Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Bai Lili had arrived at this month’s group ability training.
These large-scale, cross-class joint training sessions were always lively affairs. The teachers liked to mix students from several classes together, both to increase competition and to allow students to learn from each other in practical combat.
And, as luck would have it, she had been assigned to the same batch as the three female leads: Lilith, Qing Hanyin, and Su Ruo.
On the high platform, the teacher in charge stood tall and straight. In one hand, he held a megaphone; the other was clasped behind his back. His voice, amplified through the speakers, echoed clearly across the entire training ground with an unquestionable authority.
“Today’s training content is free team formation. The objective is to hunt three level-one magical beasts. Failure will directly affect your final assessment results, deducting personal points.”
“The maximum team size is four. All other details and precautions are written in your student handbook. Read them yourselves.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the teacher leaped from the three-meter-high platform, landing without a sound, leaving only a puff of disturbed dust. The students below instantly erupted into a commotion.
Everyone knew the strength of Lilith, Qing Hanyin, and Su Ruo. Their S-rank abilities were beyond doubt. Those wanting to ride their coattails immediately swarmed forward, surrounding the three in multiple layers, creating an impenetrable crowd.
Bai Lili stood a little further away, watching the three female leads completely surrounded by the throng, and sighed quietly to herself. She had originally planned to just find a few classmates of average strength to team up with, to muddle through and complete the task. But just as she turned around, before she could even take a step, a graceful pink figure suddenly descended from mid-air, carrying a faint scent of roses.
Lilith elegantly spread her magnificent, dark-red bat wings behind her, their tips almost encircling Bai Lili completely. She leaned down slightly, her smile as bright as the midday summer sun, her voice sweet and soft.
“Lili, team up with me~”
Bai Lili looked up into those eyes shimmering with a pink-gold halo, and her heart inexplicably skipped a beat. Upon closer look, Lilith’s eyes had already turned back to red, but her body felt as if pulled by invisible threads, and she instinctively wanted to nod in agreement.
Just then, Su Ruo and Qing Hanyin, who were still dealing with the surrounding crowd on the other side, simultaneously sensed the commotion. They exchanged a glance, a spark flashing in their eyes, and almost at the same time, they shook off the people around them and quickly squeezed their way to Bai Lili’s side.
Su Ruo’s voice was gentle but carried an undeniable firmness.
“Lili, come with me.”
Qing Hanyin directly reached out, her slender, cool fingers gently closing around Bai Lili’s wrist, her tone low but leaving no room for argument.
“Team up with me. I’ll protect you.”
Bai Lili was surrounded by the three of them in the center. To her left was Lilith’s sickeningly sweet smile, to her right was Su Ruo’s gentle gaze, and in front was Qing Hanyin’s silent yet forceful protective desire.
She blinked helplessly, the tips of her ears tinged with a faint red blush, and suggested in a small voice.
“How about… the four of us team up together? More people, safer…”
Lilith, Qing Hanyin, and Su Ruo looked at each other. In that brief moment of eye contact, countless undercurrents surged. In the end, the three of them nodded almost simultaneously.
Rather than letting Bai Lili be taken away by any one of them alone, it was better for the three of them to restrain and monitor each other. At least they could keep this little fox firmly within their line of sight.
Seeing the four-person team instantly formed, the atmosphere subtle and oppressive, the surrounding students wisely scattered.
No one wanted to be the brightest third wheel, much less offend three S-rank ability users at once.
Seeing that all teams were basically assigned, the teacher opened the teleportation gate to the level-one hunting zone. The next moment, a huge portal slowly unfolded. Behind it was a lush, mist-shrouded low-level hunting area. In theory, it should only spawn level-one magical creatures, with an extremely low danger coefficient, making it the most suitable area for novices to gain experience.
But as Bai Lili gazed at that shimmering portal, her heart suddenly sank.
She suddenly remembered. This seemed to be that famous key event point from the original story.
The male lead, Long Chen, would shine brilliantly here, defeating a level-three magical beast, thereby massively boosting his favorability with the three female leads.
And that meant, hidden within the forest behind the portal, was a level-three magical beast that shouldn’t have appeared, one that had already mutated: the Thunder Wolf.
A level-three magical beast was practically a crushing existence for students at this stage. In the later stages, it might just be a minor monster to be casually eliminated, but right now… it was a potentially fatal disaster.
Bai Lili agonized internally. Following the three female leads theoretically offered the highest safety factor, but it also precisely meant the highest probability of encountering that Thunder Wolf. But on second thought, the teachers always secretly monitored high-risk areas, so she slightly suppressed the unease in her heart.
Passing through the portal, a wave of damp, grassy fragrance washed over them.
Before them stretched a vast primeval forest. Ancient trees towered into the sky, vines intertwined, and sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the moss-covered ground.
The air held a faint scent of earth and wildflowers mixed together, and in the distance, the calls of unknown birds could be heard.
While Bai Lili was still adjusting to the light and looking around, a soft, warm hand suddenly gently grasped hers from the side.
It was Lilith.
She tilted her head slightly, her bat wings already retracted. Her pink-gold eyes were full of seriousness and tenderness, her voice so low only the two of them could hear.
