Chapter 873: Chapter 873: Dangerous Straight Line Burrow Escape
She woke up as the morning sun began to rise, casting its bright light through the window.
Today was the fifth day of the second round of learning, which focused on Earth Magic.
After breakfast, Qin Sisi and Xiao Meng arrived together at Tiantu Mountain. While waiting for the class to start, Qin Sisi inquired about the Wood Spirit Pill with Xiao Meng to see if she knew how to make it or where to buy it.
Xiao Meng apologized, "I’m sorry, Sister Sisi—I don’t know how to make the Wood Spirit Pill. Just like you, I’ve only just started learning Alchemy. The teachers say we’re too young and fickle, not strong or skilled enough. It’s only at Heaven Academy where we can begin to learn Alchemy and Smithing."
"I see, I thought you might have been exposed to it before," Qin Sisi said somewhat helplessly, realizing she couldn’t rely on Xiao Meng either.
Xiao Meng shook her head, "No, but my second sister might know how. I’ll ask her for you next time I see her."
"Alright," Qin Sisi nodded, and then continued to ask, "Do you know where I can buy it?"
If Jing Jing knew how to make Wood Spirit Pills, it would be great, but she had just visited Scholar City on the last day off, and Qin Sisi doubted she would come again soon.
A distant solution couldn’t quench an immediate thirst; she had to think of another way.
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Meng said, "I remember there is a place where Alchemists consign their pills for sale. They set their prices, and there are dedicated people managing the sales, but I don’t know the exact location. Yun Cheng might know; we could ask him to take us there on a day off."
Qin Sisi nodded, her hopes rising again.
At that moment, Teacher Taitan, who taught Earth Magic, approached, and Qin Sisi and Xiao Meng quickly ceased their conversation.
Teacher Taitan scanned the nine students standing before him and announced loudly, "Class will now begin. Last lesson we practiced the Circle-direction Burrow Escape Skill, and this lesson will focus on the straight-line Burrow Escape Skill."
More Burrow Escape! Some were distressed, others were pleased.
The sorrow stemmed from having to burrow into the soil again, ending up completely covered in dirt; the joy came from the fact that Burrow Escape was a skill they already possessed, so this class shouldn’t be too tiring.
Taitan raised his arm, pointing in a direction, and commanded, "From your current position, burrow to that line of big trees and catch a bee to bring back."
Everyone looked in the indicated direction and saw a row of large trees about two hundred meters away, each with a diameter of roughly one meter.
Around the dense foliage, a massive, dark cloud hovered. Confused for a moment, someone finally realized that it wasn’t a cloud at all, but a swarm of tens of thousands of bees.
Usually placid, Li Li’s expression changed as she exclaimed in dismay, "Could it be the Tiger head Black Bees?"
Taitan chuckled with a hint of pride, "Li Li, you’re quite knowledgeable!"
There was not a trace of joy on Li Li’s face from the praise as her expression grew more serious.
Those who had heard of the Tiger head Black Bees’ daunting reputation all changed color, realizing the class they thought manageable concealed such danger.
Seeing her classmates fall silent, Qin Sisi, realizing the Tiger head Black Bees might be difficult to deal with, turned to Xiao Meng and asked, "Xiao Meng, are the Tiger head Black Bees hard to handle?"
Xiao Meng frowned in response, "Yes, Tiger-head Black Bees have a particularly strong defense instinct. If someone intrudes into their territory and captures one of their companions, they will definitely swarm and attack immediately."
"Do these bees have poison?" Qin Sisi pressed on.
Xiao Meng nodded and said, "They do. Getting stung leads to red itchy hives all over your body. If you’re stung by more than ten Tiger-head Black Bees, you might not even survive."
At this point, Qing Pu was the first to question Teacher Taitan’s course arrangement.
He bowed to Teacher Taitan and said diplomatically, "Teacher Taitan, isn’t this a bit too dangerous? The poison of the Tiger-head Black Bees is very strong. If we accidentally get stung, the consequences would be unimaginable."
Teacher Taitan gave him a look and said languidly, "Back in the day, Qing Xun and Ye You also went through the same."
Qing Pu’s expression froze, and a bitter taste rose in his heart.
Having an exceptionally talented cousin had been his sorrow since childhood. When he came here, his father had specifically reminded him to study hard and surpass Qing Xun in the future, so that he could lead the Zhulu family effectively.
If his cousin could do it, then he must be able to do it, too.
Qing Pu clenched his teeth and said with determination, "Yes, I understand. If they could do it, so can we."
The power of role models is boundless. Qing Pu’s cousin, Xiao Meng’s sister, Ya Ling’s sister, and Yun Cheng’s brother were all students from the previous class at Heaven Academy. With such role models, these newcomers suddenly found the courage.
What Qin Sisi thought about was Ye You. She wanted to stand proudly by his side in the future, so she would also walk bravely on the path he once took.
"Excuse me, Teacher Taitan, does only one round trip of Burrow Escape and capturing one Tiger-head Black Bee suffice?" Wen Xuan asked anxiously, sensing that the task wouldn’t be that simple.
Teacher Taitan curled his lip and replied, "Of course not. Last class we did ten rounds, so how could we do only one this time? At the very least, it will be ten round trips and ten Tiger-head Black Bees. Additionally, Ya Ling, Xiao Meng, Wen Xuan, and Li Li’s task will be doubled, twenty round trips and twenty Tiger-head Black Bees; Qin Sisi’s task will be quadrupled to forty round trips and forty Tiger-head Black Bees."
Everyone immediately broke out in a cold sweat as they looked at the large dark cloud in the distance, their hearts pounding incessantly.
"Also, aside from the Earth Escape Skill, you are not allowed to use any other magic skill, nor are you allowed to kill a single Tiger-head Black Bee," Teacher Taitan emphasized, deliberately glancing at Ya Ling.
The last time, Ya Ling couldn’t manage to mount a Unihorn Raging Rhinoceros and ended up using her Ice Attribute magic skill to freeze it solid before getting on, which took a considerable effort on Teacher Taitan’s part to revert to normal.
Knowing what Teacher Taitan meant, Ya Ling felt quite dissatisfied and challenged deliberately, "Teacher Taitan, if we cannot do this and we cannot do that, then how are we supposed to capture them? Are we to use our hands directly?"
Teacher Taitan glanced at her sideways and replied indifferently, "That’s for you to figure out, I’m only interested in the results."
Ya Ling pouted unhappily but had no retort.
Teacher Taitan continued, "If you’re not sure whether you’re traveling in a straight line or not, you can poke your head out to check, but be sure to pay attention to safety. Each time, you can only capture one Tiger-head Black Bee; even if you grab two, it will still count as one."
After going over the precautions, Teacher Taitan signaled they could begin.
However, no one moved. On one hand, everyone was trying to compose themselves to remain as calm as possible; on the other hand, everyone was pondering hard over the method to capture the Tiger-head Black Bees without using any magic skills.
