Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Even though Staff Sergeant Jiang seemed displeased with him and his group, Yan Yu wasn't worried that the former would act on personal grudges to sabotage the mission.

The reason was very simple: the discipline, obedience, and ideological consciousness of Lu Country's military personnel were unrivaled on this Earth in the current plane of existence—there was absolutely no exaggeration or boastfulness in that assertion.

No matter how much one might dislike you, the mission came first, and there would never be a case of personal feelings interfering with public duty.

As expected, the group didn't have to wait long before they saw Staff Sergeant Jiang return with two other military cultivators, making a rough hand gesture that signified "Follow me."

It conveyed both the resolute and efficient quality unique to soldiers and a "I don't wish to speak with you any longer" message.

Without a word, Yan Yu gestured with his hand, indicating for the girls to quickly follow suit.

The scenic area surrounding the Wuyi Mountains was highly developed, but the deeper one went, the more "natural and primitive" it became, with the roads becoming rough and rugged.

Deep in the valley, shrouded in thick jungles and the sound of babbling streams, the group eventually saw the heavily guarded entrance to the Mysterious Realm:

It was a pale purple spatial fissure, like an enormous vertical scar, tearing through the void and radiating twisted scars, yet it was not ugly—in fact, it was quite the opposite. It was as splendid and colorful as the auroras, filled with a bizarre and eerie charm that was indescribable.

These types of entrances to different spaces were not unique to Lu Country, but with the progression of the Spiritual Energy Resurgence, they appeared all over the globe. It's just that the entrances in other countries led not to a world of cultivation specific to Lu Country.

The English called it "The Devil's Kiss," while the people of heavy cherry blossom country revered it as "The Vanishing Rift," names that suggested nothing good lay beyond.

The three officers watched the entrance to the Mysterious Realm with serious expressions. This thing had devoured the first group of military cultivators sent to explore it and also put Staff Sergeant Jiang and others who were in command on the spot.

The first group of cultivators hadn't sent back any news, and sending a rescue team was akin to throwing sheep into a tiger's mouth; but not attempting a rescue would drastically reduce the chances of survival for the lost cultivators inside, which was completely unacceptable to them.

Staff Sergeant Jiang covertly glanced over, silently observing the expressions of these university student cultivators.

Su Yunjin reached from behind to grasp Yan Yu's sleeve, clearly frightened by the eerie and terrifying appearance of the entrance to the Mysterious Realm.

Lin Ning wasn't faring much better, but she was still able to maintain a semblance of calm, although her face was pale from the tension.

Chen Lingyun reined in her smile and, although there wasn't much fear on her face, a complicated mix of curiosity and contemplation was present.

As for Zhao Yuanzhen's reaction, it was completely opposite to the other three girls, seeming to contain a mix of eagerness and, perhaps, a hint of... greed?

If Staff Sergeant Jiang were to assess, none of the four were in a particularly good state of readiness.

Fear could limit rational thought, too much tension could impact performance, curiosity and contemplation could indicate underestimation of the enemy, and eagerness, not to mention greed, simply translated to recklessness to some extent.

This was typical of those who had not undergone long-term military training. Even if you put a rifle into her hands, she might not be able to aim and shoot steadily at the enemy...

Jiang really couldn't fathom why Jinling would send a group of university students, demanding a quick completion of the exploration and rescue in the Mysterious Realm while also expecting unconditional cooperation with these youngsters. Did they not realize that these two orders were contradictory?

However, out of the five, only Yan Yu had no faults to be found—he was completely expressionless, almost identical to the three staff sergeants.

His spirit was focused, his attention highly concentrated, yet not to the point of excessive tension. Such a state was the qualified pre-mission countenance and the standard expected of a professional soldier.

Staff Sergeant Jiang made his silent judgment, only to hear Yan Yu turn his head and say,

"Don't hold too high of hopes; a Mysterious Realm appearing at this time is unlikely to be of much difficulty. I'll reiterate, just perform as you would in your regular training."

Shit! Staff Sergeant Jiang immediately overturned his previous conclusion. This man was going to be the biggest variable coming up!

His face turned an ashen hue as he turned his head and signaled with his eyes to Old Wei and Old Feng, his two deputies.

