When he returned to the high platform once more, Qiyu thought to himself that as soon as he got out of here, he’d head straight to the mages association store to give this copy of *Guardian of the Earth* a bad review. And he’d give the author, Rain, an even worse one. 

He kept count—he’d already been “killed” by this *Earth Guardian* twenty times. 

The ways he died varied, as did how long he lasted, but one thing was certain: forget about lasting half an hour—the longest round hadn’t even lasted ten minutes.

This magister named Rain had clearly designed a course just to make people take a beating. 

First of all, he’s empty-handed—no weapons. He can’t use magic here, and he can’t access his backpack either. If he’d been given the Heart of the Great Tree Staff, he wouldn’t be in such a defensive position.

Second, this high platform is nothing but an empty, open space—not even the slightest bit of cover. He has absolutely no room to maneuver against this massive creature.

The most important one is the Earth Guardian—its stats are simply too “perfect.” 

Generally speaking, a creature with such a massive and heavy build would be at a disadvantage in terms of speed. But this Earth Guardian doesn’t play by the rules. 

It was able to use a sprint— which Qiyu had dodged— to quickly twist its body, adjust its direction, and deliver a flying punch to Qiyu.

It also has a particularly nasty area-of-effect attack: it leaps into the air and plummets back down at high speed, with an attack range covering a five-meter radius centered on itself. 

Qiyu:…

As he was getting beaten up by the Earth Guardian to the point of questioning his existence, he also wondered if this magister Rain had gone mad from practicing magic, which is why he’d conjured up this monstrosity to torment others. 

Although “dying” here doesn’t mean actually dying, but rather a mechanism similar to “being eliminated,” the pain was very real.

After getting a rough handle on this giant’s speed and moves, Qiyu began to try counterattacking. But just as he did, he unlocked the Earth Guardian’s second form.

【Burning Earth Guardian: When injured to a certain degree, the enraged Earth Guardian begins to burn away its own sanity. In this state, the Earth Guardian’s stats are increased by 100%, and its life automatically ends after half an hour.】

Qiyu:……

By now, he had lost all interest in counting how many times he had died; he only knew that finally, after one instance where everything went black before his eyes, it didn’t go white again.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a peaceful and beautiful realm bathed in the light of the bright sunflowers. 

Is the lesson over?

He glanced at the survival panel; exactly three hours had passed.

In other words, over the past three hours, he had repeatedly endured pain and died in the mental space.

Qiyu let out a deep sigh.

A faint, lingering sensation of pain still lingered in his body, but thankfully, a steady flow of life force was soothing his body and erasing that discomfort. 

【Player has made progress through diligent study; Attack stat +2.】

【Player has made progress through diligent study: Mental Power +3.】 

【Player has made progress through diligent study: Agility +1.】

Three consecutive messages popped up. 

Qiyu perked up almost instantly.

This “Earth Guardian” technique actually granted him 6 attribute points right off the bat. 

Is getting beaten up actually a good thing?

No, is this even considered a public trial? This is a test and forging from the Earth Guardians!

In an instant, he felt no pain at all. He looked at the books with eager anticipation, wanting to go back in and… learn a thing or two. He was unable to enter the spiritual realm.

【This session has ended. For the sake of students’ physical and mental well-being, the minimum interval between sessions is three days.】

Qiyu: So you know your course is torturous, too, huh?

He opened the mages association store and found the item “Earth Guardian.”

While in the mental space, he’d thought he’d give it a scathing review as soon as he got out. But now, having gained six attribute points, he found himself unable to bring himself to do it.

Although the process was hellish, in terms of “Physical Forging” alone, the efficiency was simply astonishing. He pondered for a moment, then decided to write down his reflections on the training.

Unfortunately—

【Detected that you have not yet completed all courses. Please complete all courses before providing an appropriate review.】

Alright.

Qiyu’s gaze swept over the long list of user reviews below: 

【Highly recommended! The most effective body-forging technique I’ve ever used!】 

【Great review—no other body-forging technique has ever left such a lasting impression on me.】 

【I really like this, and it piqued my interest in the author. Does anyone know anything about Magister Rain? I’d love to talk to him face-to-face and exchange learning experiences.】 

【Great review! I hope this effective and unique body-forging technique reaches more mages!】

Qiyu:…

Before buying this book, he had also read the reviews. With the notes from the mages association store and these reviews from previous buyers, he chose it with almost no hesitation.

Now, having personally experienced the benefits of this physical training course, looking back at those reviews gives him a strange feeling. He can’t help but feel that these people wrote them on purpose—as if… they were trying to trick more people into buying it? 

Were they just trying to make a quick buck? 

He mentioned this to Dan Xingyu.

【God Has No Form: It’s simple. You may not have heard the saying, ‘Just because you’ve been caught in the rain, you want to tear apart other people’s umbrellas.’】

Qiyu still didn’t quite get it.

【God Has No Form: To put it even more bluntly, I got scammed, fell into a trap, and now I’m feeling resentful. So I want to drag more people into this trap so we can all get scammed and suffer together.】

【I Love Survival Game: …】

【God Has No Form: It’s better to share the fun with others than to enjoy it alone—and the reverse is true, too!】Qiyu got the point, but he couldn’t quite wrap his head around this particular hobby. 