“Don’t be afraid, Lili. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”
Bai Lili’s cheeks instantly burned. She hurriedly pulled her hand back, giving Lilith a reproachful glare.
“Who… who needs your protection! Hmph!”
Lilith let out a low laugh, the sound tickling her eardrums like a feather, but didn’t tease her further.
Su Ruo then took a step closer, reaching out to gently pat Bai Lili’s shoulder, her voice like a spring breeze.
“Don’t be nervous. We’re all here.”
Seeing the three of them getting more and more off-topic, Bai Lili couldn’t help puffing out her cheeks, stomping her foot in frustration.
“Hey, hey, hey! We’re here to hunt magical beasts, not for you guys to flirt with me! 😡 Be serious, okay!”
Only then did the three realize they were being too obvious. They each reined in their expressions, becoming serious again.
For them, no matter how important the hunting task was, it paled in comparison to protecting the fluffy little creature beside them. What if something went wrong? Wouldn’t that give some ill-intentioned people an opportunity?
The four of them focused their minds and began steadily exploring the forest.
Along the way, they occasionally saw a few brightly colored small animals darting through the bushes and encountered two level-one magical beasts: a boar-type creature with sharp spikes and an extremely fast wind serpent. But in front of three S-rank ability users, those creatures didn’t even have a chance to struggle. They were almost instantly eliminated, clean and efficient.
The task was nearly complete, with only one beast left.
Right then, an ear-splitting, electrically charged wolf howl suddenly tore through the forest’s tranquility.
Bai Lili’s heart clenched. It’s here. That level-three magical beast.
Level-one magical beasts were simply physically enhanced. Level-two ones began to show obvious evolutionary traits. And level-three magical beasts could preliminarily manipulate elemental forces, possessing powerful destructive capabilities.
She remembered clearly. In the original story, this Thunder Wolf was actually neutral by nature. It was deliberately provoked and constantly taunted by the male lead, Long Chen, that it fell into a completely berserk, bloodthirsty state.
And Long Chen’s goal was to create chaos, drag the three female leads into it, and then stage a textbook-perfect “hero saves the beauties” act to massively boost his favorability.
Beside her, Qing Hanyin’s expression changed slightly, a flash of icy understanding in her eyes. She didn’t hesitate at all, immediately reaching out to grab Bai Lili’s wrist, her voice low and urgent.
“Run. I know a safe place.”
Lilith and Su Ruo exchanged a glance and instantly understood. Something was wrong with this training session. A high-level magical beast far beyond the specifications had appeared here.
Without any hesitation, they wordlessly followed Qing Hanyin’s lead.
As they fled, cold fragments of her past life flashed through Qing Hanyin’s mind.
That man named Long Chen, like a clown, had jumped around between the three of them and Bai Lili, thinking himself clever while spouting disgusting nonsense.
It wasn’t until he finally saw Lilith holding Bai Lili’s hand with his own eyes that he broke down in the corner, hysterical.
She knew better than anyone that these repeated, avoidable crises were all deliberately created by Long Chen. And he himself didn’t have the strength to perfectly resolve them; he always waited until casualties were heavy before making his grand entrance.
Long Chen was her so-called “childhood friend” from the orphanage, but she felt only deep disgust for him. He couldn’t take his eyes off any beautiful woman. If not for the slight sentiment of growing up together as children, she couldn’t be bothered to pay him any attention.
And this Thunder Wolf was also deliberately provoked by him in advance and lured near their location. He calculated that after they and the wolf were both weakened, he would appear, putting on a show of “heroically saving the beauties.”
The teacher was secretly monitoring. His filthy little schemes were already completely exposed.
Qing Hanyin didn’t have time to ponder how Long Chen had awakened his ability early. Her only focus was on leading Bai Lili in a desperate run. Finally, she stopped in front of a hidden cave, thoroughly concealed by vines and giant boulders.
This place was a refuge Bai Lili had mentioned to her unintentionally in her previous life. It was here that she had hidden from the Thunder Wolf’s attack.
Seeing Qing Hanyin’s overly practiced movements, the doubts in Bai Lili’s heart grew even more pronounced.
Qing Hanyin’s reaction was just too strange. It was as if she already knew the Thunder Wolf would come. Her familiarity with this forest also didn’t seem like that of a first-time visitor. But in the end, she still kept her questions buried deep inside.
Even if she asked now, Qing Hanyin would only brush it off lightly or respond with something else.
The four of them ducked into the cave. The interior was dry and dim, with the faint sound of dripping groundwater. The entrance was blocked by thick vines, making it almost impossible to see anyone inside from the outside.
Outside the cave, the Thunder Wolf’s furious roars came one after another, mixed with the scorching sounds of lightning splitting trees, shaking the ground slightly.
Bai Lili sat down leaning against the cave wall and asked quietly.
“How long do we have to wait here?”
Qing Hanyin stood at the cave entrance, her back to the three of them, watching the rolling electrical light outside. Her tone was calm, almost cold.
“Until the teacher deals with that magical beast. It won’t be long.”
Lilith and Su Ruo didn’t speak, only exchanging a tacit, inconspicuous glance. The three of them each had their own ulterior motives.