Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain

Compared to the Dark Forest, the monsters in the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain dungeon controlled by the school were far more densely packed. The monsters inside generally ranged from levels 3 to 10, while the students' exam area was merely a small zone designated by the school's experts.

From the moment they entered, their homeroom teacher had repeatedly reminded them to keep track of their position and not stray from the route marked on their watches!

This was the training ground for all schools in H City. Nearly everyone who studied in this city would undergo a trial like this.

Their exam was simple. Aside from surviving inside for seven days, they had to collect Iceheart essences.

Icehearts were a unique type of monster found in the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain. Born from the snow, they were the spirits of these mountains.

These monsters were generally level 2. Most Icehearts remained at that level throughout their lives, and very few ever broke through to level 3.

The coordinate teleportation devices issued by the school had been specially designed for training. Not only could they locate students within the dungeon, but they could also collect essences. Each one was extremely expensive.

But they were also the students' greatest guarantee of safety.

After Cao Xiaochun's group stepped through the portal, a flash of white light filled their vision. When they opened their eyes again, the six of them had arrived in a vast snowy field.

Perhaps their luck was simply terrible. Not only was a fierce blizzard raging, but there was not even a single place nearby where they could take shelter.

"Damn, are we really this unlucky? We just got in, and we've already run into a blizzard!"

The moment Hong Jianjun came to his senses, he hurriedly put on his coat and cursed viciously.

Cao Xiaochun did the same. After putting on his coat, he carefully surveyed the surroundings. The coats issued by the school were made from Firefluff Duck down and had strong cold resistance, but they were still nowhere near enough against a blizzard.

They had to find shelter quickly. Otherwise, they could only wait to be eliminated.

"Sister Hanyi, what should we do now?" Pan Yuanyuan slowly edged closer to Li Hanyi, clutching her arm as she asked through chattering teeth.

Having been pampered since childhood, how had she ever experienced anything like this? Her level 3 status made it obvious that during the seven-day break, Pan Yuanyuan had never entered a dungeon. She had leveled up entirely through experience potions.

Besides Pan Yuanyuan and Hong Jianjun, there were two other people in Cao Xiaochun's group. Both were life-class professionals, and they were equally at a loss after encountering a blizzard the moment they entered.

"We need to find shelter as quickly as possible. The snow is reducing visibility, so stay close to me. Don't fall behind, and watch out for ice pits under your feet. Who knows what might be hiding nearby or underground."

Li Hanyi spoke calmly, her brows furrowed.

Clearly, she had done plenty of preparation before coming in. At this moment, she fully demonstrated the sense of responsibility expected from the team leader!

Li Hanyi let out a heavy sigh, then extended her right hand. As she recited an ancient incantation, two purple magic circles instantly appeared on the ground.

Two scantily clad Succubi slowly emerged from the arrays.

"Follow the Succubi. Step in their footprints!"

Li Hanyi gave the order without hesitation.

The blizzard was growing fiercer by the moment. If they stood in it for too long, they would not be able to endure it.

Cao Xiaochun frowned at Li Hanyi's decisiveness. In truth, he could solve the problem before them himself.

If he had been alone, Cao Xiaochun could have summoned Krah and used frost magic to create an ice hut.

But he did not want to do that for the time being. There were simply too many burdens in this team. Bringing them along would not only restrict his movements, but would also likely leave him exerting himself for no reward.

From the moment they entered, Cao Xiaochun had planned to shake them off. This blizzard had come at just the right time. He was certain that before long, someone would withdraw because of it!

After all, this was only a major school exam. While it would affect the college entrance examination, it was not that terrifying.

So Cao Xiaochun decided to follow Li Hanyi for now and see how things developed.

And so, amid the ravaging blizzard, the group trudged forward with great difficulty. Since they had no idea how deep the snow ahead was, the Succubi could only clear the way step by step, making their progress painfully slow.

After walking like this for an hour, one of the boys fell once again, and his mentality completely collapsed.

"Screw this, I'm done! What kind of damn training is this in such a shitty environment? I've never suffered like this in my life!"

"I'm getting out of here. Li Si, are you coming with me?"

The man struggled to his feet and glared resentfully at the man beside him.

Li Si also looked troubled. Like Pan Yuanyuan, he had awakened as a tailor. By sheer luck, Li Hanyi had casually picked him for the team. He had originally hoped to ride her coattails to a good score, only to run into this the instant they entered.

After a brief moment of thought, Li Si finally nodded. The two stood together and were about to press the buttons on their teleporters when Pan Yuanyuan quickly stepped forward and came to their side.

"Wait, I'm leaving with you."

By now, she was shivering like a quail, her body trembling uncontrollably. For her, lasting until now was already quite an achievement!

"Sister, I'll leave the things in my backpack with you." Pan Yuanyuan removed her backpack with trembling hands and tossed it to Li Hanyi. Then white light flashed around the three of them, and within half a minute, they vanished from where they stood.

Li Hanyi did not say anything. She merely picked up the things Pan Yuanyuan had left behind, then directed the Succubi to scout ahead.

"Hey, fatty, they've all run off. You're still not leaving?" Cao Xiaochun was unusually pleased that half the team had been eliminated within an hour. Seeing Hong Jianjun still holding on, he could not help teasing him.

"I'm not leaving! So what if I'm a life-class professional? My dad said that when he worked in the mines back then, there was nothing he hadn't faced! If you quit the moment you run into a setback, then you're not his son!"

Hong Jianjun brushed the falling snow from his head and spoke firmly.

"Besides, I spent three hundred thousand just to cling to such a thick thigh. How could I give up like this?"

"Li Hanyi, let me carry Pan Yuanyuan's backpack. You're the main force here, so you can't collapse. I might not be much help, but I can carry things. I've got plenty of fat, after all—born wearing a thick padded coat. I can handle the cold!"

Although Hong Jianjun's expression was somewhat ugly, he still resolutely took the backpack from Li Hanyi's hand.

Cao Xiaochun could not help smiling. Normally, this fatty loved showing off in class and bragging endlessly, but when something actually happened, he turned out to be rather resolute.

"The Succubi reported that there's a cave around eight hundred meters ahead. It's probably the only shelter nearby, but it seems to be home to several Frost Tigers. They're generally level 9, so the Succubi didn't dare get too close."

"Cao Xiaochun, should we go take a look?"

Li Hanyi turned her head, directly ignoring Hong Jianjun beside her. She fixed her gaze on Cao Xiaochun and spoke calmly.