Chapter 100: Three Against Seven

"This is the worst result we’ve had in years."

Another elder sighed heavily. He rubbed his forehead with a tired expression.

"Those disciples really need to reflect on themselves."

The hot-tempered elder who had spoken earlier snorted coldly.

"Reflect? We should break their legs and lock them in the training room."

The three disciples exchanged a brief glance.

They immediately felt even more sympathy for those disciples who had failed to enter the top ten. At the same time, they were silently grateful that they weren’t among them.

However, none of them dared show it on their faces.

"Enough." Elder Dong finally raised his hand. His calm voice immediately suppressed the anger in the hall.

"There is no need to become so angry. Today’s ranking isn’t determined purely by strength."

Elder Dong slowly leaned back.

"The wilderness training is ultimately a competition to find Flame Spirit Stones. Strength is important, but luck is equally important."

"Some disciples may spend hours searching for a good area and find almost nothing. Others may accidentally stumble upon a large gathering of Flame Spirit Stones."

"There’s also the matter of encountering other disciples and competing for resources."

The elders fell silent.

They knew that Elder Dong’s words made sense.

The wilderness training wasn’t an arena where everyone fought under equal conditions.

The environment, opportunities, encounters, and even the locations where disciples entered the wilderness could greatly affect their final harvest.

One elder slowly nodded.

"That’s true. Still, three against seven is troublesome."

"Of course." Elder Dong didn’t deny it. His expression remained calm. "That’s why tomorrow’s battle will be important."

He then looked toward the three disciples standing before him.

"But there is one thing we can be grateful for. We won today’s wilderness training, so we have the advantage in tomorrow’s selection."

A few elders immediately understood what he meant.

"Exactly."

"That means Vermilion Flame Sect has to send their first disciple before we make our choice."

Several elders’ expressions relaxed slightly.

"That’s indeed a considerable advantage."

"At least we won’t have to blindly choose our strongest disciple."

"We can select the most suitable person after seeing who they send."

The tense atmosphere finally eased somewhat.

Elder Dong’s gaze slowly shifted toward the three disciples.

He was already familiar with their two disciple’s strength. However, Long Feng was someone he knew very little about.

In fact, this was the first time he had properly observed him.

Long Feng stood there calmly, without showing the slightest nervousness under Elder Dong’s gaze. His expression remained indifferent.

Elder Dong’s eyes narrowed slightly.

There was something unusual about this young man.

After observing him for a moment longer, Elder Dong finally withdrew his gaze.

"Tomorrow will be a difficult battle. Rest properly tonight and adjust yourselves to your best condition."

"Yes, Elder Dong."

The three disciples bowed before turning around and leaving the hall.

As Long Feng walked out, he could still hear the faint voices of the elders behind him. Their discussion about tomorrow’s battle continued.

The atmosphere was still tense.

But at least, the elders were no longer as angry as before.

/

Outside the hall, the cool night breeze swept across the temporary residence.

Long Feng walked slowly along the stone path, his hands resting casually behind his back. His mind was still thinking about the conversation inside the hall.

However, Long Feng wasn’t particularly worried.

Anyway, he didn’t think anyone of his level could fight him. And if things got worse, he always had his Heaven-rank technique as his trump card.

"Hey."

A hand suddenly landed on Long Feng’s shoulder.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

Long Feng turned his head. A young man was walking beside him with a bright smile on his face.

He was one of the other two disciples who had entered the top ten. His name was Li Qiang.

Unlike Zhi Yuan, who maintained a quiet and somewhat reserved personality, Li Qiang was extremely spirited.

His expression was lively, and he spoke without the slightest hesitation, as though they had already known each other for years.

Long Feng glanced at the hand on his shoulder before smiling.

"Nothing much."

Li Qiang laughed. "Don’t tell me you’re already worried about tomorrow?"

He patted Long Feng’s shoulder again.

"Don’t worry. Whatever happens, we’ll fight with everything we’ve got."

His voice was filled with confidence.

"Besides, Elder Dong already said that we have the advantage of choosing our opponent after seeing who they send first."

"Seven against three sounds scary, but it isn’t like they’ll all attack us at once."

Long Feng chuckled. "You’re quite optimistic."

"Of course!"

Li Qiang raised his chin proudly.

"If I weren’t optimistic, wouldn’t I have gone crazy after hearing those elders talking about punishment?"

Long Feng couldn’t help laughing.

Zhi Yuan, who had been walking silently on the other side, glanced at them but said nothing.

