The handsome orange robe man's eyes glazed explicitly over Darcel and Aniela.

He could recognize that specific style of uniform from a mile away. It was the Zakira Academy Core level uniform!

Yet, the ones who were wearing were little mysteries. Only two brats merely in the Nascent Core realm? And it was then the man seemed to realize something.

A bit of a malicious smile had grown on his face then.

"Geniuses of the Zakira Academy, eh? Aren't all of you a bit too weak to be traversing here?" The man correctly assumed these students at least had to have some talent coming to the Labyrinth.

Getting thrown this question, Darcel, Aniela, and Hao Cao had varying reactions.

All three of them recognize this man must be from the Quicksilver Roc sect going by the design of his clothes.

And Darcel and Aniela assumed he must have a pretty high position with those luxurious designs. It was far better than any other robes they've seen on the regular disciples, at least.

Only Hao Cao felt the swell of dread in her eyes. This man was actually recognizable throughout the whole of Zakira City.

He was one of the top five Roc Elders of the Quicksilver Roc sect!

In their Zakira Academy, they've had widely famous figures such as Teacher Zala or their Vice Principal. And the Quicksilver Roc sect has its own set of powerful and famous Elders to counter them.

Still, Darcel and Aniela had no way of knowing this. They honestly couldn't care less about their rivals' sects and organizations.

Though the Elder aura was overbearing, Darcel remained as steady as he could under the pain.

Aniela, however, put on a pleasant wide smile for the Elder. Without any hesitation, she told the Elder, "Maybe we really are too weak, but! Let's not beat around the bush here. Just why did one of our rivals sect save us?"

Bold, fearless, and arrogant!

It was these three words that the Elder used to describe Darcel and Aniela in his mind.

The boy stared directly into his eyes, showing absolutely no reverence.

While this girl acted like she was speaking to a junior on the same level as her!

Only Hao Cao had that slight sense of reverence in her eyes that the Elder picked up on.

Creasing his eyebrows, the Elder decided to humble the duo a bit. "How bold. But I have no reason to tell three mere juniors, although you three will come with me, yes?" While talking, the Elder leaked a small dosage of his dominating aura.

Now, Darcel, Aniela, and Hao Cao all creased their eyebrows. Barring the Elder's increased majestic presence, the trio knew this man had obvious malicious intention towards them.

And instantly, Darcel and Aniela morphed back to their previous expression. Though Aniela's smile became one that seemed a bit more mocking.

They both knew the Elder couldn't just casually kill them, not if he wanted a full-blown out wrath of the Academy.

Even if their sect was on par with their Academy, the cost of genuinely fighting between each other is far too great. Moreover, at this point, Darcel knew there were no other options than this Elder.

"Perhaps we can come with. But you should clearly know it would be terribly unwise to critically injure us or kill us. We have exclusive connections above even special geniuses." Darcel confidently spoke without a hint of waver in his tone.

It was then the Elder eyes had slightly widened for a second. Obviously, being able to wear the Core level uniform while still being a Nascent Core already told Darcel and Aniela were very unusual.

But just from this small interaction, the Elder's brain clicked back to several sources of information.

Sources detailing demonic talents the Zakira Academy was fostering.

One was a bold boy with shoulder-length black hair. And the other was an odd smiling girl with extraordinarily long and noticeable white hair.

To confirm his theory, the Elder asked a straightforward question.

"Darcel….and Aniela, right?"

Instantly, Darcel and Aniela's face fell, slightly faltering for a second.

While they knew information about their incredible talented feats would eventually get spread around, they didn't think they would be so easily recognizable.

Then again….as Darcel thought about it, he did have to admit that cute little Aniela had the most standout hair in the City. Rarely one would even see flashing colors like Shai Xia vivid pink hair.

But purely white hair? It indeed would be recognizable!

And seeing this second of faltering, it told the Elder everything he needed to know.

The malicious intention brewing inside his heart had suddenly exploded to exponential levels!

"Ah….so it is so." The Elder ominously spoke with a broadening grin.

Unexpectedly for Darcel's team, the Elder had then pointed out his arm towards them.

With just a squeeze of his hand, Darcel, Aniela, and Hao Cao flew right into the Elder palms! None of them could resist this powerful suction force that took away all control from their bodies.

The Elder roughly grabbed the three shoulders, uncaring about the changing emotions of the trio.

Hao Cao tried to stay calm but felt incredibly nervous as beads of sweat rolled down her face.

Darcel's mind grew incomparably cold. On the outside, his face still manages to retain its calm facade. But on the inside, killing intent brewed like a storm.

Being treated like a mere ant didn't sit comfortably with Darcel at all.

Aniela, all the while, had a smile that blatantly showed her dissatisfaction and frustration. When Darcel glanced at her face, he admittedly had to regard it as one of the fiercest expressions he saw on the girl.

Yet no matter what kind of looks Darcel's team had, it all went over the Elder's head. In fact, the mocking in his smile only seemed to grow.

"If you two would've just said so sooner, we could've had a more smoother start. Now then, let's go see your precious Vice Principal, eh? I've just had a run-in with her not too long ago."

Darcel, Aniela, and Hao Cao all froze for a second. This truly has to be a testament to bad luck! This Elder seemed to lack the fear of consequences no matter how loft of status the Vice Principal was.

