As time passes by, a month has flown by in an instant.
When a new day arrives, the atmosphere on the periphery of Jinshi Mountain suddenly becomes rather different.
A month ago, many elders of Leiyun Academy stationed themselves here. During this month, although the elders seemed to be staying comfortably in tents and cultivating, in fact, they have been worried about their respective disciples all along.
Everyone knows that the interior of Jinshi Mountain is not a paradise. Once inside, various uncertainties are hard to predict, and the threat of life is always present. If one is not careful, one may lose one's life.
Especially a few days ago, continuous roars of beasts came from the depths of Jinshi Mountain. Some roars were extremely terrifying. Even they did not dare to be negligent. If it weren't for the fact that the dean of Leiyun Academy, Feng Qian Gu, was sitting in the central tent and strictly forbade anyone from entering Jinshi Mountain, they would probably have rushed in long ago.
Early in the morning, the elders couldn't sit still. When the sun climbed above the horizon, one elder-level powerhouse after another walked out of the tents and waited outside Jinshi Mountain almost simultaneously, hoping that their disciples could return safely.
"This month has really been a bit hard. I wonder how my two disappointing disciples are doing now."
"Who says it isn't? A few days ago, when we heard the continuous roars of beasts from the depths of Jinshi Mountain, it seemed that spiritual-rank magical beasts were disturbed. If we encounter spiritual-rank magical beasts, any disciple would probably find it difficult to escape. I just hope our disciples aren't so unlucky."
"Alas, to be honest, if I had known it was so dangerous, I wouldn't have let those two little guys participate in this grand competition. Anyway, with the disciples of the three elders participating, it is basically hopeless for our disciples to get a good ranking."
"That can't be said either. Although the disciples of the three elders are strong, they are still vulnerable in the face of spiritual-rank magical beasts. Look, which of those three isn't forcing a smile? I don't believe they aren't worried."
Several elders stood together chatting. While talking, they all cast their gazes not far away. There, the grand elder and the third elder were chatting and laughing at this time. They seemed very relaxed. But to those with discerning eyes, it was obvious that they were just pretending to be calm at this moment.
The second elder who was talking to Elder Yan at the side also had a deep look of solemnity in his eyes, not at all as relaxed as he appeared.
"Elder Yan, don't worry too much. Your disciple is in the team of my boys. There will definitely be no danger. You can just put your heart in your stomach!"
The second elder always had a smile on his face, which was in sharp contrast to Elder Yan opposite. In fact, during this whole month, Elder Yan's face had never shown a smile. At this final moment, his mood was even more tense. It was impossible for him to pretend even if he wanted to.
"Alas, this is indeed my fault. I really shouldn't have let Xiao'er participate in this grand competition." With a sigh, Yan Zhongshan's mood did not become relaxed at all because of the second elder's comfort. Because he knew very well that Yun Xiao's strength was too weak. Once in danger, others would probably find it difficult to protect themselves. How could they have the energy to take care of Yun Xiao?
"Second elder, if Xiao'er can return safely this time, I will definitely prepare a generous gift to thank the second elder and those children." He could only hope that He Bi and others could take good care of Yun Xiao. After all, as the seventh-ranked expert on the Destiny Ranking, He Bi's strength was still quite remarkable.
"Where are your words coming from, Elder Yan? Do we still need to be so polite? When he heard Yan Zhongshan's words, the second elder waved his hand as if he didn't want to accept the other party's thanks. However, the fleeting glimmer in his eyes still betrayed his true intentions.
In Leiyun Academy, on the surface, the three elders are noble and righteous, but everyone knows that these three are simply profit-seeking. If you ask them to do something without giving benefits, it is simply asking for trouble.
"Hahaha, Elder Yan, I don't think you need to prepare any generous gifts. Maybe your disciple has already been digested into feces by magical beasts and has become fertilizer for spiritual herbs by now. Hahaha!"
Just as the two were talking, the grand elder and the third elder came to them at some point. The one who spoke was the third elder, Xu Ming. This third elder of Leiyun Academy was extremely unrestrained. The words he said were extremely unpleasant.
"Xu Ming, you are also of an advanced age. How can the words you say stink like farts?" Hearing the words of the third elder, the second elder, who had always been at odds with him, frowned and retorted bluntly without hesitation.
He had always been on the opposite side of the grand elder and the third elder and was not afraid of offending people.
"Second elder, you are wrong. The third elder is one of the three main elders of Leiyun Academy after all. Your blunt insult is really unworthy of your status as the second elder."
The grand elder, Lin Zhengshan, also stepped forward at this time and undoubtedly stood on the side of the third elder, jointly squeezing the second elder.
"Hehe, it doesn't matter. The second elder can say whatever makes him comfortable. However, when your disciples fail to bring back the little guy under Elder Yan, I'd like to see what else you can say."
With a curl of his lips, the third elder was not angry because of the second elder's words. They had been exchanging sarcasm and opposing each other for so long that they didn't care about this one more time.
In fact, he had long informed his disciples to take special care of Yun Xiao. He believed that in this whole month, Yun Xiao would definitely be calculated to death by his disciples. Even if he didn't die, he would probably be left with only half his life.
"Thank you, Grand Elder and Third Elder, for your concern. However, you two should still be concerned about your own disciples. Obviously, a spiritual-rank magical beast has been disturbed in the depths of Jinshi Mountain this time. You two should pray that it is not your disciples who have encountered the spiritual-rank magical beast. Otherwise, you two might have to train new disciples."
Yan Zhongshan's expression changed again and again, but he did not turn against the grand elder and the third elder. However, his few words made the smiles on the faces of both the grand elder and the third elder freeze slightly, and they no longer had that extremely arrogant posture.
