The next day, early in the morning, before the mist had completely dispersed, a group of people appeared at the East Gate of Shrek Academy.
Besides Xuan Zi and the thirteen team members, Wang Yan also appeared there.
"Elder Xuan." Although Xuan Zi was Wang Yan's Grandmaster, outsiders rarely knew of their relationship, and Wang Yan had never addressed him in such a way in front of others.
After greeting him, Wang Yan looked at the Disciples. "Hello, everyone. I am Teacher Wang Yan, the leader for this Soul Duel Tournament."
Xuan Zi, standing beside him, nodded, signaling Wang Yan to continue.
"Our supervisory mission this time is in the Mingdou Mountain Range, which borders the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. Our target is a group of bandits. This area lies between the two Empires, making it difficult for either army to intervene, so they need our help to handle it."
"According to our investigation, this group of bandits calls themselves the Death Hand. Their leader is a very powerful Evil Soul Master. Our mission is to annihilate all these bandits, leaving none behind. Alright, now take out your flying spirit tools and prepare to depart."
The equipment of the Shrek Supervisory Group had also been upgraded without them realizing it. In addition to their original equipment, such as clothes and cloaks, they also had a rechargeable flying spirit tool and a trigger-activated defensive spirit tool.
With a flying spirit tool that could store spirit power, even Huo Yuhao, who had the lowest spirit power rank, could easily control it. Thanks to the flying spirit tools, the group took only one day to enter the Mingdou Mountain Range.
During a rest stop along the way, Wang Nan finally tasted Huo Yuhao's legendary secret grilled fish.
Not many seasonings were used; it was simply the essence of the grilled fish itself, brought out perfectly under Huo Yuhao's exquisite control.
Inner Courtyard Disciples usually ate medicinal cuisine-like food. To preserve the ingredients' properties and maximize the enhancement of the Inner Courtyard Disciples' attributes, their taste was not commendable. Therefore, tasting his grilled fish for the first time was a refreshing surprise.
As night fell, the group, now deep within the Mingdou Mountain Range, began to rest again. Wang Nan rummaged through his storage spirit tool and found a spirit tool detector.
Although Wang Nan had hoped Ye Xiaosheng could add a function to detect a Spirit Master's cultivation, this was not something Ye Xiaosheng could create with his current skill level.
However, after several improvements, its range and accuracy had been greatly enhanced. As long as one did not deliberately suppress their spirit power fluctuations and energy, their traces could be detected.
It was clear that the development of spirit tools had indeed brought many conveniences. Although the Death Hand concealed their whereabouts, they could not constantly suppress their spirit power fluctuations to the lowest level.
As the group continued deeper into the core of the Mingdou Mountain Range, a large number of Spirit Master traces appeared on the spirit tool detector in Wang Nan's hand.
Seeing Wang Nan, who was leading the way, stop, Wang Yan also looked up at him.
"Nan, cough, Xiao Nan." Wang Yan quickly corrected himself. Calling Wang Nan by his nickname in front of so many people seemed a bit inappropriate. "Did you find something?"
"Yes, it's right ahead."
Although it was night, everyone was a Spirit Master with good eyesight. By the moonlight, they could see a hillside ahead, which should be the hiding place of the Death Hand.
"Since that's the case, let's get closer and take a look first." Wang Yan nodded. "Yuhao, once you enter the range of your mental force detection, use your ability to confirm their identities."
"I understand."
With tasks assigned, the group quietly advanced, treading softly.
About two to three hundred meters from the hillside, a milky white light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes. Immediately after, a cave entrance and the surrounding situation appeared in everyone's minds.
Five or six bandits stood near the cave entrance, guarding the surroundings. However, their cultivation was too low, and they did not notice the appearance of Wang Nan and the others at all.
After confirming their identities, everyone changed into their dark green Shrek Supervisory Group attire. Although masks concealed their faces, the three shortest youngsters kept examining their clothes, making it easy to recognize who they were.
"Xiao Nan, the main force of this supervisory mission is you and the main team members. I'll leave the command to you."
Wang Nan nodded and glanced at the spirit tool detector in his hand.
Aside from the few people at the cave entrance, everyone else was inside the cave, about fifty meters from the entrance, judging by the distance.
Wang Nan led the group closer until they could clearly see the positions of those few bandits with the naked eye.
"Ye Xiaosheng, just blow it up."
"Won't that alert them?"
"Alerting them is exactly what we want." Even if Wang Nan didn't know the ability of the Death Hand's leader, he wouldn't just lead people into the opponent's lair like that.
In his opinion, for the leader of the Death Hand to earn the title of Strongest Spirit King, the person in charge of command back then also bore a great deal of responsibility. Rushing in without knowing the situation inside, and without even bringing along teammates with investigative abilities, he couldn't imagine what they were thinking at the time.
"Huo Yuhao, don't conserve your mental force and spirit power; cover everything with your mental force detection."
Hearing Wang Nan's arrangement, Huo Yuhao's mental force spread into the cave. Ye Xiaosheng grabbed the air with both hands, and a huge cannon barrel appeared in his grasp. He then hoisted it onto his shoulder, and after a moment of bright light accumulating, it erupted.
The few bandits near the cave entrance only had the strength of two or three spirit rings and were completely unprepared. They only felt a flash of light before losing consciousness.
The power of this shot was not limited to that. Inside the cave, there was a violent shaking, and sand and dirt fell from some less sturdy areas with a "rustling" sound.
The cave immediately became noisy. Through Huo Yuhao's shared mental force detection, Wang Nan could "see" dozens of people already rushing out of the cave.
Wang Nan took the opportunity to glance at the spirit tool detector in his hand, only to find that there was still one Spirit Master who had remained inside the cave.
It seemed that was the leader of the Death Hand. He was probably observing the situation from here, and if he found them unbeatable, he would abandon his subordinates and flee. Wang Nan had encountered many such Spirit Masters during previous supervisory missions.
Seeing the foremost bandits already exiting the cave, Wang Nan spoke again.
"Begin the attack. Lure them out and fight. Don't stay in the same place for too long, and always be vigilant of your surroundings."
Wang Nan was mainly speaking to the provisional team members; Inner Courtyard Disciples had performed at least ten supervisory missions and understood these things.
For a time, various Spirit Abilities emerged one after another, and Spirit rings of various colors continuously flickered, illuminating the entire hillside.