Chinese professors at the Wizarding Academy

The icy river water brought waves of needle-like stinging pain; the icy water rushing into the wound made Gu Chen grimace in agony.

However, the cold sensation somewhat alleviated the lingering chill and deathly stillness.

Gu Chen controlled his blood flow to stop the massive bleeding from the wound on his right arm.

"...It really hurts."

"But at least I survived. Losing an arm... it's not a big deal. For a blood wizard, as long as the blood hasn't dried up, there will be a solution."

Gu Chen was being swept along by the turbulent river. Fortunately, although the river was extremely rapid, he was able to use his spiritual power to probe the water like a nimble fish, constantly adjusting his position to avoid the hidden rocks.

Blood loss, excruciating pain, exhaustion... all sorts of negative conditions surged up like a tide, impacting his will.

Gu Chen felt his eyelids drooping. Although the mental clarity brought by his newly promoted talent had invigorated him, it was currently overshadowed by extreme physical weakness.

But his gaze remained firm.

He was multitasking, using one part of his mind to control his body, continuing to dodge the rocks in the water, while simultaneously trying to increase his speed as much as possible along the river.

With the other part of his mind, he focused on using the Star Gazing Technique, spreading his spiritual power forward like a spider web to find the best escape route, while also being alert to other potential dangers ahead.

"This must be a tributary... but I must find a way to get out of this stream as soon as possible."

Although the stream prevented the Bound Spirit Beast from stepping directly in and following, it protected its safety to some extent.

But for a magical beast with the strength of a second-tier monster to be scared off by a mere stream, it's clear that for the local animals of the Black Forest, whose territorial instincts are often very strong, this means that if they continue along the stream, they might encounter something even more terrifying...

Gu Chen is in extremely poor condition right now. If anything goes wrong, he could face utter ruin.

"license……"

Gu Chen took out the license, and saw that the light it emitted was gradually diminishing.

The Black Forest Permit is designed to look like a badge for easy carrying, but the key feature is its internal magic receiving device.

The license absorbs the magic within the Grey Tower Academy, which in turn provides the owner with lighting and location services.

Of course, the user still needs to actively input magic power to activate it, so that the internal magic power receiving core will be activated and connected to the magic power source of Gray Tower Academy.

At this moment, the radiance of the license is gradually diminishing, which means that Gu Chen is almost completely out of the outer area of ​​the Black Forest.

If this is truly the "shallow area" of the Black Forest, then perhaps second-ring monsters are running around everywhere, and third-ring monsters are hiding in caves.

In that case, Gu Chen would truly be delivering food to your door, making him a very considerate food supplier.

This means he has to find a way out as soon as possible.

Although the Bound Spirit Beast was still lurking by the stream, if he continued to drift downstream and ended up outside the Black Forest, his permit wouldn't connect to the Gray Tower Academy. If he got lost, the Black Forest, which blotted out the sky, would become the most despairing maze!

By then, no matter how much the Star Gazing Technique enhances one's mental strength or allows for deeper exploration...

But it's completely useless. If you dare to release your mental energy to investigate, and it gets caught by other magical beasts, it will just be used as a dessert to show off.

However, there is always a way out.

Suddenly, the mental energy successfully relayed good news to Gu Chen!

There is a riverbed about 200 meters ahead.

The river narrows there, the current becomes more rapid, and on the opposite bank there is a dense forest of golden oak trees, exuding a rich sense of life.

"There!"

Gu Chen was greatly encouraged!

Although the river was swift, Gu Chen was confident he could avoid the rocks in the rushing water.

Even if I can't dodge it, it doesn't matter. I can just crash into it a couple more times. As long as there's still a drop of blood left... the Blood Wizard won't fall!

The swift current also meant faster speeds and more unpredictable paths. My vital energy was already weakened by my frail body, and now it was barely perceptible. In this way, the complex terrain, combined with the stream masking my vital energy, and my own weakness...

Places teeming with life usually have a natural aversion to undead creatures like the Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast. With all these factors combined, it might be possible to get rid of the Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast!

Moreover, the rich life force of the Golden Oak Forest is almost overwhelming, which means that the magic there is even stronger. The fruit, branches and leaves of the Golden Oak are extremely beneficial to the body!

