Entering the Ruins

Early the next morning, before the sky had even lightened.

Carrying a coffin on his back, wearing Spirit Spider Silk soft armor over his combat suit, and stepping in Gale Boots, Chen Guan arrived at the academy's west gate right on time.

An Changqing, Su Yuehe, and Long Ao were already there; Chen Guan was once again the last to arrive.

Besides them, a shuttle-shaped flying vehicle about ten meters long and completely silver-grey was parked in the west gate plaza. Its surface was engraved with complex patterns. This was the academy's dedicated transport, the Cloud Piercing Shuttle.

Standing next to it was a middle-aged instructor with a stern face wearing the academy uniform, seemingly the supervisor for this trip.

Although it was called a free exploration, an instructor was still needed to hold the fort and handle any sudden emergencies.

In the wilderness, humans could be far more dangerous than beasts.

Seeing Chen Guan arrive, An Changqing nodded at him, signaling him to come over.

"Everyone is here," An Changqing said to the middle-aged instructor. "Instructor, we can set off now."

The middle-aged instructor's sharp gaze swept over the four of them, pausing for a moment specifically on the coffin behind Chen Guan. Anyone seeing Chen Guan for the first time would tacitly look at his back; that coffin was simply too eye-catching.

The instructor didn't say much, only stating in a deep voice, "I am the accompanying supervising instructor for this mission, Zhao Tie."

"I will not participate in your exploration. I am only responsible for transport and providing the minimum level of academy support in case of emergencies. Board the shuttle. Remember, safety first, and act according to your abilities."

"Yes, Instructor Zhao," the four replied in unison. Even Long Ao gave face this time. With that said, they boarded the Cloud Piercing Shuttle one after another.

The space inside the shuttle was more spacious than expected, with comfortable seats, a simple rest area, and supply storage boxes.

Inside the Cloud Piercing Shuttle, apart from the four members of Squad Four-Nine, there were several other student teams who had applied to go to the Black Wind Ruins, totaling about twenty people.

Some teams conversed in low voices, while others rested with their eyes closed. The atmosphere was quite relaxed. After all, the difficulty of these ruins was considered beginner-level. Even though there had been a sudden anomaly this time, it probably wouldn't be too hard.

Glancing over, there were also familiar faces, the senior students they had met at the start of the school year, Li Yuqing and Huo Qixing.

Li Yuqing even blinked at him, clearly recognizing him. After all, his defining feature was simply too obvious.

Chen Guan returned a smile. Instructor Zhao Tie sat in the pilot's seat and started the flying vehicle. Amidst a slight humming sound, the Cloud Piercing Shuttle slowly lifted off, then turned into a streak of silver light, speeding away towards the northwest.

Outside the porthole, the view of the academy rapidly shrank, replaced by rolling mountains and an increasingly thick morning mist. The Cloud Piercing Shuttle was extremely fast, soon penetrating deep into the uninhabited Forgotten Mountain Range.

Below was an endless sea of dark green forest and jagged, bizarre rocks. Occasionally, one could see mist-shrouded deep valleys or areas shimmering with strange lusters.

After flying for about an hour, the scenery ahead began to change. The hue of the mountains gradually turned dull, the vegetation became sparse, and a faint smell of rust began to permeate the air.

In the distant horizon, an area could be vaguely seen shrouded in a hazy grey-black mist. That mist didn't seem naturally formed; it looked like a curtain.

"We are almost at the outskirts of the Black Wind Ruins," Instructor Zhao Tie said in a deep voice from the pilot's seat. "Everyone, look alive."

The Cloud Piercing Shuttle began to decelerate and slowly lowered its altitude. A relatively flat, open area appeared below. It had been temporarily cleared out, with several simple tents set up. A barrier had already been established, and human figures could be vaguely seen moving around. This was the temporary camp set up by the academy on the outskirts of the ruins.

The Cloud Piercing Shuttle landed smoothly at the edge of the camp. The cabin door opened, and air smelling of dirt rushed in. The humidity here seemed very high, making Chen Guan slightly unaccustomed to it.

"Remember, the exploration time is three days. At this exact time in three days, the Cloud Piercing Shuttle will be waiting here. We will not wait for latecomers, and you will bear the consequences."

Instructor Zhao Tie's voice held no emotion. "Now, move out."

The students stood up one after another, grabbed their respective gear, and filed out.

Chen Guan put the coffin on his back and followed An Changqing off the Cloud Piercing Shuttle. Stepping onto the slightly damp and slippery grey-black soil, he immediately felt a faint, cold aura creeping up from the soles of his feet, but it was quickly neutralized by the Spirit Spider Silk soft armor and his own grey energy.

He marveled slightly. Although he had read about it in books, the gap between text and a living, breathing situation was still quite large.

The camp wasn't large. Apart from a few tents and a communication tower emitting faint spiritual energy fluctuations, there were hardly any facilities. After all, it was just a temporary camp.

Several teams had already arrived a step ahead and were making final preparations or exchanging intelligence.

An Changqing looked around and whispered, "Let's go to the camp registration desk to report in first, and see if there's any newly shared intelligence."

The registration desk was set up in the largest tent, manned by an expressionless staff member. It was obvious that they were entirely drained of the will to live from working.

An Changqing stepped forward and handed over Squad Four-Nine's identity information and exploration application records.

Although the staff member was exhausted, they quickly verified the information. Upon completion, they handed them four specially made positioning and SOS badges, along with the latest simplified map of the ruins' outskirts.

This map was slightly more detailed than the one provided by the academy, marking several newly discovered relatively safe zones and danger points. These were the results of previous explorers' efforts.

"During the exploration, you must carry the badge with you at all times. If you encounter danger you cannot resolve, you can activate the SOS signal, but you may not receive timely rescue. Weigh the risks yourselves."

The staff member instructed in a routine, business-like manner.

"Thank you." An Changqing took the items and distributed them to his teammates. As the son of the guild president, he was very clear about these procedures.

Because of what happened last time, he had fully equipped them with all sorts of things this time. No matter what, it was impossible to run into safety issues again.

However, he still didn't want to use those methods unless absolutely necessary. After all, his main purpose was to gain experience; relying on the power of money couldn't improve his own skills.

Chen Guan pinned the badge to the inside of his collar, his gaze falling on the map. The center of the map was covered by a large blank space and question marks. That was the unexplored core area, the Eye of the Wind.

And their destination, the Ancient Pagoda Area, was located on the northwest edge of the ruins, marked as moderately dangerous. The black wind erosion there was relatively strong, ancient traps were occasionally triggered, and low-tier ruin creatures existed.

"According to intelligence, there are three relatively well-preserved stone pagodas in the Ancient Pagoda Area, distributed in a triangular formation. The abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations mainly come from the tallest pagoda in the middle."

An Changqing pointed at the map. "We will head straight for the middle ancient pagoda. Along the way, watch out for the black wind, potential traps, and ruin creatures."

As for where his intelligence came from... that was naturally inside information from the Association. He had also come here on his father's orders; this was a trial ground carefully selected by his old man.

"Understood," Chen Guan nodded.

"Let's go." An Changqing put away the map and took the lead, walking out of the camp towards the ruins shrouded in the grey-black mist.

Along the way, there were actually quite a few people sitting on the ground, hawking and peddling their wares. Chen Guan took a quick glance; most of the items being sold at these makeshift stalls were nothing special. It seemed he just didn't have the luck to stumble upon a hidden gem.

Continuing on their way like this, the four of them finally stepped into the actual perimeter of the ruins.