"Heh heh, are you afraid to speak now?"
Shangguan Ji said with a sneer. The group of Students who had initially followed behind Gu Yuan now had strange looks in their eyes.
"So he's that kind of person?"
"Huh? I saw him walking so confidently, I thought he knew how to leave..."
"In the end, this Gu Yuan is just like us, not a child of an aristocratic Family, and he even swindled money out of us before!"
"Haha, now we know who the clown is. I already didn't like this Gu Yuan. This guy runs around everywhere; maybe he wants to kill us! Who would be so generous as to give away so much stuff..."
"Could everyone be misunderstanding? Senior Gu Yuan is actually quite nice; he didn't even let us get injured or anything..."
A short, young man weakly spoke up to defend Gu Yuan, but everyone ignored him, merely casting a cold glance before continuing their furious shouting.
Gu Yuan watched the crowd discussing various topics with an indifferent expression, sneering inwardly.
"Gu Yuan, I consider that everyone here comes from the same academy, and I don't want to make things too difficult later. If you hand over everything you gained on this journey, we'll consider this matter settled!"
"Yes, hand it all over!"
Shangguan Ji wore the smile of a victor, while Lin Tian and the others standing behind him couldn't help but click their tongues in astonishment.
Shangguan Ji had managed to ruin Gu Yuan's reputation in just a few words. He truly was more frightening than that Shangguan Changqing!
Gu Yuan, after a few seconds of silence, suddenly pulled out his storage ring and poured out everything inside.
Ten or so Earth Dao Materials, along with various scattered scraps, made everyone's eyes widen.
Even the experienced Shangguan Ji couldn't help but swallow when he saw such a large quantity of Materials.
If all this was converted into Spirit Stones, it would likely be enough for cultivation all the way to the Late Stage of Qi Refining!
"Yes... hand everything over. That way, we still have a chance to cooperate. You don't want to be unable to leave, right!"
As soon as Shangguan Ji finished speaking, Gu Yuan put all the items back into his storage ring, then drew his wolf bone sword and looked at Shangguan Ji with an indifferent expression.
"Then I have to ask you, if you truly control the exit, why did you bother coming here?"
"Hmph, naturally, I want to lead more people out. Do you think everyone is as selfish as you are!"
Shangguan Ji remained insistent, and the Students behind him also shouted indignantly, "Gu Yuan, share the treasures on your body! Only by closely following Senior Student Shangguan Ji do we have a way out!"
"If that's the case, then why were you all so miserable when I first met you?"
"Dare I ask, is it because a few extremely powerful Evil Creatures were blocking the exit, causing you casualties and forcing you to return empty-handed?"
Gu Yuan's words struck directly at Shangguan Ji's heart. The surrounding Students were waiting for Shangguan Ji to counterattack, but Shangguan Ji seemed frozen, unable to utter a single word.
Seeing Shangguan Ji's appearance, Gu Yuan knew he had guessed correctly.
It was true that Shangguan Ji had found a collective way out, but they likely couldn't defeat the two Second-Tier Evil Objects guarding it. Relying on the special Magic Treasure, the fire affinity shield, they barely survived, but the team had suffered heavy casualties.
And weren't this group of Students, whom Gu Yuan had been protecting, the perfect cannon fodder?
"How about this? Since you have the ability to lead everyone out, why don't you first take us to see your so-called exit? If we can truly leave, then I will have no complaints, and I will donate all the gains from this trip to everyone, and even refund all the silver notes from before. How does that sound?"
"Gu Yuan, you..."
Shangguan Ji's face was ferocious. He hadn't expected Gu Yuan to be so cunning.
He had seen through the trap in his words instantly. If the other Students saw the Second-Tier Evil Objects at the exit, the team would surely scatter!
"What's wrong? Speechless?"
Gu Yuan merely found it boring. "I gave you a chance, you should grasp it well."
"Aren't you tempted by that many Materials?"
"That's right, Senior Student, don't worry about letting him know the location of the exit. With so many of us, he can only cooperate obediently!"
"We're guaranteed to win!"
Listening to the Students behind him constantly stirring up trouble, Gu Yuan felt his mouth almost split into a grin.
Seeing Gu Yuan still acting so indifferent, Shangguan Ji was truly enraged.
"Gu Yuan! Talking is useless. If you want to see the way out, fight me first!"
Shangguan Ji didn't wait for Gu Yuan's response and attacked directly!
"Losing your temper?"
Gu Yuan wasn't surprised. Shangguan Ji was already anxious to claim merit, and he had likely listened to Lin Tian's words, his heart burning intensely for the wolf bone Sharp Weapon in Gu Yuan's hand.
As for the lives of the other Students, Gu Yuan could guarantee that the direct descendants of the four great Families mostly wouldn't care.
Naturally, Gu Yuan was too lazy to bother with them either.
As for the accusations of that group, Gu Yuan paid them even less mind.
To Gu Yuan, he certainly hadn't done them any favors. He had simply treated those items as trash and casually given them away.
Would you expect the person who helps you clean up your trash to be grateful to you?
