Chapter 39: Preparations for the Hunter Examination (Part-4)

A moment later;

Lin Fang clenched his fists and took a deep breath. ’You can do this, Lin Fang. Compared to the Bear and the Golem, he is far less threatening.’

He charged at once, treating him as a monster that he had to hunt.

Reaching Adam, Lin Fang threw a flurry of wild punches and jabs. However, Adam dodged each one with casual ease while continuing to comment on each move. “Footwork’s not bad,” he muttered, stepping aside as another punch whiffed past him. “But your movements need polishing. You are wasting too much stamina. Your punches are too reckless.”

Lin Fang kept throwing punches in succession, in frustration at not being able to hit him once.

After a full minute, Adam finally raised a hand, halting the spar for a moment. “Alright. My turn. Don’t block. Just react.”

Lin Fang gulped but nodded.

Adam’s punches came twice as fast as Lin Fang’s, aimed at his face and torso. But Lin Fang’s body responded on instinct, ducking, swaying, shifting his balance just enough to evade most of them.

Outside the ring, Zhi Yan’s eyes widened a little as she watched from the start. “His reflexes…”

When Adam stopped after 60 seconds, he nodded, making a face as if he was impressed while commenting. “You dodged 14 out of 17 attacks I threw at you. For a plainfolk, it’s quite high. Even among the hunters, you would rank quite high, somewhere around Upper C-rank, just solely on reflexes.”

Lin Fang was panting lightly, but his eyes remained sharp. “So, you’re saying that I passed?”

“You passed the movement test, yeah.” Adam stepped forward and gently tapped Lin Fang’s chest. “But your bone density is low, and your body’s too weak. Even if you land a punch, it won’t do much damage against a monster.”

Lin Fang’s face tightened. “So, what now?”

Adam rubbed his chin thoughtfully as if he was thinking about it, then added, “I can teach you a martial art from the country of Canaan. It’s called Krav Maga. It is basically developed as a military self-defense and combat system for the Canaan Defense Forces. Basic techniques are also easy to grasp and have a high adaptability nature, like you can incorporate elements from boxing or wrestling, judo, or even street fighting style. Perfect for someone like you.”

“Krav Maga,” Lin Fang repeated to himself. “Never heard of such a technique.”

“What you will learn in the next couple of days won’t help you clear the exam or anything,” Adam warned him seriously. “But if you maintain discipline and continuously practice it for a few months, it will surely help you out in case you fail and attempt again or if you pass and go out in the wilderness.”

Lin Fang exhaled, putting his pride aside and giving a bow. “Then… please teach me.”

Adam gave a half-smile and held out a fist. “Alright then. Let’s get to work.”

Lin Fang hesitated a bit but slowly touched fists with him, forgetting the fact that this guy used to be Li Liu’s ex.

From the side, Zhi Yan watched him with her arms crossed. A smile played on her lips, mumbling. “It looks like Lin Fang is sorted here.”

*

Later that night, at Evergreen Apartments, Zhi Yan’s apartment unit was quiet again. The ladies were sleeping while Hao Bin was out for his night shift, but inside his locked room with no light switched on, Lin Fang sat cross-legged on the bed, facing the softly glowing system interface hovering in front of him.

He exhaled slowly with his breath trembling slightly. “Let’s do this.”

His finger hovered for a moment, then tapped.

[Enter Training Ground?]

Yes.

*Ding!

[You selected Silver Moon Snow Mountain.]

A familiar jolt ran through his skull, and in the blink of an eye, the warmth of his room vanished and was replaced by the cold winds.

He stood once again on the icy ridges of the mountain.

This time, Lin Fang didn’t flinch or waste any time either. He also didn’t look for any flat ground to fight against the guardian of this realm. Instead, he made his way to the cavern he had discovered during his first experience in this realm.

And roughly twenty minutes later, he found the place and ventured in deeper and deeper, moving through several tunnels along the way.

