What in the blazes was going on! A shock rippled through my heart. Had the aggressive Sword Qi inside my body somehow clouded my judgment, robbing me of control over my own frame? Or perhaps the spirit of this body, influenced by the Sword Qi, had awakened from the deepest recesses of consciousness and seized dominance. The realization sent a chill down my spine.

This had to be related to the accumulation of the aggressive Sword Qi! I began to calculate internally: if I let the Sword Qi build up to a certain saturation point and then released it, would this situation occur?

I decided to test it. In the midst of combat, the aggressive Sword Qi inside me began to surge again, rushing toward my wrist. In my mind, that strange awareness resurfaced, urging, Try it now. At that moment, I instinctively controlled those two strands of Sword Qi with my will: Go!

"Whoosh!" A flash of white light erupted, exactly as I had hoped. The aggressive Sword Qi shot out under the command of my intent. Inside my body, calm quickly returned; the Sword Qi vanished, and the peculiar awareness in my mind dissipated as well.

I repeated the trial several times, and the result was always the same!

"What is happening!" My mind was utterly confused by these strange phenomena. However, I was certain of one thing: that peculiar intent—which I tentatively dubbed the 'Killing Intent'—was directly influenced by the aggressive Sword Qi. The stronger the Sword Qi, the stronger the Killing Intent. When the Sword Qi reached saturation, the Killing Intent would completely take over my body and initiate combat autonomously. Once the Killing Intent expended all the Sword Qi, it would also vanish, and I would regain control of my body.

Through several experiments, I pinpointed the necessary conditions for the Killing Intent to manifest: the aggressive Sword Qi inside me must build up without being discharged. After approximately two minutes, the Killing Intent would awaken. Within those two minutes, I could choose whether to release the Sword Qi or store it. In other words, the manifestation of the Killing Intent was entirely under my control. Maintaining the intensity of the aggressive Sword Qi within a certain range was enough to prevent the Killing Intent from appearing.

Furthermore, I discovered that the output of the aggressive Sword Qi from my body always remained a constant quantity. This meant that if too much Sword Qi accumulated internally, I couldn't expel it all at once; instead, I had to release it over several bursts. For instance, if my aggressive Sword Qi accumulated enough to reach the one-minute charge level, I could unleash four bursts of Sword Qi. These four bursts could be fired consecutively or released intermittently based on the control of my will. This situation seemed distinctly different from what I knew; as far as I was aware, no one could release consecutive bursts of aggressive Sword Qi. Typically, one had to wait about fifteen seconds before being able to unleash it again.

Finally, after enduring five rounds of combat, I had a decent grasp of how to utilize this aggressive Sword Qi. "Alright, that's enough practice for now!" I called out to Long Zhan and Long Qi, who were still intending to draw more monsters.

"Kid! Your aggressive Sword Qi is truly formidable!" Long Zhan looked visibly shaken. "You can fire it continuously! I've never seen Sword Qi like yours!"

Why had he stopped? Long Xin ran over to me from a distance.

"Xing Chen has almost grasped the Star Essence!" Long Qi explained.

"Mm," I nodded slightly toward Long Xin, but Long Zhan's words surprised me. "What! Your aggressive Sword Qi can't be released continuously?" My heart lurched. Long Zhan saying that confirmed my suspicion, but what was going on? "Can't you store your aggressive Sword Qi and then release it all in one go?"

"Store the aggressive Sword Qi! Release it continuously!" Long Zhan stared as if he had seen a ghost. "Did I hear that right?"

"Is what I said wrong?" Long Zhan's expression left me somewhat puzzled.

"That being said, your aggressive Sword Qi is definitely peculiar!" Long Zhan mused for a moment before saying seriously, "I don't know what's going on with your Sword Qi, but mine can be stored, though it can only be released once. If I want to use it again, I need at least fifteen seconds to gather energy!"

"Fifteen seconds!" I exclaimed involuntarily. "Can your aggressive Sword Qi be released all at once?"

