Zhou Leng and Xu Qingjin walked to the amusement park, bought game tokens, and played a co-op game together.

It wasn't until evening, after sending Xu Qingjin back to her dorm, that Zhou Leng remembered something very important.

He had five tickets in his hand.

One for Zhang Xinglie, one for Rao Mingxian, one for Li Yuanhe, and one for himself.

The last one was originally for Instructor Deng Zhijue, but he hadn't formed the Mountain of Will shadow and couldn't enter.

He later asked Shanhe Yuan, who was quite interested, but worried it might conflict with the Ten Realms Youth Battle, so he decided to forgo participating in the Ancient River Trial.

"Other people..."

Zhou Leng thought about it, realizing he did have other friends, but either they weren't strong enough, like Hu Yi and Feng Wenhao, or the relationship wasn't close enough.

As Zhou Leng ran toward Xiaoru Village, he pondered.

At the foot of the mountain, flipping through Martial Faith's contacts list, he suddenly stopped.

A smiling old man's icon appeared before his eyes.

Zhou Leng recalled Elder Song Juesi's words.

Failing to climb the starry sky, turn to mountaineering instead.

Zhang Xinglie even mentioned that when it comes to martial arts comprehension, Song Juesi might be above him.

Zhou Leng sent an invitation for a call.

"Hello, Zhou Leng."

"Elder Song, it's me. Your Mountain of Will has probably reached the Rock Realm, right?"

"Naihai."

"Ah? You're really amazing, Elder."

First Realm Rock, Second Realm Vajra, Third Realm is Naihai.

Not to mention Grandmasters, even some Martial Saint Demigods don't achieve the Third Realm Naihai in Spiritual Will.

The higher the Spirit Realm, the harder it is to advance.

"That's my only strong point," Song Juesi said self-deprecatingly.

"I have an extra Ancient River Trial ticket here. The trial requires a Martial Arts Will realm, but no strict requirement for martial prowess. Your combat strength surely isn't weaker than the Body Refining Stage, nearly at the early Life Force, so I thought you might give it a try."

"The Ancient River Ruins trial? I've heard of it but don't know how it works."

"The Ancient River Sect is a Starfield Martial Arts Sect..."

After Zhou Leng gave a brief introduction, he concluded, "Even the Blood of Tyranny is going, which shows how significant this ruin is. Since you're free anyway, why not take a look? You might find some inspiration."

"I'm actually not very interested; been ages since I last took part in any trials. But I trust your judgment. Alright! When are we going?"

"Preferably tomorrow, the sooner we reach the Ancient River Ruins, the better."

"I'll try to go early."

"By the way, if someone asks how my and other friends' Ancient River Ruins tickets came about, help cover for me, just say it's an unregistered ticket from a friend of yours."

"No problem."

Ending the call, Zhou Leng first posted a group message in the "Ancient River Sect Disciples Group," then messaged Zhang Xinglie, Li Yuanhe, and Rao Mingxian individually, urging them to get to the Ancient River Ruins tomorrow, the sooner the better.

"I can't make it tomorrow; I might arrive in Rucheng the day after. See you at the ruins," Zhang Xinglie said.

"Call me tomorrow, we'll go together," Rao Mingxian replied.

Li Yuanhe's tone carried a bit of lament.

"You're the one, really. I tried to get a ticket through connections. At first, it was all set, but suddenly a lot more people wanted tickets, and I lost mine. I can't go tomorrow; the earliest is the day after."

Zhou Leng ran to the Fierce Beast World, not finding Huang and Xiaoba.

He divided the cooked food into two piles, placing them under the Frost Giant Tree.

Addressing Elder Tree, Zhou Leng said, "The small pile is for Huang, not too salty, the big pile is for Xiaoba. Please help watch that Huang doesn't eat too much, a little is fine."

After tidying the surroundings a bit, he collected the Star Conch and other items and cultivated under the Frost Giant Tree.

After cultivation, he entered Mammoth Lake to sleep, healing minor body injuries.

