Chapter 216
Xu Jintang has clearly exceeded the quota.
Chapter 216
Li Caizhe and the others, who were suddenly teleported out, were all stunned.
"What's going on? Has someone in our team exceeded the limit?"
"That shouldn't be the case. It's not like everyone can only swipe a maximum of three times a day; we've only done it twice already."
Li Caizhe frowned deeply. "There might be another bug. There have been too many people coming from the Land of the North Sea recently, so these kinds of low-probability bugs occasionally occur."
"Ugh, what bad luck! I can't believe I ran into this."
"We can only forfeit the reward for one instance of Mental Power Irrigation. But... how about we try the difficult level trial?"
Li Caizhe fell into deep thought.
Their team's strength was only ranked in the upper-middle tier among many adventure teams, and they had to spend a lot of effort to pass the advanced trials.
But their success this time was quite unexpected.
It's possible that their skills have improved by leaps and bounds during this period of training.
"Alright, let's give it a try!" Li Caizhe looked up, a glimmer of ambition flashing before his eyes.
Xu Jintang stood aside without saying a word, only silently rolling up his sleeves, ready to get to work.
She was actually quite curious about just how difficult the hard-level trials were.
Soon, the group arrived at the entrance to the difficult-level trial.
Li Caizhe stood at the front of the line, took a deep breath, and a hint of eagerness flashed across his face.
"Let's go." With that, Li Caizhe led the way into the trial entrance, his figure quickly disappearing ahead.
The others then exchanged glances, turned around, and stepped into the trial entrance together.
Xu Jintang was the last to go in.
Upon entering the trial grounds, the scenery before their eyes instantly changed.
This time, a bamboo forest appeared, with a faint white mist rising nearby.
Then, a line of glowing text appeared before them. "The Bamboo Forest Trial is an illusionary formation. You must defeat all the enemies within the illusion to escape."
Xu Jintang quickly scanned the area, understood the task requirements, and then withdrew his gaze to observe the surrounding situation.
The bamboo forest was so dense that it seemed to stretch on forever.
Moreover, since bamboo plants all look similar, the scenery is almost the same from any angle, making it easy to lose your way after just a few steps.
Xu Jintang pursed his lips, his expression becoming serious, and he clenched his fists slightly, gathering his spiritual power in his palms.
She took a step forward and began to explore the path.
After walking about ten meters, a gentle breeze blew in my face.
A faint, peculiar fragrance wafted over.
Xu Jintang frowned slightly, sensing that the fragrance was somewhat familiar.
"Class monitor! What are you doing here?" A clear voice rang out from behind.
Xu Jintang quickly turned his head.
Suddenly, Song Duoduo, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, stood opposite her, her face beaming with a delighted smile as she waved.
At her feet grew a cluster of datura flowers, blooming beautifully.
Xu Jintang was taken aback. "Duoduo?"
"It's me. What a coincidence, we run into each other here." Song Duoduo ran over with a smile.
Xu Jintang hesitated for two seconds, then quickly realized something was wrong.
How could Duoduo possibly be in the Land of the North Sea at this time?
Other military academies are probably busy preparing for the start of the league, but their experimental class is a special case, as they were given a temporary leave, which is why they had the opportunity to come out and train.
After regaining his senses, Xu Jintang's eyes immediately darkened, and he quickly raised his hand to summon the Ice Lotus and throw it at the other side.
Song Duoduo, who was running over, paused, a look of confusion on her face. "Class monitor, what are you doing?"
As the Ice Lotus flew past, Song Duoduo immediately dodged to the side.
Xu Jintang did not hesitate and continued to unleash new attacks.
Caught off guard, Song Duoduo had no time to be confused. Her expression gradually turned cold, and she raised her hand to launch a counterattack.
The battle instantly intensified.
The sounds of fighting rang out continuously.
After several rounds of fighting, "Song Duoduo" gradually revealed her weaknesses.
Even when Song Duoduo went all out, she could only exchange less than ten blows with Xu Jintang.
The woman in front of her, Song Duoduo, had already exchanged dozens of blows with her and was still holding her own.
"Who are you?" Xu Jintang asked, staring at the person opposite him, taking advantage of the moment he dodged.
The imposter Song Duoduo smiled, raised her hand, and attacked again, "Your nightmare."
In the new round of fighting, the fake Song Duoduo's strength began to surge, only stopping when it subtly surpassed Xu Jintang's.
"Bang--"
Xu Jintang was caught off guard and was knocked back several steps by his opponent.
She slammed on the brakes, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The imposter Song Duoduo leaped into the air and attacked from the opposite side.
At that moment, the sound of an arrow rang out.
"Whoosh--"
The sharp arrow shot directly at the fake Song Duoduo.
The arrow struck with lightning speed, piercing the left chest of the imposter Song Duoduo before she could react.
