Chapter 2: Preparatory Trial

【THE DEAD HAVE BEGUN THEIR PREPARATORY TRIAL】

【XIANGHUA VILLAGE】

【TRIAL INTRODUCTION: Xianghua Village has three landmarks—the village guardian at the entrance, the Falling Petals Cave behind the hill, and the White Dragon Fish in the river】

【TRIAL TASK: Survive for 7 days】

【TRIAL DIFFICULTY: F-Rank (Extremely Easy)】

【TRIAL REWARD: Obtain eligibility as a Dimensional Adept Preliminary Candidate】

（Note: During the trial, additional side quests, chain quests, hidden quests, and other types of quests may be activated）

【WARNING: Do not mention or reveal any information related to the Dimensional Paradise during the preparatory trial, or your trial eligibility will be revoked】

【TIP: Do not leave the trial area at will, or it may trigger unknown consequences such as increased trial difficulty—assume full responsibility for such actions】

【TIP: You have acquired the language of this world and assumed the identity: a passing traveler】

As the countdown ended, Chu Danqing opened his eyes again and sensed the changes around him.

He now sat leaning against a tree, dressed in clothing resembling ancient attire.

On his back was a satchel containing some copper coins, a few pieces of dried rations, and a flask of clear water.

He quickly organized himself, rose decisively, and turned his gaze to the two skills and one item he had acquired.

…

【BASIC SUMMONING: LV1】

【EFFECT: Increases all attributes of summoned entities by 1%; summoned entities gain a 10% bonus based on the Adept’s average attributes】

【SUMMONING TECHNIQUE: LV1】

【EFFECT: Increases summoned entities’ talent and skill effectiveness by 1%; enhances their potential and growth】

（Note: No summoned entities present; no valid knowledge transmission medium; basic skills inactive）

…

【TYPE-I STANDARD SUMMONING CONTRACT SCROLL】

【TYPE: Contract Item】

【QUALITY: Common】

【DURABILITY: 1/1】

【EFFECT: After use on a target, judgment is made based on non-distorted self-will, affection level, and attribute disparity; success converts the target into a permanent summoned entity】

（Note: Permanent summoned entities bound through forced judgment via attribute disparity may suffer from low loyalty）

…

How to put it? Chu Danqing felt the future held promise, but the present was bleak.

The two skills were useless without a summoned entity.

Fortunately, the trial difficulty was extremely easy, and all it required was survival for seven days.

Aside from the restriction against revealing anything related to the Dimensional Paradise, everything else was left to his own judgment.

Theoretically, as long as he didn’t act recklessly, his chances of passing the preparatory trial were very high.

As for the consequence of failure—it was death. The Dimensional Paradise didn’t even specify a penalty, which said everything.

“Dusk is coming—I must reach Xianghua Village quickly.”

He didn’t need to think: the end of this path was his objective, especially with a signpost nearby.

So he had no fear of getting lost.

He had calculated: the dried rations and water in his possession wouldn’t last seven days.

Xianghua Village was indeed dangerous, but he also knew danger and reward were equal.

The Dimensional Paradise had evaluation standards—the higher the rating, the greater the reward.

Besides, staying out in the wilderness wasn’t wise.

From his clothing, he guessed this trial world was ancient—snakes, insects, rats, tigers, wolves, and other beasts could all appear.

As a modern man, he had zero wilderness survival experience; only crowded places gave him a sense of safety.

He broke into a light run, striving to reach Xianghua Village before nightfall.

But soon he halted abruptly.

Crouched in a haystack beside the path was an old wolf.

Though his specialty was paleobiology, he wasn’t unfamiliar with modern fauna.

From the wolf’s matted, faded fur and loose skin around its eyes and mouth, Chu Danqing identified its condition.

The old wolf sensed his presence and shot out of the haystack with a rustle, baring its teeth in warning.

Its emaciated frame and worn-down teeth confirmed it was indeed old.

Chu Danqing had no desire to clash with the wolf.

He avoided eye contact to prevent provocation, while shouting and clapping to create noise.

A single bite, without modern medical care, could kill him in this ancient world.

The old wolf’s gaze locked onto Chu Danqing’s retreating back, its eyes growing sharper.

Its posture turned fierce and focused, appearing from afar like a rabid dog.

Clearly, it was starving.

Its aged body could no longer hunt effectively; for a morsel of food, it was willing to risk attacking humans.

Humans were far larger than wolves, so wolves typically avoided them as prey.

But this also revealed another weakness—the wolf’s left hind leg appeared injured.

Thus, its movement was impaired.

Chu Danqing’s first instinct was to turn and run—but he stopped himself.

This old wolf could be killed without injury.

Especially with its left hind leg crippled, weakened by age and hunger—he only needed a suitable weapon, like the half-exposed hayfork beside the haystack.

The trial difficulty was extremely easy, and now an old wolf blocked his path to Xianghua Village—it made Chu Danqing suspect this was part of the trial.

He estimated his own speed against the wolf’s.

Then he lunged suddenly toward the hayfork beside the haystack.

His action startled the wolf, causing it to slow and a flicker of cunning passed through its eyes.

It seemed to be letting Chu Danqing take the hayfork.

Chu Danqing didn’t notice—he was focused only on speed and reaching out.

The next moment, his hand closed around the hayfork.

Before he could rejoice, the haystack behind it burst open—a more fearsome wolf head emerged.

It opened its jaws and lunged for Chu Danqing’s throat.

Chu Danqing was startled but not stunned—he swung the hayfork sideways, jamming its wooden shaft into the wolf’s mouth.

In that instant, adrenaline surged—he unleashed strength far beyond his normal capacity, yanking the wolf out of the haystack and hurling it away.

The wolf, unable to bite the shaft, was flung through the air, rolling several times before stopping.

Only then did Chu Danqing see clearly: the adult wolf hidden in the haystack had both hind legs severed at the root and one forepaw maimed.

Its body was gaunt, its head the only part still relatively normal—it was clearly starving too.

“An old wolf. A crippled wolf.”

“You work well together. Looks like you’re not new to ambushing travelers,” Chu Danqing said coldly.

On the other side, the old wolf crouched low, creeping closer to Chu Danqing.

Taking advantage of his attention on the crippled wolf, it suddenly lunged from the side.

While Chu Danqing’s attention was fixed on the crippled wolf, he suddenly lunged at him from the side.

(End of Chapter)