novelraw Chapter 39 : Chapter 39
Chapter 39 : Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Calamity Cavern
The days that followed remained just as regular as before, save for one new fixed routine: every so often, Wang Yu would cling to Lin Bai and ask him for another spar.
Although she was mercilessly crushed every single time, she still never seemed to tire of it, as though she had somehow found a certain kind of enjoyment in getting beaten up again and again.
That day, the two had just finished another friendly spar and were sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, drinking tea and eating fruit, when the token, which had long been quiet, suddenly gave a chime.
Lin Bai picked up the token, and a line of information appeared.
“Student Lin Bai, Firecloud Grotto-Heaven is about to open Calamity Cavern. Those who pass may obtain Merit Points, and those who perform outstandingly may receive additional rewards. Please prepare yourself and proceed to the designated location.”
“Note: Additional rewards may only be obtained if the trial is passed solo.”
There was also a small note below it.
“Beginning tomorrow, classes will be suspended for five days.”
Lin Bai and Wang Yu exchanged a glance, and Wang Yu spoke first.
“Did you also say that Calamity Cavern is opening?”
Lin Bai nodded. Although he had no idea what Calamity Cavern was, if there were Merit Points to be had, he would definitely go and see what it was about.
“Let’s go. We’ll head over now and see what this thing is.”
Lin Bai immediately stood up. It was only a little past four in the afternoon, and he had no intention of waiting until tomorrow.
The two followed the directions to the designated place.
“Hm? Strange...”
Lin Bai let out a quiet exclamation, surprise appearing on his face.
The Martial Academy truly was peculiar. He had previously measured and carefully observed the surrounding area, and in his memory there had been absolutely nothing here but empty ground.
Yet now an ancient, towering stone stele stood there in solemn grandeur, as though it had been silent in that spot for thousands upon thousands of years.
Thanks to the fact that their residences were nearby, they became the first batch of people to arrive.
The moment he stepped before the stele, Lin Bai received the relevant information.
It turned out that before the human race had become the spirit of heaven and earth, it had endured countless calamities. Only after humanity survived all manner of natural disasters and human-made catastrophes did Heaven’s Mandate gather upon the human race.
Later, when Firecloud Grotto-Heaven came into being, it branded those many disasters into itself and constructed them into a unique place of trial known as “Calamity Cavern.”
In essence, Calamity Cavern was a massive illusion realm.
It was not permanently open. The time of its opening was irregular, and so too was its duration.
This time, Calamity Cavern would open three layers and remain active for six days. After those six days, it would close again.
Each day, one would have a single opportunity to challenge it.
“Cornered Beast, Water Gorge, and... False Human.”
Lin Bai browsed through the names and information for the three trials.
The first two were recorded in considerable detail, both describing specific disasters.
But the information for the trial called False Human was far too vague. It did not even explain what one would be facing. There was only the bare name itself.
“What is this ‘False Human’?”
Lin Bai turned to his “information broker” for an answer, but Wang Yu only shook her head in confusion.
There was no such disaster in her memory, nor any demonic beast by that name.
Since even Wang Yu did not know, Lin Bai could only use an old method from his previous life: skip the question he did not know for now and move on. He immediately began discussing the first two trials with Wang Yu.
“The demonic beasts in the first trial are at the level of ordinary Transcendent-Realm peak opponents. As for the natural disaster in the second trial, it requires strength at the Extraordinary Realm level to withstand and pass.”
“These first two trials can be attempted either solo or in a team. Let’s each challenge them once on our own first. If we fail, then we can form a team.”
That was right. The trials in Calamity Cavern could be attempted in groups.
After all, numbers were strength.
One of the main reasons humanity held fast to its position as the ruler of the world was undoubtedly cooperation and mutual gain. Of course, to prevent students from endlessly accumulating Merit Points, Calamity Cavern had imposed certain restrictions.
It offered rewards for the brave. The additional rewards could only be obtained by passing a trial alone.
