Ruru stood on Yuuto's shoulders when suddenly, the gray owl hopped onto his lap and sat there like it owned the place.

"What's with the bird?" Ayame asked curiously.

"It's a western screech owl I found trapped in a branch. It had a string attached to its leg that got tangled up on a branch when I was training here several years ago." Yuuto told her as he stroked the head of the owl, who seemed content sitting on his thighs.

"It was probably someone's pet that got away hence the string, plus is a species of owl that can only be found in the north and south American continents. I climbed a tree and removed the string, but the bird couldn't walk properly. It must have had a damaged muscle or ligament. I brought it back home and fed it with live insects and some human food when I could not find insects until its injury healed on its own. I brought it back outside and let it fly into the sky." He said while staring at the bird resting comfortably atop him.

"You let the owl go?" She asked, surprised. "I thought you were going to keep it for yourself!"

Yuuto smiled wryly before shaking his head slightly from side to side.

"Owls belong to the forests, after all. Well, that was originally the plan when I got woken up by a sharp object on my stomach. It turned out to be the owl's talons. Ruru broke through my window and got inside again. Ever since then, it often disappeared and then returned sometime later. Sometimes it returns after a few days." He explained casually.

"How do you find crickets for the owl? They're nocturnal, so they'll never come close during the day! You've gotta catch them somehow, right?" Ayame asked with interest.

"I usually place bottle traps with sugar inside. Sometimes I get a lot, and sometimes I don't. If the bottle is empty, I usually try to catch grasshoppers instead. They are easy to catch if you move your hand fast enough. I often buy crickets at a pet store if I can't find both. I also fed him human food when all else failed. Speaking of grasshoppers, when I tried to find one before, I accidentally stumbled upon some pit vipers. Snakes are pretty docile unless you try to get close, corner them, or step on them. I probably got bitten by more dogs than snakes." Yuuto said matter-of-factly.

Ayame gave him a look of disbelief.

"Pit viper? I've never heard of them. Are those venomous?"

He nodded calmly.

"They sure are. But luckily, it didn't try to bite me and retreated to its hideout."

"Do you have no fear for your life?!" Ayame exclaimed incredulously.

She knew Yuuto wasn't afraid of death because she'd seen him fight off numerous armed high-school delinquents without batting an eye.

But this was different. The snake could quickly kill Yuuto in half a second. Not once, but many times over should it choose to strike. Even though he might not die instantly due to the venom, it still risks his health.

Yuuto suddenly stood up and said, "That should be enough. Let's continue. This time, the target is me."

And so, the two continued their training. Ayame learned how to discern and block a straight knee strike, using Yuuto as her practice dummy.

During the practice, Yuuto taught her how to defend herself when doing a straight knee strike.

He also taught her to grab the opponent's head with one hand to deliver a straight knee to the opponent's head.

The dream suddenly broke apart, and the unknown voice called out to Ayame again.

"Ayame..."

"Why..."

"Why... can't you hear me..."

***

Ayame woke up in great shape. Her body felt warm like she was lying down next to a fire. When she exited the dorm, she saw the moon shining brightly above. A soft breeze blew past gently.

She went to the cafeteria, but it was already closed.

"Tch." Ayame clicked her tongue.

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Her stomach growled loudly.

There was a vending machine nearby selling drinks and snacks.

Ayame bought snacks and two soda bottles before returning to her dorm.

When she entered the room, it looked exactly as usual. She ate the food she bought before doing cultivation until morning. Unlike before, she could manage the side effects of qi overdrawing, but at the same time, the growth of her qi slowed down.

Ayame decided to sleep instead and asked the instructor for a temporary leave. She has probably exhausted the qi in her surroundings.

The morning arrived.

Ayame went straight through the faculty office to talk to Instructor Keiichi. As soon as she opened the door, she greeted the faculty members.

She looked for him immediately and found him sitting behind the desk, working on paperwork.

"Good Morning, Instructor Keiichi!" After exchanging greetings, she told him what had occurred yesterday evening.

"So, you want to train and cultivate outside the school?" He raised an eyebrow.

If possible, he wanted Ayame to stay within the campus walls as much as possible.

"Haah..." He sighed and looked at the Principal. It seemed that he agreed with Ayame's request.

"...Very well then. We will grant permission to conduct your training. However, you must promise us one thing first," the Principal said after giving it some thought.

