Chapter 333: Gu Yan

"We were lucky," Xue Wei merely answered with a smile on his lips. He did not feel that they should be too close to this other group of experts.

The group consisted of a full twelve experts, all of which were Heavenly Knights and there was even an Ordinary Saint. The Ordinary Saint was the one who had spoken, clearly the leader of the group.

"Luck is indeed a factor," the leader said, "but it is not enough to allow someone to venture this far into the Thunder Graveyard."

"Thunder Graveyard?" Xue Wei asked puzzled, and the leader looked at him with surprise and shock. "You do not know where this is?" he asked.

His question made Xue Wei shake his head, "We do not know," he said honestly. "We were told this was the most rewarding place in the entire Thunder Twilight Zone and thus came here, but so far we have found nothing of value, and instead we have been put in life-threatening danger time and time again."

"I see," the leader nodded his head gravely and slightly solemnly. "They were not lying to you," he then stated. "This is indeed the most rewarding area in the entire danger zone, but it is also the most deadly, only the purple mist can get close to it in danger levels.

"This place has trial after trial, and for each of these trials, you will get closer to the actual battleground of the Kings and Emperors. This island is massive, and it is also where most treasures can be found, however, to get each of the treasures, you need to get through the trials first."

Xue Wei had already guessed this, so he was not surprised when he heard the words said by this Ordinary Saint.

Seeing that they had no surprise in their expressions, the Ordinary Saint instantly knew that they were not the average person who would enter. The fact that they had survived until now, even with a Sky Knight on the team, made them understand that they were in no way simple.

"Why don't we travel together?" the Ordinary Saint suddenly asked, and Xue Wei frowned. He was not willing to walk with them, but the other was an Ordinary Saint, and going against him would be rather useless in the middle of this dangerous environment.

Although they might be able to defeat him and his entourage, the truth was that it would be a hard battle and they would be drained of power and then would have problems advancing.

Retreating was not an option either as the soul fragments were waiting for them within the forest, and they had run out of inscriptions and formations.

Looking at the Ordinary Saint, Xue Wei saw that he seemed immensely genuine, but he still narrowed his eyes, unwilling to go with them.

Feeling his hesitation, the Ordinary Saint smiled slightly. "I understand your worries," he said. "I too would have some doubts if someone came up to me and said such a thing when I was in a danger zone, but the truth is that the danger in this danger zone is far above any other in the Sea of the Enchanted, and we all stand a better chance for survival if we work together."

Xue Wei looked at him without saying anything. He was worried that this leader intended to make Xue Wei and his friends walk at the front of their group and become the ones who would be the first to encounter the danger.

Seeing that although the leader had spoken such flowery words, Xue Wei was still not taking the bait, the rest of the group became restless.

Their group had initially been numbered twenty-five experts, all of which had experience within the Thunder Graveyard Island, but even so, after only a few challenges only twelve had managed to survive so far.

The leader's heart was aching with pain whenever he thought of how their group was diminishing in numbers rather rapidly, and now Xue Wei and the others had appeared, it would be ideal to use their numbers and strength to pressure them into joining their group, and then taking the front of the group.

"It is not that we do not appreciate your goodwill," Xue Wei said after contemplating for some time. "However, we have all unknowingly stumbled upon this island. We were unaware of the dangers that exist on this island, and thus, we will likely turn into obstacles rather than aides."

Hearing his words, the face of the leader darkened. How could he not tell that Xue Wei was just saying so, when he, in fact, did not want to join them?

Even so, he just smiled and stayed calm. "You do not have to worry about being a burden or not. Us cultivators should stick together and help one another in our attempt at surviving this place. Even if you turn out to be an obstacle, we will be happy to have done a good deed and helped you out."

Xue Wei's eyes flashed with coldness. It seemed that they had no intention of letting them go, so in the end, he had to decide whether or not to join them, or if he was going to fight it out.

In the end, Xue Wei decided to join them. Although they could win a battle, it would be a messy win, with severe injuries. He could not help but fear what the evil spirit would throw their way when they were injured. Thoughts of the fused soul remnant were already enough to cause chills to run down his spine.

"Well then, let us work together," Xue Wei finally said, rather unwillingly, but no one seemed to care if they were willing or not.

The others had stayed entirely silent throughout the entire time. They had been ready to fight if Xue Wei had made that decision, but they were also prepared to join them if he ended up choosing like that.

In all, they were waiting to follow his lead and would do whatever he decided upon.

