Familiar Faces!

"The Hidden Dragon Assembly is over."

Qin Yan's calm voice reached him. "We've returned safely to the Elf Clan's Ancestral Land. It's time to rejoin our team."

At those words, Xue Ye perked up. He hurriedly struggled into a sitting position, his eager gaze sweeping his surroundings.

When he saw the familiar architecture of the Ancestral Land and sensed the pure aura of the Elf Clan in the air, his taut nerves finally relaxed completely, and he let out a long breath.

I made it back alive... I really made it back alive!

As for why he was with Qin Yan at that moment, that was easy enough to explain.

He had been right beside Qin Yan when Qin Yan killed the Black Ancient Tree.

He just did not understand why Qin Yan had knocked him unconscious, but he lacked the courage to ask.

After witnessing Qin Yan's true strength, he had long since abandoned any desire to pry.

Xue Ye nodded. "All right."

The clearing was enormous and teeming with people.

Each clan had its own designated gathering area, with Elf Clan guards maintaining order and conducting the necessary identity checks and security inspections.

Mingling with the crowd, Qin Yan and Xue Ye passed through several checkpoints and showed their respective identity tokens to the Elf Clan officer on duty before they were allowed to leave the clearing and head toward the temporary gathering grounds prepared within Elf Clan territory for the competing teams.

Led by an elf soldier, the two followed a woodland path wreathed in faint mist and finally reached a relatively spacious forest clearing.

Quite a few simple but elegant treehouses and tents had already been erected there.

Many Elf Clan prodigies who had returned ahead of them were resting and talking there.

Though the atmosphere