"Your question is strange! Isn't all sword qi released in one burst!" Long Zhan looked equally bewildered. "It's your method of dividing the aggressive Sword Qi into several strikes that I've never seen before!"

"Let's put that aside for now!" I vaguely felt that my aggressive Sword Qi possessed unique characteristics. To confirm my hypothesis, I decided to use Long Zhan as a benchmark. "I want to ask you: after your aggressive Sword Qi has condensed for fifteen seconds, if you continue to let it gather inside without releasing it, does its intensity increase further?"

"There's no change! After fifteen seconds, the intensity of my aggressive Sword Qi reaches its maximum strength. Condensing it further yields no increase!" As Long Zhan spoke, he seemed to realize something, his expression shifting dramatically as he looked at me in disbelief. "Wait... does your aggressive Sword Qi continue to strengthen after fifteen seconds?"

"That is precisely right!" Long Zhan's reaction confirmed the conjecture in my heart. "Otherwise, where do you think my continuous bursts of aggressive Sword Qi come from?"

"Unbelievable," Long Zhan murmured. "For such a thing to happen... I need to find the experts in the clan to ask about this!" Long Zhan looked at me with envy. "Your type of aggressive Sword Qi is incredibly useful in actual combat. Continuous bursts are nearly impossible for an opponent to defend against!"

"Heh! I suppose so!" I was overjoyed. Although my aggressive Sword Qi was abnormal, it appeared to be much more powerful than the standard version! That put my mind at ease. However, I had no intention of telling them about the strange Killing Intent in my mind. After all, Long Zhan hadn't even been introduced to my unique aggressive Sword Technique, let alone the Killing Intent controlled by the aggressive Sword Qi. Asking them would be useless. Moreover, there was one thing: I did not want anyone to know about the existence of that Killing Intent in my brain.

"This fellow is truly strange; even the aggressive Sword Qi he cultivates is different from everyone else's," Long Qi wasn't overly surprised, treating whatever happened around me as no big deal. "Alright, since your aggressive Sword Technique practice is complete, we should hurry up and prepare to head to the Centipede Cave!"

"Mm," Long Xin added, "But we still haven't collected all these Skeleton Eyes!" Long Xin looked at us three with a serious expression. "Since Xing Chen's cultivation is done, you two should hurry up and help collect them!"

"Ah!" Long Qi groaned. "Can we leave now? I want to get to the Centipede Cave sooner!"

"Mm!" Long Zhan on the side nodded repeatedly, trying to change Long Xin's mind.

"No way!" Long Xin looked at the ground littered with skeleton remains with reluctance. "This is all money!"

"..." I knew this would happen.

"Then..." Long Qi seemed ready to argue further, but Long Xin had already dashed off towards the Eastern Seven-man Group.

"Alas, fine. Let's just start picking them up," Long Zhan conceded with resignation. "Do you think the Guild Master will leave here until every last bit of money is collected?"

"Don't even dream about it!" Long Qi replied crossly.

So, Long Qi, Long Zhan, and I joined the ranks of the gleaners.

By three in the afternoon, we finally finished collecting the Skeleton Eyes. There were about eighty thousand of them, which pleased Long Xin greatly. After all, that was equivalent to eighty gold coins.

With that, my cultivation in the Skeleton Cave concluded. Upon returning to the inn, we busied ourselves packing, preparing to travel to the Meng Zhong Empire. However, for financial reasons, Long Xin decided we should first check the notice board for quests that conveniently passed through the Meng Zhong Empire. It must be said, Long Xin was truly meticulous when it came to managing finances.

At the town's general store, after Long Xin exchanged the eighty thousand Skeleton Eyes for eighty gold coins, we set off for the bulletin board.

