Mysterious Ruins of the North

"I am fine. This level of exhaustion is within my expectations. Compared to what I have gained, this backlash is entirely acceptable."

Su Yuehe showed a satisfied expression.

Hong Yuan leaned in closer and asked curiously, "Rich Sis, are the words of this turtle really that precious?"

The Tongxuan Turtle shrank its neck on Hong Yuan's lap, trying hard to minimize its presence, terrified that its master would sell it for money again.

Yin Chen stood by the wall, toying with his newly modified frost short staff, his ears quietly perked up.

To say he was not the least bit curious would be impossible.

Chen Guan stood by the window, the bright light from outside falling on the side of his face. He was also waiting for Su Yuehe's reply.

His mind was still reliving the image of the altar he had just seen.

That ancient demonic rune was indeed a key to unlocking deeper secrets.

Su Yuehe looked up, her gaze sweeping over the people in the dorm. What was valuable was the ability to harness the character itself, not the story behind it.

Therefore, she had no reason to be vague.

"This ancient demonic rune is not just a character. It is a record, and also a signpost pointing the way."

An Changqing held a cup of warm water, his brows slowly furrowing together.

"A record of what? If you intend to continue contacting more dangerous sources of knowledge, I suggest you stop immediately. Your spiritual power simply cannot withstand continuous, high-pressure backlash."

Su Yuehe looked at An Changqing, her tone very peaceful but laced with an unyielding stubbornness.

"Changqing, this isn't just about the advancement of my personal ability. This record contains a fragmented coordinate. That coordinate points to a blizzard zone deep in the Northern Territory. It is an ancient ruin that hasn't been recorded by the Esper Association."

Hearing this, Hong Yuan's eyes immediately lit up.

She clapped her hands together with a crisp sound. "The Northern Territory? Right over here? Then going there is perfect! It's just right for testing out the feel of my newly sharpened axe. What kind of treasure is hidden at that coordinate?"

Su Yuehe shook her head gently. "I don't know the specifics because the coordinate is incomplete. But what is certain is that there is an altar left behind by an ancient civilization. This ancient demonic rune is equivalent to a street sign on the outskirts of that altar."

An Changqing set down his water cup, his tone turning stern. "It is too dangerous. The academy will never agree to let you risk going to such an unexplored, high-risk area."

"Moreover, that is a key area controlled by the military. Even for student practical training, it is conducted within a designated safe zone. Any unauthorized crossing of the boundary will result in expulsion. This is absolutely not something you can just do on a whim."

Hong Yuan curled her lips, completely unconcerned.

"An Changqing, you are just too rigid. Rules are dead, but people are alive. If the academy won't let us go, can't we think of another way?"

"If worse comes to worst, once we get there, we can find a gap during the instructors' shift change and sneak out for half a day. The Northern Territory is so huge, and the snowstorms are so thick. Who could keep an eye on the few of us all the time?"

Hearing this, Yin Chen couldn't hold back and chuckled softly. Hong Yuan was treating this like skipping a regular class.

"Classmate Hong Yuan, please put away your single-celled organism-like ideas. The military's detection network covers the edge of the Northern Territory. Do you think you can rely on that newly forged broken axe of yours to forcefully chop through those radar scans? Times have changed."

"Relying on your crude methods, we probably wouldn't even make it five kilometers out of the camp before being directly escorted back by military patrols, complete with a complimentary academic probation."

Hong Yuan glared at Yin Chen, hands on her hips. "Cut the sarcasm. Then what do you suggest? Are we supposed to listen to An Changqing and just stay obediently in the camp, watching the coordinate of such a high-level ruin rot in our hands?"

Yin Chen ignored Hong Yuan's provocation. He looked at Su Yuehe, his tone leisurely.

"Although Classmate An Changqing's concerns are reasonable, they overlook an objective fact. Many links in the resource allocation networks of the Human Council and the Esper Association override the Great Wall's jurisdiction."

"If I am not mistaken, Classmate Su should have a way to bypass this red tape and find us a legitimate identity."

Su Yuehe nodded slightly; Yin Chen was right.

"Yes, through my mother, there is a special scientific expedition clearance directly under the Council."

Although Su Yuehe's voice was still a bit weak, her logic was very clear. "This clearance was originally meant for high-level researchers exploring new ruins. As long as I submit an application defining this exploration as a preliminary survey, we can openly lead a team into that blizzard zone. The academy's instructors have no right to interfere with the Council's direct missions."

Su Yuehe had actually factored Long Ao into this as well. Given Long Ao's personality, if she made a request, he would also help.

An Changqing was left speechless. He had specifically avoided mentioning this earlier, precisely because he was afraid these people would hit it off immediately.

He could manipulate the Association's quotas, but he had no control over the Council's. That was in Su Yuehe's hands.

Having a childhood friend with too high a status wasn't always a good thing.

He opened his mouth, trying to find a reason to refute, but in the end, it only turned into a long sigh.

As the daughter of the Speaker, Su Yuehe indeed possessed resource allocation capabilities that ordinary people could hardly match.

This kind of privilege, overriding conventional defense lines, made those rules seem like a piece of waste paper that could be crumpled at will.

"You even calculated this into your plan." An Changqing's tone was laced with helplessness as he slowly lowered his hand holding the warm water cup.

In such a short time, Su Yuehe had already figured out a countermeasure. It seemed she was dead set on this.

Su Yuehe shook her head, her voice soft yet firm. "Changqing, although the coordinate recorded by that ancient demonic rune is incomplete, the aura it emits indicates that the altar has existed for much longer than any Northern Territory ruin we currently know of."

"If we miss this opportunity and let the military or other high-level expedition teams discover it first, we will never have the chance to touch its core secrets again."

Hong Yuan jumped down from the edge of the bed, swinging her double-edged axe with one hand, looking heroic and valiant.

"Rich Sis is absolutely right!" Hong Yuan laughed out loud, her voice echoing in the room.

"What is there to be afraid of? With all of us combined, even if we encounter an eighth-tier demonic beast, we can still skin it alive. You get the pass sorted out, and leave the rest of the grunt work to me."

An Changqing and the others didn't know, but Hong Yuan was very clear about it: Yin Chen's husky was no ordinary dog.

Yin Chen leaned against the wall, his slender fingers gently stroking the frost crystal at the top of his staff. He wasn't as blindly optimistic as Hong Yuan.

"The scientific expedition clearance only gives us a legitimate reason to enter the high-risk area. It doesn't lower the actual danger level of the blizzard zone."

Yin Chen looked at Su Yuehe. "The extreme climate deep in the Northern Territory will severely suppress the circulation of spiritual energy. Hong Yuan's physical stamina might be able to withstand it, but your spiritual power just suffered a backlash. In that kind of environment, you will be extremely vulnerable."