The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

"The Secret Realm Competition is organized by academy, so teamwork and resource exploration are more important," Su Yuehe said softly. "It's understandable that she conserved her strength and conceded defeat. This can also be considered a trick on Academy Zero, making them miss out on the championship and runner-up positions in advance."

Chen Guan didn't voice his suspicions or the information in the comments, partly because he lacked evidence and partly because he didn't want to expose his special status. He just listened silently, but the unease in his heart wouldn't go away.

"Regardless, the team battle is a done deal. Next, let's focus on preparing for the Secret Realm Tournament." An Changqing roused himself, brought up the light screen, and displayed the data of the Desolate Trial Grounds.

"The Desolate Trial Grounds is a secondary space controlled by the North City Academy. It has been cleared many times and its danger level is low. However, it is vast and has complex terrain with some natural dangers. The main threats are the environment itself and some low-level monsters."

An Changqing looked at Chen Guan and Su Yuehe: "You two have been the most exhausted. Take good care of yourselves tonight and try to get back to your best condition tomorrow."

Chen Guan and Su Yuehe nodded in agreement. After hanging up the call, Chen Guan opened the forum and began browsing the posts.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of messy news, but nothing about Guan Jinyue. Although she has gained a large following thanks to her looks, personality, and strong abilities, she remains quite mysterious.

Seeing that he had gained nothing, Chen Guan began to practice the Star Gazing Meditation Technique, trying his best to recover to the best possible state.

……

The next morning, at the entrance to the desolate trial grounds.

The four teams regrouped.

Compared to yesterday, many players looked less excited and more serious. After all, the excitement had already worn off in the previous two matches, and today was the final game, with the success or failure of the four-school league hanging in the balance.

Guan Jinyue still stood at the front of the Taipei team, with silver hair and white clothes, his expression as calm as ever, as if yesterday's team battle loss and the dispute with Ross had never happened.

On the Zero Academy side, Ross himself stood at the front, also appearing completely nonchalant.

As usual, the dean of Taipei Academy gave a safety briefing. After finishing, he gave the order: "Teams from each school, enter in turn. The trial will last for 24 hours. Begin!"

Passing through the spatial barrier, a dim and desolate world once again unfolds before our eyes.

"According to plan, proceed in groups."

As the class leader, An Changqing gave the order, and the Huaqing team quickly split into five small teams, each heading in a different direction.

An Changqing, Long Ao, Chen Guan, and Su Yuehe naturally formed a team, heading straight for the central area of ​​the trial grounds. There, resources were usually richer, the level of the quest tablets might be higher, and it was within their speed-running range. However, the competition would be more intense.

Fortunately, their team is strong enough to solve most problems by simply relying on their reputation, since no one wants to get entangled with the previous champion team.

Along the way, they encountered several scattered groups of animals that resembled vultures and were around the early stage of the first tier. They were easily dealt with by Su Yuehe with a few magic orbs. They also discovered some low-level crops, which they picked casually, and their points slowly increased.

Two hours later, they arrived at a relatively open Gobi desert, in the center of which stood a dilapidated stone altar, on which a mission stone tablet emitting a faint light could be seen.

"We have a mission!" Su Yuehe's eyes lit up.

As the group approached, they saw ancient characters carved on the stone tablet, with a spiritual energy sensing device below it.

An Changqing placed his hand on it, infusing it with spiritual power. The text on the stone tablet lit up, transforming into information they could understand.

[Cleanup Mission: A pack of mutated sandstorm hyenas has gathered deep in the Gobi Desert. Their leader is suspected to be close to Tier 2, posing a serious threat to passing explorers. Clear out the sandstorm hyena pack and bring back the leader's fangs as proof. Reward: 300 points.]

"A leader close to the second tier..." Long Ao curled his lip. "Boring."

To be honest, he still prefers to fight real people. Most monsters are a bit silly, and it's hard to find one whose strength is evenly matched with his.

"Sandstorm hyenas usually live in groups, so there might be quite a few of them," An Changqing analyzed. "The mission reward is not low, so it's worth a try. Yuehe, scout the surrounding area, especially the wind-eroded rock area behind the altar. That's an ideal nesting spot."

Su Yuehe nodded, and her spiritual power spread out quietly like a spider web, quickly capturing the life response coming from deep within the rocky area.

"Deep within the rocky area, about three hundred meters, there's a large gathering of life forms. The one with the strongest fluctuations should be the leader," Su Yuehe whispered. "The number... is estimated to be over thirty."

"More than thirty of them, plus a leader that's close to tier two..." She said with some concern, "Wouldn't it be too risky for just the four of us?"

Since the incident with the Shadow Wolf, Su Yuehe has become very conservative, preferring to take a steady approach to everything.

"We can fight them." Long Ao said confidently, "They're just a pack of dogs. As long as we take down the leader, the rest are nothing to worry about."

He remained as confident as ever, and after a moment's thought, Su Yuehe agreed.

The four of them quietly made their way into the rocky area, which was filled with jagged rocks and winding passages.

Soon, they spotted their target: dozens of mutated hyenas, larger than ordinary hyenas, lying or crouching in a relatively open sandy area.

One of them was particularly robust, nearly two meters tall at the shoulder, with protruding fangs and a fierce glint in its eyes; it was undoubtedly the leader.

"Let's do it!"

At An Changqing's command, Chen Guan was the first to move.

Group fear.

An invisible mental fluctuation enveloped the pack of dogs, and many of the Sandstorm Hyenas immediately let out terrified howls, panicked, and began to spin in circles, causing chaos.

Su Yuehe played her flute, precisely applying a slowing effect to the hyena leader, while simultaneously enhancing the sharpness of An Changqing's weapon.

"Roar!" Enraged, the hyena leader roared and stood upright, a sandstorm swirling around him, forming a miniature sandstorm domain that resisted the slowing effect of the Word of Power, as he pounced on the nearest dragon, Long Ao.

"Well done!" Long Ao neither dodged nor evaded, his crimson aura erupted, and he threw a punch. The fist wind collided with the sandstorm, producing a muffled sound.

An Changqing moved like a dragon, his golden sword light dodging the sandstorm and heading straight for the leader's side.

Chen Guan continued to maintain the illusion, while his mental energy locked onto several hyenas that were trying to flank him from the side. He used sensory misdirection to make them lose their way and collide with each other.

Although his martial arts skills were not bad, Chen Guan increasingly preferred to rely on his mental power as a means of combat.

The battle erupted instantly. Long Ao confronted the leader head-on, An Changqing flanked and attacked, Chen Guan controlled the field and disrupted the enemy, and Su Yuehe provided support.

The four worked together seamlessly, and despite the large number of hyenas, they were unable to form an effective encirclement due to the illusionary separation.