Chinese professors at the Wizarding Academy

Gu Chen held his breath, and as he took that breath, it felt as if his life was being forcibly suspended!

This is the will to survive!

When you are in dire straits, as long as you don't give up, your body will do everything it can to try to save you!

At this moment, you will surpass your limits!

"I still have a chance! I won't die!"

The greater the pressure, the more effective Gu Chen's talent "Unwavering Will" that he obtained from Jim became!

He absolutely cannot die!

Gu Chen's mind raced, and in that instant, he thought of a way to survive!

"I just absorbed the blood of the Shadow Serpent!"

Yes, my enhanced, perfect-level blood absorption can absorb the magical characteristics of the person whose blood I am drawing!

Why not change your perspective?

If humans can do it, why can't Warcraft?

If I can successfully absorb the essence blood of the Shadow Serpent... perhaps its blood will also contain toxins that I can use!

Being able to use toxins often means that one can withstand the intense toxicity!

"absorb!"

Gu Chen gave himself a command in his heart, and fully activated the Star Gazing Technique, showing the power of multitasking at this moment!

He guided his body to absorb the essence and blood while controlling his body to slide along the water flow!

But even so, it's still too difficult!

Do you think you can successfully draw blood in just a few seconds? That's impossible!

Of course, this is impossible for an ordinary wizard!

However, Gu Chen possessed a talent he inherited from Jim!

"Unwavering willpower!"

"become!"

His mind was incredibly focused, guiding the essence blood to be absorbed by his body. His thoughts were extremely concentrated, and the essence blood of the Shadow Water Python, whose realm far surpassed his, circulated within his body at a speed visible to the naked eye before being successfully absorbed!

"good!"

With the successful absorption of the essence and blood, Gu Chen's originally weak body instantly radiated brilliance!

The light of life shone in his eyes!

The toxin has been neutralized!

The magic power that had been completely depleted was being restored in large quantities as it absorbed the magic power from the blood essence!

"Hahahahahaha!!!"

Despite the swift current, the pursuers behind him, and the unknown ahead, which seemed like a hopeless situation to others, Gu Chen burst into laughter!

Life can't always be smooth sailing!

Those who can weather the storm don't need any protective umbrella!

In the turbulent river, Gu Chen, who had recovered, was filled with excitement and shouted out loud!

"The road is hard, the road is hard, so many are the forks in the road, where am I now?"

"There will be times when we ride the wind and cleave the waves, hoisting our sails to cross the vast ocean!"

The shadowy water python gave chase again, and a dark figure rushed towards them rapidly with the current! The target was clearly Gu Chen, who was still struggling in the water!

This time, Gu Chen didn't seem to care at all. He let the Shadow Water Python bite him without changing his expression!

Then, he took another bite!

If the Shadow Water Python could speak, it would surely be filled with shock right now!

Why did this human recover so quickly after withstanding the poison?

Is he really human? Or is he a beast like myself?

However, this python's brain was completely lacking in intelligence to support such thinking, and Gu Chen's movements became even faster and more ferocious after his body recovered slightly!

The canine teeth were completely embedded in the water python's body, and the magical connection was once again established at an extremely fast speed!

The blood absorption was activated once again, and this time... Gu Chen recovered a full 40% of his magic power!

"The reason you didn't kill me the first time was because I only recovered one-tenth of my strength, and that's all I can use!"

"I've used twenty percent of my magic power now, can you handle it?"

The shadowy water python tried to struggle again, but in the end it turned into a cold corpse, its blood drained, its body limp, and then Gu Chen casually threw it into the water.

"Splash splash splash..."

The body was swept away by the swift current. Gu Chen felt a pang of heartache; he could have earned quite a few magic stone fragments by selling it.

But I only have one arm left... so I really can't carry too much stuff!

After dealing with the immediate enemy, Gu Chen was finally able to calm down and focus on finding a way to get ashore!

"Front!"

He didn't scratch wildly with his only remaining left hand. The more urgent the situation, the calmer Gu Chen became!

The greater the pressure, the stronger he becomes!

Gu Chen's figure kept appearing and disappearing in the turbulent rapids, sometimes even submerged for a long time, but he always managed to pop his head back up!

