53: Geniuses from all sides gathered, confronted, and arrived

A gigantic tree towering several hundred meters tall stood atop the black hill, its canopy blocking out the sky and sun, while countless thick, python-like roots tightly wrapped around the black earth.

Only a narrow, winding upward path led to that black hill.

At the beginning of the narrow path,

a young girl stood at this moment, her dark hair cascading down to her hips, her features incomparably pure and beautiful, and a pair of ice-blue eyes exuding an eternal, unchanging apathy.

"Is that the entrance to the hidden map?"

Lin Qingyan raised her head, looking ahead along the narrow path.

In the distance, there was an arched stone gate, which at a glance clearly had a barrier and a boss guarding the stage.

But to Lin Qingyan,

it was all the same.

Just as she was about to take a step,

movement came from behind her.

Turning her head to look,

an ordinary-looking youth carrying a greatsword walked over.

"I've finally found it," the youth said with pleasant surprise.

Seeing Lin Qingyan, he was first struck with astonishment. Seeming to realize it was impolite, he hurriedly scratched his head and awkwardly greeted, "H-Hello…"

Lin Qingyan glanced at him.

His Physique was somewhat special, and it seemed he was also some kind of hidden class, while within his mental Domain… it seemed some secrets were hidden as well.

Inside the youth's mental Domain, a mysterious elder spoke, "Kid, be careful, this lass is no ordinary person."

"If you aren't careful and get instantly killed, don't blame me for not warning you."

The youth was stunned, "Huh?"

"Are you also aiming for the hidden map?" Lin Qingyan said indifferently.

Listening to her melodious yet cold voice,

the youth scratched his head and said, "Yeah, I accidentally killed a Vicious Beast and it dropped a map, so I wanted to come over here and try my luck…"

Before he finished speaking,

"Sleep."

Following the word spat out by the girl, it was as if giving a command.

The youth only felt his head grow heavy, and a strong wave of drowsiness welled up in his heart, causing his eyelids to droop uncontrollably as he was about to fall asleep.

At the critical moment, the elder within the mental Domain barked, "Wake up!"

The youth snapped awake abruptly.

Then he heard the stunning young girl opposite him say with interest, "Oh…?"

Breaking out in a cold sweat, the youth drew the greatsword on his back and stared intently at Lin Qingyan: "I am Wu Ping from Wu'an City. Fellow student, may I ask who you are…?"

"You really did hide your class."

A clear, pleasant voice carrying an unquestionable tone rang out.

The two turned their heads to look.

A streak of dreamy purple came into view.

Lin Qingyan narrowed her eyes slightly,

"It's you."

Accompanied by a silvery, tinkling chuckle, Luo Xi, with her purple hair and purple eyes and a graceful figure, stepped out from the shadows.

She held a staff in her hand and wore a cloud-patterned magic robe with a high slit, the flash of snowy-white skin inadvertently revealed being extremely alluring.

Her snow-white, flawless melon-seeded face had exquisite features, combining the charms of both a mature older sister and a young girl, possessing a pure, seductive yet mature vibe belonging to an upperclassman. On her right eye, she also wore a monocle accessory, which, paired with those highly seductive purple eyes, made her look both noble and mysterious.

"I knew you weren't that simple. Fine, only this way do you qualify to be my opponent," Luo Xi said with a smile as she stared at Lin Qingyan.

The two girls looked at each other, completely ignoring the youth named Wu Ping.

Wu Ping: "Um…"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!

Several fierce wisps of Sword Qi shot over, attacking the three of them simultaneously.

Wu Ping blocked with his greatsword and was driven back a few steps.

A mental barrier formed a sphere to protect Luo Xi.

As for Lin Qingyan, without even looking, she swayed her figure and easily avoided the attack.

With six scabbards floating behind him, Qin Nansun appeared in this area with his hands clasped behind the back of his head, grinning as he said,

"It's still lively here."

"How about adding me to the mix?"

"And me."

A robust, dark-skinned boy with bandages wrapped around his arms also walked out.

Cupping his fist, he bowed his head to the others and said, "Tiannan City, Niu Zhan. Greetings, everyone."

In just a matter of a few minutes,

three men and two women had gathered here.

All of them were famous Prodigies from various places.

Lin Qingyan swept her eyes across them.

Just by looking at their auras, she could tell that their Ranks were basically between LV5 and LV9.

But unfortunately…

none of them were her match.

Luo Xi chuckled lightly:

"The entrance to the hidden map is right ahead, but it seems none of you want to yield, right?"