The next day, Zhou Leng posted a long-term travel update on his social media, reminded Xu Qingjin a few times, and prepared with Rao Mingxian to go buy bus tickets at the station.

Nearby railroads were all destroyed, making train travel impossible.

After running for a while, Zhou Leng said, "The roads might not be repaired, and taking a vehicle could be slower. Why don't we just run the whole way there? I checked; the Ancient River Ruins are between the West Sea Demon City and Tai Lake, just over 200 kilometers."

"Sure, it'll be good training."

"Let's go."

Both opened the navigation, maintaining a running speed of about 70 kilometers per hour, heading southward.

After crossing the Yangtze River Bridge and as the sun reached its peak, they arrived at the Ancient River Ruins.

They stopped and looked ahead.

Tall watchtowers stood within the walls, with barbed wire surrounding the tops.

Large red letters were painted on the wall.

Military zone, strictly no entry.

On the gate at the end of the road, golden letters were embedded.

Ancient River Ruins Research Institute.

The two walked to the gate, showed their demonized watches for unregistered electronic tickets, filled out a simple form, and went inside.

Zhou Leng called Zhao Nandi, and soon enough, Zhao Nandi rushed over.

Her smooth black hair flowed down, with a blue jumpsuit underneath, wearing a white lab coat over it, covered in dust.

Her face was tired, but her eyes shone brightly.

No makeup adorned her face, no lipstick touched her lips, yet she was as radiant as light itself.

Rao Mingxian's eyes widened, whispering, "Is your Teacher this beautiful?"

"Hmm."

"What a show-off..." Rao Mingxian hurriedly tidied his clothes, barely stopping short of checking himself in the mirror.

Zhao Nandi approached, and Rao Mingxian stepped forward with a smile and bowed slightly, saying, "Hello, Teacher Zhao, I'm Rao Mingxian, a good friend of Zhou Leng."

Upon hearing the surname Rao, Zhao Nandi seemed to ponder for a moment, gently nodded his head, maintaining his usual serious demeanor, even displaying a hint of aloofness.

Turning his head towards Zhou Leng, his eyebrows curved slightly, his gaze softened.

"Come on, I've arranged a dorm for you right next to mine. First, let's go check out the research results..." Zhao Nandi turned to look at Rao Mingxian, saying, "You're Xiaorao, right? Head over to the check-in first; I'll come find you once Zhou Leng and I are done."

"Yes." Rao Mingxian had no intention of refusing, fully immersed in thoughts of why he didn't have such a beautiful teacher himself.

He stood there in a daze, watching their figures grow distant.

"What's making them so busy..." Tangled in his thoughts, Rao Mingxian shook his head and proceeded to check in by himself.

Zhao Nandi led Zhou Leng through numerous gates, past several excavation sites, and into a brightly lit large workshop.

At the center of the workshop was a vast excavation site, where several dozen people were carefully digging at the Ancient River Ruins in a large, deep pit about four or five meters wide.

Zhao Nandi, full of vigor, said as he walked, "This is pit number 34 at the Ancient River Ruins. Quite a few fine things have been unearthed. Let me take you to see..."

The two descended into the pit and approached a table, which was set up with some recently unearthed items.

"Look, here's a complete porcelain vase, very rare. Judging by its style, it's closer to our Eastern culture, matching past hypotheses. The Ancient River Sect culture seems to share origins with ours..."

"Also, these nameplates are all written in Divine Text, though, unfortunately, they've suffered damage over time..."

"This is a broken sword made of a material different from any known metal, seemingly altered by external forces. Sadly, it's heavily corroded and rusted, so it can't be considered a Starry Sky Weapon..."

Zhao Nandi introduced each item, while Zhou Leng listened intently, occasionally offering his own insights.

Zhou Leng had a deep understanding of Divine Text, and every time he hit the key points, Zhao Nandi nodded repeatedly, filled with enthusiasm.

