Chapter 40: Exchanging Weapons/p>

“That’s right, Li Sha. I’m Xiao Le,” Liang Xiaole spoke, her voice dripping with emotion as she confirmed her friend’s words.

“Xiao Le, it really is you, that’s great! I thought that you had already escaped from this place, I never would’ve imagined that I would see you here.” Li Sha, the girl in front of Liang Xiaole, was just as happy, and continued to hug her once-thought-to-be-lost friend.

The two girls joined in a tight embrace, Li Sha was laughing out loud“Liang Xiaole, I didn’t think we’d be able to meet again after losing each other in the forest This really makes me happy!”

“Hello,” said a youth wearing clothing as tattered as the other two.“ I’m so glad to have met the two of you here. Um… How should I put this? I’m not sure if you want, but would you be willing to join our group? If you do, I can certainly guarantee that together our group will be much stronger and consequently will make hunting magical beasts a lot easier. And besides, danger lurks around every corner in these woods, it’d be better if we worked together.” His tone was first likeable as he walked up to Jian Chen and Tie Ta, but as soon as he saw that Jian Chen’s clothes were entirely crimson with fresh blood, he couldn’t help but express shock. The youth seriously doubted that the blood was all from Jian Chen, because anyone who lost that much blood would definitely be beyond weak. There was no way such a person could firmly stand there, with such a sharp look.

Jian Chen shook his head, politely refusing, “I’m sorry, but we were just planning to leave this place, so we cannot join your group.”

The youth had an expression of regret on his face; however, he still reconciled, “My two fellow students, although the magical beasts here are quite formidable, we have strength in numbers. As long as everyone is willing to work together, even if we meet two magical beasts at once, they definitely won’t pose any threat. If everyone hands over two Class 1 Magic Stones, I believe that we will soon gather enough.” The youth continued to press the issue. His gaze was quite sharp, and it was obvious that he had already realized that Jian Chen’s and Tie Ta’s strengths were above average.

“We really do not have any other options. The two of us have already decided to leave here, so we cannot join your group. Please forgive us.” In order to reciprocate the formal request, Jian Chen’s tone was just as amiable.

Hearing that Jian Chen and Tie Ta were set on leaving, the youth could not help but be disappointed. He really could not understand why, although only one out of the three days was remaining, the two people refused to stay. As long as they paid up two Class 1 Magic Stones, they’d be able to successfully join. Yet, Jian Chen and Tie Ta still chose to leave the area. Could it be that the two of them really wanted to pass up such an opportunity?

The youth thought that Jian Chen and Tie Ta had given up and wanted to leave the forest. He couldn’t have ever imagined that their “leaving” actually meant leaving the second region to enter the third region, not actually leaving the forest.

At that moment, Tie Ta glanced at the battleaxe that one of the students was holding. His eyes lit up in happiness, and he directly walked over to the student with an intrepid air, and asked in a muffled voice, “Hey, if I give you two Class 1 Magic Stones, will you trade your battleaxe for them?” Asking this, Tie Ta pulled out the battleaxe on his back with one hand, and used his other hand to retrieve from his Space Belt, two Class 1 Magic Stones that were still covered in fresh blood.

It was at that moment that the group of people realized that the large battleaxe in Tie Ta’s hands was covered in fresh blood. The entire surface had been dyed crimson. The appearance alone was beyond shocking; it looked as if was a murder weapon that had been constantly doused by blood. What was even more disbelieving was that the battleaxe made of firm metal as hard as steel, had already been completely riddled with cracks. Moreover, some parts of the blade were even bent.

Most people would not be able to believe this sight; they had all assumed that when Tie Ta had chosen his weapon, it had been like this from the beginning. There was no way they could’ve imagined that all of the axe’s damages had been caused by Tie Ta himself.

The student with the intrepid air looked at the beaten up axe in front of him, which was so red that it looked like it had been made from blood, and was at a loss for a moment. When the other students heard Tie Ta’s request, their eyes immediately lit up, and looked at the intrepid student with looks of envy, as if they were about to offer up their own weapons to trade with Tie Ta.

“My fellow student, I can exchange this sword of mine with you.” A student carrying a giant one-handed sword walked over to Tia Ta and said with a smile.

Hearing, Tie Ta looked down at the battleaxe that was in his grip, shook his head and spoke, “No need, I still prefer to use the battleaxe.”

Hearing this, the male suddenly had a face full of disappointment. At this moment, getting two Class 1 Magics Stones was more important than anything else. Not to mention him, if the others could, they would also be willing to trade their weapons to Tie Ta for two Class 1 Magic Stones. Even if their weapons were worth more than two Class 1 Magic Stones, they would still not hesitate.

The tall and sturdy male was not dumb. After considering it for a bit, he happily handed over his battleaxe to fulfill the exchange. Who would be willing to refuse such a profitable exchange?

