Nine Star Burden

Time: 10 AM, May 6th, 2016. The second day of the competition.

Location: On the fourth underground floor of the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum, the Dimensional Space in Chang’an City.

The three teams consisting of 12 people were either sitting or lying down in a house made of stone.

Zhang Qinzhou was panting heavily, his face flushed and covered in sweat. He had clearly just experienced a tough battle.

The others were not much better, especially Liu Yang, who no longer looked like an expert. He was lying on the ground feebly and seemed like he would fall asleep immediately if a pillow was placed beneath his head.

With Bai Yipeng and Xiong Chumo’s existence, the threats of the Ancient Archers with poisonous arrows were minimized. However, the Gold Quality Boss-level Ancient Archer General was still as terrifying, especially the Ancient Warrior Poisonous Bow, which really caused everyone to suffer.

Under normal circumstances, Cai Yao from Tianjin and Jiang Xiao from Beijiang could easily take turns to use Sound of Silence. The enemies would then be killed easily. The point was that the ones guarding the treasure chest of this floor were an adulterous pair.

The combination of the Soul Of The Ancient Warrior and the Ancient Archer General gave them a new perspective and changed the bottom line of their views of the creatures of other dimensions.

Have you ever seen an arrow shoot out from a hole in the Bone Wall? 

In everyone’s eyes, it was a strong Bone Wall where only dense white bones squeezed together could be seen.

In the Ancient Warriors’ eyes, the Bone Wall was a natural barrier for them and a special shooting range for them to test their skills.

An arrow shot out from the hole in the Bone Wall and landed on their heads. No one could withstand it.

The Ancient Archer General could say, “Nothing but familiar.”

The Ancient Archers could say the same too.

Arrows darted out from the Bone Wall, almost turning the students into sieves.

…

After resting for a while, Cai Yao fiddled with the modern bow, a special weapon belonging to the fourth underground floor.

She said, “This shall mark the end of our affinity.”

The members of the teams representing Beijiang and Cainan Province looked at her, but they also knew that this was inevitable.

In the past day, Cai Yao had already given them a warning.

Especially when they were on the third underground floor where they encountered an alliance composed of the two teams from Haisu and Eastern Zhejiang provinces, Cai Yao faintly expressed her displeasure with the “speed” after they almost broke out in a conflict.

Yes, when everyone rushed to the treasure chest on the third underground floor, the two teams from Haisu and East Zhejiang had already succeeded in their plans. Jiang Xiao and the rest also saw a familiar face, Wen Renmu.

He had a buzz cut and was wearing black-framed glasses. He spoke slowly, and his movements were not hurried either as he stowed his steel gun into his storage space in front of everyone.

No one got into a conflict with them because even a fool would know how terrifying the teams from Haisu and Eastern Zhejiang provinces were, especially since Wen Renmu led them. In terms of overall strength, they were among the best participating teams of the year and were predicted to enter the semi-finals.

Cai Yao instantly gave up the idea of “robbing” them and urged everyone to go down to the fourth underground floor.

On the fourth underground floor, everyone was bombarded by waves of Ancient Warriors, perhaps because there were too few contestants there. The Ancient Warriors were wandering around and all ready to fight at any moment.

Even before Jiang Xiao and others arrived, there was already a fierce struggle amongst the Ancient Warriors. It was extremely chaotic, and arrows, bones, ice, and fire flew in the sky…

However, there were some advantages to that. At least, it allowed them to reap some benefits.

On the fourth underground floor, they managed to earn 190 points even before they found the treasure chest. After counting, they reckoned that the points they had earned were about the same as what the weapon in the treasure chest was worth.

Jiang Xiao noticed the change in the team from Tianjin when they reached the fourth underground floor.

To be precise, it was the change in the Shield Warrior Zhang Qinzhou.

Zhang Qinzhou did much better on the first three floors compared to the fourth. Thanks to his “sharp senses,” he would always be able to find the weapon in the treasure chest successfully.

On the fourth floor, Zhang Qinzhou lost his “special power.” He led the team to search around, and even though he didn’t jeopardize them, he did cause them to run into obstructions all the time. That was how the teams obtained 190 points each too.

