"Rest in peace, Long Peng," the senior students offered a prayer.
Zhou Hong followed Lu Qianqian into the cave. Indeed, the cave was vast, like entering an underground palace.
"Zhou Hong, I'll take you directly to the supervisor," Lu Qianqian said.
"Alright, what's the supervisor's status?"
"I don't know. All our work arrangements, big and small, are managed by him. His strength should be at the early stage of Tribulation Transcension."
A few minutes later, Lu Qianqian led Zhou Hong to a subterranean dwelling. The door was now closed.
"Supervisor Xiao," Lu Qianqian called out.
"What is it?" an old man's voice came from inside after a few seconds.
"I am Lu Qianqian, and I've brought a junior disciple."
"I am in closed-door cultivation. Do not disturb me unless it's important."
"But, I have important matters to report. Oh, and Supervisor Xiao, Long Peng was in my patrol team. He just died, killed by a giant."
"Casualties are normal here." Supervisor Xiao inside seemed to show no emotional fluctuation.
"Now my patrol team is left with only me. However, I met a junior disciple today, he flew up here himself, and I brought him back."
"Impossible!" Before Lu Qianqian could finish, the supervisor inside quickly exclaimed.
"I'm not lying, his name is Zhou Hong."
"What did you say? Zhou Hong?" The person inside seemed to have heard of Zhou Hong and immediately emerged from the dwelling.
"Greetings, senior." Zhou Hong bowed slightly upon seeing Supervisor Xiao emerge.
"You are Zhou Hong?"
"Yes, I am Zhou Hong. Supervisor Xiao, have you heard of me?" Zhou Hong asked doubtfully.
"Indeed, I've heard of you before. The Tai Gu Academy produced the number one genius in history, named Zhou Hong. I thought it would be some years before I saw you come up to be a guardian, but I didn't expect you to be here so soon, and to have flown up yourself. How did you manage that?"
"This...!" Zhou Hong didn't know how to explain. He couldn't reveal the secret of the sub-world, could he?
"Right, what is your current cultivation realm?" Supervisor Xiao suddenly asked.
"I am currently in the waiting period of Tribulation Transcension."
"Heh heh, that explains it. Only by reaching Tribulation Transcension can one fly up alone." Supervisor Xiao chuckled, his eyes filled with shock, as he had never seen such a young Tribulation Transcender.
"Zhou Hong, you truly are the number one genius in the history of Tai Gu Academy. So young, yet you have cultivated to the waiting period of Tribulation Transcension. I must admire you."
"Thank you, Supervisor Xiao. Please assign me a task."
"Actually, there isn't much of a task. Since you're here, I won't hide it from you. The many seniors in our Tai Gu Academy here are not truly here to prevent the giants from going below. We are not that noble. Our main purpose here is cultivation."
Zhou Hong gave an awkward smile.
"Since you are already in the Tribulation Transcension stage, according to the rules here, you won't be assigned any tasks. However, someone must be responsible for managing the many guardians who have come up from below. In the past, the weakest Tribulation Transcender was responsible. Now, you should be the weakest Tribulation Transcender, right?"
"Ah, well... I suppose so." Zhou Hong smiled slightly, too lazy to argue with Supervisor Xiao, and just accepted that he was the weakest Tribulation Transcender.
"What do you mean 'suppose so'? You only reached Tribulation Transcension not long ago, so you are indeed the weakest. Therefore, the position of supervisor will be handed over to you, until the next Tribulation Transcender appears, then you will pass it to them."
"Alright." Zhou Hong didn't refuse. If he was to be a supervisor, so be it.
"From now on, you are Supervisor Zhou, responsible for the safety of this base camp, and the task arrangements for over 300 guardians."
"Understood." Zhou Hong nodded.
"Then I will hand over this supervisor position to you. Do not shirk your duties, and you must ensure the safety of the base camp. Arrange for the guardians to carry out patrol work, and issue early warnings once giants are spotted approaching, and so on."
"Okay, but how long will I have to do this?" Zhou Hong asked.
"That's hard to say, until the next Tribulation Transcender appears."
"And how long will it take for the next Tribulation Transcender to appear?"
"It's unpredictable. Cultivating to the Tribulation Transcension stage is not easy. So, it could take four to five hundred years at the longest, or three to five decades at the shortest. Of course, if you're lucky, perhaps someone will break through to Tribulation Transcension in a few years."
Zhou Hong gave a bitter smile. It seemed being a supervisor wasn't a good job, as it would delay his cultivation.
"This is the supervisor's token. It is now officially handed over to you. This token can grant you entry into all the stone doors within this base camp."
Zhou Hong took the token.
"Then I can rest assured and go into closed-door cultivation." Supervisor Xiao seemed to have shed a heavy burden and immediately left the base camp.
"Supervisor Xiao, where are you going?" Zhou Hong asked curiously.
"I am no longer the supervisor, so you don't need to call me Supervisor Xiao. I'm going outside to find a place with more abundant spiritual energy to cultivate. You are now the supervisor, so do not leave here easily, understand?"
"Oh, oh."
After Supervisor Xiao left, Lu Qianqian busied herself saying, "Congratulations, Zhou Hong, on becoming the supervisor. I'll call you Supervisor Zhou from now on. What are your orders, Supervisor Zhou?"
Zhou Hong gave Lu Qianqian a glare and said speechlessly, "This isn't a promotion, what's there to congratulate? Didn't you see how eagerly that Supervisor Xiao handed over this position to me? This way, he can freely find a place to cultivate, while I have to stay here to ensure everyone's safety."
"It's alright, you're still young. I heard that Supervisor Xiao has been a supervisor for over 300 years. Now that you've finally broken through to Tribulation Transcension, he's naturally overjoyed."
Zhou Hong's face immediately turned bitter, "I hope I won't be so unlucky as to wait for a few hundred years."
"Anyway, you're young, what are you afraid of? Other Tribulation Transcension powerhouses are at least over 1000 years old. You're not even 100 years old. To be precise, you're only in your thirties." Lu Qianqian couldn't help but click her tongue. It was too young, less than 40 years old, and had already cultivated to the waiting period of Tribulation Transcension.
"Alright, I've just become the supervisor and I'm still unfamiliar with this place. I'll need your help." Zhou Hong quickly said.
"Of course. I'll be your assistant from now on. My patrol team is already wiped out except for me, so I can't go on patrol alone."
Zhou Hong frowned and asked, "Were there other people in your patrol team before?"
"Certainly. Each patrol team has ten people, with their strength evenly distributed, some higher, some lower. In our patrol team, only Long Peng and I were left in the end. Now that Long Peng is dead, it's just me."