Chapter 23: Chapter Twenty‑One; This Kid Might Be a Genius

Although it felt like Chu Chen wasn't saying anything good, Jiang Jiang still chose to attack.

According to Jiang Jiang's visual estimate, these two should be beast-soldier level wild wolf dogs, the lowest tier among canines, perfect for her to practice on.

As the saying goes, even when a lion fights a rabbit, it uses its full strength.

As the saying goes, when fighting a boss you can be timid, but when fighting small fry you must strike hard.

Canines have always been relatively well‑rounded among monsters, meaning they have no outstanding traits; wild wolf dogs are among the few canine types with overlapping armor, their thick fur being their sole characteristic.

Jiang Jiang was fast and light; under the moonlight she was merely a fleeting black shadow, while the two wild wolf dogs were still enjoying their "meal" and hadn't noticed her approach.

The high parts of the jungle had no cover, so Jiang Jiang simply used the shrubs' shadows as concealment.

Getting a little closer, one could see the two wild wolf dogs' exact builds; based on her usual knowledge, it was easy to judge their strength as roughly mid‑tier beast‑soldier level.

Nevertheless, it wouldn't be good news if Jiang Jiang's body were grabbed or bitten by those two.

Even just while moving, Jiang Jiang made that judgment with her calm mind; upon entering the monsters' alert zone, wasting another second could mean losing the initiative.

"The optimal solution: kill one first."

"Shasha—"

Just a faint rustle of the bushes drew the two wild wolf dogs' attention, and they instinctively looked toward the sound…

And the perfect moment to attack was precisely that instant when the enemy raised its guard—the so‑called "startle"—when the two wild wolf dogs' muscle memory almost simultaneously made them retreat, but it was already too late.

Jiang Jiang's weapons were two short swords, each sixty‑six point seven centimeters long—exactly the width of a wild wolf dog's neck—but having closed in, she naturally didn't chop; instead, using her movement, she drew the blade across the dog's neck in a two‑thirds circle arc.

Before the two wild wolf dogs could register the first feedback from their bodies, the "corpse" lunged at Jiang Jiang, but only reached midair when their necks burst with blood.

Jiang Jiang's motion didn't stop; she turned to meet the two wild wolf dogs' now‑meaningless lunge, dodging the blood spray, and simultaneously slit their flanks with her two short swords.

In the martial world this move is generally called a "finishing blow."

The two wild wolf dogs fell with a thud, and Jiang Jiang, turning sideways, called her next move "making sure of everything."

"Wait, wait, if you keep going like that you'll lose money."

I don't know when, but Chu Chen had already caught up and hurriedly stopped Jiang Jiang from whipping the corpses.

"Chu Chen, be careful—they might fake death or be possessed by evil spirits." Jiang Jiang looked grimly at the two corpses still bleeding, feeling she needed to warn Chu Chen about this low‑probability but deadly matter.

Chu Chen nodded, then drained the blood from the two wild wolf dogs, simply processed them, stacked them neatly, and lifted them steadily with one hand.

"Let's go, continue on the road."

Jiang Jiang carefully examined the two corpses Chu Chen was holding; after confirming the risk of fake death, the two red‑named corpses became two white‑named ingredients.

Holding up the two wild wolf dog corpses while also carrying hundreds of pounds of gear on her back, she walked the highway maintaining a "quiet" state.

Whether breath or steps, she stayed in the most coordinated state, and the simply stacked ingredients didn't shift at all with Chu Chen's movement—integrating such fine training into daily life is probably why he remains strong despite being busy.

That said, if Chu Chen were to face a sudden situation while supporting the ingredients with one hand, he would likely end up in a very disadvantageous position.

At this moment Chu Chen was reflecting on Jiang Jiang's recent battle; his mind was clear and decisive. Although it's obvious he initially wanted to settle for just one dog but changed tactics on the fly when he got closer—a risky decision—yet this adaptability is commendable.

Before this, Chu Chen never imagined Jiang Jiang's first real combat would be so easy; although he knew her physique was already enough to crush two wild wolf dogs, given her personality… shouldn't she be overly cautious, trading blows and gradually gaining confidence?

It's also because he was worried about Jiang Jiang's real‑world combat that Chu Chen dragged her out for proper training.

