After realizing that the thing in the Sky Pit hadn't come after him, Chu Yuan finally relaxed and prepared to return to the Stone Platform.
The strongest creatures in Secret Realm No. 7 were supposed to be the Blood Beasts' leader, an existence that had just entered the Fourth Realm, according to the records.
Blood Beasts at that level were powerful, but if the strongest of the trial-takers in the Internal Breath Realm joined forces, they could at least put up a fight...
But now, something had clearly happened that no one had expected.
Chu Yuan felt that even if all the trial-takers joined together, they wouldn't be enough to withstand a single slap from that giant beast.
What was more, there was that Warrior atop the giant beast's head, who looked every bit like a villain... Chu Yuan seemed to recognize the medal he was toying with.
It was issued internally by the military, and almost everyone who owned one was powerful.
The medal was bent out of shape, and blood still stained it... It couldn't have belonged to that Warrior.
Chu Yuan planned to leave through the rift and explain the situation outside.
He had plenty of points anyway, and all the Blood Beasts had run off to the Sky Pit. Even if the others wanted to keep killing them, there weren't any left for them to hunt...
On the way back, he didn't use the Sword Control Technique again, since he could run into other trial-takers at any moment.
That might cause trouble, sooner or later.
But he still killed any Blood Beasts he passed along the way...
He had just slaughtered four or five Second Realm Blood Beasts when Chu Yuan glanced toward a spot in the woods.
Two figures were approaching.
One was a pretty girl wearing a Jade Martial High School uniform.
The other was a boy in a black satin martial arts uniform... It was Li Ji.
Their eyes met. Li Ji froze for a moment, looking somewhat surprised.
But when he noticed the grime on Chu Yuan's clothes, left by the Blood Beasts trampling him, his gaze turned scornful.
He didn't know how Chu Yuan had survived Wang Cheng, but if a few Blood Beasts could leave him in such a sorry state, then Chu Yuan wasn't worth his attention...
"Hey, did you come from up ahead?" the girl asked, folding her arms. "What happened there?"
"There's a 'treasure' up ahead, and all the Blood Beasts in the Secret Realm have gone there.
"I'm no match for them, so I came back," Chu Yuan replied "earnestly."
"Pfft." The girl seemed disdainful. "Where's Wang Cheng? Have you seen him? The boy who was with us?"
Chu Yuan asked, baffled, "He's your companion. Why are you asking me if I've seen him?"
The girl's answer was beyond Chu Yuan's expectations. She replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "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. He couldn't help giving a short, angry laugh.
"Heh."
"What's that look for?" The girl frowned, looking annoyed.
She pulled a dagger from her sleeve and stepped forward.
She'd heard of this guy. She couldn't remember his name, but he seemed to have something to do with Li Chen's death.
Of course, she didn't really care whether Li Chen lived or died.
Someone in the Li Family was taking their anger out on him. If they killed him while they were at it, so be it...
Just then, Li Ji suddenly turned his head and looked to one side.
Two more people had chased a Blood Beast here.
Perhaps drawn by the commotion, the two ignored the fleeing Blood Beast and came over instead...
"Well, well, isn't this the Li Family's young master?
"Why, picking on people again?" a mocking voice called out.
Chu Yuan followed the sound and saw the words "Divine Martial High School" printed on their uniforms.
Were they from the Divine Capital?
The boy who had spoken wore his hair to his shoulders and walked with a swagger, exuding the air of a spoiled, nasty rich kid.
And naturally, anyone who hung out with someone like him wasn't respectable either. The chubby boy beside him was leering at the girl, his narrow eyes roaming up and down her body as if he wanted to see through her uniform.
Li Ji seemed to recognize them. At last, the normally taciturn boy spoke. "What's it to you?"
"Whatever. Some people have a great-grandfather in the Seventh Realm, so they act all high and mighty and put on a show like they're somebody.
"Anyone who didn't know better might think his dad was a Martial God," the other boy drawled, continuing to taunt him.
"That's still better than people who spend all day acting like street thugs and bringing shame on their families!" said the girl beside Li Ji, her expression disgusted.
The long-haired boy didn't seem to care. He turned to the girl with a smirk. "So you're this poser's fiancée? What was your name again? Fatty, do you remember?"
The fat on the chubby boy's cheeks jiggled as he shook his head. "No. She's from some nobody family... Why would I remember her?
"But she's got a nice rack..."
Chu Yuan looked at the girl's loose, thick uniform, wondering how the fat boy could tell. Was that some kind of talent, too?
Li Ji and the girl both darkened. She glared at them and tightened her grip on the dagger.
"What, you want to fight?" the long-haired boy raised his voice, rolling up his sleeves. "You two have some nerve! Fatty, take them down!"
The chubby boy licked his lips and pointed at the girl with a foolish grin. "I want to fight her."
"You're not exactly looking for a fight, are you? I almost feel bad calling you out on it..."
Seeing that the two sides were about to fight, Chu Yuan couldn't be bothered to get involved. He moved and used the Smoke-Drifting Steps to leave.
Li Ji's gaze sharpened. That speed... No wonder Wang Cheng hadn't been able to take him down!
Chu Yuan had probably entered the Internal Breath Realm, just like him!
And if he considered the worst-case scenario, there was no telling whether Wang Cheng was even still alive...
The two newcomers paid no attention to Chu Yuan's departure. Their eyes were fixed on the coming fight as they strode toward Li Ji and the girl.
After that, Chu Yuan didn't run into any more oddballs, only the Blood Beasts that kept arriving in an endless stream.
He made it back to the Stone Platform without trouble and found quite a few people already there.
At a rough count, there were at least two or three thousand!
They seemed to have nothing to do. Some clustered together talking, looking anxious.
Others were training or resting with their eyes closed.
But no matter what they were doing, the anxiety and worry between their brows was impossible to miss.
An oppressive atmosphere hung in the air...
Chu Yuan's heart skipped a beat as he looked up at the Secret Realm's exit, close enough to touch.
If these low-level trial-takers wanted to accumulate points, they would naturally hunt Blood Beasts deep inside the Secret Realm.
If they wanted to give up, they should have already left through the exit... So why were they gathered here?
It couldn't be for fun, could it?
He already had a few suspicions. He pushed off the ground and plunged into the Vortex.
But the Secret Realm's exit seemed to have turned into a shimmering illusion!
The next moment, Chu Yuan didn't appear outside. Instead, he landed back on the Stone Platform...
His heart sank.
Was there something wrong with the passage?
"Don't bother. We can't get out... There are so many of us here, and we've already tried a lot of times." A helpless sigh sounded behind him.
"We figure the passage might only work once the five-day trial is over." Chu Yuan turned around. The one speaking to him was a petite girl, her small, oval face scrunched up with worry.
"You're trying to quit the trial because it's too dangerous, too, right? Want to come look for some food and water with me?
"Oh, let me introduce myself. I'm Tian Tian."
Chu Yuan spoke slowly. "So according to your theory, the information the military left in the terminal was wrong?"
The military wasn't some amateur outfit. The information in the terminal for a trial of this level would have been checked who knew how many times. How could they have given the trial-takers wrong information?
It made no sense at all!
Tian Tian's expression stiffened. She replied awkwardly, "Maybe... People make mistakes, after all..."
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