Hunter and Prey

Seeing the Dean of Discipline's attitude towards Jiang Xuan, the Classmates all felt a pang of emotion.

If only the Dean of Discipline could treat them like that too!

No, perhaps it wouldn't be possible even after graduation, unless they too could become Artisan Apprentices, whose status was already starting to be revered.

Jiang Xuan, however, was very polite, first saying 'thank you' before following the Dean of Discipline down the teaching building.

Yu Xiaoyu watched his retreating figure, a faint pink glow flashing in her eyes. She wanted to follow him, but ultimately, after thinking of something, she held back.

Leaving the teaching building, Jiang Xuan followed the Dean of Discipline directly to the school's back mountain.

There, on the back mountain, was a tightly sealed tiled house, built with blue stones, appearing heavy and ancient, full of a sense of history.

The moment he saw the tiled house, Jiang Xuan felt a bit dazed. In an era dominated by high technology, such architecture was almost extinct.

At the entrance of the tiled house, Shen Zongtian stood gracefully in a silver-grey suit.

In front of him were Qin Xianwei and eight other students, all seemingly waiting for Jiang Xuan.

However, not a single person dared to show impatience on their face, and Qin Xianwei's expression was as cold as ever.

Seeing Jiang Xuan appear, Shen Zongtian smiled kindly and said:

"Alright, now that Jiang Xuan is here, everyone is accounted for. It's perfect, the Secret Realm is about to open."

He paused, then looked at all ten Classmates, including Jiang Xuan, and continued:

"Is there anyone among you who is still unclear about the precautions and dangerous areas related to the five historical fragments within our Lei Cheng No. 1 High School Exclusive Secret Realm?"

The Classmates all shook their heads, indicating they understood everything.

Jiang Xuan was the same; he had thoroughly investigated it on the very first day.

Shen Zongtian was quite satisfied, nodding slightly, and then said:

"There's one more thing, very important. Consider it a request from me to all of you."

Seeing Shen Zongtian's solemn demeanor, the other Classmates curiously perked up their ears, wanting to know what he was about to say.

Shen Zongtian said:

"No matter what kind of historical fragment appears in this Secret Realm, it's not a big concern. Only the abandoned hospital historical fragment is truly dangerous."

He paused briefly. Looking at the Classmates, his tone became more sincere:

"Everyone, if it's the abandoned hospital historical fragment, please try your best to protect Jiang Xuan if you encounter him. After all, he is now an Artisan Apprentice. His safety cannot be compromised!"

As soon as Shen Zongtian said this, the Classmates nodded in understanding and readily agreed.

Qin Xianwei also nodded, even deliberately showing an expression of willingness.

However, in reality, the moment she heard that Jiang Xuan, despite already being an Artisan Apprentice, still intended to participate in the College Entrance Examination, she had already decided to kill him in the Secret Realm.

Even if Jiang Xuan was an Artisan Apprentice, it didn't matter to Qin Xianwei; nothing was more important than her plan.

Jiang Xuan naturally felt a little touched when the Classmates solemnly promised to protect him.

But in reality, with his current strength, if he were to truly encounter danger, it would be he who should protect the Classmates.

However, he always felt that Qin Xianwei's performance was a bit disingenuous.

At this moment, with a thud, the blue stone tiled house vibrated, and dust fell from it. Then, an extremely uncomfortable, extremely bizarre feeling emanated from the tiled house.

The Classmates all showed uncomfortable expressions, and even Jiang Xuan felt a surge of inner vexation, even a bit irritable, wanting to vent.

Shen Zongtian's expression remained as calm as ever, and he smiled slightly, saying:

"Alright, the Secret Realm has opened. You may enter. You will be automatically teleported out after three hours."

"The rules are still the same as before. Any Bizarre Monster that appears in the Secret Realm can be killed, as long as you can defeat them."

"After killing a Bizarre Monster, bizarre crystal stones of different sizes will drop. Whoever has the most bizarre crystal stones in the end, and takes first place, the spiritual nightmare potion will be theirs!"

The Classmates all became excited. Firstly, this Secret Realm was not too dangerous, and secondly, there was a possibility of finding natural spiritual objects within it.

After all, some historical fragments hadn't appeared for a long time, so perhaps some rare and precious natural spiritual objects had accumulated.

With a click, Shen Zongtian pushed open the door of the blue stone tiled house.

Jiang Xuan looked inside. It was empty, with nothing at all.

Shen Zongtian, however, smiled and said:

"Alright, hurry and go in."

Qin Xianwei took the lead, stepping in.

As she crossed the threshold, an invisible ripple undulated twice at the doorway, and her entire figure instantly vanished, as if she had disappeared into thin air.

The other Classmates were initially a bit apprehensive. But seeing Qin Xianwei's example, they also bravely walked through the door one after another.

Each person also disappeared into thin air, appearing quite bizarre.

Jiang Xuan was the last to enter. Before he went in, Shen Zongtian specifically patted his shoulder as encouragement.

With a step, Jiang Xuan's vision blurred, and he suddenly found the sky covered in dark, gloomy clouds, with thunder rumbling faintly within the high clouds.

He found himself standing on a desolate piece of land, with a faint smell of decay and blood in the air.

He looked up and saw an abandoned hospital.

There was no one in the hospital, but dozens of department lights and ward lights were dimly lit, and some lights flickered on and off, making sizzling sounds.

Abandoned hospital!

The most dangerous historical fragment in the Lei Cheng No. 1 High School Exclusive Secret Realm!

Jiang Xuan also became cautious, after all, if he encountered a Bizarre Monster with 30,000 qi and blood value inside, he really couldn't defeat it.

However, he might barely be able to escape.

He looked left and right but didn't see any Classmates.

Of course, if he really saw a Classmate who was only half there, he would probably be startled.

When entering the Secret Realm, everyone was randomly teleported and would appear in different locations within the Secret Realm, so he was the only one who appeared outside the abandoned hospital.

Jiang Xuan thought for a moment. The coiling dragon axe, as his secret, was not something he could casually take out and try, but he still took it out of the space box beforehand and hid it in his sleeve, ensuring that he could pull it out with a flick of his hand when needed.

He then patted the bulletproof vest-like artisan item on his body, holding the throwing knife Wei Han had given him in his other hand. These were things he could reveal. Thus, Jiang Xuan cautiously stepped into the first floor of the hospital.

As soon as he entered, the smell of blood and decay became even stronger.

Faintly, Jiang Xuan could also hear the wails of patients.

He understood that these were the sounds made by Bizarre Monsters.

"Hmm, I'll kill Bizarre Monsters as I encounter them, and at the same time, find Qin Xianwei. But I don't need to go to too much trouble; after killing Qin Xianwei, I can just snatch her bizarre crystal stones..."

Jiang Xuan finalized his plan and began to walk along the corridor of the first floor.

But he didn't notice that behind him, a terrifying figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

Closer, and closer, and closer to him...