"How merciless…"
Tianyu didn't hesitate. He stripped off his clothes and put on the black robe. The moment he tied the sash around his waist, an overwhelming weight crashed down on his body.
He staggered back a step, then steadied himself.
His muscles screamed. His bones felt compressed.
Tianyu's eyes flicked around.
"It's not just me," he realised.
"Everyone's experiencing the same thing."
In that moment, the children all came to the same realisation that these people were merciless; one mistake and they were gone.
"By the way," the man added casually, "your spatial bags and storage rings won't work here."
A ripple of unease spread through the group.
"We only need fifty of you," he continued. "I don't care how you do it, but in one month, I'll return."
He reached into his pocket and produced a green jade. An inscription of a tiger was carved into its surface; vividly, its mouth was open.
"There are fifty jades like this scattered inside," he said, holding it up.
"Have at least one when I come back if you want to live."
His lips curled into something resembling a smile.
"Now, good luck. Try your best to survive."
"I'm sure you'll find this whole thing… entertaining."
He tapped the ground twice.
"In there, you'll find some foxes. Be careful, little rabbits."
The ground beneath them lit up as an array flared to life. Before anyone could react, the world twisted, and in the next moment, they were gone.
"Hey, Bo," the man said afterwards, already lifting a gourd to his lips and drinking deeply.
"Do you think we'll get a good vessel this time? The last group were all nothing but trash."
Bo watched the empty space where the youths had vanished.
"I'm not sure," he said, taking the gourd when it was passed to him.
"But this batch has better potential."
He paused.
"The leader's soul is far too strong. Most vessels can't even endure him for ten years."
"But this time… we went to a good region"
Bo smiled faintly.
"There were a few talented brats."
"Even a dragonkin among them."
"What!? That's brilliant!" the man exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement.
"Then what use are the other brats? Bring that dragonkin here; the master can use him. That body should be more than good enough!"
"…Ahhh—about that," Bo said, giggling awkwardly.
"We couldn't bring him along. Wang played around too much, and a true dragon descended into the youngling."
Bo raised his hands, sticking out his tongue with a silly grin.
"We would've died if we hadn't crushed the reverse scale."
"You idiots…!"
The man roared, veins bulging violently across his forehead, his face twisting with fury.
"Do you have any idea how important this is?!" he shouted, words tumbling over each other as spit flew from his mouth.
"If the Leader doesn't restore his power soon, the window to move on to the next world will be lost!"
"Oh, calm down, Wing Xang," Bo replied lazily, lifting the gourd and taking another long drink.
"As I said, we've got strong candidates this time."
He lowered his gourd, eyes glinting with quiet confidence.
"Most of them are hiding secrets," Bo continued.
"Secrets that are no less valuable than a dragonoid's body. I'm sure we will get one that is suitable for the master" Bo sat down, and his eyes stretched to the ground.
"Especially that Kid who was fighting against the dragonkin brat, there is something special about his karma. He will grow great." Bo thought to himself.
When Tianyu landed, his eyes were immediately drawn to the vast place they were in.
Tall trees stretched endlessly in every direction, and a soft, pulsing Qi buzzed through the air.
Around him were both familiar and unfamiliar faces.
"It seems they took people from all over," Tianyu thought, his eyes scanning the environment carefully.
"There are around two hundred of us… meaning more than three-quarters will die."
"I need a high place to understand the geography," he decided.
Without hesitation, Tianyu turned and ran toward a tall tree visible in the distance, leaving the group behind.
"Hey, what do you think?" someone whispered.
"We should form a group. That way, it'll be easier to survive. We can find the jades faster."
Murmuring spread quickly.
"Yes! I want to be in Zhou Lung's group!"
"That's the safest choice!"
"How foolish," Tianyu thought, breathing steadily as he ran.
"Can't they see it? In a place like this, only the strong matter. Grouping together will only make you targets, tools to be exploited."
As he neared the foot of the tree, he frowned.
"Huh… these robes," Tianyu muttered internally.
"They're absorbing my Qi."
Tianyu extended his Qi around himself, and sure enough, it was being absorbed.
His robes became ever so slightly heavier as they absorbed his Qi.
"Just what kind of game are they playing here? I need to get out, Tianyu thought, climbing higher into the tree."
The view from above was marvellous. Most of the trees here were unlike anything he recognised.
"Now that I'm paying closer attention… the Qi here is strangely dense."
His eyes suddenly caught sight of something far ahead.
"I should make that my base."
He began leaping from tree to tree as he usually did, his experience from the Forest of Toe finally showing its worth.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound sliced past his ear.
Tianyu twisted midair, narrowly dodging it, his eyes tracing the attack's trajectory.
"What!? A hidden weapon!?"
He spread his Qi instinctively as another attack came rushing in. This time, a silver gleam caught his eye; something shot up from the ground.
"Tch—damn it."
He reached for his storage ring, nothing.
"Shit, I forgot that I can't access it…"
Tianyu staggered slightly as he tried to draw his blade.
"…Right."
A spark of realisation flashed through his mind.
"I can use that."
In a split second, with condensed Qi, he tore a thick branch off the tree and gathered all his Qi around the piece of wood, strengthening it.
Clang!