Wang Yu considered this for a moment and found nothing wrong with Lin Bai’s suggestion.
“I’ll do as you say.”
Since there was only one attempt per day, not challenging it today would mean wasting an opportunity for nothing. Once they had made up their minds, the two decided to begin the trial at once.
While they were discussing strategy, more and more people began to arrive.
When many of them saw that the very first trial required peak Transcendent-Realm strength, their expressions changed drastically. Not everyone had Lin Bai’s monstrous talent, nor was everyone’s Dao Path combat-oriented.
“Th-this... what are we supposed to do? Are students like us who aren’t suited for combat really going to miss this trial entirely?”
“You fool. Didn’t it clearly say you can form teams? Were your eyes only grown there for ventilation?”
“Who are you calling a fool?”
“Heh. Whoever answers is the one I’m insulting.”
“Enough, enough, you two. Just keep reading the notice.”
Once the crowd grew, conflicts naturally followed. The more hot-tempered among them had already begun arguing, and there were even signs that blows might be exchanged.
Fortunately, the people around them stepped in and stopped it.
None of that had anything to do with Lin Bai and Wang Yu. The two of them immediately turned around and went back to prepare their weapons and equipment.
After being in the Martial Academy for so long, Lin Bai had also come to understand some of its rules. The Martial Academy might provide you with weapons, but they certainly would not be good ones.
As for the standard-issue weapons offered by the Martial Academy, Lin Bai wanted no part of them. He was going back now to fetch his Light-Heavy Saber, while Wang Yu likewise needed to prepare certain materials for casting her Dao Arts.
“Brother, excuse me, excuse me.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Though Lin Bai sounded polite, force had already quietly burst from his body, and with deft precision he flicked aside those blocking his way.
After returning to his courtyard and taking up the Light-Heavy Saber, Lin Bai prepared to head next door and wait for Wang Yu.
As a spellcasting Dao Path practitioner from the Qi Practitioner side, Wang Yu had quite a few things to prepare.
Just as Lin Bai was about to leave— “Caw, caw~”
Lin Bai turned his head and looked at Mo Ling.
Ever since coming to the Martial Academy, the little thing had been especially well-behaved. She always stayed in the courtyard, diligently refining medicinal power and practicing her skills every day.
“You want to come help me too?”
“Caw!”
Mo Ling puffed out her chest, her call crisp and her meaning unmistakable.
Once he understood her intentions, Lin Bai began to consider whether he should bring Mo Ling into the trial.
Mo Ling was drawing ever closer to her growth stage. At the level of the Transcendent Realm, her strength was no longer weak. On Lin Bai’s side, her raw power did not matter much, but what did matter was her combat experience and how her future development should be arranged.
Lin Bai thought about it for quite a while, then realized that bringing Mo Ling along to gain experience would bring benefits without any drawback at all.
Inside Firecloud Grotto-Heaven’s trial grounds, it was impossible for Mo Ling’s life to be truly endangered. Outside, there would be no such good fortune.
So Lin Bai quickly made up his mind. He beckoned to Mo Ling and said, “Then come with me, little one. Let’s fight side by side.”
Lin Bai brought Mo Ling straight into Wang Yu’s courtyard. Except when Wang Yu had specifically set her courtyard to not be disturbed, Lin Bai could enter it directly at other times.
Wang Yu had granted Lin Bai that permission, and naturally Lin Bai had given Wang Yu the same access to his own place in return.
The moment Lin Bai entered, he saw Wang Yu with her head lowered, sorting through the things she would need.
Wang Yu had also heard his footsteps, but she did not turn around.
“You finished preparing that quickly?”
“What do I really have to prepare?”
“That’s true. Your Dao Path is of the martial type. You just need your weapon.”
Lin Bai sat down across from her in an entirely carefree manner, as though he were back in his own home, and casually picked up a piece of fruit to bite into.
After more than a month here, Lin Bai and Wang Yu had grown more and more familiar with each other, to the point that there was now a kind of closeness between them like that of old childhood friends.
