"Haha, finally out! Elder Fang, don't entertain any illusions! You've definitely lost! And I reckon, forget about how much your Hudao Academy students managed to gather, if more than a third of them come out alive, you should be burning incense in gratitude! Hahaha..." Elder Xi erupted into loud laughter.
"Xi Junchang, what do you mean by that? Why wouldn't more than a third of our Hudao Academy students survive!" Hearing this, Elder Fang couldn't help but jolt inwardly, his voice sharp as he questioned Elder Xi. Because the words spoken by this Elder Xi of Shenfeng Sect clearly held an underlying meaning!
"Hmph! There's no point in saying more. You'll see! They've come out; the truth will be apparent soon!" Elder Xi responded with a cold laugh.
"Xi Junchang, does your Shenfeng Sect have some scheme targeting our Hudao Academy students? I warn you, although our academy usually keeps to ourselves and avoids conflict, we are not to be bullied!" Elder Fang angrily retorted.
"Elder Fang, listen to yourself. The Crystal Mine Minor World is filled with powerful demonic and magical beasts, dangers everywhere. Moreover, conflicts between different sects and families are unavoidable sometimes when fighting over crystal ore veins. Even if all your Hudao Academy students died inside, they could hardly blame others." Fengyun Wan of the Fengyun Family laughed heartily.
"Haha, well said!" Xiao Mingguo of the Xiao Clan laughed loudly in agreement.
"Elder Fang, you should accept reality." Wu Fangxuan of the Tianyan Sect also spoke up.
"What do you mean by all this..." Elder Fang trembled slightly with anger, while simultaneously a sense of foreboding welled up within him.
At that moment.
As one figure after another continuously rushed out from the entrance-exit point, the elders or stewards from various sects waiting nearby also became excited, one by one.
"Haha, our disciples from the Tianyang Gang are out! Out is good, out is good! As for the harvest, the amount doesn't matter!"
"Our disciples from the Ziyuan Sect went in with over four hundred people, yet only a dozen or so came out? Where are the others?"
"What! Is this your harvest? Excellent! The harvest is incredibly bountiful, equivalent to at least four or five medium-sized crystal ore veins! You'll be heavily rewarded when you return!"
...
As more and more people streamed out from the entrance-exit, the elders and stewards from various sects rushed forward to greet their returning disciples, simultaneously counting how many survived while checking the gains from this venture into the Crystal Mine Minor World.
As a result, some elders and stewards from certain sects threw their heads back and laughed, thoroughly excited. Others sighed and lamented, their expressions somber with sorrow.
"I hope nothing has happened to our academy's students. Otherwise, I won't know how to account for it to Dean Shangguan back at the academy!" Elder Fang's gaze was fixed nervously on the Minor World's exit, his mind restless with anxiety.
Suddenly.
"Elder Fang! We're out!" A large group of Hudao Academy students rushed out from the exit, spotting Elder Fang at a glance and running over.
"Out is good, out is good, hehe..." Seeing these students, Elder Fang couldn't help but feel a wave of relief and immediately stepped forward to meet them.
This group consisted of over a hundred students.
Next.
"Elder Fang is over there, let's go!" Dozens more Hudao Academy students rushed out from the Minor World exit, each one moving quickly to gather beside Elder Fang.
There were roughly forty to fifty students.
Ye Yunfei and Wen Zi were among them!
"Elder Fang, our gains..." A few impatient students couldn't resist immediately stepping in front of Elder Fang, wanting him to see their haul.
These students were the most excited because, following Ye Yunfei and Wen Zi, they had completely robbed all the people from the four forces: Shenfeng Sect, Xiao Clan, Fengyun Family, and Tianyan Sect. That is to say, all the spoils those four forces' members had acquired inside the Crystal Mine Minor World had been divided up between Ye Yunfei, Wen Zi, and these few dozen students.
Each one was now filthy rich!
"Don't talk about gains for now. Surviving and coming out is good enough!" Elder Fang waved his hand and said with satisfaction. His eyes were still fixed intently on the Minor World exit. Because only a little over a hundred of Hudao Academy's people had emerged so far; there were still over three hundred not yet seen. Elder Fang remained deeply concerned.
"Hmph!" Shenfeng Sect's Xi Junchang, seeing over a hundred Hudao Academy students come out alive, couldn't help but look displeased. Before entering the Crystal Mine Minor World, the higher-ups of Shenfeng Sect had instructed the disciples selected for entry that if they encountered Hudao Academy students, they were to seize opportunities and be utterly ruthless!
"Ahem... Elder Fang, there's something I need to tell you." At this moment, Wen Zi suddenly walked up to Elder Fang and spoke.
"Oh? Wen Zi, what is it you want to tell me?" Elder Fang was taken aback.
Wen Zi had secured a top-three position in the New Student Ranking Tournament, becoming a Seed Student. Therefore, Elder Fang's impression of her was quite strong.
"Elder Fang, after everyone's gathered, I think we should leave as soon as possible. The quicker, the better. Otherwise... something big will go down." Wen Zi said.
"Why? What big thing?" Elder Fang felt somewhat puzzled by Wen Zi's words.
"Elder Fang!" At this moment, another group of Hudao Academy students rushed out from the exit.
This batch consisted of over a hundred students.
"Haha, good, good!" Elder Fang couldn't help but beam with joy, exclaiming happily repeatedly. Almost half of the students who had entered the Crystal Mine Minor World had now emerged. Elder Fang's mood instantly improved considerably.
"Our Shenfeng Sect disciples are finally out!" Shenfeng Sect's Xi Junchang, having waited with eager eyes, finally saw a group of Shenfeng Sect disciples rush out from the Minor World exit.
"Haha, you lot are so late! Kept me waiting all this time!" Xi Junchang laughed heartily.
However.
The next moment, the smile froze on Xi Junchang's face.
Because he discovered that those Shenfeng Sect disciples were all deathly pale, their energy depleted, bodies covered in blood and grime! Many were severely injured. Quite a few Shenfeng Sect disciples were clearly crippled, having lost their cultivation!
At the same moment.
Members of the Fengyun Family, Xiao Clan, and Tianyan Sect also rushed out from the exit in succession. The situations of these three forces' members were similar to those of the Shenfeng Sect disciples! Either injured, or crippled! Those completely unscathed were exceedingly few.
Fengyun Wan, Xiao Mingguo, and Wu Fangxuan, who had been full of anticipation and beaming smiles as they went to greet their people, were dumbstruck upon seeing this situation.