"Oh." Qian Jin moved his Sabre and the Moon-Shooting Bow almost subconsciously, placing them inside. In that space, which was clearly not an illusion, the Sabre and the Bow instantly materialized. "Alright, you can withdraw now," the old man whispered into Qian Jin's ear. "Cancel your Battle Qi."

As Qian Jin obeyed and retracted the furiously spinning Battle Qi within his body, the illusionary space vanished immediately. He realized that the Sabre he had been holding and the Bow he had been carrying on his back were genuinely gone from his person.

"This is..." Qian Jin looked at the old man. "A real space?"

"That is called a Battle Realm. A Battle Realm that only warriors can possess." Pride unique to warriors blossomed on the old man's face. "It is different from a mage's spatial storage artifact; the Battle Realm has no tangible, physical manifestation. It stays with the warrior their entire life and disappears completely only at the moment the warrior dies."

Qian Jin clenched his fists tightly, feeling the genuine circulation of power within him. Obtaining this Battle Realm hadn't granted him new strength, yet it brought a joy more profound than gaining power itself.

As a warrior who also served as a blacksmith, an alchemist, and an apprentice to mysterious pharmacology, he needed to carry an immense amount of gear. Though the Battle Stones from the Battle Stone veins were dwindling, packing them all onto his person would still result in a noticeable, heavy burden. Then there was the iron ore often found alongside the Battle Stone veins; though not exceptionally valuable, as a blacksmith, he needed to keep some iron ore on hand. His identity as an alchemist meant he had to gather any useful plants he encountered—a pile of medicinal herbs found in the mountains was already stacked in the cave.

Qian Jin had often considered that if he were to leave the Four Seasons Valley, he would probably have to lug around a massive pack, which, even if his stamina allowed him to carry it, would look utterly ridiculous. The Battle Realm! It had solved this problem that had plagued him for months.

"How large is your Battle Realm?" the old man finally asked the question that had been on his mind for a long time, glancing vigilantly at Qian Jin, his hand instinctively resting over his heart, afraid that the shock might give him a heart attack. "About..." Qian Jin traced a shape on the ground indicating an area of ten square meters: "The length and the height are like this..." The old man pressed his hand hard against his heart and cried out, "That big?" "Mmm, roughly."

The old man waved his hand dismissively at Qian Jin. "I want to live a few more years! Pack your things and scram already! The past two years spent with you have cost me at least ten years of my lifespan!" "So, what is the normal size?"

"Thirty percent of yours!" The old man fiercely held up three fingers, as if roaring. "Only thirty percent the size of yours! That's enough! You know now! Now, get out immediately! Hurry up and get gone! Don't let me see you again; I want to live a few more years..."

Listening to the old man shouting so loudly, Qian Jin could still detect the underlying sadness of parting. He bowed deeply and couldn't help but say, "Master, why don't we leave together..."

"Why would I leave? To be ridiculed? To go out and..." The old man suddenly sighed, then began waving his hand more rapidly, saying, "Don't meddle in my affairs. That's enough, enough, scram, get out right now." The two women also bowed deeply to the old man, mimicking Qian Jin.

"Master, I'm leaving then." Qian Jin bent his waist even further. Without the two years of diligent teaching from this old man, even with relentless training in the [Endless World], he would never have reached his current level.

"Go, go, go! Why are you acting like a woman? You aren't like this usually! Someone acting like that will be preyed upon outside! Man! A man must be firm! Just like you usually are, that's perfect! Scram! I’m not dead yet, must you give a farewell ceremony?"

The more the old man cursed, the more Qian Jin felt the care woven into his words. He slowly straightened up, his voice laughing through tears as he replied, "I, Qian Jin, only bow my head before my parents and my Master. Even facing the Great Demon King of the current age, I will hold my back straight and lift my head high!"

"Alright, I get it, scram!" The old man called out as Qian Jin turned and walked away. "Kid! Remember, after you leave, get admitted to a higher-level warrior academy! I don't know where you picked up all those strange, unorthodox methods, but the curriculum at the warrior academies was compiled by countless great warriors. You only managed nine battles in two years because you lacked this part; otherwise, I suspect you could be even stronger..."

Qian Jin walked forward with great strides, his back to the old man. He raised his right hand high and clenched his fist powerfully, the sheer force causing the air to crackle with a muffled explosion.

"Stinking brat..." The old man's eyes revealed deep concern. "Although your unorthodox methods are very practical, what those compiled by countless great warriors will still help you—a great deal."

The snow, barely reaching his ankles, struggled against melting, desperate to maintain the severe cold and reject the arrival of spring, emitting a crunching sound underfoot—a dying scream from the snow.

Three lines of footprints traced a winding path through the snow on the road leading out of the Four Seasons Valley, extending toward the outermost woods of the Sunset Mountain Range.

The three Snow Tigers lay prostrate by the roadside, not daring to lift their heads. When Qian Jin passed by, a mere glance from him had forced these three ferocious magic beasts to make the most correct choice. Qian Jin walked in the middle of the group. With a flip of his wrist, he retrieved the Sabre from his Battle Realm; with another flip, he returned the Sabre and took out the Moon-Shooting Bow, which had been forged and used only once to shoot down a vulture.

