Sequential Returns

"Senior Brother Lu! You look quite nervous! It seems you already know you're bound to lose this wager!" Peak Master Fu Boren of Tianhua Peak said, casting a smiling gaze at Lu Mingshi, unable to resist a jab.

"Lose? What are you gloating about, you old geezer? They haven't even emerged yet!" Lu Mingshi rolled his eyes and glared at Fu Boren irritably.

As the other man had said, he was exceptionally nervous.

The outcome of this trial was directly related to his wager with Tianhua Peak.

Losing the cold jade was a minor matter, but the crucial point was that if they lost this as well, Luofu Peak would suffer a great humiliation.

Fu Boren, with a smile on his face, was about to speak when an elder suddenly shouted, "Someone's coming out!"

As soon as the elder finished speaking, the ancient teleportation array lit up.

After the light flashed, thirty-five figures appeared in the center of the formation.

These individuals appeared calm and composed. Upon emerging, they immediately gathered together, clearly a unified group. Most of them bore injuries, their clothes were dusty, torn, and stained with blood, indicating they had clearly been through a fierce battle.

After exiting, the thirty-five people quickly scanned their surroundings before their gazes fell upon the Grand Elder of Tianshu Peak. They strode over, bowed respectfully to the Grand Elder, and then stood silently behind him.

The Grand Elder gently stroked his beard, nodded slightly at the group, and a satisfied smile spread across his face.

Tianshu Peak had sent thirty-five people in and thirty-five had returned.

The peak masters and elders of the other peaks' eyelids twitched violently. They exchanged glances, all surprised.

Immediately after, the ancient teleportation array continued to light up. Disciples from various peaks began to appear on the formation.

Among these disciples, only a few were alone; most were in groups of three to five. They were all injured to varying degrees, with some suffering severe injuries, even broken limbs, presenting a truly tragic scene.

Their expressions varied as well. Some were beaming with joy, unable to contain their smiles. Others were dejected and crestfallen, while some wore expressions of sheer luck and relief.

After emerging, these disciples all quickly found their respective peak locations and returned.

The peak masters and elders of each peak, one by one, remained expressionless, showing no emotional reaction to the appearance of these disciples.

An hour later, the number of disciples who had returned for each peak had already exceeded half.

Luofu Peak was the only exception.

Behind Lu Mingshi, only five utility disciples had appeared. These five disciples wore worried expressions and were visibly apprehensive, clearly having had mediocre results.

Seeing this, Fu Boren immediately spoke with a smile, "Senior Brother Lu, if I recall correctly, didn't your Luofu Peak send over a hundred disciples for the trial?!"

"Why have so few returned now! Is the newcomer trial really that difficult? If you ask me, your Luofu Peak shouldn't even participate in the next newcomer trial."

Looking at the number of people returning for each peak, and then at the meager handful behind him, his wrinkled old face had long since contorted into a frown.

However, upon hearing Fu Boren's words, he still snorted coldly and retorted without hesitation, "Hmph! They haven't all come out yet, what are you rushing for?!"

"Senior Brother, you really need to change that stubborn streak of yours! Given the current situation, even if everyone comes out, I doubt many from your Luofu Peak will be among them!" Fu Boren said with a smile, his gaze sweeping across the formation as he searched for something.

Lu Mingshi's expression darkened, and he was about to retort.

Just then, more than ten beams of light flashed on the formation.

Lu Mingshi looked on nervously, but his face immediately fell upon seeing the figures emerging.

More than ten weary figures, led by a disciple in red, dejectedly walked towards the area where the Tianhua Peak disciples were gathered.

Ye Liangchuan, holding the Purple Lightning Sword, walked at the forefront, looking extremely worried and apprehensive.

Fu Boren's face lit up with joy upon seeing Ye Liangchuan and the others return alive. However, he immediately felt a pang of unease when he noticed the expressions on Ye Liangchuan's group were not right.

Could something have gone wrong?

Just as he was about to summon Ye Liangchuan to inquire, Lu Mingshi's voice reached his ears again.

