God-Tier Awakening: The Dead Can Still Level Up

Chapter 20: Departure

Xingluo stood before the southern gate of the city, dressed in the best armor and weapons she had ever worn.

The Platinum-grade necklace rested against her collarbone, partly hidden beneath her coat, while the Level 80 longsword hung at her waist after being sealed by Dominion Runes.

She had slept late last night after setting the runes, checking the maps, and packing everything Shen Wuxia had forced her to check twice.

Even now, her arms still felt sore, but she stood in line with her hood lowered and tried not to draw too much attention.

The southern gate rose ahead like a dark wall of steel and stone, with layers of defensive runes carved across its surface.

Above the gate, watchtowers stood on both sides, and several armed guards moved along the battlements while scanning the road outside.

Outside the inspection line, groups of mercenaries waited beside loaded carts, armored beasts, and supply vehicles covered in frost.

Some laughed loudly while checking their weapons, while others argued over prices, maps, routes, and who would take the first watch after leaving.

"Outer zone escort, three days, Level 70 route, thirty thousand credits per person."

"Do not go north today. A crawler pack was seen near the broken bridge."

"Anyone hiring shielders? Two Bronze-grade tanks, one healer, and one scout."

Voices mixed together beneath the falling snow, making the gate feel less like an exit and more like a marketplace built beside danger.

Even though the world outside the city was deadly, people still left every day for dungeons, beast materials, herbs, minerals, and sudden opportunities in the wild zones.

Risk and reward walked together beyond the walls, and most people standing here had already accepted that bargain.

Still, Xingluo quickly noticed one thing, almost no one was leaving alone.

Most of the people in line were mercenary squads, academy teams, hired guards, or experienced hunters moving in groups of five or more.

Near the side of the gate, several protection teams stood beneath temporary awnings, openly waiting to be hired by rich heirs or merchant families.

Their armor looked polished, their prices looked worse, and their eyes kept moving across the crowd for customers wealthy enough to overpay.

For an ordinary person, hiring them was difficult, and trusting them was even harder.

Xingluo pulled her hood a little lower and stood quietly in the inspection line, while Shen Wuxia floated beside her with his gaze moving across every nearby group.

Ahead of them, city guards checked exit permits, IDs, and each team’s destination before allowing anyone through.

A young hunter tried to argue about his missing permit, but one guard only tapped his spear against the ground, and the hunter immediately lowered his voice.

"Next," the guard called after stamping another squad’s pass.

The line moved forward slowly, and with each step, the open road beyond the gate became clearer.

At last, Xingluo reached the guard post. The man standing there looked at her once before holding out his hand. "ID and permit."

Xingluo handed them over without speaking.

The guard checked the documents, then raised his eyes slightly. "Team members?"

Xingluo lowered her voice a little. "Just me."

The guard paused, and even a few people behind her looked over with strange expressions.

"You are leaving alone?" he asked, his voice becoming heavier. "You are only Level 68. Why are you not waiting for recruitment or joining a team?"

Xingluo kept her face calm. "I am prepared."

The guard looked back at her record, and his brows tightened even more. "It also says this is your first time leaving the city."

"I know," Xingluo replied. "You do not need to worry."

The guard looked over her equipment once more before sighing under his breath, muttering something about irresponsible, arrogant children.

Still, he entered her information into the terminal, returned her ID and permit, then pushed a flare gun across the counter.

"Emergency signal. Do not use it unless you are really about to die."

Xingluo accepted it with a small nod, then moved toward the side passage after the inspection barrier opened.

She passed through the small door beside the main gate, and for the first time in her life, she stepped outside the city.

In front of her, several hundred meters of plain ground stretched toward an endless forest covered in snow and mist.

When she turned back, the city walls looked even larger from the outside, with heavy cannons mounted across the upper platforms and soldiers standing beneath the defensive arrays.

Shen Wuxia glanced at her from the side. "Enough staring. You know our destination, don’t you?"

Xingluo nodded and tightened her grip around the map case. "Yes. Let’s go."

She turned away from the walls and dashed toward the forest, while Shen Wuxia floated beside her without falling behind.

