Chapter 7

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

This chapter is edited by Alex9300. Thank you for your contribution!

Chapter 7: Novice Trial

Was this really a trial? If so, shouldn’t it be a battlefield filled with swarming enemies and rivers of blood? Shouldn’t it be a test of sheer survival, cutting down endless foes like a hero of legend? Yet, Yun Xi knew his limits; he wasn’t even a first-ranked swordsman. But surely, if this was a trial meant to temper him, the final opponent would be a being of unrivaled strength, wouldn’t it?

At the bonfire, Yun Xi was reborn from the fire.

“Master, this is the trial the stars prepared for you. They must have a reason.” Mei’er tried to explain.

“Once you finish the newbie trial you will obtain a Sword Arts Seed!”

“Hoo… I see…” Yun Xi reached out his hands and patted his cheeks.

Putting the last goal of the trial aside, the last reward did tug at his heart.

A Sword Arts Seed. Just by hearing the name, he knew it was a treasure with a connection to the sword. It was worthy of a reward of the stars.

“Then, I will give you the target map to help guide you.”

“Master, come on!”

A black and white map appeared in front of Yun Xi. The dark area was temporarily not shown as it was enveloped by an endless fog.

He saw his own location and the bonfire at the beginning. Yun Xi could see a dark forest at the end. He saw a green point, which symbolized that he was staying around the bonfire.

If he left the bonfire and turned right, the path would lead to the dark forest. There was a harsh red point in the center of the path and a similar red point at the entrance of the dark forest.

In the center of the dark forest was a soft green point. Perhaps it was the sleeping beauty.

Looking at the map, there seemed to be two enemies.

The distance between the forest and the bonfire was about one kilometer. Yun Xi calculated it according to the distance he walked.

Because the route was pretty simple, it didn’t even have a branching road so he didn’t need to worry about losing his way.

“Hmm, seems like the newbie trial is quite easy. Perhaps I only need to defeat the two small monsters, then I can find the sleeping beauty successfully.” Yun Xi looked at the map with optimism and soothed his nerves.

This Sword Seed must be something the stars prepared for novices.

Additionally, he found an iron sword that was lying on the ground by the bonfire. It was clear that this weapon was the first weapon for the novices in this trial.

Due to the erosion from moisture, the sword handle had gotten a little rusty. However, its blade was still sharp. It was already enough to be used as a newbie weapon.

“Well, let me start the trial!” Yun Xi gave up thinking where the sleeping beauty was. He held his newbie’s sword and took one step forward with courage.

After crossing the small bridge and passing through the clear waterfall, Yun Xi quickly found the path to the dark forest.

Soon, he reached uphill and heard some strange noises.

“Ping! Ping!” Seems like something heavy was being knocked on the ground. Again and again, getting closer and closer.

“Don’t… don’t tell me…” Yun Xi had an ominous feeling. Looking at the map Mei’er gave him, the red dot seemed to be getting closer.

Soon after, Yun Xi learned a lesson.

That it was a complete illusion that the red point was only a little bigger than yourself!

Because the scale of the map… was dozens of times smaller than that of the real world!

“Boom! Boom!” With earth-shaking steps, a giant monster whose body was twice as tall as Yun Xi emerged from the corner.

Taking his own sign as the standard, the enemy which was wandering on the center of the path was a little bigger.

It had one eye, a large head, and thick green skin. Only, its leg were way bigger than Yun Xi’s entire body.

It opened its big mouth. Its four sharp teeth took aim at Yun Xi while reflecting a creepy cold light.

“Ping!” Its speed was so fast that it was in a completely different contrast with its giant body type. Especially for Yun Xi who just went into the trial and was still a little stiff, it’s slap was pretty powerful.

With just a slap, Yun Xi had been blown away like a rag doll. Afterwards, the green monster trampled upon his body. Yun Xi’s body turned into countless lights, leaving nothing but a red smear.

“Sniff, sniff…” The green monster who killed Yun Xi with a slap then turned back and continued to patrol.

****

“What kind of common monster is this?!” Looking at the practice weapon returning to the bonfire with him, Yun Xi had a mixed feeling, “F**k you, bitch!”

