Challenge Competition·Buzhou Mountain Arena (Six)
Lin Bai and his companions held their breath in the dark tunnel, waiting for Kunpeng to leave.
Time passed slowly, and Lin Bai's sense of danger never weakened. He could even clearly feel the abyss-like pressure still looming above him. Kunpeng did not leave.
The four of them exchanged glances, and the atmosphere was solemn.
Even more disturbing was that, up to this point, they still hadn't received any news of anyone successfully passing the third level. This meant that not only them, but everyone else was caught up in the unknown variables of this trial.
——
At the same time, in this quietly merging arena, the other eleven players also experienced arena fusion one after another and quickly formed teams.
In the interstellar age, the foundation of the Federation is unity. The catastrophe of the Dark Ages left painful memories for all races, and also made them deeply understand that fighting against the Dark Beasts is not a task that can be accomplished alone.
The significance of the strong lies not only in their own strength, but also in whether they can provide a more solid defense line for the Federation.
Therefore, even in a challenge match, no player would take the opportunity to attack another. There was no infighting here, only tacit understanding and cooperation honed in a more demanding environment.
Only by the continuous emergence of more powerful people can the security of the Federation be maintained and this vast sea of stars be protected from the invasion of dark beasts.
——
Three young men from the Lizwood Military Academy trudged through the snow. Born on the sweltering planet of Rhodes, they were accustomed to the scorching sun and parched air. Yet, at this moment, they felt as if they had fallen into an abyss of extreme cold, a chill that penetrated their very bones and nearly rendered them unconscious.
They were completely unaware that they had mistakenly entered the Xuanming Realm within the arena—the legendary dwelling place of the gods who controlled ice and snow. Here, the weather was freezing cold, the sky was covered in ice and snow, and the howling wind was like a knife's edge, making every step forward extremely difficult.
Several snow-white rabbits darted across the icy plains, nimbly leaping through the wind and snow, seemingly unaffected by the cold. But for the three teenagers in their flimsy combat uniforms, this was pure torture.
Despite this, as military cadets, they never flinched from adversity. They knew that the more extreme the environment, the better the opportunity to sharpen their will. So, they gritted their teeth and pressed on with unwavering determination.
However, just as they were trying to adapt to this land of ice and snow, a sudden tremor made their nerves instantly tense.
"The ground is shaking?" Arthur frowned and looked down at his feet vigilantly.
Ellie quickly adjusted her breathing, suppressing the sluggishness brought on by the coldness in her body, and said in a deep voice, "Prepare for battle."
Ryan had already taken a defensive stance, his eyes fixed on the ice that was gradually cracking under his feet.
"boom--"
With a loud bang, the thick ice surface completely cracked!
The three retreated quickly, looking ahead vigilantly. However, to their surprise, what jumped out from the crack in the ice were not enemies, but four figures in combat uniforms.
"You are also contestants?!" Eric was slightly stunned.
Four figures jumped out from under the ice. They were Lin Bai and his group.
——
Two hours ago.
Deep underground, Lin Bai and the other three held their breath and waited, but the Kunpeng bird hovered overhead, refusing to leave. Time passed, but they still received no news of the other contestants' clearance.
Lin Bai frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "We can't wait any longer. We must find another way out."
Rock nodded: "Indeed, if we delay any longer, our energy will only continue to be depleted."
"Let's dig a tunnel." Lin Bai suggested.
A glint of approval flashed in Gu Jin's eyes: "That's a solution."
The four of them nodded.
Lin Bai spoke slowly, reciting in a low voice: "A beast shaped like a pig but with spurs. When it appears, earthworks will flourish in the town."
As she finished speaking, a strange creature that looked like a pig but had chicken claws quietly appeared behind her. It was none other than the legendary beast representing construction - Li Li.
As soon as Lin Bai had an idea, Li Li immediately took action and began to dig hard in the direction that Suanni sensed was not dangerous.
Seeing this, Rock was unwilling to fall behind and immediately summoned Gabaga. A figure suddenly jumped out and began to assist in digging. The soil was constantly broken and a passage gradually took shape.
Gu Jin also summoned her lava mammoth, trying to use its tusks to open up a wider path. However, the lava mammoth was born with extremely high temperatures, and the other three could not withstand it.
Rock took a few steps back and said with a wry smile, "It's too hot. I'm afraid we can't stand it."
Gu Jin reluctantly took back the mammoth and sighed, "It seems that in this environment, it is really useless."
Lin Bai scanned the tunnel that was gradually taking shape and said, "Keep digging. I'll try my best to avoid any possible dangerous areas."
The four men advanced steadily until they dug into a weaker part of the ground. Then they discovered that a layer of ice had appeared above their heads and cracks had begun to appear.
Lin Bai narrowed his eyes slightly and whispered, "Let's get ready to go out. There's no danger outside."
Luo Ke, Gu Jin and Chen Wen immediately adjusted their status.
As the last layer of ice and snow was broken by the raccoon's force, four figures broke through the ice and landed on the icy plain where the wind was howling. Suddenly, the seven people's eyes met, and the air seemed to freeze in an instant, with only the whistling cold wind raging in their ears.
