Firefly Journey

Chapter 211 The Contest of Prodigies (12)

At this moment, a fierce sandstorm swept across the entire top of the earthen mountain. Everyone was fleeing in all directions with no time to spare, and the earth element crystal was taken away by someone unknown.

Lin Yuanran, caught in the sandstorm, could barely move despite being protected by divine deities. No matter how many deities one possesses, they are ultimately disposable; they will eventually run out.

Fortunately, he found a reliable ally. Following that beam of light, Lin Yuanran slowly moved away from the center of the sandstorm.

Not far away, Lü Jianming followed the directions and walked towards the outer perimeter.

Joanna, the culprit behind the sandstorm, looked smug and quickly backed away.

It's a pity I can't see them eliminated, but it doesn't matter. With such a fierce sandstorm, their elimination is inevitable. I should just leave as soon as possible and focus on accumulating points.

She was holding a grudge.

If I win this competition and my score surpasses that of the current Saintess, my reputation will undoubtedly increase greatly when I return to the temple. Who knows, I might even be promoted from a candidate to a full-fledged Saintess!

Contrary to expectations, Lin Yuanran and the other man were both unharmed and fled separately.

The only drawback was that, in order to avoid the sandstorm, the two chose a route that went in the opposite direction.

Lin Yuanran finally managed to escape, but upon closer inspection, he found that Lü Jianming was gone, and Fine was nowhere to be seen either. Well, he was all alone again.

On Lü Jianming's side, however, it was a completely different scene.

Finney, holding up her staff, asked, "Are you Ario's classmate?"

Lü Jianming nodded: "Yes, you are Finney?"

Lin Yuanran had briefly told him about it, so Lü Jianming knew about this ally's existence. However, he never expected that after losing Lin Yuanran, he would meet her.

Before Fene could speak, Lü Jianming added, "Don't worry, since Ario trusts you, I will too. Until we encounter anyone from the Fighting Arena, I will protect your safety."

Finney frowned, seemingly considering the credibility of his words. He had been observing the two of them, and now that he had decided to help, there was no need to question them anymore.

“Okay,” Finne said. “My ability is ‘prophecy,’ which can reduce some unnecessary trouble. Let’s team up for now. The conditions I discussed with Ario were…”

After listening, Lü Jianming said, "No problem, let's leave it at that and get out of this awful place."

The two had escaped the sandstorm but were still in a barren, sandy hilly area where food and water were scarce, so they needed to leave as soon as possible.

After Fene agreed, the two walked towards the outer perimeter.

……

Suddenly, the door of "Wanxiangbei" flashed, sending out a large number of contestants who had been eliminated due to a sudden sandstorm.

Among them were four members of the Dark Temple, including the long-haired Philip.

After Philip and the others were eliminated, they were not in a hurry to leave. They wanted to see the tragic end of the two men with their own eyes and then make a sarcastic remark. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

however……

One second, one minute, ten minutes, one hour...

Apart from those who were eliminated, there was nothing else unusual about the gate, and no one was forcibly sent out.

The group looked at each other, their faces showing resentment and a hint of embarrassment.

what?

So we're the only ones out?

Are they completely unharmed?

The four of them found it hard to accept, but they had no choice. As they were about to leave, they glanced at the notice board.

Currently, the top-ranked force is Eklin Academy, while Locke is ranked number one in the individual rankings. Ancient Fighting Hall has temporarily taken the top spot on both lists.

St. Louis Academy, which was highly anticipated, ranked outside the top ten, even falling behind some smaller forces.

On the individual leaderboard, St. Louis had two people on the list: "Queen of Calamity" Sabrina, who ranked sixth, and Lin Yuanran, who just squeezed into tenth place.

The list shows that St. Louis is relying entirely on these two people; the rest probably didn't earn a single point, which is quite puzzling.

Especially the popular contestant, Wind Chime, whose name isn't even on the leaderboard; who knows what she's up to.

……

Lin Yuanran, now all alone again, also decided to leave the Yellow Sand Hills.

After taking stock of the food, Lin Yuanran remained calm. He had to admit that with the bear turtle meat he had obtained at the beginning, surviving was not a problem at all.

Lin Yuanran was extremely envious after learning about the five people from the Dark Temple. If Class 29 also had five or more people acting together, obtaining monsters and points would be a piece of cake.

Lin Yuanran's thoughts changed.

Previously, he planned to focus on accumulating points and rely on chance to find teammates. However, the Earth Element Crystal incident made him realize that without sufficient strength, even if he encountered a large number of points, he could only watch helplessly.

The most urgent task is to find teammates!

Lin Yuanran traveled south, and as he left the desert area, the scenery to the south came into view.

The weather is fine and sunny, and the grass is growing tall and the birds are flying.

Although the grass was a little tall.

The grass, over two meters tall, blocked out the entire view, a lush and verdant expanse as far as the eye could see. Lin Yuanran stepped into it and felt dizzy, taking a while to adjust.

I wonder what the grass here eats to grow so tall.

The snowmelt stored on the snowfield has been depleted by the sandy terrain, and Lin Yuanran needs to replenish it promptly.

On the grassland, Lin Yuanran could hear the roars of magical beasts from time to time. As long as he followed them, he could easily find a water source.

Lin Yuanran's idea was correct. After wasting two full days and two nights on the grassland, Lin Yuanran finally followed a yak with iron horns and found a small waterhole...

After another half day of tracking, Lin Yuanran finally reached a shallow water area.

The soil here is extremely loose; you start to sink when you step on it, and I don't know if you'll be buried if you stand there for too long.

Lin Yuanran dared not venture further, so he fetched some water at the edge of the area and prepared to leave.

Just as he turned his head, he suddenly heard footsteps. It seemed that there were quite a few contestants on this grassland.

As usual, let's hide first!

Lin Yuanran dodged and immediately darted into the thick grass, revealing only his eyes.

The person who came was extremely cautious, with light footsteps. If Lin Yuanran hadn't been so close, he probably wouldn't have heard them at all.

Judging from her back, she appeared to be a human woman.

Since they were both in the same boat, and Lin Yuanran didn't intend to make a move against the girl who probably didn't have many points, he turned around and prepared to leave.

Unfortunately, the clump of grass behind him evolved a protective coat—a bunch of thorns—and Lin Yuanran was pricked several times when he wasn't careful.

He instinctively cried out in pain, the sound was very soft, but it was still heard.

"Who?!"

A bullet grazed past his ear, piercing through patch after patch of grass.

Hearing the girl's voice, Lin Yuanran was actually quite happy. They hadn't met before, but they had run into each other here.

"Ahem... It's me."

Lin Yuanran came out, scratching the back of his head.

The girl was also taken aback for a moment, then said in a delighted tone, "A-Ario?"

"Mmm!" Lin Yuanran said, and walked towards the girl.

She was none other than Wendy Jupes, a friend from Torreg Town, who went to the Church of the Mechanical Wings to train and become a "Mechanist".