"Oh?" Xie Feng blinked somewhat in surprise. "Then what are we waiting for? Should we open the door now or what?"

Red Snow and an unknown warrior, probably the leader of the other team that had been almost completely annihilated, approached and presented their pieces; the seductive assassin was moon-shaped and the warrior had the rainbow-shaped piece.

​​

Yao Zenyu said nothing and silently took out a cloud-shaped piece.

With Mu Wuying's sun-shaped piece and Xie Feng's star-like piece, the five pieces that acted as the key to open the only door in the place were reunited.

The five leaders looked at each other before walking toward the door at the same time. As they approached it was as if their bodies felt somehow heavier and their surroundings slowly darkened as if the sun's rays could not get too close to the door.

After looking at each other for a moment, they all nodded to each other before putting their respective pieces into the empty sockets.

Crack!

As if by prior agreement, everyone jumped backwards away from the door as the cracking sound spread through the silent copula. Xie Feng and Red Snow's reactions were the quickest, but Xie Feng was very surprised when he realized that this woman actually moved a split second ahead of him!

A split second was very little time; so little that normally nothing could be done in that span of time. However, in a life-and-death battle, a split second decided who lived and who died... Hadn't Xie Feng himself experienced this countless times during his journey?

This woman...

Xie Feng's heart shivered slightly... Truly, one could not underestimate anyone present. Even the unknown warrior reacted at a speed worthy of praise... They had all arrived here for a reason; regardless of luck, they were undoubtedly all powerful players in their own right.

Crack...

The cracking sound became more and more pronounced and all the people present reflexively prepared for battle. However, none of them expected what happened next.

Swoosh!

After the door opened, everyone felt a small gale of wind rush past them and into the door before disappearing in a flash of light!

Xie Feng and the rest looked at each other dumbfounded.

What the heck happened!

Everyone's mind was blank, unable to think. Just now, something had definitely gotten into the door; but the main problem was that none of those present had disappeared... In short, there was someone else in this hidden place and none of them could detect it!

Fortunately, just as Xie Feng began to sweat and Red Snow had a deep frown on her face, a playful voice coming from inside the door that had now opened wide calmed the nerves of everyone present.

"Ding-Dong! Congratulations, everyone! You are the five teams that made it to the finish line first!" A small creature with almost invisible wings behind her back flew out from inside the door with a small dark black fox suspended from her back.

The funny thing was that the fox, although a puppy, was three times bigger than whoever was carrying it, so it looked really strange.

As for the creature carrying the little black fox on her back, of course, was Jade.

"You... Where did you come from?" Definite Arrow asked as he looked at Jade with wide eyes.

"Oh! From that place lala~!" Jade replied jovially and pointed in the direction of a tree.

This tree was a little different from the rest; its branch was not brown, it was cyan in color.

[Summoning Tree: Unknown function. It is said that something can come out of its interior].

Something can come out from inside it...

The corner of Xie Feng's mouth twitched a few times as he read the description of the strange plant. Something can come out from inside it? Could dinosaurs or many Jades come out?

Ignoring the number of questions flooding everyone's minds, Jade gently set the little black fox asleep on the ground and said quickly: "Well then, let me tell you a story!"

Jade waited for no one's response and as she gazed skyward like an old woman contemplating life, she began her narrative:

"Many years ago, the King of the West, king of Redemption City, went into the dangerous unknown forests of the Adastreia Continent in search of a beautiful and powerful beast. He wanted this beast to become the guardian beast of his unborn child, and also to present it as a gift to the newborn. The King of the West, being one of the most powerful humans in the world, managed to capture a beautiful five-tailed Sacred Fox that was still growing. Overjoyed, the King of the West returned triumphantly to Redenmption City and made the beautiful white fox the protective pet of the newborn baby. What the King of the West never expected, however, was that the beautiful white fox was actually pregnant!"

Xie Feng and the rest were listening intently not wanting to miss the slightest word that came out of the little fairy's mouth. With the exception of the initial guide each player went through when creating their character, this was the first time any of them had listened and learned some information about another one of the major cities of the Adastreia Continent.

Jade continued, "The King of the West was surprised but at the same time joyful since he could give two beautiful foxes capable of evolving into nine-tailed foxes to his precious son! But what the King of the West never expected was that the beautiful white fox actually gave birth to a fox whose fur was black as the dark night's cloak. After careful and detailed inspection, the King of the West learned that the black fox born to the five-tailed Sacred Fox was an Abyssal Black Fox! With the ability to control the element of darkness and terrify people, the King of the West, who like the rest of the humans detested those who controlled darkness and referred to them as demons. Unfortunately, the Abyssal Black Fox could not be killed unless the purest light of the world was used against it... With no other choice, the King of the West locked the Abyssal Black Fox in this dungeon where time stood frozen. Since then, more than twenty years have passed, and this little black fox and its mother never saw each other again."

Jade paused and carefully watched everyone's reactions.

Some had indifferent expressions, others had sad, angry, mocking expressions... The emotions shown on the faces of each was variable.

"The final mission will depend on each of you." Jade said softly and floated away as she left a few words behind, "It will depend on you whether you get the little black fox to accept you or not."

Flash!

In a flash of white light, Jade seemed to teleport somewhere using the same strange tree she came through earlier.

Xie Feng and the rest looked at each other in silence, each of them trying to carefully digest and comprehend Jade's words. But in the end, there wasn't too much to think about... The mission was obvious after all. Although Jade didn't explain too much, those few words were more than enough.

"So, in what order should we go?" asked the warrior, leader of the group with the least amount of people. He was worried that some of these people would decide to start a war; after all, his group only had two members including him since the other ten did not manage to survive the event.

"I suggest we go in order of arrival." Yao Zenyu looked at everyone and proposed. "Playing games of luck to choose the order would be a bit unfair, don't you think? Since fighting is forbidden according to the previous words of that NPC named Jade, then we don't have much choice either."

"I agree!"

Hearing this, the warrior nodded repeatedly. He was so worried that he had even forgotten that they were not allowed to kill each other in this place. Besides, he also didn't want to offend any of the people present because each of them was more terrifying than the other.

After a moment's consideration, no one managed to find a loophole in Yao Zenyu's speech so they agreed, accepting his suggestion. Although it might seem that Yao Zenyu's group had the advantage by going first, it was not necessarily so.

After all, none of them knew how to try to convince the little black fox... It was better to observe first before making a decision.

The priestess of Yao Zenyu's group was the first to move forward. Carefully advancing step by step towards the small animal.

Everyone paid careful attention, as each step could be an important clue.

As if sensing something or someone approaching, the little black fox's two large ears twitched slightly. However, that was all; its eyes stayed closed with no apparent reaction.

The priestess continued to advance slowly but surely.

One step... Two steps... Three steps...

Each step was taken carefully and, when the woman in her thirties came within three meters of the little black fox, the animal finally opened its eyes and looked at her.

The two little eyes of the little fox were completely black with no sign of white; but they were not at all scary, on the contrary, they were like two precious shining gems, full of purity.

Seemingly happy to provoke a reaction in the animal and enchanted by the cute appearance of the little black fox, the priestess took another quick step forward as if she wanted to hug it.

However, the priestess' movements suddenly stalled and the woman could go no further.