My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Chapter 297: The Favored Children’s Encounter

"Huff, phew..." Lucius wiped his sweat after watching his art of explosion kill many demonic beasts. During this trip, he managed to assist Zhuan Mei in rising to the top of the ranking list.

They were currently in Area VII, with many 7th Rank demonic beasts roaming around. Even with only 4th Rank power and the enemy’s strength level being far above them, living creatures would still die when they were killed.

Although some could escape with their soul essence, most of their prey could be secured, especially because Zhuan Mei was gifted with heavenly abilities, the embodiment of a young War Goddess.

"Where would you go?" Zhuan Mei chased the last demonic beast.

"Squeak!" The terrified demonic beast ran away in fear. It exerted its 7th Rank power solely to focus on running away, wondering who the monsters were, the demonic beasts or the humans.

"Zhuan Mei, stop it. It’s kept bugging me since a while ago. Something happened on the ranking list and this secret realm." Lucius called out, using voice transmission magic.

"You are lucky." Zhuan Mei deactivated her battle mode and sheathed her sword into its sheath.

She returned to Lucius, wondering what happened.

"..." Lucius was silent for a moment. This gifted girl was a gorgeous human girl with a refined demeanor. She was still at 4th Rank, the same as him, but she could exterminate 7th Rank beasts astonishingly.

He could harvest many good treasures and resources, thanks to her help.

However, Area VII was their limit. This girl should have secured many points to rise to first place. They could return after a little more exploration. Unfortunately, the plaque ranking list glitched a while ago. The rank never got an update, and it became slightly reddish with a strange symbol on it.

While Lucius appreciated Zhuan Mei for her usefulness while wondering about the ranking list error, the girl interpreted his gaze as something else.

In Zhuan Mei’s eyes, Lucius was a gentle young man who was cold on the outside but caring on the inside. He was also good-looking, clever in strategy, and reliable, especially with his magic and tricks.

Zhuan Mei covered her cheeks and turned around, knowing she was blushing slightly. "What did you mean?"

"Let’s end the hunt. It seems something happened in another area. The elders seem to have warned us to return to the entrance." Lucius showed his wooden plaque.

"!?" Zhuan Mei gasped in shock when she saw the wooden plaque had turned red.

She immediately checked her plaque to be sure, and sure enough, it was just as red.

"It doesn’t seem like it anymore, but all participants must return as soon as possible! We only have six hours before the realm portal closes due to the crazed 10th Rank demonic beasts! Let’s return ASAP!" Zhuan Mei widened her eyes.

She rarely checked her wooden plaque because Lucius was always around to assist her. Yet, the situation had become grave without her realizing it.

"Oh, well..." Lucius rubbed his head. He didn’t fully understand the symbols and usage of this wooden plaque because he arrived a bit late in the opening entrance test and skipped the elder’s speech.

Nevertheless, his guess was right and it was time to return.

"Fufu, roses are red, violets are blue. Here are romantic poems for you~" Medea couldn’t help but tease her disciple. She chanted her poem, and it made Lucius feel awkward and embarrassed.

"Stop it. She is a human with a different path." Lucius suppressed his voice and used the soul ring to secure his master.

"Hey, you always use the soul ring to keep me inside!" Medea voiced her protest.

"You are a ghost now and don’t need to breathe. Please be good as we are moving quickly. Let this disciple protect you." Lucius returned to his usual cold demeanor, solemn in his decision, as he knew they had to escape from this secret realm as soon as possible.

"What are you whispering about?" Zhuan Mei slowed her speed and moved beside Lucius, wondering what he was whispering about.

"Let’s speed up. That’s a 10th Rank demonic beast and its horde. Someone was causing trouble in Area X. We’ll be done for if we get surrounded by them." Lucius explained a little to avoid suspicion and curiosity.

"..." Zhuan Mei pouted. She already guessed the powerful ancestral spirit in Lucius’ ring artifact was a lady. It gave her a lot of dissatisfaction because he never talked about it, especially his secrets, to her when she already shared some of her secrets!

"What am I flustered about?" Zhuan Mei shook her head. She couldn’t believe that she felt jealous. He hadn’t even awakened his memories of past life.

Well, she only partially awakened her memories, so it was okay. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t give him up as he was a good comrade and a valuable asset to invest.

Zhuan Mei and Lucius rushed back to the realm portal at full speed.