The leader was a veteran mercenary. He could quickly see that Xue Wei was the core of the team and gleam flashed by his eyes rapidly.

Xue Wei was the weakest in the group - merely a Sky Knight, but he was still the one making the decisions.

From this, the leader instantly knew that this was a group with some fantastic team spirit, or they had some secret that could make Xue Wei stronger than the average Sky Knight since they all respected him.

He was leaning towards the latter, as he knew that one needed to be a Heavenly Knight to survive within the Thunder Twilight Zone, so unless he had some treasure that could neutralize lightning, then he had to have some hidden strength.

Still, even if this boy could jump ranks and fight against Heavenly Knights, he himself was an esteemed Ordinary Saint. It would be impossible for them to resist him, and thus, he was feeling relaxed.

"Well then, since you made the right decision, let us move forward," the leader said. "I better introduce myself. Name is Gu Yan. I am a normal mercenary who takes on tasks like these to enter danger zones and salvage resources. My specialty is indeed this Thunder Twilight Zone, and I have been here at the thunder Graveyard Island a few times before."

"Xue Wei,"

"Hei Gou,"

"Lin Xiao,"

"Bai Tianyi,"

"Xue Luoluo."

All of them quickly introduced themselves, but none of them said anything unnecessary. They could all feel the intentions that this group had for them and knew that it was not out of kindness they had been invited, so they were not willing to share anything about themselves.

Even so, no one seemed to really mind. They all looked at Xue Wei and his friends as dead men walking. There was no need to know about them or their secrets. If they had something of value, it would end up in their hands anyway.

If Xue Wei had known their thoughts, he would have laughed. What was making them so confident that the ones who died would be them? In the end, Xue Wei was planning to become a fisherman reaping all the benefits.

Xue Wei had no intention of letting these people off alive. Although he was not capable of fighting them right now, because he had to look at the bigger picture, it did not mean he was going just to leave them be.

The moment they had forced him and his friends to join their group, he was ready to kill them all.

It is evident that they wanted him dead. It was clear that they aimed to use them as dummies, that would die for their chance of survival. He could never forgive them for this.

A chilling smile flitted across Xue Wei's lips, but it vanished before anyone noticed it.

"Well then, now we know each other, why don't we go on?" Gu Yan asked as he smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"Sure," Xue Wei said with a nod of his head. He had already steeled his heart for what was going to happen.

"Why don't you all walk at the front?" Gu Yan asked. "We will take the rear so that if the Soul Remnants appear, then we can fight them off."

Xue Wei smirked when he heard this, and he shook his head. The Soul Remnants could not fight outside of the forest, but they made it sound as if they were making a considerable sacrifice.

"Okay," Xue Wei just said with a nod of his head. He was not going to argue with them about it, but his eyes were cold as he told Luoluo to walk behind him.

Bai Tianyi, Hei Gou, and Lin Xiao walked by Xue Wei's side while Luoluo was walking behind the four of them, being shielded by their large figures and protected by them.

Luoluo felt at peace and was walking in a carefree manner as if they were in the middle of their own backyard.

Gu Yan looked at Luoluo and her carefree attitude and knew instantly that it was not because she was unaware, but simply because she trusted the four men who were shielding her unconditionally.

Then he looked at Bai Tianyi, and he could not help but frown.

These two were obviously kids, but even so, they were still in the middle of the Thunder Graveyard Island.

One thing that puzzled him was how they had the strength to be inside the Thunder Twilight Zone. Kids were not that strong, and they had a short time to cultivate, but they were already Heavenly Knights.

Secondly, even if they made it into the Thunder Twilight Zone, they needed experience and some sense of alertness.

These senses should have been trained through multiple life and death situations. But kids could not have gone through many of them, so how could they have gotten this far?

Suddenly a chill ran through his heart as he realized that the group in front was not one he could see through. All of them seemed to be more secretive than the other, and if he was not careful, he might end up suffering instead.

Frowning, he started to wonder if he had made the wrong decision. This Thunder Graveyard Island was already immensely dangerous, and having added an unknown variable of Xue Wei and his group, was it going to become even more dangerous than what he had initially planned?

A flash of murderous intent flittered past his eyes. He saw how Xue Wei and the others had their backs to them. Should he just kill them all in one blast?

Unsure of what to do, he was uncomfortable, and a bit hesitant, but then he laughed slightly.

He was an esteemed Ordinary Saint. How could he be scared of a mere Sky Knight and his friends?