And while the trio was cursing their luck, the Elder truly did see this as a God-given opportunity.

Somehow these three were unlucky enough to land here, and he was lucky enough to meet them before their untimely end.

Devious glints hazed all over the Elder eyes. His relationship between him and the Vice Principal was already an incredibly hostile one. And just recently, he suffered greatly at her hands.

Now….now it was the time for vengeance!

Moreover, the Elder was assured what he'll do in the Labyrinth will never get spread outside.

Snapping his fingers, the Elder bound Darcel, Aniela, and Hao Cao in tight Wind Qi.

Darcel's team felt their bodies get more tightly pressured than previously. Their teeth gnashed together, their hands clenched, all three of them had to bear with the pain and the Elder devious plans for now.

"Get comfortable; it won't be long before we meet her again." The Elder told the trio.

And with no more words, the Elder blasted off in tow with Darcel's team at tremendous speeds….

….

Unsuspecting of the upcoming troubles rushing to her, the Vice Principal was slowly treading through the Labyrinth.

Unlike her students or other youths that came here, she obviously wasn't in it for resources or experience.

Her eyes closely zeroed in on even the tiniest of details on the dark red wall.

For several kilometers, her Spirit Senses covered the smallest of specks on this floor. Though amazingly enough, not even her massively broad Spirit Sense can cover the whole Labyrinth floor.

But the Vice Principal didn't mind this as she continued on methodically searching.

Everything was as normal as it can be until she had abruptly stopped in front of a corpse. Now typically, corpses of Spirit Monster would never affect the Vice Principal.

And yet….this one was different and familiar.

The Vice Principal eyebrow furrowed since this bear corpse depicted a gruesome death. There were several large holes in the bear, all with a pale red hue color.

Its eyes have bulged, nearly popping out of its socket, and sickly red blood dribbled from its mouth. This bear corpse would make the fourth time in a row the Vice Principal came across this kind of death.

Adding to this strangeness was the fact each bear corpses was only a few minutes of walking distance between.

Undoubtedly, this phenomenon is far too strange to be called a mere coincidence.

In the pits of the Vice-Principal gut, a small foreboding feeling brew there. For someone at her strength, not many things can truly make her feel so worried.

But for some reason….this feeling seems so familiar. Yet she couldn't precisely identify why.

However, all thoughts of wanting to explore this matter got abruptly cut off. A powerful presence the Vice Principal was all too familiar with was rapidly approaching her once again.

"Ahhh….Vice Principal, Zelle. So wonderful for us to meet again." An annoying voice slithered into Vice Principal Zelle's ears.

A quiet sigh of displeasure leaked from her mouth as she thought he wouldn't return so soon or again for that matter.

Slowly, Vice Principal Zelle turned around, ready to shoo off this annoyance once again. However, when her body turned halfway and saw who was with the Elder, her heart ran cold.

Immediate confusion and shock sparked in Vice Principal Zelle's eyes. In that nuisance of an Elder hand were Darcel, Aniela, and Hao Cao!

They all stare wide-eyed at her, feeling slightly hopeful.

Although Vice-Principal Zelle just couldn't understand it. She knew for sure anyone of those three would be far smarter enough to never attempt going past the third level.

And even then, the fourth level would've been far too much for them!

Seeing this much shock and confusion inside Vice-Principal Zelle's face gave the Elder much glee. Finally, he could begin to see the despair of one incredibly prideful woman.

"I see; you're surprised to see these three, right? I just so happened to wonder upon them and even saved them from getting brutally mauled."

The Elder spoke in a superior, condescending tone, genuinely believing he holds all the cards now.

Hearing the tone and seeing the stature the Elder attempting to take caused Vice-Principal Zelle to quickly regain her unbreakable facade.

"Cut the bullshit, Elder Fere; what do you want."

As always, when this woman talks, she carries this unfathomable powerful tone. But Elder Fere knew this was all about to change. With a growing sinister smile, he told her,

"Oh….nothing much. It just, we've had some past grievances with each other, right? But I'm willing to let it go for some….compensation. After all, I did manage to save your precious student lives."

Vice Principal Zelle was in a bit of a hard place now. Of course, she would have no problem dispatching Elder Fere even as he's at the peak level of the Innate Core realm.

But doing so, Vice Principal Zelle was sure Elder Fere would only use Darcel's team as a shield for any attack thrown at him.

Furthermore, Darcel's team is constrained under his wind Qi.

Meaning she couldn't even try to separate them since the trio would just end up following Elder Fere's body.

While Vice-Principal Zelle never placed much importance on Hao Cao. She did place the greatest importance and hope on Darcel and Aniela.

Truly, geniuses like them only appear once in every ten thousand years! Still, Vice Principal Zelle didn't lose her calm and directly declared, "Just state it now, Elder Fere."

Hearing the antsy in Vice Principal Zelle tone only further Elder Fere satisfaction.

He began to open his mouth, but right then, he and Vice-Principal Zelle Spirit Sense spiked!

Abruptly he and Vice-Principal Zelle jumped back as a blindingly large red object was hurled straight at them.

'Thud!'

What crashed into the wall and onto the ground was a massive glowing red bear corpse.

And this specific corpse caused all conversations between the seniors to stall.