Chapter 12 Second Class

Several counties away from Qinghe Commandery.

Yanguo Commandery.

The deep and spacious subterranean palace was illuminated by the dim, flickering light of a night-luminescent pearl.

Three figures walked into a massive hall lit by a faint, yellowish glow.

The palace was clearly ancient and terribly dilapidated.

Among the three figures were a tall, robust middle-aged man and an alluring, exquisitely beautiful woman. Sandwiched between them was a young woman with a rather unpleasant expression.

Travel-worn, all three looked somewhat disheveled.

They pressed forward, coming to a halt before a thick, towering wall at the front of the massive hall.

The young woman’s eyes darted about. Holding a compass-like object in her hand, she pointed toward the wall in front of them.

"Right here."

A look of delighted surprise crossed the middle-aged man's face:

"Heh heh, this is the final trial location of the Stellar Subterranean Palace. Rumor has it that there are more than a few Heaven-grade pills left inside, along with even more valuable treasures. Once we get the treasures of the Stellar Gate, we'll leave Daqian immediately!"

The alluring woman beside him also beamed with joy, her eyes shining as she looked at the young woman:

"Qingluo, girl, you are the heir of the Stellar Gate. Since we've reached the place, hurry up and open the entrance to this ruin!"

The girl’s face turned even uglier as she said:

"Two seniors, don't forget what you promised me. If you pass the trial and obtain the treasures, you must give me one Heaven-grade pill!"

The tall man smiled:

"Rest assured, we are both grandmasters. Naturally, we will honor the request of a Body Tempering martial artist like you. Of course, if we only manage to acquire a single Heaven-grade pill, we won't be able to give it to you."

The girl's expression softened slightly, but she added:

"With me here, given the two of you's strength, there should be no problem for each of you to obtain a Heaven-grade pill. Unless some core disciple of the Stellar Gate secretly came here to undergo the trial in all these years and took all the Heaven-grade pills in advance."

The man shook his head, a joyful expression on his face:

"Impossible. In the past, those freaks from the Brocade Guard Bureau kept their eyes on you people. Anyone who dared to show their head was completely wiped out. Although the Stellar Gate ruins are said to be semi-public, there are usually Brocade Envoys stationed around the perimeter. Those with weak strength cannot come, and those with strong strength receive special attention. Paradoxically, it's some ordinary martial artists who manage to take treasures from the Stellar Gate ruins..."

"Lately, Daqian has been in chaos, and those people from the Brocade Guard Bureau have shifted their focus to the Nether Sect, leaving them with no time to care about other matters. That's how we managed to seize the opportunity to come here and enter this fifth-tier subterranean palace. It's impossible for anyone else to have reacted faster than us."

The alluring woman beside him also nodded, a smile on her face as a surge of burning desire flashed through her heart.

Any Heaven-grade pill commanded an astronomical price; not only were they expensive, but avenues of acquisition were exceedingly scarce.

Even disciples of the Brilliant Sun Tower at the Martial Academy could rarely afford to trade for a Heaven-grade pill. The lifelong net worth of an average external grandmaster could not compare to a single Heaven-grade pill!

Even if they possessed sufficient wealth, they simply lacked the opportunity to trade for one.

Qingluo nodded, then extended her finger and placed it into her mouth. With a bite of her pearly teeth, a crimson drop of blood welled up on her fingertip.

A mystical blue fluorescence shimmered upon the droplet of blood.

She extended that very finger and began tracing runes upon the wall.

Soon, starry specks of light flickered across the wall before the runes transformed.

A rumbling sound echoed.

An illusory, phantom-like door suddenly materialized out of the solid wall.

The young girl withdrew her finger, a strange look flashing across her face: "The door will only remain open for ten seconds. Let's go in quickly."

With that, she stepped inside.

The remaining two exchanged glances and closely followed the young girl inside!

Afterward, everything quickly returned to calm. The special runes traced by the girl on the wall left no trace behind, and everything appeared just as it had before...

...

