Black Cloud Mountain

Huo Hai left the Academy and headed toward Black Cloud Mountain. Fewer and fewer people traveled the same road, but he paid it no mind. He had learned a little about Black Cloud Mountain before setting out.

Black Cloud Mountain produced little of value. There was not even a single Academy task that took students there. Yet it covered a vast area and was every bit as dangerous as Mijia Mountain, perhaps more so. Naturally, few Academy students came here, and outsiders were even less likely to.

By the time Huo Hai reached the foot of Black Cloud Mountain, he had gone a full day without seeing another traveler. "Strange. Why isn't anyone here? Was the information wrong?" He found it hard to make sense of.

If the World-Spirit Fruit really existed here, anyone who heard the news would rush over at once. Huo Hai himself had done exactly that.

Yet he had not seen a soul all day—not the people who had first obtained the news, nor anyone from the other Four Great Families. It was strange.

"Forget it. Maybe they entered the mountain somewhere else." Huo Hai shook his head. They might have received more precise information and known which direction the World-Spirit Fruit lay in. This was the closest entrance for Academy students, but it was not necessarily the best way into Black Cloud Mountain.

Of course, the Four Great Families might also be waiting to verify the news before entering. Without confirmation, they could not know whether it was true. But that seemed unlikely.

When it came to something like the World-Spirit Fruit, people would rather chase a false lead than let a real one slip away. Even without reliable information, they would send someone to investigate. They might wait for confirmation over an ordinary treasure,