Chapter 641 Getting There First

Luo Tian had long heard that during the Ancient Secret Realm trial, tutors could guide their students from the outside.

He found this method rather interesting.

While the students were undergoing the trial, they could still receive guidance from their teachers, which fostered the relationship between them.

The more the students harvested, the greater the benefits for the teachers.

Luo Tian felt that the Wuji Saint Institute’s model was far superior to that of the Yunxiao Sect in Dongchen or the Tai Yuan Sect in the Broken Ring.

“Of course, there is a limit to the number of times you tutors can offer guidance. The Void Mirror only allows you to send three messages to each of your students!”

the Dean of the Branch announced again.

“Only three times?”

“That’s too few!”

Many of the tutors lamented.

If they could provide unlimited guidance, their students would surely have a smoother time and gain much more!

All the Junior Tutors present were dissatisfied, but not a single one dared to question the rules set by the Dean of the Branch.

They could only accept it and resolved to use their guidance attempts cautiously.

They would only provide guidance at critical moments or when a student faced a major crisis.

Luo Tian also felt it was a slight shame.

‘Three times it is, then.’

He had six students, which added up to eighteen chances!

Luo Tian closed his eyes slightly, and his consciousness arrived in the Celestial Book World.

‘Celestial Book, perform an Inference on the events Zi Qing will encounter next…’

Since the target of the Inference was below the Celestial Pool Realm, the cost wasn’t high.

And as long as Luo Tian’s guidance was effective, his share of Zi Qing’s gains would more than make up for the Celestial Book’s expenditure.

After consuming over a hundred pages, worth more than a hundred thousand Spiritual Essence Coins, Luo Tian obtained the result.

Immediately after, he began to deduce the situations Guan Hongfei would encounter next.

He went through his six students, one by one.

“Look, Master Luo has fallen asleep.”

a tutor called out deliberately.

Many of the tutors glanced over.

The Ancient Secret Realm had just opened, and all the tutors were observing their students through the Void Mirror.

This was especially true for the tutors with many students, who were almost too busy to keep up.

Tutors with fewer students, on the other hand, could afford to be distracted.

Luo Tian had a full six students, yet he was ignoring them to rest with his eyes closed. It was utterly farcical.

“It seems Master Luo knows he’s completely unprepared and can’t guide his students, so he’s just letting them fend for themselves.”

“And to think he just made that grand promise to his students, telling them ‘Your teacher won’t let you down.’ It’s ridiculous.”

Several tutors began to jeer unscrupulously.

“Heh, just a dancing clown. He’s destined to flop around for a little while before drowning in the crowd.”

Peng Yuweng chuckled softly and paid Luo Tian no more mind, focusing his full attention on the situation within the Void Mirror.

He had a full eleven students inside and had no time for distractions.

「A short while later.」

Luo Tian finished his Inference and opened his eyes.

By now, however, few people were paying him any attention. Almost everyone assumed that Luo Tian and his students would have a mediocre performance.

“Zi Qing, listen to me…”

Luo Tian sent the message.

「In the Ancient Secret Realm.」

Upon receiving the large amount of information Luo Tian had sent, Zi Qing couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.

“Understood, Teacher.”

Zi Qing replied before changing her direction of exploration.

She was skeptical of the long message Teacher Luo had just sent, even thinking he was talking nonsense.

Realizing she had such a thought, Zi Qing immediately felt ashamed and reproached herself.

Ever since those strange memories had suddenly appeared in her mind last time, she had noticed her personality and way of thinking gradually changing.

But soon, Zi Qing cast these thoughts aside. She saw a lake where, just as predicted, several rare and precious Spiritual Materials were growing.

“There are five types of Four-star Spiritual Materials.”

Overjoyed, Zi Qing quickly began to harvest them.

Suddenly, a strange fish with giant pincers shot out of the lake, its golden claws gleaming sharply.

Zi Qing’s expression was calm as she easily dealt with it and slew it, as if she had anticipated all of this.

After finishing the harvest, Zi Qing tossed the giant pincer fish’s corpse aside, jumped into the lake, concealed her aura, and hid.

‘Why hide?’

Zi Qing didn’t know; she was simply following Luo Tian’s earlier instructions.

Not long after, from under the water, Zi Qing heard a violent rumbling from outside, accompanied by the roars and snarls of Demon Beasts.

An intense sense of crisis washed over her, and the very ground seemed to shake and tremble.

Fortunately, the rumbling gradually faded into the distance.

When all was quiet again, Zi Qing emerged from the lake to see the ravaged ground. The giant pincer fish’s corpse had been devoured, leaving only its two pincers behind.

“Was that a Demon Beast Group just now?” Zi Qing was shaken.

Against a Demon Beast Group, she would have undoubtedly died.

“Teacher Luo predicted there would be a Demon Beast Group?”

Zi Qing was deeply shocked.

‘To be able to predict something like this… Isn’t that just divine?’

