Chapter 198 - 186: The Return from the Spring Outing

Chapter 198: Chapter 186: The Return from the Spring Outing

After bidding farewell to the other students they had encountered, Li Heng’s group made their way back into the forest with remarkable ease.

They didn’t see another Smoke Illusion Mountain Stone Boundary Stele, so naturally, they didn’t experience any more illusions. Afterward, they easily crossed the deep pit and the field of now-dead Stone Thorn Flowers.

Compared to the journey there, the way back was so devoid of hardship that it felt almost unreal to the four of them.

Li Heng, however, remembered how the four freshmen had beamed with joy after Jiang Hongtao told them that "there are only Tier One Soul Beasts in the rocks ahead." They had continued on their way, thanking him repeatedly before they left.

Seeing the girl’s expression, which screamed ’I’ve finally made it through,’ Li Heng could only offer a silent blessing. ’I hope they don’t touch that jar.’ There was nothing more he could say.

Unlike the forest they had entered, this one was now littered with the corpses of Soul Beasts. In some muddy patches, pools of blood had yet to dry.

"The Soul Beasts in this forest must have suffered a devastating blow these past few days! Who knows how long it’ll take for these resources to recover."

The Soul Beasts in the secret realm could regenerate, but it took a certain amount of time. So, after a brief moment of reflection, the four of them continued slowly through the forest.

By evening, Li Heng’s group finally caught sight of the buildings of Meteor University. A hint of joy appeared on all four of their faces at the sight of the campus.

They quickened their pace and hurried toward the city gate.

The gate of Meteor University City at night was much like Li Liang City’s—it was guarded, but by Gatekeeper Teachers instead of soldiers.

These Gatekeeper Teachers spotted Li Heng’s group from a great distance. After getting a clear look at their attire, one of them flew toward the four of them.

"First-year students? Back so soon this year? Did you get the three-hundred-li round-trip proof?" the approaching teacher asked, his tone inquisitive as he stood atop a bird-like Soul Beast.

Seeing a teacher fly out from the city on a Soul Beast, the four students stopped. When asked for their proof, they each took out the stones they had acquired.

The Gatekeeper Teacher glanced at the stones in their hands, his eyes lingering on Li Heng for a moment before he said flatly, "Go on in. The teacher in charge of the spring outing is waiting for you."

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher!" the four of them said in unison.

After nodding respectfully to the Gatekeeper Teacher, the group headed toward the Flying Boat docks.

After the four students had left the South City Gate, a few of the Gatekeeper Teachers gathered together.

"Those were this year’s student representatives, right? Not bad, it’s only been a few days."

"Not bad? It’s more than not bad! The South City Gate has the Illusion Stele... and that Sealing Altar, right? Theoretically... that should be the most difficult route... And they finished it in a week?"

"Exactly! I remember last year... they said it would take fifteen days, but didn’t the representatives end up taking twenty-something days to get back?"

"Forget last year! Even in Gu Qingwu’s year, it took exactly fifteen days. Who ever heard of someone coming back a whole week early?"

"Looks like our university recruited a real talent this year!"

"The other three seem pretty good too. With a little training, they’ll also be fine prospects!"

The teachers buzzed with discussion about Li Heng and his group until their excitement died down, and they finally changed the subject.

In stark contrast to the Gatekeeper Teachers at the city gate was the teacher in charge of the spring outing at the Flying Boat landing point.

When he saw Li Heng’s group returning early, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

The female teacher didn’t seem to be there; the one at the Flying Boat landing point was the male teacher whose voice had sounded so stern before.

His voice had sounded stern before, but now his tone was filled with disbelief, and his gaze was full of confusion as he looked at the four of them.

"The Sealing Stone! You came from the South City Gate?" he asked, his voice full of shock.

The four of them nodded.

"You got past the swarm of Stone Thorn Flowers?" His tone was tinged with doubt.

The four of them nodded.

"The deep pit?" His voice was starting to sound uncertain.

The four of them nodded.

"What about the Illusion Stele? The one with the word ’Qingyu’ carved on it!" His tone suddenly grew urgent.

Li Heng, Bai Shasha, and Jiang Hongtao nodded. Bao Yaoyao, however, tilted her head and asked, "Wait, there was writing on it? Teacher, I’m so sorry! I was being chased by two tigers and was terrified, so I didn’t get a good look! Teacher, will I have to do it all over again?"

Seeing the three of them nod and hearing Bao Yaoyao’s question, the male teacher’s mouth twitched. He then calmly replied to her, "No, that won’t be necessary. The writing doesn’t affect anything."

After replying to Bao Yaoyao, the teacher seemed to think of something and added another question.

"When you picked up the Sealing Stone, did you see anything else? Like a jar or something?"

"What jar?" Jiang Hongtao and Bao Yaoyao asked in unison.

But Bai Shasha and Li Heng, by a tacit understanding, remained silent.

At this, the male teacher fell silent. He first raised his eyes to look at Jiang Hongtao and Bao Yaoyao, then shifted his gaze to Li Heng and Bai Shasha.

The more he thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed!

He could understand them returning a few days early if they had chosen a different gate, especially with a Soul Warrior in their team, but a full week was just too much.

And they had chosen the South City Gate, no less!

It was the most complex route for this year’s freshman spring outing—in other words, the most difficult one!

Unable to make sense of it, the teacher began to question the four of them in detail about their spring outing.

When he heard that Li Heng had single-handedly dealt with the dense swarm of Stone Thorn Flowers, the male teacher’s expression was a study in subtlety—especially since it had been done in a matter of hours!

He didn’t ask too many questions about the deep pit, assuming the Ice Simurgh Bird had been responsible, but he questioned them at length about the illusion that followed.

"You two... you saw a troop of soldiers? And a village?"

Regarding the illusions, the teacher simply nodded when he heard that Bao Yaoyao was chased by tigers and that Jiang Hongtao was robbed of his wealth and virtue by a gang of female mountain bandits. But when Li Heng mentioned that he and the flat-chested young girl had gone to a village, the teacher instantly lost his composure.

In response to the question, both Li Heng and Bai Shasha nodded in confirmation.

Seeing them confirm it, the male teacher’s voice became extremely urgent, so much so that he was losing his composure. "Then... did you hear any information? Anything about Li Liang City? Or did you bring anything out with you?"

After his rapid-fire questions, the teacher seemed to realize he had been inappropriate. He calmed himself slightly and then added a supplement.

"This information or these items are extremely important to our university! Please, don’t feel any pressure. If you have any valuable items, the university will definitely compensate you! We will compensate you as much as we possibly can!"