“Jinyun mushrooms... grow on the outskirts of the Never-Setting Sun Mountain Range... Harvesting them shouldn’t be dangerous. The key is the snow dragon fruit... Number Two, analyze the safest route to the location of the snow dragon fruit.”

　　“Analyzing... There are three fastest routes. Route A: total distance 361.21 kilometers, blocked by jungle. Route B: total distance 326.43 kilometers, blocked by rivers and cliffs. Route C: total distance 208.14 kilometers, with a 66.47% chance of encountering a level-seven fierce beast!”

　　“Level-seven fierce beast!”

　　Just those few words made Ethan Brooks's pupils narrow slightly.

　　“My current body’s strength is that of a level-four swordsman. Against a level-five beast, I can survive. Against a level-six beast, with my mental advantage, I might be able to escape. But if I encounter a level-seven beast...”

　　As for Route A and Route B, he gave up on them.

　　He was neither a superhuman nor a mountain dweller.

　　Traveling over 300 kilometers through towering mountains in two days was simply impossible for him.

　　“As expected, making the wrong choice comes with a price.”

　　Ethan Brooks silently withdrew his hand.

　　His gaze fell on Yvonne Brooks.

　　After a moment, he stood up and left the courtyard.

　　Yvonne Brooks was currently the only one in Yunlai Sword Sect who might survive in front of a level-seven beast. But now, she had become the pillar of Yunlai Sword Sect. If she left for a day or two, he had no idea what Yunlai Sword Sect would become upon her return.

　　“66.47%, huh...”

　　……

　　In the room, although Yvonne Brooks found Ethan Brooks's earlier actions a bit odd, she didn’t dwell on it. She was already overwhelmed with work and had no time to pay attention to such details.

　　……

　　“Number Two, analyze this body.”

　　Nighttime in this world was extremely dangerous for fragile humans. As a mere level-four swordsman, Ethan Brooks had no intention of traveling overnight.

　　“Beep! Analyzing body condition... Health: 71.21%. General condition: average.”

　　“71.21%...”

　　A sentence from the yellow-clad girl Ashley Reed yesterday surfaced in Ethan Brooks's mind.

　　“You’re Ethan Brooks? The one who rejected Emily Clark three years ago and was crippled by Emily Clark's admirer Blake Turner, the number one disciple of Yunlai Sword Sect?”

　　“Health is only 71.21%. Although it doesn’t affect daily life, there are hidden dangers and internal injuries in the body. That’s a fact. The so-called hidden dangers and internal injuries are the result of the crippled cultivation...”

　　Number one disciple of Yunlai Sword Sect?

　　Not a bad title.

　　With that title, if he could recover his strength, he shouldn’t be weak.

　　“Number Two, activate normal mode and use precise analysis.”

　　“Beep! Host’s mental scale insufficient. Activating in normal mode will cause some mental damage.”

　　“Insufficient mental power?”

　　Ethan Brooks frowned slightly.

　　The first time he activated normal mode a few days ago, he thought the excessive mental drain was due to just having seized the body. Now, his mental state had recovered, so why was he still unable to activate Number Two in normal mode...

　　When did some of Number Two’s functions start consuming so much mental power?

　　“If my mental power is overdrawn, I won’t be able to go collect the snow dragon fruit, and Logan Foster's body can’t afford any more delay...”

　　Closing his eyes, Ethan Brooks quietly rested to recover his spirit.

　　After staying up all night, tomorrow, he must head to the outskirts of the Never-Setting Sun Mountain Range in his best mental state to collect the jinyun mushrooms and snow dragon fruit.

　　“Beep! Use precise analysis in normal activation mode?”

　　“Pending.”

　　“Hm!?”

　　At that moment, Ethan Brooks's keen perception as a level-nine psychic seemed to sense something. He quickly left the room, his gaze snapping to a shadow beneath a landscaping tree in the courtyard: “Who’s there, sneaking around? Come out.”

　　“Oh? Not bad, you actually sensed my position.”

　　With a somewhat flippant voice, a middle-aged man in tight clothing, looking about thirty, stepped out from the shadows.

　　“Xuanling Sect!?”

　　A glint flashed in Ethan Brooks's eyes.

　　“Hm? Looks like the elder was right. You really are something, kid. Even after your meridians were severed, you managed to train back up to the peak of level-four swordsman in three years. No wonder you earned the title of the number one genius in Wanxia County at such a young age. If we let you live, you might really cause trouble for our Xuanling Sect. Unfortunately, even though you’ve retrained to level-four, you’re still too weak. Following Elder Henry Parker's principle of ‘better to kill by mistake than let you go,’ tonight, you won’t escape your doom...”

　　Before the middle-aged man finished speaking, Ethan Brooks moved instantly.

　　It wasn’t a confrontation!

　　It was an escape!

　　Number Two’s scan showed that this man’s danger level was a terrifying level five—clearly a level-seven swordsman. With his current strength, he was no match at all.

　　“Trying to run!?”

　　The middle-aged man snorted coldly and lunged at Ethan Brooks. In a flash, he was already behind him.

　　A level-seven swordsman’s physical abilities far surpassed those of a level-four swordsman.