After the exchange was completed, the group of people began to look at Tie Ta with a different light. A few of the smarter students had already connected the battleaxe’s battered state to the possibility that Tie Ta had caused it. From this point, they could directly confirm Tie Ta’s extraordinary strength. Otherwise, why else would he just casually hand over two Class 1 Magic Stones? This place wasn’t like outside; before entering the forest, the school administration had already confiscated any devices the students had. They had even patted the student’s bodies down to thoroughly check. There was absolutely no way the Magic Stone could’ve been brought in from the outside. The only way that Magic Stones could be gained inside the forest was to hunt magical beasts.

However, there was just one thing the people couldn’t understand. If Tie Ta and Jian Chen had the strengths to hunt magical beasts, why didn’t they want to stay in the forest for all 3 days? After all, the academy’s rules clearly dictated that they could only pass if they stayed for 3 days and paid up two Class 1 Magic Stones. If only one was fulfilled, they wouldn’t pass.

“Could it be that they don’t care about the rewards? Or perhaps they had lied about leaving, and actually just didn’t want to kill magical beasts together with the few of us?” Everyone could not help but think of these possibilities. When considering these thoughts, a few of the people immediately began to gaze at Jian Chen and Tie Ta with expressions of discontent.

Jian Chen did not pay any mind to their expressions. He looked at the Liang Xiaole and the girl she was hugging, and said, “Liang Xiaole, since you’ve found your friend now, why don’t you just stick with this group? They have more people too.”

Liang Xiaole slowly separated from the girl, and looked back at Jian Chen and Tie Ta. She nodded, “Then you two have to be careful.”

Afterwards, Tie Ta and Jian Chen didn’t bother wasting any time, and immediately left the area.

After the two of them had left, the girl called Li Sha asked in a resentful tone, “Xiao Le, who are they? They’re so arrogant that they don’t even think they should be with us.”

“Li Sha, you’re mistaken. It’s not that they don’t want to be together with you guys; they really do want to leave here.” Liang Xiaole explained.

“That can’t be!” Li Sha exclaimed in disbelief. “Li Sha, the fact that they could casually give away a Class 1 Magic Stone means that the two of them have the strength to kill magical beasts. Plus, when they were trading the two magical stones away for the weapon, it was obvious that they were planning on continuing to fight. How could they possible be leaving this place?”

“That’s right, Xiao Le, you’ve been tricked by them.” A youth standing on the side added.

Liang Xiaole smiled, “They’re definitely leaving this place, but they didn’t explain it clearly to you guys. They want to leave the second region, and move on to the third region to hunt the Class 2 Magical Beasts.”

“What! Liang Xiaole, what kind of joke are you trying to pull? It’s impossible for the two of them to go to the third region to hunt Class 2 Magical Beasts!”

“Could it be that their strengths have already reached Saint level? But that can’t be right either. If they had reached the Saint level, then there would be no need to change weapons.”

“Those two are really reckless, to want to go to the third region.”

“They’re definitely seeking death.”

……

Immediately following Liang Xiaole’s words, the group of people immediately broke into chaos as they began to discuss in a frenzy amongst each other. None of them thought that Jian Chen and Tie Ta would be able to survive the third region.

Li Sha pulled at Liang Xiaole’s hands, and in a clearly disbelieving tone, she asked, “Xiao Le, they aren’t really crazy enough to run over to the third region, right?”

Liang Xiaole nodded, “That’s right, they really did go to the third region. Li Sha, you cannot underestimate the two of them, they’re really formidable.” Liang Xiaole said with conviction.

“Could it be that the two of them really are Saints?” Li Sha asked in shock. The school administration had clearly declared that all students that were Saints had to enter the third region. There was no way they could’ve appeared in the second region.

Liang Xiaole shook her head, “No, their powers haven’t reached Saint level yet, because they still haven’t condensed their Saint Weapons.”

Hearing this, Li Sha’s shock grew even more pronounced. Without reaching Saint level, surviving in the second region was already difficult enough, let alone being in the third region. After all, the magical beasts in the third region were Class 2 Magical Beasts, which weren’t any small amount stronger than Class 1 Magical Beasts. The two classes could not even be compared.

Li Sha and Liang Xiaole were close friends. Therefore, Liang Xiaole didn’t feel the need to hide anything from Li Sha. In a soft voice, she said, “Li Sha, I’ll just tell you this. Yesterday, I personally witnessed the two of them kill 70+ magical beasts by themselves.”

Li Sha was beyond shocked by this, as she exclaimed, “What! Xiao Le, are you joking? The two of them killed 70+ magical beasts by themselves in one day?” Li Sha was so astonished that she couldn’t contain her voice. She had gradually become louder and louder, until the other 8 people were able to hear her quite clearly. In that instant, all of their expressions changed at the thought of Jian Chen and Tie Ta achieving what Liang Xiaole had said, and their expressions were beyond disbelief.

“Li Sha, what did you say? Which two people were able to kill 70+ Class 1 Magical Beasts in a day?” A youth asked. He could not accept the possibility that “the two people” were actually Jian Chen and Tie Ta, whom they had just met.

Li Sha tried to calm her breathing, and grasped at her chest before pointing to Liang Xiaole. In a trembling voice, she said, “Xiao Le said that she personally witnessed the two people just now kill 70+ magical beasts in one day.” Li Sha’s tone reflected the fact that she thought such a possibility was inconceivable.