So where did her usual timidity go?

Just as Chu Chen was thinking that,

"Chu Chen, let me take it."

After careful consideration, it was concluded that losing a bit of her own combat power was more worthwhile than Chu Chen losing a bit of his, so she should bear the transport work; besides, training like Chu Chen's is also extremely useful for her—truly a two‑for‑one gain.

(The strict Jiang Jiang (T_T))

Although she was willing, Chu Chen gladly handed over the task of lifting the spoils to Jiang Jiang and began to observe her situation with his peripheral vision.

"Holding up the two wild wolf dog corpses while also carrying hundreds of pounds of gear on her back, her breath and steps remain in the most coordinated state……"

Chu Chen observed Jiang Jiang's actions with his peripheral vision.

Who would have thought one could already do this so casually? Knowing that this show‑off skill took me a long time to practice……

————

After walking a kilometer or two, a bright light came into view; looking closer, it turned out to be a lit‑up small town right beside the highway on the wasteland.

"We've arrived, the World Tree's supply town."

Built independently outside the wilderness zone, even near the old city district of monster clusters, in just a few years it covered over half the world's wilderness, a supply point exclusive to 【World Tree】.

Of course, these supply points mainly serve the vastly larger number of World Tree‑certified members.

Precisely because these supply points were established, the mortality rate of martial artists everywhere dropped greatly; thus, although the World Tree organization is shrouded in mystery, it initially still received welcome from many nations.

After all, in this world overrun by monsters, only the true upper echelons know that humanity's odds against monsters are actually not optimistic.

And as governments study ancient civilizations, they gradually unveil the mystery of World Tree; it's highly likely that long ago they inherited the legacy of a powerful pre‑civilization as a secret organization, but before the Great Nirvana, the pre‑civilization's heritage wasn't fully digested, so the organization remains very low‑key.

Moreover, according to the sayings of the two strongest martial artists today, "Hong" and "Thunder God," World Tree possesses at least two individuals not inferior to them—i. e., chairman‑level strength.

However, neither Jiang Jiang nor the other martial artists in the fighter town would expect that one of those two is actually a youth who looks like a newcomer.

"Hello, both of you—is there anything you need help with? If you're selling spoils, please hand them over to the appraisal room nearby."

The front desk, seeing Jiang Jiang holding the two corpses, naturally understood why the two had come.

"Moreover, we can provide a newcomer's guide for the surrounding area. The guide includes a survival manual, a local monster bestiary, precautions for dealing with monsters, and the location of nearby supply towns, plus plenty of experience supplements from martial artists who have hunted in this region—all available free to members."

Although the two had brought spoils, it didn't hide their "newbie aura," especially Jiang Jiang, whose whole build truly looks like a minor's.

(Although she really is a minor)

However, this newly arrived front‑desk clerk is still too naïve; the passing martial artists watching Jiang Jiang and Chu Chen silently thought to themselves,

"Holding up the two wild wolf dog corpses while also carrying hundreds of pounds of gear on her back, her breath and steps remain in the most coordinated state……"

In short, at least this girl who looks like a newcomer must be an expert.

How could someone like her possibly need a newcomer's manual?

What the passersby didn't expect was that not only did the front‑desk lady think Jiang Jiang was a newcomer, but Jiang Jiang herself thought so too.

(Although it's indeed a newcomer, that's correct.)

Jiāng Jiāng's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing the front desk attendant's introduction; indeed, upon entering the wilderness area, there should be this kind of official guide, right?

Although I previously relied on the internet and the martial arts gym's internal network to learn quite a bit about the wilderness zone experience, online information is either chaotic and lacking targeting, or its truthfulness is pending verification and lacks authenticity; compared to that, the experience package provided by this local supply station is obviously more helpful to me.

Let's get an estimate first.

Sure, please wait a moment.

Meanwhile, Jiāng Jiāng took this opportunity to show the front desk attendant her smart wristwatch's membership information, to prevent being brushed off by Chén Chén later.

After obtaining the Newbie Manual, Jiāng Jiāng happily ran to one side and began reading it cover to cover; as for the matter of selling, Jiāng Jiāng only knew that the World Tree relied on monopolizing 60% of monster material trade through outdoor supply points, and didn't learn much else.

