"What?! Why didn't you say that before?" Behind them was a beautiful green forest with tall trees and a breathtaking view. In front of them was now a rocky and rugged ground with tall mountains in the distance, blocking the morning sun and casting their shadows on the land. Shui Tao's voice rang across the horizon.
"Shhh! Be quiet, there might be dangerous wild beasts here!" Frowning, Chen Huan reprimanded him.
"We are on the border between the Shui tribe and the Jin tribe. Don't worry, Chen Huan. Any wild beast in this territory is carefully selected and left to populate this area on purpose by us. I know every dangerous place in this area." Shui Tao retorted. "Anyway, why didn't you mention your grandfather was an elder?" he asked her again.
"Well, does it matter? I'd still be the same person even if my grandfather were someone else." she said, looking away from him.
'So that's why she handled the creeping vine so well. Even without offensive or defensive gu worms, she managed to keep Shui Tao safe. Her grandfather must have trained her himself and expected her to have more talent than she does. When she didn't, he must have ignored her or worse...' Rue Bu thought to himself, analyzing her facial expressions and body language.
"Yes, but still..." he stopped mid-sentence when Rue Bu interjected.
"Keep quiet, Shui Tao. Chen Huan, can you use your gu and check the road ahead once more?" Rue Bu requested, glaring at Shui Tao to silence him.
'What did I do? I'm sure you want to know too.' Shui Tao thought to himself.
"Again? Are you that scared? It's just a reconnaissance mission, and as Shui Tao said, this is the Shui tribe's part of the border." Chen Huan said, still dissatisfied with Shui Tao's words.
"Chen Huan, don't be lazy. Rue Bu is right to be cautious. Don't you feel that something is wrong with this mission?" Shui Tao added.
"What is wrong?" she asked, confused.
"Firstly, even the most mundane missions in such a location would have rewards at least three times higher than this one. This suggests that the tribe intentionally lowered the rewards so no official teams would take it, wanting it to fall into the hands of students. Secondly, the mission's location is unusual. It's a cave with no particular importance for our tribe nor for the Jin tribe, as far as I know. Assigning a reconnaissance mission to such a location is very unusual." Shui Tao explained carefully.
'Was he always this insightful? I remember when I first saw him, I thought this blind-looking kid would give me the most trouble. Now look at him.' Rue Bu praised Shui Tao for noticing the obvious abnormalities with this mission.
"But why would your tribe want a more inexperienced team to take on this mission? Isn't that counterintuitive for any mission? I don't understand." Still, Chen Huan wasn't convinced.
"Hmm, I don't know either. But if there is an abnormality, then we should be more alert and focused. Even if we don't know what might lie ahead, we must be prepared for any situation." Shui Tao said firmly.
'I still don't understand why Rue Bu chose this mission. He obviously saw through what the tribe or possibly the alliance has done, and yet he chose it regardless. What is he thinking?' Shui Tao was uncertain about his tribe's or the alliance's motives and even more uncertain why Rue Bu picked this mission over others.
"Okay, enough nonsense. Chen Huan, do as I say." Rue Bu insisted.
"Fine." she finally gave in and sat down on the cold, barren ground.
'Why is the one I expected to be cooperative giving me the most trouble? Should I just do as Shui Jun did?' Rue Bu started contemplating some drastic measures. 'Maybe later. Anyway, as Shui Tao said, they lowered the rewards so no official teams would take it. They probably don't want the Jin tribe alerted by this small reconnaissance mission. This cave most definitely has something to do with the war they are planning.'
'They gave us a set of gu worms to measure the primeval energy in that cave and record our findings, which means either they are planning locations to use as camps for their troops and need a stable place, or something is going to happen in that cave that will trigger the war.' Rue Bu analyzed, explaining what Shui Tao and Chen Huan didn't understand. Chen Huan was sitting cross-legged on the ground, activating her Jumping Spider gu worm and surveying the surrounding area.
'Hmm, maybe it's a more important location to the Jin tribe, and they want to be very secretive about it. A student mission would be a sufficient disguise if the Jin tribe ever hears about this. Regardless of the reason, I need to go there and see it with my own eyes first.' he continued thinking while Chen Huan opened her eyes and nodded at him.
"Alright, let's continue. This is our last mission for today, so work hard." he encouraged them as they continued towards the location of their mission.
The cave wasn't that big. On the side of one of the mountains, it looked like a speck of dust on a dirty cloth—indistinguishable from the background unless special gu worms were used. The road they took was the easiest way to climb the mountain. It was tiring, but nothing their bodies couldn't handle. When they reached the cave's entrance, they could see the lakes and rivers belonging to the Shui tribe in the distance and even the forest they had come from in the Lin tribe's territory was barely visible from up there. The sun, previously blocked by the horizon, now shone its rays on them at the top of the mountain.
"Huff... huff... finally, this damn mountain is huge." Shui Tao complained, catching his breath.
"Shut up and prepare yourself. We aren't safe until we get back to your tribe, understand?" Rue Bu said, leading the way with Shui Tao behind him and Chen Huan further back, watching their rear. The cave was surprisingly spacious, and the ceiling was higher than they anticipated, allowing them to advance smoothly without any obstacles.
'Why is it so easy? I thought there would be a lot of narrow spaces in here, and we haven't even seen a single wild beast.' Shui Tao thought, surprised. He assumed this task wouldn't be dangerous since his own tribe intentionally lowered the rewards, but for it to be this easy? They might as well have sent mortals to do it.