He sent a message to Dan Xingyu, expressing not only his confusion about this but also his thoughts on the book.

【I Love Survival Game: This physical training technique is painful, but it boosts your attribute points. Do you want to buy a copy?】

These kinds of books and techniques are limited to a single user. Once Qiyu had opened it to learn the technique, he couldn’t give it to anyone else—they’d have to buy one. 

【God Has No Form: Do you have a way to buy it? Then I’ll take one.】

【God Has No Form: Getting hit in the spiritual realm is better than getting hit by others in the real world.】

【God Has No Form: How do I buy it, and how much does it cost?】

【I Love Survival Game: 100,000 gold coins.】

【God Has No Form: Alright, let me scrape some together. I’ll send it to you in a bit.】

Qiyu thought about it for a moment, then decided to head back to 01 Survival Squad to share the information about this physical training technique.

【I Love Survival Game: The downside is that you have to take repeated hits, but the upside is that it really works. I took one session, and my attribute points went up by a total of 6 points.】

Although it’s the Body Tempering Technique best suited for mages, attributes like Attack, Agility, and Mental Power are all crucial for players. 

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: What an awesome Body Forging Technique! I want it! But 100,000 gold coins is way too expensive—I don’t have that kind of money!】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: I’ll come back when I’m a wandering merchant—I can’t wait to start selling, selling, selling!】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Is it only gold coins? Would Beast Crystals work? Or emerald crystal coins? We still have too few ways to earn gold coins.】Upon hearing that gold coins were required, most people in the group guessed that this was likely a method discovered by the top-tier player while exploring the outside world. 

In the entire Server 01, there’s probably no one other than the top players who can come up with 100,000 gold coins right now.

【I Love Survival Game: Beast Crystals are fine, too. Out there, a single Level 1 Beast Crystal is worth 2 gold coins.】

In the end, it was the Civil Engineering Brother who had the most money. He traded 50,000 Beast Crystals plus a handling fee to Qiyu. Qiyu sold these Beast Crystals at the Guild Store, exchanged them for 100,000 gold coins, and bought a training manual for him. 

【Civil Engineering Brother: 50,000 Beast Crystals is no small sum. Let me test this out first to see if an average person can endure the grind. If it works, then you guys can buy it.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Brother is so generous! Can’t wait for the review!】

It was already getting late. Although Qiyu had gained a few attribute points, dying dozens or even hundreds of times in the spiritual realm had left him physically and mentally exhausted. 

He didn’t feel like moving at all; he just wanted to lean against the Tree of Life, lazily zoning out for a while, and then drift off to sleep.

The weather on Safe Days was pleasant, and the Tree of Life was constantly nourishing his body with energy.

Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad?

As soon as that thought crossed Qiyu’s mind, Qiyu’s eyelids began to grow heavy.

He didn’t need to fight the drowsiness; he simply let his consciousness sink into darkness.

He slept through the entire night.

The abrupt transition from day to night jolted him awake instantly.

The forest was heavy with dew, and a thin layer of mist clung to Qiyu’s eyelashes. He gazed dazedly at the Tree of Life overhead, his brain a half-beat behind as he thought: Today I’m going to play with the God Has No Form.  I should take a shower first and change into some clean, fresh clothes. Then I’ll prepare a gift for God Has No Form. 

Just as he stood up, a server-wide announcement popped up on his Survival Panel. 

【The final day of Safe Days has arrived. Today’s bonuses: In exploration zones, the drop rate for treasure chests has increased by 50%, and the drop rate for items from mutated creatures has increased by 50%. Additionally, the “Serendipity Exploration” event has been activated. Players in exploration zones have a chance to obtain “Serendipity” fragments. Collect enough Serendipity fragments to enter a raffle for a chance to unlock treasure maps and other rewards!】

【At midnight tonight, this month’s leaderboard rankings will be finalized. At midnight, Safe Days will end.】

【Please prepare yourselves, players, for a new round of challenges.】

A series of announcements in quick succession instantly snapped Qiyu back to reality. His first thought after reading them: “I can’t go play with God Has No Form today.”

The drop rates for treasure chests and loot during exploration have been increased, and there’s a “Serendipity” exploration event. Who could resist that? 

【I Love Survival Game: I saw the game announcement. Sorry, I don’t have time to play with you today.】

【God Has No Form: I got a game notification—we can’t play together today. Stockpiling supplies is a priority.】

The two messages appeared almost simultaneously. 

Qiyu couldn’t help but smile. Although he felt he had a perfectly valid reason, he would have said the same thing even if God Has No Form got angry. In a survival game, nothing is more important than gathering supplies.

But if God Has No Form felt the same way and wouldn’t get upset about it, that would be the best outcome, of course.

【Your friend “God Has No Form” has sent you a gift.】

【Received “Desert Silver Thorn Sap” x5.】

Qiyu took them out and found they were five bottles of drink packed in clear glass jars. 

The drink was a pale yellow color, looking somewhat like honey but not quite as thick.

【God Has No Form: As I told you yesterday, this is a very tasty, sweet tree sap.】

【God Has No Form: From now on, if you’re going to drink tree sap or eat tree leaves, you have to eat something like this. Don’t let those bitter, astringent things pollute your taste buds anymore, got it?】