In the Same Group as Hu Liena

There was nowhere to rest outside the north gate.

Following the people who had passed the first round, Lu Yuan walked out and discovered that a much larger training area lay behind the gate.

Qian Renxue was already standing under a distant corridor, having clearly learned where the second round was held earlier than the rest of them.

The short-haired man walked up to the twenty people.

"Line up according to your first-round scores."

Those with two points stood at the front, one point in the middle, and zero points at the back.

Lu Yuan and two others stood at the very front.

Without any nonsense, the short-haired man placed a wooden cylinder directly on the table.

"Second round, groups of four, draw lots."

"Those with one point in the first round may exchange it for one tool."

He paused.

"In addition, the group that completely passes the second round first will have priority choice in the third round."

As soon as these words were spoken, those who had not paid much attention to the order before became much more serious.

The wooden lots were drawn quickly.

Lu Yuan took a red lot and walked to the corresponding position.

The first to come over was Zhou Qi, who had taken two tokens in the first round and earned one point.

The second was Luo Qing.

Lu Yuan recognized him; he was the thin, small youth who had wanted to team up with him empty-handed at the start of the first round.

Luo Qing recognized him as well, and his expression turned somewhat awkward.

"We meet again."

"Do you have items this time?"

"Does having myself count?"

"Barely."

A light chuckle came from the side.

Lu Yuan turned his head.

The last teammate was a girl a year or two older than him.

Her light golden short hair just brushed past her ears, the ends curling slightly to give her cheeks a softness specific to her age. Yet the corners of her eyes naturally slanted upward, and her amber eyes were very bright, always looking as though she paid one layer more attention to people than others did.

Her dark red training uniform was bound neatly, the cuffs pulled tight, and only a small leather pouch hung from her waist.

The girl placed her red lot on the table.

"You're Lu Yuan?"

"You know me?"

"Three tokens in the first round, tied for first place—it's hard not to hear about that."

She smiled, reaching out to tap herself.

"Hu Liena."

Lu Yuan gave her another look.

He hadn't expected to run into her here.

The short-haired man had already begun calling out names.

"Red group, Lu Yuan, Zhou Qi, Luo Qing, Hu Liena."

Five wooden boxes, each half a person tall, were carried into the field by several acolytes.

The short-haired man patted one of them.

"There are four thin porcelain bottles inside."

"Transported from here to the finish stone platform, all four people must arrive together, and the box cannot be opened halfway."

"Time limit of one incense stick."

"All bottles intact, you pass. One broken, the entire group is eliminated."

Someone looked ahead.

"We just carry the box?"

The short-haired man pointed to an iron gate on the side.

The iron gate slowly pulled open.

Behind it was first a trench nearly two zhang wide, spanned only by a few wooden piles of varying thicknesses. Further ahead was a slope, with a dozen sandbags suspended from both sides, swinging back and forth with the mechanisms.

Further back still were low walls and narrow doors.

The person who had just asked questions immediately stopped talking.

Two acolytes lifted the black cloth beside them.

Ropes, wooden boards, iron hooks, leather pads, and wooden wedges were neatly laid out on the ground.

"One point for one item."

"Once taken, no exchanges."

Lu Yuan had two points, so he first took a bundle of rope, then grabbed a thick leather pad.

Zhou Qi had one point and picked the longest wooden board.

Hu Liena also had one point.

She swept her gaze over the few items and took the iron hook directly.

Luo Qing stood at the back, empty-handed.

He paused for a moment in silence.

"I have zero points."

Lu Yuan nodded. "I could tell."

"Then what do I do?"

Hu Liena grasped the iron hook in her hand.

"Be responsible for listening to instructions first."

Luo Qing's mouth twitched.

The incense was lit.

The other groups set off carrying their boxes almost simultaneously.

Lu Yuan, however, did not move.

He squatted down beside the wooden box and pushed each of the four corners in turn.

Zhou Qi urged him, "Not going yet?"

"The left side of the box is heavier."

Hearing this, Hu Liena squatted down and tested it as well.

She raised her eyes.

"It really is leaning left."

Lu Yuan folded the leather pad, stuffed it into the left side at the bottom of the box, and used a rope to loop around the underside of the box body, tightening it into two rope rings that made it easy to exert force.

"Zhou Qi has the greatest strength, press down on the left."

"Luo Qing and I will carry the front."

