The Academy Exchange Conference concluded successfully, and Ye Lingyun's outstanding performance made him the undisputed rising star of Lingxi Academy. Tales of his achievements spread throughout the academy, inspiring more students to strive for greatness. Yet beneath the surface glory, hidden currents continued to stir.
Though the Fengyun Club and the Proud World Alliance had suffered crushing defeats at the conference, neither intended to let the matter rest. Lin Yu and Zhao Tianba met in secret afterward, their faces dark as they discussed an even more vicious plan.
"That Ye Lingyun is a real menace. He's ruined our plans time and time again," Lin Yu said through gritted teeth, his eyes brimming with venom.
Zhao Tianba snorted coldly. "Hmph, we can't let him keep strutting around like this. We need a foolproof plan to have him struck from Lingxi Academy's rolls for good."
After some secret plotting, the two decided to use an upcoming expedition into dangerous ruins, organized by the academy, to deal with Ye Lingyun. Lingxi Academy and several other top academies were jointly hosting the expedition to hone their students' practical combat skills and spirit of exploration. The ruins were riddled with dangers, but also held countless precious cultivation resources and secret manuals.
Lin Yu and Zhao Tianba bribed the instructor responsible for assigning the exploration groups, placing Ye Lingyun in a relatively weak team. Not only that, they tampered with his team's route, deliberately guiding them into the most dangerous area of the ruins.
"Once Ye Lingyun dies in those ruins, all our problems will be solved." A vicious smile crept across Lin Yu's face.
"Exactly. Even if he's lucky enough to survive, he'll be gravely wounded by the time he gets out of that dangerous area. Then we'll make our move, and he won't have the slightest chance to fight back," Zhao Tianba agreed.
Meanwhile, some of Lingxi Academy's established factions grew increasingly uneasy after seeing Ye Lingyun shine at the conference. They feared his rise would upset the academy's existing balance of power and threaten their standing. These factions also began secretly monitoring his movements, ready to join forces with the Fengyun Club and the Proud World Alliance at the right moment and deliver a fatal blow.
Completely unaware of these schemes, Ye Lingyun eagerly anticipated the expedition. To him, it was a rare opportunity to improve his strength. He used this time to train even harder, consolidating the techniques and insights he had gained during the conference. He also thoroughly studied the available information about the ruins, hoping to gain something from the exploration.
At last, the expedition began. Led by an instructor, Ye Lingyun and his teammates arrived at the entrance to the ruins. Hidden within an ancient mountain range, the ruins were surrounded by an air of mystery and danger. Ancient runes covered the enormous stone doors at the entrance, as though recounting stories of ages past.
Ye Lingyun's group consisted of five members: himself, Li Hao, Wang Li, Zhang Feng, and Chen Yao. Li Hao was forthright and spirited, and excelled at close combat; Wang Li was meticulous and well versed in spiritual herbs and medicinal pills; Zhang Feng specialized in disarming all kinds of mechanisms; and Chen Yao excelled at ranged attacks, controlling her spiritual power with great precision. Though the group's overall strength was unremarkable among the many teams, Ye Lingyun believed that as long as they worked with one heart, they would surely reap rewards within the ruins.
After entering the ruins, they followed a narrow passage. An eerie green glow flickered across the walls on either side, and faint roars occasionally reached their ears, as though some dangerous creatures were watching them from the darkness.
As they continued, an enormous cavern suddenly opened up ahead. Thick mist filled it, reducing visibility to almost nothing. Ye Lingyun warily signaled for everyone to stop, carefully studying their surroundings in an attempt to identify the source of the danger.
"Be careful, everyone. There's something strange about this mist. It could be hiding danger," Ye Lingyun said quietly.
Just then, several enormous, batlike monsters burst out of the mist. They spread their sharp claws and lunged at the group. Ye Lingyun swiftly drew his longsword and unleashed the Star-Splitting Void Sword Technique, sword energy crisscrossing the air as he slew one monster in an instant. Not to be outdone, Li Hao swung his broadsword and engaged the monsters at close quarters. Wang Li quickly took out medicinal pills to replenish her teammates' spiritual power. Zhang Feng watched the monsters' movement patterns from the side, trying to discover their weaknesses. Chen Yao stood at the rear, continuously firing arrows of spiritual power at the monsters.
Working together, they finally drove the monsters back. However, the battle had depleted a considerable amount of everyone's spiritual power. Ye Lingyun knew full well that this was merely a minor incident within the ruins, and that far more dangers awaited them.
"Let's rest for a while and recover our spiritual power. We'll need to be even more careful from here on," Ye Lingyun said.
Everyone nodded and sat cross-legged, circulating their spiritual power to recover their strength. While they rested, Ye Lingyun began to sense that something was wrong. He noticed that they seemed to have strayed from their original exploration route and were heading deeper into the ruins. Moreover, the fluctuations of spiritual power around them were growing increasingly intense, as though an even greater danger awaited them ahead.
Ye Lingyun's heart jolted. He realized that someone had very likely done this deliberately. But by now, they were already deep within the ruins, and mechanisms that had suddenly appeared had blocked their retreat.
"It looks like someone has set us up. But don't panic. We'll work out how to deal with this together," Ye Lingyun said calmly.
His words eased his teammates' fear a little. They knew that in these dangerous ruins, only by standing united could they hope to survive.
Ye Lingyun began carefully recalling the information he had read about the ruins, searching for a way out of their predicament. He remembered a mention of an ancient temple deep within the ruins that might hold the key to unraveling every mystery. But the temple was also surrounded by powerful guardian beasts and deadly mechanisms.
"We'll head to the temple deep within the ruins. Perhaps we can find a way out there. But the journey is bound to be fraught with danger, so everyone must be careful," Ye Lingyun said.
Gathering their resolve, the others followed Ye Lingyun deeper into the ruins. They did not know what awaited them ahead, but all held firmly to their determination to overcome these hardships alongside him and escape the dangerous ruins... Outside, meanwhile, members of the Fengyun Club and the Proud World Alliance were closely monitoring Ye Lingyun's team, waiting for word of his death...
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