Luoyun Mountain, Qingming Martial Academy.

Having obtained the map of the Stellar Gate subterranean ruins, Chen Fan naturally intended to make a personal trip.

Of course, he did not rush off immediately, choosing instead to make thorough preparations first!

Pills, dry rations, and various talisman-like items all needed to be made ready!

After all, the Stellar Subterranean Palace was vast and extremely perilous; once one entered, it would be months before coming back out.

Fortunately, while Daqian's external environment was awkward, it had no impact whatsoever on Chen Fan, who resided in Qinghe Commandery...

While making preparations, he simultaneously submitted an application to enter the Stellar Gate ruins, and the approval was granted very swiftly.

As a half-disciple of the Brilliant Sun Tower, he could apply to enter directly without expending any origin points!

Normally, entry into secret realms and ruins was subject to quota limits, meaning one could not simply go wherever one pleased.

However, the Stellar Gate ruins possessed multiple entrances, and control was not solely in the hands of the Martial Academy; it was a semi-public location with relatively lenient restrictions on strength!

The Stellar Gate ruins were situated in Yanguo Commandery, separated from Qinghe Commandery by only two commanderies. It was not far at all, and completely untouched by Daqian's various turbulent regions!

...

The Martial Academy, Central Hall, Dean's Office.

Mao Wangchen sat behind a large desk in the center of the spacious room, frowning as he looked at a stack of documents before him:

"Chen Fan applied to go to the Stellar Gate ruins?"

All applications by Martial Academy disciples to enter secret realms and ruins ultimately required Mao Wangchen's official seal of approval.

He held absolute veto power!

"After so many years, the Stellar Gate ruins hold almost no secrets left. Given Chen Fan's strength, as long as he is careful, the dangers within the Stellar Gate ruins are nothing. The problem is that the Stellar Gate ruins are, after all, a semi-public ruin which ordinary external martial artists can enter..."

All of Chen Fan's recent actions had spread far and wide, his reputation gradually fermenting and long since drawing the attention of interested parties!

Remote, secret locations were one thing, but far too many people could enter these Stellar Gate ruins.

...

An incense stick of time later.

Chen Fan arrived at the Dean's Office in the Central Hall.

"Dean, you summoned me?"

Mao Wangchen looked at Chen Fan with a smile and nodded: "Sit."

Chen Fan sat down.

Mao Wangchen looked at him: "I have approved your application to go to the Stellar Gate ruins, but before you leave, there are some things I must remind you of."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and guessed:

"Is the Dean referring to the Nether Sect?"

Mao Wangchen was slightly startled upon hearing this, then said with a solemn expression:

"Your sources of information are quite extensive indeed! That's right, you should also understand the current situation. Dachang and Daqian have gone to war, the Nether Sect has recently made many major moves, and Daqian has recently been targeting Nether Sect forces... a lot of new intelligence has been seized."

"On the Nether Sect's latest assassination list, you have been placed on the second-tier assassination list..."

"What I want to tell you is that throughout the entire Daqian, fewer than five people below the seventh tier are listed on the second-tier assassination list!"

"Spies of the Nether Sect are omnipresent. I even suspect that within the Martial Academy itself, Nether Sect spies have infiltrated, and they are watching you every single moment—"

Chen Fan took a deep breath.

He knew clearly.

Such matters were unavoidable.

Setting aside the spies who had infiltrated from Dachang since childhood, many others were local Daqian martial artists who had been subverted by exorbitant rewards!

With the entire strength of a nation behind it, Dachang could provide massive resources to support the Nether Sect.

Not everyone could resist the temptation of such benefits!

In the war between humans and ferocious beasts—a racial conflict—spies were impossible to dispatch due to physiological differences.

Yet struggles between humans were vastly more complex!

Seeing Chen Fan's expression, Mao Wangchen nodded slightly and continued:

"Although you can rival seventh-tier grandmasters, being placed on the second-tier assassination list means the Nether Sect might even dispatch a ninth-tier grandmaster to make a move against you!"