He looked at Hu Liena.

"You go across the trench with the iron hook first and secure the rope."

Hu Liena raised an eyebrow.

"Ordering people around the moment we form a group?"

"Then you divide the tasks."

"Forget it."

She grabbed the iron hook.

"Go on."

Only then did the four of them lift the box and set off.

A group had already reached the edge of the trench ahead.

A child rushed to step onto a wooden pile, his foot slipped, and the box tilted sharply to the side.

A crisp sound of collision immediately came from inside.

The expressions of those four people all changed.

Lu Yuan did not stop.

Zhou Qi laid the wooden board horizontally between two wooden piles, and Hu Liena stepped onto it first, reaching the opposite side lightly in just a few steps.

The iron hook caught in a rock crevice.

The rope pulled taut rapidly.

"Go."

The three of them lifted the box onto the piles.

When walking to the middle, Luo Qing's foot slipped.

The corner of the box plummeted violently.

Zhou Qi gave a low shout, stone armor rapidly covering his arms, and forcefully propped up the left side.

Hu Liena also pulled the rope hard from the opposite side.

The wooden box wobbled twice, then quickly steadied again.

The four of them crossed the trench without a single sound of shattering coming from within.

The sandbags on the slope were even more troublesome.

More than ten sandbags swung left and right; it was not hard for a single person to squeeze through, but there was simply no way for a wooden box to turn sideways.

Hu Liena stood at the very front and watched for a few cycles.

"The third and seventh ones will clear a path at the same time."

Lu Yuan had seen it too.

"Wait for the next round."

Zhou Qi looked forward.

"Some people have already crossed."

"Let them go first."

Just as his voice fell, the leading group rushed forward blindly to race the clock.

Bang!

A sandbag struck right against the corner of the box.

The entire wooden box slipped from a person's grasp and heavily slammed into the ground.

Lu Yuan did not look again.

"Now."

The four of them started moving at the same time.

The third sandbag swung past behind Luo Qing, and the seventh one happened to clear away from the front of the box.

The few of them did not stop, charging up the slope in one breath.

The remaining low walls and narrow doors turned out to be simpler.

Hu Liena climbed over first to receive the box, Zhou Qi provided support at the back, and Lu Yuan and Luo Qing controlled the direction.

They arrived at the finish stone platform in second place.

The group that had arrived first was already waiting with full anticipation.

The short-haired man lifted their box lid.

The first bottle was intact.

The second one was fine too.

When he reached the third one, he paused.

A fine crack ran across the bottom of the bottle.

"Eliminated."

The expressions of the four people instantly collapsed.

The short-haired man turned to Lu Yuan's group.

The box lid opened.

The four thin porcelain bottles were neat and orderly.

Not a single one was cracked.

"Red group, pass."

He raised a hand toward the recorder nearby.

"Record them as first."

Luo Qing let out a long breath and sat flat on the ground.

Zhou Qi also grinned.

The priority choice for the third round was now in their hands.

Hu Liena patted the box lid and turned to look at Lu Yuan.

"Watching you snatch tokens in the first round, I thought you were quite the loner."

"And now?"

"Teaming up is alright."

She reached out a hand.

Lu Yuan raised his hand and bumped it against hers.

Right at that moment, he sensed a gaze cast over from afar.

In the corridor, Qian Renxue was still standing there.

Their gazes briefly met across the training ground.

The grey text emerged accordingly.

[Qian Renxue]

[Important fate node: nine years old, leaving Spirit City]

The originally blurred next line finally became completely clear this time.

[Heading to the Heaven Dou Empire]

Lu Yuan's hand holding the spear tightened involuntarily.

Nine years old.

Leaving Spirit City.

Heading to the Heaven Dou Empire.

This path was becoming clearer and clearer.

The short-haired man's voice came from ahead.

"Those who passed the second round, rest for a quarter of an hour."

"In the third round, there will be no more grouping."

Hu Liena looked over at Qian Renxue following Lu Yuan's previous gaze, then turned back.

"You know the young master?"

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze.

"Just met."

Hu Liena looked at him for two breaths.

Clearly, she didn't believe it much.

Meanwhile, the short-haired man had already moved the items for the third round to the center of the field.

Five identical black wooden boxes.

"The red group, first in the second round."

He looked at the four people including Lu Yuan.

"For the third round, you choose first."