King

Yuan Ming had no time to think and could only swim with all his might, striving to reach the next place where he could catch his breath before Chen Wan ran out of air.

Chen Wan also moved her arms through the water, helping them to move forward faster.

She had risked participating in the trial this time precisely because she wanted to advance further and become an inner disciple, and she certainly didn't want to die here like this.

Time trickled by, and the small amount of air she had stored in her lungs was nearly depleted. The stuffiness in her chest, which had felt uncomfortable at first, now felt like it was about to explode with pain.

She was at her limit and couldn't hold on any longer.

Just as Chen Wan's body began to twitch uncontrollably, she found Yuan Ming pulling her upwards rapidly, and with a sudden surge, they broke through the surface of the water.

"Hoo..."

The moment Chen Wan surfaced, she expelled all the stale air from her chest. Immediately, her lungs felt a needle-like pain, causing her to let out a soft gasp.

But then, she began to breathe in the fresh air rapidly and greedily.

After finally recovering a little, she looked around. She found herself still inside the cave, with a dark ceiling not far above her head.

"How much further to the cavity you mentioned?" Chen Wan asked, taking a deep breath.

Yuan Ming's gaze was serious as he replied, "We're here."

"We're here?" Chen Wan was struck as if by lightning upon hearing this.

"The underground river is rising too fiercely; this place is about to be completely submerged as well," Yuan Ming sighed.

In the darkness, his gaze fell upon Chen Wan. Her clothes clung to her delicate body, and her wet hair was stuck to her fair cheeks. She looked a bit disheveled, but it didn't detract from her beauty; rather, it evoked a sense of pity.

However, at this moment, Yuan Ming couldn't afford to pity her. His mind was racing with thoughts of his own survival – should he abandon her here?

After all, if he were alone, he could definitely swim faster, hold his breath longer, and perhaps survive long enough to find the exit of the underground river.

Just then, Chen Wan suddenly raised her palm high. A ball of fire lit up in her palm and then shot out, heading straight for the cave ceiling.

Yuan Ming was about to question her when he saw the fireball rise higher and higher, drilling into the ceiling.

The next moment, his eyes flashed, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.

"There's a vertical shaft in the ceiling," Chen Wan called out, her voice filled with surprise.

At this point, the fireball, which had already flown seven or eight zhang away, seemed to hit something. It burned intensely for a moment and then extinguished.

"Could it be a dead end?" Both Yuan Ming and Chen Wan felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

"I'll go up and take a look," Yuan Ming said.

With that, he powerfully squeezed his toad-like legs, expelling a stream of water from between them. The upward force propelled his body, and he shot out of the water, crashing into the ceiling above.

As he entered the vertical shaft, Yuan Ming braced his hands against the walls on either side, stabilizing himself.

Then, using his hands and feet, he climbed steadily. He soon reached the end of the vertical shaft, where the residual heat from the fireball still lingered.

"How is it?" Chen Wan asked anxiously from below.

After a long silence in the darkness, Yuan Ming's muffled voice came through, "There's a sloped passage connected. I don't know where it leads?"

"Pull me up first. The water level is rising fast, and the current is getting stronger," Chen Wan urged.

The water level had risen significantly by now, and she was only three feet from the ceiling.

After waiting for a moment, a hand emerged from the vertical shaft above and pulled her into the passage.

Yuan Ming crawled cautiously ahead. Upon reaching the end, he turned into the sloped passage and continued forward. Chen Wan followed him silently, her heart filled with a thousand emotions.

She never would have imagined that she would go through this experience with a Furred Beast Slave she had only just met.

After crawling for an unknown amount of time in the dark and cramped cave, Yuan Ming, who was ahead, suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Chen Wan's heart tightened, and she quickly asked.

She was afraid of hearing that it was a dead end.

"I think I hear something up ahead," Yuan Ming said in a low voice.

"There's a sound... doesn't that mean we're almost out?" Chen Wan's heart suddenly lit up with joy, but she quickly noticed that Yuan Ming's body was tense and immediately realized something was wrong.

Is it another danger?

"Wh-what's wrong?" Chen Wan also lowered her voice.

"That sound doesn't seem human; something's not right. I'll go ahead and check. Don't follow me right away," Yuan Ming said. He took off the toad skin, put it away, and put on the White Ape Beast Hide again.

He didn't use the Furring Technique. He lowered his body and continued to crawl forward.

After a while, a faint light finally appeared in the darkness ahead, and the cave entrance was near.

Yuan Ming crawled to the cave entrance but didn't rush out.

After carefully examining the area, he discovered that the exit was actually on the wall of another underground cave. A stalactite hung down in front of it, obscuring the entrance and making his position very hidden.

Yuan Ming quietly poked his head out, bypassing the hanging stalactite, and looked a little further away.

