Lava howled like a rushing dragon.
Terrifying heat turned into mist as it rose into the sky from the mouth of the volcano.
Lin Xun was seated on a rock in the volcano but his entire body felt cool and comfortable.
He already had a rough grasp of the situation and had figured out that the glowing blue dome around him was emitted by the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead.
However…
Where was the bead?
Lin Xun had searched the area but failed to find the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead. This made him rather puzzled.
He soon realized that there was a blue flickering light floating beside the Omega Door in his mind-sea.
It glowed blue like the sea and gave off a feeling of vastness. It seemed to dance around the Omega Door, leaving behind a trail of beautiful rippling light.
“Could it have been subdued by the Omega Door?” Lin Xun was stunned. Why had the Water Brute Tribe’s sacred treasure appeared in this form in his mind-sea?He did not understand.
However, he could clearly sense that the bead was continuously sprinkling light from his mind-sea which enveloped his body, creating a peculiar cooling qi flow.
It was the qi flow that stopped the surrounding lava from approaching. Moreover, it was repairing his wounds in an astonishing manner!
“What a magical bead!” Lin Xun sighed in amazement.
Before jumping into the volcano, Lin Xun had already felt the extraordinary power of the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead while he was facing Lie Ke and the other brute experts on the edge of the volcano.
When he grasped the bead, the burning heat of the volcano had instantly disappeared, bathing his body in a cooling and comfortable sensation.
It was this discovery that had made Lin Xun so fearless when he was facing Lie Ke and the others.
Unfortunately, the situation had suddenly changed before Lin Xun could think of a way out. In the end, he was forced to jump into the volcano.
It was not plunging to his death but a gamble by Lin Xun. He was gambling on the Heavenly Water Sacred Jewel’s power to help him find a way to survive.
The current circumstances proved that Lin Xun’s gamble had paid off!
“Those guys are definitely not going to leave. In fact, they might be waiting above…”
Lin Xun pondered for a while and soon came to a decision: try to recover first. He knew that hiding here was not a good long-term plan.
……
Phew~
Lin Xun spat out a mouthful of murky air. With his legs crossed, he concentrated on circulating the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture.
He was completely focused on cultivating.
Lava roared and surged around him like tongues of flames dancing like waves. It was a sight that would stir the soul.
A stream of aeth qi soon began circulating in his body as his bones and muscles began to resonate to a unique rhythm.
Lin Xun suddenly discovered that his cultivation was astonishingly effective despite not using any pills.
In a few seconds, more and more aeth power accumulated in his body as it repeatedly cycled.
This was not all. Strands of a peculiar hot power appeared in his flesh and began to polish his tendons and refine his muscles.
Everything was progressing at a miraculous speed!
This bewildered Lin Xun even more because everything was going far too smoothly.
He had been gravely injured and did not have any medicine. How could a brief cultivation session yield such magical effects?
Lin Xun began to carefully inspect his body and soon discovered some clues.
It seemed to be related to the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead in his mind-sea. The blue light it emitted was continuously nourishing his body and replenishing his energy!
In addition, the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture and the four aeth power vortexes were also contributing.
After figuring it out, the last sliver of doubt in Lin Xun’s heart was dispelled, allowing him to fully compose himself as he entered a deeper state of concentration.
……
Demon Cloud Ridge had a complex terrain. The sky was covered with a thick layer of dust all year round and the topography was composed of forests, mountains, swamps, plains, and volcanoes; each area was filled with different types of dangers.
On a plain.
Shi Yu was panting heavily as he sat amidst a patch of bloody grass.
More than a dozen brute expert corpses were littered around him, their brute totem runes already removed.
“Damn, there were quite a few tough guys amongst them this time.” Shi Yu cursed as he lay back in the grass. After the intense battle, he needed to compose himself and contemplate his next course of action.
“Third Young Master.” Li Qiu’s figure soon approached.
Shi Yu casually asked, “How did it go?”
“Still okay. One managed to escape.” Li Qiu squatted. There were several splatters of blood on his clothes and his hair was in a mess. He gave off a fierce and menacing aura.
“Not bad. At this rate, we only need to endure for three months and the army contributions we accumulate should ensure that we will not be eliminated.” Shi Yu nodded.
Li Qiu hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, “However…I’ve discovered something off about the situation.”
“Oh.” Shi Yu’s eyes narrowed, “You’ve also noticed?”
Li Qiu instantly understood that Shi Yu had sensed this long ago and could not help but say, “Third Young Master, do you feel that the situation in Demon Cloud Ridge is more dangerous than before?”
