Chapter 784 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 51

Almost simultaneously, from the pool on the right, a massive head resembling dead wood silently surfaced—it was a deadwood crocodile, slightly smaller in size but equally ferocious.

In an instant, the oppressive aura of two two-star mirror beasts descended upon them like a physical force!

Throughout their journey, they had hunted packs of one-star mirror beasts and even taken down solitary two-star mirror beasts through coordinated attacks.

But never before had they faced two two-star mirror beasts at the same time. The pressure skyrocketed!

Under normal circumstances, they would have fled long ago upon encountering such a situation. But now, even if they could escape momentarily, they couldn’t run forever.

To leave the Kaleidoscope Wilderness, there was no way around the Emerald Wave Pool.

They had no choice but to grit their teeth and fight.

Yet the ferocity of two-star mirror beasts far exceeded any opponents they had faced before.

The emerald-scaled python possessed tremendous strength, its scales provided formidable defense, its tail sweeps covered an enormous range, and its fangs were venomous.

The deadwood crocodile had thick, rough hide, launched ambushes from concealment that were nearly impossible to guard against, and possessed terrifying bite force.

Though the team coordinated seamlessly, unleashing skill after skill, they could barely hold the line, locked in a grueling stalemate. They could only struggle to hold on as their psychic power drained rapidly from the constant use of abilities.

The sky gradually dimmed. The last rays of sunset painted the emerald lake surface with a magnificent orange-red glow before quickly fading away.

At the transition between day and night, the Kaleidoscope Wilderness’s unique cycle of four seasons manifested once again. The sweltering midsummer heat that had pervaded the area receded like a tide, replaced by a warm and humid breath brimming with vibrant life force that quietly spread outward—as if they had stepped from the depths of winter into the warmth of spring in a single instant.

Mo Lan had been keeping part of her attention on changes in the lake’s surface. She was the first to notice the seasonal shift and immediately shouted: “Now! Stop fighting—jump into the pool!”

Using only martial techniques and her openly displayed psychic power and skills, Mo Lan couldn’t break the deadlock either.

The beast cores of these two mirror beasts were already among the two-star beast cores her original host’s parents had prepared for her.

She couldn’t kill them, and she already had their beast cores—there was no point continuing the fight.

Without hesitation, she conjured an extremely lifelike illusion that charged toward the emerald-scaled python and the deadwood crocodile, drawing their attention to the greatest extent possible!

Hearing Mo Lan’s call, everyone’s spirits surged!

“Go!” Zhou Ming took a tail strike from the emerald-scaled python head-on, using the force to launch himself backward in a violent retreat.

Zhu Rao also slammed his shield into the deadwood crocodile with all his might, shoving it aside before turning to run.

The others had long been prepared and turned without a moment’s hesitation, sprinting toward the lakeside at top speed before leaping into Green Wave Pool one after another like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The moment their bodies made contact with the lake water, they first felt the icy chill of submersion, immediately followed by a familiar pulling force enveloping them. A flash of white light filled their vision, and all sounds and scenery rapidly receded, blurring into nothing.

In the next moment came the sensation of the world spinning around them.

When their vision cleared again, the cold, smooth floor had replaced the muddy lakeshore. The familiar domed ceiling came into view, and behind them stood the portal to the Kaleidoscope Wilderness—they had successfully returned to Mirror Clarity Hall.

The relief of surviving a close call mingled with the mild dizziness of spatial teleportation, and they couldn’t help but collapse to the ground, gasping for breath.

Every face was etched with utter exhaustion. Hair disheveled, combat uniforms caked not only with dirt and bits of grass but now soaking wet, clinging to their bodies and dripping steadily, spreading puddles across the mirror-smooth floor.

Just then, the portal to the Moss Stone Forest nearby blazed with brilliant light. When it faded, fifth-year Mirror Explorer Class One students emerged, having just completed a field practice session.

Though they too bore traces of travel wear and minor battle damage, they were overall clean and composed, their expressions relaxed and confident.

The moment they stepped out, they spotted the group of juniors sprawled on the ground nearby—drenched from head to toe, looking like they’d just been fished out of a pond, still covered in mud.

They visibly froze for a moment before someone couldn’t hold back a “pfft,” the stifled laugh breaking the silence of Mirror Clarity Hall.

The laughter seemed contagious, immediately drawing suppressed chuckles and unabashed stares from the other students.

Their gazes held no real malice—it was more the amused superiority of upperclassmen seeing their juniors in such a wretched state.

“Well, well, where did these little juniors come from? Which puddle did you fall into?” a tall boy carrying a longbow called out with a grin.

“Must’ve come from the Kaleidoscope Wilderness, right? Haha, forgot to wear waterproof gear!” a girl with short hair chimed in with a laugh, her tone casual.

“Tsk tsk, what a sorry sight.” Someone folded their arms and offered their commentary.

…

Being gawked at and laughed at was not a pleasant feeling. Wang Jingnan bristled and tried to stand up to argue back. Lin Yue’s cheeks flushed pink as she instinctively tried to smooth down her soaking hair and clothes.

Mo Lan had been an upperclassman herself before and knew exactly how satisfying it was to watch juniors stumble into the same pitfalls you once had. She calmly told her classmates: “It’s no big deal. Don’t let their polished looks fool you—when they came out of the Kaleidoscope Wilderness for the first time, they were just as drenched as we are!”

The laughter from the upperclassmen cut off abruptly. The teasing and amusement on their faces froze in an instant. More than a few expressions became visibly awkward, and some unconsciously rubbed their noses or looked away.

Mo Lan’s words had struck right where it hurt!

Their year’s first field practice had been in the Water-Eroded Caverns, the second in the Moss Stone Forest, and it wasn’t until the start of their fourth-year spring semester that they first visited the Kaleidoscope Wilderness.

When they had emerged from the Green Wave Pool back then, “drenched” didn’t even begin to describe it—it had been an absolute disaster! Nearly everyone was injured to varying degrees.

A surge of inexplicable satisfaction and confidence instantly swept away the earlier embarrassment. Wang Jingnan straightened his back even more. Lin Yue stopped trying to hide her soaked clothes and instead lifted her chin slightly. The other classmates exchanged glances, their eyes carrying knowing smiles and a sense of relief.

So even these seemingly mighty upperclassmen had their own “too embarrassing to look back on” past!

One of the boys leading the fifth-year group suddenly seemed to realize something. Disbelief spread across his face as the words tumbled out:

“Wait—how are you doing field practice this early? And in the Kaleidoscope Wilderness, no less?”

The other fifth-years caught on to what was off as well.

“That’s right! This early on, you can’t have extracted any beast core skills yet! The Kaleidoscope Wilderness has two-star mirror beasts in it!”

“Going into the Kaleidoscope Wilderness without a single beast core skill—who’s your Instructor? That’s bold!”

Lin Yue, seeing their stunned expressions, cleared her throat and deliberately adopted an “it’s really no big deal” tone: “Instructor Yan Shuang took us. She said it was… well, an early taste of things to come.”

“Yan Shuang?! THE Yan Shuang??” The fifth-years gasped, and the way they looked at the juniors transformed into pure, undisguised envy.

Who wouldn’t want to be taught by Deer Cry Mirror’s legendary genius!