Once they entered the Mysterious Realm, they had to keep a close eye on this headstrong young man, not letting him charge forward recklessly and get killed instantly, which would leave no opportunity for rescue.

"Aren't you leaving yet?" Yan Yu urged again, this time addressing Staff Sergeant Jiang.

As if he hadn't heard him, Staff Sergeant Jiang turned and gave his orders:

"Wei Yun, come with me first into the realm. Feng Haiping, you follow them and cover our retreat."

"Understood," Feng Haiping immediately responded.

As the two military cultivators were willing to lead the way, Yan Yu naturally had no objections. He watched silently as they headed towards the entrance of the mysterious realm, and were swallowed by the twisted spatial scars, before he spoke to arrange the order:

"Me, Lin, Chen, Su, Zhao, in that order, let's go in."

Afterward, he headed towards the entrance of the mysterious realm.

His vision warped for an instant before returning to normal.

Yan Yu, upon entering the mysterious realm, composedly surveyed his surroundings.

What met his eye was nothing but green waters and verdant mountains, a scene of endless picturesque beauty, without a hint of danger.

According to memories from his previous life, this blessed land should be called "True Rising into the Mysterious Heavens," created by an ancient cultivator surnamed Liu.

The reason it emerged early in the period of the Spiritual Energy Resurgence was because the concentration of spiritual energy inside was indeed low, and the average cultivation of the monsters was not high… If he remembered correctly, it seemed to be referred to as a realm of the "Yi Wood of Spring's Birth"?

Among the five elements, metal and fire are the most ferocious, water and earth next, and wood is the most mild, with Yi wood being gentler than Jia wood; saying that this place had the difficulty of a kindergarten was not an exaggeration.

As for why the military cultivators had been trapped inside, it might be due to a lack of experience in exploring mysterious realms. Knowing is easier than doing; it has been the same throughout the ages.

Yan Yu turned to look back at the entrance, waiting until Cultivator Feng Haiping followed Zhao Yuanzhen into the realm, and the whole team had assembled, before turning to Chen Lingyun to ask:

"How is it?"

Since entering the mysterious realm, Chen Lingyun had quickly been observing the surrounding landscape and already had a conclusion:

"Let's go there first."
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She pointed toward the cliff in front of them on the right, firstly because it was close, and secondly, it was elevated. If they used the Cloud Ascension Technique to reach its peak, they could easily observe the farther surroundings.

"No," Section Chief Jiang immediately objected, "didn't you see the forest over there? We should follow the river downstream."

Passing through the dense forest was a necessary route to reach the cliff ahead. Without any intelligence, rashly entering the dense woods was clearly not a wise move. What if there were enemies lying in ambush?

On the other hand, if they followed the river's flow towards the rear right, they could reach the sparsely wooded hills far away. Though it was not as high as the cliff, the visibility along the way was good enough, and they didn't have to worry about ambushes.

Yan Yu responded noncommittally to his command:

"Isn't it common military knowledge to first seize the high ground to scout the terrain in unfamiliar environments?"

"The premise is that the high ground is easy to reach," Section Chief Jiang said coldly, "But the risk of entering that dense forest is obvious."

"Since we can't come to an agreement, then we should split up and act separately," Yan Yu suggested with an indifferent smile, "We'll head towards the cliff, and you follow the river, how about that?"

Split up, my ass! The military order from above demands that we unconditionally coordinate with you!

Section Chief Jiang's face immediately turned incredibly sour as he coldly retorted:

"Splitting up? Great idea. What if you get ambushed in the forest and we can't provide timely support to your unit? What then?"

"Since you're worried about falling into an ambush if we split up," Yan Yu revealed an expression as if to say "so you do know," and asked with surprise, "then shouldn't you avoid leaving the main force to act alone, isn't that right?"

Jiang Weiming immediately bulged his eyes wide and took a sharp intake of breath, as if he was about to explode at any moment — the nearby Wei Yun and Feng Haiping saw this and quickly took his arms, one on the left and one on the right, acting as peacemakers and repeatedly urging:

"Let it go, Old Jiang! Let's just move together! The mission comes first! We'll just follow them, alright?"