You can even try to rehabilitate your own severed arm there!

A chill ran through him; his goal was clear!

The pressure is mounting, but my resilience is also constantly being strengthened!

The more critical the situation, the more focused he becomes!

Driven by the instinct to survive, Gu Chen squeezed out the last bit of strength in his body, adjusted his position, and rushed in that direction with the current!

"It's like a persistent ghost..."

Of course, things didn't go exactly as Gu Chen had planned. Although the river was icy cold, he had long since gotten used to it, but even so, he still felt a chill down his spine and goosebumps rose up his back.

Gu Chen could feel the chilling aura behind him begin to move, following closely along the riverbank.

A hundred meters is nothing more than a few steps under normal circumstances, but for Gu Chen at this moment, it felt like an eternity.

150 meters.

"puff!"

Gu Chen spat out a mouthful of river water, which was icy cold. He could feel that if he dared to swallow it, his internal organs might be frozen into ice sculptures!

One hundred meters.

"Depend on!"

He cursed loudly and plunged into the water. A five-clawed blade swept past his head with a black wind!

This thing is relentless and has ranged attacks!

Fifty meters…

"Almost there, almost there..."

He cheered himself on in his heart. The chill had gripped his heart, and he could clearly feel the Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast getting closer and closer!

It's incredibly fast!

Despite the rapid acceleration brought by the swift river, they still couldn't escape the pursuit of the undead beast!

No, rather, this is the basic strength of a second-ring magical beast; it can cover a distance of 100 meters in the blink of an eye!

Thirty meters…

The current grew increasingly rapid, and the icy river water had reached Gu Chen's throat. He struggled to breathe and could not even avoid the rocks. The stones in the riverbed were like sharp knives, constantly adding new wounds to his body.

He dared not look up at the road ahead, and could only rush forward with the help of the mental map, while the wind blades on the river continued to attack!

Everything seemed to be hindering him, making his progress difficult.

Ten meters…

"I have to withstand the impact... The hardest part is over, I must hold on!"

"I want to live!"

"Blood-protecting... herb!"

Gu Chen was about to reach the narrow river channel. He held his breath and guided the little magic power in his body to prepare to release the blood shield. With the complex terrain and the even more rapid current, he did not want to die, especially not at this crucial step in his escape!

But at that moment, Gu Chen suddenly shouted a curse!

Another unexpected mutation!

"Whoosh!"

A black shadow, as fast as lightning, shot out silently from the grass on the bank, aiming straight for his face!

That was a shadowy water python lurking by the water's edge!

A mid-level magical beast of the first ring, it prefers environments rich in water element, excels at ambushes, and is highly poisonous!

If bitten, people who are not physically strong will bleed from all seven orifices and die instantly!

It's like when it rains, it pours!

Normally, even though Gu Chen is only a low-level first-ring cultivator and doesn't have many spells, he can escape if he wants to, thanks to the spells optimized by his analysis points and his combat experience. If he encounters a sudden enemy, he can also kill them outright!

Even in the river waters favored by the Shadow Python, it's not impossible for it to maneuver for a while!

But at this moment, he was at his last gasp!

At this critical moment, Gu Chen was under immense pressure. He abandoned his usual indifferent expression and his face became ferocious, as terrifying as a demon!

Almost instinctively, he raised his left hand and, in a flash, grabbed the Shadow Serpent with his only remaining arm!

He didn't even have time to construct complex spell models; everything happened too suddenly, giving him no time to react!

Right in front of me was the location where the riverbed had changed course. If I dared not twist my body to change the angle and just crashed into it, even if I wasn't immediately knocked unconscious by the impact!

Although he wouldn't die, those few seconds of dizziness would be enough for the Bound Spirit Shadow Beast to catch up and devour him alive!

In just a few seconds, Gu Chen, his face contorted with rage, suddenly erupted in fury, the series of unexpected events igniting his bloodlust!

Magic channeling takes time, at least a second to cast successfully. Connecting the magic also takes time, and this place has extremely rapid water flow. By the time the connection is successful and the spell is completed, it will be too late!

Enough to get bitten to death by the Shadow Serpent, or knocked unconscious!

That being the case...

Gu Chen's eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was extremely fierce. He grabbed the Shadow Water Python and then opened his mouth to bite down hard!