Several minutes later, Lin Fang stopped after a frantic search for the route, muttering with his heart pounding while taking a seat against the wall. “Why is it that everything is sealed. I clearly was chased around in the cavern, which led me to that pit, the shelter zone. But I can’t see anything now. I guess it only activates when the guardian is here. Also, I wonder what guardian the system will spawn this time…”

Fifteen minutes passed in silence.

*Ding!

[You have remained sedentary. Defense Protocol initiated.]

[Guardian is being summoned.]

A familiar growl rolled through the walls like distant thunder. “Oh, it’s the same one? The Frost Bear King? Anyway, it doesn’t matter.” Lin Fang immediately rose and bolted away, but this time, not in a blind panic.

Lin Fang sprinted with precision, weaving between ridges and jagged outcroppings as the bear’s roars echoed behind him, and in no time, it felt farther away. He didn’t pay attention to Bear this time. He was aware that he was faster.

Taking advantage of his speed, he continued to zigzag through the terrain until a jagged stone ledge came into view. Beneath it, a strange circular glyph was drawn on the snow-covered ground. “Is that…?”

Lin Fang couldn’t help but smile and immediately leapt forward, landing on the glowing ring. Instantly, the stone platform beneath him shuddered, sliding aside with a grinding hum.

He fell into darkness, and above, the opening sealed shut.

*Ding!

[You have escaped the defense entity. Training will resume.]

[You have entered a Shelter Zone.]

[You may remain here without incurring sedentary penalties.]

Lin Fang landed hard on the cold floor but quickly scrambled to his feet, dusting himself off. At first, He blinked rapidly, waiting for his vision to adjust, but just like in the rocky world, the darkness was absolute.

He touched the wall and began walking slowly.

Ten minutes later, the darkness faded.

A faint blue glow began to appear ahead. Lin Fang blinked, adjusting his eyes, as the tunnel widened into a natural ice chamber.

There, in the center, stood a statue, tall, carved of frozen obsidian, depicting an assassin clad in ancient robes. In both hands, the statue held twin daggers, their blades shimmering faintly even in the cold air.

Lin Fang stopped, his gaze never leaving daggers. “Now, it is confirmed. All Shelter Zones have replica weapons that are used to defeat the guardians, and Shelter Zones will only open when the guardian is present.”

He stepped forward slowly. His boots crunching lightly on frosted ground as he reached out.

With a firm tug, he pulled them free without much work, unlike with the sword embedded in the stone.

*Ding!

[Congratulations! You’ve found the Twin Daggers of Xuanwu (Replica).]

[Weapon Type: Curved Daggers]

[Attribute: Ice. Skill: Twin Fang Slash — Each dagger deals 100% bonus damage. CD: 300 seconds.]

[Limitation: Can only be used within the Silver Moon Snow Mountain habitat. Required item to defeat the Guardian]

*Ding!

[Warning: Since you have claimed the trial weapon of Silver Moon Snow Mountain, the Sedentary Mode penalty is now disabled.

[The Guardian will now actively hunt you down from the moment you enter this world.]

[Frost Bear King is selected as your hunter]

Lin Fang returned to the real world, and the set of notifications once again chimed in his ears, as per the norms.

*Ding!

[Training Complete – Silver Moon Snow Mountain]

[Rewards Delivered: +5% Ice Resistance]

[Replica: Twin Daggers of Xuanwu is added to the Training Inventory]

He swiped back to the Training Ground interface.

Sure enough, the Silver Moon Snow Mountain habitat icon was now grayed out, and beneath it read a ticking cooldown timer: [23:59:42]

“Huh… so that’s how it works,” he muttered, rubbing his chin. If the user dies inside the habitat, the penalty cooldown applies only to that habitat. Training rewards are not given. If the user completes a full hour, the session ends with full rewards, but the entire training grounds go into the cooldown period. “That means if I want to explore all thirteen in a day, I would have to… die twelve times?”

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