Chapter 279: We’re Done For, Hurry Up And Run!

There were only four people in Gu Xiqiao’s team, and only groups of five or more could enter the selections. The others were obviously in their own family team, and most of them had ten or more to a team. The stronger the team, the better chances they had in Bahuang Forest, which also gave them a better ranking.

So for those who were alone, who wouldn’t want to join a strong team?

But on the other hand, stronger teams had more criteria in candidates that they chose to let into them, especially those from the bigger families. They had to at least know the person, otherwise if they were to let a complete stranger into their midst, let’s not talk about how awkward the stranger would feel, even the family teams would feel uneasy.

So for those bigger families, they didn’t wait at the entrance to recruit anyone, heading in directly instead.

Those who stayed at the entrance were those with average strength and wanted to recruit more people for better chances.

The number of people dropped sharply after that.

“The team captain of our group is a master that has reached the 42nd floor on the Trial Tower. The requirement to join our team is very simple, you just need to be at least on the 35th floor!” Reaching the 42nd floor indeed was a master. The little demon girl had successfully advanced into the top twenty the last selections when she was on the 49th floor three years ago, and although being on the 42nd floor didn’t necessarily guarantee a spot in the top hundred, who could tell what kind of luck they would get?

For a moment, this team with a master on the 42nd floor was hotcakes.

Gu Xiqiao and the others also stood at the entrance, but she had no plans to recruit anyone, nor to join any other team. She merely turned her head to look at the high platform.

The man on the platform was holding a picture, his head lowered as he spoke to a couple of white-bearded men. He raised his head suddenly, looking in her direction.

Seeing the corners of his mouth quirking up, Gu Xiqiao returned the smile before turning away.

“Aren’t you four going to look for a team?” A voice suddenly said in her ear. Gu Xiqiao turned around to find the blonde girl from just now, who seemed to have a lot of insight. There were two boys beside her, one black-haired and black eyes and one brown-haired with blue eyes.

Gu Xiqiao raised her head, looking at her bashfully. “The four of us are too weak, no one wants us.”

Xiao Yun let out a long, sad sigh, a depressed look on her face, the usual cold look on her face nowhere in sight. “We won’t be unable to go in, right?”

Wu Hongwen & Yao Jiamu: These two are just so bloody dramatic!

“Too weak?” The blonde girl repeated. “The division of the international forces is based on the Trial Tower from the ancient martial arts world of China. You guys are Chinese, right? Which floor have you reached?”

“The 20th floor… I think?” Gu Xiqiao said, looking up at the girl.

Xiao Yun thought for a while, before saying, “25th floor.”

Wu Hongwen and Yao Jiamu were sorely tempted to start hitting their foreheads. Saying that you’re at such a low level, it would be even weirder if anyone wanted you guys!

So Wu Hongwen replied with, “I can only get to the 32nd floor.”

Yao Jiamu: “… About the 35th floor, I guess?”

Guess? What was this supposed to mean? The blonde thought about it for a while, but she was also relieved. There weren’t that many women in the power world, and for Gu Xiqiao and Xiao Yun to reach this level at this age was already considered to be rare. Although their strengths weren’t anything to look at, at least the guys had good strength. Being able to reach above the 30th floor, they didn’t seem like they would be burdens at least.

And they also needed above five people for their own team.

Thinking about it, the blonde girl turned to look at the black-haired boy for his opinion. “Shi Qin, these four belong to your China’s ancient martial arts world, do you want to bring them along?”

Gu Xiqiao turned her gaze to the one called Shi Qin. With her eidetic memory, she could remember that this was the one who said that he wanted to get into the top hundred to get resources for his family.

Shi Qin looked a little cold, holding a sword in hand, his glance passing through Gu Xiqiao and the others. He didn’t say a word, just nodding his head.

“Haha! You four are in luck!” Seeing Shi Qin agreeing, the blonde girl looked at Gu Xiqiao and the others with a triumphant look on her face. “Shi Qin is a master who has reached the 49th floor in the Trial Tower, it won’t be a problem to hold out until the end!”

“Really?!” Xiao Yun exclaimed in surprise, reaching out to hold Gu Xiqiao’s hands. “Er Qiao, we can hold out to the end like this, how exciting! Those old men had said that I wouldn’t last a second in there before getting kicked out. Looks like we’ll be able to shove it back in their faces when we get back!”