Shi Yu took a deep breath as his eyes filled with iciness, “That’s right. There are much more experts than expected. If my guess is correct, the brute race’s nine tribes have dispatched many formidable characters from the younger generation. These people boast amazing combat ability and will give even us Kill Blood Camp students a tough fight. Encountering any of them will be very problematic.”
Li Qiu’s heart shuddered, “What are their intentions?”
Shi Yu sneered, “Of course to have competition with us Blood Kill Camp students to see who will ultimately survive and leave Demon Cloud Ridge.”
Shi Yu stood up and peered into the distance, “You can treat this test as a bout between the empire and the brute clan. However, the participants are the younger generation experts.”
After a pause, he continued, “At times, one of the ways to see whether a country is strong is to look at the strength of their younger generation. As the saying goes, when the youths are strong, the country is strong.”
Although it was not a passionate speech, these words filled Li Qiu with emotion. “If that’s the case, I’m becoming interested in killing more of those brute bastards!”
Shi Yu chuckled. He seemed to recall something as he frowned and said, “Did you notice that many water tribe experts have been gathering towards a certain direction over the past two days.”
Li Qiu nodded.
Shi Yu thoughtfully said, “Something big must be happening.”
Li Qiu asked, “Does the Third Young Master plan on taking a look?”
Shi Yu shook his head, “The more interesting it seems, the more we shouldn’t go. A big event will definitely cause big waves. It would be best to stay away from such affairs.”
Li Qiu was stunned. Soon, he smiled and said, “You are right. It’s only been ten days since we entered Demon Cloud Ridge and there are still more than two months till the end of the exam. The most important goal, for now, is self-preservation and not to draw attention to ourselves.”
Shi Yu praised, “Your thinking is exactly the same as mine.”
Next, the two individuals began venturing deeper into the plain.
……
On the same day, in a mountainous area.
Ning Meng’s halberd thrust forward, ruthlessly piercing the last brute expert that was attacking him before flinging the corpse away.
“Fuck, too weak!” Ning Meng spat on the ground. He suddenly raised his head, frowning as puzzledly peered into the distance.
He could sense several water brute experts hurriedly traveling towards the west a few hundred feet away. Despite also sensing his presence, they showed no intent on approaching him.
This was the seventh time something like this had happened over the past two days.
Ning Meng could tell that something big must be happening in the western sector of Demon Cloud Ridge. Otherwise, there would not be so many water brute experts gathering there.
“Never mind, I shall not be a busybody.” Ning Meng restrained his curiosity as he shook his head and headed in another direction.
He had made a bet with Shi Yu and Lin Xun and naturally would not take any risks. He needed to last till the end of the exam to win the bet, and the best way to do so was to steadily accumulate contributions
……
Similar events occurred in the different sectors of Demon Cloud Ridge.
The other Blood Kill Camp students had also become aware of the strange situation.
However, most of them did not wish to involve themselves and opted to observe instead.
Only a small minority saw this as a potential opportunity and stealthily followed. Qi Can, Muo Leng, and the others were part of this group.
……
Beside the mouth of the volcano.
Shui Zhi was currently cultivating.
Two days had passed. His wounds had already scabbed over and he was more or less recovered.
However, Lin Xun had yet to appear, causing Shui Zh to feel slightly vexed.
More than a hundred water tribe experts had gathered at the foot of the volcano over the past two days. They had set up a tight defensive perimeter around the volcano, forbidding anyone from entering.
However, many human experts had also been drawn over due to the huge commotion.
These human experts had concealed themselves near the volcano and clearly intended to take advantage of any chaos.
If the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead was not retrieved soon, the situation would only grow more and more problematic. When that happened, there would be too many variables when Lin Xun finally decided to appear!
Shaman Ye Ling walked over and worriedly said, “The situation is not good. Not only the humans, but even several experts from the other brute tribes have also come. There will be unnecessary trouble if they find out we’re trying to take back the Heavenly Water Sacred Bead.”
Although the water tribe and the other eight tribes all belonged to the brute race, the relationship between them was neither good nor bad. In fact, there was occasionally fierce competition between them.
In such a situation, Shaman Ye Ling naturally did not wish to see the other brute tribe experts approach.
“We’ll wait for three more days!” Ye Ling took a deep breath and said with emphasis, “If he doesn’t come out after three days, I will risk damaging my foundation with a forbidden art to enter the volcano to see if he’s still alive!”