The Monthly Test had concluded, and the rankings were set. The date to enter the special secret realm was in half a month, at which time they would be led in by their mentors.
Among them, naturally, was Leona.
Thus, Zhang Ye was looking forward to this journey.
Not to mention—he also planned to kill Gajeel inside the secret realm.
Speaking of Gajeel, the guy seemed to have been recovering from his injuries ever since that battle. He hadn't even shown up on the day the rankings were announced. It was unclear whether his wounds had yet to heal or if he was simply traumatized and hiding from Zhang Ye.
But Zhang Ye had already made up his mind.
According to Zhang Ye's reasoning, a person like that was bound to become his enemy in the future, and the empire and factions behind Gajeel would also become obstacles in his path.
Furthermore, Gajeel absolutely should not have laid such a heavy hand on Lina. Since he had done so, Zhang Ye would eliminate him without a shred of mercy!
Therefore, he decided to deal with this obstacle ahead of time.
As for the empire behind Gajeel?
Their reach could not extend all the way to the All Souls Empire!
Moreover, the secret realm was completely isolated from the outside world. Even if it was eventually discovered, it would take time—time that would be more than enough for Zhang Ye to grow stronger.
In short, this man had to die!
Having been enrolled for a month, they were now allowed to take on academy missions. Consequently, everyone planned to accept some to temper themselves a bit over the next half-month.
That afternoon, the group headed to the academy's mission hall together to accept their tasks.
Since most of them didn't have high Permission Levels, they could only accept beginner-level missions for freshmen. Nan, however, was strong enough to take on intermediate missions.
As for Zhang Ye... with his Five-star Permission Level, he could even accept advanced missions.
Since it was their first time going on a mission, Zhang Ye suggested they form a team. Although the rewards and points would have to be split equally, what they needed wasn't points but experience, and teaming up would be safer.
Everyone readily agreed.
In the end, Zhang Ye, Nan, Lina, and Xi Ya formed a four-person team.
Samanra's group of three, Renomon, Copico, and Paige formed another team.
They began selecting their missions.
Beginner missions required at least one team member to be at least Tier Four.
Intermediate missions required Tier Seven or above.
Advanced missions required Tier Nine or above.
Thus, Zhang Ye planned to start with an intermediate mission. After all, they had Xi Ya in their team to look after.
Although she had reached the Tier Seven early stage and her space magic was incredibly powerful—having improved significantly with Zhang Ye's help—her combat experience was still lacking, so it was best to play it safe.
“Let me see...” Zhang Ye browsed the options on the magic projection screen in front of him.
“A pack of One-horned Jackals has been spotted one hundred and twenty li south of Clear Spring Town. Thirty to fifty of them, average tier between Tier Five and Tier Seven... A bit too simple, never mind.”
“Mining the Tier Seven mineral, Snake-scale Rock. Hmm... many snake-type magical beasts will be nesting around the Snake-scale Rock deposit, their tiers won't be lower than Tier Five. This one is actually not bad... Let's see what else...”
“Oh? This one is good. Hunting magical beasts in Claude Canyon. Points are awarded based on the species, tier, and quantity of the beasts slain, and half of the spoils belong to the hunters!” Zhang Ye snapped his fingers. “This is the one!”
“The average tier of magical beasts in Claude Canyon is around Tier Six, with some Tier Eight and Tier Nine individuals spotted, and possibly even Tier Ten. The danger level isn't too high, it offers good experience, and it's not far. The flying vessel can make the round trip in less than half a day!”
“I choose you!” Zhang Ye accepted the mission, and Samanra's group did the same for theirs.
“What mission did you guys take?”
“Hunting Sunny Bees in the Sunny Maple Forest,” Samanra replied.
Zhang Ye nodded. “Individual Sunny Bees are only around Tier Three or Four, so they aren't very dangerous on their own. However, they are social creatures. When they swarm, there are at least hundreds or thousands of them. Even Tier Six magical beasts have to steer clear of them. Moreover, the soldier bees among them can reach Tier Five, so don't let your guard down.”
“Mhm, don't worry,” Samanra replied with a smile and a nod.
“Oh, by the way, Sunny Bee honey is excellent. If possible, could you ‘borrow’ some for me? I can use it for barbecue.”
