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After three months of training, only 56 of the original 100 were still present.

The Hidden Dragon Institute selected the final 40 from this group of 56.

Of these, there were 16 tenth-year students, 11 ninth-year students, 8 eighth-year students, 4 seventh-year students, and 1 sixth-year student.

The group of ninth-year students, of which Su Chen was a part of, was composed of 11 people: He Niliu, Duan Jiangshan, Su Chen, Cloud Leopard, Wang Doushan, Gu Qingluo, Yue Longsha, Ji Hanyan, Wang Xuan’an, Zhou Donglai and Yuan Mengshi.

Shockingly, Jiang Xishui, who was ranked third amongst the ninth-year students, was not selected.

Jiang Xishui was quite powerful, and his temperament wasn’t bad either. Even though he was a prince of a great Nobility Clan, he didn’t put on many airs. Su Chen had exchanged blows with him and fought side-by-side. Regardless of the circumstances, Su Chen felt as if Jiang Xishui hadn’t displayed his full strength. He originally thought that he would have an opportunity within the ruins to assess Jiang Xishui’s strength, but he only ended up being disappointed.

In fact, Jiang Xishui didn’t seem to be surprised, as if he had guessed that this would happen.

After selecting the last person to enter the ruins, the Hidden Dragon Institute gathered all forty of those who had been selected and brought them into a large hall before beginning to distribute student numbers.

The person who received the number 1 was a tenth-year student called He Yuandong. He was extremely powerful and his personality was steady. He was looked upon quite favorably during the training period, so nobody was really surprised. The person who received number 2 was called Qi Weiyan. Even though she was a woman, she was quite intelligent, and she had money and power to back up her talent. Qi Weiyan seemed to possess a unique, innate ability. She never rushed when speaking, and her words were cultured and refined, so people always seemed to hear what she was saying. Her ability to convince and unite others was why she was given the number 2.

Su Chen received the number 3.

After having been around each other for so long, the group had also begun to understand one another somewhat.

They had absolute confidence in Su Chen’s ability to scheme. Despite this, they did not give Su Chen the number one spot because he was too good at scheming and lacked the qualities of a leader. Neither He Yuandong nor Qi Weiyan were adept schemers. Because of this, they inspired more confidence. He Yuandong was chosen as the leader, Qi Weiyan as an assistant, and Su Chen behind them.

They did this to tell the other students that, compared to scheming against enemies, uniting and working as a team was much more important!

Thankfully, Su Chen also knew that he was not suited to act as a leader and didn’t care much for it either, so he didn’t take it to heart.

After distributing the student numbers, it was time for a lecture.

That old man, Si Mingli, was still the one doing the talking. He said to everyone, “Now, we are going to tell you what exactly is inside the ruins.”

Before this, everything that was in the ruins was kept secret. Until the final participants were selected, exactly what was inside would was kept secret

As Si Mingli spoke, everyone realized that these ruins were left behind from the days of the Arcana Kingdom and had been sitting around for nearly around thirty thousand years.

The reason it had lasted unperturbed for so long was because the ruin was enclosed in a half-isolated void.

The half-isolated void existed between the cracks of space. It wasn’t until recently that the half-isolated void’s energy had been nearly exhausted, causing it to begin to show up.

In fact, most of the untouched ruins on the Primordial Continent existed in such a state – as long as they still had energy, they could continue to remain hidden for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. They appeared only once they had run out of energy, giving people a chance to search them and profit.

The entrance to the ruins was located near a pile of rubble at the delta of the Goldwater River. Thus, it was called Goldwater Ruins, and Long Sang and the Gravel Lizard tribe had locked the area down, not allowing anyone to get close or enter.

Based on preliminary investigations, the half-isolated void was the private research station of some great Arcana Master.

This kind of situation was very normal. At the Arcana Kingdom’s peak, almost every one of the well-known Arcana Masters had a habit of converting their own half-isolated voids into research stations. Thus, this was the most common type of ruin.

It was hard to say how valuable the items within the ruins would be. After all, that depended on the wealth of its former owner.

But undeniably, as long as it was a ruin, it was valuable!

Because the Goldwater Ruins had existed for so long, the stability of the void was terrible. As such, there was only one opportunity to enter; if anyone entered from the outside, the entire void would begin to quickly collapse.

Similarly, any violent surges of Origin Energy would hasten the void’s collapse, so those who were too powerful could not enter either.

It was for this reason that Long Sang and the Gravel Lizard Tribe had agreed to only let those under the Blood Boiling Realm to enter in order to prolong the duration that the void would remain intact. This would give everyone a longer chance to search the ruins.