Other archaeological personnel occasionally glanced up at the two, then at each other, eyes filled with astonishment.

This newcomer, the so-called Cold Beauty, how is she getting along so well with a young boy, possibly a boyfriend?

What was more surprising, though, was Zhao Nandi's vast knowledge of Divine Text, a subject that usually lost most researchers within just a few exchanges.

For someone to converse freely with Zhao Nandi, they would have typically been an elderly expert with white hair.

This young man, surprisingly, could chat eloquently with Zhao Nandi.

Zhao Nandi took Zhou Leng for a full tour, thoroughly introducing everything.

Zhou Leng had already reviewed the relevant images from the Ancient River Ruins Research Institute. Being versed in Divine Text, having been through the Ancient River Illusion Realm, he frequently discovered details others overlooked.

Occasionally, Zhao Nandi would hear significant information, unable to hide his delight, hastily jotting it down for future research.

"I told you, you're naturally gifted in learning Divine Text! You, as my student, I'm definitely taking you in—no one can snatch you away!"

The more Zhao Nandi looked at Zhou Leng, the more agreeable he found him. Never before had someone of a similar age kept pace in conversation.

The two continued to exchange ideas until evening, then joined others to have dinner at the cafeteria.

Even on the way, they never forgot to chat about the Ancient River Ruins.

Inside the cafeteria, they found a corner to sit, eating and talking simultaneously.

In the cafeteria, Rao Mingxian was dining with others, occasionally casting a resentful glance toward Zhou Leng.

A friend who values beauty over friendship.

Here, he met some familiar faces from Rucheng, sparing him from loneliness.

Suddenly, he and his table companions paused altogether.

Someone approached Zhou Leng's table, laughing, "Senior Brother, you arrived so early?"

Zhou Leng looked up and nodded, seeing it was Zhang Feng, "Yes, I came early. This is Zhang Feng, who entered the Ancient River Illusion Realm with me. This is my Divine Text teacher, Zhao Nandi."

"Hello, Teacher Zhao," Zhang Feng greeted politely.

Zhao Nandi gave a slight nod in response.

Zhang Feng smiled, "I'll leave you to it then; we'll talk when all of us brethren gather."

"Alright."

Zhang Feng walked away, and Zhou Leng continued eating as Zhao Nandi kept speaking.

Raomingxian and a few friends exchanged glances.

"Who is that person, being addressed as Senior Brother by Zhang Feng?"

"He looks just over twenty, while Zhang Feng must be at least twenty-five or six."

"Zhang Feng's father is the Great Innate, potentially a Grandmaster."

Rao Mingxian was silent for a moment before saying, "That person is Zhou Leng, we came together, fourth in the Qi Blood Realm."

"Zhou Leng from Ruda Village? But it's unlikely he'd be Zhang Feng's senior brother..."

Rao Mingxian sighed and said, "I'm not sure of all the details, but I can give you the gist. Previously, Zhou Leng and Zhang Feng were escorting the Ancient River Jade Stele..."

After briefly explaining, others both envied Zhou Leng and sympathized with Rao Mingxian.

"You were a bit unlucky. If you had gone with Zhou Leng, your gains might have been vast."

"Sigh..." Rao Mingxian sighed once more.

After finishing his meal with Zhao Nandi, Zhou Leng and his teacher returned to the ruins for more excavation, research, discussion, and learning together.

Rao Mingxian shook his head helplessly and resumed his chat with friends.

"Xiaoxian?" A group approached him.

Rao Mingxian turned around and hurriedly stood up, along with his friends.

"Second Brother," Rao Mingxian greeted with a smile.

Rao Mingxian's friends looked at the person, a famous son from the Rao Family of Rucheng, named Rao Mingxing. Though his abilities were average, he was known for his camaraderie and had a good reputation in Rucheng.

"I heard you've been making swift progress lately, entering the early stage of Life Force?" Rao Mingxing asked.

"Just recently advanced, I can't compare to Second Brother and Big Brother," Rao Mingxian replied humbly.

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