After all, I'm not the one managing the household finances, so I don't need to worry about it.

Meanwhile, Chén Chén didn't really care about selling materials either; he originally planned to show Jiāng Jiāng his selling process, and incidentally teach his show-off techniques for selling materials.

Glancing sideways at Jiāng Jiāng, who treasured the Newbie Manual like a jewel, Chén Chén couldn't help but sigh inwardly, feeling that this was really lame.

In fact, many newcomers, out of face, cannot look at this in public, and even many martial artists are unwilling to take the Newbie Manual.

Think about it carefully: if everyone were like Jiāng Jiāng, the death toll of martial artists in each region would at least drop by several more percentage points.

In fact, producing such a thing, especially when facing outsiders, is actually a thankless task; the truly benefiting martial artists would need more, but the validity of their own combat experience manuals wouldn't last long, while any injury or death sustained in battle would be blamed on the Newbie Manual.

This also counts as the reason why various unofficial organizations don't provide similar official guides.

The most important reliance in fighting monsters is not some Newbie Manual, but one's own strength and ability to adapt on the fly; the accumulation of combat is what's called experience.

……

Chén Chén glanced over at Jiāng Jiāng again, and she swiftly took down three elite beast soldiers with a single swipe.

Chén Chén, Chén Chén, this Newbie Manual is really useful; wanna take a look?

Judging by Jiāng Jiāng's expression, if it weren't because the Newbie Manual comes from the rival organization World Tree, she would surely have lavished praise on Chén Chén.

Chén Chén chuckled, indicating he didn't need it.

One can only say that talent varies from person to person; if judging solely by combat talent, this kid might be a genius; if judging solely by the ability to absorb combat knowledge from books, this kid might be a celestial being.

——————

Why do you always run to such dangerous places?

Little Jiāng Jiāng never quite understood.

After growing up a bit, Jiāng Jiāng could also roughly realize that the teacher exaggerated the dangers of many places, but that was all to better warn the not-so-well-behaved little kids.

Meanwhile, Chén Chén happened to like running to those dangerous places, which often got both of them criticized together.

After getting along for so long, Jiāng Jiāng gradually discovered that Chén Chén was not simple at all; many actions that seemed meaningless actually hid deep meaning. Jiāng Jiāng also often tried to understand, but that was the only point she never quite grasped.

At this moment, Chén Chén was doing his daily fist practice; although it was all his own guesswork, it was still better than nothing.

Moreover, such guesswork might not be a bad thing for one's future martial artist path; many enlightenments and technique creations might not come from anything other than guesswork.

As for Jiāng Jiāng's question, Chén Chén also gave an answer, after all, this little girl is his only follower.

Jiāng Jiāng, do you know what a martial artist is?

Those who can fight monsters, live in big houses, and eat meat every day?

Saying that out loud shows a lack of experience, but this is roughly Jiāng Jiāng's initial understanding of martial artists.

The orphanage's conditions aren't bad, but wanting to have a meat meal is also relatively rare; most of the good days one can hope for amount to living in a big house and being able to eat meat every day.

Exactly, become that kind of person.

But it's said that to become a martial artist, one needs sufficient courage, the courage to face death directly. Chén Chén wasn't sure whether Jiāng Jiāng could understand such a saying.

But as for Chén Chén himself, that's about all he knows.

The so-called principles of a martial artist that I understand are merely from a web novel; I really can't know the true details.

According to rumors? Jiāng Jiāng.

Mm, according to rumors.

For that rumor, that's all I can rely on; as an orphan with no support, I really have little to depend on.

……

Returning to the present, Chén Chén felt somewhat enlightened.

Does Jiāng Jiāng have the resolve of a martial artist?

That has always been lacking.

It's also because Jiāng Jiāng has always lacked the resolve of a martial artist, so Chén Chén's expectations of her have always been limited to having self-defense capability.

But is it really none?

Perhaps it's an illusion brought by her crimson eyes; at the moment her blade swept across the monster's neck and blood spattered, the excitement in her eyes could not be hidden...

Chén Chén looked at Jiāng Jiāng's back, recalling that night several years ago, the night his previous self died.