirm there were no beasts in the immediate vicinity, he could cultivate here in peace.
Soon, Fang Xiu arrived near the lake.
He carefully inspected the grass around the area.
"No signs of being trampled!"
Fang Xiu wasn't going to wade directly into the lake to check.
After all, the danger level underwater was many times higher than on land.
If there were any water-type creatures capable of coming ashore, Fang Xiu only needed to check whether the grass nearby showed any traces of being trampled by beasts to determine if any were present.
After circling the lake, Fang Xiu found no evidence of beasts coming ashore.
Based on this, he could draw two conclusions.
First, there were no beasts in this lake.
Second, there were beasts in the lake, but they couldn't come onto land.
Regardless of which conclusion was true, it made no difference to Fang Xiu.
It meant that cultivating on this grassland at least carried no risk of water-dwelling beasts suddenly creeping up on him.
"Next is the forest!"
Fang Xiu looked toward the nearby forest.
That was the most dangerous place of all.
There was a strong possibility of running into a powerful beast the moment he stepped inside.
Unlike the lake, the forest was completely different; beasts could be hiding anywhere, whether on the ground or up in the trees.
You couldn't rely solely on whether the ground had been trampled to determine if beasts were present, because they might be up in the trees.
Stepping into the forest, Fang Xiu gripped his staff tightly.
He had already made up his mind: no matter the cost, the moment he encountered a beast, he would sacrifice it to the evil dragon on the spot.
Consider it a snack delivery.
However, after entering the forest, Fang Xiu only felt that the air was fresher; he didn't discover anything else.
In other words, there were simply no beasts in here at all.
"Could this Gate World really have no beasts?"
Fang Xiu felt a hint of curiosity. He carefully scanned the ground, the trees, and even the sky.
Yet he found no trace of beasts, not even the tracks of ordinary animals.
"This is practically a jackpot gate!"
Fang Xiu never expected that such a bizarrely wonderful gate would appear right in his own home.
Devoid of beasts and overflowing with spiritual energy, this was nothing short of a natural cultivation paradise.
He searched around a bit more thoroughly.
Although he didn't walk through every corner of the forest, everywhere Fang Xiu went was completely free of beasts.
This meant that if Fang Xiu cultivated here, he would be safe for the time being.
As for the grassland, Fang Xiu had also walked all over it, finding no hidden beasts, snakes, insects, or rodents.
This place was practically heaven.
If every Gate World that appeared during the spiritual energy revival had been like this—free of powerful beasts—then human strength would have grown by leaps and bounds.
Even if beasts appeared later on, humanity would have had enough strength to deal with them.
What a pity that the moment Gate Worlds appeared, beasts came pouring out alongside them.
Ninety percent of the human world had been destroyed by those beasts.
Even now, a massive number of beasts still lurked outside the safety zones.
An endless slaughter.
Whenever a Gate World emerged, countless beasts would scramble and fight to enter this realm.
Fortunately, the Gate World that had suddenly appeared in Fang Xiu's home contained no beasts.
Otherwise, let alone Fang Xiu's villa, this entire city probably wouldn't have been habitable.
Everyone in the city would have had to pack up and move.
"Whew, I'll cultivate right here!"
Fang Xiu found a massive boulder.
From this vantage point, he could watch for any unusual rustling in the surrounding grass.
Moreover, it was a fair distance away from both the forest and the lake.
Even though he had already checked those areas, Fang Xiu always exercised the utmost caution.
Back in class, the teachers had explicitly warned them never to harbor wishful thinking inside a Gate World.
Even if no beasts were present at the moment, one had to remain on high alert.
Because you never knew when a beast might suddenly materialize right beside you.
Many Awakened ones didn't die from fighting beasts face-to-face; more than half of all fatalities were caused by accidents or a lack of vigilance.
While powerful beasts would attack head-on, the ones lurking in the shadows posed the truly fatal danger.
Fang Xiu had kept these words firmly in mind.
"If I cultivate here, I'll be able to react even if danger arises!"
Fang Xiu looked around and gave a slight nod.
Then he crossed his legs and began to cultivate.