“Sure.”
Lina couldn't help but ask, “Ye, how do you seem to know everything?”
Zhang Ye chuckled. “These are all recorded in the library. Read enough books, and you'll naturally know a lot.”
“Alright, let's go ask our mentor for leave first. We'll set off tomorrow and try to return as soon as possible.”
“Mhm!”
After obtaining permission from Leona, everyone prepared to depart the following day.
As nobles and royalty, they naturally had their own flying vessels. Samanra's group boarded the Wind Spirit Skiff provided by their family guild, while Zhang Ye used Leona's flying vessel.
Leona had actually mentioned gifting that vessel to him before.
With the magic map recorded in their badges, they set their course and departed.
“Safe travels, stay safe!” Zhang Ye waved to Samanra and the others.
“You too.” Everyone smiled at one another, and then the flying vessels quickly sped away in different directions.
Once the flight path was set, the vessel would autopilot, making it extremely simple to operate.
The group chatted as they made their way.
“A-Nan, did you use to go out to train alone a lot in the past?” Zhang Ye asked.
Upon hearing this, Nan recalled his past, his eyes darkening slightly as he nodded. “Mhm.”
“This mission is mainly to help Lina and Xi Ya train their actual combat skills, so we should only step in at critical moments,” Zhang Ye said.
Nan nodded silently.
Zhang Ye then looked at Lina and Xi Ya, saying, “Magical beasts are different from your classmates at the academy. They won't hold back; every move they make will be to kill you. So you two must absolutely not underestimate your enemies, understand?”
“Got it!” Lina said, puffing out her chest.
Xi Ya, on the other hand, hesitated slightly before murmuring, “I... I've never been in real combat... I don't know if I can do it...”
Hearing this, Zhang Ye smiled. “Don't worry, I believe you can do it.”
Xi Ya looked up at Zhang Ye's warm smile, and the hesitation in her timid eyes gradually gave way to determination.
She told herself over and over—she must never disappoint her Ye!
Over three hours later, they arrived at their destination. The flying vessel landed near a massive canyon.
Though called a canyon, it was only because the sheer cliffs on both sides rose thousands of meters high, with a width of over a dozen kilometers. In reality, the bottom of the canyon was incredibly vast, easily rivaling a basin.
The canyon's width varied from a dozen to dozens of kilometers, and it stretched across thousands of kilometers!
After anchoring the flying vessel and setting up a protective barrier, Zhang Ye looked down at the dense forest at the bottom of the canyon and nodded. “Let's head down from here.”
“Mhm.” Everyone nodded, then leaped straight down.
After gliding for a bit, they landed smoothly on the ground.
The forest here was somewhat similar to the Myriad Beasts Forest where Zhang Ye had first met Leona. However, the moisture here was much heavier, and both water and wood elements were far more abundant, which meant there would be a higher concentration of water-attribute and wood-attribute magical beasts.
Zhang Ye closed his eyes to sense the elemental fluctuations around them, and his brow slowly furrowed.
“Something's not right...” he said.
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
“What's wrong?” Nan asked.
“The water elements here... are too dense.” Zhang Ye opened his eyes and waved his hand. The mana in front of him fluctuated, instantly condensing into countless water droplets, proving just how dense the water elements in the area were.
Walking even a short distance without a mana barrier to protect oneself would probably leave them completely drenched by the moisture and water elements in the air...
“Isn't it good for the water elements to be dense?” Lina asked curiously.
Zhang Ye shook his head. “Dense water elements are certainly a good thing, and this place is highly suitable for those with water-attribute compatibility to cultivate. However... the water elements here are simply too dense, which is vastly different from what is recorded in the books.”
“The concentration of water elements here is at least ten times what is recorded!”
“If I remember correctly, that book was recorded three years ago. Three years is absolutely not enough time for the water elements of a magical ecosystem to naturally rise to such a degree. Something must have happened here that went undiscovered and unrecorded.”
“And such dense water elements are enough to give the magical beasts in this ecosystem a massive boost. Therefore, the magical beasts we are about to face will be much stronger than recorded!”
Once Zhang Ye explained it this way, everyone understood, and their expressions grew serious.
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