Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Chapter 12: The Withered Wolf

After cooking Xiang Xiaoyus favorite mealstir-fried eggs with tomatoesand watching television together for an hour Xiang Xiaoyu unwillingly grabbed a bag of snacks and retired upstairs under Xiang Nings prodding.

Xiang Ning picked up a book and started studying. This was a fixed habit and must not be ignored. Although he now had the systems help, he still felt like he needed a backup path for himself instead of relying on the system. What if it stopped functioning one day?

After studying, he sat on his bed and started practicing the Advanced Breathing Techniques. Although the system didnt show his experience increasing, he could still feel the faint sensation of spiritual qi nourishing his body.

The next day, the sun had just started to rise at six in the morning. Xiang Ning opened his eyes, rubbed his cheeks, then washed up and woke Xiang Xiaoyu up with breakfast.

They arrived at school at 7:20, which was neither early nor late.

Xiang Ning saw Xiaoyu off, then walked alone to the upper secondary zone and to his classroom. Coincidentally, he met Zhang Cheng but just entered the class after a moments look.

Fury Points +45

Xiang Ning froze. Why did his Fury Points increase? Who could it be? Zhang Cheng? He didnt think much of it and headed to his seat to prepare for his morning reading. Once he sat down, he felt many eyes secretly watching him. He quizzically looked around and heard a conversation about yesterday.

Hey, did you hear? Xiang Ning from our class got into a fight. I heard it was one against three, too.

Thats insane! Isnt he only in Physical Tempering stage four?

What do you know? They were holding back, it was just a minor disagreement. Who knew Xiang Ning would hit for real? In my opinion, its his personality.

Heh, I see.

Xiang Ning was irritated by the gossip, but what could he do? Explain himself? Who would believe him?

Thats enough! Hes our classmate, is that necessary? Fatty Wang shot up and slammed the table, scaring a few people.

Fury Points +11

Fury Points +8

Fury Points +9

Xiang Ning couldnt decide whether to laugh or cry; perhaps this counted as helping him?

Zhang Cheng got up and locked eyes with Wang Zhe. Fatty Wang, youre being too nice. The entire school knows about the fight, and that one of them was from our class. Dont you know its now become a joke?

You can drag your own name but not our class!

Fury Points +32

Tsk, youre right. And now hes stopping us from talking about it.

That guys pretty strong, I think we should probably keep it to ourselves.

Heh, yeah, or well be beaten up too.

Wang Zhe wanted to speak up in the face of the insults, but Xiang Ning stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder. Thank you. Ill repay the money, too.

Hey, you dont need to. Dont worry about it.

The bell rang, silencing the noisy classroom. After a series of click-clacks, the class teacher, Su Muhan, pushed the door open and stood on the rostrum.

Students, today will officially be your first class of the semester. Please pull up the summary on fearsome beasts and well learn about the beasts around Marsh City as well as their characteristics.

Weve learned these in the lower secondary classes, Miss, Li Zimo said with his hand up. Due to his background, he naturally knew a lot about beasts, too.

Su Muhan smiled. You learned about their morphology and general characteristics, but today well learn how to kill them, familiarizing yourselves with their weaknesses and special features to increase your chances of survival in the future.

First up is the Boulder Boar, ranked as a Beast Soldier, though even these lowest-ranked beasts are the equivalent of a tier one, six-star martial artist. Does anyone know its weakness? she asked, her eyes scanning the classroom.

When she mentioned the Boulder Boar, Xiang Ning recalled its characteristics. Although he wouldnt claim to know every beast in the world, he was familiar with the ones around Marsh City.

As the students discussed, only Xiang Nings eyes were meaningfully fixed on Su Muhan. Perhaps because she felt his gaze, or because no one raised their hands, she called on him. Xiang Ning, do you know the answer?

He stood up. Many people turned to look, delighted to see him suffer. They thought there was no way a part-timer like Xiang Ning could possibly know. But they must have forgotten that he had ranked first in their examination on cultural subjects. He calmly answered, Theres a weak spot behind the Boulder Boars ear. One may puncture this spot with a weapon, or cut through to sever its nerve. The Boulder Boars defenses are mainly focused on its back, as its covered with stones. The most valuable part is the ear, so one must be attentive in their technique during the severing of the nerve.

The class was in shock, including Wang Zhe. There was a sudden clapping; it came from Su Muhan, who was surprised by his answer. She smiled. Very good, that was a very detailed explanation, though Ill add on to his answer. Boulder Boars often appear in groups, so when you encounter one in the wild, avoid confrontation if possible.

The mornings lecture piqued the students interests, as it was a new topic, so time quickly passed.

As usual, Xiang Ning jogged to the other side of Mingzhe Lake and went to the cafeteria with Xiang Xiaoyu for lunch. Of course, there was Fatty Wang, too, because he now called himself a sworn brother of Xiang Nings. He insisted on ordering two plates of beast meat to be shared with the siblings as well. Although Xiang Ning didnt say a word, he remembered Fatty Wangs kindness.

The afternoon period, which was also the only class in the afternoon, was a class conducted by a teacher with actual combat experience named Mu Xiao. Mu Xiao was a tier five martial artist, which was two tiers above Su Muhan. Apparently, hed retired from the military and had killed countless beasts, earning himself the nickname The Withered Wolf.

Good afternoon, class. If everything goes smoothly, Ill be your practical combat teacher for the next few years. You may call me Mr. Mu. Ill guide you during your combat training sessions. Mu Xiao proudly stood before the inexperienced students, his muscular body radiating a killers aura. Not a sound was made.

My classes will be divided into two types of sessions, practical and virtual combat. In the virtual network, you can train your reflexes. You may exchange and purchase combat skills in the network, and well run both types of sessions throughout the semester. Mu Xiaos voice boomed like a grand bell, shaking the students to their core.

Xiang Ning had heard of this. After the great spiritual qi explosion, humans had built a virtual reality network that perfectly simulated reality. In reality, combat skills were difficult to attain and injuries were too common in the quest of perfecting a skill. On the virtual network, however, one could disregard the negative effects of cultivating and training too vigorously; they could just start over if they were hurt on the network.

However, that caused the prices of high-level combat skills to soar, while lower skills became dirt cheap. If you fought someone on the street, you could likely be using the same skill. People with influential backgrounds, like some students in class, on the other hand, owned combat skills unique to their own clan.

Obviously, Xiang Ning did not.

It was impossible to master a combat skill if it was only used in virtual reality. Many people, especially in this declining era, could only dream of the perfect conditions to battle in the virtual network, unable to sustain any true injury.

Other than strengthening your own body, youll need some help. Mu Xiao gestured with his fingers.

Li Zimo raised his hand. Weapons?

Thats right, weapons. Anyone whos played games knows the importance of weapons. Its true that when youre fighting a beast in real life, weapons are crucial. Well head to the schools virtual arena next and you may choose your weapons. This afternoon, youll have time to cultivate one basic martial skill. In the last thirty minutes, youll be paired up for one-on-one sparring sessions, in which Ill oversee the results, said Mu Xiao.

Xiang Ning was pleasantly surprised to hear that. A virtual arena was worth more than his house. He couldnt believe this school had one!