After the yellow-faced elder finished speaking, he said nothing more, stroking his beard as he stood to one side and waited in silence.
Though his words couldn't be taken entirely at face value, the phrase "ancient ruins" had set every nerve alight.
Wherever ruins were involved, there were bound to be treasures within. The world bustles with those who chase profit, and the foreign martial artists gathered along the shore couldn't help but feel their hearts stir.
What's more, everyone had sensed the commotion when the restriction had been triggered earlier.
They clustered together, frowning as they discussed the matter. Others, like Yang Kai, stood alone, warily sizing up the situation.
The Seven-Family Alliance had surely been left with no choice but to make this decision, but they were probably hoping to use these outsiders as expendable scouts, minimizing their own losses as much as possible.
That meant they knew something about the ancient ruins below—not a lot, but something.
Yang Kai's thoughts churned rapidly, and he quickly grasped the general picture.
Should he go?
There was certainly danger below, but that source radiating intense yang-attributed energy had caught his attention. He had already reached the Transcendent Realm, yet he didn't have a single decent artifact in hand. That bone shield of his had been destroyed by a stellar storm the last time he was in the starry sky, and the only artifact he could still call upon was the small divine soul sword within his sea of consciousness.
But that sword was only a heaven-grade upper-tier piece—somewhat valuable back in Zhongdu, but nearly useless here.
If the thing radiating that yang energy was a powerful artifact, it would complement his needs perfectly. Obtaining it would boost his strength considerably. Even if it wasn't an artifact but some rare material, it would still be of great help.
Having made up his mind, Yang Kai's decision was set.
He was far from the only one. Not long after the yellow-faced elder finished speaking, someone stepped out from the crowd and strode toward the gathering point of the Seven-Family Alliance.
Before long, scattered martial artists began filing forward one after another. Yang Kai walked over as well, though plenty of people still hung back, faces clouded with hesitation, unable to make up their minds.
Seeing this, the yellow-faced elder, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "Oh, right—there's one more thing I should tell everyone. Even though this expedition is being organized by our Seven-Family Alliance, there's a limit to how many participants we can take. We simply can't accept an unlimited number of you. Each family will take on only thirty friends, and the stronger, the better. Anyone below the Shenyou Realm, don't bother coming."
"Damn it, old man—if that's the case, why didn't you say so earlier!" Angry shouts erupted from the crowd. The onlookers who'd still been wavering feared they'd lose their spots if they lingered, and they scrambled forward in a frenzied rush.
The yellow-faced elder stroked his beard, a faint, inscrutable smile playing at the corner of his lips, clearly pleased with his own trickery.
The Seven-Family Alliance each sent one representative to stand at the front. Any martial artist wishing to join them could choose which family to cooperate with.
Seven long queues formed. At least two thousand people had gathered here.
Yang Kai had arrived relatively early. He casually gave a name, displayed his disguised cultivation at the seventh level of the Shenyou Realm, and passed the screening without issue, being directed to a separate area to wait.
Time trickled by. One by one, martial artists stepped before the Seven-Family Alliance's representatives. Most were politely turned away for lacking sufficient cultivation, but quite a few—like Yang Kai—received approval.
In roughly the space of a single hour, everyone had been checked.
Yet the number of retained martial artists still exceeded the yellow-faced elder's earlier estimate—a full three hundred. The weakest among them were at the seventh level of the Shenyou Realm, and among them were several Transcendent Realm powerhouses, though not many. Out of the three hundred, fewer than ten had reached that level.
The Seven-Family Alliance's fighters huddled together for a brief discussion, after which the yellow-faced elder once again raised his voice: "I've felt your enthusiasm, everyone. Those who passed will descend with our Seven-Family Alliance. As for the rest—please remain on the shore. If anyone disobeys, don't blame our Alliance for showing no mercy!"
The remaining martial artists were all relatively weak, and the elder's tone was noticeably less polite than before. He clearly had no doubt they wouldn't dare cause trouble here—after all, this was still Seven-Family Alliance territory.
Seeing him change his tune so quickly, the excluded martial artists could do nothing but curse under their breath.
After the speech, the Alliance's fighters gathered together again, apparently making final preparations.
Yang Kai stood in a remote corner, coldly observing the strength of those around him. Most everyone was doing the same, as though every person here was a competitor.
Realizing this, Yang Kai let out a silent laugh. They hadn't even found the treasure yet, and the tension was already thick enough to choke on. If something truly extraordinary turned up, this crowd would probably start killing each other on the spot.
The Seven-Family Alliance had played a brilliant hand.
Knowing they couldn't stop these outsiders from diving in to investigate, they had adopted this soft approach. On the surface, they appeared willing to share the secrets of the ancient ruins, but in reality, even bringing them along, the outsiders would merely obstruct one another—a scattered mob unlikely to accomplish much within the ruins. The Alliance's fighters could then simply sit back, watch the tigers fight, and reap the rewards as the fisherman who profits from others' struggle. They would claim the lion's share of the spoils, minimize their own losses, and walk away with enormous gains!