At this moment, Gu Yuan happened to feel deeply bored. After all, he didn't know when the people outside would take action—it could be today, or it could be tomorrow; no one could say for sure.
Since you want to fight, I have no reason to retreat.
Without excessive nonsense, Gu Yuan certainly wouldn't sit idly and wait for death. He quickly stepped forward and blocked the Sharp Weapon in Shangguan Ji's hand with one hand.
Shangguan Ji probably hadn't expected Gu Yuan to have so many Rotten Wolf products on him, even Rotten Wolf gloves!
Grasping the common weapon in Shangguan Ji's hand with one hand, leaving Shangguan Ji no time to react, Gu Yuan spread his fingers and, in the next moment, slapped Shangguan Ji across the face!
Shangguan Ji hurriedly released the common long sword and retreated backward. A bright red handprint was conspicuously visible on Shangguan Ji's slightly pale face.
"You, you actually dared to slap me?"
"That slap was for the Students you killed."
Gu Yuan's tone was calm. "If it weren't for your blind confidence, wanting to claim the first merit, they wouldn't have died at the hands of the Second-Tier Evil Object."
After hearing this, Shangguan Ji did not refute him, but his face alternated between green and red.
Clearly, Shangguan Ji had completely lost control.
"You were the one who wanted to fight earlier; don't think about quitting halfway!"
Having said that, Gu Yuan attacked again. Due to emotional turmoil, Shangguan Ji didn't even have time to regulate his Qi before hastily receiving Gu Yuan's combination of punches.
Throughout the entire exchange, he was constantly suppressed by Gu Yuan. Every time he missed a move, a new red mark would appear on his face.
After only a few minutes of fighting, Shangguan Ji was already bruised and swollen, breathing heavily like an ox.
If this continued... he would lose!
Just as Gu Yuan was preparing to deliver another slap to Shangguan Ji, the entire interior of the Death Prison suddenly experienced a violent tremor. The group of Students watching the fight all lost their footing and nearly fell.
When everyone regained their balance, their faces showed lingering shock.
Only Gu Yuan remained completely unfazed.
It seems... the people outside are finally going to take action.
Meanwhile, outside the Death Prison.
Every hundred meters, there was a First-Rank Qi Refining Cultivator standing guard, because once a Death Prison formed, it created a spherical barrier embedded in the ground.
If one rashly approached it, they could be harmed by the evil Qi emitted by the sphere. Only after achieving a Breakthrough to a certain Realm of cultivation could one possibly become immune to this emitted evil Qi damage.
They were all Cultivators stationed in Wuxin City, and some were from the academy.
At this time, less than three days had passed in the outside world.
Generally speaking, the flow of time inside a Death Prison is different from the outside world. The higher the Rank of the Death Prison, the faster the time flows. The Rank of the Death Prison is determined by the average Rank of the Evil Creatures within it.
Moreover, only Death Prisons that have been completely conquered are usually assigned a Rank.
In the currently known Second-Rank Death Prison, the time flow difference compared to the outside world is nearly three times greater.
Inside, about ten days had passed. The Academy Death Prison was temporarily estimated to be a "Second-Rank Death Prison" by the academy Cultivators.
Quite rarely, outside the Academy Death Prison, the current Family Head of the Shangguan Family, Shangguan Shenshuo, was standing nearby, watching Shangguan Changqing, who was sitting in front of the Death Prison, constantly meditating and circulating his Qi to resist the intrusion of evil Qi.
Three days had passed. Since Shangguan Changqing barely escaped the perilous Death Prison three days ago, after seeking aid from the Family Elders, he had been cultivating there without moving an inch.
Even though three days had passed, Shangguan Changqing's eyes were still bright and sharp. That was definitely not self-torture, but a genuine desire to cultivate and become stronger.
Generally speaking, only Golden Core grand Cultivators above the Fourth Rank can completely abstain from food.
To put it simply, Shangguan Changqing was currently surviving purely on sheer willpower.
But at the same time, as his body became increasingly weak, Shangguan Changqing felt his resolve grow firmer.
He had left the Death Prison ahead of time carrying the hopes of countless people inside—it was Gu Yuan, it was Lin Ao, it was everyone!
Since they had given the hope of survival to him, Shangguan Changqing, he absolutely could not let them down. After seeking rescue for them, they would work hard together!
They would never give up, and he, too, had to cultivate diligently instead of enjoying the life of a survivor.
Shangguan Changqing's fighting spirit at this moment was like a slowly burning bonfire in the mist, constantly consuming itself to light the way forward for others who were lost.
"Changqing... If everyone were like you, why couldn't my Wuxin City become a model capital among the Cultivators of this world!"
Seeing this sight, Shangguan Shenshuo couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Just as Shangguan Shenshuo was sighing, a sphere of crimson light suddenly flew from behind and shot directly into Shangguan Changqing's body!
Shangguan Changqing, who had previously become weak from not eating for many days, instantly recovered, and the aura around him grew even stronger!
There was a faint tendency for him to directly Break through to First-Rank Qi Refining!
And behind Shangguan Shenshuo, the envoy from Tianyan Wucheng, long awaited by the Wuxin City Cultivators, had finally arrived...