Chapter 160: Mysterious Figure 2
Chapter 160: Mysterious Figure 2
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While he and Liang Yuexin finally reached the cave on the other side of the mountain, the various groups had begun to settle down, each with their own thoughts.
They had been there for just under half an hour, and in that time, several more people had joined them.
Even Zhu Rong’s team had received another member, a student, to be precise, the one who had replaced Li Duoji.
He was a third year student, of average appearance, with nothing about him that really caught the eye.
He had been one of the few who stayed in the tournament for a while before being defeated.
He and Shi Gong were the ones who had fought to claim one of the last spot, but in the end, after an intense fight against his third year companion, he lost.
He thought it was over and that there was no longer any chance to join the expedition, but by chance Li Duoji, the one everyone expected to win the tournament, was put on the brink of death by a second year student,
and he was chosen as the substitute.
Hearing the news, he was thrilled, and although he admired Li Duoji, he didn’t feel guilty about what had happened to him, since Li Duoji’s defeat had opened the way for his participation in the expedition.
that said, now that he was here, he didn’t know whether it was luck or a cruel twist of fate.
Like many others, he had nearly died several times but always managed to pull through, and so after wandering in the forest for a long time he managed to rejoin the rest of his group relatively intact.
He learned that an instructor had died and one student had been put in even worse condition than him, and that only made him even more uneasy.
Now he was slumped against the tree trunk where the rest of his group had gathered, waiting in silence for the arrival of the team’s last member,
if he was still alive, that is.
Honestly, he didn’t know what to think of this member.
It was a second year student, but despite that, he had outperformed everyone, no matter who the opponent was, even managing to defeat Li Duoji, the strongest of the third years.
He hadn’t had the chance to speak with him, but he could tell that he was strong, and neither he nor the others thought he could have died.
While he was resting and recovering from his various small wounds, a figure dressed in black stood up in a separate group.
At first no one paid it any attention, but then four more similarly dressed people stand, all five began walking toward the mountain.
People began to notice them and many furrowed their brows and started asking questions.
Meanwhile, the members of those five individuals’ team who had remained behind didn’t seem willing to leave, and from their expressions they looked furious.
It was clear that some internal conflict had started among them and that it had led to their separation.
From what could be seen, there were eight in total; five had split off. It was obvious that they too had suffered some injuries and possibly even some deaths.
They were a group formed by various upper middle class families from the city of Qiyan, nobody knew exactly which families they came from, but no one really cared.
That said, everyone watched the five depart without daring to stop them. Not because they wanted to, or because they didn’t care if those five went to the palace first, but because everyone wanted to know whether there were dangers on the mountain.
The forest was full of powerful beast, and the last thing anyone wanted was to run into even stronger ones while trying to climb the mountain.
So nobody moved and all waited.
As the five went on, everyone continued to use their spiritual senses to detect any anomalies, but five minutes after their departure they sensed nothing.
This surprised many and made others doubt the possibility of further threats up above.
Soon some others set out, and after a few more minutes, still nothing;
this surprised many, especially those who had stayed behind but stayed in contact with some of those who decide to climb the mountain.
When they saw they were fine and that indeed there weren’t any beasts on the mountain, they seemed relieved, and one by one they started climbing the mountain.
Seeing this, the other groups did the same, and soon a good portion of those present headed for the mountain.
It was clear that now that it had been confirmed the mountain was relatively safe, no one wanted to hold back.
The desire to reach the palace and get their hands on any possible treasures was still there, and that fueled the large advance of people who set off to climb the mountain.
This inevitably led to conflicts, and before long sounds of battle broke out again, this time not so much caused by beasts attacking, but by groups of people who had decided to eliminate the competition while they had the chance.
Few remained behind, and many sighed with relief, it was clear that most of those left were the more seriously injured and getting involved in that conflict was the last thing they wanted.
Zhu Rong’s group, which had stayed aside the whole time, also decided to climb.
Sixty minutes had passed and at this point no one objected, they too set out to climb the mountain.
Meanwhile, from a small grove near the top of the mountain, several figures emerged one by one.
They were the five who had left earlier.
At the head of the group was the cloaked man who had decided to go first, followed by the other four from his group.
He looked at the imposing white palace before him, then turned his attention toward the palace’s large entrance, which at that moment was closed.
’It’s here,’ he thought, as a strange pendant at his neck, with a single small red crystal, seemed to vibrate imperceptibly.
Although others could not feel it, he did, and that confirmed his suspicion.
He wasted no time and approached the palace’s gate.
It was closed, and no matter how he examined it, it appeared to have no handle or keyhole.
Though he could see none of that, he didn’t seem troubled; instead he drew his great sword from the dimensional ring and, with Qi concentrated into it, he slashed forward toward the closed gate.
Boom!
A strong explosion rang out and the ground beneath their feet trembled for a moment.
This did not seem to worry the men behind nor the one who had launched the attack; everyone watched forward as they looked at the smooth golden surface of the gate, which remained intact from the assault without bearing a single scratch.
The sight seemed to unsettle the man, and for a moment he considered trying again with a more powerful attack, but at that instant, a voice sounded,
"It’s useless, you will never open it that way."