A joyful look was on Gu Xiqiao’s face, but on the inside: “… This girl can act even better than me!”

“So I’ve said you’re in luck.” The blonde girl smiled. “The door’s about to close, we’d better go in. Oh right, my name is Betty, from America, 36th floor on the Trial Tower. You know Shi Qin already, this is Hans, from England. His strength is about the 43rd floor. The three of us have also just met just now…”

This was the smallest, most chaotic team in the history that entered Bahuang Forest.

The teams who were still outside recruiting people looked at the group of seven with eyes that said, ‘You are all going to die in there’.

Even the guards at the door repeatedly confirmed whether they were sure they wanted to go in with just seven of them, to the point that he almost wanted to tell them that they couldn’t go in with just seven of them. It was a pity that they had listened to everything that was said during the beginning.

“Seven people, either they’ll be eliminated as soon as they enter, or they get devoured.” The guard said, shaking his head.

“It’s just another group of youngsters that don’t know how high the sky is.” The other guard said, used to it. “When they meet some mythical beasts, then they’ll know what fear is.”

Ten minutes later, the last of the people who lingered outside had finally entered the forest.

Jiang Shuxuan waved the talisman in hand, and the entrance to Bahuang Forest was closed.

“Young Master Jiang, it’s expected that Tang Qinghong from your ancient martial arts world will be in the top five.” The old man who had announced the rules previously stroked his beard, smiling. “As for the fight for first place, it might be hard. I heard that Nozawa from Japan has reached the strength of the 70th floor in the Trial Tower. It seems that he has just emerged from the inheritance base.”

“Nozawa?” Jiang Shuxuan finally raised his head to look at the old man. “We’ll see.”

His face was indifferent, and there were no changes during the conversation.

Having said that, he turned around and left.

After he was gone, the others were still discussing him. “Why did Young Master Jiang take on the job of being captain of the guards this year? Shouldn’t he be preparing for the Heaven and Earth Ranking at this point?”

“I’m not sure, maybe he’s in a good mood?” Another person said suddenly. “But what’s with that Nozawa that you mentioned just now? He seems to be in high regard?”

“Nozawa has already accepted all the inheritance from Japan’s inheritance base, and his strength is close to the 70th floor. Just like the record that Young Master Jiang had set previously, it looks like this year’s Youth Ranking will fall to Japan.” The old man sighed bitterly. “Chinese martial artists always had the highest percentage in placement in the top hundred, and the first place has always been taken by them too. With Nozawa around this year, there’s definitely a good show to be seen!”

“Don’t forget about Cecil from America, he’s Cecily’s younger brother, and Cecily was in the top ten the last round.”

“Cecily and the little demon girl appeared out of nowhere in the previous competition, and it was super exciting to watch. I wonder if there’s any surprises this year.”

“Look, the ranking has begun to change. Nozawa is indeed at the top!”

More than eighty thousand participants had entered the forest, and the ones who stayed outside were people from the participating countries who were tasked with recording the ranking at any time, as well as broadcasting the live results.

The tablet only showed the rankings for those in the top hundred, and it could change at any time. As long as someone killed a mythical beast, they would get the energy and ranked up accordingly.

At this time, countless people in the power world were watching with rapt attention.

People in the ancient martial arts world were no exception.

The posts in The Forum were all discussions about the rankings.

Main Building: The latest ranking list has been released, and will be updated continuously [JPEG] [JPEG] [JPEG] [JPEG] [JPEG]

Anon 1: Strange, I can see Young Master Tang and Young Master Yin’s rankings, but why can’t I see Miss Gu’s?

Anon 2: Yeah, I thought that Miss Gu would for sure be number one. Who is this Nozawa and where did he come from?

Anon 3: Nozawa, Japanese, male, 22 years old, strength at 70th floor of Trial Tower, the successor to Japan’s power world. He’s really strong, and he has countless magic weapons at his disposal!

Anon 4: Holy sh*t! 70th floor! It’s almost the same as Young Master Jiang!

Anon 5: Scary!

Anon 10: Miss Gu, why isn’t your name in the top hundred?

Anon 20: Even Young Master Tang’s placement is quite low, looks like our ancient martial arts world really has deteriorated, only three are in the top hundred.

Anon 50: This Shi Qin is actually in the top 90? Who is this guy, hurry up and find out where he’s from!

