Chapter 218: Are Your Numbers the Source of Your Arrogance?
Zhang Yangqing truly demonstrated what it meant to take the unconventional path.
Even though Zhang Yangqing’s team arrived later, they were now far ahead of the other mountaineering teams in terms of progress.
After sliding for nearly a kilometer, the team reached a spacious area.
This didn’t seem to be the final destination yet.
Zhang Yangqing executed a stylish sideways skid to decelerate, coming to a steady stop in this open area.
The other team members arrived one after another; this leg of the journey had been surprisingly stable.
As Zhang Yangqing’s team arrived, other early-rising teams also began reaching this stage.
Following the usual procedure, everyone first checked the area to confirm it was safe before making further plans.
By flashlight, they could see numerous cave entrances here. The mountaineering team didn’t know which passage led to the right place.
“Team Leader, where is this? When will we find the Ice Ling Sacred Tree?” the Pompadour Man asked, sounding a bit tired and ready to eat something to replenish his energy.
Taking advantage of this rare resting spot, he rummaged through his backpack.
If other Chosen Ones were here, they’d probably be more nervous.
Because the fear wasn’t of encountering danger, but of teammates starting to act recklessly.
Zhang Yangqing, however, was nonchalant. Anyone who dared act out would simply meet their end.
His teammates wouldn’t dare challenge his bottom line.
The Goatee Team Leader carefully surveyed the area and said, “This should be what my ancestors called the Sixteen Caves. These paths are crisscrossed and complex, but a few of them lead to the Ice Ling Sacred Tree. We just need to find the right one.”
“So what do we do? We can’t just try each one, can we?” the Purple-Eyed Woman asked, after checking that there were no downward slopes, just level ground.
Without a correct method, even if several paths were viable, they might waste a lot of time here.
“Don’t worry, I have another method,” the Goatee Team Leader said confidently.
At this stage, without rules or specific intelligence, everyone had to rely on the Goatee Team Leader’s experience.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the Goatee Team Leader took off his glove, licked his palm, then placed his hand near the entrance of each cave, repeating the process. He explained, “The Ice Ling Fruit is about to ripen, so it emits intense cold energy. The path with the strongest cold air is the one leading to the Ice Ling Sacred Tree.”
His reasoning earned the team’s approval; it was indeed a viable method.
Just as the Goatee Team Leader was testing, the Chosen One seemed to notice some pairs of eyes watching them from the darkness and even heard faint footsteps.
When he shone his flashlight toward the cave where the sounds came from, he spotted eyes reflecting the light back.
In the pitch-black ice cavern, it looked quite eerie.
According to the Goatee Team Leader, these were just beasts living in the endless ice caverns; there was no need for alarm.
However, these beasts seemed rather small, unlike formidable, large creatures.
Coming from the bizarre trial world, people were accustomed to thinking powerful creatures were massive.
Once discovered, these small beasts seemed frightened and quickly scurried back into the cave, not reappearing.
To avoid unnecessary complications, many Chosen Ones wouldn’t provoke these small creatures here either.
Being at the final stage, the priority was naturally to find the Ice Ling Fruit quickly and leave this place.
However, seeing this, Zhang Yangqing seemed to recall a rule.
[Rule 4: If a small animal asks you a question, you may choose to answer or not, but you must not answer incorrectly.]
Based on Zhang Yangqing’s experience in the bizarre trial world, the “small animals” mentioned here might very well refer to these creatures.
After all, the mountaineering team hadn’t encountered any small animals so far.
If no small animal approached them proactively, they could try taking the initiative to find one.
The rule didn’t specify that the small animal had to be the one asking the question.
This required the Chosen Ones’ experience and judgment.
Zhang Yangqing immediately grasped the underlying nuance. If a small animal proactively sought out the Chosen One, it meant it brought danger; answering incorrectly would cause problems.
If the Chosen One needed to actively seek out the small animal, it suggested these small creatures might offer some special reward—perhaps a hidden reward in this trial world or an item useful for dealing with others.
Whatever the case, a few Chosen Ones considered going in to investigate, since it was mentioned in the rules. What if it was useful?
