The Survival Match lasted three months. The contestants not only had to cross complex terrain, but also had to remain constantly alert to their own safety, the ever-changing weather, and more.
Before the Beast Pet Tournament began, the guardians had cleared out a relatively large, safe area for the contestants, ensuring they would not encounter any dangerous demon beasts.
But ten days had now passed. Whether those cleared-out dangers would reappear in the competition area was anyone's guess, so from here on, the contestants could only rely on themselves.
With their preparations complete, Jiang Hao's four-person team was studying their route.
Jiang Hao said, "Our points are currently far ahead of the other contestants', so we don't need to linger in these areas earning points like they do. We can head to the Wuji Peak Summit ahead of time. If we're lucky, we might even have time to detour through the Frozen Canyon. Snow Rabbits and Snow Wolves gather there, and both kinds of demon beasts are generally around the golden body realm. Does everyone understand what I mean?"
Chubby said, "Hao, I'm with you."
Wen Ruxue also raised her hand to indicate that she had no objections. Just as the three of them turned to Gongsun Qianxun for her opinion, an ill-timed voice interrupted their planning meeting.
"Could you include the two of us? We're all classmates from the War Academy, so we ought to look out for one another. Besides, we happen to be planning to try our luck in the Frozen Canyon too."
It was Song Jie and Chen Xiaolin.
You're shamelessly barging in here just to ask for trouble, aren't you? Chubby was the first to object, mocking them without a shred of courtesy.
"What, did you forget you still have a bet with Hao? Now that you see he's ranked higher than you in points, you want to infiltrate the enemy camp? Song Jie, you really have no shame."
Song Jie's face darkened. He had indeed been thinking that, but exposing him to his face was going too far. In truth, he had another reason too. As Wen Ruxue's devoted lapdog, didn't he have to follow her at all times?
Song Jie knew his position was rather awkward right now. If the soft approach failed, he would try the hard one. A man without shame was invincible under heaven.
"We occupy several of the top ten spots on the leaderboard, and that's bound to upset the other contestants. Although the rules don't explicitly forbid attacking other contestants, little tricks to knock you out of the competition are impossible to guard against completely. There's strength in numbers. At least we all know each other. If we form a team, we'll share in each other's glory and losses. What do you say?"
That actually made some sense!
After thinking it over carefully, Jiang Hao realized there were benefits to accepting the two of them. First, turning enemies into friends would eliminate a potential threat. Second, the fourth stage's team battles required five to ten people. If Song Jie joined, his strength would give their team a better chance of winning.
But there was also a hidden danger. Keeping an unpredictable bomb beside you meant having to stay on guard at all times. After all, the human heart lay hidden behind the belly-who knew whether Song Jie's intentions were good?
He couldn't speak for the entire team. He should hear what his teammates thought first.
So he gave the three of them a meaningful look, and they immediately understood. "Wait here. We need to discuss this."
Once the four of them had moved some distance away, Jiang Hao explained his thoughts, then looked at the other three, hoping they would state their opinions.
Chubby was still reluctant to let Song Jie and Chen Xiaolin join. Back at the academy, Song Jie and his crowd had always excluded him. Later, when Jiang Hao started hanging out with him, they had deliberately isolated Jiang Hao too. It was easy to imagine how he felt about teaming up with someone who looked down on him.
But Chubby wasn't brainless either. He understood Jiang Hao's point. As the saying went, another friend meant another road. If they could seize this chance to turn swords and spears into jade and silk, there would naturally be plenty of benefits.
Perhaps after returning to the academy, he would no longer have to endure being ostracized by his classmates.
"Since you've put it that way, Hao, I'll listen to you."
Wen Ruxue said, "We're all classmates. As class representative, I have even less reason to form cliques and isolate others. Bringing our classmates together and encouraging friendly cooperation is my responsibility. I have no objections."
Gongsun Qianxun shrugged. "I don't really care. I don't know them anyway. As long as they don't go out of their way to provoke me, that's fine."
Jiang Hao was gratified. Having teammates who supported him and understood the bigger picture was important. Only then could he entrust his back to them without worry.
The four returned to Song Jie and Chen Xiaolin. Jiang Hao could clearly detect a trace of anxiety in Song Jie's eyes, despite his efforts to remain calm.
Jiang Hao cleared his throat. "It's not impossible for you to join us. But I want to make this clear beforehand: if I discover you harboring any ill intentions, I'll kick you out of the group without hesitation-ah, no, the team. If you can't share the hardships, don't expect to share the good fortune."
Song Jie breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "We've had some unpleasantness in the past, but those were personal issues. When it comes to matters of right and wrong, I, Song Jie, know where to draw the line. Aside from matters of the heart, where I won't back down, everything else is negotiable."
After saying this, he deliberately looked at Wen Ruxue, both declaring his devotion and making his position clear.
Chen Xiaolin followed Song Jie's lead. As long as Song Jie had no problems with it, he naturally had none either.
