“Do you two have any shame? Each of your cultivation levels is higher than mine, yet you say you need my protection.”
Terra Su shrugged. Gu Qianyin was at the tenth level of the Condensing Origin Realm, and Princess Mia, though her exact cultivation level was unclear, was certainly no weaker than the tenth level. For these two to claim they needed protection from someone at the eighth level of the Condensing Origin Realm was simply unbelievable.
Just as Gu Qianyin was about to speak, the surface of the lake behind her suddenly splashed without warning. A massive black shadow burst out of the water, lunging straight at Gu Qianyin with its jaws wide open, aiming for her neck.
Terra Su, being the closest, narrowed his eyes and immediately punched toward the shadow.
The punch was swift and fierce, landing on the shadow just a foot away from Gu Qianyin.
Bang! The punch hit the shadow’s jaw, revealing it to be a massive crocodile. Terra Su’s powerful punch shattered its jaw, leaving it a bloody mess.
The crocodile’s body fell back into the lake with a pained cry and quickly swam away, disappearing from sight.
“It’s an Iron-Tailed Crocodile at the tenth level of the Condensing Origin Realm.”
Princess Mia observed, touching her chin with her fair hand, and glanced at Terra Su with interest.
For someone at the eighth level of the Condensing Origin Realm to severely injure a monster beast at the tenth level with a single punch was impressive, especially since such beasts were much stronger than human martial practitioners at the same level.
Gu Qianyin, though having narrowly escaped danger, maintained her composure, albeit with a slightly disgruntled expression.
She glanced at Terra Su and said, “Let’s leave this place. The hunting grounds are vast; let’s explore other areas.”
With that, Gu Qianyin started walking forward.
Princess Mia smiled slightly and followed.
Terra Su walked behind them, watching their backs. In the wilderness, the two of them were like a striking landscape, quite pleasing to the eye.
Terra Su didn’t rush or specifically search for prey. After all, he wasn’t here for the autumn hunt to kill many beasts but to train and hone his skills.
Placing himself in an unfamiliar environment, where danger could arise at any moment, was the best way to temper oneself and the greatest allure of practical training.
As for Gu Qianyin and Princess Mia, they seemed uninterested in the prey, walking leisurely toward the inner trial area.
As they walked, Terra Su gradually noticed something was off. Gu Qianyin and Princess Mia would occasionally stop, crouch by the roadside, sniffing and looking around as if searching for something.
“What are you looking for?” Terra Su asked.
“It’s a woman’s business. You, a man, shouldn’t interfere,” Gu Qianyin replied.
Terra Su shook his head. Gu Qianyin was his companion, yet she was following Princess Mia around. He suddenly felt like a pig he had painstakingly raised was being taken by someone else.
He decided to ignore them and continued searching for monster beasts to fight.
Ordinary monster beasts didn’t interest Terra Su. Only those at the tenth level of the Condensing Origin Realm or higher could catch his eye.
However, he encountered few monster beasts at the tenth level along the way. Occasionally, he would come across one or two, but they were easily dispatched with a few punches and kicks, posing no threat.
As for Transforming Realm monster beasts, he hadn’t seen any yet.
But Terra Su believed there were definitely some Transforming Realm beasts in the hunting grounds; he just hadn’t found them yet.
As the afternoon passed, the sky gradually darkened.
After dark, it was naturally unsuitable to continue activities in the wilderness. Nighttime was when monster beasts were most active, while human martial practitioners’ combat abilities were significantly reduced.
So, the three found a sheltered spot to camp and rest, planning to continue the next day.
At this point, the meat from the monster beasts Terra Su had hunted came in handy. They started a fire and roasted the meat, sharing it among themselves.
Princess Mia and Gu Qianyin ate slowly, taking small bites. The scene reminded Terra Su of Gu Qianxue. If the little girl were here, the monster beast meat probably wouldn’t be enough for her alone.
Princess Mia took a few elegant bites of the monster beast meat, then set it down, wiped her mouth, and asked, “Mr. Su, why aren’t you collecting the materials from those monster beasts? According to the autumn hunt rules, you can keep half of those materials.”
“Just junk. Collecting them is a waste of time and effort. Why bother?” Terra Su shrugged. At this stage, he had no interest in the materials from tenth-level Condensing Origin Realm monster beasts. Collecting them wouldn’t fetch much money, just wasting time.
“It seems our group’s ranking won’t be very high,” Princess Mia smiled. The rankings were based on the prey obtained, but they needed the materials as evidence.
Terra Su didn’t care. He wasn’t here for the rankings. If he were, joining the Crown Prince or Third Prince’s team would have been better.
“By the way, what were you two looking for during the day?” Terra Su asked. The two women’s behavior clearly indicated they were searching for something in the trial grounds.
Princess Mia shook her head. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t help, so it’s better not to say.”
Terra Su said nothing more, taking out a bow and arrow by the campfire and starting to practice archery.
His bow and arrow were taken from a black-clad archer of the Sun Family, a failed first-grade Divine Weapon, or rather, a quasi-first-grade Divine Weapon.
For a martial practitioner, even if not specializing in archery, a well-used bow and arrow could become a crucial weapon in critical moments.
Terra Su planned to train in archery, perfectly complementing this bow and arrow.
Archery, unlike other martial techniques, required training in three methods: “Heavenly Eye,” “Wind Listening Ear,” and “Rock Steady Heart.”
To master archery, one must first have powerful eyesight, the foundation of archery training.
On this foundation, one must also have keen hearing to see in all directions and hear from all around.
As for the Rock Steady Heart, it was self-explanatory. As an archer, one must have a heart as steady as a rock to shoot arrows accurately at the target, undistracted by any illusions.
An archer aiming to perfect their archery would need countless years of training. Similarly, mastering these three complementary methods would also take an unknown number of years to reach perfection.
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