The Strange Great Cleavage

The entire Furnace ruins were larger than imagined.

Fu Qian followed behind the group, nonchalantly observing his surroundings.

He didn't hold out much hope of finding an opening to escape, but he understood Li Weixuan's reasoning for this arrangement.

Firstly, even if the possibility was slim, they couldn't give up hope in such a desperate situation; they had to try.

Secondly, having everyone personally tour the area to confirm their predicament would save a lot of unnecessary talk.

Huang Zhaoyan, who had recently joined the group, clearly didn't get along with Yuan Xin and the others. Although he didn't dare to start a direct conflict under Li Weixuan's warning, they had been engaged in a war of words, neither willing to back down.

Unexpectedly, Ji Liushuang took on the role of a mediator between the two.

Yuan Xin, needless to say, and Huang Zhaoyan both acted as if they were tolerating the other for Ji Liushuang's sake.

It was hard to imagine that this harmonious scene was happening while he was secretly arranging for someone to kill Ji Liushuang.

From the conversations between the three and those around them, Fu Qian roughly gathered that they all came from powerful, established aristocratic families.

Unlike Wen Li's family, who were newly rich upstarts, and even incomparable to Young Master Ye's background, these were genuine transcendent families with over a hundred years of history.

They even had quite a bit of history amongst themselves; whether it was good or bad, that was hard to say.

Ji Liushuang and the others were all outstanding individuals of their generation, chosen to be sent to the Academy as classmates.

What a complicated web of relationships!

Fu Qian had no interest in the grievances between the three; the only thing that mattered to him was completing the mission and getting out of here.

It was their business how they formed alliances and schemed against each other, but if it got in his way, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate them all.

Initially, the group was focused on searching for weaknesses in the barrier, afraid of missing any chance of escape.

However, their enthusiasm quickly waned, and despair began to spread, leaving only mechanical tapping and striking.

After traveling for a period of time, the group was finally physically and mentally exhausted and decided to stop and rest.

Fu Qian had no objections. After the group sat down, he stated that he wasn't tired and would go on ahead.

"Dean Li asked us to act together."

Yuan Xin stared at Fu Qian, his expression serious.

"I know, you can follow me."

"Everyone needs to rest."

"So, you can't keep up?"

"...Why should we follow you?"

"Perhaps—"

Fu Qian blinked.

"Because I'm Sixth Order?"

"You can follow slowly behind, I don't mind being dragged down."

"You..."

Yuan Xin trembled with anger, but the fact remained, and he couldn't refute it.

See, this is the advantage of a world where might makes right; a higher level trumps all.

Fu Qian turned around with satisfaction and set off alone, under the complex gazes of the group.

If he remembered correctly, the assassin's burial site wasn't far ahead.

He had something he needed to confirm.

However, Fu Qian hadn't gone far when he noticed someone behind him.

Huang Zhaoyan hadn't stopped to rest either and was cautiously following him.

Had this guy sensed something unusual? Or was he coming out to meet the assassin?

Both were possible. After all, if they were all trapped inside, they would eventually encounter each other, and it would be awkward if something was revealed then.

But regardless of the reason, it was good that he came!

Fu Qian didn't mind the extra follower at all and continued on his way, soon finding the place where he had disposed of the body.

Without hesitation, he directly lifted the gravestone he had placed on the body.

Hiss!

Although he had expected it, the scene before him still filled him with a sense of wonder.

The assassin, who had only died a short while ago, had already become a desiccated corpse.

His entire body was shriveled like firewood, not a drop of blood visible.

Even more bizarrely, the sparse hair on his head was now completely gone, vanished without a trace.

Not only that, but his entire withered body, from top to bottom, looked like a melting wax figure, contorted into a strange, twisted posture, with some parts unnaturally elongated.

For example, at the shoulders, the skin had been stretched almost transparent, as if his arms were about to detach from his body.

"It really is a Furnace!"

Fu Qian secretly marveled, finding the place incredibly bizarre.

His previous guess was indeed correct. All creatures that entered, died, and were then dissolved by a special rule, their essence coalescing into the hair, the palms, and the forms of those monstrous beings.

He wouldn't be surprised if he saw something like a block of blood tofu later.

After carefully observing everything, Fu Qian directly stepped away from the scene.

This time, he didn't cover the stone tablet back up. Instead, he simply tossed it aside, not caring if it would be discovered.

Fu Qian was well aware that Huang Zhaoyan was secretly observing from behind a building not far away. He was very curious about how his acquaintance would react upon seeing the corpse.

As it turned out, Huang Zhaoyan, who had quietly approached the corpse the moment Fu Qian left, stood stunned on the spot for several minutes.

That guy is definitely suspicious, Fu Qian thought to himself, nodding.

He had already made his actions as obvious as possible, practically heading straight for the stone tablet to uncover the corpse. Even an idiot could guess that the person's death was related to him.

And he had directly exposed the corpse to Huang Zhaoyan.

If Huang Zhaoyan was guilty, he would absolutely believe Fu Qian knew something, and that this was intentionally put on display for him.

Later, when he met Li Weixuan, it would be normal if Li Weixuan made the discovery of the corpse public.

But if Li Weixuan omitted this part, then it was 99% certain he had sent the assassin.

Of course, if Huang Zhaoyan was foolish enough to think he had been exposed and tried to silence him, Fu Qian wouldn't mind finishing him off.

After all, theoretically speaking, his plan involved Fu Qian being targeted by an assassin Transcendent, even being put in mortal danger.

"He who kills shall be killed."

Fu Qian was suddenly looking forward to that scene.

Unfortunately, after waiting for a while, Huang Zhaoyan remained frozen in place, much to Fu Qian's disappointment as he left.

Not long after, Fu Qian encountered Li Weixuan and his group, their expressions grim.

The morale of their team was clearly at its lowest. It went without saying they hadn't found anything.

"Where is everyone else?"

Li Weixuan frowned, looking at Fu Qian, who was alone.

"They needed to rest. I came ahead to scout."

Fu Qian said with a calm expression.

Li Weixuan was clearly in a bad mood and didn't have the energy to pursue Fu Qian's minor infraction.

"Did you find any way in or out?"

"No."

The hopeful looks on the group's faces dimmed again.

Li Weixuan clearly hadn't held much hope either. He nodded, signaling Fu Qian to rejoin the team, and instructed everyone to rest in place.

After waiting for a while, a large group of people could be seen approaching in the distance.

The person leading them had long, flowing hair and an elegant gait. Before he even arrived, he shouted, "Dean Li, we've made a discovery!"