Shocked, Fang Ren circled the gray tree a few times, inspecting it closely only to find it completely undamaged. Instead, after absorbing Wang Shuai's attack, it seemed to have gained even more vitality.
In just about fifteen minutes, it had grown from several stalks into a four-meter-tall tree with a robust trunk and lush, flourishing branches.
After looking it over, Fang Ren furrowed his brow, unable to understand.
Ever since the appearance of the tree, he was able to form a blood oath with the Space Ring. This meant that he had become a Cultivator. Yet, strangely enough, although he was definitely a Practitioner, he could not feel the existence of True Qi within his body.
If this thing was akin to a Spiritual Root, it should, by all accounts, provide him with True Qi and make him stronger.
Besides, since when did practitioners fight using their Spiritual Root? The Spiritual Root is the source of all power, as vital as the heart—if it's damaged, then a practitioner's entire cultivation level would be ruined.
After pondering for a while, Fang Ren gave up, touched a branch of the big tree, and with a relieved smile, said, "Regardless, it's you who saved me again."
Sss—
The entire gray tree nodded vigorously and then twisted its colossal body.
Its roots moved, dragging its enormous bulk in place as if they were small legs, its branches swaying. Several branches, like waving hands, rustled like leaves blown by the wind, conveying a sense of joy as if a child were happily dancing.
"Alright, I need to leave quickly, and you should turn invisible soon. Don't get seen by others."
As soon as Fang Ren finished speaking, the giant tree before him suddenly turned ethereal, enveloping his entire body within its trunk again, yet Fang Ren's hand could no longer touch it.
Hiss—
From the illusory tree, a gray branch extended and burrowed into Fang Ren's abdomen. It quickly regenerated the Spiritual Root that had vanished before.
"This is..."
Fang Ren felt inside his body with his consciousness and suddenly discovered that with the presence of the gray Spiritual Root, he felt as though he and the entire tree were one.
"Forget it, it's better to leave first."
Without hesitation, Fang Ren dove into the nearby bushes.
There were many mysteries to explore later, but he needed to leave immediately. With Wang Shuai being thrown out, if any students from the Cultivation System saw him, they would surely come investigating.
The guiding principle has always been to keep a low profile; the prominent one gets shot, the fat pig gets slaughtered, and that's not what he intended to be unless there was absolutely no other way.
Watching Fang Ren leave, Jian Qi'er at the top of the small waterfall was filled with shock.
"This guy! I didn't expect even Wang Shuai, who ranks among the top ten in the Cultivation Department, to be no match for him. It's good that I never thought of killing him yesterday, otherwise who would have ended up dead is anybody's guess."
Glancing at the ground beneath the waterfall, marked with traces of something's passage, Jian Qi'er's brows furrowed more deeply, and she immediately turned to head back the way she came.
After some trials along the way, Fang Ren caught up with the group. Jian Qi'er had already rejoined the team, and Fang Ren did not notice that she had gone out.
------
------
When night fell, the school's students finally reached the mountain summit.
The night sky at the summit was beautiful, filled with stars that seemed like scattered pearls and golden fragments, emptying one's mind and bringing ultimate tranquility.
At that moment, all the students were lighting fires to roast food, setting up tents for camping, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
In another area, within the Cultivation Department's camp, a tutor began taking a headcount.
"Where is Wang Shuai? Has anyone seen him?" asked the tutor, frowning.
"I remember seeing him right after lunch. He was climbing the mountain and suddenly said he had something to do and flew back with his sword," a student from the Cultivation System said.
"He hasn't come back yet? Some of you go and look for him," the tutor ordered, still frowning.
As he spoke, several students from the Cultivation System flew down the mountain on their swords.
As Fang Ren, who was grilling fish with Mu Huanqing, witnessed this scene, he had a rough grasp of the situation, though he was surprised that Wang Shuai had not been found since being thrown out, and he still hadn't regained consciousness?
"Could that guy actually be dead?"
Suddenly, Fang Ren felt a bit of chaos in his mind, having never fought with others, much less killed a person, leaving him deeply unsettled.
However, thinking back, it was all brought on by Wang Shuai himself, who had the intention to kill him—so it was justified for him to kill in defense.
Yet, he feared the discovery of the battle traces at the small waterfall. His visit to the waterfall and the time Wang Shuai left were too closely linked. Anyone with a bit of sense could suspect him.
But for now, his identity was still that of a medical student. Even with suspicions, this "mortal" identity could shield him from a lot of trouble, at least no one could definitively pin the incident on him in a short time.
As the evening drew in and all the students were sitting by the grassy area, stargazing and chatting leisurely, the students from the Cultivation Department flew back with Wang Shuai, who was covered in blood.
