Chapter 762 – Three Thousand Mirror Ruins 29

Everyone had the right to voice opinions and propose plans.

When disagreements arose and consensus couldn’t be reached, they wouldn’t resort to a simple headcount vote. Instead, voting power was weighted according to combat strength rankings.

These rankings had been forged through real combat in the final martial arts practical class before departure.

Mo Lan held first place by an overwhelming margin. Su Yu had risen as a dark horse to claim second. Zhao Wuchen, with his unpredictable and cunning techniques, ranked third. Lin Yue, drawing on her family’s deep martial heritage, edged ahead to take fourth. Chen Xingye, strong in theory but slightly weaker in practice, placed fifth. Wang Jingnan, despite having the best resources, fell to sixth due to a slight deficit in combat application.

Following them were Zhou Ming, Xiang Yufan, Ding Yan, Zhu Rao, Ren Miao, and Bai Wei.

Therefore, although Mo Lan, Su Yu, and the other higher-ranked members didn’t directly lead the team, the weight of their voices in decision-making was no less significant—if anything, even more decisive.

At this moment, even though Zhou Ming and the others had readily agreed, Wang Jingnan still didn’t immediately give the order to move.

His gaze passed over Zhou Ming and the rest, settling on Mo Lan, Su Yu, Zhao Wuchen, Lin Yue, and Chen Xingye—the five whose strength surpassed his own—patiently awaiting their stance.

Lin Yue was the first to break the silence: “Let’s go with that. Setting up camp first is the prudent move. The environmental features around here are too generic—there’s no way to tell at a glance exactly where in the Kaleidoscope Wilderness we are. We’ll need to carefully cross-reference the maps and recorded images to determine our approximate position.”

Beside her, Chen Xingye calmly added: “Agreed. Grasslands like this are found across both the central and eastern parts of the Kaleidoscope Wilderness. Once the camp is initially set up, we can focus on reviewing the recorded image archives from those two regions for comparison.”

Mo Lan withdrew her gaze from the hazy silhouettes of distant mountains, her tone even as she spoke:

“Location isn’t the problem—I already know where we are. But once we’ve confirmed our position, we’ll still need to discuss which direction to explore next, and for that we do need a relatively safe place to talk things through quickly.”

Her words amounted to an implicit endorsement of the camping proposal.

Zhao Wuchen looked over at her with a hint of surprise, curiosity flickering in his brooding eyes. “You’ve already figured out where we are?”

Everyone knew Mo Lan loved to read, but she’d always just been a mediocre bookworm. If even Chen Xingye hadn’t recognized this place, how had she?

Mo Lan didn’t confirm directly. Instead, she raised her hand and pointed toward the northern horizon, where churning gray-white currents of cold mist rolled across the skyline, and beyond that, toward a solitary peak—half-hidden in the frigid haze, yet whose distinctive trident-shaped summit still stubbornly pierced through the fog.

“The 《Geographic Records of the Kaleidoscope Wilderness》 mentions that on clear days with high visibility, from Frost Halberd Peak in the Cold Mist Mountains, you can see a meadow that looks like a giant’s toe.”

She paused briefly, then offered more precise guidance:

“Check the recorded image file numbered 1102 for the Kaleidoscope Wilderness in the Academy’s archive and compare it. That should confirm that this is the Giant Toe Meadow in the north-central part of the Kaleidoscope Wilderness. On the large-scale map of the Kaleidoscope Wilderness published by the Alliance Surveying Bureau, the standard grid coordinates should be N-37, E-15.”

With such a clear lead, Wang Jingnan sprang into action immediately. He pulled a portable image projector from his storage equipment and loaded the recorded image jade Mo Lan had specified.

Frost Halberd Peak was, after all, very far away, appearing as nothing more than a blurry background silhouette in the archived images.

Even with visual comparison, it took them quite a while—constantly adjusting angles, comparing the contours of the distant ridgeline, and zooming in—before they finally confirmed: this was indeed the location shown in the archived images!

“It really is N-37, E-15! Giant Toe Meadow!”

Wang Jingnan let out a long breath of relief as the coordinate information on the image projector aligned with the map position.

A barely perceptible flicker of admiration passed through Chen Xingye’s eyes.

“This position is actually fairly advantageous for us. Being in the central region means that no matter which direction we head, the distances are relatively moderate—nothing too far,” Lin Yue said. “As for which direction offers the greatest returns, let’s discuss that in detail once the camp is set up!”

With a clear location now established, everyone felt a measure of reassurance settle in their hearts. The feeling of being lost in complete unknowns had faded.

“Good!” Su Yu voiced her agreement with characteristic brevity, her hand still resting on her sword hilt, her vigilant gaze sweeping their surroundings.

Seeing that all the top combatants had given their approval and the position was confirmed, Wang Jingnan hesitated no longer. He drew a deep breath and issued his orders with crisp decisiveness:

“Move out! Zhou Ming, Zhu Rao, Ding Yan, Ren Miao, Xiang Yufan—you five are responsible for setting up basic traps and obstacles around the camp perimeter.

Mo Lan, Su Yu, Zhao Wuchen, Lin Yue—you four have the strongest combat capabilities right now. Take up guard positions on all four sides, with particular attention to directions mirror beasts might approach from. Sound the alarm immediately at any sign of movement!

Chen Xingye, you’re on sky watch—monitor the seasonal changes.

I’ll handle setting up the tents and arranging everyone’s sleeping quarters for tonight. Bai Wei, you’re with me!”

Everyone acknowledged their assignments and immediately set to work with smooth efficiency.

Across Giant Toe Meadow, a scene of busy but orderly activity rapidly unfolded.

Zhou Ming and his group quickly trampled and cleared the patches of tall and short grass along the designated perimeter that might obstruct their line of sight, then set up tripwire bells, pressure-triggered whistling arrow devices, spiked barricades, and other obstacles.

The four sentries—Mo Lan, Su Yu, Zhao Wuchen, and Lin Yue—each faced one of the cardinal directions, their sharp gazes scanning the distance for any abnormal sounds beyond the rustling of wind through grass.

At the center of the camp, Wang Jingnan rapidly planned the tent layout while Bai Wei carefully spread out moisture-barrier ground sheets.

They were halfway through—the defensive perimeter of obstacles had begun to take shape and the main tent’s frame had just been erected—when everything changed in an instant!

The once-fractured sky transformed. The gray-white cold front to the north seemed to be shoved violently backward by an invisible force. The thick summer clouds to the west rapidly thinned and dissolved. The autumn blue to the south was replaced by a brighter, more vivid azure. And the spring dawn glow to the east suddenly blazed with brilliant vitality, swiftly spreading across the sky overhead!

The essence of spring swept across the entirety of Giant Toe Meadow at a visibly perceptible speed!

Warm, moist breezes replaced the previously chaotic air currents, and gentle waves of vital energy rolled across the land like a rising tide.

Beneath their feet, the frost-covered, yellowed grasses erupted into frenzied growth—sprouting new shoots and turning lush green in the blink of an eye. Countless unknown wildflowers burst from the soil at astonishing speed, unfurling pinpricks of color across the meadow.

A rich fragrance of fresh grass filled the air.

“Seasonal shift! It’s spring!” Chen Xingye called out his warning immediately.

Everyone’s hearts tightened, and they quickened their pace.

Seasonal transitions often brought changes in mirror beast activity patterns!