187: Zhenlong Realm

Indeed, at the final moment of his comprehension, Xie Ning not only improved his sword techniques but also achieved a Breakthrough in his Ancient Martial Arts to the Peak of Bronze.

Currently, whether in terms of Mental Energy or Ancient Martial Arts, he had reached the critical point of breaking through to Silver Rank.

Xie Ning held his sword, about to continue his attack, when Yan Ruyu suddenly appeared. She slightly lifted her jade-like foot and kicked the battered burly man away. She then said to Xie Ning, "Follow me."

She then flew off...

"Oh," Xie Ning responded. He sheathed his long sword and chased after her for a few steps before thinking better of it and running back. Under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, he confiscated the axe, muttering, "It turns out that after killing a mob, gear really does drop."

Once the master and disciple had both run far away, Director Bai appeared out of thin air to lead everyone away from the challenge area.

Though the people had left, the battle undoubtedly left a deep impression on them, especially on that student who had wet his pants... Xie Ning followed Yan Ruyu all the way to the meeting room on the roof of the classroom office building.

Pushing open the door, Xie Ning couldn't help but be stunned.

The first person he saw was Yang Three Blades. Looking past her, Gu Wa, Chen Pingan, and Captain Li were also there. As for Xu Shaoxiang, he was currently on the opposite row of chairs, gloomily treating the wounds of the burly man, Jiajia.

"Hi~ We meet again."

Xie Ning looked at everyone greeting him and asked with a face full of bewilderment, "Why are you all here?"

"Would you believe us if we said we came to visit Boss Yan?" Yang Three Blades said.

Xie Ning glanced at her. "What do you think?"

"In fact, we're here to sweep up trash. A three-meter-tall pile of trash fell onto your stage and smashed some bricks; we're really sorry." As Xu Shaoxiang spoke, he applied force to bandage Jiajia's wounds, making the latter grimace in pain.

Xie Ning nodded seriously. "Hmm, it did cause some trouble. Regarding the academy's losses for the challenge stage, I think we can talk in detail. Turn on that machine of yours; let's calculate a little bit first."

"Don't, don't, don't! My machine doesn't want to overheat yet. If you want to rob money, go to Captain Li; the rest of us are penniless." Remembering the 'tiny bit' of Materials Xie Ning had listed last time, Xu Shaoxiang shuddered. He had intended to tie the bandage in a bow but pulled it straight into a dead knot.

Captain Li walked over at this moment and said, "Alright, stop messing around. Let's talk business."

As his voice fell, the others immediately fell silent, their expressions turning serious in an instant, which made Xie Ning marvel in surprise.

"Xie Ning, I apologize on behalf of this dummy for his reckless actions just now. He meant no ill will; he just wanted to know if you really had strength," Captain Li said with a face full of guilt.

Xie Ning said, "Whether I have strength or not, what does it have to do with him?"

"It's like this: we have a rescue mission coming up, and we'd like to ask you to come with us. But this dummy thought the higher-ups were sending someone again to just pad their resume and hold us back, so he ignored our attempts to stop him and rushed onto the challenge stage."

After hearing this, Xie Ning came to a realization. He looked at the burly man who was being bandaged and brandished his fist.

The latter's face turned even redder. He scratched his head and gave a silly smile, no longer looking as fierce as before.

"But why look for me for your rescue mission?" Xie Ning asked again.

"This was also Boss Yan's idea."

Xie Ning looked at Yan Ruyu, who nodded and added, "This is your opportunity for a Breakthrough."

"Alright." Xie Ning shrugged and asked again, "Rescue who?"

Without looking back, Xu Shaoxiang recited a list of names: "Lu Bingyun, Lan Yu, Qi Xiaoya, as well as Zhao Long, Mu Tian, Ye Feiyu... These are all people you are relatively familiar with. Among them, those from the three families of Lingnan City are quite arrogant fellows, but they are all familiar with you. If you come along, we can save ourselves some breath."

"Wait, wait..." Hearing the first few names, Xie Ning's expression condensed and became serious, but when the names of Zhao Long's trio appeared, his expression became strange again. After hearing Xu Shaoxiang out, Xie Ning paused and pointed at himself with a bitter smile, "The others are fine, but Zhao Long would like nothing more than to kill me. If you take me along, he'll definitely treat you as enemies and hack at you."

He then continued, "Also, tell me the specific situation first. Why do they suddenly need rescuing? What exactly happened? Even a guy like Zhao Long couldn't handle it."

