"Joe Di, let's take Tyler He and head back to Base Camp first. With just the two of us, trying for the trial is basically asking to get slaughtered." Frank Pang was helpless—his strength was low, and he tended to be honest.
After speaking, Frank Pang moved to carry Tyler He on his back.
Joe Di pulled Frank Pang aside, speechless. "If you carry someone like that to Base Camp, I doubt you'll even make it—there's a good chance a Fiend Beast will take you out before you get there."
"No way, Instructor Skyler Wang said it was pretty safe from here to the First Base Camp." Frank Pang shook his head, glancing at the long saber in his hand.
For Frank Pang, the only regret was that if they went to Base Camp now, his long saber would be temporarily useless.
Joe Di sneered, "You're really clueless. Don't you get what Wu Cheng meant? From now on, trials are survival of the fittest—the law of the jungle. Skyler Wang said it's safe from here to Base Camp, but I don't believe it. If you trust him, you might as well prepare to die."
If Frank Pang went alone, Joe Di figured he might just make it to Base Camp. But carrying someone, if a Fiend Beast appeared, Frank Pang's strength wouldn't even let him run away.
"Ah..." Frank Pang was skeptical of Joe Di's words.
He didn't know much about Skyler Wang, but Instructor Jade Yu definitely wouldn't send him to his death.
"I'm just saying, maybe they're right. But now that Fiend Beasts are approaching the safe trial zone, anything can happen." Seeing Frank Pang's confusion, Joe Di tried to reassure him.
"Then let's hurry and go." Frank Pang also thought Joe Di made sense—staying here was too dangerous.
Joe Di pulled Frank Pang aside, took out two vials and handed them to him. "Try cultivating after you drink one of these. I'll see if Tyler He can still be treated."
"What kind of potion is this?" Frank Pang ignored Joe Di's second sentence and asked in surprise as he took the vial.
"It's a family recipe for building strength. The effects are pretty good. Maybe after you drink one and cultivate, you'll reach the Elite Martial Artist: late stage. Give it a try..."
Joe Di no longer needed this kind of potion. Now that he was on Celestia, even if the potion was exposed, he doubted anyone could catch him here.
"Elite Martial Artist: late stage?" Hearing this, Frank Pang quickly put one vial in his pocket and opened the other, pouring it straight into his mouth.
Reaching the late stage had become an obsession for him. Frank Pang had decent martial talent—he reached Elite Martial Artist early, and soon after, advanced to the middle stage, earning a spot in the Elite Class.
Although the Elite Class selects top students from all classes and doesn't require years at the Martial Academy, the most basic requirement is to be at the Elite Martial Artist: middle stage.
Unfortunately, after Frank Pang entered the Elite Class at the middle stage, he faded into the crowd. Everyone in the Elite Class kept advancing—the weakest were at the late stage, but he was still stuck at the middle stage.
So when he heard Joe Di say the potion could help him reach the late stage, he couldn't hold back.
Seeing Frank Pang begin cultivating off to the side, Joe Di walked over to Tyler He, took an Antidote Pill from his backpack, and fed it to him. Then he tapped dozens of acupoints on Tyler He's body.
Tyler He had only been poisoned for a few hours—saving him was easy for Joe Di.
Earlier, Victor Wu had declared Tyler He beyond saving, but now, in less than ten minutes, Tyler He opened his eyes and immediately got up to vomit violently.
A pile of foul, disgusting matter spilled out. Tyler He wiped his mouth, then walked straight over to Joe Di and knelt before him.
"Thank you, thank you..." Words couldn't express Tyler He's gratitude at that moment.
He simply couldn't move or speak before, but he had heard everything Victor Wu and Skyler Wang said. Even later, when Joe Di checked him, gave him a pill, and tapped him dozens of times, he was fully aware.
So the first thing he did after recovering was kneel to Joe Di. Others might think his life wasn't worth much, but to him, his life meant everything.
He was actually quite handsome, a bit like the international superstar Vani—tall with a prominent nose. He'd just reached the Profound Martial Artist: early stage this year, and with youth on his side, he'd come to Celestia Martial Academy, a bright future ahead. How could he be willing to die so easily?
Unfortunately, even Headmaster Victor Wu had said he couldn't be saved, and Tyler He didn't have the strength to get up and say he didn't want to die.
"No need to be so polite. I'm a medical student, after all," Joe Di motioned for Tyler He to stand.
