Chapter 70: The Shadow of the Mountain Vilge

  Sanbao and Wang Suifeng followed the sharp voice's instructions and arrived at the next cssroom. As soon as they stepped through the door, the surroundings began to shift.

  They found themselves standing on a mountain dirt road, with broken stones underfoot. The surrounding mountains loomed tall, thick trees growing densely, and the only path ahead led into a vilge. The vilge was backed by a steep cliff, with a secluded and perilous terrain, having only one entrance.

  It was noon, with the sun shining brightly and the sky high above, yet the entire vilge remained eerily quiet. Every house had its windows and doors tightly shut, and there wasn’t a single wisp of smoke coming from the chimneys. There were no voices, no barking dogs— the pce was as silent as a dead vilge. Occasionally, a mountain breeze blew, causing the old door panels to creak, as if someone were hiding behind them, watching, or perhaps it was merely an illusion in the wind.

  Wang Suifeng looked at the quiet vilge, furrowing his brow, and whispered, "Should we wait at the vilge entrance?"

  Sanbao gnced at him, feigning confidence, and patted his shoulder. "Don’t worry, just follow my lead. Since we know this is a trial, there must be something going on here. As long as we stay vigint, we can handle anything that comes our way."

  But in her mind, she couldn’t help but scoff. Here was the young master of the Sea City Wang family, the heir of the Medicine Valley, a martial arts grandmaster, yet he was so scared.

  They walked side by side down the main road of the vilge, the silence still pressing in on them.

  Suddenly, a dispute broke out ahead.

  "I told you not to come with me this time, but you insisted on sneaking along. Now you’re scared, huh!" A man's voice shouted angrily, full of reproach.

  Sanbao looked in the direction of the voice and saw four young people under a roof eave in the vilge, in the middle of a heated argument. The tall, broad-shouldered young man at the front, with muscles like iron, was furiously scolding a petite girl standing beside him. The girl hung her head, her eyes red, on the verge of tears.

  Beside them, a more delicate young man seemed to want to intervene, but was stopped by another cold-faced youth, who pulled at his sleeve. The tter had a grim expression, standing tall and detached, yet his eyes kept gncing at the girl being scolded, and his other hand was secretly clenched into a fist.

  When they noticed Sanbao and Wang Suifeng’s arrival, the argument halted temporarily.

  The tall young man stepped forward arrogantly. "Are you two here for an adventure, looking for treasure?"

  Sanbao was momentarily taken aback, her voice ced with confusion, "Treasure? Are there any treasures here?"

  Before the delicate young man could expin, the cold-faced young man stopped him.

  With a stern expression, the cold-faced youth said, "We’re just a group of friends who enjoy adventure. We heard that people often go missing in this vilge, so we came to check it out."

  Wang Suifeng suddenly reached out and grabbed Sanbao’s arm, smiling as he added, "This is my girlfriend. We were hiking and got lost in the mountains. By chance, we ended up here."

  Sanbao’s face darkened, and she immediately shook off his hand, offering a forced smile but saying nothing.

  The petite girl suddenly skipped over to Sanbao, grabbed her hand with a cheerful smile, and said, "Since none of us are familiar with this pce, why don’t we stick together? It’s getting te, and it’s safer in numbers in a pce like this."

  She turned to gnce at the tall young man and pouted, "Look, even someone like Big Sister, who's so weak, dares to come hiking. Why can’t I, as an ability user, come too?"

  Weak? Sanbao almost ughed at that, but maintained a calm expression while her mind was running wild. *I’m a te-stage Water Elemental abilities user at the fifth rank, and I’m being considered weak?*

  The tall young man patted his chest and introduced himself, "Let me introduce myself. I’m Qin Liangguang, a te-stage Refining Energy martial artist."

  Sanbao had to hold back a ugh, thinking, *Late-stage Refining Energy? With such low cultivation, yet such big talk, and calling me weak? Hmph!*

  "This is Wang Yuanying, my girlfriend," he pointed to the petite girl.

  "I’m Gu Xiaotu, a mid-stage Earth Elemental abilities user," the delicate young man smiled.

  "Shi Mengsong, mid-stage Gold Elemental abilities user," the cold-faced young man said, his eyes often gncing furtively at Wang Yuanying.

  "I’m a te-stage Wood Elemental abilities user!" Wang Yuanying clung to Sanbao’s arm coquettishly. "Big Sister, stick with me, I’ll protect you from now on~"

  Wang Suifeng snorted and suddenly raised his hand, striking the side of an abandoned shack with a palm.

  With a loud boom, the entire shack colpsed, dust flying everywhere, and the wooden beams and stone tiles shattered. The sparse furnishings inside were instantly reduced to ashes.

  The four young people stood stunned.

  "Grandmaster... no, a Great Grandmaster?" Wang Yuanying gasped, covering her mouth. "Such a powerful spiritual energy fluctuation."

  Qin Liangguang’s expression became serious, and he quickly bowed in respect. "So it’s a martial arts senior. I apologize for not recognizing you."

  Sanbao sighed inwardly. *As expected, in the cultivation world, everything comes down to the size of the fist. Without power, you have no say.*

  She gave a calm introduction, "This is Wang Suifeng, a martial artist. I’m Xu Sanbao, a Water Elemental abilities user."

  "Wang Suifeng?" Gu Xiaotu seemed to recognize the name, his eyes lighting up as if recalling something.

  Shi Mengsong remained silent, his gaze fixed on Wang Yuanying.

  Sanbao grew more alert. These four seemed friendly, but there was an undercurrent of tension between them, their attitudes complex and yered.

  Was the danger in this trial coming from outside, or from among these four?

  Sanbao lowered her gaze, her fingers subtly moving. The spiritual energy in the Seven Treasure Bracelet subtly circuted.

  The wind was still, the forest dense, and the mountain vilge silent.

  Though night had yet to fall, the sense of impending danger already seemed to loom silently.