His personality was clearly the complete opposite of Li Qiang’s. He rarely spoke unless necessary.

Li Qiang didn’t seem bothered by his silence at all.

After walking for a while, his eyes suddenly narrowed suspiciously as he turned toward Long Feng.

"Speaking of tomorrow... how did you get so many Flame Spirit Stones? Did you find a Flame Spirit Stone vein?"

"Huh... something like that."

Long Feng didn’t expect him to guess correctly. He was surprised and nodded with a smile.

"I knew it!" Li Qiang laughed out, clearly not taking his words seriously.

"Actually, if you think about it, there aren’t many other explanations. To collect that many stones, you would have needed to kill an absurd number of beasts."

Seeing Long Feng remained silent, Li Qiang continued talking enthusiastically.

Although most of the beasts in the Blazing Flame Mountain are simply beasts, the stronger ones gradually develop intelligence. Some of them can even think like humans.

And they know that Flame Spirit Stones can help them become stronger.

That’s also made sense.

The Blazing Flame Mountain was filled with enormous amounts of flame energy. Powerful beasts had lived there for countless years. Some of them had already developed spirituality and intelligence.

Because the beasts inhabit the mountains year-round, they naturally encounter Flame Spirit Stones much more frequently than we do.

So when disciples enter the mountain, one of the most common ways to obtain a large number of stones is actually to hunt powerful beasts.

The stronger the beast, the more likely it is to have collected a large number of Flame Spirit Stones.

"So you thought I was doing the same thing?" Long Feng smiled faintly.

"Obviously."

Li Qiang nodded confidently. "Otherwise, how could you have collected so many?"

Long Feng looked at him for a moment before casually saying, "But what if I really did find a Flame Spirit Stone vein?"

His tone was completely serious.

Li Qiang’s smile froze. Both of them turned toward him. For a moment, neither spoke.

"You’re joking, right?" Li Qiang stared at him suspiciously.

Long Feng simply smiled but didn’t answer.

"Wait..." Li Qiang’s expression gradually changed. His eyes widened. "You’re actually serious?"

Long Feng continued walking. But Li Qiang quickly followed him and asked repeatedly.

"You really found a Flame Spirit Stone vein?"

"Who knows?"

His answer made Li Qiang’s mouth twitched. He suddenly grabbed Long Feng’s shoulder.

"Brother Long, don’t joke about something like this!"

"I’m not joking."

Li Qiang’s expression became complicated. After several breaths, he let out a long sigh.

"If the elders find out that you really discovered a Flame Spirit Stone vein... they’ll probably shed blood and tears."

"Why?"

Li Qiang looked at him as though he had just asked an extremely strange question.

"Of course because we most likely won’t get it!"

Long Feng’s expression showed a trace of confusion.

Li Qiang noticed his confused expressions and surprised slightly.

"Wait. You really don’t know?"

Long Feng shook his head.

Li Qiang stared at him for several breaths before suddenly understanding. He slapped his own forehead and said.

"Ah.... I forgot. You seem to be participating in the wilderness training for the first time."

"That’s right." Long Feng nodded.

Li Qiang gave a helpless smile.

"No wonder you didn’t know."

He looked toward the towering mountains in the distance. "This competition isn’t held merely to show which sect has stronger disciples."

Long Feng’s expression became slightly more serious.

"What else is there?"

Li Qiang pointed toward the mountains and said. "It’s because of the Blazing Flame Mountain itself."

"The Blazing Flame Mountain stretches across the territories controlled by both our sects. Neither sect can completely claim it.

That’s because the mountain range is simply too large, and both sides have occupied different portions of it for countless years."

He paused before continuing.

"Naturally, that created conflicts."

"Whenever disciples from the two sects entered the mountain, they would fight over resources. Sometimes those conflicts became so serious that even the elders had to intervene."

Long Feng nodded slowly.

"So the competition was created to solve that?"

"Exactly."

Li Qiang smiled.

"Both sects eventually reached an agreement. Every three years, we hold this competition. The wilderness training is one of the most important parts.

The disciples of both sects enter the Blazing Flame Mountain and compete for resources. The results determine which sect has the greater claim over the mountain’s resources for the next three years."

Long Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"So whoever wins gets control over the mountain for the next three years?"

"Essentially, yes. The winning sect receives priority over the mountain’s resources and gains greater authority over resource collection within the agreed boundaries. That’s why the rewards are so generous."

He smiled. "It’s also why the elders care so much about the results."

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