“Is that your little Dark Crow?”
Wang Yu put down the exquisitely folded paper figure she had just finished and turned her gaze toward Mo Ling.
“What little Dark Crow? She has a name, all right? It’s Mo Ling.”
“Caw, caw.”
Mo Ling also cried out twice at the proper moment, as though emphasizing her own name.
“See? Mo Ling is repeating her own name.”
Wang Yu became interested at once and leaned a little closer, wanting to get a better look at the clever spirit bird.
“Mo Ling? You’re planning to take her into Calamity Cavern for the trial? But with your strength, there’s no need at all to bring a helper, is there?”
“I’m bringing her along for experience, so she can build up some battle practice. And don’t underestimate Mo Ling. She’s very strong too.”
As Wang Yu spoke with Lin Bai, she also reached out, wanting to stroke Mo Ling’s sleek, glossy feathers.
But the moment Mo Ling heard Wang Yu belittle her, she refused to let herself be touched and hopped straight back onto Lin Bai’s shoulder.
“Caw.”
She even gave Wang Yu a provocative cry.
Wang Yu was not annoyed at all. If anything, she became even more interested.
“This little thing is quite clever.”
That only made Wang Yu want to touch Mo Ling even more, but Mo Ling darted left and right, and Wang Yu simply could not catch her.
In the end, it was Lin Bai who stopped the impending “human-versus-bird battle.”
“Stop fooling around. How much do you still have left to sort out?”
Wang Yu could only withdraw her hand and say with slight dissatisfaction, “Just a little more. I’ll be done soon.”
After that, Wang Yu finished organizing her materials properly.
The two humans and one bird set out, and it did not take long before they returned to the stone stele.
Entering Calamity Cavern was simple. One only needed to press the token against the stone stele.
“Tsk, there are really a lot of people.”
Lin Bai looked at the crowd in front of him and sighed, automatically beginning to gather information as he always did.
“Liu Ming and Zhong Ping have already gone in. I wonder who will win their wager in the end.”
“It has to be Liu Ming. He belongs to one of the three great families.”
“Hard to say. In class, Zhong Ping’s results have always been about the same as Liu Ming’s.”
“A wager?”
The moment Lin Bai heard that something interesting seemed to have happened, he turned a curious look toward the “information broker” at his side, trying to get an explanation.
“Wait here. I’ll go ask.”
Wang Yu, living up to her title as his “information broker,” did not disappoint him. Though she did not know either, she had plenty of clansmen around and could simply go ask.
When she returned, Wang Yu explained the whole matter to Lin Bai.
“So basically, two disciples from hostile factions got into a conflict, and in the end it developed into the duel everyone loves to see.”
Wang Yu nodded, expressing her approval of Lin Bai’s ability to understand the matter so quickly.
Then, once Lin Bai learned that both of those students belonged to the Military Track, he found the whole thing perfectly unsurprising.
Compared with the Literary Track, whose people liked to hide needles inside silk and sabotage others in secret, the conflicts within the Military Track were far more direct.
As for the Auxiliary Dao, conflicts existed there too, but compared with the other two tracks, it was already a much more peaceful place.
“Oh ho, who would have thought there’d be fun to watch even here?”
Lin Bai felt somewhat regretful that he had arrived late. Otherwise, he might have been able to watch the “live show” in person, rather than just hearing Wang Yu’s “retelling.”
Still, it did not matter much. Watching a good scene was certainly enjoyable, but right now the most important thing was passing the trials and “earning” Merit Points.
Because many people had to return to make preparations, the queue advanced quite quickly. It was not long before it became Lin Bai and Wang Yu’s turn.
After Lin Bai pressed his token to the stone stele, a ray of light burst forth from it, swallowed both him and Mo Ling, and began the teleportation.
Amid the transfer, a voice rang out by Lin Bai’s ear.
“Cornered Beast Trial, begin!”