"Wei, you agree, right?"
Wei Shutong did not respond to Zhao Jie's words but deeply looked at Xia Feng with an expressionless face, "Enough, let's begin."
Although he did not think highly of Xia Feng, there was no turning back now, all he could do was to pray that this reckless young man would survive the Evil Dragon Forest.
"The rules are simple, the Evil Dragon Forest is divided into the Light Evil Zone and Heavy Evil Zone—the deeper you go, the faster the rate at which Evil Power will corrupt you.
If you do not leave in time, the consequences are loss of reason and death, or even transformation into an Evil Slave.
At the boundary between Light Evil Zone and Heavy Evil Zone, there is a tree called the Wisdom Tree. Eating the Wisdom Fruit from this tree can effectively restore reason and resist the corrosion of Evil Power."
Zhao Jie explained the rules slowly, "Keep in mind, whenever a Wisdom Tree appears, a Life Tree will inevitably emerge nearby, and your ultimate goal is to pluck the Life Fruit from the Life Tree! Whoever succeeds in bringing back the Life Fruit will be considered the winner."
At the end, Zhao Jie grinned, "Also, this competition has no time limit, no restrictions on methods, no limits... on life or death!"
Xia Feng was not surprised by Zhao Jie's last words; after all, this was the style of the Six-tailed Society, where any means were justified to achieve the goal, and Zhao Jie was a staunch believer in the survival of the fittest.
That's also why Qi Xiao had killed several fellow disciples, and Zhao Jie had not interfered much.
If Xia Feng did not have the status of a student from Weiyang Academy, he would have already been secretly killed by Qi Xiao, rather than using the method of marriage to eliminate competitive qualifications.
"Alright, once you're mentally prepared, follow me,"
Zhao Jie showed the token, then Xia Feng and Qi Xiao followed him through the city gate passageway.
Initially, there was no feeling, but as they went deeper, Xia Feng suddenly felt his heart tighten.
"Thump-thump—thump-thump—"
His heartbeat noticeably quickened, a sign of excitement and desire upon sensing something delicious; Xia Feng swallowed, he smelled a wonderful aroma, that was—
The scent of Evil Power!
"Is this Evil Power..." Qi Xiao walked ahead, his face somewhat pale, suddenly he stopped and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
Zhao Jie at the front stopped and turned back, "When Evil Power clusters, it forms an Evil Power field; except for the Evil Realm, the Evil Dragon Forest is the largest Evil Power field. It's normal to feel chest tightness and shortness of breath upon first entering. Just adapt for a while."
Saying so, he looked somewhat puzzledly towards Xia Feng who was at the back.
Xia Feng hesitated, quickly leaned against the wall and gasped, "Oh, it feels terrible..."
Zhao Jie looked at his watch, "I'll give you one minute to adapt. We can't stay too long in the passageway."
Upon hearing this, Qi Xiao quickly closed his eyes to adapt to the Evil Power field.
Xia Feng followed suit, also closing his eyes and trying to control his heart which was beating too fast, fearing death. It must be due to a lack of Evil Power; sensing such a huge Evil Power field had triggered a reaction.
Just like a person dying of thirst in the desert for three days and nights upon seeing a bottle of mineral water, they would surely go mad to snatch it.
He squinted his eyes; Qi Xiao was still adapting with his eyes closed, Xia Feng had never felt a minute could be so long.
"Young man, if you regret it, there is still a chance to go back now," Zhao Jie glanced at Xia Feng and suddenly spoke.
Xia Feng looked up at Zhao Jie, thinking, Uncle Zhao, my blade has long been thirsting for action, could you please stop talking nonsense?
Seeing Xia Feng's resolute gaze, showing no sign of retreat... even a bit eager, Zhao Jie nodded. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"Let's go, the exit is just ahead."
They hadn't walked far when a dim blood-red light emerged ahead; after a moment of dazzle, Xia Feng squinted his eyes as a vast, dark, dense forest came into view, a bizarre crescent Blood Moon hung in the sky like the eye of a terrible demon god, mockingly watching over the world.
It gave a tremendous sense of oppression.
"Don't look at the Blood Moon for too long; it will only speed up the rate at which you are corrupted by Evil Power and lose your reason," Zhao Jie said calmly at his side.
Qi Xiao's pupils shrank, and he quickly lowered his head to withdraw his gaze.
Xia Feng's pupils shrank, and he hastily widened his eyes to stare intensely at the Blood Moon in the sky.
He felt as if he saw a breathtakingly beautiful fairy teasing him with seductive gestures, directly burning his adrenaline!
Joy, it was truly delightful... But he also just looked for a moment before lowering his head pretending to be afraid.
"Once you cross this line, you'll officially enter the Evil Dragon Forest, and the competition will truly begin."
Zhao Jie pointed to the red line ahead, his voice indifferent, "I'll wait here for you; whoever brings back the Life Fruit across this line first wins."
As soon as Zhao Jie's words fell, Qi Xiao felt a breeze by his side, and Xia Feng had disappeared into the forest without a trace.
"Heh~" Qi Xiao scoffed disdainfully, then casually followed with a step.
He was in no hurry; after all, as they delved deeper into the forest, the concentration of Evil Power nearby would rapidly increase, and their reason would likewise decrease quickly. Moreover, it was highly unlikely that Xia Feng would have learned the C-grade Spiritual Clothes—"Filter Evil" until the fourth year segment.
"Filter Evil" could substantially reduce the concentration of Evil Power invading the body surface, enabling a Spirit Master to survive for an extended time in an Evil Power field.
Thus, Qi Xiao, who was proficient in "Filter Evil," was in no rush, as although this was only the Light Evil Zone on the outermost part of the Evil Dragon Forest, the concentration of Evil Power was still lethal for them, low-ranking Spirit Masters, and they couldn't stay long.
That's why Qi Xiao was quite certain that later on, this whimsically ambitious Junior Brother Xia's speed would increasingly slow down, and he might not even make it to the destination.