"What is that?" Ayame asked.

"Stay safe. And remember, you're not exempt from the classes. After the tournament, you will have to do make-up classes and extra homework to compensate."

"Yes, sir! Thank you so much!" Ayame bowed respectfully before leaving the faculty room.

She quickly exited the campus and bought tools for her 3-month stay at the forest, such as lighters, sleeping bags, tents, camping stoves, and water jugs, all by herself.

Once she finished buying everything, she ran into the woods and set up camp where she and Yuuto used to train when they were young.

It was early summer. Leaves rustling in the wind created pleasant music against the backdrop of chirping crickets. With such beautiful scenery all around her, Ayame couldn't help smiling.

After a short distance into the woods, she reached a clearing where the trees thinned considerably. Rocks jutted upward here and there. They formed a natural formation that resembled a small mountain range. In the center of the mountains was a flat area large enough to accommodate several hundred people.

She sat on a nearby log and began cultivating again.

As she focused inwardly, she started feeling dizzy; however, it passed just as fast.

Forty-eight hours later, she had finally reached the Terminal Stage of the Spirit Awakening Realm.

She stopped cultivating and began practicing how to use qi.

She practiced Muay Thai techniques enhanced with Qi.

The tree trunk caved in as she did a jab at the tree. Her knuckles connected hard with its rough bark, causing pain to shoot through her hands and forearms. It seems her knuckles were bruised by the impact.

But this didn't bother Ayame. She decided to do another. This time, instead of gathering her qi into her arm, she decided to gather it at her legs, hips, and arm.

A loud thud echoed in the forest as Ayame's fist made contact with the tree. Ayame had obliterated the part of its trunk that connected with her fist.

Blood dripped from her fingers and splattered on the forest floor as she focused on the tree. She could see her knuckles tinged a deep red from where the skin had been torn away. Her finger twisted at an odd angle, and her knuckles had cracked slightly from the impact.

A sharp scent of blood filled the air. It wasn't too rancid, but anyone could pick up on the iron scent.

The loud crashing of a tree falling to the ground.

Whenever she formed a knuckle, she could feel a sharp pain in her hands.

Her knuckles were starting to show signs of bruising. They were tinged a deep purple and slowly turning black. Ayame held her hands close to her face, inspecting the damage.

This hurt more than anything else, but Ayame ignored the discomfort and continued to practice.

That jab must've damaged the insides of her hands.

Ayame did not care and continued to use other punching techniques.

An hour later and her qi reserves were completely depleted. Her hands were already broken beyond comprehension.

She could feel the bones within her hand creaking and her knuckles cracking as she tried to form a fist.

Her knuckles were filling with blood, and her fingers had become a puffed red mess. The skin on her knuckles had cracked.

She ignored the pain coursing through her body and decided to cultivate again and attempt to break through the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Three days had passed with slow progress. During this time, Ayame experimented using other techniques like knee strikes, elbow strikes, and kicks.

The results were as expected. The knee and elbow strikes did more damage. They were more resistant to wear and tear, but soon, they began displaying signs of damage.

Ayame looked at her body, "Is this an effect of cultivation?" She asked herself as she noticed her healing capabilities were faster than before. It only took a few days to recover her bone and skin damage. She was good as new again.

However, despite being able to regenerate quickly, Ayame still suffered from fatigue.

Today her supply of food has entirely run out.

"There should be wild deer and a small stream in this area..." She said before walking off to look for them.

Several minutes later, she spotted something moving across the plains ahead of her. As it got closer, she realized it was not a herd of wild animals. It was a group of people.

"What are they doing here?" Ayame wondered aloud as she approached slowly.

There were cages with two or three disheveled women inside.

"Is this some kind of human trafficking ring?" Ayame muttered under her breath.

When she came close enough, she saw that their faces were covered by bandages. Some of these ladies appeared unconscious due to hunger and thirst. Others were clearly awake but unable to move freely because of restraints binding their limbs.

The wind carries the scent of sweat and blood, but not in a good way. It smells of urine and excrement.

"No, no one would buy these kinds of people. Are they planning to dispose of them?" Ayame thought out loud.

One of the men who seemed to be leading the bunch spoke up, "Move quickly, you lazy bastards. The sun is about to set!"

Ayame waited till the sun was down, watching the group's activity.