Pre Winter Competition

The day of the Pre Winter Competition had arrived.

An elderly man gave out to the participants a badge with a random number on it. A long line formed in front of the old man, Han Ganxing and Shi Wenyang included.

As the competition was limited to 100 participants, the numbers on the badges were only up to a hundred as well.

It seemed like it would still take at least 10 minutes before their turn, so they started talking.

"There're a lot of teens this time, huh?" Han Ganxing observed the other participants.

"Hmph, they're only following the precedent made by me!" Crossing her arms, Shi Wenyang didn't bother paying attention. She had the right to do so after all. "Besides, they won't have any chance. This time, I'm gonna get the first place!"

Han Ganxing didn't respond, and only smirked at her.

"Huh? What do you mean by that? You mean you're gonna take it for yourself? Is that a challenge?" Shi Wenyang returned the pompous smirk.

"Let's bet on it then!"

"Oh? What are the terms?" Shi Wenyang's interest was peaked.

"Whoever wins will do what the other tells them to!" Han Ganxing stated, his voice brimming with confidence.

"Challenge accepted!" Shi Wenyang didn't hesitate to accept the bet.

Soon enough, it was their turn to grab a number.

Han Ganxing's number was 1, while Shi Wenyang's was 2. They were right beside each other.

"...Wenwen, are you sure this is random?" Han Ganxing found the situation incredulous.

"Of course! Last year, I got 70, while the person behind me got 12. That means... we're fated, hehe."

Han Ganxing flushed red. "I'm still gonna take first place!"

.....

The rules for the Pre Winter Competition are simple.

For a whole week, the participants would delve into the forest and hunt beasts. Of course, not just any beast would do. Ahead of time, a couple masters and elders would mark certain beasts in the forest. As such, only a definite number of beasts were marked. Beasts without the mark, a banner draped on their back, were invalid and couldn't be exchanged for any points.

The amount of points one would get was based on the rank of the beast they hunted. For example, a normal marked wild boar would give a measly 1 point, while a Rank 3 Spiritual Boar would give 50 points.

It depended on the participants to choose which beasts to hunt, more specifically, to assess which beasts they were capable of hunting.

For the matter of food and drinks, it also depended on their ability. Whether it was to find a river and drink from there or to find a fruit and drink its juice; to find a boar and eat its meat or to find a plant and eat its pulp, the judges had nothing to do with it.

Shi Wenyang and Han Ganxing looked at each other, a competitive spark visible in both of their eyes.

"And, start!"

All of the participants disappeared from their spots, dust quickly occupying the space.

Everyone entered the forest in a myriad of different routes. Shi Wenyang took a sharp left and split up with Han Ganxing, which made him feel left alone.

Thinking of Shi Wenyang's sneer, a desire to claim the first place for himself flared up inside him. He had always been competitive, even in his past life.

Looking around, it seemed like nobody was in the near vicinity.

"...Well, it's time to up my cultivation."

Han Ganxing opened up the cultivation menu on his settings.

Cultivation Level: Red Centera (5th Stage), Level 10

In truth, he had cultivated all the way to the 12th Stage already, but he thought it would be bothersome if someone was to find out. After each cultivation session, he always adjusted it back to the 5th Stage, no one suspecting a thing.

With a smile, he dragged the bar close to the end, directly raising his cultivation to the 12th Stage, Peak Centera, Level 10.

An indescribable amount of energy surged through his body. As soon as it settled, he ran through the forest, maneuvering through the trees using the technique his father hammered into him.

"Feather Footed Gait".

Even though it wasn't perfect, his mastery of the skill could already be considered as better than most. It was only natural; his father forced him to use the skill every time they sparred.

The grass he stepped on didn't have any evident footprints on them, nor did they make any noticeable sound.

"Awoo!"

Han Ganxing stopped his advance, seeing a dark looming figure in his sight. The silhouette was at least twice as tall as him, baring fangs and nails both as sharp as a knife's tip.

He juggled his memory, trying to remember what kind of beast this was.

"...Wait, I never really studied."

He directly gave that idea up.

His feet lunged, sneaking on a tree branch. The leaves didn't rustle as he jumped from tree to tree, getting closer to the beast.

This time, Han Ganxing could see the whole form of the beast.

A body covered with silver fur, two pointed ears, and a long snout that twitched every now and then. If Han Ganxing had to describe it, it would be like if a wolf stood up and grew into the height of an elephant.

Suddenly, Han Ganxing felt a strong bloodthirsty aura overcome his body, a pair of bloodshot eyes looking straight into him.

"Woo! Awoo!"

However, he only brushed the bloodthirsty aura off, continuing to scan the beast for something...

"Aha! It's marked... hehehe."

Han Ganxing returned a gaze of a predator excited to hunt its prey.

All of a sudden, the standing wolf beast felt scared...

.....

"Well, that was easy."

Han Ganxing grabbed the beast's banner and plucked several of its fur off. The wolf beast was now on all fours, groveling in front of him.

Due to pity, he decided not to kill the beast. Besides, he had never killed before, animal nor human. This was not a dog-eat-dog world after all, like in most of the novels he had read.

Another reason was that he didn't have the heart to do what he considered a cruel act. Maybe in the near future, but for now, he decided to hold off on any unneeded violence.

When the wolf beast heard Han Ganxing's leaving footsteps, it let out a sigh of relief. The grass shook as the wolf stood back up.

Suddenly, it felt a light breeze pass by its back. The breeze made the wolf beast shiver; it was colder than it had anticipated.

Alarmed, the wolf beast started to evacuate the vicinity.

.....

Aside from needing to have at least 5th Stage Cultivation, there was an age limit for the Pre Winter Competition as well. The oldest one could be to join was 25 years old.

Normally, 25-year-olds would only have entered the 7th Stage. At most, they would be at the 10th Stage, and that was accounting for the extremely talented ones, like Shi Wenyang.

Therefore, beasts in the forest couldn't handle a monstrous anomaly such as Han Ganxing, who had a 12th Stage Cultivation.

Han Ganxing grabbed a dozen more banners from the beasts. Even though his techniques were sloppy and kind of useless, just the overbearing power he emitted made the beasts submit immediately before he could even throw a single punch.

"At this rate, it's guaranteed that I'll get first place! Now, what shall I make her do...?"