Outside the Misty Forest, four men were standing ready to enter.
These four men were Lu Heng, who had just confirmed their employment, and his three mercenary guards.
"Heh, Brother Lu, you've brought too few things for your travels.
By the way, have you passed the cultivator's test before?
If not, I advise you to go back. Entering this Misty Forest, while not much for us cultivators, is dangerous for ordinary people. If you haven't passed the test, we'd rather not take your crystals than harm your life with a clear conscience."
Lu Heng raised an eyebrow. It seemed he hadn't misjudged them; these people were not inherently evil.
It was true that he hadn't been tested, but he knew his abilities were similar to some of the cultivation paths here, both absorbing a certain substance to increase levels.
In this异世 (otherworldly realm), Lu Heng couldn't discern the cultivation attributes of these practitioners.
Instead of answering, he asked, "What are your attributes? And your levels are..."
Wang Tie Zhu scratched his head and grinned at Lu Heng, "Heh heh, I'm currently a Level Two Dao Comprehension Strength Martial Cultivator. Li Shi Tou is the same as me. Zhao San Mao is a Level Two Dao Comprehension Lightning Elemental Mage."
"Oh. I passed the test, but due to sudden family changes, I didn't have the opportunity to enter a sect for cultivation that year."
Wang Tie Zhu nodded. Since he had passed the test and wasn't an ordinary person, it was fine for them to escort Lu Heng around the forest's edge. As long as they didn't venture deep into the forest, and considering the Misty Forest's magical beasts weren't of particularly high levels, Wang Tie Zhu then educated him further about the academies.
In this world, ordinary families would have their children, after passing the test and being confirmed as capable of cultivation, study in various sects. After a year of reaching Level One Dao Comprehension, they would leave the sect to live outside.
Of course, academies would also recruit some disciples with good aptitude to remain within the sects and be responsible for teaching new students.
Subsequently, new recruits would expand the various sects each year. In essence, sects functioned more like schools, responsible for teaching those with aptitude how to cultivate.
The capital supporting the development of these sects partly came from the various tasks ordinary disciples had to perform daily to earn academy points while studying. Points could be exchanged for resources or magic crystals within the academy.
After all, the single Level One magic crystal distributed monthly by the academy was insufficient. For everyone to advance to Level One Dao Comprehension as quickly as possible, they had to earn more points to exchange for magic crystals.
These tasks were diverse, ranging from routine academy work, such as sweeping various areas, planting in the academy's medicinal fields, or transcribing some basic learning materials for the academy.
Disciples who had attained Level One Dao Comprehension ability but were not yet a year into their studies were required to obtain a certain quantity of Level One magic crystals from outside each month to submit to the academy. After completing a year of this, they would receive their initial registered status, the Ding Ji, submitted upon entering the academy, and thus be able to leave the various sects.
Lu Heng thought to himself, the academies here were quite something, making so many disciples work for free for a year. This was much more unscrupulous than compulsory education.
However, he considered that without state support for the various sects, they had to find ways to survive. If they didn't charge tuition, and since they lacked the ability to kill magical beasts, ordinary families couldn't pre-pay magic crystals as tuition. Thus, they could only cultivate after reaching a level where they could kill low-level magical beasts, and then obtain magic crystals themselves to cover previous tuition.
Wang Tie Zhu glanced at Lu Heng, who was listening intently, and patted his shoulder, asking, "You don't look like a child from an ordinary family. Perhaps your family has its own academy for you to cultivate in."
Lu Heng turned back to look at Wang Tie Zhu. From his words, it seemed that powerful families here would establish their own family academies for their children to study in?
Lu Heng gave an awkward smile, neither confirming nor denying.
Seeing this, Wang Tie Zhu showed a knowing expression. Generally, powerful families would have some less influential collateral branches. These collateral branches were not highly valued within the family and, naturally, could not obtain better resources.
"It's alright, Brother Lu. Since you can cultivate, you can still cultivate by killing magical beasts yourself to obtain magic crystals," Wang Tie Zhu consoled him for a moment, then changed the subject, "Later, we'll just explore the outskirts of this forest. The further we go into the forest, the more magical beasts there will be. If we encounter a Sly Wolf, even we won't be able to handle it."
Lu Heng nodded, "Mm."
Sly Wolf. He had heard of this type of magical beast yesterday. It was said that many mercenary groups couldn't handle them now. It was always wise for them to be cautious with fewer people.
Moreover, he couldn't spend too much time in the spatial dimension. It was possible someone might suddenly come looking for him there.
"Alright, we'll just explore the outskirts. I can only stay out for a maximum of two days before I have to return. At that time, you can continue to stay here, and I'll come out alone."
"How can that be? On the day you leave, we'll escort you to the forest's edge, and then we'll go in. Since we agreed to protect you, we can't just take the money and not do the job."
"Alright. I'll leave tomorrow. You don't need to escort me too far inside." Lu Heng nodded in agreement.
After the group discussed their route, since they didn't need to go too far in, Wang Tie Zhu and the others only planned to help him find some Level One magical beasts on the outskirts. These magical beasts were usually easy for Level Two Dao Comprehension cultivators to kill, and they were very familiar with the distribution of beasts in the outer areas.
The group walked in the determined direction, gradually entering the forest.
Upon entering the forest, Lu Heng felt the surrounding temperature drop significantly. He immediately adjusted his abilities to be in the most comfortable state.
Wang Tie Zhu had just told him that the magical beasts on the outskirts of the forest generally wouldn't attack humans proactively. Therefore, after hearing sounds, they were likely to flee. To successfully kill these magical beasts, one had to minimize noise.
Thus, after entering the forest, they stopped communicating.
After walking for a short while, Lu Heng sensed something ahead, perhaps an animal, or rather, a magical beast.
He merely glanced at Wang Tie Zhu and the others. They were still moving forward as before, seemingly not having sensed the magical beast ahead.
Since that was the case, he saw no need to take the lead. After all, in their perception, his strength was not high, and he genuinely didn't know what level his Level Nine abilities from the apocalypse would be in this world.