At the Ruins, before the bronze city gates.
"Junior brothers and sisters, please wait a moment before activating the city gate array. Allow our three teams to enter first."
Before those words had finished ringing out, a middle-aged man strode over. He was as burly as a bear, his muscles knotted, with a thin mustache, a somewhat sinister face, and an arrogant gaze.
More than a dozen people followed him, their auras surging and their true essence abundant. Their cultivation clearly was not ordinary.
Judging by their formation, three teams had banded together to explore the Ruins.
The burly man smiled at Mo Yun and the others, then spoke unhurriedly.
"I hope you'll let our three teams enter the city first. I can guarantee you fourth place and promise that we'll owe you a favor."
Someone behind him chimed in, "This is Senior Brother Zuo, a prodigy who was close to the top twenty of the outer sect's Earth Ranking two or three years ago. His cultivation has now reached middle core condensation, and few inside the Ruins can match him. Think it over carefully."
"Besides Senior Brother Zuo, most of us were also prodigies in the Earth Ranking's top fifty back then. Several of us have reached middle core condensation as well."
"Now that our three teams have joined forces, we act as one. Our strength should be the greatest among everyone exploring the Ruins this time, so Senior Brother Zuo's team ought to go through first."
Normally, only true prodigies in the Earth Ranking's top twenty could qualify to enter the Ruins in the same year they advanced to the inner sect.
Those ranked below the top twenty generally had to wait in line. With bad luck, waiting two or three years was common.
After all, many outer