If Jiang Hao remembered correctly, Chen Xiaolin was also a support type, and his support capabilities were no worse than Wen Ruxue's.
Chen Xiaolin Beast Pet: Human-Faced Demon Spider (high grade) Type: support Strength: golden body realm Skills: Heavenly Net, Mask of Terror, Lotus Root Threads
With them joining, the team now had six members.
Jiang Hao served as captain, specializing in ranged attacks. Song Jie was vice-captain, a fusion-based melee fighter. Team member Gongsun Qianxun was a fusion-based agile fighter; Guo Dundun specialized in defense; Wen Ruxue provided healing and enhancement support; and Chen Xiaolin provided restraint and disruption support.
"All right, now that we're teammates, let's continue discussing our route. To get from here to the Wuji Peak Summit, we first have to cross a swamp, then the Mountain Ridge Region, and finally the snowfields. I have two ideas. The first is to go straight through the swamp and the Mountain Ridge Region. The mountain paths will be difficult and might cost us a lot of time, but they're relatively safe. The second is to detour here, through the dense forest. The route is relatively flat, but it's also relatively dangerous. Poisonous insects and fierce beasts aside, the other contestants are sure to take that route. After all, they don't have enough points, heh heh. Which route do you think we should take?"
"Let's take the first one!" the five answered in unison.
Unexpectedly, everyone, from Song Jie to Wen Ruxue and the others, chose the first route. Such unity on their very first decision was rare. That was a good sign, wasn't it?
Song Jie said, "I heard you discussing the Frozen Canyon earlier. I imagine everyone wants to wait at ease for the exhausted prey."
Finally, Jiang Hao concluded, "Then it's decided. We'll avoid the main pack and take the Mountain Ridge Region."
The six shouldered their large backpacks and headed upstream along Snow Spirit Lake. Not long after they left, two figures, one tall and one short, followed close behind. They had chosen exactly the same route as Jiang Hao's team.
Swamps formed where the soil was frequently saturated with water and the surface remained flooded for long periods, allowing moisture-loving and marsh plants to grow.
The vast swamp before them had a beautiful name: the Fairy Spirit Mist Source. A hallucinogenic herb called fairy spirit grass grew here. Animals often wandered into the mire and died, and their rotting corpses, combined with accumulated dead fairy spirit grass, produced a kind of marsh gas. That gas mixed with water vapor to form a miasmic fog. Anyone who rashly entered would experience all sorts of hallucinations, hence the name Fairy Spirit Mist Source.
But all things nurtured and counteracted one another. The leaves of fairy spirit grass caused hallucinations, yet the only antidote was its flowers. Crushing the flowers and smearing them beneath the nostrils produced a pungent stench like rotting corpses that kept the mind clear.
The heavens refused to cooperate. A thick fog blanketed the entire swamp. Never mind finding their bearings-even finding somewhere to set foot was difficult. The grassy hummocks formed by marsh plants lay at irregular distances from one another, and the pools between them were so murky that there was no telling what dangers lurked within. Swamps were generally gathering grounds for large demon beasts such as crocodiles and water pythons.
"How are we supposed to get across?" The others might manage, but Chubby's weight was a real concern. Who knew whether those grassy hummocks could support his tonnage? If he accidentally sank into the mire, they would be in trouble.
"I have a way."
Jiang Hao took out the Folding Axe, chopped off several branches as thick as an arm, and tied them to his feet while explaining, "This increases the area over which your weight is distributed. Understand?"
Jiang Hao had learned this from videos in the Survival Simulator. The polar peoples who lived amid ice and snow year-round did the same thing. It not only let them walk normally over snow, but also allowed them to cross thin ice safely. The same principle applied to swamps.
But that still didn't solve the problem. Some grassy hummocks were too far apart, and they couldn't fly. How were they supposed to cross?
At that moment, Chen Xiaolin finally realized it was his time to shine.
"I have a way. I can build a track out of spider silk."
That was a good solution. With that problem solved, all that remained was finding their bearings.
It was easy to lose their way and become separated in the fog. To find their bearings, they needed to rise above the fog layer, and the best way to do that was to have a flying Beast Pet soar above it and guide them.
That inevitably brought the birdman Yang Di to everyone's minds.
Chen Xiaolin blurted out, "If only Yang Di were here."
Before he had even finished speaking, the atmosphere turned awkward. Jiang Hao had eliminated Yang Di. What was he trying to imply by bringing him up now?
Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Chen Xiaolin hurriedly explained, "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. I just-"
Jiang Hao waved a hand. "What's so difficult about that? My Phoenix can fly too. It just can't stay airborne for very long-only ten minutes at a time. After that, my Phoenix has to wait an hour before flying again."
Ten minutes definitely wouldn't get them out of the Fairy Spirit Mist Source, but this was their only workable option for now. They would take it one step at a time.
"Urgh..."
"It stinks..."
The moment the six smeared on the juice of the fairy spirit flowers, tears streamed down all their faces. The smell went straight to their heads.
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