The so-called cultivation was actually very simple; it was part of the standard school curriculum.
Rumor had it that it had been adapted by a powerful expert based on internal martial arts breathing techniques.
By regulating one's breathing in specific rhythms, the surrounding spiritual energy was drawn into the body.
Combined with the circulation technique, the energy was guided through several meridians to be successfully absorbed and converted into one's own spiritual power.
This simple Cultivation Method, much like broadcast calisthenics, had become mandatory learning for every school.
Of course, before awakening, one could only sense the presence of spiritual energy in the surrounding world.
There was simply no way to draw it into the body.
However, the body was constantly being cleansed by the spiritual energy nonetheless.
Depending on an individual's constitution, the amount of spiritual energy they could passively absorb varied.
This was what eventually created the disparity in strength among people.
"So this is what absorbing spiritual energy feels like?"
This was Fang Xiu's very first time truly cultivating.
Previously, he had only practiced internal energy exercises.
Ever since his awakening, Fang Xiu had finally gained the ability to cultivate.
None of this was difficult for him.
Gradually, Fang Xiu slipped into a state of deep cultivation.
It was truly miraculous; even though he was deep in cultivation, his senses remained fully tuned to his surroundings.
In other words, if any danger approached, Fang Xiu would still be able to detect it.
Furthermore, while in this meditative state, he could not only perceive everything in front of him, but it was also as if a pair of eyes had grown on the back of his head, taking in every single detail of the scenery.
Every subtle rustle of the wind through the grass was within his awareness.
"This feeling is amazing!"
Thinking to himself, Fang Xiu refocused and diligently began his cultivation.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The school testing had already concluded.
Lu Yu'er hurried out of the school grounds.
She took out her phone and made a call.
"Hey, where are you? Come pick me up!"
Lu Yu'er snapped irritably.
Then she hung up the phone.
The person on the other end was left feeling baffled. When had the goddess ever developed such a fiery temper?
Still, he immediately set off.
Before long, he found Lu Yu'er at their usual spot.
"Goddess, isn't today awakening day? What's going on?"
A young man with dyed yellow hair drove his car right up beside Lu Yu'er.
Seeing her unhappy expression, he couldn't help asking out of curiosity.
"Yu Boyuan, help me kill someone—an Awakened!"
Without beating around the bush, Lu Yu'er cut straight to the point.
"Oh? Who on earth crossed my goddess?"
Yu Boyuan was taken aback. This didn't sound like Lu Yu'er at all.
Normally, even if someone wronged her, she would only teach them a minor lesson.
What was going on today? Her temper was so explosive, and she actually wanted to kill an Awakened.
"Just tell me whether you'll do it or not!"
Instead of answering, Lu Yu'er retorted with an angry demand.
"I'll do it, but goddess, you at least have to tell me who the target is so I know who I'm killing!"
Yu Boyuan said with a helpless shrug.
Hearing this, Lu Yu'er hesitated for a moment before finally telling Yu Boyuan what had happened today.
"Wait, you're saying... you want me to kill an SSS-grade Awakened? Are you out of your mind, or am I?"
Upon hearing Lu Yu'er's words, Yu Boyuan froze in shock.
He had originally assumed she wanted him to take out some ordinary Awakened.
He never dreamed that Lu Yu'er would ask him to assassinate an SSS-grade!
Was that the kind of person you could just kill casually?
"Are you too chicken?"
Hearing the tone of Yu Boyuan's voice, Lu Yu'er sneered coldly.
"It's not that I'm chicken, but... that's an SSS-grade we're talking about! Killing someone like that is guaranteed to trigger a heavy investigation!"
Yu Boyuan hesitated.
Offing an SSS-grade Awakened with massive growth potential carried terrifying consequences.
"Don't you always want to have me? Kill him, and I'll go to the hotel with you!"
Seeing that Yu Boyuan was still hesitating, Lu Yu'er dropped the bombshell.
Hearing those words, Yu Boyuan went completely blank.
"Gulp!"
Staring at the stunning and alluring Lu Yu'er, Yu Boyuan swallowed hard and forced out a single word through gritted teeth: "Deal!"