Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

"My conclusion is quite simple." After gazing for a moment, Chen Lingyun smiled and said, "We should first explore that thatched cottage."

"The reason?" Yan Yu asked.

"The Mysterious Realm isn't naturally formed but man-made," Chen Lingyun said leisurely, "Let's assume there's a master of this realm who wishes to reside here for a long time. Would they choose to live in a building or, like a wild beast, reside in the forest?"

"See, I told you this realm is kindergarten level," Yan Yu said, turning around satisfied and spreading his hands to the others, "There's no difficulty in either exploration and puzzle solving or combat."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Don't forget, a group of military cultivators disappeared here before us," Lin Ning quickly reminded him, "Saying 'there's no difficulty at all' might be an overstatement, right?"

The three military cultivators fell silent upon hearing this. Although the young girl was just stating facts, why did we still feel humiliated?

"Ahem." As a representative of the military cultivators, Jiang Weiming had to stiffen his upper lip and try to save face, "The tree demon we just dealt with, if we hadn't known the corresponding intelligence and hadn't formulated targeted tactics, it would actually have been tough.

From this, we can infer that the previous group of missing military cultivators likely encountered an unknown demon and suffered from a lack of experience."

"That's right," Yan Yu spoke earnestly to the girls, "So remember, folks! From now on, no matter what kind of enemy we face, we must carry out pre-combat reconnaissance and devise the appropriate tactics in advance; otherwise, this will be our fate."

Jiang Weiming: ......

He felt even more frustrated.

He really wanted to argue, "We military cultivators do carry out reconnaissance, all right?" but the fact of the previous group's disappearance was right there. It was unclear whether they had performed their pre-combat scouting, and Captain Jiang couldn't clarify.

Or rather, even if he insisted "They definitely scouted," if someone asked, "Oh, then why did they still disappear?" he still wouldn't have an answer and would only be mocked for being a stubborn dead duck.

"Let's not talk about that for now," Wei Yun hurriedly interjected, saving the situation, "We have to search for the missing cultivators and complete the exploration of the Mysterious Realm. The tasks are arduous, so let's quickly arrange our next steps."

"Now that we've confirmed the surrounding environmental terrain, we have two choices moving forward," Yan Yu also smoothly transitioned to the main topic, "One is to start a grid search here to find the missing cultivators; the other is to explore that building to see if we can find the control center of the Mysterious Realm. Any thoughts?"

Everyone looked at each other, thinking, isn't it obvious?

Looking down from the mountaintop, vast expanses of forest in every direction, how long would a grid search take? And how many demons encountered will have to be fought?

But if they found the control center of the Mysterious Realm and took control of it first, the difficulty of any subsequent actions would collectively decrease by a level.

According to the intelligence provided by Mei Yingxue, once the control center was refined, it would be akin to becoming the master of the realm... If the Mysterious Realm were compared to a chat group, then the master of the realm would be the group admin.

With management authority in hand, searching for people or removing them would be much easier.

"Let's explore that building first," Yan Yu waved grandly, decisively making the decision.

With the new route set, everyone leapt down from the mountaintop.

Yan Yu freefell through the air, and just before hitting the ground, he calmly activated the Cloud Ascension Technique to brake, then landed steadily on the ground.

Next to land was Zhao Yuanzhen. As a Demonic Sect Enchantress accustomed to Sword Control Technique, her ability to grasp distance and timing was naturally strong.

When the two of them looked up again, they saw the others were using the Cloud Ascension Technique throughout, moving slowly downward.

Zhao Yuanzhen yawned broadly while Yan Yu continued to watch above, not in a hurry to urge them, but stood by with folded arms waiting.

Although he was silent, the very act of standing and waiting at the end point was a form of silent urging, wasn't it?

Lin Ning couldn't hold back first, interrupting her Cloud Ascension Technique and freefalling with gravity, then at the right moment, she quickly activated the technique again, landing perfectly unharmed.