In the bustling, noisy quest hall, we sifted through a dense list of Ranger missions and found over a dozen that led toward the Meng Zhong Empire. The one listed first read:

Quest ID: 03256 Quest Type: Escort Quest Summary: Escort ten carts of Black Iron Ore from Maple Town, Rong Cheng, to the Tian Ji Blacksmith Shop in Earth City, Meng Zhong Empire. Deadline: August 12th to October 12th Reward: 200,000 Gold Coins Deposit: 20,000,000 Gold Coins Guild Requirement: Eagle-rank Ranger Guild

"Ah! No need to consider this one; it's clearly an Eagle-rank escort mission!" Long Qi said helplessly. "Let's look for missions for beginner guilds!"

"Mm," Long Xin nodded.

We had no choice but to rally our spirits and carefully scrutinize the mission list on the board.

Unfortunately, we couldn't find any suitable quests. Either the guild rank was too low, the deposit was too high, or the conditions were too stringent.

Just as we were about to give up, we spotted one at the very bottom of the list.

Quest ID: 0077452 Quest Type: Escort Quest Summary: Escort two employers through the Woma Forest, arriving safely at South Ridge City in the Meng Zhong Empire. Deadline: One Month Reward: 2,000 Gold Coins Deposit: None Guild Requirement: Beginner Ranger Guild.

"This one!" Long Xin closely examined the reward section. "The payment seems a bit too low!"

"But it's the only quest we can possibly accept," Long Zhan muttered.

"Hmph! Forget it," Long Qi sighed dejectedly. "Let's just head straight to Meng Zhong! This meager reward barely covers the travel expenses! Besides, the Woma Forest isn't exactly a tourist spot. There are bandits and Orcs along the way as numerous as cow hair!"

"......" Long Xin reluctantly moved her gaze away from the mission board, subconsciously touching the small pouch at her waist. It looked like she was already agonizing over the upcoming travel costs.

"Excuse me!" Suddenly, a sweet female voice called from behind us. "Are you Rangers?"

Turning around, my eyes lit up—what a beautiful little lady! Purple long hair, large eyes that were also violet, a delicate hawthorn nose, and a small mouth complemented by a palm-sized oval face—she looked exactly like a beautiful girl from a comic book. At this moment, this beauty was gazing at us with a troubled and hesitant expression.

"Uh-hem!" Long Qi swallowed hard. "Yes, we are Rangers! What can we do for you?"

"Um," the beautiful girl stammered, "I saw you looking for quests to Meng Zhong; is that right?"

"Yes, we are planning to go to Meng Zhong and are looking for any tasks we can take on the way," Long Xin said, though she was momentarily stunned by the girl's beauty, she quickly regained her composure.

"Actually! Um," the beautiful girl seemed hesitant but finally seemed to steel her resolve. "Actually, I wanted to hire someone to protect my brother and me on our way to Meng Zhong."

Brother? Only then did we notice a young man standing behind the beautiful girl, roughly my age. Perhaps it was the girl's stunning appearance that made us overlook his presence. But upon closer inspection, he was also a handsome lad! Sharing the same violet eyes and purple hair, he resembled the beautiful girl by about fifty percent. At this moment, he was staring at us with a puffed-up, sulky expression.

Did we offend him somehow? I wondered silently.

"But because we have to cross the Woma Forest, and because the commission I can offer is so small, no one is willing to accept the quest!" the purple-haired beauty said sheepishly.

"You two! Going to Meng Zhong!" Long Zhan stared blankly, first at the purple-haired beauty, then back at the very bottom entry on the quest board—the Beginner Ranger mission. "Did... did you post this quest?"

"Yes!" The purple-haired beauty's face flushed crimson with shame.

"Ah! Heh heh! Heh heh!" Long Qi chuckled dryly. "Um! That commission, hah, it is a bit small, haha!" Long Qi nervously rubbed the back of his head, clearly recalling his earlier remarks.

Sweat. Such a meager commission, yet she dared to post a Ranger quest. I truly wondered what this girl was thinking.

"Sister! Let's just wait for family to pick us up!" the purple-haired girl's brother said without hesitation as he looked at us. "Besides, can they even protect us?"