"Fu Boren, you actually let your disciples participate in the trial with a low-grade Spirit Artifact?!" Lu Mingshi, staring at the low-grade Spirit Artifact in Ye Liangchuan's hand, completely disregarded their expressions.

As he spoke, the leaders of the other peaks also turned their attention to Fu Boren, a flicker of surprise clearly in their eyes.

Bringing such a treasure to the trial was no different from cheating.

Fu Boren heard the voice and didn't bother to ask for details. Seeing that the Purple Lightning Sword was unharmed, he temporarily set aside his doubts.

Turning to Lu Mingshi, Fu Boren immediately said with a smile, "Senior Brother, the trial regulations don't forbid bringing Spirit Artifacts! You can still concede now, to avoid losing too miserably and losing face later!"

"Pah! So what if he brought a Spirit Artifact? Do you really think you've won? If I didn't know better, I'd think your disciple brought an Immortal Artifact!"

Lu Mingshi's expression grew uglier. His peripheral vision remained tensely fixed on the teleportation array, but he continued to argue verbally.

As they were speaking, two more beams of light flashed on the formation, and two handsome and beautiful figures, a man and a woman, appeared.

The two looked as if they had just escaped a terrible ordeal, their bodies covered in wounds. Even the purple and green swords they had carried on their backs were gone, clearly indicating they had also been through a fierce battle.

After emerging, they looked towards Lu Mingshi and quickly walked towards the Luofu Peak location.

Seeing the two, Lu Mingshi visibly relaxed, and the stone in his heart was finally lifted.

"How did it go?" he asked after Han Yu and Xiao Yue returned.

Han Yu, covered in dust, opened his mouth but said nothing.

"It's not very optimistic!" Xiao Yue replied with a wry smile and a shake of her head.

"It's fine, being able to come back alive is better than anything! You've all worked hard."

Lu Mingshi's expression stiffened, and his mood grew even lower. But he quickly rallied himself, raising a hand to pat the shoulders of the two disciples, offering encouragement.

Not far away, Fu Boren saw this and his smile widened.

"Senior Brother, looking at them, your Luofu Peak didn't have much of a harvest, did you? Are you sure you want to continue this bet?" Fu Boren grinned, his voice full of cheer.

"Hmph! Look at you showing off. It's not over until the last moment! Are you in such a hurry to reincarnate?" Lu Mingshi rolled his eyes and retorted unhappily.

He no longer held any hope in his heart, but he wouldn't lose face.

Admitting defeat now was absolutely out of the question.

Time passed slowly.

Fewer and fewer disciples appeared on the formation.

At Tianyin Peak's location, two beautiful elders exchanged a glance, their brows showing a hint of worry.

Behind them, quite a few female disciples had already emerged. In terms of survival rate, they were second only to Tianshu Peak.

But their Peak Master, Shen Miaoyin, had not yet appeared, which naturally made them anxious.

Just as the two were becoming restless and filled with anxiety, several more beams of light flashed across the formation.

Among them, two stunning figures appeared, immediately drawing the attention of many.

One of these two was the female cultivator surnamed Chu, Chu Hongyue. The other was Shen Miaoyin, who had crossed paths with Su Shi'er.

After emerging, the two quickly scanned their surroundings, then, with calm expressions, headed towards Tianyin Peak and Luoyan Peak respectively.

Seeing Shen Miaoyin appear, the elder leading the disciples from Tianyin Peak visibly relaxed.

He then directly stepped forward, took Shen Miaoyin's arm, and began to inquire with concern.

This scene, falling into the eyes of the other peak leaders, caused them to feel a sense of confusion.

Although Shen Miaoyin was a Peak Master, she rarely appeared in public, and when she did, she always concealed her form with a treasure called Huan Sha Zhang.

Therefore, even though they were fellow disciples and had worked together for many years, most people did not recognize her. They didn't know that the stunning, otherworldly beauty before them was the Peak Master of Tianyin Peak whom they knew.