“Ah—” Xia Qingqing took a bite of a meatball, the savory broth flowing down her throat and into her stomach. “So delicious! Tomato flavor is my absolute favorite.”
Su Mo ladled another bowl for Luo Xiu and shoved it into his hands. “What’s there to be shy about? You’re a grown man. I’m the team instructor, and you’re one of my students. If I say eat, then eat.”
After serving the two of them, Su Mo didn’t touch the food himself. Instead, he just stared at the pot as the soup bubbled away.
The others were practically drooling, thinking, If you’re not going to share, at least don’t tease us like this—what’s your deal?
Just then, a refined-looking girl with poised manners spoke up. “Classmate, I think you should share with everyone.”
Su Mo wasn’t the least bit surprised and motioned for her to continue.
“Humans are social creatures. No matter the situation, we should prioritize the group’s interests over individual ones.” She adjusted her glasses and went on, “Especially in times of crisis, this collective mindset becomes even more important.”
“So?” Su Mo’s lips curled disdainfully beneath his mask. “I should just hand over my food to you, is that it, oh noble saint?”
He stood up, crossing his arms as he calmly met the girl’s gaze. “If you want to eat, come and get it yourself. This whole pot was made for everyone in the first place. Don’t project your own pettiness onto others—just because you’re too proud to ask doesn’t mean you can guilt-trip people into giving you what you want.”
“Exactly,” Xia Qingqing chimed in firmly, helping herself to another bowl.
The others’ eyes lit up at this, but no one actually stepped forward to take any.
Surprisingly, it was Wu Heng who moved first. He tossed a low-grade spirit stone to Su Mo. “Paying for a meal is only fair.”
Su Mo tossed it right back. “Fifty per person, no exceptions!”
Wu Heng blinked. “But I didn’t bring any money.”
“No problem. You can write an IOU—I’ll collect later.” He pulled out a notebook and a black gel pen, handing them to Wu Heng.
“…Fine.”
Seeing this, the others quickly lined up to write their own IOUs—all except the refined girl, who sat angrily by herself, gnawing on a wild fruit.
So bitter…
Truth be told, some had hoped to freeload, but since they couldn’t beat Su Mo in a fight and still wanted a taste of that delicious food, they reluctantly wrote their promises to pay.
The previously miserable group soon livened up, energized by the prospect of a hot meal.
“Who knew she wasn’t just beautiful and kind, but also such a great cook?”
“Of course. The wicked don’t deserve her talents.”
“Huh? How come after just one bowl, I feel full of energy?”
“Because what’s energizing you isn’t the food—hahaha!”
Soon, others chimed in, saying they too felt revitalized—not only physically refreshed but mentally sharp as well.
At first, they thought it might just be a psychological boost, a fleeting illusion. But as more and more people reported the same thing—with no return of fatigue—they realized there was something special about Su Mo’s cooking.
Not that they were complaining.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Wu Heng asked, noticing Su Mo hadn’t touched the food and had only stepped away briefly.
“I snuck off to eat something better.”
Wu Heng: “…”
Since it was an all-you-can-eat deal, they polished off every last bite, leaving not even a drop of soup behind.
Su Mo glanced in a certain direction—just in time to see the morally righteous girl turn her face away, though not before he caught the displeasure in her eyes.
In the end, she had helped herself to a bowl… while Su Mo was away.
“Now that everyone’s fed and satisfied, it’s time to move out.” Unintentionally, that single meal had cemented Su Mo’s role as the group’s de facto leader.
His words now carried immense weight—so much so that “one call to action” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
With renewed vigor, the group arrived at the second trial: a sheer cliff face stretching at least a kilometer into the sky.
Unlike before, the moment they arrived, a message flashed in their minds:
“Second Trial: Climb, Climb, Climb.”
The objective? Scale the cliff bare-handed—no tools allowed. Each person had only one attempt.
The catch? A time limit.
Fail to reach the top in time, and the rules would enforce a penalty.
No one knew what that penalty entailed… and no one wanted to find out, because every rule triggered so far had come at a cost.
This time, Wu Heng volunteered to go first. Choosing a relatively rough section, he leaped upward, shooting Su Mo a glance. “Classmate Ye—no, Instructor Ye—care for a race to the top?”
Su Mo had no reason to refuse. Patting Xia Qingqing’s shoulder, he picked a suitable route and followed closely behind.
Luo Xiu watched their retreating figures and sighed. “Sigh… I can’t match their speed. Otherwise—”
“Otherwise, you’d race them and leave me behind, right?” Xia Qingqing smirked.
Luo Xiu rubbed his hands awkwardly. “Shall we get going too?”
“How about a race between us?”
“You sure?”
Xia Qingqing reached up and patted his shoulder. “If you’re a man, keep up.”
With that, she sprang onto the cliff face, scaling it like a gecko.
Luo Xiu chuckled helplessly. “Did I just get challenged?”
Well, no way was he backing down now!
Yin Yan couldn’t catch up to Su Mo, so she made Xia Qingqing her target—only to realize that was still too much. She settled into her own rhythm instead.
The rest of the group followed without hesitation, not a single one holding back.
After all, those who’d made it this far weren’t cowards—they just varied in skill.
Meanwhile, at the Cliff’s Summit
A hand suddenly gripped the edge, pulling up a nimble figure who landed gracefully on solid ground.
This was a striking young woman, her most captivating feature being her piercing, determined eyes—as if fixed unwaveringly on her goal.
She was Huo Jingshu, who had cleared the trials ahead of Su Mo’s group.
After a brief rest, she was about to leave when Su Mo’s voice called up from below:
“Don’t rush off—wait for me!”
“Ye… Instructor?”
She hadn’t expected Su Mo to be right behind her—and closing in fast.
“You win.” Another voice followed. Turning, she saw a powerfully built young man appear beside her.
“You know each other?” Wu Heng asked, noticing their familiarity.
“Yeah, she’s part of our team too,” Su Mo said. “With Qingqing and Luo Xiu, we’re only missing two more to complete the squad.”
Wu Heng couldn’t help but admire, “Your team’s incredible—no weak links. I’m guessing the last two are just as impressive?”
Su Mo smiled without answering.