Mu Mu said nothing. There were many things that did not need others to remind him of; he would have his own plans.

Feng Jiu’er, however, spoke up: “Don’t worry about me. It’s not as though I know absolutely nothing of lightness skill — I’m simply not as skilled at it as you all are.”

“Besides, not every student here can necessarily use lightness skill either.”

The incense stick was burning down fast. Everyone was making their preparations, ready to depart at any moment.

The instant the last piece of ash dropped, they would set off immediately.

Because this was an individual selection, no one was paying attention to which team they belonged to this time — every person was determined to win.

Because if they failed to win, they would be eliminated!

At last, the final piece of ash fell. Not only the entire Fourth Dragon Army, but the members of every other squad as well — one by one, they all rushed frantically into the depths of the dense forest.

And they truly ran — they sprinted with abandon. Those who knew lightness skill had already tapped the ground lightly beneath their feet and were gone.

Feng Jiu’er also drove herself hard, sprinting into the depths of the dense forest. Even so, she had not expended all her strength — she had used only half her power.

It was not that she truly knew nothing of lightness skill. It was simply that the lightness skill of those around her was far too formidable.

Mu Mu had disappeared somewhere unknown. Jiu’er let out a breath of relief. The last thing she had wanted was for Mu Mu to stay behind and carry her along.

She did not want to owe him a favor. Besides, she was confident she could secure a place among those three hundred.

At last she crested one of the mountain peaks, and the people around her began to thin out one by one. Those who had been traveling the same path had all gradually pulled ahead and fallen behind, spreading apart.

The routes everyone took were different as well. Once they entered the dense forest, directions began to diverge. Some people lost their sense of bearing entirely and became disoriented.

There were simply too many peaks in the rear mountain range. Ordinarily, training was conducted on the nearer peaks ahead.

Those dozen or so peaks alone were already more than enough. The peaks further beyond were far more untamed and wild.

Deep in those mountains and ridges, no one knew what fierce beasts might lurk — just as with the mountain peak that Jiu’er and the others had fled to during their last escape, where those black wolves had been entirely unknown to the people of this place.

What lay hidden deep within those mountains, no one knew.

Jiu’er soon discovered that there was no one left around her — only herself.

She had just stopped to rest for a brief moment, and was about to press onward into the deeper mountains, when suddenly — a cold surge of air struck from behind.

“Mu Mu, I already said I don’t need—”

“You seem to think about that stinky little brat quite a lot.” A cold, contemptuous snort sounded out, the kind that set one’s nerves on edge.

Feng Jiu’er instantly became well-behaved. She looked at the expressionless man walking toward her: “Ninth… are you truly going to the border city? Is the Southern Yue Kingdom causing trouble again?”

“The Southern Yue Kingdom causing trouble is nothing new. It is simply that recently, the Southern Yue Kingdom has produced a new great general, and so they have begun launching repeated incursions again.”

“A new official always burns three fires.” Feng Jiu’er let out a quiet breath and bounced over toward him: “Ninth Imperial Uncle, how is your body right now?”

She had woken this morning and not seen him at all, and the worry had been with her ever since.

She was a little anxious right now. She was afraid that the Ninth Imperial Uncle might learn about the imperial decree of betrothal — she had no idea whether it might enrage him enough to make him vomit blood again.

Still, this matter was not something she had any say in. The Ninth Imperial Uncle should not blame her for it — right?

“About that…”

“So much talk. Don’t you want to walk anymore?” Zhan Qingcheng strode on ahead.

Today, the Ninth Imperial Uncle was entirely unlike his usual self. Ordinarily he favored robes of white, and had always appeared like a deity untouched by the dust of the mortal world.

But today, the Ninth Imperial Uncle was dressed in close-fitting dark garments of deep black — a gleaming, light-devouring color that made him look even more like a prowling leopard.

Wild. Mysterious. Magnetic. Fatally alluring. He was frankly more addictive than poison itself.