Chapter 343: Chapter 343: Ultimate Survival Test Ends, Heading to the White Eagle Empire

"Where is Gu Yuexi?"

Old Chen—Chen Shanhe’s—voice was heavy, betraying no emotion, yet it made everyone present tremble.

No one spoke.

Zhao Cheng opened his mouth, as if to say something like, "She’s long dead."

But after a glance at Shen Yixuan, whose expression was so dark it could practically drip water, he tactfully shut his mouth.

The scene fell into a dead silence.

Shen Yixuan lowered his head, his fists clenched tightly.

"It’s my fault..."

His voice was hoarse:

"I failed to lead the team well. When the plane crashed, Sister Gu went missing. We searched for three hours, but we couldn’t find her..."

"Now... everyone else is out, but I..."

Shen Yixuan snapped his head up, his eyes shot with blood:

"I’m going back to find her right now!"

"I’ll go too!"

Luo Qingyu also stepped forward, her long whip gripped tightly in her hand.

"Nonsense!"

Chen Shanhe bellowed, the pressure of a King Realm expert instantly erupting and rooting the students to the spot.

"Look at the state you’re in! Your Qi Blood is depleted, and you’re covered in wounds! Go back now? You’d be walking to your deaths! Do you want to be an extra meal for those crazed Demon Beasts?!"

"But..."

"No buts!"

"The difficulty of this Survival Trial was indeed off the charts."

"Especially the sudden collapse of the rules and the beast tide at the end—that was simply beyond your ability to handle."

"You... have already done well enough."

Chen Shanhe took a deep breath, a flicker of deep sorrow in his eyes.

’It’s already a miracle that nine of them made it out alive.’

’As for Gu Yuexi...’

’To be missing for so long amidst a beast tide of this scale and the deep-sea turmoil...’

’Alas, what a pity.’

’That child was so astonishingly talented.’

"Survival Trial? What does that mean?"

Zhao Cheng had keenly caught the term in Old Chen’s words and couldn’t help but ask.

Lin Wan, a female tutor from Huaqing, sighed and briefly explained the special rules of this competition and the reason they were here.

After hearing her explanation, the students present were all stunned.

’What does she mean?’

’This was all... a planned test?’

The crowd fell silent.

’Were they angry? Of course, they were.’

’Kept in the dark, thrown into a fight for survival like lab rats—who wouldn’t be furious?’

’But more than anger, there was a sense of powerlessness.’

’This was a game between nations, a trap set by the rule makers.’

’As pawns, they had no choice but to break the game.’

...

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

Just then, a sudden round of applause came from the void.

Everyone snapped their heads up.

In the once-empty air, Space distorted slightly, and then three figures stepped out of thin air.

All three wore ornate uniforms bearing the White Eagle Empire’s insignia. They were blond-haired and blue-eyed, their auras unfathomably deep. They were all top-tier experts of the Ninth-Grade Realm!

They were the special referees for this Survival Trial, observing from the shadows the entire time.

In fact, Chen Shanhe had already sensed their presence long ago.

"Brilliant, truly brilliant."

The leader, a tall Caucasian man, looked down condescendingly at the group from Great Xia:

"I didn’t expect you to actually fight your way out of the rampaging beast tide at the last moment."

"The results for Great Xia’s Survival Trial are in."

He took out a tablet-like recording device and tapped on it. His tone was complimentary, but he couldn’t hide his overbearing arrogance:

"Ten entered, nine came out."

"And among the nine survivors, there are no irreversible, critical injuries."

"Tsk tsk, this result would easily place you in the top three among all participating nations this year."

At this point, his tone shifted, a hint of mockery in his eyes:

"What a pity, though. The timing is a bit unfortunate this year."

"Our White Eagle Empire’s team challenged the number-one ranked ’Fallen Star Pit,’ which has a higher difficulty rating than your Spiritless Sea Region."

"And the result... a perfect pass. Everyone made it out, completely unscathed."

"But don’t be disheartened, young ones. There’s no shame in losing to the prodigies of our White Eagle Empire. It’s the norm."

’Those words were delivered with considerable skill.’

’Ostensibly comforting, it was actually a blatant taunt, meant to flaunt the White Eagle Empire’s superiority.’

And the facts did seem to support his claim.

In this Survival Trial, it seemed Great Xia had indeed come up short.

Ten entered, nine came out.

That "one person missing" was like a thorn in the hearts of Shen Yixuan and the others.

The expressions on everyone’s faces were grim.

Seeing no rebuttal from the Great Xia side, the Caucasian referee smiled with satisfaction. He was just about to press the "Confirm" button on the recording device to report the result.

However, just as his finger was about to touch the screen, a voice—cool, indifferent, yet carrying an indescribable, domineering air—suddenly came from below:

"Who says we of Great Xia have lost?"

The voice wasn’t loud, nor was it an earth-shattering roar.

But amidst the howling sea wind, it was as clear as a whisper in everyone’s ear.