Just as the Chosen Ones were preparing to find an excuse to leave the team, the Goatee Team Leader’s low voice came: “I’ve found the entrance, but the situation isn’t great. Come take a look.”
Saying this, the Chosen Ones walked toward the entrance he indicated.
According to the Goatee Team Leader, this was one of three entrances among the eighteen that could lead to the Ice Ling Sacred Tree—the ones with the strongest cold energy.
But that wasn’t the main point. The point was that this passage seemed to have some marks, which looked fresh, as if someone had passed through not long ago.
The Goatee Team Leader didn’t spell it out completely, but everyone understood: for something as valuable as the Ice Ling Fruit, there were bound to be many contenders.
They had encountered more than one mountaineering team along the way.
Therefore, it was highly likely they would face conflict next.
Everyone became more vigilant, hiding their weapons in easily accessible places—just in case.
At least until the crisis was completely resolved, the Chosen One’s team was still in the same boat.
No one would want to reduce their team’s numbers at this point.
Having one more teammate increased their chances of obtaining the Ice Ling Fruit.
After all, if you couldn’t trust the teammates you’d come this far with, how could you trust members of other teams?
Rahman from Pyramid Country could see a flicker of killing intent in his teammates’ eyes.
It seemed they were no strangers to such situations.
Since none of them knew each other’s backgrounds, they formed teams to achieve a common goal here.
After enduring countless hardships, no one wanted to leave empty-handed, right?
The next time the Ice Ling Sacred Tree bore fruit would be in thirty years.
Given the current situation, the Chosen Ones couldn’t afford to consider the potential rewards from small animals. If the Ice Ling Fruit was picked first by others, they would be unable to complete the trial and leave.
Exchanging glances, everyone headed into the cave passage.
The passage wasn’t very long. After walking nearly a kilometer, they saw some light at the exit.
The Goatee Team Leader naturally took the lead, cautiously stepping out. Following him, the team passed through the exit and entered an expansive area.
Emerging from the narrow passage gave a sense of sudden openness.
Before them was an extremely wide space, several football fields in size.
At the core of this area stood a lush, towering ice-blue giant tree nearly a hundred meters tall, continuously emitting piercing cold air.
But that wasn’t the mountaineering team’s immediate concern, because numerous gazes had already swept over them.
Many of these gazes carried displeasure, even hostility.
Rahman glanced around and saw that besides their team, there were three other mountaineering teams present.
However, the clothing of these teams seemed different, at least quite distinct from his own team’s attire.
If this was the final stage, then victory would ultimately belong to one of these four teams.
These three teams had between 4 to 7 members each.
It seemed everyone knew the number of Ice Ling Fruits was limited, so they didn’t form overly large groups.
Yet here they were, encountering other groups vying for the same prize.
Before Rahman’s team arrived, a three-way standoff existed. Their appearance disrupted the balance.
Those displeased looks seemed to say a few more troublesome individuals had shown up.
Here, however, everyone seemed reluctant to strike first; whoever initiated conflict would be at a disadvantage.
The other three teams had already established their own “camps.”
Two teams had even set up sleeping bags and tents.
Their camp areas showed signs of firewood ashes, suggesting they had arrived yesterday.
It could be inferred that the avalanche that blocked other teams yesterday was likely caused deliberately by these two teams—a man-made event.
The remaining team had fewer members, only four people. They probably, like the Chosen One’s team, used special methods or climbed up from another route.
This four-person team kept staring at the newly arrived team, as if plotting something.
Like the Chosen One’s team, they had also arrived today.
For now, everyone remained silent, sizing each other up to assess the others’ combat capabilities.
Rahman’s team found a spot and began setting up tents and other gear.
Since other teams could light fires here, it indicated this place was considered “indoors.”
The mountaineering team had been traveling for several hours from outside.
They were not only hungry but also feeling the cold.
With danger imminent, everyone wanted to regain their condition quickly.
Fortunately, the Gold-Rimmed Glasses Man carried firewood. Soon, the crackle of a fire echoed in the area.
The sound of burning wood made some members of the other teams cast sinister glances their way.
