C445 In a Hopeless Situation!(1)

"Remember what I said, speak less, and figure things out on your own!"

Leaving these final words, the young man who led the group departed.

The sturdy young man staggered to his feet, looking around in confusion, before coughing up blood and collapsing again.

"Dan... Dan..."

Another boy, likely from the same village as the sturdy one, knelt beside him and called out softly, recalling the young man's advice. Despite his efforts, Dan did not wake again.

Initially, everyone from the various villages was filled with excitement, then wonder, but now all they felt was a chilling dread. Some of the girls even burst into tears, wanting to leave but too afraid to make a move.

"Zach, that guy was so scary just now. I'm scared..." Little Rice, who had been riding on Zach's shoulders, buried herself in his arms when the man acted.

Zach patted Little Rice's head, holding her a bit tighter, and whispered, "Don't worry, I'm here."

While comforting Little Rice, Zach glanced at his friend, Leo.

Leo, too, looked terrified, his eyes meeting Zach's with a questioning look.

Woo Zhengyang gently shook his head, choosing not to speak.

No one expected that upon entering the Azure Sun Martial Mansion, they would encounter such a situation. Outside, the disciples of the mansion seemed superior, but not overly arrogant. Yet, once inside, they treated the young villagers with utter disdain. Just one displeasing comment led to someone being killed.

Piecing together various incidents, Woo Zhengyang felt as if he had fallen into a conspiracy.

"I heard before that becoming a disciple of the Azure Sun Martial Mansion could be dangerous. I thought it meant the risks of training or trials, but I never imagined this!" a voice whispered beside Woo Zhengyang.

Turning, Woo Zhengyang saw Yu Xiaoshui, a young man from Daxing Village at the peak of the Skin Stage, who ranked fourth in this year's Thousand-village Martial Competition.

"Who told you that? What else did they say?" Woo Zhengyang asked.

As someone from one of the top ten villages, Yu Xiaoshui knew more than Woo Zhengyang and the others. Woo Zhengyang disliked being in a perilous situation while remaining clueless, so any bit of information was valuable.

"I don't know much either. You heard it too—nothing here can be shared outside. The previous registered disciples never spoke about the Azure Sun Martial Mansion after leaving. What I heard were just speculations from others. Anyway, not all of the top fifty from each Thousand-village Martial Competition return after entering the mansion!"

"Those who didn't return, did they never show up again?"

Not returning doesn't necessarily mean death, but if someone never appears again, it's almost the same as being gone for good.

Yu Xiaoshui nodded and added, "There are exceptions, though. A few times, those who didn't return became true disciples of the Azure Sun Martial Mansion. They returned once and led their village to prominence. However, such cases are rare, maybe once in a century."

"How many usually come back safely each time?"

"It varies. Sometimes about fifty make it back, other times only a dozen or even just a few. But the former is more common; otherwise, villages wouldn't be so eager to participate in the Thousand-village Martial Competition."

Woo Zhengyang nodded, asking no further questions.

Yu Xiaoshui clearly didn't know much more. The intricacies of it all would need to be discovered on their own. One thing was certain: the Azure Sun Martial Mansion didn't host the competition and take them in as disciples just to scare them. Otherwise, they wouldn't let these disciples enter in the first place.

This means there must be another reason for their participation. These people must have some value to the Azure Sun Martial Mansion. As for what that reason or value might be, they couldn't figure it out, so they'd have to take it one step at a time.

"Mr. Zhengyang, how about we check out that area?" Yu Xiaoshui suggested, pointing towards the gravity room.

"Alright!" Woo Zhengyang didn't refuse and walked with Yu Xiaoshui and Liu Dahu toward the gravity room. Seeing Woo Zhengyang head in that direction, the others followed suit. Just earlier, they had been fiercely competing in the arena for a ranking, but now they found themselves as comrades in the same predicament.

As they approached the gravity room, they inevitably had to pass by the light curtain in the center. Unconsciously, Woo Zhengyang glanced again at the peculiar world within the light curtain. Despite feeling like he was in a dire situation, Woo Zhengyang was deeply intrigued by that strange world. He believed that within it, he might find something he was looking for.