Everyone froze.

Shen Yixuan whipped his head around, his eyes erupting with incredulous, wild joy.

Luo Qingyu clapped a hand over her mouth, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.

Even the three high-and-mighty White Eagle referees’ expressions changed, their movements freezing mid-air.

SPLASH—

On the sea surface not far from the floating ice, a column of water shot into the sky.

Then, the waves parted to either side, as if welcoming the return of a monarch.

A slender yet upright figure slowly rose from the water.

She stood on a gentle current of water. Though her face was pale, her clothes were spotless, and she maintained her graceful bearing.

Gu Yuexi!

She was alive!

"Sister Gu!!"

Luo Qingyu could no longer control herself. With a shriek, she rushed forward, wanting to hug her.

However, Gu Yuexi instinctively dodged her... She wasn’t used to physical contact with others.

Luo Qingyu didn’t mind, saying joyfully:

"You’re not dead! This is wonderful! You’re really not dead!"

Nearby, Shen Yixuan, Qin Feng, and the others also gathered around, excitement written all over their faces.

"As long as you’re back, as long as you’re back."

Shen Yixuan murmured to himself, the huge boulder that had been weighing on his heart finally lifted.

In contrast to the jubilation on the Great Xia side, the expressions of the three White Eagle referees in mid-air became quite a sight to behold.

’Shocked?’

’That was a given.’

’As the referees in charge of monitoring, although they couldn’t penetrate too deeply due to the special rules of the Spiritless Sea Region, one of them had personally witnessed that Nether Sea Ancient Whale swallow her whole!’

’They had even detected the terrifying Energy eruption in the deep sea!’

’Under those circumstances, forget a Sixth-Grade; even a Ninth Grade expert might not have made it out in one piece.’

’But now, not only had this young woman emerged...’

’But also...’

’By the looks of it, aside from some excessive drain on her Mental Power, she was completely unharmed.’

"How is this possible..."

Another referee mumbled under his breath, his face full of disbelief.

"Could Great Xia have given her some heaven-defying, life-saving artifact?"

The lead referee took a deep breath, suppressing the shock and doubt in his heart.

’Regardless, the facts were right in front of him.’

’The person was alive and standing right here.’

He had no choice but to pick up the recording device again, his fingers stiffly modifying the data on the screen.

"Ahem."

He cleared his throat and, with a stern face, amended his statement:

"Since the tenth team member has returned..."

"Then, the results are corrected."

"Great Xia Survival Trial, Spiritless Sea Region."

"Ten entered, ten came out."

"And, all members are essentially unharmed."

When he spoke those last few words, his tone was clearly strained.

Ten entering and ten exiting—this result was now on par with the White Eagle Empire’s.

Although deep down they still felt the White Eagle Empire’s "Fallen Star Pit" was more difficult, the data was the data. Great Xia, this time, had truly not lost.

"Congratulations to you all."

After tossing out this perfunctory comment, the three referees had no desire to linger. Their figures flickered and vanished on the spot.

...

Watching the referees leave, Old Chen and Lin Wan looked at each other, both seeing immense relief and deep satisfaction in the other’s eyes.

"Alright, now that everyone’s here, we shouldn’t stay long."

Old Chen waved a large hand, interrupting the students’ pleasantries:

"We need to get to the White Eagle Empire’s host city as soon as possible."

"Teacher Lin, if you would please."

Lin Wan nodded and summoned her Contracted Beast.

SCREEE—!!!

A clear, resounding cry echoed through the clouds.

A massive bird with a wingspan of over twenty meters swooped down from the heavens!

Its body was covered in feathers that shone like gold, with a tuft of jet-black crest feathers on its head. Its gaze was sharp and its presence, astonishing.

A King Realm Demon Beast—the Golden-Feathered Profound Sparrow!

This was also Lin Wan’s signature battle pet as a top tutor at Huaqing.

"Everyone, get on! I’ll fly you from here. Get some rest."

Lin Wan called out.

Everyone leaped onto the bird’s back, which was as wide as a public square. The golden feathers were soft and warm, even automatically forming a barrier against the wind.

"Let’s go! To the White Eagle Empire, Newark City!"

Following Lin Wan’s command, the Golden-Feathered Profound Sparrow beat its wings and soared high, transforming into a streak of golden light that instantly tore across the sky, heading for the other side of the ocean.

...

「On the bird’s back.」

After the recent rollercoaster of events, everyone was somewhat exhausted. They sat down cross-legged and began to meditate to recover.

Gu Yuexi found a spot toward the back and sat down.

She lowered her head and stole a glance at her chest.

That damned mosquito was nestled in her inner pocket, sleeping like a log.

However, sensing the increasingly profound and powerful fluctuations of aura from Chu Sheng, the corners of Gu Yuexi’s mouth curled up in a barely perceptible arc.

’Looks like your harvest was quite substantial.’

After confirming that Chu Sheng was fine, she too slowly closed her eyes.

...