Even though core disciples usually preferred to act alone in the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, there was nothing prohibiting them from moving around in groups as well.

That was especially the case for core disciples who were still young and at the beginning of their cultivation path.

All core disciples needed to be extremely talented to gain such a status, but not all of them had truly converted that talent into actual strength.

After all, a very talented cultivator at the Essence Gathering realm might already be able to challenge those at the Essence Physique realm, but it might take some time before they acquire sufficient strength to confidently challenge opponents at the Origin Core realm, even those who were far less talented than themselves.

Therefore, there was no way that one of the Four Great Symbol Sects would risk having young core disciples wander around on their own, exposing themselves to the unknown dangers of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm.

This way, even though the core disciples were still considered relatively weak, their safety could still be ensured since they were surrounded by the strongest of companions!

That was exactly the case for Quan Hui.

“You don’t have to look so downcast,” Quan Hui smirked upon seeing the hesitant look on the Mo Group’s faces. “We aren’t looking to bully you with excessive combat strength here. How about this? I will accept any duel challenges. If anyone within a full cultivation realm of me manages to win, we are willing to leave without any complaints.”

Hmm?

Upon hearing this, San Wanfan started to seriously consider his options.

A handicap of a full cultivation realm was definitely a huge deal. After all, cultivators at the Origin Core realm had overcome the deadly heavenly tribulation, giving them a significant advantage over those at the Essence Physique realm.

Not to mention a full cultivation realm, even someone like him, who was at the Intermediate Origin Core realm, should still have a huge advantage against Quan Hui who was only at the Peak Essence Physique realm.

Or at least, that should be the case in theory.

However, this was Infernal Claw Quan Hui they were talking about!

Core disciples were known for their ability to jump ranks and fight well above their cultivation levels.

The question now was whether he believed this cultivation advantage was enough to make up for the difference in talent.

“I see that you are considering it,” Quan Hui smirked. “Don’t take too long.”

“Senior Martial Brother San...” the members of the Mo Group said worriedly.

“I know,” San Wanfan said through gritted teeth. “We will stay back for now and let you enter first.”

Even though he believed that he stood a fair chance of winning, there was definitely still a possibility of losing.

They had only just entered the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, so there was no need to take such a risk right from the get-go.

As the leader of the group, he had decided to let go of his pride for the greater good of the team.

“Is that it? How boring,” Quan Hui exclaimed in disappointment. “However, I’m afraid just staying back is not enough. After all, who knows if you will suddenly stab us in the back while we are busy exploring the temple?”

“What? Then what do you want from us?” San Wanfan questioned.

“Leave the area completely. You are not to stay within a hundred kilometres of this place,” Quan Hui replied nonchalantly.

“A hundred kilometres? Ridiculous!”

“You must be joking! This mountain doesn’t belong to you!”

Quan Hui’s demand immediately drew outrage from the Mo Group.

“I’m afraid that demand is a little too much,” San Wanfan voiced out as well.

“This is simply to ensure our own safety when exploring the unknown temple,” Quan Hui shrugged. “Actually, if you really think about it, a hundred kilometres is not much at all. There are still plenty of places where you can explore in this vast realm. But if you don’t agree to our terms, then I guess we would just have to do this the hard way.”

“If this is how you intend to do things, then it looks like what you call the hard way is the only option we have,” San Wanfan sneered. “You might be used to getting what you want in the Vermilion Bird Sect, but don’t think that we of the Black Tortoise Sect can be messed with as you please!”

With his declaration, those from the Mo Group immediately entered a battle stance.

“Hah, that’s interesting. The negotiations broke down a lot faster than I expected,” Quan Hui chuckled. “Well then, I’m looking forward to finding out why exactly you cannot be messed with. Please don’t let me down.”

***

“Detecting heavy energy fluctuations and abrupt movement patterns. San Wanfan’s group is likely to have entered battle!” Zhao Yunxiao reported.

“What information do we have on them?” a deacon quickly rushed over upon hearing that.

This deacon was also from the Mo Faction, so he was especially concerned about the performance of the Mo Group led by San Wanfan. That was even more the case since there were seven of them.

“San Wanfan’s intention was to head north upon entering the mystic realm, and statements from others seem to corroborate that. However, there have been no reported sightings of them ever since,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “From other statements, the northern part would seem to have turned into a mountain range – a rather huge change from last year.”

Even with the jade tablets, there was only a limited amount of information that they could garner from outside of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm.

What they could tell for sure was the condition of the participants – things like the participants’ energy expenditure, movement pattern, consciousness status, etc.

While it was possible for them to send information to the participants, the opposite did not hold true.

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Therefore, if they wanted to find out more about the participants’ situation, they could only rely on sighting reports from earlier dropouts, as well as a huge amount of guesswork.

“Their energy expenditures have increased in a gradual manner instead of abruptly so, which indicates that they have been prepared for the battle instead of being caught by surprise,” Zhao Yunxiao continued.

“Is that so? That’s good to hear,” the deacon nodded in relief. “Make sure to keep the updates coming. I want to hear everything without delay!”

“Understood, Senior Pei,” Zhao Yunxiao answered.