Jiang Xiao wasn’t sure if Zhang Qinzhou was pretending or if they really didn’t have the information about the fourth underground floor.

However, after analyzing their anxious behavior, Jiang Xiao didn’t think that they were acting.

The team from Tianjin had something to lose, unlike the teams from Beijiang and Cainan Provinces. There was no need for them to waste time there for the sake of the two teams.

In other words, the Tianjin team’s time was much more precious than the Beijiang team’s.

Finally, their efforts paid off, and they managed to find the room containing the treasure chest on the fourth underground floor. Of course, they also encountered a medium-sized team led by the Soul Of The Ancient Warrior and the Ancient Archer General.

What could they say about such a combination?

To sum up, the Ancient Warriors were absolutely disgusting and revolting.

Fortunately, no other participating team had found a weapon on the fourth underground floor. Everyone fought hard, and after numerous trials and tribulations, they managed to annihilate the Ancient warriors after various close shaves with death.

No one wanted the strong and stable alliance to disband, not the Beijiang team, not the Cainan Province team, and not even the Tianjin team.

However, they couldn’t continue succumbing to the team from Jiangbin High School. They needed an assistant, not a leader.

Cai Yao smiled elegantly; her face was flushed because of the strenuous exercise. “This Ancient Archer General Star Bead shall be a parting gift. It can also be regarded as our compensation for withdrawing halfway. You guys still helped us find the weapon of the fourth underground floor despite knowing that we’re going to leave. If it’s destined, we will see you in the rematch.”

If it was a month ago or even a day ago, the netizens would definitely criticize anyone who said those words.

However, after an entire day of actual combat, they had no choice but to admit that the team from Beijiang was really something even though many were unwilling to admit that they were a dark horse and did not want to see the dominance being broken.

How do you force a person who’s bent on leaving to stay?

Besides, Liu Yang, Cai Yao, and the rest had already done their best.

According to the established rules, the Star Bead should have belonged to them. However, they decided to give it to them. The Ancient Archer General Star Bead was not to be underestimated. It was worth 50 points.

Some teams in the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum had yet even to score a single point, as they were frightened and fleeing all day and night.

Twenty-four hours were neither too long nor too short.

In those 24 hours, everyone shared weal and woe, experienced many battles, rested, ate, and fought together in the harsh Ancient Imperial Mausoleum. It would be unrealistic to say that they did not treat each other as comrades.

However, the reality was that some teams were there to cooperate while some were out to break historical records. Some were also highly ambitious and bent on reaching the top.

Everyone had their own ambitions and should not be forced.

The people from Tianjin were gone.

Cai Yao left composedly, and this time, she winked at Jiang Xiao right in front of everyone without hiding.

The Tianjin ruffian was also rather resolute in leaving. This time, he didn’t make any frivolous comments and simply waved at Jiang Xiao. His figure gradually disappeared at the end of the corridor full of corpses.

The team of eight watched as the four of them left. The scene was also presented on the audience’s computer screens through the cameras.

The scene added a touch of sadness to the endless killing.

Everyone was working hard, and the group of talented children lived lives filled with sweat, tears, and blood ever since they were Awakened.

They trained and competed all day and night.

They seemed to be struggling between victory and defeat or even life and death.

Everyone saw how terrifying the Ancient Imperial Mausoleum was, and a slight mistake would cause them to die horribly.

However, even then, the team still chose to leave resolutely and withdraw from the alliance.

Han Jiangxue sighed gently and watched as the figure disappeared at the end of the corridor. She gently put a hand on Jiang Xiao’s arm.

She knew that there would be two outcomes at the moment that the team left—they would either withdraw from the competition or end up being ranked among the best.

There shouldn’t be a situation where all their members were intact, and yet, they still didn’t make it to the semi-finals because they were obviously strong and they knew clearly what they wanted, which they were willing to fight for at any cost.

Han Jiangxue seemed to find one of her kind. If their identities were swapped, she would make the same choice.

These types of people would always exist in this world, who would not be understood by most people.

Because… they would rather die than lose.