"But! But if we don't hurry back, we won't even get to see Mom one last time!" The purple-haired girl's expression was so sorrowful it made one's heart ache just looking at her.

Mom? My heart skipped a beat—the last time. It wasn't just me; Long Xin and the others also sensed that the girl likely faced an insurmountable predicament.

"What's going on?" Long Xin asked. "Why are you so insistent on returning to South Ridge City in Meng Zhong, and why must you cross the Woma Forest?"

"Yeah!" Long Qi was also curious. "Although crossing the Woma Forest is the shortest route, it's also the most dangerous! If they traveled by sea, it would take three months, but it would certainly be safer than the Woma Forest!"

"Mm," the purple-haired girl shook her head with a desolate expression. "There isn't enough time; Mom can't wait three months!"

"Can you tell us what's happening? Is your mother...?" Long Xin seemed to grasp something. "Is your mother gravely ill and can't wait that long?"

"Yes," the girl nodded painfully, her two fists clenched so tightly from emotion that the joints turned a faint, sickly white. "If I could, I would pay any price, but I only have this little money!" The purple-haired girl looked at us with pleading eyes. "But I promise, if we can reach South Ridge safely, I will pay you much more—ten times! Or even a hundred times! A thousand times! But... but who would believe me?"

"Sister! Stop talking!" Her brother exclaimed agitatedly. "If we have to, we two will go back ourselves!"

"Ah! Try crossing the Woma Forest, just the two of you!" Long Qi was horrified.

"I'll take you back!" Almost without thinking, the words tumbled out of my mouth. Only when Long Xin and the other three looked at me in astonishment did I realize what I had said, but I had no intention of taking it back. Perhaps I simply could not bear the pain of losing a loved one. My unique background meant I valued familial bonds more than anyone. And I absolutely believed the girl's last statement because her expression could not lie—pay any price.

"Hey, Xing Chen, you're not joking, are you!" Long Qi mumbled. "That's the Woma Forest! The most chaotic wilderness on the continent!"

"I said, I'll take them back. You don't have to come," I replied.

"Ah!" This time, it was the purple-haired girl and her brother who stared at me in shock.

"As for the reward, I will accept exactly what is stated on the mission board!" Although I believed the girl could offer a far more generous reward if she managed to reach South Ridge in Meng Zhong, I had no intention of accepting it. There was no specific reason, just an unwillingness to do so.

"Thank you," the purple-haired girl said gratefully. "But! Perhaps you should reconsider! If it's just you alone, you can't protect us, and you might end up losing your life for nothing!" The girl continued, "In truth, I know how unimaginably terrifying the Woma Forest is. Even if all four of you escorted us, it might not be possible to pass through safely! I just, I just..." The girl's voice trailed off until she was almost whispering, "... I just don't want to give up any chance!"

Not wanting to give up any chance? That was very much like me. In order to cure Mom's throat, I also refused to let go of any opportunity. I understood this feeling.

"What I want to ask is! If no one accepts this mission, would you really choose to cross the Woma Forest by yourselves?"

"We would! No matter what!" the purple-haired girl asserted firmly. "Because only I can save Mom's life!"

"We'll take this quest!" Long Xin suddenly stepped forward and detached the wooden mission plaque.

"Ah! What are you doing!" I was a bit confused by Long Xin's action. Wasn't this little girl very shrewd? When did she become willing to take a losing proposition like this?

"You need to get this straight! I am the actual Guild Leader!" Long Xin adopted an overbearing posture. "Even if a mission is to be accepted, it's not your turn!" Long Xin then struck a pose of righteous indignation and carried the wooden plaque toward the mission acceptance counter.

"Heh heh, actually! We had already planned to take on this mission," Long Qi said, sheepishly rubbing his forehead. "After all, we couldn't just stand by and watch the two of you foolishly charge into the Woma Forest!"

"Consider it training," Long Zhan added. "We were going to Meng Zhong for training anyway; there's no harm in starting the journey early!"

"Thank you," the purple-haired girl said, deeply moved. "Thank you so much!"

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