The expected scene of blood splattering did not occur.
The imposter Song Duoduo's body seemed entirely fabricated; after being shot in the left chest, she vanished instantly, turning into a wisp of smoke.
"Are you alright?" The man who had just shot the arrow walked out of the bamboo forest and put down his bow and arrow as he stood in front of Xu Jintang. "That was an illusory enemy created by the bamboo forest illusion array. Her left chest is her fatal point. If you hit it, she will disappear immediately."
Xu Jintang turned to look at her. "How did you know her left breast was her fatal spot?"
She had been entangled with the imposter Song Duoduo for half a day and had been feeling very strange ever since.
The opponent's strength seems to adjust itself based on her strength.
She strengthens herself slightly, but the opponent quickly follows suit, which is why they've been locked in a stalemate for so long without being able to defeat them.
The man's face was unfamiliar; Xu Jintang was certain she had never seen him before, so his sudden show of friendliness seemed rather strange.
"Is this your first time entering the difficult-level trial in the Land of the North Sea? You don't even know this?" the man asked, somewhat surprised.
Xu Jintang nodded. "Yes, it's my first time."
"No wonder. The difficult-level trials in the Land of the North Sea have always followed this rule; anyone who has participated a few times knows it." Upon hearing that Xu Jintang was a newcomer, the man's attitude noticeably cooled, and his gaze became perfunctory.
Xu Jintang took a slight half-step back, maintaining a safe distance from the other side.
The man quickly noticed her movement and smiled slightly. "What? Are you wary of me?"
"After all, it's our first time meeting," Xu Jintang replied.
However, no sooner had she finished speaking than the man opposite her suddenly attacked.
Several arrows, gleaming with a cold light, flew swiftly towards them.
Xu Jintang quickly raised his hand and retreated, and Ice Blade Storm containing destructive power instantly formed, attacking the incoming arrows.
A loud clanging sound followed.
The man raised his hand and drew his bow, and one sharp arrow after another shot out, while his own body was pulled back a great distance.
One after another, Ice Blade Storm were summoned, a cold light flashing in Xu Jintang's eyes. She then clenched her fist and charged forward, chasing after the retreating man.
The Ice Blade Storm was extremely destructive; the man felt somewhat strained after taking two hits.
Just as he was preparing to strengthen his defenses, a blur of motion flashed towards him.
The man was stunned for a moment, but it was too late to defend himself.
Xu Jintang's fist came crashing down, carrying the destructive Power of Dragon Blood. With one punch, the man coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Xu Jintang gave him no time to catch his breath and continued the pursuit.
After several punches, the man was forced back more than a hundred meters.
With a final punch, Xu Jintang's face turned cold, and he slammed the fist into his left chest.
The man's face turned pale instantly, and the next second, his body slowly disappeared from sight.
Everything returned to calm, Xu Jintang stopped and landed back on the ground.
She shook her numb hand, looked around to make sure no one else was there, and then relaxed a little.
Upon entering the bamboo forest, the prompt text clearly stated that one must defeat all enemies within the illusion to escape this trap.
In other words, anyone who appears in the bamboo forest is considered her enemy.
Although the man had just offered to help her, Xu Jintang could sense that he had ulterior motives.
It's possible that the man witnessed her fight with the imposter Song Duoduo, realized her strength was not to be underestimated, and therefore planned to eliminate her by approaching her first and then launching a sneak attack.
In short, the other party definitely has problems, otherwise they wouldn't have attacked directly just now.
Xu Jintang stood there for a while, reviewing the situation, before quickly turning around and heading in another direction.
The bamboo forest was very large. After walking for a while, there was still a dense bamboo forest ahead. However, a clean stream appeared not far ahead, and a bamboo house was sitting next to it.
Xu Jintang pondered for a moment, then walked towards the bamboo house.
The bamboo house is entirely made of green bamboo, and outside is a private courtyard enclosed by bamboo, where dry food and dried fruit are dried, creating a very homey atmosphere, and it seems that someone lives here.
"Is anyone there?" Xu Jintang called out from outside the courtyard.
A response came quickly from inside the bamboo house. "Who is it?"
The voice sounded somewhat aged, carrying a hint of sorrow.
"Squeak..." The door of the bamboo house opened, and an old man with a white beard walked out.
The old man was hunched over, wearing a coarse cloth garment covered in patches. His gray hair was tied up with a few stray silver strands, giving him the air of a hermit descending from the mountain.
Seeing this, Xu Jintang secretly put his hands behind his back and gathered his spiritual power in his palms.
The old man noticed her wariness and smiled slightly. "Don't be afraid, I mean you no harm. Since you're here, please come in and sit for a while. My tea is ready now."
After saying this, the old man put his hands behind his back, slowly turned around and walked towards the bamboo table in the courtyard.