---

"Elder Zhu, the crazed 10th Rank Raptor Drake, led the other demonic beasts to invade. More than eight hundred participants already died in the secret realm." One of the committee members came to report the situation.

"How many have returned?" Elder Zhu frowned.

"Only a few. Do we need to send more people?"

"No, it’s fine. If they can’t even escape this hurdle, then that’s a disappointment."

"Raptor Drake? That monster is far away in Area X. The participants are only at 4th Rank at most. How did they get there and anger that colossal monster?"

"It could be another factor. Those demonic beasts want to eradicate humans after being suppressed in that sealed secret realm for a long time."

"They’re just a bunch of demonic beasts growing to be troublesome. We have an hour before we need to seal the realm portal."

"What about the participants who couldn’t make it despite our notifications and warnings?"

"It’s a difficult decision, but they will stay. We can’t let those 10th Rank demonic beasts invade the outside world."

"Great Elder Wang and Elder Ling have already entered the secret realm to stall for time. However, seven hours is the limit. It’s one more hour before we seal the realm portal... we have no other choice."

The other elder commented. They expressed their opinion, but the decision had already been made. They didn’t want to face a Deity class threat if they could avoid it without casualties.

However, some were still dissatisfied. The nearby veiled elder was one of them. The participants wished to join their sect, but those poor souls had to leave the world in the entry test. The elders even decided to go to anyone who couldn’t return in time. It was a bit heartless, but she could only sigh.

*Swoosh!*

"Aargh, I made it!" A young man with his salamander pet shot out of the realm portal. They were out of breath but beaming with an aura of victory.

Some elders came to the newly arrived participant, asking about his encounters. All participants received the same inquiry, and this one was no exception.

"Ah, ahaha... I was just wandering around and exterminating the demonic beasts I encountered. I don’t even know where I started and ended, but my camp was on the border of Area IV. When I saw the notice, I immediately returned at speed full."

Yang Jian was a little troubled. When he caught his breath, he came with some random nonsense because he didn’t want to arouse suspicion and have his loot confiscated.

After all, he harvested many treasures during this trip, especially in a particular strange dragon’s nest deep in the deepest region.

Lucius and Zhuan Mei exited the realm portal, gasping for breath.

Lucius observed his surroundings for a moment. Of the more than a thousand participants, fewer than a hundred made it out safely.

Several people came to them for a quick interview and interrogation. Zhuan Mei spoke to summarize their exploration. They accidentally explored all the way to Area VII.

"You are quite lucky because the horde came from the east. If you were in Area VIII or Area V, you might be unable to come back alive. However, how can you explore Area above IV with just your Golden Core cultivation base?" One of the elders asked in surprise.

"Haha, that’s probably because we were just lucky. Unexpected things often happen." Zhuan Mei came up with some cliche excuse as she didn’t bother to explain more.

Once the appointed time arrived, it was already near sunset. Two elders came out of the realm portal, and sighed when they saw the remaining participants.

The Great Elder gave a signal to the disciples and elders with a shake of his head. "Close the portal now!"

The elders worked together to activate the seal, sealing the secret realm’s entrance.

"An unexpected thing happened, and the crazed beasts that occupied our sanctuary secret realm caused great chaos. However, you are the talented disciples who passed such a hurdle as winners. Congratulations." The Great Elder gave a speech of formality to soothe the new disciples’ anxiety.

All those who managed to survive received the token as new disciples. However, the ranking list needed to be continued because the top-ranked new disciples were the ones the elders were targeting.

The elders retrieved all the wooden plaques from all the new disciples. Due to a strange occurrence, a glitch occurred with the displayed score. It took them a few minutes to extract the real score.

"..." Yang Jian noticed a nearby rare beauty. It was a dazzling sword maiden with a heavenly talent and fate aura.

Regardless, he snorted because this girl could only be called the mediocre prodigy at best. She was pale compared to Heaven’s daughter he met a few days ago, the Holy Saintess of the Elysion Church. It was like a random little star to the sun.

"..." Zhuan Mei noticed a faint contempt from the nearby rogue cultivator.

That young man gave her feelings of disgust and hatred for many unknown reasons. She believed her gut feeling, and this young man was not a good person. She added this person to her list of people she did not want to associate with.

A few moments later, the great elder displayed the real score ranking list on the notice board for everyone to see.