Over the next while, the group explained the general situation to Xie Ning.

The course of events was roughly that Lu Bingyun's trio had taken a mission from the Monster Taming Alliance to go to a Secret Realm called the Zhenlong Realm to help the indigenous residents clear out invading Yao Beasts. Unexpectedly, the situation in the Zhenlong Realm changed; they seemed to have encountered a larger attack and sent out a distress signal.

The academy has one opportunity for independent rescue. After deliberation, they sent eleven Silver Ranks from the Advanced Class as a rescue team, led by Zhao Long. Unexpectedly, they had been gone for a long time without any news.

The Monster Taming Alliance then upgraded the mission and assigned it to Captain Li's team from the Huaguo Security Action Group.

"Our mission is primarily rescue, and secondly to find out exactly what happened inside," Yang Three Blades added.

Xie Ning frowned and asked again, "So what is their current status?"

"From the information we've obtained, there's no danger at the moment, but we can't relax because of that. The situation inside the Zhenlong Realm is somewhat complicated." Chen Pingan leaned against the wall holding his sword, speaking coolly.

"As long as they're okay." Xie Ning breathed a small sigh of relief, then asked, "Zhenlong Realm... there wouldn't happen to be a Dragon, would there?"

"No dragons, but I've heard there's a dragon corpse." Xu Shaoxiang finished bandaging the wound, sat back in his seat, tapped on his machine for a bit, and turned the screen around. "Three hundred years ago, that Secret Realm appeared out of thin air. An evil Azure Dragon was enslaving the indigenous people there. Later, in cooperation between our country and the indigenous people, the Azure Dragon was killed and the dragon corpse was suppressed. It was for this reason that the Secret Realm was renamed the Zhenlong Realm."

"Hehe, I really want to see a dragon corpse." The person who said this was Jiajia, who had just fought with Xie Ning.

"Shut up!" Yang Three Blades and Gu Wa roared in unison, making the burly man Jiajia, who had just gotten a bit excited, look pitifully dejected.

Clearly, they were very dissatisfied with Jiajia's unauthorized attempt to challenge Xie Ning.

"I understand the general situation. I agree to participate in the mission, but let me state beforehand that I won't necessarily follow your methods. In short, the ultimate goal is to rescue the trapped people."

After Xie Ning finished speaking, the group looked at each other and then at Yan Ruyu. Seeing her nod, they then said, "No problem."

"When do we set out?"

"In one week, the Zhenlong Realm will open again."

"I see."

Subsequently, Xie Ning left the meeting room.

Once he had left, Captain Li frowned and looked at Yan Ruyu. "Will it be too dangerous to have him participate? From the situation faced by the two groups that entered, the attitude of those indigenous people toward us has already changed."

"Don't underestimate him. In terms of strength, he might not be your match, but in terms of clever ideas, he's much sharper than you. Moreover, over the years, the change in the attitude of the Zhenlong People has made me wonder if someone is pulling the strings from behind?" Yan Ruyu frowned.

"Then why didn't you tell him just now?" Captain Li frowned.

Yan Ruyu gave a faint smile. "This guy won't be led by the mission. Whether we tell him or not, he'll go and investigate on his own."

"In that case, we'll go back and prepare first. We'll come to see you again after the mission is finished."

After Captain Li finished speaking, Yan Ruyu nodded and suddenly aimed her gaze at Jiajia, causing the latter to shrink his body behind Chen Pingan.

"Do it right here; give this brainless fellow a beating."

"Yes!"

"I've been waiting for those words from the boss!"

"If I don't beat him to death, count it as Yang Three Blades being kind!"

Next, rhythmic sounds of hitting and wailing echoed in the meeting room... Xie Ning returned to the dormitory and briefly told the Demon Cat Woman what he was going to do next.

"Zhenlong Realm..."

Seeing the Demon Cat Woman's thoughtful look, Xie Ning couldn't help but ask, "Is there something special about it?"

"Yes," the Demon Cat Woman nodded. "I previously heard them mention at a Fallen Demon Tamer outpost that there seemed to be some treasure in the Zhenlong Realm that they had always wanted to obtain."

"I see..."

Xie Ning's expression gradually became serious. After a moment, he smiled and said:

"Since Fallen Demon Tamers might show up, then I have even less reason to be absent."

Afterward, Xie Ning returned to his room, leaving the Demon Cat Woman with the view of his back.