“What did you understand? Don’t listen to his bullshit!” Fei Weng walked over and interrupted at this point. “Don’t tell my observers what to do. The disciples from your faction might be important, but they are not the only ones whom he is watching. He will update whenever necessary, so just wait your turn!”

“Tch! Fine, I’m just saying,” the deacon from the Mo Faction clicked his tongue in irritation. “How prickly!”

“Don’t worry about him and just focus on what you were doing,” Fei Weng patted Zhao Yunxiao on the shoulder before walking away.

“Yes, Senior Fei,” Zhao Yunxiao did not need to be told twice, then quickly frowned as he observed the jade tablets. “Detecting heavy energy fluctuations and abrupt movement patterns. Nuo Qianling’s group is likely to have entered battle!”

“Nuo Qianling? If I recall correctly, she is leading a group of five?” a deacon from the Wei Faction quickly came over. “What other information is there?”

“They have not expressed their intentions prior to entering the mystic realm, and have not been sighted apart from at the entrance,” Zhao Yunxiao recalled. “However, their energy expenditures had shot up suddenly, which indicates that they might have been caught by surprise. That, or they might have launched a surprise attack on others.”

“Hopefully it is the latter! Damn this bunch, being all secretive for no reason,” the deacon cursed. “Just look at what kind of trouble they are causing now!”

Prior to entering the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, most participants would be asked of their intentions in the mystic realm.

Were they intending to move in groups? If so, who would be joining them?

Was there a particular region that they were planning to explore? If this region no longer existed, what would they do?

Were they planning to fight more or explore more? If it was the former, were there any targets that they were aiming for?

Of course, these were just initial intentions, and everything could change once they entered the mystic realm.

However, such information could still help the sect administrators determine the participants’ current status and locations to a certain degree, thereby allowing them to send over information that could help the participants get out of potentially tricky situations.

That said, there were also participants who refused to divulge such information or even straight up lied about it.

This could be due to many reasons, perhaps out of fear of sabotage or simply not wanting to let others find out what rewards they had obtained from the mystic realm.

After all, there was almost no such thing as eternal friends in the face of benefits. There had been countless stories of past relationships believed to be as strong as steel, yet still ripped to pieces in the face of a huge enough temptation.

More importantly, some of these broken relationships even involved betrayal by one’s own family!

While the deacon could understand the rationale behind doing this, he still could not help but feel irritated.

And as their observer, Zhao Yunxiao was feeling just as frustrated.

These were the participants who made his job the hardest!

Nevertheless, he could not give up on finding out more about them just because of that.

Zhao Yunxiao continued to listen out for the statements given by other early dropouts while watching the jade tablets before him, trying to glean as much information about the mystic realm as possible without missing a single word.

When dealing with the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, where the situation was akin to an information blackout from the outside, even the most insignificant-sounding piece of information could prove to be useful in its own way!

***

Blacksnow Tundra, Four Symbols Mystic Realm.

The Wei Group was currently locked in battle with dozens of living skeletons. These were humanoid skeletons that would have looked just like that of human adults if not for the long horn protruding from each shoulder.

Their bones were a dull grey in colour, though it still looked striking enough with the black snow as backdrop. And if that was not sufficient, the eerie red glow in their eye sockets definitely made them impossible to miss.

“Where the hell did all these skeletons suddenly come from?” one of them complained while striking a skeleton with his staff.

Bang-!

The impact sent the skeleton flying through the air like a helpless doll, but it immediately started to get back on its feet after landing.

By the time it stood back up, it already looked as good as new, seemingly completely unscathed from the earlier strike.

This was the greatest problem that they were facing right now.

These skeletons did not possess any strange or unexpected moves, though they made up for it with a shocking level of speed and strength. In addition, the bones were extremely tough and could not be broken even with the Wei Group’s treasure weapons.

While this onslaught was still at a level that they could handle for the time being, they could not help but worry about their stamina. If they could not find a way to destroy the skeletons once and for all, the skeletons might just keep coming at them forever.

Should that continue to be the case, there would definitely come a point where their stamina eventually ran out!

“They just keep coming! How do we stop them?”

“This is all your fault for disturbing that one skeleton earlier! It was so far away, but you just had to go engage it for no good reason!”

“How would I know that so many of them would suddenly appear from underground? And didn’t you laugh along as well when I said I would go get rid of it?”

“Shut up already!” Nuo Qianling shouted. “If you have spare energy to argue, why don’t you try getting rid of a few more skeletons instead?”

As her party members quietened down to focus on battle, Nuo Qianling could not help but steal a glance at the ice pyramid behind them.

She had convinced her group to aim for the Blacksnow Tundra after hearing about the bountiful treasures that last year’s participants had managed to obtain from here.

And she did not do so irresponsibly, either.

Since about three months ago, Nuo Qianling had already started speaking to last year’s participants who had visited this region, trying to find out more about their experiences and prepare for what was to come.

In the end, the heavens did not let her efforts go unrewarded.

With the information that she had gathered, she quickly managed to locate the Blacksnow Tundra, and even discovered this ice pyramid that should be holding a treasure within.

However, what was with these skeletons?

Last year’s participants did not mention ever encountering anything like this!

With things going awry right from the start, she felt a nagging premonition that extracting this wooden sword from within the ice pyramid was going to be a lot more difficult than she could ever imagine!