Chapter 56: Soaring into the Floating Forest.

“I’m sorry, this decision comes from above. I’m only responsible for announcing the results,”

the soldier said with a laugh.

“Wait, isn’t this a speed race?” Chen Fei couldn’t help but ask. “How can time be deducted? Is there such a rule?”

“It is indeed a speed race,” the soldier replied slowly. “But there are special circumstances. In the wild, you can encounter many interesting things. If you only focus on speed and avoid everything, you will often miss a lot.”

“The hidden purpose of this competition is not just to see how fast you can reach the Floating Forest. It’s about how you handle situations you encounter in the wild. Didn’t you notice there are no detailed rules? There’s only one condition.”

The three seemed to understand something.

They suddenly had a realization.

They learned a lesson.

“Wang Che, you’re amazing!” Bai Youyou couldn’t help but exclaim. “Did you know this all along? Is that why you arrived so late? You must have encountered many things along the way, right?”

“We were foolish,” Chen Fei shook his head. “We only focused on speed… I even calculated the best route and avoided many Soul Beasts… This time, you were one step ahead.”

“See, I told you it’s better to be alone,” Cheng Cheng sighed. “I came across a few injured Yōuyōu Deer on the way. I thought about leaving quickly and didn’t help them. I feel if I had saved them, I might have encountered something special too.”

“You’re still impressive.”

Wang Che: “…”

I really didn’t think that much…

However, it surprised Wang Che that Cheng Cheng also encountered Yōuyōu Deer.

Wang Che remembered that the valley was quite large, and some injured Yōuyōu Deer must have escaped…

He wasn’t the only one who encountered them.

But perhaps he was the only one who chose to help the Yōuyōu Deer.

“Alright, you now have two choices,” the soldier continued. “First, enter the Floating Forest now. The advantage is you can quickly start the second competition to collect the Heart-Splitting Flower. The downside is that the Floating Forest is very dangerous at night.”

“Second, rest here for the night and enter at dawn. The advantage is that the Floating Forest is relatively less dangerous during the day. The disadvantage is you might fall behind in the competition.”

“You have one day to enter the Floating Forest. That means until tomorrow night.”

Wang Che thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll go in now.”

“Fine, register, sign the documents, and you can enter directly. To enter the Floating Forest, you need the power of your Soul Pet. See those floating patches of forest and land? Most of them are unknown. What you encounter depends on your own luck.”

The soldier’s expression turned serious. “If you encounter danger, don’t hesitate. Press the communicator on your wrist immediately. Life is more important than anything. Also, your communicators have a shared channel, so you can contact each other. If danger arises, you can help one another.”

The group nodded; they all knew this.

“If you’re ready, set off.”

The way to enter the Floating Forest was quite interesting.

Nearby, there were several launch platforms.

From these platforms, people and their Soul Pets could be launched to a certain height.

After reaching that height, how they landed in the Floating Forest was their own problem.

If they couldn’t even get up, the military below would use the reason “You are not suitable to enter the Floating Forest” to persuade them to withdraw.

Of course, those who became champions of the Dawn Cup in various cities usually had some skills.

It was unlikely they couldn’t even enter the Floating Forest.

Wang Che estimated that the Floating Forest consisted of many small, floating patches of land. On these patches, there were plants, rocks, mud, tombstones, etc.—that was all that could be seen.

And they weren’t large; currently, the visible ones were less than ten square meters.

Vegetation was the most common.

Secondly, they were at a certain height from the ground, making it impossible for ordinary people to reach.

Wang Che walked onto the launch platform. Below was a giant, simple spring.

In truth, the military stationed there definitely had safer ways to send them up.

For instance, those Vigilance Eagles could certainly carry them up.

But they were still made to go up on their own.

It was simply a small test.

The platform launched, and the group immediately shot into the sky.

Chen Fei clearly wasn’t accustomed to this situation. Although his physical fitness was good, the intense feeling of weightlessness made him spin rapidly in the air, like a top.

Bai Youyou wasn’t much better. Holding her Rolling Rock Badger, her eyes seemed to spiral as she spun wildly in the air, exclaiming repeatedly.

Cheng Cheng was slightly better. She spread out in a starfish shape, barely maintaining balance as she flew through the sky.

“Each of them is making a fool of themselves,” the soldier below shook his head. “They’re still children who haven’t awakened their Martial Souls. Their physical fitness is good, but without training, they’re not quite there yet. They still have a long way to go…”

As he spoke, he finally looked at Wang Che.

“Wow!” the soldier couldn’t help but exclaim.

A few other soldiers nearby immediately came over.

“Wow!”

…

In the distance, Wang Che was launched from the platform. Holding Green Caterpillar in one hand and placing the other behind his back, he soared into the sky like an immortal ascending, bathed in the moonlight.

Under the moonlight,

his posture was indescribably graceful and free.

“He’s kinda damn cool! Who is he?” one soldier couldn’t help but ask. “I’ve never flown this gracefully even when using my Martial Soul to fly…”

“He’s really strong, this young man. His control over his body seems even better than ours,” another soldier remarked.

Don’t underestimate that launch platform. The immense impact made it difficult to maintain balance in the air and land safely in the Floating Forest without some training.

Of course, since the Floating Forest was so vast, real Soul Pact Masters entering in groups didn’t need to go up like this.

Most used their Martial Souls or Soul Pets to fly directly into the Floating Forest.

These launch platforms were prepared for students participating in the exploration each year.

“The key is his posture—it’s truly something,” the soldier pinched his chin. “Graceful yet free, free yet confident. It feels like he’s practiced it countless times…”

Wang Che had indeed practiced countless times.

As a former cultivator of the Ascension Realm, how could his flying posture not be cool?

Flying swords, immortal boats, somersault clouds, riding the wind…

Whether it was magical treasures or flight spells,

Wang Che was proficient in countless ways to soar through the sky.

This thing was like using a dragon-slaying blade to kill a chicken—it couldn’t be easier for him.

“It’s been a while since I enjoyed the feeling of flying,”

Wang Che thought, rising against the wind with a hint of emotion.

Calculating the distance, Wang Che lifted Green Caterpillar with one hand, as if drawing a machine gun, and said, “Use the Silk Spitting Soul Skill, aim at the rock on that patch of land ahead!”

“Sī wū!”

Green Caterpillar immediately spat a thick white silk strand from its mouth, firmly attaching it to the rock Wang Che had chosen.

“Pull us over!”

Biting the white silk, Green Caterpillar swung like Spider-Man, carrying Wang Che steadily onto the distant floating patch of land…