Chapter 86 Return to the Ruins
Meng Hanhai's willingness to relinquish power was truly unexpected.
Well, although the captain of the sixteen-person team doesn't seem to have much power, the Ten Directions Academy has a great influence throughout the Misty Heaven Realm.
The young people who were able to get into Shifang Academy were already elites, and these sixteen were the last ones to be eliminated in the preliminary class competition. It is no exaggeration to say that each of them was an elite among elites.
Today's sixteen-man squad leader is very likely to become one of the top figures on this continent in the future.
Ah Chen was still young and hadn't thought that far ahead, but Jin Liu had already considered it.
"Junior Brother Zuo, don't hesitate. We've all seen your performance along the way, and you're the one everyone wants to be a part of. " Jin Liu quickly said.
"I agree, I support you!" Nie Xiaoxiao said without any hesitation.
"I agree too!" Lele seized the opportunity to say. She had a high reputation in the weapon crafting department, and with her taking the lead, several other members of the weapon crafting department also raised their hands in agreement.
“We both agree,” said Lin Zixia from the Puppet Department, holding her companion’s hand.
“Since Junior Brother Meng thinks highly of you, I agree!” Ge Hui from the Combat Department spoke up, and the other three Combat Department members nodded in agreement.
It's not that they're biased towards outsiders; it's just that Meng Hanhai's previous performance was unsatisfactory.
Achen has always been a leader among children since he was a child. When he was studying in the central district of Green Algae Star, he was also the leader among his friends.
Now that he was leading this sixteen-person team, he wasn't intimidated at all.
“Alright, since everyone trusts me, then I’ll be the one to pave the way for everyone!” Achen said decisively.
He released the queen ant only after he had gone far away from the swamp.
He knew that the Mud Spirit Ants lived in that swampy area, and even if the queen ant was vengeful, she wouldn't lead her horde that far to hunt them down.
He didn't intend to kill the queen ant. After all, this was the academy's trial ground, and there had to be some demonic beasts that could reproduce so that future generations would have demonic beasts to kill.
Upon arriving at the entrance to the third level, Achen saw the words engraved on the stone tablet: "Spirit Realm, Third Level".
He always had a feeling that he was experiencing the eighteen levels of hell that his mother had told him about, but this third level didn't look like a wilderness, but rather a bustling town.
Looking at the bustling street not far ahead, everyone was confused, especially Meng Hanhai.
He felt particularly unlucky. When it was his turn to be the trailblazer, he was met with either a herd of unicorn rhinoceroses, a herd of black fiery falcons, or a swarm of mud spirit ant beasts that had just escaped!
But when it was Zuo Chen's turn to be the team leader, he was greeted by a lively and peaceful town. Could it be that he was having bad luck, while Zuo Chen was blessed with good fortune?
Zuo Jinlichen, full of vigilance, led everyone into the town.
He stopped the first person he encountered and asked for directions: "Grandma, could you tell me where this is?"
The old woman he stopped had snow-white hair and walked with a shaky gait; she looked to be at least eighty years old.
The old lady seemed a little hard of hearing: "What did you say, little one?"
"Excuse me, what place is this?" Ah Chen was forced to raise his voice. His upbringing made him unaccustomed to shouting so loudly in front of people. He felt a little shy, and his face turned red.
Seeing this, the old woman reached out and pinched his fair and delicate little face, then grinned and said, "Hehe! The baby is so handsome. This is Guixu."
"Return to the Void?" the sixteen people repeated in unison.
The old lady didn't say what town or village it was, but simply said the place name Guixu.
However, in the minds of all cultivators in the Misty Heaven Realm, Guixu was just a legendary place.
It is said that cultivators do not enter the cycle of reincarnation after death, but if a cultivator dies with a great deal of resentment, their soul will enter a place called Guixu.
Therefore, Guixu is a gathering place for vengeful spirits.
However, Ah Chen, an outsider, had never heard of the legend of Guixu, so he smiled and said:
"Grandma, where is the exit of your Guixu place? Could you please show me the way?"
Team member: As expected of the captain, he can remain calm even when he hears about Guixu. He's really awesome!
The old woman was clearly surprised, but she remained calm and said with a smile, "Little one, our Guixu place only has an entrance, but no exit."
If you want to leave, you'll have to go back the way you came.
"Go back the way we came? No, Grandma, we need to go to the next level, so we can't go back," Ah Chen shook his head.
"Then you can come in and have a look around. I heard my great-great-grandfather say that there seems to be a path in Guixu that leads to the next level."
But it is said that only those with a special destiny can see that road; those without destiny will never find it even if they live here their whole lives.
"Anyway, I've lived for eighty-eight years and I've never seen that road before." The old woman still smiled, but what she said sent chills down everyone's spines.
"Thank you, Grandma! Since we're here and can't go back, we'll just have to go in and look around." Ah Chen thanked her politely, then strode towards the street ahead with her short legs.
Following closely behind, Meng Hanhai asked nervously, "Junior Brother Zuo, are you really going to lead everyone into this gathering place of vengeful spirits?"
"A gathering place for vengeful spirits? Really? I didn't sense any chilling aura here. Look at the people on the street, most of them have smiles on their faces. It's clear that Guixu is a peaceful place," Achen said.
Everyone: Captain is awesome!
If even the youngest, Achen, isn't afraid, why would they, who emerged from the chaos, be afraid?
Even if everyone in this town is a vengeful spirit, we can just wipe them out one by one when they come!
Once they made up their minds, everyone followed Ah Chen and strode forward.
As you walk into the streets of Guixu, you can hear a sweet, charming voice coming from the first shop on the left:
"Guests, you must be from out of town? Our shop is a well-known cosmetics shop!"
What is your surname, young master? Would you like to buy some cosmetics for the ladies behind you?
"It's okay if you don't buy anything, just come in and take a look, smell how fragrant our cosmetics are!"
Ah Chen looked up and saw a young woman dressed as a married woman. She was very charming and had a smiling face with her eyes crinkling. She looked very endearing.
"Thank you, sister. We were just planning to wander around a bit, so let's check out your cosmetics shop first," Ah Chen said with an innocent smile.
The young woman reached out and pinched his delicate little face, saying, "Young master is so handsome, even more beautiful than my son Sheng'er."
"Is the Sheng'er you're talking about your young master?" Achen asked.
"Hehe! Young master, you've misunderstood! Sheng'er is my daughter, and her given name is Mo Yusheng! Sheng is the 'Sheng' in Shengge, which was given to her by her scholar father." The female shopkeeper explained with a smile.
"Oh, so it's the 'Sheng' in 'Shengge' (笙歌). I misunderstood. Mo Yusheng is a very nice name," said Achen.
"Hmm, it's a very nice name. It's just a pity that although her name sounds nice, it's unlucky." The young woman's face turned gloomy.
“How could it be unlucky? Yusheng means talented and clever, and when paired with the surname ‘Mo,’ it gives people a sense of poetic beauty and melodious music.” Meng Hanhai couldn’t help but interject.
"But her father said that her birth chart was too strong and would bring misfortune to her close relatives, which is why he failed the imperial examinations time and time again!"
Later, her father gave her to the mentally challenged son of the governor as a child bride, and he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar!
Waaaaah! My poor Sheng'er, she was only married for three months when that idiot beat her to death!
After her father passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, he caught the eye of the garrison commander's daughter. As a result, he gave me a letter of divorce and became the garrison commander's son-in-law!
I think my Sheng'er was not destined for a strong life, otherwise she wouldn't have died when she was only eight years old.
Since her fate is not strong, it can only be that her name is unlucky, sob sob sob! The female shop owner cried uncontrollably.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