His vision was intermittent as he saw the river in front of him, but his mental focus was entirely on exploring ahead. Gu Chen knew that it was impossible for him to swim out on his own; he needed to grab onto some lifeline!

Finally, perhaps by a stroke of luck, or perhaps because his previous observations had paid off, Gu Chen's left hand accidentally touched something hard and rough during the descent!

This is a thick tree trunk that is stuck diagonally in the riverbed and is completely submerged in the water, which is why we didn't see it when we were rafting!

This piece of wood may have been brought by a flash flood upstream, or it may have been damaged in a battle with some magical beasts, or for some other reason. But whatever the reason, this piece of wood now has only one identity for Gu Chen!

That was his lifeline!

"Depend on!"

The river was too swift, and Gu Chen knew that if he missed this tree trunk, he might never find anything to hold onto again, and that would mean certain death!

"Snap!"

He dived into the water, and the moment his left hand touched the tree trunk, he gripped it tightly, his fingernails breaking instantly, but this allowed Gu Chen to hold onto the thick tree trunk!

Spots of blood appeared in the rushing river, then quickly disappeared.

Gu Chen gripped it tightly, then pulled himself toward the tree trunk with all his might!

Finally, he succeeded!

Lacking his right arm, Gu Chen clamped his legs tightly around the tree trunk, then pulled out his left hand and hugged the trunk.

Then, Gu Chen desperately tried to keep his head above water.

It worked!

"Cough! Cough cough cough!!!"

He greedily inhaled the cold air, his lungs burning with pain.

But the joy he felt at that moment still brought a smile to his face!

I survived! I succeeded!

What could be more exhilarating than facing difficulties and pressure, and then bravely overcoming them?

Gu Chen looked back and saw that the corpse of the Shadow Water Python had also been washed over by the rushing water.

"Splash!"

An arm suddenly plunged into the water and pulled him up, while Gu Chen's legs gripped the tree trunk tightly!

Now that he had successfully escaped the stream, he naturally didn't want to let the python's carcass go; perhaps he could take it back and sell it for a good price.

"Huff huff..."

After catching his breath, Gu Chen used his left hand to forcefully throw the corpse of the Shadow Water Python onto the shore.

Then he hugged the tree trunk with his left hand, clamped his legs tightly around the trunk, and lay on it.

"I need to hurry... I don't know if that Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast has caught up yet, but based on the chase just now... it seems like I have something on me that it wants."

"Ouch...it hurts so much. My right arm must be tainted with the aura of the dead. I can feel this power invading my body."

Gu Chen glanced at the mutilated right arm and noticed that the wound, which should have stopped bleeding, had turned whitish-gray again!

And its speed is increasing at a rate visible to the naked eye!

"Damn it, that Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast must be getting closer! Otherwise, my wounds shouldn't be worsening so quickly!"

It's like a persistent ghost!

Gu Chen knew he couldn't let his guard down yet; the Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast was still chasing him along the shore, like a death knell.

It waits, waiting for Gu Chen to run out of energy, or to be swept away from this uncomfortable stream area.

We must get ashore as soon as possible!

Gu Chen clung to the tree trunk, struggling to move towards the other side. Each movement aggravated the injury in his right shoulder, bringing excruciating pain.

But he had gotten used to the pain and continued crawling without changing his expression.

Finally, he exhausted his last bit of strength and successfully climbed to the other side!

"finally……"

Gu Chen collapsed on the pebble-strewn riverbank, gasping for breath like a dying fish.

He turned his head and glanced at his empty right shoulder. The wound was white from being soaked in water, and the edges were an ominous gray, with wisps of faint black mist still swirling around it.

The damage inflicted by the Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast was not merely a physical loss. The death energy had already tainted a portion of his life force.

Gu Chen struggled to stand up... It wasn't time to rest yet, and his current condition was really terrible.

Although his magic power and health had been restored by absorbing the energy from a Shadow Serpent, the physical wounds required replenishment of energy that a small snake could not provide.

Gu Chen knew that to recover, he needed stronger energy, more vigorous blood and qi, and more abundant magic power.

"ha……"

"Fortunately... the current has carried me to the Golden Oak Forest. It's full of life and energy. If I lie down in the oak forest, the necromancy of the Binding Shadow Beast will be suppressed."

