The Passage Closes!

After sensing that the thing in the sinkhole was not giving chase, Chu Yuan set his mind at ease and prepared to return to the Stone Platform.

According to the data, the strongest entity in Secret Realm No. 7 was supposed to be the leader of the Blood Beasts, a creature that had just stepped into the Fourth Realm.

While a Blood Beast of that level was formidable, it wouldn't be impossible to handle if the strongest Internal Breath Realm candidates among this batch of trial-takers joined forces.

But now, there had clearly been an unexpected change.

Chu Yuan felt that even if all the current trial-takers were bundled together, they wouldn't be enough to withstand a single slap from that giant beast.

Moreover, there was that martial artist atop the giant beast who looked every bit the villain... Chu Yuan seemed to have an impression of the medal he was toying with.

It was issued internally by the military, and its owners almost all possessed immense power!

The medal was deformed and twisted, with bloodstains still lingering on it... It couldn't possibly belong to that martial artist himself.

Chu Yuan prepared to exit the fissure and head outside to report the situation.

In any case, his points were sufficient, and now that all the Blood Beasts had swarmed toward the sinkhole, even if others wanted to continue hunting, there were no Blood Beasts left for them to kill.

He did not activate the Sword Control Technique on his way back, as he might encounter other trial-takers at any moment.

Doing so might, to some extent, invite potential trouble.

However, he still killed any Blood Beasts he passed by along the way as a matter of convenience.

Just after slaughtering four or five Second Realm Blood Beasts, Chu Yuan's gaze shifted toward a spot in the dense forest.

Two figures were walking over.

One was a girl with a pretty face wearing a Jade Martial High School uniform.

The other was a boy in a black satin training suit... it was Li Ji.

As their eyes met, Li Ji was stunned for a moment, appearing somewhat surprised.

But then, seeing the filth on Chu Yuan's body from the Blood Beasts he had trampled, a hint of disdain crept into his eyes.

He didn't know how Chu Yuan had survived Wang Cheng, but if mere Blood Beasts could reduce him to such a disheveled state, this Chu Yuan wasn't worth his concern.

"Hey, did you run over from the front?" the girl asked, crossing her arms. "What happened up there?"

"There is a 'treasure' ahead, and all the Blood Beasts in the secret realm have gone there. I was no match for them, so I retreated," Chu Yuan said "sincerely."

"Pfft~" The girl seemed somewhat dismissive, then asked, "What about Wang Cheng? Have you seen Wang Cheng? The boy who was with us?"

Chu Yuan asked in confusion, "You're asking me if I've seen your own companion?"

The girl's response was somewhat beyond Chu Yuan's expectations; she said righteously, "Wang Cheng went to intercept and kill you. What, you didn't run into him?"

Chu Yuan hadn't expected her to say it so matter-of-factly, and he was actually amused to the point of laughter.

"Heh~"

"What's with that expression?" The girl frowned, looking somewhat angry.

She drew a dagger from her sleeve and took a step forward.

She had heard of this guy; although she didn't remember his name, Li Chen's death seemed to have something to do with him.

Of course, she didn't actually care whether Li Chen lived or died.

It was just that someone within the Li Family held a grudge against him, so killing him while they were at it was fine.

Just then, Li Ji suddenly turned his head to look to one side.

Two more people had arrived at this spot, following the trail of Blood Beasts.

Seemingly attracted by the commotion here, these two ignored the stampeding beasts and instead closed in on this group.

"Yo, isn't this the great young master of the Li Family? What, bullying people here again?" A sarcastic, mocking voice drifted over.

Chu Yuan followed the sound and saw that their uniforms were printed with the words "Divine Martial High School."

People from the Divine Capital?

The boy who spoke had hair hanging to his shoulders and walked with a slouch, exuding a wicked, dissolute air.

And the person who could hang out with such a character was naturally no decent sort either; a chubby figure with squinty eyes was scanning the girl up and down, as if he wanted to see right through her uniform.

