The Status of Each Region

【The forbidden land is divided into four zones, each with a simple mini-game!】

【Each game has a time limit of two hours.】

【Eastern Zone: You need only cross the swamp before you to achieve victory!】

【Western Zone: You need only slay all the monsters emerging from the altar to achieve victory!】

【Northern Zone: You need only defeat an ancient creature to achieve victory!】

【As for the Southern Zone... you need only slaughter each other until the others succeed in their games!】

【I eagerly await the performance of you insects!】

As the voice faded, Bai Jun's expression grew grim.

Netherworld?

That name sounded familiar... as if he'd seen it somewhere before...

Bai Jun strained to recall, but the oppressive environment made it impossible to remember more. Perhaps only upon returning to headquarters could he consult the archives.

But before that...

He stared at the swamp ahead. If nothing else, they were clearly in the so-called Eastern Zone.

This was their "game" arena? A game?

The owner of that voice actually treated this deadly forbidden land as mere entertainment?

Then—

Tick, tick, tick!

The sound of a clock ticking echoed.

Bai Jun looked up and froze.

Above the swamp, a two-hour countdown had materialized out of thin air.

"You've got to be kidding me... What the hell is this?"

Bai Jun muttered to himself. What kind of ability was this?

A cultivation technique? He'd never heard of one that could do this.

And the swamp... Though it looked calm now, anyone with sense knew better.

If this was their challenge, it had to be deadly.

They needed a plan.

Just as Bai Jun was deep in thought, an impatient voice rang out from the side:

"What kind of joke is this? Who has time for this stupid challenge?"

"I came here for the ancient qi, not to play games!"

"It's just a swamp. Cross it and we're done, right?"

With that, a man stepped to the edge of the swamp and crouched slightly.

Hum!!

A surge of qi gathered at his feet. He smirked at the crowd.

"Sorry, folks. I'll be going ahead."

"After all, I’ve always been confident in my speed."

He shouted: "Wind Thunder Technique!!"

Boom!

In an instant, the man shot forward like an arrow, streaking straight across the swamp toward the opposite shore.

"Tsk... So he’s from the Wind Wave Sect. Rumor has it they specialize in speed-based techniques."

"Looks like the first victor of this challenge is about to emerge."

"Ugh, what about the rest of us? Do we really have to wade through the swamp?"

"No way. Who knows what’s lurking in there?"

Some regretted not befriending the man earlier, while others worried about how they’d cross.

Only Bai Jun remained tense, his eyes locked on the Wind Wave Sect disciple racing across the swamp.

No... It couldn’t be that simple.

A bad feeling gnawed at him...

The Wind Wave Sect disciple, now close to the opposite shore, laughed triumphantly and turned back to the crowd.

"Haha! I made it—"

The next moment—

Splash!!!

Just as he was about to reach the shore, the swamp erupted violently.

A gaping maw, dozens of meters wide and lined with razor-sharp teeth, burst from the depths and swallowed the disciple whole before he could finish his sentence.

Then, as quickly as it appeared, the monstrous mouth vanished back into the swamp without a trace.

"Gah!"

The crowd gasped in unison.

"Hey, hey, hey—did you all see that? What the hell was that thing?"

"Is there any record of such a monster in the bestiary?"

"No idea. A new species?"

"You’ve got to be kidding me. That mouth could swallow all of us in one bite!"

"How are we supposed to cross now?"

Everyone was stunned.

Bai Jun’s frown deepened. Though the creature had appeared for only a moment, his sharp senses had caught its power level...

That monster...

It was at least at the Grandmaster Realm. Combined with the terrain advantage, this was going to be troublesome.

Nearby, Bai Lian glanced at Bai Jun’s tense expression, then at the now-calm swamp.

She replayed the monster’s attack pattern in her mind.

Oh?

I think I’ve got an idea...

But first, we’ll need another test.

---

**Western Zone.**

Shangguan Miaoyin and the others had also learned the rules of their "game."

Everyone turned their attention to the altar.

"All we have to do is kill every monster that comes out of there, right?"

"Too easy."

A disciple from a prominent sect scoffed. "With so many of us here, what’s there to fear?"

"Haha, Brother Wang’s right. Numbers are on our side—no matter how many monsters pour out, we’ll handle them!"

"Especially since..."

The group’s eyes shifted to Shangguan Miaoyin and Ning Qian.

"...we’ve got Lady Shangguan and Miss Ning with us."

One was the eldest daughter of the Shangguan Clan.

The other was a disciple of Dragon King Mountain.

With a lineup like this, how could they lose?

*Fools. If it were that simple, we wouldn’t be in a forbidden land.*

Shangguan Miaoyin smirked inwardly but maintained a polite smile. "Even with our numbers, let’s not underestimate the challenge."

"After all, this *is* a forbidden land."

A martial artist, brimming with confidence, strode toward the altar.

"Haha! Wise words, Lady Shangguan!"

"Then allow me—the top disciple of the Cloud Wind Sect’s master—to take the lead."

He twirled his sword with a flourish and faced the group, his back to the altar.

"Don’t let my appearance fool you. I’ve just broken through to the Mid-Innate Realm."

"No monster that comes out of there stands a chance against—"

Schlick!!!

Splash—!!

Before he could finish, an axe blade shot out from the altar’s void.

It cleaved straight through the man’s skull.

With a dull thud, half his head flew off, and his corpse collapsed to the ground.

Then—

The axe retracted into the void, only to be replaced by a pair of massive, black-green hands.

"ROAR!!"

The hands gripped the edges of the void and *pulled*, widening the rift.

What lay beyond made everyone’s faces pale instantly.

Inside...

Was a seething, endless horde of monsters, packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

Their eyes burned with bloodlust as they stared at the humans.

"N-no way..."

"There’s... there’s *this* many...?"

Some gulped hard, their earlier bravado vanishing.

How... how were they supposed to fight this?

Even Shangguan Miaoyin was momentarily speechless.

Well then...

This was truly unexpected... She glanced at Ning Qian, smiling inwardly.

It seems I’ll have to make use of the disciples from Dragon King Mountain.

**Northern Region**

This desolate land resembled the ruins of an ancient site, hinting at a once-prosperous civilization now reduced to broken walls and scattered debris.

Amidst these ruins, massive mechanical creatures lay sprawled or seated, motionless.

Then, as the voice from the forbidden land faded—

Suddenly, Zzzzt—!!

A piercing screech shattered the silence. One by one, the colossal mechanical beings began to awaken, rising slowly from the ground with heavy, rhythmic clanks of grinding metal.

“Ahem… Brother Murong, are you confident in dealing with these ancient constructs?”

Liu Jianxing looked awkwardly and nervously at the expressionless Murong Ci beside him.

Truth be told, he wasn’t particularly close to Murong Ci, but since they were in the same team, asking anyone else would be less reliable.

Murong Ci remained silent, his calm gaze fixed on the awakening ancient constructs. Gradually, a fervent glint flickered in his eyes.

“Yes.”

He replied coolly.

At the same time—Crrrack!!

The skin on Murong Ci’s body began to bulge unnaturally.

Liu Jianxing averted his eyes, swallowing hard before tightening his grip on his sword. “Alright, then I’ll leave it to you, Brother Murong.”

*Damn it, Brother Gu, where are you? Being alone with Murong Ci is seriously uncomfortable!*