Chapter 34: Formation of the New Team

Before Shen Qingci had the chance to speak, Shen Qingyi first answered for him, her voice full of anger and frustration. "It was all Gu Zhao’s fault! My brother and I had thought of retreating because we didn’t want to get into a fight with an experienced upperclassmen team, but Gu Zhao did not listen to our suggestions and chose to charge in stubbornly. My brother got injured because he was trying to save him!"

After hearing his sister’s explanation, Shen Qingci looked around and realized that he had not seen Gu Zhao since he had awakened, and quickly asked, "Qingyi, do you know where Gu Zhao is now?"

"Big brother, just forget about him! While you were fighting, he had already run away!" Gu Qingyi quickly said. She did not want her brother to keep worrying about that coward.

"But—"

"Big brother!"

Shen Qingci lowered his head, feeling a little guilty. He believed that everything had happened because Gu Zhao had mistakenly believed that Shen Qingci was way stronger than he really was.

Understanding what her brother was thinking, Shen Qingyi frowned a little, turning her head to the side as she did not want to see him at this time. Shen Qingci wanted to comfort her, but did not know what to say.

He could only turn toward Jiang Zihan and ask, "Would you be willing to work together with us against the senior teams? I’m an A-Rank Hunter, and although I might not be as strong as you think, I could still be of some help."

Hearing this, Jiang Zihan looked toward Mo Shiyan. Seeing him give a soft nod, he responded, "Your sister mentioned that she knows where the other senior teams are located. If you are willing to help us, that would be more than welcome."

Then he turned toward Shen Qingyi, looking at her with hesitation. "Your sister hasn’t awakened her ability yet. Would it be a little too dangerous to bring her with us?"

Shen Qingci immediately answered, "She possesses extremely high combat instincts, and although she had not yet awakened her ability, she was still able to sense the presence of other Hunters. She was the one who helped us locate where those senior teams were before."

After they went into an agreement, Shen Qingci let out a light smile. "Oh yeah... we haven’t even exchanged names yet. I’m Shen Qingci, and this is my younger sister, Shen Qingyi."

"Jiang Zihan."

"Mo Shiyan."

The moment he finished introducing himself, Mo Shiyan got straight to the point. "Which team is the closest to us right now?"

Shen Qingci looked toward Shen Qingyi, and she hesitated for a moment before speaking out the name of a team. "The First Team."

After saying so, the atmosphere fell silent, and an invisible pressure settled over them. Every one of them understood what that meant—if they chose to fight the team that was closest to them, that meant that they would have to face a B-Rank Hunter and her experienced teammates.

Shen Qingyi was the first one to break the silence. "I have heard of Ling Mengyao before. She is well known even outside of the Interstellar Ice Hunting Academy, having a mission success rate above ninety-five percent. She had even completed a S-Rank mission before."

"Although she’s only a B-Rank Hunter, her strength has reached its limit and could even be counted as an A-Rank Hunter. There were even rumors that she’s no weaker than Chu Linyuan. If it wasn’t that she was injured from a mission last year and didn’t attend the tournament, her academy ranking would definitely be much higher. If we’re really planning to fight her, we must be fully prepared," she continued.

Before Mo Shiyan had the time to respond, Shen Qingci suddenly spoke. "If you aren’t confident about facing her... I actually have another way for us to leave this place."

The moment Shen Qingci finished speaking, everyone’s attention turned toward him. Mo Shiyan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Before, I heard from an upperclassman that what we are experiencing now was a way for the academy to test our abilities. So as long as we are able to leave the training fields without being defeated by the upperclassmen, then we could already get a high score for our performance, so there’s no need for us to actually fight the First Team and Fifth Team at all."

After explaining his thoughts, he slowly took out another Teleportation Talisman from his bag, though it looked a bit different than the one that the captain once had.

"This is...?"

"This could also be called a Teleportation Talisman, though its use is a bit different than you know," Shen Qingci explained. "My father left it to me. It’s a one-time spatial coordinate marker. Once activated, it forcibly tears open a short-range spatial rift that could teleport us to the edge of the training field. Although it wouldn’t directly help us leave the illusion because it can’t break through the protective barrier, it will at least allow us to avoid all the seniors nearby."

"The Ice Points we would earn would most likely be calculated through our performance this time. So I believe that even if we leave the training field now, the amount of Ice Points we get wouldn’t be low."

"What do you guys think?" Shen Qingci asked. When asking the question, he looked toward Jiang Zihan, as he noticed that Mo Shiyan had subconsciously listened to Jiang Zihan’s suggestions while planning on the next step.

Jiang Zihan, of course, did not notice that fact. He didn’t immediately answer his question. Instead, he lowered his eyes, hiding all his emotions inside.

Ling Mengyao. Based on their information about her (if those rumors are real), then this battle wouldn’t be easy. Should they really make such a stubborn decision?

But if I choose to run away right now, then if there’s a day I have to face Mo Shiyan’s murderous intent, will I still have the courage to do so?

"Let’s do as we planned..." he finally replied.