"Baili, why do I feel like the fog in these mountains has gotten thicker?"
Baili Xuanren glanced at the steadily thickening fog and thought nothing of it.
"Fog is normal in the mountains. Besides, this is a trial ground. If they didn't create some special conditions, what would there be to test us on in a bare mountain?"
As he spoke, Baili Xuanren walked up to a tree about as thick as his body.
After warming up a little, he hugged the trunk and scrambled up.
A series of cracks came from the tree, and before long, branches fell to the ground.
Thud!
Baili Xuanren jumped down and began working on the branches.
Soon, he held two straight wooden sticks, each about a meter and twenty centimeters long.
After tossing one to Jiang Wang, Baili Xuanren wrapped the Bloodlight Talisman around the grip and grasped it.
"If we run into a ghost, cover me from the side. If anything feels wrong, use the Mind-Clearing Talisman to alert me."
Jiang Wang had been swinging his wooden stick, but froze when he heard Baili's words.
"Didn't we agree to just scout, then regroup at the summit before doing anything together?"
Baili Xuanren looked at Jiang Wang and smiled. "You're so naive. You actually believed me when I said we'd wait until the summit to make a move?"
Jiang Wang's face turned sickly.
"Baili, we can't do this. There are only two of us. What if something goes wrong?"
Baili's smile faded.
"Jiang Wang, I need to take first place in this trial. You know I offended the director before. If I don't distinguish myself, I really might have to leave the Heavenly Gate Branch Administration when it's time to become a full-fledged investigator."
"No one needs to tell you what the Heavenly