I Am Overlord

With Baili Yixiao saying his piece, the others had no choice but to respect his opinion, Xiang Shaoyun included. 

Xiang Shaoyun intended to throw a few more insults at Huang Tianji, but Yu Ziyang spoke before he had the chance. "Baili Yixiao is right. We won't know what's hidden behind the secret door. The more help we get, the more strength we will have. As for the actual share of the treasures, it will depend on our capabilities."

Those words were obviously his way of extending a kind gesture to Huang Tianji. After going through the secret door, he would have an ally by his side, and he would have a greater chance at getting the treasures inside. He was confident Huang Tianji would know what to do then.

"Cut the nonsense. Take the keys out," said Zhan Wushuang impatiently.

They each took out their respective key.

Swish! Swish!

All five stone keys started shining radiantly. The rays of light seemed to blend together as the five keys flew away from their hands and fused into a brand new stone key. The new stone key shone dazzlingly as it soared into the sky. Everyone still remaining in the battleground saw it. The key then flew in a certain direction.

"Follow it!" Lei Bao shouted.

Everyone followed the key, their eyes filled with expectation. They couldn't wait to see the secret hidden behind the door. At this time, numerous figures were rushing rapidly toward the key from different corners of the battleground.

One of them was dressed in a black outfit and mounted on a black qilin. He moved the fastest among the ones chasing the key. In a few seconds, he greatly shortened his distance and approached the key from far away.

"For it to create such a fuss in the battleground, a big secret is definitely being unveiled," muttered the youth in black excitedly.

In a different direction, a youth in green was also rushing toward the key. A green sword hung on his back, and each step he took brought him hundreds of meters forward. The devilish plants around him were all moving out of his way for some reason. Anyone witnessing this sight would be thoroughly shocked.

These plants would usually attack anyone they saw. Who was this youth in green, for him to make these plants avoid him? 

From yet another direction was a specter-like figure. The figure ran without stop, his entire body radiating a sinister aura that looked like numerous skulls were floating around him. He wore a ghostface mask with a female captive in hand. His evil laugh resounded in the forest as he traveled.

If the Overlord Legion were there, they would be able to see that the woman was none other than Lady Shura, who had been missing all this while. Currently, she was unconscious. Fortunately, her clothes still seemed intact. But if nobody appeared to save her, it was obvious things wouldn't end well for her.

Quite a lot of people still remained on the battleground. They all wanted to reach the bright radiance, but they needed to first break free of whatever situation they were tangled in first.

The completed key reached a nearby forest. Within the forest was a huge boulder overrun with moss. The boulder looked completely ordinary, yet it suddenly shone brightly. A slit opened in it, a slit with the exact shape as the key. The key then shot toward the slit.

Rumble! Rumble!

Abruptly, the radiance surrounding the boulder intensified. It started splitting into two. The ground under their feet opened up, slowly revealing a gorge radiating an ancient aura. From far away, it was as if the mountain had split apart. It was a peculiar sight.

As for the disciples that were there, their eyes were wide open and filled with excitement. Their heartbeats accelerated.

"Is this the secret door? There must be a lot of treasures waiting for us inside!"

"Is this the battleground's ultimate secret? It will definitely help us grow stronger!"

"I keep having a feeling that the treasures can't be gained so easily. I'm afraid dreadful dangers are waiting for us inside. We need to be careful."

"Whatever. The treasures are mine! Charge!"

...

Before the mountain finished opening up, some people were already charging forward and roaring madly. The others weren't able to keep calm either. They all rushed toward the split with all their strength, afraid that others would reap the treasures before them.

Some of the Overlord Legion members also couldn't control themselves and charged forward. Xiang Shaoyun commanded with a deep tone, "Everyone, don't move without orders, or suffer the consequences for disobedience."

Xiang Shaoyun still maintained his rationality. He was able to sense that the fissure was not as simple as it seemed. Sure enough, those charging ahead of them were directly sent flying away by the powerful aura roiling out of the fissure.

"Roar!" "Hreeee!"

Two different sounds rumbled out of the fissure. A dragon rushed out with its fangs bared and claws brandished. A phoenix also flew out with its wings opened wide. This was the scene of a conflict between a dragon and a phoenix.

The scene made the disciples finally feel that the battleground was compatible with its name, the Dragon Pheonix Battleground.

The disciples grew even more excited. They suspected that perhaps a large amount of dragon liquid and phoenix bladders were waiting for them within the fissure. Those were rare treasures that could greatly increase a cultivator's strength.

But after the dragon and phoenix appeared, a large number of odd vines crawled out of the crack. They were scarlet red, looking like blood tentacles. They also had numerous eyes and exuded a blood-red devilish aura that gave off a monstrous sensation.

In addition to them, a withered tree suddenly grew, its dried branches spreading everywhere. It radiated an extremely peculiar ash-gray aura. One ought to know that although withered trees could still grow, they would grow out green buds, not dead branches like what this tree was doing.

Evidently, the massive vines and the dead tree were the secret door's main guardians. To get through the door, the academy disciples had to first get through these guardians. 

When the disciples saw the terrifying vines and the dead tree, they paled. It was obvious that these two devilish plants were difficult opponents.

Someone recognized the two plants and shouted in alarm, "That is a blood devil vine and an immortal dead tree!"