Li Ji seemed to know them, and being a man of few words, he finally spoke: "What business is it of yours?"

"Tch~ Some people, just because they have a Seventh Realm great-grandfather in the family, act all eccentric and put on airs like a grandson; if someone didn't know better, they'd think his dad was a Martial God~" The other continued to speak sarcastically, drawing out his tone.

"That's still better than some people who act like street thugs all day, smearing filth on their family's reputation!" the girl beside Li Ji retorted, her expression one of disgust.

The long-haired youth didn't seem to care, looking at the girl with a mocking smile: "Are you this pretentious guy's fiancée? What was your name again? Fatty, do you remember?"

The fat man beside him had the flesh on both sides of his cheeks quiver as he shook his head: "Don't remember, some small-time family... why would I bother remembering her? Though, her tits aren't small..."

Chu Yuan looked at the oversized school uniform on the girl, unable to understand how that fatty had managed to tell; could this also be considered a talent?

Li Ji and the girl's expressions darkened; the girl glared fiercely and tightened her grip on her dagger.

"What, looking to fight!?" The long-haired boy raised his voice and rolled up his sleeves. "You guys have some nerve! Fatty, take them down!"

The fatty licked the corner of his mouth and pointed at the girl with a foolish grin: "I want to fight her."

"Is that really why you want to fight? I'm too embarrassed to even call you out..."

Seeing that both sides were about to clash, Chu Yuan couldn't be bothered to get involved and moved his body, activating the Smoke-Drifting Steps to depart.

Li Ji's gaze sharpened. This speed... no wonder Wang Cheng couldn't take him down!

I fear that he, like me, has already stepped into the Internal Breath Realm!

Thinking of the worst-case scenario, whether Wang Cheng is even still alive... is a matter of debate.

The two boys who arrived later didn't care about Chu Yuan's departure at all; their eyes held only a thirst for battle as they strode toward Li Ji and the girl.

After that, he didn't encounter any more weirdos, only the Blood Beasts that kept arriving in a steady stream.

Chu Yuan successfully returned to the Stone Platform and discovered that there were already quite a few people there!

A rough count suggested at least two or three thousand!

They seemed to have nothing to do; some were huddled together in conversation, looking deeply worried, while others were cultivating or resting with their eyes closed.

But no matter what they were doing, they couldn't hide the anxiety and sorrow between their brows.

A stifling atmosphere spread through the air...

Chu Yuan's heart skipped a beat as he looked up at the exit of the Secret Realm, which was within reach.

If these low-level trial-takers wanted to accumulate points, they would naturally be hunting Blood Beasts deep in the Secret Realm.

If they wanted to give up, they should have already left through the exit... so what was the meaning of this gathering?

It couldn't possibly be for fun, could it?

He already had a few guesses in his heart, so he pushed off with his feet and dove headfirst into the vortex.

However, the exit of the Secret Realm seemed to have turned into a mere light-based illusion!

The next moment, Chu Yuan did not appear in the outside world, but instead landed back on the Stone Platform...

His heart sank.

The passage... had something gone wrong?

"Don't waste your energy, you can't get out... so many of us here have already tried many times." A helpless sigh sounded behind him.

"We speculate that the passage might only become usable after the five-day trial ends." Chu Yuan turned around to see that the person speaking to him was a petite girl with a distressed expression, her small, oval face scrunched up.

"You must have also felt it was too dangerous and wanted to quit the trial, right? Do you want to go look for some food and water together? By the way, let me introduce myself, my name is Tian Tian."

Chu Yuan spoke slowly: "So, according to your speculation, the information left by the military in the terminals is wrong?"

The military wasn't some amateur outfit; for a trial of this level, the information in the terminals must have undergone countless checks. How could they possibly provide the trial-takers with incorrect information?

It made absolutely no sense!

The expression on Tian Tian's face stiffened, and she said unnaturally: "Maybe... people always make mistakes, right..."