Then, relying entirely on the blood wizard's instinctive control over blood and the extremely high concentration of mental energy brought about by the stargazing method, the spell was activated!

"Blood extraction!"

Coincidentally, Gu Chen had exactly four canine teeth in his mouth.

He usually doesn't show his teeth when he smiles, so no one knows about this.

Now, his canine teeth are fully exposed, just like a real vampire from a story!

As the sharp fangs pierced the Shadow Serpent's body, the magical connection was established in an instant!

However, the Shadow Serpent also successfully bit Gu Chen's only remaining left arm!

"Aww!"

But the scream didn't come from Gu Chen. At this moment, he had a fierce look on his face, and he activated his magic. A large amount of blood was drawn out by Gu Chen along the sharp teeth that had pierced his body!

The Shadow Serpent howled in agony, its once enormous body visibly shrinking as it weakened from the human's desperate attack!

It thrashed violently in the water, its tail thrashing wildly, constantly splashing water!

"I...uh...want...uh...to kill you!!!"

These successive unexpected events finally made Gu Chen lose his temper. He roared out, his broken words filled with unconcealed rage!

"Awooooo!!"

In the end, the Shadow Serpent was no match for the crazed human before it. It loosened its sharp teeth and lashed out with its tail!

Gu Chen remained unmoved!

That lash of its tail only made him angrier!

Seeing that its tail couldn't free it, the Shadow Python thrashed about even more frantically, eventually managing to shake off its bitten body, which was then roughly torn off by Gu Chen!

"Ugh!"

With a mournful cry, the Shadow Serpent fell into the water and fled in panic.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, in just a few seconds.

The immediate crisis has been successfully resolved, but Gu Chen has exhausted his last breath in the process.

He could only swing his body as hard as he could before his eyes were swallowed by darkness, his foot slipped, and he slid into the winding riverbed, dodging the boulder in front of him.

However, he was swept away by the rushing river and instantly swallowed up!

……

The icy river water rushed into my mouth and nose, and a feeling of suffocation washed over me.

"ha!"

Gu Chen suddenly opened his eyes, kicked his legs hard, stuck his head out, and coughed up a mouthful of cold water!

The current in the river was even more turbulent and violent. If I hadn't choked on a mouthful of water just now, I probably would have drowned on the spot!

Gu Chen struggled desperately in the water, and the wound on his right shoulder was even more excruciating after being soaked in water.

"Damn it... I need to surface right now!"

His consciousness was still blurred from the intense exertion—the depletion of his mental energy, the damage to his body, the overexertion from forcibly casting spells…

Gu Chen had already exhausted almost all his magic power by forcibly smashing the boulder to avoid the Bound Spirit Shadow Beast. Then he was swept into the turbulent stream. If it weren't for the star trails constructed by the Star Gazing Technique, which had a far greater attraction to magic power than ordinary low-level wizards of the first ring, Gu Chen would have been bitten to death!

How could a low-level wizard possibly out-bite a magical beast? He forced his way into casting a spell using only one-tenth of his hard-won magic power!

Gu Chen tried to surface, but the force of the current was beyond his imagination, carrying him downwards.

Even worse, the shadowy water python seemed to have been provoked into a ferocious state. Even though it was injured, it was unwilling to give up its prey. Its slender body twisted and turned, like a black line of water, and it came to entangle him again.

Blocked ahead, pursued behind, trapped in raging torrents, severely wounded...

"I've been poisoned..."

Gu Chen could feel that his blood had been mixed with unfamiliar foreign substances, and something was running rampant inside him. Wherever it passed, his blood seemed to turn blue.

The vision inside was not optimistic...

"No... I don't think I can hold on any longer."

Gu Chen's consciousness began to blur, his head was already submerged in the water... As the river water surged in, his oxygen-deprived brain kept issuing warnings.

Fragments of past memories flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern... chalk dust in the classroom, the starry sky in the mountain village, documents in the education bureau... and this world, the darkness of Grey Tower Academy, Alyssa's gaze at the garbage, Jim's honest smile...

"No... I can't die yet..."

An indomitable spirit surged from the depths of his soul!

And at that very moment, his talent for "unyielding will" responded to him!