Lin Bai looked at the three young men from the Liswood Military Academy opposite him, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. They were extremely tall and all wore combat uniforms. Even in the extremely cold environment, they were still imposing, especially their three-meter-tall bodies, which formed a sharp contrast with Lin Bai and others.
However, after a brief standoff, the tense atmosphere unexpectedly relaxed.
Lin Bai looked at his teammates' reactions and found that they were almost all familiar with each other. Gu Jin climbed onto Ellie's trunk without any hesitation, and the silver-white fox tail wrapped around the tusk and swayed gently. It was obvious that she was used to this intimate interaction.
Rock was chatting animatedly with Arthur of the elephant tribe, discussing their respective brothers and sisters. His tone was relaxed, even with a bit of pride, as if it was a long-lost reunion of brothers.
In contrast, the atmosphere between Chen Wen and the lion boy Ryan was completely different. The moment they looked at each other, they bared their fangs and grinned at each other, their eyes full of confrontation, as if there was some kind of natural competition between them, and a serious contest could break out at any time.
Lin Bai stood aside, observing the scene silently, secretly complaining in his heart that the racial differences in the Federation were too exaggerated.
On one side are the three-meter-tall elephants and lions, and on the other side are the foxes and mechanical tribes whose bodies are relatively close to humans. This picture looks awkward no matter how you look at it.
The cold wind was still whistling in their ears, but the tense atmosphere between the seven people had completely dissipated, replaced by familiarity.
"How did you come out from underground?" Ellie finally couldn't help asking. He shook his trunk slightly, trying to pull the fox's tail off his tusks, but Gu Jin easily pulled it back.
"It's a long story." Lin Bai shrugged and glanced around. "What about you guys? Why are you here on this ice field?"
Arthur sighed and rubbed his frozen ears. "We were heading towards those two giants at first, but somehow we were teleported here and nearly froze to death."
Ryan snorted, crossing his arms across his chest. His golden lion tail was so stiff in the cold wind that he could barely swing it. “If we hadn’t received some training, we would have been frozen into ice sculptures.”
Lin Bai looked at the endless world of ice and snow around him, a hint of deep thought flashing in his eyes.
At this moment, a low and distant voice came from the depths of the wind and snow, as if the entire world of ice and snow was shaking.
"Anyone who trespasses into my territory will be tested."
The air seemed to freeze at this moment, and the biting coldness pressed down like a substance, and everyone instantly became alert.
In the wind and snow, a blurry figure slowly emerged. He had a human face and a bird body, with two green snakes under his feet. He was shrouded in surging cold fog, and a circle of faint blue icy light surrounded him, as if even the space was frozen.
"Xuan Ming?!" Lin Bai's pupils shrank slightly, and he was horrified.
The others also changed color, this was the legendary god who controlled ice and snow!
But the Xuanming in front of him not only exuded the pressure of a god, but also revealed a heart-pounding aura of danger. He was actually a dark beast!
Lin Bai stared at Xuan Ming, his mind filled with confusion. Why had Xuan Ming fallen into the Dark Beast? And why had He set up this test?
"What test?" she asked in a deep voice, forcibly suppressing the thoughts churning in her heart.
Xuan Ming's eyes were deep, and his voice was low and slow, as if spanning endless time: "Enter the extremely cold land and retrieve my lost heart."
Everyone looked at each other, their hearts sinking.
An extremely cold place? Wouldn't that be several times colder than here?
Ellie couldn't help but complain in a low voice: "My elephant skin is almost cracked by the cold!"
But Xuan Ming did not give them any chance to choose. He raised his hand, and a complex mark quickly formed on his fingertips. He pointed lightly, and a staircase leading to the underground appeared in front of Lin Bai and the others.
The seven people looked at each other and understood tacitly that this was most likely the third level.
Gu Jin summoned the lava mammoth without hesitation. The boiling magma flowed between its fangs and limbs, and the hot breath immediately dispelled the surrounding cold.
Although the seven people could still feel the scorching heat, Gu Jin precisely controlled the temperature to keep it within a tolerable range.
The rest of the people quickly gathered around the lava mammoth, using the heat it emitted to resist the cold, and then stepped onto the stairs leading to the extremely cold place underground, step by step into the unknown abyss.
Behind them, Xuan Ming quietly gazed at their receding figures, his eyes deep, as if he was pondering something...
——
As the seven people continued to go deeper, the temperature around them dropped quietly, and even the heat emitted by the lava mammoth became weak and could no longer bring enough warmth.
Lin Bai frowned and rubbed his arms slightly, feeling the chill in the air gradually seeping through his clothes and even penetrating into his bones.
"If we go any lower, I'm afraid even the mammoth's heat won't be able to withstand it." Gu Jin suddenly said, a serious look in his eyes.
The seven of them exchanged glances, feeling vaguely uneasy, but there was no way out at this moment.
The cold wind was howling, ice and snow were flying, and the stairs ahead seemed to lead to an endless dark abyss, and the true horror of this extremely cold land had just begun.
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