'I guess mortals can't really measure the primeval energy in here, but why does the tribe want something like that anyway? There is something I'm missing, I'm certain. Does he know something? Should I ask him?' He was thinking about Rue Bu but eventually decided not to.
'Why would he know something I don't about my own tribe? I know he is smart and talented, but that's just the difference between us—talent. I don't think he knows anything. He probably expected the mission to be easy and picked it up. He is probably as confused as I am about it too. There's no need to make myself look stupid for no reason.' was his logic.
"Chen Huan?" Even though Rue Bu made sure to lower his voice, it still echoed across the empty cave, startling all of them.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down. There's still nothing in front or in the back." Chen Huan whispered.
'I already lowered it! Anyway, it's as I assumed—this mission definitely has something to do with the Jin tribe. The primeval energy in here is a lot denser than outside. There must be something here that both the Jin tribe and the alliance want. It can't be a gu worm—no gu worm would give off this much energy. Is it an inheritance? I don't know much about them, so I don't want to assume things that are wrong.' Rue Bu was already using the gu worms provided by the Shui tribe to measure the primeval energy in the cave. Even though he didn't know if the measurement was abnormal or not, he knew it was higher than outside and assumed something special was causing this elevation.
"The gu worm needs us to travel a little further to finish its recording. If anything comes up, notify me immediately, Chen Huan." Rue Bu whispered after a moment of thought.
___________________________________
"Your tribe's genius is the one that ended up taking it, Elder Ru Da. What do you think?" In the empty meeting room, the three elders of the academies stayed behind to discuss the recent events of the past two days.
"Ma Rue Bu is not a genius by any means, Elder Xin Xiao. He just has good aptitude. Regarding the mission to the location of the illuminating iron, as the alliance leaders already mentioned and as we observed, the Jin tribe won't make a move in this area around the cave to avoid drawing our attention. And neither will we. But we need to confirm the precise duration it will take for the illuminating iron to surface so we can plan better for the future." Ru Da explained his thoughts carefully.
"Don't be so modest, Elder Ru Da. Wasn't Ma Rue Bu always the number one in your academy rankings? How can you say he just has aptitude?" Lin Lou said.
"No, Elder Lin Lou, he wasn't always number one. Ma Rue Gang and Ma Long Mei have beaten him before. Anyway, what are we going to do about your troublemaker, Elder Xin Xiao?" Ru Da was starting to get angry and changed the subject.
"What do you mean? The student who got his hand severed and their other team member already said it was an accident while they were fighting a wild beast. Why is it Shui Jun's fault?" Xin Xiao gritted his teeth in anger when he heard Ru Da mention Shui Jun but still defended his student.
"Well, even if it is as you say, Elder, we must put him in a more capable team. He is clearly not up to the leadership role. What do you think, Elder Lin Lou?" Ru Da didn't back down, still wanting to "punish" Shui Jun.
"Yes, I agree. He may have superb talent, but his leadership and teamwork are clearly lacking. Any D-grade student would be in grave danger in a team with him, Elder Xin Xiao. For our students' safety, you should give us some face." Lin Lou said with an ugly expression. The student whose hand was severed was from the Lin tribe, and it would be impossible to grow it back without using a high-level gu worm. But who would waste such a gu on a useless student? So Lin Lou was furious but acted calm as his tribe leader instructed.
"Hmph, fine." Xin Xiao wasn't happy at all. 'That brat is so incompetent. Now his new team's rank won't be as high as the other talented students. I didn't know he was so dense. Did he really think the missions were all there was to this? I hope he betters himself in the future, or else even the tribe leader won't be able to do anything about it.' He gritted his teeth and stayed silent. Despite thinking highly of him because of his high aptitude, he knew something like this would happen eventually due to his awful personality.
"Good, it's decided then. Guards! Go and search for Shui Jun and bring him here immediately." Lin Lou addressed the Lin tribe's guards.
"Yes, Elder Lin Lou!" The two guards responded and then vanished on the spot.
'That's one out of the competition. Even though he has the most aptitude, he lacks talent in other areas and will be a nuisance to manage in the future. He provided us with the best opportunity, and our tribe's students will be able to take more benefits at the end of this competition.' Lin Lou thought. Thanks to Ru Da's quick thinking and Shui Jun's incompetence, they managed to remove an obstacle to their talented students.
They continued to discuss other students' performances. Even though Xin Xiao tried to do the same to their students, none of them did anything major like Shui Jun, and he failed in the end.
___________________________________
Meanwhile, in the dense forest at the border between the Lin tribe and the Shui tribe, Rue Bu and Chen Huan were heading back. They had already finished the mission and received their rewards. Shui Tao went back home, and the two of them were heading back too. 'I'm quite disappointed. The cave didn't have anything special. I searched every corner of it and even asked for Chen Huan's help, but we still didn't find anything. Did it really have something to do with the Jin tribe? Or did some idiot refiner just want to study the cave?' Rue Bu was frustrated. He expected to find something—anything—in that cave that would give him a clue, but in the end, he left empty-handed.
*SCREECH* *SCREECH*
"Chen Huan!" His train of thought was cut off by the screeching he heard, and he immediately called for Chen Huan.
"On it!" she responded.
'I hope it's not something targeting us.' The screeching was still distant, and he could tell it wasn't coming closer, but it's better to get a second opinion.
"Damn it!" Chen Huan's face suddenly lost color and turned pale.
"What's wrong? Should we go faster or change directions?" Rue Bu asked, worried about what she was going to say.
"Neither," she gritted her teeth and said after a while. "We should go in that direction." pointing toward where the screeching was coming from.
"What?!" Rue Bu was confused.