Wasn’t this a newbie trial? Was this a monster a newbie should face?

Look at its body type, speed, and power! Even if it was a 3rd-ranked swordsman like Hua Huo, she couldn’t promise to defeat it easily!

If this monster came to the village, except for Hua Huo, it would be able to kill everyone with ease!

The novice trial was a huge problem, this was a defiance of the natural order!

“Master, come on!”

“This guy is but a hunk of meat that kills lower lifeforms. Once master gets the seed of the sword, master can easily kill 10 of them in one strike!” Mei’er’s voice appeared to encourage Yun Xi.

“You should help me deal with this guy so I can get the Sword Arts Seed.” Yun Xi asked his spirit, just in case he got lucky and she would give it to him.

“That is impossible, only you can defeat it through your own abilities.”

“I’m not a combat-type fairy anyways. I can only support you as your system fairy.” Mei’er explained that she could do nothing else.

“So, what can you do?” Yun Xi didn’t know what to say.

“Warm… warm your bed?” Mei’er said shyly.

“Let’s talk about this after I beat down this monster.” Yun Xi took a deep breath. His face also turned red.

The fairy… warm his bed… No, forget it! It was too early for him to do such a thing!

****

“Sniff! Sniff!” The green hippo was on patrol. It paused for a while then shook its small tail.

Was something wrong? It remembered it had killed many similar invaders on this road today.

These invaders had the same characteristic, they were all holding a shoddy iron sword and their actions were so stiff, even inferior to the monkeys in the forest. It could easily knock them down on the ground with a slap then trample them to death.

Look! There was still a pool of blood left on the road. It was from the trash it killed last time.

If it counted them carefully, there were already dozens of such blood stains.

“37…” Yun Xi gasped, looking at the damned green hippo. This hippo killed him 30 plus times within the time period one would use to take a shower.

However, how could it be possible for such an atrocious, blood-thirsty, and scary hippo to exist? Once it saw you, it would give you a slap or trample you.

Luckily, Yun Xi had a high tolerance and was able to endure it 37 times.

Thirty-seven blood stains were distributed on the narrow uphill path. The most distant one was on the top of the slope. All of them held traces of Yun Xi’s death.

“However, I have learned some important details.” Between life and death, there is great terror. Everytime he was slaughtered by the monster hippo, he also caught some habits of the hippo.

The beast’s primary attack was a thunderous slap, its speed and power amplified by its colossal size. One blow was all it took. If Yun Xi faltered, even for a moment, the slap would send him sprawling, sealing his fate. The second attack, however, was the most unnerving—a swift, rolling maneuver that defied logic. The sight of its enormous bulk folding and tumbling toward him was almost comical, but the laughter died in his throat as it crushed him again and again. By the time he realized it was coming, it was already too late.

Then there was the trampling. If Yun Xi lost his balance and fell, it was over. The hippo’s feet, massive and merciless, descended like the hammer of a vengeful god. Once he hit the ground, there was no escape. Thirty-seven deaths had proven that to him beyond doubt.

“I can’t act recklessly. I have to find an opening.” His voice was calm, resolute, despite the sweat glistening on his brow. Those thirty-seven deaths had not been in vain. Each time, he’d paid the price in blood to glimpse a little more of the creature’s movements, its strengths, and its weaknesses.

Between life and death, Yun Xi had discovered something profound. In those final moments—when the monster’s attacks came hurtling toward him—the world slowed. Time seemed to stretch, as if giving him a fleeting chance to etch the details into his memory. He could see the subtle shifts in its body, the way its muscles tensed before a strike, the trajectory of its movements.

Though slow to adapt, he was not blind. With every death, he’d grown sharper, his body and mind gradually syncing with the alien rhythm of this world. Pain had become his instructor, and survival, his only goal.

Yun Xi inhaled deeply, steadying his trembling hands. “Thirty-seven deaths… I won’t let them go to waste.” His gaze narrowed, fierce and unwavering as he stared down the green monster. For the first time, he felt a spark of hope amidst the chaos—a belief that perhaps, just perhaps, the thirty-eighth time would be different.