The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

"Let's retreat." An Changqing made a decisive decision and whispered, "Stay vigilant, return the way we came, and go to the designated safe point number two."

Although Long Ao still wanted to communicate with the Kamiya team, he knew the importance of the matter and nodded.

The four ignored the two teams and quickly left the crystal cluster depression, retreating in the direction they had come from. The two teams didn't dare to give chase and continued to stare at each other in place.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber on the way back.

"Guan Jinyue... what exactly does she mean?" Su Yuehe couldn't help but ask, her small face full of confusion: "She neither fights nor steals, and just leaves like that, abandoning her teammates."

"Perhaps she feels it's not worth continuing this entanglement," An Changqing pondered. "She's already exhausted from fighting with Chizuru Kamishiro. If she were to fight us head-on, even if she won, she might be severely injured, affecting her subsequent operations. As for her teammates..."

He paused for a moment: "Given her personality, she probably never really cared about her teammates."

Long Ao snorted coldly: "Playing tricks and being selfish."

Although he was somewhat arrogant, he was by no means irresponsible, abandoning his teammates in the enemy's encirclement. No matter how much he looked down on his teammates, as long as he was the captain, he would never give up on them.

Chen Guan didn't speak, but silently adjusted his breathing and recovered his mental strength. He always felt that Guan Jinyue's retreat was not so simple.

"Baal..." Chen Guan murmured to himself.

If Guan Jinyue is indeed related to the demon Baal, her main goal is probably not just points. Giving up Crystal Orchid and leaving the team may have some deeper meaning.

He glanced at the comments section, attempting to seek help from outside the world; the comments were also buzzing with discussion.

[Sister Guan ran away already? That doesn't fit her character.]

[They're definitely preparing something big; I have a feeling something big is about to happen in the secret realm.]

[Chizuru Kamishiro: Who am I? Where am I? Why am I here?]

[Kamiyo is truly pitiful. He's constantly being suppressed. He's clearly quite strong, but he just won't play in low-level matches. He's either getting beaten up or on his way to getting beaten up.]

Chen Guan turned off the bullet comments, suppressing his doubts. Even the bullet comments couldn't help him, so there was no point in thinking too much now. His priority was to recover and deal with any changes that might happen next.

To avoid another collision with Guan Jinyue, they changed direction this time, heading northeast.

Over the next few hours, they encountered several groups of wild creatures and completed a medium-difficulty gathering task. Their points steadily increased, but they did not encounter any other teams from other academies, nor did they find any trace of Guan Jinyue. Everything seemed to have returned to the normal rhythm of exploring the secret realm.

However, the unease in Chen Guan's heart did not diminish with the passage of time; on the contrary, it grew stronger and stronger.

"The spiritual energy field here is becoming increasingly unstable," Su Yuehe said worriedly. "It's not a natural fluctuation; it's more like something is interfering or drawing spiritual energy from this space."

She looked up at the sky; as a scout, she was very sensitive to any unusual fluctuations.

An Changqing frowned: "Contact the other groups and ask them about their situation."

Su Yuehe contacted the other Huaqing teams scattered throughout the secret realm. Most teams replied that everything was normal, but the team led by Zhao Qingyin gave a somewhat unusual reply.

She mentioned that there was a strange fog in the central area that kept drifting outwards, and that she saw Guan Jinyue walk into the central area alone.

Zhao Qingyin continued, "Guan Jinyue discovered me at the time, but she didn't do anything. She just waved to me a rare and precious herb worth thousands of points in her hand, and then walked into the mist."

"Central area..." An Changqing looked at the area marked as the core area of ​​the trial grounds on the map. It was the area with the highest concentration of point missions, but it was also recognized as a slightly more dangerous area. Usually, no one would choose to go deep into it, since the efficiency of the outer area was higher than that of the inner area.

"Should we go take a look?" Long Ao asked. It was normal for him to have such thoughts. What if there were some hidden monsters in the center? Hua Qing was currently at the top of the list, and he didn't want to be overtaken. Guan Jinyue's actions did give him a sense of crisis.

Huaqing has already won two rounds of first place. If they win one more round, they will achieve a grand slam as freshmen.

An Changqing hesitated for a moment.

According to the original plan, they should have avoided high-risk areas and steadily accumulated points.

But... like Long Ao, they all thought, what if it's some big mission? Nobody wants a sure win to be turned around.

"Let's go take a look," An Changqing decided.

The four changed direction and cautiously advanced towards the outer perimeter of the central area.

The closer you get to the center, the more obvious the environmental changes become. The dim sky seems even darker, and dust flies everywhere in the air, making you eat a mouthful of dirt every now and then.

When they reached the edge of a place marked as the Scorched Rift, the sight before them made all four of them stop in their tracks.

What should have been a vast valley with a dry riverbed was now shrouded in a thin layer of dark red mist.

Even more chilling was the sight of dark red lightning silently streaking across the valley.

Without a doubt, this is the anomaly that Zhao Qingyin mentioned.

Just then, a sharp roar came from the depths of the scorched valley.

Immediately afterwards, the dark red mist churned violently, and several tentacle-like black shadows burning with dark red flames suddenly emerged from the mist, like demonic claws from hell, and swept towards the few small beasts at the edge of the valley that had not had time to escape.

Those powerful demonic beasts let out a shrill scream the moment they were touched by the dark red tentacles. Their bodies withered at a visible speed and eventually turned into ashes.

"run!"

An Changqing shouted sharply, and the four of them turned and fled without hesitation.

That power was far beyond their ability to resist; the mere emanation of its aura and the fleeting glimpse of its tentacles instilled in them a fear that emanated from their very souls.

It is absolutely not advisable to fight them head-on.

However, they hadn't run far when the ground in front of them suddenly cracked open, and several dark red energy beams shot into the sky, forming a makeshift barrier.

"Damn it!" Long Ao roared, his crimson aura erupting as he punched the barrier, but it only caused a ripple, and the barrier remained completely still.

An Changqing tried to cut through the barrier with his sword light, but the effect was minimal. Chen Guan's mental attack had no effect on the barrier at all.

"It's a pre-arranged formation, combining spiritual energy sealing and mental interference." Su Yuehe calmed down and quickly guessed the cause and effect: "We've fallen into a trap; someone deliberately lured us here."

As soon as they finished speaking, a silver figure appeared silently on a rock not far in front of them.

With silver hair, dressed in a moon-white outfit, and with a calm and composed expression, it was none other than Guan Jinyue, who had returned after leaving.

She held the Moonlit Sword, its blade now entwined with ominous dark red patterns that subtly echoed the surrounding dark red mist.

"Now." Guan Jinyue's cold voice rang out. She gently raised the tip of her sword, pointing it directly at An Changqing, a charming yet dangerous smile playing on her lips.

"The offensive and defensive strategies have shifted, An Changqing."