After the rules were announced, the five-person team immediately felt that things were not looking good. There was a strong chance the five of them would not be in the same batch and would be unable to hunt as a team.
Sure enough, during the subsequent drawing of lots, Dong Lin drew the first batch. The only other person assigned to the first batch alongside Dong Lin was Tao Yan.
Baili Tianming and Zhao Shuheng were assigned to the second batch, while their captain, Gu Chen, was assigned to the third.
"I didn't expect the format of this tournament to be divided into batches. It must have been a last-minute change.
"Earlier, when I asked my master, it seemed they had planned to arrange everyone together, with no intention of splitting us into batches. I have no idea why they changed it at the last minute."
After gathering together, Gu Chen spoke with some regret.
"Indeed, I never heard any news about the rules changing. But there are simply too many Qi Refining Stage disciples participating in this tournament.
"My master said there are over forty thousand Qi Refining disciples in the entire sect, and only a few thousand did not sign up.
"In other words, nearly forty thousand Qi Refining Stage disciples will be participating in the Dawnsource Secret Realm's competition.
"Even if they are divided into three batches, each batch will still have over ten thousand people.
"For more than ten thousand cultivators to gather in a square area like this for a Hunting Tournament is still extremely crowded."
Zhao Shuheng said.
"Alright, it's just a minor change to the rules. It's no big deal.
"Then Junior Brother Dong and Junior Sister Tao can form a team, Brother Zhao and I can form one, and Brother Chen, you can go by yourself.
"Everyone believes in your strength."
Baili Tianming laughed heartily.
"Alright. Then everyone, make your preparations. We'll meet again in a month."
Gu Chen nodded and helplessly accepted the reality.
In the Hunting Tournament, fighting alone and fighting as a team were worlds apart when it came to the ranks and number of spirit beasts they could hunt.
There must be some lucky teams that weren't split apart. I just hope those monsters haven't joined forces.
Gu Chen thought.
Following the guidance of their jade tokens, Dong Lin and Tao Yan quietly waited outside the entrance to the Dawnsource Secret Realm.
This time, the secret realm entrance was no longer fixed. Instead, the elders opened temporary spatial entrances and randomly sent the participating disciples into the competition area.
"Senior Sister Tao, I'll be relying on you for this Hunting Tournament," Dong Lin said with a smile.
"My experience in this area is quite limited too, Junior Brother Dong. Let's learn from each other and look after one another," Tao Yan said.
A quarter of an hour later, Tao Yan took the lead.
"Junior Brother Dong, I'll find a safe place and wait for you. Once we enter, we'll contact each other using the jade tokens."
"Alright, Senior Sister Tao."
After roughly the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, Dong Lin also stepped into the Dawnsource Secret Realm.
The region designated for this Hunting Tournament was basically within the Woodland Wilderness.
The dense foliage greatly obstructed their vision. With the spiritual sense of Qi Refining Stage cultivators alone, they could not explore a very large area.
Fortunately, the locations where the two were teleported were not too far apart, only twenty li away.
After meeting up with Tao Yan in the secret realm, the two headed toward the location where they had encountered the Earth-Element Armored Beasts last time.
Since neither of them was very familiar with this secret realm and this was only their second visit,
rather than exploring unknown regions, it was better to follow the route they had taken last time.
As it happened, the area they had explored previously was included within the boundaries of this hunt.
During their previous journey, they had already gained a rough understanding of the distribution of spirit beasts in the surrounding area.
Both of them had a certain degree of confidence.
However, although this competition prohibited participants from killing one another, it did not prohibit battles between disciples.
The two did not dare advance with great fanfare and could only begin by cautiously feeling their way forward.
Once they encountered others, they could easily become targets. If someone deliberately interfered from the sidelines or stole their spirit beasts,
then this hunt would not be so easy, especially with so many participants this time.
Even if everyone were distributed evenly, there would certainly be someone else within a radius of ten li.
A range of ten li was hardly worth mentioning to cultivators whose spiritual sense could easily extend several hundred meters.
Along the way, Dong Lin and Tao Yan encountered several First Rank early-stage spirit beasts and cautiously avoided nearly ten fellow disciples.
Tao Yan had not even needed to make a move before Dong Lin, relying on his nimble and agile movement technique along with Tiger Claw Strike,
collected the inner cores of several First Rank early-stage spirit beasts.
There was one First Rank early-stage Thick-Earth Tortoise inner core, two First Rank early-stage Shadow Wolf inner cores, and the inner cores of three First Rank early-stage Swiftwind Rabbits.
"Senior Sister, let's take three inner cores each."
"You took all of these down by yourself, Junior Brother. They should all be yours," Tao Yan said.
"Ah, Senior Sister, we should still be fair when dividing these smaller gains. Half each.
"When we hunt higher-rank spirit beasts later, we can divide them according to contribution."
"Alright, then we'll do as you say, Junior Brother."
Tao Yan did not stand on ceremony any longer and accepted three inner cores.
Although all six inner cores were First Rank early-stage, the early stage of the First Rank covered quite a broad range, and the quality of the inner cores was divided into several grades as well.
The three rabbits had basically only barely reached the First Rank early stage. Their combat strength was nearly nonexistent, with only their speed being fairly decent.
As for the two wolves, both were already more than halfway through the early stage. They had been carnivorous beasts to begin with,
and now they also possessed a trace of shadow attributes. They were worth several times more than the Swiftwind Rabbits.
It was like one person who had just entered Qi Refining and possessed only a pitiful single unit of spiritual power, while another possessed fifty or sixty units.
The gap between the two was plain to see—a difference as vast as heaven and earth.
Other than the two Shadow Wolf inner cores, which could likely be exchanged for more points, the other four inner cores were not worth much.
Therefore, when Dong Lin divided them, he deliberately gave each of them one Shadow Wolf inner core,
maximizing the fairness of the distribution.
The greatest taboo in teamwork was unfair distribution.
Sometimes, unfair distribution was the main reason a team developed cracks and even fell apart.
Having lived two lives, Dong Lin understood this principle.
After half a day of travel, the two had reached a location quite far from the entrance.
There was still some distance remaining before they reached the place from last time.
Although they had not moved at full speed last time, they had still traveled more than one hundred and fifty li in two full hours.
Dong Lin and Tao Yan had advanced through the forest carefully and cautiously for half a day, yet they had only covered around one hundred li.
We should only be a few dozen kilometers away from that sandy ground from last time.
"This should be about enough, shouldn't it, Senior Sister Tao? Let's settle down nearby and begin hunting."
"This place should not be far from that sandy ground from last time either. I wonder whether that patch of sand has been partially assimilated by the forest."
"Not necessarily. The Earthshell Beasts we killed last time may have been only a small portion of them.
"With such a vast stretch of sand, I don't think those five Earthshell Beasts alone could have eroded such a large region of forest. After all, there used to be quite a few demonic plants and spirit beasts in the forest."
Tao Yan nodded in agreement.
After a brief rest, Dong Lin and Tao Yan each took responsibility for one area, exploring to see whether any higher-rank spirit beasts were present.
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