Chapter 82: Official Guides Are the Most Deadly

Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf, leading the three of them deeper into the island.

The air was damp and thick, carrying a scent of decaying vegetation.

"Swish!"

A silver light flashed, and the armored warrior transformed by Yuan Kai punched an incoming tusked wild boar, sending it flying.

Ye Xi lightly tapped her fingertips, and a beam of gentle Holy Light fell onto Yuan Kai, instantly repairing a shallow scratch on his armor.

"Aren't these monsters way too weak?" Yuan Kai's muffled voice came from inside the helmet, carrying a hint of boredom.

"It's been over half an hour, and we haven't even encountered a single elite monster."

Ye Xi also frowned prettily.

"And it seems we haven't met a single team from other provinces."

"This island is much larger than we imagined."

Shen Fuhai wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting heavily.

"It's not just a matter of size."

He pointed at a crooked tree ahead.

"Look at that tree, does it look familiar?"

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

On the trunk, a brand-new charred mark was clearly visible.

Zhou Huai stopped in his tracks.

He looked at the mark, his pupils contracting slightly.

That was the mark he had casually made with a Split Fireball while controlling Gandalf ten minutes ago.

It was identical.

"It seems like we… have been walking in circles."

His low voice instantly froze the surrounding atmosphere.

Shen Fuhai's expression turned solemn, and he nodded.

"I felt something was wrong."

"The trials of the National Examination are multifaceted. The periphery of this Triple Island is likely a massive trapping formation."

Yuan Kai irritably struck the tree trunk with his metal fist.

"A trapping formation? Then how do we get out?"

"It's so big here, and the vegetation is so dense, how are we supposed to find the formation core?"

Ye Xi said softly, "From now on, we can only walk a bit slower, observe our surroundings carefully, and see if there is anything out of the ordinary."

"That might be the key to leaving this place."

However, Zhou Huai shook his head.

"Where is the need for so much trouble."

He raised the Flame Explosion Core in his hand.

"Wouldn't it be fine to just clear it out directly."

"[Forbidden Spell: Meteor Fire Rain]!"

Five more huge meteorites fell from the sky, flattening a large patch of the jungle ahead and turning the ground into scorched earth.

However, a bizarre scene occurred.

Less than ten seconds had passed.

On that scorched land, countless emerald-green shoots emerged at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The shoots grew wildly, turning into bushes and towering trees in the blink of an eye.

In just a short moment, the destroyed jungle was restored to its original state.

As if the world-destroying scene just now had never happened.

"This…"

Yuan Kai and Shen Fuhai watched in dumbfounded shock.

Zhou Huai couldn't help but be slightly stunned as well.

Ye Xi also covered her small mouth in surprise, but then couldn't help laughing.

"It seems the designers of the National Examination anticipated long ago that someone would use brute force to break the formation."

Shen Fuhai sighed.

"Then we can only use the clumsy method and search carefully."

Zhou Huai was also somewhat speechless.

His ever-victorious aesthetic of violence had actually hit a snag today.

Just as Ye Xi and the other two began inspecting the surrounding trees and flowers inch by inch like detectives…

An inspiration suddenly flashed through Zhou Huai's mind.

He… seemed to have been too honest after all.

With such a convenient cheating method, why hadn't he thought of it earlier?

He quickly withdrew his consciousness from Gandalf's body and returned to his original body.

…

Inside the bedroom.

Zhou Huai suddenly opened his eyes.

"Uncle Fu!"

"Young master, this old servant is here." Uncle Fu immediately pushed the door open and entered.

"Turn on the television in the room."

Although Uncle Fu didn't understand why, he immediately followed the order.

Soon, the huge LCD screen on the wall lit up.

Clear images and sounds came from it.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to watch the annual National Examination exclusively hosted by the Great Xia Country Ministry of Education!"

A middle-aged male host with a loud voice and a square face was talking eloquently facing the camera.

"I am the host, Wei Zheng!"

Beside him, a young female host wearing a professional skirt suit and possessing a sweet appearance also smiled and spoke.

"Hello everyone, I am the host, Lin Xi."

"Brother Wei, now the outstanding examinees from all forty-eight provinces have completely entered this year's National Examination dungeon — Triple Island, and the challenge has officially begun!"

Wei Zheng nodded, a confident smile on his face.

"That's right. I believe many audience friends in front of the TV are very curious why this year's dungeon is called Triple Island?"

Lin Xi asked cooperatively, "That's right, Brother Wei. I'm also very curious. Is there any particular reason behind this?"

Wei Zheng cleared his throat and deliberately kept them in suspense.

"This so-called Triple Island, as the name implies, besides the conventional strange beast challenges and competition between teams, has also prepared three special trials on this island for our examinees!"

As his voice fell, a huge island map appeared on the screen behind him.

On the map, dozens of small green light dots were moving slowly.

"Please take a look everyone, this is the general map of Triple Island. These small green dots are the participating teams from our various provinces."

"As you can see, many teams are currently crowded around the periphery of the island, with a very small moving range, almost walking in circles."

Lin Xi asked at just the right moment, "Why is that?"

Wei Zheng smiled and said, "This, of course, is the first trial of our Triple Island — the Trapping Formation."

"This stage does not test strength; it only tests the examinees' judgment and observation skills."

"If you can't even Breakthrough this first trial, then no matter how strong your strength is, you are destined to miss out on a good ranking."

A worried look appeared on Lin Xi's face.

"Then how should this trapping formation be resolved? It looks rather difficult."

Wei Zheng waved his hand, looking completely confident.

"The method is actually very simple."

"I believe that when many teams realize they are deeply trapped in the formation, their first reaction is to look for clues on the surrounding trees."

"But in fact, the key point of this trapping formation is not on the trees, but underfoot."

Following his words, the image on the screen shifted.

A close-up shot of a gray stone appeared.

That stone was utterly unremarkable, and the only special thing about it was that a simple triangle pattern was painted on it with red pigment.

"Did everyone see it? It's this kind of stone."

"As long as you find the marker stone with this triangle pattern, you can easily leave the peripheral trapping formation and enter the central area of the island."

"To be honest, the difficulty of this first trial is not high. Such marker stones are widely distributed. As long as the examinees can calm down, change their mindset, and observe the ground carefully, they will definitely find them."

"But if you split hairs right from the beginning and only stare at the surrounding trees or leaves, I'm afraid it will take a very long time."

Seeing this, Zhou Huai grinned and laughed silently.

Official guides are the most deadly.

This was probably the ultimate cheating method that only he could pull off.

After all, who could participate in the National Examination while comfortably lying at home watching its live broadcast?

He quickly transferred his consciousness back to Gandalf's body.

…

Triple Island, in the jungle.

Ye Xi was lying on top of a huge mushroom, carefully studying the patterns on it.

Yuan Kai was struggling to pull apart a patch of bushes.

Shen Fuhai was the most exaggerated; he was hanging upside down directly from a tree, trying to discover something different from another angle.

Looking at the three people's appearances, Zhou Huai felt like laughing a bit.

He cleared his throat.

"You guys don't need to look anymore."

The actions of the three paused simultaneously, and they looked at him in confusion.

Meeting their puzzled gazes, Zhou Huai calmly spoke.

"I know where the key point of this trapping formation is."