With another flick of his wrist, the Moon-Shooting Bow transformed into two fish-scale throwing knives. Although their hardness still couldn't match metal weapons, they possessed a unique value: medicinal materials! The raw ingredients for mysterious potions. Through the writings of Oulala, Qian Jin discovered that this creature should also be some kind of hybridized magic beast, though he hadn't fully deciphered the effect of its scales. Driven by the keen intuition of a mysterious pharmacology apprentice, he kept these throwing knives, long since superseded by metal weapons, stored within his Battle Realm.

With another flip of his wrist, the long Battle Spear appeared in his palm. Qian Jin spun it a few times, the shaft slicing through the air with a whistling roar, faintly carrying the sound of slaughter.

Shuilian Ying'er watched the spear in Qian Jin's hand with some envy. Although this weapon wasn't as intuitive to wield as a two-handed greatsword, its advantage lay in its superior quality. When Battle Qi was channeled into the greatsword, a large portion would be blocked and consumed by the metal. However, this spear, significantly longer than the greatsword’s blade, could transmit more Battle Qi, with only a small amount dissipating during the channeling process.

Qian Jin continuously swapped weapons within his Battle Realm. This storage method was undeniably excellent, but combat always held an element of surprise. If one couldn't retrieve a weapon quickly enough, it would be more practical to keep it strapped to one's back or held in hand.

Operating the Battle Realm was extremely simple. After spending half an hour practicing, Qian Jin confirmed that the speed of drawing a weapon was definitely not slower than taking one off his back. Satisfied, he ceased further practice. The spear, named [Armor Piercer], was also stored back in the Battle Realm, unlike the one given to the warrior Shui Lianying'er, similar to how he gifted the Bilorro Magic Core.

Qian Jin flipped his wrist again, looked at the map that had been in his palm for two years, and smiled faintly. He turned to Biluo and said, "Right, we still haven't completed the trial assessment, have we?"

Biluo stopped walking, stunned for a moment, then nodded repeatedly, causing her large magic hat to sway wildly. The time for this trial assessment had been so long; two years living in the Four Seasons Valley had made one forget such an assessment even existed. "Mine was the tuft of red hair on the head of the Golden-Haired Monkey King."

Qian Jin lightly tapped his lips with his right index finger, wearing a look of serious contemplation. "And yours was a Fire Phoenix egg, right?"

Biluo nodded once more instead of speaking. Qian Jin casually interlaced his hands behind his head, resting them on his neck. "These two trials were quite difficult for us to complete back then. Looking at them now... hehe... Let's go! We're going to complete the easiest assessment task in history."

Two years of learning in the [Endless World] wasn't always just about forging iron. Uncle Black often had Qian Jin take the Sabre he forged, along with the heavy-duty weapons and throwing knives, into the vast Western Mountains to look for ore sources, while also helping the two pharmacists, his rivals, collect medicinal herbs. Entering the Western Mountains inevitably meant combat.

On the routes Uncle Black set for finding ore, there were always various enemies and magic beasts whose combat prowess and ferocity far surpassed the thugs they encountered when first entering the Western Mountains. Almost every time, they returned to the village having sustained injuries while completing the mission.

These repeated outdoor battles not only accumulated battle experience far beyond his peers but also led to a greater understanding of the various creatures in the wilderness.

As Qian Jin left the valley, he didn't need the map. Merely following the wild animal droppings on the ground, he quickly located the gathering spot of the Golden-Haired Monkeys.

Over three hundred Golden-Haired Monkeys were clustered together, staring at the trio with six hundred hostile eyes. Some more aggressive monkeys even bared their teeth at the three, issuing challenging 'hissing' sounds.

The Golden-Haired Monkey King, sporting a tuft of red hair on its head, was seated in the center of the horde, flanked by several female monkeys grooming fleas from its fur—truly displaying the demeanor of an emperor.

Biluo and Shuilian Ying'er had strong confidence in Qian Jin, but their female instincts made them instinctively hide behind him. "You," Qian Jin pointed at the Golden-Haired Monkey King sitting in the middle, gesturing toward the red hair on its forehead. "Take that off and bring it to me."

A: The method of exchanging monthly tickets for chapters is truly ridiculous, so I updated today without involving L-values, and I announced at the time that I wouldn't play that game anymore.

So why do I have a fourth update? There are many reasons. Coincidentally, reader Feiyan burned her foot and mentioned it briefly in the group, asking me to update one more chapter as comfort. Gaolou really couldn't refuse this request, so the fourth update came to be!

Gaolou is a simple person; he is easily moved or inclined to fulfill requests, like saying during casual chat in the group that on the 30th or 31st of this month, I might erupt with ten chapters or something similar.

Everyone's monthly tickets today were really impressive, and I couldn't refuse Feiyan's request—so I updated.

Finally, one more shout for monthly tickets! Come on, let me feel good with a few more slips!