"What happened!" The Cultivation Department tutor immediately ran over.
"Wang Shuai was attacked by someone! And the technique used is our school's Wood attribute Cultivation Technique, the Green Snake Seal!" a student said grimly.
"A student from our own school!" The tutor's brows knitted tightly as he bellowed, "All students who can cultivate, gather here immediately! Move it! No one is to be missing!"
His voice was very loud, projected with True Qi, so that every corner of the mountaintop could clearly hear him.
"What happened?" students from the other classes were all confused.
"What else could it be, surely those from the Cultivation System are showing off again."
"Holy shit! I just came back from over there! Our school's Wang Shuai from the Cultivation System was carried back covered in blood!" a student who had just run over from the Cultivation System area shouted.
"What? Someone from our school was beaten?"
"Hurry over and take a look!"
"Let's go!"
...
In no time, students from all classes on the mountaintop crowded around the Cultivation System, and the tutors from various classes were also huddled together, discussing the matter with grave expressions.
"These injuries..."
The medical school's tutor withdrew his hand from Wang Shuai's body, his brow deeply furrowed: "His life can still be saved, but... he's become a vegetable, and his Spiritual Root has been shattered by some force that penetrated his body. Even if he weren't a vegetable, he'd never be able to cultivate again."
Upon hearing this, the students around sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Who did this? They were so harsh!"
"It's even more cruel than killing someone!"
"I heard the Cultivation Technique used by the culprit was our school's Wood attribute Green Snake Seal..."
"Damn, what kind of deep hatred could they have had to do something like this to a person?"
"The culprit must've lacked love since they were young! Such a vicious heart!"
...
With such an event occurring, Fang Ren naturally had to pretend to be shocked and pulled Mu Huanqing along with him to watch. Otherwise, wouldn't it seem suspicious to be alone by himself?
Listening to the discussions of the students around him, Fang Ren couldn't help but feel very angry, a bunch of people who knew nothing just talking nonsense. What would you do if Wang Shuai was trying to kill you? Could you still stand here making thoughtless remarks?
"All students who have practiced the Green Snake Seal, come over, one by one say where you were at noon today, and who can vouch for you, speak up, all of you," shouted the Cultivation Department Tutor.
A group of Cultivation System students looked at each other, suddenly feeling panicked. If they couldn't prove their whereabouts at noon, they might end up as scapegoats for the real culprit.
"Tutor, when we came back just now, we found traces of fighting on the ground near the small waterfall at mid-mountain, and the place where Wang Shuai fell is only two hundred meters away from there," a Cultivation System student said.
"The small waterfall?" The Cultivation Department Tutor frowned and looked at the group of students who had practiced the Green Snake Seal, his voice stern: "Who among you went there this noon?"
"I didn't. What's there to see? Just a broken waterfall, and it's all bushes around. Who'd go there when they have nothing better to do?"
"I was with Sun San the whole lunchtime, Gao Hongchao can also vouch for that."
...
"Ah Ran."
As Fang Ren was watching the scene with complex feelings, Mu Huanqing, who was holding his hand, suddenly turned her head and called out to him.
"Huh? What's up?" Fang Ren pretended to look at her relaxedly.
Mu Huanqing looked into his eyes, then after two seconds, she brought her mouth close to Fang Ren's ear and whispered worriedly, "Your hand is very sweaty, didn't you witness this incident by any chance?"
After hearing Mu Huanqing's words, Fang Ren originally wanted to lie to her temporarily and then tell her the truth later, but suddenly he changed his mind.
Now that Wang Shuai was a vegetable, whatever he said would definitely be the truth, and he could use this opportunity to explain his visit to the small waterfall at noon, in order to clear himself of suspicion to the greatest extent.
If he didn't speak up now, probably some classmate who saw him at the small waterfall at noon would mention it. It was better to take the initiative and put himself in the position of a witness rather than add another layer of suspicion.
"I need to say something, don't overthink it."
Fang Ren patted the back of her hand and then let go, squeezing into the crowd and heading inside.
Just as he was about to emerge from the crowd, Fang Ren suddenly called out, "Tutor, I have something to say."
All eyes instantly focused on him, and sure enough, as soon as he appeared, many students started whispering to each other beneath their breath.
"Hey, I just remembered Fang Ren went to that small waterfall at noon."
"I was about to bring it up, but he came forward on his own. He probably saw something."
...
"This student, what do you have to say?" the Cultivation Department Tutor asked with a frown.
"I went to the small waterfall at noon and saw Wang Shuai," Fang Ren began, his expression calm.
Although there was some sweat in his palm, it didn't affect his ability to enter Oscar Actor Mode at all.