Only I Am A Reader

Things had been calm for the first few hours or so, but that didn't last for long.

'It's not a race you know…'

Freedom was a good thing. However, too much of anything was usually bad regardless of its nature. It was easier to take the lead at the start when everyone was still confused, but that helpful factor disappeared fairly quickly.

Unlike what most sects and Martial Families did, there wasn't even a normal member of the Society guiding and leading them, let alone an elder. Although they lost the convenience of simply following orders, they were no longer bound to a chain of command.

'I'm sure someone is around somewhere, but…'

Naturally, there was no way the Heavenly Strength Society would let the top stars of their latest generation roam about unwatched. They made sure that the kids they nurtured felt a sense of belonging to them, but nothing was absolute. Most importantly, in the case of meeting a threat that they were too weak to handle, they were a top priority to protect!

Considering the event they were heading to, Leo was sure of that. In fact, he was even aware of their watcher's identity. Of course, there was still a possibility that 'they' were different due to his actions that were inconsistent with the plot.

'They won't intervene.'

Unless things went directly south, they were on their own. The trials appeared to be over since they had already left the Heavenly Furnace, but this was another hidden test. The level of ability to work together that they displayed was something that decided their future path in the Society.

"Let's catch up."

Fortunately, only Cheon Yong acted like a rebel, speeding up to enjoy his freedom even more. Cheon Sohee seemed eager to try, but she was too attached to the two of them to do so. As for Yeon… She enjoyed running next to Leo more than the action itself.

With a slight increase in Internal Energy output, the trio quickly arrived next to the unruly dragon. Without any alert, Leo suddenly unwrapped his spear before turning to Cheon Yong!

Thudszsz!

The Silver Dragon bit into the ground as lightning exploded in front of Cheon Yong whose feet immediately stopped moving, his hand reaching into the sword on his waist…

"Let's rest here for a bit."

Both Cheon Sohee and Cheon Yong were on edge when Leo moved out, but he spread down the large cloth that he covered his spear with and sat down.

"What? Weren't you inviting me for a fight? I had been waiting for that for a long while! Let's go!"

Most martial artists would find it hard to ignore a clear provocation like that, and that was especially the case for someone like Cheon Yong. He knew he didn't have a big chance to win since he watched Leo and Yeon's fight, but he naturally wouldn't cower from an opportunity like this!

'It's okay.'

Leo nodded towards Yeon who took hold of her Black Heaven Jade, this was a rare chance for him to guide these future monsters as their senior!

"I wouldn't mind fighting with you, but can't you be more mindful of where we are? We are in an unknown location without any clear target in sight, if we keep wasting our time and energy on doing what we want, won't we quickly end in trouble?"

In the first place, the map that they had received could be nothing but a fake, so ending up stranded wasn't impossible. Although Leo knew otherwise, he had to instill some guidance about 'camping' in this small party before things got out of hand.

"Rather than infighting, we have to be careful of foregin threats. We all know people from the Society aren't exactly welcome everywhere, so working together from the start should be a good idea, don't you think?"

Even a lone 1st rate Martial Artist could fend for himself on his own pretty well, but one could never be too careless in the murim. That was especially the case if you were once the number one enemy of the martial arts community…

"Of course, if you still want to fight, I can follow you up on that. It would be a good chance to experience how things are handled in murim!"

Although Leo didn't intend to go too far, he was hinting towards the environment once again. Something like a referee didn't exist here. Things could get pretty brutal in the Heavenly Furnace, but you would always be healed back to your peak, a luxury that couldn't be enjoyed outside! If the winner deemed it so, the loser's life would be lost!

"We should get in some meditation to recover the lost Internal Energy… What do you say about taking the first watch shift?"

"...Fine."

Leo wasn't intentionally antagonizing a great future ally and asset, that was just what Cheon Yong's language was. He was aggressively playful and even a bit of a tsundere, choosing to calmly discuss things with him would backfire instead.

"I will be joining you then, you two can recover first."

As long as his desire to fight was calmed down a bit, Cheon Yong was actually quite sensible to interact with. The two youths just stared at each other as they spread their Internal Energy enhanced senses, but Leo believed that they were off to a good start!

"That was fun."

After Yeon and Cheon Sohee finished their meditation, the group resumed running forward. Even with the lack of transportation tools or animals, the journey was quite smooth following the first incident. That was just how convenient Internal Energy was!

Whether it was fatigue or energy, everything could just recover in a short period of rest. Using Internal Energy to enhance their vision was enough to travel in the dark so the cycle of day and night wasn't necessarily a restriction.

Despite not moving at full speed to be prepared for most situations, the scenery soon started to change around them. Slightly over a week later, the group finally encountered the first human settlement in their path…