"Are we just going to do nothing?" Zhou Hong clenched his fists. No matter what, Long Peng was a fellow human. Seeing him being roasted alive made Zhou Hong feel terrible.
"Shh! Don't make any noise, or we'll be skewered and roasted too."
Helpless, Zhou Hong dared not make any rash moves.
Soon, the Long Peng was cooked. One of the giants directly put it into his mouth and with a few chomps, it was gone.
"Barely enough to tickle my teeth," the giant grumbled discontentedly, feeling like he had eaten a tiny shrimp.
"Alright, let's hurry. Today is the Lord's daughter's wedding. We mustn't be late," another giant said.
And so, the three giants left, unaware of Zhou Hong and Lu Qianqian.
Lu Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief. Whenever they encountered giants before and couldn't defeat them, they would hide in a hole like this. Because the giants were so tall, they usually wouldn't notice if one hid in a hole.
"Let's go, I'll take you back to the base camp," Lu Qianqian said to Zhou Hong.
Zhou Hong nodded, his heart heavy.
"How many people are in the base camp?" Zhou Hong asked after walking for a while.
"Over fifty people. Eight of them are at the Mahayana stage, and over forty are at the Tribulation Crossing stage. Of course, there are also some Guardians like myself, numbering over 300. In total, our Base Camp Number One has only about 360 people."
"With such a small number of people, how can we possibly deal with the giants here?" Zhou Hong said with concern.
"Heh, you misunderstand. The main reason everyone comes here is not to deal with the giants. In fact, the giants here don't even pay attention to us humans. The main reason so many of us are here, especially the elders at the Tribulation Crossing and Mahayana stages, is for cultivation."
Zhou Hong understood. The spiritual energy on the Tianyang Continent couldn't compare to this place. To ascend higher, one could only take risks here. Even in the marginal areas where immortal energy was scarce, it was still far better than below.
Thus, with a heavy heart, Zhou Hong followed Lu Qianqian to a large mountain. At the foot of this mountain, there was a seemingly small cave entrance.
Lu Qianqian pointed to the cave entrance and said, "This is our Taigu Academy's base camp."
"This is it?" Zhou Hong had expected some buildings or something. Instead, he was brought to a desolate mountain and shown an unremarkable cave as the base camp.
"What else did you expect? If the giants saw it, they'd crush us with a single stomp. Hiding in a cave is the safest. Don't underestimate this cave. Although the entrance is small, the interior is very spacious and interconnected with the base camps of the other four academies. Even if the giants came here, they wouldn't notice unless they looked carefully. Even if they did, we could quickly transfer to the other four academies' base camps."
"Oh, oh." Zhou Hong nodded. He naturally knew that there were four other academies on the Tianyang Continent, and they also had base camps here. They were called Deep Space Number Two, Three, Four, and Five.
He never expected that these five base camps were interconnected within the mountain. Zhou Hong couldn't help but think of an anthill, with its intricate underground network. Perhaps, to the giants here, they were just like ants.
Lu Qianqian led Zhou Hong to the cave entrance, and immediately seven or eight people rushed out.
Upon seeing Lu Qianqian, they immediately relaxed their guard.
"It's you, Lu Qianqian. Huh? Who is this person? Haven't seen him before. Is he from another academy?" one of the guards asked.
"Greetings, senior schoolmates. This is Zhou Hong, also from our Taigu Academy."
"Is that so? Then why haven't we seen him?" The men exchanged glances. Like Lu Qianqian, they were also here as Guardians. However, they had graduated from Taigu Academy earlier than Lu Qianqian, hence the title "senior schoolmates." It happened to be their turn to guard the cave entrance today.
Zhou Hong also sized up these people. Their cultivation levels were approximately at the Spirit Severing stage.
Lu Qianqian continued, "Of course, you haven't seen him. By the time he enrolled, you had already graduated."
"How is that possible? We only graduated less than fifteen years ago. So, he only enrolled a few years ago. Then his cultivation should still be very weak. Why would someone with such weak cultivation come here?" The men looked puzzled.
"This...!" Lu Qianqian wanted to say that his cultivation was not weak at all and could kill them all in seconds, but she stopped herself just in time.
"Junior schoolmate, your cultivation is so weak, how did you get up here? Who brought you up? It wasn't to let you gain experience, was it? This is no joke. You should go back down as soon as possible. It wouldn't be too late to apply to come here after graduating from Taigu Academy and receiving the honor of outstanding graduate," one of the young men said with apparent concern.
"Thank you for your concern, senior schoolmates. Although my cultivation is not strong, I shouldn't die that easily," Zhou Hong said with a smile.
"Then what is your cultivation level?" a young woman asked.
"I am currently in the waiting period for the Tribulation Crossing stage. As soon as the first lightning tribulation descends, I will become an early-stage Tribulation Crossing cultivator."
"What did you say?" The men were stunned. They thought he was a greenhorn junior, but he claimed to be in the waiting period for the Tribulation Crossing stage.
"Heh, I'm in the waiting period for the Tribulation Crossing stage," Zhou Hong chuckled.
"My heavens, you're not joking, are you? You only enrolled a few years ago?"
"Yes. To be precise, I have only been enrolled in Taigu Academy for twelve years."
Although Zhou Hong had only stayed at Taigu Academy for a few months, he had spent more than eight years exploring on the Tianyang Continent afterward, plus three and a half years cultivating here. All the time added up to over twelve years. His classmates from class 30 were now more than ten-year veterans at Taigu Academy.
"So you're an unparalleled genius. We are truly humbled." The men, realizing what a genius Zhou Hong was, quickly bowed to him.
"There's no need to be so polite, senior schoolmates. This is my first time here, so I hope for your guidance."
"Not at all, it is we who should seek your guidance."
"Senior schoolmates, I will take Zhou Hong in to greet the elders now," Lu Qianqian said.
"Alright."
Just then, one of the senior schoolmates noticed something and asked doubtfully, "By the way, Lu Qianqian, weren't you on patrol with Long Peng? Where is he?"
"Long Peng is dead. He was eaten by the giants."
"Ah." The senior schoolmates' faces changed, and they looked sad, as they had been on good terms with Long Peng.