LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 82: Brothers
Kai and Muchen walked through the forest for a few minutes until they reached an open path. It looked almost like a boundary line, intentionally dividing two areas.
"Is this… like a path dividing the peripheral forest from the outermost part?" Kai asked, confused.
"Yeah, see that forest? That's it," Muchen pointed forward. The two boys stepped forward, crossing the opening, officially beginning the trial.
The forest transformed, filling with noise. Insects as big as they were crawled around, and the moment the boys entered, they faced them.
"Raar… raa… r!"
The giant insects roared and attacked.
"They're stage 2 and 3 body-building insects… attack!" Muchen said, leading the way. Kai followed sharply. They hadn't been given any weapons, and though their families were wealthy back in town, making a body-building weapon here was too costly. So, the two kids used their hands.
Crack!
A giant insect fell to the ground as Muchen leapt over it, rushing toward the hundreds, if not thousands, of insects swarming their path.
Kai's breathing slowed, and unknowingly, tiny, sparsely placed black scales appeared on his body.
Boom!
The insect flew back, crashing into multiple trees.
"What the…?" Muchen said, turning around. Kai smiled as he jumped over Muchen, landing amidst the horde.
"This kid… he has a big secret," Muchen thought, following him.
Hundreds of stage 2 and 3 body-building insects surrounded them, and they killed them one by one. Gradually, the way Kai and Muchen fought began to sync, allowing them to fight more freely.
An hour later…
The two were breathing heavily, surrounded by corpses.
"We should go… the scent of blood… it'll spread… more beasts will come here," Muchen said, breathless as he moved. Kai nodded, following. It was already noon.
"Let's check the rank," Kai said, touching his wristband.
(Number 1230. Current rank: 7,000 / 100,345)
(Number 1500. Current rank: 7,002 / 100,345)
The first was for Muchen, and the second was for Kai. The number is their number out of the ten thousand kids in their region.
"We're pretty much in the top 30,000," Muchen said with a yawn, preparing to sleep.
"Top 10,000 isn't enough… I'm moving," Kai said, jumping down from the tree.
"This kid… so hard-working… he seems pretty motivated… is it because of the sect master… the immortal realm?" Muchen wondered, looking at the sky.
"I wonder how my family will react when I go back up there… after all, the ancient immortal Chen family is a behemoth there," Muchen muttered, following Kai. Through their deadly battle, they had broken through to stage 5 and stage 6, respectively.
If they had eaten the meat, Kai might have also broken through to stage 6 of the body-building realm, but insect meat was poisonous.
Ahead of them were the most dangerous type of insects… ants.
"Run!" Kai shouted, moving in front of Muchen as they both turned and fled. Hundreds… thousands… tens of thousands of body-building ants chased after them.
30 minutes later…
Both Kai and Muchen's clothes were soaked. After all, even body-building beings had stamina limits. They leaned back against a tree, trying to catch their breath.
"Haha… wow… that's a lot of them," Muchen said as a tree far away crashed down, revealing the approaching ant army.
"Well, I'm exhausted," Kai said, gazing forward. Their deaths seemed inevitable as the ant army neared.
"Hmm, same… so, we're looking at our deaths approaching," Muchen said with a grin.
"Yeah," Kai replied, smiling.
"Sigh… Kai," Muchen called out.
"What?" Kai asked.
"Brothers…? Can we be friends like brothers? I know it's not over wine, and we're not from the same parents, but…" Muchen was cut off.
"You know you talk too much. But yes, we are," Kai said, standing up. Coming here, most kids were trained but didn't know how to fight. This life-and-death struggle was teaching them where to aim, where to strike.
Muchen looked at Kai standing his ground as the ants finally came into sight. He smiled. "I guess I have to use it," he thought.
"Hey… won't you come and stand beside me… bro… ther?" Kai struggled to say.
Muchen chuckled. "What a brat," he thought, standing beside Kai, ready to face the army. Two kids… against tens of thousands of body-building ants. The outcome seemed clear—death.
Just as the ant army was about to clash with them, half of it froze as a female suddenly appeared in front of them. Without even looking back, she waved her hand, and the frozen half of the ant army crumbled.
Kai and Muchen's mouths dropped open. For Kai, this was his first time seeing such a display of power, and for Muchen, he didn't expect it either.
Their shock only increased as a large, burly kid—larger than Muchen—landed in the remaining ant army, crushing those in his path.
Boom!
A shockwave spread, shattering the ground as the remaining ant army vanished.
(Ding! Rank: 4,850)
(Ding! Rank: 5,000)
Two loud prompts sounded as the boys turned to look.
"Is that how big the difference is for just those 2,000 ranks higher ?" Kai asked, shocked.
"Yeah," Muchen replied, frowning. He could tell… these two kids were most likely protagonists in this world.
"Let's get as strong as them," Kai said excitedly. His usually cold personality now showed a hint of his desire for power. When he had been weak, the world was boring, not worth living. But now, this exposure to everything around him filled him with excitement.
Muchen snapped out of his thoughts, smiling.
"Don't limit us. Let's get stronger than them," Muchen said, putting his hand on Kai's shoulder.
"How will we do that if you're putting your arm over my shoulder?" Kai frowned, pushing Muchen's hand away. He chose a direction and moved out.
"Hey, wait up!" Muchen shouted, following.
*********
At the prestigious university…
All the high-level beings suddenly looked up as the dean appeared. They could see him, but he felt otherworldly, like he was no longer part of this world, a transformed being entirely.
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting… just consolidating my realm," the dean said with a smile as the ascension realm powerhouses and tribulation powerhouses all stood up.
"Oh, it is nothing, old friend," an elder laughed.
"Yeah… we should be the ones apologizing for coming unannounced," another replied modestly.
The tribulation realm experts stayed quiet, watching the exchange. After all, each of these ascension realm powerhouses was a sect master or the ancestor of a prestigious family.
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