Cooperation?

In Secret Realm No. 7, everyone was teleported to the exact same location.

It was a stone platform, barren and clearly marked by human intervention.

It looked as if a massive mountain had been sliced clean in half at the waist to create this space.

Chu Yuan extended his divine sense, confirming that his hypothesis was correct.

They had appeared by falling out of a blood-colored Vortex hovering two meters above the platform; it was large, circular, and roughly five meters in diameter.

Even now, it continued to spit people out.

When it was time to return, one simply had to jump back into this same Vortex.

Before he could carefully observe the surrounding scenery, a long howl suddenly rang out, seemingly coming from the foot of the mountain.

The crowd fell into a brief state of chaos, and Chu Yuan's divine sense immediately swept toward the source.

But he only caught a glimpse of a blood-colored figure leaping away into the distance.

"Blood Beasts possess a sense of tribal consciousness, much like... ancient wolf packs? Of course, their intelligence is slightly higher; they can be viewed as low-level members of an Alien Race," Li Hong said, stepping closer with his usual gentle smile. "That one was likely left here to monitor the movements at the teleportation rift. I estimate that before long, every Blood Beast in the secret realm will know that the human race has arrived again!"

Chu Yuan nodded; he had been thinking the same thing.

Secret Realm No. 7 was firmly under the control of Great Qin, and the Great Qin legions conducted a "harvest" every year.

The Blood Beasts here must have long since developed a bone-deep fear of humanity.

That was why the Blood Beast at the foot of the mountain, despite possessing the speed of a Third Realm martial artist, had shown no desire to attack; instead, it had fled the moment it saw people.

"We're from the same school, so why not cooperate?" Li Hong continued.

Chu Yuan looked at him with a baffled expression.

In this trial, every single person was a competitor.

If they cooperated, how would the final credit be divided?

Li Hong raised the terminal on his wrist. "The trial mission is to kill Blood Beasts. First Realm earns one point; Second Realm earns ten; Third Realm earns one hundred... You are very strong. If you can help me take first place, I promise on behalf of the Li Family that I will give you an unimaginable reward!"

"If you could truly represent the Li Family, would you have been exiled to Chenyang City?" Chu Yuan remained unmoved, his face expressionless.

Li Hong froze for a moment, then gave a bitter laugh. "You certainly don't mince words... Of course I cannot represent the Li Family, but if I can secure first place in the trial, perhaps I might earn a little bit of standing?"

"Your Li Family is so powerful; surely you aren't the only one who came? Why not cooperate with your own kin?" Chu Yuan asked. He didn't believe for a second that Li Hong was the only one from his family in this trial. Since they were aiming for cultivation techniques, it would naturally be better to work with their own blood; the distribution of spoils would be much easier to negotiate afterward.

Li Hong shook his head and looked in a certain direction. "My relationship with them... isn't very good."

Chu Yuan followed his gaze and saw a young man who looked somewhat similar to Li Hong, staring coldly in their direction.

While most people were wearing school uniforms, he stood out, dressed in a pure black, silk-like training suit.

His hair was cropped short, giving him a crisp appearance, and a man and a woman followed behind him, clearly treating him as their leader.

Noticing Chu Yuan's gaze, he cast a cold glance at him before stomping his foot and departing the platform.

"That is Li Ji," Li Hong explained briefly, then pressed, "So, how about it? Will you cooperate? You should realize that going it alone is a disadvantage... After all, not everyone is here just for the first-place prize, and there are quite a few disciples from martial arts families like ours in this trial. Our Li Family... is not the strongest."

"Not interested." Without waiting for Li Hong to persuade him further, Chu Yuan activated his Smoke-Drifting Steps and left the platform.

The smile on Li Hong's face gradually faded as he watched the direction Chu Yuan had departed, his expression shifting.

The girl who had brought drinks to Jiang Fei on the way here approached him hesitantly. "Um... I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation; I just wanted to ask, is it possible to form a team?"

"Of course."

There were no Blood Beasts near the platform; even the dullest, most foolish beast knew to stay far away from such a dangerous place.

Therefore, if one wishes to hunt Blood Beasts, one must venture deeper.

The terminal issued by the military contains a detailed map, color-coded according to the level of danger.

Chu Yuan flips through the information on the terminal while hurrying along his way.

Unexpectedly, the information is extremely brief.

It consists of only three parts.

The first part is the content of the trial, which is to hunt Blood Beasts!

The terminal comes with a recording function, and the final ranking will be settled based on the number of points earned.

The second part covers the general situation within Secret Realm No. 7, which is also the most extensive section.

It includes maps, illustrations of precious medicinal herbs, edible plants, creatures of the secret realm, introductions to safe water sources, and so on.

This trial lasts for five days; for students at the current stage, with the exception of the extremely rare Internal Breath Realm practitioners, the rest cannot go five days without food or water.

The third part is the safety net mechanism.

This trial has no high-level martial artists overseeing it, and besides, it would be impossible to look after so many students anyway.

However, those who encounter danger or wish to give up can return to the Stone Platform and jump directly into the Vortex to return.

The Stone Platform has a defensive mechanism; it does not affect the human race, but as for other creatures... one comes, one dies!

There is nothing else. Within the terminal, for trial-takers like them, there seem to be no restrictions whatsoever.

Chu Yuan had originally assumed there would be some rule against "mutual slaughter," but it did not appear.

In such a serious trial, one can immediately rule out the possibility that the rule-makers simply "forgot."

Chu Yuan looks at the terminal in his hand... so, did the higher-ups do this on purpose, tacitly allowing students to attack one another?

Or is this... also a layer of the trial?

Since the military-issued terminal can record the hunting of Blood Beasts, it wouldn't be difficult to record video footage as well, would it?

While he is deep in thought, a malicious gust of wind suddenly rushes toward his face!

Chu Yuan instinctively tilts his head, and a stone grazes past his ear.

"Yo, not bad!"

A mocking voice rings out, and a figure leaps down from a nearby tree.

Chu Yuan's brows twitch as he realizes it is the very boy who had been following behind Li Ji earlier.

Too lazy to speak, he flicks his finger, and the Wind Cutter Sword at his waist falls into his hand.

The boy remains unconcerned, arms crossed, looking curious.

"Can you tell me, how did a bumpkin from a backwater place like you... manage to offend Brother Ji?"

"You will find out soon enough..."

Wind Control: Swift!

A pale cyan light flares brilliantly upon the sword's edge, as if a true gale has condensed there!

He arrives in a flash...