“According to t-the maps from the M-Material Gatherer’s guild, this is the closest p-path to the e-expansive zone we’re heading to,” Wei Ping reminded, as the trio began walking up the tunnel away from Emberglow City.

Long Yi didn’t appear to be listening as he was busy studying the glowing fungus on the walls, so only Li Lang replied.

“If it’s info from the Gatherer’s guild, then what kind of materials can we expect to find there?”

“Umm, n-names that I’ve n-never heard of. They are n-native to this u-underground environment, but that’s t-to be expected since e-each expansive zone h-has its own e-ecological systems.”

Li Lang took the notes from Wei Ping and skimmed through them before handing them back. As Wei Ping had said, he didn’t recognize any of the names listed, which made him even more excited.

“You’ve memorized their characteristics and their harvesting method, right?”

“O-of course!”

Li Lang patted Wei Ping on the shoulder as they continued their journey.

He would have liked to investigate the information of the new materials as well, but his time was already stretched thin with alchemy and his training.

I will have to make do with the actual thing, then!

The tunnel they traveled down occasionally dimmed as the glowing mushrooms didn’t grow everywhere, but enough light was present for them to carry on. As they got closer to their destination, they soon heard some noise coming from the path up ahead.

The three exchanged a quick glance before continuing on their way, but with their hands tightly gripping their newly bought weapons.

Yesterday at the weapon store, they witnessed various artifacts for sale but ultimately decided on mundane weapons simply due to the issue of price. They couldn’t afford to spend hundreds or even thousands of Qi stones on one weapon.

Long Yi straightforwardly selected a sword that was most common among cultivators.

Wei Ping selected something slightly different, a dagger that matched his smaller build. He did so because he was still in the third stage of Energy Gathering, where unarmed combat was the norm. The dagger was mainly for miscellaneous purposes, like gathering materials and cooking.

Meanwhile, Li Lang immediately opted out of the traditional sword and decided on a spear instead. It was because he knew swords were the hardest to master among the weapons. Its versatility gave it a myriad of options, but increased the complexity at the same time. From the history books, he believed swords were more suitable as a symbol of status.

Throughout history, the spear was the mainstay in war, as it was much cheaper to produce and the reach advantage it gave to its users couldn’t be underestimated. It was also much easier to get started with, which made it the weapon of choice for most militaries. The time in which a conscript could be proficient with a spear was drastically faster than with a sword.

With their weapons ready at hand, they soon spotted a pair of people walking straight toward them. That couldn’t be helped, as there were only so many tunnels from Emberglow City to the surface. The expansive zone they were headed to was a distance away, since all the nearby zones were over-hunted or were too dangerous.

The way the pair of strangers were walking on the ground reassured the three children that they were likely still in the Energy Gathering realm. Skyrunners were too bulky to be used in this particular tunnel, so few experts would choose this path.

As Wei Ping was the one who had gathered all the information about these details, the group decided he would be in charge of communicating with others as well.

The three of them continued at their current pace, following Wei Ping’s lead as the other party did the same.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The pair of strangers soon came close enough to be identified as a man and a woman. The two were dressed in coarse robes and were carrying a bag full of wood on their backs. They nodded at Wei Ping’s way before advancing past them.

“L-let’s go. It’s not l-likely anyone will try a-anything so close to the c-city,” Wei Ping reassured.

Due to the tension from their first encounter, the trio quickened their pace and soon found the path going up and down. After some time, they finally reached the surface, and the sun shone brightly down on them.

They found themselves deep in a ravine, sandwiched by two colossal cliffs that were bright orange.

The group had decided to leave their Skyrunner behind for this expedition to draw less attention. Despite the inferior model they had, it was still a valuable possession that would put a target on them. It wasn’t something they wanted to flaunt around in the wild as mere middle-stage Energy Gatherers.

That meant they had to trek across the ravine for a full two hours before they found the cave entrance similar to the one they came out of from Emberglow City.

The tunnel was lit by the same glowing mushrooms as before, and the incline was much steeper.

It didn’t take long for the ground to change from stone to dirt, and a tiny waterfall could be heard just outside the passage they came out of. If they didn’t know any better, they would have thought they had come across a forest somehow despite being underground.

“So this is the expansive zone where Qi beasts like those Red Serpents and Stonesnouts live?” Long Yi muttered as he took in the scenery before him.

“They’re the most common around here, but numerous other creatures exist too. It’s a fully developed ecological system down here. And that’s not counting on the fact that the Qi beasts from the neighboring expansive zones could roam here.”

The expansive zones were wide areas with high ceilings that existed underground. Most of them were connected to each other through small tunnels like the one Li Lang’s group had just traversed.

The three boys began walking into the forest as they each paid careful attention to their surroundings. While Wei Ping and Long Yi were alert for threats, Li Lang was busy studying the new florals and trees around them.

As a former biodefense researcher, he had seen numerous exotic plants from various planets. It was his job to protect humanity from the potential biological diseases of these exotic biomes. However, what he was curious about right now was their uses in alchemy.

He was so absorbed in it that he stood completely still as he felt up the exterior of the unknown tree before him.

“Hey Li Lang, what are you doing?! We almost left you behind!” Long Yi’s scream sounded out from the distance.

Li Lang quickly waved him over.

“Hey, give me your sword real quick.”

“...Umm sure,” Long Yi instantly did as told. “But why?”

The response he got was Li Lang winding up the sword before he swung out with all his might at the tree before them. A dull thud resounded around them as the sword embedded itself into the tree. Before Long Yi could complain, Li Lang did it again.

The sound of a piece of the bark fell on the ground and Long Yi could only stare on with wide eyes as he received his sword back.

“Thanks.” Li Lang politely said as he pretended to shove the piece of wood into his robes before having Ruby take it in.

“Why did you do that? My new sword’s already chipped!”

“Calm down and take a look. I properly enveloped my Qi into it. It shouldn’t be damaged from just that.”

As the two boys bantered with each other, they suddenly heard the crisp snap of something sharp ramming into a tree once more. It was followed by a shout from a familiar voice.

“G-guys! A little hand here?”

They turned to find Wei Ping running back toward them, and not far behind him was a large boar that was struggling to free its tusk from the tree it got stuck in. The tusk began to give off a soft glow before the boar violently tugged to the side, breaking itself free.

“T-that’s a Stonesnout. It should be equivalent t-to a fifth-stage Energy Gatherer in s-strength!”

While the Qi beast was stronger than each of the three kids individually, the difference in strength within the Energy Gathering realm wasn’t insurmountable. Combined with the fact that there were three of them against one, their chances were quite good, which was why they picked this expanse in the first place.

With the Qi beast now free, it immediately reoriented itself to its prey, Wei Ping. It didn’t hesitate to charge directly at him, causing the three boys to scatter in different directions.

“Do it like we planned. Don’t hold anything back, we’re not looking to capture any Qi beasts yet,” Li Lang shouted out.

With each cultivator knowing their role, Wei Ping began leading the boar on a route that would soon intercept his allies’ path.

The mindless Qi beast only charged straight ahead when it was suddenly sandwiched by two puny kids. The weapons in their hands managed to cleanly pierce through its hide, causing the beast to let out a squeal.

With the beast injured, they didn’t proceed to finish it off but instead retreated. They opted to give their companion some combat experience by fighting one-on-one against it.

“It’s all yours, Wei Ping. Don’t screw this up!”