Chapter 0563: Teamwork

Countless shadows had burst out of their surroundings with a whoosh.

Familiar figures could be seen within the group.

Lan Lan's, Gong Shenjun's, and the squads they had grouped up with at Thunderpeal Mountain had appeared.

Even Sun Dasheng's squad was here.

These were the squads with the highest points in the rankings, possessing unparalleled strength. This was why they had reached Russet Rock City not long after the signal was lit.

They had naturally been attracted towards the beacon released by the First Princess like moths to a flame.

"Student Gong, we meet again." Lan Lan's face held a trace of an easy smile before turning to observe the reddish-brown walls of the colossal city, the sight resulting in him squinting suspiciously. "Russet Rock City seems to be exceptionally clean. It's no wonder you've chosen to wait before entering."

The rest of the groups similarly made their own observations and judgment regarding the final objective. Any squad that was able to make it here could be considered the cream of the crop, their strength without peers. As a result, the sight before them instilled a sense of fear and anxiety instead of surprise.

The First Princess gazed over the group of newfound companions and spoke. "The danger of Russet Rock City far surpasses what we have seen before. I believe no squad can monopolize it and thus we should temporarily set our differences aside and work together."

The rest immediately fell into deep thought, no one outright rejecting her proposal. Everyone understood that this final stop would be extremely perilous! It would be the most difficult objective thus far, possessing a Greater Heavenly Disaster Class Other with Heavenly Resonance Stage strength. Even the strongest amongst this group, Lan Lan, Gong Shenjun, and Gong Luanyu, were not at that realm yet.

Lan Lan continued to ponder deeply before suddenly voicing out his thoughts. "On our way here, we traveled through a small city and noticed something strange. All of the Others within it had miraculously vanished into thin air." With this revelation, everyone’s expressions began to change into ones of surprise.

"Wait, you mean you too?" the First Princess' face became solemn. "The level three city we had struggled over was similarly an empty city. No signs of Others could be found."

"I encountered the same situation too," Gong Shenjun dryly commented.

All of the other squad leaders similarly agreed and were met with absolute surprise. It seemed as though all the Others in a several hundred kilometer radius of Russet Rock City had disappeared.

"Do you think the Others have all congregated inside Russet Rock City?" Li Luo blurted out.

Everyone paused in silence, giving yet another glance at the seemingly spotless Russet Rock City. A certain chilliness could be felt, and if Li Luo's conjecture was true, the current city before them was a den of doom!

The First Princess solemnly replied. "It's not an impossibility. If things are truly as you say, Russet Rock City possesses an unfathomably strong Other, one with a calling so absolute that all the Others within a few hundred kilometers of the city have been attracted to it."

"That is to say, the Others are aware of our presence, and they have decided to congregate to deal with us better," Jiang Qing'e surmised, her gaze furrowing.

The cunning and prudence this group of Others had was no less than that of a human. The group felt a little frustrated at this revelation.

"Also, I have something else to say. By any chance, has anyone encountered a black knight whilst cleansing the cities in the Red Clay Province?" the First Princess asked.

"A Black Knight? I met one..." The one that had spoken up was a burly youth by the name of Lian Zong from the Sacred Summit Sage College. The three from his squad were all built like massive tanks, imposing and domineering from just their sheer appearance.

The individuals from the Sacred Summit Sage College specialized in beast resonances.

"The black knight was roughly around the Earth Fiend Stage and was able to incite the Others into attacking us. Luckily, we discovered him and crushed his head into a pulp with a single smash," Lian Zong cackled, revealing his pearly-white teeth. Combining those with his meaty complexion, he was the spitting image of a violent street thug.

However, the rest of the squads had not encountered any black knights.

"When our group was on Thunderpeal Mountain with the First Princess, we indeed also saw the black knight." Zhao Beili also chimed in to verify the First Princess' question.

At this point, Gong Shenjun sighed deeply. "Are you trying to say that there is some mysterious organization operating in the shadows of the Red Clay Province, looking to undermine our efforts?"