A flawless landing!

Continue reading at empire

She looked up somewhat proudly, only to find that neither of them was paying her any attention, which made her feel both embarrassed and awkward.

To relieve her embarrassment, Lin Ning found a topic to ask, "Yan Yu, you said this realm is kindergarten difficulty, so where would the difficulty lie in exploring future realms?"

"Uh," Yan Yu took a moment to think before answering, "Actually, exploration of a realm without competitors is basically not difficult at all. No matter how the realm is designed, it's ultimately inanimate, and we can always find a way to deal with it."

"That's true," Zhao Yuanzhen agreed, "The real challenge isn't the realm, it's the people."

Lin Ning silently lowered her head to ponder.

So it's like in games, no matter how hard PvE is, we can always find a guide, but the ever-changing nature of PvP is the real challenge... Is that what it means?

Yan Yu gave Zhao Yuanzhen a look, meaning could you tone it down a bit and stop acting like an experienced senior? Have you forgotten who you are?

Zhao Yuanzhen froze for a moment, then his face immediately showed annoyance:

"So, officials are allowed to start fires, but common people can't even light a lamp?"

Yan Yu nonchalantly mouthed the words: Mei Yingxue.

Zhao Yuanzhen fell silent, but he seethed inwardly:

"Today this little thief shows off, and he doesn't allow me to do the same, I'll remember this grudge. If there's a next time, when I turn the tables and call the shots, I'll make him…"

Hmm?

"How should I get back at him though?"

"Show off in front of him fiercely, while not allowing him to do the same? That sounds kind of stupid."

The Demonic Sect Enchantress fell into a wordless contemplation.

A moment later, Chen Lingyun was the fourth to descend, smiling and speaking to Yan Yu:

"You're still as fast as ever."

Yan Yu could naturally catch the implication in her words and countered:

"What were you waiting for up there, taking your sweet time? Foreplay?"

Lin Ning: ?

"Stop!" she shouted in embarrassment, "No dirty jokes allowed!"

"What dirty jokes?" Zhao Yuanzhen asked, frowning.

Lin Ning didn't know how to explain, so she said sternly with a straight face:

"Just that they're not allowed, that's all."

After a while, Su Yunjin finally landed, followed by three military cultivators. They only deactivated their Cloud Ascension Technique and jumped down when they saw that they were not far from the ground.

"Sorry for being late," Su Yunjin said with embarrassment.

"No problem," Yan Yu waved it off nonchalantly, "Let's go."

The group continued on their swift journey. Su Yunjin seemed to be trailing behind, appearing somewhat downcast.

Chen Lingyun noticed from the corner of her eye and quietly moved closer to walk alongside her.

"Ling Yun," Su Yunjin asked softly and awkwardly, "am I slowing you all down?"

"Hmm..." Chen Lingyun paused for a moment, then said with a beaming smile, "Not at all."

"If we really have to worry about that, to be honest, we're all dragging him down."

"Him?" Su Yunjin paused, "You mean the captain."

"But I think he doesn't mind," Chen Lingyun continued with a smile, "because we're bound to catch up sooner or later."

"And if we can't catch up?" Su Yunjin was still a bit melancholic, "What I mean is… what if, no matter how hard I try, I can't keep up with the pace of your progress?"

"If that's the case, then you'd just have to voluntarily leave the team," Chen Lingyun said with a mischievous smile.

Su Yunjin immediately showed a look of terror as if the sky had fallen.

"However," Chen Lingyun enjoyed her reaction long enough before she continued comforting her, "Yun Jin, your concerns are probably unnecessary."

"Because, you see, if you truly were a person of mediocrity, Yan Yu wouldn't have allowed you to join the team from the start."

"But what if he was wrong?" Su Yunjin murmured.

"Whether his judgment of people is accurate or not is something no one can determine," Chen Lingyun said slowly, "The only one who can prove it is you."