Everyone was deeply focused on cultivation while Edward went to check out the hole where the snake came from. Daniel was holding the snake core in his hand, absorbing the flame energy from within. His Qi was increasing exponentially, fierce flaming Qi was dancing around him. The temperature surrounding him was increasing, but the heat did not touch Robert, who was just beside him. Around Robert, heavy metallic Qi was spinning like a hurricane. They felt like swirling blades. The ground was getting sliced apart as Robert's Qi touched it.

"Monsters! Those two are monsters! We'll never be as strong as them, bro!", Little Teddy murmured as he saw Daniel and Robert cultivate.

"Damn it, bro! Daniel has always been at the top of the Royal Academy, so we knew he was strong. But this Robert guy, we haven't heard of him before he and Edward came to the academy during the selection. But it feels like that this Robert guy is even stronger than Daniel. What kind of monstrous cultivator is he?", Jonny fatso also gasped in shock.

"Let's not forget Edward, who is the real monster! He is far, far stronger than those two combined.", Little Teddy said.

"Yeah. But Bro! We have our secret weapons bro! Don't we? Hehehehe!", Jonny fatso said as he laughed wickedly.

"Right, Bro! You're Right! Kekekeke!", Little Teddy also laughed wickedly as he remembered their secret weapons.

At that point, the qi surrounding Robert and Daniel had stabilized. The slicing Qi surrounding Robert died down, while the burning Qi around Daniel also extinguished. Both of them were now looking a lot more refined and stronger.

Robert and Daniel slowly stood up. Robert stretched his arms and legs for a while, while Daniel looked around and checked his surroundings. Now that both of them have reached the Energy Foundation realm, they were on an entirely different level compared to before.

"Where is Edward? Has he come back yet?", Daniel asked at that moment.

"No. We're still waiting for him.", Jonny fatso replied.

"Be patient. he'll come soon enough.", Robert said at that moment.

Daniel and the other looked at Robert. After a while, they all nodded.

"Yes. Let's just wait.", Daniel said.

"You don't have to wait anymore, I'm already here.", at that moment, Edward's voice came from underground. As they looked toward the source of the sound, Edward jumped out of the snake-hole and appeared before everyone.

"What took you so long?", Robert asked as soon as he saw Edward.

"I had to do a little bit of investigation. I found out something interesting, that's why I took some extra time.", Edward replied.

"So, what did you find?", everyone was curious.

Hearing the question, Edward gave a mysterious smile.

"Just tell us already!", Robert said in a hurry. Seeing Edward's face, he knew that something was interesting.

"There is a hidden passage underground. Due to the passing of time, the entrance to the chamber was covered in dust rubble and finally closed. But there must be other entrances to this underground passage, from where this Snake entered and made it its nest. But that's not all, the underground passage likely connects to all the other nearby ruins, and some of those ruins might not be empty like this one.", Edward said.

"Then what are we waiting for? We should hurry, or else, other teams might find out and catch up!", Daniel said in excitement.

"Of course we will go. My weapons broke, and even if I repair them somehow, they are useless at my current level. The same goes for your weapons. It would be great if we can find an armory or treasury in one of the ruins. ", Edward said.

"Yeah. You're right. I can't go all out with this low-level sword", Robert said.

"Me too.", Daniel also agreed.

"The thing is, the underground passage below us is divided into two routes from here. I plan to divide our team into two groups and split up.", Edward declared.

"Split up? Is it a good idea? Won't it weaken our team? What if one of the two groups is taken by surprise by any of the other participating teams? We would be at a disadvantage.", Robert said.

"That's why I am going to keep a power balance between our two groups. The first group will consist of Robert taking the lead along with Jonny Fatso and Little Teddy. In the second group, there will be only me and Daniel. This way, both groups will have enough strength to protect themselves.", Edward explained.

"Alright then.", Robert nodded.

Soon, the came down the snake-hole and entered the underground passage. After walking forward for quite a while, they reached a point where the passage was split into two paths.

"This is where we split up.", Edward said. "Listen, our goal is to explore the passage and excavate whatever ruins these two paths lead to. After we are done excavating the ruins and getting whatever we can get, we will return exactly at this place. The first group to return will wait until the other group also returns. Understood?", he declared.

"Yes.", everyone nodded.

"Ok. Let's go!", Edward shouted.

Edward and Daniel took the passage on the right while Robert and his group took the passage on the left. As both groups moved forward in their respective paths, they were soon far away from each other.