Anon 1666: I’m the host, and the ranking list which is updated on an hourly basis is now up [JPEG] [JPEG] [JPEG] [JPEG] [JPEG]

Anon 1700: Miss Gu is still not on it, what a disappointment!

Anon 1710: Miss Gu, where have you gone?

Anon 1800: What Miss Gu, I think she’s just a liar. She can’t even enter the top hundred, Miss Jiang Tong wasn’t like this last time. I’m sure there was something fishy in the way she beat Miss Jiang Tong previously!

Anon 1999: I can only say, what a big disappointment!

***

Gu Xiqiao naturally didn’t know about the dispute that was happening outside of the forest, because at this time, she was setting up a fire in Bahuang Forest. She then took out a pot to start a hot pot.

The spicy flavor of the hot pot floated tens of meters away, the top covered in a layer of bright red oil. She dipped in the paper-thin beef slices, eating it leisurely.

Here she was cooking beef on one side, while six people were having a life and death fight against a bull shaped monster the size of a car ten meters away from her.

The scene was dangerous, with Shi Qin’s sword aura flaring around, cutting down countless trees that collapsed with a loud ‘bang’.

Only Gu Xiqiao’s corner was quiet and comfortable like a scene in paradise.

Wu Hongwen, Yao Jiamu and Xiao had struggled against the beast, the three of them had not used any weapons. They used the branches that Gu Xiqiao had given them. When the six of them had first worked together and saw the dead branches that Gu Xiqiao had given them to use as weapons, Shi Qin almost thought that they had met liars instead.

Luckily, when the fight started, the three of them used the branches with astonishing skills. Although their chi couldn’t be compared to his, they had moves that were skillful and they worked well together.

Shi Qin reluctantly acknowledged them, and then it turned into pity instead.

With a flash of bright light, the bull-shaped beast was stabbed by Shi Qin’s sword, and it dissipated immediately, the energy balling up and flying into his wooden token.

On the outside of the forest, Shi Qin’s ranking went up from 97 to 89. The entire world was in an uproar.

“The three of you have a good grasp and understanding of martial arts.” Shi Qin sheathed his sword back into its hilt, turning to look at Yao Jiamu and the others. “It’s a pity that you don’t have enough chi, otherwise you wouldn’t be any weaker than me.”

“Your praise is too much.” Yao Jiamu shook his head. Gu Xiqiao had already informed them from the beginning to use their moves against the beast without any chi. The three of them had understood her intentions, so they followed her instructions. They were extremely weak because of that, but even then there were people who praised them?

Yao Jiamu he… was dumbfounded, not sure whether to laugh or cry at that.

As the two were talking, the other four had already rushed to Gu Xiqiao’s side.

“Qiao Qiao, this is delicious!” Betty picked up a pair of chopsticks, not afraid of the heat and immediately shoving a beef slice into her mouth. “Although you don’t dare to kill those mythical beasts, don’t worry! With big sister here, I’ll definitely protect you!”

When Betty and the others first saw Gu Xiqiao not doing anything, hiding the moment the beasts appeared and not daring to come out due to fear, they had been disgusted and almost wanted to break up the team.

But once they ate her hot pot… they had converted to become loyal fans of hers.

In fact, everyone here was a closet foodie.

Hearing Betty’s words, Yao Jiamu, Wu Hongwen, and Xiao Yun gave her a look.

“What are you looking at me for?” Seeing that they were looking at her weirdly, she asked, “Don’t tell me you guys don’t intend to protect Qiao Qiao?”

“Of course, of course we will!” The three of them nodded hurriedly.

Gu Xiqiao had already eaten her fill, and was leaning against a tree bark. She ignored the others talking, her eyes narrowed in a direction to her left.

A moment later, Shi Qin, who was eating his beef, stood up suddenly, a grave expression on his face. “Some other teams are heading this way!”

As soon as he said that, a group of people came over.

Betty didn’t bother at first, they had a master who had reached the 49th floor with them after all, that was their protection. Up till the person appeared in front of her, and her chopsticks clattered to the ground, together with the beef that was in it. She couldn’t care about her distress at the wasted food at the moment, as she muttered, “This… This is the person with the highest chance of getting first place, Latvia’s Felix. Sh*t, we’re done for, hurry up and run!”