Yun Ruoxi gently pulled back the carriage curtain.
Rows of tall wooden houses stretched toward the horizon like ripples washed onto a beach by waves, extending all the way to the edge of the sun.
Massive trees, as thick as a hundred men’s embrace and as tall as sky-scraping pillars, were scattered throughout the city. Around these giant trees, Tree God City had built several aerial districts located a hundred meters above the ground.
To reach these aerial districts, Tree God City was surprisingly less troublesome than other cities; a strange kind of vine was spread throughout every part of the upper city.
These vines were incredibly thick and hung all the way to the ground, with their ends naturally forming a cradle-like structure.
Passersby who wanted to go to the aerial districts only needed to step into a cradle and wait a moment, and the vine would naturally reel the cradle upward.
These strange, vine-like plants were everywhere on the streets.
Blue flowers shaped like street lamps, with stems two meters long, would emit a shimmering blue glow at night to dispel the darkness.
It happened to be dusk at that moment.
Not long after, Yun Ruoxi and the others saw these floral lamps light up one by one, as if the Star Sea were flowing in from afar, enveloping the entire city in starlight.
“So beautiful!” they couldn’t help but exclaim. Even the Audience watching through the lens was overwhelmed by the stunning scenery.
[“It’s so pretty.”]
[“The level of detail in this art is unbeatable.”]
[“Master-level art.”]
[“Is there a source image? I want to save it as a wallpaper.”]
“These strange plants are botanical machines created by us Green Elves using Tree God weapons. They are also one of the Tree God’s blessings,” Guan Kelai said softly.
“It’s getting late, and the royal city has a curfew. If you’re not in a hurry, I’ll arrange for you to enter the royal city tomorrow.”
Zi Jiu exchanged looks with the others and nodded, asking, “Then when can you arrange for us to contact the Yellow Elves? Is tonight possible?”
“Not tonight. It takes time for messages to be delivered. It will be at least three days before we can make contact,” Guan Kelai said in a heavy voice.
“Fine, then.” Seeing that Guan Kelai’s tone didn’t seem fake, Zi Jiu nodded in agreement.
Clop, clop, clop.
The rhythmic sound of animal hooves hitting the ground rang out.
The Exotic Beast pulled the carriage, turning into an exceptionally wide street specifically designed for carriage traffic.
Even on the bustling streets, Guan Kelai’s carriage and Exotic Beast were particularly eye-catching.
Coupled with the noble insignia on the carriage…
Other carriages and wagons along the way moved aside automatically, for fear of blocking their path.
On a street with heavy traffic, they were actually given an almost empty passage.
[“Such prestige.”]
[“That’s pretty badass.”]
Being treated this way by pedestrians made everyone except Yun Ruoxi truly realize how terrifyingly high Guan Kelai’s status and power were, making them even more curious.
How exactly did Yun Ruoxi manage to get a handle on a noble who was so influential even in Tree God City?
Guan Kelai first arranged a place for Yun Ruoxi and the others to stay—a secluded mansion he owned in Tree God City.
He then said he was going to prepare to contact the Yellow Elves.
Although Yun Ruoxi confidently said it didn’t matter, how could Zi Jiu dare to let Guan Kelai leave all by himself?
Guan Kelai leaving was a minor issue, but if he contacted the military and led a large number of Tree God Guards to deal with them, it would be a real problem.
So, after enjoying a fine dinner prepared by the mansion’s servants…
Zi Jiu thought for a moment and then had Kaos and Anvil go along with Guan Kelai.
Guan Kelai also knew his situation and did not refuse.
Once the three of them left the residence, the remaining group met in a room at Zi Jiu’s summons to hold a meeting.
“During these three days, we can’t just stay in Guan Kelai’s home. We also need to go out and investigate to gather intelligence.”
Zi Jiu stood before the table, looked around, and said slowly.
“Should we act together or split up?” Yun Che asked softly.
“I think splitting up would be more efficient..”
“Then let’s work in groups.”
Zi Jiu paused for a moment and nodded, “Tree God City is the royal capital, after all, so safety is guaranteed. We’ll just split into two groups.”
“Then I want to be with Big Sister!” Aili raised her hand and waved it vigorously in front of Zi Jiu.
Yun Ruoxi spread her hands helplessly toward Zi Jiu.
“Then you can be in a team with Xiao Xi.” Zi Jiu then looked at Yun Che and Genbeier, “The remaining three of us will be one team.”
“No problem.” Yun Che coughed lightly; this was temporary physical damage caused by his previous poisoning, and he would need a few more days to fully recover his combat strength.
This was also the reason why Zi Jiu had agreed to contact the Yellow Elves in three days.
Having divided into groups, the group was in no hurry to set out; instead, they first thoroughly inspected Guan Kelai’s mansion.
In the end, they found nothing except for a large sum of money.
As Yun Ruoxi and the others had seen before, Tree God City was roughly divided into two districts: the ground and the sky.
Considering that Yun Ruoxi could fly…
She took Aili to the aerial district, while Zi Jiu and the others explored the ground district.
But Tree God City was truly too vast; two consecutive days of exploration yielded no useful intelligence.
Instead, progress was made on Guan Kelai’s side first.
After he sent a message through his underground channels that night stating there was important business to discuss, it took only two days for them to receive a reply from the Yellow Elves.
The Yellow Elves agreed to meet and discuss, but they required the meeting to take place at a location of their choosing.
An obscure Underground Cave.
“I’m stating this in advance: I am not at all sure if the other party will set an ambush at the meeting place,” Guan Kelai said that night inside the mansion. “Nor am I sure if they will agree to your invitation for cooperation.”
“I only contacted the Yellow Elves according to your requests. I don’t even know if the other party is from the military. If it fails, don’t blame me.”
Guan Kelai’s cowardly appearance was somewhat amusing to everyone.
For them, it had taken two days just to get in touch with the Yellow Elves.
Even if that cave was an ambush, they had to take the trip and find a way to establish contact with the Yellow Elves.
Even if they ultimately failed to establish a partnership, at least they had tried.
After all, there was only one Star Core.
In the end, only one team would be able to complete the assessment task.
Since the Sacred Hand Society had launched such a large-scale assessment, it was naturally impossible that they would only recruit one team in the end.
They would certainly decide which students met the requirements and which did not based on their performance during the assessment, just as the Battle Camp had been grading students during the previous two years of assessments.
This was what Yun Ruoxi had told them the night before.
Even if they didn’t complete the mission in the end, they had to find a way to demonstrate their abilities so that they could eventually enter the Sacred Hand Society together and secure their beautiful future and freedom.