"Chu Feng, this isn't good. That Han Yu is looking at you with the wrong kind of eyes — he'll probably try to make a move on you inside the Sealed Realm. After all, only juniors can enter that maze formation. For him, that's a perfect opportunity."
The Queen had also noticed Han Yu's gaze and couldn't help but warn Chu Feng.
At that moment, Chu Feng finally couldn't hold back anymore, and secretly sent a voice transmission to Xia Yun'er: "Girl, playing like this isn't very nice, is it?"
"What do you mean?" Xia Yun'er replied to Chu Feng via secret voice transmission as well, while simultaneously looking at Chu Feng with those innocent, wide eyes.
She looked as though she truly had no idea what was going on.
"Forget it, don't bother asking. This girl is deliberately trying to set you up. Ask her all you want, and she'll just keep playing dumb," the Queen said.
Chu Feng felt the Queen had a very good point. Xia Yun'er had already started playing dumb, so he decided not to press the matter further.
Having made up his mind, Chu Feng and the others prepared to head toward the maze formation.
But who could have expected that the Ancient Snake Clan elder guarding the path to the maze formation would stop Chu Feng, Xia Yun'er, and the rest of them?
"You must pass an assessment before you may enter," the Ancient Snake Clan elder said.
"An assessment? We haven't heard of any such rule before," Li Xiang and the others said, quite confused.
"To put it plainly, this rule was just relayed down by my clan's chief," the Ancient Snake Clan elder said.
"Aren't you people doing this on purpose just to make things difficult for us?" Elder Xing Yi said, clearly displeased.
"To tell you the truth, this rule was made specifically for people like you. As for the reason — you should be well aware," the Ancient Snake Clan elder said.
Naturally, Chu Feng and the others understood what he meant. Because they had learned this secret in advance, the Ancient Snake Clan was now deliberately making things difficult for them.
"Then may I ask — what kind of assessment is it?" Chu Feng asked.
"Do you see this ball?" The Ancient Snake Clan elder turned his palm over, and indeed, a transparent glass sphere appeared in his hand.
"All you have to do is infuse your barrier power into this sphere, and it will change color."
"As long as you reach green, you pass the assessment and may enter this path."
"This sphere will also serve as your pass into the maze formation. Furthermore, it will provide you with certain hints — hints that will help you find your way out of the maze."
"Of course, green is only the entry-level color, so the clues you receive will be quite limited. If you can reach purple, you'll get more clues. And if you reach gold, you'll receive even more," the Ancient Snake Clan elder said.
"Then may I ask, Elder, what is the highest-level color?" Chu Feng asked.
"The highest level is gold. But don't underestimate this sphere — the amount of barrier power it devours is far more than you might imagine."
"So all you should hope for is that you can turn it green, and be satisfied with that," the Ancient Snake Clan elder said.
As he spoke, there was a trace of contempt in his expression. He did not believe that Chu Feng and the others were capable of turning the sphere gold.
"You're really looking down on us, aren't you?" At that moment, Han Yu spoke up.