At this moment, the Pompadour Man quietly asked the Goatee Team Leader beside him, “Team Leader, who are these people? They seem different from us.”
He wasn’t afraid; he just found these people somewhat strange.
As a local, the Goatee Team Leader immediately recognized their identities and began to explain slowly.
The ones on the left with pale faces, purple lips, and resentful eyes were the Corpse Burial Clan.
They were a race existing between life and death, also known as the living dead.
The Corpse Burial Clan had low body temperatures and were less affected by ice and snow.
The ones directly ahead, wearing few clothes and with blue-tinged skin, were the Varosa Clan.
They possessed the power to control ice and snow and were indigenous to this permafrost region.
One could say this was their home ground, giving them a significant combat advantage here.
The four on the right had an impressive background. They were also a clan residing in this region, called the Ghostface Clan.
The Ghostface Clan was mysterious, extremely xenophobic, and little was known about them.
Even the Goatee Team Leader wasn’t entirely clear about their specific abilities.
Then, the Goatee Team Leader glanced at the Ice Ling Sacred Tree and whispered, “It seems the Ice Ling Fruit hasn’t ripened yet. Everyone is waiting for it to mature.”
According to his ancestors, when the Ice Ling Fruit ripened, the surrounding flowers would bloom, each having a chance to produce an Ice Ling Fruit.
As for how many, it was like opening a blind box—there was no way to know.
Based on the Goatee Team Leader’s experience, it should ripen in less than an hour.
The Chosen Ones were carefully memorizing the information provided by the Goatee Team Leader while continuously observing their surroundings, hoping to gather useful intelligence.
Hearing they had less than an hour, Rahman decided to conserve his energy first.
Then, using his silver tongue, he would try to ally with one side to eliminate the others.
At the very least, he needed to create conflict among the three opposing groups; perhaps that was the key to passing this final stage.
But just then, the leaders of the other three groups seemed to reach some sort of consensus.
They all began walking toward Rahman’s team.
The group, originally about to rest, immediately stood up, on guard, hands reaching for their weapons.
The Goatee Team Leader naturally stood at the forefront. Seeing the aggressive approach, he said coldly, “What do you think you’re doing?”
His voice was firm and powerful, a clear warning.
He subtly released his aura to intimidate the opposition, showing he wasn’t weak and not to be trifled with.
The approaching group wore sinister smirks and menacing expressions, clearly not coming for a friendly chat.
As a native of this land, the blue-faced leader of the Varosa Clan declared righteously, “You outsiders have no right to be in our Permafrost Lands.”
Besides the Chosen One’s team, everyone else present was indigenous to this area.
They certainly had the standing to say that, and it was the consensus they could reach.
No matter how the three groups competed among themselves, they would first drive out this team of outsiders.
Before the Goatee Team Leader could respond, the pale-faced leader of the Corpse Burial Clan chimed in, “That’s right. I also believe you outsiders truly have no place here. The Ice Ling Fruit is our sacred object. Since you’ve come here, you must abide by our rules.”
He was clearly stating his position: he opposed outsiders as well.
Since the Pale-Face Leader spoke, the Ghostface Leader naturally added, “If you leave today, we can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise—”
He left the threat hanging, but everyone understood his meaning.
He was blatantly threatening the Chosen One’s team.
They all adopted a condescending attitude, speaking arrogantly without room for negotiation.
Their gazes were filled with disdain, as if looking at a bunch of ants.
Their numerical advantage was the source of their arrogance!
The Goatee Team Leader showed no fear. He snorted coldly and said, “I’m a local. I’ve never heard of these so-called rules.”
The other team members also remained composed. After all, they hadn’t even used their trump cards yet during this journey.
Without some skills, how could they have come mountain climbing? Apart from the Chosen One, each was likely involved in murder and plunder.
Hearing the Goatee Team Leader’s words, the blue-faced Varosa Clan leader’s tone grew even more contemptuous. “There wasn’t before. But there is now.”
This statement infuriated the Goatee Team Leader. In a one-on-one fight, he’d want to tear the blue-faced leader’s head off.
But the other side was simply relying on their numbers to act so arrogantly!