Although he had just had terrible luck, the good news is that Gu Chen managed to get ashore right from the Golden Oak Forest.

Although this was the planned route, if it weren't for that wooden stake, I might have stayed in the water for much longer.

The pain was so intense that even though I was used to it, I still found it difficult to stand up due to my instinctive reaction.

Just then—

"what?"

A soft exclamation, tinged with surprise and curiosity, suddenly rang out from the nearby woods.

The sound wasn't loud, but against the backdrop of the silent forest, and especially in the ears of the exhausted Gu Chen, it was no less than a thunderclap!

anyone? !

Gu Chen's muscles tensed instantly. The intense sense of crisis even temporarily suppressed his pain and fatigue. He struggled to prop himself up with his left hand and looked in the direction of the sound.

At the edge of the golden oak forest, a figure was standing there, seemingly out of nowhere.

The man wore a dark green hooded cloak of unusual material that seemed to flow slowly, blending seamlessly with the light and shadow of the surrounding trees. It was almost impossible to notice him without careful observation.

How long has he been standing there? And what about his fight with the Shadow Serpent... and how he crawled up the riverbank in such a disheveled state? Did he see all of that?

"Damn it..."

In this dog-eat-dog world, a wizard who looks exhausted and alone, and who looks like he just escaped death and is seriously injured, appears to be a perfect example of this.

Isn't that just a walking magic stone fragment pack, experience pack, and material pack?

Gu Chen's heart sank to the bottom. Had he just escaped from the wolf's den only to fall into the tiger's lair?

He stared intently at the figure, his remaining mental energy highly focused, ready to fight to the death at any moment!

Of course, it would be more appropriate to call it a death throes, after all, Gu Chen was only a low-level blood wizard with the strength of a single ring, and he was also seriously injured and had lost an arm. As for the opponent's magical power fluctuations... Gu Chen felt that they were extremely profound, like a deep pool.

Eyes facing each other.

The atmosphere was so heavy it was almost palpable.

After a moment of silence, the hooded figure moved, slowly raising one hand and lifting the hood.

What came into Gu Chen's view was a young and delicate face, who looked to be no more than twenty years old. He had fair skin, handsome features, and a pair of clear and deep emerald green eyes, like two bottomless pools of autumn water.

Gu Chen had never seen this person before, neither in his memory nor in the academy.

The other party's spirit was as restrained and stable as his magic fluctuations. Gu Chen didn't even dare to directly probe the other party's magic level, feeling that he was no match for him at all!

At least... it's within the Second Ring Road!

What about the Bound Spirit Shadow Beast?

Gu Chen then realized that the Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast had not followed. Although he seemed to have spent a long time in the water, he had only traveled a few hundred meters. If the Spirit-Binding Shadow Beast wanted to kill him, it could have caught up with him and made its move now!

After all, he hasn't even entered the Golden Oak Forest yet! He's only on the edge!

So... it was the mysterious person in front of us who scared away the Bound Spirit Beast?

Just how powerful is he?!

The Third Ring Road!?

Gu Chen was shocked and felt immense pressure... Doubts clouded his mind.

Why isn't he making a move? What is he saying? What is this guy talking about? What does he want? It can't be that he's taken a liking to me, can it?

The man simply stared at Gu Chen, his gaze lingering for a moment on Gu Chen's empty right shoulder, which was shrouded in deathly aura, before finally returning to Gu Chen's face, which was deathly pale from blood loss, yet filled with extreme wariness and a hint of ferocity.

A look of interest appeared on the young man's face, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, forming a smile that was not quite a smile.

"interesting."

He spoke, his voice clear and melodious, with a unique rhythm.

"To actually be able to decisively sacrifice an arm to survive under the 'Death Fog Blade,' and even successfully complete some kind of...interesting ritual?"

"Ah, I see, it's a talent upgrade ritual. No one has used this kind of ritual for a long time. You're very interesting."

He paused, a barely perceptible glint flashing in his emerald eyes.

"A low-level first-ring blood wizard... no, we can't underestimate you. Your strength is clearly superior to ordinary low-level first-ring warriors, and even mid-level and some high-level first-ring warriors."

"He went to the rocky slope alone and dared to perform a highly risky talent enhancement ritual in such an environment."

He looked at Gu Chen, a faint smile always on his lips.

"What's your name?"