Wu Ping: "I-I think teaming up together is also pretty good."

Lin Qingyan said indifferently: "I have no intention of teaming up with anyone."

"Me too." Luo Xi placed one hand on her waist, the proportion of her extremely slender waist to her prominent, rounded hips being perfect.

"In that case…"

Qin Nansun reached out, and an iron sword flew into his hand. An excited and crazy smile also appeared on his face.

"Then let's have a fight."

Niu Zhan nodded: "Whoever wins has the qualification to enter the hidden map. Speaking with strength, it's very fair."

They were all Prodigies quite confident in their own strength. Since they had entered the dungeon, everyone wanted to be number one, and naturally, they had long since prepared themselves for a fight.

Without any warning,

a dark shadow rushed out from the tree shadows not far away, splitting into five, pitch-black all over, and charged at the few of them while holding daggers.

The sixth person hidden in the dark, the number one Prodigy of Dehai City, Moguang!

"I've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Qin Nansun said excitedly, taking a step forward as his palm brushed across the iron sword, adding a layer of pitch-black blade light to the sword body.

"Sword Rain!"

A single sword swing was unleashed, bringing forth countless sword shadows and instantly plowing flat a layer of the ground in front of him.

The dark shadow that rushed in front of him also vanished amidst the sword light.

The others also made their moves one after another, annihilating the dark shadows that rushed before them.

But the next second,

the dark shadow appeared like a ghost in mid-air behind Wu Ping, clearly deciding to deal with the weakest one first.

"Swoosh!"

He fiercely thrust out the rare-grade blood-sucking dagger in his hand, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue in the dark night, silent and taking lives.

"Clang!"

The dagger sliced through clothing, piercing against the hard Dragon scales and splashing tiny sparks.

Moguang was startled, "What?"

"Assassin classmate, sorry about that."

Wu Ping turned his head, his face also covered by cyan Dragon scales, and said apologetically: "My Awakening is an S-rank talent—Human-Dragon Form. So your attacks can't hurt me."

Moguang clicked his tongue.

"Those who can reach this place really aren't ordinary people."

Swish!

The greatsword swung down.

Moguang, a step ahead, flashed ten meters away with ghostly footwork.

Just as he stood steady, something fell from the air. Looking up,

"Ha ah—!"

Niu Zhan clenched his fists and fell from the sky, smashing down with a punch.

"Boom!"

The ground was smashed into a sunken crater, and the shockwave forced Moguang, who had narrowly avoided it, to slide back over ten meters.

"Enter my world, Mr. Assassin~"

A seductive voice rang out. As soon as Moguang looked up, he saw a wisp of bewitching purple light. His mental Domain instantly fell, and his eyes became dim and hollow.

"Clatter!"

The two blood-sucking daggers dropped from his hands, picked up by Luo Xi as she bent down.

"Have a good dream inside the illusion."

This scene made Wu Ping not far away break out in cold sweat, thinking to himself:

"Teacher, teacher, what on earth is her ability? It's so bizarre."

"If I guessed correctly, it should be an Epic-class class, Illusion Speaker. She can make people fall into illusions just by relying on words. Be careful not to listen or look."

"Got it!"

Wu Ping gripped the greatsword in his hand tightly, staring at the few people standing in various postures, his palms sweating.

An assassin with such formidable strength was taken down so quickly, which showed how terrifying these people were.

If he wasn't careful, the next one to be eliminated would be himself!

"Among these people, the most terrifying one is probably still that black-haired girl," the elder said in a solemn voice.

Wu Ping was stunned, looking at Lin Qingyan.

It was with this very glance,

he was surprised to see that the stunning young girl, whose expression had been cold, indifferent, and completely unchanged from the beginning until now, suddenly changed her expression slightly.

She looked toward a certain direction.

Her expression underwent some changes.

It seemed like she was frowning, and it also seemed like she was saying 'Sure enough, they've come'.

"Tap, tap, tap…"

Footsteps.

Who is it?

Wu Ping turned his head curiously to look.

Under the gazes of several people,

a slender and well-proportioned figure walked out from the dark shadows.

He wore a black-and-white school uniform with both hands shoved into his jacket pockets. His handsome features gradually emerged under the faint light. As if unaccustomed to the light, with a lazy expression, a black-haired youth—casual and calm as if strolling through a supermarket—slightly opened his eyes.

A streak of blazing golden gaze, accompanied by an invisible coercion, leaked out from his body.

Causing Qin Nansun and Niu Zhan, who were still fighting, to involuntarily stop their hands and turn their heads to look.