"Even Headmaster Victor Wu said I couldn't be saved. If not for you, I'd definitely be dead." The gratitude in Tyler He's eyes was completely genuine.
"I'm more skilled than they are, so I could save you." Joe Di wasn't modest at all.
Tyler He lightly slapped his own face. "It's laughable—I was just like the others, thinking I was above everyone, assuming you only got in through connections. I never imagined you were so capable."
He wasn't talking about Joe Di's martial skills, but rather his skill in medicine.
Joe Di didn't respond to Tyler He. He sensed some fluctuations in the area—Frank Pang was about to break through.
Frank Pang, sitting off to the side, had a flushed face and shifting hand gestures. Tyler He had experienced breakthroughs before, so he could tell Frank Pang was about to advance. He was amazed.
Frank Pang was really thick-skinned—to be able to break through in a place like this?
Sure enough, after just over ten minutes, Frank Pang's aura surged. He opened his eyes and laughed, "Joe Di, I've broken through to Elite Martial Artist: late stage... Eh, Tyler He, how are you alive?"
Tyler He wanted to say, 'Did you want me to die?' He knew Frank Pang and Joe Di were close, so he just said, "Joe Di saved me. If not for him, I'd be dead for sure."
"Are you really a doctor?" Frank Pang forgot his excitement about breaking through, remembering that Joe Di had said he would check if Tyler He could be saved.
"Of course. When it comes to medicine, I'm probably unmatched on Earth. But let's not talk about medicine or anything else for now. Since we're here, we should look for treasures and opportunities." Joe Di had no interest in discussing medicine with these two. To him, being a doctor wasn't anything to brag about.
He also said this to remind Frank Pang not to mention the matter of the potion.
Fortunately, Frank Pang wasn't stupid. He remembered that Joe Di had pulled him aside before giving him the potion, and now, with Joe Di saying not to talk about it, he understood he was supposed to keep it secret.
"Joe Di, you're my big brother now, my class monitor. Monitor, you're amazing—even Tyler He survived thanks to you. With my martial talent and your medical skills, we'll dominate Celestia!" Having advanced to Elite Martial Artist: late stage, Frank Pang's ambition soared faster than his cultivation.
In his mind, the Elite Class monitor was the coolest. Too bad the last monitor couldn't care less about someone at the bottom like him.
"I'll join too. How about the three of us team up?" Tyler He said, glancing nervously at Joe Di.
He wasn't as thick-skinned as Frank Pang. Why hadn't Frank Pang broken through to late stage for so long, but after just a few days with Joe Di, he did it here? And his poison—Victor Wu said he couldn't be saved, but Joe Di did it.
All of this showed that Joe Di was no ordinary person.
"Roar!" Another roar echoed. Frank Pang heard it clearly—it was the same Fiend Beast as before. They'd rushed here after that roar, trying to escape its pursuit.
"That Fiend Beast is coming. We need to run!" Frank Pang shouted anxiously.
Earlier, when the innate expert Victor Wu was here, even if he did nothing but lead them in escape, Frank Pang felt at ease. Now that Victor Wu was gone, he felt a bit less confident.
"I'll listen to Monitor." Tyler He, like Frank Pang, started calling Joe Di 'Monitor.' Running was a given—the question was which way to run.
Joe Di hesitated and said, "Actually, I want to go over and check it out. If you two want to run, you should head to Base Camp and keep cultivating."
"You want to go toward the Fiend Beast fighting for territory?" Frank Pang and Tyler He exclaimed in unison.
Joe Di nodded seriously. "You heard Victor Wu's philosophy—survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle. It's harsh, leaving the three of us here, but in a place like this, he's not wrong."
"Monitor, what does that have to do with us running from the Fiend Beast?" Frank Pang couldn't understand Joe Di's thinking.
Joe Di took out the Locator. "Look at this—within the red line should be relatively safe. I'm guessing a lot of people have already searched this area. I don't think we're luckier than anyone else, so if others couldn't find anything, why should we? Those two Fiend Beasts fighting for territory probably mean there's something good there. As the saying goes, 'Fortune favors the bold.' The more dangerous the place, the more valuable the treasures. Whether you come or not, I'm going."
Joe Di had always planned to check it out, but before, with Victor Wu and the martial academy's innate expert around, going alone would have been too conspicuous. Now, with the chance, he wasn't going to hide anymore.
(That's all for today. Good night, friends!)