"Look, look, someone is coming out..."
At this moment, an elder with sharp eyes vaguely saw someone moving in the direction of Jinshi Mountain and subconsciously exclaimed.
"Hmm?"
Hearing this elder's shout, all the elders stopped chatting. Even the three elders were no exception and all looked towards Jinshi Mountain.
Sure enough, as the elders looked towards Jinshi Mountain, no less than thirty young people divided into several groups just walked out of Jinshi Mountain. Everyone looked rather disheveled.
"That's my disciple Li Xiang? Hahaha, this kid has come out alive!!!"
As the thirty or so young people got closer, the elders quickly recognized these people's appearances. At this time, an elder found his disciple among the crowd and couldn't help laughing out loud.
In this grand competition, at first, everyone was looking forward to their disciples getting a good ranking. But in the end, what everyone actually cared about the most was whether their disciples could walk out alive. After all, the environment inside Jinshi Mountain was extremely dangerous. Being able to survive was the greatest success.
Among the thirty or so young people, only one was a disciple of an elder. The rest were just ordinary disciples. Except for the elder who saw his disciple, the other elders all curled their lips and showed disappointment.
The three elders were also looking for their own disciples. Seeing that there were no disciples of their own among the first wave of people who came out, the worry in their eyes became even more intense. Because according to their thinking, their disciples should be the ones to return in the first wave. After all, their disciples were powerful and by no means comparable to other teams.
Elder Yan also couldn't help showing disappointment on his face. But he had always had a gloomy face, so it was hard for outsiders to see his psychological changes at this moment.
The grand elder and the third elder also had no mood to mock others. Not seeing their disciples among the first wave of returning disciples, they were both worried and afraid that their disciples might have had an accident.
All the elders stared at the periphery of Jinshi Mountain, hoping to see familiar figures. Soon, groups of Leiyun Academy disciples returned one after another. Many disciples of the elders showed up one after another, making those elders smile happily. While those elders who still didn't see their own people were sweating in their palms and had no mood to say another word.
"Look, another group of people is coming out. There are a lot of them this time."
As they were talking, a large group of a hundred people came out in a mighty way. This time, there were a large number of people. There were twenty or so teams in total. Seeing such a group of people, the eyes of all the elders lit up and they quickly searched for the figures of their own people.
"Hmm? Hahaha, it's He Bi and Yu Meng and them. My disciple has returned!!!"
Loud laughter suddenly rang out among the many elders, startling everyone present. Looking in the direction of the laughter, everyone realized that it was Elder Qi Changhai, the second elder. Obviously, it must be the disciples under the second elder who walked out of Jinshi Mountain.
"Congratulations, Second Elder. The disciples of the second elder have returned triumphantly and must have reaped a lot."
"Yes, yes. The disciples of the second elder are all outstanding people. They will definitely come out on top this time..."
Those who were good at judging the situation immediately started flattering as if they had seen their own disciples walk out of Jinshi Mountain.
"Hahaha, of course my disciples can achieve something. In this grand competition, my disciples will definitely come out on top." Hearing the flattery of the people around him, the second elder suddenly felt a sense of elation. "Grand Elder, Third Elder, my disciples have come out. Why haven't I seen your disciples? Could it be that they were eaten by magical beasts? Hahaha!!"
"Hmph, it's just that they came out earlier. What's there to be arrogant about?" Seeing the second elder's smug look, the grand elder and the third elder had livid faces but had nothing to say.
"Hmph, if you have the ability, let your disciples come out earlier?" With a cold snort, the second elder who had the upper hand showed no mercy. "Elder Yan, I said earlier that there's no need to worry. Look, aren't they coming out fine... Uh!"
Turning around, the second elder was about to comfort Elder Yan. However, when he looked at Elder Yan, he found that the other party's face was pale. There was not a hint of happiness at all?
His expression shook. Only then did he realize that it seemed that he had only seen He Bi, Yu Meng, and Wei Suo just now. There was no sign of Yun Xiao at all. And even more crucial was that he seemed to have overlooked an extremely important person.
"What's going on? Why haven't I seen Qingqing?"
Looking at the people slowly walking out of the forest again, he realized that although his disciples had entered the mountain in groups of four, only three had come out at the moment. The most important daughter of the master of Leiyun Prefecture was now nowhere to be seen. As for Yun Xiao, he didn't even think about it at this moment.
His face suddenly turned pale. This time, he couldn't laugh anymore. With a movement of his feet, he directly went forward to meet He Bi and the other three, completely disregarding the gazes of the people around him.
"It seems that something is wrong. Why is the second elder in such a hurry?"
"Didn't you hear? The young lady of the master of Leiyun Prefecture hasn't come out. Something seems to have happened!"
"Gasp, the daughter of the master of Leiyun Prefecture? Right. It seems that only He Bi, Yu Meng, and Wei Suo were seen. The young lady of Leiyun Prefecture was not seen. Yun Xiao, the personal disciple of Elder Yan, is also missing."
"Who cares about Elder Yan's disciple? If something happens to the daughter of the master of Leiyun Prefecture, Leiyun Academy will be affected."
"Let's go, let's go quickly and see what exactly happened."
People are all curious. At this time, hearing that Lei Qingqing hadn't come out of Jinshi Mountain, everyone wanted to know what had happened. While talking, all the elders stepped forward one after another, wanting to know the inside story as soon as possible.
The grand elder and the third elder looked at each other and saw a strange look in each other's eyes. Then they also followed everyone and went forward. For a moment, He Bi and the other three suddenly became the focus of everyone, and they were really in the limelight for a while.