Chapter 193 - 181: Soul Beast Sealing Stone

Chapter 193: Chapter 181: Soul Beast Sealing Stone

As the dark figure drew closer and came into view, the four saw a middle-aged man in a long, green robe. A long saber hung at his waist, a quiver was slung across his back, and a longbow was hooked over his left arm.

’The patrol teacher for the South City Gate route?!’

"Sir! Excuse me, where are we? Is our military training over now?"

The four team members all looked toward the patrol teacher, none of them lowering their weapons. Jiang Hongtao was the one who spoke up and asked the question.

The teacher, hovering in midair, heard Jiang Hongtao’s question. A slight smile touched his lips as he replied.

"Not bad, staying on guard! Looks like you learned a lesson or two inside that Illusion Stele. One other thing—our university has always subscribed to a gentle approach to education. You’re not on military training; you’re on a ’field trip’! Oh, right. You just need to walk another five or six miles. You’ll find some colored stones there. Each of you grabs one, and then you can head back."

Hearing this, the four of them finally relaxed a bit, and their grips on their weapons loosened.

Hearing this, Li Heng also concluded that the teacher was probably legitimate.

After all, he had mentioned the Stone Thorn Flower patch and the boundary stele. Most importantly, his somewhat shameless tone was a perfect match for Meteor University’s signature style.

"Thank you, sir!" the four of them said in unison.

The patrol teacher waved off their thanks and then turned to Li Heng.

"By the way, this Ice Simurgh Bird is your soul energy pet, right? Not bad, not bad! This year’s freshman representative is actually pretty decent. The university has roped in another promising talent!"

Li Heng, hearing himself addressed directly, wasn’t bashful. He replied graciously that it was all just good luck and that he was very fortunate to be studying at Meteor University.

Upon hearing Li Heng’s reply, the patrol teacher suddenly laughed out loud. "Alright, that’s enough! Eighty or ninety percent of freshmen get roped into coming here. Back in my day... well, never mind. At least you’ve got a good attitude about it! If you’re not injured, continue with your ’field trip’."

The patrol teacher had appeared suddenly and left just as abruptly. The other three members of the team simply thought he was friendly and had a good sense of humor.

They didn’t think much else of it. After all, when it came to recruitment, Meteor University was known for having a few tricks up its sleeve.

Jiang Hongtao, however, couldn’t help but complain out loud, "Seriously? He asks if we’re hurt but doesn’t even bother to check? He just left?"

"He’s a patrol teacher, not part of the medical staff," Bao Yaoyao replied to Jiang Hongtao. "But about that Illusion Stele he mentioned... that must have been the place we were at earlier, right? So it really was all fake, just illusions. And it looks like the university knows all about it."

Hearing Bao Yaoyao mention the illusion, Jiang Hongtao’s expression visibly changed. He quickly changed the subject, urging everyone to hurry toward the location the patrol teacher had mentioned.

The encounter with the patrol teacher was just a small interlude, and the four of them didn’t dwell on it.

For some reason, the rest of the journey felt much easier than before. Only one or two soul beasts appeared, and the group dealt with them easily.

After walking for another five or six miles, the four of them saw a pile of colored stones. Next to the pile were two wooden signs. One read, "The larger the stone, the higher your ’field trip’ score." The other said, "Select one stone at random to serve as your 300-li round-trip voucher."

"We finally made it! My god! These last few days have been..."

Seeing the pile of colored stones, Jiang Hongtao’s face lit up with delight, and he immediately started walking toward it.

"Wait! Don’t be in such a rush!"

Watching Jiang Hongtao walk toward the pile, his eyes on the brightly colored stones in the distance, Li Heng called out to stop him.

Jiang Hongtao stopped and looked back at Li Heng with a confused expression. The two girls also turned to him curiously.

Li Heng, however, was staring at the pile of stones, lost in thought.

Name: Soul Beast Sealing Stone

Category: Soul Energy Items

Value: Rare

Effects:

1. Individual Sealing Stones can generally seal a Tier One Soul Beast.

2. The larger the stone, the stronger the soul beast sealed within. Some of the largest Sealing Stones can contain a Tier Two Soul Beast.

——

’Meteor University... now that’s a slick move. A trap within a trap? One scheme leading to the next? It’s just full of surprises, isn’t it! And they even encourage the students to grab the biggest ones!’

Seeing that they were Soul Beast Sealing Stones, Li Heng began to feel a grudging admiration for Meteor University.

Tricking students once or twice might suggest the school has some minor issues. But if you do it often enough, the students get used to it, and it stops being an issue. After all, everyone’s accustomed to it.

But to embrace the art of the ’scam’ so thoroughly, to set traps so seamlessly that it becomes second nature... that was truly on another level.

In any case, Li Heng had to hand it to them now. For Meteor University to have established itself in this mystic realm, they clearly knew what they were doing. They were really something else.

"It’s nothing! I just think... considering our university’s usual M.O., we should be careful. This last part of the trip has been a little too easy."

Li Heng explained to the others, though he didn’t mention anything about the Sealing Stones. If he revealed everything, it would be impossible to explain how he knew, and it wasn’t necessary anyway.

As their teammate, he had given them a warning. It was up to them to understand his hint.

After Li Heng’s warning, the other three nodded in agreement. They all felt his caution was justified and turned their gazes to the pile of colorful stones.

"Man, you’ve got a point," Jiang Hongtao said. "So what do you think we should do? I’ll follow your lead!"

Jiang Hongtao thought Li Heng had a very good point. The journey had been far too easy lately, almost suspiciously so when compared to what they’d gone through earlier.

Li Heng’s warning was a much-needed wake-up call.

Li Heng paused for a moment before sharing his thoughts. "I think we still have to take a stone, but we can’t let our guard down. We need to stay alert."

The two girls nodded in agreement. Jiang Hongtao volunteered, "Then I’ll go first to scout things out. Test the waters, you know? If anything happens, you three have my back!"

Li Heng knew what these stones were and the most likely danger they posed, so he nodded in agreement with Jiang Hongtao’s offer.

’As long as he doesn’t pick one of the really big Sealing Stones, it should be fine.’