In the outskirts of Pingcheng District, Icefield City, there lies a valley.
Here, multiple layers of barricades have been set up, with the Beast Tamer Corps stationed here, and several professional beast tamers on standby. Their purpose is to protect the entrance to the ruins that appeared within the valley.
Outside the quiet valley, soldiers stood guard like immovable rocks, until the sound of a vehicle approaching caused them to shift their gazes in unison.
Upon recognizing the vehicle as one sent by the Beast Tamer Association, a sergeant gave the order:
"Clear the way!"
In the next moment, the barricaded area opened up, allowing the vehicle carrying Shi Yu and others to smoothly enter the valley.
"We're here."
After a bumpy ride, the group from the Beast Tamer Association finally arrived at their destination. Inside the vehicle, Shi Yu looked out the window, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity with the surroundings.
He had never been to this place before, but from the environment around him, it seemed to be purely natural, unlike Tianmang Mountain, which showed signs of artificial modification.
Places like this... are often more dangerous.
"I'm starting to get excited." Beside Shi Yu, the young doctor Qiao Liang was brimming with anticipation.
"Ruins, I never thought I'd have the chance to encounter them."
"I was planning to spend my whole life selling medicine, but it seems there's still a chance for a turnaround..."
"If I don't gain anything this time, I won't struggle to become a professional beast tamer. I'll just settle down with my fiancée back home,"
Qiao Liang glanced at the photo of his fiancée in his wallet and asked Shi Yu, "You definitely don't have a girlfriend, right?"
After all, with his frail body, which girl would like him?
Shi Yu glanced at him and said, "Do you know what you're doing?"
"In our hometown, what you're doing is called stacking buffs."
It's usually very hard to come back alive after that.
Showing off his love life to someone like me, doesn't he know that archaeologists are often the ones who trigger the worst outcomes?
Shi Yu didn't expect this doctor to be even more skilled at setting up flags than himself!
"Uh."
The doctor clearly realized he had set up too many flags and felt a bit guilty.
Well... the association has already confirmed that the ruins are not very dangerous, so it should be fine, he thought.
"But speaking of which, the form of these ruins is a disadvantage for the soldiers..."
He quickly changed the subject: "The Beast Tamer Corps is strong in teamwork, but this time, the ruins can only be explored individually, which greatly weakens their effectiveness. It's no wonder they couldn't conquer the ruins."
The young doctor looked at the Beast Tamer Corps' apprentice-level soldiers standing guard and resting in the camp outside and said, "Although they have good individual qualities, in terms of pet cultivation, they might not have the same advantages as we do."
These days, beast tamers who join the Beast Tamer Corps usually come from families with less favorable conditions.
They have contracts with pets provided by the association, receive unified training, and use limited resources. While they may excel in teamwork, practical combat, willpower, and execution, the resources the association can provide to the lower ranks of the corps are limited. Compared to some beast tamers who invest heavily in their pets, they will definitely have some shortcomings in certain areas.
Of course, there are also beast tamers who are wealthy and have undergone the rigorous training of the military camp, and they are indeed very strong.
However, such people would go to the special elite training camps in the city, not stay in a small place like Pingcheng.
If the apprentice beast tamers of the Beast Tamer Corps could easily conquer the ruins, the Pingcheng Beast Tamer Association wouldn't have placed their hopes on these apprentices selected from various fields.
"Maybe..."
Shi Yu was about to speak when he was immediately interrupted.
"Alright, we've arrived at our destination. Let's get out of the car."
The car had driven to the outer area of the central barricade. As the association president stood up and spoke, the apprentice beast tamers in the car became restless.
Following the order, the beast tamers began to get out of the car.
Earlier in the car, President Feng had introduced the environment of the valley and the experiences of the Beast Tamer Corps' soldiers who had entered the ruins.
So when they got out of the car, everyone was already mentally prepared.
"It's so cold..."
Despite this, the environment at the center of the valley still made many of the apprentice beast tamers shiver.
It seemed as if there was no sunlight here, filled with cold mist. The people who got out of the car felt a hazy view.
The environment they were in seemed to only allow a weak sun to be seen on the horizon.
The surrounding mountains, trees, and plants were all covered with a thin layer of frost. Even with the heating facilities in the nearby camp, it would be much colder otherwise.
According to President Feng, the elemental creatures in the ruins were mainly ice-based. Currently, the space of the ruins and the space of Blue Star were in a semi-overlapping state, so the internal conditions of the ruins were affecting the outside.
Not only the temperature... everyone looked at the six towering stone giant statues and the array-like structure in the center, falling into deep thought.
This was the manifestation of the ruins after they initially overlapped with the space of Blue Star.
The six stone giant statues guarding the central array were the portals to the space within the ruins.
As for the six stone giant statues, they seemed to be guardians of the ruins, but they also clearly appeared to be inanimate objects.
"This..."
When Shi Yu saw the stone giant statues around the platform, he felt a bit anxious.
After all, these stone giant statues were somewhat similar to the one in the association's garden... the one he had previously cracked. These couldn't be its relatives, could they?
Currently, everyone looking at the six stone giant statues could clearly see that the first two statues were glowing, while the other four were dim.
President Feng of the Pingcheng Association stepped forward and said, "Based on our speculation, these six statues may represent the progress of solving the ruins."
