Chapter 538 520: The Person Who Has Been to the Inner World

Upon hearing news of "Teacher Zhang," Gu Ming's expression changed abruptly. But he quickly suppressed his inner turmoil, his sharp gaze scrutinizing the Jiang Chen before him.

He didn't trust him.

Teacher Zhang was trapped in the Cloud Country's Inner World, a hopeless situation that even Elder Huo had been unable to ascertain.

How could Jiang Chen, a student from the Alchemy Element, possibly know his whereabouts?

'More importantly, how would he know I'm looking for Teacher Zhang?'

Very few people knew about this, and all of them were extremely close to him.

There was no way Elder Huo or Lu You would have casually leaked this information.

"You don't seem very confident about tomorrow's match?"

The look of shock and suspicion on Gu Ming's face quickly vanished. He regained his usual calm demeanor, his voice betraying no emotion.

Jiang Chen took a deep breath. He knew a single sentence wouldn't be enough to earn his trust, so he had to offer more details:

"I went to the Cloud Country a while ago."

"There... I heard someone calling for help. He was shouting many names, and yours was one of them—'Gu Ming, Qing Lake High School, Lanqi City, senior year'."

"I know you're a college freshman now, and Teacher Zhang Yunpeng went missing right around the time of the national competition last year."

"He was calling out for your help, wasn't he?"

"Is that enough information to convince you?"

Gu Ming's expression remained unchanged as he calmly shook his head.

"Not enough."

"Anyone could find out what you've just told me with a little digging online or through public records."

Jiang Chen's gaze darkened, as if he had made up his mind.

He said nothing more. With a mental command, a condensed sliver of Divine Sense floated slowly toward Gu Ming.

"So, how do you explain this memory?"

Gu Ming's gaze narrowed. He cautiously accepted the sliver of Divine Sense, enveloping it in layers of his own Spiritual Power for a thorough inspection before finally drawing it into his Sea of Consciousness.

Instantly, a blurry and oppressive scene unfolded in his mind:

Endless darkness surged like a tide, filled with indistinct figures that seemed to struggle and cry out.

The background was a chaotic din, filled with despair and pain.

Yet, amidst this wave of chaotic sound, a hoarse but incredibly familiar voice pierced through, repeatedly crying out—

"Gu Ming... Gu Ming...!"

'It's Teacher Zhang!'

'It's Teacher Zhang Yunpeng's voice!'

A violent tremor shot through Gu Ming's heart, and a shiver like an electric current coursed through his entire body.

On the eve of the international competition, Teacher Zhang had gone to the Cloud Country competition zone to scout ahead. But he was caught in the terrifying cataclysm that swept the nation, and the entire country was dragged into the Demon Fiend-infested "Inner World." All contact with him had been lost ever since.

The cry in the Divine Sense memory, with its genuine emotion and specific details—judging by Gu Ming's own Perception—had an extremely low probability of being a forgery.

The memory faded. Gu Ming looked up at Jiang Chen, the suspicion in his eyes even deeper than before.

The Cloud Country's Inner World was extraordinarily perilous. Those who ventured deep into it rarely came out alive. Survival was a miracle in itself, let alone escaping with such a clear piece of memory.

'How on earth did Jiang Chen do it?'

'Unless... his Pet Beast possesses some sort of inconceivable ability that allows it to traverse that wasteland, even in a limited capacity.'

If that were true, then his recent, rapid surge in strength and his ability to raise his Pet Beast to Four-star would have an appalling yet logical explanation for its source—exploring the Inner World.

Compared to the risks Gu Ming had taken exploring the Yichuan Ruins, the dangers Jiang Chen faced and the "opportunities" he might have gained were likely far greater, and far more bizarre.

At this thought, the credibility of Jiang Chen's words seemed to rise.

But alarm bells immediately went off in Gu Ming's mind again.

He had just received intel via Professor Weng's Future Perspective about a terrifying entity, suspected to be the "Nian Beast," lurking in the depths of the Inner World.