Apart from cultivation base and number restrictions, there was another rule in place that anyone who entered was not allowed to bring in items worth more than a total of ten thousand Origin Stones.

This was not a void-related restriction but a rule that both sides had agreed upon.

If they hadn’t set this rule, then money might have become more important than strength in determining the outcomes of battles.

Given the dangers within the ruins, no one wanted the situation to unfold that way.

The students were going enter three days from now, so everyone had three extra days to rest. They could use that time to hone their strength or enjoy themselves to their heart’s content.

This was an advance reward for everyone attending. After all, no one knew who was going to return alive from this expedition.

After discussing all of these matters, every student was allowed to go off and do their own thing.

Su Chen went directly to find Shi Kaihuang.

“Instructor, are there any more specific materials related to the Goldwater Ruins?”

Shi Kaihuang was a bit surprised. “What other materials do you want?”

“Everything,” Su Chen replied.

Shi Kaihuang understood what Su Chen was trying to say. He thought for a moment before he said, “I can understand that you want to familiarize yourself with the ruins a little bit before entering, but because no one has ever entered the ruins before, the exact details are not clear, and they might not be of much use to you.”

“Being a little prepared is better than not being prepared at all,” Su Chen laughed.

Shi Kaihuang nodded. “Since that’s the case, then fine. I’ll get someone to prepare a complete dossier for you.”

“Sounds good. Right, it would be best if there were also some materials on the Arcana Kingdom.”

“You can go to the library yourself. During these few days, the library will be completely open to you. You won’t have to pay any contribution points.”

“I couldn’t ask for any more.”

“You’re not planning on enjoying anything else?” Shi Kaihuang suddenly said.

Su Chen was startled. “Anything else? What else could there be?”

Shi Kaihuang said meaningfully, “Naturally, something that a man should enjoy. The Hidden Dragon Institute has reserved the biggest wine taverns and brothels for you nearby. You can go wherever you want; no matter what you do, the Institute will cover the costs. You...... are still a virgin, correct?”

Su Chen’s face turned bright red. “Instructor, I’m still a student!”

Shi Kaihuang replied while stroking his beard, “When I was your age, I was already quite experienced.”

“......” Su Chen fled in defeat.

Whenever he thought about Shi Kaihuang’s words, his heart began to burn.

Of course, he wasn’t thinking of anyone other than Gu Qingluo

But when he remembered that he hadn’t even managed to coax a kiss out of Gu Qingluo, he felt that he was a long ways away from losing his virgin status. His expression turned slightly bitter because of this.

During the following three days, everyone did what they wanted to.

A small group of people chose to continue cultivating, unwilling to let go of a single day.

Most of them, however, chose to relax and enjoy themselves.

Wang Doushan spent his three-day break flirting with other women. He was an old hand at it, and had lost his virginity long before entering the Hidden Dragon Institute. This time, he found twenty-two women to spend some time with him. The only reason he hadn’t found more was because the Hidden Dragon Institute had directly intervened, not because of money, but because they were worried that he would wring himself dry and not have any energy for battle. Even if he had cultivated before and was about to embark on a dangerous expedition, there was no need to put his life on the line like that!

Cloud Leopard wanted to spend his three days cultivating, but his “friend” Wang Doushan had dragged him down. Cloud Leopard didn’t find too many women; he picked a relatively pure-looking woman to spend three days with him and lost his status as a virgin. The day they were to separate, Cloud Leopard tried to buy her. However, when the woman heard that she would be on the battlefield and could die at anytime, she refused on the spot. All of the purity disappeared immediately as she went to cater to other customers, causing Cloud Leopard quite a great deal of heartbreak. This matter became a running joke later amongst his friends.

Su Chen immersed himself in the library for three days.

He intently read the compiled materials concerning the Goldwater Ruins. Simultaneously, he pored over the history, culture, and background of the Arcana Kingdom.

Gu Qingluo was also with him.

Sometimes, she would help Su Chen look for some books that he required, while other times she would sit on her own and read.

She sat by Su Chen’s side and watched as he read diligently, pondering over the information and taking copious notes.

Occasionally, Su Chen would raise his head to look at Gu Qingluo. As if their souls were linked together, Gu Qingluo would also raise her head to look at him.

The two of them gazed at each other and smiled simultaneously, then lowered their heads and continued to read.

During those moments, Su Chen felt that he was quite happy even if they had not advanced to the next step.