"Our beast tamers from the Beast Tamer Corps triggered the reaction of the statues when they passed the first two trials within the ruins."
"So we speculate that this ruin has six levels, and as you can see, our progress is currently stuck at the third level."
Although President Feng had already explained these things on the car, seeing the six stone statues now, everyone's hearts were filled with doubt.
If the apprentice beast tamers of the Beast Tamer Corps could only pass two levels... how many more levels could they pass?
Because of the information about the levels they heard on the car, most people were already lacking confidence in passing even the third level.
Let alone the last three levels, about which they had no information.
President Feng smiled and said to everyone, "You don't need to feel too much pressure."
"Each level you pass will provide a certain reward, which is a great opportunity to improve yourself."
"Moreover, you don't just have one chance to enter. In the next month, you can enter at any time to repeat the challenges."
"The nearby camp is equipped with a medical room, rest area, and other facilities. All the backup work will be prepared by the Pingcheng Beast Tamer Association. Your task is to challenge the levels as much as possible and strive to become stronger!"
"Tell me, do you have confidence?!" President Feng's narrowed eyes suddenly opened wide, and he shouted loudly.
This sudden change startled many of the apprentice beast tamers, causing some to instinctively respond loudly, "Yes!!!"
"Very good!" President Feng said, "Prepare yourselves a bit. Once you're ready, you can apply to enter the ruins."
"Remember the precautions I mentioned on the car. Your safety is the top priority!"
After he finished speaking, the newly arrived apprentice beast tamers all nodded.
Nearby, the soldiers guarding the barricades remained silent and expressionless.
Although they didn't speak, they were skeptical. Could this group of apprentice beast tamers with varying abilities really do better than them???
...
In the crowd, Shi Yu listened quietly, continued to adjust his spirit, and kept his gaze on the stone statues.
Occasionally, he focused his mind, trying to hear any historical voices, but there was nothing.
After observing for a long time, he finally gave up on this behavior and decided to enter the ruins to see what would happen.
Sigh... he had hoped to awaken the Light Giant and have the six giants recognize him as their master, but he was thinking too much.
"The last three levels are unknown, but for the third level, which no one has passed yet, perhaps I can."
After analyzing the situation, Shi Yu felt more relaxed and went to register, deciding to enter the ruins immediately.
Not just him, almost all the newly arrived beast tamers decided to explore the ruins immediately.
Once they passed the trials, they would receive rewards and honors representing their strength. This kind of opportunity made everyone eager to try.
"I feel this guy will definitely achieve good results, maybe even pass the third level."
In the crowd, Chen Kai searched for Shi Yu's figure and thought to himself.
"This monster will definitely pass the third level." Jiang Rui and others from the Bamboo Stone Martial Arts Hall also looked at Shi Yu's figure.
It was said that the third trial of the ruins was a Frost Armor Giant with a growth level of Awakened Level 10 and a racial level of Low Commander.
The Frost Armor Giant was an elemental extraordinary creature, with considerable strength and several racial skills at the proficient level.
This level of strength, while not extremely strong for the new generation of geniuses in major cities, was indeed a challenge for apprentice beast tamers in a small place like Pingcheng.
"Enter."
Soon, someone completed the registration and walked onto the glowing platform. The figure then blurred and disappeared from the spot.
Shi Yu didn't waste too much time and completed his registration, walking onto the platform and standing in the array between the six stone giant statues.
After he stepped onto the platform, several gazes, including that of President Feng of the Pingcheng Association, turned to him.
"Is this the one who was first in the Tianmang Mountain training, with a pet that has a proficient hardening skill?"
"Lin Hongnian told me to pay attention to him, saying he would give me a pleasant surprise. I'll see what kind of surprise it is."
As Shi Yu's figure disappeared from the platform, President Feng looked towards the snow-capped mountains, thinking that this year was truly eventful.
First, there was the beast tide, and now the ruins. He wondered if there was any connection between the two...
This time, in addition to the 80 new explorers, the apprentice beast tamers from the Beast Tamer Corps who had entered before also entered again.
The Beast Tamer Association selected a group of people and provided them with additional training, temporarily enhancing their strength.
To explore the ruins, the Pingcheng Beast Tamer Association was determined to invest heavily.
Meanwhile.
Stepping onto the platform, surrounded by light, Shi Yu felt a moment of dizziness as he decided to "enter the ruins."
[Complete six trials to gain ownership of the ruins and obtain the key to history.]
In his dazed state, Shi Yu wasn't sure if he heard the new voice. The next second, he felt as if he had experienced a spatial shift and found himself in another space.
Shi Yu opened his eyes and found himself on a white, icy plateau, not very large, surrounded by spatial crystal walls.
Before he could react, in the distance, countless ice elements gathered to form a giant creature.
[Name]: Frost Stone Giant
[Attribute]: Ice
[Racial Level]: High Extraordinary
[Racial Skills]: Ice Hammer, Frost Breath
[Description]: A variant of the stone giant, an ice-stone elemental creature. Its frozen hammer is immensely powerful, and its frost breath can easily freeze everything.
The first environment of the ruins was an ice plain space, with only Shi Yu present. Inside, there was a Frost Stone Giant with a growth level of 8...
This was the first trial of the ruins.
"Eleven."
Beside Shi Yu, the little Iron-Eater Beast excitedly emerged from the pet space and looked at the enemy.