The First Princess wryly confirmed it. "The black knights are all at the Earth Fiend Stage and are not considered too much of a threat. However, we stumbled upon some valuable information. There is someone even stronger—a crimson knight-general. It should be the superior of the black knights. Although we have not faced one directly, there's reason to believe that it's a Heavenly Dipper General. As for whether it's a Heavenly Pearl Stage or Heavenly Resonance Stage cultivator... that I do not know,"

"Crimson knight-general?" The expressions of the squads who had just arrived turned even more tense. If the information was true, then Russet Rock City was an objective that no single team could solve alone.

"Perhaps the intention of this mixed-level competition is to ensure that the squads all cooperate. After all, there are no rules preventing the squads from entering direct confrontations," Qin Yue explained.

This statement caused numerous individuals to nod in agreement. Other than the previous scuffle over the level three city, the rest of the squads had often opted to collaborate, such as the situation on Thunderpeal Mountain, where squads from three sage colleges had worked together.

If there was an intention for the students to be pitted against each other, there would definitely have been a rule that would allow for the stealing of points between squads. This would inevitably have created hatred and strife.

The fact that this was not the case already demonstrated their intent.

Additionally, the mixed-level competition was not a simple tournament, unlike before. Resolving the Blackwind Empire's calamity was the aim of the game, and the opponents were not mere students, but ferocious Others.

Lan Lan gave a slight smile as he calmly said, "I have no disagreements with working together. Additionally, if we fail to cleanse Russet Rock City, the entire mixed-level competition will be considered a failure."

The other groups fell into a temporary silence before agreeing with him.

Trying to rush into Russet Rock City before truly having a grasp of the danger within was suicidal.

Li Luo heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this. If all of the best squads could work together, their accumulated firepower would truly be frightening! Even a Greater Heavenly Disaster Class Other would be something they could take down!

As he swept his gaze across the students, he counted roughly eight squads. Two squads belonged to the Astral Sage College and the Enlightened Sage College each. One was Lu Ming's from the Heavenly Inferno Sage College, and another from the Sacred Summit Sage College, Sun Dasheng and Lian Zong's squad. The strongest of the Two Star Hall, Ao Bai from the North Sea Sage College, was also here with his squad, and lastly was a squad from the Profound Ice Sage College for a grand total of eight. The Profound Ice Sage College had recently risen to prominence in the East Divine Continent and had the potential to be one of the best.

Their squad was made up of individuals who were soft spoken and emanated a chilly air, clearly demonstrating their ice resonances. Rumors said that they possessed an unparalleled combination resonance art, one that demonstrated earth-shattering strength.

These were the best and brightest geniuses the East Divine Continent had to offer from the current generation.

Now that a decision had been made, they no longer waffled around. A loose formation was quickly formed by the squads as they cautiously approached Russet Rock City.

As they moved forward, Lu Ming approached Li Luo and asked with some shock, "Did you really trash Jing Taixu in a single move?"

Being the ever humble hero, Li Luo only gave a faint and reserved smile. "Of course. I'm the strongest amongst the One Star Hall participants. There's nothing surprising about that."

Rolling her eyes at his proclamation, it was obvious that Li Luo's strength had soared after the benefits gained in Thunderpeal Mountain.

Poor Jing Taixu definitely had not heard about this and had thus been taken by surprise, leaving him defeated in a single blow.

Although the two did not speak loudly, the squads were closely gathered and could hear their exchange, leaving Jing Taixu with an extremely gloomy expression.

At this point, Sun Dasheng took the opportunity to catch up to Jing Taixu, and he loudly said, "Jing Taixu! How could you be this useless!? Even Li Luo took you down with one strike. If you're so crappy, then I'll look even worse in comparison since I was being soundly trounced by you!"

Slight infuriated at Sun Dasheng's self-deprecating words, he coldly hissed.

"Scram!"