"One more thing," he said. "Throw that flare gun somewhere after we enter the forest."

Xingluo looked at him in confusion. "Why? Isn’t it useful?"

Shen Wuxia gave a faint laugh. "Useful, yes. If you want to invite scavengers."

"No sane hunter uses that thing unless they are military or carrying something big enough to justify the risk," Wuxia continued. "It also has a tracker inside."

Xingluo looked down at the flare gun in her hand, then slowly nodded.

After entering the forest, she took out the map again and checked the marked route. "So you are saying we should go to the Greyhorn Range?"

Shen Wuxia nodded. "That place is suitable for Level 80 professionals to train."

He glanced at her equipment before adding, "With what you are wearing now, it would be embarrassing if you could not even match that level."

Xingluo’s face turned slightly red as she looked away. "I will be fine." Then she looked down at the map again. "So we have to run about fifty kilometers."

Just as those words left her mouth, something burst out from the bushes beside her.

The next instant, Xingluo drew her longsword, twisted her body, and struck against something solid in midair.

A small body hit the ground with a dull thud and when she looked down, she saw a black snake lying in two broken pieces across the snow.

Shen Wuxia glanced at the corpse. "Blackfang. Around Level 50."

"Even with that level, its speed and venom can kill stronger professionals if they are careless," he continued. "You should have taken out the poison glands, but you destroyed them."

Xingluo looked at him. "Are they valuable?"

"Not much. Around ten thousand credits."

"That is not much?"

"We need to save now," Wuxia said calmly. "Especially when you have already spent ten million out of the thirty million in the card."

Xingluo froze. "You had thirty million?"

She stared at him for a moment before muttering, "Damn, you really are rich."

But her face soon fell as she realized that one shopping trip had already taken away a third of the money.

Just then, Shen Wuxia floated closer to the Blackfang corpse and raised one hand over it.

Seeing his strange action, Xingluo paused. "What are you doing?"

Before Wuxia could answer, the snake’s body suddenly dried at a visible speed.

Its flesh shrank, its scales dulled, and in only a few breaths, the corpse collapsed into bones and a dark puddle against the snow.

Xingluo’s eyes widened, and even Shen Wuxia himself froze for a moment. Then a cold system voice rang inside his mind.

[Soul Extraction successful.]

[Soul Power Points Extracted: 1]

[Consumed Beast: Extremely Weak]

Shen Wuxia stared at the bones in silence.

What the hell is this? If I only gain one point, how many beasts do I have to kill?

The system voice rang again before his thought could settle.

[Stronger beasts contain more Soul Power.]

Only then did Shen Wuxia calm down slightly, but just as he lowered his hand, Xingluo spoke in a stiff voice. "What are you?"

He turned toward her and saw her staring at the bones with a mortified expression. "Are you really just a normal soul?" she asked.

Shen Wuxia looked at her for a moment, then sighed inwardly.

This is going to be hard.

He pointed at the remains on the ground. "Think of it as my talent mutating after I became a soul."

Xingluo did not look convinced. "It is also one of the steps toward getting my body back," he added.

Xingluo looked between him, the bones, and the dark puddle where the snake had been. "I do not know what you are doing, but this is a bit..."

She paused, clearly unable to find the right word.

"Disgusting?" Wuxia asked.

"Yes."

Shen Wuxia sighed. "Then ignore it for now. Keep moving and I will explain."

Xingluo gave the remains one last uneasy glance before turning back toward the route.

As they moved deeper into the forest, Shen Wuxia explained part of the situation to her, cutting out some details while mixing truth and lies where needed.

Even that was enough to leave Xingluo shocked for a long time.

On the way, more beasts attacked from the bushes and snow-covered roots, but most of them were low-level and were quickly slaughtered by Xingluo’s sword.

Shen Wuxia extracted whatever he could from the corpses, but the gains were pitiful. Some beasts only gave one point, while others gave nothing at all.

Only after traveling for a long time did their speed gradually slow as they approached the outer area of their destination.

But just then, the earth beneath their feet trembled as if something heavy was moving somewhere ahead.

A moment later, human voices, clashing weapons, and a beast’s roar rang through the forest at the same time.