Besides, Luo Tian had just rushed back and shouldn’t have had any time to prepare. Could this be some miraculous ability of foresight?

「Back in the outside world.」

Before the cliff, a tutor stared intently at the Void Mirror, shouting anxiously and angrily, “Run! Turn right, quick!”

But in the end, his student still died in the jaws of a Demon Beast.

This was also the first student to die since the start of the Ancient Secret Realm trial.

“Foolish and ignorant.”

“If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t give blind commands! You triggered a beast pack, and my student almost got caught up in it because of you.”

A few accusations came from nearby tutors.

An excellent tutor could devise strategies based on just a few images, allowing their students to turn danger into safety and harvest treasures.

An incompetent tutor, however, not only couldn’t help but might even get their students killed.

“By the way, there’s something I forgot to mention earlier. It would seem unfair to have only rewards and no punishments.”

“If one of your students dies in the Ancient Secret Realm, half a year’s salary will be deducted. If two students die, the penalty doubles to a full year’s salary deduction, and so on…”

the Dean of the Branch said.

The trial in the Ancient Secret Realm lasted for seven days.

The first day passed quickly, with thirteen students dead.

On the second day, the death rate decreased slightly as the students adapted to the unfamiliar environment, and various Spiritual Materials and Treasures were unearthed.

「By the cliffside.」

“Good! Well done!”

“A fine performance. You haven’t failed this tutor’s daily teachings.”

The scene was lively, with the tutors’ laughter ringing out from time to time.

At that moment, a tutor peeked at Peng Yuweng’s Void Mirror and noticed that his disciples were acting strangely, seemingly gathering around Du Hongfei.

As for Du Hongfei, he was hiding somewhere, occasionally poking his head out to observe the situation in the distance.

This tutor keenly sensed the aura of a treasure and quickly sent a message to his own student: “Quick, find Peng Yuweng’s disciples and follow them…”

In fact, many tutors were watching Peng Yuweng, that veteran elite tutor, hoping to learn from his experience. This was especially true for the newer, less experienced tutors.

Hu Chao was one of them, and he too noticed this at that moment.

For a time, at least forty to fifty students in the Ancient Secret Realm began to converge on Du Hongfei’s position.

“Senior Brother Du, many other students are heading this way.”

one of Peng Yuweng’s students said to Du Hongfei after arriving.

“In that case, we won’t wait any longer. Let’s move out now!”

Du Hongfei’s expression darkened, and he gave the order decisively.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The six students, led by Du Hongfei, all soared into the air.

Not far ahead was a dilapidated ancient temple. The surroundings were somewhat desolate, but the temple itself was brimming with life and dense with Spiritual Qi.

Such a treasured location would typically give birth to rare Spiritual Materials, or even hide some great treasures.

“Follow them!”

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

From all directions, many students sprang into action.

They had arrived long ago but hadn’t dared to act rashly.

After all, Peng Yuweng’s students had all been waiting outside the dilapidated temple, which clearly meant there was danger inside!

Now that Peng Yuweng’s students were on the move, they immediately followed, content to just get a share of the benefits.

BOOM! POW!

As they drew closer, the students suddenly heard a series of explosions coming from within the ancient temple.

“Someone went in before us?”

Du Hongfei looked astonished.

‘But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.’

“Perfect. Let those fools who don’t know any better scout the path ahead. We’ll just swoop in and reap the rewards later!”

The corners of Du Hongfei’s mouth curled up. He had gone in alone before and had nearly been unable to get back out.

The students inside the ancient temple right now were probably in a perilous, desperate situation.

THUD!

Suddenly, three Buddha statues flew out of the ancient temple, smashing three craters into the ground.

Looking closely, one could see precise mechanical parts exposed in the damaged sections of the statues. They were actually three puppets shaped like Buddhas!

Du Hongfei looked up again to see four students walk out of the ancient temple, their gazes sweeping over the surroundings.

The one in the lead was none other than Luo Xiaoting!

“Du Hongfei, don’t forget our bet to see who harvests more.”

Luo Xiaoting laughed, then broke through the air and departed with her teammates.

Around the ancient temple, more than twenty students stood there, somewhat dazed.

The turn of events was completely different from what they had imagined.

The students hurriedly rushed into the ancient temple, only to find that all the treasures inside had been completely plundered.

“We discovered this temple first! Luo Xiaoting, how dare you steal my treasure! You’re asking for a beating!”

Du Hongfei was furious!

「On the cliff in the outside world.」

“Damn it, we wasted so much time and got nothing!”

“How did Luo Tian’s students show up inside the temple? My student had just arrived, and the puppets inside were already dealt with, all the treasures plundered!”

Many voices rose in complaint.

Luo Tian, who had been all but forgotten, gradually attracted their attention.

When several tutors turned their cold gazes on him, they saw Luo Tian leisurely reclining in his chair, sunbathing, looking for all the world like he was on vacation.