Physical mage, challenge me to a solo duel!

On the afternoon of the second day after entering Lingnan Shaqiao, Wang Yi's team of six finally reached the dividing line of the Central District.

Once you cross this hill, you'll enter the central region teeming with monsters.

The group found a safe place at the foot of the mountain to rest for a while.

The six people were in a rather disheveled state at this time, almost all of them were injured, especially Hu Lili, whose left leg was missing a section of her individual combat uniform, and she was still wearing an overcoat around her waist.

Through the gaps in her fluttering coat, a fresh, pink scar could be seen on her fair thigh.

The coat around Hu Lili's waist belonged to Wang Jiang, because her clothes were quite badly damaged.

At this moment, Wang Jiang was only wearing a ripped T-shirt on his upper body. Through the hole in the ripped T-shirt, one could not only see his strong and well-proportioned muscles, but also three hideous scars on his chest that looked like centipedes, as well as a penetrating wound on the left side of his neck.

The three scars on his chest originated from the Fire-Patterned Black-Tailed Leopard, while the penetrating wound on the left side of his neck was a souvenir left by a mid-level Sand Scorpion.

While healing light can make wounds heal quickly, it is powerless against scars; Qi Xiaohao's face is still disfigured to this day.

Chen Zhengkai also had a scar on his left abdomen. Among the six, only Wang Yi and Jiang Yue had relatively intact clothes and almost no obvious scars on their bodies.

Wang Yi was able to protect herself because of the powerful defense of the Black Rock Heavy Armor, while Jiang Yue was able to do so because of the shields of Wang Yi and Wang Jiang.

As the most powerful attacker in the squad and also its captain, Jiang Yue received the full protection of Wang Yi and Wang Jiang.

Moreover, Jiang Yue himself possessed a rare-grade Ice Shard Shield, which could provide crucial support in critical moments, thus preventing him from sustaining almost no injuries.

In the previous battle, they encountered a group of red-tailed sand scorpions.

Jiang Yue, Wang Yi, and Wang Jiang went to confront the leader of the Crimson-Tailed Sand Scorpions, who was already a mid-level magical beast, while the other three were responsible for dealing with the remaining six low-level Crimson-Tailed Sand Scorpions.

Although the Red-tailed Sand Scorpion has a hard shell and naturally possesses strong defensive capabilities, fortunately, this mid-level Red-tailed Sand Scorpion does not have any divine-grade magic. Although it took some effort, Wang Yi and his companions successfully killed it, achieving the first kill of a mid-level magical beast.

At the last moment, the Crimson-Tailed Sand Scorpion tried to escape, but unfortunately, he was not as fast as the Fire-Patterned Black-Tailed Leopard, and Jiang Yue and the other two had already decided to kill him.

Despite facing numerous dangers from the combined attack of six low-level Crimson-tailed Sand Scorpions, Qi Xiaohao and his companions were eventually annihilated thanks to the healing rays that Wang Yi occasionally unleashed.

The team acquired six low-tier magic crystals and one mid-tier magic crystal in this battle.

"The beginner-level Red-tailed Sand Scorpion possesses the common-grade Earth Spikes and the rare-grade Rock Spikes, while the intermediate-level Red-tailed Sand Scorpion has an additional rare-grade Exploding Sand Shield."

Jiang Yue first introduced the magic possessed by the Crimson-tailed Sand Scorpion to the group, and then considered how to distribute the magic crystals.

"I don't need it. None of these three spells are suitable for me," Wang Yi said first.

He had already seen the three spells contained within the magic crystal of the mid-level Crimson-tailed Sand Scorpion when he unearthed it; all of them were offensive spells, and he could not absorb any of them.

"I don't need it either," Wang Jiang said, as he already had the rare-grade Rock Spikes and Exploding Sand Shield.

"Alright..." Jiang Yue thought for a moment, then divided the six magic crystals into three parts.

Both portions contain three low-level magic crystals, with one mid-level magic crystal in a separate portion.

"The three of you, who wants to bet on this mid-grade magic crystal?" Jiang Yue asked with a smile, looking at Qi Xiaohao, Hu Lili, and Chen Zhengkai.

Although the three of them obtained this mid-level magic crystal by killing someone, Wang Yi didn't use it, Wang Jiang didn't use it, and Jiang Yue didn't even want it, so they simply gave it away.

Qi Xiaohao acted nonchalantly and let the other two choose first.

In the end, Chen Zhengkai chose mid-tier magic crystals, while Hu Lili chose three low-tier magic crystals.

Jiang Yue distributed the magic crystals and then left them to their own devices.

As for what they do after obtaining the magic crystals, they can choose to absorb the magic themselves, keep them to restore their magic power, or eventually hand them over to the Candlelight Army for money.

After a short rest, the group began their ascent to the summit.

The hill was neither high nor steep, so the group quickly reached the top.

Looking down from the mountaintop, what comes into view is an endless forest, or more precisely, a stone forest.

The group examined the trees closely through binoculars. The trees, which should have been lush and verdant, had inexplicably turned into dark brown rocks, with the veins of the leaves and stems clearly visible. It was as if Queen Medusa had petrified them, a sight both spectacular and eerie.

I don't know if it's a plant unique to the Demon Realm, or if it's actually a tree that has petrified into rock for some unknown reason.

Looking out from a distance, many places in the stone forest show signs of collapse, leaving abrupt, jarring spots with obvious damage.

Among the petrified branches and leaves, one could vaguely see many shadowy figures flashing by, unsure whether they were monsters or the Candlelight Army.

"It's truly...stunning!" Wang Yi murmured to himself, seeing such a sight for the first time.

Although Peng Wanli gave them several lessons about Lingnan Shaqiao while they were at school, he mainly introduced some common monsters in Lingnan Shaqiao.

As for the specific topography and landform distribution of Lingnan Shaqiao, it was not discussed in class, probably due to confidentiality reasons.

So this was the first time the group had ever seen such a sight.

"Look at the very back," Jiang Yue said, pointing to the end of the stone forest. "That should be the depths of Lingnan Sand Bridge, where the spatial gate connecting to the magical world should be located."

"So that's where the monsters originated?" Wang Yi turned his gaze and tried to observe.

At the end of the stone forest, layers of dark clouds seemed to be covering the sky, casting heavy shadows below, which was very rare in Lingnan Shaqiao, where there is no night.

Huge bolts of lightning occasionally rolled through the dark clouds, and the rumbling thunder could be faintly heard.

The safe zone of Lingnan Shaqiao is a vast desert, the front station is a scarlet Gobi, the middle area has become a strange stone forest, and the depths are a scene of apocalypse.

"So, Xingxuan is in that dark cloud? That can't be right. Unless all those magical beasts had wings, they would have been smashed to pieces when they came in," Qi Xiaohao said doubtfully.

"The passage between the two worlds connects with our world to form a star vortex, but it may not be the same as the magical world. Moreover, even if it is a star vortex, it cannot open in the clouds."

Jiang Yue offered an explanation, then took a deep breath, gazing at the stone forest stretching from the foot of the mountain to the horizon, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly:

"Gentlemen, shall we go?"

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Qi Xiaohao was always the first to respond, raising his right hand and pointing towards the dark clouds, full of heroic spirit: "Let's set off, to the ends of the earth!"