The moment he looked, his eyes widened instantly.

In a corner of the cave, a ray of daylight shone down from a gap in the ceiling, illuminating a relatively bright area.

In that area, a large group of creatures stood. They were covered in long white fur, had thin, withered arms, and possessed black claws. They were monstrous, neither fully human nor beast.

"Man-Fiends!" The name Yuan Ming thought of almost instantly.

He silently counted and realized there were seventeen of them.

However, what confused him was that all these Man-Fiends were gathered together, standing with their hands at their sides, their bodies swaying slightly, like a group of drunkards. Their posture was very strange.

He knew very little about these creatures and dared not act rashly. He retreated and called Chen Wan over.

The two of them squeezed into the cave entrance and peered outside.

When Chen Wan saw this, a look of shock flashed across her face, followed by confusion and bewilderment.

"Impossible, this is impossible..." she murmured softly.

"What's impossible?" Yuan Ming immediately asked.

"Judging by their appearance, these guys are definitely Man-Fiends, but... but Man-Fiends are monsters without intelligence or pain, only knowing how to kill and devour. They're not even like this towards their own kind. They shouldn't be able to gather together so peacefully," Chen Wan couldn't understand it at all.

"They're all gathered here, how are we supposed to get out?" Yuan Ming was worried about that.

Just then, Chen Wan's expression changed again, as if she had thought of something terrifying, and her mouth even opened slightly.

"What's wrong?" Yuan Ming frowned.

"There's only one reason why Man-Fiends would gather without fighting..." Chen Wan said, her voice trembling slightly.

Yuan Ming's gaze sharpened, and he guessed an answer: "They're being controlled by something?"

"It's a King. A King has appeared among the gathered Man-Fiends. Only a Man-Fiend King can control these monsters," Chen Wan said.

"Man-Fiend King..." Yuan Ming mused.

"This is bad, this is bad. I need to report back to the sect immediately," Chen Wan said, her face showing anxiety.

With that, she was about to rush out of the cave entrance.

Yuan Ming quickly stopped her, reprimanding her in a low voice, "If you want to die, I won't stop you, but don't drag me down with you. Are you trying to feed those monsters by rushing out like this?"

"You don't understand. If a King appears among the Man-Fiends, this trial will be in trouble, and many people might die," Chen Wan struggled to say, her face pale.

"Explain it clearly, what's going on?" Yuan Ming grabbed her shoulder and demanded.

This registered disciple from Jade Luo Cave clearly rarely faced danger. Her current flustered and panicked behavior undoubtedly showed her lack of experience, which made Yuan Ming feel disdain.

"This trial is an entrance examination for us registered disciples. The content is to investigate and kill Man-Fiends. Disciples who perform well might be selected by the elders of various halls to become inner disciples," Chen Wan explained, stabilizing her mind after Yuan Ming grabbed her.

"You said it would be a problem if a Man-Fiend King appeared, what's going on?" Yuan Ming pressed.

"A Man-Fiend King has a Soul Pearl within it, which allows it to control other Man-Fiends to act together. Its strength is far beyond that of ordinary Man-Fiends. All the registered disciples participating in the trial are at most at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining, and most of them act separately. Once they encounter a Man-Fiend King leading a large group of Man-Fiends, they are doomed," Chen Wan said with a rapid, slightly trembling voice.

Yuan Ming's brow furrowed as well.

No wonder Chen Wan was so panicked. It was possible that the trial for their registered disciples would result in heavy casualties due to the appearance of a Man-Fiend King.

"If only a few individual Man-Fiends appear sporadically, the sect won't care. As long as they don't go beyond their designated areas, no action will be taken. If multiple Man-Fiends move beyond their designated areas, the sect will intervene in a timely manner and organize trials like this. But if a Man-Fiend King appears, the threat level increases significantly, already exceeding the risks expected of the trial. If everyone isn't informed promptly, the consequences would be unimaginable. The best course of action is for the sect to send elders to handle it," Chen Wan continued speaking rapidly.

Just as Yuan Ming was about to speak, he suddenly heard a "whoosh" sound.

He quickly reached out and gestured for Chen Wan to be quiet, then quietly peered towards the Man-Fiends. He saw a tall, white-furred Man-Fiend jumping down from the place where the cave ceiling let in light.

Its size and appearance were not much different from the other Man-Fiends, but the fur on its face was sparser and shorter, and its facial features could vaguely be seen, resembling a human by about seventy percent.

The difference was that on its forehead, on both sides, there were white bony protrusions, less than half an inch long, looking like two pointed horns.

Although its appearance was ugly, its body was upright, exuding a strangely heroic and dominant aura.

In its hand, it was actually carrying a young man wearing a red short robe.

The man's robe had a flame pattern embroidered on the chest, and it seemed that, like Chen Wan, he was from the Fire Refining Hall.