'If Jiang Chen frequently goes in and out of there, is he... still himself?'

'Has he been corrupted, infected, or even controlled by some unnamable Power?'

"That was the Inner World."

Gu Ming's voice was laced with unconcealed suspicion.

"How did you make it out alive?"

"Thanks to my Pet Beast and the Pills I refine."

Jiang Chen seemed to have anticipated this question and explained:

"I refine a special 'Demon Transformation Pill.' It allows my Pet Beast to temporarily mimic the aura of a Demon Fiend. Combined with a camouflage Skill at the Daoist Skill Perfection level, I'm able to just barely infiltrate the outer areas of the Cloud Country."

"My purpose is to collect the mutated medicinal ingredients that have spawned there due to the Demonization."

"The more specific details of my research are core to my thesis, so I can't elaborate further."

"After the tournament, you can read about my findings in a top-tier journal."

He paused, his tone growing more earnest as he essentially laid his cards on the table.

"Gu Ming, I know your Pet Beast is incredibly powerful."

"But I need to win this match and get the prize from the national competition. It's crucial for the next stage of my research."

Having said this much, Jiang Chen had practically bared his soul.

If Gu Ming still refused, he truly had no stronger bargaining chip to offer.

Unless he could actually bring Teacher Zhang out of the Inner World.

But if he truly possessed such god-like power, he would already be world-renowned—a target for major powers to either recruit or monitor. He wouldn't be here trying to strike a deal with Gu Ming.

Clearly, he couldn't do that.

Gu Ming's mind raced.

The very ability to travel in and out of the Demon Fiend's Inner World was hugely suspicious in itself.

He then recalled the approaching war foreseen in the "future" and how his own contact with the "Friends of Nature" might have already stirred some hidden currents.

'Could Jiang Chen be a pawn, activated ahead of schedule and aimed at me because of all this?'

'Perhaps that's being a bit self-important. The Demon Fiends wouldn't necessarily care about a mere college freshman.'

'But with his life on the line, it was better to be safe than sorry.'

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Ming slowly shook his head, his tone firm.

"Prizes are things you have to fight for with your own strength."

"Now that I'm at Wenquxing University, I have no intention of shrinking from a fight and playing the coward."

"As for the news about Teacher Zhang... I still can't trust it completely."

"However, I do thank you for bringing me this information."

Then, he changed tack and proposed another possibility:

"Regarding the 'Demon Transformation Pill' you mentioned, if you're willing to sell it, I can offer a satisfactory payment, or materials of equivalent value."

"As for the national competition prize you need, from what I know, while it is very precious, making it into the top sixteen isn't necessarily the only way to obtain it."

"It might be possible to trade for it through certain connections and favors."

Gu Ming's tone was placid, yet it carried a strange, confident calm.

Ah Ji stood in Gu Ming's shadow, watching its master. It could sense that its master had the same calm presence as his teacher.

Little did Jiang Chen know that the favors and potential resources Gu Ming had accumulated by rescuing those old professors from the Yichuan Ruins far exceeded the imagination of an ordinary person.

Core materials that even Four- and Five-star Beastmasters would have to bleed themselves dry to acquire.

In the treasured collections of those old professors, such items might just be part of their unused stock, gathering dust at the bottom of a chest.

This was the Power of connections and opportunities.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen was visibly stunned. He swallowed hard, and expressions of shock and calculation flickered across his face before finally settling into a complex, bitter smile.

He had never, ever expected Gu Ming to give him a response so completely outside of his calculations.

"I need the 'Golden Blood Dragon Crystal',"

he repeated, his voice dropping.

But his eyes remained fixed on Gu Ming.

"I'll ask around." Gu Ming nodded, not showing any sign that it would be a difficult task.

This left Jiang Chen in even greater disbelief. 'Are Gu Ming's connections really that much better than mine?'

Something a normal person would have to risk life and limb to obtain seemed, in Gu Ming's hands, to be a simple matter of asking around.